Priestley Sunday -- Celebrating Joseph Priestley's 281st Birthday

Robert Stoneback of The Daily Item has reported from Northumberland PA that, "More than 100 people came to Northumberland to celebrate the 281st birthday of philosopher, scientist and minister Joseph Priestley on March 9, 2014.  The celebration occurred at the Joseph Priestley House, where Priestley spent the final 10 years of his life, from 1794 to 1804."  
Ronald Blatchely a Joseph Priestley re-enactor who has frequently appeared at the Priestley House for the last 31 years was there dressed in colonial garb.  On this day he worked in Joseph Priestley's laboratory and conducted experiments related to Priestley’s discovery of various gases. “He’s the most famous person you’ve never heard of,” Blatchley said.
Alan Bunner and Ron Brandt traveled from Virginia to attend the birthday celebration. The two are members of the Mount Vernon Unitarian Church, outside Alexandria, Va.  Bunner and Brandt performed the skit at Northumberland’s Unitarian Universalist Congregation. Bunner played Priestley while Brandt portrayed a modern day interviewer asking Priestley about his views on politics and religion. Priestley’s responses were formed using his own writings. “It was great fun,” Bunner said.
You may hear the entire skit by clicking here: Priestley Sunday March 9, 2014.
Priestley's actual birthdate was on March 13, 1733 (Old Style "Julian" Calendar, or on March 24 in the New Style Gregorian Calendar)

Further Thoughts on Touchstones of Time

Since posting Touchstones of Time I have thought of some further implications along the lines of that thread.  I want to elaborate upon one of those interesting aspects of the metaphor of holding hands with the generations before and after me that I had not written about in that original post.

First, if you have not read that post, I strongly recommend that you do so by clicking on the link above so that the post here might tie together better without having to repeat the gist of it.

I have four grandparents, and each of those grandparents have had four grandparents.  Now, assuming there was no intermarriage among them (I assume not), that means I have 16 great great grandparents.

Next, we cannot know how many grandchildren my grandchildren might have (nor how many grandchildren, for that matter), but the number could be larger or less than the number of my great great grandparents.

Consider for one moment, now, the ethnic, geographic, educational, and other diversities in these genealogically related individuals.  As far as I know, today, I cannot even fully describe that diversity without some real effort tracking down all the family histories (I'm not even sure that I could fully do that either), but I do know that I can include people from all over the United States, Mexico, Canada, and Europe. I can also include Jews, Protestants, Catholics, agnostics, and atheists; and doctors, lawyers, bankers, teachers, scientists, saddle makers and bricklayers to mention a few. I know that if I were to look just a little outside this immediate genealogical chain to brothers and sisters there would also be physically and mentally challenged individuals, gays, and who knows what other diversity there that was, is, or will be found.

Now, this snapshot of this snippet of my family chain does not cover all of the diversity of mankind (not by a long shot).  In fact, it is only a very small part of the diversity of humanity, but it does illustrate that through time the diversity that one is tied to through their family genealogy keeps growing in ways that would astound our ancestors and possibly under impress our descendants.

I do understand that here in the United States we have celebrated and reveled in our diversity more than in most other parts of the world (though, unfortunately,  this is not universally true for all Americans).  In other parts of the world, diversity is not as prevalent as here -- yet.  But, one thing is certain, given the advances in industrial and technological development that we have experienced in the last 100 years, diversity will, no doubt, soon penetrate every corner of this planet.

We are all truly one family of man.   We should embrace this diversity and bask in the glory of it knowing we are all connected with each other. We are all part of it and benefit from it. Bigotry and prejudice have no place to exist anywhere anymore.

Differences between Actual Age and Perceived Age

My thoughts were still focused on my recent post on spanning time through the generations. I am fascinated with the vast amounts of time that can pass between generations that have actually known each other, if only briefly and superficially.  I then started thinking about the perception of time, and how it is so subjective. 

