Tag: Kelly Goshorn Page 7 of 9

Storytellers Extraordinaire

On March 2, 2018

In Classic Literature, Fairy Tales and Folk Lore

National Tell a Fairy Tale was February 26th. In order to commemorate this auspicious day, I thought maybe remembering the lives of some of the most well-known storytellers of all time would be in order–The Brothers Grimm.

Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm in an 1843 drawing by their younger brother Ludwig Emil Grimm.

Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm began their careers studying law. Privately their fascination with the myths and legends surrounding local folklore led them to begin researching these tales in earnest.

Here’s 4 interesting facts you may not know about the the Grimm brothers:

The Grimm Brothers didn’t write any of the fairy tales associated with them.

Although stories like Snow White and Rapunzel have become synonymous with their name, none of the tales included in their first anthology, Nursery and Household Tales, was written by either Jacob or Wilhelm Grimm. Most of the stories existed long before the brothers were born in the mid-1780s. The tales were actually a collection of rich oral traditions passed from generation to generation. When the brothers discovered there was not one written collection of the stories, the began a quest to interview friends and relatives to capture the folklore before they became extinct and took great care to preserve the tales as they were told by peasants and villagers.

Cover of the 1819 edition of Nursery and Household Tales illustrated by Ludwig Emil Grimm.

Their collection of stories were not originally intended for children.

The original 1812 edition of Nursery and Household Tales contained sex, violence, and extensive footnotes regarding the variances in the folklore from region to region. And it contained no illustrations. The original version of Cinderella had the evil stepsisters cutting off their toes and heels in an effort to squeeze their appendage into the infamous glass slipper. Not to be out done, the first edition of Rapunzel had the girl with child following a casual affair with the prince.

The Grimm Brothers were a publishing success story.

By Wilhelm’s death in 1859, what we now know as Grimm’s Fairy Tales was in its 7th edition and the anthology had grown to include 211 stories. The collection now featured intricate drawings as well. Today Grimm’s Fairy Tales is available in over 100 languages and have been adapted for stage and screen by Walt Disney and Lotte Reineger.

Illustration of “Pied Piper of Hamelin” from the Grimm’s collection of German legends. Illustration by Kate Greenaway

The Grimm Brothers wrote more than Fairy Tales

Following the success of Nursery and Household Tales, the brothers also published two volumes of German folk legends which include stories such as The Pied Piper of Hamelin. In addition they wrote several books on mythology, linguistics and medieval history. In their later years, the brothers took a teaching position at Gottingen University as professors of Germanic studies and began a massive project to write a dictionary of the German language. They both died before the enormous undertaking was complete having only reached the letter F and the word frucht, meaning fruit.

Fairy Tales continue to capture the imagination of the public around the world and with the growing popularity of movies like Into the Woods and television shows like Grimm and Once Upon a Time it’s as clear as Cinderella’s glass slipper that even grown-ups love a good fairy tale.

Share your favorite fairy tale in the comments below.

What Your History Teacher Didn’t Teach About Our Presidents

By romancinghistory

On February 23, 2018

In Little Known Facts, Presidents, Things You Never Learned in School

When people discover what a huge history geek I am, they usually wrinkle their noses and tell me how boring they think history is. Boring? That was one thing I never understood. History is full of some pretty colorful characters.

Weird Facts About US Presidesnts

To prove my point, I’m highlighting of some of the interesting, unique and just plain strange facts about some of the men who occupied the hallowed halls of the White House. Did you know one of our presidents liked to skinny dip in the Potomac River? Or that another vandalized Shakespeare’s property? Or that one President trained his parrot to swear?

Things Your History Teacher Never Taught You

Thomas Jefferson (1801-1809)

…had a bit of a stealing problem. While visiting William Shakespeare’s birthplace in England in 1786, he and John Adams cut off a piece of Shakespeare’s chair to take home as a souvenir. Later, while in France, Jefferson smuggled rice out of the country by stuffing his pockets.

James Madison (1809-1817)

…our smallest president, Madison stood at 5’4″ and weighed around 100 pounds.

John Quincy Adams (1825-1829)

….was known for skinny dipping in the Potomac River every morning. A reporter took advantage of this information and sat on his clothes until the president would grant him an interview.

Andrew Jackson (1829-1837)

…taught his pet parrot to swear. It was all fun and games, until the parrot had to allegedly be removed from Jackson’s funeral because it wouldn’t stop cursing.

Andrew Johnson (1865-1869)

…was an indentured servant to a tailor. While in the White House, Johnson preferred to make made his own suits.

James A. Garfield (1881)

…was ambidextrous and could write in Greek with one hand and in Latin with the other—at the same time!

Grover Cleveland (1885-1889)

…became the legal guardian to his friend’s 11-year-old orphaned daughter. Ten years later, they were married at the White House, making her the youngest First Lady ever at the age of 21. I’m a big fan of the Happily-Ever-After but that’s just plain creepy.

Benjamin Harrison (1889-1893)

…had electric lighting installed in the White House. He was so scared of being electrocuted that he refused to touch the light switches and was known to go to bed with all the lights on.

William McKinley (1897-1901)

…considered carnations his good luck charm and wore them everywhere. On September 6, 1901, his luck ran out when he gave a little girl the carnation from his lapel and was shot by an assassin a short time later. He died the following week.

Franklin D. Roosevelt (1933-1945)

…was triskaidekaphobic (try saying that three times real fast). Terrified of the number 13, FDR and refused to have dinner with 13 guests or leave for a trip on the 13th of any month.

Image result for number thirteen

Theodore Roosevelt (1901-1909)

…had a toy named after him following a 1902 hunting trip when friends clubbed a black bear and tied it to a tree. Roosevelt declined to kill the bear stating it was unsportsmanlike. When the Washington Post printed a cartoon depicting the event, a toy maker created “Teddy Bears” in his honor.

