Easter & Easter Eggs

Finding accounts of Easter activities for this blog has taken a bit of time. However, I found a few excerpts from different sources about different aspects of Easter Celebrations. I hope you enjoy and that you and your family enjoy this year's Easter celebrations and the reason for the season.

We have an interesting account of the Easter celebration at the Old Ladies' Home in Roxbury, Mass. We cannot print it at length, but it gives so pleasant an expression of the good cheer in a home where the heart helps the hand that we should be sorry not to copy a few words from it.—" The household is up with the robins, who sing their carols around, and the old ladies appear at the breakfast table in best 'bib and tucker." Just as the morning exercises are concluded and the Easter eggs distributed, the city missionary and party arrived and met with a hearty welcome from the family gathered in the parlors. Quavering voices, supported by the full tones of cheery friends, joined heartily in 'Praising God from whom all blessings flow ;' then followed a short Easter service. Easter cards and hymns were distributed, and then goodbyes were said with the hearty response, 'God bless you in your good works and labor of love to-day.'" Source: Lend a Hand Vol. I June 1886

HUNTING FOR EASTER-EGGS.
The Easter-egg is a painted or colored egg used for a present at Easter, a day which occurs on Sunday, the second day after Good-Friday.
The term "Easter" is said to be derived from a Saxon word meaning rising; and Easter is a festival of the Christian Church to commemorate the resurrection.
In the picture, the children are hunting for Easter-eggs, which the good mother has hidden in different parts of the room. The child who finds the most eggs will have the pleasure of making presents of them to whom he or she may choose.
Baby has set his eyes on the egg that lies on the floor. If he takes it up, I hope he will not let it fall, and break it. The other children will not be slow to find the painted eggs. There must be a dozen, or more, of them hidden away. Source: The Nursery Vol. 17-18 pg100 ©1875

And the Easter Parade down 5th Ave. New York City was not really a parade as such but it soon became a tradition. The earliest record I found was in 1865. If you have an additional source, please let us know.

Electric Lamps / Lights

Yesterday I posted about the early part of the 19th century and specifically the oil lamps. In addition to oil lamps there were gas lights and electric lights. Below is an outline of the history of electric lamps throughout the century.

1801 First electric arc lamp was invented in England by Sir Humphrey Davy.
1854 First true lightbulb invented by Henricg Globel of Germany
1857 Fluorescent lamp was introduced in France by A.E. Becquerel
1875 Henry Woodward and Matthew Evans patented a lightbulb.
1879 Thomas Edison improved the incandescent light
1880 Edison's patent was granted.

Practically speaking you won't have electric lamps in the homes of your characters set prior to the 1880's. Another interesting texture to oil and gas lamps is the smell, keep that in mind when writing as well. Remember to use the five senses when describing what your characters are experiencing.

Broom Making

Below is the reprint of a blog post from Sept, 2010. Of all my posts this one has brought about a fair amount of attention. However, I want to add to this post with a link to Youtube where Jack Martin shows how they make an 1850 Shaker Style broom.

Brooms have been around for eons, the question I've been trying to answer is when did the first broom factories start in America.

In 1841 in Sussex I find the listing of 65 broom-makers
A list of immigration to Missouri in 1867 listed several boom-makers
I found a disabled soldiers Broom-factory in 1875
1881 I found an expense report that line item a broom factory in a Missouri Penitentiary in 1880
And I found a grocery store owner in 1888 took payment of a broom making machine in exchange for food, then proceeded to have a very successful broom factory in the late 19th century into the 20th century. In fact, the business is still in operations today.

So, as of this moment, I do not know when the first broom factory developed in America. If you have a source with additional information, I'd love to hear it.

Below is a list of Broom & Brush Factory jobs, from the "Classified index of occupations by the United States," © 1921

Binder, broom or brush factory.
Borer, broom or brush factory.
Box maker, broom or brush factory.
Broom or brush maker, broom or brush
factory.
Broom or brush maker (not in factory).
Broom or brush maker (n. s.).
Buffer, broom or brush factory.
Buncher, broom or brush factory.
Comber, broom or brush factory.
Cutter, broom or brush factory.
Drawer, broom or brush factory.

Milling Wheat

For the past year I've been buying organic whole wheat grain and grinding the wheat to make bread. The process is quite easy and the entire grain is reduced to a very fine flour that can be used in making cakes. All of that is to say, it made me wonder, how did our ancestors grind their wheat? Now, I've known about grist mills and have even visited a few but the flour from their was often course.

Here is an excerpt from The Book of Wheat written in 1908 by Peter Tracy Dondlinger. It helps to explain some of the history of the 19th century and the development of grain milling process. He goes on to explain other types of milling processes, high milling, and roller milling.

"Low" Milling.—Before 1850, the millstones in the United States were run at a comparatively low speed, and the grinding was slow. By this date the milling industry had assumed such commercial importance that it was necessary to increase the speed of the stones in order to get the work done. From 1850 to 1875, hard, low grinding was the rule, and the prime object was to make the largest possible percentage of flour at the first grinding. The change in process, due to greater speed, increased the output and improved its quality, "the outcome being a white, soft flour that met with favor in all he leading markets of the world where American winter wheat flours were handled." By this process, however, it was impossible to get the • flour entirely free from contamination, and some of the bran always remained. There were two parts to this old process, reducing the wheat to flour by passing it through a run of stones, and bolting the resulting material in order to separate the flour from the bran and other undesirable parts of the kernei. The percentage of flour obtained by this single grinding depended on four things: (1) The dress of the millstone; (2) the face of grinding surface; (3) the balancing of upper or runner stones; and (4) the speed of the runner. As there was but one grinding, the making of middlings was avoided as much as possible. By this method of milling, some of the bran was pulverized so that it could not be separated from the flour. This gave the flour a darker color, and caused it to gather more moisture, which injured its keeping qualities, especially in moist or hot climates.

