The Clarks of Willsborough Point

Darcey Hale

Description

In A Journey Through Childhood the author leaves behind Lydia Clark, a young widow, and her husband, George, who disappeared mysteriously. Their ten-year-old eldest son, Orrin, now becomes the centerpiece. He is indentured to Billy Blinn, a pioneer farmer on Willsborough Point whose family embraces him as one of their own children. In return for food, clothing and a home to live in he apprentices as a farmer until he reaches his majority at age twenty-one. The story portrays Orrin within the context of life on The Point, and the daily events that took place there, as well as the impact that events in the broader arena, including the War of 1812, had upon Orrin Clark and the Blinn family. 

FOREWORD    i

PREFACE: Our Journey Continues Beyond the Long Trek North    1

CHAPTER ONE: New Life on the Point    9

CHAPTER TWO: Young Orrin’s future    21

CHAPTER THREE: A Home of Warmth and Love    27

CHAPTER FOUR: The Brilliance of Autumn    41

CHAPTER FIVE: Bitter Winds and Snow Arrive    51

CHAPTER SIX: Sugaring Time    63

CHAPTER SEVEN: Planting Season Is upon Us    73

CHAPTER EIGHT: The Onerous Task of Making Soap    83

CHAPTER NINE: The Bounty of the Earth    87

CHAPTER TEN: Summer Antics    95

CHAPTER ELEVEN: The Harvest    99

CHAPTER TWELVE: Faith of Their Forebears    103

CHAPTER THIRTEEN: School Days for Orrin    113

CHAPTER FOURTEEN: Peace and Prosperity    129

CHAPTER FIFTEEN: Still Safe on the Homefront    141

CHAPTER SIXTEEN: A Cloud of War Hangs Around Us    155

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN: War    167

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN: Let There Be Peace    177

CHAPTER NINETEEN: 1816 — a Year of Pain and Anguish    185

CHAPTER TWENTY: Land Dealings    201

BIBLIOGRAPHY    213

INDEX    231

GLOSSARY OF UNUSUAL TERMS    235

ABOUT THE AUTHOR    237

ABOUT TBR BOOKS    239

ABOUT CALEC    241

THE CLARK COLLECTION    243

 

Sujets

• Histoire
• Nueva York
• Lake Champlain
• United States
• History
• Clark
• Lac Champlain
• New York

Informations

• Publié par: CALEC
• Date de parution: 04 juillet 2019
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781947626294
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 1 Mo

