Alexa K.
2015

Title of Notecard:
Source: (Use proper citation format)
Quote(s):

“The use of herbs and plants was the most common technique, and all practitioners used plant-based remedies to one extent or another. Those who were literate and educated could consult such guides as Nicholas Culpeper’s Complete Herbal (1653), which classified plants according to their humoral qualities. Culpeper, a famous Galenic herbalist, noted the degree of heat, cold, moisture and dryness for hundreds of plants, and recommended which plants were appropriate for which symptoms. The principle was simple—if the symptoms indicated a cold, wet disease, it was best cured with hot, dry plants. Most herbal medicines consisted of many different plants mixed together, which was thought to reinforce their effect.”

Paraphrase:

• The most common way to remedy an illness was by using plants and herbs.
• There were many guides of how to classify plants and herbs, but you would have to be literate to read and understand them.
• Culpeper, who was a famous Galenic herbalist categorized the degree of heat, cold moisture and dryness for a variety of plants, as well as recommending which plants were appropriate to treat which symptoms.
• The principal was: If the symptoms appeared to be from a cold, wet disease, it would be best cured with dry, hot plants.
• Most herbal medicines usually consisted of a combination of plants so that the blends would be more effective than if there was only one plant.

My Ideas: Herbal remedies appear to have been common knowledge for a long time. This was probably because herbs were abundant in certain areas. For example, in the New World it must have been easy to find plants in the untouched land, so I assume both the Native Americans and the English settlers commonly collected herbs. Having this convenience probably made it a very simple process to create herbal remedies, since obtaining the ingredients would be very quick. Since you could find many herbs outside, they were not expensive and made herbal remedies available to almost anyone. This makes me wonder when the first apothecary was created and when herbs started costing money. Wouldn’t visiting an apothecary be a waste of time if all the herbs outside were free? Why would they need two places to collect herbs when only one was needed? Because herbalism was a common practice, herbs were always needed around the house. This was because herbal medicine could easily treat illness and injury, and it was the safest and most efficient remedy at the time. There was an easy system to follow when treating someone, and it was taught by Nicholas Culpeper in his book, Nicholas Culpeper’s Complete Herbal (1653). The theory of the system was if the illness was hot and dry, such as a fever, it would be best treated with a plant that is cold and wet. Since illness was very common in Jamestown, I wonder if any settles knew of herb remedies. Was herbalism was such a common practice that even gentlemen knew about it? I do think that in Jamestown there was a doctor, but I wonder how skilled he was as a physician and if he knew about herbal medicine, since practically everyone in the early settlement died.  

Alexa K.
2015

Title of Notecard: Herbal Remedies as the Primary Way of Remedy
Source: Delbourgo, James. “Medicine in Colonial America.” Encyclopedia of American History, Vol. 2, Revised Edition. Facts On File, 2009. American History Online. Web. 13 Oct. 2015. <http://online.infobase.com/HRC/Search/
Details/212084?q=Colonial medicine>.
Quote(s):

“The use of herbs and plants was the most common technique, and all practitioners used plant-based remedies to one extent or another. Those who were literate and educated could consult such guides as Nicholas Culpeper’s Complete Herbal (1653), which classified plants according to their humoral qualities. Culpeper, a famous Galenic herbalist, noted the degree of heat, cold, moisture and dryness for hundreds of plants, and recommended which plants were appropriate for which symptoms. The principle was simple—if the symptoms indicated a cold, wet disease, it was best cured with hot, dry plants. Most herbal medicines consisted of many different plants mixed together, which was thought to reinforce their effect.”

Paraphrase:

• The most common way to remedy an illness was by using plants and herbs.
• There were many guides of how to classify plants and herbs, but you would have to be literate to read and understand them.
• Culpeper, who was a famous Galenic herbalist categorized the degree of heat, cold moisture and dryness for a variety of plants, as well as recommending which plants were appropriate to treat which symptoms.
• The principal was: If the symptoms appeared to be from a cold, wet disease, it would be best cured with dry, hot plants.
• Most herbal medicines usually consisted of a combination of plants so that the blends would be more effective than if there was only one plant.

