The Most Famous Yorkman Who Wasn't

 By Jennifer L. Wright

Billy the Kid. Jesse James. Butch Cassidy (and his Sundance Kid). 

Here in America, we know no shortage of celebrity outlaws, those men whose daring deeds both condemn and endear them to the public’s heart. It’s an unusual fascination that carried all the way from the Old West to the Public Enemy days of the 1930’s, where criminals such as Pretty Boy Floyd and Bonnie and Clyde still manage to sell books today, almost one hundred years after their deaths (such as my hopeful take on the fugitive lover story, The Girl from the Papers). But where did this fascination come from? And why?

I’m no psychologist or sociologist, and I am in no way qualified to pick apart the nuances of our culture or minds to give you an answer to these questions. What can I tell you, however, is that the obsession with outlaws has been around long before United States began breeding its own. In fact, it existed even before the United States was the United States

Richard “Dick” Turpin was born in Essex, England in 1705 to a butcher and an innkeeper. By all accounts, Dick was set to follow in his father’s footsteps; there are reports that he not only apprenticed as a butcher but also opened his own shop in Essex around 1725. 

But, somewhere along the way, everything went wrong. Or right, depending on your view. 

Turpin became involved with an Essex gang of deer thieves, known as the Gregory Gang, in the early 1730s. Deer poaching had become such a problem within the royal forests during that time that the government began offering a £50 (equivalent to over £10,000 today) for information leading to the arrest of those responsible. Quick processing and disposal of any illegally gained carcass, therefore, and it is believed Dick, as a butcher, provided just that. 

Photo Credit: York Historical Society

But, whether because the heat became too intense or the meager rewards too small, the Gregory Gang soon moved on to bigger and better heists. In late 1734, they began robbing homes and businesses, with each attack subsequently growing bolder and more violent. It wasn’t long before the group caught the attention of authorities, who quickly put out a reward for their arrests. In February 1735, gang members John Fielder, John Wheeler, and William Saunder were apprehended, with the young Saunders quickly giving up names and descriptions of the other members. Spooked, the gang quickly disbanded. 

But a life of crime, as it is, is not so easily abandoned. Rather than lay low, Turpin turned his attention from residential to highway robbery. First identified for such crimes in April 1736, Dick soon made a name for himself robbing both coaches and unsuspecting pedestrians in the countryside surrounding London. His legend as an outlaw grew as he continued to evade capture, culminating in a £200 reward offered after Turpin allegedly shot and killed Thomas Morris, a servant of one of the Forest's Keepers. In October 1738, posing as a horsetrader by the name of John Palmer, Turpin set up residence in a boarding house in Yorkshire, only to soon become entangled in an argument about the shooting of another’s man’s chicken. The constables were alerted, who immediately became suspicious; Turpin was soon committed to the House of Correction at Beverly. Though Dick maintained he was merely a butcher who had fallen into debt, the local authorities did not believe it, and he was soon transferred to York Castle. While there, he wrote his brother asking for help. His brother, however, refused to pay the sixpence due on the letter, and it was returned to the local post office – where James Smith, Turpin’s old schoolmaster, recognized his handwriting.  His identity revealed, Turpin was soon sentenced to death.

On this day back in 1739, followed by five professional mourners whom he had paid, Turpin was taken through York by open cart to the gallows. It was reported that he bowed to the crowd as he passed and “behaved in an undaunted manner; as he mounted the ladder, feeling his right leg tremble, he spoke a few words to the topsman, then threw himself off, and expir'd in five minutes” (The Gentleman's Magazine, April 7, 1739).

Photo Credit: York Historical Society

And that was the end Richard Turpin. 

Or, rather, it should have been. 

Soon afterwards, Richard Bayes published The Genuine History of the Life of Richard Turpin, a mixture of fact and fiction hurriedly put together in the wake of the trial. In it, Bayes embellished tales of Turpin’s crimes, often making some of them up completely, and romanticized his exploits as a sort of anti-hero, larger than life and misunderstood. And Turpin was larger than life—the book was a raging success, and his fame after death far exceeded that of his while living. By the nineteenth century, author William Harrison Ainsworth featured Turpin in his 1834 novel Rookwood, where the highwayman embarks on a legendary ride from London to York to establish an alibi, with his horse, Black Bess, ultimately dying from the stress of the journey. Ainsworth’s Turpin was likeable, compelling, and lively, a modern day “Robin Hood,” and soon his exploits were repeated and reimagined in penny dreadfuls, short stories, and books all across the country. 

Photo Credit: York Historical Society

It didn’t matter that there was no evidence Turpin had ever completed such a ride. Or that Black Bess never existed. Or that Turpin’s crimes were more self-serving than self-sacrificing, his tendencies more violent than noble, and his loot far more paltry than the stories would have one imagine. It didn’t even matter that “the most famous Yorkman” wasn’t even from York! Dick Turpin had become a man bigger than his own personhood, a myth so intertwined with the history of the English countryside that it’s become impossible to completely separate fact from fiction. 

