Sultan Husayn Bayqara Mirza ( / Husayn Bāyqarā; June/July 1438 – 4 May 1506) was the Timurid ruler of Herat from 1469 until May 4, 1506, with a brief interruption in 1470.

A skilled statesman, Sultan Husayn Bayqara was best known for his interest in the arts and was renowned as a benefactor and patron of learning in his kingdom, with his reign being heralded as the second Timurid Renaissance. He has been described as "the quintessential Timurid ruler of the later period in Transoxiana" and his sophisticated court and generous artistic patronage was a source of admiration, particularly from his cousin, the Mughal emperor Babur. Sultan Husayn Bayqara was the last Timurid ruler of consequence in Khorasan.

Early life and lineage
Born in Herat in June or July 1438, Husayn Bayqara's parents were Ghiyas ud-din Mansur Mirza of the Turco-Mongol Barlas tribe and his wife, Firuza Sultan Begum. His parents had four other children; a son, Bayqara Mirza II, as well as three daughters, Aka Biki, Badi al-Jamal and Urun Sultan Khanum.

Husayn's father was a great-grandson of the Central Asian conqueror Timur. His mother was the daughter of Sultan Husayn of the powerful Tayichiud tribe, for whom he was named. Firuza was also herself a great-granddaughter of Timur twice over. Both his parents were also descendants of the Mongol Emperor, Genghis Khan. In addition to this, he claimed descent in the ninth generation from Khwaja Abdullah Ansari of Herat, also known as Pir-e-Herat (Sage of Herat).

Husayn's father Ghiyas ud-din died when he was 7 or 8 years old. Given that the latter was not a noteworthy personality in the Timurid family, Husayn adopted the name Bayqara after his more illustrious grandfather, Bayqara Mirza I. After consulting with his mother, Sultan Husayn (now Sultan Husayn Bayqara) entered the service of his older cousin, Abul-Qasim Babur Mirza, ruler of Herat in 1452. Abul-Qasim Babur Mirza was considered an incompetent ruler. He mismanaged his territory and went into battle against Abu Sa'id Mirza, the Timurid ruler of Samarkand. Husayn Bayqara, not happy with his employment, tried to go over to Abu Sa'id Mirza by meeting with him. Although Abu Sa'id was inclined to take him into his service, a rebellion on part of Husayn Bayqara's relative, Sultan Awais Mirza, son of Muhammad Mirza, son of Bayqara Mirza, induced Abu Sa'id to arrest Husayn Bayqara and other relatives as a precaution. Eventually on the plea of his mother, Firuza Begum, he was freed and he rejoined Abul-Qasim Babur Mirza till the latter's death two years later.

Period of Anarchy in Khurasan
Following Babur's death in 1457, a period of anarchy ensued in Khurasan. Economic instability and lack of central authority with frequent regime changes invited the invasion of the region by the ruler of Samarkand, Abu Sa'id Mirza who occupied Herat on July 19, 1457. But Abu Sa'id Mirza immediately abandoned the city in order to deal with troubles at home. Next came the invasion of the Kara Koyunlu leader, Jahan Shah who took Mazandaran. During this chaotic time Khurasan was divided into many territories;
Asterabad to Sabzevar – Muzaffar-al-Din Jahan Shah ibn Yusuf of Kara Koyunlu
Balkh – Abu Sa'id Mirza, ruler of Transoxiana
Abivard – Ala al-Dawla Mirza
Herat – Ibrahim Mirza
Tus & Imad Fortress – Shah Mahmud Mirza
Marv – Sultan Sanjar Mirza
Sistan, Farah & Isfizar – Malik Qasim ibn Amir Iskander Turkmen, an Amir.

In Merv and Khwarazm
Husayn Bayqara, unable to compete with these rivals, adopted the life of a mercenary and joined Sultan Sanjar Mirza of Merv who married him to his daughter, Beqa Sultan Begum. To them was born Badi' al-Zaman Mirza.

Sultan Sanjar Mirza and Husayn Bayqara got along well, but in June/July 1457 when Sanjar appointed Husayn in charge of the city while he was absent, Husayn tried to take power. This was due to him suspecting that the chief dignitary, Hasan Arlat was plotting to kill him. Amirs loyal to Sanjar revolted and the attempt failed. Husayn Bayqara was forced to escape with just five horsemen. But outside the city he was joined by the head of security of trade caravans of Iranji sector, Hasan Charkas and his 200 men. This would become Husayn Bayqara's first mercenary force. To solidify this new relationship, he married Hasan Charkas' daughter, Afāk Begum.

He was chased by Sanjar Mirza to Karakum Desert. He was continuously pursued until he was forced to march towards Khwarazm, where he remained between the deserts of Marv and Khiva.

Timurid-Kara Koyunlu Conflict
Recognizing the weakness of Timurid authority in Herat, Jahan Shah invaded and took the city on June 28, 1458, which was now occupied by Ibrahim Mirza's father, Ala al-Dawla Mirza. But Abu Sa'id Mirza could not tolerate this and after negotiations, Jahan Shah decided to return territorial demarcation to Shah Rukh's times. Thus, Khurasan, Mazandaran and Jurjan were returned to the Timurids and Abu Sa'id Mirza returned and took Herat a second time on December 22, 1458.

Conflict with Abu Sa'id Mirza
Husayn Bayqara had now mustered a force of 1,000 men and took Jurjan on October 19, 1458 from the Kara Koyunlu. Abu Sa'id Mirza invaded Jurjan, which Husayn Bayqara hastily abandoned and fled towards Khwarazm again. Abu Sa'id Mirza appointed his son, Sultan Mahmud Mirza as Jurjan's governor. When Husayn Bayqara learned that Abu Sa'id Mirza had left Herat to crush the rebellion of his relative Muhammad Juki, he attacked Jurjan again and at the Battle of Jauzi Wali in May 1461, he defeated Sultan Mahmud Mirza and appointed Abdal-Rahman Arghun the territory's governor.

However, he could not follow up this victory when he besieged Herat from August–October 1461. Abu Sa'id Mirza returned and Husayn Bayqara again fled towards Khwarazm, from where he began making pillaging raids into Khurasan; these raids were conducted in earnest starting in 1464. Seeking to protect himself against Abu Sa'id, he requested the help of the Uzbeks. But that help never came since Abul-Khayr Khan, the Uzbek leader died in 1468. This period of 8 to 10 years was the worst in Husayn Bayqara's life. He wandered from one place to the next at times in dire straits.

