Where the Word "Maverick" REALLY Came From

[FourScore]

Who You Callin’ a Maverick?
By JOHN SCHWARTZ
Published: October 4, 2008

There’s that word again: maverick. In Thursday’s vice-presidential debate, Gov. Sarah Palin of Alaska, the Republican candidate, used it to describe herself and her running mate, Senator John McCain, no fewer than six times, at one point calling him “the consummate maverick.”

But to those who know the history of the word, applying it to Mr. McCain is a bit of a stretch — and to one Texas family in particular it is even a bit offensive.

“I’m just enraged that McCain calls himself a maverick,” said Terrellita Maverick, 82, a San Antonio native who proudly carries the name of a family that has been known for its progressive politics since the 1600s, when an early ancestor in Boston got into trouble with the law over his agitation for the rights of indentured servants.

In the 1800s, Samuel Augustus Maverick went to Texas and became known for not branding his cattle. He was more interested in keeping track of the land he owned than the livestock on it, Ms. Maverick said; unbranded cattle, then, were called “Maverick’s.” The name came to mean anyone who didn’t bear another’s brand.

Sam Maverick’s grandson, Fontaine Maury Maverick, was a two-term congressman and a mayor of San Antonio who lost his mayoral re-election bid when conservatives labeled him a Communist. He served in the Roosevelt administration on the Smaller War Plants Corporation and is best known for another coinage. He came up with the term “gobbledygook” in frustration at the convoluted language of bureaucrats...

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/05/weekinreview/05schwartz.html?no_interstitial

[Manifestor_of_Light]

1. I wrote about the Mavericks here several weeks ago.

I used to live in San Antonio and heard Maury Maverick, Jr. speak once, so I am aware of them.

Fontaine Maury Maverick mentioned above would be Maury Maverick, Sr.

A proud and liberal Texas family.


It's not my fault I'm several weeks ahead of the national media on this......:D

[Tim4319]

2. Thank you so much for the history lesson!

John McCain is making a Mockery of the name Maverick.

[eowyn_of_rohan]

3. I hope Olbermann covers this!

[old mark]

4. Maverick supposedly was the last name of an old time

Texas horse trader. Story has it he never branded his horses, and he claimed every unbranded horse was a "Maverick", which included every wild horse in the world.
Maverick became a name for someone who did not belong to any specific brand or group.

Neither John McCain nor Sarah Palin are mavericks, although both are a specific part of a horse.

mark

[WolverineDG]

16. Close, but

Maverick never branded his cattle & let them roam all over the place. Unbranded horses are called "mustangs."

dg

[qb]

5. They didn't even bother to vet their talking points!

:rofl:

[bushmeister0]

6. This is also an insult to James Garner!

What next, will they be calling themselves Rockfords?

[TooRaLoo]

7. K&R!

[rhett o rick]

8. I NO, I NO!! From the TV show. Bart and Bret Maverick. I loved that show.

James Garner and Jack Kelly. There were more after them but they were the real "Mavericks".

[immoderate]

9. The original Maverick wasn't...

--IMM

[Sinistrous]

10. Another definition of Maverick:

per the OED:

Western US: Anything dishonestly obtained, as a saddle, mine, or piece of land.
Hence Maverick v.trans. to take possession of without any legal claim; to appropriate dishonestly or illegally.

[FourScore]

11. Of course! That must be the one they're referring to !

My bad!

:evilgrin:

[OakCliffDem]

12. Kick

[Hubert Flottz]

13. McCoot has the Lazy W brand on his rump...

And The Bovine Queen of the great white north does too!

[eppur_se_muova]

14. So McCain is claiming to be a lost, wandering cow?

:shrug: ummmmmm .... ok.

[PinkSunset]

15. I heard Terrellita Maverick on POTUS 08 yesterday

And she inspired me to write my first post ever here. :) She is a trip! If the Original Mavericks don't want them using the label, maybe they will drop it. Lord knows I am tired of hearing them say it.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=389&topic_id=4192796&mesg_id=4192796

[WolverineDG]

17. The Mavericks definitely march to their own drummer

don't they? :)

dg

[gatorboy]

18. Simply claiming you're a maverick sort of defeats the purpose, doesn't it?

[IamyourTVandIownyou]

19. I love the fact that he is using the Lone Star on his logo

It helps remind folks of Bush (Texas).

Great job John.