tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31391124225659690722024-03-14T06:05:08.382-04:00Colonial QuillsColonial American Christian WritersCarrie Fancett Pagelshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09096954464239963966noreply@blogger.comBlogger1187125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3139112422565969072.post-57914275375751135202022-07-04T16:06:00.005-04:002022-07-04T16:06:49.183-04:00Independence Day Thoughts The blog has been quiet as all of us here at Colonial Quills are dealing with various real-life issues, but a dear friend shared a thought worth sharing--and expounding upon.It's interesting to think that as a nation, we have always been divided. The Revolutionary War [where we had patriots] versus those loyal to the crown ( I learned this from your stories), the Civil War, and it goes on Shannon McNearhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14731942705231600275noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3139112422565969072.post-20538100780804381832022-06-17T09:45:00.000-04:002022-06-17T09:45:05.124-04:00Pegg Thomas's Two Colonial Novels Earn Awards/Honors!Sarah's Choice WINNER of Selah Award for Historical Fiction!Sarah Feight has her life planned with a loving husband, a promising new settlement, and big dreams to shape the future of trade on Pennsylvania’s frontier. An Indian attack at dawn changes everything.When he pulls his freight wagons into Fort Pitt, Leith McCully never dreams he’ll be conscripted into the militia and ordered to defend Carrie Fancett Pagelshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09096954464239963966noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3139112422565969072.post-92141279846710676382022-04-01T06:00:00.001-04:002022-04-01T06:00:00.261-04:00A Little Remembering... A Little PreppingI'm concerned. Concerned about the state of affairs internationally. Concerned about the lay of things within our own country. Concerned about where we are at spiritually and in the overall picture of things that God has had mapped out since time unfathomable.We are not in a good place as far as the world goes, and we had better take notice, but I'm not about to go political (or quite theologicalNaomi Muschhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12085434185905946302noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3139112422565969072.post-49405663520381163922022-02-04T22:52:00.000-05:002022-02-04T22:52:35.684-05:00Keeping Warm in Style (If You Were a Voyageur 200 Years Ago) ~ The Hudson Bay Blanket CapoteThe combination of practical yet flamboyant and culturally-mixed attire is one of the things that intrigues me about the lifestyles of the Great Lakes voyageurs and fur traders. Whether it was the decorated sash at their waist, their leggings and tall beaded moccasins, an occasional feathered hat, or the magnificently thick point blanket sewn into a capote for the cold winter nights, I find it Naomi Muschhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12085434185905946302noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3139112422565969072.post-11261172857587415132022-01-20T06:30:00.015-05:002022-01-20T06:30:00.288-05:00The History Behind "Song for the Hunter" ~ Author's NoteWith two new books releasing at the beginning of this year, I hope you'll indulge me today as I share a bit from my author's note about my novel Song for the Hunter, a romantic and adventurous story set mostly on Lake Superior's Madeline Island (in the story called by it's earlier name, St. Michel's) in 1808.Tragedy brought them together, but learning the truth might tear them Naomi Muschhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12085434185905946302noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3139112422565969072.post-36048467951857189502022-01-10T06:00:00.116-05:002023-04-17T21:00:48.804-04:00Yaupon tea: another small adventure in historical researchSome time back I wrote about my quest to find and try hyson tea, a variety popular during the colonial and Federal eras of our country's history (apparently Thomas Jefferson was a fan) and mentioned in the material accounts surrounding the Harpes. (It's good! Very much like other modern green teas.)My latest research nerdiness led me to yaupon (YO-pahn), a type of holly which grows wild across Shannon McNearhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14731942705231600275noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3139112422565969072.post-5718785586348816982021-12-20T00:30:00.007-05:002021-12-20T00:30:00.531-05:00A Bit of Etiquette from a Teenage George Washingtonby Denise Weimer Who knew that at the tender age of roughly fourteen, the future president, George Washington, took the time to pen 110 “Rules of Civility & Decent Behaviour in Company and Conversation”? Apparently, a lot of people, as an internet search reveals. I, however, did not know until finding a 1988 Applewood Books reprint in my parents’ library. Washington is believed to have Denise Weimerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06668386425425153446noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3139112422565969072.post-77894340592173588222021-12-15T05:30:00.068-05:002021-12-15T13:17:02.422-05:00Historical Christmas Party All of us at Colonial Quills blog and Colonial American Christian Writers welcome you to our party! We also have a Facebook Event from 2-4 pm Eastern Time Wednesday, December 15, where you can show off your party gowns and interact with our authors even more! We're sharing that event with friends from the HHH blog, too, so one or more will join us in the afternoon! Shannon Carrie Fancett Pagelshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09096954464239963966noreply@blogger.com146tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3139112422565969072.post-51091443529789779052021-12-13T06:00:00.218-05:002021-12-13T06:00:00.208-05:00Colonial