Becoming ruler of Khurasan
When Abu Sa'id Mirza went to war against the Aq Qoyunlu, he was defeated at the Battle of Qarabagh and captured. The leader of the Aq Qoyunlu, Uzun Hasan handed him over to the 19-year-old Timurid Yadgar Muhammad Mirza, who had him executed. Upon Abu Sa'ids death, the Timurid Empire collapsed. Taking advantage of Abu Sa'id Mirza's absence, Husayn Bayqara had again entered Khurasan and besieged Herat which he finally captured on March 24, 1469. Thus he became the ruler of Khurasan. The sons of the late Abu Sa'id Mirza attempted to march against him, but turned back when they learned that not only had Husayn Bayqara consolidated his control over the city, but the defeated army of their father had joined him.

Conflict with Aq Qoyunlu and Yadgar Muhammad Mirza
Meanwhile, Uzun Hasan sent his protege, Yadgar Muhammad Mirza, to conquer Khurasan. Husayn defeated Yadgar at the Battle of Chenaran on September 15, 1469, but the latter was sent reinforcements. Uzun Hasan demanded that Husayn hand over various Kara Koyunlu officials who had fled to him, a demand which Husayn refused. Yadgar therefore continued his assault, and Husayn was unable to match his forces due to mass desertions. He ended up fleeing Herat, which was occupied on July 7, 1470. Six weeks later, Husayn reoccupied the city after raising a fresh force and defeating the sons of Abu Sa'id, who were attempting to advance into the region. He captured Yadgar and executed him.

Husayn's empire was now secure. The Aq Qoyunlu made no further attempts against him, and the Timurids in Transoxiana were too weakened by internal conflicts to advance into his territory. His boundary with the Aq Qoyunlu started on the southern edge of the Caspian Sea, running south, then east across the north of the Dasht-e Lut, ending at Lake Hamun. His border with the Timurids was the Oxus River. He more or less respected both borders, refusing to cross north in an attempt to capture Transoxiana from his former enemies. He was probably aware of the Uzbek threat to the region, and was wise enough not to pursue a border with this dangerous tribal people.

Administration
Husayn was viewed as "a good king, a lover of peace and justice", and he built numerous structures including a famous school; however, he was sick with a palsy for twenty years of his reign. He was forced to deal with several revolts and incursions. In 1490 the brother of Husayn's son Ibrahim Husain's guardian, Darvish 'Ali, conspired with Sultan Mahmud, who by that time ruled in Hisar. Mahmud moved against Balkh, which Ibrahim resided in, forcing Husayn to mobilize against him. Some years later, Husayn transferred his eldest son, Badi' al-Zaman, from Astarabad (renamed Gorgan in 1937) to Balkh, but Badi' revolted when his son Muhammed Mu'min was denied rule in Astarabad. Husayn defeated both Muhammed, whom he executed, and Badi', whom he reconciled with. The truce fell apart afterwards, however, and in 1499 Badi' besieged Herat.

Husayn Bayqara introduced a ban on the drinking of wine  and the shaving of beards.  He said that "Although in the days of some [other rulers], the principles of the Sharia and the community of Islam were at the mercy of heretics ... (in his time) the arms of the Holy Law and the laws of the Prophet are so strong that...." going on to boast about how his police maintained morality.

Uzbek threat
In 1501 the Uzbeks conquered Transoxiana from the Abu Sa'id's grandson, Babur. Under Muhammad Shaybani, the Uzbeks could now threaten Khurasan. Suffering from the effects of advanced age, Husayn made no move against them, even after Babur advised him to act. The Uzbeks began conducting raids into his kingdom. Finally changing his mind, he began to march against them but died in 1506 just after beginning his advance. The inheritance of his empire was disputed between his sons Badi' and Muzaffar Husain. Babur, who had begun an expedition in support of Husayn, noted the infighting between the brothers, decided the area was impossible to defend and retreated. The next year, Muhammad Shaybani conquered Herat and caused Husayn's successors to flee, putting an end to Timurid rule in Khurasan.

Culture
Husayn Bayqara was notably a patron of arts and literature, particularly of poets, which led to the blossom of literal culture in Herat. The leading poets of the court were Jami (died 1492) and Ali-Shir Nava'i (died 1501). The former is acknowledged as the last of the great classical Persian poets, while the latter is renowned for being the founder of Chagatai Turkic literature. Under Husayn Bayqara, the amalgation of the cultural sphere of the Turks and Persians reached its zenith, as demonstrated by his support and involvement in the literary culture of both languages. Regardless, Persian remained the dominant language of realm.

Family
Consorts
Husayn had twelve consorts:
Bega Sultan Begum (m. 1457 - div., died 1488), daughter of Sanjar Mirza of Merv, son of Mirak Ahmad Mirza, son of Umar Shaikh Mirza, son of Timur;
Tulak Begum known as Chuli Begum (div.), daughter of Husayn Sufi, a chief of the Azaks, and sister of Amir Yusuf Sufi Jandar;
Shahr Banu Begum (m. 1469 - div.), daughter of Sultan Abu Sa'id Mirza;
Payanda Sultan Begum, another daughter of Sultan Abu Sa'id Mirza;
Khadija Begi Agha, daughter of Amir Muhammad Sarik bin Amir Muhammad Khawaja, and widow of Abu Sa'id Mirza;
Zainab Sultan Begum, daughter of Amir Taj-al-din Hasan bin Nizam-al-din Charkas;
Afak Begum, another daughter of Amir Taj-al-din Hasan bin Nizam-al-din Charkas;
Zobayda Sultan Aghacha, daughter of Hasan bin Hussain Sheikh Taimur, of the race of the Shaban Sultans;
Latifa Sultan Aghacha, daughter of Amir Sultan Husayn Chaharshanba and a relative of Jahan Shah;
Mangeli Bi Aghacha, an Uzbek concubine, and former slave girl of Shahar Banu Begum;
Baba Aghacha, daughter of Khawaja Muhammad Ataka, and foster sister of Afak Begum;
Begi Sultan Aghacha, a concubine, and mother of Afrasiyab Mirza;

