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Wednesday, April 30, 2014

“The better to see you with, My Dear”



Colonial Eye Wear


The first record of spectacles in America were a pair belonging to someone aboard the Mayflower with a cost value of $75. Colonial American corrective eyewear was uncommon, as eyeglasses had to be imported from Europe, which made their price dear. By the early 18th century only the wealthiest colonists could afford a sum as high as $200 for spectacles.




Various means were tried to hold these early corrective lenses in place. One such attempt required a wire or wooden rod to run up over the forehead and under the hat. Some were merely clasped to the bridge of the nose. Later, the lenses were contained in a leather holder with string attached that fit over the ears and tied behind the head.

By 1728, frames with temples were introduced.  “Temples” refer to the arms on a pair of eyeglasses that loop over the ears and hold the spectacles in place. Early temples were short and ended in a ring to which a leather thong or ribbon was strung and then tied at the back of the head beneath a wig or a hat. Gradually, temples were made longer with either a hinge in the middle for folding or a telescoping arm for sliding the temples to adjust to a longer length.

Early frames were made of wire or lead and produced in a forge.  Later, jewelers fashioned frames from silver, pewter or gold. Cases were sold to hold the spectacles. They were generally made of tin and lined with cloth.

Appraisal value dropped over the years.  A Rhode Island probate record dated 1799 lists two pairs of “specticles” at .33¢. Another lists a pair of spectacles and case for .50¢.

But where did colonists go, you may wonder, when Grandpa could no longer see to read his Bible or Almanack and Grandmother’s vision blurred at her fine needlework? Traveling peddlers were one source or perhaps a local store. In 1807, one Providence, Rhode Island, store was recorded as offering an assortment of spectacles for all ages, from 12.5¢ to as much as $8 a pair.

In 1824, spectacles had become glasses and in 1825 rimless glasses were introduced although they did not become popular until the end of the century.

Colored glass was in use as early as the 16th century, with green being the most preferred shade.  These tinted lenses were used to protect the eyes from damaging white light. Blue lenses became the popular choice in the 17th century, changing to smoke in the 18th century and then to amber and amethyst by the 19th century.



Lisa Norato writes seafaring historical romance of the Federal era. She is the author of Prize of My Heart and the soon-to-be released The Promise Keeper, both set in the shipbuilding capital of Duxbury, Massachusetts. A life-long New Englander, Lisa lives in a historic village with homes and churches dating as far back as the eighteenth century.


Monday, April 28, 2014

Jews and the American Revolutionary War

        When I was considering what my post would be for this month, I noticed that today is Holocaust Remembrance Day.
        It made we wonder, with the idea of America being a “melting pot” and a refuge for people suffering religious persecution, what part did Jews play in the American colonies and especially during the Revolutionary War?
        Despite America’s tolerance and acceptance of religious minorities as compared to the rest of the world, there existed a lack of political equality for Jews in America. Acceptance, a little as there was, presented a challenge to the Jewish community: balancing a desire to integrate into mainstream culture with a desire to maintain a unique heritage. Colonial Jewish families typically downplayed their Jewish identity with their neighbors while maintaining their ancient customs and traditions among themselves. This was symbolized by Touro synagogue, the oldest synagogue still standing in America, built in Newport, Rhode Island, in 1763.
Touro Synagogue
        Jewish feelings about the American Revolution matched that of the general population. Accordingly, the Continental Congress sent a request to pray for a peaceful resolution to the conflict with the Crown on July 20, 1775, to churches and synagogues.
        As for participation in the conflict, there were Jewish merchant blockade runners, Jewish soldiers in the Continental Army, and Jewish officers. Two of the most famous Jewish Patriots were Jonas Philips and Haym Solomon.
        Philips, a blockade runner, wrote his supply list in Yiddish --
גוּט טַק אִים בְּטַגְֿא שְ וַיר דִּיש מַחֲזוֹר אִין בֵּיתֿ הַכְּנֶסֶתֿ טְרַגְֿא - a sample of Yiddish that means, May a good day come to him who carries this prayer book into the synagogue. But his plan didn’t work, for when the British boarded the ship, they thought the Yiddish was a code, seized the ship, and sent the note to England to be decoded. In 1793, there were no “weekends,” and court was held on Saturdays. Records show that Philips was fined for refusing to testify in a Philadelphia court on the Jewish Sabbath because of his religious obligations.

