Could we survive Colonial America?
If we at the cabin suddenly found ourselves literally transported to 1775 (for that's our living history year this year), would we/could we survive?
That was a discussion we had.
Many reenactors I know have a high self-regard and will not hesitate to state matter-of-factly, "Oh, I most certainly could!"
Of course, I could say the same thing, knowing I'll never have to truly actually find out. I mean, I do know quite a bit about life during that time, but could I, in effect, live it...everyday...for years, non-stop?
I suppose if I had a wife from that period who knew the ins & outs of daily life (for she actually was living it), with her caring for me, I would say I would have a fair chance at another decade or two, for my physical shape at this point, and given my age, finding myself transported to the past without help would be extremely difficult for me, I'm sure. Now, if I were 30 or 40 years younger, I believe I could give it a good go and have a much better chance, and quite possibly succeed...even on my own.
But me---now at my age and physical shape---?
"Could we survive Colonial America" is one of the main questions that gives us a reason that we - myself, Larissa, Norm, Charlotte (in addition to Jackie & Patty) - attempt these cabin experiences and experiments; we're 21st century people (born in the 20th century) so with these cabin excursions, we're giving it a try as best as we can to have a sort of awareness...an exposure...to Colonial life in a way we may never encounter elsewhere. We may not actually be transported to the past, but living at the cabin the way we do, one day at a time, is probably as close as we'll ever get...and thus we are having past experiences to a varied extent.
And that means a lot and keeps us happy.
But that's why I do it - and I imagine my cohorts probably feel the same.
So, with that being said:
~Welcome to the colonial frontier cabin 1775~
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Let me begin by telling you it was a cold day, this February 1st, with highs topping off only in the 20s. The previous day saw an all-day rain-fall - a cold, hard rain that created a very dank and overcast atmosphere. Then by early evening, the temperatures began their downward turn to become bitter cold, and the rain turned to snow, while the rain-soaked ground had turned to ice.
On cabin day I had a bit of a drive ahead of me, meeting at Charlotte's and then all riding the journey from there together (Norm did choose to ride separately, though on his own accord). Some questioned on whether or not we would even take on the adventure to drive in the slick, slippery mess that had occurred the night before.
But we would-and we did. We do take our living history seriously.
Luckily the roads were not nearly as bad as they could have been, for the expressway was mostly ice free.
Time to travel back in time!
The attitude we take is to try not to diminish the past - we try to keep it real as best we can. I mean, here we are in mid-winter and generally the temperatures continue to remind us of the season. Now, we do have the opportunity to have an electric heater set up inside the log home if we desire to do so, but that would diminish all we stand for as living historians. Yes, one was used during our Christmas presentation there, but that was more for the visitors. Aside from Christmas, when we are out at the cabin, the last thing I want is to have a heater there to take all we strive to accomplish away. So we spent our day experiencing an 18th century frontier winter, with snow covering the ground and temps to keep it from melting.
Heater-less.
And we had a wonderful time~
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| Our beeswax candle and Betty Lamp - Both lit for Candlemas. |
Every February 2nd we celebrate Groundhog Day. However, Europeans and many of the American colonists in earlier centuries celebrated the Candlemas holiday that same day.
So how are the two celebrations intertwined?
Long ago the celebration of Candlemas was a very religious occasion. The name Candlemas comes to us from England and refers to the custom of blessing and distributing candles in procession before the celebration of Holy Mass. And since many Christians consider Jesus as the “light of the world,” it is fitting that candles are blessed on this day and that a candle-lit procession precedes the religious service. It speaks of this in a book that I have in my personal library called Observations on Popular Antiquities, Chiefly Illustrating the Origins of our Vulgar Customs, Ceremonies and Superstitions by Henry Ellis and John Brand (copywrite 1815).
Candlemas occurs at a period between the December solstice and the March equinox, marking the 40th day after Christmas; many people traditionally noted that time of the year as winter’s “halfway point” while waiting for the spring, and celebrated the annual triumph of light/spring over darkness/winter. It was the day when the blessing of the year’s supply of candles would take place, for candles blessed on this day were thought to be among the most powerful "religious protectors" available to ordinary folk in those days of old.