Sons
Husayn had eighteen sons:
Badi' al-Zaman Mirza — with Bega Sultan Begum;
Shah Gharib Mirza — with Khadija Begi Agha;
Muzaffer Hussain Mirza — with Khadija Begi Agha;
Abul Hassan Mirza — with Latifa Sultan Aghacha;
Muhammad Muhsin Mirza — with Latifa Sultan Aghacha;
Abu Tarab Mirza — with Mangeli Bi Aghacha;
Muhammad Hussain Mirza — with Mangeli Bi Aghacha;
Feridun Hussain Mirza — with Mangeli Bi Aghacha;
Haidar Muhammad Mirza — with Payanda Sultan Begum;
Muhammad Ma'asum Mirza — with Baba Aghacha;
Farrukh Hussain Mirza — with Baba Aghacha;
Ibrahim Hussain Mirza — with Baba Aghacha;
Ibn Hussain Mirza - with Baba Aghacha;
Muhammad Qasim Mirza — with Baba Aghacha;
Afrasiyab Mirza — with Begi Sultan Aghacha;
Masum Ali Mirza - Latifa Sultan Aghacha;
Sultan Jahangir Mirza — with Khadija Begi Agha;
Jahangir Husain Mirza — with Khadija Begi Agha;

Daughters
Husayn had eighteen daughters:
Zainab Sultan Begum known as Sultanim Begum - with Tulak Begum, married firstly to Sultan Wayis Mirza, son of Bayqara Mirza and Sa'adat Bakht Begum, married secondly to Abdul Baqi Mirza, son of Usman Mirza, son of Sidi Ahmad Mirza, son of Miran Shah;
Ak Begum - with Payanda Sultan Begum, married to Muhammad Qasim Mirza, son of Abu'l-Qasim Arlat and Bega Begum;
Kechek Begum - with Payanda Sultan Begum, married to Mullah Khwajah;
Bega Begum - with Payanda Sultan Begum, married to Babar Mirza, son of Muhammad Qasim Mirza and Rabia Sultan Begum;
Agha Begum - with Payanda Sultan Begum, married to Sultan Murad Mirza, son of Muhammad Qasim Mirza and Rabia Sultan Begum;
Fatima Sultan Begum - with Mengli Bi Aghach, married to Yadgar Farrukh Mirza, son of Farrukhzad Mirza, son of Sidi Ahmad Mirza, son of Miran Shah;
Maryam Sultan Begum - with Mengli Bi Aghacha, married to Sayyid Abdullah Mirza;
Sultan Nizhad Begum - with Baba Aghacha, married to Iskandar Mirza, son of Bayqara Mirza and Sa'adat Bakht Begum;
Sa'adat Bakht Begum known as Begum Sultan - with Baba Aghacha, married to Sultan Masud Mirza, son of Sultan Mahmud Mirza and Khanzada Begum;
Munawar Sultan Begum - with Baba Aghacha, married to Sayyid Mirza of Andekhud, descendant of Ulugh Beg;
Aisha Sultan Begum - with Zobayda Sultan Aghacha, married firstly to Qasim Sultan, a Shaibani Sultan, married secondly to Buran Sultan, a relative of Qasim;
Khanum Sultan Begum - with Khadija Begi Agha;
Sa'adat Nizhad Begum - with Baba Aghacha;
Salima Sultan Begum - with Baba Aghacha;
Badi-al-Mulk Begum - with Latifa Sultan Aghacha;
Umm Salima Begum - with Latifa Sultan Aghacha;
Munisa Sultan Begum - with Zubayda Sultan Aghacha;
Khurshid Bakht Begum - with Baba Aghacha;

Ancestry

References

Sources
 Francis Robinson (2007). "The Mughal Emperors and the Islamic Dynasties of India, Iran and Central Asia".

 Peter Jackson (1986). The Cambridge History of Iran, Volume Six: The Timurid and Safavid Periods.

People from Herat
1438 births
1506 deaths
Timurid monarchs
Mercenaries
History of Herat
15th-century monarchs in Asia
16th-century monarchs in Asia

Sultan Husayn Bayqara


Tobacco was long used in the early Americas. The arrival of Spain introduced tobacco to the Europeans, and it became a lucrative, heavily traded commodity to support the popular habit of smoking. Following the Industrial Revolution, cigarettes became hugely popular worldwide. In the mid-20th century, medical research demonstrated severe negative health effects of tobacco smoking including lung and throat cancer, which led to a sharp decline in tobacco use.

Early history

Pre-Columbian America
Tobacco was first discovered by the native people of Mesoamerica and South America and later introduced to Europe and the rest of the world.

Archaeological finds indicate that humans in the Americas began using tobacco as far back as 12,300 years ago, thousands of years earlier than previously documented.

Tobacco had already long been used in the Americas by the time European settlers arrived and took the practice to Europe, where it became popular. Eastern North American tribes have historically carried tobacco in pouches as a readily accepted trade item, as well as smoking it in pipe ceremonies, whether for sacred ceremonies or those to seal a treaty or agreement.

In addition to its use in spiritual and religious ceremonies, tobacco is also used for medical treatment of physical conditions. As a pain killer it has been used for earache and toothache and occasionally as a poultice. Some indigenous peoples in California have used tobacco as one ingredient in smoking mixtures for treating colds; usually it is mixed with the leaves of the small desert sage, Salvia dorrii, or the root of Indian balsam or cough root, Leptotaenia multifida (the addition of which was thought to be particularly good for asthma and tuberculosis). In addition to its traditional medicinal uses, tobacco was also used as a form of currency between Native Americans and Colonists from the 1620s on.

Ceremonial use
Religious use of tobacco is still common among many indigenous peoples, particularly in the Americas. Among the Cree and Ojibwe of Canada and the north-central United States, it is offered to the Creator, with prayers, and is used in sweat lodges, pipe ceremonies, and is presented as a gift. A gift of tobacco is traditional when asking an Ojibwe elder a question of a spiritual nature.

European usage

Tobacco was completely unfamiliar to Europeans before the discovery of the New World. Bartolomé de las Casas described how the first scouts sent by Christopher Columbus into the interior of Cuba found:

Following the arrival of Europeans, tobacco became one of the primary products fueling colonization, and also became a driving factor in the introduction of African slave labour. The Spanish introduced tobacco to Europeans in about 1528, and by 1533, Diego Columbus mentioned a tobacco merchant of Lisbon in his will, showing how quickly the traffic had sprung up. The French, Spanish, and Portuguese initially referred to the plant as the "sacred herb" because of its valuable medicinal properties.

Jean Nicot, French ambassador in Lisbon, sent samples to Paris in 1559. Nicot sent leaves and seeds to Francis II and the King's mother, Catherine of Medici, with instructions to use tobacco as snuff. The king's recurring headaches (perhaps sinus trouble) were reportedly "marvellously cured" by snuff. (Francis II nevertheless died at seventeen years of age on 5 December 1560, after a reign of less than two years). French cultivation of herbe de la Reine (the queen's herb) began in 1560. By 1570 botanists referred to tobacco as Nicotiana, although André Thevet claimed that he, not Nicot, had introduced tobacco to France; historians believe this unlikely, but Thevet was the first Frenchman to write about it.

