Superstitions and Beliefs the Fairbanks Family Brought to Dedham from England in 1600s
Superstitions
The Fairbanks like everyone of the 1600s explained away both good or bad fortunes by God’s or the Devil's influence or superstitions. Nothing was left to luck. Science was not relied upon to find the root of an event or action. Some superstitions were based in experience. If something coincidentally happened together or in close proximity three times, the people made a cause and effect association. Sometimes this was a help and other times it spawned yet another superstition.
Primarily, the Puritans looked for signs of God’s pleasure or dissatisfaction toward them. Celebrations of Thanksgiving Days were held all day by the whole community or Colony for good crops, ends of wars or epidemics, or other events that brought fortune. There were prayers, feast and many more prayers. They held Days of Fasting and Humiliation when events turned on them. They believed God was unhappy with how they were conducting their lives or their business. This called for fasting and more prayers. We’ll explore some of the specific beliefs and superstitions that influenced the lives of our ancestors.
Michaelmas
Michael the Archangel. A 13th-century Byzantine icon from the Monastery of St. Catherine, Sinai
There were traditionally four “quarter days” in a year. The first was Lady Day, March 25th. This was the start of their calendar year also. Then Midsummer Day, June 14. In Fall was Michaelmas on October 11. Finally, Christmas was December 25. These were three months apart and occurred at the solstices or equinoxes.
There were several superstitions surrounding Michaelmas. Harvest had to be completed by that quarter day for good reasons. Michaelmas indicated the people were on the edge of winter which brought long dark nights and cold days. Protection was needed during these dark months. Negative forces were stronger in darkness.
St. Michael, the archangel, fought Lucifer and was known as a protector from darkness and evil.
A fattened goose, fed on the stubble from the fields after the harvest, was served for the Michaelmas feast to protect against financial need in the family for the next year. If you didn’t have a goose, you’d bring one home from the fall fayre. The saying goes:
“Eat a goose on Michaelmas Day,
Want not for money all the year”.
The Fairbanks Black Lacquered Jug
This black lacquered jug with painted flowers is an item the Fairbanks family possibly brought to Dedham from England. It is at The Fairbank House Museum in Dedham, Massachusetts.
The jug has no superstition or magical properties itself. However, in the coming book, Grace finds the flowers remind her of the Michaelmas daisies. The Michaelmas daisies last well into the fall when other flowers have lost their beauty. The Michaelmas daisy pushed back at the darkness of winter by blooming late in the fall and into winter.
The Michaelmas daisy symbolizes a coming to an end, a farewell, which can be a bit frightening. This daisy is also a protector from darkness and evil. The black jug symbolizes Graces’ superstitions in several scenes in the book.
“An old rhyme:
The Michaelmas Daisies, among dede weeds,
Bloom for St. Michael’s valorous deeds.
And seems the last of flowers that stood,
Till the feast of St. Simon and St. Jude.”
Blackberries
Wild Blackberries in England.
Blackberries and Michaelmas
Blackberry pie was a fall delicacy. Many of the old English pies were savory. Few were sweet. The superstition associated with blackberries was you can’t eat them after Michaelmas. That is when St. Michael conquered Lucifer. When the devil fell to earth, he landed on a stickery blackberry bush. Lucifer cursed the bush and spat on the fruit making them foul after the fall holiday of Michaelmas. During my tour of West Yorkshire, England, I saw wild raspberries often and sometimes stopped to pick a few. I went in July.
Holidays
Christmas
Christmas was a long lasting holiday in England and New England until it was banned. It followed the twelve days of Christmas that is mostly a song for us now. In the 1600s, people preformed many gestures of tradition surrounding the holiday to assure their well-being.
Candles
Candles were an important part of the Christmas holiday. The holiday candle sat in the center of the family table. Only the head of the household was to light it. No other candle could be lit from this one. The Christmas candle was not allowed to burn out. The head of household extinguished the candle when the whole family retired. It remained on the table, and the master lit it the following morning.
The candle was required to burn through the full twelve days of Christmas. It was not only unlucky to take a light from the Yule candle, but also unlucky to give a light to anyone on Christmas Day. The giver would have bad fortune through the next year. The family asking for a light or letting their candle burn out or extinguish would have bad luck during the next year also. If someone blew it out, other than the head of the household, that person may die during the following year.
