The SK 48 cranium of an ancient hominin, Paranthropus robustus, was one of the fossils included in the analysis of some new claims on human evolution. Photo by Carrie S. Mongle
Uncovering the evolution of any set of living creatures is a complex and highly detailed task for scientists, and theories and approaches that may differ over time may indeed change the fossil record. But paleoanthropologist and Stony Brook University Professor Carrie S. Mongle, PhD, and co-authors urge investigators to take caution on their findings. They provide researchers investigating the evolutionary past of ancient hominins (a group including humans and our immediate fossil ancestors) an important and foundational message in a recent paper published in Nature Ecology & Evolution. That is – conclusions drawn from evolutionary models are only as good as the data upon which they are based.
In “Modelling hominin evolution requires accurate hominin data,” the authors develop a response to a previous research paper that had made some major claims on when the genus Homo emerged based on fossil dates. The team, however, proved that many of the fossil dates from the study were wrong, and they provided data to correct these errors.
“It has become increasingly common in our field for researchers to propose a ‘new and exciting’ synthesis of evolutionary events that a given group of scientists think overturns our understanding of human evolution,” says Mongle, Assistant Professor in the Department of Anthropology and Turkana Basin Institute. “Our paper is meant to draw attention to the issue that we cannot make major claims based on piecemeal compilations of the fossil record and questionable data from literature. We also offer a carefully constrained geochronological dataset for researchers to use for future studies.”
Mongle and co-authors found that by re-analyzing the original study with corrected fossil dates, the estimated timing of species divergences differed by as much as 300,000 years from the previously reported estimates. This is important because these estimates are often used to correlate evolutionary transitions with ancient environments and climate change. When estimates are off by this much, it can completely change scientists’ interpretations of the evolutionary drivers that made us human.
Mongle and co-authors make the case for evolutionary scientists to develop future total evidence studies when studying human evolution. They conclude that it is “critical to recognize that no algorithm is a replacement for careful comparative anatomy and meticulously constrained geochronology when it comes to interpreting evolutionary trends from the fossil record.”
Sechrist model chamber for hyperbaric oxygen therapy. Photo courtesy Renee Novelle
Port Jefferson’s St. Charles Hospital will open its new Center for Hyperbaric Medicine & Wound Healing on July 18, as the hospital seeks to help people with chronic, nonhealing wounds.
The center, which will be located on the second floor of the hospital, will include two hyperbaric chambers that provide 100% pure oxygen under pressurized conditions and will have four examining rooms.
The chamber “provides patients with the opportunity to properly oxygenate their blood, which will increase wound healing and wound-healing time,” said Jason Foeppel, a registered nurse and program director for this new service.
Potential patients will be eligible for this treatment when they have wounds that fail to heal after other treatments for 30 days or more.
Residents with circulatory challenges or who have diabetes can struggle with a wound that not only doesn’t heal, but can cause other health problems as well.
More oxygen in people’s red blood cells promotes wound healing and prevents infection.
The treatment “goes hand in hand to deliver aid to the body’s immune system and to promote a healing environment,” Foeppel said.
Nicholas Dominici, RestorixHealth regional director of Clinical Operations; Ronald Weingartner, chief operating officer, St. Charles Hospital; Jim O’Connor, president, St. Charles Hospital; and Jason Foeppel, program director. Photo courtesy Renee Novelle
St. Charles is partnering with RestorixHealth in this wound healing effort. A national chain, RestorixHealth has created similar wound healing partnerships with other health care facilities in all 50 states.
The new wound healing center at St. Charles is one of several others on Long Island, amid an increased demand for these kinds of services.
Partnering with Healogics, Huntington Hospital opened a hyperbaric chamber and wound healing center in May 2021. Stony Brook Southampton Hospital also has a wound care center.
“There’s a great need for this in our community,” said John Kutzma, program director at the Huntington Hospital center. “We know that there are 7 million Americans living with chronic wounds,” many of whom did not receive necessary medical attention during the worst of the pandemic, as people avoided doctors and hospitals.
Concerns about contracting COVID-19 not only kept people from receiving necessary treatment, but also may have caused nonhealing wounds to deteriorate for people who contracted the virus.
Although Kutzma hasn’t read any scientific studies, he said that, anecdotally, “We’ve had patients that had COVID whose wounds haven’t healed as quickly as non-COVID patients.”
Patients at the Huntington Hospital center range in age from 15 to 100, Kutzma said. People with diabetes constitute about one-third of the patients.