Swiss doctor Conrad Gesner in 1563 reported that chewing or smoking a tobacco leaf "has a wonderful power of producing a kind of peaceful drunkenness". In 1571, Spanish doctor Nicolas Monardes wrote a book about the history of medicinal plants of the new world. In this he claimed that tobacco could cure 36 health problems, and reported that the plant was first brought to Spain for its flowers, but "Now we use it to a greater extent for the sake of its virtues than for its beauty".

John Hawkins was the first to bring tobacco seeds to England. William Harrison's English Chronology mentions tobacco smoking in the country as of 1573, before Sir Walter Raleigh brought the first "Virginia" tobacco to Europe from the Roanoke Colony, referring to it as tobah as early as 1578. In 1595 Anthony Chute published Tabaco, which repeated earlier arguments about the benefits of the plant and emphasised the health-giving properties of pipe-smoking. A popular song of the early 1600s by Tobias Hume proclaimed that "Tobacco is Like Love".

The importation of tobacco into England was not without resistance and controversy. Stuart King James I wrote a famous polemic titled A Counterblaste to Tobacco in 1604, in which the king denounced tobacco use as "[a] custome lothsome to the eye, hatefull to the Nose, harmefull to the braine, dangerous to the Lungs, and in the blacke stinking fume thereof, neerest resembling the horrible Stigian smoke of the pit that is bottomelesse." That year, an English statute was enacted that placed a heavy protective tariff on tobacco imports. The duty rose from 2p per pound to 6s 10p, a 40-fold increase, but English demand remained strong despite the high price; Barnabee Rych reported that 7,000 stores in London sold tobacco and calculated that at least 319,375 pounds sterling were spent on tobacco annually. Because the Virginia and Bermuda colonies' economies were affected by the high duty, James in 1624 instead created a royal monopoly. No tobacco could be imported except from Virginia, and a royal license that cost 15 pounds per year was required to sell it. To help the colonies, Charles II banned tobacco cultivation in England, but allowed herb gardens for medicinal purposes.

Tobacco was introduced elsewhere in continental Europe more easily. Iberia exported "ropes" of dry leaves in baskets to the Netherlands and southern Germany; for a while tobacco was in Spanish called canaster after the word for basket (canastro), and influenced the German Knaster. In Italy, Prospero Santacroce in 1561 and Nicolo Torbabuoni in 1570 introduced it to gardens after seeing the plant on diplomatic missions. Cardinal Crescenzio introduced smoking to the country in about 1610 after learning about it in England. The Roman Catholic Church did not condemn tobacco as James I did, but Pope Urban VIII threatened excommunication for smoking in a church.

In Russia, tobacco use was banned in 1634 except for foreigners in Moscow. Peter the Great—who in England had learned of smoking and the royal monopoly—became the monarch in 1689, however. Revoking all bans, he licensed the Muscovy Company to import 1.5 million pounds of tobacco per year, with the Russian Crown receiving 28,000 pounds sterling annually.

Asia
The Japanese were introduced to tobacco by Portuguese sailors from 1542.

Tobacco first arrived in the Ottoman Empire in the late 16th century, where it attracted the attention of doctors and became a commonly prescribed medicine for many ailments. Although tobacco was initially prescribed as medicine, further study led to claims that smoking caused dizziness, fatigue, dulling of the senses, and a foul taste/odour in the mouth.

Sultan Murad IV banned smoking in the Ottoman Empire in 1633. When the ban was lifted by his successor, Ibrahim the Mad, it was instead taxed. In 1682, Damascene jurist Abd al-Ghani al-Nabulsi declared: "Tobacco has now become extremely famous in all the countries of Islam ... People of all kinds have used it and devoted themselves to it ... I have even seen young children of about five years applying themselves to it." In 1750, a Damascene townsmen observed "a number of women greater than the men, sitting along the bank of the Barada River. They were eating and drinking, and drinking coffee and smoking tobacco just as the men were doing."

Australia
Although Nicotiana suaveolens is native to Australia, tobacco smoking first reached that continent shores when it was introduced to northern-dwelling Indigenous communities by visiting Indonesian fishermen in the early 18th century. British patterns of tobacco use were transported to Australia along with the new settlers in 1788; and in the years following colonisation, British smoking behaviour was rapidly adopted by Indigenous people as well. By the early 19th century tobacco was an essential commodity routinely issued to servants, prisoners and ticket-of-leave men (conditionally released convicts) as an inducement to work, or conversely, withheld as a means of punishment.

United States

Economic history in the American colonies
In Thirteen Colonies, where gold and silver were scarce, tobacco was used as a currency to trade with Native Americans, and sometimes for official purposes such as paying fines, taxes, and even marriage license fees.

The demand and profitability of tobacco led to the shift in the colonies to a slave-based labor force, fueling the slave trade. Tobacco is a labor-intensive crop, requiring much work for its cultivation, harvest, and curing. With the profitability of the land rapidly increasing, it was no longer economically viable to bring in indentured servants with the promise of land benefits at the end of their tenure. By bringing African slaves instead, plantation owners acquired workers for long hours in the hot sun without paying them, providing only a bare subsistence to workers who could not leave or appeal to laws.

The uncultivated Virginia soil was reportedly too rich for traditional European crops, especially cereals like barley. Tobacco "broke down the fields and made food crops more productive" by depleting the soil of nutrients.

Tobacco's impact on early American history
The cultivation of tobacco in America led to many changes. During the 1700s tobacco was a very lucrative crop due to its high demand in Europe. The climate of the Chesapeake area in America lent itself very nicely to the cultivation of tobacco. The high European demand for tobacco led to a rise in the value of tobacco. The rise of value of tobacco accelerated the economic growth in America. The cultivation of tobacco as a cash crop in America marks the shift from a subsistence economy to an agrarian economy. Tobacco's desirability and value led to it being used as a currency in colonies. Tobacco was also backed by the gold standard, with an established conversion rate from tobacco to gold.

The increasing role of tobacco as a cash crop led to a shift in the labor force that would shape life and politics in the American South up through the civil war. In order to maximum profits, tobacco plantation owners abandoned the traditional practice of indentured servitude in the Americas and turned instead to slavery to supply them with cheap, fungible labor, allowing them to increase their yield while reducing the cost of production.

