Muskoka Antiquing; Looking Back A Mere 200 Years of Canadian History

Electric Railway and Motor Coach Employee of America

110 YEARS AGO, HISTORIAN LOOKING BACK A HUNDRED MORE YEARS - TO WHAT SEEMED LIKE ANCIENT HISTORY

HOME ECONOMY, TRIALS AND TRIBULATIONS -

     WHEN SUZANNE AND I ARE OUT ON OUR ANTIQUING ADVENTURES, IT'S AS IF WE HAVE TAKEN THE HISTORIAN-THING TO THE HIGHEST LEVEL, EVEN ON A PARALLEL OF HISTORICAL RE-ENACTMENT. TO ME, AND IT'S ONLY A PERSONAL OPINION, IT ALWAYS FEELS AS IF WE'RE PASSING THROUGH THE TINY DOOR, INTO ALICE'S WONDERLAND. I SEE THE HISTORY IN THE PIECES WE ARE HUNTING. IF I SAID THEY "TALK TO ME," SOME READERS WOULD BE LEFT WITH THE IMPRESSION, THE MAN HAS FLIPPED HIS PROVERBIAL LID. IF YOU'RE AN ANTIQUE HUNTER YOURSELF, THEN YOU KNOW WHAT THIS MEANS, AND CHANCES ARE, YOU EXPERIENCE THE SAME MANIFESTATION OUT THERE ON THE HUSTINGS. I PAY ATTENTION TO THESE ANTIQUE PIECES, IN SHOPS AND MALLS, ALTHOUGH THAT DOESN'T ALWAYS MEAN I DECIDE TO PURCHASE THEM. SOMETIMES I HAVE TO SETTLE FOR A DISTANT ADMIRATION. BUT I'M GLAD I'VE HAD THE CHANCE TO INSPECT THEM CLOSELY, AS IF I'D FOUND THEM IN A MUSEUM EXHIBIT. THERE ARE TIMES WHEN SUZANNE AND I AGREE, A PIECE SIMPLY HAS TO COME HOME WITH US, BECAUSE IT HAS THAT "SOMETHING SPECIAL," THAT MAKES IT SOMEHOW ENDEARING. IT'S NOT JUST ABOUT BUYING AND SELLING, BECAUSE WE DO COLLECT AS WELL. IF IT MAKES US FEEL GOOD, THEN WE CONSIDER IT AN INVESTMENT IN OUR OVERALL SENSE OF WELL-BEING. A HAPPY ANTIQUE DEALER, GENERATES FROM A HAPPY COLLECTOR. SO I DO LIKE THE STORY WRITTEN BY HISTORIAN, FRANK VEIGH, IN A 1904 ARTICLE, PUBLISHED IN THE CANADIAN MAGAZINE, ABOUT THE REALITIES OF LIFE AND TIMES AS FAR BACK AS 1800....IN A TRULY WILD ENVIRONS. BUT IT'S THE PIECES HE REFERENCES WHICH REMIND ME OF THE KIND OF PIECES WE ALSO FIND SPECIAL AND ENCHANTED, LIKE OLD SPINNING WHEELS AND RUSTIC CRADLES. IF YOU MISSED PART ONE, YOU CAN ARCHIVE YESTERDAY'S BLOG.
     "THESE EARLY (1800) CENTURY MENUS SOMETIMES MEANT SACRIFICE AND COST, WHEN THE SETTLER HAD TO CARRY HIS LIMITED STORE OF WHEAT A HUNDRED MILES, OR MORE, TO THE NEAREST MILL IN ORDER TO BRING BACK A PRECIOUS SUPPLY OF FLOUR. NATURE, HOWEVER, WAS OFTEN PRODIGAL IN THEIR GIFTS OF FOOD, WHEN THE WILD FRUITS WERE IN ABUNDANCE. BUT THERE WAS NOT ALWAYS A FULL PANTRY. TERRIBLE MUST HAVE BEEN THE EXPERIENCE OF THE HUNGRY YEARS OF 1788 IN CANADA, WHEN THE FROGS SAVED MANY A LIFE FROM STARVATION, AND THE NEWLY PLANTED POTATO HAD TO BE DUG UP AND EATEN. THERE WERE TIMES, TOO, WHEN THE WHEAT FROZE IN THE HEAD, AND WHEAT BREAD WAS IN CONSEQUENCE, AN ABSENT ARTICLE OF DIET. ON OTHER OCCASIONS THE GOVERNMENT SUPPLY TRAINS WERE OVERTAKEN BY THE WINTER AND FROZEN UP, AS A RESULT OF WHICH SETTLERS, WHO WERE DEPENDING UPON THE EXPECTED STOCK, WERE COMPELLED TO HAVE RECOURSE, TO THE BUDS OF BASSWOOD TREES, AND BEEF BONES WERE LOANED FROM NEIGHBOR TO NEIGHBOR AS STOCK FOR SOUP. BOTH THE WHITE MEN AND THE INDIAN RELIED MUCH UPON THE ANIMAL AND FISH LIFE. THE WATERS TEEMED WITH FISH AS THE AIR WITH BIRDS, AND THE WOODS WITH GAME, AS WELL AS DEER AND MOOSE."
