"Histories of ages past
Unenlightened shadows cast
Down through all eternity
The crying of humanity"
(lyrics from Hurdy Gurdy Man by 1960s folk/pop singer Donovan)
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"Some kid a hundred years from now is going to get interested in ~(American History)~ and want to see these places. He's going to go down there and be standing in a parking lot. I'm fighting for that kid."
- Brian Pohanka, 1990 - the late Civil War Researcher, Author, & Preservationist
"We are tellers of stories, we history folks. Our decorative and utilitarian objects are not merely things, but clues to tales of our past as a country. We don't just purchase a lantern; we investigate how it was used and the significance of the pattern of the piercing of the tin.
All of the looking back is also a looking forward as friends and families grow closer just as they would have in early America. Make the right historical environment and let the situations and camaraderie unfold."
Tess Rosch - Publisher Early American Life Magazine
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It is up to us history folk to become "tellers of stories," without a social or political agenda. No presentism or postmodernist approaches.
And today's post centers on and acknowledges the understanding of history and how we, as historians and living historians, look at objects from the past.
And the past itself.
(Some of what you are about to read was taken, word-for-word, from other sites. I tried to give credit where credit is do - no plagiarism when credit is acknowledged)~
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| ~"We are tellers of stories, we history folks" ~ Those standing on the grass represent the 17th century Those on the porch are representing the 18th century. "Histories of ages past..." |
~*_--0-.
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I came across the following on a Facebook page called "Saving Castles," and it so very aptly describes a door - a simple door, of all things, but in such an intriguing manner. I then searched the 'net for the original writer of this poetry and found the author's name to be Marianne Tioran (a "scientist turned impassioned bible student" - her own words). If Ms. Tioran happens to come across this post and wants me to remove this portion, I will, though hopefully she will not mind me using it.
Okay, now, before we get to the wonderful imagery, let's understand that doors in general have changed little since their invention dating back to about 3,000 B.C. (from what I've read). They open, and they close, allowing folks to enter or leave. They latch, also allowing for privacy and protection.
Simple without a thought, right?
That all goes without saying. But never have I read such a wonderfully mesmerizing account on a door - a door in time - until I saw the following verse:
In the heart of time's tapestry, there stands a weathered sentinel, a door to the ages past – a portal hewn from the ancient embrace of wood and time. This medieval castle door, with its gnarled grain and venerable scars, whispers tales of knights and fair maidens, of battles lost and victories won.
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| This Medieval door has a story to tell~ |
The wood, once vibrant and full of life, now carries the weight of centuries in its grain. Each knot, a testament to the storms weathered, each crack an echo of forgotten whispers. It is a silent witness to the passing of kings and the rise and fall of empires. The door, with its stoic resilience, guards the secrets of a bygone era.
As one approaches, the creak of heavy hinges becomes a symphony of antiquity, a sonnet sung by the passage of time. The locks, aged and proud, hold the mysteries of generations, their clasps and bolts forged in the fires of yesteryears. With every turn of the key, one can almost hear the echoes of knights preparing for quests and the rustle of velvet gowns in candlelit chambers.
The patina, like the strokes of a masterful artist, tells stories of dawns and dusks, of shadows dancing in the flickering candlelight. The grains seem to recount the rise and fall of kingdoms, the ebb and flow of history etched into its very fibers.
This portal into the past beckons with a melancholic allure, inviting the curious traveler to step beyond the threshold and immerse themselves in the whispers of forgotten epochs. As one reaches out to touch the ancient wood, there is a connection forged with the souls who have tread these stones before – a communion with the spirits of chivalry and romance.
Oh, the tales this door could tell! Of battles waged in the moonlit courtyard, of banquets echoing with laughter, and of sorrows whispered to the stars. It is a doorway not merely of wood and iron, but a passage to realms where time itself is captive, where the past lingers like a fragrant perfume.
In the silence that envelops this relic, one can almost hear the heartbeat of history, steady and ancient. The castle door stands not as an obstacle but as a guardian of the ages, inviting those who dare to turn the key and venture into the embrace of centuries past.
Marianne Tioran - author
Thank you, Ms. Tioran.
This is the road my mind takes most times upon being surrounded by history.
This is exactly how I try to look at historical objects.
Yeah...the road less taken...like the one that leads to the Cotswold Cottage:
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| Built in 1620, and in this image someone from the 1760s is strolling passed... |
From England we have the Cotswold Cottage, which was built, as far as we know, around 1620. I say “as far as we know” because I heard a rumor that the house may have been built many years before that - possibly sometime in the 1500s. Now, I’ve not heard anything official, so no gossip please. 1620 is still over 400 years old!
This house – this “rose cottage” (as it was originally known as when first transported to Greenfield Village) - was originally built in Chedworth, Gloucestershire, England. Whether it was built in 1620 or a hundred years before, it still was a part of the later Renaissance period.
Yes, the Renaissance period, which went from about 1450 to 1650!
That would be like my home, built in 1944, still being around in the year 2344! For all the many many times I have either stepped in or even walked past the Cotswold Cottage, I'm surprised at myself that I've not given thought of the building as being from the Renaissance period! I mean, playwright, William Shakespeare was a contemporary at that time, as was astronomer Galileo Galilei, James I (“King James”), England’s ruler, who was also the son of Mary, Queen of Scots, and the Pilgrims sailed across the Atlantic on the Mayflower to found Plimoth (Plymouth) the year it was built.
To me, that’s astounding!
