My Crazy RevWar Life

I've Moved!!

noreply@blogger.com (Rachel) — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 02:48:00 +0000

Hello Internets!!

I am just putting up a quick post to tell you that I have found a more permanent home!! Come check me out here:

www.MyCrazyRevWarLife.com

It's still under construction, so don't mind the dust! I will leave this site up and running for anyone that has linked to it and because the search engines seem to love it, but I will no longer be updating this site, so be sure to update your blog readers with my new site.

To update your blog readers, all you need to do is put www.mycrazyrevwarlife.com directly in the new subscription box of whichever feed reader you use, and when I post, you will get updates! It's that easy! For those that get my blog by email, I will be adding that to the new website soon, so keep an eye out for it!

Thanks everyone! Can't wait to see you at the new place!

post signature

Upcoming Event - Liberty Pole Capping

noreply@blogger.com (Rachel) — Wed, 08 Apr 2009 10:00:00 +0000

We have an event comping up on April 11, 2009. It is the Liberty Pole Capping and will be held in Bedford, MA. Step off will be at 10:30 if anyone wants to come out and watch!

Here are the details:

The parade will step off from the Town common at 10:30 AM and will proceed past the Fitch Tavern where the Bedford unit and dignitaries will acknowledge each unit. The parade will then continue on to Captain Jonathon Wilson Park where the Pole Capping ceremonies will commence.

The traditional pole capping ceremony will commence with a few speeches, then a flaming red sock will be placed on top of a pole just as the Sons of Liberty did in the Revolutionary days as a symbol of freedom from oppression and bondage. The parade will then resume and be led by our guests to a reviewing stand in front of the Bedford Library, from which the guests and officials will accept salutes from the units passing in review. The parade ends at the Bedford High School with a traditional collation for all marchers, dignitaries and their families.

Here is some information from Wikipedia about what a Liberty Pole is:

A Liberty pole is a tall wooden pole, often used as a type of flagstaff, planted in the ground, which may be surmounted by an ensign or a liberty cap (see Phrygian cap).

A liberty pole was often erected in town squares in the years before and during the American Revolution (i.e., Concord, Massachusetts; Newport, Rhode Island; Caughnawaga, New York; Savannah, Georgia). Some colonists erected liberty poles on their own private land (such as in Woburn, Massachusetts - the pole raising there is reenacted annually). An often violent struggle over Liberty Poles erected by the Sons of Liberty in New York City raged for 10 years. The poles were periodically destroyed by the royal authorities (see the Battle of Golden Hill), only to be replaced by the Sons with new ones. The conflict lasted from the repeal of the Stamp Act in 1766 until the revolutionary New York Provincial Congress came to power in 1775.[1] The liberty pole in New York City was crowned with a gilt vane bearing the single word, "Liberty".

In some locales - notably in Boston - a Liberty Tree rather than a pole served the same political purpose.

When an ensign was raised (usually red) on a Liberty Pole, it would be a calling for the Sons of Liberty or townspeople to meet and vent or express their views regarding British rule. The pole was known to be a symbol of dissent against Great Britain. The symbol is also apparent in many seals and coats of arms as a sign of liberty, freedom, and independence.

Hope to see you there!
post signature

More Runaway Ads

noreply@blogger.com (Rachel) — Thu, 05 Mar 2009 11:00:00 +0000

Here are a few more excerpts on clothing from some 18th Century runaway ads!

From the Virginia Gazette, Williamsburg, February 4, 1775
Direct Link to Full Ad
had on, when he went away, a Kendal Cotton Jacket and Breeches died with Maple Bark, and has flat Metal Buttons on it, Cuffs to his Jacket Sleeves, a Collar of gray Cloth, and a Felt Hat, with a Tinsey worked Button

From the Virginia Gazette, Williamsburg, January 5, 1775
Direct Link to Full Ad
had on and took with him, an old blue Surtout Coat which has been turned, faced, and trimmed with the same Colour; a green Cloth Jacket with yellow Metal Buttons, a Pair of red Plush Breetches; fine mixed blue Country Stockings, a mixed blue Cloth Coat and Jacket lined, and trimmed with black; a stripped [sic] VIRGINIA Cloth Jacket, one Shirt of brown Sheeting with several others of fine Linen, Nankeen Breeches; and many other Cloaths that cannot be particularised. The other is an Englishman named CHARLES BOOTH, and by Trade a Joiner, about 20 or 21 Years of Age, 5 Feet 8 or 10 Inches high, slender made and of a fair Complexion, has white short curled Hair; had on and took with him, a violet or purple Coloured Coat and Vest, a Pair of new Buckskin Breetches, a Pair of old ditto much worn and very dirty, an old blue Coat lined with white Shalloon, a new green Cotton Vest lin'd with Oznabrigs and Plaid Sleeves, a Pair of dark ribb'd Stockings, and several others of different Colours, a brown sheeting Shirt, one fine Irish Linen ditto much patched and several others; also a Silver Watch

From the Virginia Gazette, Williamsburg, December 2, 1775
Direct Link to Full Ad
he had on a fine white Broadcloth Coat, which has been turned, a lapelled green Sagathy Waistcoat laced behind, with Breeches of the same, an old Beaver Hat, Thread Stockings, and Country shoes

From the Virginia Gazette, Williamsburg, February 24, 1775
Direct Link to Full Ad
had on, or took with him, a suit of blue clothes with a red velvet cape … had on a red waistcoat and trousers … a watch in his pocket, a baker by trade, and will endeavour to pass for a freeman; had on a pepper and salt coloured cloth coat, and leather breeches

From the Virginia Gazette, Williamsburg, June 6, 1777
Direct Link to Full Ad
when he went off, a blue Coat and Waistcoat, white Breeches, a grey great Coat, and a black Velvet Cap

Also check out my other post on this here.

post signature

More 18th Century Jewelry Examples

noreply@blogger.com (Rachel) — Sun, 01 Mar 2009 11:00:00 +0000

My previous post on 18th Century Jewelry has been very popular, so I thought I would follow it up with a post filled with pictorial examples of what was worn at this time. All of these were pulled from Wikimedia Commons. In the pictures I was able to find below, I noticed that there are two types of neckwear. A simple ribbon or pearls.

Pearls
I was able to find three examples of women wearing pearls. In my last post about jewelry I stated that Mrs. Adams’ pearls actually were not real, so it's likely that these pictured below were not either.

1776
The woman below has a rather large neckpiece that goes from her neck down to the top of her dress. The necklace also has a cameo type thing, and two matching pearl bracelets with similar cameos. Also interesting to note in this painting is this woman's earrings. They seem to also be made of pearls and are rather large.

1780-1800
The woman below has a more simple set of pearls on. You can see that her necklace is tied in the back with a ribbon. Similar to the painting above, she also has a matching set of pearl bracelets. It's important to note as well that the pearls here and above are rather large and round. These are not delicate pearl necklaces.

1777
Here is one last example of pearls. This is a drawing, so it's a little harder to see them, but you can tell she has one strand around her neck. They do not seem to be as perfectly round as the two depicted above either.

Ribbon
These pictures below show a more simple neck ornament of ribbon. The pictures I have here show a simple black, thin ribbon, between 1/8 inch and 1/2 inch. I have also seen a few pictures where the ribbon was thicker, maybe almost an inch and a half to two inches, and it was also black.

1771-1772
The woman below is wearing a thin black ribbon in the style we would call a 'drop' necklace. The ribbon goes around her neck and then drops down to the top of her dress in a 'Y" shape. It's hard to tell how she achieved this, but by zooming in you can see that most likely she just doubled up the piece of ribbon and looped it through itself in the front and tucked the end in the top of the dress.

1773
Below is a fun portrait that has a lot of neat things going on, but as far as her neckwear is concerned, it looks like she is wearing a black silk ribbon that is a half inch thick. It is tied in the back and it also has a drop with a good size cross on the end of it. It looks to me like she made a small loop of ribbon, slid the cross on it, and then tied that to the front of the loop of ribbon going around her neck. Pretty simple to do.

1770
This little girl below has a similar necklace to the one shown in the first painting. This shows that this kind of neckwear wasn't only for adults. It's hard to tell if this ties in the back or not, but the double ribbon in the front tells me that most likely it's not and it put together in the same way as the first painting.

1790
This painting below is a little later than the others, but I really like it because it's not a 'portrait' so to speak. It depicts someone of the 'everyday' wearing a ribbon necklace. Unlike the others though, she has the ribbon tied in a knot in the front, close up it looks like maybe a thin silk that is a forest green (maybe black) color. Again this looks like it is a half-inch thick.

I hope these examples give you a better idea of the type of necklaces an 18th century woman would have worn. As you can see it wasn't anything too complicated and relatively simple to duplicate.

post signature

Runaway Ads and Clothing

noreply@blogger.com (Rachel) — Fri, 27 Feb 2009 11:00:00 +0000

So I was having so much fun looking through the runaway ads, I thought I would share some snippets here with you to try and paint a picture of the clothing choices these people were making. I think this is important when we are deciding what we want to wear.

In order to see the full ads, please click on the direct link, they are very interesting and really give a taste of the 18th century.