Harry S Truman (1945-1953)

…doesn’t have a middle name. His parents chose the initial because they had a lot of relatives whose names started with that letter.

Gerald R. Ford (1974-1977)

…is the only president to never be elected by the American people. He was appointed to the vice-presidency when Spiro Agnew resigned and then later ascended to the presidency upon Nixon’s resignation. Talk about being in the right place at the right time.

Ronald Reagan (1981-1989)

…loved jelly beans so much that he had a standing order of 720 (yes, you read that right–seven-hundred twenty) bags be delivered to the White House each month. Reagan shared his favorite candy with colleagues and visitors. Jelly Belly created a blueberry-flavored jelly bean just for him so he could have jars full of red, white, and blue beans.

Bill Clinton (1993-2001)

…has two Grammy Awards, one for spoken word and one for audiobook projects.

George W. Bush (2001-2009)

…was his high school’s head cheerleader.

Barack Obama (2009-2017)

…had a pet ape called Tata when he lived in Indonesia.

Hopefully you now agree, behind every page in the history textbook lurks interesting and strange facts you never learned in school.

Knocker Up–A Legit Profession?

By romancinghistory

On February 16, 2018

In British History

Related image Morning comes early for me. Once a night owl, I’m now one of the earliest risers of my acquaintance. I have the advantage of setting an alarm clock for 4:30 in the morning and hitting the snooze button several times if I’m not quite ready to greet the day.

Before the advent of the alarm clock, an entire profession emerged for the sole purpose of waking sleepy workers to ensure they made it to work on time. The Knocker Up was a common sight in Britain and Ireland during the Industrial Revolution, particularly in the northern mill towns and big cities like London and Dubline where people worked unusual shifts in factories or on the docks, often needing to be at work as early as three a.m.

The trade spread rapidly across the country particularly in areas where poorly paid workers were required to work shifts but could not afford their own watches. Some factories employed their own knocker-ups to ensure their employees arrived on time. In return for their services, knocker-ups were paid a few pence a week.

As more people employed the services of knocker-ups, neighbors who did not desire to be woken at odd hours began complaining about the loud noise the knocker-ups made when ringing bells and rapping on widows to rouse their sleepy customers. The solution they devised was modifying a long stick, with which to tap on the bedroom windows of their clients, loudly enough to rouse those intended but softly enough not to disturb the rest.

Image courtesy of Au Bout de la Route blog

Some of the more adventurous knocker ups, like Mary Smith of London’s East End (shown below) employed pea shooters to hurl dried peas at windows until the sleeper within woke up.

Mary Smith

Even Charles Dickens mentioned the trade in his 1861 novel Great Expectations when one of the characters, Mr. Wopsle, loses his temper over “being knocked-up” in the morning.

Another account appeared in an article in the Huron Expositor in 1878. A Canadian reporter interviewed a retired knocker-upper about her profession. Mrs. Waters served between 35 and 95 people, mostly in the period between five and six in the morning. She also recalls the bad temper of some of her customers who, like the Dickens’ character, just couldn’t hold their morning temper when she attempted to rouse them.

“There was one man in particular: he had to be up at five o’clock; he was given to drink, by the way; so that he was not only hard to awaken, but he never came to the window, but he indulged in angry mutterings, and I heard at times an oath slip out of his mouth.”

With the spread of electricity and affordable alarm clocks, however, knocking up had died out in most places by the 1940s and 1950s.

Yet the trade continued in some pockets of industrial England until the early 1970s and even became immortalized in songs like the one below by folk singer-song writer, Mike Canavan:

“Through cobbled streets, cold and damp, the knocker-upper man is creeping.

“Tap, tapping on each window pane, to keep the world from sleeping…”

What gets you up in the morning?

Forgotten History: America’s Swedish Colony

By romancinghistory

On August 4, 2017

In 17th & 18th Century America, Fogotten History

As Americans, we grew up hearing about the British, Spanish and French colonial influence on our nation. If you were a history nerd like me, you’d even remember that Holland got into the action in New York.

But did you know that Sweden also had colonial ambitions in the New World as well?

Painting of the Kalmar Nyckel, a Dutch-built armed merchant ship famed for carrying Swedish settlers to North America in 1638 to establish the colony of New Sweden. (Credit: Jacob Hägg/Wikimedia Commons/PD-US)

Undoubtedly inspired by the growing wealth of other colonial powers, Swedish, Dutch and German stockholders formed the New Sweden Company in 1637 to trade for furs and tobacco in North America. In March 1638, the first settlers arrived in the Delaware Bay and began to build a fort at the site of present-day Wilmington, Delaware. Fort Christina, named in honor of Sweden’s twelve-year-old queen, was the first permanent European settlement in the Delaware Valley.

“New Sweden” once spanned parts of Delaware, New Jersey and Pennsylvania. In fact, it may well be one of the oddest events of the Age of Discovery. “New Sweden was the last of the European colonial empires to be founded in North America,” says historian Hildor Arnold Barton, “as well as the smallest, least populous, and shortest-lived.”

Thomas Campanius Holm, frontpiece to Swedes and Indians in New Sweden, 1702.

Over a period of seventeen years, twelve more Swedish expeditions left Europe for New Sweden bringing with them approximately 600 Swedes and Finns to populate the fledgling colony. The colonists established farms and were considered to be fair and honest traders with the local Lenape Indians.

Unfortunately, the New Sweden colony never became as prosperous as its Dutch and English competitors to the north and south. The colony’s population was often less than 200, and interest in immigrating was almost nonexistent back in Sweden. Settlers were so hard to come by that the Swedish crown eventually resorted to forcing petty criminals and military deserters to populate the colony, but New Sweden was still largely neglected and eventually conquered by the Dutch in 1655.