     THE PASSAGE ABOVE WAS PUBLISHED IN THE 1904 EDITION OF THE CANADIAN MAGAZINE, AND WAS AUTHORED BY FRANK VEIGH, IN AN ARTICLE ENTITLED "HOW OUR GRANDFATHERS (GRANDMOTHERS) LIVED - GLIMPSES OF CANADIAN PIONEER LIFE." THE WRITER WAS LOOKING BACK A FULL CENTURY OF TIME, IN THE ADVANCEMENT OF HOME ECONOMICS, IN THE EARLY SETTLEMENT OF THE CANADIAN WILDS. CONSIDERING THE ARTICLE WAS PUBLISHED ONE HUNDRED AND TEN YEARS AGO, AND WAS WRITTEN ABOUT THE ONE HUNDRED YEAR SPAN, FROM THE TURN OF THE 1800'S; WHICH MAKES THIS A RATHER UNIQUE ARTICLE, WITH TWO HUNDRED YEARS OF HISTORY WRAPPED WITHIN, INCLUDING OF COURSE, THE CHRONICLE THAT HAS BEEN WRITTEN IN THE PAST CENTURY.... ADDING, 1904 TO 2014, TO THE OBSERVATIONS MADE BY FRANK VEIGH. IT'S EVEN ENJOYABLE FOR AN HISTORICAL ZEALOT LIKE ME, TO READ THROUGH THIS ARTICLE, ESPECIALLY CONSIDERING, THAT A LOT OF WHAT IS BEING DESCRIBED, IN HOUSEHOLD ANTIQUITIES, WE FREQUENTLY BUY AND SELL TODAY IN THE ANTIQUE PROFESSION. I HAVE TWO 1800'S VINTAGE SPINNING WHEELS IN THE STORE RIGHT NOW, PLUS A PRIMITIVE WOOL WINDER, AND VARIOUS OTHER SPINNING ACCESSORIES. SO WHEN THE AUTHOR WRITES ABOUT THE SOUNDS MADE BY THE SPINNERS, IN THE LOG CABIN, I CAN CERTAINLY RELATE. SUZANNE DOES KNOW HOW TO SPIN. I KNOW THE SOUND THE AUTHOR REFERS. I LOVE LIVING HISTORY. I ENJOY ITS TRAPPINGS, AND WELCOME ITS INTRUSION, WHEN AT TIMES, THE MODERN ERA FRUSTRATES ME. HERE NOW, ARE A FEW MORE LINES FROM THIS INSIGHTFUL 1904 ESSAY, WHICH IS A GOOD AND MEANINGFUL LESSON IN CANADIAN HISTORY.....EVEN IF IT DOES SEEM OUT OF THE TEACHER'S NOTES FROM HIGH SCHOOL.