From the Virginia Gazette, Williamsburg, January 12, 1775
Direct Link to Full Ad
had on when she went away a brown linen jacket and petticoat, plaid stockings, common shoes, a calico jacket and petticoat, 1 or 2 white linen shifts, and several other clothes, which I do not remember

From the Virginia Gazette, Williamsburg, July 21, 1775
Direct Link to Full Ad
She had on, and took with her, a calico waistcoat and petticoat, one blue plains ditto, and sundry other apparel. She went off with a free negro fellow, who pretends being a doctor, commonly wears a laced hat

From the Virginia Gazette, Williamsburg, March 25, 1775
Direct Link to Full Ad
had on a Check Petticoat, one brown Linen Ditto, and a blue Stuff Jump Jacket

From the Virginia Gazette, Williamsburg, June 15, 1775
Direct Link to Full Ad
She had on, and took with her, a homespun striped jacket, a red quilted petticoat, a black silk hat, a pair of leather shoes, with wooden heals [sic], a chintz gown, and a black cloak

From the Virginia Gazette, Williamsburg, July 27, 1775
Direct Link to Full Ad
She is dressed with a blue and white Swanskin petticoat, oznabrig shirt, and striped homespun jacket

post signature

Patrick Henry's Resolves

noreply@blogger.com (Rachel) — Tue, 24 Feb 2009 11:00:00 +0000

Patrick Henry was born May 29, 1736 in Hanover County, Virginia. He is known for creating a few radical resolves to counter the Stamp Act that was put in place in the colonies. Here is a brief history on Patrick Henry from USHistory.org:

"Radical," is a title that few men can wear with ease. The name Patrick Henry, during the revolution and for some time after, was synonymous with that word in the minds of colonists and Empire alike. Henry's reputation as a passionate and fiery orator exceeded even that of Samuel Adams. His Stamp Act Resolutions were, arguably, the first shot fired in the Revolutionary War.

Patrick Henry's personality was a curious antidote to the stern honor of Washington, the refined logic of Jefferson, and the well-tempered industry of Franklin. Young Henry was an idler and by many accounts a derelict; though everyone knew he was bright, he simply would not lift a finger except to his own pleasure. By the age of 10, his family knew that he would not be a farmer, and tried instead to train him toward academe. He would not apply himself to studies either. At age 21 his father set him up in a business that he bankrupted shortly thereafter. Finally the general public disgust in Hanover and pressure from his young family (he had married at the age of eighteen) caused him to study for six weeks and take the bar exam, which he passed, and begin work as a lawyer.

In 1764 he moved to Louisa county, Virginia, where, as a lawyer, he argued in defense of broad voting rights (suffrage) before the House of Burgesses. The following year he was elected to the House and soon became its leading radical member. It was that year that he proposed the Virginia Stamp Act Resolutions. Few members of the Burgesses, as aristocratic a group of legislators as existed in the colonies, would argue openly for defiance of Gr. Britain. Henry argued with remarkable eloquence and fervor in favor of the five acts, which by most accounts amounted to a treason against the mother country. In 1774 he represented Virginia in the First Continental Congress where he continued in the role of firebrand. At the outbreak of the revolution, he returned to his native state and lead militia in defense of Virginia's gunpowder store, when the royal Governor spirited it aboard a British ship. Henry forced the Governor Lord Dunmore to pay for the powder at fair price.

In 1776, Henry was elected Governor of Virginia. He was re-elected for three terms and then succeeded by Thomas Jefferson. He was again elected to the office in 1784. Patrick Henry was a strong critic of the constitution proposed in 1787. He was in favor of the strongest possible government for the individual states, and a weak federal government. He was also very critical of the fact that the convention was conducted in secret.

President Washington appointed him Secretary of State in 1795, but Henry declined the office. In 1799, President Adams appointed him envoy to France, but failing health required him to decline this office too. He died on June 6, 1799 at age of 63.

And here is some more information on him from Wikipedia:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patrick_henry

These are the resolves that Patrick Henry put forth. I got these from USHistory.org as well. The first four were passed by the House of Burgesses on May 30, 1765 and were never repealed.

Resolved, that the first adventurers and settlers of His Majesty's colony and dominion of Virginia brought with them and transmitted to their posterity, and all other His Majesty's subjects since inhabiting in this His Majesty's said colony, all the liberties, privileges, franchises, and immunities that have at any time been held, enjoyed, and possessed by the people of Great Britain.

Resolved, that by two royal charters, granted by King James I, the colonists aforesaid are declared entitled to all liberties, privileges, and immunities of denizens and natural subjects to all intents and purposes as if they had been abiding and born within the Realm of England.

Resolved, that the taxation of the people by themselves, or by persons chosen by themselves to represent them, who can only know what taxes the people are able to bear, or the easiest method of raising them, and must themselves be affected by every tax laid on the people, is the only security against a burdensome taxation, and the distinguishing characteristic of British freedom, without which the ancient constitution cannot exist.

Resolved, that His Majesty's liege people of this his most ancient and loyal colony have without interruption enjoyed the inestimable right of being governed by such laws, respecting their internal policy and taxation, as are derived from their own consent, with the approbation of their sovereign, or his substitute; and that the same has never been forfeited or yielded up, but has been constantly recognized by the kings and people of Great Britain.

This fifth resolve was also passed by the House of Burgesses on May 30, 1765, however it was rescinded the day after it was accepted. They wanted to get rid of all 5, but only were able to get this one removed:

Resolved, therefor that the General Assembly of this Colony have the only and exclusive Right and Power to lay Taxes and Impositions upon the inhabitants of this Colony and that every Attempt to vest such Power in any person or persons whatsoever other than the General Assembly aforesaid has a manifest Tendency to destroy British as well as American Freedom.

Two more resolves were printed in a Rhode Island paper in June of 1765, but they were never actually proposed by Henry to the House of Burgess. This is most likely due to the trouble he had with his fifth resolve. These next two resolves blatantly treasoness.

Resolved, That His Majesty's liege people, the inhabitants of this Colony, are not bound to yield obedience to any law or ordinance whatever, designed to impose any taxation whatsoever upon them, other than the laws or ordinances of the General Assembly aforesaid.

Resolved, That any person who shall, by speaking or writing, assert or maintain that any person or persons other than the General Assembly of this Colony, have any right or power to impose or lay any taxation on the people here, shall be deemed an enemy to His Majesty's Colony.

Some thoughts on these last resolves from USHistory.org:

How these items made their way north is not known. There is no record anywhere of them, except in the newspapers where they were printed. It is plausible that Henry, George Johnson, or another colleague sent them on before the battle on the floor. Perhaps it was wise that Henry departed when he did, despite the loss of the fifth resolution. He would have expected the House to be dissolved as a result of his resolutions. Had news reached the governor about the seven resolutions, he might have been arrested for treason as well. The seven resolutions, reprinted everywhere, were a wildly effective propaganda tool. The idea that the stuffy old House of Burgesses had produced such a challenge to Great Britain's authority did much to incite similar resolutions in other legislatures. Establishing a Committee of Intercolonial Correspondence.

And here are a few more sites with information on these resolves:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virginia_Resolves

http://www.constitution.org/bcp/vir_res1765.htm

http://www.history.org/history/teaching/tchcrvar.cfm

These resolves were given as a reaction to the Stamp Act and most likely were the true beginning of the colonies expressed unhappiness for the mother country. Though it would still be a few years before the Declaration of Independence, this was a start.

Back to the Timeline

post signature

Runaway Ads

noreply@blogger.com (Rachel) — Sun, 22 Feb 2009 12:30:00 +0000

A lot of the information that we know about the lower class in the 18th Century comes from ads placed for runaways. Since most of the paintings that exist were done of people that had some kind of money, it can sometimes be hard to derive the clothing of an everyday person from those.

The Virginia Center for Digital History has put together a searchable database for ads placed from 1736 to 1777. This database can be of great help when trying to place certain clothing items. It states that you can "search the ads by gender, age, skill, and intent, among other things." Of course since these are out of Virginia, not all of them would apply to New England, but it still a very useful resource for placing everyday items in the 18th Century.

To view the website go here:

http://people.uvawise.edu/runaways/

Happy searching!!

post signature

18th Century Food

noreply@blogger.com (Rachel) — Fri, 20 Feb 2009 12:39:00 +0000

Someone shared a fun website on one of the 18th Century groups I am in, and I thought it would be a good one to share here. There is some pretty neat information there.

The website is called Food Timeline.

The description from the website is:

Ever wonder what foods the Vikings ate when they set off to explore the new world? How Thomas Jefferson made his ice cream? What the pioneers cooked along the Oregon Trail? Who invented the potato chip...and why?

Welcome to the Food Timeline! Food history presents a fascinating buffet of popular lore and contradictory facts. Some people will tell you it's impossible to express this topic in exact timeline format. They are correct. Most foods we eat are not invented; they evolve.

They have some of their own information on Colonial Wedding Cakes. And also some link outs to good sites with recipes like one on Firecakes.

