Wednesday, November 25, 2015

Our Mayflower Ancestors


Our BARNEY family is descended from four Brave Pilgrim Ancestors who sailed from Holland on the British ship Mayflower in 1620. They were a family: JOHN TILLIE, his wife, and his young daughter ELIZABETH TILLIE, and JOHN HOWLAND, a young member of the ship's company.

JOHN HOWLAND has recently been immortalized in Rush Limbaugh's children's book Rush Revere and the Brave Pilgrims. In the book, everyone was astonished that JOHN HOWLAND had fallen into the sea and yet survived. JOHN was apologizing for going onto the upper deck during a fierce storm. "Do not condemn yourself JOHN, said Elder Brewster. Your salvation from certain death is a miraculous sign. Everything happens for a reason. God has chosen to save you, which I believe means we are certain to make it to America."


"JOHN TILLIE, and his wife; both died soon after they came on shore. ELIZABETH, their daughter afterwards married JOHN HOWLAND." From "The Original Lists of Persons of Quality ... 1600-1700" by John Camden Hotten, 1874, pages xxiv, xxvi. 

All BARNEY family descendants of LOVISA LOSEE who married WILLIAM FRANKLIN BARNEY (1854-1924) and lived at Lake Shore, Utah, are also descendants of JOHN and ELIZABETH (TILLIE) HOWLAND, original settlers of Plymouth, Massachusetts and celebrants at the Pilgrim's First Thanksgiving.

Friday, October 02, 2015

CAPITAL - CAPITOL

What is the Difference?

Capital, with an "a", refers to a city that serves as the seat of a government. Ironically, it is not capitalized.

Capitol, with an "o", refers to a building that houses a legislature. Like the names of other specific buildings, e.g., the White House, the Capitol is capitalized.

East, South, and North Capitol Streets are named after the building, so they are spelled with an "o".

The Capital Beltway is named after the city, so it is spelled with an "a".

There is no West Capitol Street. In its place, you will find the Mall, which, like other streets, is capitalized. Like East Capitol Street, Capitol Hill is named after the building, so it takes an "o".

Inspired by HistoryProfessor.org.

Monday, April 27, 2015

My Mother's Market

A Picture from Edna

The Baltimore Market of My Memories
On Mother's Day weekend of 2008, I visited Baltimore's Lexington Market, in remembrance of the times I went there with my mother as a toddler. I remember that I always found it to be a most frightening place, as I only saw the legs and feet of other shoppers. I remember tightly grasping onto my mother's skirt as my younger brother and I stayed with her as she shopped.

I don't remember exactly what groceries she usually purchased, however seeing the market displays that weekend told me that I would have been even more frightened as a toddler if I could have seen above the legs and feet of the shoppers to the iced shelves of the fishmongers' and butchers' products. The food items displayed brought back long forgotten memories of the dishes my mother often prepared at home - fried scrapple, oxtail soup, crab soup, crab cakes and shad roe. Lexington Market Displays (Slide Show)

I wonder how my mother managed to get all of her purchases back home, as she did not drive? Perhaps my father picked us all up after work. Or, perhaps she travelled by street car, which was a very usual way of getting about the city in those long ago days. Then I wondered how she would have managed the street car ride with two toddlers in tow and bags of groceries. As my memories of those days are almost vanished, I can only wonder at how she accomplished all of those things in those bygone days.

I found one provender who claimed to be an old-timer at the Lexington Market. He was the man at the Muskrat-Raccoon-Alligator counter in my pictures. He began describing the way it was in the 1970s when he first arrived on the scene. I told him that my remembrances were from much earlier - like just after World War II in the 1940s. His eyes glazed over as he told me that there was no one alive today at the market who could remember back that far. It was almost as though I was speaking of the eighteenth century days, like 1782, when the Lexington Market first opened. (The Slide Show)

The image, Lexington Market, was originally uploaded by barneykin. It is posted here from Barneykin's flickr account.

Thursday, February 26, 2015

My New French Oven

New Red French Oven

The first dish I made after receiving my new six quart French Oven was Coq au Vin and it turned out almost perfectly. Here is a list of other recipes created especially for this beautiful “La Cocotte” by Dominique Tougne of Bistro 110. I will try some of these in future. Staub Cookware Recipes

Sunday, February 22, 2015

Old Time Chicken Fryer


Old Cast Iron Chicken Fryer #89 A
This is my old cast iron chicken fryer. It belonged to my husband's Idaho family and is probably from the early 1900s. After all that use, I finally cleaned and restored it last month following some videos on YouTube. The only markings on it are "89 A," which according to Internet sources signifies that it was manufactured by Chicago Hardware. There was quite a multi-day project to clean and restore it. It was crud-encrusted when I first possessed it back in the 1960s and I had no clue as to how to remove all that baked-on grease. I used it quite often when raising my family, mainly making casseroles as I was never big into frying chicken. Then one day in January 2015, I encountered videos on how to clean old cast iron. There were many different procedures, including building a big bonfire and placing the iron pot in the middle of it. I followed a different set of tutorials. I started with Easy-off Oven Cleaner, going over it twice which used the entire can. That did not remove all of the crude, so then I scrubbed it well with very fine steel wool (0000) which removed a bit more, but not all. At that point I resorted to cleaning it on the Self-Cleaning mode of my electric oven. I was apprehensive, but my oven is old and it needed cleaning anyway. Well, that procedure did the trick. Every bit of crud was burned off, but it took many washings to remove all of the rusty residue from the pan and lid. Once I had the cast iron fryer "clean enough," I then started the process of seasoning the pan. I smeared it all over with cocoanut oil and baked it about two hours in the oven. I turned off the oven and left the pan sit in it overnight. The next day I wiped it clean with paper towels and repeated the seasoning process. Now, whenever I use it, I give it a quick re-seasoning by smearing the inside with oil and heating it on the burner for a few minutes before adding my food. The first dish I prepared in it was indeed fried chicken and it turned out delicious: Buttermilk Fried Chicken Recipe

