May 2013 – Thomas Macy

What is Expedient Sin?

What is “expedient” sin, and how often might we overlook it?

“The Southerners” is the fifth segment in The Courage of Your Faith series. In 1696, William Screven moved with less than 30 of his followers from Kittery, Maine, to a plantation they called Somerton (or Summerton) outside of Charles Town in the Province of Carolina. Those folks around Charles Town that had a spiritual mindset dealt with two outstanding issues…prostitution and drunkenness.

Men and women often came to Charles Town as indentured servants with the promise of land after working for a period of time. Women soon found they could reduce the time of service by sleeping with the “master.” After receiving the land, working it was often too difficult for women. As they turned to other professions, they frequently found that working in a brothel could earn in one night what might take 6 months in another occupation. Being one of the largest port cities in the Colonies, Charles Town had a market for such establishments. Even the religious often looked the other way.

Drunkenness was a problem purportedly because of the brackish water. Alcohol covered the bad taste, so it was claimed. While this may have had a positive effect on the water quality, it also resulted in people being “tyed by the Lipps to a pewter engine.” One story says that an Anglican Commissary was so drunk he tried to baptize a bear. (If you take the story link, search on “bear”.

Request for “Second Fury” Critiques

I am now working on the sequel to First Fury—Second Fury—which follows Ann on the next leg of her “journey” and am looking for friends to critique the first three chapters. Let me know if you would be interested in helping with that. For those who give feedback, I will provide a free download of Second Fury in whatever eBook format you wish when it is complete.

Ann’s Home in Rochester, NY

In 2002, I took a business trip to Rochester, New York. Sandy went with me; and, after the work was done, we spent some time tracking the path followed by Ann. Since she gave her address as 22 Oak Street in Rochester, we began there. The Erie Canal at that point no longer exists, though one can still see where it once was. From 22 Oak Street, the Kodak Office building is seen in the distance. The street ends at Frontier Stadium. On the First Fury web site “Pictures, Notes, and Docs” link, you can find an 1851 map and more pictures.

According to The Rochester Daily Democrat of August 22, 1849, page 2, column 2, “The Rochester Sailor Girl,” Ann said she was abandoned in Port Jackson but that Port Gibson is what she meant. So we traveled to Port Gibson, east of Rochester. Since 2002, our pictures of Port Gibson have been “misplaced.” We will need another trip to take contemporary pictures of the place where she cut her hair, bound herself, and donned the dress of a man.