I was up at 6am this morning and in the garden by 7am. My in-laws have a 100 acre farm just a mile down the road and vegetable farming has been a constant part of their lives for generations.
Not Mine! I grew up in the suburbs and didn't know diddly-squat about farming. And then I moved here 15 years ago and recaptured some of my agricultural ancestry. I took to it like a duck to water. I love growing and canning my own food.Thanks to my mother-in-law!
I was thinking of my great-grandmother today as I was planting corn. Gertrude "Gertie" Sarah Nisbet Whittaker grew up on a farm in Earlville, Illinois and lived her entire life there. First with her family and then she married a young man on a farm a mile or so away. Her Dad, Jefferson "Jeff" Nisbet had settled there from Oneida County, NY after a stint being an express mail rider in the Midwest. The winters in New York were brutal and as it was a big dairy cow area, many a morning he was up at 4am dealing with the cows. I think he settled in Illinois to escape the brutal winters. He didn't escape the cows, however. He did what he knew to earn a living and they grew lots of corn to feed those damn cows!
Great Grandpa's Whittaker's family was totally without agriculture to my knowledge. Frank Whittaker was born on the Illinois farm that had originally been settled by his Dad, Robert Whittaker, and two sisters (Sarah and Amelia) and their husbands. The sisters came West first, from Saugus, Massachusetts. Robert followed a few years later with his Scottish immigrant wife, Eliza Hart.
Born in Lancashire, England, my paternal Great Great Great Grandfather. James T. Whittaker was a weaver. Lancashire's economy was strongly engaged in the milling of wool and cotton. He emigrated in 1826 to escape the economic disaster known at the Cotton Riots. With two small children and a baby on the way, James emigrated to the Boston area for employment after the riots had closed many of the mills in his home area. He spent the rest of his life working in the mills in the Boston area.
But it appears that he wanted something better for his younger children. His older children followed him in to the mills, but the youngest son and two sisters did not. James Whittaker provided the financial stake for the daughters to move WEST and buy farms. This is a pattern that is very common in the mid 19th century. Land ownership was highly desired for the Northern European immigrants to America.
A son and daughters of a textile mill worker - what did they know about farming? Probably nothing. I certainly have much in common with them in this regard. But they made it work and a portion of the farm is still in the family as of 2019. Remarkable.
Sunday, June 2, 2019
Saturday, June 1, 2019
Walkersville WV History Walk
First day of summer vacation for this Middle School Social Studies Teacher!
I can’t think of a better way than to take a local history walk.
This journey started with a letter to Sam Mick, a resident of Ireland, West Virginia where I live. It was provided to me by Sam’s daughter Sandy and her husband Buzz King. The letter contains handed down accounts commonly heard by folks who grew up in southern Lewis County WV. I am not one of those people - but as a History teacher I have taken a keen interest in the family histories of the residents here.
So today, our journey will attempt to take us back to the 1840s when Walkersville was founded and we will journey from the covered bridge to the tiny village itself. Settlement in this area began as early as 1787. It was nothing but wilderness way back then as you can imagine. Life was all about survival back then. To create a home in the wilderness is beyond my experiences yet holds fascination. How hard those people had to work every day! And I thought dealing with 7th and 8th graders was challenging ...
I can’t think of a better way than to take a local history walk.
This journey started with a letter to Sam Mick, a resident of Ireland, West Virginia where I live. It was provided to me by Sam’s daughter Sandy and her husband Buzz King. The letter contains handed down accounts commonly heard by folks who grew up in southern Lewis County WV. I am not one of those people - but as a History teacher I have taken a keen interest in the family histories of the residents here.
So today, our journey will attempt to take us back to the 1840s when Walkersville was founded and we will journey from the covered bridge to the tiny village itself. Settlement in this area began as early as 1787. It was nothing but wilderness way back then as you can imagine. Life was all about survival back then. To create a home in the wilderness is beyond my experiences yet holds fascination. How hard those people had to work every day! And I thought dealing with 7th and 8th graders was challenging ...
Monday, March 28, 2011
Alvin Fernald
I recently got to share my love for Alvin Fernald and his creator, Clifford B. Hicks with a student teacher who was doing her internship in my classroom. She has 3 young children - so I gave her a copy of an Alvin Fernald and Peter Potts book to read to her children. Yay! Another generation to love our beloved Alvin, Shoie, and of course, the Pest. I've actually been thinking about Cliff alot since I heard of his passing on Sept 29th...I have a 7th grade students who is quite a creative writer. She's been giving me copies of her creative vignettes...and I am so sad that I cannot share them with Cliff. He would have really been amused by her creativity. Gary...if you're out there in cyber world connecting to posts about Alvin...please get in touch. Its been too long...Post a comment on my Blog and I'll reply. Karen Whittaker McClain Ireland, West Virginia
Sunday, November 14, 2010
John Brown's Raid at Harper's Ferry
Students...today you will be History Scene Investigators! Please follow these instructions to complete this assignment.
1) Read the following Blog postings about John Brown's Raid at Harper's Ferry.
