Traitor Tuesday ~ Celebrating 250 Years of the United States as a Separate Nation: Button Gwinnett, A Signer of the Declaration of Independence, Who Died in a Duel

Posted on July 28, 2026 by Regina Jeffers

Button Gwinnett was a Gloucester, England, born signer of the Declaration of Independence. At the time of the American Revolution he was a 41 years old merchant and plantation owner. He was the father of three. Tragically, he died before viewing what he helped to create, for he passed in May 1777.

Button Gwinnett was one of three Georgia signers of the Declaration of Independence. He served in Georgia’s colonial legislature in the Second Continental Congress, and as president of Georgia’s Revolutionary Council of Safety. Born in April 1735 in Down Hatherly, Gloucestershire, England (baptized in Gloucester in 1735), the son of Anne and the Reverend Samuel Gwinnett, Button Gwinnett came to America, first briefly residing in Charleston, South Carolina, a route frequently traveled by Georgia settlers in the 1760’s, but in 1765, Gwinnett acquired a large tract of land in Savannah, Georgia.While still in England (in 1757), he married and began a career in trading. Ann Bourne presented him three children—Amelia, Ann, and Elizabeth Ann. Unfortunately in his new American venture, he knew little success in farming or business, but found a footing in the revolutionary politics of his adopted colony.

Gwinnett arrived in Savannah in 1765 and became a merchant, but soon became disillusioned while running a store in town. After this venture failed, he purchased St. Catherine’s Island and set himself up as a planter. When Gwinnett purchased the island (actually a thirty-six sq. mile tract of land including St. Catherine’s) he tried to raise cattle and farm with limited success. He became active in local politics, winning election to the Commons House of Assembly in 1769. His politics were deeply influenced by his contempt for the wealthy and powerful city Whigs of Savannah. Gwinnett’s political base of country Whigs consisted of less prosperous coastal dwellers like himself and backcountry farmers. By 1773 Gwinnett was again in financial straits; he sold most of his personal property and possessions and withdrew from the political scene.

His lack of success at farming forced Gwinnett to withdraw from politics and he struggled to pay off his debt. St. Catherine’s was sold to the highest bidder along with other personal property. Still an active member in both the community of Sunbury and St. John’s Parish, Gwinnett came in contact with Lyman Hall, the Midway-based physician who would heavily influence Gwinnett’s Radical mindset. At first Gwinnett was uncommitted to the cause of the Patriots, but by 1774 he became an outspoken Radical. Gwinnett was present at the meeting at Peter Tondee’s Tavern in Savannah on 24 July 1774 that debated the right of England to impose the “Intolerable Acts” on the colonies.

The Revolutionary crisis brought him back into politics. Over the next two years Gwinnett rose quickly and played a pivotal role in Georgia politics, although he was disliked by a number of factions within the state. When Lyman Hall journeyed to the Second Continental Congress, Gwinnett became the de facto leader of the radical faction. Button saw two enemies to battle: England and the so-called “city party,” a more conservative element of the radicals that represented the wealthier merchants and shipping interests in Savannah including Lachlan McIntosh and his brother George. Gwinnett rallied the opponents of the Christ Church Parish–led Whig Party, which until that time had dominated the leadership in the emerging dispute with the British crown.

On 23 January 1777, South Carolina representatives made public a long-whispered rumor — South Carolina wanted to annex the state of Georgia for the common welfare of both states. Gwinnett organized and led the opposition to the proposal, voting it down in the Assembly. It then became apparent that merely voting down the proposal was not enough. Georgia needed a constitution, not the Rules and Regulations it had been governed under for almost a year.

Borrowing heavily from John Adams, Gwinnett and others drew up the state constitution and presented it to the assembly, which adopted it on 5 February 1777. One of the most critical of the new state constitution was Lachlan McIntosh, who complained that it gave “power…to irresponsible and avaricious individuals and groups.” Two weeks later Archibald Bulloch was elected governor and commander-in-chief under this document, but he died under suspicious circumstances on the day he became head of the executive branch. Gwinnett was tapped to finish Bulloch’s term until a new election could be held.

He succeeded in uniting coastal and rural dissidents into a loose coalition that demonstrated its strength by electing Gwinnett commander of Georgia’s Continental battalion when the state’s Provincial Congress met in early 1776. He was engaged in a long-standing political rivalry with Lachlan McIntosh, a soldier and leader who would attain highest rank in the Georgia militia and in state politics. Gwinnett was respected figure, however. When Gwinnett’s election proved controversial (a post that he was forced to decline, owing to political faction), he stepped aside and accepted instead an appointment to the Continental Congress, then meeting in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Lachlan McIntosh commanded the battalion in Gwinnett’s stead, and these two would become bitter enemies.

In Philadelphia, Gwinnett served on a number of committees and supported separation from England. He voted for independence in July, signed the Declaration of Independence in August (along with other Georgians George Walton and Lyman Hall), and soon afterward returned to Georgia, where he became embroiled in political controversy. Quite soon after he signed the Declaration, he returned home, where he hoped to gain appointment, once again, to the leadership of the Georgia militia. The appointment went instead to his rival. Gwinnett served in the Georgia legislature where he was involved in drafting a constitution for the new state, but also in strenuous efforts to destroy the office of McIntosh.

Disappointed in his military ambitions, Gwinnett continued to lead the opposition to the Christ Church Parish coalition, and when his followers gained control of Georgia’s Provincial Congress, they succeeded in electing him Speaker. He played a key role in the passage of the Georgia Constitution of 1777 and began to purge the military of officers whom he and his followers deemed less than zealous in their enthusiasm for the Whig cause. This brought him into conflict with Lachlan McIntosh. After the death of Georgia’s president and commander-in-chief, Archibald Bulloch, in February 1777, the Council of Safety appointed Gwinnett to succeed him.

Gwinnett proposed a military foray into British East Florida, a defensive measure that he argued would secure Georgia’s southern border. McIntosh and his brother George (who had opposed Gwinnett’s election as president ,and subsequently had been arrested for treason, condemned the scheme as politically motivated. The expedition failed, and though he was not elected governor when the new legislature met in the spring of 1777, Gwinnett was exonerated of any misconduct in carrying out the campaign.

McIntosh was furious. He publicly denounced Gwinnett in the harshest terms, and Gwinnett challenged him to a duel. Though each man shot the other, only Gwinnett’s wound proved fatal. He died on May 19, 1777, and was buried in Savannah’s Colonial Park Cemetery, though the exact location of his grave is unknown. Gwinnett County was named for him when it was established in 1818.

Gwinnett’s signature is one of the rarest and most valuable of the signers of the Declaration of Independence. In 1979 a letter signed by Gwinnett brought $100,000 at a New York auction; its value was estimated in 1983 to be up to $250,000.

Sources:

Button Gwinnett, About North Georgia.

Button Gwinnett, Georgia Encyclopedia.

Button Gwinnett, U. S. History: Signers of the Declaration of Independence.

This Day in History.

Posted in American History, British history, Declaration of Independence, Georgian England, Georgian Era, Great Britain, history, Living in the Regency, Regency era | Tagged American history, British history, dueling, Georgia, Revolutionary War, signer of the Declaration of Independence | 6 Comments

What is the Cost to Refurbish a House in the Regency Era?

Posted on July 27, 2026 by Regina Jeffers

I am often asked the cost of a multiple of items in the Regency era. I do not know from where the idea came that I might know these things. However, in this case I do have a bit of information. You see, I keep a very large file of “Regency Tidbits” on my computer. When I come across something that might be of use to me in writing my novels, I copy and paste it there. Sometimes, it is a paragraph or two. Most of the time there are links to similar bits of information.