Early cultivation of tobacco
In the first few years of tobacco cultivation in the colonies, the plants were simply covered with hay and left in the field to cure or "sweat." This method was abandoned after 1618, when regulations prohibited the use of valuable potential animal food for such purposes. It was also abandoned because a better method of curing tobacco had been developed. In this new method the wilted leaves were hung on lines or sticks, at first outside on fence rails. Tobacco barns for housing the crop were in use by the 1620s.

During the curing period, which lasted about four to six weeks, the color of the tobacco changed from a greenish yellow to a light tan. Mold was an immense danger during this time. Once again, a planter relied on his experience to know when the tobacco was ready to be removed from the sticks on which it hung, a process known as "striking."

At last, when the tobacco was ready, and preferably during a period of damp weather, workers struck the tobacco and laid the leaves on the floor of the tobacco barn to sweat for somewhere between a week or two. Logs could be used to press the tobacco and increase its temperature, but with that there came a danger. The heat might become too intense and mold spoil the crop.

After sweating, the next step was sorting. Ideally, all the tobacco should be in a condition described by cropmasters as "in case". This meant that the tobacco had absorbed just the right amount of moisture; it could be stretched like leather, and was glossy and moist. If tobacco were too damp, it would rot in transit; if too dry, it would crumble and be unsalable.

In the early years at Jamestown the settlers paid little heed to quality control, this attitude soon changed due to both the market and to regulations. Over time, the settlers began to separate the tobacco into sections of equal quality. The leaves were then tied together in Hands, bunches of five to fourteen. The Hands were returned to platforms to sweat. When they were once again "in case", the inspection of the crop could take place and the final processing for export begin.

Early on, the preparation of tobacco for shipping was very simple. The tobacco leaves were twisted and rolled, then spun into rope, which was wound into balls weighing as much as a hundred pounds (45 kilograms). These balls were protected in canvas or barrels, which would then be shipped to Europe. Although the export of bulk tobacco was not outlawed until 1730, a large barrel called a "hogshead" soon became the favored container throughout the colonial period. Even though its capacity varied slightly, governed by the regulations of the day, the average weight of the tobacco stored in a hogshead barrel was about a thousand pounds (450 kilograms).

These barrels were transported in a variety of ways to the ships on which they would be carried to England. At first, captains of merchant vessels simply traveled from one plantation dock to the next, loading up with barrels of tobacco as they moved along the river. Other ways included employing northern smugglers to ferry tobacco to England.

Plantations in the American South

In 1609, English colonist John Rolfe arrived at Jamestown, Virginia, and became the first settler to successfully raise tobacco (commonly referred to at that time as "brown gold") for commercial use.  Tobacco was used as currency by the Virginia settlers for years, and Rolfe was able to make his fortune in farming it for export at Varina Farms Plantation.

When he left for England with his wife Pocahontas, a daughter of Chief Powhatan, he had become wealthy. Returning to Jamestown, following Pocahontas' death in England, Rolfe continued in his efforts to improve the quality of commercial tobacco, and, by 1620,  of tobacco were shipped to England.  By the time John Rolfe died in 1622, Jamestown was thriving as a producer of tobacco, and its population had topped 4,000. Tobacco led to the importation of the colony's first Black slaves in 1619.

Throughout the 17th and 18th centuries, tobacco continued to be the cash crop of the Virginia Colony, as well as The Carolinas. Large tobacco warehouses filled the areas near the wharves of new, thriving towns such as Dumfries on the Potomac, Richmond and Manchester at the Fall Line (head of navigation) on the James, and Petersburg on the Appomattox.

There were also tobacco plantations in Tennessee, like Wessyngton in Cedar Hill, Tennessee.

19th century
The 19th century witnessed several significant trends in the history of tobacco, as it became increasingly popular and its consumption spread across the world. Here are eight main trends that shaped the history of tobacco during that time:

Global Spread: Tobacco cultivation and consumption expanded rapidly, reaching various parts of the world through trade and colonization. This led to a global increase in tobacco usage and production.

 Commercialization and Mass Production: Technological advancements, particularly the introduction of steam-powered machinery, allowed for large-scale commercial production of tobacco products, making them more accessible and affordable.

 Health Concerns: Early awareness of the potential health risks associated with tobacco consumption emerged during the late 19th century. A few medical professionals began expressing concerns about the impact of smoking on health. Nevertheless tobacco usage increased steadily.

 Social and Cultural Acceptance: Smoking became increasingly socially acceptable and integrated into various social settings. Smoking rooms and designated areas in public places and social gatherings became common.

 Tobacco Advertising and Marketing: As the tobacco industry grew, so did advertising and marketing efforts. Tobacco companies used various promotional strategies to attract consumers and create brand loyalty.

 Regulation and Taxation: Governments started imposing taxes on tobacco products, generating significant revenue for state coffers. Additionally, there were some early attempts to regulate tobacco, primarily driven by concerns over public health. Until 1883, tobacco excise tax accounted for one third of internal revenue collected by the United States government.  Internal Revenue Service data for 1879–80 show total tobacco tax receipts of $38.9 million, out of total receipts of $116.8 million.

 Tobacco in Literature and Art: Tobacco use found its way into literature, art, and popular culture. It became a symbol of leisure, sophistication, and rebellion, which further contributed to its popularity.

 Anti-Tobacco Movements: As awareness of tobacco-related health issues increased, various anti-tobacco movements emerged, advocating for tobacco control and promoting abstinence from tobacco use.

These trends demonstrate the complex and evolving role of tobacco in the 19th century, setting the stage for further developments in the 20th century and beyond.

United States
A historian of the American South in the late 1860s reported on typical usage in the region where it was grown:

James Bonsack, an avid craftsman, in 1881 created a machine that revolutionized cigarette production.  The machine chopped the tobacco, then dropped a certain amount of the tobacco into a long tube of paper, which the machine would then roll and push out the end where it would be sliced by the machine into individual cigarettes.  This machine operated at thirteen times the speed of a human cigarette roller. This caused an enormous growth in the tobacco industry that lasted until the late 20th century.

Since 1900

Dominance of Cigarettes. Cigarette smoking became the dominant usage after 1910.

Women and Smoking: the 1910–1930 era saw a gradual shift in cultural attitudes. More women began smoking, challenging traditional gender norms and sparking debates about the propriety of female smokers.

Health concerns

Nazi Germany saw the first modern anti-smoking campaign, the National Socialist government condemning tobacco use, funding research against it, levying increasing sin taxes on it, and in 1941 banning tobacco in various public places as a health hazard.

In the UK and the US, an increase in lung cancer rates was being picked up by the 1930s, but the cause for this increase remained debated and unclear.

