Thanksgiving Dishes in Victorian America

by Kristin Holt,

USA Today Bestselling and RONE Award-winning Author

Dishes served at Thanksgiving Dinners in the United States has definitely changed over the years. We might think of turkey “and all the trimmings” as typical Thanksgiving fare... but is that accurate? What did our Victorian-era American ancestors see as a proper holiday feast?

Before we dive into the food, here's one little historical element I couldn't help but share. A full moon-- absolutely necessary.

A FULL MOON—A NECESSITY!

 

The Times-Picayune of New Orleans, Louisiana on December 1, 1840.

Who knew?

And why on earth did a full moon matter? I’m guessing here. Completely guessing. “Over the river and through the wood, to Grandfather’s house we go”... Yes, grandfather’s. And yes, Thanksgiving. Not Christmas. The "High Offence", wherein Thanksgiving had no full moon, might have made for a dangerous drive home in the dark. In the 1840s, drivers might've had lanterns on their wagons, but travel was made infinitely safer by significant moonlight.

MENUS IN THE LATE 19TH CENTURY

Note the few familiar items on the menu, but much of it feels like "fancy", but not "Thanksgiving":

• Bass Rayee a la Chambord (and the claret that goes with it)
• Venison with Jelly, boned turkey, cranberry sauce (and the champagne, extra dry, from 1871)
• Fillet de Boeuf a la Royale (and claret)
• etc...

The Plaza Hotel Thanksgiving Menu; The Las Vegas Gazette of Las Vegas, New Mexico on November 26, 1885.

Also in Las Vegas, New Mexico, the Depot Hotel served a "festive pig", "frolicsome turkey", "meek antelope", "together with the delicious fruits, toothsome pies, sparkling cider, and a large menu of delicacies..."

Depot Hotel Thanksgiving Menu, The Las Vegas Gazette of Las Vegas, NM on November 26, 1885.

In the following 1889-published menu, the Vermont Journal of Windsor, Vermont, suggests a breakfast (for Thanksgiving Day) as well as Dinner. Note the breakfast includes dishes like stewed oysters, broiled quail, baked sweet potatoes, and lamb chops. (Who'd be hungry for dinner?) Dinner includes Blue Points (more oysters), broiled smelts, sauce tartare, duchesse potatoes, ragout of mallard duck, escarole salad... oh, and roast turkey, among about 97 additional menu items.

A Thanksgiving Menu (breakfast and dinner), published in Vermont Journal of Windsor, VT on Nov 30, 1889.

Thanksgiving Menu: Lawrence Daily World of Lawrence, Kansas on November 23, 1895.

Notice the oysters on the Thanksgiving menu-- in Lawrence, Kansas. Oysters (and other seafood) were primary dishes offered in New England states and all up and down the Atlantic seaboards. I suppose I shouldn't be surprised that with the train and refrigerated railcars came the availability of customary specialty foods--even in landlocked Kansas.

A decade earlier, also in landlocked Kansas, The Leavenworth Times of Leavenworth, Kansas noted "The Parsonage House Offers its Guests a Splendid Spread To-day", including "OYSTERS. Raw, Escalloped, and Stewed."

Parsonage House Thanksgiving Feast Menu in The Leavenworth Times of Leavenworth, KS on November 25, 1886.

St. Joseph's Union Hotel and Restaurant proudly served oysters, boiled tongue, roast loan of beef, roast turkey, and oyster dressing (and lima beans) for Thanksgiving. Thank goodness for the pineapple ice cream.

Thanksgiving Menu at The Union Hotel and Restaurant; St. Joseph Gazette-Herald of St. Joseph, Missouri on November 29, 1900.

The following 1892 menu from Osage City, Kansas might not have offered oysters, but they did suggest "walnut catchup", as well as raisins and nuts. Another article I stumbled across commented that no Thanksgiving feast would be complete without raisins and nuts.

Suggested Menu in The Osage City Free Press of Osage City, Kansas on December 1, 1892.

AN 1895 COMPARISON OF "THE OLD AND THE NEW" THANKSGIVING MENUS

The Argus and Patriot of Montpelier, Vermont, compares "OLD and NEW Thanksgiving Dinners" on November 27, 1895. Part 1.

