Pennsylvania Apple Dumplings

For my final living history project I wanted to cook something from the 18^th century. I found a recipe that is prominent in Northeast America in Pennsylvania. It is Apple Dumplings. They are commonly eaten as a desert. Apple dumplings are a pastry that has a cored and peeled apple inside with raisins, cinnamon, and sometimes rum. The outside of the pastry is then coated with a brown sugar syrup.

Recipe: – from Christiana Campbell's Tavern
Colonial Williamsburg, Williamsburg, Virginia

Serves 4

Pastry Ingredients:

• ¼ cup all­vegetable shortening
• 1¾ cups all­purpose flour
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ¼ pound (1 stick) unsalted butter, chilled
• 4 to 6 tablespoons ice water

Apples Ingredients:

• 4 small tart apples, such as Granny Smith
• 1 tablespoon raisins
• 1 tablespoons dark rum
• 4 teaspoons unsalted butter

Syrup Ingredients:

• 1 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar
• 1½ cups water
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter

Instructions:

1. To make the pastry, combine the shortening, flour and salt in a food processor fitted with the steel blade. Using on and off pulsing action, combine until the mixture resembles fine meal. Cut the chilled butter into small pieces, and pulse a few times, or until the mixture resembles coarse meal. Sprinkle with 4 tablespoons of the ice water, and pulse a few times. The mixture should hold together when pinched. Add more water, if necessary. (This can also be done using a pastry blender or two knives.) Scrape the pastry onto a floured board, form it into a ball, and wrap it with plastic wrap. Refrigerate at least 30 minutes,
2. Preheat the oven to 450°F. While the pastry is chilling, peel and core the apples. Divide the raisins and rum into the core holes, and place 1 teaspoon of butter in each core hole. Combine the syrup ingredients in a small saucepan, and bring to a boil. Simmer for 3 minutes, and set aside.
3. Divide the pastry into 4 parts. Form one part into a ball, and place it between two sheets of plastic wrap or wax paper. Flatten with your hands into a "pancake." Roll the pastry into a circle large enough to cover the apple. Place an apple in the center, and bring up the sides to encase it. Pinch the top together, holding the dough with a little water. If the folds seem thick, trim them off and seal the seams with water. Repeat with the remaining apples.
4. Place the apples on a baking sheet, and brush them with the syrup. Place them in the oven and bake for 10 minutes. Reduce the heat to 330"F, and brush again with the syrup. Bake an additional 35 minutes, brushing every 10 minutes. Remove from the oven, and allow to cool for 5 minutes. Serve hot or at room temperature.

 

                I made my dumplings based off a recipe that I found on a Colonial Williamsburg site(http://www.history.org/almanack/life/food/fdapdump.cfm). It took roughly two hours to complete the four dumplings that I made. They came out better than I thought they would although mine look a lot larger than the recipe. I followed the recipe verbatim except for the rum. (I didn’t have any at the time). This was actually a fun experience since I enjoy cooking. Next time I will know to eat them with some vanilla ice cream to help with the bland flavor.

Nine Patch Quilt

                For one of the living history projects I decided to make a nine patch quilt. I did some history and in the nineteenth century it was very common for young women to patch quilts while heading west. These young women were about the age of 12 when they became efficient at quilting.

After hand stitching this blanket I learned that I will most likely not do it again. It took me six hours just to make the front piece. I had to take a break after that cause my stitches were starting to be too large. The second day I sewed on the back piece and put a small amount of stuffing inside. I only made a 3’ by 3’ blanket. When doing research I noticed that these girls were doing larger blankets. This was also my first time sewing so it probably did not take them as long. I enjoy the finished product but was not a big fan during the sewing process.

Civil War Museum

The main reason my husband and I went to Old Town Spring was to see the Civil War Museum. Luckily the visitors center had a map of each of the buildings in the city because if I was just walking around I don’t think I would have been able to find it. It was a small building somewhat hidden in a little courtyard area. When I saw that the Civil War Museum was an option to go to I figured it would be a large museum not a one roomed building completely packed with artifacts. The gentleman there was very informative. He was having a conversation with my husband most of the time because my husband is very much so into history especially when it comes to wars. I just looked around and took pictures. What I found interesting was around the edges of the room there was many glass showcases that had a large amount of artifacts in them. The pictures that I could take did not come out well due to the glare. The showcase of weapons was one of my favorites. In the center of the room were displays of wars. There was one of the Battle of Antietam and another on Pickett’s Charge. They were intriguing to look at with all the men’s placement and detail. I also noticed replicas of the union and confederate uniforms. It was first time actually looking at them that close. Lastly I noticed the flags. It’s interesting to see how far the American flag has come.

