John Comly
John Comly | |
|---|---|
| Born | November 19, 1773 Byberry, Philadelphia, U.S. |
| Died | August 17, 1850 (aged 76) Philadelphia, U.S. |
| Occupation |
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| Notable works | English Grammar Made Easy to the Teacher and Pupil |
John Comly (November 19, 1773 – August 17, 1850) was an American author, educator, Quaker minister, and lawyer. He published numerous books, a portion of which pertained to grammar and spelling,[1][2][3] wherein it is possible that he was the first to document opposition to split infinitives.[4]
Biography
John Comly was born on November 19, 1773[5] to Quakers Isaac and Asenath Hampton Comly, in Byberry, Philadelphia.[1] They were farmers, which the nature of his upbringing reflects. By the age of twenty-one, he had already proved himself to be a competent surveyor.[6] In 1780, in the journal of his formative years, he recalled the first book he had ever read:
I believe the first book put into my hands was Woolman's or Benezet's Primer.[7]
In his 1803 work English Grammar Made Easy to the Teacher and Pupil, he expressed disapproval with respect to split infinitives—perhaps marking the advent of the sentiment in written word—although he did not refer to them as such, merely explicating the concept without attributing a label:
An adverb should not be placed between a verb of the infinitive mood and the preposition to which governs it.[4]
Over the course of his lifetime, he, too, worked as a "farmer, an educator, a surveyor, a conveyancer."[1] In 1815, he shifted his focus completely toward ministry and agriculture, having been a schoolmaster prior.[8] In 1827, as leader of the Philadelphia Hicksites—a liberal school of Quakerism—he had been "proposed as a clerk but not affirmed," litigation pertaining thereto ensuing in 1831.[9][10][11] In 1829, he visited the American South.[12]
Personal life
In 1803, he married Rebecca Budd—a fellow schoolteacher,[13] who had hailed from Mount Holly, New Jersey—a union whence five children were born: Stacy (1805–?), Ann (1806–1872), Charles (1808–1894), Sarah (1810–1903), and Emmor (1811–1889).[1] He was a vegetarian, a conviction that arose from an encounter wherein he had slaughtered a chicken amid his formative years—at the age of perhaps four or five—his reaction encapsulated in a retrospective reflection of his:
Horror and sorrow seized my infant soul. My heart then learned to feel tenderness toward every living thing that could feel pain.[14]
He, too, was remarked for his "sincerity and eloquence," in addition to his repute within the Quaker community.[14] He was also said to be of a quiet demeanor.[6] He died on August 17, 1850, at the age of 76.[5]
References
- ^ a b c d "Collection: John Comly papers | Archives & Manuscripts". archives.tricolib.brynmawr.edu. Retrieved 2025-04-01.
- ^ "Comly, John, 1773-1850 | The Online Books Page". onlinebooks.library.upenn.edu. Retrieved 2025-04-01.
- ^ National Register of Microform Masters. Library of Congress. p. 399.
- ^ a b "To Boldly Go: Star Trek & the Split Infinitive". Usage notes. Merriam-Webster.com. April 26, 2018. Retrieved 2018-04-26.
- ^ a b ""John Comly and Philadelphia Yearly Meeting, 1827-1828" - Philadelphia Area Archives". findingaids.library.upenn.edu. Retrieved 2025-05-18.
- ^ a b Ford, Alice (1998). Edward Hicks, Painter of the Peaceable Kingdom. University of Pennsylvania Press. p. 16. ISBN 978-0-8122-1675-2.
- ^ Woolman, John (1922). The Journal and Essays of John Woolman. Macmillan. p. 109. ISBN 978-1-9762-3051-6.
{{cite book}}: ISBN / Date incompatibility (help) - ^ Mott, Lucretia (2002). Selected Letters of Lucretia Coffin Mott. University of Illinois Press. p. 11. ISBN 978-0-252-02674-4.
- ^ Abbott, Margery Post (2012). Historical Dictionary of the Friends (Quakers). Scarecrow Press. p. 80. ISBN 978-0-8108-6857-1.
- ^ Angell, Stephen W.; Dandelion, Pink (2013-09-26). "Hicksite, Orthodox, and Evangelical Quakerism, 1805–1887". The Oxford Handbook of Quaker Studies. OUP Oxford. ISBN 978-0-19-166737-4.
- ^ Shotwell, Thomas L.; Foster, Jeremiah J. (1831). An Authentic Report of the Testimony in a Cause at Issue in the Court of Chancery of the State of New Jersey, Between Thomas L. Shotwell, Complainant, and Joseph Hendrickson and Stacy Decow, Defendants: Taken Pursuant to the Rules of the Court. J. Harding, Printer. pp. 3–4.
- ^ Weeks, Stephen Beauregard (1896). Southern Quakers and Slavery: A Study in Institutional History. Johns Hopkins. p. 354. ISBN 978-0-7905-6796-9.
{{cite book}}: ISBN / Date incompatibility (help) - ^ "Collections | Archives & Manuscripts". archives.tricolib.brynmawr.edu. Retrieved 2025-04-01.
- ^ a b Helstosky, Carol (2014-10-03). "Peage on Earth Among the Orders of Creation". The Routledge History of Food. Routledge. ISBN 978-1-317-62112-6.