My Ideas: Herbal remedies appear to have been common knowledge for a long time. This was probably because herbs were abundant in certain areas. For example, in the New World it must have been easy to find plants in the untouched land, so I assume both the Native Americans and the English settlers commonly collected herbs. Having this convenience probably made it a very simple process to create herbal remedies, since obtaining the ingredients would be very quick. Since you could find many herbs outside, they were not expensive and made herbal remedies available to almost anyone. This makes me wonder when the first apothecary was created and when herbs started costing money. Wouldn’t visiting an apothecary be a waste of time if all the herbs outside were free? Why would they need two places to collect herbs when only one was needed? Because herbalism was a common practice, herbs were always needed around the house. This was because herbal medicine could easily treat illness and injury, and it was the safest and most efficient remedy at the time. There was an easy system to follow when treating someone, and it was taught by Nicholas Culpeper in his book, Nicholas Culpeper’s Complete Herbal (1653). The theory of the system was if the illness was hot and dry, such as a fever, it would be best treated with a plant that is cold and wet. Since illness was very common in Jamestown, I wonder if any settles knew of herb remedies. Was herbalism was such a common practice that even gentlemen knew about it? I do think that in Jamestown there was a doctor, but I wonder how skilled he was as a physician and if he knew about herbal medicine, since practically everyone in the early settlement died.  

The apothecary in Colonial Williamsburg:

Q: Tell me about imported medicine. How much medicine was imported from other countries?

A: There were very few medicines made in Colonial America besides simple herbal remedies. Even many herbs were imported from England. Some examples of imported medicine are opium (which came from Egypt), saffron (which came from Japan) and Peruvian bark (which came from Peru). Overall, most medicine was imported.

Lily M.

2015

Raisin Day

Source:

Wilbur, C. Keith. Home Building and Woodworking in Colonial America. Connecticut: TGPP, 1992. Print.

Pages: 31

Quote:

“Everything was in readiness. It might well have been taken a year since the first tree was felled to created. Being a good neighbor never meant more than on raising day. By dawn the villagers had largely gathered at the building site with their hearth-cooked victuals, drink, gossip, goodwill, music-makers-and above all, plenty of muscle. There was the same anticipation of later independence Day celebrations, for these were special times to never forget. The bents were positioned on the temporary boards that covered the flooring timber.

Hard by were stacked, numbered frame pieces that included the connecting girts that would frame pieces that included braces, the second floor and attic joists, the summer beams and the rafters that would be raised, joined and seated to receive their share of purlins.

All this took the organization of a field general who had the know-how of a master framer and a keen eye for any pitfalls that might lie ahead. Usually the responsibility fell upon the shoulders of the head carpenter.

Paraphrase:

• Everything was ready

• It might have been about a year since they started

• On Raisin day being a good neighbor was most important

• At dawn all the villagers came with food, drinks and gossip and ready for some work

• This was a special time that was never forgotten

• The bents were placed on the temporary boards that covered the wood flooring

• Numbered frame pieces that included connecting girts, that would frame pieces that included braces, attic joints and the whole second floor, that summer beams and the rafters that would be raised, joined and seated to receive their share of purlins.

• All this needed to be led by a person as organized as a field general, as know-how as a master framer, and a keen eye ready for any pitfalls that might occur.

• the master carpenter was usually the leader.

My Ideas:

I think that Raisin Day is really important; there are no architects in the Colonial times so this shows how the whole community would help build a house. It was also probably a time where the people got to socialize, gossip and have a good time. I think it would have looked like a big block party but with more people and work to do. I wonder if the women would raise the second floor too or if they just gossiped, ate and drank while the men did all the work. Maybe the children would use the time to get to play with all the kids in the village. I also wonder how many times a year the would do this, once a year or only when it was needed. Would they do this for the roofs too? Maybe they did all the houses on one day of the year and a house would have to wait until that day to be completed.

History:

Created: 11/04/15 10:56 AM

Lily M.
2015

Class in Williamsburg
Source: At, Interpreter Williamsburg. “Interview at Williamsburg.” Town of Williamsburg. N.p.: n.p., 20015. N. pag. Print.

Quote:

• There were staircases going left and right, one side for the girls and one for the men because it was rude for together men to see the woman’s ankles.

• The planks were very thick so they put ridges in-between the planks to make them look thinner and more expensive. There are many more optical illusions like this

• In Williamsburg the houses were all brick but the truth is that the average house was all wood.

Paraphrase: See quotes for paraphrasing, (quote is paraphrased).

My Ideas: It was very rude for a man to see a woman’s ankles so they had double sided stairs. I think that this is an intelligent way to solve the problem. Maybe if they was only a one-sided staircase it meant that they were poorer and more on the lower class. I remember that the brick maker had told us that Williamsburg had brick houses because most of the people who lived there were upper class, and I remember that in Williamsburg there were a lot of double sided stairways, that is why I think that is meant that the family was richer.  Another was to show that the family was richer was to have thin planks so to make it look like that the architect would put ridges in-between the planks as an optical illusion. I think that only the extremely rich would have real thin planks and then the others (who could afford it) would have ridges. I wonder if it was even possible for there to be thin planks. I also remember that almost all the houses in the town were brick and only a couple shops and kitchens were wood. This proves how upper class Williamsburg was and I think it was this way because it was the capital.