Old Town Spring Historical Marker

       I have lived in Texas little over a year now and only live about 15 minutes from Old Town Spring. Just recently was my first time going to Old Town Spring. To be honest I probably wouldn’t have gone yet if it wasn’t for our living history journal project. I enjoyed the time I had there though. I originally went to Old Town Spring to see the civil war museum but when I was driving up I saw a historical marker sign. My husband parked the vehicle and we went to look at the plaque. It was in front of this little museum that said Spring History Museum. The plaque gave a little story of how Spring came to be. It stated that it was originally a farming area for sugar and cotton. But Spring began to grow because of the railroad. Many German settlers came to this area and there is still a strong German heritage around. When walking around the city it is noticeable that there is still German heritage due to the type of shops on the streets. The plaque goes on to state how the railroad made the city expand and the production of lumber became prominent. It also mentions that the Spring School District was created in 1907 after they divided the land into commercial and residential areas. The decrease of population in Spring began with the Prohibition of the 1920s. The plaque lastly states that the population began to increase again in the 1970s and that it continues to attract new residents.

After looking at the plaque I went inside to see the history of Old Town Spring. There were many artifacts in this small one roomed building. It has tall presentation like boards with the families that first arrived in Spring. It also had showcases of artifacts from the beginning of the town. Overall it was very interesting to look at. I am not entirely into history that much but being able to see when and how a city began was interesting.

Roots of my Family

Father’s side: As I noted in my post on my family story, my father’s side of the family can be traced back many generations. Let’s start with Roger Burlingame. It was the first Burlingame to come to America. Roger was born in Darwich, Kent, England in 1620. He left his wife and family in England because the British Army sent him to the New World. After he arrived in America he resigned from the Army and went to buy a farm for his family. He sent for his family to be moved here as well, but unfortunately his wife had died. He then remarried a woman named Mary Lippitt. After Roger passed his estate was split up between his son’s Roger and John and his granddaughters Freelove, Frances, and Deborah. Next is Jan Tisler (John Tischler). It is unsure of when and why he came to America. The only document proving that he and his wife Meri Hendrick (Mary Hendrick) were Hungarian was on their son Edward’s birth certificate. His simply states that both of his parents were of Hungarian descent. Since Edward was born in 1895 we know they came to America prior than that but it is also unsure if Edward is the eldest child. Someone in my family on my grandmother’s side was able to trace the Sporck family back to the 1490s. I have been unable to find any information stating that and most of the information I have on the Sporck family is here say.

Mother’s side: Unfortunately no one on my mother’s side of the family has been curious about family history. Also with the common last name of Miller, all the research I have done has come to a dead end. I can only trace back to great grandparents which were U.S citizens.

Creation of Me



This is just the three generations that led to the creation of me. I am actually one of 3 children that my mother had. I have an older sister named Jennifer Lynne Rock and a younger brother named Kent Alan Burlingame. My sister and I are both married with no children. My husband’s name is Andrew Mason and her husband is James Rock.

My father, Don, was one of two children, with his older brother Bruce Burlingame. My paternal grandfather was one of fifteen children (this is why it began to become complicated) and my paternal grandmother was one of eight children. Since my family commonly used same names between the generations it was difficult to figure out who was directly related to someone else. My great grandmother Catherine Sporck’s family can be traced back all the way to the 1490s. My great grandfather Edward Tischler can be traced by only one more generation to his father Jan Tisler who was from Hungary. My great grandmother Ethel does not have much information that can be found relating to further generations. My great grandfather Elvin’s family can be traced to our original descendant here which was Roger Burlingame in 1650.

 My mother, Cheryl, was one of three children. She has an older brother named Norman Miller and a younger brother named Lawrence Miller. My maternal grandmother was one of two children with her younger sister Jackie. M y grandmother was born to Jeannie Ward and a man with the last name of Wayne. She was then adopted by Frank Ward. My maternal grandfather was one of three children. His father was Lawrence Miller and his mother’s name is unknown to the remaining family members.

Debunked Family Legend

For as long as I can remember I was told that one of family members on my paternal grandfather’s side was a Native American. Not only were they a Native American but they were a chief. Now that I have done more research on my family and looked at the genealogy that Cousin Phillip has put together, there is no possible way that a male on my paternal grandfather’s side of the family could be a tribal chief. Since Phillip traced the entire lineage back to Roger Burlingame (Great grandfather times 12) who was the first to come to the United States from England as a Captain in the British Army, there is no proof of any Native American males in the family. The story of being Native American on that side of the family is debunked but after speaking with my father it is entirely possible that his grandmother’s side of the family has Native American in it somewhere. One of the reasons this is believed to be possible is the skin tone of my family. Now I know that I’m very light skinned but as you look at generations further back the skin tone continues to be dark tan. I could not find any information in the family history proving that there is a Native American blood-line but the possibility is there.