The Household - Narrow Knit Edge and Child's Knit Sash

Last week I posted a blog about a newspaper column from the Detroit Free Press in the 1880s. May Perrin Goff, the editor, continues to fascinate me.

I can't imagine, for example that I could write so politely to "Beauty's Note Book" that "a series of articles on the subject of the toilet would be appreciated" with the same caliber as "Dark Rosamond", "Kindergarten Mother" and "Desdichado" about everything from forwarding letters, welcoming back contributors, and sending missing columns.

"Desdichado" in particular struck me. It means unfortunate in Spanish, something that struck me as being an unusual name in the Midwest in the 1880s. Then I remembered that Desdichado is a name that also appears in Ivanhoe by Sir Walter Scott from 1820. So an educated lady lacking her Household column of recipes, patterns, and household tips might indeed, be an unfortunate one, just like the jousting knight in the story who turned out to be someone else (Wilfred of Ivanhoe, if I recall correctly).

Dorcas of Illinois makes her first appearance in the column on January 2, 1886. She's apparently an accomplished knitter, contributing not one but two patterns to this week.

"Narrow Knit Edge
Cast on eight stitches.
First row - Slip one, knit two, thread over, slip one, knit one, pass slipped stitch over, knit one, wool over twice, knit one, wool over twice, knit one
Second row - Knit two, purl one, knit two, purl one, knit two, purl one, knit three.
Third row - Slip one, knit two, wool over, slip one, knit one, pass slipped stitch over, knit the rest plain.
Fourth row - bind off until only seven stitches are on the left hand needle and one on the right; knit three, purl one, knit the rest; commence at first row again."

Here we see a characteristic of the column - there is a very wordy pattern that gives us just enough detail to make it work, and yet, gives us no information about the shape of the piece, stitch counts, or charts to help us visualize it.

"Child's Knit Sash
This sash is pretty knit of worsted to match a flannel dress for little girls. Cast on a hundred and twenty-five stitches, knit round and round like the leg of a stocking, without widening or narrowing, for a length of two and a quarter yards. Dampen and press flat. Draw up the ends and finish with a ball or tassel. It takes about five and a half ounces of worsted for one."

This one threw me for a bit, as I think of sash and think "Girl Scouts", but in actuality, the sash was a wide belt that was typically tied in the back with a bow, or in this case, tassels. I'm guessing this was made in very fine yarn with double point needles, 125 stitches is quite a lot in the round and circular needles were not invented yet. Probably a fingering or zephyr weight, perhaps smaller even so. Aniline dyes were invented by 1870s, so bright colors could be used like scarlet red, navy, plum, and puce could have been used for it. FashionEra.com shows a good example of a sash with a dress from 1880. Aside from the hair/hat, this little girl is a good example of what kids today can look like in their dresses for special occasions.

The Household: Oakleaf Edging

When I was helping clean my grandparents house to ready it for sale in Lake Orion, I came upon some curious clippings that were helping hold the photographers together in a pile. They were so old and brittle that most of them just fell apart in my hands. But from a couple of the larger chunks, I learned that the clippings were part of a column called "The Household" and that it was from the Detroit Free Press.

Its likely that these clippings were fluff from my great-great-grandparents that disintegrated over time. My great grandmother Barry Mae Perry was well known for her embroidery, but no one I've talked to has ever mentioned she was good at knitting or crocheting, either. Since we don't know anything about the great-greats, its anyone's guess.

May Perrin Goff was the editor of The Household, and was the only female editorial staff of the Detroit Free Press. She "does a man's work, get's a man's pay", and "takes her chance with the rest of the boys". I found this fascinating, a female newspaper editor in the 1880s. Submitted from around the distribution area, The Household formed an interesting supplement to the Detroit Free Press, and I imagine that if it was a recipe issue, there were going to be many men having the recipes for supper!

In fact, I'd even call it a primitive form of Ravelry with its "wants and answers" and craft columns. The patterns are likely reprints - looking at the instructions, it seems like it may have appeared earlier and been reprinted as beloved subscriber patterns rather than attributing their regular sources.