I found this site to be very interesting not only for our period, but also just for the history of food in general. I may pull some more specific things from here in the future, but be sure to check them out!

post signature

Fort Ticonderoga - Sunday 2008

noreply@blogger.com (Rachel) — Mon, 09 Feb 2009 11:00:00 +0000

Poor, poor Fort Ticonderoga. It’s actually one of my favorite places to visit for events, but for some reason it never gets it’s fair place on my blog! Perhaps it’s because it’s the last event of the year, and I am just blogged out by then? Well regardless of the reason, please check out my pictures from the second day of the event in 2008 by viewing my gallery here.

And also please enjoy these videos from the event:

Coming soon – Pictures from 2009!!
post signature

Tar and Feathering during the Revolution

noreply@blogger.com (Rachel) — Fri, 23 Jan 2009 11:00:00 +0000

Wikipedia has a great write-up about tar and feathering. I am going to summarize some of the information found there, along with hopefully adding in some additional resources. I just want to remind everyone that, Wikipedia is written by anyone and everyone (you could go change that page right now if you wanted to), so take what I am about to say for what it is and for where it comes from. If you are using this post as a resource for a paper of some kind, please remember to research for yourself in more reliable places. But, personally, for what I do here, Wikipedia is fine for me!

First off what is tar and feathering? Wikipedia states this:

Both tar, which was used in and around 1774, and feathers from edible fowl sources (such as chickens and turkeys) were plentiful. In a typical tar-and-feathers attack, the subject of a crowd's anger would be stripped to the waist. Hot tar was either poured or painted onto the person while he or she was immobilized. Then the victim either had feathers thrown on him or was rolled around on a pile of feathers so that they stuck to the tar. Often the victim was then paraded around town on a cart or a rail. The aim was to hurt and humiliate a person enough to leave town and not cause any more mischief.

After the tar had cooled, it and the feathers would have to be peeled or rubbed off with lard, usually taking a good deal of skin with them. These would leave ugly scars and infection could set in. Depending on how "complete" the job was done, there was also a risk of heat stroke as the tar would act as a strong insulator and prevent the skin from breathing.

And Wikipedia also has the following for when it may have been used in the late 1800s:

In October 1769, a mob in Boston attacked a Customs service sailor the same way, and a few similar attacks followed through 1774 (the tarring and feathering of customs worker John Malcolm received particular attention in 1774). Such acts associated the punishment with the Patriot side of the American Revolution. In March 1775, a British regiment inflicted the same treatment on a Massachusetts man they suspected of trying to buy their muskets. There is no case of a person dying from being tarred and feathered in this period.

The PBS website had this to say about Tar and Feathering:

Threatening or attacking the Crown-appointed office-holders became a popular tactic against the act throughout the colonies. Though no stamp commissioner was actually tarred and feathered, this Medieval brutality was a popular form of 18th century mob violence in Great Britain, particularly against tax collectors.

Tarring and feathering dated back to the days of the Crusades and King Richard the Lionhearted. It began to appear in New England seaports in the 1760s and was most often used by patriot mobs against loyalists. Tar was readily available in shipyards and feathers came from any handy pillow. Though the cruelty invariably stopped short of murder, the tar needed to be burning hot for application.

It seems that tar and feathering did happen in the colonies, but not to a great extent. It was actually pretty hard to find conclusive information on this subject, so please feel free to share your information with me in the comments as well!

Back to the Timeline

post signature

Fort Ticonderoga 2008 - Friday & Saturday

noreply@blogger.com (Rachel) — Sat, 20 Dec 2008 16:33:00 +0000

Fort Ticonderoga was an absolute blast this year! The fort changed where the battle happened, and it seemed to be a much better place to have it. We had good weather, with only a slight amount of rain, and we were able to have lots of good times.

The weekend started off with a bang, quite literally. When we drove in, this is what we were greeted with ...

Yes, that's the road leading into what looks like bushes?? But no it was ...

A tree that literally fell over into the middle of the road. Luckily no one was hurt, and since no one was hurt, it was actually kind of amusing! We had to drive up on the grass, around the tree, and we finally reached ...

Where we signed in ...

The rest of Friday was relatively uneventful, filled with saying hi to everyone, setting up our tent, and just general, overall good times.

Saturday morning Kris and I woke up early and decided to sit out and watch the sunrise. We were not disappointed.

Unfortunately without us there to protect him, Kolby got attacked (saw crawling on the wall of the tent) by a ginormous (relatively medium sized) arachnid (spider). After which he proceeded to scream and cry at the top of his lungs, thus managing to wake all those around him. We quickly came to his rescue and moved on to more morningish type things.

Breakfast was cooked and served by Glen.

And it was enjoyed by all ...

Lunch came next, we had a super yummy pasta salad by June and sandwiches prepared by Lori.

The boys marched off to battle ...

The rest of our men manned the cannon ...

The ladies waited for their return …

The musicians got ready ...

and the battle got started ...

During the battle dinner was put over the fire...

And the women worked on weaving, game playing, and sewing ...

All the while, the battle soldiered on ...

There were a few causalities ...

But those were British, so yay for us! The battle went very well. The men returned home, we ate our dinner and had a casual night of chit chatting.

To see the rest of the pictures from Friday and Saturday, be sure to check out my album here.

post signature

Happy Thanksgiving!

noreply@blogger.com (Rachel) — Wed, 26 Nov 2008 16:09:00 +0000

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving, and I hope all of you out there in blogland have a great and filling day (that is if you are from the US!).

I have a lot to be thankful for this year, but I am most thankful for having found this hobby of reenacting. It is a true joy in my life, and the memories my family and I are creating are worth every dollar we have spent ten-fold (at the very least).

I am also very thankful for the 2,632 of you that have visited my blog 4,050 times since early March when I really started posting to this crazy thing!

And I am thankful that my blog was of some use to those that found my blog through various search engines 1,623 times over the year.

I am also very thankful for the comments that have been left for me, it brightens my day to see your reactions to my posts.

Now go on out and count your RevWar blessings and Party Like It's 1621!!

post signature

Andrew Oliver

noreply@blogger.com (Rachel) — Wed, 05 Nov 2008 11:00:00 +0000

In the PBS explanation of The Stamp Act, they mention Andrew Oliver. He was the newly appointed stamp commissioner at the time that The Stamp Act was enacted. If you are like me, and have never heard of Andrew Oliver before, here is some more information I was able to find about him from FamousAmericans.net. I have cleaned it up a bit, but you can see the original write-up on their site.

Andrew Oliver was the lieutenant-governor of Massachusetts. He was born in Boston, Massachusetts on March 28, 1706; died there, March 3, 1774. His father, Daniel, a member of the council, was a son of Peter, an eminent merchant, and grandson of Thomas, an elder of the church, who arrived in Boston in 1631. Oliver graduated from Harvard in 1724. He was chosen as a member of the general court, and afterward of the council. In 1748 he was sent with his brother-in-law, Governor Thomas Hutchinson, as a commissioner to the Albany congress that met to conclude peace with the heads of the Six Nations and arrange a rectification of the frontier. In 1756 he was appointed secretary of the province.

When the British parliament passed the stamp-act he made himself odious to the patriotic party by accepting the office of distributor of stamps. He was re-elected a councilor by a bare majority on August 14, 1765. An effigy of him was hung between figures of Lord Bute and George Grenville, on the large elm called the "liberty tree." In the evening the multitude, with cries of "Liberty, property, and no stamps!" demolished the structure that was being built for a stamp office. Oliver’s life was in danger, and the next morning he signed a public pledge that he would not act as stamp-officer.

A few months later there was a rumor that he intended to enforce the stamp-act, and on the day of the opening of parliament the Sons of Liberty compelled him to march to the tree and there renew his promise in a speech, and take oath before a justice of the peace, Richard Dana, that he would never, directly or indirectly, take measures for the collection of the stamp duty.

In 1770 he was appointed lieutenant-governor, his letters, with those of Hutchinson and others, recommending the dispatch of troops to this country, and the criminal prosecution of Samuel Adams and other patriots, were shown to Benjamin Franklin (q. v.) in England, as expressions from Americans of weight and station. Party feelings ran so high at the time of his death, that Hutchinson says "A large mob attended upon his interment anal hurrahed at the entombing of his body, and that night there was an exhibition at a public window of a coffin, and insignia of infamy.”

Back to the Timeline

post signature

The Real Stamp Act - Part 3

noreply@blogger.com (Rachel) — Fri, 31 Oct 2008 10:00:00 +0000

Part 1 Part 2

41. For every skin or piece of vellum or parchment, or sheet or piece of paper, on which shall be engrossed, written, or printed, any register, entry, or enrollment of any grant, deed, or other instrument whatsoever, not herein before charged, within the said colonies and plantations, a stamp duty of two shillings.

42. And for and upon every pack of playing cards, and all dice, which shall be sold or used within the said colonies and plantations, the several stamp duties following (that is to say):

43. For every pack of such cards, one shilling.

44. And for every pair of such dice, ten shillings.

45. And for and every paper called a pamphlet, and upon every newspaper, containing public news or occurrences, which shall be printed, dispersed, and made public, within any of the said colonies and plantations, and for and upon such advertisements as are hereinafter mentioned, the respective duties following (that is to say):

46. For every such pamphlet and paper contained in a half sheet, or any lesser piece of paper, which shall be so printed, a stamp duty of one half penny for every printed copy thereof.