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| The Cotswold Cottage door. Another door with a history. And here we are, gazing at merry old England from the time of the Pilgrims. But there's no Renaissance Festival behind this door - just the real deal outside & in! Just on the other side of this door - - - - -
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And this is the way I think - this is how I look at things...seeing the history of ages past, for I look at it in amazing wonder: I wonder about the people, the everyday ordinary people, who built it...who lived there; their clothes, their food...their music...what made them laugh, what did they do for enjoyment, their conversations & how they spoke---what did they sound like...
Well, for instance (coming from the Plimoth Patuxet page):
Instead of "Hi, how are you?" the colonists who stepped through this door might've said:
Good morrow
How now?
How do you fare?
What cheer?
Instead of "Excuse me," the visiting colonists might've said:
Pray pardon me
Instead of "Fireplace," the colonists might've said:
Hearth
Instead of "Goodbye," the colonists might've said:
God be with you
God bye to you
Fare thee well
Pray remember me
Instead of "Stew," the colonists might've said:
Pottage
Instead of "Pants," the colonists might've said:
Breeches
Instead of "Skirt," the colonists might've said:
Petticoat
Again, these are things I think of when I am able to visit Cotswold Cottage and the other colonial structures there in Greenfield Village.
That is my train of thought.
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| How many people have knocked on this door over the 400+ years it has been in use? How many from days of old twisted this knob to open and walk through this doorway? |
As we circle to the back of the forge building:
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| Also a part of the Cotswold Collection as it sits inside Greenfield Village is the back door to the forge. Now, this door would not necessarily have been used by customers, but perhaps the smithy himself to begin and end his day. |
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| Then there's this back forge window from the outside and... ...the very same as seen from the inside.
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While ancient China, Korea, and Japan widely used paper windows, the Romans were the first known to use glass for windows around 100 AD. In England, animal horn was used before glass took over in the early 17th century. Frames were made in timber and windows were small to suit the glass.
To me, it's sad that this Cotswold Cottage of 400+ years ago has been mostly relegated as a tea house - an area where visitors can have special teas and sandwiches. And it does have a few pewter pieces inside for show - I suppose that's fine and all, but I would love to see it as it once was, many years ago when brought over, furnished to how an English home from the 17th century would have looked, as was shown in the Village until not too long ago:
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| From a Greenfield Village guidebook - 1970: "Dining area in a downstairs room in the Cotswold Cottage. Wooden trenchers, burl bowls, and a leather "blackjack" used as a water dipper or drinking vessel are displayed on the open gateleg table. An English brass lantern clock , circa 1630, is a luxurious appointment in such a simple home." Oh! To have it revert back to this! |
But there is something that is not often paid much attention to inside the Cotswold garden: the Armillary Sphere.
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| For years I thought this stand in the middle of the Cotswold Garden was a sundial. I was wrong - - it is not a sundial... |
As what many others thought, I used to think this was a sundial, but, as you are about to read, it is not:
Before the advent of the European telescope in the 17th century, the armillary sphere was the prime instrument of all astronomers in determining celestial positions. In its simplest form, consisting of a ring fixed in the plane of the equator, the armilla is one of the most ancient of astronomical instruments. In the 17th and 18th centuries such models—either suspended, rested on a stand (as seen here), or affixed to a handle—were used to show the difference between the Ptolemaic theory of a central Earth and the Copernican theory of a central Sun. The main idea of the Ptolemaic System was that the planet Earth was the center of the universe and all of the other planets, stars, and the Sun revolved, or circled, around it, and the Copernican theory, which is a model of the solar system centered on the Sun, with Earth and other planets moving around it, formulated by Nicolaus Copernicus and published in 1543. Galileo's observations strengthened his belief in Copernicus' theory that Earth and all other planets revolve around the Sun.
"Galileo challenged the widely held belief of his time that the Earth was the center of the universe, instead supporting the theory proposed by Copernicus that the Sun is at the center and the Earth revolves around it; this contradicting the prevailing current view where people believed the Earth was stationary and the sun orbited it."
Did you ever think such an item as an Armillary Sphere existed inside Greenfield Village?
And being that the Cotswold Cottage was built during age of discovery makes it the perfect place to have such an item. Yes, as mentioned earlier, Galileo was alive at the same time the Cotswold Cottage was built.
It boggles the mind...
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| The Armillary Sphere adds much to the garden. A small sign to explain to visitors what it is would certainly be helpful. |
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| The armillary sphere is one of the most ancient of astronomical instruments. I honestly have no idea how it works - how it can be studied. This one was dedicated in memory of Henry Ford's wife, Clara, who simply adored gardens and gardening, and the garden at Cotswold can rightfully be considered the most beautiful inside Greenfield Village! In fact, it states: "In memory of Clara Bryant Ford/ A gift from The Woman's National Farm and Garden Association/1952" So, it seems like this is a replication, possibly made in 1952, which only makes sense considering its location is within easy reach of the public, and it's placement in the garden has it dealing with the harsh outdoor elements. I highly doubted this was a 400 year old original. |
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| The Armillary Sphere from University of Melbourne |
But I repeat:
They should have a small sign denoting what it is and its purpose - too many think it is a sundial.
They should have a small sign denoting what it is and its purpose - too many think it is a sundial.
Now here's another interesting piece of history:
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| These are not a part of the Cotswold collection, though the connection could be through their age. They are from the private collection of Brian Dewey. The spoon is Elizabethan era/Renaissance pewter seal spoon 1570s-1610. And could be much the same for the fork and knife, which are from the first half of the 17th century: 1600-1630s The broad rimmed pewter plate from the 1660s with the cartouche marks, indicating it was made in Belgium. |
I, too, am an antique collector. Though my collection is not a large one, I still very much enjoy what I have, most of which are candle holders and oil lamps (among other items). Here are some of my favorites:
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Here's my little collection of actual 18th century antiques: at the top is a candle stick from 1757, The plate on the left is from 1740. Next to the plate is a small pewter porringer from 1769. My friend, Brian, commented: "You’re now a bonafide 18th century antique collector!"