After the holiday, the unconsumed piece of the candle was carefully stowed away with other similar relics of former years. Sometimes quite a large number of candle pieces accumulated The fragments were then melted into a Christmas candle for the next year.
Yule Fires
Likewise, fire was an important part of the holiday traditions. Part of the yule log of the past year was retained to put into the fire with the new logs for the present year.
On other occasions, if the household fire went out and there was no ember to rekindle it, someone was sent to a neighbors to get a live coal to restart the fire. During the holiday, if the fire doesn’t burn through the night of the Twelfth Day, the family may have bad luck during the next year. Anyone supplying the live coal to start the extinguished fire would share in the bad luck during the whole year. Thus an important question was traditionally asked before retiring, especially during the Christmas season. 'is your tunder dhry?' Is your tinder dry or do you have a way to start the fire the next morning.
Decorations
Holly or greenery was often used to decorate for the holiday. When the boughs were taken down after the holiday, they were not burned as usual. They were thrown away.
Food
Christmas pudding, still a tradition in English homes today.
Food, as on any occasion, was a big part of the holiday tradition. The preparation of the food held superstitions.
Fumary, a grain based cake with fruits, was an important part of the ritual. It took at least three days to prepare. If it was stirred counter clockwise instead of clockwise, it was unlucky. For good luck, a wish could be made by each family member stirring the fumary the correct way during the three days.
Minced meat pie was another food with superstitions. The pie included three spices: nutmeg, cloves, and cinnamon. These represented the gifts of the three Magi to the Christ Child. Pies made with thirteen ingredients represented Christ and his apostles. Stirring was again an issue with making the pie. Additionally, it was thought the pie should be eaten every day during the twelve days of Christmas for health and happiness in the new year. www.dedhamhistorical.org.Yorkshire
Christmas was banned in England in 1647. The reason for the bann was not purely religious. Over indulgence, rowdiness, mumming (crossdressing), and costuming accompanied by lude acts or performances contributed to it being forbidden . Over consumption of hard liquor, including wassail, and door to door begging were also problems.
Perhaps the banning of Christmas came later in New England because nearly the whole population was Puritan with stricter rules about the various traditions. New England banned Christmas in 1659. This included all traditions. The day of Christmas was viewed as any other day. Businesses were open, boys went to school, etc.
It is believed that some celebration and traditions were retained within the individual households, but they were kept unnoticeable to the community. There was a fine of five shillings, which was a substantial sum, if they were caught celebrating.
Other activities such as unrestrained gambling, singing, playing music, feasting, and socializing helped to prolong the ban until 1681 when Massachusetts declared it legal to observe Christmas again. However, few festivities were held until 1870, some two hundred years later..
New Years
There was great importance placed on the first foot that crossed the threshold on New Year’s Day. The person to step in the door was called the “lucky bird”. That person should be a male with dark hair. If someone came to the door to cross the threshold before someone of that description, they would be turned away.
If someone that fit the proper description lived or was dwelling in the house, he may be encouraged to leave the house, go around it and then reenter. A village also had a man or boy fitting that description to go to each house and offer to enter for luck of the household. https://www.genuki.org.uk/big/eng/YKS/YRY/YKS/FolkTalk/Chapter11
Many traditions are retained in the observance of holidays even today. Some traditions are rooted in remembering the past and in religion. Some new ones, like who in the family will carve the meat for the feast or hang the first or last ornament, help bind us as a family.
Celestial Occurrences and Earthquakes
Blood Moon taken by NASA
God provided omens to help the Puritans make wise choices. If they didn’t heed the omens, it was their own fault.
Through years of farming land and raising animals, churning, gardening, and baking, the people of the 1600s found association with celestial events. Probably the most useful to them were written in almanacs. They decided when to plant different crops by the phase of the moon. Then they prepared for harvest using the same signs.
It is said in Bodge’s Soldiers in King Philip's War: History of the American Colonies and Wars with Native Americans from 1620 to 1677 , that the military that mustered in Dedham saw an omen in the moon as they were preparing to fight. Some were reluctant to continue with the military advance because of the omen.