I know from my own personal experience that when I was young, I always had the perception that I was older than I actually was.  For example, when I was 9 years old I felt like I was 12.  I know this to be true because my older brother was three years older than me and I could never understand why I couldn't do what he was allowed to do, while I was not.  After all, I perceived myself to be as grown up as he was.  I think young people, in general perceive of themselves as more mature than their chronological or "actual" age.  
Now that I am considerably older, I perceive myself to be considerably younger than my chronological age.  Further, upon reflection, I think that I have felt this way for quite some time, and that I feel even more of a difference from my actual age than I have ever felt before.
Obviously,  since, as a youth, I perceived myself older and now I perceive myself younger, there had to be a point in time when my perceived age was about the same as my chronological age. I would guess that to be when I was about 30.
Today, I asked my younger son, who is 41, how old he perceived himself to be.  He said that he felt like he was in his younger 30's. Good for him.
The next question I had was whether there was any connection between perceived age and longevity.  In other words, do people who perceive themselves to be younger than they actually are, live any longer? I suppose we could also ask if people who live longer perceive themselves to be younger than those who die younger.

I did find some interesting research on these questions.  So, I present here highlights of what I found, so far, for your consideration. If you have any additional citations that are interesting I would be glad to include them.

First, we need to clarify an ambiguity in the use of the term "perceived" age.  We have to be very clear about who is the "perceiver".  I was originally thinking of self perception, and in saying that I was not limiting myself to self perception of physical appearance.  There is a subset of literature dealing with perception of physical appearance, whether by oneself or by others.  This has been primarily studied in cases trying to objectify the results of plastic surgery.  This is not what I was originally thinking about, but it did provide more food for thought.  If you are "as old as you feel", and if you feel how you do because you see yourself in the mirror, it could affect the perception of how old you perceive yourself to be.  I have to give this aspect of the perception question some more careful thought. In my case I was primarily thinking about how old I mentally felt, but I suppose that the physical and mental are more tied together than I had originally thought.

Next, I did find some literature about perception of age as a function of time (generational).  I would give this example to illustrate the point.  My father and mother "grew up" or "matured" at an earlier age than I did.  He was working full time as a youth and was considered by his social peers at that time as an adult at a much younger age than my social peers considered me as an adult.  As further demonstration of this point, my mother (as well as other young women of her age) was considered adult and ready for marriage at much younger age than women were during my generation.  My childrens' generation has pushed this perceived adulthood (marriage)  even further along.  Perhaps this explains why my son has a greater difference between his actual and perceived age, than I did at his age.

It appears that most of the funding for this research is based upon the need for marketing information.  When a company markets their product, do they market to an audience of a particular actual age range, or rather, to a group that perceives themselves to be within a particular age range.
I think, what the research is showing, anyway, is that different people of a particular age have quite different thoughts of their perceived age.  This is like the second derivative of the age question.
Can we quantify characteristics that makes one group have a greater difference between perceived and actual age compared to some other group?  Is it gender dependent?  How about income dependent?  Does health, diet, or fitness play a roll? Does family history (longevity) play a roll?  Divorce? Education? Intelligence?  Ethnicity? Nationality?

The Big Window in conjunction with BBC Audiences has found some interesting information: "...differences between peoples’ Perceived Age and their Actual Age...[As] the chart [below] shows... People typically feel slightly older than they are until they hit 30. After that they start to feel younger – and then increasingly so. By the time they reach their early 70s, consumers actually feel in their mid-to-late 50s...The study suggests that as people approach their mid-70s the gap between perceived age and actual age starts to lessen – possibly as physical and mental health-related problems emerge.

Certainly from a Business to Consumer marketing perspective we have lots to learn [about] “perceived age”. It’s a consumer mindset already apparent in local products such as Carlisle Living magazine whose primary target audience is predominantly female, 18-25 years of age whilst the actual “consumers” of the magazine are to be found in the 25-40 age groups – although still largely female. Similar examples can also be witnessed with the demand for tickets across a wide demographic in Carlisle for Radio 1’s Big Weekend, the increase in the popularity of Zumba classes for the 25 -40 age groups , video-gaming and the rise of technologies originally targeting a younger consumer for instance Wii; and of course certain social networking sites such Facebook, Twitter etc. originally designed for the teens and now adopted across a much older age profile."

If you know of any other interesting research or comments on this issue please comment below.

Touchstones of Time (1790-2172) and Beyond

I am about to celebrate my 70th birthday in a few weeks.  I don't usually feel that I am that old (see my other post on this point).  I still have all my faculties and I am still fairly well put together physically (well, I have most of my faculties, and most of my physical parts). And I can still do most things with agility.  Not to say that I haven't had a few bumps in my life along the way -- I have.  But, there are those mornings lately when I wake up, and it's not that I am aching or anything, but I am just more aware of the fact that a great deal of time has passed since I was a youth. A great number of world events have occurred during my lifetime -- 'out there', and also in my more immediate family world around me -- 'down here'.  And technology has changed, oh so much, during my watch here on earth. Just reading this blog I hope you can see the huge changes.