And maybe, much like the Billy the Kid and Jesse James stories of old, it’s better than way. For what is history without a little bit of legend to keep the mystery alive? 

Jennifer L. Wright grew up wanting to be a reporter, but it only took a few short months of working in journalism for her to abandon those aspirations for fiction writing instead. She loves to reimagine and explore forgotten eras in history, showcasing God's light amidst humanity's darkest days. Her books have won multiple awards, including Golden Scroll and Angel awards. She currently lives in New Mexico with her husband, two kids, a couple of hyperactive dachshunds, and an ever-growing herd of guinea pigs. 

POW Camps in America During WWII

In 1942, a quarter million German soldiers surrendered in North Africa. What was Britain supposed to do with them? Turning to their allies, authorities asked the Americans if they were able and willing to house the prisoners. Reluctant, because of concerns about Germans on US soil security and causing fear among the public, the American government initially agreed to take fifty thousand prisoners who were transported in liberty ships across the sea to New York City, Boston, and Norfolk where they were distributed to camps by train. Prisoners determined to be Nazis were separated from “regular” soldiers.

It didn’t take long for prisoner numbers to rise. First, to 60,000, then 100,000, and finally 160,000 by

September 1943. Eventually America would house more than 425,000 prisoners of war. Most of the prisoners were Germans, but there were also tens of thousands of Italians and Japanese who were held in over 700 camps.

Camps were generally located away from industrial or urban areas in states with mild climates to minimize construction and heating costs. Sites were selected near farms where POWs could be used to fill the labor void. It is thought that forty-six of the forty-eight US states had at least one POW camp.

Prisoners are always expected make escape attempts; however, fewer than 1 percent of all POWs in the US made the effort, less than the rate in the civilian prison system. Most attempts were unsuccessful. Perhaps the knowledge that the ability to make it across the Atlantic to Europe or south to Argentina, a country that had aligned itself with Germany, was slim. An incident that occurred on December 23, 1944 is somewhat amusing. Twenty-five German POWs escaped from Arizona’s Camp Papago Park by crawling through a tunnel. Their plan had been to travel by raft down a river. Unfortunately, when they arrived, they discovered a dry riverbed. They were caught in January 1945.

Prisoners were expected to go home immediately after the war; however, many continued to work through 1946 (a violation of the Geneva Convention’s requirement for “rapid repatriation”). It is uncertain how many POWs from US camps returned to reside in the US after the war.

_______________________

Spies & Sweethearts (Sisters in Service, Book 1)

She wants to do her part. He’s just trying to stay out of the stockade. Will two agents deep behind

enemy lines find capture… or love? 

1942. Emily Strealer is tired of being told what she can’t do. Wanting to prove herself to her older sisters and do her part for the war effort, the high school French teacher joins the OSS and trains to become a covert operative. And when she completes her training, she finds herself parachuting into occupied France with her instructor to send radio signals to the Resistance. 

Major Gerard Lucas has always been a rogue. Transferring to the so-called “Office of Dirty Tricks” to escape a court-martial, he poses as a husband to one of his trainees on a dangerous secret mission. But when their cover is blown after only three weeks, he has to flee with the young schoolteacher to avoid Nazi arrest. 

Running for their lives, Emily clings to her mentor’s military experience during the harrowing three-hundred-mile trek to neutral Switzerland. And while Gerard can’t bear the thought of his partner falling into German hands, their forged papers might not be enough to get them over the border.

 

 Can the fugitive pair receive God’s grace to elude the SS and discover the future He intended?

Purchase Link: https://books2read.com/u/m0Od9l

 

Linda Shenton Matchett writes happily-ever-after historical Christian fiction about second chances and women who overcome life’s challenges to be better versions of themselves.

Whether you choose her books set in the Old West or across the globe during WWII, you will be immersed in the past through rich detail. Follow the journeys of relatable characters whose faith is sorely tested, yet in the end, emerge triumphant. Be encouraged in your own faith-walk through stories of history and hope.

Visit her at www.LindaShentonMatchett.com

Photos courtesy of US Army.

WWII Smit-van der Heijden Escape Line: Part One - Dutch and Belgian Resistance Begins

By Mary Dodge Allen 

On May 10, 1940, the German army began its invasion of Luxembourg, the Netherlands, and Belgium. The Dutch and Belgian armies rose up against the invaders but were overwhelmed by the German Blitzkrieg (“Lightning War”), and by May 28th all three countries had surrendered. 

