Tuesday, August 7, 2007

Yankee Jigs and country dances: Weddings on the Cranberry Isles

Hugh L. Dwelley's "A History of Little Cranberry Island, Maine," p. 119, has descriptions of the first wedding known to be held in the Cranberry Isles, plus social events on Islesford:
When British Captain William Owen visited the Isaac Bunker family on Great Cranberry in 1770, he performed a wedding and then noted that "a great time was had by all." ... Island neighbors attended []. Very likely someone played a fiddle or a banjo. Rum, cider, and a haunch of beef were consumed and Captain Owen wrote: "The evening was spent in Yankee jigs and country dances, much innocent mirth & social glee."