Treatment plan
For the hyperbaric chamber to have the greatest chance of success, patients typically need daily treatments that last between one and a half to two hours, five days a week for four to six weeks. While the time commitment is significant, Foeppel said it has proven effective in wound healing studies.
“We pitch it as an antibiotic treatment,” he said. “You want to complete that full cycle to ensure the body has enough time to complete the healing process.”
Kutzma said Huntington Hospital reviews the treatment plan with new patients.
In following the extensive treatment protocol to its conclusion, he said, “The alternative is to live with this very painful, chronic wound that may lead to amputation.” Given the potential dire alternative, Huntington Hospital doesn’t “have a problem getting that kind of commitment.”
While the treatment has proven effective for many patients, not everyone is medically eligible for the hyperbaric chamber.
Colin Martin, safety director. Photo courtesy Renee Novelle
Some chemotherapy drugs are contraindicators for hyperbaric oxygen treatments. Those patients may have other options, such as skin grafts, extra antibiotics or additional visits with physicians for debridement, which involves removing dead, damaged or infected tissue.
“We invite patients to come in, go through the checklist and see what their plan of attack” includes, Foeppel said.
The cost of the hyperbaric treatment for eligible conditions is generally covered by most health insurance plans, including Medicaid and Medicare, he said.
The two hyperbaric chambers at St. Charles can treat eight to 10 patients in a day.
Aside from the cost and eligibility, patients who have this treatment frequently ask what they can do during their treatments. The center has a TV that can play movies or people can listen to music.
“We don’t expect you to sit there like in an MRI,” Foeppel said.
As for complaints, patients sometimes say they have pressure in their ears, the way they would if they ascend or descend in an airplane. The center urges people to hold their nose and blow or to do other things to relieve that pressure.
Foeppel encourages patients to use the restroom before the treatment, which is more effective when people don’t interrupt their time in the chamber.
Prospective patients don’t need a referral and can call the St. Charles center at 631-465-2950 to schedule an appointment.
Suffolk County Police Homicide Squad and Arson Section detectives are investigating a fatal fire that killed a woman and critically injured her husband in Port Jefferson Station on Sunday, July 10.
Suffolk County Police Sixth Precinct officers and Terryville Fire Department firefighters responded to 58 Superior St. at 7 p.m. after a 911 caller reported a fire at the location.
John Davis, 76, was able to escape the fire and was transported to Stony Brook University Hospital in critical condition. His wife, Catherine Davis, 83, died in the fire.
In addition to the Terryville Fire Department, eight fire departments also responded to the scene.
A preliminary investigation has determined the cause of the fire to be non-criminal in nature.
In just a few weeks, students will be heading off to college — and parents will be getting out their checkbooks.
Without a college-bound student in your home right now, you might not be thinking much about tuition and other higher education expenses, but if you have young children, these costs may eventually be of concern. So how should you prepare for them?
It’s never too soon to start saving and investing. Unfortunately, many people think that they have a lot of “catching up” to do. In fact, nearly half of Americans say they don’t feel like they’re saving enough to cover future education expenses, according to a 2022 survey conducted by the financial services firm Edward Jones with Morning Consult, a global research company.
Of course, it’s not always easy to set aside money for college when you’re already dealing with the high cost of living, and, at the same time, trying to save and invest for retirement. Still, even if you can only devote relatively modest amounts for your children’s education, these contributions can add up over time. But where should you put your money?
Personal savings accounts are the top vehicle Americans are using for their education funding strategies, according to the Edward Jones/Morning Consult survey. But there are other options, one of which is a 529 plan which may offer more attractive features, including the following:
Possible tax benefits
If you invest in a 529 education savings plan, your earnings can grow federally income tax-free, provided the money is used for qualified education expenses. (Withdrawals not used for these expenses will generally incur taxes and penalties on investment earnings.) If you invest in your own state’s 529 plan, you may receive state tax benefits, too, depending on the state.
Flexibility in naming the beneficiary
As the owner of the 529 plan, you can name anyone you want as the beneficiary. You can also change the beneficiary. If your eldest child foregoes college, you can name a younger sibling or another eligible relative.
Support for non-college programs
Even if your children don’t want to go to college, it doesn’t mean they’re uninterested in any type of postsecondary education or training. And a 529 plan can pay for qualified expenses at trade or vocational schools, including apprenticeship programs registered with the U.S. Department of Labor.
Payment of student loans
METRO photo
A 529 plan can help pay off federal or private student loans, within limits.
