Search Update!!! What luck; I found the duck ...recipe. My "Drunken Duck" recipe has re-appeared today! Happy Dance!!! It was in an old file box I'm slowly clearing out. I wonder what other jewels may surface? I had made two copies of this recipe from a library book and then put both copies in the same place. What was I thinking? The book - a history review of cooking, restaurants, and recipes of the late 1800s - came from the Dover, DE, Library. I think it was long out of print when I checked it out in 1992. The dinner is called "Positively Ducky, A Small Spring Dinner for Four." It's Chapter 29 of the book and begins on page 305. Apparently the recipes were broken down into seasons and the duck recipe came under "Spring." I know everything about this book - except the title and author. I had made photo copies of the pages, stapled them together, and did not bother to reference the book, author, or publisher on the pages. Again, what was I thinking? The menu for this dinner is includes... Crisp Savory Almonds Chilled Spring Green Soup Aromatic Duck (which I named Drunk Duck; it's soaked in Brandy) Gingered Red Cabbage Slaw Fresh Grapefruit Gelatin with Cream I won't copy all the instructions right now - I have birthday treats to prepare - but the marinade/rub for the 5 lb. duck includes... 2 teaspoons black peppercorns 1 teaspoon dried thyme 2 bay leaves, crumbled 6 whole cloves 1 Tbls. coarse Kosher salt 1 Tbls. brown sugar 1 Tbls. gin, vodka, or brandy 1 garlic clove, peeled I am so thankful I found this recipe. A copy will be put in my computer; my friends will have emailed copies, a paper copy will go in a proper file folder and cabinet, and another copy will go in my Betty Crocker cookbook. My ducks will never be served sober again!

I didn't find the receipt you were looking for exactly, but I goggled a couple of things you could check out. Try, cooking in the 1800's, and Duck receipts in the 1800's They had some interesting articles and other things. Hope this helps a bit. Also check wild game receipts for that time frame.

I love this stuff! Every time one of you Ancestry members comes up with exciting facts from the past, I'm tempted to spring for a membership myself. But it's not as though I have genealogy skills, and it's not as though I'm on top of my other projects. Anyway..... Dbfirewife, I took your good suggestion and linked the three children to their parents this morning. I don't know why I didn't do it when I first put them on FindAGrave; I always link. I've noticed that some memorial managers ignore infants completely, and sometimes other children as well. It's as if the little ones don't count because they didn't produce children of their own. But I feel strongly that the babies deserve mention, and their loving parents who erected the stone would certainly want that for them. Joann, so Eva worked in the Hawley silk mill. I know it well. In fact, I have a connection. The enormous silk mill, which now houses a community college and some boutiques, had on the property a separate building that held about $250,000 worth of cocoons (a princely sum in those days). About 5 years ago the owners of Hawley's best restaurant converted it into an upscale coffee house, and during the planning phase hired my daughter-in-law to manage it. She was the perfect choice......not only does she have a degree in business management, but she and my son have always roasted and ground their coffee beans. :-)

We had a friend years ago that was a butcher and had some horrific stories from slaughter houses. He always would say that the terrified animal pumped "poison" throughout it's body. He didn't really mean poison but that the animal's body was full of harmful toxins because it did know what was going to happen. We, in turn, would ingest this junk. He says all you have to do is look into the eyes of the animal as it was being lined up and you could tell that the animal could smell death. I am not a vegetarian all-the-way. I do eat some fish and chicken though not often. I love vegetarian food, though. Tofu, meatless patties etc... are favorites of mine.