#earl of Litchfield

[beebees-photography]

Visited Shugborough Hall over Bank Holiday Weekend. Here is a selection of my favourites, great place to visit, weather was up and down. Didn't even get chance to see it all it's so vast, but well worth a visit in my opinion, very impressive. (2 of 2)

[artthatgivesmefeelings]

Jacob Huysmans (Flemish, 1633-1696) Edward Henry Lee, 1st Earl of Lichfield, and his wife Charlotte Fitzroy as children, 1674

At the age of ten, Edward Henry Lee (1663–1716), a Catholic, was betrothed to nine-year-old Charlotte Fitzroy, the illegitimate and preferred daughter of Charles II and his mistress Barbara Villiers. At the same time, Charles created the title of Henry Earl of Litchfield. These carefully orchestrated events by Catholics in Charles’s court are commemorated by Jacob Huysmans, a Catholic painter favoured by Charles’s queen, Catholic Catherine of Braganza, and a rival of artist Peter Lely. The painting contains cryptic allusions to the Roman faith (which remained illegal despite Charles’s personal religious tolerance), such as a peacock, symbolising resurrection, and Christ as a gardener. The marriage was exceptionally happy and the couple had at least eleven children.

[usafphantom2]

F4U-4 Corsair To Be Loaned To Fagen Fighters WWII Museum

August 21, 2023 Angela Decker Aviation Museum News 0

John Sinclair giving instruction to Evan Fagen in the Corsair. Photo via Fagen Fighters Museum

Aircorps Art Dec 2019

by Adam Estes

The Fagen Fighters WWII Museum in Granite Falls, Minnesota, has just announced that will display F4U-4 Corsair BuNo 97388 through a loan agreement with owners

Photo via Fagen Fighters Museum

Bureau Number 97388 was taken on strength with the US Navy on April 26, 1946 and delivered four days later on April 30. The first two years of its service life would see it being assigned to several Naval Air Stations on the West Coast, such as Tillamook from June 1946 to October 1947, Santa Ana until March 1948, and San Diego until October of that year, when it was transferred to Marine Fighter Squadron 225 (VMF-225) at MCAS Cherry Point, North Carolina. June of 1949 would see 97388 sent to join VMF-212, which was in Japan at that time. Though the aircraft’s recorded history with VMF-212 contains no specific dates or locations for which exact bases in Japan it served at, the squadron would become involved in air operations at the outset of the Korean War. In the first two months of the conflict, it is highly probable that 97388 took part in combat missions launched from Japan to stem the tide of the initial North Korean advance into South Korea. Its time in combat would be cut short, however, as the aircraft would be sent back to the US in August of 1950 for overhaul and maintenance at NAS Quonset Point, Rhode Island before it would be reassigned to Fleet Air Service Squadron 3 at NAS Norfolk, Virginia. The following month, on September 14, BuNo 97388 would be assigned to VF-42. This posting would see the Corsair flying from NAS Oceana and NAS Jacksonville before being taken on a tour of the Mediterranean aboard the light carrier USS Saipan (CVL-48) from May to June of 1951, before being sent to NAS Cecil Field, Florida two months later. After a final deployment with VF-42 at NAS Oceana from November 1951 to May 1951, 97388 would undergo maintenance and overhaul at NAS Quonset Point until January 1953, when the aircraft was used primarily for reserve training at NAS Olathe, Kansas and NAS Grosse Ile, Michigan. In June of 1956, the aircraft was sent into storage at NAS Litchfield Park, Arizona before being decommissioned the following month.

After sitting outdoors at Litchfield Park, the aircraft was purchased by aircraft trader and pilot Bob Bean on November 25, 1957, who registered the Corsair as N5211V. One year later, Bean would later arrange for a trade between himself and the Honduran Air Force (Fuerza Aérea Hondureña, FAH) where 10 Corsairs (including 97388) would be shipped to Honduras in exchange for four P-38 Lightnings and four P-63 Kingcobras. In the FAH, 97388 would be identified as serial number 610, and while other Honduran Corsairs would later see combat in the Football War against El Salvador in 1969, FAH 610 had been struck off charge at the FAH Air Base at Toncontin International Airport in the capital city of Tegucigalpa, serving a source of spare parts to keep the other Corsairs flying.

Photo via Fagen Fighters Museum

FAH 610 would remain at Toncontin until 1978, when it was one of seven Honduran Corsairs returned to the United States by George Heaven & Jim Nettle of Hollywood Wings in Long Beach, California. By this point, the airframe was more a collection of parts then an airplane, and would require extensive restoration work to bring back into the skies. It would be stored in Long Beach until 1981, when it was purchased by Earl Ware of Jacksonville, who then kept the fuselage remains in his backyard, along with three other incomplete Honduran Corsairs (These being FAH 611 (USN BuNu 97382), FAH 617 (BuNo 97059), and FAH 692) until it was sold in 1982 to famed warbird restorer and pilot Gerald “Gerry” Beck of North Dakota, who would go on to spend the next 16 years meticulously returning 97388 back to airworthy condition at his shopTri-State Aviation in Wahpeton. When completed, 97388 emerged from the workshop in the markings it wore when assigned to VF-42.

After making its first post-restoration flights in 1998, Beck and 97388 would appear at EAA Airventure later that year. Over the years, 97388 would make appearances at numerous airshows and was a regular at the Fargo Air Museum in Fargo, North Dakota during the offseason, though it would later become a yearlong resident of Fargo as Beck focused on his “homebuilt” P-51A “Precious Metal II”. With the tragic death of Beck in 2007, his wife Cindy retained the Corsair and would ferry it back from Fargo to Wahpeton for refurbishment. Once completed by Tri-State in December of 2016, 97388 would be displayed at the Wings of the North Air Museum in Eden Prairie, Minnesota and was a feature of museum events such as AirExpo. With the unfortunate news of the museum’s public closure and ongoing search for a new home, Cindy and Whitney Beck have now decided to loan the Corsair to the Fagen Fighters WWII Museum. Given the wide variety of aircraft at Fagen’s expanding museum, it is indeed fortunate that 97388 has a secure home to continue flying the Midwestern skies. For more information about the Fagen Fighters WWII Museum, visit www.fagenfighterswwiimuseum.org.

