Erie Canal History links and terms

http://www.eriecanalway.gov/learn_history-culture_hist-timeline.htm

Start of construction 1817 in Rome, NY Grand Opening of Erie Canal 1825 Opening of Champlain Canal 1823 Length, Albany to Buffalo (original Erie Canal) 363 miles Number of locks, 1825 83 Number of locks, present day 57 Elevation change, Albany to Buffalo 573 feet Canal dimensions, 1825 Original Erie 4 ft deep x 40 ft wide Canal dimensions, 1862 Enlarged Erie 7 ft deep x 70 ft wide Canal dimensions, 1918- present Barge Canal 12-23 ft deep x 120-200 ft wide Cost to build $7,143,789 Return on Investment 10 years Number of aqueducts to bypass rivers and streams 18 Travel time from Albany to Buffalo, 1825 5 days Travel time from Albany to Buffalo by Stagecoach 2 weeks Rate of pay for a canal laborer, 1825 80 cents - $1 per day Year “Low Bridge, Everybody Down ” published by Tin Pan Alley songwriter Thomas Allen 1905

Canal Specific

berm side/tow side

differentiated sides of the canal boat

long-eared robin, or hayburner

names for a mule

feeders

channels to bring water into the canal to maintain a certain level

waste weirs

channels used to dispose of excess water from the canal

mudlarked

grounded due to a shortage of water

tuble-bays

carried water around the locks

sidecut

waterway connecting the canal with a stream, river or another canal

long level

stretch of canal without a break or lock. Three famous were the Rochester, Fairport and Genesee

shunpike

avoid tolls by detouring around the toll booth

Canallers

lock-tenders/lock-keeps

Tended locks, opened and closed gates, directed traffic. Operated out of a structure that was a combination house and office. Often doubled as fight referee, salesman, grocer and tavern keeper to boaters. "An American type cut from the mold of B. Franklin and the Yankee Trader."

boaters

general term for canallers; also canawlers or steersmen

hoggee

"driver boy" (derived from hogler, a field hand of the lowest class)

trippers

long haul workmen who stayed on the canal from east to west; often know as troublemakers; most often individuals with a love for the canal

jigger-boss

A boy who provided whisky to workers at "appropriate intervals"

runners

used to seek out passengers on packet boats

scalpers

primarily relating to shipping of freight; scalpers would assign cargo to boats

foo foo

a foreigner or immigrant worker

fog-gang

workers who cleaned out the canal annually

Potables and Provisions

grog

any kind of alcoholic beverage (originated as a British admiral's drink)

foamer

a mug of ale

prog

general term for food

pritties

boiled or baked potatoes

skimmagig

buttermilk

fip

a coin worth about six cents

rhino

cash on hand

rhino-fat

rich or well-off

canal scrip

an IOU

Vessels and Lodging

packet

passenger boats, or a cabin for passengers

line boat

carried mixed freight

bullhead

a boat with a rounded front and no side-deck

shanty

a houseboat

durham

a long, clumsy boat

squeezer

a two sectioned boat or "double barge"

hoodledasher

multiple boats tied together to be pulled by one team of horses or mules

*Compiled from sources on folklore including Wyld's Low Bridge and Thompson's Body, Boots & Britches

More fun with research!

Here is another source for everyone in the quest to be better denizens and visitors of Skaneateles in 1842.

Archives of the Columbian

The Skaneateles Columbian was a newspaper being published when all of our characters would have been walking around the village. In this archive, scans of the paper between 1833 and 1853 are available for your perusal. They are in PDF form, so you must have some version of Adobe Acrobat to view them. The scans are of varying qualities (in my cursory check-through, I found quality to range from un-great to nearly illegible), but there are interesting things that you can pick out if you are so inclined.

Thanks to Brett and Duke for this great find!

Dear Abby: Nameless in Nedrow

Dear Abby,

I have a part for the festival, but I don't have a name. I know I need one for next weekend (preferably Saturday), but I'm not sure what kinds names are good for people living in 1842, much less for my character or this festival. I need to be pointed in the right direction. Would you mind advising me?