Extrait

Copyright © 2019 by Darcey Hale
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed or transmitted in any form or by any means, without prior written permission.
TBR Books is a program of the Center for the Advancement of Languages, Education, and Communities. We publish researchers and practitioners who seek to engage diverse communities on topics related to education, languages, cultural history, and social initiatives.
TBR Books
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Brooklyn, New York
www.tbr-books.org | [e-mail]
Front Cover Illustration: Willsboro Point © Philip Hall
Cover Design © Nathalie Charles
Back Cover Illustration: Darcey Hale © Nancie Battaglia
Inside Illustrations: © Philip Hall, Bruce Hale, Ashley Ahrent, Erwin H. Austin
ISBN 978-1-947626-28-7 (paperback)
ISBN 978-1-947626-29-4 (eBook)
Library of Congress Control Number: 2019945162
A tribute to Jared Van Wagenen, Jr. who in The Golden Age of Homespun collected and recorded the lore and the methods by which our forebears in Northern New York lived upon their land.
DEDICATION
Throughout my research and writing I have continued to receive immeasurable advice and support from the four amazing people who were at my side through thick and thin when I wrote The Long Trek North . You shared your knowledge and expertise time and time again, and when I was stumbling, off track, or just plain wrong you were there to help me over the hurdle. Without you I would never have been able to bring to life yet another chapter in the lives of the Clarks of Willsboro Point. Thank you one and all!
Ron, the Town Historian, I relied upon you to ensure that the historical facts about Willsboro that I cited were accurate. I cannot begin to count the number of times I looked to you for information and watched you retrieve it from the depths of your memory with such ease. Thank you for sharing your time and knowledge so generously.
Morris, the consummate researcher, once again I have you to thank for all of the interpretive work that you did over the past twenty years as we tackled what sometimes seemed to be an insurmountable mountain. You were correct. The Clark Collection was the gift that would not stop giving, and it continues to be just that.
Philip, my eldest son, where would I have been without you? As always, you stood beside me when I needed advice and counsel on a seemingly infinite variety of topics, and you were patient beyond belief as I encountered one computer problem (or should I say challenge) over and over again.
Fabrice, you believed that I had a story to tell. Without your pushing me hard, and then providing much needed assistance, I would never have embarked upon my current writing escapade. Thank you for believing that this octogenarian could write not one, but two, books.
I cannot close without formally thanking my husband, Bruce, for his support in such countless ways. You were infinitely patient when our lives had to be set aside once again because of THE BOOK. As if that was not enough, at the eleventh hour I asked you to do one last edit of the manuscript before it went to the publisher. This required two days of almost non-stop reading at a speed that an engineer does not usually exhibit. Your edits were superb, and your recommendations were right on target.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
It is an honor to recognize the individuals and organizations that continue to share their wisdom, expertise and experience with me so generously. Without their support I would not have had the courage or the fortitude to embark upon sharing the story of the Clarks of Willsborough Point with others – a journey that has taken me through The Long Trek North , now this book, and hopefully, three others to come.
Thanks to the commitment of its Board of Directors the Hale Historical Research Foundation has fulfilled its mission. Each and every board member participated in the effort to secure a permanent home for the Clark Collection that would meet the criteria that the foundation had established. All 51,000 paper documents now reside at the New York State Library where they are being catalogued in preparation for digitization. The almost 6,000 photographs will be on their way there soon. Thank you, Art Cohn, Jim Fuller, Cory Gilliland, Morris Glenn, Bruce Hale, Nick Muller, Patty Paine, Teresa Sayward, Lorilee Sheehan and Caroline Welsh. Kudos and farewell to the Foundation!
Peter Nastasi, Director of Manuscripts and Special Collections at the New York State Library, has been unfailing in his recognition of the importance of the Clark Collection as an outstanding representation of life in the Champlain Valley of New York in the 19 th Century. Thank you for your care and support. A portion of the Clark Collection of textiles and clothing is now in safe keeping at the New York State Museum. Thank you Cornelia Frisbie Houde for giving these personal and household articles a permanent home.
