Traitor Tuesday ~ Celebrating 250 Years of the United States as a Separate Nation: Abraham Clark, Signer of the Declaration of Independence and “The Poor Man’s Counselor”

Posted on February 3, 2026 by Regina Jeffers

Clark was both a lawyer and surveyor by trade. He was 50 years old when he signed the Declaration of Independence. Married twice, he was the father of 16 children in total. He lived to age 92, seeing America again go against the British in the War of 1812. He died in 1820.

Abraham Clark’s great-grandfather, Richard Clark, emigrated from England to Barbados in 1634, moving to Southampton, Long Island in the 1650s, and later took part in the Indian War. For many years, Richard was a shipbuilder and planter. Later he moved his wife and children to Elizabethtown, New Jersey, where the Clarks became deeply immersed in public service.

clarkAbraham’s father and mother were Thomas Clark and Hannah Winans, whose family immigrated from Holland and were part of the founding of Elizabethtown. From Signers of the Declaration of Independence: Short Biographies, we learn, “Abraham Clark was born into the life of a farmer at what is now Elizabeth, New Jersey. His father saw an aptitude for mathematics and felt that he was too frail for the farm life and so young Abraham was tutored in mathematics and surveying. He continued his own study of the Law while working as a surveyor. He later practiced as an attorney and in this role is said to have been quite popular because of his habit of serving poor farmers in the community in cases dealing with title disputes. In succeeding years he served as the clerk of the Provincial Assembly, High Sheriff of Essex (now divided into Essex and Union) County. Elected to the Provincial Congress in 1775, he then represented New Jersey at the Second Continental Congress in 1776, where he signed the Declaration of Independence. He served in the congress through the Revolutionary War as a member of the committee of Public Safety. He retired and was unable to attend the Federal Constitutional Convention in 1787, however he is said to have been active in community politics until his death in 1794. Clark Township, New Jersey, is named in his honor.”

Abraham and his wife had ten children. The two oldest served with the Revolutionary forces and took part in the Battles of Trenton and Princeton.

From The Society of the Descendants of the Signers of the Declaration of Independence, we find, ” Clark was one of only twelve men including Alexander Hamilton, John Dickinson, Edmund Randolph, and James Madison Jr., who attended the Annapolis Convention of 1786 to discuss remedies to the federal government. As early as August 1, 1776 Clark was concerned about the debates underway surrounding the country’s first constitution when he penned the following remarks to Rev. Caldwell:

aclark-copy-215x300“. . . Our Congress have now under Consideration a Confederation of the States. Two Articles give great trouble, the one for fixing the Quotas of the States towards the Public expence and the other whether Each state shall have a Single Vote or in proportion to the Sums they raise or the num[be]r of Inhabitants they contain. I assure you the difficulties attending these Points at Times appear very Alarming. Nothing but the Present danger will ever make us all Agree, and I sometimes even fear that will be insufficient.”

The New Jersey legislature passed “Clark’s Law,” which was “An Act for Regulating and Shortening the Proceeding of the Courts of Law” in 1784. Later, Clark put forth another bill to prevent the Importation of Slaves and “to authorize the Manumission of them under certain Restrictions and to prevent the Abuse of Slaves.” Clark did own three slaves, and they were not freed until after his death. In 1794, Clark supported legislation to suspend all relations with with England until the Treaty of Paris was upheld. The bill passed the House, but was defeated in the Senate by a tie-break cast by John Adams. (The Society of the Descendants of the Signers of the Declaration of Independence)

“According to Fradin “Abraham Clark may have been the signer who was closest to being a typical citizen.” As seen above he hated pretense and elitism and never wore a wig or the ruffles of high social standing. Clark was very popular among the poor in New Jersey. Contemporaries commented that Clark was ‘limited in his circumstances, moderate in his desires, and unambitious of wealth’ and ‘very temperate’ as noted by Hatfield. According to historian, Edward C. Quinn, Clark ‘. . . regarded honesty, thrift, and independence as cardinal public virtues.’ He loved to study and imbued a generous character. Clark was particularly admired for his punctuality, integrity and perseverance.

Clark-tomb-300x211“Clark described himself as a Whig, and demonstrated throughout his life and in public service to be a champion of the people’s liberties. Bogin stated ‘One difference between Clark and many other Whigs [was he understood] . . . tyranny might arise from the new American centers of power as well as from the British . . . . Clark ‘did not believe men in public office should use their positions to confer favors on members of their personal families’ according to Quinn. When his two sons were prisoners of war on the Jersey he refused to reveal the issue to Congressional delegates. Only when members found out about the treatment of Thomas Clark in the Jersey dungeon did intervention occur. When Congress threatened retaliatory measures on a British officer Clark’s son was released from the dungeon, but neither son escaped the Jersey until the general exchange of prisoners. The British offered to release Clark’s sons if he defected to the Tory side, but he refused.” (The Society of the Descendants of the Signers of the Declaration of Independence)

Posted in America, American History, British history, Declaration of Independence, Uncategorized | 3 Comments

Female Teachers During the Regency Era + the Upcoming Release of “Lost in the Lyon’s Garden” from Dragonblade Publishing (Arriving 18 March 2026)

Posted on February 2, 2026 by Regina Jeffers

The heroine, Miss Victoria Whitchurch, of Lost in the Lyon’s Garden, has left her position in a girls’ school in Bath to come to London to assist her sister. There, purely by accident, she meets the hero, Lord Benjamin Thompson, and their paths continue to cross until they are PERFECT together. LOL! This is a mystery series, but that does not mean there cannot also have a bit of romance, and our hero was not raised to be an earl. Rather he was a vicar’s son, and with a bit of irony only an author can inject into a story, Miss Whitchurch is a vicar’s daughter. I said it was PERFECT, but you were skeptical, weren’t you?

Exactly what type of education might a student in an all girls school in the Regency expect to gain and who might be their teachers?

Let us first have a quick look at the kind of education available. Jane Austen in Pride and Prejudice tells us Caroline Bingley was educated at “one of the first private seminaries” in London during the Regency era, a type of institution that focused on “accomplishments” like music, drawing, dancing, and modern languages rather than deep academic learning. While the Bingley family’s new wealth allowed for such schooling, the curriculum was seen as somewhat outdated, emphasizing etiquette and social graces over intellectual pursuits, which contrasted with the more practical and modern approach to education some families of the gentry and aristocracy adopted. 

