Posted on 10/04/2009 4:56:02 PM PDT by luckybogey
Burns: My grandmother would often use mayonnaise applied directly to the burn area.
Acme, pimples, Skin infection, etc: One full Tablespoon of Nutmeg, repeat as necessary. My grandmother said this would “cure the blood”.
Castol Oil: May be use as a laxative. My grandmother would try to give me a tablespoon of castol oil whenever constipated however I could never swallow this stuff and would always gag. She gave up after many attempts of chasing me around the house.
Sunburn: Vinegar. I used to sunburn often and my grandmother always would apply vinegar on a cloth and lightly pat the affected areas. Works great however the smell will usually chase away your friends.
Bee/Ant Stings: My grandmother would always apply moistened snuff (from her mouth) on her finger directly to the sting. Note: My grandmother’s favorite snuff was Strawberry.
Chicken Pox Cure: I will always remember when I had chicken pox in my early childhood. My grandmother wrapped me in a blanket, called a friend and they drove me down to Mrs. Shepphard’s farmhouse. I was taken out to the back yard and placed in the chicken coop. The chickens then started to fly over me for about 15 minutes. I was then taken back home and the next day my chicken Pox was cured.
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I know a little bit about this sort of thing, even have an old, handwritten recipe for treating “the grippe” (Spanish Influenza) one of my grandmothers used, back then. She went from house to house with it; the locals credited her with saving a lot of people. Chief ingredient is pine needles, with a variety of other local plants and such, made into a tincture with alcohol.
I was told that this came down from a Cherokee ancestor. Now, just about every old southern family has a legendary Cherokee in the family tree, way back. But, turns out there actually was one in this instance; I found her in German language records kept by the Moravian Brethern (Brethren). Catherine, no last name. Kidnapped along with her son, my 4th great, by the Cherokee.
Major Hugh Waddell led the militia to get them back, but only retrieved the son. His father, my 5th great, was killed during that expedition, so he was orphaned, since his mother Catherine was never seen again. He was bound out to Benjamin Merrell.
Merrell was later a captain in the Regulators, captured and hung by the colonial government following The Battle of Alamance.
And so, you have one of the reasons I selected the reference to a George Washington quote that I chose as my FR screen name.
Sorry for the impromptu historical tour of NC, lol. I get carried away sometimes.
Now I have used the vinegar on sunburn. Usually the sunburn would be cured in about 7 days. Otherwise, it took a week of suffering.
There is something in moistened tobacco which does draw out the bee venom. I’ve used that one before. It works. Meat tenderizer does the same thing.
I wish I had heard about the chicken cure for chicken pox. Hubby is just now getting over a very bad case of shingles.
Interesting story, thanks. I have tried to trace my family back but some branches didn’t leave many tracks.
Records can be found in surprising places, such as church records like those of the Moravians at the paling fort in Bethabara, that I mentioned.
Census and pension applications from the Revolution and Civil War are another good source, barring other records.
If you know approximately where they entered into the country or the colonies, that might be a start as well. Spelling was very loose then, so names that sound sort of like what you’re looking for might actually be what you’re looking for. Genealogical “Soundex” files are a way to approach this.
I don’t know where any of them came from or where they settled first, Virginia, North Carolina south Carolina probably. they were all of English ancestry as far as I know. As far as I can tell all the branches of my family arrived in Texas by wagon some as early as the 1820’s and all before the 1860’s.
If you want to give me a surname or two with known dates and locations, I’ll give it a look, FReepmail it privately if you need to, and I’ll respond via FReepmail. Associate surnames with suspected earlier location, before Texas. Spouse surnames where known, too.
I enjoyed reading the NC history and your reference to the Cherokees.
I’m 12th generation and most likely 13th. My family moved from Westmoreland County, Virginia to Edgecombe County, North Carolina in 1757.
According to my records, a family member enlisted in 1782 in Captain John Giles Company of Colonel Grace’s Regiment of the North Carolina Troops at Kingston, North Carolina on the Neuse River.
They were stationed at Smithfield and marched to Rockfish Bridge near the Cape Fear River where they were in a skirmish with the British.
Another family member enlisted in Captain Johnson’s Company of the Onslow County, North Carolina Militia commanded by Colonel John Spicer and they marched to Wilmington after the British evacuation.
My family later moved from Wayne County, North Carolina to South Carolina and then to Georgia. Once in Georgia, they acquired their most of their land in the 1805 and 1807 Land Lotteries.
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