A comet was another omen of a forthcoming serious event, personal or community. Earthquakes became associated with the onset of epidemics and diseases all over the world.
Customs and Superstition in the Home
Fire
The people of the 1600s relied on fire for their livelihood. It cooked, baked, steeped herbs for medicines, and heated their water for washing and bathing. Large bon fires were used during celebrations and as warnings on “beacon hills” to communicate dangers to other villages.
The two greatest causes of death for women were childbirth and fires. The women wore long skirts that hung dangerously close to the cooking fires. They usually had several fires going in the hearth. They stepped into the large hearth to tend them. The women often wore woolen skirts because it had a property of retarding a flame. Hex marks were carved or etched into the mantels as good luck protection against a fire.
Hex mark on mantel of hall hearth at The Fairbanks House. Believed to be protective against fire.
Keeping a fire lit was of great concern. Their were no matches or easy way to restart a fire if it went out. They often had to go to a neighbor’s house, some distance away, to get a live coal or tender to rekindle their own fire. There are several superstitions about fire.
Huswives (housewives) would go to great pains to teach their daughters and female servants the proper way to tend a fire. The superstitions may have arisen from that practice. If a fire was allowed to go out during the preparation of a meal, the husband might become lazy, or a girl may marry a lazy man.
A young person stirred a fire with a poker to test the humour of a lover. If the fire blazed brightly, the lover was of good humours, or vice versa.
Candles
Dipping candles
A lit candle seemed protective. Of course, the people of that time believed that evil occurred most during darkness. Thus, a burning candle came to mean protection of the home, particularly during a storm. It could also comfort the sick and ward off evil.
Witches were believed to come into the house from any open entry, doorway, window, or chimney. A live fire or a lit candle dispelled the dark, but couldn’t be kept all night because of the chance the house would burn while the residents slept. Other means had to be used to protect the family from evil.
Witches in the Household
Witches were feared. We’ve mentioned the Pendle Witches and marks in the house of John Fairbank, in Thornton-in-Craven. England. He was the father of Jonathan the emigrant. There are also marks to deter witches in The Fairbanks House in Dedham, Massachusetts. There were witches marks noted on the steps at Hampton Court of London, a summer court of the Kings.
Herb garden of plants used in the 1600s at The Fairbanks House in Dedham, MA. Maintained by The Fairbanks Garden Club.
Besides candles and fires, many traditions and actions occurred to protect the family from witches.
Hex marks, like fire marks, on the mantel protected against witches. Marks were made on stairs and on or near entries to the house. Shoes were placed in the chimney. All these were to repel witches from entering or moving through the house.
Unfortunately, many women, often widows, who brewed beer to support themselves and their families or those who used herbs and medicinal treatments not commonly known or understood were accused of witchcraft. Men could be named as witches also. I will discuss witches and paranormal activities in more detail in a later blog.
Superstitions and Health
One example of the many herbs grown for medicinal purposes. Early herbs grown for this purpose are maintained by The Fairbanks Garden Club at the Fairbank House in Dedham, MA.
Charmed rings were worn by many for the cure of dyspepsia. A charmed belts was to cure rheumatism. Many herbal preparations were used for different illness. There were few doctors in New England. A woman had to be prepared to treat her own family and sometimes families of others. Those women were careful with how they spoke of their abilities and their preparations. They could become known as witches.
Pregnancy and Childbirth
It was difficult to understand why God would take a new born child or a woman in childbirth. Elaborate preparations were made for a birth and several women around the community would attend. One who gave birth to many children herself or one who was respected as having much knowledge in childbirth was called to the occasion as the midwife.
Labor pains were punishment for the acts of Eve in Genesis. Special herbs were used to speed the birth process. A caudle or strong beverage was used to reduce the pain of delivery. A groaning cake and groaning ale were enjoyed by “gossips,” the name given women attending the birth. Much of responsibility of the “gossips” was to sit around and talk about the community events and issues as a distraction to the mother-to-be.
