Typical Inventory from 1666 in Massachusetts

 

So often in the 17th century, a will was handwritten and was accompanied by an inventory. This inventory was mandated by law and some of the items might be sold to pay off any debts of the deceased. This was the inventory of Aquila Chase, of Ipswich, Massachusetts, dated 15 May 1666. 

I ask you: how many pages would it take to "inventory" every single one of your possessions? And would there be archaic terms then that were well known today...... like "saw and pillion." What is a pillion? What is an "Apple watch?" An "electric hot pot?" 

And take note of what you don't see: any art, music, crafts, hobbies, things we would call comfort things like fuzzy slippers or teddy bears? Could YOU cook a meal using just the utensils mentioned here? 

                                                                    Eleven swine

                                                                    Twenty sheepe

                                                        Two heifers & three calves

                                                                One steer & three calves

                                                            One feather bed/ bolster/pillows

Blanket & curtains

Wearing apparell

One new curtain

Six paire of sheets

Linen yarne

20 lbs of woollen  yarne

One bed furniture/blankett

70 bushels Indian corne

6 bushels barley

Some wheat, rye & pease

Saw & pillion

2 wheels

Muskett/swort/pike

                                                                        1 saddle/bridle

                                                            3 iron potts/hookes/tramells

                                                            Spitt/fire pan/tongues/peele

                                                        1 fryeing pan/greediron/ 2 skilletts

                                                                        Carpenter tooles

                                                                4 axes/ beetle & wedges

                                                        Pewter platters/basons/potts/spones

                                                                    Box of earthenware

                                                                        Books/ 2 chests

                                                                        Hog lard/butter

                                                                        Grinding stone

                                                                    Cart/dung pott/plow

                                                                    Yoakes & Chaines

                                                                            Old lumber

1 hay boate 

 

 

 

 

 

Saloons in the "Wild West"

 Looking back in those wild west days, we might be astonished at the number of saloons in most towns in the far West. Frontier communities and camps in the mountains (mining, lumbering, etc.) were saturated in alcohol. Much of the color and vitality of life on the frontier was associated with the saloon and so was much of its violence and degradation. 

But the shoot-'em-up tradition of Western history usually ignores the ways in which the saloon helped the urban frontiersman cope with his many pressing problems.  Saloons were meeting places, entertainment centers, refuges for the weary and haunt of the mischief-maker. There has been plenty of words written about the societal aspects of these "places of refreshment." I'd like to share something else I learned about "wild west" saloons.

Leafing through old photos or visiting restored towns, today's tourist will find three types of buildings dominating the rest: the church, the fraternal lodge and saloons. These institutions gave the pioneer something he considered important. The church, the lodge and the saloon might seem different but shared certain characteristics and afforded similar sociality. 

Each of these places strove to recreate the structure, trappings and decor of the same sort left behind "back East." The church had its altar and symbols, the lodge its emblems, and the saloon its bar, games and traditional artwork. Each place had its rituals and distinctive vernacular transplanted directly to the frontier.. Each had is figure of authority: minister, grand master and barkeeper, all of whom dressed in special vestments, set the tone, welcomed the newcomer and served as a keeper of tradition. 

This post comes from a wonderful 10-page article titled Men, Whisky & A Place To Sit, by Elliott West, in the July 1981 issue of American History Illustrated.  Minor moral of this story? Never overlook old magazines in thrift stores! 

The Embalmed Meat Scandal in 1898

 

Today, canning is a convenient and safe way to preserve all kinds of food, but in 1898 and the early 1900s, it was a very different story..... the Embalmed Meat Scandal during the Spanish-American War caused soldiers and all American citizens to lose trust in their government for a time. 

Remember that refrigeration was, in those early days, an innovation not yet perfected. Experimentation in the early 1900s led to risky conclusions. No wonder the Embalmed Meat Scandal occurred.

The average soldier in the Spanish-American War had a typical ration containing 12 to 20 ounces of meat. When soldiers began opening cans of meat and discovering something that smelled of "bouquets of cesspools" they began dumping this meat into the water or eating it and feeling sick. Word quickly spread about this "embalmed beef" which was said to smell like an embalmed human body. The government and military officials tried to get the situation under control; this ultimately led to better quality control for preserving food.

The instigator of the Embalmed Meat Scandal was Major-Gen. Nelson Miles who stated on December 1, 1898, that 337 tons of embalmed beef were sent to troops in Puerto Rico the previous summer. This caused public outrage and a full scale investigation as to what was in the food American soldiers and citizens were eating. 

I had read Upton Sinclair's book, The Jungle, which describes in horrific detail how meat packing plants in Chicago operated in the early 1900s. You want a good but awful read? Try this one. 

And think how this situation affected YOUR ancestors, possibly?