German troops marching into an unnamed Dutch city (Public Domain)

Eugene van der Heijden, a 24-year-old teacher in the Netherlands, recalls his shock at the swiftness of the invasion:

“The memories of those first weeks of the war have stayed etched in my mind as when the stream of German troops marched on the country road past our house on their way to the front in Belgium and France... I still see my father running after a German who had pinched his bicycle from behind our house. Luckily, he [my father] had the forethought to let the air out of the tires. The German angrily threw the bike into the ditch. Triumphantly, my father returned with his bike.”

Eugene van der Heijden (Public Domain)

The surrender of France on June 14th came as an even larger shock, along with the tyranny of occupation that followed. As the shock wore off, anti-Nazi resistance grew. Ordinary people began risking their lives to defy, harass and outwit the Germans. 

Resistance Groups Form:

Undated photo of anti-Nazi graffiti (Alamy)

Individual acts of resistance, like writing anti-Nazi phrases on walls, or ringing church bells to drown out a Nazi rally in a town square, soon led to the formation of Resistance groups. Some groups focused on specific goals, like sabotage, gathering intelligence to pass onto the Allies, or publishing underground newspapers. 

One of the most daring examples of an underground newspaper was the November 9, 1943 counterfeit edition of the Brussels newspaper, Le Soir. This newspaper, known as “Fake Le Soir,” looked like a regular issue, but contained anti-Nazi articles, along with illustrations and classified ads ridiculing the Germans. 

Resistance members hijacked Le Soir’s delivery trucks that morning and delivered the fake issue to newspaper stands across the city. It was a sellout! The upper corner of the front page showed a B-17 with its bomb bay doors open. And in the lower corner, a photo of Hitler with his hands on his chest, saying, “I did not ask for this.”

"Fake Le Soir" November 9, 1943 (Public Domain)

Resistance Expands – Escape Lines:

The Resistance groups that held the most danger for members were escape lines, and yet many ordinary citizens risked their lives to assist POWs, Jews and Allied airmen. Those arrested by German authorities were tortured for information about other members and then killed or sent to death camps. Many used code names to protect their true identities. 

The largest, well-known escape lines were: The Comet Line, The Pat O’Leary Line and the Shelburne Line. But other escape lines existed and even intersected with the larger lines, including the escape line organized by two men in the Netherlands, Karst Smit and Eugene van der Heijden.

The Smit-van der Heijden Escape Line – Beginning: 

Photo of Jagers Regiment, during Dutch Army mobilization, 1939; Karst Smit is seated in the center, third person to the right of the sign, wearing a white shirt. (Public Domain)

Karst Smit, age 24, served in the Jagers Regiment of the Dutch army during the German invasion. When the occupation took hold in 1940, he joined the Marechaussees, the Dutch police responsible for patrolling the country’s borders, under control of the Germans. In January 1942, Smit was stationed in Hilvarenbeek, a Dutch village near the Belgian border. 

Karst Smit, in a Marechaussee uniform, circa 1942 (Public Domain)

In April 1942, Smit encountered two French army POWs, who had escaped from Germany. They had already crossed the Netherlands on foot and were weary and half-starved. But they were determined to continue across Belgium and return to France. Smit was moved to help them. He knew about a local family with a reputation for kindness to others, so he met with local teacher, Eugene van-der-Heijden (mentioned earlier in this blog) and enlisted his family’s help.

The large van der Heijden family had already been helping local men to avoid forced labor, by providing food and a hiding place in a chicken coop. (A 1941 German ordinance required Dutch men aged 18 to 24 to work as laborers in German factories.) 

The van der Heijden house (recent photo by Bruce Bolinger)

The van der Heijden home sat in a perfect location for a safe house – in a remote area surrounded by trees and fields, and only a short walk from Smit’s police barracks in Hilvarenbeek. The family agreed to provide food and shelter for the French POWs, until Smit helped them to safely cross the border into Belgium.

This experience prompted Smit to form a group to help other escaped POWs. He organized a network of friends to watch the Dutch-German border, looking for escapees. They would provide food and clothing for the POWs and arrange train transportation to Hilvarenbeek. 

The region south of Hilvarenbeek was heavily-forested. Smit, along with fellow border officers he’d recruited, knew hidden paths they could use to guide the POW’s across the border. They also provided them with false ID documents confiscated from black market smugglers. 

The Network Expands:

In a matter of weeks, the escape line began encountering Jews and Allied fliers needing help. Karst Smit and Eugene van der Heijden found more local safe houses, but they soon realized that helping escapees across the border into Belgium was only the first step. They needed to establish contacts with trusted Resistance members in Belgium, to provide shelter and place Allied fliers into the hands of larger escape lines that could guide them to freedom, most often through France and Spain.

The van der Heijden family. Upper left: Josephus - father, Eugene, Gustaf, Marcel; Lower left: Jef, Elisabeth, mother. (photo array by Bruce Bolinger)

Eugene’s father, Josephus van der Heijden was born in the Netherlands and worked as a tobacco wholesaler. His mother, Elisabeth was originally from Belgium. Many family members and friends on the Belgian side of the border could be relied on to provide help in the form of food, shelter and other services. 