Austen describes Bingley’s sisters as such: “They were in fact very fine ladies; not deficient in good-humour when they were pleased, nor in the power of being agreeable where they chose it, but proud and conceited. They were rather handsome, had been educated in one of the first private seminaries in town, had a fortune of twenty thousand pounds, were in the habit of spending more than they ought, and of associating with people of rank, and were therefore in every respect entitled to think well of themselves, and meanly of others. “

“Decorum … was the imperative law of a lady’s inner life as well as her outer habits; … nothing that was not decorous was for a moment admitted. Every movement of the body in entering and quitting a room, in taking a seat and rising from it, was duly criticized.” (From a firsthand account, quoted in Wives and Daughters by Joanna Martin) Education of Upper-Class Women in the Regency

Other Sources which may prove helpful:

Caroline Bingley and female education

Education of Upper-Class Women in the Regency

In the Regency era (roughly 1811-1820), female teachers were primarily employed as governesses or schoolmistresses in private academies and seminaries for girls. Governesses lived with families to teach their children, offering security but often little independence or social standing, while schoolmistresses ran independent schools, which could lead to more financial freedom but were less secure. Both roles were among the few professional options for educated women and required a solid education, sometimes gained by boarding at a school itself.
 

A governess was an educated woman who lived in a family’s home and taught the children in the household, who were often of the same social class as the governess, but more affluent than her family. Governesses were in a “no man’s land” in the household, neither fully part of the family nor the servants. They, therefore, often faced social isolation, as well as jealousy, if the men of the household began to show the woman favor. They were, generally, provided with room and board and a steady salary, but the job was very demanding, especially if there was a large number of children, and there was little to no opportunity for saving enough to escape one’s station, nor a retirement plan, nor a chance to marry elsewhere.

A schoolmistress ran a private boarding school for the daughters of the middle or upper class. These schools could be called “Ladies’ Seminaries.” Competition grew during the late Georgian era, for more and more middle class and gentry recognized the advantage of also educating their daughters. For the young women involved, it was an opportunity to see part of the world. The schools offered a degree of independence, often for the girls moving from boarder at the school to teaching within one.

Qualifications and Background 

  • Education: Women seeking these positions typically had a good, though sometimes questionable, boarding school education.
  • Social Standing: Often were impoverished gentlewomen, poor relatives of the clergy, or intelligent former students who needed an income.
  • Family Connections: Some schools were family affairs, with daughters inheriting the position from their mothers or aunts.

Limited Options

  • Teaching, either as a governess or schoolmistress, was one of the very few professions deemed respectable for women in the Regency era. 
  • The emphasis on “accomplishments” like music, drawing, and languages in girls’ education was a way to display family status and make a woman suitable for marriage, which was the primary goal for most women. 
Posted in aristocracy, book release, British history, Dragonblade Publishers, eBooks, family, Georgian England, Georgian Era, hero, heroines, historical fiction, history, Jane Austen, Living in the Regency, mystery, publishing, reading habits, Regency era, Regency romance, research, writing | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Gentleman John Jackson and the Sport of Boxing in Regency England + the Upcoming Release of “Lost in the Lyon’s Garden” from Dragonblade Publishing (Arriving 18 March 2026)

Posted on January 30, 2026 by Regina Jeffers

John Jackson, a celebrated English pugilist was born in either 1768 or 1769 (records vary). He came from a middle class family from Worcestershire. In an era where most prizefighters of the time came from working-class origins, Jackson’s middle-class background led to his nickname of “Gentleman” John Jackson. For me, coming from an era of such great as Cassius Clay [who had 61 professional fights in his career, with a record of 56 wins, 5 losses, and 0 draws] and George Foreman [who had a total of 81 professional fights during his boxing career, finishing with a record of 76 wins and 5 losses], I find John Jackson’s record of 3 fights underwhelming, but my opinion is not the purpose of this post.

Jackson is often celebrated as being “the bare-knuckle boxing champion of England in 1795, having defeated Daniel Mendoza, a Sephardim Portguese Jew, who played a significant role in advancing the scientific technique in boxing by publishing two books on the subject (The Art of Boxing and The Modern Art of Boxing) and by conducting frequent public exhibitions. While modern sources often portray Mendoza as the English Prizefighting Champion from 1792 to 1795, contemporary sources from the late 18th and early 19th century do not describe Mendoza in this manner. Likewise, Jackson is not described as a champion of England.

Regency Reader tells us, “The science of boxing was systematized by Jack Broughton and consisted of the following rules:

  • outlawed hitting below the belt
  • prohibited hitting an opponent that was down, on the knees, was considered down.
  • Wrestling holds were allowed only above the waist.
  • drew a 3-foot square in the center of the ring and when a fighter was knocked down, his handlers had 30 seconds to pick him up and position him on one side of the square ready to reenter the fray. If they failed, or the fighter signaled resignation, the fight was over.
  • to prevent disputes, every fighter should have a gentleman to act as umpire, and if the two cannot agree, they should choose a third as referee. (http://www.georgianindex.net/Sport/Boxing/boxing.html)

“Eventually, the 19th Century saw the inclusion of boxing gloves rather than bare knuckles, but generally these rules were common practice.  Although Broughton invented boxing gloves, Jackson is often credited with introducing gloves to the sport as he often recommended their use.”

One of the older authorities on bareknuckle boxing history is Pugilistica by Henry Downes Miles. It is a lot of information, but separates pre-Regency, Regency, and Victorian so a researcher can be era-specific. The book is archived in photo form at the link below:

archive.org/details/pugilisticahisto01mileuoft/page/n7

After this infamous fight with Mendoza, Jackson opened a boxing academy at 13 Bond Street. It was designed to cater to “gentlemen.” Jackson resided above the establishment. It is noted in Henry Downes Miles’s Pugilistica, the History of British Boxing, volume 1, that Jackson was highly thought of boxer as well as an instructor. The venture proved a great success. Pugilistica, volume 1, pages 97-99 recommends Jackson’s training. “Not to have had lessons of Jackson was a reproach. To attempt a list of his pupils would be to copy one-third of the then peerage.”

