The apple orchard and cider traditions of my old New England families
were passed down through the generations. The same traditions that Tasha
Tudor drew and painted.
Apples are a frequent subject in Tasha Tudor's illustrations. They easily and beautifully show and fit in with the loveliness that she is known for and the celebration of Autumn where work goes hand in hand with play.
We have included throughout this post descriptions of some of her books with apples.
This is post is Part Two of "Old New England Traditions that Tasha Tudor Illustrated!, Apples, Baking, Gardens, Corgyn and Other Old Fashioned Delights!".
(Many of our descriptions of apples in Tasha's illustrations have been posted before on our Corgyncombe Courant blog in previous posts.)
Elinor has gathered items to make an apple treat.
Lovely Elinor is a reproduction of a wooden doll from the late 1600s.
She and her wonderful clothing were made by Sonia Krause.
In the old days names were often spelled multiple ways. We have several direct ancestors named various spellings of Eleanor/Elinor. My 8th great grandmother Eleanor Smith was the wife of Eleazer Arnold, of Providence, Rhode Island.
The Eleazer Arnold house built ca 1693 in Lincoln, Rhode Island, near Providence.
My 8th great grandparents Eleazer and Eleanor Arnold lived in this house.
The house and its wonderful stone chimney hark back to the architecture of old England, where so many of my ancestors hailed from before settling in New England.
How marvelous it would have been to be greeted at the door by my 8th great grandparents Eleazer and Eleanor Arnold, and bid to come and sit by the fireplace and warm myself whilst hearing tales of the early settlement of Rhode Island, things that were passed down through the generations. Eleazer Arnold's inventory lists that he had a "spining wheale", "27 1/2 pound of wool", and "Nineteene sheepe". How I would have enjoyed spinning in front of the fire with my kindred folk, perhaps sharing the pleasant task of spinning, taking turns at the wheel with my 7th great grandmother Elizabeth. To take part in the preparation of a meal at the old family fireplace would have been most joyful!
Such are some of the thoughts that come to mind when e'er I visit an old ancestral home.
We have also included some of the references to apples, orchards, cider
and cider mills in the wills and inventories of my direct line
ancestors. In these old documents the spelling of words is often
different than today. For instance, cider is sometimes spelled cyder or
sider. We have retained the original spelling of items.
A trug full of apples.
The huge stone chimney that formed much of the end of the house is known as a stone-ender and is unique to Rhode Island.
Eleazer Arnold house.
Elinor has tea.
Another Elinor in my family was my 7th great grandmother Elinor Whitney who married Samuel Shepard.
A hogshead was a large wooden barrel.
Tasha Tudor wrote to us:
"That fine red envelope full of photographs and the pages of Family names, was no end impressive."
"Have fun with your genealogical researches. What fun!!"
A reproduction Queen Anne doll, charming Augusta and her clothing were made by Sonia Krause.
All the dolls at Corgyncombe like to gather flowers.
On the stand is a bowl of apples and a bouquet of asters, forget-me-nots and goldenrod.
Stephen Smith Jr., listed in the 1778 tax list, was the great grandson of Eleazer and Eleanor (Smith) Arnold.
Augusta sitting by the fire with a cup of tea.
Apple tree in blossom at Corgyncombe
With an abundance of Astrachan apples, I made an Apple Cake and applesauce. The White Mountain Apple Parer, Corer, and Slicer was used to peel, core, and slice the apples. Any bad spots are then cut out. The apples grown at Corgyncombe Cottage are all organic.
Peeling apples for a pie using the White Mountain Apple Parer, Corer, and Slicer.
Lydia Corgi chewing on a tasty apple peel.
For the Apple Cake I used the receipt for Blueberry Coffee Cake in "The Tasha Tudor Cookbook". After the apples were peeled, cored, and sliced, I cut up the apple slices more and substituted the uncooked apples for the blueberries originally in the receipt. Receipt is an old fashioned term for recipe. The applesauce was made by putting the sliced apples in a kettle with half an inch of water and some sugar and letting them cook down but still having some apple chunks left.
To share in our apple delights we invited a friend. She arrived right in time for milking, at the start of a sudden, windy rain shower. I grabbed my milking pail and other necessaries and ran out and motioned to my friend to come to the barn quickly, "We're going milking." The old barn at Corgyncombe, that we call "The Ark", was a safe haven from the howling wind, rain, and thunder. With barn chores accomplished, goat kiddles Lucy and Louisa May trotted out to be admired, the storm had ceased, and all returned to the house to strain the milk. Of course our friend wanted to try a nice, warm glass of Nubian Goat Carmella Lucille's good milk to accompany the Apple cake. Whilst enjoying some applesauce, Sarah read aloud an intriguing story we hope to share more about in the future. The sun came out, the sky was blue, and we had such fun sharing common interests, such as books, art, dolls, and genealogy, on such a lovely day!
