{"id":15560,"date":"2014-12-03T19:33:37","date_gmt":"2014-12-04T00:33:37","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.howderfamily.com\/blog\/?p=15560"},"modified":"2021-11-07T06:23:00","modified_gmt":"2021-11-07T11:23:00","slug":"possessive","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.howderfamily.com\/blog\/possessive\/","title":{"rendered":"Particularly Possessive"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

I noticed that Prince George’s County, Queen Anne’s County and St. Mary’s County — all in Maryland — included the genitive apostrophe to form their possessive constructions. I’d always taken it on faith that the United States Board on Geographic Names disallowed apostrophes for that specific purpose. That’s how we ended-up with Harpers Ferry and other odd conglomerations. The possessive remained awkwardly in place without an apostrophe. I wondered how Maryland got away with it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A little checking revealed a probable answer. The Board’s Frequently Asked Questions<\/a> page said: “certain categories\u2014broadly determined to be ‘administrative’\u2014are best left to the organization that administers them. Examples include schools, churches, cemeteries, hospitals, airports, shopping centers, etc.<\/em>” In those cases (and apparently counties fell within “etc.”), possessives formed by an apostrophe-s could exist. Maryland felt that a prince, a queen and a saint all deserved an apostrophe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, for names not considered broadly administrative, exceptions with the genitive apostrophe were extremely rare. The Board authorized apostrophes for that specific purpose only five times since its creation in 1890. Lots of theories and folklore attempted to explain that odd disdain for apostrophes although the FAQ proclaimed: “The Board’s archives contain no indication of the reason for this policy<\/em>.” Someone a century ago apparently had a preference, made a bold decision and it stuck.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Each of the five exceptions merited further examination. Most were obscure. Fortunately the Geographic Names Information System<\/a> included additional justification for these deviations and I could use them to tell their stories.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts (approved 1933)<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"Oak<\/a>
Oak Bluffs, Martha’s Vineyard<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Martha’s Vineyard (map<\/a>) would be the prime example. I won’t spend any time talking about it because I’d like to save that for another day. Maybe it’s wishful thinking or maybe it’s foreshadowing. I’ll simply note that if I ever want to tally Dukes County on my county-counting list<\/a> I’ll need to travel to Martha’s Vineyard (or one of several smaller islands nearby).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

[UPDATE<\/strong>: I did visit Martha’s Vineyard<\/a> the following year].<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Ike\u2019s Point, New Jersey (approved 1944)<\/h2>\n\n\n\n