Hearts, Heather, and Highland Vows: History and Legends of Scottish Weddings

With Valentine’s Day coming up, my thoughts turned to weddings, and particularly weddings in Scotland, since I've been writing a Highland romance.

What could one expect at a Scottish wedding in previous centuries?

Bagpipes, kilts, and, of course, handfasting.

Not so fast. Handfasting may or may not have been part of a traditional wedding in Scotland.

A handfasting ceremony, as shown in the films Braveheart, Outlander, and Game of Thrones, involved tying the couple’s hands together with ribbons or cloth—perhaps a tartan sash. However, this symbol of joining two to become one fails the historical authenticity test.

Prior to the Reformation, handfasting referred to a betrothal, similar to a modern-day engagement but done in a formal ceremony. The future husband gave a guarantee to the woman’s family as a price for his bride and later as payment of a dowry. The contract was sealed by a handshake, or joining of the hands. There is conflicting evidence as to whether the ceremony historically involved actually tying their hands together. The actual wedding took place sometime later.

Some 18th century writers claimed that handfasting referred to a trial marriage. Supposedly, the practice began in a small town where, at an annual fair, unmarried men and women would choose a partner and be joined in a handfasting ceremony. These trial marriages would last a year and a day, or until the next fair. At that time, the partners could either marry permanently or agree to separate and choose another partner.

The cloth wrapped around a couple's
hands in a handfasting ceremony
signifies two becoming one.

Regardless of the accuracy of the legends, couples today often use a cloth or ribbons to bind their hands together during the marriage ceremony.

Other Traditions

The Wedding Walk

A traditional Scottish wedding procession would take place from one end of the village to the other, led by one or more bagpipers. Villagers lined the street and cheered as the groom escorted the maid of honor behind the piper. The bride followed, escorted by the best man. Family members and villagers joined the procession to the kirk (church). Today, the bride is often piped down the aisle, and the “Highland Wedding” tune is still popular.

A wedding walk at a contemporary wedding.
(Alchemy Photo)

The skirl of the bagpipes was believed to ward off evil spirits and bring good luck to the marriage, as was crossing a river or stream twice during the processional.

Following the wedding, the piper led the procession to the reception, where he was paid with a dram of whiskey. This may have been one origin of “paying the piper.”

Kilts

A groom and his best man dressed
for a Scottish wedding

Of course, kilts were worn by the groom and other men attending the wedding. In ancient times, the kilt was a full-length garment whose upper half could be worn as a cloak draped over the shoulder, or brought up over the head as a hood. For a formal occasion such as a wedding, the tartan kilt today is shorter, and is worn with a “Bonnie Prince Charlie” jacket and waistcoat. The outfit is completed with white or black hose, gillie brogues, kilt pin, sgian dubh (a knife), black belt with buckle, formal sporran (leather pouch) with chain strap, wing collar shirt, black or colored bow tie, and a piece of lucky heather on the lapel.

Good Luck Symbols

Other traditions in various areas of Scotland were carried out to provide good luck to the couple:

• During the wedding walk and the grand march to the reception, the bride stepped out with her right foot first for good luck.
• A sixpence coin in the bride's left shoe promised prosperity.
• A sprig of white heather was tucked into the bride's bouquet as a good luck token in the Scottish Borders.
• The Oathing Stone: An oath taken over a stone was said to make the marriage binding. This evolved into sometimes binding the bride’s and groom’s hands together on top of a stone while saying the wedding vows.
• In some parts of Scotland, the couple carved their names into the bark of a tree or on a stone. Some such bridal stones still exist across Scotland today.

Scottish weddings included several other traditions, including events before the ceremony (such as hen’s night and stag night) and following the ceremony, with lively dancing at the reception.

But there’s no doubt that a historically accurate Scottish wedding would have included kilts and bagpipes. In Scotland, tradition remains important, and many of the traditions are symbolically important to a successful marriage.

What are your favorite wedding traditions?

