Historical Fiction: All Will Be Well, by Amy C. Martin

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

All Will Be Well is Amy Martin’s debut novel, inspired by her ancestor John Alden. Speaking generally, I can say that the book is well researched and competently written. Told in the neutral third person, it is in its first half that the story of the Mayflower passengers, in particular John Alden and Priscilla Mullins, really shines. The reader experiences the perils of a late fall Atlantic crossing in realistic detail, perhaps the best fictional description of the harrowing journey since that offered by Anya Seton her 1958 classic, The Winthrop Woman. The struggles to find a suitable location for the new settlement , survive the harsh winter with limited food and widespread illness, and finally , to contend with an appalling death rate makes for captivating reading. What could be a grim reading experience is lightened by the growing attraction between John and Priscilla and by a myriad of other diverting characters, especially Miles Standish. The author’s treatment of prominent Native Americans Squanto, Massasoit, and many others is fair, balanced, and inclusive. For once, their roles are not ignored. Indeed, the second half of the novel covers in detail the growing friction between the Europeans and the tribes.

All Will Be Well is a promising debut by a young writer to watch, and is recommended to readers who enjoy well presented historical fiction

Historical Fiction: The Boston Girl, by Anita Diamant

My rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ of 5

Addie Baum is the latest in a long list of strong heroines created by author Anita Diamant. We are introduced to her as she turns 85, about to begin an oral diary of her life at the request of her granddaughter. Born in Boston to a family of Jewish immigrants, Addie has anything but an idyllic childhood; her family is poor, but worse, her father ignores her and her mother is relentlessly, often cruelly,  critical of her. Addie is a dutiful daughter, and with the protection of a sympathetic older sister, and later, a few good friends, she learns to develop a sort of gutsy, hopeful courage that will serve her well as she navigates the tumultuous changes that occur throughout the 20th century. 

The Boston Girl is richly textured, glowing with warmth, humor, optimism, love, and heartbreak. Diamant knows Boston well, creating a setting that feels lively and genuine. She writes in the plain, straightforward language one would expect from someone like Addie and the many people from all walks of life that she meets. Emotionally resonant and ultimately satisfying, this novel places Addie Baum firmly within Anita Diamant’s company of strong, resilient women, Highly recommended.

Historical Fiction: Beheld, by TaraShea Nesbit

My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ of 5

Was there a murder on the Mayflower? Maybe. But without doubt, a murder did occur in Plymouth Colony, ten years after its founding. That crime is the vehicle upon which TaraShea Nesbit builds a story that blows America’s long standing myths about the “godly” Pilgrims clear out of the water.

Nesbit’s two protagonists are women, Alice, the wife of Governor William Bradford, and Eleanor, married to indentured servant John Billington. On a daily basis, all must grapple with a myriad of unfamiliar dangers as they try to establish successful lives in a strange new environment. In spite of the pious religious ideals espoused at the meeting house, the identical socio/economic tensions that existed in Europe continue to cause tremendous strain in the new world. Bradford is responsible for allocating land allotments to all colonists, and does so with an uneven hand. With every new wave of incomers, tensions multiply, and when the elites conspicuously fail to assuage them, the first murder of a colonist by a colonists occurs.

The story plays out in alternating chapters, essentially mini-autobiographies, narrated by the educated, refined Alice Bradford and the working class Eleanor Billington. In spite of their status difference, as women, each of them is virtually powerless in this society, as their experiences make clear. Through their words, we watch conflicts take root that grow so innate that they continue to dominate America today.

Nesbit’s research for her novel appears sound and deep, and her prose is evocative. Read this short but compelling book, and watch the the cloying myth of the noble and selfless puritans finally shatter.

It’s a Mystery: Dark Turns, by Cate Holahan

My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Nia Washington is a 22 year old ballet dancer recovering from an injury and a romantic breakup. She takes a temp position at a posh private school as assistant to the director of their elite dance program, until she’s strong enough to returning to auditioning for pro companies. Nia’s very first day on the job is marred by her discovery of a student’s body floating in the campus lake, apparently strangled. Dark Turns focuses upon the aftermath, as she tries to glean some insight into who might have committed the murder.

