Angola is a name uniquely out of place in the BoM

Angola is a named place in the Book of Mormon. It’s distinct because it shares no prefixes or suffixes commonly seen in other names. It is more like those copied from Biblical and Masonic sources.

“But Joseph couldn’t have borrowed the name from the town of Angola, NY, because it wasn’t named until 1855”

  • some apologist, somewhere.

Well, Angola is a Portuguese variation of the word king, ‘ngola’. The Portuguese were there mainly for slaves until Portugal banned the practice in 1836. Angola, New York was named after the African country by local Quakers in 1855. Quakers of the 19th century were known to be abolitionists, and were quite active in Underground Railroad during the 1810s-1820s. Knowing the link between slavery and Angola, it’s likely Quakers of the time discussed the geography.

Was Joseph well aquainted with Quakers? Why, yes. They were quite well known back then. Also, as some of you know Mr. Lemuel Durfee, a Quaker, bailed out his family farm in 1825. Lemuel. Africa.

Appendix

… Erie County was set off from Niagara in 1821. The same year, the first Collins town meeting was held in the home of George Southwick, Quaker and large landowner. Every community had its combination saw- and grist-mill. The post office at Taylor Hollow was opened in 1821 with the name “Angola.” Later, the name was used for the post office at Angola on the lake. One community had a circulating library—located in the village blacksmith shop—and a few neighborhoods had started literary societies.

“Quaker Settlements in Erie County, New York” from Quaker History 55:1, 1966, pp 24-37