An action photograph of the White Mountain Apple Parer, Corer, and Slicer. The peels were just whizzing off!
Hitty looks peaceful and content at the window in the Quaker Meetinghouse at Old Sturbridge Village. Hitty likes to be called Hitty Content when she is wearing Quaker dress, as above. Tillie Tinkham, the seamstress mouse at Corgyncombe, made Hitty's Quaker outfit.
Several of our ancestors were Quaker, including my 4th great grandmother who was named Content Hoag.
The Oblong was a long, narrow strip of land whose ownership was disputed between Connecticut and New York. In this long, narrow strip, my Quaker families settled and lived.
"The History of Dutchess County, New York" edited by Frank Hasbrouck, published 1909, says the following: "The Oblong Patent, covering a narrow strip along the east borders of Dutchess, Putnam and Westchester counties, was ceded to the State of New York by Connecticut, May 14, 1731."
The Mayflower was the ship that brought the Pilgrims to America in 1620. I descend from several Mayflower passengers.
Apples from Diane's favorite tree at The Corgyncombe Orchard.
In Memory of Mr. John King who died April ye 1744 in his 63 year.
In Memory of Mrs. Sarah widow, Relict of Mr. John King, Who died Jan'y 1st 1762 in ye 71st Year of her age.
Tasha Tudor illustrated "A Brighter Garden" a collection of poetry by Emily Dickinson. We named our Corgi Emily after my great great grandmother Emily Jane (Jones) Shepard and Emily (Jones) Shepard's cousin Emily Elizabeth Dickinson, as well as Emily Dickinson's mother Emily (Norcross) Dickinson. Tasha did such lovely illustrations in "A Brighter Garden".
There is an illustration in the book that has a lady wearing a bonnet and shawl, holding a basket of apples with her faithful dog alongside, pausing to enjoy the Autumnal beauty.
Another illustration accompanying a poem with mention of a winter apple tree, shows the birds amongst the apples on and below the snow covered tree.
In "Take Joy!, The Tasha Tudor Christmas Book", Tasha illustrated several bowls of apples, there are apples amongst the Christmas foods, and apples add a festive look to the mantel at Christmastide.
In "The Tasha Tudor Cookbook", at the beginning of the Christmas Treats chapter, there are apples, apple peelings, a rolling pin, and an apple pie illustrated by Tasha at the bottom of the page. On the first page of the "Breads and Muffins" chapter, are apples in a huge copper kettle.
Apples are in each corner of the border of the illustration of a little girl and a corgi looking in the cupboard full of canned goods and preserves, with a large basket of apples to one side. There are apples scattered in various other illustrations.
There is a Tasha Tudor illustration of children in the butt'ry that appears in "The Tasha Tudor Cookbook" and the book "Take Joy!". It is such a delightful scene with so many of our favorite things. There are apples in bushel baskets amongst the goods of a well stocked pantry at Christmas time.
The Corgyncombe Butt'ry holds many of our favorite things, yellowware, stoneware, tinware, jams, jellies, canned goods, baked goods, potatoes, squash, and apples!
By the lamplight of my favorite old oil lamp.
An apple picking illustration from "Kitty Darling Chatterbox"
"A mellow October day, when the air was full of an exhilarating freshness which made the spirits rise, and the blood dance healthily in the veins. The old orchard wore its holiday attire; golden-rod and asters fringed the mossy walls; grasshoppers skipped briskly in the sere grass, and crickets chirped like fairy pipers at a feast. Squirrels were busy with their small harvesting, birds twittered their adieux from the alders in the lane, and every tree stood ready to send down its shower of red or yellow apples at the first shake. Everybody was there, - everybody laughed and sang, climbed up and tumbled down; everybody declared that there never had been such a perfect day or such a jolly set to enjoy it, - and every one gave themselves up to the simple pleasures of the hour as freely as if there were no such things as care or sorrow in the world." - from "Little Women" by Louisa May Alcott
My 5th great grandfather was 1st cousin to Louisa May Alcott's great grandfather Samuel May.
"First Poems of Childhood", illustrated by Tasha Tudor, has a boy carrying a large basket of apples and, on another page, a boy carrying two pails of apples. Tasha's illustration accompanying the poem "Thanksgiving Day" shows an abundance of Thanksgiving food, including apples.
In "A Child's Garden of Verses", written by Robert Louis Stevenson and illustrated by Tasha Tudor, 1947 version, on the first page of "The Child Alone" section, is a boy in an apple tree, surrounded by an oval of apples and leaves.
