Hopefully we’re into the hottest days of summer, so tiz a good time for some genealogy and history trivia!
“In the 1800s the method of making one plank (long board cut from a log) was that a pit was dug. The tree was placed over the pit. Two men would go into the pit, and two men would be on top of the log and together they would handsaw each plank. The men down in the pit would get sawdust in their eyes and that was how the expression “it’s the pits!” originated.” (Church of Our Lord tour guide, Victoria, BC)
In November, 1217, the 10-year-old King Henry III signed a charter giving England’s common people some legal rights for the first time. One big provision is that the concept of “royal forests,” where common folks could not hunt and poaching was a death sentence. This new rule reduced the size of these off-limits forests and restored ancient hunting rights. (History Magazine, from England, 2024)
Ever heard of Frozen Charlotte Dolls? Frozen Charlotte dolls are small, solid, porcelain or bisque dolls that were popular in the mid-1800s to early 1900s, particularly in Europe and the United States. They are named after a popular poem and song about a young woman named Charlotte who froze to death while refusing to bundle up for a winter carriage ride. The dolls were mass-produced in Germany and became a common bath toy and a relatively inexpensive children’s toy.
Endogamy: Know what that means? According to the website of the International Society for Genetic Genealogy, endogamy “is the practice of marrying within the same ethnic, cultural, social, religious or tribal group.” Examples of endogamous groups include Jews, Polynesians, Mennonites, Amish, Acadians, French Canadians and folks from many Arab countries.
FamilySearchCenter: Do you have all the funds to allow subscriptions to the many paid genealogy websites that you’d like to use? Ha, not me either. Did you know that there are about 30 subscription websites that you can use FOR FREE at any FamilySearch Center! Go and you can pick up a 2-page, small-print, handout listing all these sites. Don’t know where a FamilySearchCenter is? They’re all listed on our EWGSI.org website.
Commonwealth: What is a “commonwealth?” At the time of the founding of the United States, the designation “Commonwealth” carried with it the implication of a greater degree of self-government that did the word “state.” Four states officially label themselves as “Commonwealths,” rather than “States.” They are Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, Virginia and Kentucky. It is also the designation of Puerto Rico.
Worth of old county histories: Knowing my ancestor, Caleb Carr, was a Baptist minister, 1810ish, who lived in Erie County, New York, I happily hefted the 500-page Centennial History of Erie County from the shelf and flipped it to the back……… alas, no index. Of course, published in 1876, these older books don’t have indexes. (Unless more recently done and then usually in a stand-alone volume.) BUT the hour I spent browsing through the pages was not a waste of time. I didn’t find any mention of Rev. Carr but I did learn about the early history of the county. Tidbits such as this: “The structures under which the early families sheltered themselves and their families hardly rose even to the dignity of log houses. They were frequently mere cabins of small logs, (there not being help enough to handle large ones) covered with bark. Sometimes there was a floor of split logs, or “puncheons,” sometimes none. A log house 16-feet square, with a shingle roof, a board floor and a window containing six lights of glass, was a decidedly stylish residence and its owner was in some danger of being disliked as a bloated aristocrat.”
Quote from Thomas Jefferson: “How sublime to look down into the workhouse of nature, to see her clouds, hail, snow, rain, thunder….. all fabricated at our feet! And the fgorious sun gilding the tops of the mountains and giving life to all nature.”
Quotes from Garrison Keillor: “Some people get what they want. Some people get what they got.” …… “After all is said and one, more is said than is done.”
Quote from Ethel Mertz, “I Love Lucy,” “Just because we’re married to men doesn’t mean we’ve got anything in common with them.”
Quote from AAA about travel: “Thou shalt, when in Rome, do somewhat as the Romans do, and if in difficulty, thou shalt use thy common sense and much friendliness.’
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