State

The Naming of Chocowinity For many years people have been saying that nobody knows the meaning of the word. Here's some information, however, which seems to be of an authoritative nature. By IV'. C. HUGHES, JR. IN reading through a recent issue of The State I came across an item about the town of Choco- winity in Beaufort County. The statement was made that the name reputedly is of Indian origin but nobody knows what it means. This same Chocowinity is the place of my birth, where my grandfather and later my father operated a military prep school. It was known as Trinity School. You are correct in stating that this place was once known as Godley’s Cross Roads. Just when the name was changed to Choco¬ winity I never have been able to learn, although I have made many inquiries and have done some research. However, one thing I have found out. Soon after the end of the Civil War an effort was made to change the name from Chocowinity to Belvue. But my grandfather, the Rev. N. C. Hughes, D.D., who had just about then started a small school near Trinity Chapel, thought so highly of this unique name that he succeeded in persuading those who wanted the name changed to cease their efforts, and so the old name was retained. From early boyhood, Indians and their names have fascinated me. Whenever I ran up with one I would ask him what this or that name meant. Sometimes he could answer, but more often he could not. Looking Through Old Records In searching through some records of property conveyances in the county courthouse in Washing¬ ton in the year 1907 or 1908. I recall running across a reference to Chocowinity Creek. In pursu¬ ing the research further back into the Revolutionary period. I found a reference to this same creek, but the name was spelled differently. It was then spelled CHGCAWA- NATETH, or something very similar to that. Not until 1928 was I fortunate enough to learn what I believe is the meaning of the word Choco¬ winity. I was engaged in some highway construction work near Canady’s Cross Roads, S. C.. near the Edisto River not far from Waiter- boro. There was a well-educated Indian encamped on the banks of the Edisto. hunting alligators for their hides and rattlesnakes for their oil and venom. Incidentally, I might mention that he was meet¬ ing with much success. It was my pleasure to visit him on several occasions. He informed me that he was (up to that time) the only Indian in the United States who ever had been able to enter West Point, but that he did not complete his course there due to his having tried one night in New York to walk away with the town. He held an M.D. degree from a Chicago school of medicine. He was a member of one of the five Indian tribes located in central New York state, and I think he told me that he belonged to the Senecas. One night, during the course of our confab, I told him that Indians, their names, customs, languages and lore had always been most in¬ teresting to me. I told him about FAIR ENOUGH A subscriber who lives in Asheville sends in this little story: One of Asheville's brawni¬ est policemen was on duty on Pack Square. A tourist ap¬ proached him. "Officer,” he said, "could you tell me whose monument that is?” The officer glanced briefly at the well-known memorial to Vance and then replied: "Yeah: hit’s our'n." And with that he turned away to resume his job of di¬ recting traffic. my having been born in a little village that had an Indian name, and so far as I ever had been able to ascertain, it was the only village or town of that name not only in the United States but in the whole world. I added that I never had been able to find out what the name meant. "What is this name?” he asked me. “Chocowinity," I replied, spell¬ ing it out for him. And then I told him further that I had found in some very old records that it also had been spelled Chocawanateth. or something similar: I couldn't be exactly sure. A Definite Answer At that he raised his face sky¬ ward, thought a moment and sai'd: "Let me see now — Chocawanteth. Chocawanateth. Oh yes: I have it now. That word means ‘Fish from Many Waters'." Having been raised near the creek and bay that bear the name of Chocowinity. having fished mainly in the creek time and again and having seen the catches made by many other people such as the Angcs, the Smiths, a Mr. Pryor. Mr. Eason Arnold, old man Pete Taylor, old man Luke Bates, old Dave Mitchell. "Aunt Liza" Vines and many others whose names escape me just now. 1 felt assured that this Indian certainly knew what he was talking about. We used to catch a large variety of fish in those waters — shad, perch, red breast, black fish. pike, pickerel, jack, moremouths, goggle-eyes (about the same type as more- mouths). rock. bass, trout of several types, and even the sturgeon out in the bay. as well as many other species I cannot re¬ member. Veritably both the bay and creek, bearing the name of Chocowinity. were the happy spawning and feeding grounds of "fish from many waters." 1 1 THE STATE. January 14. 1950