 

The Argus and Patriot of Montpelier, Vermont compares "OLD and NEW Thanksgiving Dinners" on November 27, 1895. Part 2.

Yes, oysters made the cut for both "old fashioned" and highly "new fashioned" (circa 1895). Note the requirement for "fancy": "The modern Thanksgiving dinner must be good and well cooked. It must contain a variety of dishes, but they must be dainty and have sauces and dressings and garnishings [sic] suggestive of the day."

I must say I LOVE the inclusion of ice cream in a modern-day Thanksgiving feast.

Might you be interested in other Thanksgiving articles I've written, about our Victorian-era ancestors? (click on the images)

Have you heard about my Thanksgiving-centered new release?

 

Learn lost more about Unmistakably Yours here.

Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours!
Warm regards,
Kristin Holt
 

Copyright © 2018 Kristin Holt LC

BOOKS in Thanksgiving Books & Blessings Collection, true to 1887

by Kristin Holt, USA Today Bestselling Author

I'm rather picky about historical accuracy. Let's just say that I've not always known as much about research or the way things really were (and my early titles show it). With every book I write, I fall more and more in love with the accuracy, and tiny elements that create a beautiful setting for a romance novel. Today, I want to share the "Books" part of the "Thanksgiving Books & Blessings Collection One" Series. Oh, and stick around! Make sure you stick with me 'til the end, so you can enter my PRIZE DRAWING for an ebook, standard paperback, or LARGE PRINT paperback of this NEW RELEASE.

All authors in this 9-author series were instructed to include books, any way we wanted, in our Thanksgiving romances. Given my circumstances and setting in Unmistakably Yours, I ended up electing to name true-to-history titles that the Ladies' Lending Library would have actually purchased (or received as gifts to the library), and have a era-appropriate book titles within other story elements (such as Jane's gift to the Murphy boys, and Hank's not-so-appealing nickname by the town's naysayers when they refer to our hero as "Chicken Little.") [Read the book description here-- after all, our hero is FAR from an anxious biddy. He's rather intelligent and wise.]

Vintage Book One: Chicken Little

We all know "the sky is falling" and "Chicken Little"... but just how old is old? Hmmmm.... I was thrilled to find Mrs. M.E. Hall, widow of the late Salmon Hall advertising the sale of all kinds of books (even if she misspelled stationery as stationary) at her residence one door east of the Book Store formerly occupied by her late husband... as she's selling all of his remaining wares... In New Bern, North Carolina. In 1842.

Chicken Little is for sale, along with many other still-familiar titles, in the Newbern Spectator of New Bern, North Carolina, on February 19, 1842.

Yay! Proof that "Chicken Little" was plenty familiar by my story, set in 1887.

But what are the chances that this "Chicken Little" is actually of The Sky is Falling vintage? Another historical newspaper clipping, published in The Times-Picayune of New Orleans, Louisiana on April 15, 1843, verifies the connection. See the transcription, below (I've taken care to maintain everything from paragraph breaks to punctuation-- quite different from today's). The original image is dark and difficult to read.

THE SKY FALLING.---The following humorous little nursery story, told by N. P. Willis, has a very ingenious and excellent point to it, showing, as a moral, how timid persons may be thrown into terror, and how there is always a "Fox Lox" ready to take advantage of their fright. Silly superstition and love of the marvellous [sic] will furnish capital to support humbug and imposture, until the end of time. Let the "Chicken Little" followers of Parson Miller look out for their "Fox Lox."

