[Ads-l] Very Small Antedating of "Dixie"

[Stephen Goranson]

Though we now tend to think and hear Dixieland, even Emmett in 1872
(as previously posted; his story varied) claimed northern negroes said "I wish I was in Dixie's land."
Much is iffy, but the possessive, dropped in the song, may be worth notice.

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From: American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU> on behalf of Stephen Goranson <0000179d4093b2d6-dmarc-request at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
Sent: Wednesday, July 23, 2025 12:00 PM
To: ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
Subject: Re: Very Small Antedating of "Dixie"

possessive
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From: American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU> on behalf of Stephen Goranson <0000179d4093b2d6-dmarc-request at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
Sent: Wednesday, July 23, 2025 11:27 AM
To: ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
Subject: Re: Very Small Antedating of "Dixie"

Dixie's Land—note the plural. 1859
"Dickies' Land" game 1856
"those who go to Dixey's land must be Dixey's men" game 1855 [cf . sim.1844?]
And, what I think is under-appreciated:
Dorothea Dix's Land Bill, for an asylum in North Carolina, multiple times, 1854 , and belittled in NY in 1861

Stephen Goranson
NC
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From: American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU> on behalf of Jonathan Lighter <00001aad181a2549-dmarc-request at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
Sent: Wednesday, July 23, 2025 10:43 AM
To: ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
Subject: Re: Very Small Antedating of "Dixie"

Nice, Fred.

There can't be any doubt that the form "Dixie" appeared in Emmett's song
from the beginning.

The text, however, seems not to have been published till 1860. Possibly the
earliest published quote from the song to include the word "Dixie"
[Newspapers.com]:

1860 _Daily Times-Picayune_ (N.O.) (Apr. 19) 1: To the tune of "I wish I
was in Dixie."

This may have been posted earlier.

JL

On Wed, Jul 23, 2025 at 9:38 AM Shapiro, Fred <
00001ac016895344-dmarc-request at listserv.uga.edu> wrote:

> Barry Popik and Jonathan Lighter have done magnificent etymological
> research on the word "Dixie," connecting it to the name of a children's
> game and to the "Mason-Dixon Line."  Here is a tiny (one-day) antedating of
> the OED's entry for "Dixie" meaning the Southern United States:
>
> Dixie (OED 1959 [4 Apr.])
>
> 1859 New York Herald 3 Apr. 7/5 (Newspapers.com)
>
> BRYANT'S MINSTRELS. ... DIXIE'S LAND, another new Plantation Festival.
>
> Fred Shapiro
>
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