Therefore, when a reader asked about what I knew of refurbishing a house, I knew where to look. I have placed a bunch of tidbits together in the file and had used some of it when I wrote Amending the Shades of Pemberley. In that book, the Bennet family property and the belongings in the house are to be put up for sale, so I had completed my homework on that matter.

“You have willfully misunderstood me, Miss Bennet. You have no worry of my releasing you, for I do not wish you to perform as a governess to my daughter, but rather as my wife and the mistress of my hereditary estate.”
Elizabeth Bennet had thought the stranger quite handsome; yet, she had ignored those first tendrils of interest, for she was in no position for the gentleman to pursue her. She and her sister Mary were all who remained of their family. Moreover, Longbourn and its furnishings were to be sold. They were destitute, and, if fortunate, headed for service in some stranger’s household.
Fitzwilliam Darcy’s proposal of marriage would save both Mary and her, for her sister had agreed to assist with the gentleman’s young daughter. But what of the man’s tale of having corresponded with her father and of Mr. Bennet having purported a marriage between this stranger and her? Elizabeth knew nothing of the arrangement nor of the man’s existence. Though their marriage would solve all her troubles, what if the man’s tale was not completely truthful? Would Mr. Darcy become her enemy or a man she could learn to love?

So, back to the question at hand. What does it cost to refurbish a house during the Regency?

My information was shared by another Regency author on what was once the Romance Writers of America website. I apologize for not knowing the person’s name. When I copied and pasted the information, I foolishly assumed RWA would be around for a long time. Wrong! The person referenced Brunswick Square in Brighton in the 1820’s. For a wealth of info on this, please look at Regency Town House info here: https://www.rth.org.uk/building-regency-houses Fabulous info!!!

Also, if you can find the book, Brighton and Hove (Yale University Press, 2008), it is a goldmine on building homes, squares, churches and more in Brighton from approximately 1800 through the late Victorian period. I have used the book to “build” and “furnish” many houses in Brighton and other places in a few of my novels. I bought this in Brighton a few years ago and it has been invaluable:

Antam and Morice, BRIGHTON AND HOVE. Yale University Press, 2008.

This book is the first comprehensive guide to the historic heart of Brighton and Hove, the greatest of England’s seaside resorts. A series of walks trace its development from late medieval fishing settlement to the “Queen of the Watering Places,” with a lively and critical commentary on its unique architectural character. Few cities can boast such an exotic diversity of buildings, from the outlandish Pavilion, playground of the Prince Regent, to genteel squares and terraces, Victorian architecture both serious and whimsical and landmarks of twentieth century modernism. This guide will delight resident and visitor alike.

As I recall a Regency Town House in Brighton, a new townhouse in the Square (without drapes, chandeliers, paint to order, plastering etc.) would cost approximately 3000 Pounds.

Of course, a very good guide would be if you subscribe to BRITISH NEWSPAPERS of the time where one can find houses for sale, land, others at auction with and without furnishings and cost of drapers, cabinet makers, etc.

Here is an article you can read online from the Economic History Review: “How Much did the English Country House Cost to Build, 1660-1880?”

https://www.jstor.org/stable/2599140?seq=1

This website has some of that kind of information:

https://www.british-history.ac.uk/rchme/stamford/lxiv-lxix

I have a note among my bits of inforamtion that says the following and might apply, taken from The Georgian London Town House: Building, Collecting and Display:

In 1805, 2nd Earl of Grosvenor bought Gloucester House in Upper Grosvenor Street for £20,000. Alterations to the interior cost him £17,000 and the new furniture £7,000.

So the year is a little off, and this is a town house vs. a country house, but it was larger than the “standard” town house, and the decorations were some of the most impressive/expensive in London at the time. So it will depend on how large and fancy you want your country house to be. I would find £3,000 plausible for a certain level of remodel, but if it is huge and it is going to be completely redone to the latest fashion, it seems like the number would be higher.

Also, there are other things to consider. Does the roof need replacing or repairing? That is one of the most expensive parts of re-doing a house. Your character probably would want to include some indoor plumbing and restore the well and the ice house. £3000 is too little if any of these things has to be done. If the place is just to be cleaned and painted and a window or two replaced, £3000 would cover it, along with new mattresses for the beds.

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24 July 1817: The Burial of Jane Austen at Winchester Cathedral, a Guest Post from Collins Hemingway

Posted on July 24, 2026 by Regina Jeffers

Today, I have chosen to repeat one of Collins Hemingway’s beautiful pieces speaking to the burial of Jane Austen at Winchester Cathedral.

via http://www.telegraph.co.uk/women/womens-life/10199138/Jane-Austen-unveiled-as-face-of-new-10-note.html

July 18, 2017, marked the 200th anniversary of the death of Jane Austen. With that date, the official commemoration begins. Tributes will flow through any number of activities, readings, evensongs, and events, leading to July 24, the date of her funeral. In the UK, public benches are being dedicated to Austen, and the “Rain Jane” program will have Austen’s words appear in public places throughout Hampshire whenever there is precipitation. These are just a few of the many events scheduled throughout the year.

Winchester Cathedral, where she is interred, will be the focus of many of the activities. One of these will be the unveiling of the £10 note graced with her face (above). As she is also on the £2 coin, Austen will be the first person, other than a monarch, to appear on more than one form of British currency at the same time. Cathedral bells will toll 41 times to mark each of her years on this earth.

Her burial raises an interesting question: Why, when this comparatively obscure spinster died in 1817, was she buried in a cathedral which houses the bones of Saxon kings and saints? This, in fact, is the subject of a talk scheduled by Professor Michael Wheeler at the cathedral on July 21.

It seems highly unusual for an ordinary citizen to be buried in a place normally reserved for secular and religious leaders. According to Jo Bartholomew, curator and librarian at the cathedral, the mortuary chests hold such dignitaries as: Cynigils and Cenwalh, two Christian kings from the seventh century; Kings Egbert and Ethelwulf (grandfather and father of King Alfred); King Cnut (Canute) and his Queen Emma; two bishops, Alwyn and Stigand; and king William Rufus. Most had been originally buried in Old Minster, the predecessor to Winchester Cathedral, which was just to the north and partially beneath it.

Was it common for an ordinary citizen to be buried there in 1817, or was this an extraordinary honor? In those days, not so extraordinary after all. Indeed, Jane was the third and last person buried there that year. Cost, rather than rank, may have been the limiting factor for a cathedral interment. Jane’s funeral expenses came to £92, a significant amount for someone of her means. Clearly, she or her family was determined to make a statement—after all, none of her brothers, including Frank, who died the highest-ranking naval officer in England, received such a burial.

Elizabeth Proudman, vice chairman of the Jane Austen Society and an expert on Jane Austen, said in a letter that the location was likely Austen’s choice: “I believe that she is buried there, because she wanted to be. It was up to the Dean in those days to decide who could and who could not be buried in the Cathedral. Usually it was enough to be respectable and ‘gentry.’ This, of course, she was as her late father and two of her brothers were in the church.”

Jane’s father, George, had been the rector at Steventon, fourteen miles away, until he retired in 1801. He was succeeded by James, his oldest son, who still held that position in 1817. Henry, who had taken up the cloth after his bank collapsed in the recession of 1816, also had a clerical position nearby. It probably did not hurt that Jane’s brother Edward was the wealthy inheritor of the Knight estate, with extensive holdings in Steventon and Chawton, which was sixteen miles away. From his recent ordination, Henry knew the Bishop, according to Claire Tomalin; and the Dean, Thomas Rennell, was a friend of the important Chute family who were relatives of the Austens.