Log Cabin at Fort Christina in Wilmington, the site of first European settlement in Delaware. (Credit: Visions of America, LLC/Alamy Stock Photo)

Although New Sweden has faded into the pages of forgotten history, its short-lived presence on American soil left behind two important testaments to its existence–Lutheran Christianity and the most iconic of American buildings–the log cabin. While Swedish immigration slowed to a mere trickle during the 18th century, it experienced a resurgence in the late 19th and early 20th centuries when nearly 1.3 million Swedish immigrants arrived on American Shores. This time, Swedish settlers bypassed the Delaware Valley and headed west where today large numbers of Swedish-Americans call Minnesota, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Nebraska, Texas, California and Washington, home.

I’ll have to put a trip to Fort Christina on my list of places to visit. If you’ve visited this site or already new about the Swedish colony’s presence, please leave a comment below.

5 Little Known Facts About the Civil War

By romancinghistory

On July 27, 2017

In 19th Century America, Little Known Facts, U.S. Civil War, U.S. History

The Civil War remains the defining moment in America’s history. While the Revolution gave birth to the United States, the Civil War determined what kind of nation it would be.

According to the Library of Congress, over 70,000 books have been written on the civil war and that doesn’t include books that may contain Civil War related material but are catalogued separately.

Here are 5 little known, yet interesting facts about the Civil War that you may not be aware of:

1. One-third of the soldiers who fought for the Union Army were immigrants
I was surprised to learn the number of immigrants among the ranks of Civil War soldiers was that high. As it turns out, the Union Army was a diverse, multicultural fighting force. We often hear about Irish soldiers (7.5 percent of the army), but the Union’s ranks included even more Germans (10 percent), who marched off in regiments such as the Steuben Guard. Other immigrant soldiers were French, Italian, Polish, English and Scottish. In fact, one in four regiments contained a majority of foreigners.

At right is a recruitment broadside aimed at New York’s German immigrants to fight for “your country”: Bürger, Euer Land ist in Gefahr! Zu den Waffen! Zu den Waffen! (Citizens, your country is in danger! To arms! To arms!)

Sketch of the John Adams, which carried Tubman, firing upon the Combahee Ferry

2. Harriet Tubman led a raid to free slaves during the Civil War
Harriet Tubman, the escaped slave who led others to freedom on the Underground Railroad before the war, arrived at the Union camp at Port Royal, South Carolina, in the spring of 1862 to support the Union cause. On the night of June 2nd three federal gunboats set sail from Beaufort, South Carolina up the Combahee River. Tubman had gained vital information about the location of Rebel torpedoes planted along the river from slaves who were willing to trade information for freedom.

Because of this information Tubman was able to steer the Union ships away from any danger. She led the ships to specific spots along the shore where fugitive slaves were hiding and waiting to be rescued. More than 720 slaves were shuttled to freedom during the mission reminding Tubman of “the children of Israel coming out of Egypt.” On the ferry mission, Tubman liberated ten times the number of slaves she had freed in ten years operating the Underground Railroad.

3. More men died from disease than bullets during the Civil War
Approximately 625,000 men died in the Civil War, more Americans than in World War I, World War II, the Korean War and the Vietnam War combined. Although rifles were by far the war’s deadliest weapons, deadlier still was disease. For every three soldiers killed in battle, five more died from disease. In 1861, as armies massed, men once protected from disease by isolation now lived, marched and fought side by side in close proximity to one another. Camps became breeding grounds for childhood diseases such as mumps, chicken pox and measles. Soldiers on both sides contracted malaria and dysentery, and epidemics were common.

Image Courtesy Wilson’s Creek National Battlefield

4. Some bullets fired during the Civil War actually fused together
The two Minie balls pictured at left collided in midair on “Bloody Hill” during the Battle of Wilson’s Creek, August 10, 1861. One is .69 caliber, the other .58 caliber; they were recovered in the early 1950s. Two bullets colliding in midair is a relatively rare occurrence, and bears witness to the heavy fighting that took place on “Bloody Hill.” Sergeant George W. Hutt, of the 1st Kansas Infantry, described the fight as “a perfect hurricane of bullets.”

Photo taken on November 17, 1865, depicting Company E, 4th US Colored Troops at Fort Lincoln, North Dakota

5. The Emancipation Proclamation did not ban slavery
Prior to the signing of the Emancipation Proclamation, the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 obligated non-slave states to return escaped slaves back to their owners. Lincoln’s Proclamation was meant to punish the Confederate States, not make slavery illegal. Since Delaware, Kentucky, Maryland, and Missouri didn’t rebel against the Union, they were allowed to keep their slaves. Slaves who managed to escape the Confederate States into Union territory could join the military in return for a salary, but could not become Union citizens. Black soldiers eventually made up one-tenth of the Union Army. Some historians believe that this influx helped to turn the tide of the war in favor of the Union.

What interesting facts do you know about the Civil War? Please share in the comments below.

The Civil War’s Biggest Debacle You Probably Never Heard Of

By romancinghistory

On July 18, 2017

In 19th Century America, U.S. Civil War, U.S. History

Baker’s Crossing at Ball’s Bluff

As a lover of history, I’m blessed to make my home in the northwestern corner of Virginia anywhere from a few miles to a few hours drive from many of our nation’s richest historical treasures. Places like Jamestown, Monticello, Mount Vernon, Gettysburg, Antietam, Yorktown, Williamsburg, Fredericksburg, Harper’s Ferry, Fort McHenry and of course, our nation’s capital, just to name a few.

Nestled behind a residential neighborhood in Leesburg, Virginia, the small town where I grew up, is the site where one of the first major debacles of the Civil War took place–the Battle of Ball’s Bluff. Compared to places like Gettysburg, Franklin and Antietam, Ball’s Bluff is merely a skirmish in the opening days of our nation’s Civil War. Like most civil war battlefields, quiet cannons inform visitors that this hidden spot at the end of a gravel road once roared with the sound of artillery shells, the whistle of minie balls and most likely the deafening sound of the rebel yell.

