The Corkscrew App
Like a deflated balloon, historical fiction doesn't rise to its billing unless its plot and setting have been thoroughly researched. While their dialogue is fictitious, the historical characters in The Corkscrew App ---Washington, Braddock, Tanaghrisson---were studied using primary source documents to get as close to their thoughts and motivations as possible. Letters written by Washington, Braddock and other British officers were helpful in remaining as close to the actual events as possible. Other sources listed below, primary and secondary, gave insight to the food, clothing, language and medicine of the period.
Books:
Clary, David A.. George Washington’s First War: His Early Military Adventures. New York: Simon & Schuster, 2011.
Davis, Kenneth C.. America’s Hidden History: Untold Tales of the First Pilgrims, Fighting Women, and Forgotten Founders Who Shaped A Nation. New York: Smithsonian Books/Harper Collins, 2009.
James, Alfred Procter and Stotz, Charles Morse. Drums in the Forest: Decision at the Forks, Defense in the Wilderness. Pittsburgh, Pa.: University of Pittsburgh Press, 2005.
Regan, Geoffrey. The Brassey’s Book of Military Blunders. Washington, D.C.: Brassey’s Inc., 2000.
Ruckman, Joseph. Recreating the American Longhunter, 1740-1790. Excelsior Springs, Mo.: Graphics/Fine Arts Press, 2000.
Tannenbaum, Rebecca. Health and Wellness in Colonial America. Santa Barbara, Calif.: Greenwood Publishing/ABC-CLIO LLC, 2012.
Utley, Robert M. and Washburn, Wilcomb E.. Indian Wars. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co., 1987.
Internet Sources:
“A Colonial Gentleman’s Clothing: A Glossary of Terms.” Colonial Williamsburg. http://www.history.org/history/clothing/men/mglossary.cfm Last accessed February 25, 2015.
Braddock’s March .org. Fort Cumberland at Wills Creek. http://www.fortedwards.org/braddock/sites/cbe.htm Last accessed December 8, 2015.
In Camp With General Braddock---April 16-17, 2005 in Winchester, Virginia A French & Indian War Living History Camp. http://www.fortedwards.org/braddock/april15c.htm Last accessed December 8, 2015.
British Battles.com. The Battle of the Monongahela---Braddock’s Defeat. http://www.britishbattles.com/braddock.htm Last accessed December 8, 2015.
National Archives. George Washington Letter to Robert Dinwiddie, 29 May, 1754. http://founders.archives.gov/documents/Washington/02-01-02-0054 Last accessed December 8, 2015.
George Washington Letter to Joshua Fry, 23 May, 1754. http://founders.archives.gov/documents/Washington/02-01-02-0051 Last accessed December 8, 2015.
George Washington Letter to Robert Dinwiddie, 10 June, 1754. http://founders.archives.gov/documents/Washington/02-01-02-0066 Last accessed December 8, 2015.
George Washington Letter to John Robinson, 20 April, 1755. http://founders.archives.gov/documents/Washington/02-01-02-0126 Last accessed December 8, 2015.
George Washington Letter to John Augustine Washington, 14 May, 1755. http://founders.archives.gov/documents/Washington/02-01-02-0137 Last accessed December 8, 2015.
George Washington Letter to John Augustine Washington, 28 June, 1755. http://founders.archives.gov/documents/Washington/02-01-02-0160 Last accessed December 8, 2015.
Felshin, Sue. Glossary of 18th Century Costume Terminology. http://people.csail.mit.edu/sfelshin/revwar/glossary.html Last accessed December 8, 2015,
Ferguson, Eric. How to Speak 19th Century. http://celticfringe.net/history/vocab.htm. Last accessed December 8, 2015.
Lynch, Jack. A Guide to Eighteenth Century English Vocabulary. April 14, 2006. http://andromeda.rutgers.edu/~jlynch/C18Guide.pdf Last accessed December 8, 2015.
“Military Affairs in North America,1748-1765: selected documents from the Cumberland Papers in Windsor Castle,” Internet Archive. Letter from Colonel John St. Clair to Robert Napier, 13 June, 1755. http://archive.org/stream/militaryaffairsi00cumb/militaryaffairsi00cumb_djvu.txt Last accessed December 8, 2015.
National Park Service. Fort Necessity National Battlefield Pennsylvania. http://www.nps.gov/fone/index.htm Last accessed December 8, 2015.
Seven Years War. The 44th Foot. 2012. http://www.kronoskaf.com/syw/index.php?title=44th_Foot Last accessed December 8, 2015.
The Writings of George Washington from the Original Manuscript Sources:1745-1799 Volume1. Electronic Text Center, University of Virginia Library. George Washington Letter to John Augustine Washington, 31 May, 1754. http://web.archive.org/web/20110218084726/http://etext.lib.virginia.edu/etcbin/toccer-new2?id=WasFi01.xml&images=images/modeng&data=/texts/english/modeng/parsed&tag=public&part=48&division=div1 Last accessed December 8, 2015.