As a mystery, Dark Turns reads rather like a novel for teens and young adults. Nia is a likeable, earnest young woman who enjoys her contact with the students in her class. The other adults in the book come across according to type, including the school’s stern director, the officious head of campus security, and the local “just the facts, Ma’am” police. Somewhat more natural is Nia’s new love interest, Peter Anderson, English teacher. Scattered liberally through each chapter are explanations of dance terms, description of dancers, dances, and costumes, and details about the relationships among Nia’s students. The plot line is stretched pretty thin, and there is little attention paid to developing any of the characters. Also scattered about are thinly-veiled “tells”, from which the reader can can come up with a viable suspect but Nia apparently cannot.

Dark Turns would probably be better appreciated by teens, dance aficionados, and mystery readers who expect a more complex tale.

View all my reviews

It’s a Mystery: Even If It Kills Her, by Kate White

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Crime writer/investigator Bailey Weggins is signing copies of her latest true-crime book when who should appear but a friend from college, Jillian Lowe, who dropped out following the brutal murder of her family. Bailey’s rather non-plussed, feeling guilty because she failed to provide support to or even maintain contact with Jillian 16 years ago, so when she’s asked for a favor, she feels obligated to grant it. In a nutshell, the man now serving time for the murders may be exonerated due to new and exculpatory DNA evidence, and, since the cops aren’t interested in reopening the case, Jillian hopes Bailey will assist her in identifying the true killer.

Within hours of their arrival in the small Berkshires town where the Lowes made their home, local animosity toward the two women becomes apparent. Bailey sets up a few interviews with people who knew the family when the tragedy occurred; few of them are cooperative. One of the administtra who worked at the high school that Jillian and her sister attended is more forthcoming, providing Bailey with possible leads, but less than a day later, she is killed in what appears to be a staged burglary at her home. The police chief and the assistant DA, from whom Bailey seeks support, warn her off and threaten her. When Bailey herself is assaulted, she and Jillian are afraid that the real murderer is still in the locality and knows what they are about.

There are some surprises in this account, the most effective of them an graphic attack by a vicious dog, which White describes with skill. Although it becomes painfully clear that Bailey is playing with fire, she remains determined to discover the truth. Some of her choices are nothing short of foolhardy. Not even the strenuous objections of her boyfriend, who fears she will also die, deter her. The subplot that focuses on their currently shaky relationship lends some human interest to the storyline, as does the revelation of some Lowe family secrets, the biggest of which I did not foresee. In spite of all the danger, most of the novel lacks the element of actual suspense, however, and I never doubted that Bailey would emerge battered but victorious.

View all my reviews

The Resting Place of Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain

A couple of years ago, long time friend Ken generously agreed to post an photo essay about scenes from the Civil War, then and now. This has deservedly become one of the most popular posts on You’re History, and if you missed it, you can find it here. This past summer, Ken and Eileen made another CW pilgrimage of sorts, to the grave of Union hero Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain, who is also a favorite of mine. I’m so pleased that Ken has agreed to do a guest post on his thoughts about our mutual hero from Maine.

What to Do in Maine,

When All You See is Rain

Several years back, my wife, Eileen, and I, traveled up to Maine for a short three day vacation, our destination being Orr’s Island, located on a finger of land roughly 
eleven miles east of the town of Brunswick. As luck would have it, the clouds gathered shortly after leaving CT, and we never saw sunshine again until sometime on our return drive back to our home state. To make matters worse, a good portion of the time, it poured like the dickens. Naturally this put a “damper” on a lot of the activities we were planning, so we started thinking of alternative things to do. As I am an absolute Civil War nut, and knowing that the town of Brunswick was the home to one of the true heroes of that war, Joshua Chamberlain, I had made a comment to Eileen as we passed through there on our first day, about him being from that town. Luckily we had internet capabilities at our lodging. So during a rain 