Sincerely,
Nameless in Nedrow

Dear Nameless,

I love to advise people, and consider it to be almost as fun as helping Mr. F campaign for office, or teaching wayward ragamuffins to read. A name can be a tricky thing to choose, but a good name can help you get a handle on your character, communicate something about that character, and occasionally, it can delight the guests and your fellow actors. Here are some tips to picking the right name for you:

-Choose a name that fits your character's social class and occupation.
It seems unlikely that Horatio Archibald Tennison IV would be a groom, chimneysweep, or orphan. Likewise Silas "The Snakesman" Scroggs would probably not be the mayor or a well respected gentleman about town.
-Choose a name that sounds plausible for the year 1842 in Skaneateles, NY.
Dakota, Moonstar, Yasmin, Dominic, Jayden, Chad...all probably belong in another show.
-Choose a name that you like, either because it is pretty, funny, fun to say, or just feels right.
If you can't picture yourself saying, "Good day. My name is Edwina Ebblewhite," then perhaps you need to keep looking.
-Don't be afraid of a name because it might sound dorky or old-fashioned today.
Names that are no longer common add great color to the show! Some of my favorite old names are Granville, Roderick, Gus, Buford, Sophronia, Rufina, Hortence and Edna.

Places to find inspiration:

Victorian First Names - A great list of first names, appropriate to the time period.

Last Names - Many great ideas for last names, and if you click on the name, it gives you the origin, which may help you learn something about your character.

Anglo Saxon Surnames - More ideas for last names.

Dickensian Characters - Characters from the works of Charles Dickens. Here, you can find inspiration from someone alive at that time. Take note of the way that the sound of his characters names often say something about them.

With a little work and a little thought, you too can become a well-named Victorian denizen of our festival. Good luck, and we look forward to hearing your name this coming weekend, and in the streets of our fair village.

-APF

Dear Abby: Bookless in Buffalo

Dear Abby,

Gee whiz. I hate to admit this, but I have never even read A Christmas Carol. I'd like to get a copy, but I can't find a library, or a bookstore, or a friend who might have it. Can you help me?

-Bookless in Buffalo

Dear Bookless,

Help has arrived, just in the nick of time. You can use the internet for lots of things nowadays, and some people have even placed many public domain works of literature on the web at no cost to you. You can read Charles Dickens online here:

The Literature Page

You can also go through random pages and chapters of any of his books, including A Christmas Carol, to pick out many interesting words and phrases to use during a festival day. Chin up, Bookless. One day, you may even have a whole virtual library at your fingertips, just like me.

-APF

Research: Customs, Etiquette, History

This post contains links to more sites dealing with etiquette and customs of the Victorian era. For many great facts and ideas, click around below; you'll find something that is interesting and hopefully useful!

Victorian Rituals - A nice little site for everyone, though I encourage finishing school girls (or women that may be "finished") in particular to note this one.

1876 Victorian England Revisted - This site has a decent overview of many points of Victorian era etiquette, as well as a blurb about Victorian Christmas. I'd also like to draw your attention specifically to the page here about etiquette on the street, and etiquette while shopping.

Victoria Station - Here is a site with a number of links to other points of Victorian life and style.

History in Focus - Here lies a truckload of links to sites ranging decent-good about all sorts of aspects of Victorian life. The site is easy to navigate, and can pop you all over the internet. It also includes reviews of some Victorian History books. (Books. Remember those? Heavy-ish? Full of paper? Highly useful.)

American History Helper - This is, in fact, a homework helper with another vast collection of links specific to America in the 19th century. Let us not forget that we are, in fact, Americans (or at the very least, cheerful visitors and immigrants)!

U.S. Timeline - A straightforward timeline of events with links to information about those events.

1st Hand History - A searchable online archive of written accounts of the 1700s and 1800s. Not for the faint of heart, this is for the truly research-tastic of us.

Still can't find it? Try an internet search engine, or ask one of your friendly neighborhood directors for help.


Note: As of the date of this post, all of these links are functional. We will make every attempt to check on them at the start of our season to update or replace broken links.

Language Resources

While we don't have the sort of time or resources to delve deeply into Victorian sounding language for our festival, we can all certainly try to pepper the way that we speak with words that aren't normally heard today. This will help you feel like you are in a different time, and it will help the guests to also feel that they have been transported. Even picking only one or two words to use for a whole festival day will make a big difference!


For Characters of the Upper Class (characters of the merchant class may also choose to use this, as they would want to present themselves as civilized as possible). This includes the various dignitaries (or superpeople, as the case may be), finishing school girls, temperance leaguers. Perhaps the Crachits, as Bob does have a job in a counting house...

How to Speak Proper(ly)



For the Criminal members of the Lower Class, here is a very comprehensive word list. People of the upper class would not comprehend this slang, it was a dialect within itself. pickpockets, the chimney sweep, perhaps the constables (who do spend a great deal of time handling the criminal element). There are many useful terms here, but PLEASE be advised that the content of this site does contain a few instances of profanity, as well as anatomical terms, so...

Young pickpockets, you must have your parents go through this site with you!!!

Lower Class and Underworld