A true breakthrough came in 1948, when the British physiologist Richard Doll published the first major studies that proved that smoking could cause serious health damage. In 1950, he published research in the British Medical Journal that showed a close link between smoking and lung cancer. Four years later, in 1954 the British Doctors Study, a study of some 40 thousand doctors over 20 years, confirmed the suggestion, based on which the government issued advice that smoking and lung cancer rates were related. The British Doctors Study lasted till 2001, with result published every ten years and final results published in 2004 by Doll and Richard Peto. Much early research was also done by Dr. Ochsner. Reader's Digest magazine for many years published frequent anti-smoking articles.

In 1964 the United States Surgeon General's Report on Smoking and Health likewise began suggesting the relationship between smoking and cancer, which confirmed its suggestions 20 years later in the 1980s.

In the United States, The Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act (Tobacco Control Act) became law in 2009. It gave the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) the authority to regulate the manufacture, distribution, and marketing of tobacco products to protect public health.
Partial controls and regulatory measures eventually followed in much of the developed world, including partial advertising bans, minimum age of sale requirements, and basic health warnings on tobacco packaging. However, smoking prevalence and associated ill health continued to rise in the developed world in the first three decades following Richard Doll's discovery, with governments sometimes reluctant to curtail a habit seen as popular as a result – and increasingly organised disinformation efforts by the tobacco industry and their proxies (covered in more detail below). Realisation dawned gradually that the health effects of smoking and tobacco use were susceptible only to a multi-pronged policy response which combined positive health messages with medical assistance to cease tobacco use and effective marketing restrictions, as initially indicated in a 1962 overview by the British Royal College of Physicians and the 1964 report of the U.S. Surgeon General.

In the 1950s tobacco companies engaged in a cigarette advertising war surrounding the tar content in cigarettes that came to be known as the tar derby. The companies repositioned their brands to emphasize low tar content, filter technology and nicotine levels.  The period ended in 1959 after the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Chairman and several cigarette company presidents agreed to discontinue usage of tar or nicotine levels in advertisements.

In order to reduce the potential burden of disease, the World Health Organization (WHO) successfully rallied 168 countries to sign the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control in 2003. The Convention is designed to push for effective legislation and its enforcement in all countries to reduce the harmful effects of tobacco.

In science

Tobacco has been the subject of a great deal of biological and genetic research. The economic impact of Tobacco Mosaic disease was the impetus that led to the isolation of Tobacco mosaic virus, the first virus to be identified; the fortunate coincidence that it is one of the simplest viruses and can self-assemble from purified nucleic acid and protein led, in turn, to the rapid advancement of the field of virology. The 1946 Nobel Prize in Chemistry was shared by Wendell Meredith Stanley for his 1935 work crystallizing the virus and showing that it remains active.

See also
 Chewing tobacco
Cigar
Cigarette
 Snuff (tobacco)
 Tobacco pipe
 Tobacconist

References

Further reading

 Benedict, Carol (2011). Golden-Silk Smoke: A History of Tobacco in China, 1550–2010.
 Breen, T. H. (1985). Tobacco Culture. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press. . Source on tobacco culture in 18th-century Virginia pp. 46–55
 Burns, Eric (2007). The Smoke of the Gods: A Social History of Tobacco. Philadelphia: Temple University Press.
 Collins, W.K., and S.N. Hawks (1993). Principles of Flue-Cured Tobacco Production.
 Corti, Count. (1931) A history of smoking (Bracken 1996 reprint; 1931) online
 Cosner, Charlotte (2015). The Golden Leaf: How Tobacco Shaped Cuba and the Atlantic World. Vanderbilt University Press.

 Cox, Howard. (1997) "Learning to Do Business in China: The Evolution of BAT's Cigarette Distribution Network, 1902–1941," Business History 39, no. 3 (1997).
 Fuller, R. Reese (Spring 2003). Perique, the Native Crop. Louisiana Life.
 Gately, Iain (2003). Tobacco: A Cultural History of How an Exotic Plant Seduced Civilization. Grove Press. .

 Goodman, Jordan. Tobacco in history: The cultures of dependence (Routledge, 2005).
 Goodman, Jordan, ed. Tobacco in History and Culture. An Encyclopedia (2 vol, Gage Cengage, 2005)
 Graves, John. "Tobacco That Is not Smoked" in From a Limestone Ledge (the sections on snuff and chewing tobacco)
 Gray, Stanley, and V. J. Wyckoff. "The International Tobacco Trade in the Seventeenth Century" Southern Economic Journal 7#1 (1940), pp. 1–26 online

 Grehan, James (2006). Smoking and "Early Modern" Sociability: The Great Tobacco Debate in the Ottoman Middle East (Seventeenth to Eighteenth Centuries). The American Historical Review 3#5 online
 Hahn, Barbara (2011). Making Tobacco Bright: Creating an American Commodity, 1617–1937. Johns Hopkins University Press. 248 pages; examines how marketing, technology, and demand figured in the rise of Bright Flue-Cured Tobacco, a variety first grown in the inland Piedmont region of the Virginia-North Carolina border.
 Heimann, Robert K. Tobacco and Americans (McGraw-Hill, 1960) online
 Hilton, Matthew, Smoking in British Popular Culture, 1800–2000 (Manchester University Press, 2000)
 Jacobstein, Meyer. The tobacco industry in the United States (Columbia Univ. Press, 1907) online
 Killebrew, J. B. and Myrick, Herbert (1909). Tobacco Leaf: Its Culture and Cure, Marketing and Manufacture. Orange Judd Company. Source for flea beetle typology (p. 243)
 Kluger, Richard (1996). Ashes to Ashes: America's Hundred-Year Cigarette War.
 Murphey, Rhoads (2007). Studies on Ottoman Society and Culture: 16th–18th Centuries. Burlington, VT: Ashgate: Variorum.
 Neuburger, Mary C. Balkan Smoke: Tobacco and the Making of Modern Bulgaria (Cornell University Press, 2013).
 Parker, John B. The tobacco industry of Western Asia (1964), on the Middle East online
 Poche, L. Aristee (2002). Perique Tobacco: Mystery and history.
 Porter, Patrick G. "Origins of the American Tobacco Company," Business History Review 43#1 (Spring 1969)
 Price, Jacob M. (1954). "The rise of Glasgow in the Chesapeake tobacco trade, 1707–1775." William and Mary Quarterly  pp: 179–199. in JSTOR
 Robert, Joseph C. The Story of Tobacco in America (Knopf, 1949). online
 Robert, Joseph C. The Tobacco Kingdom: Plantation, Market and Factory in Virginia and North Carolina (Duke University Press, 1938).
 Schoolcraft, Henry R. (1851–57). Historical and Statistical Information respecting the Indian Tribes of the United States. Philadelphia.
 Shechter, Relli (2006). Smoking, Culture and Economy in the Middle East: The Egyptian Tobacco Market 1850–2000. New York: I.B. Tauris & Co. Ltd.
 Swanson, Drew A. A Golden Weed: Tobacco and Environment in the Piedmont South (Yale University Press, 2014) 360pp
 Tilley, Nannie May The Bright Tobacco Industry 1860–1929 (1948)
 Tilley, Nannie M. The R.J. Reynolds tobacco company (UNC Press Books, 1985), a major scholarly history
 United States.: Dept. of Agriculture. Present status of the tobacco industry (1910) online
 Werner, Carl Avery. Tobaccoland: A book about tobacco; its history, legends, literature, cultivation, social and hygienic influences, commercial development, industrial processes and governmental regulation. (1922) online