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| Norm: the man who portrays our 18th century minister. As far as I'm concerned, he not only "portrays" our minister, but he is our minister! He knows his Bible...and the ancient prayers. He takes it all to heart. So when he blesses our candles, I believe they are truly blessed. |
Preaching is an act of faith and obedience to Jesus, not a task that requires formal credentials. A license is not required to preach in a church - no federal, state, or local government determines any licensing or certification requirements for church leaders. However, some religious bodies may have educational and experiential requirements for their church leaders.
And this is why I do consider Norm to be our preacher and include him as such.
Artificial light in the 18th century was truly a luxury. People were used to working by daylight while indoors, so lighting a candle when the sun was up was rare. It was customary for folks to move from room to room to get the most out of the day's light. This was generally due to the lengthy candle-making process. According to one of the chandlers I spoke to at Colonial Williamsburg, a typical middle class home in the 1750's could go through nearly 500 to 700 candles a year. And that may even be a conservative amount for some. Then again, it could be much more liberal an amount out on the frontier, with far less amounts lit.
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| Norm researches his prayers, digging deep into history to find what would have been said 250 years ago. |
This is where I come in - I'm one of those men who will carry on the candle dipping. I do enjoy my artificial light.
Now, making candles only during the months of fall wasn't a hard and fast rule, as notations in the diary of Martha Ballard shows us:
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| We did not make candles on this day as we've done before, but I brought numerous that we dipped last fall to be blessed. Perhaps I'll dip more come spring. |
March 16, 1787
Clear. mr Jonston & wife & Son Left here for home. mr Ballard gone to Capt Sualls. Jon gone to Joseph Fairbankss for hay. Sally Peirce here, mrss Chamln, Savage, Bolton, [Vinc] Savage & Sally Webb also. I made 6 Dos Candles. have been at home.
November 5, 1787
Clear & pleast. I Came from mr Fosters. we made 25 Dozn of Candles. mrs Voce here. Hannah is not So well as usual, I was Calld about mid night to go See Wilm Whites wife. I was very unwell. Seth Williams after me to See his wife also in travil. mrs White Safe Delivrd of a Son by ye asistance of Moses Whites wife before I arivd. I was Exceeding Sick while gone.
April 10, 1788
Clear. I have been at home; made 20 dz of Candles. Hannah washt. mr Ballard been at mr Pollards on Business.
April 12, 1788
Clear. Hannah is much Better. Betsy Chever here. I have made 28 doz of Candles; 6-1/2 lb of the tallow, Cyruss. mr Gillbreath Came here; is unwell. Theophelus & James Burton here also.
Have you kept track of how many candles Mrs. Ballard made in this thirteen month period? 79 dozen, equaling to a total of 948!
Now, according to the wonderful book, Our Own Snug Fireside, Elizabeth Fuller made sixteen dozen candles in December 1790, and another eighteen dozen the following March, equaling to 408 candles, while Ruth Bascom made twenty four dozen on George Washington's birthday in 1812, which comes to 288 candles.
Yep, the 500 to 700 average mentioned earlier looks to be spot on.
As you can see, candles and artificial light were of great importance to many who could either afford to purchase them from a chandler or make them. This is one of the reasons why Candlemas was a celebrated holiday.If you are interested in hearing our minister give his Candlemas prayer, click the You Tube link below:
Candlemas celebrants lit candles and held them during parts of the church service, then brought them home. They believed the lit candles protected the home during storms, warded off evil, and comforted the sick.
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| Pancakes a-frying on the spider skillet on the hearth. |
As I continued to research this ancient Candlemas Festival, I learned that February 2nd is also a day for pancakes!
Yes, pancakes!
And that, too, goes back to ancient times.
The round shape of the pancake, as well as its golden color, are a representation of the sun and the return to light, considered to be the coronation of spring. 'Twas a tribute to the days getting longer and lighter, to the cycle of the seasons, and the announcement of spring itself. Pagan in origin, but as so many of our ancient holidays, has blended with Christianity, for another explanation is that eating pancakes for many became a traditional way to use up dairy products before lent, and by the year 1100 AD, became part of Shrove Tuesday (now called Fat Tuesday). It is also called Mardi Gras. Shrove Tuesday is the day before Ash Wednesday.