One such pupil was the poet, Lord Byron. Byron related in his diary that he regularly received instruction in boxing from Jackson, and even mentioned him in a note to the 11th Canto of his poem Don Juan. Most of the instruction at Jackson’s academy seems to have taken place with the students wearing ‘mufflers’ (i.e. gloves).

Another helpful book on the subject is Writing the Prizefight, Pierce Egan’s Boxiana World by David Snowdon. 

This book won the Lord Aberdare Literary Prize for Sports History (2013)

This book focuses on the literary contribution made by the pugilistic writing of Pierce Egan (c. 1772-1849), identifying the elements that rendered Egan’s style distinctive and examining the ways his writing invigorated the sporting narrative. In particular, the author analyses Egan’s blend of inventive imagery and linguistic exuberance within the commentaries of the Boxiana series (1812-29). The book explores the metropolitan and sporting jargon used by the diverse range of characters that inhabited Egan’s ‘Pugilistic Hemisphere’ and looks at Egan’s exploitation of prizefighting’s theatricality. Another significant theme is the role of pugilistic reporting in perpetuating stereotypical notions relating to British national identity, military readiness and morality. Consideration of Egan’s metropolitan rambles is complemented by discussion of the heterogeneity, spectacle and social dynamics of the prize ring and its reportage. The book traces Egan’s impact during the nineteenth century and, importantly, evaluates his influence on the subsequent development of sporting journalism.

It is very London specific and really more about 1811-1830. Also, there are four volumes of Pierce Egan’s Boxiana available on POD, of which, the first is really all most Regency writers need. (NOTE: Pierce did not write the fourth one in the series, an ex-friend of his did). But there is a forward that discusses training methods, etc. 

Posted in aristocracy, book release, British history, Dragonblade Publishers, eBooks, Georgian England, Georgian Era, hero, heroines, historical fiction, history, Living in the Regency, mystery, publishing, real life tales, Regency era, Regency romance, research, writing | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

“Bonus” Traitor Thursday ~ Celebrating 250 Years of the United States as a Separate Nation: Philip Livingston, Signer of the Declaration of Independence and “Lord of the Manor”

Posted on January 29, 2026 by Regina Jeffers

http://www.dsdi1776.com/signers-by-state/philip-livingston/ by Ole Erekson, Engraver, c1876, Library of Congress

http://www.dsdi1776.com/signers-by-state/philip-livingston/ by Ole Erekson, Engraver, c1876, Library of Congress

Philip Livingston was one of the older of the signer. A merchant, he represented New York. He was 60 years of age at the time he signed the document. He was dead by age 62.

Born to a wealthy family of the Hudson River Valley of New York (like 160,000 acres on the eastern side of Hudson River wealthy), Philip Livingston was a merchant and a philanthropist. The Livingston family’s wealth provided them with political power. They were presented with the concept of a “manor,” meaning they were given one seat in the New York royal legislature, and they could act as judges within the territory. Like many of his family, Philip settled in New York City and took up the import business. Residing on Duke Street in Manhattan, he also spent time on a 40-acre estate in Brooklyn Heights. He married Christina Broeck in 1740. They had nine children (Philip, Richard, Catherine, Margaret, Peter, Sarah, Abraham, Alida, and Henry), his youngest son Henry serving with George Washington during the War. He was one of the two Dutch American signers of the Declaration of Independence. 

“Philip Livingston was born in the well-to-do and prominent Albany Livingston family. His family controlled a large landholding grant, called Livingston Manor. Philip had the benefit of a good education and graduated from Yale College in 1737. He became prominent as a merchant, and was elected an alderman of New York City in 1754. Livingston became active as a promoter of efforts to fund and raise troops for the War of Independence. In 1759, he was elected to the New York [then a colony] House of Representatives. In October 1765, he attended the Stamp Act Congress, which was a prelude to the American Revolution. When New York established a rebel government in 1775, Livingston became the President of the Provincial Convention, and a delegate to the Continental Congress. In the Continental Congress, he strongly supported separation from Britain, and in 1776 he joined other Continental Congress delegates in signing the Declaration of Independence.” (The New Netherland Institute)

In the early days of the “revolution,” Livingston was considered a moderate. He was conscious of his import business and the large market the British connections brought to the American colony. Reportedly, he was a privateer during the French and Indian War. He wished to be an Englishman first and foremost. Even so, he opposed the taxes imposed by the English government. In Congress, Livingston came to heads with John Adams, for Livingston often “stonewalled” the more radical ideas of independence. Livingston was of the belief that without England’s guidance that America would become warring civil states. Eventually, his stance mellowed, but was not totally abandoned. 

“He was born January 15, 1716 at Albany, NY, the son of Philip Livingston (the second Lord of the Manor described below) and Catharine Van Brugh. Catharine was the daughter of Captain Peter Van Brugh, a mayor of Albany. Philip “the Signer” was one of three Livingstons who were members of the Continental Congress at the time of the great deliberations concerning the future of the 13 colonies. Although Philip was the only one who actually signed the Declaration of Independence, his brother William of New Jersey, and his first cousin once removed Robert R. Livingston, later the Chancellor of New York, were very active Continental Congress contributors. In addition, at least twenty other members of the larger Livingston family served during the Revolutionary War as officers, either by Congressional or State Legislature appointments.