47. For every such pamphlet and paper (being larger than half a sheet, and not exceeding one whole sheet), which shall be printed, a stamp duty of one penny for every printed copy thereof.

48. For every pamphlet and paper, being larger than one whole sheet, and not exceeding six sheets in octavo, or in a lesser page, or not exceeding twelve sheets in quarto, or twenty sheets in folio, which shall be so printed, a duty after the rate of one shilling for every sheet of any kind of paper which shall be contained in one printed copy thereof.

49. For every advertisement to be contained in any gazette newspaper, or other paper, or any pamphlet which shall be so printed, a duty of two shillings.

50. For every almanac, or calendar, for any one particular year, or for any time less than a year, which shall be written or printed on one side only of any one sheet, skin, or piece of paper, parchment, or vellum, within the said colonies and plantations, a stamp duty of two pence.

51. For every other almanac or calendar, for any one particular year, which shall be written or printed within the said colonies and plantations, a stamp duty of four pence.

52. And for every almanac or calendar, written or printed in the said colonies and plantations, to serve for several years, duties to the same amount respectively shall be paid for every such year.

53. For every skin or piece of vellum or parchment, or sheet or piece of paper, on which any instrument, proceeding, or other matter or thing aforesaid, shall be engrossed, written, or printed, within the said colonies and plantations, in any other than the English language, a stamp duty of double the amount of the respective duties before charged thereon.

54. And there shall be also paid, in the said colonies and plantations, a duty of six pence for every twenty shillings, in any sum not exceeding fifty pounds sterling money, which shall be given, paid, contracted, or agreed for, with, or in relation to, any clerk or apprentice, which shall be put or placed to or with any master or mistress, to learn any profession, trade, or employment.

II
And also a duty of one shilling for every twenty shillings, in any sum exceeding fifty pounds, which shall be given, paid, contracted, or agreed for, with, or in relation to, any such clerk or apprentice...

V
And be it further enacted ..., That all books and pamphlets serving chiefly for the purpose of an almanack, by whatsoever name or names intituled or described, are and shall be charged with the duty imposed by this act on almanacks, but not with any of the duties charged by this act on pamphlets, or other printed papers ...

VI
Provided always, that this act shall not extend to charge any bills of exchange, accompts, bills of parcels, bills of fees, or any bills or notes not sealed for payment of money at sight, or upon demand, or at the end of certain days of payment....

XII
And be it further enacted ..., That the said several duties shall be under the management of the commissioners, for the time being, of the duties charged on stamped vellum, parchment, and paper, in Great Britain: and the said commissioners are hereby impowered and required to employ such officers under them, for that purpose, as they shall think proper....

XVI
And be it further enacted... That no matter or thing whatsoever, by this act charged with the payment of a duty, shall be pleaded or given in evidence, or admitted in any court within the said colonies and plantations, to be good, useful, or available in law or equity, unless the same shall be marked or stamped, in pursuance of this act, with the respective duty hereby charged thereon, or with an higher duty....

LIV
And be it further enacted ... That all the monies which shall arise by the several rates and duties hereby granted (except the necessary charges of raising, collecting, recovering, answering, paying, and accounting for the same and the necessary charges from time to time incurred in relation to this act, and the execution thereof) shall be paid into the receipt of his Majesty's exchequer, and shall be entered separate and apart from all other monies, and shall be there reserved to be from time to time disposed of by parliament, towards further defraying the necessary expenses of defending, protecting, and securing, the said colonies and plantations....

LVII
... offenses committed against any other act or acts of Parliament relating to the trade or revenues of the said colonies or plantations; shall and may be prosecuted, sued for, and recovered, in any court of record, or in any court of admiralty, in the respective colony or plantation where the offense shall be committed, or in any court of vice admiralty appointed or to be appointed, and which shall have jurisdiction within such colony, plantation, or place, (which courts of admiralty or vice admiralty are hereby respectively authorized and required to proceed, hear, and determine the same) at the election of the informer or prosecutor.....

Back to Timeline

post signature

The Real Stamp Act - Part 2

noreply@blogger.com (Rachel) — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 10:00:00 +0000

Part 1

22. For every skin or piece of vellum or parchment, or sheet or piece of paper, on which shall be engrossed, written, or printed, any such probate, letters of administration or of guardianship, within all other parts of the British dominions in America, a stamp duty of ten shillings.

23. For every skin or piece of vellum or parchment, or sheet or piece of paper, on which shall be engrossed, written, or printed, any bond for securing the payment of any sum of money, not exceeding the sum of ten pounds sterling money within the British colonies and plantations upon the continent of America, the islands belonging thereto, and the Bermuda and Bahama islands, a stamp duty of six pence.

24. For every skin or piece of vellum or parchment, or sheet or piece of paper, on which shall be engrossed, written, or printed, any bond for securing the payment of any sum of money above ten pounds, and not exceeding twenty pounds sterling money, within such colonies, plantations, and islands a stamp duty of one shilling.

25. For every skin or piece of vellum or parchment, or sheet or piece of paper, on which shall be engrossed, written, or printed, any bond for securing the payment of any sum of money above twenty pounds, arid not exceeding forty pounds sterling money, within such colonies, plantations, and islands, a stamp duty of one shilling and six pence.

26. For every skin or piece of vellum or parchment, or sheet or piece of paper, on which shall be engrossed, written, or printed, any order or warrant for surveying or setting out any quantity of land, not exceeding one hundred acres, issued by any governor, proprietor, or any public officer, alone, or in conjunction with any other person or persons, or with any council, or any council and assembly, within the British colonies and plantations in America, a stamp duty of six pence.

27. For every skin or piece of vellum or parchment, or sheet or piece of paper, on which shall be engrossed, written, or printed, any such order or warrant for surveying or setting out any quantity of land above one hundred and not exceeding two hundred acres, within the said colonies and plantations, a stamp duty of one shilling.

28. For every skin or piece of vellum or parchment, or sheet or piece of paper, on which shall be engrossed, written, or printed, any such order or warrant for surveying or setting out any quantity of land above two hundred, and not exceeding three hundred and twenty acres, and in proportion for every such order or warrant for surveying or setting out every other three hundred and twenty acres, within the said colonies and plantations, a stamp duty of one shilling and six pence.

29. For every skin or piece of vellum or parchment, or sheet or piece of paper, on which shall be engrossed, written, or printed, any original grant, or any deed, mesne conveyance, or other instrument whatsoever, by which any quantity of land, not exceeding one hundred acres, shall be granted, conveyed, or assigned, within the British colonies and plantations upon the continent of America, the islands belonging thereto, and the Bermuda and Bahama islands (except leases for any term not exceeding the term of twenty one years), a stamp duty of one shilling and six pence.

30. For every skin or piece of vellum or parchment, or sheet or piece of paper, on which shall be engrossed, written, or printed, any such original grant, or any such deed, mesne conveyance, or other instrument whatsoever, by which any quantify of land above one hundred, and not exceeding two hundred acres, shall be granted, conveyed, or assigned, within such colonies, plantations, and islands, a stamp duty of two shillings.

31. For every skin or piece of vellum or parchment, or sheet or piece of paper, on which shall be engrossed, written, or printed, any such original grant, or any such deed, mesne conveyance, or other instrument whatsoever, by which any quantity of land above two hundred, and not exceeding three hundred and twenty acres, shall be granted, conveyed, or assigned, and in proportion for every such grant, deed, mesne conveyance, or other instrument, granting, conveying, or assigning, every other three hundred and twenty acres, within such colonies, plantations, and islands, a stamp duty of two shillings and six pence.

32. For every skin or piece of vellum or parchment, or sheet or piece of paper, on which shall be engrossed, written, or printed, any such original grant, or any such deed, mesne conveyance, or other instrument whatsoever, by which any quantity of land, not exceeding one hundred acres, stall be granted, conveyed, or assigned, within all other parts of the British dominions in America, a stamp duty of three shillings.

33. For every skin or piece of vellum or parchment, or sheet or piece of paper, on which shall be engrossed, written, or printed, any such original grant, or any such deed, mesne conveyance, or other instrument whatsoever, by which any quantity of land above one hundred, and not exceeding two hundred acres, shall be granted, conveyed, or assigned, within the same parts of the said dominions, a stamp duty of four shillings.

34. For every skin or piece of vellum or parchment, or sheet or piece of paper, on which shall be engrossed, written, or printed, any such original grant, or any such deed, mesne conveyance, or other instrument whatsoever, by which any quantity of land above two hundred, and not exceeding three hundred twenty acres, shall he granted, conveyed, or assigned, and in proportion for every such grant, deed, mesne conveyance, or other instrument, granting, conveying, or assigning every other three hundred and twenty acres, within the same parts of the said dominions, a stamp duty of five shillings.

