A Warmer Van Campen Day

This is a post that I started in October, but the end of the year was so hectic that I couldn't finish it up.  Therefore, with apologies
for being late, Here it is...

Last October we had snow flakes at the Van Campen Inn.  This year the weather, although cool, was seasonable and far more pleasant.  I brought our junior members along, and once again they did a nice job showing off colonial toys and fire starting.

The Colonial Musketeers Senior Corps was in attendance, providing fife & drum music for the steady stream of visitors.  The Walpack Historical Society also had a number of other artisans, demonstrating skills from blade smithing to cider-making and corn-grinding, as well as spinning/ weaving and chair caning inside the Van Campen house.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Join us tomorrow in Belvidere

Historic Farmstead Open House November 5, 2016 - 10AM - 4PM Come and Celebrate the Harvest - Live Demonstrations - Open Hearth Cooking in the Summer Kitchen - War Re-Enactors - Admission is Free! - Listed in the National Register of Historic Places - Recognized by The Scenic, Wild Delaware River Geotourism Program Visit us online at www.HoffVannattaFarm.org Our mailing address is: Historic Preservation Commission of Harmony Township 3003 Belvidere Road Harmony Township, NJ  08865

A Few Pictures from Quiet Valley

Last weekend at Quiet Valley's Harvest Festival, the Frontier Guard put up our usual display of  French & Indian War-era items, depicting aspects of the material culture of both New Jersey soldiers and settlers, as well as items from the Indian inhabitants of the Eastern Woodlands, such as the Lenape and the Iroquois.

We had a steady stream of visitors throughout the day.  I have only a few photographs, taken at one of the few points in the day when we were not actively engaged talking to the public and demonstrating our items.

Quiet Valley is always notable for very nice displays of eighteenth and nineteenth century material culture, and this fall was no exception.  There were samples of delicious scrapple and sausage, made from pigs raised on the farm, demonstrations of linen production from flax - I picked up a bundle of waste tow and boon to use in starting fires - hat-making from rye straw, dyeing using natural vegetable dyes, and many other demonstrations of local history and farm life in centuries past.  Oh, yes, there was food galore - and very good food, too: sausage, Welsh cakes, pies, barbecued beef, and a host of other food. 

Van Campen Inn this Sunday

This Sunday the Frontier Guard will be at the Van Campen Inn on Old Mine Road near Walpack, part of Walpack Day.  Come join us as we celebrate history -along with other presentations - at the site of our Headquarters Fort during the French and Indian War.

Trailside Museum on Sunday

Join the Frontier Guard at the Trailside Museum in Mountainside on Sunday!

The Coinage of Colonial America

 A 1745 British silver shilling, with a bust of George II and the stamp "LIMA" (Peru) under the bust.  Why would a British coin have a Spanish possession stamped on it? Keep reading to find out...

The reverse of the coin, with the crown-and-roses design of possessions England claimed - England, Scotland, Ireland, and France (yes, English monarchs claimed to rule France until 1801).




Coinage was scarce in colonial America.  Many colonies in the seventeenth century even accepted quahog wampum as currency, at a rate as high as 2 to the pence for the lustrous purple ones in the early 17th century.  This practice died out by the 18th century, however, as copper coinage and paper currency became more widespread.  Hard money remained scarce, nonetheless, and the value of colonial paper issues fluctuated with a colony's solvency and the distance from the place of issue.

Coins of several European countries circulated throughout the colonies as well - British, French, Spanish, and Dutch in particular.  Values were fixed by colonial legislatures, often at different rates, but the real value was generally based on weight and purity of the metal and was subject to negotiation between buyer and seller.

The University of Notre Dame has a great website for colonial coinage and currency, for those who are interested, with overviews and illustrations of coins and currency from most colonies, as well as European coins that circulated.

See: Colonial Currency at Notre Dame
See: The Coins of Colonial and Early America at Notre Dame

Oh, and why is the silver shilling marked "LIMA"?  In 1743, at the height of the War of the Austrtian Succession, or King George's War, as it was known in the American Colonies, a British fleet under Admiral Anson captured the entire Spanish treasure fleet from New Spain and Peru.  Much of the British silver coinage of 1745 and 1746 was minted using this silver, and to mark its origin, and probably as an "in your face" taunt, the British Crown had these coins stamped "LIMA" in commemoration.

Roasting Ears of Corn, Anyone?

The Frontier Guard's next event is the Roasting Ears of Corn Festival at the Museum of Indian Culture in Allentown, PA, August 20 & 21.

This is a big event with scores of tribal dancers, dozens of vendors, and a multitude of displays.  For more details, see the website at Museum of Indian Culture.

