{"id":101303,"date":"2024-12-10T10:18:57","date_gmt":"2024-12-10T15:18:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.genealogybank.com\/?p=101303"},"modified":"2024-12-10T10:19:17","modified_gmt":"2024-12-10T15:19:17","slug":"our-ancestors-christmas-messages-part-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/our-ancestors-christmas-messages-part-2.html","title":{"rendered":"Our Ancestors\u2019 Christmas Messages (part 2)"},"content":{"rendered":"

Introduction:<\/em><\/strong> In this article, Katie Rebecca Merkley writes more about the special Christmas messages our ancestors had printed in their local newspapers. Katie specializes in U.S. research for family history, enjoys writing and researching, and is developing curricula for teaching children genealogy.<\/em><\/p>\n

This article may have appeared in your feed accompanied by a colorful picture. However, this is not how your ancestors posted and received messages. They used newspapers. In part 2 of this series, I will continue looking at Christmas messages our ancestors published in local newspapers in the United States in the late 18th century.<\/p>\n

\"Photo:
Photo: Nativity scene. Credit: Ideefixe; Wikimedia Commons.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

In the mid-1790s, a poet paid tribute to the shepherds and wise men of old. The poem was published in a New York newspaper in December 1795.<\/p>\n

\"An<\/a>
Greenleaf\u2019s New York Journal (New York, New York), 26 December 1795, page 3<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The poem describes angles and celestial chanting, then addresses the shepherds:<\/p>\n

Fear not ye shepherds, \u2019tis the Prince of Peace comes,
\nFull of compassion, full of love and pity;
\nBringing salvation for all sorts of mankind,
\nFor all his people.
\nGo pay your homage to your infant Savior;
\nLaid in a manger, view the Lord of glory
\nMeanly attended, yet the great Messias,
\nYon star shall guide you.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The poem continues praising God, then closes with:<\/p>\n

O may impressions of his boundless mercy,
\nEver remind me of my grateful duty;
\nSweet the employment to proclaim his goodness,
\nAnd sing his praises.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Based on this conclusion, it can be assumed that the anonymous writer was inclined to celebrate Christ\u2019s birth by praising God. He may have had some experiences in his life which he attributed to God\u2019s love and mercy. Some people who feel this for themselves also wish others to feel it. Publishing the poem in the newspaper provided a way to attempt that.<\/p>\n

Later that decade in Boston, someone was impressed with a comment \u2013 an \u201celegant sentiment [that] was given in a private circle on Christmas day\u201d \u2013 and it was published in the newspaper.<\/p>\n

\"An<\/a>
Polar Star (Boston, Massachusetts), 3 January 1797, page 3<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The comment:<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen we recognize the star which in ancient times appeared in the east, to lead our forefathers to a Savior; let us gratefully remember a WASHINGTON, who in later times appeared in the west, and led our armies to victory and glory.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The colonies declared independence from Britain in 1776 and became the United States. The Revolutionary War officially ended in 1783. In 1797, when the above comment was made, the United States was still young, and the Revolution was still recent.<\/p>\n

According to Timothy Ballard, George Washington relied on God to help the Americans win the war.* He encouraged his men to pray regularly and repent of their sins to be worthy of God\u2019s help. Ballard\u2019s book, The Washington Hypothesis<\/em>, recounts several tales of miraculous victories on the side of the patriots and attributes them to God\u2019s hand, or Providence, as was the language used in Washington\u2019s day.<\/p>\n

With this in mind, it seems appropriate to remember George Washington and the victories he led during the season when many remember Christ\u2019s birth. The above newspaper article was published close enough to the Revolutionary War that it\u2019s quite possible the commenter in the author\u2019s private circle was either a witness to events of the Revolutionary War or heard about events from those with firsthand knowledge.<\/p>\n

Note that what was published in the newspaper was what another person said, thereby making the comment viral in days before the internet. A newspaper printed in Rhode Island in 1800 is another example of something going viral the old-fashioned way. The header of this rather tongue-in-cheek article reads:<\/p>\n

Copy of a Painter\u2019s Bill, presented to the Vestry at Christmas, for work done at the painted walls of a well known church in Ireland.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Somehow, painting walls in a church in Ireland inspired the author to create a list alluding to many Bible stories. Who knows how many newspapers it was published in, but this article somehow made its way to America. Evidently, the Guardian of Liberty<\/em> newspaper editor found the message relevant in October, even though the heading mentioned Christmas.<\/p>\n

\"An<\/a>
Guardian of Liberty (Newport, Rhode Island), 10 October 1800, page 4<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

That article wasn\u2019t the only one that went viral. Some of the other articles discussed in this series appeared at least twice in search results in GenealogyBank, each result in a different newspaper. It was a common practice for newspaper editors to subscribe to neighboring newspapers so that they could post the articles they liked in their own newspaper. This was the old-fashioned way things went viral.<\/p>\n

Our ancestors may not have had the repost button we have today, but they had other ways of sharing messages they liked. Newspapers were their medium of communication. If someone liked what they read, they likely told their friends, family, and neighbors, perhaps reading it out loud. This Christmas, what messages will you share?<\/p>\n

* Timothy Ballard, \u201cThe Washington Hypothesis\u201d (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Company, 2016).<\/p>\n

Explore over 330 years of newspapers and historical records in GenealogyBank. Discover your family story! Start a 7-Day Free Trial<\/a><\/p>\n

Note on the header image:<\/em><\/strong> \u201cThe Adoration of the Shepherds,\u201d by Bartolom\u00e9 Esteban Murillo, c. 1650. Credit: Museo del Prado; Wikimedia Commons.<\/p>\n

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