Something New

[BettyO]

That sounds very interesting, Bob! Never heard of this - and I can't seem to find a copy online so hang onto it!

[L Verge]

We just received shipment of two new books at the Surratt gift shop: Abraham Lincoln in the Kitchen: A Culinary View of Lincoln's Life and Times by Rae Katherine Eighmery mixes recipes with historical data and regional cooking. The second book is George Alfred Townsend and Gathland: A Journalist and His Western Maryland Estate by Dianne Wiebe.

I may be wrong, but I believe this may be the first book written about GATH. Surratt member Bob Allen has given a great article on the journalist for the September and October Surratt Courier.

Laurie, I have a copy of a 1946 book by Ruthanna Hinds entitled George Alfred Townsend. It’s a hardcover, short book, only 72 pages, but well sourced. I think this may be the first book about him.

Thanks for the alert, Bob. Something else to look for.

[Linda Anderson]

That sounds very interesting, Bob! Never heard of this - and I can't seem to find a copy online so hang onto it!

Betty, check out WorldCat. The closest library to you that has it is the Library of Congress.

[BettyO]

Thanks, Linda. I can perhaps get it on interlibrary loan. They DO loan things to the Virginia State Library.

[L Verge]

I recently mentioned a new book on Abraham Lincoln in the Kitchen. I began reading it this evening and love it! As many of you know from my previous confessions, my knowledge of early-Lincoln history is sorely lacking. This book is reinforcing the little bit I do know and filling in blanks the best way I like -- through social and cultural history.

Yes, it's a cookbook; but it's more basic history on the areas where the Lincolns lived and what their daily life and chores would have been like. As for the recipes (55 of them), only a die-hard homemaker would attempt most of them - from how to hull corn to make hominy to frying corn dodgers. The recipes only serve to enrich the cultural image of the times. I've heard of pawpaws all my life, but have never seen one or tasted one. The description of them, along with other native fruits, etc., is making me very curious. Has anyone out there ever encountered a pawpaw?

One question: The author states that Lincoln never wrote about his experiences in New Orleans after the flatboat trip down the Mississippi. Is this true? She paints such a vivid picture of what the city was like at that time that I would think young Lincoln would have preserved his memories in text.

[Eva Elisabeth]

One question: The author states that Lincoln never wrote about his experiences in New Orleans after the flatboat trip down the Mississippi. Is this true?

This is what A. Lincoln wrote in his campaign autobiography in 1860 ( http://quod.lib.umich.edu/l/lincoln/linc...w=fulltext ):

"When he was nineteen, still residing in Indiana, he made his first trip upon a flat-boat to New-Orleans. He was a hired hand merely; and he and a son of the owner, without other assistance, made the trip. The nature of part of the cargo-load, as it was called---made it necessary for them to linger and trade along the Sugar coast---and one night they were attacked by seven negroes with intent to kill and rob them. They were hurt some in the melee, but succeeded in driving the negroes from the boat, and then ``cut cable'' ``weighed anchor'' and left."

About the second trip he almost only wrote: "During that winter, A. together with his step-mother's son, John D. Johnston, and John Hanks, yet residing in Macon county, hired themselves to one Denton Offutt, to take a flat boat from Beardstown Illinois to New-Orleans; and for that purpose, were to join him---Offut---at Springfield, Ills so soon as the snow should go off. When it did go off which was about the 1st. of March 1831--..."

John Hanks later recalled and told Herndon about an incident at a slave auction in New Orleans, but he (Hanks) did not go all the way with the others to New Orleans, so he couldn't have witnessed what he told.

---

PS: If there's a chapter on baking you might need this equipment:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B004NR9XOK...mp_s_a_1_2

[LincolnToddFan]

Hi Laurie,

I don't remember ever tasting paw paw but I hear that they are delicious! Also I remember a kindergarten-1st grade song from my Ohio school days that had the refrain "way down yonder in the paw paw patch!"

I have the Katherine Eighmery book btw. Most of the recipes sound very good, but a little too complicated for me to ever try myself!

[RJNorton]

John Hanks later recalled and told Herndon about an incident at a slave auction in New Orleans, but he (Hanks) did not go all the way with the others to New Orleans, so he couldn't have witnessed what he told.

Excellent point, Eva! Many books quote Lincoln as saying he would hit slavery and hit it hard if he ever had the chance. But the source for this quote is John Hanks who was not even there.