     "THERE WAS NO LIMIT TO THE WILD DUCKS, ESPECIALLY ALONG THE WATER STRETCHES OF THE QUINTE SHORE. FAMOUS SPORT HAD OUR GRANDFATHERS WHEN THEY WERE YOUNG, SHOOTING BLACK SQUIRRELS, TRAPPING WILD PIGEONS, SPEARING SALMON, OR SCOOPING THEM UP IN PRODIGIOUS NUMBERS. THE SKILFUL RED MAN WAS WONT TO SPEAR THE FISH BY TORCHLIGHT, AS HE STOOD ALERT IN THE PROW OF HIS CANOE. THE HUNTING OF THE LARGER GAME AND THE ATTEMPT TO EXTERMINATE THE WOLVES, ALSO LED TO MANY AN EXCITING ADVENTURE IN THE DEPTHS OF A CANADIAN FOREST. EATING HAS NEVER DONE WITH DRINKING, AND THE TODDY LADLE WE SAW IN THE CABIN HOME, FORCES THE FURTHER TRUTH TO BE CHRONICLED, THAT IN THE BEGINNING DAYS OF CANADA'S LIFE, WHISKY DRINKING WAS NOT UNKNOWN; WHEN, IN FACT, IT WAS CONSUMED BY THE BOWL FULL, AND WHEN A MAN'S STANDARD OF CAPACITY WAS PLACED AT TWO QUARTS. AT TWENTY-FIVE CENTS PER QUART, THE COST WAS NOT EXCESSIVE. FOR YEARS THERE WAS BUT ONE DISTILERY BETWEEN YORK AND KINGSTON, AND AS AN ACCESSORY TO THE STRONGER LIQUID, AS SOON AS ORCHARDS BEGAN TO BEAR, THE CIDER JUG WAS A FEATURE OF THE CAPACIOUS CELLARS, ALONG WITH THE BARRELS OF WINTER APPLES AND THE BINS OF ROOTS AND VEGETABLES."
     THE HISTORIAN WRITES, "DRINKING WAS A FEATURE OF THE VARIOUS 'BEES.' ON THE OCCASION OF A BARN RAISING, A MAN WOULD MOUNT THE TOP PLATE OF THE SKELETON STRUCTURE, SWING A BOTTLE THREE TIMES AROUND HIS HEAD, AND THROW IT INTO THE AIR. IF IT FELL UNBROKEN, IT MEANT GOOD LUCK, EVIDENCING ONE OF THE MANY SUPERSTITIONS PREVALENT IN THE EARLY TIMES. OTHER FORMS OF SUPERSTITIONS WERE THE SUPPOSED SIGHT OF A WINDING SHEET IN A CANDLE FLAME, OR THAT THE HOWLING OF A DOG AT THE MOON, MEANT TROUBLE FOR THE INMATES OF THE HOUSE, OR WHEN A SUDDEN SHUDDER CAME OVER ONE, IT FORETOLD THAT AN ENEMY WAS WALKING OVER THE SPOT WHICH WOULD LATER BE ONE'S GRAVE. MAY WAS REGARDED AS AN UNLUCKY MONTH IN WHICH TO BE MARRIED, AND IT WAS EQUALLY UNLUCKY TO KILL HOGS IN THE WANE OF THE MOON."
     "SPEAKING OF WEDDINGS, REMINDS ONE THAT THERE WAS MARRYING, AND GIVING IN MARRIAGE, IN THE SAME PIONEER TIMES. THE COURTING WAS SOMETIMES CARRIED ON IN INDIAN FASHION, WHEN THE FAIR HEBE WOULD RUN THROUGH THE FOREST IN A PRETEND EFFORT, TO ESCAPE THE PURSUING LOVER, WHO INVARIABLY CAUGHT HIS VICTIM. A KISS WAS THE SIGN OF VICTORY, AND THE WEDDING SOON AFTER CLOSED THE ROMANTIC CHAPTER. THERE WERE DIFFICULTIES INNUMERABLE, IN THE WAY OF THESE TRUSTY HEARTS OF OLD. FOR YEARS THERE WERE SCARCE HALF A SCORE OF CLERGYMEN, OF THE ESTABLISHED CHURCH IN UPPER CANADA, AUTHORIZED TO PERFORM THE MARRIAGE CEREMONY. A FEW MAGISTRATES HELD THE SAME POWER. TODAY ALL THAT A MODERN LOVER NEEDS, IS A TWO DOLLAR BILL FOR A LICENSE - AND A GIRL! BUT IN 1800 AND THEREABOUTS, THE HAPPY COUPLES WERE SOMETIMES COMPELLED TO TRAVEL LONG DISTANCES ON FOOT, OR ON HORSEBACK, TO WAIT ON A MINISTER OR MAGISTRATE. AN INTERESTING TALE OF EARLY CANADIAN LIFE, RECORDS THE FACT THAT RINGS WERE AS SCARCE AS CLERGYMEN OR MAGISTRATES. ONE OFFICIAL, RATHER THAN TURN AWAY AN ARDENT COUPLE, THAT HAD WALKED TWENTY MILES TO HIS SETTLEMENT, FOUND ON A PRIMITIVE PAIR OF SKATES, A ROUGH STEEL RING. THOUGH A HOMELY SUBSTITUTE, THE BRIDE WAS TOLD SHE MUST PERFORCE WEAR IT TO MAKE THE CEREMONY BINDING, AND WEAR IT SHE DID FOR MANY A LONG YEAR THEREAFTER, AND THE TROPHY IS A HIGHLY PRIZED HEIRLOOM AMONG HER DESCENDANTS TODAY."