“Just who were these Livingstons who risked so much in terms of their families, their fortunes, and their very lives in the cause of freedom from the oppression by their mother country. In America, they all trace their lineage back to Robert Livingston, a native of Scotland who immigrated to the New World. His father, Reverend John Livingston had been exiled with his family to the Netherlands in 1663 for refusing to take an oath of allegiance to King Charles II. Nine years later, his father having died, he returned to Scotland. He decided a career in the New World appealed to him and in 1673, he set sail. Fluent in both English and Dutch, Robert decided that Albany in the colony of New York was the place for him to settle, and a wise decision it was. He soon established himself in the fur trade and ingratiated himself to both the old Dutch families and their new English masters. Many important political appointments followed, including Secretary for Indian Affairs, town clerk, collector of customs, and clerk to the colony’s largest private landholding, the Patroonship of Rensselaerwyck. He eventually married the widow of the owner of Rensselaerwyck, Alida Schuyler Van Rensselaer. Thus established into the aristocracy of colonial New York, he was granted ownership of the ‘Lordship and Manor of Livingston’ by the English Royal Governor, Thomas Dongan, in 1687. The manor consisted of 160,000 acres on the east side of the Hudson River about forty miles south of Albany. Robert preferred to be known as the “first proprietor” of the Manor of Livingston, but he and his two successors were later referred to as ‘Lords of the Manor.’ Two of Robert’s sons had large families, which multiplied through the first several generations. A son Philip became the second Lord, and his oldest son Robert became the third and last Lord of the Manor when the property was sub-divided and much of it eventually disbursed. The Lords of the Manor are buried beneath the Livingston Memorial Church near where the original Manor House had been in the Town of Livingston.

“The Livingston’s ancestry in Scotland through Rev. John Livingston is quite impressive. In one genealogy, the family traces its roots to Egbert, the first Saxon King of all England. Included in this genealogy are Alfred the Great and other Anglo-Saxon kings, Edward the Elder, Robert the Bruce, Robert Stuart, and other kings of Scotland. Another genealogy focuses on the Livingston name, and carries it back to Sir Andrew de Livingston, Knight, who was sheriff of Lanark in 1296. This genealogy carries the name down through Rev. John Livingston, and includes the six Lord Livingstons of Callendar. Sir Alexander de Livingston, Lord of Callendar, Knight, was the guardian of King James II. The fifth Lord Livingston of Callendar was the guardian of Mary, Queen of Scots at Linlithgow Palace. The magnificent Callendar House exists today and is a museum under the Scottish Trust near Edinburgh. Linlithgow Palace is a ruins, but is extensively used for performances, tours, and other public events.” (The Society of the Descendants of the Signers of the Declaration of Independence)

When the British attacked New York, Livingston’s family abandoned their home, taking refuge in Kingston, the temporary capital of New York. The British used his property in Brooklyn Heights as a “hospital,” but later burned it. Livingston was forced to sell off some of his smaller properties to sustain him until the War’s end. Even so, the combined Livingston family built 40 houses along the Hudson and built up their wealth to include land holdings larger than the state of Rhode Island. (Denise Kiernan and Joseph D’Agnest, Signing Their Lives Away, Quirk Books) After signing the Declaration, Livingston was elected to the New York State Senate in 1777. Unfortunately, his health deteriorated, and he passed at the age of 62 on 12 June 1778. He is buried at Prospect Hill Cemetery in York County, Pennsylvania. Part of his legacy includes the founding of King’s College, which later became Columbia University. 

Posted in America, American History, British history, Declaration of Independence, Great Britain, Living in the Regency, real life tales, Regency era | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

The Colt Paterson Revolver and Its Relationship to Book 4, “Lost in the Lyon’s Garden” from Dragonblade Publishing (Arriving 18 March 2026)

Posted on January 28, 2026 by Regina Jeffers

If you have been a steady reader of my Dragonblade mystery series (and if you have not, why not?), you will recall that Lord Macdonald Duncan has been shot by an unknown man, who carried a gun not like those generally available in England at the time. Often, I have one of the characters remark how it looked like one a person might find on the American frontier.

Each of the five books in this series (Lyon in the Way, Lyon’s Obsession, Lyon in Disguise, Lost in the Lyon’s Garden, and Lyon on the Inside) start with the same scene: the shooting of Lord Macdonald Duncan by an unknown assailant outside of the Lyon’s Den, an infamous gaming hell. The scene is told from a different character’s point of view (the hero of that particular book), and the reader learns more details regarding the shooting – reasons for the attack, a description of the shooter, how he escaped, etc., etc., etc. It is a technique I also used in my award-winning REALM series.

One thing each of the heroes believe to be true was the gun used in the attack was likely one adapted from those used on the American frontier during the early 1800s. In my mind’s eyes, when I was writing the tale, I saw something more like the Hawkens Plains Rifle. I have a dear friend, actually my journalism professor from when I was an undergraduate. He lives some twenty miles from me, and we occasionally share a meal, etc. He also writes novels, but he prefers Westerns. Therefore, I sought out some of the sites he had suggested years ago when I, too, dallied with the idea of writing a family style saga on the American frontier. So, such is where I came across this information.

True West: History of the American Frontier, gives us an article called “Top Guns That Tamed the West.” Phil Spangenberger tells us,


Such is not to say that there were no such rifles or guns that fit the description given in my series. In fact, initially, the long firearm of choice on the frontier was the smoothbore musket, or trade gun, built in factories in England and France and shipped to the colonies for purchase. Gradually, long rifles became more popular due to their longer effective range. While the smooth bore musket had an effective range of less than 100 yards, a rifleman could hit a man-sized target at a range of 200 yards or more. The price for this accuracy was that the long rifle took significantly longer to reload than the approximately 20 seconds of the musket.

Though I had something in mind more to the idea of a holster pistol (see image below) or the half-stock muzzleloader, when reading this article, I set my sights on the Colt Paterson Revolver. “Despite not being a successful business venture for Samuel Colt, this five-shot, cap and ball single-action became the first practical “revolving pistol.” Although only around 2,850 revolvers were made, this was the handgun that revolutionized revolvers for all time. The Paterson (its name comes from the city in New Jersey where it was manufactured) was produced in a number of small calibers and model variations ranging from pocket-sized ‘Baby’ Patersons, to larger mid-powered belt revolvers. However, it was the long-barreled .36 caliber Texas Paterson version of this first Colt that was put to such deadly use against the Comanches by the early Texas Rangers.” [Top 12 Guns That Tamed the West]

https://truewestmagazine.com/article/top-12-guns-that-tamed-the-wild-west/#:~:text=Plains%20rifles%20were%20made%20from,Cody.
https://www.americanrevolutioninstitute.org/exhibition/a-revolution-in-arms/
Posted in American History, book release, books, British history, Dragonblade Publishers, eBooks, Georgian England, Georgian Era, hero, heroines, historical fiction, history, Living in the Regency, military, mystery, publishing, Regency era, Regency romance, research, suspense, writing | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Traitor Tuesday ~ Celebrating 250 Years of the United States as a Separate Nation: Joseph Hewes, the Bachelor Signer of the Declaration of Independence

Posted on January 27, 2026 by Regina Jeffers

by Ole Erekson, Engraver, c1876, Library of Congress www/ushistory.org/declaration/signers/hewes.htm

by Ole Erekson, Engraver, c1876, Library of Congress www/ushistory.org/declaration/signers/hewes.htm

Joseph Hewes was born in Princeton, New Jersey, but he amassed his fortune in a shipping business located in Wilmington, North Carolina. He was 46 years of age when he signed The Declaration of Independence. He died three years later.