[L Verge]

Well, I finished the book on Abraham Lincoln in the Kitchen tonight, and I loved every page of it -- even the recipes, which I could have lived without, but it was interesting to read the ingredients and imagine how I could have spiced them up a bit!

I would like to share one intriguing piece of information from the book that I doubt too many of y'all have thought about. What did archaeological digs around the Springfield home and the Lincolns' neighbors' homes reveal about Abe and Mary? Reports as late as 1985 indicate types of china and glassware that they used (and broke) and old medicine bottles. More interesting was an old well that had been covered over by the home's renovations in the mid-1850s. In addition to household items, the well gave up egg shells, peach pits, and 57 pieces of animal bones - as well as over 200 other things related to animals.

The bones revealed that the Lincolns ate beef sirloin, short loin round, and ribs. They also had mutton or lamb, a good bit of pork, chicken, and turkey. The amazing thing was that 45% of the pork remains were from pigs' feet. For many families, pigs' feet were a staple in Lincoln's time and were prepared stewed, barbecued, or pickled. The book's author imagines that, because the pickled kind could be stored in crocks for long periods of time, Mr. Lincoln could easily have come in from his travels, gone to the pantry, and fetched a few to temporarily satisfy his hunger. Another use for both pigs' feet and calves' feet is for boiling down to produce a medicinal soup or jelly. I have eaten one pig's foot in my life, and it almost made me sick instead of curing anything!

[LincolnToddFan]

The 1985 excavations yielded EGG SHELLS?? That means that they were at least 140 years old!

I didn't know egg shells could last that long.

[Eva Elisabeth]

Bones and eggshells - both is chalk. Rot very slowly. They are just more fragile and grind easier mechanically, but in the well they were undisturbed...

The oldest piece of food I remember seeing was a carbonated loaf of bread found in Pompeii, which was buried under ash and pumice in the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD. This loaf of bread and Pompeii itself are perhaps the most eerie thing and place I've ever seen! Especially after reading "The Last Days of Pompeii" and Pliny the Younger's eyewitness description. Gives me the creeps even now when just thinking of. Here's a picture of the loaf:
   

[RJNorton]

Oh my....that makes the stale bread Dave Taylor was eating in the woods look delectable!

[LincolnToddFan]

WOW...Eva E., I am speechless!

[Eva Elisabeth]

BTW, did you know that Italy has the most UNESCO World Heritage Sites?
Italy is home to 50 sites, followed by China (47), Spain (44), Germany (39), France (39), India (32) and Mexico (32). (As of 2014, 1007 sites are listed: 779 cultural, 197 natural, and 31 mixed properties, in 161 states parties, here's a list of all sites worldwide:
http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lists_of_...tage_Sites . And one is Major Rathbone's last residence, St. Michael's Cathedral in Hildesheim!)
Italy would absolutely be my #1 recommendation for a visit to Europe!

---

Well, I finished the book on Abraham Lincoln in the Kitchen tonight, and I loved every page of it -- even the recipes, which I could have lived without, but it was interesting to read the ingredients and imagine how I could have spiced them up a bit!

I would like to share one intriguing piece of information from the book ...

Although I'm not interested in cookbooks your review made me curious. I assume it's this book:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/158834455X...SY165_QL70
Since 55 recipes (I acceptably cook without) nevertheless will most likely deter me from purchasing it, please - could share one more intriguing piece of information from the book?!? Could you please share the solution to the riddle "what type of barbecue could be served to thousands at political rallies when paper plates and napkins didn't exist" (see "About this item")? I would love to learn this!!! The item description also mentions strawberry ice cream, and I recall reading that A. L. often bought ice cream for the kids. I've always wanted to learn how ice was frozen in those days without electricity - I have no idea! Is this riddle perhaps solved in that book, too? Or does anyone happen to know?

[L Verge]

I can't quote from the book right now, Eva, because I just wrapped it up and sent it to you in the mail. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

As for the barbecue, we're talking large slabs of beef, pork, chicken, turkey - not minced or pulled like what we tend to like today on a sandwich. Likewise, large slabs of bread served as platters along with hands. Some folks brought china or crockery from home. Finger-licking good probably solved the napkin issue or buckets of water.

As for the ice cream, think about the old hand-cranked machines with ice. I bet some of the members of the forum have used these in the good old days!

Once you get the book, you can solve this riddle on the forum: How did someone describe Mr. Lincoln's method of eating an apple? Very different from what most of us do...