Most Northern Point Reached by Arctic Explorers

From Houghtalings Handbook of Useful Information ©1887

The following table shows the furthest points of north latitude reached by Arctic explorers, up to and including the Greely expedition:
Year..........Explorer.........................................No. Latitude
1607 .........Hudson..........................................80d 23m 00s
1773 .........Phipps (Lord Musgrove) .................80d 48m 00s
1806 .........Scoresby ........................................81d 12m 42s
1827 .........Parry .............................................82d 45m 30s
1874 .........Meyer (on land) .............................82d 09m 00s
1875 .........Markham (Nare's expedition) ..........83d 20m 26s
1876 .........Payer .............................................83d 07m 00s
1884 .........Lockwood (Greely's party) ..............83d 24m 00s

The distance from the farthest point of polar discovery to the pole itself is 6 deg. 46 min., or, in round numbers, 460 miles. It is thirty miles less than from Chicago to Omaha, by the lines of the Chicago, Milwaukee and St. Paul railway, over which the traveler rides in twenty hours. But this polar radius, though only 460 miles in extent, is covered by ice gorges and precipices of incredible difficulty; and frost is so severe that no instrument of human invention can measure its intensity, and it blisters the skin like extreme heat.

The greatest progress that has ever been made across these wilderness of storm, of fury and desolation, was at the rate of five or six miles in a day, the explorers often necessarily resting as many days as they had before travelled miles in a single day, debarred by the obstacles that they encountered.

Drayman 1870

Another occupation I found in the 1870 censuses was that of a Drayman, fortunately there is a well defined meaning for this occupation. In writing I would have simply called him the wagon driver but I love the term. Here's a link to Wikipedia for a short definition of the term.

Broom Factories & Broom Makers

Brooms have been around for eons, the question I've been trying to answer is when did the first broom factories start in America.

In 1841 in Sussex I find the listing of 65 broom-makers
A list of immigration to Missouri in 1867 listed several boom-makers
I found a disabled soldiers Broom-factory in 1875
1881 I found an expense report that line item a broom factory in a Missouri Penitentiary in 1880
And I found a grocery store owner in 1888 took payment of a broom making machine in exchange for food, then proceeded to have a very successful broom factory in the late 19th century into the 20th century. In fact, the business is still in operations today.

So, as of this moment, I do not know when the first broom factory developed in America. If you have a source with additional information, I'd love to hear it.

Below is a list of Broom & Brush Factory jobs, from the "Classified index of occupations by the United States," © 1921

Binder, broom or brush factory.
Borer, broom or brush factory.
Box maker, broom or brush factory.
Broom or brush maker, broom or brush
factory.
Broom or brush maker (not in factory).
Broom or brush maker (n. s.).
Buffer, broom or brush factory.
Buncher, broom or brush factory.
Comber, broom or brush factory.
Cutter, broom or brush factory.
Drawer, broom or brush factory.

Hot Air Balloons

The 19th century saw many hot air balloons. They were invented in the last quarter of the 19th century in France but they were becoming more common and ventured into America during the 19th century. HOwever, the first manned flight in America actually took place in 1793 and George Washington was in attendance.

In 1838 John Wise invented a ripping panel which solved the problem of the balloon being dragged along the ground once landed. This panel is still in use today.

Thaddeus Lowe a professor from New Jersey built his second balloon, Enterprise in 1858. It was in this balloon that the first telegraph message was sent in 1861.

Around the World in 80 days was written by Jules Verne in 1873 then into English in 1875.

Wikipedia 19th century Aviation has a great list of events in aviation during the 19th century.

Literary World, Boston, 1874

Below is a small list from the Literary World Boston, July 1, 1874. If you're interested in what folks were reading in the 19th century you might want to check this publication out. Here's a link to the The Literary World Vol. 5 June 1874 - May 1875 I'm including the link because this publication is difficult to read in some spots.

HARPER & BROTHERS'
SUMMER BOOK-LIST.
OLD WELLS DUG OUT: Being a Third Series of Sermons. By T. Dkwitt Talhaoe. Phonographlcally reported and revised. 12mo. pp. 432. $2.00.
MY MISCELLANIES. By Wilkik Collins, with a Portrait (Harper's illustrated Library Edition.) 12mo. pp.446. $1.50.
UNDER THE TREES. By Samuel Irin.sus Prims. Crown 8vo. Cloth, $2 00.
SCHWEIN'KURTH'S HEART OF AFRICA. The Heart of Africa ; or, Three Years'TravclB and Adventures In the Unexplored Regions of the Ce tre of Africa. From 1868 to 1871- By Dr. Gcorg Schwcinfurth. Translated by Ellen E. rrewer. With an introduction by Wlnwood Keade. Illustrated by about 130 wood-cuts from drawings made by the author, and with two maps. 2 vols. 8vo. Cloth, $8.00.
MOTLEY'S LIKE AND DEATH OF JOHN OF BARN H VELD, Advocate of Holland. With a View of the Priuuiry Causes and Movements oi "The Thirty Years* War." By John Lothrop Motley, D.C.L.. author of " The Rise of the Dutch Republic," r' History of the United Netherlands," etc. With Illustrations. In two volumes. 8vo. Cloth, $7.00. (Uniform with Motley's " Dutch Repuhlic" and " Un;ted Netherlands.")
HARPER'S HAND-BOOK FOR TRAVELLERS IN EUROPE AND THE EAST. Being a Guide through Great Britain and Ireland, France, Belgium. Holland, Germany, Italy, Eirypt, Syria, Turkey, Greece, Switzerland, Tyrol, Denmark, N«
vay, Sweden, Russia, and Spalu. With over one hundred maps and plans of Cities. By W. Pembroke Fetridge, autliorof "Harper's Phrase-Book," and " History of the Rise and Fallot the Paris Commune." In tnree volumes. 12mo. Full Leather, Pocket-Book Form, $3.00 per vol., the volumes sold separately; or the three volumes in one, similar binding, ?7.00.
EVANGELICAL ALLIANCE CONFERENCE, 1873. History, Essays, Orations, and Other Documents of the Sixth General Conference of the Evangelical Alliance, held In New York, October 2-12, 1873. Edited by Rev. Philip SonArF, o.n., and Rev. S. Irrn.bcs Prime, D.d. With Portraits of Rev. Messrs. Pronler, Carrasco, and Cook, recently deceased. 8vo. Cloth, nearly 800 pages, $6.00; Sheep, $7.00 ; Ha.f Calf, $8.50.