When the revolution broke out, Hewes placed his ships at the service of the Continental Army. Unfortunately because Hewes had no direct line descendants his contributions are sometimes overlooked. 

Hewes was the son of Quaker farmers whose ancestors came to America from England in 1735. They settled in the Connecticut Colony.  Aaron and Providence Hewes left Connecticut because of religious intolerance, as well as an upswing of Indian attacks. Settling at Maybury Hill, an estate outside of Princeton, where they remained for some 25 years. Little is known of Hewes’ life prior to his attending Princeton College and his apprenticeship in a counting house. In North Carolina, he founded a prosperous shipping business. He was engaged to Isabella Johnston, sister to Samuel Johnston, who served as a governor of North Carolina. Regrettably, she died before the wedding date, and Hewes remained a bachelor for the remainder of his days. (The Society of the Descendants of the Signers of the Declaration of Independence)

Hewes represented North Carolina in the Continental Congress and helped developed the “Halifax Resolves,” which chronicled North Carolina’s grievances against English rule, and he helped form a plan of non-importation for the colonies. As a Quaker, Hewes was under pressure to denounce the colonial efforts for independence, but he stood strong. Moreover, he shunned other teachings of Quakers by attending socials and dances and enjoying the company of women. “On the advice of the committee appointed October 5, 1775, Congress voted to fit out four vessels, A committee of seven was formed by Congress for the defense of the United Colonies. By this vote, Congress was fully committed to the policy of maintaining a naval armament. This committee was the first executive body for the management of naval affairs. It was known as the “Naval Committee” and the members were John Langdon of New Hampshire, John Adams of Massachusetts, Stephen Hopkins of Rhode Island, Silas Deane of Connecticut, Richard Henry Lee of Virginia, Joseph Hewes of North Carolina and Christopher Gadsden of South Carolina. Hewes chaired the committee that was responsible for fitting out the first American Warships. He also put his entire fleet at the disposal of the Continental Armed Forces. The disbursements of the Naval Committee were under his special charge, and eight armed vessels were fitted out with the Funds placed at his disposal.” (The Society of the Descendants of the Signers of the Declaration of Independence)

“Joseph Hewes was a friend and benefactor of John Paul (alias Jones). John Paul was a ship boy on a merchantman from Scotland, and at twenty one was master of a Brigantine. He arrived in America in 1773. and became a friend of Joseph Hewes. When the time came to appoint the Nation’s first Naval captains, Hewes and John Adams clashed for one of the positions. Hewes nominated his friend John Paul Jones. John Adams maintained that all the captaincies should be filled by New Englanders, and stubbornly protested. New England had yielded to the South in the selection of a commander in chief of the Continental Army and Adams had fostered the selection of the able Virginian George Washington, so he was not now about to make a concession on the Navy. Hewes, sensing the futility of argument, reluctantly submitted. John Paul Jones, was to become the most honored Naval hero of the Revolution, but he received only a Lieutenant’s commission. Jones never forgot his patron and sponsor and many letters are extant telling of the great gratitude he felt for Hewes’ interest in him. The following is an excerpt from one of the letters:
‘You are the angel of my happiness; since to your friendship I owe my present enjoyments, as well as my future prospects. You more than any other person have labored to place the instruments of success in my hands.’ (John Paul Jones)” (The Society for the Descendants of the Signers of the Declaration of Independence)

From North Carolina History, we learn “North Carolinians were pleased with Hewes’s representation and elected him to Congress for a second time in 1775. He stayed until its adjournment in July. He continued to serve the state of North Carolina, almost entirely uninterrupted, for the next four years. His final appearance in Congress came on October 29, 1779. Hewes struggled with an illness for sometime and remained confined in his chamber from October until his death on November 10, 1779. His funeral took place the following day. Congress, the General Assembly of Pennsylvania, the President and Supreme Executive Council, the Minister Plenipotentiary of France, and a number of citizens came to pay their respects to a great man who dedicated so many years to the Patriot cause. To honor the memory of Hewes, members of Congress wore a crape around their left arms for one month.”

Posted in American History, British history, Declaration of Independence, Great Britain | Tagged , , , , , | 3 Comments

Charitable Organizations During the Georgian Era + the Upcoming Release of “Lost in the Lyon’s Garden” from Dragonblade Publishing (Arriving 18 March 2026)

Posted on January 26, 2026 by Regina Jeffers

To those of means during the Regency Era, charitable causes were considered a social obligation deriving from the parishes. Churches throughout the land supported the poor and those in need.

The Voluntary Action History Society site tells us, “Looking at the mass of visual and printed material produced on the subject of charity during the 1700s, there were clearly resemblances between what people were concerned about then and what we are still debating today. To be sure, there were important differences. For instance, the Georgians had inherited the medieval tradition of almsgiving which the Henrician Reformation and subsequent Elizabethan legislation had effectively secularised.

“The ‘New Poor Law’ (officially the Poor Law Amendment Act) of 1834 was designed to make provision for the poor fairer for society as a whole, although it was regularly accused of inflicting inhuman cruelty, as the novels of Charles Dickens and others were at pains to show. This system, which was intended to clear away the detritus of ages and which arguably paved the way for the modern welfare state, has caused us to forget the Georgian idea of charity which was much more ad hoc and more dependent on the generosity of private individuals.”

A poor tax was levied on owners of land and buildings. This tax funded the workhouses and other efforts to assist the poor. The churches involvement was engrained in society from medieval times forward. Giving to the church meant giving to the orphanages and to the elderly and to the poor, in general.