Keep in mind that state-by-state tax treatment varies for different uses of 529 plans, so you’ll want to consult with your tax professional before putting a plan in place.
Despite these and other benefits, 529 plans are greatly under-utilized. Only about 40% of Americans even recognize the 529 plan as an education savings tool, and only 13% are actually using it, again according to the survey.
But as the cost of college and other postsecondary programs continues to rise, it will become even more important for parents to find effective ways to save for their children’s future education expenses. So, consider how a 529 plan can help you and your family. And the sooner you get started, the better.
*Investors should understand the risks involved of owning investments. The value of investments fluctuates and investors can lose some or all of their principal.
Michael Christodoulou, ChFC®, AAMS®, CRPC®, CRPS® is a Financial Advisor for Edward Jones in Stony Brook. Member SIPC.
The Coast Guard standing over some of the cargo from the Thelma Phoebe. Photo courtesy of the Henry L. Ferguson Museum Collection.
Reviewed by Jeffrey Sanzel
“The reality of the rumrunning business is a lot darker than local memory paints it.” In the fascinating book, Rumrunning in Suffolk County: Tales from Liquor Island (The History Press), author Amy Kasuga Folk resists the whimsy and nostalgia often employed when writing about the Prohibition era. Instead, she offers a focused, detailed account, thoroughly researched and rich in detail.
Folk opens with a concise history of nineteenth-century alcohol consumption, the rise of the temperance movement, and how it connected to anti-immigrant sentiment. She points to the bias against immigrants and addresses the “nativist prejudice link[ing] the new arrivals with drunkenness.” Citing this fearmongering tips the book from an exclusively historical perspective to a sociological angle.
‘Rumrunning in Suffolk County: Tales from Liquor Island’
The creation of the Volstead Act banned the sale of alcohol, with Prohibition coming into force on January 17, 1920. Folk presents an informative overview of the history of drinking and liquor sources during the 1920s. Much of the book focuses on the change in the criminal element. Prohibition transformed street gangs dominating small areas into more dangerous organized crime. The time saw the rise of figures like Arnold Rothstein, Dutch Schultz, Lucky Luciano, Meyer Lansky, and Bugsy Siegel.
Folk has a strong sense of the business elements of rumrunning:
To give you an idea of how a big of a business this was, the gang on average paid $200 a week to one hundred employees when the average store clerk took home $25 a week, and they paid $100,000 a week in graft to police, federal agents and city and court officials. Despite these expenses, the gang still took in an estimated net profit of $12 million a year from the business.
At a time when a consumer could purchase a dozen oranges for twenty-five cents, the figures are astronomical.
Cargo ships would anchor just outside the territorial line of United States waters; then, small, fast boats would claim the liquor and take it back to shore. Thus, “rumrunning” was born. Shortwave radios were common—quoting coded messages and describinginventory, orders, sales, and other details. Messages were even broadcast through commercial radio stations.
The book chronicles year-by-year, from 1921 through 1932. Violence on both sides of the law was commonplace. From fisherman hiding bottles in their catches to potato trucks concealing cases of illicit whiskey, Folk shows the intersection of day-to-day life with the precarious, dangerous business that made “Long Island, which is also termed Liquor Island … the wettest spot in the entire country.” (County Review, February 1, 1924)
Glass and liquid weigh a lot. One way police could spot an inexperienced bootlegger was to look for a car that had sagging suspension. Photo from Library of Congress.
In a detailed exploration, Folk mentions judges, attorneys, law enforcement agents, and a full range of transgressors. She has a complete command of the large cast of characters, the hundreds of boats, and other vehicles, along with the events surrounding them. Anecdotes include raids, trials, missteps, and hundreds of thousands of dollars and millions of gallons of liquor. There are storms and drownings, shootouts, and collateral damage. From Southold to Huntington Harbor, the accounts tell of the clash of lawmen and gunmen. The authorcomplements the text with a wide range of period photos.
The book is not without a touch of humor, as in this account of April 1927:
In an effort to move faster by lightening their load, a rumrunner being chased by the Coast Guard had thrown case after case of scotch overboard. The cases riding the waves were estimated to be fifteen to twenty miles out, but they were floating towards the shore. Guardsmen from the Quogue station spotted the first crate floating inland, and by two o’clock in the afternoon, it had become a race—all the locals turned out determined to get a slice of the bounty floating toward their community before the government swept it all up.
