Thanks - we were wondering if it was maybe the King's birthday, and later
George Washington's.  ATW
----- Original Message -----
From: "Grundset, Eric" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Friday, March 29, 2002 2:59 PM
Subject: Re: Birth Night Festivities


> I poked around in a few things, found one reference in Swem, and didn't
> learn a whole lot other that it was an annual event (vol. 26 Virginia
> Magazine of History and Biography). Bet someone at Colonial Williamsburg's
> Library would know.
>
> Eric G. Grundset
> Library Director
> DAR Library
> 1776 D St., N.W.
> Washington, DC 20006-5392
> 202-879-3313
> [log in to unmask] <mailto:[log in to unmask]>
>
>
>         -----Original Message-----
>         From:   Brent Tarter [SMTP:[log in to unmask]]
>         Sent:   Friday, March 29, 2002 2:20 PM
>         To:     [log in to unmask]
>         Subject:        Re: Birth Night Festivities
>
>         I think that references before the Revolution are almost certainly
> to
>         commemorations of the king's and/or queen's birth. Afterward, I
> shouldn't be
>         surprised to find that the tradition transformed into a
> commemoration of
>         George Washington's birth.
>
>         Brent Tarter
>         The Library of Virginia
>         [log in to unmask]
>
>         Visit the Library of Virginia's web site at
http://www.lva.lib.va.us
>
>
>         -----Original Message-----
>         From: Alyson L. Taylor-White [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
>         Sent: 29 March, 2002 2:01 PM
>         To: [log in to unmask]
>         Subject: Birth Night Festivities
>
>
>         This one has us stumped.  The reference to attendance in 18th
> century
>         Virginia of "Birth Night Balls" and other festivities seems to
refer
> to the
>         King prior to the Revoluntion, and continues to have some context
> after the
>         war.  What were "Birth Night Balls" for, and where does the
> tradition come
>         from - someone's birthday like the monarch?  These references have
> mostly
>         been discovered in letters from young ladies who are anticipating
> these
>         exciting events in the "Metropolis" of Richmond circa 1790s.
Thanks!
>
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