Haym Solomon
Solomon, a Jewish immigrant, joined the New York branch of the Sons of Liberty. He was captured by the British and sentenced to death, but escaped and fled to Philadelphia. While there, he worked with the Continental Congress and helped raise most of the money needed to finance the American Revolution.
        In 1774, Francis Salvador, a Jew, was elected to the General Assembly of South Carolina. He also served in the South Carolina‘s revolutionary Provisional Congress. At age 29, Salvador was killed during a fight with the British and their Cherokee allies near the Keowee River in South Carolina. During the battle, he was shot and fell into the bushes, but was discovered and scalped by the Cherokee that night.
        In an August 4th, 1776 letter from Colonel William Thompson to William Henry Drayton, Colonel Thompson wrote about Salvador’s death:
        Here, Mr. Salvador received three wounds; and, fell by my side. . . . I desired [Lieutenant Farar], to take care of Mr. Salvador; but, before he could find him in the dark, the enemy unfortunately got his scalp: which, was the only one taken. . . . He died, about half after two o'clock in the morning: forty-five minutes after he received the wounds, sensible to the last. When I came up to him, after dislodging the enemy, and speaking to him, he asked, whether I had beat the enemy? I told him yes. He said he was glad of it, and shook me by the hand – and bade me farewell – and said, he would die in a few minutes."
        Unfortunately, like most states after the war, South Carolina placed religious qualifications on who could hold office that barred other Jews from being elected.
        Despite this lack of equality, Jews in colonial and post-revolutionary America were usually accepted as members of the larger society. Jews often adopted the customs and fashions of their neighbors, went into business with them, and made friendships with those outside their religious community.






Susan F. Craft is the author of The Chamomile, a SIBA award-winning Revolutionary War novel. She is represented by Linda S. Glaz of Hartline Literary Agency.

Friday, April 25, 2014

Plant Lore. Old Wives' Tales or Old Men's?

To this day we follow many facets of garden lore and herbal remedies for the simple fact some things just plain work. So where do we draw the line in these 'old wives' tales'?  I am not about to discredit what your grandmother told you about gardening... believe you me!

What about our colonial ancestors?

Along with knowing what worked when using herbs and plants to treat illnesses, enhance meals, and wardrobes, success with garden plants relied on knowledge passed down and around.  What may seem like an old wives tale might just be based on some 'old husbands' as well.

John Gerard was the author of a huge tome of horticultural knowledge (published in 1597) called both THE HERBALL  and THE GENERAL HISTORY OF PLANTS. Granted much of the 1200 page book was taken from an earlier Dutch work by Rembert Doedens,  Gerard added to it with experience in his own English gardens. After Gerard's death, someone took on the task of updating it to a 1700 page resource which was the standard for plant knowledge throughout the 17th Century.

Another expert in the field was Nicholas Culpeper who was a physician expounding the benefits of herbs. He was a rebel in his time, angering the medical professionals and even being accused of encouraging witchcraft.  He created a herbal book for 'the masses' that they might be able to treat themselves rather than be subject to charlatan doctors who thought bloodletting would heal all.
Culpepper was one of the first 'battlefield surgeons' recorded during the English Civil War.
His book, The English Physician, was a radical resource!

Using experience, stories of herbal usage and garden lore gathered strength over the centuries. Some make sense today because they are truly based on plant needs and human physical needs. Some are just plain entertaining. What plant wisdom have you heard? What old tales valued in colonial times still hang around? Do you use any herbal remedies?

