Colonial Music and Dance

by Denise Weimer

One of the ways I’ve always enjoyed creating period setting in my historical novels is through the use of music and dance. A song can capture any mood, including that of an era or area. Most recently, I've focused on the Colonial years in my writing.

During the American Revolution, Colonists enjoyed tunes they’d brought over from their native countries. Some of them, like “Lavender’s Blue” (English, printed 1670s-80s), “The Willow Tree” (a much older tune printed in Ancient and Modern Scottish Songs, 1776), “Barbara Allen” (British or Scottish) and “The Girl I Left Behind Me” (English fife tune long known but popularized in America during the Revolution) traced back a hundred years or more. "Johnny Has Gone For a Soldier," based on the Irish folk song "Shule Aroon," became popular during the Revolution as well.

Colonists also enjoyed the music from stage musicals like The Beggar’s Opera, performed in London as early as 1728 and in the Colonies by 1750, taking home printed copies to play and sing.

The turbulent emotions of the Revolution also generated new music, like “The Rich Lady Over the Sea,” born of taxation resentment. “My Days Have Been So Wondrous Free” became the first song penned by an American, Francis Hopkinson of Philadelphia, in 1759. The verses were included in a 1788 collection of songs for his personal friend, George Washington. Hopkinson signed the Declaration of Independence for New Jersey and helped design the American flag.

Any article on American Revolution-period music would be remiss without mention of “Yankee Doodle.” The song was said to have been written by a British Army surgeon as a sarcastic critique of the motley American troops during the French and Indian War. Those troops adopted it as their own. Origins of the American version remain unclear. Some attribute it to Richard Schukburgh of New York in 1755, but apparently, proof is lacking. Rumor also has it that during the surrender of Lord Cornwallis at Yorktown, the British band played “The World Turned Upside Down,” while the Americans played “Yankee Doodle.”

What about dancing of the time period? If the guests were attending a formal ball, their arrival around seven p.m. would be greeted with light refreshments. Minuets began every ball and were arranged from the highest ranking couple in the room to lowest, danced in silence where the man led the dance by signaling his partner with arm movements and intense eye contact. One couple would dance while the others watched. Jigs and hornpipes from France were also popular. These included personal routines with step combinations and floor patterns adapted to the skills of a soloist or two dancers for jigs. Allemandes, rigadoons, and gavottes taught at dancing schools were choreographed to display skill. A seated supper would commence at ten. By midnight, the dancing would resume. At five a.m, the last weary guests would leave.

More casual dances included Scottish reels and country dances with couples creating long lines facing each other, danced with two or three couples at a time, then progressing, moving down the line and back up, dancing with every couple on the floor twice. The top couple often chose the dance and recited the figures.

Denise Weimer writes historical and contemporary romance from her home in North Georgia and also serves as a freelance editor and the Acquisitions & Editorial Liaison for Wild Heart Books. A mother of two young adult daughters, she always pauses for coffee, chocolate, and old houses.

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Frontier Frolics

by Denise Weimer

Hello from North Georgia! I’ve taken some time off blogging since my last historical release. Now that I have a new four-book series, Scouts of the Georgia Frontier, which will come out with Wild Heart Books starting in September, followed by a Civil War novel with Barbour next May, I’m back in the saddle here at HHH and pleased to reconnect with historical readers.

What’s more fun to jump in with than the topic of frontier frolics? Settlers used events such as cabin raisings, log rollings, corn shuckings, and weddings as rare times to come together and celebrate the results of hard work and the growth of families.

When a man wanted to build a house, he cut logs, hauled them to the home site, peeled the bark off with a draw knife, and invited neighbors for a good dinner and cabin raising. At times, neighbors would spend the night prior for an early start.

According to The Early History of Jackson County, Georgia, published in 1914 by G.J.N. Wilson, a similar event was a log rolling, which occurred when forest was cleared for planting. First, the trees were belted or “deadened,” sawn partway through near the base so they would decay and fall. In the winter or spring, they were cut. Neighbors came to pile and burn the logs. Feats of strength—including jumping, running, throwing, and wrestling—were the order of the day. The ladies would quilt in the cabin, then wrap their creation around the man of the house and seat him at the table for dinner, as depicted in my upcoming release.

Around eight p.m., the fiddler would tune up. Small bronze pitchers of metheglin—water, honey, and spice—or cane skimmings beer were passed around. Eight men would open the dancing in a set called the rigadoon. Some of steps included the double shuffle, jump Jim Crow, cut the pigeon wing, and hop over the moon. Wouldn’t you love to see those? Next, the laeden, or leader, would illustrate every step of the evening. Then it was time for reels, jigs, and the Georgia Gallop, which continued until even the strongest dancers were exhausted. Mid-1800s frolics would include dances such as the Soldier's Joy, Virginia Reel, various quadrilles, polka, and waltz.

Most of us are familiar with shuckings, which occurred in the early fall after the corn harvest. These events would often have two captains over competing teams to see which could shuck their pile of corn the fastest. Settlers might sing as they worked or catch up on the latest gossip. Men or boys who found red ears of corn were entitled to a kiss from the gal of their choosing, as happens in book three in my series.

At southern frontier weddings, settlers sometimes “ran up” the groom. About a mile from the bride’s home, the groom would be waylaid by a dozen or more horsemen with cow whips, rifles, and pistols. They would rush in behind him, lashing the horses to a full-speed race that ended at the bride’s door.

These events provided a break from the constant push for survival and helped establish new communities. You can imagine how eagerly anticipated they would be! And how much fun I have including them in my stories.

You can now pre-order book one, A Counterfeit Betrothal:

At the farthest Georgia outpost this side of hostile Creek Territory, Jared Lockridge serves his country as a scout to redeem his father’s botched heritage. Then he comes across a burning cabin and a traumatized woman just widowed by a fatal shot. Lame in one foot, Esther has always known she is secondhand goods, but the gentle carpenter-turned-scout draws out her heart…even though his is already pledged to another. His family’s love offers hope even as violence erupts along the frontier—and Jared’s investigation into local incidents brings danger to their doorstep.

https://www.amazon.com/Counterfeit-Betrothal-Scouts-Georgia-Frontier-ebook/dp/B0C8ZP46QD/

Denise Weimer writes historical and contemporary romance from her home in North Georgia and serves as a freelance editor and the Acquisitions & Editorial Liaison for Wild Heart Books. A wife and mother of two daughters, she always pauses for coffee, chocolate, and old houses. Connect here:

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