“One of the problems of enforcing Prohibition was the revolving door of justice. The rumrunners and bootleggers had the money and the ability to easily make bail and walk away from the charges against them.” Sometimes, they would move their cargo when agents were testifying in court. In addition, the book addresses widespread government corruption as agents were basically “untouchable.”
Since 1797, Port Jefferson’s harbor had shipbuilding yards. The busy harbor allowed the ship Dragon to blend in for several weeks. Author’s collection
Case-in-point: the head of the industrial alcohol inspection section of the Prohibition office in New York, Major E.C. Schroeder, went to jail for blackmail. But the flip side was that the government agencies, especially the Coast Guard, were woefully understaffed to take on the mammoth problem. Most actions were based on well-grounded evidence and experience.
Great fear existed among civilians. Getting misidentified as a rumrunner or being caught in the crossfire between bootleggers and the Coast Guard was not uncommon. Hijackings of boats, people held prisoner, low-level criminals turned informants winding up with bullets in their foreheads, all composed elements of the time. The events and incidents were so complicated that even the newspapers gave conflicting reports.
For the casual reader or the historian, Rumrunning in Suffolk County provides an excellent introduction and a detailed account of the Prohibition era in the eastern Long Island community
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Author Amy Kasuga Folk is the manager of collections for the Oysterponds Historical Society, as well as the manager of collections for the Southold Historical Society and the town historian for Southold. Folk is also the past president of the Long Island Museum Association and the Region 2 co-chair of the Association of Public Historians. She is the coauthor of several award-winning books focusing on the history of Southold. Pick up a copy of the book at Amazon.com, or BarnesandNoble.com.
The Bayles Shipyard Band is pictured on the steps of Port Jefferson’s Plant Hotel, June 10, 1919. The band performed at ship launchings, Friday night dances, receptions, and costume parties. Source: National Archives
Following America’s entry into World War I, the number of employees at the Bayles Shipyard in Port Jefferson jumped from 250 in November 1917 to 1,022 in January 1919.
Since many of these workers could not find housing in the village, the United States Shipping Board campaigned to persuade the area’s homeowners to rent rooms to Port Jefferson’s shipbuilders.
A painting by commercial artist Rolf Armstrong was offered as a prize to the villager who did the most to alleviate the housing shortage. Since this and other efforts did not meet much success, the USSB retained architect Alfred C. Bossom to design cottages and dormitories in Port Jefferson for the burgeoning population.
Bossom recognized the urgent need to provide accommodations for the wartime labor force, his numerous commissions including the Remington Apartments high-rise complex built for workers at the Remington Arms munitions factory in Bridgeport, Connecticut.
To secure a site for Port Jefferson’s housing development, the Bayles Shipyard purchased almost 16 acres of land just west of Barnum Avenue from Catherine Campbell in July 1918.
Nine detached, one-family homes were designed by Bossom to reflect the character of “old Long Island fishing villages” and erected along Cemetery Avenue, later renamed Liberty Avenue.
Between 1921-23, Port Jefferson’s Plant Hotel served as a United States Veterans Training Center. Source: Kenneth C. Brady Digital Archive
Bossom also designed a dormitory unit called the Plant Hotel since it accommodated employees at the Bayles plant. The Mark C. Tredennick Company, which had constructed buildings at the Army’s Camp Upton in Yaphank, was named the general contractor.
Now the site of Earl L. Vandermeulen High School, the Plant Hotel included 206 rooms, a cafeteria, powerhouse, athletic field and water purification facilities. A porch connected the three major wings of the complex.
Completed in December 1918 just after the Armistice on Nov. 11, the hotel soon became the center of social life for shipyard workers. A band was formed, a baseball team was organized and dances were held on Friday evenings.
In April 1919, the Emergency Fleet Corporation commandeered the Bayles Shipyard because of the unsatisfactory progress at the facility. The seized property, which included the Plant Hotel, was then sold to the New York Harbor Dry Dock Corporation.
When the new owners fired hundreds of shipyard workers, the number of boarders at the Plant Hotel dropped dramatically. To compensate for this loss, the hotel began offering rooms to transients by the day or week.
The Port Jefferson Times scolded the hotel’s new clientele for destroying electric bulbs, smashing wash basins, spitting on the floors and generally behaving as if they were hoodlums.
In December 1920, the NYHDDC shut down the Bayles Shipyard, dismissing all of its workers except for a skeleton crew. Confronted with a virtually empty Plant Hotel, the NYHDDC leased the complex to the Federal Board for Vocational Education, later renamed the United States Veterans Bureau.