Having lived at Chawton for nine years, where she wrote or significantly revised her oeuvre, Jane was taken to Winchester for unsuccessful medical treatment. “She had been ill in Winchester for about two months, and I think her burial must have been discussed,” Proudman says. “I like to think that her family would have talked about it with her, and that they followed her wishes. … It may be that she had no particular attachment to the village [of Chawton]. We know that she admired Winchester Cathedral, and she knew several of the clergy. When she died she had some money from her writing, and her funeral expenses were paid from her estate. It was a tiny funeral, only 3 brothers and a nephew attended, and it had to be over before the daily business of the Cathedral began at 10.00 am.”

In fact, most funerals were relatively small in those days, and women did not attend. Cassandra, with their friend Martha Lloyd (James’ sister-in-law), “watched the little mournful procession the length of the street & when it turned from my sight I had lost her for ever.” In a letter to their niece Fanny in the days after Jane’s death, Cass added: “I have lost a treasure, such a Sister, such a friend as can never be surpassed,—She was the sun of my life, the gilder of every pleasure, the soother of every sorrow, I had not a thought concealed from her, & it is as if I have lost a part of myself. … Never was [a] human being more sincerely mourned … than was this dear creature.”

Edward, Francis, and Henry were the brothers who attended. Charles was too far away to come. James was ill (he died two years later), but his son, James Edward, rode from Steventon to Winchester for the service. Thomas Watkins, the Precentor (a member of a church who facilitates worship), read the service. Jane was interred in a brick-lined vault on the north side of the nave.

Tomalin believes it was Henry who “surely sought permission for their sister to be buried in the cathedral; splendid as it is, she might have preferred the open churchyard at Steventon or Chawton.” One suspects it was Henry who pushed for the cathedral, and Jane would have been happy to be at rest anywhere. Yet, modest as she was in many ways, she understood the worth of her writing. She may have made the decision with a view to posterity. In any event, Cassandra was pleased with the decision. “It is a satisfaction to me,” she said, that Jane’s remains were “to lie in a building she admired so much—her precious soul I presume to hope reposes in a far superior mansion.”

Henry arranged for a plaque to be installed in the cathedral to commemorate Jane’s benevolence, sweetness, and intellect—but curiously enough, not her writing. As the popularity of her novels grew over time, officials were baffled by the pilgrims coming to visit the crypt of a woman the church knew not as a brilliant novelist but only as the daughter of a rural clergyman.

Meet Collins Hemingway: Whether his subject is literature, history, or science, Collins Hemingway has a passion for the art of creative investigation. Hemingway’s fiction is shaped by the language of the heart and an abiding regard for courage in the face of adversity.

For him, the most compelling fiction deeply explores the heart and soul of its characters, while also engaging them in the complex and often dangerous world in which they have a stake. He wants to explore all that goes into people’s lives, to creatively investigate everything that makes them what they are as complete but fallible human beings.

His approach is to dive as deeply into a character’s heart and soul as possible, to address the root causes of their behavior rather than to describe superficial attitudes and beliefs. This treatment, he believes, is at the heart of all good fiction, for it provides the only way to draw a complete, complex portrait of a human being that is rewarding to readers.

As a nonfiction book author, Hemingway has investigated topics as diverse as corporate culture and ethics; the Internet and mobile technology; the ins and outs of the retail trade; and the cognitive potential of the brain. Best known for the #1 best-selling book on business and technology, Business @ the Speed of Thought, which he coauthored with Bill Gates, he has earned a reputation for tackling challenging topics with clarity and insight, writing for the nontechnical but intelligent reader. His shorter nonfiction has won awards for topics ranging from general interest to business to computer technology to medicine.

Posted in British currency, British history, Georgian England, Guest Post, Jane Austen, kings and queens, Regency era, Regency personalities, research | Tagged £10 note, currency, death, Hampshire, Jane Austen, Regency England, Regency personalities, Winchester Cathedral | 4 Comments

Common Themes in Several Stories

Posted on July 22, 2026 by Regina Jeffers

Back in January 2021, I released my Austenesque novel, The Mistress of Rosings Park. In that story, draper’s shops play a strategic role. In one of my latest novels from Dragonblade Publishing [book 4 of 5 in the Lyon’s Den Connected World Series, Lost in the Lyon’s Garden], my heroine is employed at a draper’s shop and the hero, though he is an earl, lives in Cheapside [just as did Elizabeth Bennet’s Uncle Gardiner]. Lord Benjamin Thompson hopes to bring back some of the “glory” of that part of London. Both hero and heroine of this new tale are children of clergymen and take the idea being “my brother’s keeper” to heart.

One of the first industries in Great Britain was the manufacturing of cloth. Wool and cotton fabrics [Think of all that cotton fibers swirling around Mr. Thorton in the Masterpiece version of North and South] were available with some ease. Cotton printed muslin was often found upon the backs of people of the age. By the end of the Regency era, Great Britain had imported 90 million pounds of cotton. Messrs. Harding Howell & Co in Pall Mall was one of the leaders of choice linen-drapers. In 1811, Jane Austen described a shopping excursion she made to a London establishment that sold handkerchiefs, gauzes, nets, veils, trims, and cloth as . . .

Linendraper interior 1818 ~ . ‘Linendraper’, print from ‘A Book of English Trades’ by Richard Phillips, 1818 edition.

We set off immediately after breakfast and must have reached Grafton House by 1/2 past 11 -, but when we entered the Shop, the whole counter was thronged & we waited a full half an hour before we c’d be attended to. When we were served however, I was very well satisfied with my purchases.

It was not unusual for customers to haggle over the prices, but, by the Regency, the shoppers saw more “set” prices on items. Unfortunately, for the shopkeepers, they were “obliged” to extend credit to the aristocracy, which saw the privilege as a necessary part of their positions in Society. Being paid was purely on the backs of the shopkeepers, who often went bankrupt with little recourse, for peers could not be sent to debtors’ prison for non-payment. Though I chose not to paint my heroine’s [Miss Victoria Whitchurch] employer, Mr. Sustar, with an unstained brushstroke, I did attempt to show him in moments of strictness, as well as kindness, for he was making an unusal business decision that would make him money and expand Miss Whitchurch’s duties. You will see what I mean when you read the tale.

Harding Howell & Co – This print displays the large inventory of the shop. Please note the assistants were all males, who served the female customers. ~ From Ackermann’s Repository of arts, literature, commerce, manufactures, fashions and politics (1809) ‘Harding, Howell, & Co.s grand Fashionable Magazine, No. 89, Pall Mall’ (Plate 12: Vol. 1, No. 3, March 1809)

By the beginning of the 19th Century, it is estimated that 200 different shops could be found in London. These shops kept long hours, generally, 12-hour days. The shopkeepers and their assistants often lived on the premises. Warehouses were located in Covent Garden. Mercers and linen drapers could be found in Cheapside. Shops lined the streets with shopkeepers living above. We know that ladies of Society shopped on Oxford Street an Bond Street in Mayfair. Men frequented the shops and gentlemen’s clubs in St. James. Newer styled shops sprung up along the Strand.

Cheapside 1813, East India House on the left ~ Cheapside’, published 1813 in Ackermann’s Repository of Arts Vol 9, Plate: 44.

Those of us who love Pride and Prejudice can easily recall Caroline Bingley’s disdain when speaking of Elizabeth Bennet’s unsuitable pedigree to Mr. Darcy.

“Yes; and they have another [uncle], who lives somewhere near Cheapside.”

“That is capital,” added her sister, and they both laughed heartily.

“If they had uncles enough to fill all Cheapside,” cried Bingley, “it would not make them one jot less agreeable.”