Fish Ponds

My husband and I have a fish pond in our front yard, this got me to thinking about fish ponds in the 19th century. There are 13th century fish ponds in Hawaii but those are far older than what our 19th century ancestors would have used. Below is a description about putting in a fish pond taken from The Complete Angler:©1875

Doctor Lebault, the learned Frenchman, in his large discourse of Maison Rustique, gives this direction for
Of Fish-ponds. making of fish-ponds. I shall refer you to him, to read it at large : but I think I shall contract it, and yet make it
as useful.

He adviseth, that when you have drained the ground, and made the earth firm where the head of the pond must be, that you must then, in that place, drive in two or three rows of oak or elm piles, which should be scorched in the fire, or half burnt, before they be driven into the earth ; for being thus used, it preserves them much longer from rotting. And having done so, lay fagots or bavins of smaller wood betwixt them : and then earth betwixt and above them : and then, having first very well rammed them and the earth, use another pile in like manner as the first were : and note, that the second pile is to be of or about the height that you intend to make your sluice or floodgate, or the vent that you intend shall convey the overflowings of your pond in any flood that shall endanger the breaking of your pond-dam.

Then he advises, that you plant willows or owlers, about it, or both : and then cast in bavins, in some places not far from the side, and in the most sandy places, for fish both to spawn upon, and to defend them and the young fry from the many fish, and also from vermin, that lie at watch to destroy them, especially the spawn of the Carp and Tench, when 'tis left to the mercy of ducks or vermin.

He, and Dubravius, and all others advise that you make choice of such a place for your pond, that it may be refreshed with a little rill, or with rain water, running or falling into it; by which fish are more inclined both to breed, and are also refreshed and fed the better, and do prove to be of a much sweeter and more pleasant taste.

To which end it is observed, that such pools as be large and have most gravel, and shallows where fish may sport themselves, do afford fish of the purest taste. And note, that in all pools it is best for fish to have some retiring-place; as, namely, hollow banks, or shelves, or roots of trees, to keep them from danger, and, when they think fit, from the extreme heat of summer; as also from the extremity of cold in winter. And note, that if many trees be growing about your pond, the leaves thereof falling into the water, make it nauseous to the fish, and the fish to be so to the eater of it.

'Tis noted, that the Tench and Eel love mud : and the Carp loves gravelly ground, and in the hot months to feed on grass. You are to cleanse your pond, if you intend either profit or pleasure, once every three or four years, especially some ponds, and then let it lie dry six or twelve months, both to kill the waterweeds, as water-lilies, candocks, reate, and bulrushes, that breed there; and also that, as these die for want of water, so grass may grow in the pond's bottom, which Carps will eat greedily in all the hot months, if the pond be clean. The letting your pond dry, and sowing oats in the bottom is also good, for the fish feed the faster; and being sometimes let dry, you may observe what kind of fish either increases or thrives best in that water; for they differ much, both in their breeding and feeding.

Lebault also advises, that if your ponds be not very large and roomy, that you often feed your fish by throwing into them chippings of bread, curds, grains, or the entrails of chickens or of any fowl or beast that you kill to feed yourselves; for these afford fish a great relief. He says that frogs and ducks do much harm, and devour both the spawn and the young fry of all fish, especially of the Carp ; and I have, besides experience, many testimonies of it. But Lebault allows water-frogs to be good meat, especially in some months, if they be fat : but you are to note that he is a Frenchman ; and we English will hardly believe him, though we know frogs are usually eaten in his country : however he advises to destroy them and kingfishers out of your ponds. And he advises not to suffer much shooting at wildfowl; for that, he says, affrightens, and harms, and destroys the fish.
Note, that Carps and Tench thrive and breed best when no other fish is put with them into the same pond ; for all other fish devour their spawn, or at least the greatest part of it. And note, that clods of grass thrown into any pond feed any Carps in summer ; and that garden-earth and parsley thrown into a pond recovers and refreshes the sick fish. And note, that when you store your pond, you are to put into it two or three melters for one spawner, if you put them into a breeding-pond ; but if into a nurse-pond, or feeding-pond, in which they will not breed, then no care is to be taken whether there be most male or female Carps.

It is observed that the best ponds to breed Carps are those that be stony or sandy, and are warm, and free from wind; and that are not deep, but have willow-trees and grass on their sides, over which the water does sometimes flow : and note, that Carps do more usually breed in marl-pits, or pits that have clean clay bottoms ; or in new ponds, or ponds that lie dry a winter season, than in old ponds that be full of mud and weeds.*

Industry in Louisiana

Below is an excerpt from The Great South: by Edward King, James Wells Champney © 1875. I'm including this in the blog because we often think of the main industry in the South as being cotton but there was so much more as this excerpt will show. Enjoy.