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Where have these three items been for the past 250+ years since they were made?
And who made them?
Moving on - - - -
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| Note the year of the Plympton chimney: 1640 - mighty old bricks! |
The Plympton House, originally from Sudbury, Massachusetts, has a very interesting history as a house, along with the people who lived in it. In fact, this is not the "original" Plympton House - that one had burnt to the ground sometime within the first few decades of the 1700s. Well, all was burned except the chimney brick of the fireplace inside. So the then current owner, either Thomas or Peter Plympton (not sure which one) rebuilt the house around the remaining fireplace, hearth, and chimney. Even the placard states that "...later generations of the family built the house you see here...".
For a more complete story on the house and family, please click HERE
But as it sits inside Greenfield Village, it is a wonderful example of late 17th and early 18th century living with a generous helping of American history within its walls, which have stories to tell if you know how to listen.
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| In this image you see my wife in the doorway and me wondering off. We are both in clothing more suitable to the 1770s than to the time period this house depicts. But the Plympton family remained in this house until 1834, so we could still "be us." |
Plus the house has a history from the 1770s --- (April 19th, 1775, if that date rings a bell):
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| It was in the early morning hours of April 19, 1775, that Abel Prescott, brother of Samuel (who rode with Paul Revere the night before), pounded his fist upon this very door, awakening Thomas Plympton, the leading Whig in Sudbury, Massachusetts, to let him know that the Regulars were on the march, and they were headed toward Concord. |
And just on the other side of this door, this is what we see:
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Just in case you are wondering about the original antiques situated inside this home, on the left side in the above photo we have a blanket chest from 1680 to 1700. Next, on the back wall, there is a hutch (with no year given). In front of the hutch is the settle (no year given). The table, again no year, is known as a hutch table, and three of the chairs are called Carver and the one in back is called a slat-back. Beneath the window looks to be another chest, though I have no other information about it, with what could be a wash tub for dishes upon it. Then there is the great wheel (large spinning wheel) on the right. No year given. Where we have no years given, the curators will have suitable items - usually antiques - so the viewer can be rest assured they belong of the same era. Every-so-often, a mishap occurs and an item placed may be incorrect, but generally that can be pretty rare in an internationally known museum such as Greenfield Village, and once caught will soon be corrected. |
Below we can see the same scene from a slightly different angle.
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| The curators did a fine job in setting up the presentation here - giving a good impression of this early 18th century house. The settle can be plainly seen, and there is a butter churn, a bed warmer, and what could be a wood box. |
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| This photo is from an old postcard of the interior of the Plympton House taken probably in the 1960s or early 1970s. Before the Daggett House was brought to Greenfield Village in 1978, this Plympton House was the main house in showing colonial life. But since Daggett was a farm house with a front and back door, for easy public entry and exit, and also had what is now known as the typical New England salt box architectural style, that became the main house to show colonial life. The Plympton House has since been plexi-glassed off. Luckily, however, we can still see the entire room. It would be nice, however, if the Village, on special days (maybe April 19th) would open this house to the public with a period-dress docent inside. Especially with America's 250th at hand. |
Earlier I wrote of Abel Prescott and how he awakened the Plympton's in a warning that the Regulars were marching toward Concord. On his return after his warning ride early on that fateful morning of April 19, 1775, Abel was fired upon by the British and was wounded in his side. He managed to escape to the home of a Mrs. Heywood. He died of dysentery in September 1775. To refresh your historical mind: "dysentery is an infection of the intestines that causes severe diarrhea with blood and mucus. It can be caused by bacteria, parasites, or viruses."
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| It is difficult to see the plexi-glass in this photo, for I was positioned in such a manner that it almost seems as if I am in the main part of the house. |
So, let's spy history in the aforementioned Daggett House.
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| And here we can see the break-back/lean-to/salt box style of architecture of the Daggett House from the early 1750s, which was very common in colonial New England. This type of architecture design is a direct descendent of rural houses in medieval England. English settlers created this manner of engineering by adapting said medieval house form to meet the different needs and weather of northeast America. The most distinctive feature is the asymmetrical gable roof, which has a short roof plane in the front and a long roof plane in the rear, extending over a lean-to --- in this case, the kitchen. I have read that this form got its "saltbox" name years later - in the 19th century - from the similarly shaped small chests used for storing salt at that time. The style was perfect for the harsh New England climate. Samuel Daggett himself built this house. |
We have now another door of ages past:
If doors could talk, what stories this door could tell...and yet...well...here's a tale---a true tale from ages past:
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This is a most recognizable door to me, for it is one I have opened and walked through perhaps thousands of times: it is the door to the Daggett House, originally built in Coventry, Connecticut (now Andover) in the early 1750s. There is some question on whether or not this is the original Daggett door Samuel Daggett built with this house. If it is - - and it very well could be - - how often did he, his wife Anna, or their children Talitha, Asenath, and Isaiah enter and exit this door? Or even neighbors like...Nathan Hale? |
As you know, I am always searching and re-searching for more information about the Daggetts and their lives. Well, my good friend, Larissa, pointed out something I never knew:
Nathan Hale, the American Patriot, soldier, and spy for the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War, was born and raised in Coventry, Connecticut - just a hop, skip, and a jump from where this Daggett house originally stood! Yes, true! Same neighborhood, in fact~~~
(Sadly, Nathan Hale was found out as a spy - caught by Robert Rogers of Queen's Rangers fame - and hung when he was just 21 years old)~
And Nathan Hale's father's name was Richard (who, like Sam Daggett, was a Deacon at the local church) - - so...in my opinion, I would be very much surprised if the Hales and Daggetts did not know each other pretty well, being from such a small rural area, and with Samuel not only being a Deacon at the local church, but also the jack-of-all-trades that he was - - - he was a well-known man about town!