“But it must very materially lessen their chance of marrying men of any consideration in the world,” replied Darcy. (Pride and Prejudice, chapter 8)

From Jane Austen’s World, we learn, “Shop keepers advertised through circulars, trade cards, newspaper notices, or board-men, who were employed to roam the streets. In the 1760’s, the large shop signs that had once hung over shops and identified the shop’s merchandise to a populace that largely could not read were deemed hazardous. They were removed by law, but a few managed to survive, as this account in the Book of Days describes:

In Holywell-street, Strand, is the last remaining shop sign in situ, being a boldly-sculptured half-moon, gilt, and exhibiting the old conventional face in the centre. Some twenty years ago it was a mercer’s shop, and the bills made out for customers were ‘adorned with a picture’ of this sign. It is now a bookseller’s, and the lower part of the windows have been altered into the older form of open shop. A court beside it leads into the great thoroughfare; and the corner-post is decorated with a boldly-carved lion’s head and paws, acting as a corbel to support a still older house beside it. This street altogether is a good, and now an almost unique specimen of those which once were the usual style of London business localities, crowded, tortuous, and ill-ventilated, having shops closely and inconveniently packed, but which custom had made familiar and inoffensive to all; while the old traders, who delighted in ‘old styles,’ looked on improvements with absolute horror, as ‘a new-fashioned way’ to bankruptcy.“

___________________________________

The Mistress of Rosings Park: A Pride and Prejudice Vagary

I much prefer the sharp criticism of a single intelligent man to the thoughtless approval of the masses. – Johannes Kepler

When she arrives at Hunsford Cottage for a visit with her long-time friend Charlotte Collins, Elizabeth Bennet does not expect the melodrama awaiting her at Rosings Park.

Mrs. Anne Darcy, nee de Bourgh, has passed, and Rosings Park is, by law, the property of the woman’s husband, Mr. Fitzwilliam Darcy; yet, Lady Catherine de Bourgh is not ready to abandon the mansion over which she has served as mistress for thirty years. Elizabeth holds sympathy for her ladyship’s situation. After all, Elizabeth’s mother will eventually be banished from Longbourn when Mr. Bennet passes without male issue. She inherently understands Lady Catherine’s “hysterics,” while not necessarily condoning them, for her ladyship will have the luxury of the right to the estate’s dower house, and, moreover, it is obvious Rosings Park requires the hand of a more knowledgeable overseer. Therefore, Elizabeth takes on the task of easing Lady Catherine’s transition to dowager baronetess, but doing so places Elizabeth often in the company of the “odious” Mr. Darcy, a man Lady Catherine claims poisoned her daughter Anne in order to claim Rosings Park as his own.

Purchase Links for The Mistress of Rosings Park:

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BookBub https://www.bookbub.com/books/the-mistress-of-rosings-park-a-pride-and-prejudice-vagary-by-regina-jeffers

Posted in American History, British history, customs and tradiitons, Georgian England, Georgian Era, Great Britain, history, Industrial Revolution, Living in the Regency, Victorian era | Tagged drapery, Jane Austen, Regency Era, style, textiles, themes, writing | Leave a comment

Traitor Tuesday ~ Celebrating 250 Years of the United States as a Separate Nation: Samuel Huntington, Signer of the Declaration of Independence and First President of the United States

Posted on July 21, 2026 by Regina Jeffers

Samuel Huntington was a 45 years of age when he signed the Declaration of Independence. He was a lawyer by trade and the father of two. He died in 1796 at the age of 64.

Born on 3 July 1731, in Windham, New London, Connecticut, Samuel Huntington was the son of Nathaniel and Mehetabel (Thurston) Huntington. He was the fourth of ten children and the second son in the family. Nathaniel was a farmer and clothier at Scotland, Connecticut, and built a home there in 1732 that still stands to this day.

Young Samuel did not acquire a formal education, except that provided by the “common schools.” At age 16 Samuel was apprenticed to a cooper, although he continued to help his father on the farm. Interested in learning, Samuel borrowed books from the library of the Rev. Ebenezer Devotion and from local lawyers, and began to study history, Latin and the law. He was admitted to the bar at Windham in 1754 at the age 23, and moved to Norwich, Connecticut to begin his practice.

At the age of 29, Samuel Huntington married Martha Devotion on April 17, 1761. She was the daughter of the Rev. Ebenezer Devotion and Martha Lothrop in Norwich. The couple remained together until she died on June 3, 1794, in Norwich. They had no children of their own, but when the Rev. Joseph Huntington, the brother of Samuel, died, they adopted and raised his two children: the nephew, Samuel H. Huntington, who became Governor of Ohio in 1810, and the niece, Frances Huntington, who married the Rev. Edward Door Griffin, a President of Williams College.

Samuel Huntington was elected by the Norwich leaders to be one of their representatives to the Connecticut Assembly in 1764. Huntington was returned to that office each year for the next ten years until 1774. Samuel made a very fine presence, and was named by the then Royal Governor, Jonathan Trumbull, as King’s Attorney in 1765. Huntington remained in that office until 1774, at which time Governor Trumbull appointed him to the Connecticut Superior Court.

The position of justice on the Superior Court carried with it a seat on the Governor’s Council, which served as an upper legislative house to the Connecticut Assembly. Huntington held this office until 1778, at which time he was named Chief Justice. Meanwhile, as the difficulties with Britain deepened, Huntington spoke out against the Coercive Acts of Parliament. His views on the emerging crisis agreed with the majority of the Members of the Connecticut Assembly, and they elected him in October 1775 to become one of the delegates to the Second Continental Congress. He presented his credentials and took his place in Philadelphia in January 1776. Samuel Huntington was present on June 7, 1776 when Richard Henry Lee of Virginia proposed a resolution that “These colonies are and of right ought to be free and independent states.” The matter was tabled until brought back to the floor on July 2, 1776 at which time Huntington voted for the resolution, and also for the language in the Declaration on July 4th. He signed the engrossed copy of the Declaration on August 2, 1776.

Samuel Huntington continued as a delegate to the Continental Congress from Connecticut, being returned by the Assembly each year through 1781. Serving on several committees during his years in the Congress, Huntington was always supportive of encouraging the states to fully comply with levies for men, supplies and money. Not an alarmist, nor a defeatist, Huntington was a steady, faithful, calm patriot, well respected and admired by his colleagues. His steady hand helped keep the Congress together as the infant nation faced military reverses in the field, following the euphoria of the surrender of the British Army under General Burgoyne at Saratoga on October 17, 1777.

When John Jay was named minister plenipotentiary to the Court of Spain, and thus had to vacate the office of President of the Continental Congress, Samuel Huntington was elected President of that body on September 28, 1779.

That election technically makes Samuel Huntington America’s first President. Samuel On the 28th of September, in 1779, he was elected President of America’s Continental Congress.

How could that be? Because when the new country adopted its Articles of Confederation, in 1781, Huntington was still President of the Continental Congress. That also made him the President of the country.

The following is a biographical excerpt about him, provided by the Connecticut Society of the Sons of the American Revolution:

A man of cautious, reticent, and conservative temperament, he nevertheless joined the Sons of Liberty in opposition to the Stamp Act, although he was hesitant about further strong protests.

The passage of the Coercive Acts in 1774 to protest the Boston Tea Party brought many moderates, including Huntington, into a more active role. Throughout the Revolution he served both in Congress and the Connecticut upper house.

On July 4, 1776, he was one of Connecticut’s signers of the Declaration of Independence. The esteem with which he was held by Congress was evidenced by his election in 1779 to the first of two terms as president of the Continental Congress.