Today, you can hike down the footpath past a national cemetery and eventually come to a precipice about 120 feet above the Potomac River. A ridge that proved quite deadly for Union forces on October 21, 1861.

Potomac overlook at Ball’s Bluff National Military Cemetery

The Potomac was not only a vital waterway for the transportation of troops and supplies but it held significant symbolism as the boundary between northern and southern states. “As soon as secession happened, the Potomac became the most important river in the Civil War,” said Jonathan Earle, an associate professor of history at the University of Kansas. “The Potomac was a psychological border as well as a physical one.”

In the fall of 1861, with Confederate troops camped in Manassas, Virginia, only 25 miles from the U.S. capital, control of the river was imperative for Federal troops. General McClellan, commander of the Union Army of the Potomac, didn’t want to cede control of the upper Potomac and lose access to the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad at Point of Rocks, Maryland and Harper’s Ferry, Virginia (now West Virginia). Learning that Rebels were positioned at the bluff in Leesburg, McClellan wired General Charles P. Stone, stationed in Poolesville, Maryland, across the Potomac from Leesburg, suggesting that “perhaps a slight demonstration on your part would have the effect to move them.”

High ground claimed by Confederate forces at the Battle of Ball’s Bluff

General Stone sent three regiments across the river, one at Ball’s Bluff and two at Edwards Ferry a few miles downriver. There wasn’t a bridge anywhere along that stretch of the river, and it was too deep to ford, so they had to rely on boats. Only three were available at Harrison’s Island, a two-mile strip of land occupying a bend in the Potomac facing Ball’s Bluff. Stone informed McClellan, “We are a little short of boats.”

They were also short on military strategy. The man who quickly took command of the operation was the U.S. Senator from Oregon, Colonel Edward Baker. Baker was an advocate of “bold and determined” action and a close friend of President Lincoln’s. Although gifted in oratory, the colonel was deficient in military strategy allowing Union forces to be cornered against a bluff overlooking the river, with only a few skiffs available if retreat became necessary.

It was the perfect recipe for a military tragedy: sketchy information, a river too deep to ford, not enough boats and soldiers who couldn’t swim.

Confederate and Union fores engage in hand-to-hand combat as federal forces attempt to rescue the body of Colonel Edward Baker.

Unbeknownst to Baker, the Confederate commander, General Nathan G. “Shanks” Evans, had sent his men from Edwards Ferry to Ball’s Bluff. The rebels had superior position in the woods, picking off Baker’s men as they struggled to ascend the ridge. Baker himself began working artillery pieces. The rebels charged, whooping, and the fighting turned hand to hand.

The New York World reported what happened next: “One huge red-haired ruffian drew a revolver, came close to Baker, and fired four balls at the general’s head, every one of which took effect, and a glorious soul fled through their ghastly openings.” The Battle of Ball’s Bluff still remains the only military engagement where a sitting U.S. senator was killed in action.

Hundreds of Union soldiers scrambled and stumbled down the steep bluff. So many boarded a flatboat that it foundered. Soon all three skiffs had sunk. Rebels stood atop the bluff and fired at the men below. It was, the rebels would say later, like a “turkey shoot.” Whom the bullets didn’t kill, the water did. Dozens of men drowned burdened by wool uniforms, boots and heavy weapons.

Retreating Union soldiers weigh down a skiff in the Potomac River

No one could claim the Federals lacked courage however a case could be made for incompetent leadership. Ball’s Bluff inspired Congress to create the Joint Committee on the Conduct of the War. It’s first victim was Gen. Charles P. Stone, accused unjustly and irrationally of treason and thrown without formal charges into a prison cell in New York harbor. Stone was eventually released and returned to the Union cause, but his reputation never fully recovered from the Ball’s Bluff calamity.

The Battle of Ball’s Bluff taught the Union an important lesson about the importance of military principles, of logistics, of avenues of retreat. Coming after the Union defeat in Manassas, Ball’s Bluff foreshadowed what history has taught us–the suppression of the Confederacy would be a long and bloody endeavor. Anyone in Washington who remained unclear about the challenge facing the Union needed merely to visit the banks of the Potomac where the bodies of Union soldiers were washing up as far down river as Mount Vernon.

This modern image of the Potomac River below Ball’s Bluff National Cemetery is serene now compared to the day she swallowed so many Union soldiers in 1861.

I’m curious how many readers have heard of this tragic encounter at Ball’s Bluff before reading today’s post.

Take a Peek Inside a 19th Century Physician’s Kit

By romancinghistory

On July 1, 2017

In 19th Century America, Medicine

Are you familiar with the 1960s TV game show, Let’s Make a Deal? The host, Monty Hall, would ask costumed contestants, known as trades, for an item and if they could divulge it, they had they had the opportunity to trade it for hidden prizes. Requested items could range from a safety pin to a plunger or yardstick. Contestants would bring everything they could think of, including the kitchen sink because they new knew what Monty might ask them to produce.

19th century medical bag, photo courtesy of Melnick Medical Museum

During the 19th century, rural doctors were general practitioners by necessity. They delivered babies, set broken limbs, pulled teeth, and tended to all sorts of wounds and diseases. Except in large metropolitan areas, few doctors had medical specialties. Similar to contestants on Let’s Make a Deal, rural physicians needed a variety of tools to be prepared for any situation.

Doctors traveled long distances on foot, on horseback, in wagons, buggies, ferries, canoes and boats. Traveling to a settlement might be a cross country journey on nothing more than an unmarked trail. The doctor’s bag was designed to carry the tools of the trade and withstand travel in all sorts of weather. Bags of durable oiled canvas or leather stood up to extended travel, whatever the season and terrain.

What might you find in the 19th century doctor’s bag?

