Scratching along is part of the address for this Blog. It comes from an 1823 letter written by Thomas Priestman to his Family back in England. An extended Farm Family, Thomas Priestman left forever in 1806-07.
This was a period of great turmoil for the brand new nation of the United States of America. Only a single Generation of Nationhood from the American Revolution and the 1789 ratification of the U.S.A Constitution greeted the Immigrants.
Thomas Priestman both fortunate in being born into a Family of substance living in British Society. His Quacker Family religious circumstance, placed this independent person on the path for emigration from Great Britain.
Traveling to a new Nation as part of North America which recently scrambled out from Great Britain’s dominence. The fledgling United States of America (U.S.A.) had thrown off the mercantilism of being several British Colonies and established the One True North American Country. All other entities in the New World were still Colonial extensions of their founding European countries.
The 13 colonies which signed the Declaration of Independence was then 15 States with the addition of Vermont in 1791 and Kentucky in 1792 joining in the “Great Experiment” of the United States of America.
Thomas Priestman’s arrival on the Atlantic Coast in NewYork was the first stepping stone for Priestman’s young family as they moved into the hinterlands.
Boundaries between the States were still being defined and the Border between remaining British North America and the birthing U.S.A. unclear. The Quaker Colonies established their presence across the northern woodland of what is now New York State and around Lake Ontario in the present Province of Ontario starting around 1780.
The stages of Thomas Priestman’s life is described in the series of six letters written by him to his Brothers and edited by Angus J.L. Winchester. I show the short note by Douglas McCalla; Chairman, Department of History, Trent University as Prologue.
The descriptive understanding by Angus Winchester, as the epilogue. Possibly you, the reader, may enjoy your personal interpretations and thoughts on the words of Thomas writing to his brothers. The meanings of the some words and phrases waiting for the scholarly interrpretation until later.
The letters are shown in their entirety as a sub-pages to this Introduction; Cheers;