While he was president in 1781, the Articles of Confederation went into effect, thus making him the first president of the United States. He served in this office during a dark period of severe economic problems and terrible military defeats, including the loss of Charleston, South Carolina.

As President of the Continental Congress, his accomplishments as President were significant. One of the most difficult problems facing the young nation was the principle of unity The Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union had been debated, modified, and adopted by the Congress in 1777. All the states had ratified this document at the time of Huntington’s Presidency, except Maryland. The objection Maryland had with the Articles was the issue of western lands, particularly in the Ohio country, which were held by several states. Huntington sat down with the leaders of the states of New York, Virginia and Connecticut to convince them that holding onto such feeble grants from a King, now no longer in power, was absurd and therefore, should be ceded over to the national government. Slowly each state became convinced that this was in the best interests of the new nation at large, and did cede these lands. Maryland then agreed, and ratified the Articles on March 1, 1781.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samuel_Huntington_(statesman)

In this image we see Samuel Huntington as he appeared in 1783. The portrait was painted by Charles Willson Peale in 1783.

In later years he saw the transition of Connecticut into a U.S. State. He resolved the issue of a permanent state capital at Hartford and oversaw the construction of the state house. He died while in office, at his home in Norwich on January 5, 1796. His tomb, which was extensively restored and renovated in a 2003 project, is located in the Old Norwichtown Cemetery behind his mansion house. Both Samuel and his wife Martha’s remains were disinterred during the course of the project and then reinterred in a formal ceremony on November 23, 2003.Between 1786 and 1796, he served as Governor of Connecticut. He was still Governor when he died at the age of 64.

Sources:

Awesome Stories

Find a Grave

Geni

The Society of the Descendants of the Signers of the Declaration of Independence

Wikipedia

Posted in American History, British history, buildings and structures, Declaration of Independence, Great Britain | Tagged American history, British history, Connecticut, Declaration of Independence, Samuel Huntington, signer of the Declaration of Independence | 3 Comments

“Lord Thomas and Fair Elinor” Folk Song and the Release of “Midnight at Pemberley” from Ulysses Press

Posted on July 20, 2026 by Regina Jeffers

When I first wrote my vampiric tale which will re-release on Wednesday, one of the techniques I used was the folk song “Fair Ellender and the Brown Girl.”

“Fair Ellender” is a folk song based on the English Child Ballad 73, “Lord Thomas and Fair Annet,” which tells the tragic story of a love triangle, double murder, and suicide. The song’s narrative centers on Lord Thomas, who is torn between marrying the wealthy “brown girl” and his true love, Fair Ellender, who is poor. Ultimately, Lord Thomas chooses the brown girl for her wealth, but the story ends in tragedy when the brown girl murders Fair Ellender, and Lord Thomas then kills the brown girl before killing himself.

Plot: The ballad is a tragic love story where a man is pressured by his mother to marry a woman with land and money (the “brown girl”) over his true love (Fair Ellender), who is poor but has been loyal to him.

Some believe Lord Thomas and Fair Elinor is meant to be about Elizabeth I.

Origins: The earliest known printed version of the ballad, “A tragical Story of Lord Thomas and Fair Ellinor,” appeared in London in 1677, long after Elizabeth I’s reign (1558–1603). It is considered a late 17th-century broadside ballad, though it likely existed in oral tradition earlier.

Similarities to Elizabethan History (General Themes):

Thomas Seymour Scandal: The 1548 scandal involving Lord Thomas Seymour and the young Princess Elizabeth involved reckless behavior and unwanted advances.
Politics vs. Love: Elizabeth I famously navigated the pressure to marry a foreign prince (a “political” match) versus her affection for Robert Dudley (a personal choice), similar to Thomas choosing land over love.

While some might see thematic, coincidental overlaps with the tumultuous, romance-shadowed life of Elizabeth I, Lord Thomas and Fair Ellender is recognized as a traditional folk song rather than a veiled account of her reign.

Tragic ending: The brown girl murders Fair Ellender out of jealousy. In some versions, Lord Thomas then kills the brown girl and himself, while in others, he kills himself with his own dagger.

Variations and titles: The song is known by several variations and titles, including “Lord Thomas and Fair Annet,” “Lord Thomas and Fair Elinor,” and “The Brown Girl”.

https://folkworks.org/tall-tales-for-a-long-winter-night-lord-thomas-and-fair-ellender/

In Appalachia, the song is known as “The Brown Girl.” I was in my teens before I knew it had additional titles.

“Lord Thomas (or Sweet Willie) is in love with Fair Annet, or Annie, or Elinor, but she has little property. He asks for advice. His father, mother, and brother (or some of them) advise that he should instead marry the nut-brown maid with a rich dowry. His mother promises to curse him if he marries Annet and bless him if he marries the nut-brown maid. His sister warns her that her dowry may be lost and then he will be stuck with nothing but a hideous bride. Nevertheless, he takes his mother’s advice.

“Fair Annet dresses as splendidly as she can and goes to the wedding. The nut-brown maid is so jealous that she stabs Annet to death. Lord Thomas stabs both the nut-brown maid and himself to death. A rose grows from Fair Annet’s grave, a brier from Lord Thomas’s, and they grow together.” [Lord Thomas and Fair Annet]

Lord Thomas and Fair Ellender

O Mother, O Mother, come riddle it down,

Come riddle two hearts as one.

O must I marry fair Ellender

Or bring the brown girl home?

The brown girl she has houses and lands,

Fair Ellender she has none,

So the best advice I can give you, my son,

Is go bring me the brown girl home.

He rode till he come to fair Ellender’s gate

He tinkled the bell with his cane,

No one so ready as fair Ellender herself

To arise and bid him come in.

O what’s the news Lord Thomas, she cried,

What’s the news you brung to me?

I’ve come to ask you to my wedding

Now what do you think of me?

O Mother, O Mother, come riddle it down

Come riddle two hearts as one,

O must I go to Lord Thomas’s wedding

Or stay at home and mourn?

The brown girl she’s got business there

You know you have got none

So the best advice I can give you my daughter,

Is to stay at home and mourn.

She dressed herself in a snow white dress,

Her maids they dressed in green,

And every town that they rode through

They took her to be some queen.

She rode till she came to Lord Thomas’s gate,

She pulled all in her reins,

No one so ready as Lord Thomas himself

To arise and bid her come in.

He took her by her lily white hand

He led her through the hall,

He seated her down in a rockin’ chair

Amongst those ladies all.

Is this your bride, Lord Thomas, she cried?

She looks so wonderful brown!

You once could have married a maiden as fair

As ever the sun shone on.

Dispraise her not, fair Ellender, he cried,

Dispraise her not to me,

For I think more of your little finger

Than of her whole body.

The brown girl had a little pen knife

It being both keen and sharp,

Betwixt the long ribs and the short

Pierced fair Ellender to the heart.

O what’s the matter Lord Thomas, he cried,

You look so pale and wan,

You used to have as rosy a color

As ever the sun shone on.

O are you blind, Lord Thomas, she cried,

Or is it you cannot see?

And can’t you see my own heart’s blood

Come trinkling down to my knee?

Lord Thomas he drew his sword from his side

He ran all through the hall,

He cut off the head of his bonny brown bride

And kicked it against the wall.

Then placing the handle a-towards the wall,

And the blade a-towards his heart,

Saying did you ever see three true lovers meet

That had so soon to part?

O Mother, O Mother, go dig my grave

Go dig it both wide and deep,

And bury fair Ellender in my arms

And the brown girl at my feet.

The grave plants that grow together are a motif to express true love, also found in many variants of Barbara Allen and of Tristan and Iseult, and in the legend of Baucis and Philemon.

