An 1830's Thanksgiving

Ever wonder how our ancestors in 1830 celebrated Thanksgiving? Donna Winters shares what she has learned while researching her new novel.





For the past couple of years, I've been steeped in the history of 1830 for the writing of my latest historical novel, Bluebird of Brockport, A Novel of the Erie Canal. The story takes place in my hometown of Brockport, New York, and along the Erie Canal. With Thanksgiving a few days away, I got to wondering what the holiday would have been like for the characters in my story. In researching Thanksgiving in 1830, several delightful traditions surfaced which are not part of our modern-day practice.

My characters would have started their day with a church service. While some churches today hold Thanksgiving Day services, the vast majority with which I am familiar do not. The sermon, we can assume, would have focused on God’s provision for which the congregants could give thanks. It might also have focused on the history of the locale and or the parish. The latter was the case with the sermon I discovered at the Library of Congress website (link below). The sermon was dated Dec. 2, 1830, reminding me that in 1830, Thanksgiving was not a national holiday. Back then, each state’s governor would annually write a proclamation for Thanksgiving. While the week of the holiday could vary from state to state,it would always fall on a Thursday in late November or early December.

After church service, my characters would have returned home for a sumptuous feast. Their relatives for miles around would have joined them. The menu would have included several types of meat, not just turkey. By the way, the turkey wouldn't have been a plump butterball-type like we know today, but would have likely weighed ten to fifteen pounds at most, having thinned down under the strain of being driven (on foot) several miles to market.

The bird would have been cooked over an open hearth fire dangling by a string which rotated it, or in a new-fangled invention called a “tin kitchen” or reflector oven with a spit that turned. The stuffing for the turkey probably included many of the same ingredients we use today, and a few less common ones: chopped bread, beef suet, eggs, wine, salt, pepper, sage, and parsley.

One delightful dish that would have accompanied the feast, but is virtually unknown today, is Marlborough Pudding. This is much like our custard pie with a few additional delights such as pureed apples, lemon juice, and wine. The “pudding” wasn’t considered a dessert, but a main dish that was served alongside the meats and vegetables. In addition, the meal likely included hot slaw – braised shredded cabbage served with vinegar, salt, and pepper –and mincemeat pie containing real meat (beef) as well as suet, apples, raisins, and spices.

Now for the best part of Thanksgiving Day – a wedding. Since the harvest season was now over and the extended family had gathered in one place, Thanksgiving Day weddings were common. I can imagine my hero or heroine celebrating the wedding of one of their siblings on Thanksgiving Day. The groom would wear his tailcoat, the bride her best Sunday-go-to-meeting dress. The preacher who had expounded on the blessings of the Lord or the origin of the locale in his morning sermon, would arrive to unite the romantic couple in holy wedlock. What a delightful way to spend Thanksgiving afternoon!

To learn more about an 1830 Thanksgiving, watch the feast at Old Sturbridge Village here (approx. 3 min.) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KrJYS9nD2w0

You can get the recipes for stuffing and Marlborough Pudding, and watch them being created here (approx. 8 min.) http://www.wwlp.com/dpp/mass_appeal/taste/authentic-1830s-thanksgiving-day-feast

You can read the original text of the Thanksgiving Day sermon delivered on Dec. 2, 1830 at Ware First Parish (Congregational), Ware, Mass., here: http://archive.org/details/historicalsermon00reed


What about your Thanksgiving Day? Do you have favorite recipes, games, or other traditions you look forward to each year

You can connect with Donna at the following links:

http://www.greatlakesromances.com wholesome fiction for readers 12 and up
http://greatlakesromances.blogspot.com
twitter:@bigwaterpub
Facebook Profile: Donna Winters
Facebook Book Page: Great Lakes Romances

Here’s a little about Bluebird of Brockport, A Novel of the Erie Canal. (You can buy Bluebird of Brockport for 99 cents (Kindle) or in paperback format at http://ow.ly/eWu9y)



Dreams of floating on the Erie Canal have flowed through Lucina Willcox’s mind since childhood. Yet once her family has purchased their boat and begins their journey, they meet with one challenge after another. An encounter with a towpath rattlesnake threatens her brother’s life. A thief attempts to break in and steal precious cargo. Heavy rain causes a breach and drains the canal of water. Lucina comforts herself with thoughts of Ezra Lockwood, her handsome childhood friend, and discovers a longing to be with him that she just can’t ignore. Can she have a future with Ezra and still hold onto her canalling dream?

Ezra Lockwood’s one goal in life is to build and captain his own canal boat, but two years into the construction of his freight hauler, funds run short. With his goal temporarily stalled, and Lucina Willcox back in his life, his priorities begin to change. Can he have both his dreams — his own boat, and Lucina as his bride?

Donna adopted Michigan as her home state in 1971 when she moved from a small town outside of Rochester, New York. She began penning novels in 1982 while working full time for an electronics firm in Grand Rapids. 
She resigned from her job in 1984 following a contract offer for her first book. Since then, Thomas Nelson Publishers, Zondervan Publishing House, Guideposts, and Bigwater Publishing have published her novels. Her husband, Fred, a former American History teacher, shares her enthusiasm for history. Together, they visit historical sites, restored villages, museums, and lake ports, purchasing books and reference materials for use in Donna’s research.
Donna has written fifteen historical romances for her Great Lakes Romances® series. Recently, she turned her attention to her hometown on the Erie Canal and produced an historical novel, Bluebird of Brockport, A Novel of the Erie Canal, which released as a paperback in June, and has now been offered in Kindle format for 99 cents.