A Widow's Cause: Bringing Thanksgiving to Victorian America by Jo-Ann Roberts

 

During most of the 19th century, Thanksgiving was not an official holiday. Admittedly, it had its roots in the New England states, and was widely celebrated there and into the mid-West. The actual date of the holiday was left to individual states and territories. It could vary widely from September through December, but mostly celebrated in November after the harvest.

While the idea of celebrating a good harvest was an old one, it took a Victorian lady to give it its voice. Specifically, the editor of a highly popular magazine of the times, Godey's Lady's Book, Sarah Josepha Hale. 

Suddenly finding herself a widow and single mother with children to support--including a brand-new baby--Sarah wrote a book, Northwood. Its success led to a job offer for the "editorship" of a new "ladies" magazine, turning Godey's into one of the most important periodicals in 19th century America. Though it is now remembered primarily for its fashion plates, crafts, and household tidbits, it covered social issues as well.

 

Year after year, Godey's Lady's Book published the same plea. Each year the campaign brought new success. By 1851, 29 out of 31 states celebrated a day of Thanksgiving. However, not on the same day so she continued to insist the holiday be celebrated on the exact same day. 

Having thoroughly thought it out, she suggested the last Thursday in November so that "the telegraph of human happiness would move every heart to gladness simultaneously." To further her cause for a unified day of giving thanks, she pointed out that farm labor was done for the season and the election cycle was over.

 

Below is the cover of Godey's Lady's Book and the original plea from 1847.

 

“OUR HOLIDAYS.—We have but two that we can call entirely national. The New Year is a holiday to all the world, and Christmas to all Christians—but the “Fourth of July” and “Thanksgiving Day” can only be enjoyed by Americans. The annual observance of Thanksgiving Day was, to be sure, mostly confined to the New England States, till within a few years. We are glad to see that this good old puritan custom is becoming popular through the Union…Would that the next Thanksgiving might be observed in all the states on the same day. Then, though the members of the same family might be too far separated to meet around one festival board, they would have the gratification of knowing that all were enjoying the blessing of the day…

Despite her claims, she had not achieved the ultimate endorsement; a proclamation from the President. In 1861, with civil war looming, she focused on national unity as her strongest selling point. 

Finally, under these conditions and the stress of considerable loss of life, a devastated Southern economy, and public support for the holiday, President Abraham Lincoln endorsed and proclaimed "a day of Thanksgiving and Praise to our beneficent Father who dwelt in the heavens." Furthermore, he stated, Americans should "fervently implore" blessings from the Almighty to "heal the wounds of the nations, and to restore it...to the full enjoyment of peace, harmony, tranquility and union."

Thanksgiving in a Civil War camp

Successive presidents continued the tradition and proclaimed a yearly Thanksgiving at the end of every November.  Still not satisfied, Hale's magazine urged Congress to recognize the holiday. Unfortunately, she didn't live to see the Congressional proclamation of the Thanksgiving story (which finally took place in 1941), but by the 1870's Thanksgiving was already a part of America's culture.

The national holiday has become just what Sarah Josepha Hale envisioned: a celebration of home and hearth and the blessings for which we are grateful.

 Happy Thanksgiving!

Sources:

Read the Original Pitch for Thanksgiving, From the Editress Who Created the Holiday - Atlas Obscura

http://www.thisvictorianlife.com/blog/thanksgiving

QUILTING THE PAST- Part Two by Jo-Ann Roberts

 

QUILTING THE PAST- Part Two by Jo-Ann Roberts

“Our lives are like quilts, bits and pieces, joy and sorrows stitched with love."

“The best kind of sleep beneath Heaven above, is under a quilt, handmade with love.”

The first known quilt pattern published in an American periodical was the honeycomb or hexagon pattern published by the Godey’s Lady’s Book in 1835. While we know that some early periodicals like Godey’s, featured patterns for quilt making they seldom gave names to these patterns .

In the 1850’s Godey’s continued to publish quilt patterns for American quilt makers with a series of numbered but unnamed quilt patterns. Other mid-century periodicals published patterns occasionally, and references to quilts and patterns appeared with increased  frequency with the popularity of the periodical.

 

Quilt pattern names reflected all aspects of life on the trail West.  While Biblical names reflected the belief and conviction of the importance of a spiritual life so valued as the pioneers walked and rode into an unknown land, more down to earth names like Hole in the Barn Door, Broken Dishes, Cake Stand, Basket, Baby Blocks, Rail Fence, Churn Dash, and Log Cabin echoed the environment that the quilt maker lived in.