 Winkler, John K. Tobacco tycoon, the story of James Buchanan Duke (1942) online, popular
 Woofter Jr. T.J. The Plight of Cigarette Tobacco (1931) in North Carolina

External links

 Timeline of tobacco history

 Illustrations from the George Arents Collection, New York Public Library

History of tobacco article from Big Site of Amazing Facts
Boston University MedicalCenter
History of Tobacco from License To Vape
Tobacco in World War II
information on tobacco and cigarettes
Modern History of Smoking

History of tobacco


Micawber is a 2001 ITV comedy drama series starring David Jason. It was written by John Sullivan, based upon the character of Wilkins Micawber from Charles Dickens' 1850 novel David Copperfield, although the storylines were original.

Plot
Although not explicitly stated the series is probably a prequel, it depicts Micawber where David Copperfield first meets him in London. The first episode the series expands on the back story of Micawber. He had been a qualified lawyer but was struck off when charged with embezzling his father-in-law's company's accounts. Micawber believes he was drunk while doing the accounts and thus wrote them incorrectly through negligence; however, it is later revealed he was drugged by his father-in-law who deliberately altered the numbers on Micawber's accounts to frame him. The rest of the series follows Micawber attempting a series of different careers. These include working for a newspaper and later as butler until the lady of the house seduces him and he is challenged to a duel by her husband. Micawber escapes this by faking his own death. In a subplot, the Micawbers adopt a now orphaned workhouse girl, Alice, despite struggling to support their own family. However, this virtue is rewarded when a dangerous debt collector realises she is his daughter and consequently takes over Micawber's debts.

Cast
 David Jason as Wilkins Micawber
 Annabelle Apsion as Emma Micawber
 Lucinda Dryzek as Lily Micawber
 Andrew Quigley as Wilkins Micawber Junior
 Michael Troughton as Milton

Production

Development
Sullivan had originally written an adaptation of Dickens' novel which was rejected by the BBC in favour of the 1999 Adrian Hodges adaptation.

Broadcast
It was broadcast in four parts, the first part on Boxing Day 2001 and starred a number of well-known British actors and actresses.

References

External links

ITV television dramas
ITV comedy
Period television series
Television shows based on David Copperfield
2000s British drama television series
2001 British television series debuts
2002 British television series endings
2000s British television miniseries
Television series by ITV Studios
Television series by Yorkshire Television
Films shot in Edinburgh
English-language television shows

Micawber (TV series)


The University of Florida Digital Collections (UFDC) are supported by the University of Florida Digital Library Center in the George A. Smathers Libraries at the University of Florida. The University of Florida Digital Collections (UFDC) comprise a constantly growing collection of digital resources from the University of Florida's library collections as well as partner institutions. Founded in April 2006, UFDC has added over 622,114 items - books, newspapers, oral histories, videos, photos, data sets, and more - with over 14 million pages.

Preservation and Access

The majority of materials are freely and openly accessible (Open Access) and provide full text searchability. In UFDC, all items can be text searched simultaneously or certain collections can be selected for a faceted search. Because UFDC grew out of the efforts of the University of Florida Libraries' Preservation Department, all items are scanned at preservation quality and all are digitally preserved with redundant backups. The page images are particularly important for the preservation of artifactually significant materials such as maps, artifacts, illustrated children's literature from the Baldwin Library of Historical Children's Literature, and other materials.

Technologies, Statistics, and Findability
The UF Digital Collections are powered by the open source SobekCM software engine and suite of associated tools. The associated tools include online user tools and standalone software for use in digitizing and curating born digital materials. The online system is deployed with Solr and other technologies for optimal functionality.

Because of the highly visual nature of so many items, the pages are displayed as zoomable images (through a JPG2000 server) and all can be browsed as thumbnails at the item and the collection level. Artifacts with multiple photos from multiple angles can be seen in motion, rotating in an Adobe Flash video view, and items can be searched by their geographic information (city, county, state, latitude and longitude) or viewed on a map through UFDC's use of the Google Maps API.

UFDC includes books, articles, newspapers, photos, videos, audio, and more. As of June 2019, the collections had grown to over 14 million pages. UFDC's statistics page maintains a running tally of loaded items broken down by collection: http://ufdc.ufl.edu/stats/.

Along with loading new items regularly, UFDC is optimized for search engine findability on an ongoing basis.

References

External links
 University of Florida Digital Collections (UFDC)
 SobekCM, the technology of the University of Florida Digital Collections and the Digital Library of the Caribbean
 University of Florida Digital Library Center
 George A. Smathers Libraries
 Link to all of UF's libraries

Selected List of Collections

See all collections in UFDC
University of Florida Baldwin Library and the Baldwin Library of Historical Children's Literature Digital Collection
Florida Digital Newspaper Library and Florida Digital Newspaper Library
Digital Library of the Caribbean and Digital Library of the Caribbean, a collaborative digital library where UF is the technical host partner
Florida and Puerto Rico Digital Newspaper Project (UFNDNP)
Florida Aerials
Pioneer Days in Florida
University of Florida Panama and the Canal Collection and the Panama and the Canal Digital Collection
Jean-Marie Derscheid for the Jean-Marie Derscheid Digital Collection
African American Collections
Africana Digital Collections
Florida Architecture & Landscape Design Digital Collection
Asian Digital Collections
Comics Digital Collection
Parkman Dexter Howe Library Digital Collection
Education Module Digital Collection
Florida Cities Digital Collection
Oral History Digital Collections from the Samuel Proctor Oral History Program and Matheson Museum
Florida History and Heritage Digital Collections
Historic Newspaper Catalog Record Collection
Florida Law Digital Collection
Florida Photographs Digital Collections
Oral Histories Digital Collection
Food and Agricultural Sciences Digital Collection
International Farming Systems Collection
European Digital Collections
Graphic Art Digital Collection
Jaqi Languages Digital Collection
Judaica Digital Collections
Natural Sciences Digital Collection
Open Stacks Project
Performing Arts Digital Collection
Psychological Study of the Arts Digital Collection
Radical Women in Gainesville Digital Collection
Rossica Digital Collection
Sanborn Maps Digital Collection
Sciences and Technologies Digital Collection
South American Digital Collections
Spanish Borderlands Digital Collections
Southwest Florida Library Network (SWFLN) Digital Collections
The Floridians Digital Collection
Theology Digital Collection
Health Science Archives Photographs Collection
Herbarium Specimens Digital Collection
University of Florida Institutional Repository
Wetlands Digital Collection
Women in Development Digital Collection
World Maps Digital Collection
Unearthing St. Augustine's Colonial Heritage

