Bill Bryson Quote
As early colonists employed odd spellings, so too they often brought unexpected pronunciations with them. This was particularly the case in Virginia, where the leading families had a special fondness for pronouncing their family names in improbable ways, so that Sclater became Slaughter, Munford became Mumfud, Randolph was Randall, Wyatt was Wait, Devereaux was Deverecks, Callowhill was Carroll, Higginson was Hickerson, Norsworthy was Nazary, and Taliaferro became a somewhat less than self-evident Tolliver.
Bill Bryson
As early colonists employed odd spellings, so too they often brought unexpected pronunciations with them. This was particularly the case in Virginia, where the leading families had a special fondness for pronouncing their family names in improbable ways, so that Sclater became Slaughter, Munford became Mumfud, Randolph was Randall, Wyatt was Wait, Devereaux was Deverecks, Callowhill was Carroll, Higginson was Hickerson, Norsworthy was Nazary, and Taliaferro became a somewhat less than self-evident Tolliver.