Sources:
Historical Handfasting
Weddings — The Clan Buchanan
Scottish Wedding Traditions: The Tartan Ceremony | Irish Scottish Roots
Scottish Wedding Traditions - Historic UK

Multi-award-winning author Marie Wells Coutu finds beauty in surprising places, like undiscovered treasures, old houses, and gnarly trees. All three books in her Mended Vessels series, contemporary stories based on the lives of biblical women, have won awards in multiple contests. She is currently working on historical romances set in her native western Kentucky in the 1930s and ‘40s. An unpublished novel, Shifting Currents, placed second in the inspirational category of the nationally recognized Maggie Awards. Learn more at www.MarieWellsCoutu.com.

In the misty Scottish Highlands, Kenna MacLaren defies English law by playing bagpipes to keep alive the music and memories. When she finds a duke’s nephew wounded, she faces an impossible choice. Helping him could cost her everything, but abandoning him goes against her faith. As English soldiers hunt for rebels, Kenna must decide if she can trust this man with her family's safety--and her heart. Get your free copy of this new novelette, The Piper's Secret, here, when you sign up for Marie’s newsletter, or buy it on Kindle.

The Renaissance of Live Theater

By Kathy Kovach

The Renaissance, coming from the French word meaning rebirth, came about after the bleak Middle Ages that began around 476 AD. During this time, the Dark Ages clouded the social landscape. Arts and sciences were disregarded, while wars, famine, and the Black Death became the focus for 500 years.

Still, it was another three centuries until creative expression finally reemerged, kicking off the Renaissance period.

Portrait of Petrarch, circa 1376, the Father of Humanism

Florence, Italy was the first to attempt the restoration of beauty in many forms of creative endeavors, from paintings to poets. A cultural movement called Humanism, the belief that man is the center of his own universe, allowed one to explore and embrace one’s own achievements in science, education, classical arts, and literature.

Unfortunately, in terms of theater, their plays were merely a regurgitation of the Greek and Roman scripts of old. Nothing spectacular came out of Italy until a couple of centuries later.

Commedia dell’Arte

One form of performance that originated in Italy in 1545 was Commedia dell'Arte. Translated, it means Comedy of Art. The players performed off a particular plot, then improvised from there. It’s fun to think that improv theater existed, and that they traveled from town to town. This form became popular across Europe. It’s estimated that over 1000 short commedia scenarios exist today.

Queen Elizabeth I, circa 1575

Enter the Elizabethan era, 1558-1603, also known as the Golden Age of Renaissance. During this time of flourishing culture, Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth I loved the theater and often hosted performers at her royal residences. In 1574, the amateur performances that scrabbled to find spaces to entertain became legitimized due to the queen’s encouragement.

Stefano Erardi - Annunciation, 17th century painting

Morality plays became a staple during the 15th – 16th centuries. These were plays performed in churches depicting Biblical allegories centered around the social aspects of good versus evil, angels versus demons, and miracles. By the 1570s, religious plays were banned due to the English Reformation. However, performing artists were now free to explore their creativity and present entertainment with a variety of themes.

The Masque

By the 16th and early 17th centuries, another style of theater emerged among the nobility in England. The Masque was an extravaganza of music, dancing, singing, and acting. The elaborate sets were often designed by professional architects. Reminds me of the musical theater we enjoy today with one exception. Rather than stories and myths, each performance depicted the birth, wedding, death, etc. of a noble. They were only performed at court, which limited their exposure to the general population.

William Shakespeare

Playwrights Ben Jonson, Christopher Marlowe, and William Shakespeare were most notable in promoting this artform. During the age of strolling actors and open-air venues, their influence with the Queen prompted the construction of several permanent structures. The first such was built in 1576 and named—to no one’s surprise—The Theatre. This amphitheater was made of wood over a circular seating area and an open roof. The design paid tribute to the travelling troupes as the stage resembled that of a town square where the folk could gather round and watch the actors' antics. After the death of its builder, James Burbage in February 1597, The Theatre was dismantled by Burbage’s sons, Cuthbert and Richard, due to a dispute with the landlord. They then used the timbers to build Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre, also an amphitheater.