But, the most striking image that I have come up with to put this passing of my life through time into perspective is this one:
I imagine for a moment that, on the one hand, I am sitting with my grandfather when I was a little boy and he is holding my hand, and he, in turn, is holding in his other hand the ghost of his grandfather when he (my grandfather) was a young boy.  And I also imagine that, on the other hand, I am holding the hand of my grandson, and he is holding in his other hand his yet to be born grandson at some time in the distant future.

Let's just go through that again from a different perspective.

My grandfather was born in 1862, and died when I was 7 years old in 1951.
My grandson was born in 2009, and, with any luck, will live as long as my grandfather did, or until about the year 2098.
Now, I don't know about my grandfather's father, and I know even less about my grandfather's grandfather. But, I have to guess that if he lived long enough that my grandfather's grandfather was in his 60s or older when his grandson (my grandfather) was young.  That would put my grandfather's grandfather's birth sometime before the end of the 18th century, say around 1790.
Similarly, if my grandson marries at about age 30 and his child marries around the same age, then my grandson's grandson will be born about the year 2072, and may just live until he is about 100 (assuming that life expectancies continue to rise) and be alive in the year 2172.

So, here is the picture of the imaginary scene I have created so far: On my left my grandfather's grandfather (1790?-1870?) is holding my grandfather's (1862-1951) hand. He, in turn is holding my hand (1944 - 2020?). Then, I, in turn, with my other hand am holding my grandson's (2009-2098?) hand; who, in turn, with his other hand, is holding his grandson's (2071?-2172?) hand.

I have described five people holding hands, the oldest born around 1790, with three people in between, and then the youngest living until about the year 2172.  The span of time is approaching almost 400 years.  The changes in the world during that time are almost unimaginable, and yet, there are only three people between my grandfather's grandfather and my grandson's grandson, who, in all likelihood, will have, in reality, really held each other's hands.  And if not theses five individuals, then five individuals in some other family.  It is awesome to think in those terms. It is like spanning the time since Columbus discovered the New World (almost) being described in the lifetimes of five individuals whom have all touched each other personally.

I can't look back and see a picture of my grandfather's grandfather when he was young (photography didn't exist yet). And I can't see a picture of my grandson's grandson (he doesn't exist yet). But I can give my grandson a picture of my grandfather for him to pass on to his grandson. And, I can imagine grandson's and grandfathers reaching forward and backward in time forming a chain from the first man of humanity onward.  Michelangelo even went one step further in his painting at the Sistine Chapel when he showed the hand of Adam touching the hand of God.

I don't want to appear to be a male chauvinist. I could have used grandmother's for the example, but since I have only one grandson, and he is a son, I decided to use the men of the family.  Besides, while I do have pictures of one of my grandmothers, I have pictures of both of my grandfathers.


Come to think of it, I am going to give my grandson pictures of all of them along with these comments. Maybe, when he is old enough it will be interesting enough for him to give it a moment of reflection, and the impetus to pass along the pictures to his grandchildren.



"The farther you can look back, the farther forward you are most likely to see."   --Winston Churchill

The Frigate USS Constitution "Old Ironsides"

Sketch, U S Constitution "Old Ironsides" Vallejo CA, 1933 by E A Burbank
From the Collection of the USS Constitution Museum, Boston, with permission

I suppose that my fascination with Tall Ships began when we had the opportunity to see OP SAIL '76 in New York Harbor on July 4, 1976 on the Bicentennial of our nation's birth.  We had an impressive view of the Hudson River high atop a 30 story building above the Palisades on the New Jersey side of the river about a mile below the George Washington Bridge.  Given this blog's home page banner image of the Tall Ships that I took just off the coast of Tofino B.C. , Canada, I couldn't resist posting an entry on the USS Constitution, the grandmother of all the Tall Ships. 

She is the oldest commissioned military vessel in the world still floating. She was built in 1797 in Boston and is now permanently located in Boston Harbor and is used primarily as part of the USS Constitution Museum.  She has had a long and glorious history which I am sure you can read all about on many sites on the Internet.

My fascination with her started when I had the opportunity to purchase a fully rigged model. I couldn't get over how detailed the rigging was and how many thousands of hours it took someone to build it. I constructed a beautiful display case of mahogany and glass worthy enough to display her. She is 38" long from stem to stern and 27" high.