Take January 16, 1886 Detroit Free Press.

Wants and Answers:
"Arma" of Chester, asks for a recipe for Swiss salad.
"Mrs. Mary L." of Liverpool, asks for a recipe for a good furniture polish.
"Elna? D" of Michigan, asks how to make chocolate macaroons.
"B.R.F." of London, asks how to crochet a child's sacque in start stitch
"Subscriber" of Allegheny City, PA, asks for recipes for fishballs and corncakes.

Oakleaf Edging, submitted by Pansy, Niles, Michigan
*Pansy even was mentioned in chat "We should be pleased to hear from you again on the subject of knitted work".

"Cast on fourteen stitches, knit across plain.
First row-Knit two plain, throw thread over twice, and seam two together; knit two plain, throw thread over twice, and seam two together; knit one plain, throw thread over twice, and knit two together; throw thread over twice and knit two together, knit one plain
Second row-Knit three plain, seam one, knit two plain, seam one, knit one plain, throw thread over twice, and seam two together; knit two plain; throw thread over twice, and seam two together; knit two plain.
Third row-Knit two plain; throw thread over twice, and seam two together; knit two plain; throw thread over twice and seam two together; knit three plain, throw thread over twice, and knit two together; throw thread over twice, and knit two together; knit one plain.
Fourth row-knit three plain, seam one, knit two plain, seam one, knit three plain, throw thread over twice and seam two together; knit two plain, throw thread over twice and seam two together, knit two plain.
Fifth row-Knit two plain, throw thread over twice and seam two together; knit two plain; throw thread over twice and seam two together; knit five plain, throw thread over twice and knit two together; throw thread over twice and knit two together; knit one plain.
Sixth row-Knit three plain, seam one, knit two plain, seam one, knit five plain, throw thread over twice and seam two together; knit two plain, throw thread over twice and seam two together; knit two plain.
Seventh row-knit two plain, throw thread over twice and seam two together; knit two plain, throw thread over twice and seam two together; knit seven plain, throw thread over twice and knit two together; throw thread over twice and knit two together; knit one plain.
Eighth row - Knit three plain, seam one, knit two plain, seam one, knit seven plain  throw thread over twice and seam two together; knit two plain; throw thread over twice, seam two together; knit two plain.
Ninth row-knit two plain, throw thread over twice and seam two together; knit two plain, throw thread over twice and seam two together, knit fourteen plain.
Tenth row - Knit two plain, bind the first over the second, and so continue knitting and binding until you have bound off eight stitches and have fourteen left on the needles, one on the right hand needle and thirteen on the left hand one; knit five plain, throw thread over twice and seam two together; knit two plain, throw thread over twice and seam two together; knit two plain. This completes one scallop."

First off, I have to mention the genealogy aspect of this. Some of the column regulars become recognizable, and perhaps this Pansy might be a family member. These columns could be an interesting source of evidence for someone who knew their great-greats name or nicknames.

Second, what a change of terminology.
Some Hints:
Seam = purl
throw thread over = yarn over
knit X plain = knit

I had intended on publishing this after I had made a successful oak leaf edging, but find myself more interested in publishing the column that knitting it up immediately.

Daniel Graves - will the dilemma ever end?

Those of you who read the blog regularly know I have been patiently chipping away at the various Daniel Graves' of upper New York for oh, the past decade or so.

At the last juncture, I had this as my leading candidate:

"the Children of Daniel Graves and his wife Jenny"
Births: 
Daniel Graves Junr., born in Andover, NH, Nov 8th, 1802.
William Graves, born Sept 14th, 1811
John Graves, born April 4, 1815
Recorded 22d April 1826 attest: John Kimball, Town Clerk


However, he's pretty much ruled out since we're 95% sure of John Graves' birth being in 1815, making this Daniel 13 years old at time of birth.