storm on our second day, Eileen, being an internet surfing queen, in no time at all, came up with the burial site of Chamberlain, a cemetery named Pine Grove. And to boot, she recalled seeing said cemetery when we had driven through Brunswick the day before. It was, she said, located adjacent to Bowdoin College. So off we went back to Brunswick during an infrequent rain break, located the cemetery, and after getting our sneakers and socks thoroughly drenched from the wet grass, we finally found the grave site of Joshua Chamberlain, and took a few photos. He is surrounded by family members, wife, children, etc. So, being a Civil War fanatic, this was a real high point to an otherwise wet and dreary trip, an unexpected little pleasure for me. And, as usual, Eileen was a real trooper, dealing with my interest in the Civil War.

As I mentioned, Joshua Chamberlain is one of the real heroes of that war, in my opinion, very much overlooked. Here is short list of his accomplishments and activities, both during the war and the years following. After attending Bowdoin College, he eventually became a faculty member, teaching various subjects over a number of years. At the outbreak of the war, he volunteered his services, and was offered a rank of Lt. Col. of the 20^th Maine regiment. After a few minor skirmishes, this regiment saw it’s first major engagement at the battle of Fredericksburg, participating in the famous assault on Marye’s Heights. After missing the next big engagement, the battle of Chancellorsville, due to the regiment being decimated with disease, the unit was next involved in the march to Gettysburg, where the Confederate armies of R.E.Lee were in the process of invading the northern states. Upon arriving at Gettysburg, the regiment was assigned to a position on a hill named Little Round Top, which ended up being the extreme left flank of the Union Army. On the second day of the battle, his regiment repulsed numerous assaults by the 15^th Alabama, until such time when his men were running out of ammunition, he ordered a bayonet charge, which completely routed the Confederate forces, securing the vulnerable left flank of the army. He suffered two minor wounds at this engagement. During the next two years of the war, he was involved in the fighting under U.S. Grant and his march south, which eventually ended at the surrender at Appomattox, VA. He was given the honor of receiving the official surrender of the Confederate forces there.

After the war, Chamberlain returned to Maine, eventually entering into politics. He served four one year terms as Governor of Maine, and after leaving politics, served as president of Bowdoin College. Chamberlain died in 1914, at the age of 85, from the lingering effects of wounds suffered in the war. He is the last known veteran to have died from wounds received during the war.

War record:

He was involved in 20 battles and numerous minor skirmishes.

He was cited for bravery four times, and received the Congressional Medal of Honor.

Had six horses shot out from underneath him.

Wounded six times, one of which was thought to be mortal.

Rose to Brig. General (Brevet Maj. General).

Received the Medal of Honor for his actions on Little Round Top.to do in Maine,

When all you see is rain

Last month, my wife, Eileen, and I, traveled up to Maine for a short three day vacation, our

destination being Orr’s Island, located on a finger of land roughly eleven miles east of the

town of Brunswick. As luck would have it, the clouds gathered shortly after leaving CT.,

and we never saw sunshine again until sometime on our return drive back to our home state.

To make matters worse, a good portion of the time, it poured like the dickens. Naturally this

put a “damper” on a lot of the activities we were planning, so we started thinking of alternative

things to do. As I am an absolute Civil War nut, and knowing that the town of Brunswick was

the home to one of the true heroes of that war, Joshua Chamberlain, I had made a comment to

Eileen as we passed through there on our first day, about him being from that town. Luckily

we had internet capabilities at our lodging. So during a rain storm on our second day, Eileen,

being an internet surfing queen, in no time at all, came up with the burial site of Chamberlain,

a cemetery named Pine Grove. And to boot, she recalled seeing said cemetery when we had

driven through Brunswick the day before. It was, she said, located adjacent to Bowdoin

College. So off we went back to Brunswick during an infrequent rain break, located the

cemetery, and after getting our sneakers and socks thoroughly drenched from the wet grass,

we finally found the grave site of Joshua Chamberlain, and took a few photos. He is surrounded

by family members, wife, children, etc. So, being a Civil War fanatic, this was a real high point

to an otherwise, wet and dreary trip, an unexpected little pleasure for me. And, as usual, Eileen

was a real trooper, dealing with my interest in the Civil War.