2) Three of the entries require you to do an primary source image analysis and answer a few questions. You will click on "comment" at the bottom of the entry and sign in using your access email account. You will have to sign in using the entire email address in the name/URL section. USE ONLY your 1st name and then your email address. Example: username@access.k12.wv.us Post the answers to the questions on the comment form. Remember...Blogs are PUBLIC forums...everything you write will be visible for the world to see! Proof Read and Spell Check before publishing!
3) The final Blog entry details your writing assignment. Complete your essay in WORD. When you have finished writing, do 2 things: 1) Proof read your essay for spelling, punctuation, and grammar. Use the spell check feature of WORD to assist you. 2) Print your completed essay. Make sure it includes your proper paper heading and a title!
1) Read the following Blog postings about John Brown's Raid at Harper's Ferry.
2) Three of the entries require you to do an primary source image analysis and answer a few questions. You will click on "comment" at the bottom of the entry and sign in using your access email account. You will have to sign in using the entire email address in the name/URL section. USE ONLY your 1st name and then your email address. Example: username@access.k12.wv.us Post the answers to the questions on the comment form. Remember...Blogs are PUBLIC forums...everything you write will be visible for the world to see! Proof Read and Spell Check before publishing!
3) The final Blog entry details your writing assignment. Complete your essay in WORD. When you have finished writing, do 2 things: 1) Proof read your essay for spelling, punctuation, and grammar. Use the spell check feature of WORD to assist you. 2) Print your completed essay. Make sure it includes your proper paper heading and a title!
Saturday, July 18, 2009
Summer Vacation - Day 11
My final day in Scotland was spent exploring all of the villages surrounding Melrose in search of graves of my Hart and Vair ancestors. It remains inexplicable to me why we could not find any graves beyond those located on the grounds of Melrose Abbey. Were our ancestors too poor to buy headstones? Had the graves been lost to time or reused for more recent burials? We scarcely found any gravestones older than 19th century.
While we know that Betty Vair’s husband George Hart was a gardener in Melrose, we do not know if he was working at the Abbey or elsewhere. And while there are several Harts buried in the abbey grounds – we never found George Hart who we know died prior to 1841. Just how did Betty Vair Hart support herself prior to emigrating in 1848? Did she move to Selkirk where they met John Grieve or was she being supported by Vair or Hart relatives? It’s a mystery and likely will remain as one. It’s fun to speculate, however.I hope to return to Scotland in the near future to explore the lands further north. Keith’s ancestors lived on the island of Mull on the northwest coast of Scotland and are a noted highland clan. His clan has two divisions descending from two brothers and the clan was reputed to be filled with fierce warriors. The name is spelled either MacLean or MacLaine depending on which brother descent came from. By comparison, my Nisbets, Harts, Vairs and related families, Hatton/Hutton, Tait, and Hunter were all peoples of the lowlands.
While we know that Betty Vair’s husband George Hart was a gardener in Melrose, we do not know if he was working at the Abbey or elsewhere. And while there are several Harts buried in the abbey grounds – we never found George Hart who we know died prior to 1841. Just how did Betty Vair Hart support herself prior to emigrating in 1848? Did she move to Selkirk where they met John Grieve or was she being supported by Vair or Hart relatives? It’s a mystery and likely will remain as one. It’s fun to speculate, however.I hope to return to Scotland in the near future to explore the lands further north. Keith’s ancestors lived on the island of Mull on the northwest coast of Scotland and are a noted highland clan. His clan has two divisions descending from two brothers and the clan was reputed to be filled with fierce warriors. The name is spelled either MacLean or MacLaine depending on which brother descent came from. By comparison, my Nisbets, Harts, Vairs and related families, Hatton/Hutton, Tait, and Hunter were all peoples of the lowlands.
Summer Vacation - Day 10
Very Hot! Record temperatures in Scotland and everyone talks of nothing else! We traveled to Edinburgh today to tour Edinburgh Castle. We did not realize that Queen Elizabeth was in town today to address the Scottish Parliament so our trip was cut short. We visited the impressive Edinburgh Castle which is built high up on a craig of volcanic rock and historically a military stronghold for that reason. Mary, Queen of Scots, chose it as the location to give birth to the future heir to the Scottish throne instead of the more comfortable Holyrood Palace (where the Queen Elizabeth II was currently in residence) after the murder of her Italian secretary (and favorite courtier) Rizzio in her presence just weeks before. The highlight of the tour was seeing the tiny room – no more than a closet really – where she gave birth. I reasoned that the woman must have been feeling very threatened and insecure to subject herself to labor and delivery in that claustrophobic space!
After leaving the castle, we walked a short distance down “The Royal Mile” and went inside St. Giles cathedral where I happened upon a stained glass window emblazoned with the McClain coat of arms. In the courtyard of the cathedral was an enormous statue of one of the Dukes of Bucclegh – the owner of BowHill and Carterhough Farm where our ancestor James Vair was head gardener at one time. Certainly our ancestor must have been proud to work for such an illustrious man.