Bickleton: Bluebird Capitol of the World

 

 

Did you know that our very own Bickleton in Klickitat County is known as the Bluebird Capitol of the WORLD? It's so called because thousands of bluebirds spend most of the year in the area.  Bickleton has become a bluebird-watchers' paradise.

The area was first settled by Charles Bickle in 1879; he established a trading post and livery stable. Like most early residents, he was also a rancher and wheat farmer. A series of fires in 1937 and 1947 destroyed many of the town's original buildings; the oldest surviving building is the Bluebird Inn which opened in 1882 and still serves guests.

In the 1960s, Jess and Elva Brinkerhoff were picnicking in this small town and put a can in a tree for some birds. This quickly became a local fad and now there are thousands of birdhouses purposely built to house bluebirds. Both Mountain and Western Bluebirds come; the above is a Western Bluebird. 

And "thousands" of bluebird watchers come every year to see these very special birds. Have you been one? Want to be one?

  

Pioneer Pursuit: Good Winter Project

 

Needing a worthwhile way to spend time these housebound cold winter days?

 How about a Cold Case Ancestor research project?!? The Washington State Genealogical Society still has a long list of individuals and families needing to be researched. These would be those who were known to be in Washington Territory BEFORE statehood (11 Nov 1889). There is an index of these pioneers and indigenous families on their website..... take your pick! 

Resources you might use are Ancestry, FamilySearch, Washington Digital Archives, Find A Grave, USGenWeb, Linkpendium, WA Territorial censuses ......... any resource you've used in the past for your own research.

The really good news about this volunteer project is that since it's not your family, just find what you can find, period. If you find lots, great. But only scarce documentation, that's fine too. 

Click to Washington State Genealogical Society and then Pioneer Pursuit and look at the Sample, Hints & Helps, Frequently Asked Questions and Instructions. 

Why not get busy helping to document these wonderful Washington pioneers.......... and before you know it, spring will be here!

Trees: Older By Far Than Your Ancestors Are

 

Today let's talk about the oldest tree in the world and the loneliest tree in the world. And we think our "tree" is old!

"Scientists have examined an ancient tree still growing in a remote part of central Chile's Alerce Costero National Park, claiming it could be the oldest tree in the world. They believe it has survived for more than 5,000 years making it older that California's 4,850-year-old Methuselah, the bristlecone pine.  Known as "Gran Abuelo," or great-grandfather, the Patagonian cypress can be accessed only by an hour-long hike and is patrolled by a number of park rangers to make sure it is not harmed. The tree is 189-feet tall and is 13-feet in diameter." (Bit in Spokesman Review.)

Nestled in a windswept cove on far south end of New Zealand's Campbell Island, is a lone tree that should not be there. A 30-foot tall Sitka spruce has grown into a cauliflower shape rather than the cone-shape typical of the species. How in the world did a Sitka spruce, native to the North American western coast, end up here? Well, according to Google, the lonely tree was planted about 1900 by New Zealand's then-governor, Lord Ranfurly. More than 100 years later, the introduced spruce is considered the most isolated tree in the world. 

The conifer endures not only isolation but also the wild weather of the "Furious Fifties" latitudes. Campbell Island has 325 days of rain per year and gale-force winds for 100 days per year. Surprisingly, the spruce seems to be thriving in these conditions and still growing. 

In many Native American cultures, trees are considered to be ancestors, meaning they are viewed as part of the family lineage and are deeply respected as living beings with a spirit, sharing a connection to the past generations and the natural world at large; this belief stems from the understanding that humans and trees are interconnected and part of the same life force. (AI generated response in Google.)

Mother Goose: We Grew Up With Her

 

"Scholars do not agree about the identity of the original Mother Goose, the legendary creator of nursery rhymes that have endured though the centuries. But the real American Mother Goose was a Boston grandmother named Elizabeth Foster Goose, whose son-in-law, Thomas Fleet, 'was almost driven distracted' by her singing, rhyming and storytelling until, in 1719, he turned her creations into a profit by publishing them in a pamphlet, Mother Goose Melodies. This launched his mother-in-law into immortality. 

"Mother Goose" was born Elizabeth Foster in Charleston, Massachusetts, in 1655. When she was 27 she married Isaac Goose (originally Vergoose) and took over the mothering of the 55-year-old widower's ten children. She bore Goose six additional children.

One of her daughters, also named Elizabeth, married Thomas Fleet, an exiled printed from England who had a shop on Boston's Pudding Lane. Grandmother Elizabeth often minded the couples' seven children and entertained them endlessly with her stories in rhyme. 

"Mother Goose" died in Boston in 1757 at the age of 92 and was buried in the Old Granary Burying Ground. 

I'm sure you recognize this:  "Old mother Hubbard went to her cupboard to give her poor dog a bone. When she got there, the cupboard was bare and so the poor dog had none."

(Big thanks to the July 1981 issue of American History Illustrated  for this editorial bit penned by Peggy Robbins.)