As I mentioned, Joshua Chamberlain is one of the real heroes of that war, in my opinion, very

much overlooked. Here is short list of his accomplishments and activities, both during the war

and the years following.

After attending Bowdoin College, he eventually became a faculty member, teaching various

subjects over a number of years. At the outbreak of the war, he volunteered his services,

and was offered a rank of Lt. Col. of the 20th Maine regiment. After a few minor skirmishes,

this regiment saw it’s first major engagement at the battle of Fredericksburg,  participating

in the famous assault on Marye’s Heights. After missing the next big engagement, the battle

of Chancellorsville, due to the regiment being decimated with disease, the unit was next

involved in the march to Gettysburg, where the Confederate armies of R.E.Lee were in the

process of invading the northern states. Upon arriving at Gettysburg, the regiment was assigned

to a  position on a hill named Little Round Top, which ended up being the extreme left flank of

the Union Army. On the second day of the battle, his regiment repulsed numerous assaults by

the 15th Alabama, until such time when his men were running out of ammunition, he ordered a

bayonet charge, which completely routed the Confederate forces, securing the vulnerable left

flank of the army.  He suffered two minor wounds at this engagement. During the next two

years of the war, he was involved in the fighting under U.S. Grant and his march south, which

eventually ended at the surrender at Appomattox, VA. He was given the honor of receiving the

official surrender of the Confederate forces there.

After the war, he returned to Maine, eventually entering into politics. He served four one year

terms as Governor of Maine, and after leaving politics, served as president of Bowdoin College.

Chamberlain died in 1914, at the age of 85, from the lingering effects of wounds suffered in

the war. He is the last known veteran to have died from wounds received during the war.

War record:

He was involved in 20 battles and numerous minor skirmishes.

He was cited for bravery four times.

Had six horses shot out from underneath him.

Wounded six times, one of which was thought to be mortal.

Rose to Brig. General (Brevet Maj. General).

Received the Medal of Honor for his actions on Little Round Top.

to do in Maine,

When all you see is rain

Last month, my wife, Eileen, and I, traveled up to Maine for a short three day vacation, our

destination being Orr’s Island, located on a finger of land roughly eleven miles east of the

town of Brunswick. As luck would have it, the clouds gathered shortly after leaving CT.,

and we never saw sunshine again until sometime on our return drive back to our home state.

To make matters worse, a good portion of the time, it poured like the dickens. Naturally this

put a “damper” on a lot of the activities we were planning, so we started thinking of alternative

things to do. As I am an absolute Civil War nut, and knowing that the town of Brunswick was

the home to one of the true heroes of that war, Joshua Chamberlain, I had made a comment to

Eileen as we passed through there on our first day, about him being from that town. Luckily

we had internet capabilities at our lodging. So during a rain storm on our second day, Eileen,

being an internet surfing queen, in no time at all, came up with the burial site of Chamberlain,

a cemetery named Pine Grove. And to boot, she recalled seeing said cemetery when we had

driven through Brunswick the day before. It was, she said, located adjacent to Bowdoin

College. So off we went back to Brunswick during an infrequent rain break, located the

cemetery, and after getting our sneakers and socks thoroughly drenched from the wet grass,

we finally found the grave site of Joshua Chamberlain, and took a few photos. He is surrounded

by family members, wife, children, etc. So, being a Civil War fanatic, this was a real high point

to an otherwise, wet and dreary trip, an unexpected little pleasure for me. And, as usual, Eileen

was a real trooper, dealing with my interest in the Civil War.

As I mentioned, Joshua Chamberlain is one of the real heroes of that war, in my opinion, very

much overlooked. Here is short list of his accomplishments and activities, both during the war

and the years following.

