Huh?
Huh?
"Bread Basket of the Western World"
"The most significant period of the port's development lay between the years
1815 and 1860. But before we look to those exciting years let's glimpse at
the first prosperity enjoyed by New Yorkers.
In 1678, four years after the Dutch surrendered New Amsterdam to the
British, the harbor was said to be the home to only three ships, eight
sloops, and seven boats, evidence, perhaps, that beaver-skin exports hadn't
been much of a business. Sixteen years later the totals had soared to 60
ships. 62 sloops, and 40 boats. In between those years, New York had become
America's bread basket. Much of the additional shipping in the harbor was
needed to carry flour, bread, and hardtack along the Atlantic seaboard and
to the West Indies and southern Europe.
The Dutch had created a market for New York bread and flour but it was an
uneven one until the first English governor, Major Edmund Andros, decided in
1678 to standardize and increase production. He achieved this by granting to
a few leading citizens exclusive milling and baking rights to the wheat
grown in the Hudson Valley. Although the monopoly lasted until only 1694,
flour was to be New York's most valuable export for more than a century.
Testimony to its importance is found today on the flag of the City of New
York which shows a windmill, beavers, and two four barrels."
p. 20 "The Marine Society of New York 1770-1995 A Concise History," Gerald
J. Barry, Foreword by Walter Cronkite, c) 1995 by the Marine Society of New
York, published by The One Hundred Year Association of New York in
association with the Sea History Press. Inquiries should be addressed to The
Marine Society, 17 Battery Place, NY, NY 10004.
The Marine Society, of which President Washington was an honorary member of,
charitable duties "expanded from the care of needy widows and orphans of
deceased members to include aid to indigent members, loans to those
temporarily incapacitated, liberating from prison some confined for debt, an
d finding jobs for orphans. It provided relief to many who suffered because
of the two great fires during the occupation, and it buried many victims of
the yellow fever epidemics of 1795 and 1798." Ibid, p. 18.
Interestingly "yellow fever" I read comes from a Florida, a Seminole word,
"yellack" for a mosquito born illness.
George Myers
(PS If the fire in Solvay, NY had jumped the Canada Creek all the barrels of
dynamite stored there (1/2 of the dynamite used in WWI it is estimated came
from Solvay, NY) it would have flattened Syracuse, NY with the argued force
of a small atomic bomb. Of course it didn't but the water ran out anyway)
----- Original Message -----
From: "Carl Barna" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Tuesday, March 30, 2004 1:14 PM
Subject: Re: Cracker barrels
> Howdy --
>
> We've all heard the expression "sittin' round the crackel barrel."
>
> Well, how big was a cracker barrel? How big were these crackers? Do I
> assume they were just loose in the barrel, or were they packed in
something
> to prevent breakage?
>
> I assume we're not talking about Saltines here, but something akin to
> block-like items such as army hardtack?
>
> Thanks.
>
> Carl Barna
> Lakewood, CO
>
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