Gold leaf : news of the Duke Homestead Education and History Corporation

              NEWS OF DUKE HOMESTEAD
Volume 34, Issue 1 Spring 2012
GOLD LEAF
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Inside this issue:
The Revolutionary Role of Tobacco 1, 4
Upcoming Events 2
From the Site Manager’s Desk 3
Heel, Toe, Heel, Toe: A Lesson in Dance 3
Obituaries 5
Sponsorship Opportunities 6
understanding of the trans-Atlantic
world in the eighteenth century.
Commercial ties and trade networks
between the major European
powers and the colonies of North
America had been primarily
solidified by the seventeenth
century. In that same century,
tobacco had become the most
valuable agricultural staple crop in
the southern regions and
Chesapeake areas of the colonies.
Thus, tobacco planters were directly
affected by the ever-changing
economic policies authorized by the
British Parliament, in addition to the
periodic warfare that characterized
European society.
European wars frequently
disrupted Atlantic trade, and the
inability of merchants to open new
markets left tobacco prices low,
labor supply at a minimum, and
production stagnant. As a result,
boom and bust cycles characterized
the economic lives of colonial
tobacco planters throughout the
18th century. Those tobacco
planters who were unable to cope
with the periods of depressions and
economic devastation (1703-1713,
1727-1732, 1740s) turned to the
(Continued on page 4)
Any person who has toured the
Duke’s family home or explored the
Tobacco Museum at Duke
Homestead can attest to the fact
that the history of tobacco is
inexorably linked to the history of
our country. The story of
Washington Duke, his homestead,
and his economic dependency on
the tobacco industry of the late-19th
and early-20th centuries provides us
with an extraordinary example of a
southern family’s success during the
post-Civil War industrial period of
American history. It is important to
realize, however, that tobacco’s
vital role as both an agricultural
staple crop and a luxury product
had been influencing the
development of America’s political,
economic, and social spheres since
well before the Civil War.
This article will focus on the
role of tobacco within the American
Revolutionary War. Duke
Homestead’s website states that,
“During the American Revolution
tobacco played a key role in the
success of the colonists' drive to
gain independence,” (NC Historic
Sites). I will be expanding on this
statement, focusing on how
tobacco planters aligned
The Revolutionary Role of Tobacco by Shannon Daileader
themselves during the time of the
colonies’ declaration for autonomy,
what the political, economic, and
social implications of these
allegiances were, and what the role
of tobacco was within the
development of the American
Revolution.
One cannot begin to fully
comprehend the causes and
ramifications of the American
Revolution without a proper
About GOLD LEAF
The Duke Homestead Education and History
Corporation publishes GOLD LEAF. The Corporation is a
non-profit organization dedicated to the development of
the Duke Homestead State Historic Site and Tobacco
Museum. The museum is open Tuesday through
Saturday, from 9 a.m. until 5 p.m. Visit the website,
www.ibiblio.org/dukehome, for more information. This
newsletter is published semiannually and is available
free of charge.
For more information, write:
Duke Homestead Education and History Corp.
2828 Duke Homestead Road
Durham, NC 27705
Or e-mail: duke@ncdcr.gov.
DHEHC President: Mary Bell
GOLD LEAF Editor: Jennifer Farley
Printing: Sir Speedy
Financial Report
Mary Albert Ward
Treasurer
The funds of the Duke Homestead Education and History
Corporation as of March 29, 2012 are as follows:
General Fund Savings $3,847.74
General Fund Checking $5,524.95
General Fund CD Account $40,371.91
Sales Desk Checking Account $3,993.72
Sales Desk Inventory $25,205.25
Total Assets $78,943.57
Page 2
Upcoming Events
Community Yard Sale
April 28 8 AM—12 PM
Buy and sell secondhand items in the site’s
parking lot at our annual community yard sale.
Tobacco Planting Day
May 3 9 AM—11 AM
Come learn how to transplant tobacco seedlings
and help the site start its yearly tobacco field.
Free.
Herb, Garden and Craft Festival
June 9 10 AM—4 PM
Enjoy a wide variety of herb and craft vendors,
19th century children’s games, traditional herbal
use displays, musical entertainment, craft
demonstrations, refreshments and more. Free.
Pork, Pickles and Peanuts: Tastes of NC
July 14 10 AM—4 PM
Food is the theme of the day! This festival will
include a barbecue cook-off and a juried pie
competition. Throughout the day, visitors can
enjoy historical cooking demonstrations as well as
art and craft vendors. Free.
