Henry David Thoreau for Kids: His Life and Ideas, with 21 Activities

Henry David Thoreau for Kids: His Life and Ideas, with 21 Activities — page 9
ways Some will say thih ROW with the accent on the last syllable Some will say THOR oh with the accent on the first syllable sounding almost like the word thorough How did Henry and his family pronounce it Clues can be found in Henry's own writings Once he made fun of his name and claimed that his ancestors worshipped Thor the god of thunder and lightning in Norse mythology He used forms of the word thor ough at times to describe himself too He seemed to favor the accent on the first syllable Notes from friends who heard his name firsthand agree Bronson Alcott Nathaniel Hawthorne Daniel Ricketson and Edward Emerson referred to him in their writings as Thorow Thoro or even Thorough They spelled his name the way it sounded to them Today people use both versions But the one like thorough is probably the correct one CC A Revolutionary Town Concord was the oldest inland town in the nation and was founded in 1635 Native Americans and later white English colonists settled where the Assabet and Sudbury Rivers met to form the Concord River The town sat 20 miles west of the Massachusetts state capital of Boston Concord was known as a country town or an agricultural town It had a court house and was a seat of government for Middlesex County But it was also famous for its history Here shots were exchanged between colonial minutemen