Lyddie: Chapter 02 - Kindly Friends

Catamount Tavern

Rockingham Free Public Library

As Lyddie and Charlie are preparing to leave the farm, they decide to sell their young calf. They hope to eventually save enough money to clear the family’s debt and return home. Lyddie can’t help but think about her father: She remembers his failures trying to sell potash and raising sheep for wool. Just like he did, Lyddie and Charlie must leave their home in order to save it.

The siblings begin walking to the village where they will work. When they pass the farm of their Quaker neighbors, they decide to offer the calf to Quaker Stevens, who agrees to give Lyddie and Charlie twenty-five dollars for the animal. He invites them inside for dinner before they continue their journey.

Quaker Stevens arranges for his son, Luke, to drive Lyddie and Charlie the rest of the way to the village. First, they drop off Charlie at the mill for his new job. Then, Lyddie and Luke continue to the tavern where Lyddie will be working. As Luke drops her off, he promises to look after her family’s farm and check in on Charlie at the mill. Before Lyddie can decide how to respond to his kindness, Luke pulls the wagon away, leaving Lyddie at her unfamiliar new home.

Fact Check: Quakers

Did Quakers live side by side with non-Quakers? Was friendship between Quakers and non-Quakers common?

What do we know?

Members of the Religious Society of Friends, a Christian group commonly referred to as Quakers, immigrated to North America from England in the 1600s. Because their theological (religious) and political beliefs differed from their neighbors, Quakers were not always accepted by others. Quakers tended to live and work in self-contained communities. They were recognizable by their distinctive dress, speech, and ways of living. They believed that the spirit of God resided in everyone, and they were respectful of their non-Quaker neighbors; however, they were not likely to become friends.

What is the evidence?

Secondary Source:

“Not infrequently did Friends' principles bring them into … conflict with the authorities. The ‘testimony of simplicity’ required plainness of dress and speech and a general lack of ostentation [anything designed to show off wealth]. The meeting house [church] was plain and unadorned, and in the early years of the nineteenth century, no gravestones were allowed. The ‘testimony of equality’ led Friends to reject the use of all titles, to address everyone as thee or thou.”

Hughes, Charles W. & Bradley, A. Day, “The Early Quaker Meetings of Vermont.” Vermont History 29, no. 3 (1961): 153-167.

Secondary Source:

“From the 17th to the beginning of the 20th century, Friends disciplined every Quaker who married an outsider [to the religion], and a great many were disowned. Only in a family where religious unity was guaranteed could the wife and husband be helpmeets [partners who strengthen and help each other] and the correct religious training of the young be guaranteed.”

Frost, J. William. "Quakerism And The Family: In The Past And Present". Friends Journal 24, no. 1 (1978): 7-11.

Secondary Source:

This source shows us that Quakers generally kept to themselves even on issues such as abolition. It also shows that not all Quakers agreed upon every aspect of their religion.

“ Most Quakers became wary of cooperating with religious outsiders in general.... Like virtually all other Protestant denominations in antebellum America, the Quakers were split by the politics of slavery, but it was a far from even split [most Quakers opposed slavery] ... Quakerism produced antislavery heroes in this period, including Lucretia Mott, but most Quakers fighting slavery did so quietly, sometimes … completely stealthily, acting to aid escaped slaves fleeing from the South.”

Carey, Brycchan and Plank, Geoffrey. “Introduction.” In Quakers and Abolition, edited by Brycchan Carey and Geoffrey Plank, 1–12. University of Illinois Press, 2014. http://www.jstor.org/stable/10.5406/j.ctt7zw60d.4.

Fact Check: Sheep farming

Did farmers like Lyddie’s father lose money on sheep farming in the early 1800s in Vermont?

What do we know?

As small farmers in Vermont began to look beyond subsistence (simply feeding and caring for their families) and tried to make a cash profit, many turned to raising sheep for wool. A type of sheep known as Merino was especially popular in Vermont. Wool from Vermont was shipped for sale throughout New England and beyond. Farmers hoped to earn sizable profits from their wool. However, the building of canals and railroads in the early 1800s brought increased competition as western farmers with much larger flocks could cheaply ship wool to the east, where it was purchased by mills like Lowell. The wool market for small Vermont farms crashed, leaving some farmers in debt.

What is the evidence?

Primary Source:

Newspaper advertisement to manufacture wool into cloth. Burlington Free Press, 1844.

Burlington Free Press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.), 20 Sept. 1844. Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers. Lib. of Congress. https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn84023127/1844-09-20/ed-1/seq-4/

Secondary Source:

“The successful introduction of the Merino [sheep] herds in Vermont resulting in ‘merino mania’ and the growing demand for wool by the textile industry of New England led to a change in farming practices. Because sheep required large grazing areas, small family farms had to be consolidated into larger farms. Also, many farms became dependent on one product -- wool.

By 1837 there were over one million sheep in Vermont. Changes in tariff laws created economic booms and busts for sheep owners. Wool prices dropped from 57 cents per pound in 1835 to 25 cents per pound in the late 1840s. Vermont sheep farmers were also suffering from competition from farmers out West. The average annual cost of keeping a sheep in New England was $1.00-2.00 a head, while farmers further west were spending 25 cents a head. Many Vermont sheep farmers suffered great financial loss during this period.”

“William Jarvis & the Merino Sheep Craze.” Vermont Historical Society. 2017. https://vermonthistory.org/william-jarvis-and-the-merino-sheep-craze

Voices from the Field

"Farm Familes" by Dr. Megan Birk, Professor of History at University of Texas Rio Grande Valley and author of The Fundamental Institution: Poverty, Social Welfare, and Agriculture in American Poor Farms.

Photos & Multimedia

Famers often kept horses or oxen to pull wagons and plows on farms. By 1810, many roads throughout rural New England were passable by wagons and coaches, making travel between farms and towns easier.  Wagons became a major form of transportation for farming families, carrying both people and goods.

Courtesy of the University of Vermont

See it yourself

Join an interpreter from Old Sturbridge Village as she makes a pudding for dinner. Lyddie and Triphena had to spend many hours preparing food for the Inn’s guests.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dLXW9oOzOts&list=PLfXd7yJLxFHhUYl4t5YC9-lFrBfkuyCuH&index=23

Explore more Vermont history at the Vermont History Museum in Montpelier Vermont
https://vermonthistory.org/museum/

Writing Prompts

Opinion

Many small farming families in Vermont struggled to survive year after year. Explain the reasons why Lyddie’s family farm had always had trouble. Use evidence from the story to support your claim.

Informative/explanatory

Describe the varied emotions Lyddie experienced as she and Charlie journey from their small farm into the village to work. Include concrete details.

Narrative: Lyddie has to leave everything she had every known—her farm, her family—and start a new life somewhere else. Describe a time when you were new somewhere, maybe a new school or a club/sports team. What did it feel like to be new? What helped you feel like you were part of the new group? Use concrete words and sensory details to convey your thoughts precisely.