As Various as Their Land

We all know about the Revolutionary War, and George Washington, Ben Franklin, Paul Revere, et al. But what about Enoch Shrigley or Jonathan Heacock? Martha Pearson, maybe? Susannah Morgan? Who, you may ask, are these people? Enoch, Jonathan, Martha, and Susannah were no one that you have read about in your American History lessons in school. They were my ancestors, my multiple Great Grandparents who lived in Pennsylvania in the 1700's, and, except for a few small facts and stories here and there, I know very little about their lives, especially the women. But, they all lived during the time period covered in "As Various As Their Land," a book that I highly recommend. And learning about the lives of my above listed ancestors is why I truly love these 'you are there' everyday life books. I have copies of the many different books of this ilk that are available and, being heavily into my family history (and genealogy in general), I use them extensively to put 'flesh on the bones' of my long dead ancestors. They help one to understand how the War For Independence or how the politicians of the day affected the mass of 'unknowns.' Stephanie Grauman Wolf has done a very good job in her representation of what the 'plain ordinary folk' of the 18th century were like. Because of her book, I now can tell you pretty much the way a typical person of 1770 may have dressed, cooked, what they may have eaten, did for fun, how they were schooled, etc. In another Every Day Life type book that I reviewed (Daily Life In Victorian England), I began my review with something like "If history books in school were written like this, perhaps more school children would be interested in the subject of history." That statement holds true for this book by Ms. Wolf as well.Why four stars instead of five? Just a couple of small things that I felt should have been included. For example, a larger piece on the language of the period - how they spoke to each other. Did they speak properly (as you see on tv or in the movies), or were they more like our present day persons, using slang in their speech? More on cleanliness, as well as music of the times would have been a nice addition. And the over done subject of racism kept creeping in. Otherwise, for the most part, I have found this book to be invaluable to the genealogist or the student of history, or even the remotely curious. Four stars is still very good!

This work is part of The Everyday Life in America Series through which the reader learns about the mundane yet more important contributions of the "regular" colonists who populated this land. Most history books focus on great men - and only rarely, great women - major wars, and grand schemes and innovations. Wolf's book and the others in the series offer a picture of the early "humanscape" with a better understanding of the colonist's everyday lives. As the author states, "For every Cotton Mather, Samuel Adams, Benjamin Franklin, or George Washington there were hundreds of assemblymen, clergymen, and judges; thousands of people who made up mobs, polls, and armies; and tens of thousands of farmers, artisans, laborers, women, children, servants and slaves." (11) I am now convinced that no history is complete without consideration of the lives of these "everyday" individuals. The sheer numbers, as well as the scholar's aspiration to understand the past more completely, demand it. When a person reads about the past, they tend to romanticize it. Therefore, the hearts of most twenty-first century Americans are warmed by the commonly held image of early settlers working together as a new people in a new land, achieving seemingly impossible goals, massaging unrealistic dreams into reality. However, as Wolf's title suggests, the overriding theme of her book is diversity rather than the believed commonality. Wolf addresses this theme of diversity with regard to national origin, race, religion, social status, gender, settlement region, and more. The degree of complexity is increased by those variables. Though we have been made aware through more traditional histories that America was - and is - something of a "melting pot," Wolf delves beyond and beneath the usual focus on country of origin to uncover the depth of diversity in the eighteenth century. Given the complex human mosaic that was America, George Washington stated that it was "little short of a miracle" (10) that any sort of union was achieved. For the author, major events essentially provide a context that might enhance the reader's understanding of the "voices" of eighteenth-century Americans. For that reason, Wolf suggests that slavery and the Revolutionary War are important "backdrops" to consider as one listens to these "voices." The everyday lives of inhabitants might certainly have been affected by these historical events, though not to the degree one might believe. Using the Revolutionary War as an example, the author points out that: "...while history is written backward, it is lived forward, and for the people who experienced it, the War of Independence was really just one more interruption of their daily routines similar to many that had gone before." (9) Such statements challenge the reader to consider the everyday lives of people as the focus, rather than the events that make great chapter headings in textbooks. Another central message in Wolf's book, is that time is j