“Philanthropy in the 19th century was based on religious tradition that was centuries in the making.  Historically, wealthy people in society gave to the poor as a Christian duty. Charity was seen as a way of saving one’s own soul while also helping those in need.  Protestants, especially those with strong evangelical leanings, believed that social conscience demanded social action.  They held that by coming into contact with human nature, particularly with those in need, that they were able to come in contact with Christ.[5]  Religious philanthropists believed that by helping the needy, they were helping their own kin because everyone was a child of God. Good works were, and are part of the foundation of Christianity, and pave the way to salvation.  Through the 19th century, the church increasingly became the vehicle of private and public social work.  However, it should be noted that though philanthropy was rooted in religious and church tradition, it also spread outside the church.  Philanthropy and religion are intertwined throughout history, but are not necessarily dependent on each other.” [Philanthropy]

The middle class took on the task with “gusto.” Women, in particular, stepped up to the task, but, not always for the reasons one might expect. Certainly, charity was an admirable trait. However, “working outside the home,” even in a charitable manner, provided these women a sense of worth beyond tending to their husband’s homes. Charitable work seemed to be an extension of their “natural” maternal instincts, but it also allowed women to meet and socialize with other women of like minds and education, opening them up to new experiences and ideas. “Charity begins at home” took on a whole different meaning.

Evangelism placed service to one’s fellow man above doctrine, and its rise to “popularity” as the 19th century progressed changed the look of charities from purely the work of the church to the work of society, as a whole. Non-church organizations, such as guilds, also could be supported without one considering himself or herself “not a Christian.” Women also created other means to support their favorite charities with organizing bazaars and dinner parties and collection boxes. Men still supported the organizations with the purse strings, but it was the women who made them work.

Some years back, another Regency-based author shared a list of actual charities during the Georgian and Victorian eras. I thought including the names might provide those interested in the scope of charitable work better insights.

The Society for Organising Charitable Relief and Repressing Mendicity (aka Charity Organisation Society or COS (this one took the position that most charities were being “hoodwinked by the cunning poor,”)

Manchester and Salford District Provident Society (DPS)

Liverpool Central Relief Society

Brightelmston Provident Institution

Brighton Provident and District Society

Liverpool Provident District Society

Central Relief SocietySociety for the Relief of Distressed Travellers and Others (1814)

Oxford Charity Organisation Committee

Anti-Mendicity Society

Oxford Anti-Mendicity and Charity Organisation Association

Society for the Relief of Distress (1860)

Invalid Children’s Aid Association (1888)

Barnardo Evangelical Trustees

Manchester and Salford Provident Dispensary Association

Edgbaston Mendicity Society

Brighton, Hove and Preston Charity Organisation Society

Leamington Charity Organisation and Relief Society

Vigilance Association (noted to be unpopular)

Birkhead Provident and Benevolent Society (later became the Birkhead Association for Organising Charitable Relief and Repressing Mendicity)

Ladies’ Sanitary Society- goal to promote habits of cleanliness among the working classes

[City Name] Relief Fund

Toxteth Relief Society

Brighton Jubilee and Accident Fund

Provident Dispensary Association

Oxford Working Women’s Benefit Society- basically a pool, women paid a small amount weekly and could claim benefits if they became sick.

Croydon Charitable Society

Reading Destitute Children Aid Committee- provided footwear with insistence on weekly repayments

Sick Relief Fund

Penny Savings Bank

London Ethical Society

Lock Hospital

Foundling Hospital

General Lying-In Hospital (also British Lying-In Hospital, Lying-In Charity, etc.)

Marine Society

Philanthropic Society

Magdalen House

St. Thomas’s Hospita

Asylum for Orphaned Girls (also Asylum for the Reception of Orphaned Girls at Lambeth)

London Hospital

Society for the Discharge and Relief of Persons Imprisoned for Small Debts

Salters Guild

Smallpox Hospital

Society for Improving the Comfort and Bettering the Conditions of the Poor

Middlesex Hospital

Ladies Society for Employing the Female Poor

London Female Penitentiary

Lambeth Refuge for the Destitute

Dorking Provident Institution

The Church of England Waifs and Strays Society

Crutch & Kindness League (for ‘cripples’)

Metropolitan Association for Befriending Young Servants

Church Missionary Society

Society for Promoting the Religious Instruction of Youth

Female Friendly Society for the Relief of Poor, Infirm, Aged Widows and Single Women of Good Character, Who Have Seen Better Days

Other Sources:

Charity events in Georgian England, or, the poor shall be with us always

The Philanthropic Society of Mile End for the Relief and Discharge of Persons Imprisoned for Small Debts; and other objects

In book 4 of my mystery/romantic suspense series, the heroine’s sister has an illegitimate child, and many wish Miss Victoria Whitchurch to send her nephew to one of the foundling hospitals or an orphanage, but Miss Whitchurch refuses. Read all about the adorable bit of delight that is the child and the two adults who come to love him dearly.

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Do All Babies Have Blue Eyes at Birth? + the Upcoming Release of “Lost in the Lyon’s Garden” from Dragonblade Publishing (Arriving 18 March 2026)

Posted on January 23, 2026 by Regina Jeffers

Lost in the Lyon’s Garden not only has an analytical and caring hero and an over the top brave heroine, it has a newborn babe who will steal your heart away. Not the child of the hero and heroine, for they are both the children of vicars, but that of a close relative, and the child requires their protection and their love. In the story they mention the child’s blue eyes and marvel whether they will always be blue. So are all children born with blue eyes?

No, not all babies are born with blue eyes. While many babies, especially those of European descent, may appear to have blue eyes at birth, this is often due to a lack of melanin (a pigment that provides color) in the iris at that time. As babies are exposed to light, their eyes may darken to green, hazel, or brown as melanin production increases. Studies show that a significant percentage of newborns, particularly those of Asian, Black, and Hispanic descent, are born with brown eyes. VSP Direct

Here’s why:

Melanin, produced by melanocytes, is the pigment responsible for eye color. 

Melanocytes respond to light, and at birth, babies are in a relatively dark environment (the womb). As they are exposed to light, melanin production increases, potentially changing eye color. 

While melanin plays a role, genetics also determine the potential for eye color. Babies inherit genes from their parents that influence how much melanin their melanocytes produce. 

