In other places, this same man is referred to as "Mr. 's Jacob" and "Governor-General s' Jacob." The "s" is clearly not a middle initial, and appears to be an abbreviation or contraction - but of what?
So I searched the 'net today and found a Dutch Wiki entry for Frederik s'Jacob (with the apostrophe after the "s") - AND a ?Javanese Wiki entry for Frederik 's Jacob (with the apostrophe before the "s."
TYWKIWDBI has had 21 visits from people in the Netherlands in the past month, and 6 from Jakarta. Can anyone explain for me what the 's (or s') represents? Thanks in advance.
Update: A hat tip to Paul, who offered what I consider to be the definitive reply:
"Frederik s'Jacob was my great-great-great-grandfather. I share the surname.
The s' is for pronunciation. The family (then Jacob) originated from Chateaudun in France, but moved to Holland. The Dutch would pronounce the name 'Yacop', so there were various attempts to restore the French pronounciation (with a soft J). Sijacob and Sjacob were tried, but the name was finally registered as s'Jacob."
In Dutch, the 's' at the end of a name is an abbreviation of 'son of'. Like in English: JohnSON or in Scandinavian languages: JohanSSON.
ReplyDeleteFrederik s'Jacob was my great-great-great-grandfather and I share the surname.
ReplyDeleteThe s' is for pronunciation. The family (then Jacob) originated from Chateaudun in France, but moved to Holland. The Dutch would pronounce the name 'Yacop', so there were various attempts to restore the French pronounciation (with a soft J). Sijacob and Sjacob were tried, but the name was finally registered as s'Jacob.