[nellygwyn]

I thought I would share some portraits/info about notable black men and women who worked and lived in Georgian Britain. This is not an extensive list by any means, and for some figures, portraits are unavailable:

1. Olaudah Equiano (1745-1797) was a writer, abolitionist and former slave. Born into what would become southern Nigeria, he was initially sold into slavery and taken to the Caribbean as a child, but would be sold at least twice more before he bought his freedom in 1766. He decided to settle in London and became involved in the British abolitionist movement in the 1780s. His first-hand account of the horrors of slavery 'The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano' was published in 1789 and it really drove home the horrors of slavery to the general British public. He also worked tirelessly to support freed slaves like himself who experienced racism and inequality living in Britain's cities. He was a leading member of the Sons of Africa, an abolitionist group, whose members were primarily freed black men (the Sons of Africa has been called the first black political organisation in British history). He married an English woman, Susannah, and when he died in 1797, he left his fortune of roughly £73,000 to his daughter, Joanna. Equiano's World is a great online resource for those interested in his life, his work, and his writings.

2. Ignatius Sancho (1729-1780) was a bit of a jack-of-all-trades (he's described as an actor, composer, writer, abolitionist, man-of-letters, and socialite - truly the perfect 18th century gentleman). He was born in the Middle Passage on a slave ship. His mother died not long after they arrived in Venezuela and his father apparently took his own life rather than become a slave. Sancho's owner gave the boy to three sisters living in London c. 1730s (presumably as a sort of pet/servant) but whilst living with them, his wit and intellect impressed the 2nd Duke of Montagu who decided to finance his education. This was the start of Sancho's literary and intellectual career and his association with the elite of London society saw him ascend. He struck up a correspondence with the writer, Laurence Sterne, in the 1760s: Sancho wrote to press Sterne to throw his intellecrual weight behind the cause of abolition. He became active in the early British abolitionist movement and be counted many well-known Georgians amongst his acquaintance. He was also the first black man known to have voted in a British election. He married a West Indian woman and in 1774, opened a grocer's shop in London, that attempted to sell goods that were not produced by slave labour. Despite his popularity in Georgian society, he still recounts many instances of racist abuse he faced on the streets of London in his diaries. He reflected that, although Britain was undoubtedly his home and he had done a lot for the country, he was 'only a lodger and hardly that' in London. His letters, which include discussions of domestic subjects as well as political issues, can be read here.

3. Francis 'Frank' Barber (1742-1801) was born a slave on a sugar plantation in Jamaica. His owner, Richard Bathurst, brought Frank to England when Frank turned 15 and decided to send him to school. The Bathursts knew the writer, Samuel Johnson, and this is how Barber and the famous writer first met (Barber briefly worked as Johnson's valet and found him an outspoken opponent of the slave trade). Richard Bathurst gave Frank his freedom when he died and Frank immediately signed up for the navy (where he apparently developed a taste for smoking pipes). In 1760, he returned permanently to England and decided to work as Samuel Johnson's servant. Johnson paid for Frank to have an expensive education and this meant Frank was able to help Johnson revise his most famous work, 'Dictionary of the English Language.' When Johnson died in 1784, he made Frank his residual heir, bequeathing him around £9000 a year (for which Johnson was criticised in the press - it was thought to be far too much), an expensive gold watch, and most of Johnson's books and papers. Johnson also encouraged Frank to move to Lichfield (where Johnson had been born) after he died: Frank duly did this and opened a draper's shop and a school with his new wife. There, he spent his time 'in fishing, cultivating a few potatoes, and a little reading' until his death in 1801. His descendants still live at a farm in Litchfield today. A biography of Frank can be purchased here. Moreover, here is a plaque erected on the railings outside of Samuel Johnson's house in Gough Square, London, to commemorate Johnson and Barber's friendship.

4. Dido Elizabeth Belle (1764-1801) was born to Maria Belle, a slave living in the West Indies. Her father was Sir John Lindsay, a British naval officer. After Dido's mother's death, Sir John took Dido to England and left her in the care of his uncle, Lord Mansfield. Dido was raised by Lord Mansfield and his wife alongside her cousin, Elizabeth Murray (the two became as close as sisters) and was, more or less, a member of the family. Mansfield was unfortunately criticised for the care and love he evidently felt for his niece - she was educated in most of the accomplishments expected of a young lady at the time, and in later life, she would use this education to act as Lord Mansfield's literary assistant. Mansfield was Lord Chief Justice of England during this period and, in 1772, it was he who ruled that slavery had no precedent in common law in England and had never been authorised. This was a significant win for the abolitionists, and was brought about no doubt in part because of Mansfield's closeness with his great-niece. Before Mansfield died in 1793, he reiterated Dido's freedom (and her right to be free) in his will and made her an heiress by leaving her an annuity. Here is a link to purchase Paula Byrne's biography of Dido, as well as a link to the film about her life (starring Gugu Mbatha-Raw as Dido).

5. Ottobah Cugoano (1757-sometime after 1791) was born in present-day Ghana and sold into slavery at the age of thirteen. He worked on a plantation in Grenada until 1772, when he was purchased by a British merchant who took him to England, freed him, and paid for his education. Ottobah was employed as a servant by the artists Maria and Richard Cosway in 1784, and his intellect and charisma appealed to their high-society friends. Along with Olaudah Equiano, Ottobah was one of the leading members of the Sons of Africa and a staunch abolitionist. In 1786, he was able to rescue Henry Devane, a free black man living in London who had been kidnapped with the intention of being returned to slavery in the West Indies. In 1787, Ottobah wrote 'Thoughts And Sentiments On The Evil & Wicked Traffic Of The Slavery & Commerce Of The Human Species,' attacking slavery from a moral and Christian stand-point. It became a key text in the British abolition movement, and Ottobah sent a copy to many of England's most influential people. You can read the text here.