Midwifery Kit, United Kingdom, 1866-1900, courtesy of sciencemuseum.org.uk

A variety of tools for everything from pulling teeth to delivering a baby to amputate a limb might be found inside. A basic medical kit would include scalpels, tweezers, razors, and scissors. They would have carried catgut for suturing and gauze bandaging as well. If they were desperate, human or horse hair, or even fiddle strings would suffice when stitching up an injured patient.

Bullet probes and extractors were very important items. They looked like bent tongs or forceps. They came in various lengths to extract a bullet, depending where it was located in the body.

Other items in the bag might include a stethoscope, glass thermometer (3 inch mercury ones started around 1867; up until then they were longer at 6 inches, sometimes 12), splints for broken bones, vaginal specula, forceps for labor and delivery, and bloodletting instruments.

A frontier doctor would have also needed tools for general surgical procedures of the time.

19th century general surgical kit

This would include items such as tourniquets, knives and scalpels, and saws for amputation.

The use of antiseptics would not have been on the mind of these pioneer doctors. Although Louis Pasteur’s research provided solid evidence in support of the germ theory of disease, American physician’s clung to the older view that germs were spontaneously generated. The American Medical community also opposed Joseph Lister’s research indicating that the use of carbolic acid to clean medical and surgical instruments significantly decreased the rate of infection and mortality from surgery. Therefore American doctors took no care to clean their instruments, wear gloves, or fully seal wounds. In fact, drainage of “laudable pus” and inflammation were considered signs that a wound was healing properly.

Because the antiseptic technique was slow to be adopted in American hospitals, medical instruments continued to be manufactured with decorative etching, wooden or grooved handles, and velvet cases, like those pictured above, reflecting that hesitancy.

19th century chloroform inhaler

Doctors would have had a variety of painkillers at their disposal including laudanum, morphine and cocaine. For more on 19th century painkillers, see my post “Got Anything for the Pain, Doc?”

By 1850, most frontier doctors carried some basic anesthetics for use in extreme cases. Nitrous oxide, called Laughing Gas because of its euphoria inducing qualities, was first used as a dental anesthetic in 1844. Ether was used for general anesthesia starting in 1846, and chloroform in 1847. Chloroform anesthesia became very popular after it was administered to Queen Victoria in 1853 for childbirth.

Keeping up with the latest medical procedures would have been a high priority for rural doctors as well. The American Medical Association began in Philadelphia in 1847. Members received a quarterly newsletter announcing new methods of surgery, recent research, advice from prominent physicians on the East Coast or Europe.

Because of their dedication to their patients, frontier doctors were often the most well-known and most valued members of their communities. They likely delivered every child in the community and sat with the dying as they drew their last breath. They saw people into and out of this world, and in the meantime tried to keep them alive and healthy. Their selfless devotion to their patients and and creative ingenuity have left a legacy that continues to capture the imagination of the American people.

Letters from History: An Ex-slave Writes His Former Master

By romancinghistory

On June 2, 2017

In 19th Century America, Letters and Diaries, U.S. Civil War

Long before God put a dream in my heart to be a writer, I loved the written word. The ability to skillfully craft your thoughts and manipulate the words to convey the exact meaning you desire is a benefit that oral communication often lacks. As a lover of history, diaries and letters from generations gone by provide glimpses into a culture and way of life that is often hard for us to understand in the 21st century. The vocabulary can tell us if the writer was educated and the tone can give insight into the character of the person who penned it.

One such letter recently caught my attention. In “A Letter from a Freedman to His Old Master,” Jourdan Anderson responds to his former master’s request that he return to the family’s plantation and help restore the farm to it’s pre-Civil War . In his letter, Jourdan’s satirical wit shines and is often compared to the dry humor of American novelist, Mart Twain.

Jourdan Anderson

Who was Jordan Anderson?

Not much is known about the former slave other than he was born “somewhere” in Tennessee in 1825. He was later sold as a young boy of 7 or 8 years to General Paulding Anderson of Big Spring, Tennessee. The General gifted Jourdan to his son Patrick who often went by his middle name, Henry. Jourdan went on to become one of the most skilled workers on the Anderson’s plantation. In 1848, her married Amanda McGregor on the Anderson’s plantation and together they had 11 children.

Similar to most slaves, the outbreak of the civil war changed Jourdan’s life very life little. However in 1864, a group of Union soldiers stumbled upon Jourdan toiling on the property and granted him, his wife and children their freedom, making the act official with papers from the Provost Marshal General of Nashville. Documents Jordan would treasure for the rest of his life.

With his new emancipation papers in hand, Jourdan and his family promptly left the plantation. An act that angered Henry so greatly he shot at his former slave repeatedly as he fled with his family, only ceasing to fire when a neighbor grabbed Henry’s pistol.

Jourdan and his family eventually made their way to Dayton, Ohio where a local abolitionist, Valentine Winters, helped him and his wife secure employment. While there, the couple’s children were enrolled in school, something the illiterate Jourdan was never allowed to do.

Now this is where the story gets really interesting.

It was here in 1865, that Jourdan received a letter from his former master, Henry Anderson. Unable to read, Jourdan took the letter to Winters and asked him to read it aloud. As it turns out, the letter audaciously invited Jourdan and his family to to return to the Big Spring plantation which had fallen into disrepair. Deeply in debt and desperate to save himself from financial ruin, Henry implored his former slave, a man he knew had the skills to save the plantation, to not only return himself but to convince other freed slaves to come with him. In the letter, Anderson promises to pay any laborers for their work and to treat them as any other freed man.

Jourdan’s original letter reprinted in the Salt Lake Tribune, August 1865.

Some people would have had a good laugh then ball up the letter and throw it away, taking delight in his former master’s change of circumstances. But Jourdan had another idea. After several days of pondering Henry’s offer, Jourdan invited Winters to his home and requested that he write a letter in response that Jourdan would dictate. At Jourdan’s request, Winters sent the following letter to the man who had enslaved his family that Jourdan himself titled, “A Letter from a Freedman to His Old Master.”