    "IT IS INTERESTING TO READ IN THIS CONNECTION OF THE DOWRIES OF OUR GRANDMOTHERS. A GENEROUS ONE WAS A PLACE OF LAND, A COLT, A HEIFER, A YOKE OF STEERS, TWO SHEEP, SOME PIGS, A LINEN CHEST WITH BED AND BEDDING, AND FEATHER TICKS, CROCKERY AND CUTLERY AND SOME HAND-MADE FURNITURE. THE WEDDING FEE STOOD FOR A LONG TIME AT ONE DOLLAR. ALL THE FURNITURE OF THE TIME WAS PERFORCE HAND-MADE, SUCH AS CHAIRS WITH ELM-BARK SEATS, TABLES OF ROUGH HEWN BOARDS, AND BEDSTEADS - FOUR POSTERS - CUT FROM THE NATIVE LUMBER. SOMETIMES THE BABY'S CRADLE WAS THE SAP TROUGH OF THE SUGAR SEASON, BUT LINED WITH THE BLANKETS AND RESTING ON ROCKERS, OUR PIONEER BABIES SLEPT SOUNDLY AND NEVER DID THE TROUGH HOLD A SWEETER BURDEN. PRACTICALLY ALL THE IMPLEMENTS WERE HAND-MADE - THE REELS FOR WINDING THE YARN, THE HAND LOOMS, THE TRUNKS MADE OF BARK, AND THE BEEHIVES OF PLAITED STRAW, THE PLOWS WITH WOODEN FRAMES AND WROUGHT IRON MOULD BOARDS, THE PRIMITIVE HARROWS MADE OF THE BUTT OF A TREE, WHICH THE OXEN HAULED AROUND THE STUMPS IN THE PROCESS OF 'BUSHING IN.' SCYTHES, CRADLES AND FLAILS WERE THE PRECURSORS OF MOWERS, REAPERS AND THRESHING MACHINES. THE WHEAT WAS SOMETIMES GROUND AT HOME BY POUNDING OR CRUSHING IT, IN THE BURNT-OUT HOLLOW OF A STUMP, A BLOCK OF WOOD ATTACHED TO A SPRINGING POLE ACTING AS A PESTLE IN THE MORTAR CAVITY."
    "THE WAYS OUR GRANDFATHERS TRAVELLED IS IN INTERESTING CONTRAST WITH MODERN METHODS. THE HORSEBACK WAY WAS FOR YEAR, THE ONLY MEANS OF COVERING LONG DISTANCES THROUGH THE BUSH, WITH THE OATS IN THE SADDLE BAGS, A GUN OR TOMAHAWK FOR WEAPONS, AND PROVISION FOR CAMPING. JOURNEYING BY WATER WAS IN BATEAUX OR FLAT-BOTTOMED DURHAM BOATS. AFTER A TIME, ALONG WITH BETTER ROADS, CAME THE SPRINGLESS WAGONS WITH BOXES RESTING DIRECTLY ON THE AXLES, AND CHAIRS FOR THE USE OF THE PASSENGERS IN THE BODY-RACKING JOURNEY. A WRITER DESCRIBES THE OLD WAGONS AND STAGE COACHES 'AS ROLLING AND TUMBLING ALONG A DETESTABLE ROAD, PITCHING LIKE A SCOW AMONG THE BREAKERS OF A LAKE STORM, WITH A ROAD KNEE-DEEP IN MUD, AND AN IMPENETRABLE FOREST ON EITHER SIDE.' IT, OF NECESSITY, TOOK WEEKS OF TIME TO COVER THE DISTANCES, FOR EXAMPLE, BETWEEN YORK AND KINGSTON. THE MARKET PRICES FOR COMMODITIES ALSO THROW A SUGGESTIVE LIGHT ON THE DAYS OF OUR GRANDFATHERS. AN ANCIENT PRICE LIST OF 1804, QUOTED BY CANIFF HAIGHT, READS AS FOLLOWS; A GIMLET 5O CENTS, A PADLOCK, $1.50, A JACK-KNIFE $1., CALICO, $1.50 PER YARD; TEA, EIGHT TO TEN SHILLINGS A POUND, HALIFAX CURRENCY; NEEDLES, A PENNY EACH; BALL OF COTTON 7D; BOARD OF PIGS, $1 PER WEEK; AN AXE, $2.5; SALT, 6D A POUND."