Summer Children’s Festival
August 11 10 AM—4 PM
This event will be a treat for the young and the
young-at-heart. Throughout the day, enjoy
music, dancing, historical crafts, activities, and
games. Free.
Harvest and Hornworm Festival
September 8 10 AM—4 PM
In the morning, see demonstrations of historic
harvesting, stringing and curing. In the
afternoon, hear the sounds of the only tobacco
auction left in Durham. Throughout the day
enjoy the hornworm race, MoonPie eating
contest, musical entertainment, craft vendors,
refreshments and more. Free.
Christmas by Candlelight
December 7 and 14 7 PM—9 PM
Celebrate an 1870 Christmas during evening tours
of the Homestead. The tour features period
decorations, caroling, dances, hot apple cider and
other goodies. Free.
Last year the Junior Interpreters,
adult volunteers and some staff
members showed a tremendous
interest in learning historic dancing.
In response to demand, and in
preparation for the Christmas by
Candlelight program (during which
there is a dance demonstration), we
conducted a dance workshop in
November. Musicians Rob Morrison
and Norm Boggs accompanied the
costumed dancers during their
lessons in the front yard of the
house. The dancers (ages 8-adult)
were instructed in three common
dances of the Victorian era: the Vir-ginia
Reel, the Spanish Waltz and the
Schottische. All of these were
extremely popular in the mid to late
19th century mostly because they
were considered conservative dances
performed in a line or circle, as
opposed to the waltz, which was
performed with a single partner.
The Virginia Reel is a folk dance
has many variations depending on
the region. The Spanish Waltz is not
Spanish in origin, but most likely
developed during the Renaissance
era as a Germanic folk dance and
quickly moved throughout Europe to
also become known as an English
Country Dance. It is a set dance
performed to waltz time. The
Schottische is a lively dance
originating in Bohemia and
considered a slower polka performed
in a circle with several hops, steps
and turns.
Our workshops are designed to
teach our volunteers and staff more
about Victorian lifeways. Historically,
dances were held as way for people
to socialize while conforming to the
strict social mores of the time.
Learning the etiquette and dances
provided the volunteers more insight
into Victorian living while letting
them have a great time in the
process!
Heel, Toe, Heel, Toe: A Lesson in Dance by Mia Berg
VOLUME 34, ISSUE 1 Page 3
From the Site Manager’s Desk by Jennifer Farley
There have been many newspaper
articles published recently about
State budget cuts. The most recent
reports have been about a
Legislative-mandated study
conducted over the winter by the
Programs Administration Division
(PED). In the report presented by the
PED earlier this year, a few
recommendations were made that
could cause considerable changes to
NC State Historic Sites. These
recommendations were to
consolidate the three Durham sites
under one site manager, close two
North Carolina attractions, and
reduce operating hours at a number
of historic sites across the state.
Since the report came out, the PED
has met twice with the Joint
Legislative Program Evaluation
Oversight Sub-Committee to discuss
these cuts. For both of these
meetings members of the Duke
Homestead Education and History
Corporation Executive Board were
present. I am pleased to announce
that as of March 21, the sub-committee
has voted to recommend
no site closures and no cuts to jobs or
site hours. I feel that
this decision was most
likely influenced by the
presence of supporters
from our site and
others, and I would like
to thank those who
attended the meetings
for their support. NC
Historic Sites are not
out of the woods yet, but we remain
cautiously optimistic.
In the meantime, Duke Homestead
continues to move forward with our
full slate of special events. On March
17, Dr. David Walbert delivered a
fascinating lecture on the history of
peanuts in American baking (and
provided tasty examples of some of
the recipes). We are looking forward
to having Dr. Walbert back at our
Herb, Garden and Craft Festival on
June 9. Additionally, Dr. Walbert plans
to conduct a baking workshop using
our cast-iron stove
in May. This will
be a popular
activity and space
is limited, so stay
tuned for more
details!
Finally, I would
like to bid a fond
farewell to staff-member
Matt Vernon who began a
new job at BASF on March 2. Matt
was with Historic Sites for three years,
and among his other duties was editor
of this newsletter for the past two
years. Thank you for all of your hard
work, Matt, and good luck in the
future!
that dates back to the 17th century and
is often considered an English Country
Dance. It resembles what we may
recognize today as a square dance and
• Richard Brinn
• Catherine Jirlds
• Laura Ketcham
• Brent Lougee
• The late Mary D.B.T.