Then, by some luck I stumbled onto a genuine US Constitution relic that was made from the timbers and metal removed from the ship during its reconstruction during the 1920s. On the box lid there is a large bronze medal showing the US Constitution under sail with the inscription "OLD IRONSIDES Launched 1797 1804 Tripoli 1812 Guerriere Java 1815 Cyane Levant U.S. Frigate Constitution". 

Relic wood box 7.25" x 4" x 2.5" , from my personal collection. 

Attached to front of box is bronze plaque with the inscription "This Material Was Taken From The Original Hull Of The U.S. Frigate Constitution Keel Laid 1794 Rebuilding 1927".

Subsequently, I found a lithograph of the ship at the Naval Shipyard, Mare Island, Vallejo, CA dated 1855. Unfortunately, it was not of Old Ironsides, but rather of the frigate Independence which was built a few years after Constitution.

As best as I can tell, Constitution never made it to San Francisco Bay during her active career.  She did, however, visit the Bay during her so-called “National Cruise,” or "Three Coast Tour" in the 1930s.  She was there 24 March to 12 April 1933 and again from  31 August to 15 September 1933.  Thousands of visitors walked her deck during that period.  The USS Constitution Museum recently acquired a pencil drawing of the ship by E.A. Burbank showing her alongside the pier at Vallejo, CA in April 1933 (see the image at the top) it gives you a good idea of what the ship looked like when she was there. 

I found an interesting CDV of the USS Constitution from 1861 while she was located in Newport, RI.  It appears that the rigging has changed considerably. 

USS Constitution anchored off Goat Island, Newport, RI, c. 1861

This is one of the earliest known photographs of her that exists. Here is another one:

Old Ironsides, Philadelphia, PA, 1876

last modified 10/30/2015

Empire of Water by David Soll

Empire of Water, An Environmental and Political History of The New York City Water Supply by David Soll was just published in April of 2013 by Cornell University Press. Below is the publishers description of the book.  The book covers the Jervis Croton Aqueduct development, the first municipal water supply system for New York City:

Supplying water to millions is not simply an engineering and logistical challenge. As David Soll shows in his finely observed history of the nation's largest municipal water system, the task of providing water to New Yorkers transformed the natural and built environment of the city, its suburbs, and distant rural watersheds. Almost as soon as New York City completed its first municipal water system in 1842, it began to expand the network, eventually reaching far into the Catskill Mountains, more than one hundred miles from the city.  Empire of Water explores the history of New York City's water system from the nineteenth century to the early twenty-first century, focusing on the geographical, environmental, and political repercussions of the city’s search for more water.

Soll vividly recounts the profound environmental implications for both city and countryside. Some of the region’s most prominent landmarks, such as the High Bridge across the Harlem River, Central Park’s Great Lawn, and the Ashokan Reservoir in Ulster County, have their origins in the city’s water system. By tracing the evolution of the city’s water conservation efforts and watershed management regime, Soll reveals the tremendous shifts in environmental practices and consciousness that occurred during the twentieth century. Few episodes better capture the long-standing upstate-downstate divide in New York than the story of how mountain water came to flow from spigots in Brooklyn and Manhattan.

Soll concludes by focusing on the landmark watershed protection agreement signed in 1997 between the city, watershed residents, environmental organizations, and the state and federal governments. After decades of rancor between the city and Catskill residents, the two sides set aside their differences to forge a new model of environmental stewardship. His account of this unlikely environmental success story offers a behind the scenes perspective on the nation’s most ambitious and wide-ranging watershed protection program.

Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo and the Discovery of California

Above is a bronze medallion honoring the exploration of Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo.
It says that in 1542 in service to Spain, he was the first to explore the coast of California from Nativity Island to the North of San Francisco.  Cabrillo died during this exploration in early 1543 while returning home from his discoveries.

Juan Rodriquez Cabrillo (JOÃO RODRIGUES CABRILHO, ca. March 13, 1499 -- January 3, 1543) was a Portugese navigator sailing for the Spanish crown.  He is most noted for having been the forst European to sail along the California coast.  He sailed as far North as the Russian River, which is located in Sonoma County California, North of San Francisco.  He did not discover San Francisco Bay. That discovery would not occur for another 200 years. I have included below almost verbatim, from the Wikipedia entry about him.

Little is know of Cabrillo's early life.  He accompanied Francisco de Orozco to subdue the indigenous Mixtec people at what would eventually become the city ofOaxaca, in Mexico. 