If a pregnant woman plants any type of plant, it will grow well.
Plant seeds of tuberous (plants that ripen underground) in the afternoon for best growth
Excessive activity in small animals and birds that lasts all day means bad weather is coming
The 12 days after Christmas predict the weather for the following 12 months.
(Likewise, rain on Easter Sunday means rain on the next seven Sundays)
Expect rain within 3 days if a half moon's tip  points down
If spring flowers bloom again in the fall, expect a 'sorrowful winter'.
Transplant flowers in the light of the moon.
Placing rusty nails around your plants will help them grow
Bury fish heads in with your roses
A rope around a garden will keep out snakes

As a horticulturalist, I know there's good reason why some things work, and I enjoy hearing about all those that don't. An entire series of posts could focus on the lore of herbal remedies and you can be there is good basis for their success. I'm fascinated with herbal remedies and love to study them. Kudos to these two 'fathers' of 'old wives tales' and the printers who put together these huge books which became the standard for planting and using plants for food and health.

As for the list above, I can tell you that I did have some spring flowers bloom again last fall and we certainly had a sorrowful winter! For colonial gardeners, I'm pretty sure the truth was - living from the land takes a lot of hard work and common sense. That hasn't changed a bit.








Wednesday, April 23, 2014

Colonial Spies, Fact and Fiction

by Roseanna M. White

Many of us with a love for Colonial history have been very excited about the premiere of AMC's Turn. Based on the exploits of the Culper Ring as researched and expounded by Alexander Rose in Washington's Spies, Turn (Sunday nights, 9 p.m. on AMC) promised action, drama, adventure, and espionage.

They also deliver violence, which was a bit much for many viewers I've spoken to. I seem to have an immunity to TV violence and honestly scarcely noticed it, so...I'm not the one to talk about that, LOL. Instead, I wanted to touch on some of the fun ways I noticed that Turn has taken fact and heightened it into good fiction.

Because I already researched this history for Ring of Secrets, I was largely familiar with the story they'll be telling. But because it was several years ago, I had to break out my copy of Washington's Spies and do some fact checking--which made me grin, because I'm that kind of geek.
The major players in AMC's Turn

The most important thing to note when viewing this or any other show based on  history, is that facts get bent. And that's good, because in reality the events are dragged out over years, and tension isn't always high. As viewers, we would get bored and soon be flipping to another station. I give the writers of Turn a lot of kudos for putting together major players in the Revolution that didn't (so far as we know) actually meet up, for creating backstory and emotional investment to explain actions and make the characters relatable...and for asking a lot of what ifs.
My version of what ifs are a bit different...but based on the same history

Thus far in Turn, we've been focused largely on Abraham Woodhull, who was the primary operative in the Culper Ring during its first years of operation. He was, in fact, given the code name of Samuel Culper, after whom the whole group of intelligencers was named. In the show, Abraham's father is a judge in Setauket--and loyal to the Crown. By choosing farming above the law, Abraham had introduced strained relations long before the first scene opens. Added to it is the fact that his loyalties are torn.

In reality, Abraham was from a farming family (though he himself became a magistrate and judge after the war!), and he was the primary caretaker of his aging parents on the family farm after his two older brothers are killed in the early days of the war. This, combined with the death of his uncle, who was a Patriot general, are what spurred Abe to take on the role his childhood friend asked him to consider--namely, gathering all the information he could on British movements and passing it along toward Washington.

Also in the show, Abe is married to a lady named Mary but was once engaged to Anna, who's now married to Selah Strong. In reality, Abe wasn't married, and Anna was a neighbor a decade his senior (so no young love there, LOL), who did indeed aid him in his clandestine tasks, and even posed as his wife when he was running information--married couples traveling together were not often halted and searched by the British, but single men always were. It wasn't until 1781 that Abe got engaged to Mary (a relative of Anna's, actually), at which point he more or less resigned from the Culper Ring so he wouldn't risk bringing calamity down on his family.

