Talk:Harry Hosier

Hosier v Hoosier
The "Hoosier" spelling is more common in sources dealing with the origin of "Hoosier" (obviously), but this man's death precedes the first recorded use of that term by 3 decades and (non-Indianan) primary and secondary sources overwhelming prefer "Hosier". If we were to move this to a different page, it should probably go to "Black Harry". That was certainly the name he was generally known by at the time, but it's somewhat disrespectful to his memory and most sources include his surname.

Anyway, concerning "Hoosier", it is great if that connection causes more people to learn about him, but he almost certainly has either
 * (a) nothing to do with the term (his former master's ancestor may have been a )

or
 * (b) represents a parallel use of a different spelling of, meaning "hillbilly".

Hosier never represented his own sect or group of believers; Hosier was disgraced by the time of his death; Hosier doesn't seem to have traveled to western Virginia, let alone Indiana (Asbury's travels beyond the Appalachians mostly occurred after Hosier's 1806 death, let alone his 1791 removal). The idea that Indiana's initial influx of Scotch-Irish hillbillies (who, btw, had a word "hoosier" that meant "hillbilly") used the name instead to reference a 30-year-gone disgraced black preacher (whose surname sources either spelled differently or didn't use at all) to talk about rough boatmen on the Ohio strains credulity. — Llywelyn II   03:16, 18 October 2013 (UTC)