Semans
• Grace Taylor
• J. Thomas Terry
provincial governments to solve their
problems.
The major problem that
persisted for American tobacco
planters, regardless of the provincial
Assemblies’ attempts to alleviate the
economic crises, was the sizeable
debts that a majority of planters,
including George Washington and
Thomas Jefferson, had accumulated
from British merchants. Tobacco
planters borrowed vast amounts of
money and resources from British
banks and tobacco companies
overseas. In addition, planters made
lucrative deals with British merchants
during times of war, particularly the
Seven Years’ War, in order to avoid
trading restrictions with other
European powers.
Following the Seven Years’ War,
the American colonists were faced
with unprecedented tax increases
and ceaseless conflicts with British
merchants. The British credit
collapse in 1772, compounded with
Parliaments’ notorious desire to have
the colonists themselves pay for the
cost of the Seven Years’ War, created
economic tensions and subsequent
political ramifications. British
merchants demanded payment of
overdue debts. The tobacco country
believed that the payment was
physically impossible and yet, as the
credit crisis deepened, courts sided
(Continued from page 1) with creditors, subjecting planters to
prison sentences and even orders of
execution.
Colonists from all economic
backgrounds were under stress from
the British post-Seven Years’ War
policies, and so it is no surprise that
the rebellious Boston merchants
made easy alliances with the
oppressed tobacco planters.
Determined to rule their own affairs,
whether in their plantation or their
provincial governments, and irked by
the blunderings of George III and the
British Parliament, the high-tempered
tobacco planters found
themselves squaring their political
convictions with their economic
interests (Robert). According to Iain
Gately in his book, Tobacco: The
Story of How Tobacco Seduced the
World, a majority of the signatories
of the Declaration of Independence
were involved in the tobacco trade
(Gately). “The Declaration began
with a preamble enumerating the
colonists’ grievances against Britain,
many of which were inspired by
tobacco, the foundation stone of
their overseas trade and hence
national identity” (Gately). As we all
know, the outbreak of the Revolution
soon followed this declaration for
independence. American history, as
well as trans-Atlantic history, was
inevitably changed forever.
In light of the fact that tobacco
remained the most valuable staple
export from the English American
mainland colonies and Great Britain
from 1617 to 1793, one can easily
conclude that the number of tobacco
planters in the southern regions and
Chesapeake areas influenced the
outbreak, development, and success
of the American Revolution. By
rallying support for independence,
providing resources for the
Continental Army, formulating
war-time currency exchange policies
with foreign allies, and even taking
part in post-Revolution constitutional
debates, tobacco planters played a
pivotal role in making the American
War for Independence into a
successful Revolution. The history of
tobacco is undoubtedly linked to the
history of America – and that simple
fact is exactly what we emphasize
each and every day at Duke
Homestead.
Sources:
Robert, Joseph C. The Story of Tobacco in
America. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, Inc,
1949. 44-45. Print.
Gately, Iain. Tobacco: The Story of How
Tobacco Seduced the World. New York:
Grove Press, 1965. 138-142. Print.
Kulikoff, Allan. Tobacco and Slaves. Chapel
Hill: University of North Carolina Press,
1986. Print.
North Carolina Historic Sites: Duke Home-stead.
<http://www.nchistoricsites.org/
duke/>.
The Revolutionary Role of Tobacco continued
Page 4
Thank You for Your Help!
The following generous individuals helped sponsor
Christmas by Candlelight in 2011:
VOLUME 34, ISSUE 1 Page 5
Obituaries
Mary Duke Biddle Trent Semans, a
lifelong philanthropist and civic leader
in North Carolina, died on January 25,
2012, in Durham. She was 91.
Mrs. Semans was born in New York
City. Her parents were Mary Duke
Biddle, the only daughter of Benjamin
Duke, and Anthony Joseph Drexel
Biddle Jr., a General in the United States
Army. Her mother was a noted
philanthropist who carried
on the family’s support of
Duke University and her
father held several high-level
government posts,
including Ambassador to
Exiled Countries during
World War II and
Ambassador to Spain.
Apart from a childhood
in New York City, Mrs.
Semans lived most of her life in
Durham. She attended the Hewitt
School in New York and then enrolled in
the Woman’s College at Duke University
at age 15.