Other Sources:
Messner, Robert T. Braddock’s Battlefield History Center. 609 Sixth St., North Braddock, Pennsylvania.
American Brush-Off
The general plot of American Brush-Off is based upon the recorded history of German/German-American internment during World War II. The characters and incidents within the book were selected from various accounts presented in the resources listed below. The train ride to Crystal City, a distraught internee contemplating suicide, the role of the German Bund within the Crystal City camp--these events (and more) all occurred in some setting at some time during the internment period. They just didn't necessarily happen in the manner described in my book. I chose the episodes from my research that would help create the most interesting story for my readers.
Print Sources:
Estlack, Robert W.. Shattered Lives, Shattered Dreams: The Disrupted Lives of Families in American Internment Camps. Springville, Utah: Bonneville Books, 2011.
Jacobs, Arthur D.. The Prison Called Hohenasperg. Universal Publishers, 1999.
Russell, Jan Jarboe. The Train to Crystal City. New York: Scribner, 2015.
“Trade Off”. American History Magazine. Volume 49, #6, February, 2015.
Internet Sources:
4800 Ellis Avenue, Chicago, Illinois. German-American Internee Coalition. https://gaic.info/internment-camps/temporary-detention-facilities/4800-ellis-avenue-chicago-illinois/ Last accessed December 26, 2019.
“Crystal City (detention facility)”. Densho Encyclopedia. https://encyclopedia.densho.org/Crystal_City_(detention_facility)/ Last accessed December 26, 2019.
Crystal City, Texas Family Internment Camp. German-American Internee Coalition. https://gaic.info/internment-camps/u-s-department-of-justice-internment-facilities/crystal-city-texas-family-internment-camp/ Last accessed December 26, 2019.
Davis, Vincent T.. “Internment camp ball players part of Texas baseball history”. San Antonio Express-News. March 11, 2017. https://www.expressnews.com/news/local/article/Internment-camp-ball-players-part-of-Texas-10993977.php Last accessed December 26, 2019.
Dietze, Caitlin T.. “Daily Life at Crystal City Internment Camp 1942-45”. University of New Orleans Theses and Dissertations. May 13, 2016. https://scholarworks.uno.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=3286&context=td Last accessed December 26, 2019.
“Eberhard Fuhr remembers life in a World War II internment camp”. Texas Public Radio. January 14, 2009. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5M1cZqvMrP4 Last accessed December 26, 2019.
Fuhr, Eberhard E.. The Fuhr Family Story: My Internment by the United States Government. German-American Internee Coalition: 2006. https://gaic.info/fuhr-story/ Last accessed December 26, 2019.
Historical Dictionary of American Slang, 1940-1950. https://www.alphadictionary.com/slang/?term=&beginEra=1940&endEra= 1950&clean=true&submitsend=Search Last accessed December 26, 2019.
Internee Records. German-American Internee Coalition. https://gaic.info/resources/internee-records/ Last accessed December 26, 2019.
Japanese, German and Italian American Enemy Alien Internment. Texas Historical Commission. March 31, 2017. https://www.thc.texas.gov/preserve/projects-and-programs/military-history/texas-world-war-ii/japanese-german-and-italian Last accessed December 26, 2019.
Krause, Kitry. “Dangerous Enemy Alien”. The Chicago Reader. September 2, 1993. https://www.chicagoreader.com/chicago/dangerous-enemy-alien/Content?oid=882682 Last accessed December 26, 2019.
Revelations From the Dead: Chronicles of the Night Waster
When I first heard of nineteenth century New England "vampires", I was intrigued. Long before Bram Stoker wrote Dracula and use of the term "vampire" was limited, there existed a belief that the dead could live off the living. For sure, the superstition was just that, and it reared its ugly head when desperation was at a fever pitch. 1837 was a desperate time for many. I used a number of resources to help reflect the superstitions and the effects concerning the disease consumption, as well as the social, economical and political forces impacting society of that era.
Print Sources:
Bell, Michael E.. Food For the Dead: On the Trail of New England’s Vampires. Middletown, Connecticut: Wesleyan University Press, 2001.
Brown, Alice Cooke. Early American Herb Recipes. Mineola, N.Y.: Dover Publications, 2001.
Clark, Christopher. The Diary of an Apprentice Cabinetmaker: Edward Jenner Carpenter’s ‘Journal’ 1844-45. Worchester, Massachusetts: American Antiquarian Society, 1988.
D’Agaostino, Thomas. A History of Vampires in New England. Charleston, S.C.: Haunted America/The History Press, 2010.
