Home› Ask a Question› General Questions

Jitney Bill

jonsmith60
jonsmith60 ✭
December 16, 2025 edited December 16, 2025 in General Questions

I found this name on a very old business card for a taxi driver in 1918 at Algiers, New Orleans. Whether any connection I don’t know but wonder if it’s a derivative of the French Jaunty and would have no connection.

0

Comments

  • Alan E. Brown
    Alan E. Brown ✭✭✭✭✭
    December 16, 2025

    According to the Merriam-Webster definition for JITNEY, the etymology has nothing to do with the French "jaunty", but rather was slang for a nickel (a 5-cent U.S. coin), which led to the term being applied to taxicabs or buses where the fare was 5 cents in the early 1900s.

    2
  • maryellenstevensbarnes1
    maryellenstevensbarnes1 ✭✭✭✭✭
    December 16, 2025

    Sounds like a scrap piece ticket stub type memorabilia found in an ancestors belongings — would have sentimental value, I guess

    0
Clear
No Groups Found

Categories

  • All Categories
  • 45.1K Ask a Question
  • 3.7K General Questions
  • 613 FamilySearch Center
  • 6.9K Get Involved
  • 687 FamilySearch Account
  • 7K Family Tree
  • 5.6K Search
  • 1.1K Memories
  • 510 Other Languages
  • 69 Community News
  • Groups