THE INDUSTRIES OF LOUISIANA—A SUGAR PLANTATION. THE TECHE COUNTRY.
THE main industries of Louisiana at the present time are the growth of cotton, the production of sugar, rice, and wheat,— agriculture in general,— and cattle raising. The culture of the soil certainly offers inducements of the most astonishing character, and the immigrant who purchases a small tract— five to ten acres—of land can, during the first year of possession, make it support himself and his numerous family, and can also raise cotton enough on it to return the purchase money.
Vergennes, in his memoir on La Louisiane, printed early in this century, says: "I will again repeat what I have already many times said—that Louisiana is, without doubt, by reason of the softness of her climate and the beauty of her situation, the finest country in the universe. Every European plant, and nearly all those of America, can be successfully cultivated there." This was the verdict of one who had made a careful survey of the great province then known as Louisiana, and especially the tract now comprised in the lowlands. Rice, an important article of food, can be raised on grounds which are too low and moist for any other species of valuable vegetables, and in the Mississippi basin, rice, sugar and corn can be cultivated in close proximity. The fertility of the sugar lands is proverbial; and Louisiana is prodigal of fruit of all kinds. With but little attention orange and fig-trees prosper and bear splendid crops; apples and peaches are produced in abundance; and grape-bearing lands are to be found in all sections of the State. Sugar, cotton, rice and tobacco might all be readily cultivated on the same farm in many sections.
The cultivation of rice, introduced into Louisiana by Bienville, at the time of the founding of New Orleans, may be profitably pursued in all the "parishes," i. e., counties, on the river and Gulf coasts, and on the high pine lands of the northern part of the State. The rice raised on the irrigated lands below New Orleans, and in the immediate proximity of the Gulf, is known as "lowland rice;" that raised elsewhere as "upland."
The quality of the staple is constantly improving by cultivation. In 1860 the rice crop of Louisiana amounted to 6,500,000 pounds. There is no good reason why it should not now be 60,000,000. Barley and buckwheat flourish admirably in the State, and the attention given to the cultivation of wheat since the close of the war has accorded singularly gratifying results. The average yield in the hill portion of the State is fully equal to that of the Northern States, —about twelve bushels to the acre—and in the Red River Valley, where the planters were compelled to devote much of their old cotton land to the production of wheat, for the sake of getting the wherewithal to live, the yield was twenty bushels to the acre.
The wheat yearly gains largely in weight, size and color. It is said that wherever the cavalry of the United States camped in Louisiana during the war, immense grain fields sprang up from the seed scattered where horses were fed. In the swamps of Assumption parish wheat and rye have been known to yield forty bushels to the acre. The wheat may be planted in September, October, or November, and reaped late in April or early in May. Indian corn does not yield well, rarely giving over fifteen bushels to the acre. Marsh, Hungarian herbs, and prairie grasses grow in abundance and make excellent hay. Pasturage is perennial, and in the Attakapas the grazing regions are superb. Cotton may be cultivated throughout the entire arable portion of the State.
The cultivation of the sugar-cane in Louisiana merits especial mention. One of the most remunerative of industries under the slave system, it has been for some time languishing because of the disorganization of labor, and because also of the division of large plantations into small farms. For a whole year before the sugar crop is ready for the market, a constant outlay is required, and the small planters succeed but poorly, while the larger ones have been ruined by the war, and have allowed their sugar-houses to decay, and their splendid machinery to rust in ditches.
In 1751, two ships transporting soldiers to Louisiana, stopped at Hispaniola, and the Jesuits on that island sent some sugar-canes and some negroes, used to their cultivation, to the brothers of their order in the new colony. The Jesuits at New Orleans undertook the culture of the crop, but did not succeed; and it was only in 1795 that the seeds became thoroughly naturalized in Louisiana.
Up to 1816 the cultivation of the cane was confined to the lower parishes, but it is now raised with reasonable success in many other portions of the State. From 1828 to 1833, the sugar production in the commonwealth was about 280,000 hogsheads. The following table will show the amount of the crops of each year from 1834 to 1873 inclusive:

Totals on Hogsheads Production removed for space

The Low Lands, Port Royal, South Carolina

elow is an excerpt from 1875 in the book "The Great South." It's an account of the travels of Edward King. What interested me about this excerpt was not only the description of the area but also the impressions this traveler had of the area. Also, Parris Island was established in 1891. I find it interesting that the discussions about this base were talked about sixteen years before it actually happened. Then there is the scandal around the sale of the property but that's another post.

Port Royal Island and its chief town, Beaufort, are monuments to the disastrous effects of the revolution which has swept over South Carolina within the last generation. Everywhere on the chain of beautiful sea islands along the low coast one finds the marks of the overturn. But Port Royal, situated on the river terminating in what is perhaps the grandest harbor on the American coast, has hopes, and may bring new life to decaying Beaufort.

A railroad has penetrated the low lands, creeping across marshes and estuaries upon formidable trestles, and now drains the rich cotton-fields around Augusta, in Georgia, toward the Broad river. The town is laid out into lots, and the numbers of the avenues run ambitiously high already; an English steamship line has sent its pioneer vessel to the port; and the Home Government talks of establishing a navy-yard upon the stream.

With commercial facilities which neither New Orleans, Savannah, nor Norfolk can boast, Port Royal deserves a great future. The harbor which Ribault 300 years ago enthusiastically described as so large that "all the argosies of Venice might safely ride therein," is certainly ample for the accommodation of the largest fleets known, and is easy and safe of access.

The lowland scenery of South Carolina is as varied as tropical. From the sea the marshes, or savannahs, stretching seventy miles back from the coast, seem perfectly level; but there are in many places bluffs and eminences crowned with delicate foliage. A vast panorama, of fat meadows, watered by creeks; of salt and fresh marshes; of swamp lands of inexhaustible fertility, from which spring the sugar-cane and cypress; of the rich, firm soil, where the oak and the hickory stand in solid columns, and of barrens studded with thousands of young pines—salutes the eye.