Desjardin, Thomas A.. Through a Howling Wilderness: Benedict Arnold’s March to Quebec, 1775. New York: St. Martin’s Press, 2006.
Jameson, W.C.. Buried Treasures of New England. Little Rock, Arkansas: August HoKuse Publishers, Inc., 1998.
Tannenbaum, Rebecca S.. The Healer’s Calling: Women and Medicine in Early New England. Ithaca, N.Y.: Cornell University Press, 2002.
Internet Sources:
Barcousky, Len. ”Eyewitness 1837: Financial panic dimmed economic light in Pittsburgh”. Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. April 19, 2009. https://www.post-gazette.com/local/community-eyewitness/2009/04/19/Eyewitness-1837-Financial-panic-dimmed-economic-light-in-Pittsburgh/stories/200904190195 Last accessed September 1, 2020.
Calendar for the year 1837. https://www.timeanddate.com/calendar/?year=1837&country=1 Last accessed September 1, 2020.
Ferguson, Eric. “How to Speak 19th Century; Early 19th Century Vocabulary”. A Strand of Celtic Fringe. http://celticfringe.net/history/vocab.html Last accessed September 1, 2020.
Food Timeline. “New England Boiled Dinner”. http://www.foodtimeline.org/foodmeats.html#newenglandboileddinner Last accessed September 1, 2020.
“How did the colonial American housewife bake her bread & cakes?” http://www.foodtimeline.org/foodcolonial.html#colonialovens Last accessed September 1, 2020.
Halsall, Paul. Modern History Sourcebook: Harriet Robinson: Lowell Mill Girls. January 21, 2020. https://sourcebooks.fordham.edu/mod/robinson-lowell.asp Last accessed September 1, 2020.
Kelleher, Thomas. “The Debit Economy of 1830’s New England”. Teach US History. http://www.teachushistory.org/detocqueville-visit-united-states/articles/debit-economy-1830s-new-england Last accessed September 1, 2020.
Larkin, Jack. “Dining Out in the 1830’s”. 1999. Teach US History. http://www.teachushistory.org/detocqueville-visit-united-states/articles/dining-out-1830s Last accessed September 1, 2020.
Little, Becky. “The Bloody Truth About Vampires”. National Geographic Society. October 26, 2016. https://www.nationalgeographic.com/news/2016/10/vampires-europe-new-england-halloween-history/ Last accessed September 1, 2020.
“Mary Paul Letters”, p.5 letter from December 21, 1845. Vermont Historical Society. https://vermonthistory.org/documents/transcriptions/paulletters.pdf Last accessed September 1, 2020.
Mingren, Wu. ”Nachzehrers: The Shroud Eating Vampires of Germanic Folklore”. Ancient Origins. June 1, 2016. https://www.ancient-origins.net/myths-legends/nachzehrers-shroud-eating-vampires-germanic-folklore-006010 Last accessed September 1, 2020.
Nichols, Thomas Low. Forty Years of American Life. 1864. Eyewitness to History. “A Portrait of America ca. 1830”. http://www.eyewitnesstohistory.com/america1830.htm Last accessed September 1, 2020.
Old Sturbridge Village: An 1830’s New England Living History Museum. OSV Documents.
Bassett, Lynne. “The Great Leap: Youths’ Clothing in the Early Nineteenth Century”. 1997. http://resources.osv.org/explore_learn/document_viewer.php?DocID=856 Last accessed September 1, 2020.
Carpenter, Edward Jenner. “Edward Jenner Carpenter, Apprentice’s Diary”. 1844. http://resources.osv.org/explore_learn/document_viewer.php?DocID=126 Last accessed September 1, 2020.
“Historical Background on Mourning Rituals in Early 19th Century New England”. 2003. http://resources.osv.org/explore_learn/document_viewer.php?DocID=2043 Last accessed September 1, 2020.
Holland, Jessica. “The Violin Haunted Me: Learning to Dance in a Small New England Village”. 1995. http://resources.osv.org/explore_learn/document_viewer.php?DocID=922 Last accessed September 1, 2020.
Kelleher, Thomas. “Sounding Yankee I: Reflections on 19th-Century New England Speechways and How to Acquire Them.” Old Sturbridge Village: An 1830s New England Living History Museum. 2001. https://resources.osv.org/explore_learn/document_viewer.php?Action=View&DocID=1976 Last accessed September 1, 2020.
Nylander, Jane C.. “Notes on Early 19th Century Clothing”. 1980. http://resources.osv.org/explore_learn/document_viewer.php?DocID=796 Last accessed September 1, 2020.
White, Eric. “Interpreting Rites of Passage in the 1830’s”. 1994. http://resources.osv.org/explore_learn/document_viewer.php?DocID=595 Last accessed September 1, 2020.
White, Frank G.. “The Involuntary Legacy of Samuel Wing, Cabinetmaker/Chairmaker”. 1982. http://resources.osv.org/explore_learn/._viewer.php?Action=View&DocID=1049 Last accessed September 1, 2020.