“A Letter from a Freedman to His Old Master”

Dayton, Ohio,
August 7, 1865

To My Old Master, Colonel P.H. Anderson, Big Spring, Tennessee

Sir: I got your letter, and was glad to find that you had not forgotten Jourdon, and that you wanted me to come back and live with you again, promising to do better for me than anybody else can. I have often felt uneasy about you. I thought the Yankees would have hung you long before this, for harboring Rebs they found at your house. I suppose they never heard about your going to Colonel Martin’s to kill the Union soldier that was left by his company in their stable. Although you shot at me twice before I left you, I did not want to hear of your being hurt, and am glad you are still living. It would do me good to go back to the dear old home again, and see Miss Mary and Miss Martha and Allen, Esther, Green, and Lee. Give my love to them all, and tell them I hope we will meet in the better world, if not in this. I would have gone back to see you all when I was working in the Nashville Hospital, but one of the neighbors told me that Henry intended to shoot me if he ever got a chance.

I want to know particularly what the good chance is you propose to give me. I am doing tolerably well here. I get twenty-five dollars a month, with victuals and clothing; have a comfortable home for Mandy,—the folks call her Mrs. Anderson,—and the children—Milly, Jane, and Grundy—go to school and are learning well. The teacher says Grundy has a head for a preacher. They go to Sunday school, and Mandy and me attend church regularly. We are kindly treated. Sometimes we overhear others saying, “Them colored people were slaves” down in Tennessee. The children feel hurt when they hear such remarks; but I tell them it was no disgrace in Tennessee to belong to Colonel Anderson. Many darkeys would have been proud, as I used to be, to call you master. Now if you will write and say what wages you will give me, I will be better able to decide whether it would be to my advantage to move back again.

As to my freedom, which you say I can have, there is nothing to be gained on that score, as I got my free papers in 1864 from the Provost-Marshal-General of the Department of Nashville. Mandy says she would be afraid to go back without some proof that you were disposed to treat us justly and kindly; and we have concluded to test your sincerity by asking you to send us our wages for the time we served you. This will make us forget and forgive old scores, and rely on your justice and friendship in the future. I served you faithfully for thirty-two years, and Mandy twenty years. At twenty-five dollars a month for me, and two dollars a week for Mandy, our earnings would amount to eleven thousand six hundred and eighty dollars. Add to this the interest for the time our wages have been kept back, and deduct what you paid for our clothing, and three doctor’s visits to me, and pulling a tooth for Mandy, and the balance will show what we are in justice entitled to. Please send the money by Adams’s Express, in care of V. Winters, Esq., Dayton, Ohio. If you fail to pay us for faithful labors in the past, we can have little faith in your promises in the future. We trust the good Maker has opened your eyes to the wrongs which you and your fathers have done to me and my fathers, in making us toil for you for generations without recompense. Here I draw my wages every Saturday night; but in Tennessee there was never any pay-day for the negroes any more than for the horses and cows. Surely there will be a day of reckoning for those who defraud the laborer of his hire.

In answering this letter, please state if there would be any safety for my Milly and Jane, who are now grown up, and both good-looking girls. You know how it was with poor Matilda and Catherine. I would rather stay here and starve—and die, if it come to that—than have my girls brought to shame by the violence and wickedness of their young masters. You will also please state if there has been any schools opened for the colored children in your neighborhood. The great desire of my life now is to give my children an education, and have them form virtuous habits.

Say howdy to George Carter, and thank him for taking the pistol from you when you were shooting at me.

From your old servant,
Jourdon Anderson.

From Former Slave to Media Sensation

As fate would have it, if Jourdan had crumpled up that tempting offer of employment from his former owner and gone on with his peaceful life in Ohio, we wouldn’t be talking about him today. You see, Jourdan’s friend, Valentine Winters later had the letter published in the Cincinnati Commercial under the same title. The satirical eloquence with which Jourdan politely told his boss where he could shove his offer of employment made the letter immensely popular. Eventually the letter was reprinted in papers across the country and even in Europe, making Jourdan a media sensation by today’s standards and his former master a laughing stock.

To no one’s surprise, Henry never took Jordan up on his offer to pay him 50 years of past wages up front and Jourdan’s highly publicized response likely prevented any of the family’s other slaves from being tempted back to the family’s Tennessee plantation. As a result, the crops that year were never harvested. Henry, deeply in debt, had to sell the plantation for a fraction of its worth and he died penniless and destitute a few years later at age 44.

As for Jordan, he lived and worked in Dayton for the rest of his life, dying in 1907 at the age of 81. His beloved wife, Mandy, died six years later and is buried alongside him.

What is your reaction to Jourdan’s letter? If you had been in his shoes, would you have feared any retribution?

The Past Reaches Forward in New Dual Timeline Novel, All of You

By romancinghistory

On May 19, 2017

In Historical Research, Historical Romance Fiction, World War II

Author, Sarah Monzon

I’m thrilled to have my good friend and fellow author, Sarah Monzon, on my blog today. Sarah and I met shortly after I joined American Christian Fiction writers. We have read and critiqued each other’s stories and encouraged one another on the bumpy road to publication.

Sarah’s newest release, All of You, is the second book is her acclaimed A Carrington Family Novel series. Pardon me while I brag on my friend, but the first book in the series, Finders Keepers, is currently a Selah Award finalist and received a 4 star review from Romantic Times.

Sarah is going to tell us about some of the history in her latest dual timeline novel, All of You.

But first, here’s the back cover blurb so you’ll know what her newest release is all about.

Maryland, Present Day

Jacquelyn Rogers can rebuild anything…except the shambles of her past. A restorer of vintage planes, she’s worked hard to earn the reputation of being one of the guys. The last thing she needs is a former Navy pilot fighting his own inner demons stepping in to defend her from dangers she thought she’d outrun long ago. Some battles must be fought alone.

