The Grave Of John Hart, Signer Of The Declaration Of Independence

May 11, 2010. I travelled to Hopewell, New Jersey today to visit the grave of John Hart, one of the five New Jersey Delegates to sign the Declaration Of Independence. He passed away on this day in 1779. I felt it proper to say thank you. This was a man who was forced to hide outdoors in the bitter cold of December 1776 in order to escape the Loyalists. In 1778, John offered his farm to George Washington and thousands of Revolutionary Soldiers. He no doubt gave his all in the quest for freedom and liberty. A remarkable man - I hope that all of you visit his grave some time.

Here is video footage of my brief, yet significant, trip:

Photographs ...

Keywords: Revolution Revolutionary War British Brits Hessians Farmer General Assembly NJ American America USA

The Last Survivors Born In The Year 1895 Have All Passed On

This week saw the passing of the last verified surviving person born in the year 1895. At the beginning of 2010, there were four representatives from that year - three from the United States and one from Japan. Maggie Renfro lived from November 14, 1895 until January 22, 2010, Mary Josephine Ray lived from May 17, 1895 until March 7, 2010, Neva Morris lived from August 3, 1895 until April 6, 2010 and Kama Chinen (who, in life, was the world's oldest person) lived from May 10, 1895 until May 2, 2010. Kama's death closes the door on the year 1895 forever.

The current title holder of the world's oldest person resides in France. Her name is Eugénie Blanchard, and she was born on February 16, 1896. Eugénie is one of seven known and verified people (still living) who were born in 1896.

Note: Maggie Renfro (full name Maggie Mae Thornton Renfro) was one of three centenarian sisters. All them passed away recently. Her sisters Carrie Lee Thornton Miller and Rosie Lee Thornton Warren lived from April 9, 1902 until January 5, 2010 and from January 6, 1906 until December 18, 2009 respectively.

Here is a fantastic website pertaining to the topic of gerontology and old age:
http://www.grg.org/Adams/E.HTM

Floralia: Festival Of The Roman Goddess Flora (Shrine Altar Reenactment)

April 28, the 2,248th anniversary of the Dedication of The Goddess Flora's Temple! April 28, 238 BC/BCE was the date that her temple was completed and dedicated. Here is a video that I made in reference to the Roman Celebration honoring Flora, The Goddess Of Flowers! I came up with a reenactment of the celebration. The display features five centuries of prints/engravings (and my own work): 1600s, 1700s, 1800s, 1900s and 2000s.  I am very pleased with how the two drawings and clay statue/sculpture/figurine turned out. I also included a dollar store figure.

Photos:

Colored Troops Civil War Reenactment Held At Fort Mifflin On April 11, 2010

A fine day for a Reenactment. A Civil War Union USCT Encampment was held on April 11, 2010 at Fort Mifflin in Philadelphia, PA. Featured participants included the 14th Rhode Island Heavy Artillery, 54th Massachusetts Company A, 3rd and 6th U.S. Colored Infantry, Camp William Penn Team and the United States Colored Artillery 12th USCHA.



Cannons in front of the information area:


A shot facing the outer wall of the Fort and bridge:
































































The host for the above photographs -
http://s169.photobucket.com/albums/u213/portaltothepast/Reenactments/Civil%20War/Colored%20Troops%20April%202010

Here are seven video clips of the day with each part given a brief title ...

Lunch Call:

Preparation:

Present Arms: 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3XiEcN6cw7E

Aim Fire:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BCBd8fdDm-M

Cannon Demonstration:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mn3TTBchTGY

Closing March:

Lowering Of The Flag And Final Words:

This Weekend: Colored Troops Civil War Reenactment

An amazing event will be taking place at Fort Mifflin this weekend. Colored Troops Civil War Reenactment. The program is based on the Union Army's Colored Regiment (in more archaic terminology). Friday to Sunday - tons of activities and exhibits! Not to be missed!

Links with information:
http://6thusct.blogspot.com
http://www.fortmifflin.us/events/cal_list.php?op=evlist&catview=0
http://www.3rdusct.org
http://www.3rduscoloredinfantry.150m.com/new_page_2.htm

Victorian-Era Print Of The Goddess Eastre

This is a bit different for the Easter Holiday. Here is an image of Eastre - you will note the r and the e are in different places. Eastre (or Ostara as she was named in the 1800s) is The Goddess Of Spring and the namesake of the day that is celebrated with bunnies, eggs and more. The image itself is quite rare - no definitive information is available on it ... as a matter of fact, no information is available on it at all. I would define the picture as Victorian Scrap (perhaps from a calendar) since it assuredly dates from the 1880s or 1890s. It is also rare due to how The Goddess is depicted - particularly the moon in her crown. Extremely rare for someone to have drawn that in the Victorian Era. It would not be unreasonable to speculate that the image depicts The Goddess Diana since she is typically drawn wearing the moon crown.  Given the setting and the animals, this is certainly that of Eastre. The fragment is a delight to behold since she looks so much like the charming girls ubiquitously-seen on scrap pieces of that age combined with the traditional elements of Eastre's presence. 

Here are two shots of the scrap since it was difficult to get one good image ...

Some Artifacts Pertaining To Good Friday

Here are a picture and video clip of three items: a Crucifix, a statue of Mary, The Blessed Mother and a statue of a Disciple (I believe to be the Apostle John). All of them can be considered artifacts pertaining to Good Friday ... the Crucifix itself and Mary and John at the Crucifixion of Jesus.

The Cross is French in origin and dating to the late 1600s (although I have seen a photo of a Cross supposedly Finnish and from the early 1800s). The statues may be Austrian or Italian and date from the late 1700s to the early 1800s. A nice lot - definitely museum pieces!



Check out the skull and crossbones! Very common in religious art of that time. I have seen those (along with reapers) on tombstones in Germany and Austria (1500s to 1800s) and in the USA (1700s). Heavy patina.

A (blurry) video of the three: