Mondays at the Manor - Table Settings

Welcome to a new blog series with volunteer, Beth Goldworthy, where we will explore the home life of a farm family in the 1850s. With many of us at home these days, this will give us an idea of how our ancestors lived 170 years ago.

This week and next week, we will be taking a look at family dinners. Family dinners in the era would vary with the social class of the home.  Working class families would often eat together, while the upper classes would have the adults eating together, while the children ate in the nursery.  Once a child became of marriageable age, they were allowed to join their parents. Many of the more formal dinners were an opportunity for marriages to be arranged.

Dinner for families was often a formal occasion.  Seats at the table were assigned according to a person’s importance in the family and society.  Even the tables were set with exact rules and everything on the table had its place.  For many of us in the 21^st century, these rules can be overwhelming, and most of us will not be facing the formal dining situation.  Still, having some knowledge might some day come in handy.

The most formal table setting would be used only for multi-course meals. These might be very special occasions, such as upper-class society weddings or royal and court meals. Most working people would not be facing such an extravagant meal. Of course, there would special wine served with each course.

Formal Place Setting for Upper Class Families

  

The Andrew Backus family was considered an upper-middle class family. They would have used the less formal place setting for special meals, still keeping to the more formal rules, but with less flatware. There were also fewer courses, usually one main meal, and on holidays and special events, there would be what we know as an appetizer, a salad course, the main entrée, and then a nice simple dessert. There might have been separate wines served.  For those of us in the 21^st century, this is the place setting that we would find in a fancy restaurant or what to us is a formal dinner.

Semi-Formal Place setting for Upper-Middle Class Family

  

In the 21^st century, the idea of family meals has been interrupted by after school / after work activities. Perhaps with our present Stay-Home days, this would be a good opportunity to return to family meals, and re-learn and teach younger members of the family the lost art of setting a proper table.  The basics to learn are quite easy, and even the younger family members can be included. You can also use this as a craft project. All you need is a Bristol board, construction paper, old wrapping paper, or simply crayons or makers. Once the place-mat is designed, cover it with clear shelf plastic. Each family member can have their own special place, and the decorations can be made to suit each person. 

         

Here's an example

Or use this template and customize them with each person's name.

Have fun with this, and enjoy your meals together!

Next week, we’ll take a look at table manners of the Victorian era and how we can use some of these manners in our everyday meals.

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Fun Fact Fridays #14 - No Solicitors! 💬

      Did you know that in the 19th century people would go door to door selling a "cure-all" called snake oil? If you have ever seen an old western/cowboy movie there has probably been a character selling some kind of elixir. This is the most accurate depiction of these snake oil sellers. Snake oil was said to be a cure-all by it's sellers, but was notorious for not actually working.

Snake Oil Salesman

       The original snake oil came from China. This oil was creating using the oils taken from Chinese River Snakes. They used this as a pain reliever for arthritis, bursitis, and other joint aches. It made it's way into North America in the mid 1800's and was sold door to door. Of course, there are no Chinese River Snakes in North America, so the contents were changed. North American snake oil consisted mostly of alcohol and was sold as an antiseptic. Very much like peroxide or rubbing alcohol, snake oil was used on scrapes or cuts, but it was not nearly as effective.
      The Backus-Page House has an original bottle with the original bottle, label, and contents displayed in our pantry room! Come check it out for yourself at the Backus-Page House Museum:

Snake Oil
Original Bottle, Label, and Contents

29424 Lakeview Line, Wallacetown, ON
(519) 762-3072





   

Fun Fact Fridays #7 - Bye, Bye Beavers 🐾

      Did you know that in the 19th century the beaver population in Canada was nearly extinct?

      Beaver pelts were a very important part of the Canadian fur trade economy. Starting out, they were mostly used for coats, but moving towards the end of the 18th century and beginning of the 19th century hats became a very fashionable item. People would wear hats on a daily basis and they were used as a status symbol instead of keeping the sun off their faces or keeping their ears warm.

      Hunters found it difficult to find beavers in certain regions, so they moved their hunt towards the north and west and established a large network of forts and supply routes that assisted in the development of Canadian economy. Though the money was good, the beaver population became scarce and were all almost completely wiped out until, finally,  in the late 19th century beaver pelts were not as sought after. Afterwards beavers reproduced quickly and can now be found near rivers, streams, small lakes, and marshes throughout North America.

      Come feel a real beaver pelt and try on a top hat made out of beaver pelt at:
29424 Lakeview Line, Wallacetown, ON
(519) 762-3072

Top Hat Made Out of Beaver Pelt

Beaver Pelt

Fun Fact Fridays #6 - Don't Throw the Baby Out with the Bath Water! 🛁

      Did you know that in the 19th century families would bathe from oldest to youngest and all use the same bath water? Usually in the summer, the Backus family usually bathed in the lake across the street, but it was way too cold to do that in the winter. Instead, they had either a bathtub or just a tub of water that they would all share. Starting with Andrew (the oldest), they would bathe one by one with the bath water getting dirtier and dirtier with every bath. Andrew and Mary Jane had 12 children altogether (only 6 lived to adulthood), so you can imagine how dirty that water would be when the baby goes. Hence, "don't throw the baby out with the bath water". Then again, it would really help the immune system. 

      Come see the type of bathtub the Backus' would have had in person at:
29424 Lakeview Line, Wallacetown, ON
(519) 762-3072

Fun Fact Fridays #5 - Better than a Scarf! ⛄

Hand-Drawn Portrait of
 Andrew Backus

      Did you know that in the 19th century it was very popular and fashionable to have neck beards? Talk about the complete opposite of fashion today! Backus-Page House's very own, Andrew Backus, had a long, scruffy neck beard that fit right in with the popular styles.

      To have a certified neck beard the face must be completely shaven with only facial hair starting right at the jaw line. Sometimes men would have a mustache to go along with it, but it was only a neck beard if the mustache did not connect with the beard.

      It is known that popularity of neck beards started growing when a young philosopher by the name of Henry David Thoreau showed off his remarkable facial hair. People in the 19th century either extremely loved or extremely hated Thoreau for his views on slavery. Canada, during this time period, was viewed as a safe haven for the slaves coming from the United States. The Slavery Abolition Act came into play in 1834 and it was not until over 30 years later that the U.S. followed Canada's lead.

      Come check out Andrew Backus' neck beard and house at:
29424 Lakeview Line, Wallacetown, ON
(519) 762-3072

Henry David Thoreau
(in all his neck beard glory)

Fun Fact Fridays #3 - Sleep Tight...

      Did you know that the saying, "sleep tight, don't let the bed bugs bite", comes from rope beds that were made in the 19th century?

      

      Instead of having a box spring holding up the mattress, people would use ropes tied in a square pattern. To keep the mattress from sinking to the floor, people would need to tighten the ropes before going to bed.  Therefore, "sleep tight". 

      Mattresses were not nearly as comfortable as they are today. Most mattresses these days have either memory foam or some type of fluffy material to keep people comfortable and happy while sleeping. In the 1800s, though, people would stuff their mattress with either grass clippings or straw/hay. Usually bugs would be swept up along with whatever the mattress was stuffed with. Therefore, "don't let the bed bugs bite". 

Hay/Grass Clippings/Leaf Stuffed Mattress

Rope Bed "Box Spring"

      

Fun Fact Fridays #2 - Summer Lovin' 🌞

Backus-Page House (Today)
Outline of Summer Kitchen

      Did you know that most houses in the 19th century had an attachment called the summer kitchen? These were used as another space to cook food in. In the summer months it can get scorching hot and air conditioning was, of course, not invented yet. To keep the house a little cooler people would cook their food in the summer kitchen. Today, when we want to keep the house cooler, we cook our food outside on the barbecue. This is a very similar concept.

      The summer kitchen at the Backus-Page House, we believe, was made out of wood. Unfortunately the summer kitchen is not still standing, but we can assume it was wood based on an old picture we have. It was unusual to make your summer kitchen out of wood because wood is easier to catch on fire, but it is less expensive than building it out of another material.

To see where the summer kitchen used to be visit at at:
29424 Lakeview Line, Wallacetown, ON
(519) 762-3072

Backus-Page House
Bottom Left Side of House - Summer Kitchen is Visible

Fun Fact Friday #1 - Another Brick in the Wall

      Before we get started on this new weekly blog I'd like to introduce myself! My name is Beth and I am a Historical Interpreter at the Backus-Page House Museum in Wallacetown, Ontario. I'm a student at Fanshawe College and love to spend my time learning new things (hence why I applied for this job haha) I'm so excited to share all these fun facts with you every Friday! I find them all interesting and fun. Don't mind my bad humour every once in a while too. I hope you enjoy and let's juts jump right into it!

      Did you know that the Backus-Page House was built with over 72,000 bricks? To put that into perspective, to build an average house today you would need an estimated amount of a little over 8,000 bricks. This is most likely due to the fact that the outer walls are very thick. The walls are approximately 2-4 bricks thick. This is to keep the house warm in the winter and cool in the summer. There was no air conditioning or heating in 1850 so people needed to find a suitable alternative.

      The bricks are, also, red in colour. This was a very desirable colour due to the rarity of red clay in this part of Canada. Most houses can be seen with yellowish colour bricks and that is because white/yellow clay is much easier found than red.

      To check out these incredible brick walls in person you can visit the Backus-Page House at:
29424 Lakeview Line, Wallacetown, ON
(519) 762-3072

A Successful Christmas Dinner in the Museum

On December 3 & 4 we hosted our annual Christmas Dinner in the Museum to 32 wonderful guests.  The museum was decked out with greenery, candles, lanterns and we were dressed in our 1850s finery.  Special thanks goes to all the volunteers who assisted with preparations, during the meals, and clean up afterwards.  Without you, the museum cannot offer these fun programs for visitors.  Here are some pictures and video from the weekend.

NOTE: The waiting list for 2017 Confederation Christmas Dinner is fairly long so we anticipate being sold out when we release dinner tickets in March, 2017.  If you are willing to assist with cooking next year, perhaps we can offer more than one weekend of meals.


 

 

   

VIDEO LINKS: https://www.instagram.com/p/BNnECznD9FX/?taken-by=backuspagehouse
https://www.instagram.com/p/BNlKhQignAQ/?taken-by=backuspagehouse
https://www.instagram.com/p/BNki-v4DrvV/?taken-by=backuspagehouse

Christmas Feast in the Museum Tickets Available Now

Behind the Scenes of Beds, Baths & Beyond #7

Skin Care and Cosmetics Part 4

1850

Rouge, Liquid: Take carmine, 2 parts, pearlash, 1 part, and water, 9 parts; mix.

Pearlash; (potassium carbonate. pearl ash) the primary component in potash, a white salt that softens hard water, used in soap and as a mild drying agent.

Pearl Powders, for the Complexion:

1. Take pearl or bismuth white, and French chalk, equal parts. Reduce them to a fine powder, and sift through lawn.

2. Take 1 pound white bismuth, 1 ounce starch powder, and 1 ounce orris powder; mix and sift them through lawn. Add a drop of attar of roses or neroli.

Pearl White: Take nitrate of bismuth in solution, and add it to a dilute solution of chloride of sodium until the whole of the bismuth is precipitated; collect, wash, and dry the powder with great care.

Bismuth; a white, crystalline, brittle metal (element) with a pinkish tinge as it oxidises.

Lawn; a plain weave linen.

Orris; a root from Iris flowers, used as a fixative with other substances to ensure stability.

Nitrate of bismuth; bismuth and concentrated nitric acid.

Chloride of sodium; (sodium chloride) salt.

**We do not recommend you try these recipes at home.