After a freak accident severs Lieutenant Michael “Finch” Carrington’s dreams, as well as two limbs, he’s left with nothing but a fragile faith and a duty-bound promise to watch out for his friend’s baby sister. A promise she insists is as unnecessary as it is unappreciated. But when she turns the tables and begins to weld together the broken parts of his life, it may be his heart that is in need of protection.

England, 1944 With the world at war yet again, Alice Galloway rejects her father’s traditional expectations and offers her piloting expertise to the Air Transport Auxiliary. She may be a woman in a man’s world, but when she overhears key intelligence, she must find the strength to transcend boundaries and her own fears. Or countless people may die.

Sometimes the past reaches forward to bring hope to the future.

Want to win a FREE Kindle copy of All of You? Make sure to leave a comment below by Thursday, May 25th, to be entered in the drawing!

Sarah, please tell us what you learned about the real women who inspired your character Alice Galloway.

Thank you so much, Kelly, for having me today!

I’m really excited to share with you and your readers some of the things I learned while researching the historical thread of All of You. When brainstorming this book, I wanted to have a strong female lead. I love reading about them and wanted to create one of my own. I’d already chosen a WWII setting for my novel and knew an airplane would tie the two timelines in the book together.

Ta-da, my heroine’s vocation appeared! She would be one of the first female ferry pilots.

I found a documentary about the WASPs, the Women Airforce Service Pilots, and learned a lot about the women who served here on American soil. I needed my heroine in England, however, and dug a little deeper to find the ATA, Air Transport Auxiliary.

Before Jacqueline Cochran started the WASPs, she spent some time in England flying with the ATA. These ferry pilots would fly new, repaired, or even damaged planes from factories, scrap yards, squadrons and airfields. The only place they wouldn’t take a plane was to an aircraft carrier.

Oftentimes these female ferry pilots had never even flown the aircraft before. All they’d have were a few note cards to help them figure everything out.

Not everyone was happy that the women were pitching in to help the war effort this way. Some of the female pilots discovered their planes sabotaged. So, not only did they have to worry about the enemy and the difficult task of flying unfamiliar aircraft, they also had to be careful about other pilots tampering with their planes.

More than 1,100 women served with the WASPs and 38 lost their lives.

If you’d like to learn more about the women who served with the WASPs or the ATA check out these websites:

http://www.wingsacrossamerica.us/wasp/

http://www.airtransportaux.com/

Learn More About Sarah

Sarah Monzon is a Navy chaplain’s wife and a stay at home mom to the two cutest littles in the world. Playing pretend all day with them isn’t enough, she spends the evenings after their heads hit the pillow to create her own imaginary characters. When she isn’t in the world of make believe, she can be found in the pine forests of western Washington taking care of her family, fostering friendships, and enjoying all the adventures each day brings.

Her debut novel, The Isaac Project, skyrocketed to Amazon bestseller status while her Sophomore book, Finders Keepers, has finaled in contests such as the Inspy Awards and received a 4 star review from Romantic Times.

Authors love to hear from readers. You can connect with Sarah on:

Amazon

Facebook

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Paraskevidekatriaphobia and Other Silly Superstitions

By romancinghistory

On January 13, 2017

In Fairy Tales and Folk Lore

Paraskevidekatriaphobia, or fear of Friday the 13th, is suffered by approximately 17 million people according to the Stress Management Center and Phobia Institute in North Carolina. Paraskevidekatriaphobia is derived from the Greek word paraskeví, Friday, and dekatria, thirteen.

As far as superstitions go, the fear of Friday the 13th seems fairly new, dating back to the late 1800s. Friday has long been considered an unlucky day (according to Christian tradition, Jesus died on a Friday), and 13 has a long history as an unlucky number. Not only people but businesses suffer from this fear, especially the airlines who suffer significant financial losses from unpurchased seats on Friday the 13th. Paraskevidekatriaphobia is evident in high-rise buildings, hotels, and hospitals that skip the 13th floor and many airports do not have gates numbered 13. In many parts of the world, having 13 people at the dinner table is considered bad luck.

No one knows for sure how the two myths combined to make Friday the 13th the unluckiest of all days. One theory suggests the fear can be traced back to Friday, October 13th, 1307. King Philip IV of France requested the Knights Templar assist him in paying off some of his growing debt accrued through war with England. After the group refused the king, Philip turned to his friend, Pope Clement V, who shared Philip’s trepidation of the growing influence of the Templars’. This resulted in a declaration that all Templars in France be arrested on Friday, Oct. 13, 1307. Subsequently, the king and the Vatican claimed ownership of all the Templars’ land and money. Although the Templars did receive trials, their fate was already decided. Every member of the group was found guilty of heresy, along with other crimes, and were sentenced to death.

So, is Friday the 13th actually unlucky? Statistical studies have shown no correlation between things like increased accidents or injuries and Friday the 13th. But here are a few historical incidents that might leave you questioning those researchers.

Buckingham Palace was hit by five German bombs on Friday, September 13, 1940, with both King Geroge VI and Princess Elizabeth in residence. One member of the royal staff died and the palace chapel was destroyed.
On November 13, 1970, a huge South Asian storm killed an estimated 300,000 people in Chittagong, Bangladesh, and create floods that killed as many as 1 million in the Ganges delta.
A Chilean plane crashed in the Andes mountains on Friday, October 13, 1972. It took rescuers two months to find the wreckage and the 16 survivors who had been forced to eat dead passengers in order to stay alive.
On January 13, 1989, the “Friday the 13th virus” infected hundreds of IBM computers across Great Britain, wiping out program files and causing considerable anxiety at a time when large-scale computer viruses were a relatively new threat.
The Costa Concordia cruise ship ran aground on Friday, January 13, 2012, off the western coast of Italy killing 30 people.
Isil carried out seven coordinated terror attacks in Paris killing 130 people on the evening of Friday, November 13, 2015.