#4 Rue Jules Lejeune - A Blue Arrow points to the safe house apartment on the third floor. 

(recent photo by Bruce Bolinger)

A safe house at #4 Rue Jules Lejeune was established in Brussels, and escape line guides were recruited to escort Allied fliers there. Eugene van der Heijden had both Dutch and Belgian ID documents. He worked as a guide, escorting Allied fliers through Belgium to this safe house in Brussels. Eugene used the alias “Vox” (translation, “Fox”), to disguise his true identity. 

Smit often needed to send mail to his contacts in Belgium, but letters sent across the border from the Netherlands risked being examined by the Germans. He enlisted help from the wife of a local shipping agent. Her sister, Octavie lived on the Belgian side of the border and regularly came across to work as a housekeeper. Octavie agreed to hide Smit’s letters in her undergarments before crossing back into Belgium, where she could safely mail them. 

Other Hilvarenbeek villagers offered their services:

Jacques Naaijkens, publisher of the village’s weekly newspaper, used his printing press to produce false ID papers. The Putters brothers, who worked in a tailor shop with a view of the road entering the village, alerted Smit when Germans were approaching. Mr. Hendriks, the village baker, made bread for the Allied airmen and other escapees. 

As the members involved in the escape line grew, the danger also increased – not only from imposters sent by the Germans to infiltrate the line, but also from local Nazi collaborators, who reported any unusual activities. 

Smit needed additional guides to escort Allied fliers to Brussels, and he began recruiting Dutch men he trusted, who were in hiding to avoid forced labor in Germany. Smit would eventually regret recruiting one of them - Willem Schmidt, a university student from Utrecht. 

Stay tuned for the second installment of my four-part blog series on May 5th; The WWII Smit-van der-Heijden Escape Line: Part Two - German Infiltrators; An American Airman’s Experience. 

_______________

Mary Dodge Allen is currently finishing her sequel to Hunt for a Hometown Killer. She's won a Christian Indie Award, an Angel Book Award, and two Royal Palm Literary Awards (Florida Writer's Association). She and her husband live in Central Florida. She is a member of American Christian Fiction Writers and Faith Hope and Love Christian Writers. 

Website: www.marydodgeallen.com

Recent release, anthology devotional: El Jireh, The God Who Provides

Mary's story, entitled: A Mother's Desperate Prayer, describes her struggle with guilt and despair after her young son is badly burned in a kitchen accident. When we are at the end of all we have, El Jireh provides what we need. 

Click the link below to purchase on Amazon:

https://www.amazon.com/El-Jireh-God-Who-Provides/dp/1963611608

Mary's novel: Hunt for a Hometown Killer won the 2022 Christian Indie Award, First Place - Mystery/Suspense; and the 2022 Angel Book Award - Mystery/Suspense.

Click the link below to buy Hunt for a Hometown Killer at Amazon.com:

Hunt For A Hometown Killer: A Novel: Allen, Mary Dodge: 9781952369704: Amazon.com: Books

Link to Mary's Spotlight Interview:   Mary Dodge Allen Author Spotlight EA Books

How the Tradition of Taking Afternoon Tea Began

By Donna Wichelman

In my Gilded Age Historical Romance, A Song of Deliverance, my Irish-born protagonist, Anna Sullivan, hosts the Victorian tradition of Afternoon Tea for several prominent ladies of Georgetown to garner their support for a community fundraiser. But how did this tradition of taking Afternoon Tea start?

Victorian Woman Taking Tea: iStock Photo Stock photo ID:455164257

It's no surprise the Chinese drank tea for millennia before the English discovered the pleasure of its taste. Only in the sixteenth century, when Portugal established a trade route with China through Macao, did Europe see its first shipment. But England did not acquire tea until the seventeenth century, during the Cromwell years, 1653 - 1658.

Drinking tea didn't become a popular pastime in England until King Charles II brought it into fashion in the 1660s with his marriage to Portugal's Princess Catherine of Braganza. It had to be green without milk or sugar and drunk with blue and white handleless porcelain from China. The proper way to make it was in the traditional Chinese method of pouring hot water over the leaves from a red-brown stoneware pot.

Taking Tea was primarily a practice of the wealthier class due to its expense and the need to acquire all the accompanying paraphernalia, including a tea service. The most proper way to serve tea required Chinese porcelain, because the Europeans hadn’t yet discovered how to make porcelain. Less expensive options were pewter, Dutch Delftware, or faïence, a fine tin-glazed pottery.

Blue and White Porcelain Tea Cups Compliments of Pixabay

In addition, tea had to be stored in a tea caddy with compartments for different varieties of tea, a crystal blending bowl, and a lock. When serving tea, the mistress would use the paraphernalia to perform a ritual of blending the tea at a table and would often add liqueurs, such as orange brandy, to accompany the offering.

