Circa 1884 McCuiston House

[SouthernLady]

Southernlady, nice to see the progress, great work on the door, nice eastlake hardware and in the correct location lower on the door. Not up on American iconography but wouldn’t an eagle and shield make you a Yankees rather than a southern belle? Can’t tell you any thing on your blanket, other than I have seen a similar bird pattern on antique wall paper some were.

My dad is a "Yankee" from strong Pennsylvania Dutch heritage on his dad's side (and his mom's side wasn't even in the country then as she was Ruthenian), so..... we don't talk about that side of the family down here

His great-great-grandfather fought for Pennsylvania at Gettysburg, and my third-great-grandfather fought for the 53rd North Carolina Infantry, Company H, which had heavy causalities on Cemetery Ridge. I've visited the battlefield three times, and the last time I was there was last October with my sister. We drove out to the ridge and spent several solemn moments thinking about all that happened around us. It was then the thought came to us that there's a good probability the "Yankee" grandpa was the one who shot our "Confederate" grandpa in the leg... What a hoot that would be

[Gothichome]

A great little story from your country’s troubled past. Maybe Southernlady those still in the North don’t speak of there southern cousins either.
Re reading your blog, your door bell I think should be mounted side ways. To my eye it looks a bit odd to have the overhang top and bottom of the door panel.

[Mick_VT]

Re reading your blog, your door bell I think should be mounted side ways. To my eye it looks a bit odd to have the overhang top and bottom of the door panel.

I think you are correct that it would look better horizontally mounted GH, but I do note that it was originally installed that way. With the door being finished with a stain and varnish I think there would likely be a very visible tell of the original orientation if it were moved. So personally I think I would stick with it as is... makes a for a nice talking point and a bit of idiosyncrasy

[mjt]

Nice work on the door; it looks great!

You've inspired me to make our front door one my next projects...

[SouthernLady]

A great little story from your country’s troubled past. Maybe Southernlady those still in the North don’t speak of there southern cousins either.
Re reading your blog, your door bell I think should be mounted side ways. To my eye it looks a bit odd to have the overhang top and bottom of the door panel.

I don't think my "Yankee cousins" have much to say about the other family branch, either. We visited when I was in high school, and they went to Kentucky Fried Chicken and picked up some fried chicken, cole slaw, mashed potatoes, and green beans because they knew "that's what you Southern people eat", and they had us eat outside on their porch because we "Southerners eat chicken with your fingers, but we Northerners use manners and use silverware unless we're eating at a picnic. So we're accommodating your culture." I'm still not sure that was meant as a joke....... The last time I was up there was for a family funeral. I donned my black dress, pearls, and heels, and when the fourth person asked which one of us was his Southern relations and could one of us say something Southern, I kicked on my heaviest Scarlett O'Hara act the world's ever seen since Vivien Leigh, including "honey lamb, could you...", "bless yo' little heart, sugar..." for the rest of the visit. When one person had the audacity to ask if we really do go barefoot all the time, I replied with, "Why, sir, of course we do! In fact, these little ol' shoes are just KILLIN' my little ol' feet! Please excuse me while I remove them. Surely you won't mind little ol' me doin' such a tiny little thing to ease my discomfort, would you?" My mama managed to keep a straight face through most of it.

Anyways, The door bell drives me a little crazy, but because that's how it was originally installed I left it that way. I couldn't bear to correct it after it'd been incorrect over 100 years.

Yep. I'm that die hard of a restorationist. lol

[Manalto]

From the perspective of Charleston, Savannah and Mobile, North Carolina might as well be the Hudson Bay.

[SouthernLady]

From the perspective of Charleston, Savannah and Mobile, North Carolina might as well be the Hudson Bay.

That be true, but my strain of kin be the Scotch-Irish from the Appalachian Foothills, which are a very unique folk, mixed with descendants of the early plantation holders of Virginia. We hug to our old-time bluegrass and traditions.

[Manalto]

It's wonderful that you're keeping those traditions alive; they're well worth it.

I'd like to know more about my own Scotch-Irish forebears, other than vague references to Nova Scotia. When I'm in the Southeast U.S., I keep bumping into people who look like they could be relatives - and nobody misspells my last name!

[Gothichome]

Southernlady, nice to see your post. Your posting of southern stereotypes made me smile, now my face is cracked. It’ll take a month to heal. Do you remember the Carol Bernett spoof about Scarlet and the dress made from the curtains. And you are correct about that door bell plate, if it has worked for well over a hundred years why change it now.

James, from N.S. you say, how many generations ago? If you had a French heritage becoming an American would make sense if you go back far enough. But maybe your ancestors were finions.

[SouthernLady]

It's wonderful that you're keeping those traditions alive; they're well worth it.

I'd like to know more about my own Scotch-Irish forebears, other than vague references to Nova Scotia. When I'm in the Southeast U.S., I keep bumping into people who look like they could be relatives - and nobody misspells my last name!

There's one tradition I haven't managed to keep alive. It's a strange one that seems to come from a mix of Scottish highlands culture and Indian medicine. Some folks are familiar with the term of "healers" because of a popular TV show called Outlander, but it's got a bit of a different twist in the Appalachians and rural areas where I live.

In my family, there's been "healers" for as far back as anyone can remember. There's folks in my line who "have the power" to stop bleeding, take the thrush out, and "stop the fire" in a burn (pull the pain out). My mother recalls my uncle, who had severe health issues and a birth defect, getting a horrible nosebleed as a toddler. Their great-aunt went over to him in the kitchen, spoke his name several times and some phrase she couldn't remember, and the bleeding immediately stopped.

My great-uncle spoke of this woman also saving his favorite horse from bleeding out when he got spooked and ran into a fence post. She "spoke the words" and the bleeding stopped on the horse and he supposedly got right up and started grazing like nothing ever happened.

My mother knows of children having thrush (yeast) in their mouth, and this woman could "speak the words" and the thrush would go away, even when medicine couldn't do it. She also spoke the pain of burns out of folks, and I was told of a story by my distant cousin of his mother cooking supper in their big colonial-era fireplace and burning her hand, and a family member "spoke the fire out" of the burn, and it didn't bother her after that.

In our family, the "power" is passed from a female blood relation to a male blood relation to a female blood relation. If a blood kin tries to pass the "power" on to another same-sex blood kin, it won't work in my line. The last we know, I have a second cousin who has the "power", so I would have to get her to tell a male blood kin about the power, and he would then have to pass it on to me for me to have it, but if I tell anyone else what it is outside of a male blood kin, I will not longer have the power.

I have been told by some of my older relations, though, that because I've got a weird knack for things medical and such that they suspect I am a natural "healer", but I haven't been given the knowledge of the "power" yet.

Manalto, you should check out Ancestry.com. It's been very helpful for me to track down my family line in addition to the work my dad's done through the years. Their DNA testing is also very interesting.