For those with a sweet tooth, Candlemas is also a chance to eat pancakes with maple syrup, which is how we at the cabin celebrated again this year. By the way, from what I've read, the first recorded mention of pancakes dates back to ancient Greece, around 600 B.C.
So! Why is it called a pancake?
Well, because of how it is made. A pancake is a thin, flat cake that's made by pouring batter into a pan—hence its name—and then flipping it so that both sides are cooked.
So guess what we did on February 1st?
A bit of smoke from the hearth found its way into the room, creating a pretty cool atmosphere with the sunshine streaking in through the window.
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| The winter sun coming through the cabin window. |
So, noting the streaks of sunshine, we decided to take advantage:
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| Norm~ |
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| Larissa~ |
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| Charlotte~ |
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| Yep---that's me! |
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| Here we have my good friends Charlotte, Norm, Larissa, and then there I am: the Winter 1775 Cabin Crew! And winter it was! On with our cloaks and head coverings to help keep us warm. And this is indoors! The Little Ice Age indeed! |
There is a beauty about winter, with the ground covered in snow. In the city it covers up the blemishes. In the country, it adds to nature's beauty. I do enjoy the winter, and the allowance of this event makes wintertime even more splendid---yes, even with the cold.
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| Looking out the cabin window we see an icy, crunchy snow... The 18th century saw the tail-end of what is now known as “The Little Ice Age,” a period lasting from the years 1300 to about 1850. It was during this time the world saw much harsher winters than the previous and following centuries, and many well-documented winter storms capable of dropping three feet of snow over a matter of hours.
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Keep in mind that this was in a time before video games, home computers or cell phones, internet, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter (X), You Tube, Tic Toc, I-Tunes, Amazon, or streaming services. And no automobiles, movies, telephones, or even photographs. And if one runs out of food, there are no local Circle K, CVS, or Rite Aid party stores available. Yet family's made due.
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| By the way, contrary to popular belief, colonials did enjoy life, as we do in our day. There are few things that drive me crazier than hearing some uninformed nincompoop stating that people in those old days were miserable. Like Americans today, the greater majority of colonists were quite happy. How do I know this? Reason and research. |
I/we very much enjoy celebrating the old holidays. Before I got into reenacting, I'd never heard of Candlemas (aside from the Swedish heavy metal band from the 1980s). And it seems like only recently I've been hearing about churches - mostly Catholic - celebrating this ancient ritual. No matter, for I think it's great that this holiday is returning.
Charlotte took on the task of preparing and cooking our peas porridge.
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| The smoking ham will soon be in the pot. |
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| Larissa looks on as Charlotte prepares our peas-porridge by cutting up the ham. |
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| Charlotte gathered wood |
Running a kitchen and cooking on the hearth really did require a staggering range of skills, which our ladies learned, including chopping kindling, keeping a fire burning indefinitely, knowing which wood was best for baking or frying, cosseting (caring for) bread yeast, adjusting 'burners' of coals on a hearth and gauging the temperature of a bake oven. Not done by us yet, but you never know is plucking feathers from fowl, butchering animals large and small, brewing beer, and making cheese. In fact, the colonial cook, like Larissa & Charlotte, would have to begin their work by "building a good-sized fire on the hearth, but once the logs had burned to coals, the embers were moved around, and carefully selected pieces of wood would be added to produce different kinds of heat, often having several small fires going at once. Piles of live embers on the hearth were like burners on a stove; a gridiron set over a pile of coals could be used for broiling; a pan set over coals on a trivet could be used for frying; and coals could be piled over and under a Dutch oven for baking."
(The was taken directly from the book America's Kitchens by Nancy Carlisle and Melinda Talbot Nasardinov).
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Cooking on the hearth - the center of the colonial home - has been thoroughly romanticized, and yet it remains an art that few today have experienced. |
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| While the food cooked, we sat near the fire to warm ourselves. |
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| A bit different from a forced-air furnace~ No...I'm not sleeping - I'm resting my eyes! |
However, none of us were used to spending all of our waking hours in such frigid temperatures, and, I hate to sound like a broken record, but at this time my back will not allow me to do too much physical labor (yes, I am going to physical therapy...), so we spent some of our time a-waiting for the food to cook, thawing ourselves out - - mostly stopping our feet from being in such pain.