The Plant Hotel, which had been extensively damaged by some departing boarders, was refurbished as a training center charged with teaching disabled soldiers and sailors.
The initial group of 125 veterans arrived at the Plant Hotel in October 1921. During a typical three-month stay, the men prepared for new careers and received medical care. For recreation, they were entertained by theatrical troupes, went on field trips and enjoyed Friday night concerts.
Port Jefferson’s Plant Hotel was still under construction on October 15, 1918. Photograph by Arthur S. Greene, National Archives
Despite pressure from local business groups and politicians, in June 1923 the Veterans Bureau left Port Jefferson as part of a nationwide plan to consolidate its rehabilitation facilities.
As demobilization continued, local businessman Jacob S. Dreyer purchased the Liberty Avenue cottages, which have changed hands several times over the years and are still standing. In July 1929, taxpayers in the Port Jefferson school district voted to purchase the Plant Hotel itself and the remaining 13 acres.
In subsequent elections, the citizens authorized the board of education to sell some of the hotel’s furnishings, grade the grounds and construct an athletic field on the site. In June 1934, the taxpayers voted to build a high school on the property.
The board of education quickly sold the Plant Hotel to a high bidder for $250. Workers then demolished the building and hauled away the wreckage.
Kenneth Brady has served as the Port Jefferson village historian and president of the Port Jefferson Conservancy, as well as on the boards of the Suffolk County Historical Society, Greater Port Jefferson Arts Council and Port Jefferson Historical Society. He is a longtime resident of Port Jefferson.
Not all estates require a probate or full administration proceeding. A small estate proceeding,also known as a Voluntary Administration, is a simplified Surrogate’s Court procedure.
What estates qualify?
TheVoluntary Administration is available if the decedent passed away with $50,000 or less inpersonal property. Personal property includes cars, cash, stocks — anything but real estate. The Voluntary Administration proceeding is not an option when the decedent owned realproperty solely in their own name. It is available if the decedent died with or without a Will.
Voluntary Administration is not only for decedents who had minimal assets. Sometimesonly certain assets were owned by the decedent in their sole name. This happens often withmarried couples with joint bank accounts or who own real estate with rights of survivorship. A decedent may have named beneficiaries on most of their accounts. In such cases only someproperty needs to pass through Surrogate’s Court. Other times a decedent conveyed most, but not all, of their property to a trust. If the assets left outside the trust are less than$50,000, a Voluntary Administration is available.
How to file
The small estate proceeding is initiated by filing of an “Affidavit of VoluntaryAdministration.” The Petitioner is either the nominated Executor in the decedent’s Will orthe closest living relative when there is no Will. The Petitioner is asking the Court for theauthority to collect the decedent’s assets, pay off any debts, and distribute the property tothose with a legal right to inherit. If there was a Will, the beneficiaries named in the Willinherit. If there was no Will, then the estate passes under the laws of intestacy.
The Voluntary Administration Proceeding is less complex than a probate or fulladministration proceeding. Consent and Waiver is not required from the decedent’sdistributees (heirs who will inherit under the estate). The Court only provides thedistributees with notice that the proceeding was filed. This avoids the expense of costlylitigation over the appointment of a fiduciary.
Drawbacks
The Voluntary Administration Proceeding has some drawbacks. The appointedAdministrator only has the authority to collect the specific assets listed on the Affidavit ofVoluntary Administration. Such broad authority is only available in a full probate oradministration proceeding. The Administrator does not have the broad authority to collectand distribute any additional assets. If the Administrator finds assets not listed on the initial Affidavit, they have to go back to the court.
Further, if the assets exceed $50,000, the Administrator must convert the proceeding to a full probate or Administration. For this reason, when there is uncertainty about the assets, it may be wise to proceed with a fullprobate or administration proceeding.
A small estate proceeding costs only $1 to file. While the Voluntary AdministrationProceeding is simple and inexpensive, mistakes can be costly. It is always a good idea toconsult with an experienced Estate attorney to ensure that a small estate proceeding is thebest way to proceed.
Nancy Burner, Esq. is the founder and managing partner at Burner Law Group, P.C with offices located in East Setauket, Westhampton Beach, New York City and East Hampton.
Update: Leo has been adopted! Happy life sweet boy!
MEET LEO!
This week’s shelter pet is Leo, an 11-month-old lab mix currently waiting for his furever home at the Smithtown Animal Shelter. This handsome man is as sweet as can be. He has lived with two smaller dogs and a cat and did well with all of them. He is timid, so he would do best with children over 12 years old. Leo has some issues with separation anxiety and will need a home that can help him manage that. He would be a perfect addition to any family.