"Did you ever hear of Chicken Little, how she disturbed a whole neighborhood by her foolish alarm? Well, Chicken Little was running about in a gentleman's garden, and she ran under a rose bush, and a leaf fell on her tail; and she was dreadfully frightened, and ran away to Hen Pen. 'Oh, Hen Pen,' said she, the sky is falling!'  'Why, Chicken Little, how do you know it?' 'Oh, I heard it with my ears, I saw it with my eyes, and part of it fell on my tail.'  'Come, then,' says Hen Pen, 'let us run as fast as we can!' So they ran till they came to Duck Luck. 'Oh, Duck Luck!' says Hen Pen, 'the sky is falling!'  'Why, how do you know it?' says Duck Luck. 'Chicken Little told me.'  'Chicken Little, how do you know it?'  'I heard it with my ears, I saw it with my eyes, and part of it fell on my tail.'  'Oh, let us run,' said Duck Luck; and they went on until they came to Goose Loose.-- 'Oh, Goose Loose!' says Duck Luck-- 'the sky is falling!'  'Why, Duck Luck, how do you know it?'  'Hen Pen told me.'  'Hen Pen, how do you know it?'  'Chicken Little told me.'  'Chicken Little, how do you know it?'  'I heard it with my ears, I saw it with my eyes, and part of it fell on my tail.'  'Run! run as fast as you can,' says Goose Loose.---And away they all went until they met with Fox Lox. 'Oh! Fox Lox, the sky is falling!'  'Who told you?' says Fox Lox. 'Goose Loose told me.'  'Goose Loose, who told you?'--'Duck Luck.'  'Duck Luck, who told you?'--'Hen Pen.'  'Hen Pen, who told you?'  'Chicken Little.'  'Chicken Little, who told you?'  'I heard it with my ears, I saw it with my eyes, and part of it fell on my tail!'  'Make haste,' says Fox Lox, 'and all come into my den.' Fox Lox opened the door, and in they went, and he made a supper of them;---and all this from the foolish fright of Chicken Little."

This example is common of the Victorian Era in the United States-- Newspaper stories retelling folk tales or fairy tales (all of which were not happy endings), intended to teach the morals of the day: honesty, obedience, integrity, wisdom, etc.

Here's a thumbnail image of the original clipping from 1843:

Vintage Book Two: The Strange Case of Dr. Jeckyll and Mr. Hyde 

Naturally, my Ladies' Library Association would want to buy the most popular new titles. I was tickled to see that The Strange Case of Dr. Jeckyll and Mr. Hyde fit that bill. The following newspaper clipping was published in the Chicago Tribune of Chicago, Illinois on July 31, 1886... and my story opens in August of 1887. Notice the timing:

The Chicago Tribune, July 31, 1886.

Note, above, "His (Mr. Robert Louis Stevenson's) "Strange Case of Dr. Jeckyll and Mr. Hyde" was published twenty-two weeks ago, and 22,000 copies have been sold--a thousand a week."

The following newspaper clip was published in The Clay Center Dispatch of Clay Center, Kansas on June 17, 1886, illustrating the likelihood that this title would be quite available (and of interest) in Mountain Home, Colorado, that very autumn.

The Clay Center Dispatch of Clay Center, Kansas on June 17, 1886.

Vintage Book Three: The Adventures of Tom Sawyer

Yipee! This well-known title was published in 1876, and though originally a commercial failure (according to wikipedia), newspapers of the decade show the title was certainly available for sale and people did buy it.

"Adventures of Tom Sawyer" won as a prize in a spelling match. McPherson Freeman newspaper of McPherson, Kansas on August 13, 1886.

Prize Copy of New Release: Unmistakably Yours

I'm pleased to offer to one winner his/her choice of the kindle edition, standard paperback, or large print edition of the paperback (paperbacks will be awarded to winners residing within the United States only; if the winner lives in another nation, I'll substitute the kindle edition).

 

TO ENTER THE DRAWING: 

• comment on this post
• include your thoughts about books in an Old West (Victorian / 19th Century American) novel. Here are a few sample questions to spark your ideas... No need to answer them all, but to enter, please answer at least one (or something similar that is of interest to you): 
• What books have you seen mentioned? 
• How do books play a role inside a story? 
• If you were an author, and needed books to play a role in a book you're writing, how would you include that element?
• etc.
• ONE winner will be drawn at random on Monday, October 8th at 7 PM Mountain Time and the winner's name will be posted here. Set an alarm in your cell phone so you'll remember to check back!

Kristin Holt, USA Today Bestselling Author, writes Sweet Victorian Romance set in the American West. She writes frequently about Old West history and contributes monthly to Sweet Americana Sweethearts.