Victorian Tea Caddy, Ebay

This ceremony became so popular that the female character in The Lady’s Last Stake, by Colley Cibber (1708), practically swooned. “Tea! Though soft, though sober, sage, and venerable liquid, though a female tongue-running, smile-smoothing, heart-opening, wink-tipping cordial, to whose glorious insipidity I owe the happiest moment of my life, let me fall prostrate.”

The tradition of the English Afternoon Tea that we know today didn’t emerge until 1840, when Anna Russell, the seventh Duchess of Bedford, a Lady in Waiting of the Bedchamber to Queen Victoria, introduced the concept. The Duchess often felt hungry around four o’clock in the afternoon and couldn’t wait for the evening meal at eight o’clock, so she would ask for a tray of tea, bread, butter, and cake.

But soon, Anna’s habit became a regular ritual, and she invited friends to join her in her room, adding finger sandwiches and various sweets. By the late nineteenth century, the concept caught on among the upper classes of both England and America, and society women adopted the trend, wearing their most fashionable gowns, gloves, and hats in the drawing rooms of their social circles.

Eventually, the tradition became so popular by the late 1800s that upscale inns, hotels and tea rooms offered afternoon tea. One such hotel is the Ritz in London, where they would stage their afternoon tea at the Palm Court with its soft lighting and luxurious chairs.

By the turn of the century, tea became more affordable, and the middle class joined in the tradition. Music became a part of afternoon tea events in the 1920s, and one could be seen enjoying a late afternoon of dance and merriment along with their tea.

 

Many political movements have been discussed over tea. The Revolutionary War started, in part, because of the high taxes imposed on tea. Many conversations about women’s suffrage in England and the United States took place over Afternoon Tea. And Americans wanting to socialize during Prohibition did so over a cup of tea.

 

All over the world, historic hotels, resorts, and inns still serve Afternoon Tea. In the United States, a resurgence of traditional afternoon tea has taken place since the 1990s. Traditional fare includes but is not limited to cucumber sandwiches, egg sandwiches, watercress sandwiches, smoked salmon sandwiches, scones with lemon curd or strawberry jam and clotted cream, Madeira cake, marble cake, and brandy snaps. Americans have also added items like little quiches, chicken, walnut, and cranberry sandwiches, scones with dried fruits, truffles, and brownie bites.

Traditional Scones: Compliments of Pixabay Image by GX6 from Pixabay

Donna and Jim Having a Twentieth Anniversary Tea at the Fairmont Empress Hotel Victoria, Vancouver Island, British Columbia: Donna's Gallery 2004

In September 2024, the Historic Hotels of America® announced their list of the 2024 Top 25 Historic Hotels of America Afternoon Tea Experiences where people can “immerse themselves in a Victorian tradition being preserved and revived across the United States …” Two of the historic hotels on their list exist in my home state of Colorado—The Boulderado in Boulder and the Brown Palace in Denver. View the entire list at Historic Hotels of America®.

Donna and Friends at the Brown Palace Taking Afternoon Tea in Denver: Donna's Gallery 2008

However, if you are a Gen Zer and you’re rolling your eyes at the stuffy traditions of your ancestors, never fear. According to a recent article by Kristy Alpert, published on October 8, 2024 in Food and Wine Magazine, Gen Zers have rediscovered the art of taking afternoon tea. But they've added their own unique flair, reimagining the types of food and varieties of tea offered in a more casual atmosphere than their predecessors. Gen Zers have opted for this more inclusive way of enjoying tea, considering it a more suitable alternative to the traditional ways of the past.

If you'd like to host your own Afternoon Tea in your drawing room, as they did in the Victorian Era, I direct you to my Book Clubs page on my website at https://donnawichelman.com/book-clubs/. You don’t have to belong to a book club to use these suggestions for hosting your own Afternoon Tea, though it may be a great time to start a book club of your own.

Weaving history and faith into stories of intrigue and redemption grew out of Donna's love of travel, history, and literature as a young adult while attending the United World College of the Atlantic--an international college in Wales, U.K. She enjoys developing plots that show how God's love abounds even in the profoundly difficult circumstances of our lives. Her stories reflect the hunger in all of us for love, belonging, and forgiveness.

Donna was a communications professional before writing full-time. Her short stories and articles have appeared in inspirational publications. She has two indie-published romantic suspense novels, Light Out of Darkness and Undaunted Valor, in her Waldensian Series. Her Gilded Age historical romance, A Song of Deliverance, released on December 3, 2024.

Donna and her husband of forty years participate in ministry at their local church in Colorado. They love spending time with their grandchildren and bike, kayak, and travel whenever possible.