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| And it worked! Within minutes we were toasty...and so were our toes. |
Now, that being said, there are plenty of journals and diaries from the period citing exactly how 18th century folk dealt with the cold, including wearing layers of clothing and winter cloaks while indoors:
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| Charlotte's becoming an old pro at hearth cooking~ |
The easiest cooking technique was to make a one-pot meal in an iron pot hanging above the fire. "It was very popular to cook meals in this manner, using simple ingredients that required little attention, such as meat and vegetables boiled together in a single pot, maybe including a starchy pudding tied in a piece of cloth."
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| Look at the steam coming from the boiling pot! |
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| Here is Amelia Simmons' American Cookery cookbook from 1796. |
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| And inside we have an original receipt for Rice Pudding~ |
But we did not have any starchy pudding, such as rice pudding.
Now, that doesn't mean we won't ever give it a try - - just not this time.
(From Webster): "Most of us know the difference between a recipe and a receipt. We think of recipe as the yellowed, typewritten card that your grandmother hands down to you that shows how she made your favorite chocolate chip cookies, and receipt as the 22-foot-long strip of paper and coupons that spits out of the register when you buy a pack of gum at the drug store.
Recipes are basically instructions; receipts are a record of what has been received as part of a transaction. Both recipe and receipt derive from 'recipere', the Latin verb meaning "to receive or take,"
But there was a time when receipt was used for what we now call a recipe.
Receipt is the older word, turning up in Chaucer's Canterbury Tales (1392), where it referred to a medicinal preparation.
The form recipe is the Latin imperative, and its original use, a couple hundred years after receipt, was not in cooking instructions but in prescriptions. Eventually that word got abbreviated to an R with a line though the leg, which we later would render in print as Rx.
The sense of receipt that we know today—that of a statement documenting the receiving of money or goods—began in the 16th century, and by the 17th century, both words were referring to cooking instructions.
While recipe is the preferred word for that meaning today, the memory of being handed down “a receipt for cookies” does get handed down—like a beloved recipe—from older generations."
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| The ladies always do an amazing job creating authentic colonial-era meals! |
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| Larissa prepared pancakes~ Over the years here at the cabin, we've learned so much about a variety of things, including foods of the past. Larissa has been preparing and cooking historical food for 25 years now, whether over the 18th century hearth at the Daggett House or on a mid-19th century cast-iron stove at Firestone Farm. She is definitely our go-to girl for period food! |
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Larissa once said to me that to cook on a hearth, "You really have to plan things because you need enough space, cookware, and coals and heat."
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| The colonial women who spent their time in the kitchen were nothing short of culinary geniuses. I include the ladies here at the cabin in that "club". Thank you. |
One of the things that has noticeably changed in recent times is how much actual time is spent cooking meals at home today by modern folks. With "innovations" such as microwaves, frozen and pre-packaged foods, and fast food restaurants, the time and energy spent doing this oh-so-important job is nowhere near what our ancestors did for food preparation.
Pride in cooking seems to have gone out the window as well.
But not for our cabin ladies.
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| Methinks the porridge is ready! |
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| As always, we said a thankful grace for such a meal...and for this get-together. |
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Our meal of peas porridge, pancakes, bread, cheese, a few nuts, and beets was as good a winter meal as anyone can have. Oh, and pure maple syrup as well! Plus cider to wash it all down.
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| There is no necessary inside the cabin. So it's a bit of a walk - - - - |
My thoughts for next year's winter excursion is to actually chop wood, providing (God willing) that I am physically able. That's the goal I'm working toward.
In the meantime...