History in the Caribbean: St. Croix Part 3 (another unexpected connection!)by Shannon McNear~*~*~Some things are just too strange to be coincidence.So this past summer, my husband's Air Guard unit took part in a joint exercise using St. Croix, part of the United States Virgin Islands, as its base. Someone came up with the idea of inviting spouses and/or family along, and thus I found myself flying out of country for the first time ever to a little island I didn't know IShannon McNearhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14731942705231600275noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3139112422565969072.post-696070990777113992021-12-03T12:41:00.000-05:002021-12-03T12:41:29.590-05:00Rickets Disease in Colonial America and What We've Learned About Vitamin D SinceHave you ever read of some character in a novel ailing with the bloody flux, chilblains, putrid fever, sweating sickness, or canker rash, and thought to yourself, what in the world is that? The list of afflictions suffered by those of the colonial era is a bit mind-boggling, but most of those illnesses have their modern equivalent and are better understood in our world today.https://Naomi Muschhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12085434185905946302noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3139112422565969072.post-50056201067607402902021-11-22T06:00:00.001-05:002021-11-22T06:00:00.269-05:00Colonial History in the Caribbean: St. Croix Part 2 (an unexpected connection!) That time I got to take a trip I didn't know I needed, to a slightly obscure little island out on the Caribbean and toured a Danish colonial fort . . ."What's your name, man?""Alexander Hamilton. My name is Alexander Hamilton! And there's a million things I haven't done, but just you wait--just you wait..." (Genius.com lyrics to the infamous song by Lin Manuel Miranda about the Shannon McNearhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14731942705231600275noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3139112422565969072.post-55697090751775205902021-11-15T00:30:00.002-05:002021-11-15T00:30:00.562-05:00Early American Woodworking by Denise Weimer During early Colonial times, American woodworkers relied heavily on British tools for their trade. While English woodworking items might be of superior manufacture, importing and distribution costs made them prohibitive for many. As the colonies separated from England, Americans dedicated themselves more and more to making their own implements. Some, such as wooden squares, Denise Weimerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06668386425425153446noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3139112422565969072.post-89314351119476049302021-11-05T20:43:00.002-04:002021-11-05T21:45:35.780-04:00The Romance of the Native American Courtship FluteRomanceHere are some lines near the end of a scene in Mist O'er the Voyageur, my novel set on Lake Superior at the height of the fur trade. Of course, you'd enjoy it more reading the whole scene, but just hang with me here for a moment: René pulled air into his lungs. He grasped her face in his hands again. Laughed, sobered, and kissed her well. Many minutes later, they walked hand-in-hand along Naomi Muschhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12085434185905946302noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3139112422565969072.post-23699289505382667272021-10-18T00:30:00.007-04:002021-10-18T00:30:00.631-04:00Early American Autumn Chores by Denise Weimer As we ease into October, follow the wood smoke on a leaf-laden, cool breeze back to a homestead on the Colonial or Federal frontier. We’d probably pass the men and boys in the field, busy with the harvest of whatever crop might be grown in that area. If we stuck our head in the door of the cabin, what would the women be up to? I came up with a few fall chores they might be aboutDenise Weimerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06668386425425153446noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3139112422565969072.post-18982389165792220002021-10-11T06:00:00.262-04:002021-12-01T15:17:06.684-05:00Colonial History in the Caribbean: St. CroixThis summer, the opportunity arose for me to accompany my husband on a military trip to St. Croix, US Virgin Islands--my first time ever out of the country! Although St. Croix was never on my wishlist of places to visit, I am so glad I went!Beyond the expected tourist vibe, this Caribbean island boasts an interesting slice of colonial history. It was, in fact, a colony of Denmark during the 1700'Shannon McNearhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14731942705231600275noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3139112422565969072.post-61138390097326449952021-10-03T10:03:00.001-04:002021-10-03T10:14:35.179-04:00How Frontier Folk Stored Food for the Long Cold SeasonThere've been many posts on this blog in years past about cooking, keeping house, and other day-to-day activities in Colonial times. What has always been of special interest to me is the nature of storing food in general, of stocking up, of putting by. I'm especially curious about how people survived on the fringes of society on the frontier. I think of these things quite often now that we are inNaomi Muschhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12085434185905946302noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3139112422565969072.post-49563143929053152872021-09-20T00:30:00.042-04:002021-09-20T00:30:00.290-04:00Of Flip and SyllabubOld Salem Tavern by Denise Weimer Some of the spirituous liquors favored by our forefathers remind me of our modern coffee craze. According to a sweet little book in my parents’ possession, Little Pilgrimages Among Old New England Inns by Mary Caroline Crawford, copyright 1907, “Our forefathers, it must be remembered in explanation of this, knew nothing of the luxury of hot tea and coffee and so Denise Weimerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06668386425425153446noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3139112422565969072.post-35056739081578540222021-09-03T06:00:00.045-04:002021-09-03T06:00:00.278-04:00Life of a Longhunterby Naomi Musch