After attending Bowdoin College, he eventually became a faculty member, teaching various

subjects over a number of years. At the outbreak of the war, he volunteered his services,

and was offered a rank of Lt. Col. of the 20th Maine regiment. After a few minor skirmishes,

this regiment saw it’s first major engagement at the battle of Fredericksburg,  participating

in the famous assault on Marye’s Heights. After missing the next big engagement, the battle

of Chancellorsville, due to the regiment being decimated with disease, the unit was next

involved in the march to Gettysburg, where the Confederate armies of R.E.Lee were in the

process of invading the northern states. Upon arriving at Gettysburg, the regiment was assigned

to a  position on a hill named Little Round Top, which ended up being the extreme left flank of

the Union Army. On the second day of the battle, his regiment repulsed numerous assaults by

the 15th Alabama, until such time when his men were running out of ammunition, he ordered a

bayonet charge, which completely routed the Confederate forces, securing the vulnerable left

flank of the army.  He suffered two minor wounds at this engagement. During the next two

years of the war, he was involved in the fighting under U.S. Grant and his march south, which

eventually ended at the surrender at Appomattox, VA. He was given the honor of receiving the

official surrender of the Confederate forces there.

After the war, he returned to Maine, eventually entering into politics. He served four one year

terms as Governor of Maine, and after leaving politics, served as president of Bowdoin College.

Chamberlain died in 1914, at the age of 85, from the lingering effects of wounds suffered in

the war. He is the last known veteran to have died from wounds received during the war.

War record:

He was involved in 20 battles and numerous minor skirmishes.

He was cited for bravery four times.

Had six horses shot out from underneath him.

Wounded six times, one of which was thought to be mortal.

Rose to Brig. General (Brevet Maj. General).

Received the Medal of Honor for his actions on Little Round Top.

to do in Maine,

When all you see is rain

Last month, my wife, Eileen, and I, traveled up to Maine for a short three day vacation, our

destination being Orr’s Island, located on a finger of land roughly eleven miles east of the

town of Brunswick. As luck would have it, the clouds gathered shortly after leaving CT.,

and we never saw sunshine again until sometime on our return drive back to our home state.

To make matters worse, a good portion of the time, it poured like the dickens. Naturally this

put a “damper” on a lot of the activities we were planning, so we started thinking of alternative

things to do. As I am an absolute Civil War nut, and knowing that the town of Brunswick was

the home to one of the true heroes of that war, Joshua Chamberlain, I had made a comment to

Eileen as we passed through there on our first day, about him being from that town. Luckily

we had internet capabilities at our lodging. So during a rain storm on our second day, Eileen,

being an internet surfing queen, in no time at all, came up with the burial site of Chamberlain,

a cemetery named Pine Grove. And to boot, she recalled seeing said cemetery when we had

driven through Brunswick the day before. It was, she said, located adjacent to Bowdoin

College. So off we went back to Brunswick during an infrequent rain break, located the

cemetery, and after getting our sneakers and socks thoroughly drenched from the wet grass,

we finally found the grave site of Joshua Chamberlain, and took a few photos. He is surrounded

by family members, wife, children, etc. So, being a Civil War fanatic, this was a real high point

to an otherwise, wet and dreary trip, an unexpected little pleasure for me. And, as usual, Eileen

was a real trooper, dealing with my interest in the Civil War.

As I mentioned, Joshua Chamberlain is one of the real heroes of that war, in my opinion, very

much overlooked. Here is short list of his accomplishments and activities, both during the war

and the years following.

