Lincoln's Dog Fido

[Laurie Verge]

This has nothing to do with Fido, but I just want to comment on the word "hooker." It is a misconception that the word comes from Gen. Hooker's seady division post in the red-light district ("The Island") in Washington, D.C.

I once received a call from the Director of the Department of Parks and Recreation, which owns Surratt House. He had a bet going with a government official about where the word originated. He thought it dated back before the Civil War - and he was right.

The earliest record that I could find dated to the Dutch owning New Amsterdam (New York City). There was a section of the town that attracted soiled doves. It appears that it was pretty much where the Battery is today - which would make sense with sailors being ready customers. That section was known as the Hooek (I hope I spelled that right).

That research was about thirty years ago, so new findings may have turned up something else.