     "THE EARLY STORE WAS A DEPARTMENTAL STORE IN MINIATURE, AND BARTERING WAS THE CHIEF FEATURE OF THE TRADE. AN OLD LADY OF MY ACQUANTANCE, HAS TOLD OF BUYING A FARM WITH A SADDLE; AND A YOKE OF OXEN IN ANOTHER CASE, WAS TRADED FOR 200 ACRES OF LAND. BUTTER, CHEESE, HOMESPUN CLOTHING, LUMBER, PORK, OX HIDES, MOLASSES, SHINGLES AND POTASH WERE A WIDELY VARIED LIST OF ARTICLES USED IN TRADING. IN THE TALBOT SETTLEMENT IN 1817, IT TOOK EIGHTEEN BUSHELS OF WHEAT TO BUY A BARREL OF SALT, AND ONE BUSHEL OF WHEAT FOR A YARD OF COTTON. THE FIRST CLOCKS WERE $40 EACH. BEFORE THE CLOCK DAYS, A LINE WAS CUT IN THE FLOOR, AND WHEN THE SUN'S RAYS REACHED THE MERIDIAN HEIGHT, THEY WERE CAST ALONG THIS MARK THROUGH A CRACK IN THE DOOR, TO INDICATE THE NOON HOUR. PENS COST THIRTY CENTS EACH, BUT THE EASILY SECURED QUILL LONG HELD ITS SUPREMACY. POSTAGE WAS PAYABLE ACCORDING TO DISTANCE - NOT EXCEEDING SIXTY MILES, 4D; 100 MILES, 7D; 200 MILES, 9D; AND GREATER DISTANCES IN PROPORTION."
     "ONE SHOULD NOT FORGET IN THIS PICTURE OF PIONEER LIFE, THE FIRST CHURCH, WITH MEN AND WOMEN SITTING ON OPPOSITE SIDES, WHEN THE CIRCUIT RIDER, MADE HIS INFREQUENT VISITS AND PREACHED SERMONS OF A LENGTH COMMENSURATE, WITH THE RARITY OF THEIR DELIVERY. ONE OF THE HUMOUROUS BITS OF THE EARLY UPPER CANADIAN ARCHIVES, IS THE REQUEST SENT TO LONDON, THAT A 'PIOUS' MISSIONARY BE SENT OUT TO THE BENIGHTED SETTLERS OF UPPER CANADA. THE FIRST LOG SCHOOL HOUSES ALSO DESERVE A WORD, WITH THE HUGE BOX STOVE IN THE CENTRE AROUND WHICH LONG WOODEN BENCHES WERE ARRANGED, TOO HIGH FOR THE FEET OF THE TODDLERS TO REACH THE FLOOR. TIRED AND SLEEPY, THE TINY STUDENTS SOMETIMES CREATED A PANIC, BY TUMBLING OFF THEIR UNCOMFORTABLE PERCH! THE ADMINISTRATION OF JUSTICE WAS ACCOMPLISHED UNDER ARDUOUS CONDITIONS. THERE WERE FEW GAOLS OR COURTHOUSES; ACCOMMODATION FOR JURORS, LAWYERS AND OTHERS WAS MOST LIMITED, AND MANY A TRIAL WAS HELD UNDER THE TREES OR IN A TENT. JURORS WERE OFTEN COMPELLED TO JOURNEY FIFTY MILES, OR MORE, AND TO TAKE THEN OR MORE DAYS BEFORE RETURNING HOME. WHEN THE FIRST GAOL WAS BUILT IN YORK, IT WAS MADE LARGE ENOUGH TO HOLD DEBTORS, AS WELL AS CRIMINALS OF A DEEPER DYE; THE GAOLER RECEIVING 5S A DAY SALARY, AND I S. 3d DAILY FOR THE MAINTENANCE OF EACH PRISONER."
    "SUCH ARE SOME OF THE GLIMPSES OF EARLY CANADIAN DAYS. ALL HONOUR TO OUR STURDY PIONEERS FOR THE WORK THEY ACCOMPLISHED, THE CHARACTERS THEY EVOLVED, AND THE RICH HERITAGE THEY PASSED-ON TO THEIR CHILDREN. MAY WE OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY BE AS TRUE TO OUR CONSCIENCE AND COUNTRY AS WERE OUR GRANDFATHERS - AND GRANDMOTHERS."