To think Nathan Hale most likely, at the very least, saw this very same house that's now sitting inside Greenfield Village - - ! And, who knows? He could have stepped through this very same doorway when his father, Richard, came a-calling or in need of a helping hand or a repair job!
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| Is that Mrs. Daggett in the doorway, perhaps inviting Mr. Richard Hale and his son, Nathan, to enjoy a dinner with them? |
I love historical research---and friends who "know and share stuff"!
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| The door that separates the kitchen from the great room - - - Why a door to separate rooms? Well, oftentimes, a family would spend the cold winter months huddled together in a single room, such as a kitchen, for warmth, with the closed door helping to block off the cold and hold in the heat. |
While in the kitchen we oftentimes get to see the historic interpreters use many of the items seen here---but not the rare hogshead (that's the large barrel in the center)!
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| Inside this Daggett home we have a very fine example of the average family’s kitchen from the mid-1700s: we see, on the bottom left, wood for the cooking fire, and, in the center, we see the large barrel called a hogshead which could be used to store liquid such as cider (and some were even filled with tobacco!). According to one source, it was the one who awakened last whose job it was to draw the day's cider from the hogshead. Also in this photo I see lanterns, a mortar and pestle for the spices, a rushlight holder, a peak into the parlor, brooms--most likely homemade…where else can one in our area see such a kitchen unless they plan to travel back east? |
Now…let’s speak further about the hogshead for a moment (thanks to Phyllis D. and Brian D. for their additional information):
A Hogshead was a type of English measurement by way of a barrel, thus the Hogsheads came in many sizes. The largest of these were used to transport tobacco to port and on to a ship. They were rolled down a lane leading to the dock and then set upright for transport. There are several roads Maryland named “Hogshead Road” because they were used to move Hogsheads to the docks.
An original hogshead barrel from the 17th and 18th centuries is pretty rare, and most did not survive all these hundreds of years. It was mentioned that they are so rare that even the Smithsonian doesn’t have one, so what we have here in the Daggett kitchen is a very valuable piece.
(Click HERE for further information)
Now you understand when listening to The Beatles "Being For The Benefit Of Mr. Kite" from their Sgt. Pepper's album when John Lennon sings:
"Over men and horses, hoops and garters,
Lastly through a hogshead of real fire" ---this line is an expression that refers to a barrel set on fire.
"Over men and horses, hoops and garters,
Lastly through a hogshead of real fire" ---this line is an expression that refers to a barrel set on fire.
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| "I'll put the kettle on!" Houses, such as Sam Daggett's, were not the museums we know them to be today: they were ALIVE! Just like everything else in this post~~~~ |
Let's head over to Exeter, New Hampshire.
John Giddings, builder of this house around 1750, was a shipping merchant, and Exeter, New Hampshire was the center of political colonial activity for many years. It was the seat of government and included numerous state offices. Giddings, being a man of prominence, was an elected statesman for several years, and a representative just before and during the early years of the American Revolution. The New Hampshire Provincial Convention met in Exeter in 1775 to consider rebellion against the King. It was also in this city where the New Hampshire Convention voted to accept or reject the Federal Constitution in February of 1788.
John Giddings passed away in 1785. Joseph Pearson, who, in 1786 would become the Secretary of State of New Hampshire, bought the place in 1790, and married Giddings' daughter, Dorothy, in 1795....inside this house!
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| Another doorway that I passed through hundreds of times, if not more. |
Being that the two men who lived here were so involved in local affairs, one can just imagine the people who may have stepped through this doorway. Sadly, the front door was recently replaced with, what I'm pretty certain is, a modern replication of a colonial door. So I won't even bother to show it here.
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| A noticeable difference between the rural Daggett and the more urban dwelling Giddings can be plainly seen. Both houses were built in the mid-1700s. |
We are so very lucky to have such a ancient houses as the Daggett House, Plympton House, and Cotswold Cottage within our midst here in Michigan. Even though our area was settled as far back as 1701, when Detroit was founded by Cadillac, Detroit and Michigan are often over-looked in America's colonial history. Sadly, nearly every home and structure from 18th century Detroit has been destroyed, either by fire (the Great Fire of Detroit in 1805 sure did take its toll), or, as most old structures, being razed/torn down.
Now, I said “nearly,” for we still have the Navarre-Anderson Trading Post from 1789 in nearby Monroe, and there are a few structures from the 1700s up in the Mackinaw/Mackinac region. But, that's about it. So it’s here at Greenfield Village we have a few 18th century transplants, where we can learn so much.
Let's cross the great Atlantic for our next historical journey:
I hope the owner and originator of the following photo does not mind that I am using it here. I did include her name in the comment below the photograph.
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| The actual gate (then called the private postern gate, now in the Byward Tower) through which Queen Anne Boleyn entered the Tower of London on May 2, 1536. Photo taken by Anne LW at the Tower. |
We tend to think of changes in the past as we do with change today: instantaneous. Almost overnight. But that simply was not the case in those ancient days.
As I continue to study the B.C. and early A.D. periods in human history, it becomes more and more apparent that early history was very slow to change. All things took time to catch on.