After attending Bowdoin College, he eventually became a faculty member, teaching various

subjects over a number of years. At the outbreak of the war, he volunteered his services,

and was offered a rank of Lt. Col. of the 20th Maine regiment. After a few minor skirmishes,

this regiment saw it’s first major engagement at the battle of Fredericksburg,  participating

in the famous assault on Marye’s Heights. After missing the next big engagement, the battle

of Chancellorsville, due to the regiment being decimated with disease, the unit was next

involved in the march to Gettysburg, where the Confederate armies of R.E.Lee were in the

process of invading the northern states. Upon arriving at Gettysburg, the regiment was assigned

to a  position on a hill named Little Round Top, which ended up being the extreme left flank of

the Union Army. On the second day of the battle, his regiment repulsed numerous assaults by

the 15th Alabama, until such time when his men were running out of ammunition, he ordered a

bayonet charge, which completely routed the Confederate forces, securing the vulnerable left

flank of the army.  He suffered two minor wounds at this engagement. During the next two

years of the war, he was involved in the fighting under U.S. Grant and his march south, which

eventually ended at the surrender at Appomattox, VA. He was given the honor of receiving the

official surrender of the Confederate forces there.

After the war, he returned to Maine, eventually entering into politics. He served four one year

terms as Governor of Maine, and after leaving politics, served as president of Bowdoin College.

Chamberlain died in 1914, at the age of 85, from the lingering effects of wounds suffered in

the war. He is the last known veteran to have died from wounds received during the war.

War record:

He was involved in 20 battles and numerous minor skirmishes.

He was cited for bravery four times.

Had six horses shot out from underneath him.

Wounded six times, one of which was thought to be mortal.

Rose to Brig. General (Brevet Maj. General).

Received the Medal of Honor for his actions on Little Round TopWhat to do in Maine,

When all you see is rain

Last month, my wife, Eileen, and I, traveled up to Maine for a short three day vacation, our

destination being Orr’s Island, located on a finger of land roughly eleven miles east of the

town of Brunswick. As luck would have it, the clouds gathered shortly after leaving CT.,

and we never saw sunshine again until sometime on our return drive back to our home state.

To make matters worse, a good portion of the time, it poured like the dickens. Naturally this

put a “damper” on a lot of the activities we were planning, so we started thinking of alternative

things to do. As I am an absolute Civil War nut, and knowing that the town of Brunswick was

the home to one of the true heroes of that war, Joshua Chamberlain, I had made a comment to

Eileen as we passed through there on our first day, about him being from that town. Luckily

we had internet capabilities at our lodging. So during a rain storm on our second day, Eileen,

being an internet surfing queen, in no time at all, came up with the burial site of Chamberlain,

a cemetery named Pine Grove. And to boot, she recalled seeing said cemetery when we had

driven through Brunswick the day before. It was, she said, located adjacent to Bowdoin

College. So off we went back to Brunswick during an infrequent rain break, located the

cemetery, and after getting our sneakers and socks thoroughly drenched from the wet grass,

we finally found the grave site of Joshua Chamberlain, and took a few photos. He is surrounded

by family members, wife, children, etc. So, being a Civil War fanatic, this was a real high point

to an otherwise, wet and dreary trip, an unexpected little pleasure for me. And, as usual, Eileen

was a real trooper, dealing with my interest in the Civil War.

As I mentioned, Joshua Chamberlain is one of the real heroes of that war, in my opinion, very

much overlooked. Here is short list of his accomplishments and activities, both during the war

and the years following.

After attending Bowdoin College, he eventually became a faculty member, teaching various

subjects over a number of years. At the outbreak of the war, he volunteered his services,

and was offered a rank of Lt. Col. of the 20th Maine regiment. After a few minor skirmishes,

this regiment saw it’s first major engagement at the battle of Fredericksburg,  participating

in the famous assault on Marye’s Heights. After missing the next big engagement, the battle

of Chancellorsville, due to the regiment being decimated with disease, the unit was next

involved in the march to Gettysburg, where the Confederate armies of R.E.Lee were in the

process of invading the northern states. Upon arriving at Gettysburg, the regiment was assigned

to a  position on a hill named Little Round Top, which ended up being the extreme left flank of

the Union Army. On the second day of the battle, his regiment repulsed numerous assaults by

the 15th Alabama, until such time when his men were running out of ammunition, he ordered a

bayonet charge, which completely routed the Confederate forces, securing the vulnerable left

flank of the army.  He suffered two minor wounds at this engagement. During the next two

years of the war, he was involved in the fighting under U.S. Grant and his march south, which

eventually ended at the surrender at Appomattox, VA. He was given the honor of receiving the

official surrender of the Confederate forces there.

