A blog dedicated to Early American History Lovers, Civil War Reenactors, Living Historians, and people that love the past. Lots of Historical Recipes and Patterns!
This is a civilian vest that I sewed for Andy, so he could have something kind of nice to wear to the balls over his muddy soldier clothes. I sewed this a long, long time ago and never finished sewing the button holes.
I don't know why I have such an aversion to buttonholes, they aren't particularly difficult and it is the only thing preventing this vest from being wearable.
The vest is made of a heavy patterned tapestry cotton with a white cotton lining. The buttons are original bone buttons. I'm pretty sure this vest really isn't for dancing but to forward Andy's secret desire to be Sherlock Holmes (the original one of course!) :D He is currently reading to me the Adventures of Sherlock Holmes. I am enjoying it very much. He is very good at reading and uses different voices and accents for each character. It's a real treat.
During the mid 1800s, no gentleman would be without a vest and a coat. Working class men and many soldiers did not adhere to the normal rules of society and many are photographed in just their shirts.
Sarah Morgan, a proper young lady, who was 18 years old when the war broke out, visited sailors in the South and remarked in her diary "He, the doctor and the Captain, were the only ones who possessed a coat in the whole crowd, the few who saved theirs, carrying them over their arms. Mr Read more than once blushingly remarked that they were prepared to fight, and hardly expected to meet us; but we pretended to think there was nothing unusual in his dress. I can understand though, that he should feel rather awkward; I would not like to meet him, if I was in the same costume."
The vest itself was not hard to sew and sewed up rather quickly. This was my first time sewing a nice lining and not one just to add body to a garment. I think it turned out rather nicely. Hopefully, I will finish this soon to keep Andy from going around in just his shirt. The horror! :D If anyone is interested in learning how to hand sew buttonholes, there is a really good tutorial on the blog: Art, Beauty and Well-Ordered Chaos. Enter text here.Enter text here.Enter text here.
I love books. I guess the proper term would be "bibliophile." There is an ongoing debate about whether the books on your bookshelf should be books you love to read, every book you own, or books that you may or may not have read that you feel represent yourself. I guess an entirely different debate would be whether or not to "display" books at all. I really don't see having a bookshelf as a way of displaying books, it's more like book storage to me. Why own a book that you will never be able to find because it's buried in a box in the attic?
I don't keep any books that I wouldn't want to read again or that I feel I would never need to reference again. I don't feel a need to keep every book I read, especially fiction. Although, I do keep the classics.
I feel that my books do represent myself. I think everyone would know my interests if they saw my bookshelf. It seems silly to me to even buy a book that you didn't want to read. I had never even thought that people would buy books they didn't plan on reading, just because it is the kind of book that a person that they wish to be seen as would read. I have seen a lot of "book lists" and comments on blogs that indicate people actually do this. For what purpose? If you want to be the type of person who reads English translations of French archeological work in South America, why aren't you reading and enjoying those books? I don't understand this and am slightly offended by this. It feels as if a person who does this is allowing a book to lie for them. :D Maybe I am thinking too deeply about this. I guess it would not be lying if you wanting to use a book to motivate you to become a better person (such as "one of these days I'm just going to read that 10,000 page Shelby Foote trilogy and enjoy and learn all I can from it.)
I have my books organized by subject and sometimes sub-subject. It seems a little bizarre but I like to be able to find the books I need when I need them. It could be worse, I could be card cataloging them with a book scanner. :D
I'm a big fan of information and sharing information. I've been thinking about cataloging some of the historical books and research books that I have to loan to researchers and reenactors. Books are expensive and I feel that some reenactor's impressions and research suffer from not having access to some of the better researched books (which can cost upwards of $35-$100.) It's not that I don't want to benefit the authors but I do think people are more willing to spend large amounts of money once they have perused a book and realize that the book is worth the investment. I don't know why this is but a lot of the reenactors that I know are reluctant to share their information in an effort to remain a "top authority" on a subject. I think there is always something new to be learned and discovered and information hoarding just leads to making everyone look bad, we are only as strong as our weakest link. Maybe I will make a page on my sidebar listing my books, perhaps it will inspire people to do the same. Happy reading. :D
Yesterday, Andy and I went on a day trip. We normally go on day trips in the summer because we both work and find it hard to find time to take long trips. We usually pack a picnic lunch and some snacks and have a fun day singing together in the car until we get there, and then taking photographs and enjoying a good walk. Today was such a nice day that we drove out to Dixon's Muzzleloading Shop to look at all of the neat stuff they always have in there and we went out to Hawk Mountain Sanctuary. It was such a nice day out; we didn't even have to wear heavy coats! Despite this fact, when we got to Hawk Mountain, there was still at least six inches of snow still on the mountain top.