    

                                          Log Cabin                       Hole in the Barn Door

 

Quilt pattern names that reflected patriotic emotions and political views are proof that women were interested in these issues, and that they were knowledgeable of current social events. While their voices may not have been heard at the time, their words speak out from their work and remain for us to see today.  Abe Lincoln’s Log Cabin, Railroad Crossing, President’s Wreath,  Martha Washington Star, Fifty-Four Forty or Fight were popular choices.

 

 

Martha Washington Star 

 

But by far, the patterns created  from what pioneers saw, heard and experienced on the trek to their new homes are still some of the most popular quilts today. 

The Crazy Quilt

The Crazy Quilt is one of the oldest quilt patterns. Early quilters used an scrap, regardless of its color, design, or fabric type. Children’s worn clothing, women’s calico dresses, men’s canvas pants and coarse shirts, and household linens were cut, fitted and stitched together, resulting in a hodgepodge of color as well as a story behind each scrap.

The Road to California

The discovery of gold at Sutter’s mill, near Sacramento, triggered the great migration westward in 1849. Soon it was not just men but families on the road to California. Many of the Road to California patterns involve triangles. Many patterns created during the trek used triangles to represent the flight of birds and their movement. The Flying Geese pattern involved a series of triangles going in the same direction representing the migration of geese. So, it’s not surprising the triangles were used to represent the migration of pioneers as well. Sometimes  the pattern is known as Road to California or at other times The Underground Railroad or Jacob’s Ladder.

 

                        

The Rose of Sharon

It was no secret that the trip west would be filled with danger.  Holding on to their faith and devotion to The Lord was, in many cases, all that kept them going. A quilt made with blocks named from the Bible would be a source of comfort.

One of the oldest applique quilt patterns is the Rose of Sharon. The Rose of Sharon, mentioned in the Bible, might actually refer to a wild tulip that grows today on the plains of Sharon in Palestine. When the Bible was translated into English, the word rose was used in place of the word tulip.

During the 1800s, there was a custom for a young girl to make a baker's dozen of quilt tops before she became engaged. This collection consisted of 12 utility quilts, and one great quilt, which was pieced or appliqued, as a show piece for a bed. The Rose of Sharon was often used for the great quilt. Many young women traveled West as brides, their great quilt folded safely in a trunk.

Many times the quilt maker deliberately sewed a mistake somewhere in the quilt. It is thought, by some, that this reflected the maker's faith in God; for only God can make a perfect thing.

The Schoolhouse Quilt 

In many cases, settlers went West for a better life, and part of that better life was education. It was natural then, that the schoolhouse was often one of the first public buildings constructed in many communities.  

The Schoolhouse block was often a variation of a house or church pattern. Most featured a side view of the building and were either pieced or appliqued. Depending on the skill of the quilter and time available to her, crosses in the windowpanes and outlines of the doors could be added. 

Anvil

Not only did quilts reflect the daily work of the women who helped to homestead the prairie, they told the story of the challenging work of the men.

The Anvil pattern represented one of the necessary and important activities of the early settlers-blacksmithing.

By 1890, catalogue sales included quilt patterns. If a woman ordered her yard goods from Sears or Wards, she could purchase any of 800 designs for just a dime.

The Friendship Quilt

The quilts the homesteaders brought with them were a comfort to these women who traded their home, family and friends in the East, for the uncertainty of traveling through vast prairies in the West. A quilt that held special value to the pioneer women was the Friendship Quilt.

Putting a Friendship quilt on the bed, gave a woman a sense of connection with her former way of life. It kept alive the memory of family and friends, providing comfort and company during the difficult days of homesteading.

One woman homesteader said, "When I get lonely, I read the names on my quilt. "

Through the years, quilts have become documents of history. They are the products of their society, influenced by the culture, and the environment of the people who made them. The history of America can be seen in the history of quilts. Stitched into these quilts is the rich heritage of thrifty self-sufficient women who helped homestead the land, the history of families sewn into quilts one patch or one stitch at a time, and the legacy of the art of quilting, passed on from generation to generation.

​Sources:

Barbara Brackman, “Encyclopedia of Pieced Quilt Pattern Names,” 1993. American Quilters Society.

Barbara Brackman, “Encyclopedia of Applique,” 1993, EPM Publications, Inc.

Maggie Malone, "5,500 Quilt Block Designs", 2003, Sterling Publishing Co. Inc. 

Jenny Beyer, "The Quilter's Album of Patchwork Patterns," 2009, Breckling Press.

Judy Rehmel, “The Quilt I.D. Book,”  1986, Prentice Hall Books. 
​
Yvonne M. Khin, “The Collector’s Dictionary of Quilt Names and Patterns,” 1980, Portland House.