Also note, what exactly “he twirled at the pin” mean? First, the phrase appears in numerous songs. It invariably occurs when the protaganist is approaching a ‘maiden’s bower’ and can obviously be updated to “he rang the doorbell.” In the DT database, a modernisation is given for the song “Glenkindie” and the meaning being explained as ‘turning the latch.’ However, in most songs, twirling the pin, seems to be an attempt to be heard rather than a way of sneaking in.

Posted in book excerpts, book release, books, music, Scotland, Ulysses Press | Tagged book release, folksongs, Midnight at Pemberley, music, Scotland, Ulysses Press | 3 Comments

What Could Be in a 19th Century Vampire-Slaying Kit? and the Release of “Midnight at Pemberley”

Posted on July 17, 2026 by Regina Jeffers

‘Vampire-slaying kit’ bought by Royal Armouries museum

The box contains a prayer book and “vampire-slaying equipment”

Mashups!! Jane Austen and Vampires and the Release of “Midnight at Pemberley”

Posted on July 15, 2026 by Regina Jeffers

What is a MashUp?

When I first became aware of the term “mashup,” I automatically thought of the music industry with its remixes and creative imaginings of oldies and the classics. By definition, a “mashup” is creating a new entity from two or more unrelated sources. Although some believe this subgenre has hit its peak, mashups still garner a substantial chunk of the market. Take for example, the film adaptation of Pride and Prejudice and Zombies. The premise is that a reader of paranormal would find mixing a Jane Austen classic with vampires intriguing. Many authors are finding a new market, whether they write science fiction, fantasy, paranormal, mystery, or humor. Recently, we have seen mixes of William Shakespeare, Mark Twain, Leo Tolstoy, and Louisa May Alcott. It is not just Jane Austen. There is a crossover appeal, very much like the steampunk genre. Think about Hemingway or Flaubert or F. Scott Fitzgerald; there are endless possibilities because the past is always in the process of being reinvented. That is, as long as copyrights are honored.

When I was first writing for Ulysses Press, they sent me to the Smithsonian for a presentation on Austen and mashups. I shared the stage that evening with Seth Grahame-Smith [Pride and Prejudice and Zombies] and Ben H. Winters [Sense and Sensibilities and Sea Monsters]. By the way, if you have ever watched the TV show “Tracker,” Ben Winters wrote the original

screenplay. Writing a mashup made me a Smithsonian presented.

Some wonder if Jane Austen is spinning in her grave because of all the sequels, variations, and mashups? Maybe, because I sometimes write the genre, I do not believe so. Austen wrote in an era when women could not openly express their imaginations without censure. We must not forget that Austen loved stories of all kinds, as well as a bit of gossip and scandal, and she possessed a “twisted” sense of humor. In the movie Becoming Jane, Anne Hathaway, as Austen, refers to it as “ironical.”

How does one mix together Jane Austen and Vampires?

Vampires first appeared in literature in 18^th Century poetry before becoming one of the stock figures of Gothic fiction when Polidori published The Vampyre (1819), which was reportedly influenced by the life of Lord Byron.

Dracula did not appear until 1897.

One finds the roots of vampire fiction in the early 1700s when the Serbian monarchy exhumed the remains of suspected vampires. In 1748, August Ossenfelder released the short German poem “Der Vampir,” which had strong erotic overtones. Goethë’s “Die Braut von Korinth” and Bürger’s “Lenore” followed, each with vampiric elements. In English literature, Robert Southey’s “Thalaba the Destroyer” (1797) was one of the first examples. Lord Byron’s “The Giaour” (1813) and Samuel Taylor Coleridge’s “Christabel” (1816) followed. Even in Emily Brontë’s Wuthering Heights, Heathcliff’s housekeeper accuses him of being a vampire.

Dracula remains the definitive description of the vampire in popular fiction. In it, Dracula’s “disease” is a contagious demonic possession, with undertones of sex, blood, and death. All of these elements probably struck a cord with Victorian England, where tuberculosis and syphilis were common fears. A decade before, in 1888, the British press had sensationalized Jack the Ripper’s reign in East London. Stoker’s Abraham Van Helsing became the model for all other vampire hunters. Some believe Stoker wrote Dracula to subtly criticize Victorian stuffiness, and others agree it was a social commentary on Stoker’s friend Oscar Wilde and his legal situation. Images, themes, and even actual phrases from Wilde’s trial for sexual inversion appear in the book. Count Dracula symbolizes an aristocrat, who socializes with middle and lower class people to survive – creating an image of the British aristocracy having to interact with the changes occurring in the wealthy middle class. Note how the middle class vampire hunters are the powerful characters in the book. Also, notice how all the vampires in the book, except Count Dracula, are female. Vampirism allows Lucy and the others female vampires to dominant, and Dracula’s reign represents the British fear of being “contaminated” by an outside force.

Modern vampires have evolved from those repulsive figures: They are romantic and sexy bad boys, a stark contrast to Eastern European folklore. Christian symbols no longer repel them. Anne Rice’s Lestat De Lioncourt makes both a fanatically religious girl and a nun his victims. The moon does not influence them, nor are they only sustained by drinking blood. Modern vampires can fly, can feed off energy, and can “sparkle” in the sunshine. Modern vampires may possess unusual talents and may be very passionate about things other than blood. Bonnie Anderson says in “Vampire Showdown: Bram Stoker’s Count Dracula Verses Anne Rice’s Lestat,” that “The true fans of horror no longer want to be frightened by the mere fantasy of the fearsome. We want what scares us to our very core: Ourselves. We want to see ourselves dressed up and romanticized, satirized, and suffering and sinning. And then we want to see it again.”

There have been vampires in every film genre, even children’s works: the Count on Sesame Street. Exhibiting self-control is a recent trait of vampires. Modern vampires are more sympathetic to humans. Our current vampires are less monstrous – downright sexy, in fact, and infinitely more human. Contemporary vampirism is about desire. Romance with the undead is intense and forever and perfect. These are female centered story lines featuring a powerful love, which surpasses the limits of mortality.

So, why is vampire literature so popular and in what way does Jane Austen fit? Beyond the broody, often lonely, male as a main character, vampire stories welcome anachronism. They are striking examples of the juxtaposition of past and present. Vampire stories of old were sources of terror, but contemporary vampirism is seen as desire. They are female-centered narratives, containing a powerful love that transcends the limits placed upon it.In a time after the World Trade Center disaster, we are less likely to make heroes out of those who hide their thoughts and feelings; so recent vampires must become infinitely more human. I mean, let’s face it, unless one is a vampire, there are no longer impediments to marriage. Today, Las Vegas is our Gretna Greene. Vampires who are sympathetic to humans, but whose goal is a relationship and respect are all the rage. As the majority of the readers of vampire literature are women, some believe it is a post-feminist way of taking on power: Women standing up and demanding respect. There is an allure of the forbidden, and the virtue of the individual prevails as a major theme. Now, look back at each of the underlined phrases. Are they not part of Austen’s Pride and Prejudice?

Teens embrace the concept of vampirism as an alluring idea – to be young and beautiful forever. Were women in Austen’s time not on the shelf by their early twenties? Remember that Anne Elliot had lost “her bloom” by age 27? Plus, teens think of themselves as immortal. They exist in a time of surging hormones, and they love the idea of power over another. And as a post-menopausal woman myself, the concept of being “hot blooded” appeals to me. Paranormal romance is about power. The females are tough chicks, who kill demons and hunt vampires.

And let us remember that the Twilight series has its roots in classic literature. If you have not noticed the similarities before, let me point out that Twilight is Pride and Prejudice. New Moon finds its basis in Romeo and Juliet. Wuthering Heights becomes Eclipse, and Breaking Dawn mixes The Merchant of Venice and A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Vamplit has the allure of the forbidden. It is quite simply a love story. The current audience for vamplit is a mix of those who grew up on Dark Shadows, Anne Rice’s series, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, X-Files, and Harry Potter.