Foundations on Mackinac Island - Rocks and Faith

What is your reaction when you see a bulky door with crackling paint and rusted hinges? Or, a church with stones of various shapes and sizes forming walls that hold windows filled with intricate stained glass. Perhaps a stately house sporting uneven bricks surely cured by hands instead of those mass-produced.  What thoughts race through your mind?

What do you think is beyond this gate at right? Who lives there? And for how long? Is this house a new purchase or a family heirloom from the onset of Mackinac Island in the 19th century? Can you imagine all the little feet stepping into an enchanted courtyard? What games did they play over the years?

When I see an old building or other relic from the past, I stop. I cannot help myself. As I stand in awe, I first wonder at the people who turned the creaky handle and opened the thick door to pass through. How many over the years? What did they wear, eat, and how did they work? Did they believe in God? Serve Him? Did they marry? Have children and grandchildren? What prayers emanated from the pews? If the structures are historic, how many walked across the floors? Imagine all the people...

Here is a prime example at left. One glance and ten photos later I was still attempting to ascertain what this was and how it arrived in its present form.This conglomerate rests near the bay in Le Havre, France. Question-inducing to be sure. It appears at face-value to have multiple additions over time using varied styles and materials. Fodder for thought. Itching to go beyond the door, aren't you? Me too. Sadly, that wasn't an option. We will just have to wonder.

A similar sequence of events transpired as we passed the Little Stone Church on Mackinac Island. (Photo at right.) At the onset, I thought this was the only other church on the island aside from St. Anne's. Later as I researched, I learned there are a few other churches that called Mackinac home.

We visited Fort Michilimackinac the last two posts. If you missed the insider details, links are at the bottom. I shared that St. Anne's (built by the French) existed at the original fort (photo below left) and the latter constructed St. Ann's Church (built by the British) remains on Mackinac island (below right).

So how did faith make a way to an island, now home to 500 people and a tourist destination? Jesuit priests delivered Roman Catholicism to the Straits of Mackinac and in 1670, Father Jacques Marquette and his band of Huron landed on Mackinac Island. Though the poor soil discouraged the Huron, and they left a year later. After, Jesuits ministered within the palisade of Fort Michilimackinac beginning in 1715. As the British struggled to defend the fort, they transferred to Mackinac. Not only did they build a new fort, but dismantled and recreated Ste. Anne’s Church on the island. At that time, logs formed the walls, and the building sat along the shore. Eventually, Magdelaine Laframboise, a notable fur trader, donated land near her home. The church moved to its new location in 1820. In exchange of the land, Mme Laframboise asked to be buried under the altar. Father Henri Van Renterghem granted her request after she passed in 1846. There she remained until the church renovations of the 1990s. She was moved to the garden when the museum opened.

The oldest surviving church building in Michigan, known as Mission Church started in 1829. Missionaries Reverend William Ferry and wife, Amanda founded the Protestant church while serving the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Mission,. To fulfill their calling, the couple sought to teach Native American children. With the decline of the fur trade, church attendance waned. The history of the building itself then featured private use, a meeting house, a substitute location for the Catholic church, among other purposes until Mackinac developed as a summer destination in the late 1800s. The restored building held services again in 1895. The State of Michigan assumed ownership in 1955. Now a State Park, from May through October, couples have the option to marry within this historic, New England style church.

In 1899 the Union Church Society formed the Union Congregational Church. In 1904 the construction of this adorable church consisted of assembling walls of fieldstone. If you read the first post on Castle Farms, you learned how farmers joked of the plethora of stones in Michigan. There are three ornate stained-glass windows that shed light on the history of Mackinac Island. From the fur trade to missionary William Ferry. Now an historic site, The Little Stone Church is a popular wedding destination. Visitors can tour the interior of the church and grounds in summer months.

.

The final two churches on Mackinac are Trinity Episcopal Church and Mackinac Island Bible Church. Trinity Episcopal Church as a building was erected in 1882. Yet John O’Brien, an Episcopalian and Irishman, placed the cornerstone in 1842. In 1994, Mackinac Island Bible Church started. This church is unique as it is a church in name of the body, not in a building. The congregation meets at the Mission Point Resort in the theater.

An interesting point many sites offer is while the different congregations sought the same populations, which would seem to foster competition. Due to the nature of the geography, the denominations worked together. Case in point, multiple denominations worshipped inside the Little Stone Church.

For an island with 3.8 square miles in total area, it is home to many churches. Though, consider where we live. On the main street outside my neighborhood, I can count three churches. There are even more in the near vicinity. Are there numerous churches where you live? Are any of them over 350 years old?

If you missed the prior posts on Fort Michilimackinac you can find them here: Unearthing the Past at Fort Michilimackinac and Sneaking Inside the Walls of Fort Michilimackinac.

