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Joy out of Ashes: The Staats Family Chronicles

By Saundra Staats McLemore

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Chapter 1
Reflections

June 1775

Anna sat quietly in her parlor, humming to herself as the music of Isaac Watts filled the air. She closed her eyes, leaning back in the rocker, unconsciously holding her stomach as the music brought her comfort. She smiled to herself as the baby kicked, as if he or she was enjoying the music too. Her two nieces were playing a duet on her old spinet organ.

Anna had been giving organ lessons since she married Abraham Staats and moved to New Castle, Delaware seven years earlier. Now that school was out for the summer, she held morning classes for the older students, along with the pre-school children. In addition, she set aside a couple of hours in the afternoon for art lessons.

She had been thinking about the portrait of Abraham and her boys in front of their home that she had nearly completed. Anna was extremely gifted in the art of portraits and landscapes. Upon leaving her hometown of Bound Brook, New Jersey at the tender age of fifteen, she was privileged to study art in Paris, France from the renowned artist Jean-Honoré Fragonard.

Anna moved slightly to adjust the pillow. Her back seemed to ache much more with this baby than when she was carrying Cornelius and Abraham III, who was known as Abram to differentiate from his Grandfather Abe and Father Abraham. This child was due next month and she could hardly wait, as the heat of the summer had already begun. She hoped that maybe this child would share her interest in music or art, because the older two were clearly bound to become furniture builders like their father, uncles, and grandfather.

Her two sons awakened early every morning and were out in the workshop as soon as Abraham and Noah opened the doors. Noah, Abraham’s brother, had moved here seven years ago for a change of scenery, and never left. Over the years, he had courted two girls, but kept saying he was waiting to find the perfect woman – perfect, like the one his older brother had married.

Anna was startled out of her daydreaming as five-year-old Cornelius and three-year-old Abram ran into the room. “Mother, Mother!” Both little boys began talking excitedly at the same time.

Their nanny, Gwendolyn, was right behind them. “I’m sorry to interrupt, Miss Anna, but they wanted to be the first to bring you the news.”

“That’s not a problem, Gwendolyn,” Anna said, smiling as she put a motherly arm around each little boy. “And what is this wonderful news?”


“Grandmother and Grandfather Staats are here!” Cornelius announced with enthusiasm.

“I saw Uncle Samuel and Aunt Naomi and their girls, too!” blurted Abram, not to be left out.

Anna was pleased that Cornelius and Abram still respectfully addressed the family’s best friends, as uncle and aunt, even though they were not related to the little boys.

Anna slowly pushed herself up from her rocker, holding heavily onto the rocker’s arms, and waddled to the window. Sure enough, pulling up to her front gate was her father-in-law’s old wagon with all four of them on board, along with Samuel and Naomi’s three little girls, Martha, Joanna, and Priscilla.
She wondered why they were here so soon. She was not actually expecting them until the next day, so this was a very pleasant surprise.
They had come to New Castle to attend the wedding of Father Abe and Mother Amy’s oldest daughter Mary to Ken Hazzard, the proprietor of Hazzard’s Mercantile in town.

Anna lumbered to the door, throwing it open before they had a chance to knock. She greeted them all with hugs and kisses. Abraham and Noah entered the parlor and the hugs, kisses, and handshakes ensued.

The men opened the pocket doors between the two parlors. Abraham had divided the large gathering room into two parlors right after he and Anna married, so that she could have a front parlor to receive guests, and hold the music classes. He had also turned the first floor study into her art studio, as it had wonderful morning light on the east side of the house. With six bedrooms, they had plenty of room for all their guests who planned to stay until the morning after the wedding.

Gwendolyn served coffee and then gathered the older children outside to the building that housed their kitchen, so that the seven adults could visit in peace and quiet.

Naomi held three-month-old Priscilla on her shoulder, rubbing her back as she peacefully slept. The women sat in one parlor to catch up on their respective families and discuss the wedding, while the men sat in the other parlor to discuss current events.

Mother Amy eyed Anna’s stomach. “When are you due?”

“In about four or five weeks. Well, that’s the best the doctor can guess.” She smiled and added, “I know what you are thinking. This is the biggest I have been with my babies. I don’t think I am carrying twins, as I have never felt movement in two different places. I just think that this is going to be one big baby, and I cannot seem to get comfortable.” Anna shifted, and readjusted the pillow at her back, propping her swollen feet on the ottoman.

“I don’t know what I would do without Gwendolyn,” she continued, once she was more comfortable. “I could never run this household, and teach music and art without her help. I am amazed at how you accomplished so much, and raised ten children, Mother Amy.”

“Please don’t give me too much credit. Keep in mind I had the help of my mother-in-law after each baby. Also, by the time I birthed your husband, I had his four older sisters to help with the younger ones. You only have Gwendolyn. I admire you in all you have been able to accomplish. You not only run your household, but teach at the same time.”

“Thank you, Mother Amy,” Anna said softly. “You always have a way of making me feel special. By the way, speaking of your mother-in-law, how is Grandmother Rachel holding up since the death of Grandfather John, and her bout with apoplexy?”

“Oh, she takes one day at a time. It’s hard to believe it, but they were married sixty-seven years, and it was a long wonderful life together. She and Father John raised five boys, and it would have been a big help if her mother or her mother-in-law had lived nearby. Grandmother Rachel had all the household work to manage herself. I can’t imagine how she did it, but she was – and still is – a very strong woman. Even at eighty-four, and the apoplexy, her mind is as sharp as ever. However, I’m sorry to have to tell you that her speech is slurred, and she now walks with a cane.”