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An early wheel made of a solid piece of wood. Not sure of its age. |
You can research how people lived 5,000 years ago and make the comparison to 2,000 years later, and there is not a great difference. Oh, mind! That's not to say there aren't some differences, but not anything that would be extremely noticeable. For a great example, let's look at the wheel. Most tend to assume that when the wheel was invented, it was used for moving things from one area to another...for transportation. But the first wheels were not used for transportation. According to various early world history books, evidence indicates they were created to serve as potter's wheels, and this happened around 3500 to 4,000 B.C. in Mesopotamia (in Lower Mesopotamia - now modern-day Iraq), where the Sumerian people inserted rotating axles into solid discs of wood for them to spin in helping to make bowls and drinking vessels out of clay. It then took about 300 years more before someone figured out that these spinning pottery tools/wheels could be used for mobility on chariots.
Three hundred years!
Time just seemed to move slower...
Here is information I found about a plain, ordinary tool seen often with hunters, reenactors, and campers, and the info came from a variety of sources, including from 'A Museum of Early American Tools' by Eric Sloane:
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| Taken from "A Museum of Early American Tools" by Eric Sloane |
"Tomahawks and axes differ in their shape, purpose, and history:
Shape
Axes have a long, rounded cutting edge and a flat head, while tomahawks are shaped like a semicircle with a line segment extending from the center to form a spike, and another line segment for the handle.
Purpose
Axes are used for chopping, splitting, chipping, and piercing, while tomahawks were used for chopping, cutting, and as a weapon."
"A tomahawk is a type of single-handed axe used by the many Indigenous peoples and nations of North America. It traditionally resembles a hatchet with a straight shaft. In pre-colonial times the head was made of stone, bone, or antler, and European settlers later introduced heads of iron and steel."
"A heavier tomahawk can split wood in the more conventional way like an axe by standing the wood up vertically, and then using weight and momentum to chop through. Tomahawks with thinner bits will have trouble splitting this way."
"Tomahawks were general-purpose tools used by Native Americans and later the European colonials with whom they traded, and often employed as a hand-to-hand weapon."
"The Early American ax or axe, historian Eric Sloane says either spelling is acceptable, was a tool derived from the European weapon. As its name suggests, a trade axe was made for bartering. Sloane suggests that Native American tomahawks were patterned after European axe designs. Pre-columbian axes had heads of stone, not iron and steel. The Iron Age essentially "bypassed" the American Indians, as they never developed the technology to smelt iron on a large scale, meaning they did not enter a true Iron Age before European contact; instead, they primarily worked with copper in some regions, while most cultures remained in a Stone Age technological phase when Europeans arrived.
Sloane refines the nomenclature of this type of tool: Its cutting surface is the bit; any portion opposite the bit is its poll. Sloane conjectures the reason for a poll was to add momentum to chopping, not primarily as a hammering tool."
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| A tomahawk and an axe. |
The pre-20th century man spent a good part of his day with the axe in his hand, for that's one chore that was never-ending - families could never have enough wood. Children and women would chop wood if the necessity arrived.
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| Here is Roy, out back at the 1750s Daggett House inside Greenfield Village, chopping wood for cooking on the hearth for demonstration purposes. But this would have been a very common site in days of old. |
On average (remember, I wrote “average”), most Colonial homes would have needed at least 40 cords of wood for heating and cooking over the course of a year. A cord of wood is technically 128 cubic feet...or, roughly, a stack of wood 4 feet wide, 4 feet high, and 8 feet long - very similar to a "rick" of wood.
And it would not only be just one variety of wood – there would be different varieties used for cooking, for instance: hardwoods, such as birch, hickory, and maple, were ideal for cooking food in the hearth, as was ash, beech, oak, and elm. These types of wood are dense and slow-burning, which means they release a consistent heat over time. They were ideal for cooking food because it helped to prevent hot spots that could burn the food. Like the cook of the house, in this case Anna Daggett, wife of Samuel, the axe man knew what size and even shape to cut the wood into for the type of fire needed.
As for the types of wood used for heating the home during the cold months: given the choice, Samuel may have chosen oak, black locust, and/or maple, should these tree varieties be accessible. Again, it was the hardwood that gave off the best and longest-lasting heat.
Chopping wood was not simply going out with an axe – there was a purpose for each piece cut.
Not many people today have much of an idea about how early American history actually was, which includes the nuance of how early Americans would have chopped the trees down...by hand...with the axe...and then split the wood with a wedge, knowing which tree gave the wood needed for the many uses.
I helped to chop a tree down with an axe, and I can honestly say, it is not an easy job.
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| I enjoyed the tree-chopping opportunity~ A few of us took turns chopping down this walnut tree a few years back - it was not only me doing the chopping - and, even with multiple people taking turns, it truly was one tough job. |
I posted the following on my Facebook page in the fall of 2024:
Instead of all the political hate and crap everywhere you turn, here's some cool and fun historical information, and I double checked each to make sure - -
How cool!
Picture #1) Sean's Bar (Athlone, Ireland)...through my research I found out it is considered the oldest pub/bar in the world, from 900 A.D.-----I'm not a drinker at all, but I think I would here...just because...pretty cool meme, by the way
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| This is the meme that sort of piqued my interest in the old bar thing. And I absolutely love seeing this posed photo of two Nordic-looking men there, quaffing a few. Though they are in Ireland..... |
My point of purpose is that it is not only the oldest, but it is still being used as its original intent.
That's what makes the difference.
That's what makes it full of interest.
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| Here is the exterior of what is claimed/considered the world's oldest bar. It is definitely the oldest in the British Isles and Europe. |
Picture #2) White Horse Tavern from 1673 -(Newport, Rhode Island)- The oldest bar/pub in the United States.