The route to Hawk Mountain is a scenic one of dense woods and large open fields. It is dotted with creeks, wildlife and old barns with bright "hex signs" touting their Pennsylvania Dutch roots. The mountainside was slippery and hiking though snow made it a little more difficult than it normally is to hike up there. There were still lots of other people hiking there too.
The mountain itself has a lot of well kept secrets and historical folklore.
Warning:Do not read the rest of this post if you do not like ghost stories, or if you are going to be home alone tonight and don't feel like being spooked out all night. :D
One spooky folk story surrounds Schaumboch's Tavern on Hawk Mountain Road. The Gerhardt family, were among the first non-native settlers of the mountain. In February 1756, members of the Lenni Lenape Native American tribe, who inhabited the mountain, destroyed the Gerhardt house killing a man, two women and six children after destroying another house nearby. Jacob Gerhardt, only eleven years old when the Native Americans attacked, ran during the attack and managed to survive. The Pennsylvania Gazette at the time reported that the Leni Lenape took scalps from the fallen. A record of this incident from 1844 can be read here. Jacob Gerhardt, returned to the mountain and built the house that is now known as Schaumboch's Tavern.
Jacob eventually rented the house out to Mathias Schaumboch (also spelled Matthias Schaumbacher,) who lived in the house with his wife in the mid-1800s. They rented rooms out for a living and were not very popular with locals and many people who did stay in the house relayed horror stories to the townspeople, if they were ever seen again. Many people reportedly disappeared after renting from him. The townspeople, who always suspected foul play, became very suspicious of his business when he started selling army surplus, left over from the Civil War, after a peddler selling the same goods lodged there and was never seen again. On his deathbed in 1879, Schaumboch admitted to killing and robbing more than 11 people and burying them in the land around the house. He stated that he stopped counting the number of victims when the skulls stopped fitting into the well on his property. He claimed to have murdered them with an axe, cut their flesh off of them,then let their bodies lay out in the woods to be picked clean by animals. Local lore states that he " claimed that the deeds were not his own, but that they were caused by a great evil that lives on the mountain that whispered to him constantly, urging him to murder, even while he slept, (Delco Ghosts.) I have tried to verify the Mathias Schaumboch claims and the closest I could come is this modern newspaper article: The Morning Call. Apparently, Mathias' wife was a very nice lady who was well liked by everyone who met her.
Later in 1890, a man named Mathias Berger, who was known to be a devout Catholic, lived as a hermit in a mud hut on the mountain slope. He was known to live very simply, by living off of the naturally growing food in the forest and by gathering water from a spring, half a mile from his house. He only would go into town a few times a year to buy supplies and attend church. He went missing and a search party was sent up to look for him. He was found robbed and beaten to death. The murderer was not found.
With all of that gruesome history you can bet that there are lots of reported ghost sightings on the mountain.(Although, there are also UFO and Bigfoot sightings there too :D) I've camped on the mountain as a child and even went for a night time hike with my girl scout troop. We didn't see anything nor did any of us experience any of the things reported. The scenery is beautiful I have never had a bad time there. Oh, and the tavern mentioned above is someone's home now, so I don't think they'd appreciate people snooping in their yard. It is by the road and worth a drive by. I hear it is open to the public around Halloween.
I hear the statement that "People just smelled worse back then but
everyone smelled so no one noticed," when people refer to the 19th
century. I can't claim that this statement is wrong but it does conjure images
of filthy, sweaty, putrid smelling people with rancid breath.
They did have water and soap. :D I feel like we tend to forget this.
They had tons and tons of lotions, fragrant soaps, perfumes, powders, and
creams. If anything, they probably smelled faintly of the inside of a Yankee
Candle shop. On top of all of these inexpensive products, most people had a
more rigorous daily cleaning regimen than most do today. While they were not
taking two showers a day, they were "sponge" bathing out of a wash
basin twice a day at least. It was said that it was best to wash hair in rain
water--I know of few people today who would be so dedicated. Here is a book
with a little segment on "How
to Wash your Mouth," from 1865. Toothbrushes were common after the
1800s and so were toothpowders (although some books recommended charcoal for
tooth whitening.)
A major difference in present-day cleanliness and 19th century cleanliness
is the lack of modern day deodorant. This is always up for discussion at reenactments.
Some people will sneak their little plastic tubes in their gear and others are
determined to go deodorantless. But for everyone who has ever smelled an Amish
person, I have been trying to find period solutions. I have heard that rubbing
half a lemon under the arms is an early 1800s solution but as of right now, I
can’t find any sources verifying it.
For fun and possibly practical application (of the harmless ones,) I have
included the following recipes detailing 19th century concoctions:
I think this one is particularly interesting because not only are they smelling the sweat on insane people, but also the sweat of mice. :D Interesting. I think the people visiting the doctor for smelling like onions or garlic is cute.