     HISTORY IS PROVENANCE. WE ALL HAVE IT, WE ALL LIVE IT, BUT MOST OFTEN, AS IT TURNS OUT, THAT LIKE OUR OWN SHADOW, WE HAVE COME TO TAKE IT FOR GRANTED; AND GENERALLY DISREGARD IT AS HAVING ANY REAL SIGNIFICANCE TO DAY TO DAY LIVING. WE THINK WE CAN GET ALONG WITHOUT IT, AND FOR THE MOST PART, WELL, IT SEEMS WE CAN. BUT AS PETER PAN FELT SOMETHING IMPORTANT WAS MISSING OF HIS CHARACTER, AND SOUGHT OUT THE SHADOW HE HAD LEFT BEHIND, DURING ONE HASTY RETREAT..., SOONER OR LATER, WE MUST RECKON WITH THE PAST, AS PART OF OUR FUTURE. IT'S ONE OF THE INTERESTING REALITIES, ABOUT THE INCREASING POPULARITY OF FAMILY HISTORY, IN THIS NEW CENTURY. MANY MORE PEOPLE THAN EVER BEFORE, WANT TO KNOW THEIR PLACE IN HISTORY. THEY WANT TO KNOW MORE ABOUT THE LINKS THEY HAVE WITH THEIR ANCESTORS, WHO WERE THE MAKERS OF HISTORY. THERE'S A WONDERFUL FEELING OF "BELONGING" THAT GENERATES FROM THIS ANCESTRAL MISSION, TO UNCOVER FAMILY LINKS, THAT CROSS OVER THE OCEAN, AND PUT US IN CULTURAL VEINS WE HAD LITTLE KNOWLEDGE OF, UNTIL BY HAPPENSTANCE, IT WAS REVEALED. I ONLY FOUND OUT A FEW YEARS AGO, THAT I HAD BOTH DUTCH AND GERMAN ANCESTRY. I HAD MADE IT TO MY FIFTIES, BELIEVING THAT I WAS A MIX OF ENGLISH AND IRISH ONLY. I WAS ASTONISHED TO FIND OUT THIS BACKGROUND INFORMATION, AND IT DID MAKE A DIFFERENCE FOR OUR FAMILY, NOW VERY MUCH AWARE OF WHO OUR ANCESTORS WERE....AND SOME OF THEIR CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE HISTORY OF THEIR RESPECTIVE COUNTRIES. I NEVER KNEW THAT MY GRANDMOTHER, ON MY FATHER'S SIDE, WAS A BERNARDO CHILD; AN ORPHAN, SENT TO CANADA AS A DOMESTIC SERVANT, FROM DR. BERNARDO'S HOMES, IN ENGLAND, OFF TO THE COLONIES. I DIDN'T KNOW ABOUT THE FACT MY GREAT GRANDMOTHER, ON MY MOTHER'S SIDE, WAS OF DUTCH AND GERMAN ANCESTRY, BECAUSE HER FAMILY NAME WAS SANDERCOCK. I NEVER ONCE ASKED WHAT HER OWN FAMILY NAME WAS, BEFORE MARRIAGE, EVEN THOUGH, AS AN HISTORIAN, ONE WOULD NATURALLY QUESTION SOMETHING LIKE THIS. WHEN SUZANNE DID SOME MORE DIGGING THROUGH ANCESTRY.CA, OF WHICH SHE WAS A MEMBER, I ALL OF A SUDDEN BECAME CLEARLY AWARE OF MY STATUS, AS THE KIN OF UNITED EMPIRE LOYALISTS, WHO HAD BEEN PART OF THE AMERICAN CIVIL WAR, ON THE SIDE OF THE BRITISH; AND I COULD LAY CLAIM BY BLOOD LINE, TO THE FOUNDER OF THE CITY OF BELLEVILLE, AND THE ESTABLISHMENT OF THE CITY OF NEW YORK. TALK ABOUT A SENSE OF BELONGING. IT'S KIND OF NICE TO KNOW YOUR ROOTS RUN THROUGH SO MUCH WORLD HISTORY.
     THANKS FOR JOINING TODAY'S BLOG. PLEASE VISIT ME AGAIN TOMORROW, FOR MORE ANTIQUE CHATS, AND HISTORICAL ANECDOTES.