Cross, Mary Bywater, Treasures in The Trunk, Rutledge Hill Press, 1993

Dallas, Sandra, Simonds, Nanette, The Quilt That Walked to Golden, Breckling Press, 2004

Ferrero,Pat, Hearts and Hands, The Influence of Women and Quilts on American Society, The Quilt Digest Press, 1987.

Finley, Ruth E., Old Patchwork Quilts and The Women Who Made Them, Charles T.Branford Company, 1929.

Martin, Nancy J., Pieces of the Past, That Patchwork Place, Inc., 1986.

Regan, Jennifer, American Quilts: A Sampler of Quilts and Their Stories, Gallery Books, 1989

 

HISTORY OF CHRISTMAS ELVES By Cheri Kay Clifton

During Christmas, does one of these little fellas occupy a place in your home? I’ve always had an elf or two either sitting on our mantel, hanging from a light fixture, or perched on a Christmas tree limb.

Have you ever wondered when and where these tiny folks first appeared and how they evolved into cute little creatures dressed in green or red with large, pointy ears and pointy hats?

After doing some research, I found there is a lot of conjecture as to the origin of elves, although most folklorists believe they date back to ancient history. Ancient Norse mythology refers to the ‘alfar’, also know as “hidden folk.” The Scandinavian and Celtic cultures had myths of fairies, elves and nature spirits. Interestingly enough, most folklore of that time depicted elves as more naughty than nice, more mischievous than merry.

The Scandinavians and Celts weren’t the only Europeans who believed in supernatural species. Germans had their dwarves and little sprites called kobolds. Scots had house spirits called brownies.

The word, “elf,” derives from the ancestral language of German and Old English and dates as far back as 500 A.D.

The transition of elf myth to Christmas tradition is difficult to explain. Clearly originating from pagan roots, many countries participated in seasonal celebrations, many of which took place during the winter solstice. Centuries of elf traditions merged with the traditions of Christmas.

The association of Santa Claus with elves could well be linked from the phrasing of Clement Moore’s 1823 poem, “A Visit from St. Nicholas,” better known today as “The Night Before Christmas.” That poem refers to Santa Claus as a “right jolly old elf.”

Godey's Ladies Book

Harper's Weekly

Louisa May Alcott later wrote a book that was called “Christmas Elves” and a popular publication of the times, Godey’s Ladies Book published art work of Santa and his tiny elves. During the 19^th Century, many writers were inspired by the elf link to Christmas. In 1857, Harper’s Weekly published a poem called “The Wonders of Santa Claus,” which tells of the elves working for Santa and making toys and sugar plums to fill children’s stockings.

In 1922, famed artist Norman Rockwell released his painting of an exhausted Santa surrounded by busy elves finishing a dollhouse in time for Christmas.

Through the decades, movies have depicted elves helping Santa prepare for Christmas, some quite unconventional, such as the "misft" elf named Hermey in 1964’s classic TV special, “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer,” and in the 2003 movie, “Elf,” starring Will Ferrell.

The trademarked “Elf on a Shelf” started in 2005 when author Carol Aebersold self-published a tale of a little elf sent by Santa to report on children’s behavior leading up to Christmas.

Although Santa Claus will always hold top billing, in the USA, Canada, and Great Britain, diminutive elves clad in green and red also add to the magic of children’s Christmas traditions.

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Cheri's web site

Ice cream was once a delicacy

Before 1846 making ice cream was a drawn out process.  A bowl was filled with cream, then nested in another bowl filled with ice or snow and the cream was whipped vigorously while shaking both bowls up and down.  Not only was it an arduous task but the need for ice or snow would be another detriment to making the loved dessert.

President George Washington loved the creamy dessert. $200 was spent in the summer of 1790 to keep him in ice cream. There were two pewter ice cream pots kept in the Mount Vernon kitchen to make his favorite dessert.

Even the temperance movement applauded ice cream. They thought it the perfect treat to persuade an alcoholic to stop drinking.

Godey’s Lady’s Book said, “A party without ice cream would be like a breakfast without bread or a dinner without roast.”

The treat was thought as such a treat and emotionally uplifting that the Civil War was when the military began serving it to troops to boost morale.

I think it’s sad that the woman who made so many people happy with her invention didn’t profit from it. In 1846 Nancy Johnson invented a simple hand-cranked freezer that made it easier for people to make ice cream at home. Unfortunately she never patented the invention. I've often wondered how many intelligent people who invented items we use every day never profited from their ingenuity. 

As a child we rarely made ice cream because we sold our cream to a creamery and bought 5 gallon tubs of ice cream from them. But as an adult I’ve made it several times.

What is your favorite flavor of ice cream? Have you ever made it? 

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