In the book "And It Was So", Tasha Tudor illustrated a family gathering apples beneath a tree.
Apples appear in the borders of three pages in "Give Us This Day, The Lord's Prayer" illustrated by Tasha Tudor. In one illustration, a girl and boy, and their corgi sit under a tree with a view of a New England church and graveyard and the hills beyond.
A trug and pewter bowl full of apples and a goblet full of cider.
Queen Anne and the apothecary cupboard with a multitude of drawers.
Under the cloche, Dr. Cupid Corgi wears the wings of a dove at the Herbary at Corgyncombe!
Our apples from our favorite apple tree. I found this old basket near
Tasha's in Vermont. It has the initials W.D. and is dated 1894.
The sweetest little Izannah inspired doll made by talented dollmaker Elaine McNally. The Kitty is staying close to her as she picks chamomile from the Corgyncombe Herb garden.
Enjoying chamomile tea with her kitten by the woodstove.
The year balloon rides were added to the annual Corgyncombe Forget-Me-Not Fair!
What a sensation!
In Tasha Tudor's "The Great Corgiville Kidnapping" Caleb Corgi is searching for Babe the Rooster who has been kidnapped by Hiram Racky and his raccoon gang. Caleb found Babe hidden in the basket of a balloon and they escaped from the nasty captors by cutting the ropes and flying away in the balloon. Eventually, as the balloon is over Woodstock, Connecticut, they parachute out of the balloon. Caleb lands on the roof of Appletree and Emlyn's warehouse and is met by his friend, corgi Piper Harvey. Babe lands and is tangled up with his parachute in an apple tree.
Several of our direct line ancestors settled in Woodstock, Connecticut, including Bowen, Child, Harris, Lyon, May, Holbrook, Morris, Leavens, Peake, Shepard and Cady.
Here is a link to: our cousin James Jones Sawyer's 1859 painting of a view overlooking Woodstock Hill, Connecticut
My 5th great grandparents John Jones and Sarah (Sawyer) Jones of Pomfret, Connecticut were the great grandparents of painter James Jones Sawyer. Their daughter Sarah Jones married her cousin James Sawyer and they were James Jones Sawyer's grandparents.
Here is a link to: another painting (1858) by our cousin James Jones Sawyer, of a farm in Pomfret, Connecticut
The beautiful painting shows the New England farm amongst the hills with sheep, cows, a hay wagon, gardens, and stone walls. There is even a graveyard.
Nanny Nettie-Kin does not dare let Bobby in the Balloon without her to keep a hand on him.
At the Corgyncombe Forget-Me-Not Fair, Hitty Maple's Booth sold pancakes, maple syrup, old fashioned doughnuts and apple cider.
Quackenbush excitedly quacks and flaps his wings and hops atop the bench and indicates that pancakes and doughnuts are amongst his favorite things! He is so happy to bring Dilley Dibble Dabble to visit this booth! Quackenbush and Dilley Dibble Dabble have been featured at the Corgyncombe Courant for years.
In Tasha Tudor's illustrations of September in "A Time to Keep", apples and purple asters border the doll fair, which shows several dolls and stuffed animals that attend the fair. October features cider pressing with baskets of apples and jugs, and bobbing for apples.
Nanny Nettie-Kin pressing apples for cider in our beautiful ancestral Vermont with the mountains in Autumnal splendor! Nanny Nettie-Kin reminds us a lot of Tasha Tudor.
Hitty and little Tasha Corgi are helping. Tasha Corgi peeks around the basket of apples to keep an eye on the rooster and goose.
Tasha Corgi was named after Tasha Tudor, and Tasha Tudor was very honored and declared herself to be Tasha Corgi's Godmother.
"Corgiville Fair" written and illustrated by Tasha Tudor.
What a delight the book is with the lovely, detailed paintings and the story where Tasha's wonderful sense of humor comes shining through. Tasha Corgi stands in front. "Corgiville Fair" is amongst the all time favorites at the Corgyncombe Library. It is some of Tasha's best work! If you haven't seen "Corgiville Fair" you are missing out!
Tasha Tudor illustrated delightfully festive fairs in her books "Corgiville Fair", "A Time to Keep", "All for Love", and "The County Fair". In "Corgiville Fair", Tasha illustrated wagon loads of baskets of apples arriving at the fair. Before the goat race, Caleb Corgi longed for some of the good fair foods as he smelled apple pie.
Hitty Maple makes and sells pancakes at her booth at the Corgyncombe Forget-Me-Not Fair!
How cute she is! The beverage cooler holds refreshing Corgyncombe Apple Cider!
Tasha Tudor was in our thoughts as we photographed the Dolls and critters at the Corgyncombe Forget-Me-Not Fair!