And according to the history, Abe was never torn in his loyalties. Though he knew how to bite his tongue to keep from drawing the attention of the British, his writings make no secret of his very Patriotic bent...and also make it clear that this quiet young farmer took great pleasure from tricking the British overlords plaguing his town.

As a writer of fiction, I can certainly appreciate how the TV writers have tweaked fact to make a good show. And as a history nut, I always love noting where the differences are.

Monday, April 21, 2014

Plimoth Plantation: A Walk in History

One of my favorite research sites is Plimoth (an old-fashioned spelling used by Gov. William Bradley) Plantation where the staff dresses - and talks - as if they
were still in the year of 1627. The English immigrants had arrived seven years prior and built the plantation. A self-sufficient colony by that time, it was surrounded by a palisade.

While visiting you can watch the carpenters and blacksmiths at work, or engage the ladies in a discussion about child rearing whilst they feed the chickens. Don't be embarrassed if you walk in on dinner - they are quite used to the intrusion, and don't mind telling you about what they have in their pot or on the table. 

The livestock you see in the pens and at the Nye barn are heritage breeds, and the Devon cattle are beautiful and
considered rare. You'll also find rare breeds of chicken, goats, sheep and swine. Interestingly, in the early years of immigration they did not eat their animals, but kept them for their milk or wool, and subsisted on venison, wild turkey, squirrels and fish.

The immigrants did not refer to themselves as Puritans or Separatists - they felt those were derogatory names - or even pilgrims. They considered themselves Planters. And don't be surprised if you receive a blank look if you ask about cell phone usage or bathrooms. It just wasn't in their vocabulary back then. 

Worship and the Indians are popular topics of conversation, and the Wampanoag Village is within walking distance. There you will find the native people are dressed for the part, but actually are guides that will speak to you from a modern perspective. 

You can enter their dwellings - a wetu, which is a house, or a nush wetu - a long house with three fire pits, or watch the women cook over an open fire. You can learn how to gut a log to build a canoe or admire the toys of the young children at play.

It's interesting to learn how the two cultures lived and how they learned from each other. But while you are there, don't forget to go down to the port and take a tour of the Mayflower II. It is a working model of the original and once again you'll get a firsthand account of the English immigrants and what they lived through to come to the New World. 



There is an array of organized talks and programs, so if you plan to visit, be sure to check their calendar for what is available. 

Can you tell from the pictures it was a drizzly day? It was, but don't be afraid to brave the rain! It meant that we were able to pop in many homes and find the Planters inside and ready to chat - and no crowds!

And don't leave Plymouth without finding The National Monument to the Forefathers, a dedication to the Pilgrims. Here is the address and short directions: 72 Allerton St., Plymouth, MA, Directions:
From Hwy 3/Pilgrims Hwy take exits 6 or 6A onto Samoset St. Drive east one mile, then turn left (north) onto Allerton St.

What's your favorite research site? Does your community have one?





Rebecca's debut novel, A PLACE IN HIS HEART, is a historical romance based on the lives of her 9th great-grandparents, Barnabas and Mary Horton. It releases from Revell in June, 2014.






Friday, April 18, 2014

The Great Awakening Influences the American Revolution


 
In the 1730s and 1740s, a spiritual fervency swept the American colonies. It was called the First Great Awakening. Fiery ministers like Jonathan Edwards and George Whitefield preached about having a deep personal relationship with Jesus Christ and a standard of personal holiness. Many cast off the religious traditions of relying on the religious leaders to tell people what God wanted and started searching the Scriptures and seeking their own relationship with Jesus. Even many church goers had salvation experiences. This caused a revolution in the church, but that was only the beginning of more than one revolution.

Whitefield preached at both Harvard and Yale. At Harvard, it was reported, “The entire college has changed. The students are full of God.” Whitefield became so popular that he drew daily crowds of 8,000 people. In Boston, he drew a crowd of 23,000, larger than the entire population of Boston at the time. Even Benjamin Franklin wrote about the impact of his preaching. He was the cultural hero of the day.

