Flipside: Language--Words that are Homophones

Drawing of the clocks atop Woodburn Hall
West Virginia University
1902 WVU Annual

Amy Johnson Crow has a 52 Ancestors Week blog challenge which I have decided to give a try for the second year.

The prompt for week # 14 is Language.

Recently, while writing another blog for 52 Ancestors about my VanGilder family, I went down a VanGilder rabbit hole on Ancestry and found a new cute little piece of information about my paternal great grandfather, George Ethelbert VanGilder. I should mention it was attached by someone to the wrong VanGilder which translates to whatever you find on Ancestry--research, research, research it yourself.

Which ever dictionary you use you will find the word homophone described as two or more words that sound the same but have different meanings and spellings. For instance--to, two, too or flower and flour. Franky, it was a new word to me and I had to Google search it regarding the homophone I found in this blog's focus.

I have not neglected my paternal great grandfather here on Flipside. I never knew him, nor did his daughter, my paternal grandmother, ever mention him--that I can remember. She probably had only vague memories of him as he died when she was six. Anything she knew was probably passed along to her by her older sisters and Mother.

George Ethelbert VanGilder was an educated man. He grew up in either the country school system or perhaps, since the VanGilder's lived close to Morgantown, he may have had his primary education in the town school which was attached to West Virginia University. He was a teacher in the country school system and I have found a few records of him attending the preparatory school at West Virginia University. He did not have a degree.

Journal of the Senate
page 348

West Virginia University publication
page 71
1902

George had other forms of employment as the years passed. He was a house painter with his brother, census enumerator, elected official and a night watchman at WVU. He lists himself as a watchman in the 1900 census and I have found two documents listing his salary as the night watchman in 1901 and 1902.

This gives a back story to the latest "find".

The "new find" is in the 1902 West Virginia University annual. It is a cute little piece written by the University clock atop Woodburn Hall and tells of the comings and goings on campus beneath his high perch. The piece is entitled, The Old Prep Clock. One of his sighting involves my great grandfather.

The clock narrating:

"But as I was going to tell you, the most fun is to watch the folks of nights down on the campus 'spooning.' I'd tell you all about it if I hadn't promised Mr. Vangilder not to. Mr. Vangilder is the night watchman, you know, and was afraid the Committee on Student Affairs would find out and take some action in the matter, and so he put up a notice 'No Spooning Aloud on the Campus.' And since that they haven't spooned aloud. They never once think of me seeing them,--because I keep my hands over my face, I suppose. Wait a minute till I call down to 'Doctor" Hill and the others that its time to dismiss their classes."

And there's the homophone--aloud vs allowed. Either one could fit in the sign; however, I think my great grandfather was being flippant in his use of aloud. He knew the students were not going to stop their spooning on campus, so "no spooning allowed" would be ineffective. Instead he chose to be flip and said spoon away, but keep it quiet. 😇

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