6. Ann Duck (1717-1744) was a sex worker, thief and highwaywoman. Her father, John Duck, was black and a teacher of swordmanship in Cheam, Surrey. He married a white woman, Ann Brough, in London c. 1717. One of Ann's brothers, John, was a crew-member of the ill-fated HMS Wager and was apparently sold into slavery after the ship wrecked off the coast of Chile on account of his race. Ann, meanwhile, would be arrested and brought to trial at least nineteen times over the course of her lifetime for various crimes, including petty theft and highway robbery. She was an established member of the Black Boy Alley Gang in Clerkenwell by 1742, and also quite frequently engaged in sex work. In 1744, she was given a guilty verdict at the Old Bailey after being arrested for a robbery: her trial probably wasn't fair as a man named John Forfar was paid off for assisting in her arrest and punishment. She was hanged at Tyburn in 1744. Some have argued that her race appears to have been irrelevant and she experienced no prejudice, but I am inclined to disagree. You can read the transcript of one of Ann Duck's trials (one that resulted in a Not Guilty verdict) here. Also worth noting that Ann Duck is the inspiration behind the character Violet Cross in the TV show 'Harlots.'

7. Bill Richmond (1763-1829) was a prize winning bare-knuckle boxer of the late 18th and early 19th century. He was born a slave in New York (then part of British America) but moved permanently to England in 1777 where he was most likely freed and received an education. His career as a boxer really took of in the early 19th century, and he took on all the prize fighters of the time, including Tom Cribb and the African American fighter, Tom Molineaux. Richmond was a sporting hero, as well as fashionable in his style and incredibly intelligent, making him something of a celebrity and a pseudo-gentleman in his time. He also opened a boxing academy and gave boxing lessons to gentlemen and aristocrats. He would ultimately settle in York to apprentice as a cabinet-maker. Unfortunately, in Yorkshire, he was subject to a lot of racism and insults based on the fact he had married a white woman. You can watch a Channel 4 documentary on Richmond here: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

8. William Davidson (1781-1820) was the illegitimate son of the Attorney General of Jamaica and a slave woman. He was sent to Glasgow in Scotland to study law at the age of 14 and from this period until 1819, he moved around Britain and had a number of careers. Following the Peterloo Massacre in 1819, Davidson began to take a serious interest in radical politics, joining several societies in order to read radical and republican texts. He also became a Spencean (radical political group) through his friendship with Arthur Thistlewood and would quickly rise to become a leading member of the group. In 1820, a government provocateur tricked Davidson and other Spenceans, into being drawn into a plot to kill the Earl of Harrowby and other government cabinet officers as they dined at Harrowby's house on the 23rd February. This plot would become known as the Cato Street Conspiracy (named thus because Davidson and the other Spenceans hid in a hayloft in Cato Street whilst they waited to launch their plan). Unfortunately, this was a government set up and eleven men, including Davidson, were arrested and charged with treason. Davidson was one of five of the conspirators to not have his sentence commuted to transportation and was instead sentenced to death. He was hanged and beheaded outside of Newgate Prison in 1820. There is a book about the Cato Street Conspiracy here.

9. Ukawsaw Gronniosaw (1705-1775) was born in the Kingdom of Bornu, now in modern day Nigeria. As the favourite grandson of the king of Zaara, he was a prince. Unfortunately, at the age of 15, he was sold into slavery, passing first to a Dutch captain, then to an American, and then finally to a Calvinist minister named Theodorus Frelinghuysen living in New Jersey. Frelinghuysen educated Gronniosaw and would eventually free him on his deathbed but Gronniosaw later recounted that when he had pleaded with Frelinghuysen to let him return to his family in Bornu, Frelinghuysen refused. Gronniosaw also remembered that he had attempted suicide in his depression. After being freed, Gronniosaw set his sights on travelling to Britain, mainly to meet others who shared his new-found Christian faith. He enlisted in the British army in the West Indies to raise money for his trip, and once he had obtained his discharge, he travelled to England, specifically Portsmouth. For most of his time in England, his financial situation was up and down and he would move from city to city depending on circumstances. He married an English weaver named Betty, and the pair were often helped out financially by Quakers. He began to write his life-story in early 1772 and it would be published later that year (under his adopted anglicised name, James Albert), the first ever work written by an African man to be published in Britain. It was an instant bestseller, no doubt contributing to a rising anti-slavery mood. He is buried in St Oswald's Church, Chester: his grave can still be visited today. His autobiography, A Narrative of the Most Remarkable Particulars in the Life of James Albert Ukawsaw Gronniosaw, an African Prince, as Related by Himself, can be read here.

10. Mary Prince (1788-sometime after 1833) was born into slavery in Bermuda. She was passed between several owners, all of whom very severely mistreated her. Her final owner, John Adams Wood, took Mary to England in 1828, after she requested to be able to travel as the family's servant. Mary knew that it was illegal to transport slaves out of England and thus refused to accompany Adams Wood and his family back to the West Indies. Her main issue, however, was that her husband was still in Antigua: if she returned, she would be back in enslavement, but if she did not, she might never see her husband again. She contacted the Anti-Slavery Society who attempted to help her in any way they could. They found her work (so she could support herself), tried tirelessly to convince Adams Wood to free her, and petitioned parliament to bring her husband to England. Mary successfully remained in England but it is not known whether she was ever reunited with her husband. In 1831, Mary published The History of Mary Prince, an autobiographical account of her experiences as a slave and the first work written by a black woman to be published in England. Unlike other slave narratives, that had been popular and successful in stoking some anti-slavery sentiment, it is believed that Mary's narrative ultimately clinched the goal of convincing the general British population of the necessity of abolishing slavery. Liverpool's Museum of Slavery credits Mary as playing a crucial role in abolition. You can read her narrative here. It is an incredibly powerful read. Mary writes that hearing slavers talk about her and other men and women at a slave market in Bermuda 'felt like cayenne pepper into the fresh wounds of our hearts.'