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| White Horse Tavern from 1673 -(Newport, Rhode Island) |
And then we can visit more locally (for me):
Picture #3) New Hudson Inn from 1831 - the oldest pub/bar in Michigan (New Hudson, Michigan) - a place I have actually been to a few times. In fact, I took the photo of it posted below.
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| New Hudson Inn 1831 - New Hudson, Mi The hotel was opened up in 1831 as 'The Old Tavern.' It is Michigan's oldest tavern still in its original location and still in use as a tavern. |
Located on Grand River Avenue near Milford Road, the New Hudson Inn/The Old Tavern was one of the stops from Detroit to Lansing along Grand River.
The 18" beams and wooden pegs remain as prominent today as when they were installed.
It has been updated over the years, needless to say, but the original structure remains intact and plainly seen.
In only seven years, as of this writing, this will be 200 years old!
I have a book called Michigan Haunts (which mentions this Passion for the Past blog for their Greenfield Village chapter) and one of hauntings it speaks on occurs at the New Hudson Inn. Well, though I found the ghost stories interesting, I found the history of this building much more intriguing.
Fun stuff---even if you're not a drinker!
How about Christmas?
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| I saw this meme and, as I usually do with history memes, did a bit of research to ensure its accuracy. It depicts how the Striezelmarkt looked in the 1400s. |
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| Here is the Striezelmarkt today - still going after all these years. |
"As you walk through the market, sampling local treats and taking in the sights, sounds, and beautiful aromas, you are immediately taken back to the joy of Christmas from centuries ago. There is a vintage charm to the market and a special atmosphere that can only be described as Christmas magic."
And then there is - - - - -
A cross-section of ground from the A303 highway in England reveals the path of the ancient Roman road, the Fosse Way. This route, which has historical significance dating back thousands of years, passes by Stonehenge, the renowned prehistoric monument, and has been a center of human activity since the Iron Age and possibly earlier...
Trent workmen have uncovered a 2,000-year-old Roman road in a field near Evesham, in Worcestershire, UK.
Aidan Smyth, archaeology advisor for Wychavon District Council says the ancient Roman road is the only one of its kind discovered in Britain and could be of “global importance.”
It looks like a well-made Roman road surface and may have taken over from an earlier trackway or route that the Britons were using before the Romans. We had simple roads before the Romans, and these sometimes followed traditional routes.
The 10m (32ft) stretch was discovered during routine waterworks and is said to have been constructed like a wall with large stones laid in bands – a traditional Roman technique – with its only comparisons in Rome and Pompeii.
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| Roads through time. We don't have anything quite like this in the U.S., but I do know that beneath many of the main roads in the towns and cities in Michigan, for example, there are the original brick roads. |
Along the same lines as the road photo above, who would have ever thought bricks could be historic?
Certainly not me, though my mind has been opened, for old bricks can be very historical. And I never thought I'd ever have such a collection.
Well, not an intentional collection.
But each brick here has a history and helps to tell a story.
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The first two bricks in the first row (left side going down) once were part of the road/street in the tiny city of Croswell (Michigan), from back in the horse and buggy days when they had brick streets; they were in a pile and some were beaten up pretty bad, but we were allowed to grab some, and at the bottom of that 1st row I decided to include a leftover paver from our own backyard patio my brother Tom and I built about twenty years ago. It is a piece of my own personal home history of my wife & our kids. The brick top middle is from "old Greenfield Village." At one time it was a part of the walk in front of the Henry Ford Birthplace after the house was brought to Greenfield Village - yes, it was once a part of that wonderful place of history. When the Village "updated" its infrastructure in the late 20th and early 21st century, many of the employees at that time were able to collect these bricks as they were removed from the walkways - - and a friend, knowing what a fan I am of the Village, was so very kind and gifted one to me. My sincerest thanks...! Now, this Greenfield Village brick is directly above my bicentennial brick from Massachusetts (can you guess which one that is?) that I found on eBay. What a cool and unique souvenir. The bottom brick in the center row was given to me as a retirement gift by a co-worker who knows how much I love history, and so she got me a brick from the Willow Run Bomber Plant (located a bit west of Detroit) that she was able to grab during the remodel. Construction of the Willow Run Bomber Plant began in 1940 and was completed in 1942, to manufacture aircraft, especially the B-24 Liberator heavy bomber (WWII). Willow Run was also the "Birthplace" of Rosie the Riveter - and now I have a historic brick from that plant! How cool! The top brick in the third row (on the right going down with the 10 holes) is from Oakwood Junior High School (Oakwood Middle School), the school that I attended back in the early-to-mid 70s, which was torn down about 15 years ago. I asked one of the workers for a brick and he grabbed one for me. The two bricks below that are from the chimney of our former family cottage built in the early 1930s. Our cottage holds near and dear memories for me and my family - including my children. Sadly, we no longer have it in the family. At least I have a small piece of it... For more brick details, see below: |
Then there's the paver directly below the two Croswell bricks. My brother Tom and I worked together on making the patio that is still there at the back of my house. My brother is no longer with us, for he passed away in 2014, so this is an important part of my life, my history, which is why it is included here.
Now we go to the second row (center going down); you all know how much I love Greenfield Village, so to have a brick that I am sure I trod upon (along with millions of others) that was once a part of that favorite of all historical places is, well, let's just say "goosebumps."