So, why is Austen so easy to adapt to these subgenres? I would say because her works allow modern authors to insert their ideas into Austen’s point of view. Jane Austen was a forward-looking writer, who wrote thematic masterpieces. Although she writes intriguing characters, Austen’s strength lies in how the theme permeates every word. And is it fair to parody Austen? We must remember that the Lady wrote her own parody of Ann Radcliffe’s The Mysteries of Udolpho.

Regina Jeffers speaks of Midnight at Pemberley. In this book, I tried to keep certain elements of Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice. Wickham, the book’s vampire, still tries to seduce Georgiana, and he still takes Lydia to Northumberland (where Newcastle is located). Darcy, a dhampir, desires Elizabeth as a man, and he knows he must break the “curse” upon his family in order to make her his wife. When Darcy first meets Elizabeth, he is withdrawn from society, is generous and protective of his sister, and dutifully oversees his estate. Yet, to this mix, I have added the folk elements of the Baobhan Sith (Scottish female vampires), a traditional Scottish folk song entitled “Lord Thomas and Fair Ellender,” references to Celtic gods, vampiric legends, apotropaics, and bits of Stoker’s Van Helsing.

Vampire Darcy’s Desirepresents Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice as a heart-pounding vampire romance filled with passion and danger. Tormented by a 200-year-old curse and his fate as a half-human/half-vampire dhampir, Fitzwilliam Darcy vows to live forever alone rather than to inflict the horrors of his life on an innocent wife. But when he comes to Netherfield Park, Elizabeth Bennet captivates him as no other ever has. Uncontrollably drawn to each other, they are forced to confront the seductive power of forbidden love, while dark forces are at work all around them. Most ominous is the threat from George Wickham, the purveyor of the curse, a demon who vows to destroy each generation of Darcys.

Posted in book release, books, British currency, eBooks, Georgian England, Jane Austen, King Arthur, Living in the Regency, paranormal, Pride and Prejudice, publishing, quotes, Regency romance, romance, suspense, vampires, writing | Tagged classics, dhampir, gothic, Jane Austen, mashups, paranormal, Pride and Prejudice, vampires, writing | 4 Comments

Traitor Tuesday ~ Celebrating 250 Years of the United States as a Separate Nation: Thomas Heyward, Jr., Patriotic Songwriter and Signer of the Declaration of Independence

Posted on July 14, 2026 by Regina Jeffers

Heyward was a 30 years old plantation owner from South Carolina when he called upon to sign the Declaration of Independence. Married twice and the father of 8 children, Heyward lived until the age of 62, dying in 1809.

Thomas Heyward was born in St. Luke’s parish, on July 28, 1746, in the province of Old House, Beaufort Count, South Carolina. His father, Colonel Daniel Heyward, was a planter of great wealth, which he had chiefly acquired by his industry. He became the husband of Elizabeth Matthews, by whom he sired Daniel Heyward. Later, he married Elizabeth Savage, by whom he sired James, Thomas, and Elizabeth Heyward.

Unlike many gentlemen of fortune, Mr. Heyward did not appear to idolize his possessions; at least, convinced of the importance of intellectual cultivation, he determined to bestow upon his son all the advantages which a thorough education might impart. Accordingly, the best school in the province was selected for young Heyward, who, by his diligence, became well acquainted with the Latin language, and with such other branches as were at that time taught in the most respectable provincial seminaries.

Having finished his scholastic studies, be entered the law office of a Mr. Parsons, a gentleman who at that time was distinguished for his professional learning and practical skill. On accomplishing the usual term of study, young Mr. Heyward, according to the fashion adopted by families of fortune, was sent to England to complete his legal preparation. He was entered as a student in one of the Inns of Court. Although he had in expectancy a large fortune, he devoted himself with great ardor to the study of law, emulating the diligence of those who expected to derive their subsistence from the practice of the profession.

On completing his studies in England, he commenced the tour of Europe, which occupied him several years. This was an advantage which be enjoyed beyond most of the youth of the colonies. He enjoyed a rare opportunity of contrasting the industry and simplicity of his countrymen, with the indolence, and luxury, and licentiousness, the pride and haughtiness, so prevalent on the old continent.

At length, satisfied with the observations which be had made of men and manners abroad, he returned to his native country to practice law.

In 1775, Heyward was elected to fill a vacancy in congress, occasioned by the recall of the distinguished John Rutledge, whose presence was required at home to assist in defending the state against a threatened invasion. At first, Heyward declined. He was, at length, induced to accept, and arrived in Philadelphia in time for the argument for American independence.

In the year 1778, Heyward was appointed a judge of the criminal courts of the new government. Soon after his elevation to the bench, he presided over a treasonable act, one where several people corresponded with the British army, which, at that time, was in the vicinity of Charleston. The treason resulted in the execution of all involved.

In the spring of 1780, General Clinton seized the city of Charleston. Judge Heyward, who commanded a battalion was taken a prisoner of war. As he had been one of the leaders of the revolution, he and several others were transported to St. Augustine, while the other prisoners were confined on board some prison ships in the harbour of Charleston. During his absence, he suffered greatly in respect to his property; marauders robbed him and destroyed his home. His slaves were seized and carried away. Some of his slaves were afterwards reclaimed; but one hundred and thirty were lost, being transported to the sugar plantations on the island of Jamaica.

According to Denise Kiernan and Joseph D’Agnest in Signing Their Lives Away: The Fame and Misfortune of the Men Who Signed the Declaration of Independence (Quirk Books, 2009, page 217), “While imprisoned, Heyward occupied his mind by writing songs. Imagine, then, that the sun begins to rise off the coast of Florida on the morning of 4 July 1781. Unshaven and dressed in rags, Heyward and his fellow signers stand to face the new day on the fifth anniversary of the adoption of the Declaration of Independence. As the British guards try to silence them, they stand on crude bunks and belt out a tune Heyward has crafted in prison. The melody is taken from “God Save the King,” the British National Anthem. But the words have been changed to something far more American. One version of the song, entitled “God Save the Thirteen States,” begins:

God save the Thirteen States!

Long rule the United States!

God save our States!

Make us victorious,

Happy and glorious;

No tyrants over us;

God save our States! “

Judge Heyward, and his fellow prisoners at St. Augustine, were eventually returned to Philadelphia. On his passage, he fell overboard and had to save himself or drown.

Heyward-Washington House http://www.hmdb.org/marker.asp?marker=50452

Heyward-Washington House | Charleston Area CVB http://www.charlestoncvb.com

On returning to Carolina, he resumed his judicial duties until 1798. During this interval, he acted as a member of a convention for forming the state constitution, in 1790. In the following year, he retired from all public labors and cares, except those which were attached to his commission as judge.

Judge Heyward died in March 1809, in the sixty-fourth year of his age.

Thomas Heyward, Jr.

Thomas Heyward, Jr. grave marker

Sources:

Beaufort County Library

Colonial Hall

Find a Grave

Geni.com

Rev. Charles A. Goodrich, Lives of the Signers to the Declaration of Independence. New York: William Reed & Co., 1856. Pages 440-443.