[cma-american-painting-sculpture]

Moses Seymour, Jr., Ralph Earl , 1789, Cleveland Museum of Art: American Painting and Sculpture

At the age of fifteen, Moses Seymour Jr., sat for a portrait that honors both its sitter and implicitly, his father, the former Revolutionary War major from Litchfield, Connecticut, who commissioned this work. Like so many American painters of his generation, Earl studied with Benjamin West in London. Upon his return, he practiced his profession in his native Connecticut River Valley. Seymour's book and cane suggest that the young man reads and walks in harmony among nature's beauties, an activity that recalls the ideals of the ancient Roman poet Horace. In a pose that presses him close to the foreground, however, this cultured figure also conveys a message about man's domination over nature. The painting remained in the sitter's family until it was given to the museum. Size: Framed: 139.4 x 108.6 x 5.2 cm (54 7/8 x 42 3/4 x 2 1/16 in.); Unframed: 120.7 x 90.2 cm (47 1/2 x 35 1/2 in.) Medium: oil on canvas

https://clevelandart.org/art/2003.285

[myhauntedsalem]

Mysteries of Dudleytown

In the early part of the 1740’s, Thomas Griffis bought a plot of land that would later be considered the first lot in Dudleytown.

In northwestern Connecticut are the remains of a small township that was given the name of Dudleytown. The homes of this once thriving village that was nestled in the surrounding mountains are long gone, but it would seem that the spirits of those who once dwelt here still remain. There are many tales of ghosts, mysterious happenings, demonic beasts, horrible curses and a dark and violent history that starts with the very founding of America itself. Today, all that is left of Dudleytown are the sad remains of some stone foundations and the holes that once were used as cellars to store root vegetables and other foods during the winter months. The roads that were at one time well traveled are now no more than narrow foot paths where only hikers, and the devoted ghost hunter, will bother to traverse.

The land today has changed very little and looks very much as it did when Griffis settled there. It is a thickly forested landscape and rocks lie strewn on the ground where Dudleytown once stood. The land lies covered in shadow from the mountains and receives little sunlight. The woods have been given the name of “Dark Entry Forest”.

In the beginning, the land where Dudleytown would later sit was owned by a man named Thomas Griffis. He and his family were the first to settle in that particular region in the early 1740’s. A village began to spring up a few years later in 1747 when Gideon Dudley arrived on the scene and it was through him the small village became known as Dudleytown. Gideon’s two brothers soon followed him to the area and settled there as well. It was the Dudley’s who were said to be responsible for a curse that was laid upon the village and it is this supposed curse that many say is responsible for the horrors that roam the area to this day.

According to both recent and older accounts, this curse had its start in England in the year 1510. Edmund Dudley, one of the patriarchs of the family, was sentenced to death and beheaded for being part of a plot to overthrow King Henry VIII. It is said that a curse was placed on the family due to this treasonous behavior. It is said that this curse was that all of the Dudley descendants would be plagued by unrelenting by horrors and death would hound them until every last one of the Dudley descendants were wiped from the face of the earth. Believers of the curse swear that the Dudley family then began having a rather nasty run of bad luck.

John Dudley, who was Edmund’s son, made his own attempt to get control of the British throne by having his son, Guilford, marry Lady Jane Grey who was next in line for the crown. Lady Jane was queen for a short time upon the death of Edward VI, but the plan quickly failed and Lady Jane and Edmund and Guilford Dudley were all executed. Soon afterwards, Guilford’s brother returned from France after a stint in the military. He brought with him a vicious plague that spread to his officers and troops. The sickness eventually spread throughout the country, killing thousands of people. John Dudley’s third son, Robert, who was also the Earl of Leicester, decided to leave England and travel to the New World. It would be Robert’s descendant William, who would later settle in Guilford, Connecticut. Abiel, Barzallai and Gideon, William’s descendants, would later buy the land that became Dudleytown.

The village rested in the middle of three large hills, which is why it looked dark even at noon. Settlers began to trickle into the area. The Tanner, the Jones, the Patterson, the Dibble and the Porter families all settled in Dudleytown. Iron ore was discovered and the little village prospered for a while. Even so, goods such as food, cloth, tools, etc. had to be purchased from towns down the mountain because Dudleytown never had any stores, schools, churches nor even a cemetery. Dudleytown was also known for its timber, which was used to make wood coal for the Litchfield County Iron Furnaces in Cornwall and other towns.

In spite of the obvious prosperity though, there were strange deaths and bizarre occurrences at Dudleytown from the very beginning. There was an unusually high number of people who went insane and quite a few people who simply vanished and were never seen or heard from again.

Abiel Dudley lost his entire fortune and eventually his mind. Abiel was made a ward of the town, and in his final years he wandered around aimlessly, mumbling incoherently about “strange creatures in the woods” and unable to care for himself. Abiel died in 1799 at the ripe old age of 90, which was unusual in itself during this time period when people were lucky to live into their 30s or 40s. William Tanner, one of Abiel’s closest neighbors, was also said to have gone insane. Oddly enough, Tanner lived to the age of 104 and according to records, Tanner also would talk of “strange creatures” that came out of the woods at night. Whether or not these creatures were supernatural or the product of a senile mind is impossible to say.

The records that are still in existence from the Dudleytown tell of strange illnesses, disappearances, numerous cases of people going insane, reports of strange creatures roaming the area at night, although it seems that most of the reports were from those folks who had been declared insane.

After the Civil War, Dudleytown began to die and most of the remaining families simply packed up and moved away. The small village soon became the haunt of birds, small animals, and began to be reclaimed by the forest.

During the final days of Dudleytown one rather strange and mysterious event came to light, and no matter how hard the skeptics try to disregard and debunk this odd occurrence in Dudleytown, even they can not give a reasonable explanation for the event.

In 1901, when the population of Dudleytown had dwindled to nearly nothing, one of the last residents of the town, John Patrick Brophy, suffered a slew of misfortunes. His first wife died when she was struck down by a sudden illness and then his two children vanished into the forest right after his wife’s funeral. The children were never found. Shortly after the disappearance of his children, Brophy’s house was burned to the ground in a mysterious fire and not long after, Brophy himself disappeared and was never seen again. Shortly after these string of bizarre occurrences, Dudleytown officially ceased to be, and began to be reclaimed by the land.

Tales of spooky lights, misty apparitions, and strange incidences began to surface in the 1940’s when visitors to the old ruins reported seeing these strange things. Today, those folks who have made the long trek to visit the place show photographs of spooky mists that seem to show creepy faces peering out at the observer, and say they get feelings of terror, see mysterious lights, sights and hear creepy sounds. Many folks report that they have experienced being touched, pushed and scratched by unseen hands. Many say that this area was once the land belonging to the Mohawk tribe and they left it when the ground became “soured”, or cursed.

