History

Revolutionary War Hero Margaret Corbin

Lynette M Burrows

It’s July and fitting that this month’s history posts be about Margaret Cochran Corbin, born November 12, 1751 in Franklin County, Pennsylvania, A U.S. Revolutionary War Hero, Margaret Corbin was the first woman paid a soldier’s pension by the Continental Congress. Early Life Born to Robert Cochran, an Irish immigrant, and his wife Sarah, Margaret was orphaned at the age of five. While she and her brother were away from home, Native American’s raided her home. Her father died, and they kidnapped her mother. Her mother’s brother adopted her and her brother. Married Twenty-one-year-old Margaret married John Corbin from Virginia in 1772. Presumably they moved to Pennsylvania. The Revolutionary War Her husband joined the Pennsylvania Artillery in 1775 or 1776.  A matross, an artilleryman, John served on a cannon crew. Margaret, like many other wives at the time, became a camp follower. Camp followers cooked, cleaned and repaired clothes for the soldiers to earn money. They also cared for the sick and wounded. And camp followers brought the soldiers water to drink and to cool the cannons. The soldiers called these women, Molly Pitcher. John manned one of two cannons at Fort Washington on November 16, 1776, when George Washington […]

Would You Have Been the First?

Lynette M Burrows

Have you ever thought about what it would be like to be the first at something? Standing up for what you believe no matter the ridicule or hatred can be scary. So intimidating that many of us either turn away or simply don’t see that opportunity when it arises. Women have stood up throughout history. They’ve taken walked a lonely path sometimes. A path sometimes strewn with ridicule, hate, imprisonment, and death. Fellow women, if you’d been alive in the 1600s would you have been the first to stand up and demand the right to vote? Who Was Margaret Brent? Thirty-seven-year-old Margaret Brent, her sister and two brothers arrived at St. Mary’s, Maryland on November 22, 1638. They came to the Colonies to improve their fortune since the family’s wealth all went to their elder brother, the firstborn son. A wealthy Catholic English family, the Brents had close ties with the Calverts, the proprietors of Maryland. Governor Calvert gave Margaret and each of her siblings a large land grant. The law allowed a single woman to own and manage property. She could make contracts and collect debts in a court of law. A married woman lost the power to make […]

A History Lesson for Pandemic Life

Lynette M Burrows

There is a history lesson for pandemic life near the end of World War I. People wanted to celebrate. But peace wasn’t the only thing in the air. The so-called Spanish Influenza of 1918-1919 killed many tens of thousands of people across the globe. Many of whom died because they went to a parade or a party celebrating the end of the war. First Cases It’s unknown where this influenza began its journey. The war raged on. Opposing sides didn’t share information. In the fall of 1918, Spain reported they had a health crisis. That’s why the name Spanish Influenza came into use. Lucky Spain. But Spain isn’t where the virus started. Some research suggested it may have started in the spring of 1981. In Kansas. But no one knows for certain. Rumor and speculation filled in the blanks. The allies thought Germans released it as germ warfare. Others thought mustard gas had caused the flu. Still others believed the flu started in the trenches. In a time when young men joined the armed forces, went to boot camp, then went overseas… the globe quickly saw the effects of the Spanish Flu. According to one source, half the U.S. servicemen […]