-gany, -ghany, or -gheny?

Perhaps Golly* could have called on the President** to solve his editorial dilemma in 1940:

Here's something we gotta do something about! Should have done it long ago. The words Allegany and Alleghany and Allegheny.

Hully gee, but we've lost a lot of time looking in histories, atlases and on maps to learn the particular Allegany, Alleghany or Allegheny we want to use at the moment.

Even right now, after all the years we have been wrestling with the problem in orthography, we still don't know which is which nor why.

Just took a look at a map, an old-timer, and there we find "Allegheny" Township. Then to satisfy ourselves we scanned a list of townships sent out by the Commissioners of Potter County and there we find it "Alleghany."

It is far from our desire to call attention to any error made by that august body - if error it is – but by golly, we want to get to the bottom of this thing – not the river.

We'll have to admit that Allegheny is correct for the river of that name and the mountains, but why should a port on the Allegheny be spelled Port Allegany?

Allegheny County is in Pennsylvania and Allegany County, N.Y. is just north of us.

And there is the Allegheny National Forest in Pennsylvania and just adjacent to the north is Allegany State Park.

Seems to us, when we were considerably young than at present, Alleghany City was located in Allegheny County. Of course it is now a part of Pittsburgh.

If we could get our Allegany, Allegheny and Alleghany straightened out and put away in our mental file, it would surely be a great help in editing a country weekly. 

**The 47th President of the United States has issued a plethora of executive orders, among them a plan to rename a body of water and a mountain peak. This from a press release issued by the U.S. Department of the Interior

WASHINGTON, D.C. — In accordance with the President's  recent executive order, the Department of the Interior is proud to announce the implementation of name restorations that honor the legacy of American greatness, with efforts already underway.

As directed by the President, the Gulf of Mexico will now officially be known as the Gulf of America and North America's highest peak will once again bear the name Mount McKinley. These changes reaffirm the Nation's commitment to preserving the extraordinary heritage of the United States and ensuring that future generations of Americans celebrate the legacy of its heroes and historic assets.

*Golly is the pen name of my grandfather, W.D. Fish, who wrote a weekly column for the local newspaper for more than 40 years.