Heyward-Washington House

Society for the Descendants of the Signers of the Declaration of Independence

Wikipedia

Posted in American History, British history, Declaration of Independence, Georgian England, history | Tagged American history, British history, Declaration of Independence, Georgian England, Revolutionary War, signer of the Declaration of Independence, South Carolina | 1 Comment

Celebrating the ReRelease of Vampire Darcy’s Desire with a New Title and Updated Story, Mixing Austen with Vampiric Legends

Posted on July 13, 2026 by Regina Jeffers

On August 26, I will celebrate the rerelease of my vampiric version of Pride and Prejudice, Vampire Darcy’s Desire under a new title, Midnight at Pemberley. I wrote the original book in 2010. Ulysses Press has repurchased the rights to this novel and are rereleasing it. I know some of you do not like the idea of mixing Austen with paranormal elements. In truth, I was one of you at the time. When Ulysses Press originally “suggested” I write a vampiric adaptation, I freaked out and denied the possibility. My friends were the ones who persuaded me. They convinced me the publisher would find another author to do the book, and that person may not treat Pride and Prejudice kindly. So I reluctantly accepted the assignment. I should preface this with the knowledge that we were in the midst of the “Twilight” phenomenon and many publishers were jumping on the vampire bandwagon.

In case you did not know, the Twilight series by Stephenie Meyer draws significant inspiration from classic literature, with each main book echoing a different work: Twilight mirrors Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice, New Moon parallels Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, Eclipse reflects Emily Brontë’s Wuthering Heights, and Breaking Dawn takes cues from Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice and A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Author Stephenie Meyer has cited these classics, along with authors like Charlotte Brontë and Orson Scott Card, as major influences for her story of Bella Swan and Edward Cullen.

Unlike many books associated with “vampire” craze, my book is set in Regency England (1800-1820). Even the legend of Dracula could not serve as a basis because Bram Stoker’s classic was not released until 1897. Therefore, it took me some time to sort out how I wanted to handle the “vampirism” in the book. I admit to being influenced by several other vampire stories over the years.

As a teacher of English for many years, I know that in Dracula, Stoker really is using Count Dracula as a combined symbol of Old World superstitions and modern economic improvements. It was near to the end of the Victorian era, and the people had many fears, among them the fear of sexuality and the British fear of being conquered by an “outsider.” Both are evident in the Stoker classic.

Bela Lugosi-Annex www.doctormacro.com — Bela Lugosi-Annex
http://www.doctormacro.com

Dracula is a member of the noble class who must mingle with those of a lower class to survive. As far as feminism is concerned, please recall that in Dracula, all vampires are female (except Count Dracula). Vampirism gives them the male trait of being the perpetrator. However, Stoker’s vampires bear little resemblance to humans. Dracula, for example, has an insatiable thirst for blood. When he kills, he does so purely to sustain his own existence. He has no guilt or moral qualms about killing. Dracula’s immortality imprisons him; he has no companions except those he captures and entraps in his home. A stake or a crucifix or clove garlic are the weapons of choice to be rid of the Count, whereas, fire does not affect him.

At one time, I read Anne Rice regularly. Many of us remember Lestat De Lioncourt, Rice’s main character in her Vampire Chronicles. With Lestat, the reader had a different type of vampire. Lestat possessed the human qualities of having a mind and a spirit. We found in him a vampire who did not kill just to kill. The “hunt” was part of the experience. One might find Lestat discussing philosophy or politics. In fact, he has an unusual collection of talents, and we discovered him to be very passionate. He makes his “lovers” people we might never associate with vampirism (a nun, for example). He seeks friendship from the mortals he turns. Lestat has an eternal soul. Unlike Count Dracula, Lestat cannot be killed by a stake or a crucifix. Lestat even slept in a church in one of the books. Rice has her vampires killed by fire or by being placed in sunlight, where they ignite into flames.

Vampire legends say the vampire must be an animated corpse, who claws out of his grave to feed upon human blood. He is dirty and foul-smelling. Yet, the modern vampire is an immortal creature, who retains his youth and lives forever, something very appealing to our youth and sex obsessed modern culture. He is the eternal bad boy, forever able to indulge in dark desires and sexual urges.

The vampire who exhibits self-control is a new phenomenon. Add a bit of compassion, and one has Twilight (which we must remember, by the author’s own words, is a vampiric Pride and Prejudice). The post 9/11 world does not look favorably on people or beings who hide in plain sight, yet, have the ability to kill us. Therefore, our recent vampires are less likely to be portrayed as monsters. I, seriously, believe the paranormal literature we are currently experiencing is an aftermath of our youth growing up reading the Harry Potter series. Paranormal books are a more sophisticated fantasy.

Historias y Relatos: Baobhan Sith las vampiras escocesas www.historiasperdidaseneltiempo.com — Historias y Relatos: Baobhan Sith las vampiras escocesas
http://www.historiasperdidaseneltiempo.com

My novel employs the original tales of vampires from the British Isles. Of the Baobhan Sith, or Scotland’s Legendary Vampires.

The Baobhan Sith, pronounced Baa’-van shee, are one of the oldest tales of vampirism in Scotland. Mostly found within the Highland regions, the Baobhan Sith invariably take the form of a beautiful woman. The vampire is customarily dressed in green, the colour of magic and the fairies.

This ghost-vampire was always deemed to be very dangerous to humans.

They also have a number of things in common with the classic vampire:

They are creatures of the night.
They drink human blood.
They sometimes have fangs like the classic vampire.
They are seductive.
They cannot tolerate daylight.
At will, they can shape-shift into another animal form.
They are telepathic and can read thoughts.

However, there are some interesting differences:

The baobhan sith rise only once a year from their graves.
Other names include ‘The White Woman.’
These vampires are all female.
They stalk their prey in forests and other natural locations.
They shun society, keeping to rural areas.
They stalk and hunt in groups.
They invite men to dance with them, before attacking.
Their sharp fingernails draw blood from the victim rather than fangs. These nails turn into talons when they attack.
They reportedly have cloven hooves for feet that their long dresses hide.
A man bitten by a baobhan sith will not turn into a vampire.
Any woman who is attacked and killed by a baobhan sith will return as one of them.
Building a stone cairn over their grave was thought to stop them from rising.
Iron is one of the main weapons used against these vampires.
They are afraid of horses, particularly if the horses are shod with iron shoes. So anyone who remained sitting on his horse while confronting the baobhan sith would be safe.

Blurb for Vampire Darcy’s Desire

Vampire Darcy’s Desire: A Pride and Prejudice Paranormal Adventure

Vampire Darcy’s Desire presents Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice as a heart-pounding vampire romance filled with passion and danger.

As a man, Darcy yearns for Elizabeth, but as a vampire, he is also driven to possess her. Uncontrollably drawn to each other, they are forced to confront a different kind of “pride” and his enemy’s “prejudice,” while wrestling with the seductive power of forbidden love. Evil forces, led by George Wickham, the purveyor of the curse, attack from all sides, and Darcy learns his only hope to survive is to align himself with Elizabeth, who is uncannily astute in how to defeat Wickham, a demon determined to destroy each generation of Darcys.

Vampire Darcy’s Desire retells Austen’s greatest love story in a hauntingly compelling tale. Can love be the only thing that can change him?

“An engaging and romantic paranormal surprise” ~ JustJane1813

“Jeffers ups the ante even more by basing the core of the plot line on the traditional Scottish ballad.” ~ The Royal Reviews

Posted in British history, dueling, estates, George Wickham, Georgian Era, gothic and paranormal, Great Britain, historical fiction, Jane Austen, legends, legends and myths, Living in the Regency, medieval, mystery, Pride and Prejudice, real life tales, Regency era, romance, Scotland, suspense, Ulysses Press, vampires, Victorian era, writing | Tagged Anne Rice, Baobhan Sith, Dracula, Jane Austen, legends, paranormal romance, Pride and Prejudice, Regina Jeffers, vampire, Vampire Darcy's Desire | 13 Comments

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