The original Globe Theatre burned down in 1613. The culprit? A cannon set off during a performance of Henry VIII, resulting in a fire that caught onto the thatch roof. Thankfully, there were no casualties. Kids today would say that play was lit. A new Globe Theatre was eventually built in 1997.

Unlike the constrictions of royal theater played only within the court, and morality plays in churches, the Elizabethan theaters allowed the commoner to partake as it only charged a penny to a sixpence to enter. And unlike the masque, the trimmed down scenery allowed the actors to become more intimate with the audience.

During this time, in 1576, an alternative emerged, private indoor theaters. The first was located in an abandoned monastery near St. Paul’s Cathedral. Converted by Richard Farrant, composer, choir master, and theatrical producer, it was renamed the Blackfriars Theatre and became home to the outstanding children’s theater of that era. It housed a smaller audience, and thus became more attractive to an elitist crowd. Wealthy and influential people attended, which affected the style of writing. The refined scripts became less bawdy and gritty than those enjoyed by the masses. Ben Jonson wrote many of these plays.

The Puritans

Live theater in its many forms was enjoyed up until the Puritan movement gained strength. By this time, Elizabeth I had died as of 1603, and Charles I sat on the throne. On September 2, 1642, after England’s First Civil War broke out, the Puritans, who had gained much influence, were instrumental in shutting down all forms of theater. They deemed them frivolous and incompatible with their religious views.

It wasn’t clear if the directive to shut down theaters was permanent or only meant to temporarily halt them through the tumultuous times that culminated with the trial and execution of Charles I. However, when the Second Civil War broke out just five years later, another, more severe decree stated that all actors be treated as rogues, any spectators be fined, and all theaters be demolished. This included the Globe Theatre in 1644.

King Charles II, reign 1660-1685

In 1660, a new king was in town, Charles II, and with him, the Restoration. The Monarchy was restored along with the Church of England. Arts and culture were now allowed to thrive as Charles lifted the theatrical ban. A new licensing system made allowances for two entities, the King’s Company and the Duke’s Company. New practices were established, including the acceptance of female performers, which had been strictly forbidden prior to 1642.

The next time I enjoy live theater, which, ironically, is today, (Water for Elephants at the Buell Theater in Denver,) I’ll remember all it had to go through to survive.

Titanic: Legacy of Betrayal

A TIME-SLIP NOVEL

A secret. A key. Much was buried on the Titanic, but now it's time for resurrection.

Follow two intertwining stories a century apart. 1912 - Matriarch Olive Stanford protects a secret after boarding the Titanic that must go to her grave. 2012 - Portland real estate agent Ember Keaton-Jones receives the key that will unlock the mystery of her past... and her distrusting heart.

To buy: Amazon

Kathleen E. Kovach is a Christian romance author published traditionally through Barbour Publishing, Inc. as well as indie. Kathleen and her husband, Jim, raised two sons while living the nomadic lifestyle for over twenty years in the Air Force. Now planted in northeast Colorado, she's a grandmother and a great-grandmother—though much too young for either. Kathleen has been a longstanding member of American Christian Fiction Writers. An award-winning author, she presents spiritual truths with a giggle, proving herself as one of God's peculiar people.

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The Mystery of the Red Bank Cherokee Gold

by Denise Farnsworth

I first learned of the legend of the Red Bank Cherokee gold while working as a historical interpreter, preparing a county summer camp for kids called History Mysteries. Later, I lived in the area which serves as the setting for my novel releasing this month. The names of creeks, rivers, and long-vanished Indian towns showed up on road signs and swirled in my memory, and eventually, The Maiden and the Mountie wove that golden legend into the story of the Cherokee Removal during the Georgia Gold Rush.