In 1539, Francisco de Ulloa, who had been commissioned by Hernán Cortés, discovered the Gulf of California and reached nearly as far north as the 30th parallel. Cabrillo was then commissioned by the new Viceroy of New Spain,Antonio de Mendoza, to lead an expedition up the Pacific coast in search of trade opportunities, perhaps to find a way to China (for the full extent of the northern Pacific was unknown) or to find the mythical Strait of Anián (or Northwest Passage) connecting the Pacific Ocean with Hudson Bay. Cabrillo built and owned the flagship of his venture (two or three ships), and stood to profit from any trade or treasure.

Cabrillo shipped for Havana as a young man and joined forces with Hernán Cortés in Mexico (then called New Spain). Later, his success in mining gold in Guatemala made him one of the richest of the conquistadores in Mexico. According to his biographer Harry Kelsey, he took an indigenous woman as his common-law wife and sired several children, including at least three daughters. Later he married Beatriz Sanchez de Ortega in Seville during a hiatus in Spain. She returned to Guatemala with him and bore him two sons.

In 1540 the fleet sailed from Acajutla, El Salvador, and reached Navidad, Mexico, on Christmas Day. While he was in Mexico, Pedro de Alvarado went to the assistance of the town of Jalisco, which was under siege by hostile Indians, and was killed when his horse fell on him, crushing his chest. Following Alvarado's death the viceroy of Mexico took possession of Alvarado's fleet. Part of the fleet was sent off to the Philippine Islands under Ruy Lopez de Villalobos and two of the ships were sent north under the command of Cabrillo. 

Cabrillo's expedition recorded the names of numerous Chumashan villages on the California coast and adjacent islands in October 1542 — then located in the two warring provinces of Xexo (ruled by an "old woman", now Santa Barbara County, California) and Xucu (now Ventura County, California).On 27 June 1542, Cabrillo set out from Navidad (in Jalisco) in New Spain with three ships: the 200-ton galleon and flagship San Salvador, the ship La Victoria (c. 100 tons), and the lateen-rigged, twenty-six oared "fragata" or "bergantin" San Miguel. On 1 August Cabrillo anchored within sight of Cedros Island. Before the end of the month they had passed Baja Point (named "Cabo del Engaño" by de Ulloa in 1539) and entered "uncharted waters, where no Spanish ships had been before". On 28 September, he landed in what is now San Diego Bay and named it "San Miguel". A little over a week later he reached Santa Catalina Island (7 October), which he named "San Salvador", after his flagship. On sending a boat to the island "a great crowd of armed Indians appeared" — whom, however, they later "befriended". Nearby San Clemente was named "Victoria", in honor of the third ship of the fleet. The next morning, October 8, Cabrillo came to San Pedro Bay, which was named "Baya de los Fumos" (English: Smoke Bay), after the burning chaparral that raised thick clouds of smoke. The following day they anchored overnight in Santa Monica Bay. Going up the coast Cabrillo saw Anacapa Island, which they learned from the Indians was uninhabited. On 18 October the expedition saw Point Conception, which they named "Cabo de Galera". The fleet spent the next week in the northern islands, mostly anchored in Cuyler Harbor, a bay on the northeastern coast of San Miguel Island.

On 13 November, they sighted and named "Cabo de Pinos" (Point Reyes), but missed the entrance to San Francisco Bay, a lapse that mariners would repeat for the next two centuries and more. The expedition reached as far north as theRussian River before autumn storms forced them to turn back. Coming back down the coast, Cabrillo entered Monterey Bay, naming it "Bahia de los Pinos".

On 23 November 1542, the little fleet arrived back in "San Salvador" (Santa Catalina Island) to overwinter and make repairs. There, around Christmas Eve, Cabrillo stepped out of his boat and splintered his shin when he stumbled onto a jagged rock while trying to rescue some of his men from Chumash attack. The injury became infected and developedgangrene, and he died on 3 January 1543 and was buried. A possible headstone was later found on San Miguel Island. His second-in-command brought the remainder of the party back to Navidad, where they arrived 14 April 1543.

A notary's official report of Cabrillo's inconclusive expedition was lost; all that survives is a summary of it made by another investigator, Andrés de Urdaneta, who also had access to ships' logs and charts. No printed account of Cabrillo's voyage appeared before historian Antonio de Herrera's account early in the 17th century.