35. For every skin or piece of vellum or parchment, or sheet or piece of paper, on which shall be engrossed, written, or printed, any grant, appointment, or admission, of or to any beneficial office or employment, not herein before charged, above the value of twenty pounds per annum sterling money in salary, fees, and perquisites, or any exemplification of the same, within the British colonies and plantations upon the continent of America, the islands belonging thereto, and the Bermuda and Bahama islands (except commissions of officers of the army, navy, ordnance, or militia, and of justices of the pence), a stamp duty of four pounds.

36. For every skin or piece of vellum or parchment, or sheet or piece of paper, on which shall be engrossed, written, or printed, any such grant, appointment, or admission, of or to any such public beneficial office or employments or any exemplification of the same, within all other parts of the British dominions in America, a stamp duty of six pounds.

37. For every skin or piece of vellum or parchment, or sheet or piece of paper, on which shall be engrossed, written, or printed, any indenture, lease, conveyance, contract, stipulation, bill of sale, charter party, protest, articles of apprenticeship or covenant (except for the hire of servants not apprentices, and also except such other matters as herein before charged) within the British colonies and plantations in America, a stamp duty of two shillings and six pence.

38. For every skin or piece of vellum or parchment, or sheet or piece of paper, on which any warrant or order for auditing any public accounts, beneficial warrant, order grant, or certificate, under any public seal, or under the send or sign manual of any governor, proprietor, or public officer, alone, or in conjunction with any person or persons, or with any council, or any council and assembly, not herein before charged, or any passport or let pass, surrender of office, or policy of assurance, shall be engrossed, written, or printed, within the said colonies and plantations (except warrants or orders for the service of the army, navy, ordnance, or militia, and grants of offices under twenty pounds per annum, in salary, fees, and perquisites), a stamp duty of five shillings.

39. For every skin or piece of vellum or parchment, or sheet or piece of paper, on which shall be engrossed, written or printed, any notarial net, bond, deed, letter of attorney, procuration, mortgage, release, or other obligatory instrument, not herein before charged, within the said colonies and plantations, a stamp duty of two shillings and three pence.

40. For every skin or piece of vellum or parchment, or sheet or piece of paper, on which shall be engrossed, written, or printed, any register, entry, or enrollment of any grant, deed or other instrument whatsoever, herein before charged, within the said colonies and plantations, a stamp duty of three pence.

Continue to Part 3.

Back to Timeline

post signature

The Real Stamp Act - Part 1

noreply@blogger.com (Rachel) — Mon, 27 Oct 2008 10:00:00 +0000

Have you ever wondered just exactly what the Stamp Act really said? I found the full text on USHistory.org. They explain this document as follows:

On February 6th, 1765 George Grenville rose in Parliament to offer the fifty-five resolutions of his Stamp Bill. A motion was offered to first read petitions from the Virginia colony and others was denied. The bill was passed on February 17, approved by the Lords on March 8th, and two weeks later ordered in effect by the King. The Stamp Act was Parliament's first serious attempt to assert governmental authority over the colonies. Great Britain was faced with a massive national debt following the Seven Years War. That debt had grown from £72,289,673 in 1755 to £129,586,789 in 1764. English citizens in Britain were taxed at a rate that created a serious threat of revolt.

Click on over there to see their sources for this information. Since The Stamp Act is so long (it was written by a governmental figure after all, did you really expect it to be short?), I will break it up into 3 posts.

AN ACT for granting and applying certain stamp duties, and other duties, in the British colonies and plantations in America, towards further defraying the expenses of defending, protecting, and securing the same; and for amending such parts of the several acts of parliament relating to the trade and revenues of the said colonies and plantations, as direct the manner of determining and recovering the penalties and forfeitures therein mentioned.

WHEREAS, by an act made in the last session of Parliament several duties were granted, continued, and appropriated toward defraying the expenses of defending, protecting, and securing the British colonies and plantations in America; and whereas it is just and necessary that provision be made for raising a further revenue within your majesty's dominions in America toward defraying the said expenses; we, your majesty's most dutiful and loyal subjects, the Commons of Great Britain, in Parliament assembled, have therefore resolved to give and grant unto your majesty the several rates and duties hereinafter mentioned; and do humbly beseech your majesty that it may be enacted, and be it enacted by the king's most excellent majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the lords spiritual and temporal, and commons, in this present Parliament assembled, and by the authority of the same, that from and after the first day of November, one thousand seven hundred and sixty five, there shall be raised, levied, collected, and paid unto his majesty, his heirs, and successors, throughout the colonies and plantations in America, which now are, or hereafter may be, under the dominion of his majesty, his heirs and successors:

1. For every skin or piece of vellum or parchment, or sheet or piece of paper, on which shall be engrossed, written, or printed, any declaration, plea, replication, rejoinder, demurrer or other pleading, or any copy thereof; in any court of law within the British colonies and plantations in America, a stamp duty of three pence.

2. For every skin or piece of vellum or parchment, or sheet or piece of paper, on which shall be engrossed, written, or printed, any special bail, and appearance upon such bail in any such court, a stamp duty of two shillings.

3. For every skin or piece of vellum or parchment, or sheet or piece of paper, on which may be engrossed, written, or printed, any petition, bill, answer, claim, plea, replication, rejoinder, demurrer, or other pleading, in any court of chancery or equity within the said colonies and plantations, a stamp duty of one shilling and six pence.

4. For every skin or piece of vellum or parchment, or sheet or piece of paper, on which shall be engrossed, written, or printed, any copy of any position, bill, answer, claim, plea, replication, rejoinder, demurrer, or other pleading in any such court, a stamp duty of three pence.

5. For every skin or piece of vellum or parchment, or sheet or piece of paper, on which shall be engrossed, written, or printed, any monition, libel, answer, allegation, inventory, or renunciation in ecclesiastical matters, in any court of probate court of the ordinary, or other court exercising ecclesiastical jurisdiction within the said colonies and plantations, a stamp duty of one shilling.

6. For every skin or piece of vellum or parchment, or sheet or piece of paper, on which shall be engrossed, written, or printed, any copy of any will (other than the probate thereof) monition, libel, answer, allegation, inventory, or renunciation in ecclesiastical matters, in any such court, a stamp duty of six pence.

7. For every skin or piece of vellum or parchment, or sheet or piece of paper, on which shall be engrossed, written, or printed, any donation, presentation, collation or institution, of or to any benefice, or any writ or instrument for the like purpose, or any register, entry, testimonial, or certificate of any degree taken in any university, academy, college, or seminary of learning within the said colonies and plantations, a stamp duty of two pounds.

8. For every skin or piece of vellum or parchment, or sheet or piece of paper, on which shall be engrossed, written, or printed, any monition, libel, claim, answer, allegation, information, letter of request, execution, renunciation, inventory, or other pleading, in any admiralty court, within the said colonies and plantations, a stamp duty of one shilling.

9. For every skin or piece of vellum or parchment, or sheet or piece of paper, on which any copy of any such monition, libel, claim, answer, allegation, information, letter of request, execution, renunciation, inventory, or other pleading shall be engrossed, written, or printed, a stamp duty of six pence.

10. For every skin or piece of vellum or parchment, or sheet or piece of paper, on which shall be engrossed, written, or printed, any appeal, writ of error, writ of dower, ad quod damnum, certiorari, statute merchant, statute staple, attestation, or certificate, by any officer, or exemplification of any record or proceeding, in any court whatsoever, within the said colonies and plantations (except appeals, writs of error, certiorari attestations, certificates, and exemplifications, for, or relating to the removal of any proceedings from before a single justice of the peace), a stamp duty of ten shillings.

11. For every skin or piece of vellum or parchment, or sheet or piece of paper, on which shall be engrossed, written, or printed, any writ of covenant for levying fines, writ of entry for suffering a common recovery, or attachment issuing out of, or returnable into, any court within the said colonies and plantations, a stamp duty of five shillings.

12. For every skin or piece of vellum or parchment, or sheet or piece of paper, on which shall be engrossed, written, or printed, any judgment, decree, sentence, or dismission or any record of nisi prius or postea, in any court within the said colonies and plantations, a stamp duty of four shillings.

13. For every skin or piece of vellum or parchment, or sheet or piece of paper, on which shall be engrossed, written, or printed, any affidavit, common bail, or appearance, interrogatory, deposition, rule, order or warrant of any court, or any dedimus potestatem, capias subpoena, summons, compulsory citation, commission, recognizance, or any other writ, process, or mandate, issuing out of, or returnable into, any court, or any office belonging thereto, or any other proceeding therein whatsoever, or any copy thereof, or of any record not herein before charged, within the said colonies and plantations (except warrants relating to criminal matters, and proceedings thereon, or relating thereto), a stamp duty of one shilling.

14. For every skin or piece of vellum or parchment, or sheet or piece of paper, on which shall be engrossed, written, or printed, any note or bill of lading, which shall be signed for any kind of goods, wares, or merchandise, to be exported from, or any cocket or clearance granted within the said colonies and plantations, a stamp duty of four pence.

15. For every skin or piece of vellum or parchment, or sheet or piece of paper, on which shall be engrossed, written, or printed, letters of mart or commission for private ships of war, within the said colonies and plantations, a stamp duty of twenty shillings.

