Apples were a staple food of early America. John Adams, like many members of the First Continental congress, started the day with a glass of hard cider. Europeans brought apple seeds and later saplings to the colonies which quickly became established in the native soil. Although of a different flavor, color, and fragrance than their…
The definition of “proverb” is “a short, pithy saying stating a general truth or piece of advice.” Proverbs are meant to convey common wisdom or prudent counsel about how the world usually works. A proverb is most often a phrase or saying that gives advice in an obscure way. The phrase usually has an allegorical…
Postcards from Reading, PA, a city in Berks County, in southern Pennsylvania. These are free to use in school projects or other works.
In 2015 I visited Jamestown, Virginia, and was particularly interested in the first inhabitants of the town. I found this list while I was there. At the time I was looking into Samuel Jordan, who is not on this list and turns out to be a later resident of the town, and who also turns…
My husband’s great-grandfather, Frank L. Fay, was a Pennsylvania state senator from 1926 to 1934. In 1929 he was instrumental in pushing through legislation to fund the creation of the Pymatuning dam. The Pymatuning Dam is located on the Shenango River in near the Crawford-Mercer County line in western Pennsylvania, about 17 miles from the…
Here I share some of the terms I’ve learned about throughout my years of research. Adz, adze Sharp-edged wood-cutting tool with an arching blade set at right angles to the handle and curving inward. Logs and beams were shaped with the adze. Auger A tool for boring holes in wood, having a long pointed shank…
My ancestor, Edward Jordan, secured a grant for 654 acres of land along Couches Creek in the newly formed Lunenburg County, Virginia, in 1748. In 1720, Thomas Couch, Sr., received a land grant in Brunswick County (now Lunenburg County, formed in 1746) along what is known today as Couches Creek. Couches Creek Zip code: 23952…
On September 11, 1777, the hamlet of Chadds Ford played host to one of the largest and deadliest battles of the American Revolutionary War, today called the Battle of Brandywine. An estimated 29,000 British and American troops gathered at the fledgling town populated mostly by peaceful Quakers. Britain’s campaign for 1777 was to split off…
I’ve got a few Revolutionary War ancestors, namely Moza Hurt, Philemon Hurt, Frederick Boyer, Cornelius Bogart, and Conrad Mehrkam. Sometimes when I’m reading an account of their service, I wonder to myself, what the heck are they talking about? Some of the terms are opaque to modern people. This list helped me navigate the unfamiliar…
A tanner turns animal hides such as ox, cow, bull, and horse and skins like calf, sheep, pig and deer into leather. Hides and skins were procured from local farmers. The process began with cutting the hides into workable pieces called “sides” and trimming off the ragged edges. The sides were then soaked in water…