Muster Roll of the NJ Provincial Frontier Guard, 1757

Here is a copy of the muster roll of the Frontier Guard for one month during the  French & Indian War.  This is a valuable snapshot of the unit's membership, but on the other hand, as men enlisted for a month at a time, the roster most likely changed considerably, so what you see here may or may not reflect the membership in other months:

Muster Roll of the Provincial Forces Commanded by Capt. Richard Gardiner on the Frontiers of New Jersey from the 8th of June to the 20th day of July 1757

Name                                       
Gardiner, Richard (Captain)        .     
Wood, John (Lieutenant)      
Rickey, John (Lieutenant)      
Stull, John (Lieutenant)      
Butler, Samuel (Sergeant)       
Barton, Joseph (Sgt/Crp?)     
Chamberlain, Benjamin (Sgt/Crp?)    
Cole, Henry (Sgt/Crp?)       
Cooper, Henry (Sgt/Crp?)        
Freeman, Gilman (Sgt/Crp?)       
Haddon, James (Sgt/Crp?)  also sp. (Haddin/Headen) 
Hysom, Thomas (Sgt/Crp?)        
Ludlum, Creed (Sgt/Crp?)        
Malone, Richard (Sgt/Crp?)      
Munson, John (Sgt/Crp?)      
Pierce, Lewis (Sgt/Crp?)        
Riggs, Reuben (Sgt/Crp?)     
Terratt, Daniel (Sgt/Crp?)        
Vroom, Jacob (Sgt/Crp?)        
Abbot (Abbit/Abbet), James              
Adams, Alexander        
Avery, Alexander     
Benham, Absalom  
Bennett, Henry        
Bonum, Hezekiah        
Brink, Nicholas      
Brooks, Isaac       
Brown, Daniel      
Bruse, Alexander 
Bush, Anthony       
Chambers, Samuel    
Chestney (Chesnut/Chester) , Joseph      
Clark, James        
Cole, Abraham     
Colt, Abraham        
Cooper, Constant       
Davis, Daniel        
Davis, James       
Davis, John       
Decker, Hermanus (var)        .        .
Depuy, Daniel        .        .
Devoir (Devoor), Jacob        .        .
Devoir (Devoor), John        .        .
Doty, John 
Doty, Micajah     
Erwin, Luke      
Everfelt, Martin     
Falore, Philip       
Ferguson, Thomas   
Fish, Nath'l      
FitzWater (Fitchwater), Wm   
Grimes, Adam        .        .
Hailstiles (Hailstril), Peter        .        .
Hair, Philip        .        .
Hanson (Hansen), Henry (Hans)        .        .
Holloway, Elkanah       
Hopkins, Ephraim      
Hughes, Thomas        .        .
Hull, John        
Johnston (Johnson), Wm        .
Johnston, Edward      
Johnston, James       
Kennedy (Kannady), Charles   
Killam (Killham), Gilbert  
Mahurin, Othniel (Otho)        .
Man (Mann), George      
Marshall, Peter        
McLaughlin, Patrick        .        .
McNeil, James       
Mead, Stephen        .        .
Middah (Medah, Meddah), Ephraim        .        .
Middah (Medah, Meddah), Peter        .        .
Miller, Christeon        .        .
Miller, Wm     
Mordan, George        .        .
Morden (Mordan), Ralph     
More, George        .        .
Myres (Miers), Bastian (Boston)  
Nearpass (Norpus), Jacob      
Nightingale, Wm        .        .
Oppie (Oppy, Oppoy), Edward     
Pennington (Penneton), Jonathan        
Pew, Hugh        .        .
Pool, William        M        
Preston (Prester), John        .        .
Quick, Thomas        .        .
Quick, Thomas Jr.        .        .
Randole, Edward        .        .
Ray (Rhea), Moses        .        .
Rosacrans, Daniel        .        .
Rosacrans, Jacob        .        .
Sergeant, David   
Shick (Shack/Sheik), Adam      
Skinner, Daniel        
Skinner, Timothy      
Smith, Abraham      
Smith, Benj'n       
Smith, Henry    
Smith, John      
Smith, Peter       
Smith, Thomas    
Stonehover, Cornelius    
Swartwout (Swartout), Jacob       
Swartwout (Swartwart), Benj'n        .        .
Tack, Isaac       
Taylor, James     
Vanclief (Vancleaf/Van Cleff), John     .
Vangarder (Van Gordon), John        .        .
Vantyle (Vantuyle), Walter       
Vantyle, Hermanus (Herman) 
Walton, William (2)    
Ward, Hermanus (var)     
Wart, Henry
WestBrook, Abraham   
Westcoat (Weascoat), Jonathan 
Whitehead, Isaac        .        .
Wintermute (Windemoot), Leonard  
Wood, David        M        .
Wood, Jacob        .        .
Young, Angle (Angel)        H        "d. Sept. 7"

Beaded Choker

A fellow reenactor asked if I could make him a beaded choker necklace for his impression, so here is the result.  It's about 12" of #6 glass pony beads tacked onto a deerskin backing.  I'm happy with how it came out, so I thought I'd show it off...