16. For every skin or piece of vellum or parchment, or sheet or piece of paper, on which shall be engrossed, written, or printed, any grant, appointment, or admission of, or to, any public beneficial office or employment, for the space of one year, or any lesser time, of or above twenty pounds per annum sterling money, in salary, fees, and perquisites, within the said colonies and plantations (except commissions and appointments of officers of the army, navy, ordnance, or militia, of judges, and of justices of the peace), a stamp duty of ten shillings.

17. For every skin or piece of vellum or parchment, or sheet or piece of paper, on which any grant, of any liberty, privilege, or franchise, under the seal or sign manual of any governor, proprietor, or public officer, alone, or in conjunction with any other person or persons, or with any council, or any council and assembly, or any exemplification of the same, shall be engrossed, written, or printed, within the said colonies and plantations, a stamp duty of six pounds.

18. For every skin or piece of vellum or parchment, or sheet or piece of paper, on which shall be engrossed, written, or printed, any license for retailing of spirituous liquors, to be granted to any person who shall take out the same, within the said colonies and plantations, a stamp duty of twenty shillings.

19. For every skin or piece of vellum or parchment, or sheet or piece of paper, on which shall be engrossed, written, or printed, any license for retailing of wine, to be granted to any person who shall not take out a license for retailing of spirituous liquors, within the said colonies and plantations, a stamp duty of four pounds.

20. For every skin or piece of vellum or parchment, or sheet or piece of paper, on which shall be engrossed, written, or printed, any license for retailing of wine, to be granted to any person who shall take out a license for retailing of spirituous liquors, within the said colonies and plantations, a stamp duty of three pounds.

21. For every skin or piece of vellum or parchment, or sheet or piece of paper, on which shall be engrossed, written, or printed, any probate of will, letters of administration, or of guardianship for any estate above the value of twenty pounds sterling money, within the British colonies and plantations upon the continent of America, the islands belonging thereto and the Bermuda and Bahama islands, a stamp duty of five shillings.

Continue to Part 2.

Back to Timeline

post signature

Battle of the Hook

noreply@blogger.com (Rachel) — Sat, 25 Oct 2008 11:02:00 +0000

Last weekend a rather large event was hosted in Virginia. It was called Battle of the Hook. We were unable to attend ourselves due to the price of gas (who knew it would drop by over a dollar??) and just the general cost of day to day life. We couldn't afford to spend any more this month. However, it sounds like it was a well planned event and about 1,500 reenactors were able to show up. I wanted to share some links to a few articles and photo albums that people have posted on the web:

Daily Press Article

Photo Gallery

Gazette Journal Article

Pictures by "Photo Reflections by Wendy" - Album 1

Pictures by "Photo Reflections by Wendy" - Album 2

Pictures by "Photo Reflections by Wendy" - Album 3

Photos from Schottelius' Coy Brunswick Jagers

Photos from 2nd Mass - Album 1

Photos from 2nd Mass - Album 2

Photos from 2nd North Carolina

And here are a few videos I found:

I will update this post as more pictures are shared on the world wide web!

post signature

A Pretty Hefty To-Do List

noreply@blogger.com (Rachel) — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 10:00:00 +0000

So my second season of reenacting has come to a close. It was an incredible year, yet it was not without it’s ups (the awesome view of the Hubbardton Battlefield from our camp) and downs (gas prices … need I say more?). Overall it was an exciting summer and we had some really great events that we attended. I am pumped for the coming season, but also a little overwhelmed with the projects I have lined up. I think I would give just about anything to be the wife of a businessman in the 18th century (I’m thinking my husband would print and bind books, did they make a lot of money?) and all I had to do all day was chat with friends, and work on projects. But then again, if that were really me, that would mean I would be forced to live without running water as we know it today. And really who wants to carry water around the house in buckets? Not me. Of course if we were rich, maybe I could have a maid to do that for me … ah a girl can dream.

As it stands, my husband is not a wealthy merchant and I cannot stay home all day and work on projects. I guess that’s what I get for wanting my running water. So I am going to make a list of all the projects I have in mind here. And as I work on them, I will put up a post marking my progress. Hopefully this will force me to become accountable for all the things I have to do!

These will be completed in no particular order:

· Sew a hunting frock for Kris
· Sew 2 new shirts for Kris, one with white linen and the other with green check fabric
· Change the ties on my red skirt to Dutch Linen Tape
· Sew a new skirt with Green fabric
· Sew a new skirt for myself with some beautiful wool I found
· Sew a new apron with Green fabric
· Sew another new skirt with Silk fabric I found on sale
· Buy a Robe D’Anglais Pattern
· Sew a Robe D’Anglais with a simple linen fabric (need to buy)
· Sew a Robe D’Anglais with Green silk fabric (need to buy)
· Finish decorating straw hat
· Sew a special camera bag for Kris
· Attach the buttons to Kris’ long Gaiters
· Sew 3 new shirts for Kolby
· Sew a wool shirt for Kolby
· Sew (or have made, cause I’m not sure I can sew them) 3 pants for Kolby

Whew that’s a lot of projects!! I guess I have my work cut out for me! Most likely I won’t get through all of these before next year, but some of them, like Kolby’s clothes need to be done or else I may need to change his persona to a wild Indian child we found and adopted on our travels. Then I could just stick him in a loin cloth and call it a day … hmmm … that may not be such a bad idea!

In addition to the things I need to make. I also have a few things I need to buy. Luckily this list is not nearly as long.

· New shoes for Kolby
· New socks for me and Kolby
· New shoes for me
· Linen for Robe D’Anglais
· Green silk for Robe D’Anglais
· Dutch Linen Tape

Wow! That list is really short! That’s a very good thing. Well I better not stick around here too long; I have some projects calling my name!! I am already almost done with Kris’ hunting frock, so I will get that post and some pictures up for you shortly (ya know, in my spare time).

post signature

Reading 18th Century Documents

noreply@blogger.com (Rachel) — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 12:00:00 +0000

Wow! Has it really been 3 weeks since my last post? I am such a slacker. I have some crazy good pictures to post from Fort Ticonderoga, but I haven’t had the chance to load them to my computer yet. But keep an eye out for those in the near future.

For today, I have a fun website that I plan on thoroughly exploring. Back in July there was a topic on one of my boards of reading period documents. If anyone has ever looked at a period document, it can be difficult for our 21st century eyes to read.

Here is an example of a handwritten letter, composed in 1770:

18th Century Handwriting Example

As you can see the writing style is just something we are not used to seeing or reading.

One of the people who jumped in on the discussion shared a great website that can help us train our eyes to read these documents a little better. It is from the US National Archives, and can be found here:

Reading 18th Century Documents Tutorial

I haven’t had the chance to go through it all the way, but I think it will be a good one to explore. Handwritten letters can be a great resource when doing research in this time period. It gives you a first hand experience of what life was really like. And if you get the chance to read the original document yourself, even better, because there is no chance for intepretation mistakes.

If you are interested in reading 18th century documents, typed up in a font you can easily read, check out this website:

Avalon Project

Happy reading!

post signature

Flamestitched Wallet

noreply@blogger.com (Rachel) — Sun, 28 Sep 2008 10:00:00 +0000

Some time ago I stumbled across some information on how to make a flame stitched Wallet. I guess these were a pretty common way for people of the 18th century to carry money. This wallet consists of a needle worked panel on the outside that is stitched using the Irish Stitch design.

This panel is backed with linen and sewn up to form a wallet. Someone shared a link to some really great instructions for making a wallet from Interweave Press.

Wallet Instructions

They also have a chart you can print to achieve the Irish Stitch pattern the author used for her wallet.

Irish Stitch Chart

And here are some more detailed instructions on making the Irish Stitch (also called Bargello).

Irish Stitch How-To

This is a project that I would love to get around to doing, but of course finding time for all these things may require that I create a machine that can double the hours in a day. But if any of you are inclined to try this project before I do, please share with me how it turned out!

Cathedral Dig Yields 18th Century Find

noreply@blogger.com (Rachel) — Fri, 26 Sep 2008 10:00:00 +0000

Here is an interesting article from July 2008 about a dig in New Orleans. I found the article on WWLTV.com, and here is the full text for you.

NEW ORLEANS -- The first archaeological dig at one of the nation's oldest cathedrals has turned up a mix of new finds in the heart of the French Quarter. Discoveries behind St. Louis Cathedral include a small silver crucifix from the 1770s or 1780s and traces of previously unknown buildings dating back to around the city's founding in 1718.

Shannon Lee Dawdy, assistant professor of anthropology at the University of Chicago, shows off some of the relics found during an archeological dig behind St. Louis Cathedral. Achaeologists digging behind St. Louis Cathedral are unearthing nearly three centuries of history: the porcelain head of a tiny doll, an ersatz colonial-era pipe from the 1800s, bits of pottery that Indians may have traded to the men who built New Orleans.

The crucifix might have belonged to Pere Antoine, a Capuchin monk who was rector of the cathedral which dominates Jackson Square, lead archaeologist Shannon Lee Dawdy told The Associated Press on Tuesday.

Pere Antoine came to New Orleans under the Spanish Inquisition as the Rev. Antonio de Sedella and lived in a hut behind the cathedral, where he was rector from the late 1700s until his death in 1829.