After the war, he returned to Maine, eventually entering into politics. He served four one year

terms as Governor of Maine, and after leaving politics, served as president of Bowdoin College.

Chamberlain died in 1914, at the age of 85, from the lingering effects of wounds suffered in

the war. He is the last known veteran to have died from wounds received during the war.

War record:

He was involved in 20 battles and numerous minor skirmishes.

He was cited for bravery four times.

Had six horses shot out from underneath him.

Wounded six times, one of which was thought to be mortal.

Rose to Brig. General (Brevet Maj. General).

Received the Medal of Honor for his actions on Little Round Top.

Biography: Insubordinate Spirit, by Missy Wolfe

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The title of this study is a bit misleading. Yes, there is information on the life of Elizabeth Fones Winthrop Feake Hallett, but there is much more info on the 17th century Puritan experience in Massachusetts, Connecticut, and New York (Amsterdam). With respect to Elizabeth, there is a dearth of evidence about her day to day existence, and Missy Wolfe has unearthed a bit more with a few interesting personal letters and diaries written by “Bess” and her family, especially her eldest daughter. Especially elucidating are their exchanges with John Winthrop, Jr. who, as Ms. Wolfe described him, was a true “renaissance man”, scientist, medical specialist, political innovator, and man of reason. There are sections on the founding and development of Greenwich and Stamford, which came about only following lengthy wrangling between the English and Dutch over the borderlands between their respective colonies. In and amongst these sections, Wolfe manages to establish Elizabeth as an independent thinker who had the courage to resist conformity regardless of the personal hardships that the Puritan government visited upon her as a result.

Missy Wolfe is an amateur historian, and as such, she sometimes uses anachronistic language and repeats timeworn myths. Elizabeth, for example, didn’t “date”, and colonial women did not turn into torches because their home fires ignited their clothing as they worked over the flames. Still, there are things to be gleaned from this narrative, particularly in the many details about the Native Americans living in the Greenwich area during Elizabeth’s time there; Ms. Wolfe also provides information about some of the names in the town of today that are directly related to them. Pinpointing the location of her last dwelling site, on a promontory that stood above Hell Gate, is interesting as well. The author also fleshes out the personality of John Underhill, infamous for his part in the Pequot massacre. At the end of the book, she reports what is known about the lives of the descendants of the key figures in her narrative.

View all my reviews

Historic Buildings of Coventry, CT

Fellow museum guide, interpreter, and teacher Dan Sterner travels all throughout Connecticut photographing the thousands of 18th and 19th century buildings that remain in our 163 towns. He posts the pictures with descriptions and historical information on his web site, town by town. Dan recently put up some pages about what’s to be found in Coventry, which was founded in 1712 and still has more than 400 old places, many in fine condition,  along its roads and byways. He generously agreed to permit me to link up to that page here on You’re History. I’m including the Coventry index here, but there’s a complete index of all the places he’s visited on Historic Buildings of Connecticut .

Thanks, Dan, great work!

Buildings Index

Boston Turnpike
12 Brigham’s Tavern (1778)
1064 Nathaniel Root House (1809)
1630 Coventry Grange Hall (1834)
1746 Second Congregational Church (1847)
1747 Loomis-Pomeroy House (1833)
1804 Pomeroy Tavern (1801)

Bread & Milk Street
21 Jacob Wilson Tavern (1735)

Main Street
1129 Capron-Philips House (1864)
1134 Booth & Dimock Memorial Library (1913)
1141 Former Methodist Church (1867)
1171 First Congregational Church (1849)
1195 Coventry Visitors’ Center (1876)
1220 Bidwell Hotel (1822)
2011 Daniel Rust House (1731)