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| In this old photo of the Henry Ford Birthplace inside Greenfield Village, you can make out the brick sidewalk. The brick given to me was one of these from this location. |
As for the Bicentennial brick in the center:
tell me this isn't one of the coolest, most unique, and even most unusual Bicentennial collectibles you've ever seen: a 1776-1976 brick! It was advertised as a door stop (lolol)! I didn't hesitate to "Buy It Now" when I saw it. With me it'll have a quiet, more gentle (haha) life, sitting on a shelf with other collectibles.
As far as the Willow Run brick center bottom, well, from my friend (and giver of this gift), Serina, said she was able to "pick out bricks when they started part of the remodel" and that it "is related to Henry Ford (since) he opened the Bomber Plant."
Serina is also a part of the group of women who pay tribute to Rosie the Riveter, so this is also a Rosie brick!
The brick on the upper right came from a school where I attended back in the early-to-mid 1970s. It was also my workplace as a custodian in the 1990s and into the 2000s, so it also has a personal history to it. The school was built in the early 1950s.
My family cottage chimney bricks are the last two bottom bricks in the third row.
My grandfather bought the place before I was even born, and I spent my entire youth there in Lexington (Michigan, on the banks of Lake Huron). I continued to visit the cottage well into my adult life, even after I married and had kids, so even my own family learned to love the place. When the cottage chimney suddenly came crashing down - no one was hurt, thank God - I grabbed a few of the bricks.
All of these bricks - bricks that help to tell a historical American story - will be kept until one day when I'm no longer a part of the living----my wife, kids, or grandkids can do what they wish.
You see, I don't pay attention to the younger generation telling me I must get rid of my stuff because no one will want what are near and dear to me. However, it is my hope that my collection may be of some interest to my kids, grandkids, or even, one day in the distant future, my great grandkids. Maybe not everything I have, but I do have a feeling many of my items will be in our family for generations to come, for I have raised my kids with a deep commitment to family and our family history. Screw those people on the internet and in magazines who spew the psychobabble of telling us Boomers to get rid of our stuff - things that make us happy. We're alive now, and enjoying the heck out of them!
In 1936, Hugo Kraft was plowing his field at the bottom of the former Lake Mästermyr on the island of Gotland, in Sweden, when he found a strange - encircled by an iron chain - chest. It contained the largest collection of tools of this date so far found: iron working and carpenter's tools, raw materials, un-finished products. His field was located on a drained lake.
During the Viking Age, the area where Mästermyr mire is located, used to be a lake. The mire was drained in 1902–10.
Most of the find had been placed in the chest, but there were also objects around it such as three bronze cauldrons, three bells, and a fire-grid of iron. A chain, made up of 26 figure-of-eight shaped links, was wrapped around it. It served both as an extra lock and handle since the chest was too heavy for the original handle. The chest and the other items had probably been placed in a boat which capsized and sank in the lake. Another theory is that the chest was temporarily hidden at the water's edge.
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| The thousand-year-old chest (from roughly 793-1066 A.D.) contained over 200 tools and blacksmith works or works in progress, making it the largest Viking tool find in Europe. |
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| The contents of the chest indicate that it belonged to a travelling craftsman who made repairs and produced new items. The tools show that he was a smith and a carpenter, and had some knowledge of locks, coppersmithing, and coopering. Such an amazing find~ |
So, in fact, 1000 year ago a skilled and wealthy Viking lost his belongings during the sail on the Mastermyr Lake. Imagine how angry he was. Or maybe he also lost his life?
Bibury, a charming village in Gloucestershire, England.
It dates back to the Anglo-Saxon period, with its earliest mentions recorded in the Domesday Book of 1086. Its most iconic feature is Arlington Row, a series of 17th-century weavers' cottages originally built in 1380 as a monastic wool store and converted to homes around 1600. During the Middle Ages, Bibury thrived on wool production, becoming an essential part of the local wool trade and contributing to the Cotswolds' prosperity. Today, Bibury preserves its traditional architecture and natural beauty, becoming a popular destination for tourists and a symbol of English rural heritage.
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| The Village of Bibury has been around for over a thousand years, though the cottages seen here are from the 1600s. |
When I was growing up in the 1960s and 1970s, most of the old people I knew, including my own grandparents, were born in the previous century - the 1800s (my grandparents were born in the 1890s). And I really didn't think much of it at the time - but as I got older and those old folks began dying off, it began to hit me that these people from the 19th century were leaving us, that soon all living remnants of that century would soon be gone.
And then it happened. Emma Martina Luigia Morano (1899-2017) is considered to be the last person born in the 19th century to have been verified as still living...until she died in April of 2017. There's more on her below - - -
The last person alive from the Titanic was Millvina Dean, and she was only 9 weeks old when her family boarded the Titanic in 1912. She lived to be 97 years old, dying in 2009. She was the last living survivor of the ship.
There was also Florence Green, a British citizen who served in the Allied armed forces as a Royal Air Force (WRAF) service member, who is generally considered to have been the last verified veteran of the first world war - The Great War---WWI - at her death on February 4, 2012, aged 110.
What's next?
The roaring 20's?
The roaring 20's?
WWII?
So during my lifetime (so far) I've lived on this earth at the same time with people from the age of the mythical cowboy era. Heck! The very last authenticated Civil War veteran to die was Albert Woolson, a Union army drummer boy from Minnesota who died on Aug. 2, 1956, at the age of 109 years - just five years before I was born!
So imagine how folks felt in 1826:
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"You & I have passed our lives in serious times..." John Adams in a letter sent to Thomas Jefferson in 1813. |
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| I'll help spread the word - - |
Then there's Noah Webster, who was born October 16, 1758 and lived a long life until May 28, 1843.
Why the inclusion of Noah Webster here?
Due to his being known as the "Forgotten Founding Father."