Anna nodded in sympathy. Grandmother Rachel had certainly known how hard life could be.
Changing to a brighter subject, Naomi asked Anna, “Is Mary all set for the wedding?”

“She is, but she seems as nervous as a first time bride. Even though I was just shy of seven, I still remember the day she married Jeremiah. She was so beautiful and they were so happy. I knew that they had been in love for many years. It was so sad when Jeremiah died, leaving her with four little children; but I can tell that she and Ken are very much in love. I suppose it’s a more mature love, and Mary’s children adore him, too. Ken will make them a wonderful father. I have to say how pleased I am that Mary will now have a second chance at happiness. Her girls, Eve and Deborah even work at his mercantile on a regular basis.”

“How old is Mary’s older son James now?” Naomi asked. “He must be almost grown up.”

Anna nodded. “Grown up in many ways. He’s sixteen. He’s been the man of the house since his father died, but he accepts Ken completely. However, I think that both James and his younger brother Luke will remain printers. They worked at the print shop for their father until his death. They have continued to work there all these years for their Uncle Zachariah after he bought the print shop from Mary.”


On the other side of the room, the men were discussing the news in the North. “Well, I suppose we are now officially at war,” Abraham said solemnly.

“Zachariah receives Benjamin Franklin’s Pennsylvania Gazette from Philadelphia. Zachariah’s wife Karin, our New Castle schoolteacher, even teaches the current events to our children. The word is that there were two hundred and seventy-three British soldiers and ninety-three colonists killed at Concord and Lexington in April. Of course, we have to be careful discussing this in town, with some colonists loyal to the crown, and some committed to the revolution. After living in Boston, I’m committed to the revolution, but I can’t let it be known. I’d worry about the safety of Anna, the children, and the future of my business.”

“We’ve received the news at home, too,” replied Abe. “We all have the same dilemma. Bound Brook appears to be split between the crown loyalists and the patriots, mostly over the protest of the Tea Act and the dumping of the tea into the Boston Harbor. However, now that the colonists are protesting the drinking of tea, we discovered this delightful beverage called coffee.” Smiling, he held up his coffee cup.

“Actually, it was during my time in Boston that I really became aware of the cause of the patriots,” Abraham said, with a big sigh. “If I had not moved to Boston eight years ago, I would probably still be ignorant of how the British were treating the colonists. I realized that we were slaves to the crown, and lining the British pockets with our tax money. However, unlike Bound Brook and New Castle, most of the people in Boston are patriots. They don’t need to tread lightly around their neighbors.”

“How does Anna feel about the situation?” asked Samuel. “I know that half her family is English.”

“In the beginning, she was very torn. She wanted to side with me, as her husband, but was worried about the feelings of her two sets of English grandparents. Also, her parents were both born in England. She has discussed the situation with her parents, and it turns out that her English grandparents and her parents all support the patriots. They understand that the colonists have been treated unfairly.”

“I believe that all-out war is on the horizon and that we three will wind up entering this war to defend our liberties,” said Noah, pointing to Samuel, Abraham, and himself.

Abe nodded solemnly as he looked at his two sons and Samuel. The men paused momentarily to consider all the ramifications war would entail.
On a lighter note, Abraham asked his father, “By the way, who’s minding the furniture business at home? Did you leave my twin brothers . . . or my youngest brother Peter in charge?”

All the men chuckled, and shared a few memorable events regarding the boys. The twins, John and William, had quite a reputation in Bound Brook for being pranksters. Although they were eighteen now, and Peter fifteen, Peter at times seemed more mature. It took a preacher from England to cure the mischief-making twins. Anthony Mayne came from England three years ago to become the new preacher, when Preacher John, Abe’s father, was unable to stand long enough to give his weekly sermon.

“I believe as soon as Preacher Anthony met my precocious daughter Elisabeth, he was smitten,” smiled Abe. “I think it’s possible that John and William may have pulled their last prank two years ago.” Turning to Abraham and Noah he said, “Because you two were unable to attend your sister’s wedding, you may not know this story. The night before Elisabeth married Anthony, John and William decided to play a prank on her future husband. Well, they stole Anthony’s breeches, borrowed your mother’s sewing scissors, and cut them off to knee length. When Anthony proceeded to get dressed for the wedding, he was puzzled as to what happened, until he saw the twins peeking in the window at him, and shortly after rolling on the ground in laughter. Fortunately, Anthony’s father had an extra pair of breeches, and came to his son’s rescue.

“However, Anthony was able to get back at them the following week,” continued Abe. “When Anthony saw them enter Mr. Adams’s icehouse, he locked them in and asked Mr. Adams not to let them out for at least four hours. When they eventually were released, they were chilled to the bone. They heard a commotion in the direction of the church and there was Anthony laughing, slapping his knee, looking to the heavens and shouting, ‘Thank you, Lord’. As far as I know, that was the last time John and William played any pranks.”

The men were still laughing when Beth, Anna’s youngest music and art student, and the three-year-old daughter of Karin and Zachariah Schreier, arrived for her lessons. Mother Amy and Naomi excused themselves, and walked over to Mary’s house, while the men returned to the workshop. The family and friends all concurred that they had enjoyed their visit together. It was not often they could get together for such a happy event as a wedding, and it was a pleasant respite from the constant news of war. They feared that very soon their lives would abruptly change.

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