In 1829, a resident of Red Bank, John Wright, told General John Coffee that his town had been founded around 1784 on both sides of the Etowah River (then called the Hightower), six miles above the Cherokee town and mine of Sixes and two miles below Hickory Log. This location differs significantly from the one provided by Forest C. Wade in his 1969 book, Cry of the Eagle. Wade was born in 1914 in Cherokee County and learned trail sign and lore from his grandfather, a part-Cherokee and gold miner from the gold rush boomtown of Auraria. Wade claimed the Red Bank tribe lived a mile north of Hightower along Red Bank Creek (later known as Bannister Creek). Maps in the Cherokee Footprints three-book series by Rev. Charles Walker clearly show Red Bank Village in the location John Wright testified, although Red Bank Creek detailed off the Alabama Road is of interest. For my novel, I went with the former location as best recorded by historical record.

So how did the tiny Cherokee village of Red Bank come to figure into North Georgia legend?

Rising Fawn

In 1835, after the Treaty of New Echota signed away Cherokee land, it was said that Hightower-area Chief Rising Fawn called a meeting of over a dozen lower chiefs. Since the Cherokees would not be allowed to take the gold they had mined for many years with them on their forced journey west, Rising Fawn crafted a plan to hide it until the families or their descendants could return. He asked Jacob Scudder, a local tavern and mill owner and blood brother to the Cherokees, to become guardian of the treasure.

A secret tunnel would be constructed at night, two hundred feet long, with slab doors to conceal the square vaults of depositors. An overhead deadfall was devised to release a large stone by a trigger. Each tribe was to create a network of sign trails using ancient symbols on trees and rocks. Pull trees, knee trees, saddle and humped trees were also formed.

In addition to personal deposits, it was rumored that in January 1838, a shipment of gold bullion coming from the U.S. Treasury to the new Dahlonega mint on the Federal Road was diverted by five masked riders. The cargo of seven gold bars weighing fifty pounds each was never found…and may have been added to Rising Fawn’s tunnel.

Scudder was to take a tenth toll when the Cherokees returned to fetch their treasure.

Only the Red Bank chief protested the plan, not trusting a white sub-chief. Instead, the thirty or so families buried their gold in 25 locations along the hillsides of Bannister and Bruton/Brewton Creek and in a smaller tunnel. The clay pots of gold dust varied from six to 40 pounds.

According to legend passed down by O.P. Orr of Cumming, who spent time with his grandfather in Cherokee County in the early 1900s, a caravan of Cherokes camped in the Heardsville and Frogtown areas for about a month in the summer of 1909. They were said to be descendants of the Red Bank Cherokees returned to recover their wealth. We can hope it was so.

However…an April 3, 1935 Georgia court case, Groover v. Tippins, gives the most credence to the fact that there indeed might have been Cherokee treasure left in North Georgia that was not recovered. The appeal records the fact that 37 pounds of gold dust and bullion with a value of $15,540 was found forty feet south of the public road leading from Frogtown to Silver City and 250 yards southeast of a large rock “containing various markings and circles.” It was otherwise said that three boys (presumably, including the plaintiff, Roy Tippins) found the treasure on Farmer F. R. Groover’s land. Groover was allowed to keep the prize.

What is legend? What is truth? Those questions are enough to inspire a unique twist to a story.

Book Two of The Twenty-Niners of the Georgia Gold Rush, The Maiden and the Mountie, releases February 17. A marriage of necessity. A secret buried deep. In Georgia’s gold country, love may be the most dangerous treasure of all. https://www.amazon.com/Maiden-Mountie-Twenty-Niners-Georgia-Gold-ebook/dp/B0FNYFLLJ3/

Denise Farnsworth, formerly Denise Weimer, writes historical and contemporary romance mostly set in Georgia and also serves as a freelance editor and the Acquisitions & Editorial Liaison for Wild Heart Books. A wife and mother, she always pauses for coffee, chocolate, and old houses.

