The Helonaki Deep Dive: Recent Episodes
Jen
An exploration of mapping and spatial analysis for historical and archaeological projects using open source tools. New episodes every other week! Next episode: Thursday, March 4!
The Venetian records from 1700 record 5 churches in Aigio, but only 3 of them are still extant today. A look at what happened and changes to the town through time using census and other records, traveler accounts, and maps.
A companion page to this episode can be found on the Helonaki website.
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In this episode, we explore differences in the landscape, specifically around locations in the three datasets (1463, 1700, and 1907) by comparing them with each other and with a dataset of 50 random points. The analyses show trends in the landscape of locations through time.
The maps and plots are available on the Helonaki website.
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In this episode the landscape of Vostitsa is described using GIS analyses.
See the accompanying maps and images on the companion page for this episode on the Helonaki website.
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In this episode the spatial data associated with the 3 time periods under study (1463, 1700, and 1910) are discussed.
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An Ottoman defter from 1463, cadastral records from the middle of the 2nd Venetian Period in 1700, and population and agricultural census records from the early 20th century. In this episode, what these data contain is explored since they are the foundation of any possible analysis.
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An update for when new episodes will be coming out on Vostitsa (October) and info about a blog series called Dispatches from Vostitsa from Jen's June visit. Get access by becoming a supporter of the Helonaki Deep Dive on Patreon (for as low as $3 a month).
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The Greek state evolved from an absolute monarchy to democracy, but not without more than a few bumps in the road.
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The Greek Revolution began in 1821 with a series of scattered uprisings and effectively ended with a naval battle. Then came the effort of creating the Greek state...
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The century between the end of the Venetian Period in the Morea and the beginning of the Greek Revolution was a time of unrest and change in the Ottoman Empire and across Europe.
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The Venetians kept losing territory to the Ottomans, until they joined a Holy League and took the Morea. They also blew up the Parthenon, but nobody's perfect.
Show Notes:available at the episode page on the Helonaki website
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The Ottoman Empire started as one of many Turkish tribes in Western Anatolia in the 1200s, but eventually conquered a vast region, including the Byzantine Empire and the Morea. Here we discuss their history and how they took control of the Morea.
Shownotes available at the episode page on the Helonaki website
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Frankish Crusaders had conquered most of the Peloponnese (Morea) by 1212. They had almost 50 years before the reformed Byzantine Empire regained a foothold in the Morea.
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The 4th Crusade in 1204 dramatically changed the Byzantine Empire - including the Peloponnese and Vostitsa. To understand what happened in 1204, we look at some new characters in this story - the Venetians, Normans, and Franks - and the events that led up to the 4th Crusade.
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A quick summary of Roman and Byzantine Vostitsa with some of the ups and downs ending with the state of the Peloponnese and Vostitsa c. 1000 CE.
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Welcome to the second season of The Helonaki Deep Dive! In this episode, Jen explains why Vostitsa, Greece is the topic for this season and describes the physical landscape of Vostitsa.
Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/helonaki)
Preview for the upcoming, 2nd season of The Helonaki Deep Dive on Vostitsa, Greece.
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The 1868 map of the Shackelfords' route, the end of their epic journeys across the United States in the 1860s and of season 1 of The Helonaki Deep Dive.
But do not fear, there will be more Shackelford info and mapping available at shackelford.website and possibly in future episodes of The Helonaki Deep Dive!
Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/helonaki)
The Shackelfords' 1865 route deviated from the canonical Oregon/California trail routes. Those deviations and the data used for Version1.0 of the 1865 route are discussed in this episode.
The next episode ends this season of The Helonaki Deep Dive with a discussion of the 1868 route!
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Abraham Kirkland and his family became close friends with the Shackelfords on the 1865 trip from Missouri to California. In this episode, Jen discusses that relationship, the Kirklands penchant for naming children after relatives and blacksmithing.
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A third family set out with the Shackelfords and Gatewoods from Clark County, Missouri on May 1, 1865. The family of Mr. Rhyne and his daughters. In this episode, a look at the Rhyne family from Ruth's diary and other sources, and the questions that are yet unanswered.
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Atwell B. Gatewood was born in Stafford County, Virginia and moved when young to Missouri. In this episode, his family is explored and then the three families of the adults of the Shackelford-Gatewood familes on the 1865 journey (Galloway, Shackelford, and Gatewood) are compared.