There have always been wanderers, those curious and hardy
souls who aren’t content remaining near the hearth, but find their calling in traversing
the wild, in exploring the unknown, in finding their prospects in raw and solitary
pursuits. In the early days of the settling of America, there were the explorers,
then the trappers and fur traders, the voyageurs, and the longhunters.Naomi Muschhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12085434185905946302noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3139112422565969072.post-27117066433188851192021-08-16T00:30:00.017-04:002021-08-16T00:30:00.346-04:00Man v. Nature: Colonial American Settlers and Wild Animals by Denise Weimer While researching for my most recent historical, a romance set on the Georgia/Cherokee/Creek frontier in 1813, I couldn’t do my story justice without portraying just how intensely early settlers struggled against wild animals. In Georgia, those were mainly bears, wolves, and panthers. No doubt this will surprise some current residents, who know that wolves and panthers have Denise Weimerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06668386425425153446noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3139112422565969072.post-17799618874703185402021-08-09T09:45:00.001-04:002021-08-09T09:45:35.142-04:00The CORA TreeThe CORA Tree, Hatteras Island, North CarolinaAnyone familiar with the history of the Lost Colony of Roanoke Island has heard how John White, the colony's governor (and artist for earlier expeditions), sent back to England for supplies but unable to return for three years, found the carved inscriptions on a tree and then one of the posts surrounding the palisade at the abandoned town site. "CRO,"Shannon McNearhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14731942705231600275noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3139112422565969072.post-79807448633858709732021-08-06T05:00:00.108-04:002021-08-06T05:00:00.254-04:00Kickstart the Foraging Colonist Inside You with Lambs Quarterby Naomi MuschAs is often the case with my novelist brain, I get ideas for my stories while I’m tending my garden or picking fruit. My head clears of other to-do clutter, and at times the produce itself inspires me. Today was no exception. As I burrowed into a thick bean patch, plucking beans and pulling weeds, I got to thinking about wild edible foods my characters might have harvested.It could Naomi Muschhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12085434185905946302noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3139112422565969072.post-58715377346391359182021-07-19T00:30:00.061-04:002021-07-19T00:30:00.298-04:00Patriotic Quotations of George Washington and Thomas Jeffersonby Denise Weimer As we've just celebrated the Fourth of July, this seems a good month to hearken back to the wisdom of two of our nation's founding fathers, George Washington and Thomas Jefferson. My sources for these are Quotations of George Washington and Quotations of Thomas Jefferson, both from Applewood Books of Massachusetts, 2003. George Washington"To be prepared for war is one of the mostDenise Weimerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06668386425425153446noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3139112422565969072.post-90968489986205232312021-07-12T05:00:00.227-04:002021-07-12T05:00:00.266-04:00The Bible of the Colonial EraTyndale Bible, Gospel of John That really should read, the Bibles of the Colonial Era.When discussing this topic, we actually have to go back to just before the Colonial Era to what is known as the Age of Exploration. Because, really, where did colonialism begin? Was it with the English, or the Spanish before them? In truth it's a concept far older than even the Spanish, but they seemedShannon McNearhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14731942705231600275noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3139112422565969072.post-7313916150631918592021-07-02T06:00:00.001-04:002021-07-02T06:00:00.264-04:00The Ship You Probably Haven’t Heard of That Had the Impact of the MayflowerI’m going to share with you a tich of history that some Canadians are probably more familiar with than most Americans are, but given what it led to, the impact was felt across the North American continent—and in Europe as a whole.In 1650, in Wivenhoe in Essex England, a small ship was built christened Nonsuch (Other such battle ships were given the name later on.) The original Nonsuch, a ketch, Naomi Muschhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12085434185905946302noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3139112422565969072.post-17237908061480916082021-06-21T00:30:00.002-04:002021-06-21T00:30:00.317-04:00Whatever Did They Eat on the Georgia Frontier? by Denise Weimer Plantation kitchen at Stone MountainMany of my historical novels are set during the time all but coastal Georgia was still a frontier. My most recent work-in-progress, A Secondhand Betrothal, takes place in 1813 on the border of Creek and Cherokee territories. Research for the time period and location can prove daunting, but it’s important to depict what daily life was like as Denise Weimerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06668386425425153446noreply@blogger.com0