Another candidate:

Daniel Graves and Rebecca - hmm - In 1851/2, Daniel Graves, b. 1813 in Vermont is listed in the Malahide, Elgin County, Ontario census with wife Rebecca, daughter Nancy and son James. In 1861, the family is listed in Middlesex, Ontario. In 1871, Daniel is listed as a widow in Mosa, Middlesex West, Ontario. In 1881 he is also listed as a widow in Newbury, Middlesex West, Ontario.

Well, he would again be like, 2 when John was born, so that doesn't really work either.

Another lost cause: Daniel Graves of New Brunswick, married Ann. Children: Adaline, Valentine, Xenophon, Berlin. Again, nope, proven elsewhere and children are born over the dates of my own.

Another one I keep coming back to:

Daniel Graves and Harriet, son of Abraham Graves - (no) - settles in Rochester but is well-documented enough there with only two kids with nowhere near the names I have. The family is quite prestigious and a painting of Daniel is at the local historical society.

Well...this one I guess I haven't put to bed yet. Children Vincent and Amanda, and Daniel is in Rochester for quite some time, going through a court case dissolving his partnership with Charles Robinson. Yet I struggle to believe this is the correct option, as this Daniel seems so documented already.

Another new find this past week: Daniel Graves, going through bankruptcy between 1816 and 1820 in Salem, New York, down in Washington County.

"By order of the honorable Anthony I Blanchard, Esq. first judge of court of common pleas for the county of Washington :— NOTICE is hereby given to all creditors of Daniel Graves, the town of Greenwich, in said county, an insolvent debtor, to shew cause any they have, before the said judge at his dwelling-house in the town of Salem in said county, on the eleventh of May next, at ten o'clock in the forenoon of that day, why an assignment of the said insolvent's estate should be made, and he be discharged, according to the forms of the acts such case made and provided. Dated March 1, 1816 
10w15
DANIEL GRAVES, Insolvent"

I hesitate to include him on the list of candidates, though. I can find little mention of him elsewhere, he would only be 15, and I would think that we could find him on other records.

However, he is on the 1840 census:

name:	Daniel Graves
residence:	Granville, Washington, New York
page number:	204
nara publication number:	M704
nara roll number:	348
film number:	0017209
digital folder number:	004410815
image number:	00416

Source Citation

"United States Census, 1840," index and images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/XHBS-1PR : accessed 16 July 2012), Daniel Graves, Granville, Washington, New York.

So there's that. On the other hand, there is a tantalizing clue in Granville that might make sense:

"Rufus Graves (759) was born 26 Feb. 1792 in Conway, Mass., and died 1 Aug. 1851 in Granville, Washington Co., N.Y.  He married Sophronia Newcomb, daughter of Hezekiah Newcomb and Lydia Hunt, on 26 Feb. 1815.  She was born 10 Jan. 1778 in Bernardston, and died 23 Aug. 1838 in Granville.  They lived in Guilford, Vt., and later moved to Granville in 1825, where he was engaged for many years in trade.  (R‑200)

Children - Graves

+1716.  Hezekiah Newcomb Graves, b. 11 Oct. 1818, m. Eliza Laura Bishop, 25 Nov. 1839, d. 30 March 1890."

from: Graves Family Association Generation 168

Isn't it though? That's possibly where Hezekiah could have come from, if this is a relation.

But the most interesting piece of information comes from here: http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn86063615/1897-10-31/ed-1/seq-16/ Aunt Polly Graves of the Cornstalk Indians? Who are the Cornstalk Indians? Why did they die out? Are Daniel and Polly part of a tribe? Again, nothing but questions is left.

So, in an attempt to try to eat away the list of questions, I have petitioned the Bennington County Museum for assistance to see if there is anything about Daniel and Mary "Polly" Ferguson listed in their archives. Even a small mention would help us narrow this target down, and give us some place to go!

I've also started digging into the records of Gouverneur, trying to take some mystery years off the list that way as well.

Any ideas are welcome! Please feel free to comment.