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Ruth's husband, William Franklin Shackelford, who she called Frank, was born in Culpeper Co. Virginia, but came to maturity in Missouri. In trying to understand the Shackelfords' 1865 and 1868 travels, we look at Frank and his family.
Trigger warning Slavery and rape are discussed, but not in detail, in this episode.
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In 1855, William Franklin Shackelford's uncle Caleb and aunt Frances filed a bill of complaint against another aunt, Sarah, and a man named Benjamin Matthews over land that had been left to William's great-aunts Nancy, Polly, and Caty in 1810. This complicated case reveals a great deal about the Shackelford family in Culpeper County, Virginia in the late 1700s and early 1800s that would otherwise be unknown.
Next episode: William Franklin Shackelford
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Ruth Galloway Shackelford was born and raised in Boone County, Missouri, in a family that had emigrated from Kentucky. Ruth's family and upraising formed her character, which is evident in her diaries. She was not alone in being reluctant to uproot her family to travel to California, as is evident from the testimony from other women in Lillian Schliessel's book "Women's Diaries of the Westward Journey".
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Back from an excavation vacation, Jen discusses deep mapping as a framework for studying the Shackelfords' journeys in 1865 and 1868. Included is a discussion of geography, spaces vs. places, and how Jen intends to create a Shackelford deep map for public consumption.
Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/helonaki)
The last entry of Ruth Shackelford's published 1868 diary ends as the Shackelfords were about to cross the Red River from Texas to Indian Territory (present-day Oklahoma). From other sources, we know the Shackelfords did return to Missouri. In this episode, we'll explore their probably route for the end of their travels, summarize what happened to them after they returned to Missouri, and discuss on-going questions about their travels.
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Mr. Atwell Gatewood had been a widower for almost 3 years, raising 3 boys by himself, although probably with help from the Shackelfords. While in Hood county Texas, he meets and marries Miss Oxier, changing the dynamics of the group.
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The Shackelfords and their traveling companions, the Kirklands and Gatewoods, stopped at Center Mills, Hood county, Texas for a month to rest their horses. Ruth's account of their time in Hood county can be put into context with local histories, but her descriptions of the area and events also add facts and color to those local histories.
Show notes on the Helonaki website!
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In late June 1868, the Shackelfords reached Horsehead Crossing on the Pecos River in west Texas. Ruth wrote vividly about the crossing and in this episode, Jen examines their experience in light of other travelers. Plus an update on mapping progress!
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On June 23-24, 1868 the Shackelfords crossed paths at Barilla Station with the family of Harriet Bunyard who were traveling from Texas to California. In this episode, Jen discusses Barilla Station, crossing paths, Buffalo Soldiers, and progress on mapping using BLM GLO plat maps.
Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/helonaki)
On May 17, 1868, the Shackelfords traveled through Apache Pass, the site of much fighting between the U.S. Army and the Chiricahua Apache, due to its strategic position. In this episode, Jen provides context about Apache Pass and the Apache Wars, which began with events at the pass.
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In April 1868, the Shackelfords were traveling beside the Gila River (which Ruth called "the Heeley") along the Butterfield Overland Mail Route. In this episode, Jen discusses in-law etiquette, the Butterfield Overland Mail Route, and the roadmap for Shackelford maps.
Show Notes:
Helonaki website
Patreon
Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/helonaki)
On Wednesday, April 8, 1868, the Shackelfords left San Bernardino, California for Texas and ultimately, Missouri. Who was traveling with the Shackelfords on this journey and how did Ruth feel about being on the road again? Also in this episode, some contemplation about lying maps.
Shownotes:
Helonaki website
Patreon
Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/helonaki)
The last entry of Ruth Shackelford's 1865 diary is on November 5, 1865 signifying the end of their journey from Missouri to California. But reaching this entry is only the beginning of the research on the Shackelfords' journey and the middle of mapping their 1865 path.
Show notes on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/posts/48322976
Show notes on Helonaki website: https://www.helonaki.com/blog/2021-03-04-shackelford-ending-beginning-middle
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Partly in honor of Black History Month (February) and also because it's fascinating, in this episode Jen relates insights from the book "Sweet Freedom's Plains" by Shirley Ann Wilson Moore about the experiences of Black people on the western trails. Did the Shackelfords interact with Black people on their travels, and if so, did Ruth record those interactions? Jen discuss the possibilities and also gives an update on exporting the Shackelford location data from nodegoat.
Show Links:
Disclosure: I am an affiliate of Bookshop.org and I will earn a commission if you click through and make a purchase from a Bookshop link.