And he is known by that moniker because he was a significant contributor to the early American republic, and while most people primarily associate his name with his dictionary, overlooking his important role as a political writer, he was also an ardent supporter of the Constitution, and an advocate for a distinct American culture during the nation's formative years; he was a confidant to figures like George Washington and Benjamin Franklin but did not hold a prominent political office like many other Founding Fathers.
I know...you all think I'm nuts, but, as stated in the title of this post, this is the way Ken (moi!) thinks when it comes to history.
And this leads me to:
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| Conrad Heyer |
This is Conrad Heyer, born April 10 in either 1749 or 1753. He is often credited as being the earliest-born person to have been photographed alive. Whether he was or not doesn't really matter, for note the year when he was born! He was photographed for this picture in 1852 at the age of either 103 or 99.
Think about it this way - when you look into his eyes you are looking at eyes that saw what we read about in history books...at someone who was alive before the American Revolution...even before the French & Indian War, and was a contemporary of Ben Franklin, George Washington, John Hancock, Paul Revere, and the aforementioned John Adams, and Thomas Jefferson. And even John Chapman (Johnny Appleseed!), Daniel Boone, Noah Webster, and Davy Crockett!
But even crazier is to think about when you look into this man's eyes, you are seeing all the way back to the 17th century - for you can be certain that as a youngster he knew people who were around before and during the Salem Witch trials of the early 1690s!
In a similar vein, now we are going to visit two people - two women - who, when you read about them and then read what I wrote about the two together, it may just blow your mind:
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| Margaret Ann (Harvey) Neve |
Margaret Ann (Harvey) Neve was born on an Island in the English Channel in May of 1792 and died in April of 1903.
In her lifetime she lived in three different centuries: was born when King George III was still king (and had recently lost the Revolutionary War) - and even though she was across the Atlantic, the year she was born George Washington was president of the new United States---at various times in her life she was a contemporary of not only Washington, but Adams, Jefferson, Revere, Queen Victoria, Charles Dickens, Beethoven, Jane Austen, Mark Twain, Chopin, Edgar Allan Poe, Napoleon, Tchaikovsky, Abraham Lincoln, King Edward VII, and Washington Irving. She also lived through the War of 1812, the French Revolution, visited Waterloo soon after the battle (1815), the Crimean War, and America's Civil War, saw the end of slavery in England, France, and the United States, saw (or was aware of) inventions such as the photograph, the electric light, the phonograph, the moving pictures, and early horseless carriages.
How many images do we have of such people that have lived though so much history?
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| Emma Martina Luigia Morano |
As I mentioned a couple minutes ago, we now have a little bit on Emma Martina Luigia Morano, a very special woman who died in 2017 at the age of 117, and is considered to be the last person to have lived in three centuries: the 19th century, the 20th century, and the 21st century. Most notably she was the last person from the 19th century to die (she was born in Italy in 1899). Think of it this way - at the time of her death, the entire human population on earth on the day she was born was already dead. Okay...a little morbid, I suppose, but...well...fact.
Emma lived through two World Wars, the invention of the flying machine, transatlantic flight, the sinking of the Titanic (no, she was not a passenger!), the automobile becoming the main mode of transportation, Ian Fleming's discovery of penicillin which paved the way for antibiotics, man landing on the moon, the computer age, the television age, and was a contemporary of Enrico Caruso, Charles Lindbergh, Henry Ford, Bonnie & Clyde, George M. Cohan, Rudolph Valentino, dictator Benito Mussolini, Glenn Miller, the Wright Brothers, and any of us who were alive before April 15, 2017 - the date of her death.
Between these two ladies, who themselves were contemporaries for a few short years (but did not know each other), we have 225 years, from 1792 to 2017!
It's this kind of information that blows my mind!
I really try to do my best to place people in history in their environment in their time, not in our time. To be totally honest, you can't even place someone from as recent as 1975 in our time, much less someone from 200+ years earlier. This is called Presentism. Presentism is the practice of judging historical figures by the moral and ethical standards of the present day. And yes, there are those who attempt this atrocity, with others of their ilk nodding their heads in agreement ("uh huh, uh huh...yup!").
But...
I believe in learning from the past - presenting the facts as best as I can with the information on hand.
I absolutely do not agree with presentism.
Then there's this unfortunate truth:
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| Sad...very sad. |
There was a time not so long ago - when I was a young kid, in fact - that farmers were thought of as being dim-witted...not so smart. Yet, the farmer was perhaps among the smartest people I've known, and it's only recently that they are being acknowledged as such.
In fact, it seems as we head further into the future, the more looking back to the past society does, at least to some extent.
This is the way I think when it comes to history.
Putting history in its place is the only way it can make sense in every sense. To only see an earlier time as a series of graphs and charts showing data of age, race, sex, or occupations cannot give a complete picture; just as bad is seeing the past in a more general overview, like those history Facebook memes that so many people tend to post. When one can delve deep into research and think or see an object - an antique - in its place and time is like going from a pencil sketch to a full color painting. It comes alive!
~If you enjoy this sort of history, you may enjoy my "Buried Treasure" post---click HERE
~And in a similar vein, HERE is another favorite I wrote of buried treasures, including bourdaloues.
~To read and learn a bit more on ancient farming practices of the B.C. and early A.D. periods, please click HERE
~To find books showing the early ages of world history, click HERE
~How about when I visited Michigan's oldest pre-statehood buildings that are still standing: click HERE
~Interested in a deeper history of the structures inside Greenfield Village? Well, HERE is a listing of links to the historic structures at Greenfield Village
~How about a history of music---most of which you can actually purchase? Click HERE
~HERE is a blog filled with links to posts I've written about the American Revolution
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