Whatever the reasons for the strange and spooky occurrences in the area once known as Dudleytown, one thing is for certain, this remote part of Connecticut will remain a favorite place for thrill seekers and ghost hunters for many years to come.

[royalsimsofsedonia]

Prince Alexander’s Official Christening Portrait

Back row, left to right: Lady Lillian Mitford; Crown Princess Helena of Grimalldi; Emperor Spencer & Empress Natalia of Alexandria; Princess Alexandra the Dowager Duchess of Litchfield; The Duke & Duchess of Clavell; The Earl & Countess of Moresnet; Thomas Viscount Loxwick; The Honorable Violet Ingleby. 

Front row, left to right: The Marquess of Eastley; The Crown Prince Frederick; King Ernest of Sedonia; Queen Caroline of Sedonia; Louise, The Princess Royal; The Honorable James Ingleby.

(Thank you to those who lent me their sims, and to the many CC & pose creators who make scenes this even possible! Also, let’s pretend that Frederick’s arm is supposed to be around the back of the sofa instead of glitching out haha!)

[eboardman]

B. Tallmadge & Co.

I have a feeling that sooner or later, all of the Litchfield merchants will show up in this collection here or there. Despite their political differences, it seems that Tallmadge and Boardman did do business together. They had a lot in common. Revolutionary War service, mercantile ventures, elected office, Ralph Earl portraits. Unfortunately, the note doesn’t indicate what the three hundred sixty dollars were for!

[heinzschumi]

Stephanie Grainger, “one of the most beautiful woman in the world” - Earl of Litchfield. #stephaniegranger #fashion #fashionmodel https://www.instagram.com/p/B-o_lRBAhvG/?igshid=fjsexmylw0kp

[dogslookingatpeopleinpaintings]

George Henry Lee, 3rd Earl of Litchfield, and his Uncle the Hon. Robert Lee, Subsequently 4th Earl of Litchfield, Shooting in ‘True Blue’ Frock Coats

John Wootton

[beebees-photography]

Visited Shugborough Hall over Bank Holiday Weekend. Here is a selection of my favourites, great place to visit, weather was up and down. Didn't even get chance to see it all it's so vast, but well worth a visit in my opinion, very impressive. (1 of 2)

[elleshushan]

How’s this for a mouthful of titles - Charles Stuart, 3rd Duke of Richmond, 6th Duke of Lennox, Baron Stuart of Newbury, Earl of Litchfield, 12th Seigneur D’Aubigny, Lord Lieutenant and Vice-Admiral of Kent, Hereditary Great Chamberlain of Scotland, Hereditary Great Admiral of Scotland, Lord Lieutenant of Dorset, Gentleman of the Bedchamber and Knight of the Order of the Garter. None of these titles required any sort of effort so Stuart, cousin to Charles II, had plenty of time to apply himself to a life of licentiousness. He ran through two wives before eloping with the object of the King’s unrequited lust - the scrumptious Frances Teresa Stuart, ‘Le Belle Stuart’ (so many Stuarts in this story). Instantly banished from Court for their sins, the Duke accepted a real job - envoy to the Danish Court. There, at the age of 33, the degenerate Charles Stuart drowned at Elsinore. Le Belle Stuart, instantly filthy rich, retained for herself the title of Duchess of Lennox. After entombing her Duke in Westminster Abbey, she became a very merry widow. ************************************* Samuel Cooper (1609-1672) Charles Stuart, 3rd Duke of Richmond and 6th Duke of Lennox, circa 1665, Yale Center for British Art, Paul Mellon Collection. @yalebritishart ************************************** #YaleCenterForBritishArt #PortraitMiniature #PortraitMiniatures #MiniaturePortrait #MiniaturePortraits #HistoricArt #elleshushan #17thCentury #BritishMiniature #BritishPortrait #BritishPortraitMiniature #SamuelCooper #LeBelleStuart #FrancesTeresaStuart (at Yale Center for British Art) https://www.instagram.com/p/ByQyhgfnKW_/?igshid=ko2qgjd39y78

[jmorpc]

alternative places to set your roleplay (U.S edition), listed by state with populations. This will be a LONG post, so please make sure you are seated when reading. If you found this post helpful, or are in the rpc, please like/reblog.

USA:

Alabama;

Abbeville ( pop. 2,688 )

Addison ( pop. 758 )

Bayou La Batre ( pop. 2,600 )

Eufaula ( pop. 13,000 )

Fairhope ( pop. 17,000 )

Hackleburg ( pop. 1,494 )

Loxley ( pop. 1,632 )

Magnolia Springs ( pop. 770 )

Orange Beach ( pop. 5,700 )

Alaska;

Ambler ( pop. 258 )

Anchorage ( pop. 291,826 )

Barrow ( pop. 4,400 )

Cold Bay ( pop. 108 )

Ester ( pop. 2,422 )

Homer ( pop. 5,003 )

Hyder ( pop. 87 )

Kake ( pop. 550 )

Kodiak ( pop. 6,400 )

Palmer ( pop. 6,500 )

Petersburg ( pop. 2,900 )

Seldovia ( pop. 270 )

Whittier ( pop. 214 )

Wrangell ( pop. 2,400 )

Arizona;

Benson ( pop. 5,000 )

Eagar ( pop. 4,900 )

Globe ( pop. 7,400 )

Hayden ( pop. 662 )

Lake Hevasu ( pop. 53,000 )

Page ( pop. 7,247 )

Somerton ( pop. 15,000 )

Willcox ( pop. 3,600 )

Arkansas;

Bentonville ( pop. 40,000 )

Conway ( pop. 64,000 )

Cotter ( pop. 1,078 )

Earle ( pop. 2,414 )

Fairfield Bay ( pop. 2,300 )

Heber Springs ( pop. 7,200 )

Mena ( pop. 5,700 )

Mountain View ( pop. 2,900 )

Prairie Grove ( pop. 4,800 )

California;

Avalon ( pop. 3,800 )

Bakersfield ( pop. 365,000 )

Capitola ( pop. 10,000 )

Densmuir ( pop. 1,600 )

Fontana ( pop. 203,003 )

Laguna Beach ( pop. 23,000 )

Malibu ( pop. 13,000 )