Kiki K.
2015

Native American Lashing
Source: Wilbur, M.D., C. Keith. Indian Handcrafts. Guilford, CT: TGPP, 1990. Print. Pages: 36

Quote:

“Bast was the cord made from the fresh inner bark of basswood, hickory, slippery elm, and walnut. An inch-wide length of bark was stripped toward the top of the tree~the longer the better. The outer bark was peeled off and discarded. One of many lashings-but the crossed saplings-may be positioned and the twine tightened without help. The inner bark was cut into thin strips. They could be used immediately or coild and stored. The strips would then be soaked for several hours before using.”

Paraphrase:

• The cord the Indians used to tie the frame of wigwams was called bast.
• Bast was made from the inner bark of a basswood, hickory, slippery elm and walnut.
• Toward the top of the tree a strip of bark (an inch wide) was stripped. 
• Because they only used the inner bark, the outer bark was peeled off and thrown away. 
• The crossed saplings could be positioned and twine tightened without help. 
• When the inner bark was stripped from the tree, it was cut into even thinner strips.
• They were either used right away or tied together and stored for later. 
• Those strips would be soaked before being used again for several hours

My Ideas: I think that this is a very intelligent way of making rope-or something very similar to rope. I wonder if the Europeans or the Africans had the same idea or made rope the same way. I also wonder how they would tie the ropes to the sticks used for the frame of the wigwam. I can infer that the strips that would be stored for later used had to be soaked because they would dry out. They needed the moisture from the water to make sure the sticks could bend so they could use them. Also, it says that bast was made of basswood, hickory, slippery elm and walnut. I wonder if that meant that those were all the kinds of bark they could use to make the bast. I can infer that this was probably the womens job to make the bast because the men were out hunting. Or maybe it was a child’s job because it seems pretty easy and enjoyable. 

Blacksmith Shop Features:

(Williamsburg Town & Recreation of Jamestown)

– Nails were extremely common in houses

– They were very cheap

– About 30,00 nails were used in an average blacksmith shop

Slave House Features:

(Location: Great Hopes Plantations & Shirley Plantation)

– Holes were dug in the ground to hide belongings

– Logs were used because logs were used for lower class rather than planks or bricks

– The houses could be built in a week or so if ten people were working on it

1. Misdemeanors and Felonies
   1. Misdemeanors
      1. A less extreme crimes that would have punishments to keep Jamestown safe and in line
      2. Punishments that are punishable by shaming the criminal
      3. Punishable by a day in the pillory with your ears nailed to the frame
      4. Punishable by a day in the stocks
      5. Punishable by whipping (number of lashes depending on your race and the type of crime you commited)
      6. If someone sees you commit a crime and they tell the authorities on you, they would get part of your fee as a reward
         1. Common Misdemeanors
            1. Missing church (only punishable if you were over the age of 12)
               1. If you missed church three times it would become a felony
            2. Stealing small things (food, small animals)
               1. Stealing a horse would be considered a felony but stealing something like a pig or a little bit of food it would be a misdemeanor
            3. Public drunkenness
            4. Fighting
            5. Trespassing
            6. Swearing in public
   2. Felonies
      1. Extreme punishments
      2. Punishments that are punishable by death
      3. Punishable by hanging in the gallos
      4. Criminals weren’t completely killed by hanging-they would be drawn and quartered
         1. Common Felonies
            1. Stealing three pigs
            2. Stealing a horse
            3. Murder
            4. Rape
            5. Witch craft
            6. Killing a baby

1. Misdemeanors and Felonies
   1. Misdemeanors
      1. A less extreme crimes that would have punishments to keep Jamestown safe and in line
      2. Punishments that are punishable by shaming the criminal
      3. Punishable by a day in the pillory with your ears nailed to the frame
      4. Punishable by a day in the stocks
      5. Punishable by whipping (number of lashes depending on your race and the type of crime you commited)
      6. If someone sees you commit a crime and they tell the authorities on you, they would get part of your fee as a reward
         1. Common Misdemeanors
            1. Missing church (only punishable if you were over the age of 12)
               1. If you missed church three times it would become a felony
            2. Stealing small things (food, small animals)
               1. Stealing a horse would be considered a felony but stealing something like a pig or a little bit of food it would be a misdemeanor
            3. Public drunkenness
            4. Fighting
            5. Trespassing
            6. Swearing in public
   2. Felonies
      1. Extreme punishments
      2. Punishments that are punishable by death
      3. Punishable by hanging in the gallos
      4. Criminals weren’t completely killed by hanging-they would be drawn and quartered
         1. Common Felonies
            1. Stealing three pigs
            2. Stealing a horse
            3. Murder
            4. Rape
            5. Witch craft
            6. Killing a baby