The innumerable branches which penetrate the low-lying lands from the sea have formed a kind of checker-work of island and estuary. The forests along the banks of the streams, and scattered on the hedges between the marshes, are beautiful. The laurel, the bay, the palmetto, the beech, the dog-wood, the cherry, are overgrown with wanton, luxuriant vines, which straggle across the aisles where the deer and the fox still wander.

In the spring the jessamine and the cherry fill the air with the perfume of their blossoms; in winter the noble oaks, in their garments of moss, and the serried pines, preserve the verdure which the other trees have lost, and give to the landscape an aspect of warmth and life. When the rice plantations are submerged, and the green plants are just showing their heads above the water, and nodding and swaying beneath the slight breeze passing over the hundreds of acres, the effect is indescribably novel and beautiful.
End of quote

Below is a picture I took of one of the rivers that surrounds Port Royal, SC. Parris Island is to right. On the left of the picture where the land juts out is where the docks where the docks were located at the end of the railroad that Mr. King mentions in this post.

Central Railroad in GA

The information below comes from Hand-book of the state of Georgia: accompanied by a geological map of the state ©1878

CENTRAL RAILROAD

The Georgia also controls and operates the Macon and Augusta Railroad from Macon to Camak, 74 miles.
The cost of Building the Road is $4,253,048 40
Capital Stock 4,200,000 00
Funded Debt 615,500 00
Average Gross Receipts per annum 1,800,000 00
Average Operating Expenses 800,000 00
Annual Dividend 8 per cent.

Hon. John P. King is President. He has filled this office continuously since 1841. S. K. Johnson is Superintendent ; and Carlton Hillyer, Auditor. The principal office is at Augusta.

The Central Railroad Of Georgia.—This important railway was built about the same time as that of the Georgia. It was chartered December 20th, 1833; work commenced November, 1836, and was completed to Macon, October 13th, 1843, nearly 2 years before the Georgia was finished to Atlanta. It is a strong corporation, with extensive connections, and is one of the most important roads in the country.

Its length from Savannah to Macon is 192 miles. This was the original chartered line of road. It also built a branch from Gordon to Milledgeville, 17.25 miles. In 1872, the Macon and Western Railroad, from Macon to Atlanta, 103 miles, including the branch from Barnesville to Thomaston, 16.5 miles, was consolidated with the Central. During the present year (1876), the Savannah, Griffin, and North Alabama Railroad, from Griffin, on the Macon and Western, to Carrollton, Carroll County, 59.29 miles long, has become the property of the Central, thus making a total length of 388.29 miles actually owned by the Company.

In 1852, it leased the road from Milledgeville to Eatonton, 22 miles, and operates and controls it, virtually making a branch of the Central from Gordon, via Milledgeville to Eatonton, 39.25 miles.

In 1862, it leased the Augusta and Savannah Railroad, from Augusta to Millen, on the Central Road, 53 miles, which it controls and operates.

In 1871, it leased the South-western Railroad and branches as follows : Main line, Macon to Albany, 104 miles ; Branch, Fort Valley to Columbus, 71 miles ; Branch, Fort Valley to Perry, 11 miles ; Branch, Smithville to Eufaula, Ala., 61 miles ; Branch, Cuthbert to Fort Gaines, 22 miles ; Branch, Albany to Arlington, 37 miles : making a total of 306 miles.

It also leased the Vicksburg and Clayton Road from Eufaula, Ala., to Clayton, Ala., 21 miles. It also owns a half interest in the Western Railroad of Alabama, from West Point, Ga., to Selma, Ala., 138 miles, with branch from Columbus, Ga., to Opelika, Ala., 28 miles, or 166 miles in all. This road is owned jointly by the Central and the Georgia, obtained by joint purchase at public sale, in April, 1875.

It has also leased the Mobile and Girard Railroad, from Columbus, Ala., to Troy, Ala., 84 miles. It also owns a steamer on the Tombigbee River, plying between Columbus, Mississippi, and Demopolis, Ala.

It also owns a line of steamers on the Chattahoochee River, plying between Columbus, Ga., and Appalachicola, Fla. These boats are worth $97,000.

It also owns 6 steamships plying between New York and Savannah, involving a capital of $800,000.

The income of the road for the year ending September 1st, 1876, was $2,657,096.97, and its operating expenses, $1,635,131.10.

Its President is Wm. M. Wadley, and Superintendent Wm. Rogers ; principal office in Savannah. The principal office of the New York Steamship Line is in New York, Wm. R. Garretson being the Agent.

The Capital Stock of the Central Railroad Company is $7,500,000 ; its Bonded Indebtedness, $3,772,000.

Martha's Vineyard 1875 History thru a Diary

I grew up on Martha's Vineyard and this past friday I had a great visit with two gals and their spouses who graduated high school with me. While in high school I took an Island History course offered by Mr. Sherman Hoar. This class is one of those pivotal classes one takes when they are younger. A girlfriend and I decided to work on a project together. Martha Sprague and I went to the Historical society and decided on the project of transcribing an unknown diary and trying to identify the owner. In the end we selected Henry Manter and it was his younger brother Ellis who actually wrote the diary. Thankfully, Martha and I received an A for the project and thus an A for the course. It was a long process but it also ignited in me the desire to do research and even historical research.

Below are a list of some of the things I learned from this high school project.

Vineyard Haven harbor on Feb. 10, 1875 completely frozen in with ice.
As a result several vessels were frozen in.

The ice was so thick that year they could walk from Vineyard Haven to Cape Cod. It's a 7 mile ferry ride to the Vineyard, 3 mile walk the way the crow flies.

Ellis at one time wrote that 'He went walking with Ellis tonight." This is the phrase that stumped Martha and I. It turns out it was an expression often used in the 19th century to say they were alone.