The idea that all babies are born with blue eyes is a myth. Many babies of color are born with brown or hazel eyes. 

Eye color can change in the first few years of life, but brown eyes are less likely to change than blue or green eyes. 

Healthline tells us, “Before the phrase “baby blues” came to refer to postpartum sadness (which is not the same as postpartum depression), it was actually a common synonym for “eyes.” Why? Well, because all babies are born with blue eyes, right? Wrong. Feast your baby blues upon this fun fact: Worldwide, more newborns have brown eyes than blue. And while it’s true that many babies have blue or gray eyes at first, it’s important to know that eye color can change for months after birth. And there are plenty of infants gazing out at their new surroundings with hazel and brown eyes, too. In fact, a 2016 Stanford University study involving 192 newborns found that nearly two-thirds of themTrusted Source were born with brown eyes, while only about 1 in 5 babies arrived with blue eyes. The Stanford researchers also noted, however, that the majority of babies in the study born with blue eyes were Caucasian. Those of other ethnic groups, including Asian and Hispanic, were more often born with brown eyes.”

Posted in book release, British history, Dragonblade Publishers, eBooks, Georgian England, Georgian Era, hero, heroines, historical fiction, history, mystery, publishing, Regency era, Regency romance, research, romance, series, suspense, writing | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Threads of Feeling and the London Foundling Hospital

Posted on January 21, 2026 by Regina Jeffers

Back in 2011, London’s Foundling Hospital Museum had a somewhat tender and somewhat heartbreaking display of what was called “Threads of Feeling.” You see, beginning in the mid-18th Century, thousands of poor women who could no longer care for their children made the difficult decision to leave their babies with the London Foundling Home. Most likely thought it would be only a temporary decision. In fact, when writing Lost in the Lyon’s Garden, I thought, for a time, to have Miss Whitchurch search for her nephew there, but then I recalled “the threads of feeling” concept in place at the Foundling Hospital. Victoria would not know what her sister had chosen for the child.

Here is how the Threads of Feeling worked. Those distraught mothers were made to leave some kind of identifying piece pinned to the child in the event that sometime in the future the woman was in a position to return for the child. No name of the child was recorded. No name of the mother was recorded. It was essential that the token be distinctive. Be memorable. The hospital essentially erased the mother from the child’s life in order to give the child a chance to succeed in its world. A new name was presented to the child. It was provided with basic schooling, perhaps an apprenticeship, so it could make its way through the world.

If the mother’s circumstances changed, she would need to be able to identify in detail the object left as the child’s existence. The hospital made a vow to preserve the object.

The hospital, which was located Bloombury, soon took on many of the fashionable sect.

In describing the 2011 exhibition, The Guardian tells us, “Admission policy varied over time – at one point the hospital took only 200 babies a year, at another 4,000 – but from 1741 to 1760 16,282 babies entered the institution anonymously. The vast majority of mothers failed to heed the instruction to leave an identifying token, perhaps because they were too beaten down by rotten lives to imagine a time when they would be able to provide a warm, clean home for their baby. All the same, 5,000 of the infants deposited came with some kind of token attached. And by some lucky chance these tokens, mostly comprising bits of fabric carefully pinned to the baby’s admission billet, have survived. Over the past few decades they have been stored not at the museum itself but at London Metropolitan Archives where they have tended to languish, overlooked. Now, these slivers of everyday Georgian life are making a triumphant return to their original home where they will form the basis of the museum’s new exhibition, Threads of Feeling.

“The exhibition’s curator, Professor John Styles of Hertfordshire University, is emphatic about the significance of these 5,000 scraps of fabric, mundane and beautiful, lumpy and sheer. They comprise, he explains, nothing less than the biggest archive of 18th-century materials surviving in Britain, probably in the world. Historians who have tried to investigate the dress of the common people in the Georgian period – including Styles himself – have always fallen into a black hole where the evidence ought to be. The clothing of elite groups – fashionable merchants’ wives, duchesses with an eye for style – have survived in countless stately homes and museums. You can feast your eyes on silk and velvet, on silver buckles and pearl buttons, but you will search in vain for evidence of what ordinary working people wore to keep themselves dry and more-or-less warm.

“There are hints, of course, in paintings and cartoons, including those drawn by Hogarth (who was a governor of the hospital), but it is impossible to know whether these are strictly accurate. The prostitutes and fishwives who tumble through the satirist’s street scenes may well be based on close observation, but they are also exaggerations and fantasies, caricatures held up for the viewer’s pity, mirth and scorn. It is the Foundling tokens, snipped from either the mother’s or baby’s garments, that provide our only solid evidence of what ordinary clothing looked and felt like.

“To examine these samples is to enter a world of dizzying names and textures. Some are familiar – calico, flannel, gingham and satin – although the relationship between the 18th-century fabric and its modern equivalent often turns out to be stretched pretty thin. Other textiles boast names utterly mysterious to us, opening up a lost world of camblet and fustian, susy and cherryderry, calimanco and linsey-woolsey. What stands out is the high proportion – almost a third – of printed cottons and linens among the Foundling collection.”

Other Sources:

French General

Piecework

Threads of Feeling – Foundling Museum

Two Nerdy History Girls

Just as a point of reference for those knowing me as a Regency writer, The Foundling Hospital (formally the Hospital for the Maintenance and Education of Exposed and Deserted Young Children) was a children’s home in London, England, founded in 1739 by the philanthropic sea captain, Thomas Coram.

Posted in British history, buildings and structures, Georgian England, Georgian Era, history, Living in the Regency, reading, Regency era, research | Tagged , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Traitor Tuesday ~ Celebrating 250 Years of the United States as a Separate Nation: Richard Henry Lee, Signer of the Declaration of Independence and the “Cicero” Who Advocated for a Bill of Rights

Posted on January 20, 2026 by Regina Jeffers

Richard Henry Lee - Colonial Williamsburg - www.history.org/ almanack/people/ bios/biolee.cfm

Richard Henry Lee – Colonial Williamsburg – http://www.history.org/
almanack/people/
bios/biolee.cfm

Richard Henry Lee was both a merchant and a plantation owner from Virginia. He was married twice and the father of six children. He was 44 when he signed the document. He died at the age of 62.

