Southern Historical Society Papers, Volume 10.
Reverend J. William Jones, Ed.

[499] “news” is spelled as “newes;” and as further undeniable proof that the word “Newes” in the foregoing quotation was not intended by the writer to represent Sir William Neuse's (or Newce's) surname, we must not overlook the significant fact that the name Newport is in the possessive case.

It is worthy of being noted here, that not only the Virginia Authorities, but the Company in London, as early as 1622, put the first word (Newport) of the compound name in the possessive case. Such unanimity, on both sides of the ocean, between the two official bodies, plainly shows how well established the name Newport's News had become as early as 1622 (only fifteen years after the foundation of the Colony), and utterly forbids the idea that either of those bodies supposed Sir William's surname had any place, or was intended to have any place, in the compound name.

In the 18th year of Charles I, “at a Grand Assemblie holden at James Cittie, the 2d of March, 1642, 1643,” there was passed an Act (being the 15th Act of that session) defining the boundaries of Warwick County.

In that Act occurs the following passage: “* * * from the mouth of Heth's Creek up along the lower side, * * * with all the lands belonging to the Mills, and so down to Newport's News, with the families of Skowen's damms and Persimmon Ponds.” --[Hening's Statutes at Large, Edit. 1809.]

Creed Taylor and William Munford, authorized examiners, certify at Richmond, Va., on the 1st September, 1809, that they have carefully compared the laws in Hening's volumes with the original manuscripts and find them to be correctly printed. They say that the terminating syllable “teon,” “which is invariably written in the earlier part of the manuscripts ‘con,’ is printed [in Hening] as it is now spelt ‘tion.’ ” And they add that “no other material variation from the ancient orthography has been observed.”

As you have seen, I have herein produced four instances of the mode in which the name was uniformly spelled (viz., as Newport's News) in public official documents between the years 1622 and 1643; and it is to be noted that in none of the official documents of that period and later is the name ever spelled otherwise.

I now proceed to cite an instance of what may be termed the semiofficial mode of spelling the name, and which will be found to correspond with the official mode.

It seems [Neill's History, p. 394] that in 1622 one Captain Nathaniel Butler was sent out from England to the Colony as a kind of public inspector