This is one of those I just wouldn't recommend. Formaldehyde? I guess smelling dead is better than smelling bad. :D
During the 1860s perspiring was seen as a good thing, they realized the cooling application even if they did not understand the science behind it. Excessive sweating was seen as a sign of sickness that was followed by fevers. Many doctos claimed that many sicnesses were caused by sweating and cooling off too quickly, such as taking off a jacket after a walk.
I think I may try to make this powder from 1889 from The Practical Handbook of Toilet Preparations:
*Note: The Photograph at the top is from 1864. It is of soldiers bathing in the North Anna River.
This post is a little late but I wanted to mention it. The Wisconsin Historical Society is trying to retrieve artifacts that were stolen by an ex-curator. They had a segment on Antiques Roadshow in an attempt to retrieve some of the 300 stolen Native American artifacts. They have only recovered about 33 of the stolen artifacts. There has been an increase of thefts of museum artifacts in recent years. I believe a lot of it has to do with the ease of auctioning off artifacts on Ebay. You can watch the 2 minute segment here.
History should be on display for everyone. There's nothing worse for researchers than when you are fact-checking and the article in question comes up "lost." It brings up a lot of questions and makes the source a lot less credible. Did the source ever really exist? Was the interpretation of the article correct? In the digital age, you would think that it would be easy to digitize museum collections, but most museums have tons and tons of artifacts. The Library of Congress receives 22,000 items every working day, but only keeps 10,000; which is still an awesome amount. The National Archives have over 7 million maps alone. A list of stolen documents from the National Archives can be found here. That list only includes well known items. Imagine all of the items that were not so popular?
Most artifacts recovered are found by researchers who have studied the artifacts in question. A really great story about two brothers who recovered stolen Civil War documents off of Ebay can be read here. It is great owning a piece of history, but it would be even better if they were preserved and available to everyone. I always urge everyone who has historical objects or documents to make them available online. This helps everyone get a more complete understanding of history as well as preserves your items for future generations. Most people do not have the money or knowledge to preserve artifacts and many items are damaged or ruined by accidents around the house. Wouldn't you know that a shelf just collapsed off of my bookshelf as I wrote this post?( There was nothing antique on it. :D)
How to Preserve Old Documents
To Reproduce Your Document:
Wash your Hands: The oil on your hands will do a lot of damage to your documents. So make sure you clean them every time you touch your document.
Never Display an Original Document: I know I said to let everyone admire your documents but light discolors documents, ultimately ruining them. Framing documents can rub off ink or pencil by static electricity in the glass of the frame. Always make a copy and display the copy. Most people will not be able to tell that it is a copy anyway.(Fun Fact: Many museums display replicas to protect the originals. Some museums even have multiples of a particular object which they rotate so no one multiple fades too much from the light.)
Decide on the best way to make a copy: Photocopies are good and you have the added advantage of being able to resize the document or use contrast options to make the document more legible. Some documents are too fragile to photocopy, it is easiest to photograph these. Most digital cameras these days create very high quality images. You will most likely be able to read the document clearly.
Reproductions are good because you can display them or give family and friends a copy. It will also prevent everyday damage (such as the bookshelf incident.) Always make reproduction.
To Preserve Your Document:
Wash Your Hands: Make sure you wash your hands and that they are completely dry before touching your document.
Clean the Document Up: Carefully dust off dirt and dust. If there are staples or paperclips, remove them. Try not to dust off your document by blowing, you could get saliva on it. Try using a clean cotton cloth, use it very gently. Unfold the document if it is folded, even if it was given to your folded, such as a letter. The fold weakens the paper and your document will rip along the fold line. The dog-eared pages in books are the first part to fall off.
Sandwich your document: Use two pieces of acid-free paper. The paper can be bought at office supply stores and normally is not much more than $4.00 for a pack of 500 sheets. Lay one sheet on your work surface. Then place the document flat on it. Make sure no part is folded. Place another piece of paper on top.
Place in a Folder and Envelope: It seems like overkill but the folder will keep the document flat and the envelope (those plain yellow mailing ones will do,) helps keep bugs out. If your folder is too flimsy, also put the "document sandwich" on a piece of cardboard before putting it into the folder. It helps to tape off the open end of the envelope.
Find a place to store it: Wherever you decide to store it, make sure the envelope lays flat. The best places are cool, dry and dark. Finding a box your document can lay in will offer more protection. Good places to store your document are, drawers (preferably locked,) closet shelves, and the tops of bookshelves, assuming you put them in a box and keep dust off of them.
The documents I was using in the photos above are clippings from 1880. They look so good for being 130 years old! They are very beautiful etchings with calenders on the back. I found them inside of one of my antique books being used as bookmarks.
The book at the top is a Bible from my shelf. I think it is in Czech or Slovene but I really can't be sure. It is neat because there is a list of names handwritten in the back. Books take more effort to preserve. Perhaps I'll make a post on that later.