Richard Henry Lee, signer of the Declaration of Independence, was born on 20 January 1732 in Westmoreland County, Virginia. He was the seventh of eleven children of Thomas and Hannah Lee and a descendant of Colonel Richard Lee, the first of the Lees to arrive in America. Colonel Lee was a lawyer and planter and the largest landholder in Virginia with some 13,000 acres. 

“Today the different branches of the Lee family are known as: “Cobb’s Hall”, “Mount Pleasant”, “Ditchley”, “Lee Hall”, “Blenheim”, “Leesylvania”, “Dividing Creek”, and “Stratford”. These were the estate names of the descendants of Richard Lee I that are still referred to today when talking of Lee descendancy. An interesting note is that Lee had patented somewhere in the neighbourhood of 15,000 acres (61 km²) on both sides of the Potomac, in Maryland and in Virginia. Part of this land later became George Washington’s Mount Vernon. When he divided his estate among his children, he also left them the products of the several plantations including white indentured servants, Negro slaves, livestock, household furnishings, silver, and many other luxuries.

“Notable descendants of Richard Lee I include signers of the Declaration of Independence Francis Lightfoot Lee and Richard Henry Lee, Revolutionary War general Henry “Light Horse Harry” Lee, Confederate Civil War generals Robert E. Lee, Richard Taylor, William Henry Fitzhugh Lee, Stephen D. Lee, and George Washington Custis Lee, Richard L. T. Beale, Richard Lucian Page; President of the United States Zachary Taylor, Chief Justice of the United States Edward Douglass White, Governor of Maryland Thomas Sim Lee.” (Colonel Richard Lee) To those interested in the NFL, we can even make a connection to Eli and Peyton Manning, the quarterbacks for the New York Giants and the Denver Broncos, respectively. Captain Charles Lee Sr., who was one of Colonel Lee’s ten children of the “Cobbs Hall” sector, married Elizabeth Medstand, the daughter of Thomas Medstand and one of the Manning family’s ancestors. (Colonel Richard Lee)

Richard Henry Lee attended Wakefield Academy in England before returning to America. In 1757, he married Anne Aylett and set up residence at Chantilly. He also became a justice of the peace in 1757 and joined the Virginia House of Burgess in 1758. He quickly became a great defender of colonial rights, a not-so-popular stance in the early days of the “revolution.”

He led a group of “gentlemen” in confronting the British-appointed collector of stamps, and in 1766, he and many of his neighbors formed a boycott against British goods until the Stamp Act was repealed. His wife died in 1768, but he was not widowed long. In 1769, he married another Anne: Anne Pinckard. For the years between this second marriage and the beginning of the Revolutionary War, he built up his shipping business, specifically shipping tobacco to his brother William in London. 

File:Richard Henry Lee Signature2.svg - Wikimedia Commons commons.wikimedia.org


File:Richard Henry Lee Signature2.svg – Wikimedia Commons
commons.wikimedia.org

From the Stratford Hall website, we learn, “Tall, thin and aristocratic in appearance, Richard Henry Lee was a born orator. He used his hand, always wrapped in black silk due to a hunting accident, to emphasize the cadences in his remarkably musical voice. His oratory was legend – ‘That fine polish of language which that gentleman united with that harmonious voice so as to make me sometimes fancy that I was listening to some being inspired with more than mortal powers of embellishment’ was how one observer described him.

“Confrontational by nature, Richard Henry possessed a fiery, rebellious spirit. These same qualities brought him fame as a leading patriot of the day and incited the wrath of his enemies. At one point, he was ‘outlawed’ by a proclamation of English Governor Dunmore.

“As a member of Virginia’s House of Burgesses, Richard Henry’s first bill boldly proposed ‘to lay so heavy a duty on the importation of slaves as to put an end to that iniquitous and disgraceful traffic within the colony of Virginia.’ Africans, he wrote, were ‘equally entitled to liberty and freedom by the great law of nature.’ Such words, coming as they did in 1759, have been called ‘the most extreme anti-slavery statements made before the nineteenth century.'”

According to Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, “Lee remained involved in politics. He was appointed delegate to the Continental Congress in 1775, and was one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence in 1776. He served next in the Virginia House of Delegates in 1777, 1780, and 1785.

“When the Constitution was laid before Congress, Lee led the opposition to it. His chief concern was that the Convention, called only to amend the Articles of Confederation, had exceeded its powers.

 

“He worried also that the Constitution lacked a bill of rights; that it was a consolidated, rather than a federal, government and therefore opened the way to despotism; and that the lower house was not sufficiently democratic. He insisted upon amendments before adoption. His arguments were set forth in a series of ‘Letters of the Federal Farmer’ which became a textbook for the opposition.” (Colonial Williamsburg Foundation)

“By 1774, the flames of the Revolution, so faithfully fanned by the Lees, ignited the reluctant southern colonies. The call for an inter-colonial congress was made, and Richard Henry was chosen as one of the seven-man Virginia delegation to the first Continental Congress in Philadelphia. Once there, he was able to bridge the gap between the vastly different worlds of New England and the South. At the house of his sister, Alice Lee Shippen, he strengthened the bond with John and Samuel Adams and created a long-lasting friendship that transcended divisive regionalism and helped to unite the colonies as one nation.

“In the spring of 1776, Richard Henry, now joined by his brother Francis Lightfoot, took his seat in the second Continental Congress. Sensing what lay ahead, he wrote confidently to his brother William, ‘There never appeared more perfect unanimity among any sett of men, than among the delegates.’

“In three months as delegate, Richard Henry served on 18 different committees – none as important as his appointment to frame the Declaration of Rights of the Colonies, which led directly to the writing of the Declaration of Independence. On June 7, 1776, Richard Henry was accorded the well-deserved honor of introducing the bill before Congress:
…that these united Colonies are, and ought to be, free and independent States, that they are absolved from all allegiance from the British crown, and than all political connection between America and State of Great Britain is, and ought to be, totally dissolved…” (Stratford Hall)

Also See:

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

Posted in America, American History, British history, Declaration of Independence, Great Britain, real life tales | Tagged , , , , , | 4 Comments