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The Amazing Writing Machine

By Suzanne Norquist

Gutenberg invented the printing press in 1440. It made mechanical printing possible. However, it took over four centuries for typewriters to become an office staple.

Many inventors are credited with developing early drawings or prototypes. Those ideas went through numerous iterations, each improving on the last, before the machine we know as the typewriter finally emerged. Then the Industrial Revolution brought them to the masses.

Francesco Rampazetto documented the first version of the typewriter in Italy in 1575. His machine pressed ink into paper. In 1714, Henry Mill filed a patent in England for something that could be a typewriter. It impressed inked letters one after another.

A very early version was the Columbia Typewriter. Instead of a keyboard, the user would turn a dial to the desired letter and press a button—a slow process. (Think label maker.) This kind of device found some commercial success among users who had limited printing needs.

People with visual impairment also found it helpful. It is said that in the 1810s, Italian Pellegrino Turri designed and built one of the first of this kind of typewriters for his blind friend Countess Carolina Fantoni da Fivizzano.

In 1829, William Austin Burt, an American, patented the Typographer. It operated on a similar concept but was bigger.

Numerous others worked on the idea, but the Hansen Writing Ball was the first commercially produced typing machine. Rev. Rasmus Malling-Hansen invented it in 1865, and it went into production in 1870 with several enhancements over the next ten years. The ball looked like a giant brass pincushion with fifty-two keys.

The typewriter we recognize today was invented in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, in 1868, and began production in 1873. Christopher Latham Sholes, Frank Haven Hall, Carlos Glidden, and Samuel W. Soule collaborated on the effort.

Sholes, the primary inventor, was a newspaper editor. He had spent time in a machine shop and liked to tinker. His prototype included random parts like piano wire, a telegraph key, and part of an old table. The user typed on piano keys to operate the machine.

Before production, the inventors made improvements. They created mechanisms to regulate the carriage's movement, hold the paper, and rotate the ink ribbon.

The resulting typewriters were beautiful with flowers painted on the front. They resembled sewing machines of the day.

The patent was sold to Remington Arms, which produced them in its sewing machine factories.

The QWERTY keyboard, the design used by computers and cell phones today, was one of the machine's main features. The name QWERTY is a list of the first six letters across. Rumor has it that this layout slowed down typists to prevent keys from jamming.

Others have tried to introduce different keyboard layouts. However, so many people learned touch typing with this arrangement that it was difficult for anyone else to break through.

Not everyone embraced this new technology. Typed documents seemed impersonal or could be easily forged. Typewriters were considered luxury items.

Early machines only typed in capital letters. One solution to this problem was to include two complete sets of keys, one uppercase and one lowercase. The Caligraph machine is an example.

The Remington 2 employed a “shift” key that literally shifted all the keys to a different location.

Another problem was that typists couldn’t see the document while typing. The paper was hidden below the line of sight. The Underwood typewriter remedied this problem by moving the roller up to where the typist could see it, and others followed suit.

Electric typewriters followed. And word processing machines. And computers. And cell phones. When I took typing class in the seventh grade, my dad said typing was only for secretaries. He had no idea how the skill would serve me in the computer age.

The typewriter was more than a machine. It also served the cause of women’s suffrage. Women could find work in offices and even own a business with its help. They aided novelists. Mark Twain was one of the first to use the “new-fangled writing machine.”

We’ve come a long way since the invention of the printing press and the development of the QWERTY keyboard. I still write longhand sometimes, but this blog wouldn’t exist without the machine.

***

 

Love In Bloom 4-in-one collection

“A Song for Rose” by Suzanne Norquist

Can a disillusioned tenor convince an aspiring soprano that there is more to music than fame?

“Holly & Ivy” by Mary Davis

At Christmastime, a young woman accompanies her impetuous younger sister on her trip across the country to be a mail-order bride and loses her heart to a gallant stranger.

“Periwinkle in the Park” by Kathleen E. Kovach

A female hiking guide, who is helping to commission a national park, runs into conflict with a mountain man determined to keep the government off his land.