On June 25th 1875 Ellis wrote "The cars are running three trips daily between Edgartown and Oak Bluffs." This refers to the railroad that was once on the Vineyard. When I was in grade school you could see the remains of the tracks of the train or trolley that went around the circle of the Methodist Camp Grounds in Oak Bluffs. They've been removed now.

August 21 1875 Illumination Night at the Methodist Camp Grounds. Residents hung Chinese lanterns on their cottages. When I was younger the Tabernacle at the center of the Campground had lots of wires strung out from it to the trees and other posts. At the beginning of Illumination Night each child would stand at a lantern on the ground. When the signal rang we were allowed to light the lanterns and our parents would hang them on the strings above. This went on for years and I have no idea how many years prior to my knowledge that this event happened. Today, it is not practiced. Today many of the lanterns are electric. They are still delightful to see but something is missing.

Ellis's last post was on Dec. 31, 1875 "Went to "Watch meeting" in Methodist Church, watched the old year out and the new year in.

Martha and I did this project in the fall of 1971. In May of 1972 the Duke's County Historical Society published excerpts of the diary and told of our school project. Six years ago when I was able to return to Martha's Vineyard and attend my 30th high school reunion, I returned to the Historical Society to do some research on the Island's railroad and the sinking of the Port Hunter, our project is still their filed away for anyone who would like to read the diary. The Historical Society is much larger now. And I'd love to spend more time in the Society researching some of the Island's past. Perhaps, one day I'll get the chance.

The most important thing I learned from this class project was that I loved history and I love the detective work in researching the past. Today I do that while researching a novel, working on genealogy and just for the fun of learning something new. I hope you've enjoyed my stroll down memory lane.

Mark Twain

One of the famous authors from the 19th century and also continued work in the 20th was Mark Twain. Below is a list of the novels/books he published during the 19th century. Many of these books can be downloaded at various internet sites, my favorite is Gutenburg's.

The Innocents Abroad 1869
Curious Republic of Gondour 1870
A Burlesque Autobiography 1871
Roughing It 1872
The Gilded Age 1873
Sketches New and Old 1875
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer 1876
Carnival of Crime in CT 1877
A Tramp Abroad 1880
1601 1880
The Prince and the Pauper 1881
The Stolen White Elephant 1882
Life on the Mississippi 1883
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn 1885
A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court 1889
The American Claimant 1892
Tom Sawyer Abroad 1894
The Tragedy of Pudd'nhead Wilson 1894
Tom Sawyer, Detective 1896
Personal Recollections of Joan of Arc Vol 1 1896
Personal Recollections of Joan of Arc Vol 2 1896
How to Tell a Story and Others 1897
Following the Equator 1897

Spectacles

Spectacles or Eyeglasses had no standard for a long time in their history. In 1833 William Beecher of Southbridge, MA. had a small jewelry and watch making business. He also felt the New England ingenuity could produce a better product. What he and four others made were standard spectacles with different lenses and the customer would pick a pair that best improved his or her eye sight.

This type of eyeglasses were the only kind until much later in the century.

Another tidbit is that sunglasses (tinted lenses) were out in 1880. Prior to 1875 the tinted lenses were used for medical purposes.

Gold

Below is a picture taken from page 30 of Houghtaling's Handbook. It's the high and low of the value of gold for each month over a sixteen year period. Since many write historical novels during that time period I thought it might be of value to some of you.

Here's the link to an enlarged image of the page. Link

Sailing Ships And Records

Below is a list of Sailing Ships and the time it took for them to sail from point A to point B. These stats come from an 1889 publication the Statistician and Economist.