Tuesday, January 27, 2015

Major John Weir, 1650

From: Edna Barney
Subject: Major John Weir, 1650 Virginia
Date: Thu, 29 Dec 2005 15:09:24 -0500

This is merely food for thought. I have often wondered if the early WARE family of Virginia was connected to Amer VIA. Realizing that the letters "W" and "V" were used interchangeably during the middle ages, we really need to look for the name VIA under the "W" spellings also. I came upon some DNA testings for the Virginia WAREs and they do not seem to match the VIA DNA markers, so I had given up on that prospect. 

I was perusing the on-line Virginia Patents at the Library of Virginia and I came upon Captain (Major) John WEIR (WEIRE) of Rappahannock County, Virginia. He had many land transactions during the 1660s in that county and in Lancaster County also. There is even one deal with Thomas BALLARD. Doing a bit of Internet research about Captain John WIER, I found him in Gloucester County in 1650 and I even found the will of his wife, Honoria (maiden name unknown). Honoria JONES had died by 4 Jan 1685/6 when her will, dated 21st Oct 1685 was recorded in *Old Rappahannock County, Virginia*:

"Will of Honoria JONES, widow & Relict of Mr. George JONES, being sick & weak of body, but ... to my Daughter Margaret BLAGG, that seat... of land wch I purc. of Colnll. John VASSALL lying & being on South Side of Rappa. River contaying Eleven hundred seventy & five acres the sd land to be at her absolute sole disposall for ever... to my Daughter Elizabeth GARDNER my Wedding Ring wch joyned me and my Husband Majr. John WEIRE in Matrimonie... to my Son In Law Mr. Abraham BLAGG 20 Shillings to buy him a mourning Ring... to my son Richard GARDNER, a knife a ring of the aforesd value... to my Grandchild Richard WATTS, one Silver .. Grandson, Edward BLAGG, same aforesaid... to my Grandson Edward BLAGG same aforesaid... Grandson Luke GARDNER the same ... Grandson Jno GARDNER the same... Daughter Margrett BLAGG, Wife of Mr. Abraham BLAGG to be my sole Executrix.. S/Honoria JONES. Wits: James HARRISON, Andw. [AO] ONEBY, Michael BASSEY, Prvd. 21 Dec 1685 by BASSEY, Wits. Henry AWBREY, Geo. TAYLER. Rec. 4 Jan 1685/6." (Old Rappa. WB2:84-5, Old Rappahannock VA Wills, Ruth & Sam Sparacio, McLean, VA)

Notice that a witness to her will is HENRY AWBREY! According to Virginia Patent Book 6, page 565, William VIER was one of 102 persons transported by Mr. HENRY AUBERY who recorded 5100 acres in Rappahannock County, Virginia exactly ten years earlier in 1675.

When Major John WEIR died, he left a will in Maryland:
*7th May, 1671 - 28th Apr., 1678* (Maryland Wills, Liber 9, Folio 78) Will of Major John WEIRE of *Rappahannock Co., Va*. To wife Honoria, dower rights. To daughter-in-law Margaret, wife of John WATTS of Potomac R., and hrs., part of a tract of land, 1,108 A., bought of Henry RANDOLPH of Jamestown (½ of sd. tract having already been sold to *Robert PAYNE*). To dau. Eliza: and hrs., "The Island" at 21 yrs. of age. To son John and hrs., residue of lands in Va. and elsewhere. Exs.: Son-in-law Jno. WATTS, Wm. MOSELY, Capt. Jno. HULL. Test: Jno. BATES, Luke HUMBLETON, Jno. JEFFERY. (Maryland Calendar of Wills: Volume 1, p. 208)

I suspect that the WILLIAM VIER who was transported by Henry AWBREY in 1675, is likely the William VEALE who left a will, 29 May 1693 - 10 Feb 1693/4 in Essex County, Virginia. "May the 29th day 1693. /Will of William VEALE. In the name of God Amen. I William VEALE of the County of Essex in the parsh of Sittingbourne being very sick and weake but of perfect Sence and memory doe make and ordaine this my last Will and Testament in matters and forms as followeth." (Orders, etc, No. 1 [Deeds and Wills] 1692-1695, pg 252-253.) http://www.combs-families.org/combs/assoc/butler.htm#c-chas

To add more mystery to this, William VEALE's family married into the BUTLER family and George JONES, Honoria's second husband, had been a co-administrator in 1679 with Amory BUTLER. "Amory" is what I had always suspected was the name that "Amor or Amer" VIA may have been.

The outstanding COMBS Family Research Report (http://www.combs-families.org/combs/assoc/vassall.htm) has an excellent treatise: *VASSALL and WARE/WARRE/WEIRE* Families

Edna Barney (www.ednabarney.com)