- Sweet Freedom's Plains (Bookshop link)
- Sweet Freedom's Plains (NPS pdf)
- Covered Wagon Women, Bison Books with previews
- James Michener's Texas (Bookshop link)
- nodegoat research environment
Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/helonaki)
The Shackelfords traveled to California mostly following the regular trail, until they reached Utah. In this episode, Jen discusses the various trails to California and who should get credit for those trails. Then she describes (perhaps in agonizing detail, sorry) her process for adding Indigenous territories to the locations mentioned by Ruth Shackelford in her diary. It's a work-in-progress that needs a lot of work...
Show Notes:Disclosure: I am an affiliate of Bookshop.org and I will earn a commission if you click through and make a purchase from a Bookshop link.
- Covered Wagon Women series, University of Oklahoma Press
- Covered Wagon Women, Volume 9. Kindle Edition
- NPS National Historic Trails Viewer
- National Park Service Data Portal
- Oregon Trail, Wikipedia article
- Mormon Road or Southern Route, Wikipedia article
- Old Spanish Trail, Wikipedia article
- An Indigenous Peoples' History of the United States, by Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz (Bookshop link)
- Rediscovering the Americas by David Wade Chambers
- Studio 1:1, Dr. Margaret Pearce
- This Is How We Name Our Lands, Dr. Margaret Pearce
- Coming Home to Indigenous Place Names in Canada, Dr. Margaret Pearce
- Native American Spaces: Cartographic Resources at the Library of Congress
- Native-Land.ca map
- Native Land Api Docs
- QGIS Join attributes by location, Q-tips
Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/helonaki)
One of the issues I've grappled with since before beginning this project was how to put the Shackelfords' journey into context, especially with regard to Indigenous peoples. This episode is the beginning of a conversation grappling with what is owed to Indigenous peoples and how to include and center them in research, such as mapping Ruth Shackelford's diaries.
Disclosure: I am an affiliate of Bookshop.org and I will earn a commission if you click through and make a purchase from a Bookshop link.
A guide to Indigenous land acknowledgement
Territory acknowledgement
Native-Land.ca map
When Rivers Were Trails, video game
Prairie Fires: The American Dreams of Laura Ingalls Wilder, by Caroline Fraser (Bookshop link)
An Indigenous Peoples' History of the United States, by Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz (Bookshop link)
The 1619 Project
Stamped From The Beginning: The Definitive History of Racist Ideas in America, by Ibram X. Kendi (Bookshop link)
Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents, by Isabel Wilkerson (Bookshop link)
Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/helonaki)
Happy New Year! Jen took a break from mapping over the holidays and instead played the game Oregon Trail. This episode also includes a discussion of illnesses pioneers suffered and a new source for information about the Shackelfords' journey!
Show links:
- Poll: Next step in mapping pioneer trails
- Covered Wagon Women series, University of Oklahoma Press
- Covered Wagon Women, Volume 9. Kindle Edition
- Greene County Iowa Historical Society, The killer diseases of pioneer times.
- Oregon Trail Center, Historical Trails
- NPS Scotts Bluff, Death and Danger Along the Trails
- Mapping disease, John Snow and Cholera, Royal College of Surgeons of England
- The Oregon Trail on Internet Archive
- Days On The Road, Crossing the Plains in 1865 by Sarah Raymond Herndon on Google Books
Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/helonaki)
The Shackelfords traveled near Fort Kearney on June 9-10, 1865 and passed through the towns of Dogtown and Doby . . . neither of which exist today. In this episode, Jen discusses music along the trail and how she solved the mystery of where Dogtown and Doby were located.
Show notes and transcript: here
Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/helonaki)
TW: Description of death along the trail (1:15-1:34) and discussion about death in Shackelford's diary and in present day (2:45-5:32).
The first death Ruth Shackelford recorded during her journey, but certainly not the last, was on May 17, 1865. The entries from May 16 and 17, 1865 also provide good examples of problems identifying streams from the diary. And a new feature: Listener Q&A!
Link to show notes and transcript
Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/helonaki)
On May 1st, 1865, Ruth Shackelford's family set out for California from Missouri in their covered wagon. In this episode, Jen describes the beginning of her journey mapping Ruth Shackelford's diary.
Link to show notes and transcript
Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/helonaki)
An introduction to The Helonaki Deep Dive podcast hosted by Jen Glaubius of The Helonaki. On the podcast, Jen explores mapping and spatial analysis for historical and archaeological projects using open source tools.
Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/helonaki)