SAILING VESSELS.
1851, FLYING CLOUD; American clipper ship; New York to San Francisco; 13,610 miles; 89 days; sailed 374 miles in 1 day.
1852, SworDFISH; American ship; same route; to inside of Farallones; 87 days; to port, 90 days.
1853, FLYING FISH; American ship; same route; 92 days.
1854, FLYING CLOUD; American ship; same route; 89 days and 19 hours.
1860, ANDREw JACKsoN; American clipper ship; same route; 90 days and 12 hours.
1853, FLYING DUTCHMAN: American clipper ship; same route, and return; discharged and loaded, wharf to wharf; 27,220 miles; 6 months and 21 days. San Francisco to the Equator; 2,380 miles; 11 days and 9 hours; rounded Cape Horn; 6,380 miles; 35 days.
1853, CoNTEST; American half-clipper ship; San Francisco to New York; 13,619 miles; 79 days.
1853, TRADE WIND; American clipper ship; same route; 75 days. 1857, FLYING DUTCHMAN; American clipper ship; same route; to off Staten Island; inside of 80 days; but was cast away and did not complete the voyage.
1870, YoUNG AMERICA; American clipper ship; same route; to Light-ship off Sandy Hook; loaded; 13,580 miles; 80 days and 20 hours.
1852, NoTHERN LIGHT; American half-clipper ship; San Francisco to Boston; in ballast; 13,950 miles; 75 days.
1854, RED JACKET, Am. ship; Sandy Hook, N. Y., to Liverpool; 13d. 1h. 25m.
1860, PANAMA; American ship; San Francisco to Liverpool; 13,800 miles; 86d. 17h.
1872, OBERoN; British ship; same route; 96 days.
I873, NoHTH.AMERICAN, American ship; same route; 94 days.
1870, GoLDEN GATE; British iron clipper ship; Liverpool to San Francisco; 13,800 miles; 100 days.
1872, ARCHIBALD FULLER: British bark; same route; 101 days.
1873, YoUNG AMERICA; American ship; same route; sailed 16,000 miles; 99 days.
1861, EQUATOR; Swedish ship; London to San Francisco; 14,200 miles; 113 days.
1871, ALLAHABAD; British ship; San Francisco to Sidney; 6,000 miles; 39 days.
1875, GLORY OF THE SEAs; American ship: same route; 38 days.
1862, FLYING DRAGON; American ship; New Castle to San Francisco; 45 days
1871, SwALLow; American ship; San Francisco to New Castle; 39 days.
1854, SIERRA NEvADA; American schooner, Hong Kong to San Francisco; 6,090 miles; 34 days.
1856. BLACK WARRIOR; American Ship; same route; 36 days.
1867, WiscATA; British ship; Yokohama to San Francisco; 4,750 miles; to S. F. bar, 21 days; to port, 23 days.
1884, JAMEs STAFFoRD; American Bark; same route; 1,116 tons; 21d. 12h., arrive Jan. 2d, 1885.
1854, CoMET; American clipper ship; Liverpool to Hong Kong: 13,040 miles; 84d.
1855 EUTERPE; American half-clipper ship; New York to Calcutta; 12,500 miles; 78d.
1861, CoMET; American bark; Honolulu to San Francisco; 2,080 miles; 10d. 20h.
1874, CANADA; American ship; San Francisco to Callao; 5,000 miles; 33d.
1874, NAUTILUs, American brig, Tahiti to San Francisco; 4,200; 23d.
1886, GLENAvoN; English Tea ship; Hong Kong to New York; 13,000 miles, 53 days; sailed May 28th,; arrived July 19th, 1886.
1855, MARY WHITRIDGE: American clipper ship; Baltimore to Liverpool; 3,400 miles; 13 days and 7 hours. 1859, DREADNouGHT; American clipper ship; Sandy Hook to Liverpool, 3,000 miles; 13 days and 8 hours. 1867, THORNTON; American full-ship; same route; 13 days and 9 hours.
1860, DREADNoughT; Sandy Hook to off Queenstown; 2,760 miles; 9 days and 17 hours.
1865, DREADNouGHT, Honolulu to New Bedford; 13,470 miles; 82 days.
1866, HENRIETTA; American schooner yacht; Sandy Hook to the Needles; 3,053 miles; 13 days, 21 hours, 55 minutes and 16 seconds.
1869, SAPPHo; American schooner yacht: Light-ship off Sandy Hook to Kinsale Head; 2,754 miles; 12 days, 7 hours and 51 minutes; to Queenstown; 2,857 miles 12 days, 9 hours and 34 minutes.
1869, DAUNTLEss; American schooner yacht; Light-ship off Sandy Hook to Queenstown; 2,770 miles; 12 days, 17 hours, 6 minutes and 12 seconds.
1866, TAEPING, ARIEL and SERICA; British clipper ships; Foo-chou-foo Bar, China to the Downs, England; 13,500 miles; 98 days. The Taeping reached Blackwall in 99 days.
1882, BAccHUs; British ship; Singapore to San Francisco; 7,700 miles; 49% days.

Saltville, VA

Below is an excerpt recording a man's travel and what he found in Saltville, VA. What I found interesting in this area was the Salt Farm where they pumped the salt up like water from a well then boiled it down to evaporate the water.

From Glade Springs I turned aside to Saltville, a busy town connected with the outer world by a branch railroad running in among the queer hill-knobs filled with plaster, and through the valleys where salt-wells are sunk. The country round about, until one reaches the Alleghany ridge, is not unlike that portion of England lying near Eastbourne, with its chalk hills sparsely covered with grass. Saltville is a neat manufacturing village, nestling in a valley near a defile in Walker's mountain. The basin of salt-water there yields nearly eighty per cent, and, ever since a Scotchman named King opened a well in 1780, the salines have been extensively worked. During the last war the Confederacy depended almost entirely upon these works for salt, and the tremendous draft of ten thousand bushels per day was promptly met by the wells. About two thousand men were constantly employed; the town was thoroughly fortified; each Southern State had its private establishment, and the various furnaces are to-day known by the names of the States which originally established them. There was some savage fighting along the mountain-sides, and in the defiles, when General Stoneman tried to force his way into Saltville and destroy the precious stores; but, after a severe repulse, he succeeded in gaining possession and burning everything. The stock company now owning and working the wells, manufacture but three thousand bushels of salt daily, sending it mainly to the Southern markets.

The stout negroes working over the boiling salt were both delighted and amazed when their pictures appeared in the artist's sketch-book; they had never seen "no such writin' befo'." Great stores of gypsum are annually mined and prepared for fertilizers in this valley, where also there are some superb model farms, well stocked and separated one from another by beautiful hedges. Not far from Saltville is Clinch mountain, over which the traveler to Tazewell county, a wonderfully' beautiful mountain region, must climb. The fighting around Saltville was severest at the time that Burbridge came from Kentucky, intending to break up the Confederate works there. It was, I believe, the first fight in which colored troops entered as an important element, and the slaughter of them, as they came struggling up the difficult hill-sides, is said by eye-witnesses to have been dreadful. About six thousand troops were engaged on each side.
Source: The Great South ©1875

Tidbits on Carrots

First we'll start with some basic info on carrots, move on to storage and then I'll share a few recipes. Enjoy!