Sweet Romance Appropriate for All Audiences

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Copyright © 2018 Kristin Holt LC 

Victorian-era Personals... No Privacy! (A FREE BOOK!)

by Kristin Holt

USA Today Bestselling Author

During the latter half of the nineteenth century, newspapers throughout the United States featured a "Personals" column, wherein details of everyday life were announced to the general public. In today's world of HIPAA, signed consent forms, and privacy suits, the thought that anything could be published in the Personals feels beyond outdated.

In my soon-to-be-published full length (~400 pages) novel, Unmistakably Yours (set in 1887), my characters discover the raw side of the Personals column, as news in the day of snail mail traveled as fast as in the days of Twitter.

Here are a few fine examples published in the Personals of the Clay Center Dispatch of Clay Center, Kansas, on June 17, 1886 (about a year before my book is set).

Personals, Part 1, The Clay Center Dispatch of Clay Center, Kansas on June 17, 1886.

 Oh, no. Look at the next one. Mr. Dan Smith will be out of town for four weeks on important business. I wonder if there's a man at home? Is the house prime pickings for a robbery?

 

Personals, Part 2, The Clay Center Dispatch of Clay Center, Kansas on June 17, 1886.

Personals, Part 3, The Clay Center Dispatch of Clay Center, Kansas on June 17, 1886.

 None of these seem terribly alarming, but can you imagine circumstances where you didn't want someone to know, say, that you were away from home, or that you'd "passed through town," or that you were about to close a business deal?

Surprisingly, "Hotel Personals" announced who had registered at hotels in western towns. From the St. Louis Post-Dispatch of St. Louis, Missouri on November 2, 1888 (one year after my story is set), this "Hotel Personals" column appeared:

"Hotel Personals" from the St. Louis Post-Dispatch of St. Louis, Missouri on November 2, 1888.

Times have certainly changed. Instead of watching the Personals for sightings of important people, today's public snaps pics of celebrities and post them on social media with hashtags.

I wonder what our Victorian-American ancestors would have thought, if they could see us now?

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Unmistakably Yours is title #8 in a nine-author series: Thanksgiving Books & Blessings, and also within my personal series (title 8, by coincidence) Holidays in Mountain Home. This full-length novel (~400 paperback pages) has two separate romances, two happily ever afters, a battle over an empty bit of real estate, misguided matchmakers, and two people determined to never wed. You can imagine how well that'll work out.

PREORDER YOUR COPY

Publication Date: 9-13-18

six days away! 

Want to discover more about the history, setting, social expectations, other books in the series, a link to my Pinterest board showing the characters that served as inspiration as well as various historical elements... and so much more, see the Book Description: Unmistakably Yours page on my site:

Learn SO much more about Unmistakably Yours

To read all about my secondary hero's backstory (everything that matters to who he is-- a chemist, a pharmacist, a former Union officer in the War of Southern Rebellion (yep, America's Civil War), and confirmed bachelor)... and the one woman who changes his mind, Miss Ina Dimond, whom we saw as the ditched housekeeper and cook in The Gunsmith's Bride. See PICTURES that served as my inspiration when writing these two AND most of a pivotal scene as these two fall in love. Read all about it on Jessica Baker's A Baker's Perspective Blog.

Would you like an opportunity to discover my writing, FREE? Right now (for just a few more days), one of my novellas set in the same story world (Mountain Home, Colorado), with many of the same characters and places (though each and every story has its own romance with a resolution and happily ever after), and every single story stands alone. Pick up The Drifter's Proposal FREE on Amazon. 

Want a little more? An interview, published today on Heart"Wings" blog shares more about me (advice for new writers, reasons why I write sweet romance, and more!). Read that post HERE.... and while you're there, throw your name in the Stetson to win one of two PAPERBACK editions of this new release! (at ~ 400 pages, it's a novel you can sink your teeth into... with light touches of a verified historical setting, TWO romances, no cheating, and two happily ever afters).

See the Interview HERE.

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Did you know?

Victorian Americans also flirted in the Personals... 

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Copyright © 2018 Kristin Holt LC