During childbirth, key holes or string holes in doors were stopped up, windows were closed and curtains were drawn. This represented keeping evil out and also the soul in, in case of a death. A chest in the room was draped in a white cloth. It also held candles to expel evil.
The midwife or helpful neighbor, with experience, tied and cut the umbilical cord. The cord left on the baby must not be to long or a girl would have misshapen parts. The cord would not be cut too short for a boy, or he would grow short in his parts.
The newly born child was swaddled to protect it from evil influences until baptism. The afterbirth or placenta was delivered into a bowl and buried in the garden for good luck and to bring a good harvest the next year. A woman that gave birth recently was not allowed to go to church because she was unclean.
Rituals and Traditions Concerning Death
Death of a baby, young child, or woman in childbirth was attributed to God’s will, or one’s sins, community’s sins, or mysteries of the divine beyond human understanding.
When a person was ill and thought to be near death, all windows and mirrors were closed or covered to prolong life. It was believed that the spirit of the dead would leave the body and exit through house openings or mirrors.
When the person was deemed dead, they were laid out on their own kitchen (hall) table. They were shrouded with herbs and potions, not so much for superstitions, but to dispel the odor until burial. Viewers stayed with the body at least two days to assure the person was dead. In the 1600s, it was difficult to know if a person was really dead, in a coma, or only near death. The person, if buried quickly, could be mistaken for dead and buried alive.
A grave was dug oriented from east to west. The feet of the deceased were placed to the east in preparation for them to stand when the Lord came for them. Rosemary was placed in the grave for remembrance. The Puritans didn’t believe in grave markers because markers were a sign of the flesh and not of the soul. The Puritans did not believe in grief for the flesh.
As seen at Plimoth, grave markers were not used because the townsmen felt it would show their enemies how may people had been lost. This would announce the town’s vulnerability.
At the burial, a bell was often placed in the casket with the deceased. A watchman stayed in the graveyard overnight to dig the body up, if he heard the ringing of the bell. The phrase “dead ringer” that indicates someone who closely resembles another, comes from this custom. A person seeing someone who looks like the deceased may think that it was the deceased him/herself who has rung the bell and was dug up from the grave.
Science has come a long way in allaying our fears and superstitions. However, some things still can’t be explained. Children still say, “Don’t step on a crack or you’ll break your mother’s back,” Don’t walk under a ladder,” or “You’ll have bad luck if you break a mirror.” These all seem in jest, but how many people today have second thoughts before doing these things? Superstitions have not left our lives, but perhaps we don’t fear them as they did in the 1600s.
Next Up
The last of our England tour is dedicated to John Prescott. He was the father-in-law of Jonas Fairbanks. The family lineage of John has not been proven, but it is believed that he apprenticed as a blacksmith with a relative in Wigan. The Standish Church, St. Wilfrid’s Church, was an important church in the area at that time and a burial place for some Prescotts at that time. Shevington was possibly an early childhood town for John. We will visit all those locations in the next blog.
If you have information on the spouses of the other children of Jonathan and Grace and locations the emigrated from, I’d be interested in your information.
Resources
https://www.gutenberg.org/files/39934/39934-h/39934-h.htm Traditions, Superstitions and Folk-lore (Chiefly Lancashire and the North of England:) Their affinity to others in widely-distributed localities; Their Eastern Origin and Mythical Significance
https://www.mountvernon.org/blog/2018/10/colonial-superstitions Colonial Superstitions
https://www.worldhistory.org/article/1725/religion--superstition-in-colonial-america/ Religions and Superstions in Colonial America.
https://www.mentalfloss.com/posts/british-superstitions-history Mental Floss: The History of 12 Colonial Superstions
1851 by one Tattersall Wilkinson of Burnley Lancaster Superstitions
What They Say About Snow in New England, and Remembering the Great Snow of 1717. The New England Kitchen: A Monthly Journal of Domestic Science, Volume 2 New England Historical Society
https://www.historic-uk.com/CultureUK/Michaelmas/ Historic UK: Michaelmas by Ben Johnson
https://www.genuki.org.uk/big/eng/YKS/YRY/YKS/FolkTalk/Chapter11 GenUKI: YORKSHIRE FOLK TALK: Customs and superstitions