Redding ( pop. 91,000 )

Santa Barbara ( pop. 90,000 )

Sausalito ( pop. 7,100 )

Colorado;

Breckenridge ( pop. 4,600 )

Grand Lake ( pop. 460 )

Greeley ( pop. 97,000 )

Palisade ( pop. 2,600 )

Steamboat Springs ( pop. 12,000 )

Vail ( pop. 5,300 )

Connecticut;

Chester ( pop. 3,800 )

Colebrook ( pop. 2,000 )

Danbury ( pop. 84,000 )

Litchfield ( pop. 1,200 )

Madison ( pop. 18,000 )

Mystic ( pop. 4,000 )

Niantic ( pop. 3,000)

Old Saybrook ( pop. 10,000 )

Waterbury ( pop. 109,676 )

Delaware;

Bethany Beach ( pop. 1,100 )

Dewey Beach ( pop. 360 )

Elsmere ( pop. 6,200 )

Fenwich Island ( pop. 400 )

Harrington ( pop. 3,700 )

Selbyville ( pop. 2,300 )

Florida;

Bristol ( pop. 987 )

Clearwater ( pop. 110,000 )

Crystal River ( pop. 3,100 )

Davenport ( pop. 3,011 )

Safety Harbour ( pop. 17,000 )

Stuart ( pop. 15,593 )

Georgia;

Brunswick ( pop. 16,000 )

Cumming ( pop. 5,100 )

Duluth ( pop. 28,000 )

Madison ( pop. 4,000 )

Perry ( pop. 15,000 )

Stockbridge ( pop. 28,000 )

St. Mary’s ( pop. 18,000 )

Taccoa ( pop. 8,400 )

Hawaii;

Hanalei ( pop. 470 )

Honolulu ( pop. 375,000 )

Kahuku ( pop. 2,600 )

Makaha ( pop. 8,300 )

Maunawili ( pop. 2,000 )

Pearl City ( pop. 48,000 )

Idaho;

Hailey ( pop. 8,000 )

Priest River ( pop. 1,700 )

Sandpoint ( pop. 7,600 )

Sun Valley ( pop. 1,400 )

St. Maries ( pop. 2,300 )

Weiser ( pop. 5,300 )

Illinois;

Champagne ( pop. 83,000 )

Lebanon ( pop. 4,400 )

Rockford ( pop. 150,000 )

Springfield ( pop. 120,000 )

Indiana;

Carmel ( pop. 86,000 )

Fishers ( pop. 84,000 )

Merom ( pop. 230 )

Nobelsville ( pop. 57,000 )

Oldenburg ( pop. 700 )

Williamsport ( pop. 1,900 )

Iowa;

Clear Lake ( pop. 7,700 )

Decorah ( pop. 8,127 )

Dubuque ( pop. 58,000 )

Dyersville ( pop. 4,100 )

Eldora ( pop. 2,700 )

Le Claire ( pop. 3,900 )

Pella ( pop. 10,344 )

Waterloo ( pop. 68,000 )

Kansas;

Atchison ( pop. 11,000 )

Hutchinson ( pop. 42,000 )

Manhattan ( pop. 56,000 )

Kentucky;

Burkesville ( pop. 1,500 )

Cadiz ( pop. 2,700 )

Elizabethtown ( pop. 30,000 )

Harrodsburg ( pop. 8,400 )

Jamestown ( pop. 1,792 )

Louisiana;

De Ridder ( pop. 11,000 )

Morgan City ( pop. 12,000 )

Shreveport ( pop. 200,000 )

St. Francisville ( pop. 1,700 )

Maine;

Bar Harbour ( pop. 5,200 )

Camden ( pop. 4,800 )

Cape Elizabeth ( pop. 9,000 )

Castine ( pop. 1,400 )

Falmouth ( pop. 11,000 )

Mount Desert ( pop. 2,100 )

Wiscasset ( pop. 3,700 )

Maryland;

Berlin ( pop. 4,600 )

Cecilton ( pop.670 )

Chesapeake City ( pop. 690 )

College Park ( pop. 31,000 )

Frederick ( pop. 67,000 )

North Beach ( pop. 2,000 )

St. Michaels ( pop. 1,000 )

Massachusetts;

Duxbury ( pop. 15,000 )

Hadley ( pop. 5,000 )

Lenox ( pop. 5,000 )

Lexington ( pop. 31,000 )

Rowe ( pop. 393 )

Michigan;

Harbour Springs ( pop. 1,200 )

Marquette ( pop. 21,000 )

Saugatuck ( pop. 390 )

South Haven ( pop. 4,400 )

Suttons Bay ( pop. 620 )

Troy ( pop. 83,000 )

Minnesota;

Detroit Lakes ( pop. 8,900 )

Lake City ( pop. 5,000 )

Northfield ( pop. 21,000 )

Red Wing ( pop. 17,000 )

Willmar ( pop. 20,000 )

Mississippi;

Brandon  ( pop. 22,000 )

Natchez ( pop. 16,000 )

New Albany ( pop. 8,500 )

Petal ( pop. 11,000 )

Woodville ( pop. 1,000 )

Missouri;

Carthage ( pop. 14,000 )

Glendale ( pop. 5,900 )

Hermann ( pop. 2,400 )

Rocheport ( pop. 240 )

Saint Charles ( pop. 68,000 )

West Plains ( pop. 12,000 )

Nebraska;

Fairbury ( pop. 3,900 )

Gretna ( pop. 5,600 )

Hastings ( pop. 25,000 )

Kearney ( pop. 32,000 )

Valentine ( pop. 2,500 )

Nevada;

Caliente ( pop. 1,200 )

Ely ( pop. 4,300 )

Genoa ( pop. 940 )

Lovelock ( pop. 2,000 )

Mesquite ( pop. 16,000 )

New Hampshire;

Hampton ( pop. 15,000 )

Hancock ( pop. 1,700 )

Littleton ( pop. 5,900 )

New London ( pop. 4,400 )

Portsmouth ( pop. 21,000 )

Sugarhill ( pop. 560 )

Sunapee ( pop. 3,400 )

New Jersey;

Clinton ( pop. 2,696 )

Collingswood ( pop. 13,850 )

Glen Rock ( pop. 11,838 )