North River Road
290 John Turner House (1814)
941 Charles Hanover House (1825)

South Street
2187 Elias Sprague House (1821)
2299 Nathan Hale Homestead (1776)
2382 Strong-Porter House (1730)

Esther Williams Meacham: The Redeemed Captive

On the bitter cold night of Feb. 29, 1704, the little town of Deerfield, MA, an English outpost on the western fringes of the Bay Colony, once again found itself in the cross-hairs of the imperial feud being waged between France and Great Britain for the dominance of the North American continent. The armed conflicts of the 18th century between the English colonies in North America and the French settlements that stretched into Canada were fought with the support of Native American allies.

In 1704, Mohawk Indians, converted to Catholicism by Jesuit missionaries, allied with the French settlers in Canada, attacked the frontier village of Deerfield, Massachusetts, killing 50 of the very young and old and kidnapping 112 more. They then marched the prisoners to Canada, killing 20 more women and several children along the way as acts of mercy, including the wife and infant son of John Williams, a Puritan minister and a prize hostage. While he and his surviving sons were ultimately released, his daughter, Eunice, who was seven at the time of her capture, remained with her captors, converted to Catholicism, and at the age of 16 married an Indian, with whose people she chose to spend the rest of her life. A fuller account of Eunice’s saga can be found here:

Raid

The opinions expressed in the linked article are not necessarily my own.

The gravestone pictured above is located in the Nathan Hale Cemetery in Coventry, CT, and it marks the burial site of the sister of Eunice Williams. Esther Williams Meacham was one of the Deerfield captives who was released and returned to her life among the Puritans. Esther married a minister and relocated from Mass. to Connecticut, and local accounts tell of Eunice’s infrequent visits to her sister’s household, during which she refused to stay inside the house, preferring to pitch her own shelter on the village green.

Esther Meacham’s gravestone contains a summary of her ordeal among the Mohawk:

Here lies what was Mortal of

Mrs. Esther Meacham ye Pru

dent Pious & virtuous

Consort of ye Revd Joseph

Meacham she was ye Daugh

of ye Venerable John Will

iams of Deerfield & was

Carried Capture to Canada

with her Father & his Family

was wonderfully preserved

& Redeemed & lived an

Eminent Example of what

was amiable in a wife a

Mother a Friend & a Christian

Slept in Jesus March 12th

1751 in ye 60th Year of her Age.

Esther’s marker was carved by a local Coventry craftsman, Gershom Bartlett. Follow up to Eunice’s story:
link

 

 

Plants for dyeing: Comfrey

I’ve been doing natural dyeing for a long time, and was always exasperated about the absence of a good plant source for the color green. Paradoxical, isn’t it? But the green coloration in plants is due to the presence of chlorophyll. In fall, the chlorophyll ceases production and gradually disappears, leaving the leaf’s true color to show. Once, while making a dye with fern fiddleheads, the only plant material available that early spring day, I discovered to my dismay that I’d left my brass kettle at home. Had to make do with the iron one, and had a pleasant surprise. The result was a lovely, soft gray-green.

But fiddleheads are around for just a short time every year. I needed a source available in the summer. Comfrey to the rescue. This plant has many advantages, the primary one being the size and abundance of its leaves. Making comfrey dye is easy: Simmer the leaves, about a grocery bag full, in about a gallon of water for about 1/2 hour, then remove the plant material. Submerge wet, alum mordanted wool into the bath and simmer in an iron container for another 1/2 hour or so. Olive green should be the result.

Using brass, glass, stainless steel containers will not yield the same results; probably a watery yellow will emerge, but who knows? Natural dyeing is more art than science.

Comfrey in New England is a perennial known for its abundant proliferation. Its tiny flowers start to blossom in  June, but the flowers aren’t used for dyeing. Medicinally, comfrey has been used to treat bruises, sores, broken bones, hemorrhoids ( there they are again), gout and joint pain. It used to be eaten in salads and tonics but has been found to cause liver damage.