The crucifix "was found in a corner of the garden, near where Pere Antoine's hut was said to have been and dates to the period near the beginning of his time in New Orleans (1770s-1780s)," Dawdy wrote in an e-mail. The artifact will be sent to experts for evaluation.

Dawdy, an assistant professor at the University of Chicago, and eight students spent a month excavating St. Anthony's Garden, a fenced area behind the cathedral. They concluded their work earlier this week.

The cathedral was completed in 1851 to replace one that burned down, along with most of the city, in 1788.

Until now there has never been an archaeological excavation anywhere on its property, said cathedral spokeswoman Nancy Averett. After Hurricane Katrina toppled the garden's live oaks and sycamores in August 2005, the cathedral secured a Getty Foundation grant to restore the garden and dig into its history.

Finds have included clay pipes, children's marbles, remains of china dolls and bits of what may be some of the first Indian trade goods in Louisiana.

The crucifix is about 1 3/4 inches high; the face of Christ might fit on half of a grain of rice. The right arm of the cross and the right side and chest of the figure of Christ are badly corroded. The figure's right arm and much of the minuscule face are gone.

Dawdy said the most significant find is probably the foundation of a hut where archaeologists uncovered a mixture of French artifacts from the early 1700s and fragments of Native American pottery, some painted red and others tempered with crushed shells.

A thin L of dark soil in a layer several feet below the surface showed where wood walls had rotted -- probably from a temporary hut where settlers may have lived while clearing trees for the first settlement, Dawdy said. In the corner of the L was a square post-hole -- a sign of French axes.

The walls don't line up with the street grid set in 1724, so the hut probably was built before that and may be from the settlement's very start, Dawdy said in an interview.

In another pit, Dawdy and her crew found sloping bricks from a colonial sidewalk and -- below that -- cypress timbers from another building not on any city map.

Unlike the hut, those timbers align with the 1724 street grid, Dawdy said Tuesday. She said the building probably dates from the 1720s or '30s.

"There are at least six timbers in place -- three upright and three running lengthwise," she said. "We just caught a piece of it."

She hopes to return for further excavation.

"This site is by far the richest and most interesting one I have worked on yet in New Orleans and the excellent preservation of the frontier phase of the city's founding makes it the `Jamestown' of the Lower Mississippi Valley," she wrote in her e-mail.

Authentic Cartridge Pouch

noreply@blogger.com (Rachel) — Wed, 24 Sep 2008 10:00:00 +0000

The U.S. Army Center of Military History website has a monthly artifact of the month. For July the artifact was a Revolutionary War cartridge pouch that they have in their collection.

Contrary to popular belief, American soldiers in the Revolutionary War generally carried cartridge boxes, rather than powder horns and shot pouches. The cartridge box held fixed cartridges of paper for faster loading, even in damp weather. This Pattern 1777 cartridge box represents one of the Army’s first attempts at standardizing military equipment.

Pickled Peaches - Historic Foodways

noreply@blogger.com (Rachel) — Mon, 22 Sep 2008 10:00:00 +0000

This recipe is a bit out there for me, I am not sure that I will ever make it, but it sounded interesting, and who knows, maybe one day I'll give it a try! This recipe comes to us from Historic Foodways. It is a Pickled Peach recipe by Hannah Glasse that has a modern adaptation done by Kimberly Costa. Here is the recipe and the adaptation:

To Pickle Peaches by Hannah Glasse in
The Art of Cookery Plain and Easy 1747

TAKE your Peaches when they are at full Growth, just before they turn to be ripe; before they are not bruised; then take Spring –water, as much as you think will cover them; make it soft enough to bear an Egg, with Bay and Common Salt, an Equal Quantity of each; then put your Peaches, and lay a thin Board over them, to keep them under the Water. Let them stand for three days and then take them out and wipe them very carefully with fine soft cloth, and lay them in your Glas or jar; then take as much White Wine Vinegar, as will fill your glas or Jar: To every Gallon put one Pint of best well-made Mustard, two or three heads o Garlick , a good deal of ginger Sliced, half and Ounce of Cloves, mace and Nutmegs, mix your Pickle well Together, and pour over your Peaches. Tye them close with a Bladder and Leather, they will be fit to eat in two Months. You may with a fine Penknife cut them a –cros, take out the Tone and fill them with made Mustard and Garlick, and Horse-reddish and Ginger, tye them together.

Pickled Peaches
Modernized and Adapted by Kimberly Costa

4 pounds fresh peaches
1 cup white vinegar
1 cup water
4 cups granulated sugar
1 1/2 to 2 tablespoons whole cloves
5 cinnamon sticks
1 3 inch piece of fresh ginger (optional)

additional items:
large pot of boiling water
large bowl of cold water with ice cubes
small piece of cheese cloth or large loose tea ball
Mason jars and caps, pre boiled

Bring large pot of water to boil. When water boils drop 2-3 peaches into the boiling water for 10-20 seconds. Pull out of water and drop into large bowl of cold water and ice cubes. Continue until all peaches are blanched. Peel, de-pit and slice peaches. You can slice in quarters or in halves.

Place cloves, ginger (optional) and cinnamon sticks in cheese cloth, tie closed. You can break the sticks if need be. Combine the sugar, vinegar , spices and water in a large pot, bring to a boil and continue to boil for about 5 minutes. Add peaches and boil for 15-20 minutes until tender but not mushy soft.

Put peaches into the boiled Mason jars. Fill with glass with syrup leaving about half an inch to the top. Wipe off rims, add lids and caps. Process in a hot water bath for 10 minutes or on your counter turn jars upside down for 10 minutes. When you turn the jars over test seal on lid. It should not ‘pop’ if pushed in the middle. If it is not sealed turn over for another 10 minutes. If the lid still pops when you press it the jar has not properly sealed itself. Proceed with the regular hot water bath canning method.

Details of Nathan Hale's Capture

noreply@blogger.com (Rachel) — Sat, 20 Sep 2008 10:00:00 +0000

I have another article for you written by Bruce Batten. This one was previously published in the Continental Soldier, the magazine for The Continental Line. He was kind enough to share this with me, so I could share it with you. I hope you enjoy it!

By Bruce Batten,
First New Hampshire Regiment
United Train of Artillery

The details of the capture and execution of Nathan Hale have perplexed historians for years. This confusion may have come to an end because of a manuscript given to the Library of Congress in 2000.

This manuscript was written during, or soon after the war by Consider Tiffany, a shopkeeper from Connecticut, who was also a British sympathizer. The manuscript was donated to the Library of Congress by G. Bradford Tiffany, a descendant. The manuscript details blunders made by Hale that led to his hanging on September 22, 1776. The manuscript identifies Major Robert Rogers, British hero of the French and Indian War as the man who trapped Hale.

Hale, a graduate of Yale College and a Connecticut schoolteacher joined the Continental Army and quickly rose to the rank of captain by 1776. At this time the American army had been driven from Long Island and Washington desperately needed information on the strength and plans of the British. This meant sending a spy into British territory. Hale volunteered.

Captain William Hull, a friend from Hale's regiment tried to discourage Hale from volunteering for such a danger filled mission. Hale told his friend, "I wish to be useful and every kind of service necessary to the public good becomes honorable by being necessary". This was at a time when spying was seen as a dishonorable engagement, but still necessary for the information spies could provide.

Hale, dressed as a civilian crossed by boat from Norwalk, Connecticut to Long Island and slipped behind enemy lines. Hale was untrained in the art of spying and was an easy target for the cunning Major Rogers. Rogers was an expert frontier fighter who had led a group of fierce, resourceful rangers from New Hampshire during the French and Indian War.

Rogers had recently escaped from the Americans and was on Long Island recruiting tories as troops to fight for the British. According to Tiffany’s manuscript, Rogers had been observing Hale for days. Hale’s activities raised suspicions for Rogers and led him to believe that Hale was in disguise.

Rogers decided to talk to Hale and he led Hale to believe that they were on the same side. According to the manuscript, Rogers said, “ he was upon the business of spying out the inclination of the people and motion of the British troops. Hale then told Rogers of his own mission. Rogers invited Hale to dine with him. At dinner, Rogers and several friends engaged Hale in similar conversation. “But at the height of their conversation, a company of soldiers surrounded the house, and by orders from the commander, seized Captain Hale in an instant,” wrote Tiffany.

Captain John Montressor, a British officer sent to Washington’s headquarters for an exchange of prisoners told the rest of the story to Hale’s old friend Captain William Hull. Montressor told Hull that Hale had taken notes on British forces and was brought before Sir William Howe, British commander. Hull reported, “those papers concealed about his person betrayed his intentions”. Hale was hanged as a spy the next day by the British.

Thank you Bruce for sharing your article! Here are the sources that Bruce used.

Sources:

Carl Hartman, The Associated Press, The Concord Monitor, Concord, NH, Saturday, September 20, 2003.