Lambertville ( pop. 3,686 )

Maywood ( pop. 9,687 )

Spring Lake ( pop. 3,001 )

West Cape May ( pop. 1,020 )

New Mexico;

Alamo ( pop. 1,085 )

Corona ( pop. 172 )

Enchino Village ( pop. 82 )

San Jon ( pop. 216 )

New York;

Aurora ( pop. 778 )

Canadaigua ( pop. 10,000 )

Cold Spring ( pop. 1,992 )

Cooperstown ( pop. 1,834 )

Saranac Lake ( pop. 5,300 )

Skaneateles ( pop. 7,000 )

Woodstock ( pop. 6,000 )

North Carolina;

Bath ( pop. 240 )

Beaufort ( pop. 4,184 )

Hillsborough ( pop. 6,000 ) 

New Bern ( pop. 30,242 )

Saluda ( pop. 500 )

North Dakota;

Beulah ( pop. 3,300 )

Grafton ( pop. 4,300 )

Mandon ( pop. 20,000 )

New Salem ( pop. 910 )

Richardton ( pop. 520 )

Watford City ( pop. 3,000 )

Ohio;

Granville ( pop. 5,700 )

Marblehead ( pop. 890 )

Sandusky ( pop. 25,000)

Toledo ( pop. 280,000 )

Willoughby ( pop. 22,000 )

Oklahoma;

Ada ( pop. 17,000 )

Arcadia ( pop. 260 )

Carlton Landing ( pop. 56 )

Guthrie ( pop. 10,908 )

Lawton ( pop. 97,000 )

Pauls Valley ( pop. 6,000 )

Perry ( pop. 5,100 )

Oregon;

Ashland ( pop. 21,000 )

Florence ( pop. 8,500 )

Gardiner ( pop. 248 )

Nesika Beach ( pop. 500 )

Summer Lake ( pop. 500 )

Yachats ( pop. 760 )

Pennsylvania;

Baileyville ( pop. 201 )

Marklesburg ( pop. 204 )

New Hope ( pop. 2,500 )

Warren ( pop. 9,500 )

Rhode Island;

Jamestown ( pop. 5,400 )

New Shoreham ( pop. 1,000 )

Newport ( pop. 24,000 )

Richmond ( pop. 7,700 )

Warwick ( pop. 82,000 )

Wickford ( pop. unknown )

South Carolina;

Beaufort ( pop. 13,000 )

Camden ( pop. 7,000 )

Myrtle Beach ( pop. 29,000 )

Port Royal ( pop. 12,000 )

Sumter ( pop. 41,000 )

Walterboro ( pop. 5,300 )

South Dakota;

Brandon ( pop. 9,500 )

Chamberlain ( pop. 2,400 )

Kadoka ( pop. 690 )

Platte ( pop. 1,200 )

Spearfish ( pop. 11,000 )

Watertown ( pop. 22,000 )

Tennessee;

Erwin ( pop. 6,100 )

Gatlinburg ( pop. 4,100 )

Signal Mountain ( pop. 8,500 )

Townsend ( pop. 450 )

Wartrace ( pop. 650 )

Texas;

Brady ( pop. 5,000 )

Canton ( pop. 5,000 )

Jefferson ( pop. 2,055 )

San Augustine ( pop. 2,000 )

Uncertain ( pop. 94 )

Wimberley ( pop. 2,582 )

Utah;

Brigham City ( pop. 18,000 )

Cedar City ( pop. 29,000 )

Escalante ( pop. 780 )

Kaysville ( pop. 29,000 )

Manti ( pop. 3,300 )

Park City ( pop. 8,000 )

Vermont;

Cabot ( pop. 230 )

Dorset ( pop. 2,000 )

Killington ( pop. 810 )

Putney ( pop. 2,700 )

Rutland City ( pop. 17,000 )

Shelburne ( pop. 7,100 )

Stowe ( pop. 4,300 )

Vergennes ( pop. 2,600 )

Virginia;

Cape Charles ( pop. 990 )

Lexington ( pop. 7,200 )

Roanoke ( pop. 98,000 )

South Boston ( pop. 8,000 )

Staunton ( pop. 24,000 )

Winchester ( pop. 27,000 )

Washington;

Anacortes ( pop. 16,000 )

Gig Harbour ( pop. 7,800 )

La Conner ( pop. 910 )

Leavenworth ( pop. 2,000 )

Richland ( pop. 52,000 )

Roslyn ( pop. 900 ) 

Spokane ( pop. 210,000 )

West Virginia;

Bath ( pop. 610 )

Harpers Ferry ( pop. 290 )

Morgantown ( pop. 31,000 )

Sheperdstown ( pop. 2,100 )

Vienna ( pop. 11,000 )

Wisconsin;

Appleton ( pop. 74,000 )

Bayfield ( pop. 490 )

Eau Claire ( pop. 68,000 )

Green Bay ( pop. 100,000 )

Green Lake ( pop. 980 )

Lake Geneva ( pop. 7,700 )

Sturgeon Bay ( pop. 9,100 )

Wyoming;

Casper ( pop. 60,000 )

Evanston ( pop. 12,000 )

Newcastle ( pop. 3,500 )

Pinedale ( pop. 2,000 )

Ranchester ( pop. 920 )

Sheridan ( pop. 18,000 )

[history-of-fashion]

1789 Ralph Earl - Mariann Wolcott

(Litchfield Historical Society)

[cma-american-painting-sculpture]

Moses Seymour, Jr., Ralph Earl , 1789, Cleveland Museum of Art: American Painting and Sculpture

At the age of fifteen, Moses Seymour Jr., sat for a portrait that honors both its sitter and implicitly, his father, the former Revolutionary War major from Litchfield, Connecticut, who commissioned this work. Like so many American painters of his generation, Earl studied with Benjamin West in London. Upon his return, he practiced his profession in his native Connecticut River Valley. Seymour's book and cane suggest that the young man reads and walks in harmony among nature's beauties, an activity that recalls the ideals of the ancient Roman poet Horace. In a pose that presses him close to the foreground, however, this cultured figure also conveys a message about man's domination over nature. The painting remained in the sitter's family until it was given to the museum. Size: Framed: 139.4 x 108.6 x 5.2 cm (54 7/8 x 42 3/4 x 2 1/16 in.); Unframed: 120.7 x 90.2 cm (47 1/2 x 35 1/2 in.) Medium: oil on canvas

https://clevelandart.org/art/2003.285

[myhauntedsalem]

Mysteries of Dudleytown

In the early part of the 1740’s, Thomas Griffis bought a plot of land that would later be considered the first lot in Dudleytown.

