cacakerbamakhlukpolitik

Nicholas Springer, or Springer-Yeatman, House One of the really fun aspects of doing historical research (even the kind of "research" I do) is that you never really quite know what direction you'll end up going, or what connections you'll end up making. Very often, the idea I have in my head for a post prior to researching turns out to be nothing like what end up writing. In this case, I started by looking into two houses, both owned in the 19th Century by members of the Springer family. I was initially hesitant to dive into the Springer family, for fear of getting genealogically lost in them. Those who have read this blog have seen how the Eastburn family grew large and very intertwined amongst almost every other family in the area, seemingly. With the Springers, imagine the Eastburns with more than a century's headstart. Thankfully, though, I did look into this old Swedish family, and I was able to make a key connection that tied together these two houses with t...

Happy January!  I love the holidays - I confess I still have a hard time getting to sleep on Christmas Eve and writing this post over a peppermint mocha with my baby on my lap I'm still in holiday mode. But I realized that when I think of January I don't think of post-holiday blues. I think of settling in with cozy fires and cups of tea and getting back to work. Those cool, often rainy January days are perfect for writing. I've been easing back into my WIP this past week and enjoying it, both writing and researching. Looking up some research details today I was thinking about different types of research. Travel - so amazing if often logistically and financially impossible. Websites filled with images, maps, and other fascinating information. History books that give us the benefit of historians' research and expertise. And then there's what is probably my favorite type of research of all. Letters and diaries written by people who lived through the events and visited ...

Back when my book The Garden Intrigue first came out last year, I tried to think of everything I, as a reader, would want to know about the historical background of the book. What always niggles at me after reading historical fiction are questions about the real people and events. I always include a brief historical note at the end of each book, explaining what really happened, where I played fast and loose, and which characters were borrowed from real life, but it dawned on me that my website provided an opportunity to provide the sort of information that you can't squeeze into a three page historical note. So I pulled together a compendium of all the real historical characters in the book, with mini-bios and contemporary portraits. These ranged from Napoleon himself to the inventor Robert Fulton. And then, since I could, I posted bios and portraits of characters who didn't appear, but were mentioned in the book. I'd dealt with the people, but what about the backg...

One of the things I'm going to try to do more of in 2013 is take time to see friends and family. I started this a bit in 2012, and one of the wonderful discoveries I made by being less of a hermit was European Sipping Chocolate. Carolyn Jewel introduced me to it at a wonderful little place about an hour away from my house. I can't always pop up there when I see her and the North Bay gang gathering to enjoy it (day job and the horrors of commute traffic prevent this), but I've got pretty good at making it myself. So for New Year's, I wanted to share my new obsession with you all: EUROPEAN SIPPING CHOCOLATE 2oz heavy cream 2oz half and half 1 oz dark brown sugar (the darker the better) 1/4 tsp vanilla 1 oz unsweetened baking chocolate (oddly, I find the cheap Bakers stuff works best) Heat cream and half and half over the lowest heat possible for 5 minutes, stirring constantly. Add sugar, vanilla, and chocolate. Stir until melted and thick (about 3 minutes). And yes, you c...

After completing the post about the Country Roller Rink  (located next to Brandywine Springs Amusement Park) I happened to come across some more information while aimlessly wandering...um, I mean diligently researching the subject in some of the old digitized newspapers. I've made a few updates to the original post, but instead of making those of you who have already read the post go back and wade through to find the new stuff, I thought I'd lay it out here, too. Mostly the new information deals with the actual rink buildings themselves -- their construction, size and layout, and the nature of the second rink. I also found some more about the drive to fund the initial construction, as well as some other pictures. This post will end up being a bit heavier on pics and short(er) on text. In the original post, I mentioned that Cloward and the others behind the rink sold stock to the public in order to fund its construction. What I didn't realize is just how hard they pus...

[Trigger warning: this post contains discussion of bullying and the physical abuse of children.] I've been reading Stalky & Co. by Rudyard Kipling, and it's got me thinking about the British boarding school system. (Something I do fairly often, really. Side note: while it's obviously out of period, I also highly recommend Stephen Fry's childhood memoir Moab is my Washpot for many amazing scenes of fucked-up boarding school life.) Stalky and his friends are holy terrors of teenage boys who seem to spend most of their time playing elaborate pranks on their teachers and fellow students. I don't normally find behavior like this charming, and in fact, I don't find it charming here, exactly. Yet my sympathy remains with the main characters despite the fact that very similar behavior in Harry Potter annoys me no end. I spent some time thinking about this and came up with the following conclusion: In Stalky & Co. , the boys really feel like underdogs, pers...

The New Castle County Courthouse I've decided to introduce a new occasional feature -- MCH History Blog On the Road. Here we'll look at sites and structures beyond the borders of Mill Creek Hundred. They may have some sort of a connection to MCH, or they may just be things I personally like or feel some sort of connection to. It's certainly not meant to be a comprehensive or systematic look at the wider area, just an excuse to feature some topics I find interesting. My own personal gateway into the study of local history -- before I started focusing on Mill Creek Hundred -- was learning about the history of Wilmington. I think in large part this was just because that's what there's the most written about. There are lots of books and other material written about the First State's largest city -- about MCH, not so much. While reading about the 300 plus year history of Wilmington and its predecessors, one building always stood out to me, and quickly became my perso...