Hutson, John. "Nathan Hale Revisited." Library of Congress Information Bulletin. July 2003. Library of Congress,.

post signature

The Duchess - New Movie

noreply@blogger.com (Rachel) — Thu, 18 Sep 2008 10:00:00 +0000

It looks like there is a new movie coming out called The Duchess. Here is the trailer for the movie. Just a warning, it will begin playing as soon as you open it. I wanted to put it right in this post, but figured that would get old quick when you visit my blog! Also the website linked above has a different trailer on it, so check that one out too!

The Duchess Trailer

It doesn't look like the movie has a wide release as of yet, but I do hope it makes it way around the country. I think it would be a real treat to see on the big screen. From the sounds of it though, we may have to settle for the video in our area.

I grabbed the description of the movie from IMDB.com:

A chronicle of the life of 18th century aristocrat Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire, who reviled for her extravagant political and personal lives. She is a vibrant beauty and celebrity of her time. But she is trapped in an unhappy triangle with her husband and his live-in mistress. She falls passionately in love with an ambitious young politician, and the affair causes a bitter conflict with her husband and threatens to erupt into a scandal.

And here is an article from an interview with Keira Knightly who stars in the movie. It was done by USA Today:

TORONTO — For someone constantly scrutinized for her slender frame, Keira Knightley knows how to stuff her face.

"I have food! That's so good!" crows Knightley, surveying the spread before her. She jams chunks of a banana into her mouth and cheerfully recounts an earlier mishap with an ingestible.

"I was wearing really great trousers, but then I spilled tea down (them)," says Knightley, who changed into a flouncy green skirt paired with a white blouse, blue jacket and decadent Chanel Mary Jane heels.

She points to her gams, now on display. "And I didn't shave my legs. It's quite embarrassing," says Knightley, as she admits how hard it is to shake the illusion that "randomly, somebody is just rubbing them up and down."

Knightley, 23, may act laissez faire about her own sartorial misfires, but her latest character is dubbed the "empress of fashion." In the lavish historical drama The Duchess (opening Friday), Knightley dons staggering headgear and spectacular, intricate gowns as Georgiana Spencer, the Duchess of Devonshire, an 18th-century "it girl" trapped in a frigid marriage to a frosty duke (Ralph Fiennes) who demands a male heir she can't produce. Georgiana channeled her energies into frocks, electoral activism and an affair with budding politico Charles Grey (Dominic Cooper) as things on the home front became ever grimmer.

"The costumes, I saw them more like an armor than anything else," Knightley says. "She creates the person she wants to be. As it gets worse and worse and worse, the (costumes) get bigger, and the wigs get wider. It's more that, 'I'm here, and I'm fine.' A lot of the time, we do do that. I've got a friend who says, 'When something (expletive) happens, you put your red lipstick on, and you go out.' "

The Duchess is the first film almost entirely carried by Knightley, who earned a best-actress Oscar nomination for her spunky turn as Elizabeth Bennet in 2005's Pride & Prejudice and sashayed through three Pirates of the Caribbean hits with Johnny Depp and Orlando Bloom. Since then, she has gravitated toward smaller, more intense films, such as last year's Atonement and the upcoming Dylan Thomas drama, The Edge of Love, written by her mother, Sharman Macdonald.

Last year, Knightley said she was apprehensive about playing the duchess, the subject of a best-selling biography by Amanda Foreman. The film delves into only a small part of Georgiana's colorful life, largely skimming over her gambling addiction and debts, and not touching on her relationship with France's equally stylish royal Marie Antoinette. Though Knightley had read Foreman's book and Antonia Fraser's Marie Antoinette: The Journey, she simply couldn't nail down how to get into Georgiana's head or the most real way of playing her.

But once she reported to work, she laced up that corset and felt "really excited, actually. In every performance, in everything I try to do, you have to look failure in the face," she says. "You have to accept that you're going to fall down in a really embarrassing way and then dive into it knowing that it could go very wrong but trying your best. It was scary but equally so rare that such a wonderful character comes through the door. You can't say no. You have to play her."

Of course, Georgiana's accoutrements, culled by costume designer Michael O'Connor, proved rather unwieldy for Knightley, who, when not on red carpets, mostly kicks around at home in flats and T-shirts.

"High heels are bad enough. I don't think you need a corset and wigs, as well," she says. "The wigs were the problem. They were big like birdcages. The hats were sewn onto the tops of them. And the whole thing was glued to my head, pinned in. I had neck aches. I literally couldn't hold the thing up. So they built me a stand so I could rest the whole lot on."

He's the duke, not Voldemort

Neck aches aside, there's also the heartache of playing hostile spouses. She and Fiennes had never met before the film and in the movie have no loving, or even coolly affectionate, scenes together. His duke lavishes warmth on his dogs but dismisses her. Her duchess shacks up with a younger and far more attractive lover. He threatens to take away her kids. She refuses to save the marriage. In real life, both say they got along just fine. "To play a married couple that have no familiarity with each other was an interesting test," Knightley says.

So, how did she keep the tension and rancor alive even as she got to know Fiennes better?

"I don't know. It's a very American question, how. It's (expletive) acting!" retorts Knightley.

One thing she avoided? Watching Fiennes' Lord Voldemort torture and torment Hollywood's most beloved young wizard in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix and Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. "I've read the books but haven't seen the films. He's a snake, right? I didn't watch it because I decided I think it would frighten me if I had to play his wife," she says.

Fiennes stayed in a hotel while Knightley opted to share a house with co-stars Cooper and Hayley Atwell, who plays her confidante. The arrangement helped them keep their distance on-screen.

Because of their proximity, Knightley says, her trio "formed a little group."

"It was good fun, that house. We had good fun, long dinners that were cooked for us."

Fiennes, for the most part, was excluded. "When it was me as the duke, I thought, 'She didn't like me,' " says Fiennes, referring to his off-screen relationship with Knightley, which he says was actually a positive one. "It's a shame we don't have any scenes where they are companions. I sort of decided he loved her deep down but didn't know where to start. And they don't start off as adversaries. She's just bruised by his insensitivity. He expects her to understand that it's absolutely fine that he brings in his illegitimate daughter."

Knightley doesn't see much of herself in Georgiana, a feisty yet ultimately tragic figure. Her best friend (played by Atwell) moved in with the couple and had a long-term affair with the duke, and Georgiana, meanwhile, was forced to give up the infant conceived during her tryst with Grey.

"I live with me every day. It's not that fun. I'm not looking for biographical work," Knightley says. Taking the role was "about escapism. She was a character so easy to sympathize with, empathize with. I wasn't looking for any parallels with myself. It's more general terms than going, 'Oh, I gave my baby away, too.' "

She pauses just a beat. "Which I didn't, by the way."

Knightley just 'has it'

For someone barely in her 20s, Knightley is preternaturally poised and mature in interviews, her self-professed jet lag notwithstanding. She's quick-witted, swears like a sailor and comes across as just self-deprecating enough to be real.

"Keira has great clarity as a person (and is) amazingly open for her age," Fiennes says.

Even though he and Knightley are hardly buddies, they did click during the shoot. "She has a great maturity and an openness and a natural spontaneity, a vivacity. That's a crucial thing you can't act. She has it," he says.

She doesn't moan about the paparazzi attention she gets at home in England and dismisses her peers who act surly and dismissive in public. "They hate their jobs," she says with a laugh.

Yet she draws a firm line between business and her own real life. To wit, she has never talked about her boyfriend, actor Rupert Friend, and won't even confirm she has one.

Knightley buries herself in books and has a penchant for the bleak. Recent reads include Bernhard Schlink's "beautiful" The Reader and Richard Yates' Revolutionary Road. "Two really depressing books but really good," she says. "Not exactly a barrel of laughs."

This time last year, she was devouring Gitta Sereny's Into That Darkness: From Mercy Killing to Mass Murder, an account of Treblinka's commandant Franz Stangl. Now, she has moved on to the works of novelist and war correspondent Martha Gellhorn.

"Not exactly happy, but interesting. Really great writing creates such amazing images," Knightley says. "It's a compilation of investigative journalism. She has just gone into Dachau. It's awful, but the way she writes is wonderful. I just started it. I'd never read any Martha Gellhorn before, and she's a wonderful writer."

She'll have plenty of reading time after she's done promoting The Duchess. Knightley has nothing lined up for the rest of '08.

"I haven't quite found what I'm looking for yet," she says, adding that her selection process is more instinctive than calculated. "What I'm not capable of doing is, 'For my career, I should be doing this right now.' I can't do that because I can't try and be interested in something that I'm not."

Nor can she fake enthusiasm for a film she despises when it's time to go out there and sell it.

"It has to be about something that I do actually want to talk about. It can be really embarrassing and depressing and very cynical if you sit there and go, 'Well, I got a really big paycheck.' "

Knightley isn't all doom and gloom. In fact, when it comes to films, she says the oddball and offbeat move her. "There's an amazing film called Couscous (La Graine et le mulet) — so beautiful, about a guy who's trying to open a couscous restaurant," says Knightley. "I sat in the cinema crying and crying and crying. I want to phone the guy up and say thank you.

"Film can be so magic."

I so hope it comes to a theater near me before it goes to DVD! If you have seen it, please let me know how it was!!

Update: The movie is now out! Check it out here: The Duchess

post signature