Treasure Chest Thursday: One Stitch in Time

Can you imagine what it was like for our female ancestors when all sewing was done one stitch at a time?  Can you imagine the glee when sewing machines were invented?  Seems that owning one of these miracle machines could really make a difference in the lives of women.  I wonder if my seamstress kin enjoyed having the new contraption or were they forced to continue to sew by hand.

I thought that today would be just perfect for sewing, and then I thought, that, maybe, just maybe, I would rethink that thought.  After all, looking at my old family machine might be more fun.  And by my family machine, I mean family.

I do have an old Eldredge sewing machine built by the company of Barnabus Eldredge (1843-1911).  This company, which also got into the business of bicycles and automobiles, was only in business under the Eldredge name from 1869-1890.  In 1890, he changed the name of the company to the National Sewing Machine Company.

Of interest to me is that Barnabus's grandfather is also the 3g grandfather of my spouse. Barnabus's earlier family came over on the Mayflower voyage, although the Eldredge line itself were actually latecomers--  arriving in 1635.  The Mayflower Connection even has one of his grandpas as the 17th signer of the Mayflower Compact and arriving in 1620. 

I also have a card on the Eldredge Sewing Machine.  My machine is a different model as mine is a rotary machine. But the overall case and design of the metal work is essentially the same. (Note the pic depicting the name change on the pedal.) 

It's neat to think that ole Barnabus was of the opinion that a job with him was a job for life.  He didn't fire people when they got old.  He just left them on the payroll.  I bet that made for some loyal employees especially during the Great Depression!

Click here to read more about the business itself.

Guess I'll have to find some more of these old machines so each of my kids can take a tangible, metal piece of family history with them. 

Ah, genealogy.  Just a stitch in time.


©2010 AS Eldredge

The Saints Vs. the Strangers

Every year, we Americans celebrate the feast held by the Pilgrims. So, tis fitting I revisit this stroll down memory lane. This is a repost from 2006.

Sounds like the perfect football game for the season. But wait, just who are these players?

Back in the early 1600s, a group of people born in the Elizabethan age in England wanted to practice their faith as they saw fit. They were led by a man named William Brewster, who organized and then became the ruling elder of the Pilgrim Church, in Scrooby, England. King James demanded that all of his land be members of his church and give him absolute obedience. The Pilgrim Community insisted on passive obedience. So, the saga begins.

Around the 1608 to 1609 time period, Rev. Brewster moved from England to Amsterdam and finally to Leyden. Many of his people left England under the cover of night as the King's men were making it harder for these people to worship and live. Leyden was a natural place for the Pilgrims to go as the Dutch were much more tolerant of differences between religions and cultures. The Pilgrim Church flourished well until the Pilgrims felt it was time to leave, as King James was putting pressure on the Dutch to crack down on the Pilgrims. The Pilgrims arranged for passage to America and received a grant for land to be called "Pilgrim Plantation" at the mouth of the Hudson River in the Virginia territory.

The Pilgrims arrived to find they indeed had two boats for their voyage, the Mayflower and the Speedwell. Unknown to the Pilgrims, the investors in this crossing of the Atlantic also sold passage to a group of tradesmen, hence the origins of the term "The Saints and the Strangers". The Saints, also known as the Pilgrims, were infuriated with this change of plans but there was nothing to do at this point. The two ships set sail for America in 1620. Constant leaking of the Speedwell resulted in the ships returning to port. After some considerable time and effort, it was decided that the Mayflower would sail alone, carrying both the Saints and the Strangers.

The ship's crossing was not an easy one and much has been written on this. They saw the land we now know as Cape Cod. Their intent was to follow the coastline down to the mouth of the Hudson River. However, an tricky area around Cape Cod and the winds blew them back to Cape Cod. They went ashore and well, the rest is history. Some of the most fascinating accounts of their lives were written by a member of the group named William Bradford.

This story has much to teach us. For my family, it is the story of my children's ancestors. Yes, my children had two grandpas on the Mayflower voyages, a William Lumpkin and a Richard de Warren. And naturally, it is from the side of my beloved spouse. So, here I am, descended from poor farmers from Sweden and Ireland, while my spouse's family history has a decidedly much more colorful tale to tell in the settling of our great nation.

After much gnashing of teeth over my spouse's apparent illustrious lineage, I finally realized that my poor Irish and Swedish farmers offered as much to the founding of this wonderful nation of ours. The Saints and the Strangers may be the story told around this time of year, but all of our ancestors had a vital part in shaping this great land of ours.

Happy Holidays.

Sharing Pilgrim Blood with Sarah Palin

Well. What do you know. Since my household has several members in it who are descended from passengers on the Mayflower who arrived on these shores back in 1620, I thought I'd look more at the Mayflower history sites.

The Mayflower Society is a lineage society which is for blood descendants of the Mayflower. My spouse had three grandpas on the Mayflower- Francis Cooke, John Cooke and Richard Warren.

Richard Warren and his wife, Elizabeth, appear to have the most descendants living in America today. Some of the more famous ones listed are President Ulysses S. Grant, President Franklin D. Roosevelt, President George Bush, President George W. Bush, and recent Vice President Candidate Sarah Palin.

I am currently reading an old book on the Mayflower which is self described as a form of documentary chronicle. I'm early into the book, but think I will enjoy reading it as it is the story of the family, my family. One of the sites I visited refers to this book as a fictitious account. No matter. It's still interesting.

If you're interested, the book is The Plymouth Adventure by Ernest Gebler.

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