by Molly Owen | May 25, 2011 | Blog, Deb Maher
A few weeks ago, my husband and I visited Charleston, SC for a family gathering. Several of us rented a beach house together in Folly Beach. We chatted, ate seafood, enjoyed the ocean, and toured the charming city. It was on a carriage ride through Charleston’s historic district that we came upon an event we, as Northerners, found enlightening.
A block or so from Battery Park, we saw a group of smartly-dressed folk gathering with Confederate flags. Some wore dress suits and hats while others sported Confederate uniforms. Our guide told us they were celebrating Confederate Memorial Day. In South Carolina, the day occurs annually on May 10. In other states it is held on other days, generally in the spring. Regardless of timing, it is held as a day to honor the memory of southerners who died during the Civil War. The day was especially chosen for Stonewall Jackson who died May 10, 1863 after being wounded at Chancellorsville.
From the 1880’s until his death in 1926, my husband’s great-grandfather and his family lived in Charleston. On census forms, we’d found his address and tracked down the house where he once lived. We also found his church, and because we had a copy of his death certificate, learned he’d been buried in Magnolia Cemetery. My sister-in-law called the cemetery for more information.
Just before we arrived at the Magnolia Cemetery Office to pick up a map, we passed by the start of another large gathering of folk, coming to celebrate Confederate Memorial Day. A tent had been erected and chairs lined up. Scores of graves surrounding the tent were marked with Confederate flags. The event would soon start.
We proceeded to Great-Grandfather’s gravesite. Not far away, was the burial site of the men of had died on the H.L. Hunley
, the first submarine to sink a ship in wartime. In the resulting explosion the Hunley also sank and remained at the bottom of the Charleston Harbor for 131 years. (See this link for a brief history and some incredible photos of Charleston.) The men from the Hunley were interred in Magnolia Cemetery in 2004.
Through the years there has been a lot of controversy over Confederate Memorial Day, particularly when it became a state holiday in South Carolina. Still, it is a day to honor those who died in battle fighting for a cause they believed in. A day to remember the Civil War and the history that made America.
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From the comments received for this post, I’ll hold a drawing for a lovely hand-crocheted bookmark. Drawing to be held Saturday evening, May 28th. Be sure to leave a link with an e-mail address where you can be reached.
Posted by Debra Maher.
Please visit my blog at debmaher.com
by Molly Owen | Apr 25, 2011 | Blog, Deb Maher
When I began writing my first manuscript, a time travel set in 1871 Wisconsin, my knowledge of the era came mainly from history books (like those read in school), from movies, or from other romance novels. It wasn’t enough. I needed to know more.
In each scene, I struggled to imagine myself in my heroine’s mind, a late 20th century urban business woman cast back into the life of a 1871 farm wife. But, although I had grown up in a house built in the late 19th century, it wasn’t the same. I hadn’t actually lived in the time when that house was new.
What did they eat and how was it cooked? What illnesses were common; what medicines were taken? What were their beliefs and values? How much was a pound of sugar? Did women hand-sew everything, or were some clothes ready made? What did a child learn in school? What dances were popular? How were holidays celebrated?
Not that I needed to put all those details into the story, but I needed to know so I could put myself in my characters’ minds.
In those pre-Internet days, I trudged to the library. There were, of course, long shelves filled with history books. I’d already read many. Most were written about famous events and battles, about economics and politics. I found almost nothing about how the every day man and woman actually lived their day-to-day lives.
What I was looking for, but didn’t realize it until a few years later, were books on cultural history.
Over time, I’ve found many books that proved helpful to better understanding the era. Foremost of these was a series Harper Collins published called Life in Everyday America Series.
A few years after the Harper Collins’ series, Writer’s Digest books published the Writer’s Guides to Everyday Life series.
I discovered a wealth of information about my Civil War veteran hero when I found The Life of Billy Yank: The Common Soldier of the Union.
Later I uncovered its companion book – The Life of Johnny Reb.
Diaries and journals are an incredible source, first hand impressions of the time. Mary B. Chestnut’s Diary from Dixie gives riveting accounts of a southern woman’s life in the Civil War. These treasures have the added benefit of letting you hear how people spoke, and wrote, in that time.
Today we are so fortunate to have the internet. Through it, a whole world of resources have been opened.
A favorite site of mine, one I’ve shared before with Hearts Through History readers, is the Food Timeline, a record of foods and when they were introduced from the beginning of man’s recorded history.
There’s a huge amount of information on World’s Fairs from the first one held in 1851 London to the present. Go to Expo Museum.com.
Victorian era fashion information can be found at Harpers Bazaar.
I’ve found a wealth of material on the Lone Star College – Kingwood American Cultural History site. It gives links, decade by decade and topic by topic, for 19th Century America. It also has a link which will take you to the 20th Century.
~ What are your favorite books, or websites of interest for learning about cultural history and how your characters lived?
From the comments received for this post, I’ll hold a drawing for a lovely hand-crocheted bookmark. Drawing to be held Friday evening, April 29th. Be sure to leave a link with an e-mail address where you can be reached.
AND THE WINNER OF THE BOOKMARK IS…Anna Kathryn Lanier! Thanks so much to all who read and commented. Enjoy the links!
Posted by Debra Maher.
Please visit my blog at debmaher.com.
, the first submarine to sink a ship in wartime. In the resulting explosion the Hunley also sank and remained at the bottom of the Charleston Harbor for 131 years. (See this link for a brief history and some incredible photos of Charleston.) The men from the Hunley were interred in Magnolia Cemetery in 2004.