Sources below if you would like to read a bit more about the Mackinac churches and their histories.
https://steannechurch.org/history/
https://www.mackinacparks.com/blog/historic-mission-church/
https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.14321/j.ctt7zt6cw
https://www.mackinacparks.com/mackinac-venue/historic-mission-church-wedding/
https://www.littlestonechurch.com/history.htm
https://www.mackinacisland.org/blog/post/churches-of-mackinac-island-350-years-of-historic-beauty/

As a child, Rebecca loved to write. She nurtured this skill as an educator and later as an editor for anonline magazine. Rebecca then joined the Cru Ministry - NBS2GO/Neighbor Bible Studies 2GO, at its inception. She serves as the YouVersion Content Creator, with over 130 Plans, in 44 languages on the Bible.com app.

Rebecca lives near the mountains with her husband and a rescued dog named Ranger. She is a proud mom of an American soldier and a college senior. If it were up to Rebecca, she would be traveling - right now. First up, trips to see their two grown sons. As a member of ACFW and FHLCW, she tackles the craft of fiction while learning from a host of generous writers.

Connect with Rebecca: Facebook Goodreads Instagram Pinterest X/Twitter

The Rabbit's Conquest

Blogger: Amber Lemus

Napoleon Bonaparte
Public Domain

In honor of Spring, today we dive into a history of the bunny's most ambitious but little-known conquest. Conquest, you ask. Yes indeed. Bunnies seem so fluffy and innocent, but little did you know that they once set to flight one of the greatest generals in all of history.

It was July of 1807, and the French army under Napoleon Bonaparte was celebrating their victory and the Treaties of Tilsit. Napoleon's Chief of Staff, Louis-Alexandre Berthier, had the idea to host a great rabbit hunt to mark the occasion. He had property near Paris that was perfect for the celebration and the hunt. It was only lacking one thing. Rabbits. And he would need a great number of them for such a grand hunt. He wanted it to be equal to the victory they had experienced and thrill the emperor and his entourage. That was no problem for Berthier, however. He precured one thousand rabbits to be released the morning of the hunt. All was well.

Napoleon and his military officers began the morning with a lavish breakfast at Berthier's property. When they were finished, they made their way down to the park to begin the rabbit hunt. Everything was going exactly as planned.

Then they released the rabbits.

Berthier expected the rabbits to scatter into hiding places so they could be hunted. To behave as rabbits were known to behave. But this particular group of rabbits, the exact number unknown but a horde by all accounts, instead of scattering, began to cluster together. Then, they charged. Running toward the hunters and Emperor Napoleon.

European Rabbit
JM Ligero Loarte, CC BY 3.0 

Initially, the men laughed at the sight. But when the swarm descended upon them, concern began to grow. Berthier thought quickly and assembled a band of coachmen with whips and surrounded the emperor to ward off the swarm of rabbits from him. At first, that seemed to work, and the group of men started to laugh again. Then the unthinkable happened. General Paul Charles François Adrien Henri Dieudonné Thiébault recounted what happened next in his memoir.

They were looking on the incident as a delay - comical, do doubt, but well over - when, by a wheel in three bodies to the right and left, the intrepid rabbits turned the Emperor's flank, attacked him frantically in the rear, refused to quit their hold, piled themselves up between his legs till they made him stagger, and forced the conqueror of conquerors, fairly exhausted, to retreat and leave them in possession of the field.

The rabbits climbed up Napoleon's legs and clung to the sleeves of his jacket. Eventually, the emperor retreated to his carriage, but the rabbits still pursued him. Some historians have described the onslaught as demonstrating “a finer understanding of Napoleonic strategy than most of his generals,”


In addition to the comedic value and irony of this story, there is a deeper moral. It turns out that the rabbits Berthier had acquired were domesticated. Since they hadn't been fed, they swarmed the humans thinking that they would feed them. The moral of the story is that even bunnies can overpower the strongest of men when they are both hungry and united.

*****

Two-time winner of the Christian Indie Award for historical fiction, Amber Lemus inspires hearts through enthralling tales She has a passion for travel, history, books and her Savior. This combination results in what her readers call "historical fiction at its finest".

She lives near the Ozarks in her "casita" with her prince charming. Between enjoying life as a boy mom, and spinning stories out of soap bubbles, Amber loves to connect with readers and hang out on Goodreads with other bookish peoples.

Amber is a proud member of the American Christian Fiction Writers Association. Visit her online at http://www.amberlemus.com/ and download a FREE story by subscribing to her Newsletter!

Unexpected Legacies: Onesimus, The Resilient Slave

 Matthew J. Elliott

Catholic Image of Onesimus

One of my favorite stories in the New Testament has become the story of Onesimus and Philemon. As a young minister to families serving at a church in Arizona in 2015, I wanted to teach some of the lesser-known stories in scripture. My goal was to give them an introduction to all the Pauline letters and to teach them about the life lessons we can learn from each letter. With the letter to Philemon, I honestly struggled a great deal. The lesson in the story was about a slave who ran away from his master, and I did not know how I was going to teach that lesson to a bunch of children.