Thank you, Hallie Bond for continuing to be an excellent tutor as I have tried to develop an understanding of quilts and quilting from a historic and craftsmanship point of view. Thank you, Ted Comstock and Jane Mackintosh for continuing to be available to me for advice and counsel when I have sought it. Thank you, Bill Krattinger for providing wisdom and insights regarding the former Clark property as a National Historic District.
I cannot end the acknowledgments of gratitude without including John Bingham Rinda Foster, Linda Hacker, Joyce Lindemann, Nick Muller, and my ever-patient husband, for your careful editing and advice with regard to punctuation, grammar and, most important, meaning of the text. There is a piece of each of you in this book.
THE ILLUSTRATIONS
After I wrote my first book, The Long Trek North, several people asked me why there were no pictures. I hastened to explain that photography did not exist at the time of this story and the lives of George and Lydia Clark certainly did not warrant portraiture or paintings. When I began to work on A Journey through Childhood a friend loaned me a book that her grandfather had written many years ago. The Golden Age of Homespun by Jared Van Wagenen, Jr. turned out to be one of those rare treasures that come to you by sheer coincidence. The addition of the delightful, simple line drawings done by Erwin H. Austin greatly enhanced the charm of the book.
As I began planning the layout of A Journey through Childhood, I thought that the inclusion of a drawing in each chapter would add a nice flavor to the book. Cornell University Press, the original publisher of all three editions (the last was in 1960) heartily endorsed my using any of the illustrations in The Golden Age of Homespun that would fit with the text. Mr. Van Wagenen’s daughter and granddaughter were equally delighted to see this happen. In order to have enough pictures in addition to those of Mr. Austin I called upon Ashley Ahrent, a local college art student, my son, Philip, and my husband, Bruce, to fill in the gaps. Although they are all using the same medium for their illustrations you will note some individual stylistic differences. It has been a true cooperative endeavor which we are happy to share with you.
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
Figure 1. Map of Willsborough Point. Willsboro Heritage SocietyCollection
Figure 2. Building a Log Cabin. Ashley Ahrent
Figure 3. The Blinn Log Cabin. Ashley Ahrent
Figure 4. The Blinn Kitchen. Ashley Ahrent
Figure 5. Baby in Cradle . Ashley Ahrent
Figure 6. Billy’s Workshop . Ashley Ahrent
Figure 7. Tapping the Maple Trees . Erwin H. Austin
Figure 8. Mould board Plow . Philip Hall
Figure 9. Boiling Lye for Soap . Bruce Hale
Figure 10. Rhoda’s Garden Design. Bruce Hale
Figure 11. Capt. McCray’s Bear Cub . Philip Hall
Figure 12. Harvested Ear of Corn . Philip Hall
Figure 13. Log Schoolhouse—Meetinghouse . Ashley Ahrent
Figure 14. Schoolmaster . Erwin H. Austin
Figure 15. Steamboat . Ashley Ahrent
Figure 16. Smuggler’s Raft . Ashley Ahrent
Figure 17. Cannon . Philip Hall
Figure 18. War of 1812 Ship . Philip Hall
Figure 19. Grain Cradle . Erwin H. Austin
Figure 20. Deer Hunt . Erwin H. Austin
Figure 21. Billy’s New Barn . Ashley Ahrent
TABLE OF CONTENTS
FOREWORD
PREFACE: Our Journey Continues Beyond the Long Trek North
CHAPTER ONE: New Life on the Point
CHAPTER TWO: Young Orrin’s future
CHAPTER THREE: A Home of Warmth and Love
CHAPTER FOUR: The Brilliance of Autumn
CHAPTER FIVE: Bitter Winds and Snow Arrive
CHAPTER SIX: Sugaring Time
CHAPTER SEVEN: Planting Season Is upon Us
CHAPTER EIGHT: The Onerous Task of Making Soap
CHAPTER NINE: The Bounty of the Earth
CHAPTER TEN: Summer Antics
CHAPTER ELEVEN: The Harvest
CHAPTER TWELVE: Faith of Their Forebears
CHAPTER THIRTEEN: School Days for Orrin
CHAPTER FOURTEEN: Peace and Prosperity
CHAPTER FIFTEEN: Still Safe on the Homefront
CHAPTER SIXTEEN: A Cloud of War Hangs Around Us
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN: War
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN: Let There Be Peace
CHAPTER NINETEEN: 1816 — a Year of Pain and Anguish
CHAPTER TWENTY: Land Dealings
BIBLIOGRAPHY
INDEX
GLOSSARY OF UNUSUAL TERMS
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
THE CLARK COLLECTION
ABOUT TBR BOOKS
ABOUT CALEC
FOREWORD
Darcey Hale, and her husband, Bruce, built a house on Ligonier Point in Willsboro, New York. Their property also included two historic houses. Old Elm, a large classic revival stone farm house with some of its outbuildings still standing sits facing east on Point Road that connects the long peninsula jutting into Lake Champlain, commonly called “The Point,” with the village of Willsborough Directly opposite Old Elm a road runs east down Ligonier Point passing the other historic house called Scragwood.
In the late 18 th and early 19th century the men and women whose story she tells migrated from New England to “the Point” and shaped never before settled land into homes and farms where they lived and worked, experienced the joy of cr