“A Beauty in a Tansy”

Two adjacent store owners are drawn to each other, but their older relatives provide obstacles to their ever becoming close.

Republished from Bouquet of Brides

Buy links: https://books2read.com/u/bOOx8K

https://www.amazon.com/Love-Bloom-Mary-Davis/dp/B0FPLFYCXR/

 

 

Suzanne Norquist is the author of two novellas. Everything fascinates her. She has worked as a chemist, professor, financial analyst, and even earned a doctorate in economics. Research feeds her curiosity, and she shares the adventure with her readers. She lives in New Mexico with her mining engineer husband and has two grown children. When not writing, she explores the mountains, hikes, and attends kickboxing class.

 

Keeping Atlantic Ocean Barrier Islands Safe

     _By Tiffany Amber Stockton

From lighthouse keepers to childhood stories, here's a look at the Assateague Lighthouse through the lens of history and coastal life.

A Look Beyond the Lighthouse

When I was a little girl, my parents would take us down to Chincoteague to visit Pop-Pop who owned a barbershop on the island. Sitting in his apartment above the shop, perched on his knees alongside my older brother, I learned early that history and imagination often shared the same chair.

Pop-Pop was a master storyteller. The ocean was always involved, and so were the many storms. Somehow, in every single tale, he was the hero who came to rescue us. Looking back now, he wouldn't have had it any other way.

We’d build the stories together—layer by layer—until they became grand adventures. In one of my favorites, we were lost at sea in a small boat, waves crashing around us, when Pop-Pop appeared as the lighthouse keeper, high above the water, making sure the light shone bright enough to guide us safely home.

And that was my first introduction to the famous lighthouse on the barrier island across the inlet.

The Assateague Lighthouse has stood watch since 1833, built to guide ships past the dangerous shoals off the Virginia coast, after shipwrecks piled up along the coastline. Located halfway between the Delaware Bay and the Chesapeake Bay, its red-and-white bands are unmistakable, and you can see them today from many parts of Chincoteague. Now, it's a place people climb for the view, but at one time, it was a place where people lived and a beacon that saved lives.

One of those people was David Watson, the lighthouse’s first keeper. Watson and his family moved into the lighthouse and the attached home shortly after construction completed. At that time, the lighthouse consisted solely of red brick. Every evening, the eleven oil lamps set in fourteen-inch reflectors had to be lit. Every morning, they had to be extinguished, cleaned, and prepared again. Weather didn’t matter. Illness didn’t matter. Those lights could not fail.

Keeper logs and service records tell us the facts of the lighthouse—dates, duties, years of service—but they leave out the quieter truths. Watson's wife lived that life alongside him. Lighthouse wives often acted as unofficial assistants, managing households in isolation, raising children far from neighbors, and stepping in when their husbands were sick or away. Other than a small village to the northeast, the keepers remained quite isolated.

I imagine evenings after the lights were set, the tower humming faintly with wind. Children asleep. A simple meal shared. Conversations about storms, supplies, or the long stretch of winter ahead. The bridge connecting Assateague to Chincoteague wasn't built until 1962. That's a lot of years to live so cut off from everyday life with friends and other people.

The lighthouse remained active until 1933, when it was decommissioned and replaced by automated aids powered by electricity. When I look at it now, I don’t just see brick and iron. I see my grandfather’s stories. I see keeper families like the Watsons, living ordinary lives in extraordinary circumstances. I see a steady light meant to guide others home.

Maybe that’s why Pop-Pop chose that role for himself in our make-believe adventures. Because a lighthouse keeper doesn’t conquer the sea. He simply stays where he’s supposed to be, doing his job, night after night, so others can find their way.

NOW IT'S YOUR TURN:

* How do you think lighthouse life shaped marriages and families compared to mainland communities?

* What details of everyday life do you wish historical records preserved more often?

* Are there stories from your childhood where imagination and family history blended together?

Leave answers to these questions or any comments on the post below.