An interesting thing happened as I read the letter with the mindset that I had to find some type of lesson to teach the children for the next few weeks. I saw beyond the message of the runaway slave who found himself with Paul in Rome. The message that revealed itself to me was a message of love and forgiveness. It was a message of finding freedom in Christ and freedom from our past mistakes. That was a message I could run with and it turned out beautifully. Along the way, I became more and more curious about who Onesimus was and what the purpose of his story truly was. 

With that in mind, I decided to write a devotional study and release it to the world. The message I saw in this short, 25-word letter, was becoming something more than I ever thought it would be. In order to get down to the root of this study, I needed to figure out who Onesimus was, so I began my research. For many days, I continued researching and eventually wrote a short story about the man. He had become somewhat of an obsession and when the study failed out with a publisher; I put it on a shelf and forgot about it for several years. 

Early Painting of Colossae - Biblical History

Something in 2023 jogged my memory, prompting me to reread and continue my story. Amid a lot of changing avenues in my heart and mind, the story rewrote itself. By the end of the year, the story I had written in 2015 had become a full-fledged novel I named Finding Philemon. People asked why not Finding Onesimus, but it wasn’t really about who he was. The story was a message of hope and faith, forgiveness and grace. It was a story that I believed would help people see the Love of God during any situation. 

There is still so much we can learn about Onesimus. The transition of this runaway slave into a prominent early Christian leader offers both inspiration and food for thought. Seeking freedom from enslavement, Onesimus, a slave of Philemon in Colossae, fled his life. Within the Colossian church, Philemon was a highly regarded leader. Many believe that Onesimus stole something of great value from Philemon and ran to avoid dealing with the law. While on the run, he ran into Paul in Rome. Whether his Roman arrest resulted in imprisonment at Paul’s location is uncertain. 

All that we know about this time for both of them is that Paul and his companions ministered to Onesimus and at some point, he became a believer. This unexpected meeting would prove to be a turning point in Onesimus’ life. It became a transformative experience that would show Onesimus his identity and purpose in life. Encouraging and teaching Onesimus, Paul saw potential, yet realized his student’s past prevented advancement. With this mindset, Paul wrote a letter to Philemon explaining all the changes that had taken place within Onesimus and that he had become a brother in Christ. Knowing who Paul was, Philemon accepted Onesimus with open arms and their relationship turned into a ministry partnership. 

Depiction of Onesimus and Paul - Prison

The story of Onesimus does not end with his return to Philemon either. Various traditions offer a deeper story regarding his later life. Many of them suggest he became a leader in his own right and that his impact on the early Christian community was quite significant. He became the bishop of the church in Ephesus and there is support for this in some of the early Christian writings of Ignatius. This not only verifies that he lived on serving the early church, but it also shows how much of a crucial role he must have had. As a bishop, Onesimus would have been responsible for guiding and nurturing the entire Christian community at Ephesus. This is a testament to his growth and transformation.  

With his martyrdom reported in Rome between 105 and 109 AD, this would mean he was the bishop at Ephesus around the time that history places the Apostle John in Ephesus after his imprisonment on the island of Patmos. This shows that Onesimus lived longer than many other leaders of the early church and that he had served alongside many of them, too. The idea of Onesimus as a martyr speaks to his unwavering commitment to faith and a willingness to sacrifice everything for it. I believe his legacy is more about the transformation that took place in his heart along the way. We too can have that same legacy if we will embrace it. What do you believe his unexpected legacy is?

~ Biography ~

Matthew James Elliott (M.J. Elliott) is a passionate writer who loves to encourage and inspire others. He served in various ministry roles for over 15 years, which gave him a unique perspective on people and Biblical History. Matthew holds a degree in Biblical Studies from Oklahoma Wesleyan University, with a focus on Pastoral Care, Christian Education, and Worship.

Matthew and his wife, Traci, have three children named Leyla, Caleb, and Hannah, who bring them immense joy and inspiration. As a writer, his goal is to share love, equip others, and edify them for the greater good. He loves connecting any amount of scripture to his stories and uses his knowledge of Biblical History to do so often.

You can find Matthew's works on Amazon, Goodreads, Facebook, and His Website. He has written Devotionals, An Episodic Series, Novellas, and even Commentaries for The Gospel Daily.

~ Highlighted Release ~

Finding Philemon, The Complete Limited Series is available this week for $9.99.

A Former Slave. His Emotional Journey. Searching For The Way Home.

Are you ready to dive into a captivating series that delves into the journey of a young runaway slave who discovers God in his quest for redemption? Finding Philemon is exactly that kind of series. Follow along on the unexpected journey as Onesimus embarks upon his path of faith and new beginnings.