In 1938, she married Josiah Trent, a
surgical intern who would become the
chief of Duke Hospital’s division of
thoracic surgery. Dr. Trent died of
cancer after 10 years of marriage.
As a young widow and mother of
four girls, Mrs. Semans ran for a seat on
the Durham City Council and became
the first woman elected in 1951. She
served as mayor pro-tem from 1953-
1955. While in office, she advocated for
civil rights, affordable housing, cultural
enrichment opportunities, and humane
medical care, and was named one of
the city’s “Mothers of the Year” in
1952.
She married James H. Semans, a
Duke University surgeon and urologist,
in 1953. In their 52 years of marriage,
they had three children.
Mrs. Semans, along with her hus-band,
took active roles in public service.
In the 1960s, they helped lead the
establishment of the University of
North Carolina School of the Arts, the
Mary Duke Biddle Trent Semans
nation’s first state-supported
conservatory for the arts. Mrs.
Semans served as a Trustee of the
school for more than 20 years and
continued as an honorary member of
the board.
Mrs. Semans also served on the
board of the Mary Duke Biddle
Foundation, established by her mother
to support arts, educational and
charitable initiatives in
North Carolina and New
York City.
Mrs. Semans was
instrumental in the
donation of Duke
Homestead from Duke
University to the State
of North Carolina. It
was due in large part to
her hard work and de-termination
that Duke Homestead is a
State Historic Site today. Mrs. Semans
also served on the board at Duke
Homestead for many years and the
site received a grant from the Mary
Duke Biddle Foundation for the crea-tion
of our current orientation film.
In 1966, Mrs. Semans spoke on
behalf of the Duke Family when Duke
Homestead was designated a National
Historic Landmark. She told the
crowd, “It is well for all of us to
reaffirm the special qualities which
were nourished on this ground lest the
depth of their meaning be allowed to
evaporate. This is the home of a man
who from childhood thought in terms
of the welfare of humanity. Since I
was 12 years old, I have been trying to
make the world better for having lived
in it.”
Mrs. Semans had multiple board
and organization affiliations, was given
numerous honorary degrees, and had
received many awards. However, Mrs.
Semans will be best remembered for
her keen mind, graciousness, genuine
concern for others and boundless
energy.
James J. Lyon, Sr.
Mr. James Joel Lyon Sr., 87, died on
January 11, 2012, in Durham.
Mr. Lyon was the son of the late Mr.
and Mrs. Joel Logan Lyon. He was a
graduate of Creedmoor High School and
attended N.C. State University. Mr. Lyon
was a veteran of World War II, serving in
the U.S. Army Air Corps from 1944-1946.
He spent his entire business career at
Liggett and Myers Tobacco Company,
retiring after 40 years as Production
Manager. He was a very active member
at Grace Baptist Church and served as a
Duke Homestead Education and History
Corporation Member at Large.
Mr. Lyon
was always
able to
attend our
annual
meetings
and came
to many of
the site’s
special
events. For
many
years, he
assisted
with our
mock tobacco auction. Mr. Lyon will be
remembered for his friendliness,
helpfulness, and his support of Duke
Homestead.
Surviving are his wife of 65 years,
Mary Frances; his son, Jimmy (Kim);
daughter, Linda Anderson (Mike);
granddaughter, Nicole Nelson (AJ);
brother, Al Lyon (Josephine); sister-in-law,
Maxine Aiken; and several nieces
and nephews. Mr. Lyon was preceded in
death by his sister, Marguerite L.
Hopkins.
GOLD LEAF
News of Duke Homestead.
Duke Homestead Education
and History Corporation
2828 Duke Homestead Road
Phone: 919-477-5498
Fax: 919-479-7092
Non-profit Organization
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PAID
Durham, NC
Sponsorship Opportunities
Address Service Requested
DUKE HOMESTEAD NEEDS YOUR HELP!
Our on-site resource library contains 50 reel-to-reel audio recordings. The majority of
these are interviews with tobacco farmers, warehousemen, former elected officials
(including NC Commissioner of Agriculture Jim Graham), representatives from various
manufacturers, scientists and historians. There are also recordings of auctions and
auctioneers from various dates. In their current form, these recordings are unusable
and subject to damage and destruction. With your help, we can begin the process of
transferring them to digital media for long-term preservation and use by site patrons.
For $50.00, you can sponsor the conservation of one of these irreplaceable
audio recordings.
Please consider donating today!