** This note is for our email readers. Please do not reply via email with any comments. View the blog online and scroll down to the comments section.

Come back on the 9th of each month for my next foray into historical tidbits to share.

---

BIO

Tiffany Amber Stockton has embellished stories since childhood, thanks to a very active imagination and notations of talking entirely too much. Honing those skills led her to careers as an award-winning and best-selling author and speaker, while also working as a professional copywriter/copyeditor. She loves to share life-changing products and ideas with others to help them get rooted in truth and live a life of purpose.

Currently, she lives with her husband and fellow author, Stuart Vaughn Stockton, along with their two children, two dogs, and five cats in southeastern Kentucky. In her 20+ years as a professional writer, she has sold twenty-six (26) books so far and has agent representation with Tamela Murray of the Steve Laube Agency. You can find her on Facebook and GoodReads.

John Finn, A Hard Man to Kill

image by @zapomicron, deposit photos

John William Finn was awarded the very first Medal of Honor during World War II, and for his actions he earned the nickname “A Hard Man to Kill.” At age ninety-nine, he stood (with the aid of walking sticks) beside President Obama as a wreath was laid at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. He lived to be one hundred years old, proving his nickname to be fitting.

But what did he do during the attack at Pearl Harbor?

Finn talked about that day in interviews that can still be found on YouTube. In one, he recalled the moment he suddenly realized what was happening.

“The war is now there, right now. One minute I’m warm in bed with a pretty blonde” (his wife) “and the next minute I’m down there.”

Finn was not stationed at Pearl Harbor itself. Instead, he was at Kaneohe Bay, a base on the northeast side of Oahu, across a narrow stretch of the island from Pearl Harbor. In the fog of war, it is not absolutely certain that Kaneohe Bay was hit before Pearl Harbor proper, though many believe it was. At the very least, it was struck in the first wave.

He mentioned that he and his wife had only recently moved into their new quarters and had not yet put up curtains. That meant he saw a plane flash past his window. Instantly, his mind began working. By this point, he had already been in the Navy for years, and most of his assignments had involved working around planes.

He saw the plane and knew immediately that it was not a PBY—the planes used by his squadron. His first thought was practical. "It’s Sunday. Who is flying low over the quarters and not following the flight pattern? Then he noticed the planes were single-engine. And that the machine guns were firing too slowly." (Japanese aircraft machine guns fired at a slower rate than American ones.)

A sailor’s wife pounded on his door and told him he was wanted down at the hangar.

image from deposit photos

Finn jumped into his old Ford, but did not immediately speed. The posted speed limit on base was twenty miles per hour. About halfway around a hill, he heard a plane roaring up behind him. He glanced over his shoulder and saw the red “meatballs” on the wings. It was a Japanese plane.

“I threw that old Ford into second gear,” he said, “and from then on I broke every speed law that was ever set.”

Finn was a Chief Petty Officer, with about thirty-five men under his command. When he arrived at the armory, two of his men were already manning machine guns. He also realized that depth charges, each containing around five hundred pounds of TNT, were stored in the building. He immediately ordered one of his men to get those depth charges out of the building. Then he went out to take over the .50-caliber machine gun.

When describing the events later, Finn said simply that he dragged the machine gun away from the hangar so he could see over it. He did not dwell on the fact that this placed him completely out in the open, with no cover. He manned that position for the next two and a half hours.

When asked if he shot down any planes, he laughed and said, “You can’t shoot down a plane with a .50-cal.”

When asked whether he hit the first plane he saw, he replied, “I’d be a liar if I said I hit it…but I’d be the worst shot in the world if I didn’t hit some of them.”

Finn later said he suffered 21 shrapnel wounds. His Medal of Honor citation states that he was “painfully wounded many times,” and some sources also note gunshot wounds to his shoulder and foot, though in this particular interview he did not mention those injuries. Despite his wounds, he continued to command his men. Only when the attack was over, and under direct orders, did he leave his post. He did not report to sick bay until the following day and spent the next two and a half weeks there recovering.

