Tuesday, April 09, 2013

A Curious Fact

I recently began reading James E. White's 2012 book, "Paradise Lost, An Oral History of Portsmouth Island." In 1880 the population of Portsmouth had declined to 226 people. White remarks that "Education that year is very interesting to say the least."

He explains: "Lilian Hancock was given as the school teacher, even though she was listed as being illiterate."

I guess they did the best they could, with the resources they had!

Our latest Ocracoke Newsletter is a video of Philip Howard telling the story of the 1861 wreck of the Black Squall. You can watch it here: http://www.villagecraftsmen.com/news032113.htm.

3 comments:

  1. Anonymous7:32 AM

    Good morning, Philip,

    A check of the Internet shows that White also wrote a book called "Portsmouth Island: A Walk in the Past." I'd venture to guess you may have read that one as well. Any thoughts you'd care to share in terms of reviews of these books?

    Thanks, as always.

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    Replies
    1. Actually, "Paradise Lost" is the only one of James White's books that I own. I bought it recently, and I've only read about half of it. I pick it up now and then to read snippets. The book is a great resource for first-hand accounts of life on Portsmouth, since he records interviews and other oral history from residents (or former residents).

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  2. Toni W.4:44 PM

    Another way of life from what most of us can even imagine. I think I would have loved it but I am sure that it was very tough at times.

    ReplyDelete