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| Yet here is something I can do - work the shaving horse! |
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| As we have proven over the years here at the cabin, we're not afraid to do actual work and get dirty and get our period clothing a bit mussed. |
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| I hope to turn this into a handle of some sort--maybe an axe handle. |
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| See that belly (and how can you not?)~~~ Next year, God willing, I hope it to be much smaller! |
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| Whenever we are together we try to take a group photo in front of the cabin. Here we are on this February 1st day. Thank you for joining us, even if only through the pictures in this blog post. I hope you enjoyed it. |
Ian Mortimer is one of my favorite historical authors, even though his era of study is the Medieval period. Judging by the books he's written, he and I tend to think of history along the same lines. As he wrote in his "Time Traveler's Guide to Elizabethan England:" I wrote my first Time Traveler's Guide in order to suggest we do not always need to describe the past objectively and distantly. In that book I tried to bring the Medieval period closer to the reader, describing what you would find if you could visit fourteenth century England. Where would you stay? What might you wear? What would you eat? How should you greet people? Given that we know so much about the period, it stands to reason that the historian should be able to answer such questions. There are limits, of course: the historian cannot break through the evidence barrier and actually recreate the past...although we in the colonial cabin crew certainly do strive to recreate the past as best as we can, not only physically, but somewhat mentally as well. But we all always know that we will soon be in our own 21st century lives, with all of our modernisms that we are very used to having and using. That is something that can't be helped, for we are a product of and live in our modern time. Oh! But we do strive desperately hard to recreate a time of long ago - 250 years ago, as has been our objective since our first cabin experience in the fall of 2020 when we reproduced the year 1770.
In the 21st century, we are used to hearing a far more over-generalized view of America's colonial times. The problem is that our view of history diminishes the reality of the past. We concentrate on historical events as something that has happened, and in doing so we ignore it as a moment which, at the time, is happening. - Ian Mortimer (with slight modification)~
Just as I fully disagree with presentism (the practice of judging historical figures by the moral and ethical standards of the present day), I also like and agree with Mortimer's criticisms of the postmodernist approach to history (the dilution of historical accuracy in favor of diverse perspectives). These are my thoughts as well. You can take both presentism and postmodernist approaches to history and toss them out the door.
So, in this spirit, I hope you enjoy what we do ~~~~~~~
Until next time, see you in time.
Thank you to Larissa, Norm, Charlotte, and Brian for the use of some of their photos.
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| There is a bear skin covering that's been at the cabin since we've been going there. It's used for show for school group tours, mostly. However, we decided to have a little fun with it. Yes, of course that's Larissa! |
To read and learn more about the early days of the February 2nd celebrations (Candlemas & Groundhog Day), please click HERE
How about our previous colonial life cabin excursions?
(remember - each year listed here we are representing 250 years earlier:
2020 = 1770
2021 = 1771
2022 = 1772
2023 = 1773
2024 = 1774
and now
2025 = 1775
~To read about our 2020 excursion - our first autumn at the cabin - click HERE
~To read about our 2021 wintertime excursion at the cabin - click HERE
~To read about our 2021 springtime excursion at the cabin - click HERE~To read about our 2021 summertime excursion at the cabin - click HERE
~To read about our 2021 summer harvesting of the flax at the cabin - click HERE
~To read about our 2021 autumn excursion - click HERE
~To read about our 2022 winter excursion at the cabin - please click HERE
~To read about our 2022 spring excursion at the cabin - please click HERE
~To read about our 2022 summer excursion at the cabin - please click HERE
~To read about our 2022 autumn excursion at the cabin (Pioneer Day) - please click HERE
~To read about our 2023 winter excursion at the cabin - please click HERE
~To read about our 2023 spring excursion at the cabin - please click HERE
~To read about our 2023 late spring at the cabin - click HERE
~To read about the 2023 early summer - please click HERE
~To read about the 2023 mid-summer - please click HERE
~To read about the 2023 autumn Pioneer Day - please click HERE
~To read about our 2023 Thanksgiving harvest celebration - please click HERE
~To read about our 2024 Winter experience at the cabin - please click HERE
~To read about our 2024 spring excursion at the cabin - please click HERE
~To read about our 2024 late spring with just Patty & I - click HERE
~To read about our 2024 summer - please click HERE
~To read about our 2024 mid-and-late-summer - please click HERE
~To read about our 2024 mid-September - click HERE
~To read about our 2024 autumn Pioneer Day Celebration - please click HERE
~To read about our 2024 Thanksgiving Harvest - please click HERE
~To read about our 2024 Christmas at the Farm Cabin presentation - please click HERE
Including today, that makes 27 days spent in the good old colony days!
By the way, I simply cannot thank those special folk at the Waterloo Farm Museum for their allowance for us to have such experiences.
We are so honored. And grateful.
I am also honored to live in the past with my cabin cohorts of Larissa, Charlotte, Norm, and Jackie, for, without them, none of this would even happen.
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