Ever wonder why so many things are named “Daniels” around our neighborhood?   

OK, probably not. I was curious though, so I asked some questions in the Virginia Room at the Fairfax City Library. Elaine McRey kindly provided a wealth of information.  

The library has maps back to 1760 that document the landowners in the County. Highlighted in yellow below is the land parcel owned by John O’Daniel, who probably inherited or bought it from William O’Daniel. This parcel would eventually become Fairfax City. (Or at least a good bit of it. It seems Frances Summers owned a piece too, but that’s a story for another day.)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

So why isn’t everything named “O’Daniel”? According to a video posted on the Daniels Run Elementary School’s website, William’s ancestors dropped the Celtic “O” from the name in the early 1800’s.

So – shouldn’t all the signs around town read Daniel’s (with an apostrophe)?