THE CARROT.
The carrot is a root well worth the consideration of farmers; perhaps no root is better adapted to constitute a portion of food for milch cows, horses or swine. When fed to cows it adds largely to the flavor and quality of the milk, with a reasonable increase in quantity; no dairyman who makes butter or milk of the best quality would expect the best results without a liberal use of the carrot. The carrot adapts itself to most kinds of soil, but seems to succeed well on a deep loam with a slight admixture of sand.
If it is the desire of farmers to raise large and paying crops of the carrot, such can be produced with a great degree of certainty by a liberal dressing of good and well-decomposed manure to the land, which should be well ploughed in as early in the spring as possible. As soon as the weeds have come up the laud should be cross-ploughed as fine as possible with a swivel-plough; the land should then be harrowed and rolled, when it will be read)' for the seed. The seed should be soaked in warm water twenty-four hours previous to planting, and sunned a short time to dry the surface-moisture, that the seed may not clog in the seed-sower. The seed may be planted with any suitable machine that will sow thin; two pounds of seed per acre is more than enough, if judiciously planted; too thick sowing results in very unnecessary and expensive thinning; or if neglected, in a small growth of roots, expensive to harvest and to handle.
The seed may be planted from early in May to the 10th of June. Our practice is to plant in straight rows twenty-two inches apart, and the plants should be thinned to three or four inches in the row. The after-cultivation of the carrot should be always prompt; "hoe the ground and not the weeds," should be the motto. The horse-hoe can be used in the cultivation of the carrot to a very considerable extent, and our cultivation is very like that given the mangold. English turnips can be sown between the rows with the seed-sower by the 20th of July, without injury to the carrot, and will add materially to the product of the land. There are many varieties of carrot now grown in market-gardens, and as field crops. We have tried nearly all the prominent sorts that have been introduced in the last thirty years.
The Long Orange has for many years been a standard field variety. Perhaps no kind has been more extensively cultivated, or has better repaid its culture; but there are other kinds also very desirable. The intermediate, which arc shorter but larger in diameter—a very convenient root to handle in feeding—having a decided advantage in storage, occupying less space per ton, and in harvesting, to be pulled by hand, will yield a heavy weight per acre. There is also the Early Horn carrot, a shorter and heavier root in proportion to the size, thirty-five bushels weighing a ton; it takes forty bushels of the long sorts; they can be grown closer and make less tops than the longer sorts, and are more desirable for domestic use. The white sorts are not much grown by our farmers; they yield well, but do not store and keep as well as the yellow-fleshed sorts.
As regards the harvesting and storing the carrot, it is important to let the crop remain in the ground as late as the latter part of October or the 1st of November. In harvesting the long sorts the labor is lessened by cutting the tops with a sharp hoe, and raking them together and carting them to the stables to be fed to cows and horses; and they are greedily relished. Carrots may be more easily dug by running the plough on the side of the row of roots, when they can readily be pulled by hand and thrown into piles, where, aftpr a few hours' drying, they may be carted to the cellar for storage. Carrots require considerable ventilation until freezing weather sets in. When carrots are fed to milch-cows, if an equal amount of mangolds is used, a large flow of milk of good quality will be obtained. When fed to horses once a day, in the place of grain, they will be found most conducive to the health and strength of the animal.
Source: Public Documents of Massachusetts ©1875

Carrot Storage
Carrots, Beets, and Turnips.—Carrots should be stored on slat platforms in layers about 2 feet deep and covered lightly with sand. They tend to heat and decay and should have good ventilation. Beets, turnips, parsnips, and salsify, if stored in cellars, should be put in bins or boxes in layers 2 or 3 feet deep and covered with sand or soil to prevent shriveling. If not needed till spring, an excellent method is to store them in pits in the same manner as potatoes.
Source: Farmers' Bulletin ©1899

Carrots.—Let them be well washed and brushed, not scraped. An hour is enough for young spring carrots. Grown carrots must be cut in half, and will take from an hour and a half to two hours and a half. When done rub ofl‘ the peels with a clean, coarse cloth, and slice them in two or four, according to their size. The best way to try if they are done enough is to pierce them with a fork.
Carrot FRITTERS.—These very nice fritters are simply made, and we can recommend them as being an agreeable variety for a side dish at a small party. Beat two small boiled carrots to a pulp with a spoon, add three or four eggs, and half a handful of flour. Moisten with cream, milk, or a little white wine, and sweeten to taste; beat all well together, and fry them in boiling lard. When of good color take them off and serve, having squeezed over them the juice of an orange, and strewed them over with finely sifted sugar.
Source: The Godey's Lady's Book Receipts ©1870

Carrot Soup.
252. Carrot Sonp (without Meat). Take four or five large carrots, one turnip, three onions, and three heads of celery shred fine; put into a stew-pan with a quarter of a pound of butter, three cloves, some peppercorns, and a blade of mace; stir till it is a pulp; add half a pint of peas boiled to a pulp, two anchovies, and three quarts of water; let it simmer two hours, and rub through a hair sieve. If not thick enough, add a little flour and butter.
Another.—Slice two good-sized carrots, two large onions, one large turnip, and one stick of celery; dredge flour over them and fry till tender, with just butter enough to keep them from burning; put them in a stewpan, and pour enough boiling water to cover them. Stew them about four hours, and when half done add boiling water to make the proper thickness. Mash and strain through a sieve, and season with pepper and salt. If approved of, add a little cream.
Another Carrot Soup.—Take one turnip, two or three onions, and twelve carrots; boil them in some stock till quite tender, then rub tliem through a hair-sieve. Season with peppercorns and salt, if necessary, and thicken with a little flour and butter.
253. Carrot Soup (with Meat).—Put some beef-hones with four quarts of the liquor in which a leg of mutton or beef has been boiled, two large onions, a turnip, pepper, and salt, into a saucepan, and stew for three hours. Have ready six large carrots scraped and cut thin, strain the soup on them, and stew till soft enough to pulp through a hair-sieve or coarse cloth, then boil the pulp with the soup, which is to be as thick as pea-soup. Use two wooden spoons to rub the carrots through the sieve, and pulp only the red part of the carrot, not the yellow. Make the soup the day before, and add cayenne to the palate.
254. Carrot Soup (with Cream).—To the liquor that a knuckle of veal has been boiled in, add twelve large carrots; boil till the carrots will mash through a sieve, put them through, and then let them boil in the broth till quite smooth; add half a pint of cream and a little salt. It should be boiled till smooth, and of the consistence of pea-soup. Or, the stock may be made of one pound and a half of scrag of mutton, stewed in three quarts of water.
Source: The English Cookery Book©1859