Worchester (Mass.) Telegram. “Hair care of 1830’s on display at OSV”. January 31, 2008. https://www.telegram.com/article/20080131/ONTHECOMMON/801310328?template=ampart Last accessed September 1, 2020.
Parks, Roger N.. Roads and Travel in New England 1790-1840. 1967. Teach US History. http://www.teachushistory.org/detocqueville-visit-united-states/articles/roads-travel-new-england-1790-1840 Last accessed September 1, 2020.
Parlett, David. “Whist”, (August 8, 2019). Encyclopedia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/topic/whist Last accessed September 1, 2020.
“Religious Revivals and Revivalism in 1830s New England”. Teach US History. http://www.teachushistory.org/second-great-awakening-age-reform/articles/religious-revivals-revivalism-1830s-new-england Last accessed September 1, 2020.
“The Mill Girls of Lowell”. National Parks Service. November 15, 2018. https://www.nps.gov/lowe/learn/historyculture/the-mill-girls-of-lowell.htm Last accessed September 1, 2020.
Zaroulis, Nancy. “The Lowell Mill Women” 2006.http://www.lowellmillwomen.com/about.html Last accessed September 1, 2020.
The Reformation of Nate Adare
The historical component of The Reformation of Nate Adare is limited to one, but vital, aspect of the plot. Therefore, the sources reflect history's minimal impact since most of the story takes place in the present. However, the concept of genetic memory plays a major role as the plot evolves. Coupled with Naomi Adare's debilitating Parkinson's disease, Nate's neurological disorders play a prominent role in this novella and are reflected in the lion's share of my resources.
Print Sources:
Boynton, Cynthia Wolf. Connecticut Witch Trials: The First Panic of the New World. Charleston, South Carolina: The History Press, 2014.
Internet Sources:
Bendici, Ray. “Witchcraft Trials: William Meeker”. Damned Connecticut. https://www.damnedct.com/william-meaker/ Last accessed September 22, 2021.
Gallagher, James. “Memories pass between generations”. BBC News, December 1, 2013. https://www.bbc.com/news/health-25156510 Last accessed September 22, 2021.
Gilbert, Dr. Rebecca. “The Relationship Between Stress, Anxiety, and Parkinson’s Disease.” American Parkinson Disease Association. June 17, 2019. https://www.apdaparkinson.org/article/stress-anxiety-parkinsons-disease/ Last accessed September 22, 2021.
Gillespie, Katherine. “Can We Access the Memories of Our Ancestors Through Our DNA?”. Vice, December 20, 2016. https://www.vice.com/en/article/ypv58j/genetic-memory Last accessed September 22, 2021.
Lambert, Edward R. History of the Colony of New Haven. New Haven, Ct. : Hitchcock and Stafford,1838. https://www.google.com/books/edition/History_of_the_Colony_of_New_Haven/K3sFAAAAQAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&printsec=frontcover Last accessed September 22, 2021.
Mayo Clinic. “Nightmare Disorder”. https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/nightmare-disorder/symptoms-causes/syc-20353515 Last accessed September 22, 2021.
Melinowsky, Christopher (medical reviewer). “Coma: Types, Causes, Treatments, Prognosis”. WebMD, September 14, 2020. https://www.webmd.com/brain/coma-types-causes-treatments-prognosis Last accessed September 22, 2021.
New Haven (Conn.), and Charles J. (Charles Jeremy) Hoadly. Records of the Colony Or Jurisdiction of New Haven, From May, 1653, to the Union. Hartford: Printed by Case, Lockwood and company, 1858. https://catalog.hathitrust.org/Record/100768628 Last accessed September 22, 2021.
New Haven Town Records 1649- (Volume 3) online (page 30 of 51). https://www.ebooksread.com/authors-eng/new-haven-conn/new-haven-town-records-1649--volume-3-hwe/page-30-new-haven-town-records-1649--volume-3-hwe.shtml Last accessed September 22, 2021.
Queensland Brain Institute. The University of Queensland, Australia. “Where are memories stored in the brain?”. https://qbi.uq.edu.au/brain-basics/memory/where-are-memories-stored#:~:text=The%20hippocampus%2C%20located%20in%20the,and%20indexed%20for%20later%20access. Last accessed September 22, 2021.
Society for Neuroscience. "The genetic signature of memory: Unique memory genes are expressed in different areas of the brain." ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 9 December 2019. https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/12/191209131945.htm Last accessed September 22, 2021.
Treffert, Darold. “Genetic Memory: How We Know Things We Never Learned”. Scientic American, Guest Blog, January 28, 2015. https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/guest-blog/genetic-memory-how-we-know-things-we-never-learned/ Last accessed September 22, 2021.