In northwestern Connecticut are the remains of a small township that was given the name of Dudleytown. The homes of this once thriving village that was nestled in the surrounding mountains are long gone, but it would seem that the spirits of those who once dwelt here still remain. There are many tales of ghosts, mysterious happenings, demonic beasts, horrible curses and a dark and violent history that starts with the very founding of America itself. Today, all that is left of Dudleytown are the sad remains of some stone foundations and the holes that once were used as cellars to store root vegetables and other foods during the winter months. The roads that were at one time well traveled are now no more than narrow foot paths where only hikers, and the devoted ghost hunter, will bother to traverse.

The land today has changed very little and looks very much as it did when Griffis settled there. It is a thickly forested landscape and rocks lie strewn on the ground where Dudleytown once stood. The land lies covered in shadow from the mountains and receives little sunlight. The woods have been given the name of “Dark Entry Forest”.

In the beginning, the land where Dudleytown would later sit was owned by a man named Thomas Griffis. He and his family were the first to settle in that particular region in the early 1740’s. A village began to spring up a few years later in 1747 when Gideon Dudley arrived on the scene and it was through him the small village became known as Dudleytown. Gideon’s two brothers soon followed him to the area and settled there as well. It was the Dudley’s who were said to be responsible for a curse that was laid upon the village and it is this supposed curse that many say is responsible for the horrors that roam the area to this day.

According to both recent and older accounts, this curse had its start in England in the year 1510. Edmund Dudley, one of the patriarchs of the family, was sentenced to death and beheaded for being part of a plot to overthrow King Henry VIII. It is said that a curse was placed on the family due to this treasonous behavior. It is said that this curse was that all of the Dudley descendants would be plagued by unrelenting by horrors and death would hound them until every last one of the Dudley descendants were wiped from the face of the earth. Believers of the curse swear that the Dudley family then began having a rather nasty run of bad luck.

John Dudley, who was Edmund’s son, made his own attempt to get control of the British throne by having his son, Guilford, marry Lady Jane Grey who was next in line for the crown. Lady Jane was queen for a short time upon the death of Edward VI, but the plan quickly failed and Lady Jane and Edmund and Guilford Dudley were all executed. Soon afterwards, Guilford’s brother returned from France after a stint in the military. He brought with him a vicious plague that spread to his officers and troops. The sickness eventually spread throughout the country, killing thousands of people. John Dudley’s third son, Robert, who was also the Earl of Leicester, decided to leave England and travel to the New World. It would be Robert’s descendant William, who would later settle in Guilford, Connecticut. Abiel, Barzallai and Gideon, William’s descendants, would later buy the land that became Dudleytown.

The village rested in the middle of three large hills, which is why it looked dark even at noon. Settlers began to trickle into the area. The Tanner, the Jones, the Patterson, the Dibble and the Porter families all settled in Dudleytown. Iron ore was discovered and the little village prospered for a while. Even so, goods such as food, cloth, tools, etc. had to be purchased from towns down the mountain because Dudleytown never had any stores, schools, churches nor even a cemetery. Dudleytown was also known for its timber, which was used to make wood coal for the Litchfield County Iron Furnaces in Cornwall and other towns.

In spite of the obvious prosperity though, there were strange deaths and bizarre occurrences at Dudleytown from the very beginning. There was an unusually high number of people who went insane and quite a few people who simply vanished and were never seen or heard from again.

Abiel Dudley lost his entire fortune and eventually his mind. Abiel was made a ward of the town, and in his final years he wandered around aimlessly, mumbling incoherently about “strange creatures in the woods” and unable to care for himself. Abiel died in 1799 at the ripe old age of 90, which was unusual in itself during this time period when people were lucky to live into their 30s or 40s. William Tanner, one of Abiel’s closest neighbors, was also said to have gone insane. Oddly enough, Tanner lived to the age of 104 and according to records, Tanner also would talk of “strange creatures” that came out of the woods at night. Whether or not these creatures were supernatural or the product of a senile mind is impossible to say.

The records that are still in existence from the Dudleytown tell of strange illnesses, disappearances, numerous cases of people going insane, reports of strange creatures roaming the area at night, although it seems that most of the reports were from those folks who had been declared insane.

After the Civil War, Dudleytown began to die and most of the remaining families simply packed up and moved away. The small village soon became the haunt of birds, small animals, and began to be reclaimed by the forest.

During the final days of Dudleytown one rather strange and mysterious event came to light, and no matter how hard the skeptics try to disregard and debunk this odd occurrence in Dudleytown, even they can not give a reasonable explanation for the event.

In 1901, when the population of Dudleytown had dwindled to nearly nothing, one of the last residents of the town, John Patrick Brophy, suffered a slew of misfortunes. His first wife died when she was struck down by a sudden illness and then his two children vanished into the forest right after his wife’s funeral. The children were never found. Shortly after the disappearance of his children, Brophy’s house was burned to the ground in a mysterious fire and not long after, Brophy himself disappeared and was never seen again. Shortly after these string of bizarre occurrences, Dudleytown officially ceased to be, and began to be reclaimed by the land.

Tales of spooky lights, misty apparitions, and strange incidences began to surface in the 1940’s when visitors to the old ruins reported seeing these strange things. Today, those folks who have made the long trek to visit the place show photographs of spooky mists that seem to show creepy faces peering out at the observer, and say they get feelings of terror, see mysterious lights, sights and hear creepy sounds. Many folks report that they have experienced being touched, pushed and scratched by unseen hands. Many say that this area was once the land belonging to the Mohawk tribe and they left it when the ground became “soured”, or cursed.

Whatever the reasons for the strange and spooky occurrences in the area once known as Dudleytown, one thing is for certain, this remote part of Connecticut will remain a favorite place for thrill seekers and ghost hunters for many years to come.