Take heart if you suffer from Paraskevidekatriaphobia–there cannot be more than three Friday the 13ths in any given calendar year. The longest one can go without seeing a Friday the 13th is fourteen months. But Friday the 13th isn’t the only superstition with strange origins. Here are a few other common unfounded fears with strange and/or unknown beginnings.

Here, Kitty Kitty

Black cats weren’t always the basis of superstitions, feared, or even considered bad luck. In early Egypt cats, including black ones, were held in high esteem. To kill one was considered a capital crime. It wasn’t until the middle-ages in Europe that black cats were associated with witches. This folklore seems to be traced to a 1560s tale of a father and son in Lincolnshire traveling one moonless night when a black cat crossed their path and dove into a crawl space. Legend says they threw rocks at the furry feline until the helpless, injured creature scurried out into the home of a suspected witch. The next day, the father and son came across the same woman and noticed she was limping and bruised. Believing it to be more than a coincidence, rumor spread that the witch could turn into a black cat at night.

Why Shouldn’t I Walk Under that Ladder?

Many theories exist about the unluckiness of walking under a ladder. One explanation regarding ladders and bad luck has its roots in Christianity. Christians believe in the Holy Trinity — the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost. This belief made the number three sacred in early times, and along with it, the triangle. A ladder leaning up against a wall forms the shape of a triangle, and walking through it was considered “breaking” the Trinity, a crime seen as blasphemous as well as potentially attracting the devil.

Others believe that a ladder is reminiscent of a gallows. Ladders were used to allow the person being hanged to climb high enough to get to the rope. Definitely not very lucky.

If you do walk under a ladder, can you reverse your ill fortune. Richard Webster, author of the book “The Encyclopedia of Superstitions,” lists several remedies you can try:

Make a wish while you’re walking under the ladder.
Walk backwards through the ladder again
Say “bread and butter” as you walk under the ladder. (I’m not sure about this one. We always used that expression when two people walking together split up to go around an obstacle like a fire hydrant or oncoming pedestrians, etc.)
Cross your fingers and keep them crossed until you see a dog.

Another age-old remedy is to spit on your shoe, but don’t look at your shoe until the spit has dried. Or, spit three times between the rungs of the ladder.

It seems easier just to avoid the ladder altogether.

Photo by Carmen Ward Villota

Mirror, Mirror on the Wall

Centuries-old lore holds fast to the idea that a mirror is not only a projection of one’s appearance, but one’s soul. Breaking a mirror also breaks the soul into pieces. The soul, now severely damaged, isn’t able to fully protect its owner from bad luck.

Long before mirrors existed, reflective surfaces were considered magical and were credited with the ability to look into the future. In ancient mythology we can often find the gods and goddesses, as well as mere mortals, looking into still water to catch a glimpse of their fate. Reflective surfaces like shiny metals and mirrors were also used to receive messages from the gods. The power of reflective surfaces to captivate and deceive are also featured strongly in such stories as Narcissus and Snow White.

It was the Romans who tagged the broken mirror as a sign of seven years bad luck. The length of the prescribed misfortune came from the ancient Roman belief that it took seven years for life to renew itself. According to Roman lore, the misfortunate who accidentally break a mirror, must take all the pieces of the mirror and bury them in the moonlight, or take all pieces and throw them into running water, or pound the broken mirror into tiny pieces so that none of them can reflect anything ever again.

Other Common Mirror Superstitions:

To see your reflection in a mirror is to see your own soul, which is why, according to myth, a vampire, who is without a soul, has no reflection.
If a couple first catch sight of each other in a mirror, they will have a happy marriage.
If a mirror falls and breaks by itself, someone in the house will soon die.
Any mirrors in a room where someone has recently died, must be covered so that the dead person’s soul does not get trapped behind the glass. Folklore has it that the Devil invented mirrors for this very purpose.
It is bad luck to see your face in a mirror when sitting by candlelight.

Pass the Salt, Please

In ancient times, salt was a precious commodity. Because of its difficulty to procure and its high cost, salt became a form of currency. In fact, the word “salary” originates from sal, the Latin word for salt, possibly because Roman soldiers received salt as part of their compensation. Spilling something as highly prized as salt was bad form and a big waste, which grew into a warning that this carelessness would bring one bad luck.

Another theory to the origin of this superstition is Leonardo da Vinci’s painting “The Last Supper.” In the detail of the painting, you can see some spilled salt near Judas Iscariot’s elbow, which he presumably knocked over. According to the Bible, Judas later betrayed Jesus, so spilling salt became associated with dishonesty and treachery which would naturally bring bad fortune and bad luck.

The Last Supper by Leonardo da Vinci

As superstitions tend to do, the spilled salt superstition grew and evolved over centuries, with different cultures assigning different meanings. If you spill salt, here are some of the things that might happen:

A big fight and the end of a friendship.
Bad luck for the person toward which the salt was spilled.
The devil is invited in to perform evil deeds.

But don’t worry, you can undo that curse by simply taking a pinch of the spilled salt and throwing it over your left shoulder. According to legend, the devil stands behind your left shoulder, waiting for an opportunity to perform evil deeds as mentioned above. If you toss some of the errant salt over your shoulder, it will go into the devil’s eyes, blinding him and rendering him powerless.

Photo credit EXPLORED~ | by valstar2011

Step on a Crack and Break Your Mother’s Back

Evidence of this superstition dates back to the Middle Ages. Cracks were not something to trifle with because danger lurked in these empty spaces. Fissures in sidewalks, floors and soil, as well as in walls, signaled gaps in the boundaries between the earthly realm and the spiritual realm where evil spirits lurked. Stepping on a crack might free that evil entity to cause mischief or break apart one’s family.

Some superstitions are so ingrained in modern English-speaking societies that everyone, from lay people to scientists, succumb to them or, at the very least, feel slightly uneasy about not doing so.

How about you? Are you superstitious or skeptical?