The impact was huge. In New England alone, 25,000 to 50,000 people joined the church and claimed to have salvation experiences. When Jonathan Edwards preached “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God”, people held on to the posts of the church for hear they would go to Hell before they had a chance to repent. Many universities sprang up for the purpose of training ministers. The colonies united under the umbrella of revival.

It affected the political thought in the colonies as well. People became more democratic believing that the church should be self-governed, not governed by the state. It also welcome people from every walk of life. The church became a melting pot elevating all members of society as equals. As the colonies united in democratic thought, the Church of England – the Anglican Church, sought to crush this awakening causing a divide between England and the colonies.

Founding fathers were also influenced by the Great Awakening:

  • John Adams studied at Harvard and considered becoming a minister.
  • Samuel Adams was deeply impacted and sought a political revolution to separate the church from England’s influence.
  • Benjamin Franklin and George Whitefield were friends. Some believe Franklin might have become a Christian in latter life.
  • James Madison was very devout and fought for freedom of religion and checks and balances in government because of the depravity of man.
  • John Witherspoon published several books on the Gospel.
  • Although there’s no direct connection between George Washington and the Great Awakening, we know that Washington was a devout Christian who even wrote a prayer book.
  • 54 of the 56 signers of the Declaration of Independence were devout Christians. Only Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Jefferson were not.
  • The first act of the Continental Congress was to pray. They prayed at the beginning of every session, and they prayed before voting to declare independence and signing the Declaration of Independence.
The Great Awakening started a spiritual revival that led to the American Revolution and the birth of modern democracy.

Wednesday, April 16, 2014

Carolina Rice Plantations - Part 1 by Elva Cobb Martin

Before the Revolutionary War, rice made the Low Country of South Carolina, and particularly, Charleston, the richest colonial town and area in America with twice the wealth of Philadelphia and New York. This was why the grain became known as Carolina Gold.
The above two statements piqued my interest and research, so last month, March, 2014, I reserved my place for the Annual Rice Plantation Tour sponsored by the Prince George Winyah Episcopal Church in Georgetown, South Carolina. This wonderful old church itself was established in 1721.
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I hope to share several blogs about this tour and the thirteen rice plantations and town houses we toured over two days. All of them have their own exciting stories to tell.
For background, Georgetown is the third oldest city in South Carolina, following Charleston and Beaufort, and is located at the mouth of five rivers which flow into the Atlantic. This made the area most conducive to rice growing and shipping. From Cape Fear, North Carolina, to St. Mary’s River, Georgia, several rivers had ocean tides of at least four feet needed for rice production. But for nearly 200 years this 300 mile coast land and rice production centered in the South Carolina Low Country, a land where waters mingle with the sea in a confused tangle of marshes, streams, and swamps.
My tour embodied a lot of the same, as it rained both days. But I decided the historical expedition must go on while the plantations were opened by their owners. Here are a couple of photos. Most of  my 212 photos were taken with my left hand holding an umbrella and my right hand snapping the camera. Ha!



More on these exciting plantations in future blogs!
Have you ever visited a rice plantation? Would love to read your comments.


Elva Cobb Martin is president of the South Carolina Chapter of American Christian Fiction Writers. She is a former school teacher and a graduate of Anderson University and Erskine College. Decision, Charisma, and Home Life have published her articlesShe has completed two inspirational romances. In a Pirate’s Debt is being considered for representation. Summer of Deception is being considered by a publisher. A mother finally promoted to grandmother, Elva lives with her husband Dwayne and a mini-dachshund writing helper (Lucy) in Anderson, South Carolina. She and her husband are retired ministers. Connect with her on her web site www.elvamartin.com, her blog http://carolinaromancewithelvamartin.blogspot.com on Twitter @Elvacobbmartin and on Face book.