On our way back to Melrose, we stopped for lunch at a very nice inn just outside of Peebles. I ordered a penne pasta dish which arrived at the table covered with a sauce in the most unusual and unappetizing shade of green. I was too hungry not to eat it. The taste was not bad but for the life of me I could not figure out what ingredient was used to make to that particular shade of green and did not have the courage to ask the waiter!
After lunch, we spent the afternoon touring Traquair House, the oldest existing private residence in Scotland continuously inhabited by one family – a branch of the Stewarts – which is of course, the royal family of Scotland. The royal family did not run directly through their line…they were an offshoot and contained a man who served as royal steward to Mary, Queen of Scots and actually helped her escape assassination when her secretary Rizzio was so brutally murdered in her presence. Mary rewarded his loyalty with an extended visit at the house with her disgraced husband Lord Darnley and infant son in tow.
The house dates back to the 13th century with additions in the 15th and 16th centuries and is still occupied as a home by the current heiress, her husband and 2 young children. What made the house so interesting was an astounding collection of historical artifacts the family has collected over the centuries which are on display for visitors. The family also has a working brewery on site and we were treated to samples for tasting. In the back of the grounds, a branch of the River Tweed runs alongside which grows a grove of 1000 year old Yew trees. It was like walking in an enchanted forest – quite spectacular. It was quite daunting to contemplate the age of those magnificent trees while considering all the events in human history which have occurred during their existence.
After leaving the castle, we walked a short distance down “The Royal Mile” and went inside St. Giles cathedral where I happened upon a stained glass window emblazoned with the McClain coat of arms. In the courtyard of the cathedral was an enormous statue of one of the Dukes of Bucclegh – the owner of BowHill and Carterhough Farm where our ancestor James Vair was head gardener at one time. Certainly our ancestor must have been proud to work for such an illustrious man.
On our way back to Melrose, we stopped for lunch at a very nice inn just outside of Peebles. I ordered a penne pasta dish which arrived at the table covered with a sauce in the most unusual and unappetizing shade of green. I was too hungry not to eat it. The taste was not bad but for the life of me I could not figure out what ingredient was used to make to that particular shade of green and did not have the courage to ask the waiter!
After lunch, we spent the afternoon touring Traquair House, the oldest existing private residence in Scotland continuously inhabited by one family – a branch of the Stewarts – which is of course, the royal family of Scotland. The royal family did not run directly through their line…they were an offshoot and contained a man who served as royal steward to Mary, Queen of Scots and actually helped her escape assassination when her secretary Rizzio was so brutally murdered in her presence. Mary rewarded his loyalty with an extended visit at the house with her disgraced husband Lord Darnley and infant son in tow.
The house dates back to the 13th century with additions in the 15th and 16th centuries and is still occupied as a home by the current heiress, her husband and 2 young children. What made the house so interesting was an astounding collection of historical artifacts the family has collected over the centuries which are on display for visitors. The family also has a working brewery on site and we were treated to samples for tasting. In the back of the grounds, a branch of the River Tweed runs alongside which grows a grove of 1000 year old Yew trees. It was like walking in an enchanted forest – quite spectacular. It was quite daunting to contemplate the age of those magnificent trees while considering all the events in human history which have occurred during their existence.
Summer Vacation - Day 9
We traveled to Selkirk today with the purpose of exploring the textile mill sites. During our prior research day in Hawick, I had focused my research on a man named John Grieve who had emigrated, along with his widowed mother and younger sister, on the same ship as the widowed Betty Vair Hart and her children. This John Grieve had later married our ancestress Eliza Hart’s older sister and upon her death married a second sister! I located him and his mother and sister living in Selkirk in the 1841 census on Dunsdale road and previously located biographical data had told that he went to work in the mills at age 10. He was in his teens during the 1841 census, was listed as a weaver and I located the names of 3 separate mills on Dunsdale Road – surely he had worked at one or perhaps all of them in turn prior to emigrating to Boston.
Most of the mills along Dunsdale road had long since been demolished but we found Ettrick Mill to still be standing and they had several old engravings in their public office of what the mills along Dunsdale road used to look like. As my Whittaker ancestors were also textile mill workers – albeit in Lancashire, England – I was much interested in exploring what I could.
From Selkirk, we returned to Carterhough Farm to take pictures as my camera batteries had died the day before and I did not have extras with me. (Stupid!) We returned to Melrose by noon as Dale had an appointment at the Masonic Lodge to look through their old records. I begged off and spent the afternoon by myself exploring Melrose on my own.
Most of the mills along Dunsdale road had long since been demolished but we found Ettrick Mill to still be standing and they had several old engravings in their public office of what the mills along Dunsdale road used to look like. As my Whittaker ancestors were also textile mill workers – albeit in Lancashire, England – I was much interested in exploring what I could.
From Selkirk, we returned to Carterhough Farm to take pictures as my camera batteries had died the day before and I did not have extras with me. (Stupid!) We returned to Melrose by noon as Dale had an appointment at the Masonic Lodge to look through their old records. I begged off and spent the afternoon by myself exploring Melrose on my own.
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