Finn summed up his actions this way, “My deed was inconsequential the way I see it. Some of the guys, you just cannot believe what they did.”

Pearl Harbor is often remembered as a single catastrophic morning, but it was experienced in thousands of fiercely individual moments. John Finn’s was just one of them.

There is a television show I enjoy called Major Dad. In one episode, a character asks, “So the Marines reward stubborn officers?”

The reply: “They name ships after them.”

image by photowrzesien, deposit photos

It is fitting, then, that the modern U.S. Navy includes the USS John Finn.

There were many men at Pearl Harbor, and many left their stories behind. If you’d like to read another account by a Pearl Harbor veteran—and hear how a single postcard shut down an entire post office—you can learn more here.

Women Homesteaders: Polly Mulhollin by Izzy James

 Land ownership has fed the imagination of many a heart. When tamed, acreage provides a means to live and thrive. Left untamed it feeds dreams. 

commons.wikimedia.org

Women have never been immune to the siren song of adventure. In the course of my research I have come across the stories of many of them. No matter what timeframe you read about you will find women breaking the molds we have been taught to believe. From land grants of the colonial times to the more modern Homestead Act, women actively pursued dreams of land ownership. Sometimes they were alone, often they came with brothers, other family members, and even friends.

Rebecca Boone  https://bloximages.newyork1.vip.townnews.com/journalpatriot.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/c/34/c34dfc8c-050c-5f82-8776-7a9db3dfbc2a/63b46a531630f.image.jpg

Land in colonial Virginia was doled out by the Crown through men like Lord Fairfax or the Royal Governor. Parcels of land were granted to pilgrims willing to create farms and pay the quitrent. A quitrent was similar to a tax on the land that was due yearly. 

Sir William Gooch, Governor of Virginia 1727-1749

https://www.pinterest.se/pin/225039312603056136/

A story is told of a young Irish indentured servant who came to the Virginia colony in the 1740s. After meeting the conditions of her contract she blazed out on her own into the wilderness of the Shenandoah Valley. Her understanding was that if she placed a cabin on a piece of land the one hundred acres surrounding it would be hers in a “cabin claim”. 

https://www.britannica.com/place/Appalachian-National-Scenic-Trail

Polly Mulhollin did this thirty times. 

When the heir of Benjamin Borden, Sr. came to provide deeds to his father’s settlers he reportedly found Miss Mulhollin and her cabins. History is silent as to whether he honored her claims with deeds or not. What is reported is that she married and her descendants still live near the Wilderness Road. 

I discovered Polly’s story when researching for my Wilderness Road series. Polly’s example is inspirational to Beti, who is venturing out for a future in Kentucky.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CS4GPDQY/

About The Road Home: The Wilderness Road Book 1

A Cinderella story about a pirate's daughter on the Wilderness Road to Kentucky.

Beti Boatman, pirate's daughter, long dreamed of traveling to a place where no one knew her name. When looters showed up on the day she buried her father her choice was made. Leave her home or allow the only two people in the world she loves to live in constant danger.

When Zeke and what's left of his regiment organized a wagon train west, they did not expect to encounter a woman traveling alone. Beti insists she doesn't need his help, but Zeke knows better and the strong need to protect her runs deep. Things get complicated when looters track Beti down. And emissaries from her mother’s country claim Beti is a real princess. Now Beti must choose: the hardships in Kentucky or a throne.

Izzy James lives in the traces of history in coastal Virginia with her fabulous husband in a house brimming with books. Born with a traveling bone and an itch to knit. Izzy travels to every location where her books take place, from Williamsburg to Wyoming, popping in yarn stores along the way.

Connect with Izzy through her website at izzyjamesauthor.com and sign up for her monthly newsletter.

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Resources: The Wilderness Road, Robert L. Kincaid, Bobbs-Merrill Company Publishers, Copyright 1947; Kessinger's Legacy Reprints Edition