If you would like to meet Leo, please call ahead to schedule an hour to properly interact with him in a domestic setting.
The Smithtown Animal & Adoption Shelter is located at 410 Middle Country Road, Smithtown. Visitor hours are currently Monday to Saturday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. (Sundays and Wednesday evenings by appointment only).
For more information, call 631-360-7575 or visit www.smithtownanimalshelter.com.
This week’s featured shelter pet is Toby, a 12-year-old Chihuahua mix currently up for adoption at the Smithtown Animal Shelter.
This sweet senior has not had an easy life.He has been bounced from a few homes through a rescue in Florida and landed himself in Smithtown after getting loose on a busy road a few times.
Toby is very gentle and low key and is looking for the best possible home to show him some stability for his golden years. He gets along with everyone, but will need gentle dogs or older kids that will not pounce on him. He loves to go for walks and just be around people.
If you would like to meet Toby, please call ahead to schedule an hour to properly interact with him in a domestic setting.
The Smithtown Animal & Adoption Shelter is located at 410 Middle Country Road, Smithtown. Visitor hours are currently Monday to Saturday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. (Sundays and Wednesday evenings by appointment only). For more information, call 631-360-7575 or visit www.townofsmithtownanimalshelter.com.
Image depicts what Patchogue looked like circa 1800.
By Beverly C. Tyler
William Bacon, my third great grandfather, left his home in the Midlands of England on June 12, 1794. He booked passage on a ship out of Liverpool on June 22 and arrived at New York’s South Street Seaport on Aug. 23. He then traveled to Patchogue, Long Island, arriving on Aug. 28, 1794. Letters from his father and brothers between 1798 and 1824 and numerous trips I made to the villages of his youth provided the basis for this fictional letter to his father and mother.
A letter from William Bacon’s father Matthew. Image from Beverly C. Tyler
In 1794, England was at war with France, as was most of Europe. The resultant curtailment of trade was having a very negative effect on the British economy. The impressment of American merchant ship crews by the British had brought America and England very close to war again. President George Washington was in his second term as the first president of the United States and had recently appointed Chief Justice John Jay to negotiate a treaty of commerce with England.
On Long Island, Selah Strong was again elected as president of the trustees of the Town of Brookhaven, a post he had held every year since 1780, three years before the end of the Revolutionary War. In Patchogue, the Blue Point Iron Works, run by a Mr. Smith, was in full operation and looking to England, especially the Midlands, for young men like William Bacon who came from a long line of lead miners and iron workers.
July 4, 1794
M. Matthew Bacon Alderwasley Parish of Wirksworth Derbyshire, England
My Dearest Father & Mother,
I am writing this letter at sea. We are twelve days out from Liverpool and expect to arrive in New York before the end of next month. Today is Independence Day in America and as this is an American ship and crew, they celebrated the day with cannon fire and decorated the ship with flags. A special meal was prepared and the other passengers and I were included in the feast. Sitting with these new friends and enjoying their hospitality, I realized for the first time how much I already miss home and family.
Last month, the day before I left, as I sat on the hillside above our home, I realized that there was a part of me that would stay there forever. The green hills of Alderwasley will remain forever in my memory as will your kind smile and patience with me as I prepared to undertake this journey.
My resolve in going has not diminished in spite of my love for my family, for my home, and for the gentle rolling hills I have so often walked. The position in Mr. Smith’s iron works I regard as a chance to flourish in a land of opportunity as many others have done before me. America also offers the chance to live free of the will of the Lord of the Manor. He has been good to you, and generous, but he owns the very hills and valleys where I was born and grew up. In America my opportunities are limitless.
Please write and tell me if any from Wirksworth or Alderwasley have volunteered for the cavalry or infantry and how the war goes. I will send you the prices of pig and bar iron in English money as well as the prices of beef and mutton in the same as soon as I can. If brother Samuel is still in Jamaica after I arrive, ask him to come and see me when he goes through New York. The same for my brother Matthew if he comes to Philadelphia to trade as he plans.
I continue with great hope and anticipation and a deep sorrow at parting.
Your loving son,
William Bacon
Beverly C. Tyler is a Three Village Historical Society historian and author of books available from the society at 93 North Country Road, Setauket. For more information, call 631-751-3730. or visit www.tvhs.org.
Prev