See also

2006 establishments in Florida
American digital libraries
Caribbean studies
Libraries in Florida
Mass digitization
Florida
University of Florida


Merrillville ( ,  ) is a town in Ross Township, Lake County, Indiana, United States. The population was 35,246 at the 2010 census. Merrillville is in east-central Lake County, in the Chicago metropolitan area. On January 1, 2015, Merrillville became the most populated town in Indiana, as Fishers in Hamilton County was converted from a town to a city. The town serves as a major shopping hub for Northwest Indiana.

Geography

Merrillville is located at .

According to the 2010 census, Merrillville has a total area of , of which  (or 99.88%) is land and  (or 0.12%) is water.

The town is centered on the intersection of U.S. Route 30 and Interstate 65.

The Lincoln Highway runs through Merrillville. The original alignment of Lincoln Highway is known as 73rd Avenue (also called Old Lincoln Highway) in Merrillville, while the current Lincoln Highway (US 30) is known as 81st Avenue. State Road 53 (Broadway) and State Road 55 (Taft Street) traverse the town from north to south.

Merrillville's asymmetric shape results in numerous boundaries with other municipalities. It is bordered by Gary and unincorporated Calumet Township, Lake County, to the north; Hobart to the northeast; Union Township, Porter County, to the east; Winfield and Crown Point to the south; Schererville to the west; and Griffith to the northwest.

History
Merrillville occupies what used to be woodland belonging to the Potawatomi Indians. In 1834, a clearing was created for ceremonial purposes and called McGwinn Village. A year later, a white man, Jeremiah Wiggins, settled in the place; McGwinn Village became Wiggins Point.

Wiggins Point became a well-known stop for wagon trains heading to Joliet, Illinois along the Sauk Trail (also called the Sac Trail), an old Indian trail. At one time, 16 trails radiated outward from Wiggins Point. In 1838, Wiggins died. Sometime afterward, local settlers renamed the place Centerville. Later still, it was renamed Merrillville after the brothers Dudley and William Merrill. Dudley Merrill operated a hotel and store in Centerville, and his son John P. Merrill was a Township Trustee.

Nearby, in the same former Potawatomi hunting grounds, other settlements had sprung up. Near Deep River creek was a settlement named Deep River; near Turkey Creek was another settlement with that creek's name. Others included Ainsworth, Lottaville, and Rexville. At one time, the post office for the area was named Lottaville.

In 1848, all of these settlements, including Merrillville (that is, the old McGwinn Village) were collected into one and called Ross Township. As time went by, bits and pieces of Ross Township were taken by Hobart and Crown Point when those towns incorporated.

In 1971, the area officially became Merrillville (which now includes the old Merrillville as well as other settlements nearby) and was incorporated as a town under Indiana law. During this time, the majority of the town's growth was due to white flight from Gary.

In 1993, Merrillville tried to annex unincorporated Winfield Township to get more land. The residents blocked Merrillville by creating the town of Winfield.

In 2009, a pedestrian bridge at Hidden Lake Park collapsed, injuring at least 25 people The catastrophe occurred around 10 PM after the annual Fourth of July fireworks display, when several dozen people attempted to cross the wood suspension bridge. Police officers stationed at either side of the bridge were unable to stop the advancing parkgoers, and with numerous people jumping up and down the 30-year-old bridge collapsed, sending somewhere around 50 people into the waters of Hidden Lake.

The Morgan-Skinner-Boyd Homestead and John Wood Old Mill are listed in the National Register of Historic Places.

Economy
Merrillville is a hub for retail trade in Northwest Indiana. The US 30 corridor between Taft Street and Colorado Street harbors a large concentration of big-box retailers, hotels, restaurants, and automobile dealerships.

Ameriplex at the Crossroads, an industrial and technology park, opened at Broadway between 93rd Avenue and 101st Avenue in 2005. The development is designated an Indiana Certified Technology Park and includes a business incubator and technology center operated by the Purdue Research Foundation.

Heavy industry such as steelmaking and petroleum refining, which characterizes the economy of northern Lake County, does not have a significant presence in Merrillville. The town is home to the corporate headquarters of Fortune 500 energy company NiSource, hospitality management firm White Lodging, and Centier Bank, Indiana's largest privately owned independent bank.

Merrillville's nearest commercial airports are Griffith-Merrillville Airport in Griffith and Gary/Chicago International Airport in Gary.

Demographics

2010 census
As of the census of 2010, there were 35,246 people, 13,696 households, and 9,016 families living in the town. The population density was . There were 14,842 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the town was 46.4% White, 44.5% African American, 0.2% Native American, 1.2% Asian, 4.6% from other races, and 3.2% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 12.9% of the population.

There were 13,696 households, of which 34.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 42.3% were married couples living together, 17.9% had a female householder with no husband present, 5.6% had a male householder with no wife present, and 34.2% were non-families. 29.7% of all households were made up of individuals, and 11.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.54 and the average family size was 3.16.

The median age in the town was 36.7 years. 25.5% of residents were under the age of 18; 8.6% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 26.8% were from 25 to 44; 25.5% were from 45 to 64; and 13.7% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the town was 47.0% male and 53.0% female.

As of 2010, the median income for a household in the town was $49,469 while the mean income for a household in the town was $57,728. The median income for a family was $56,911 and the mean income for a family was $65,925. The estimated per capita income for the town was $22,993. About 8.9% of families and 12.0% of the population were estimated to be below the poverty line.

2000 census
As of the census of 2000, there were 30,560 people, 11,678 households, and 8,127 families living in the town. The population density was . There were 12,303 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the town was 69.65% White, 22.86% African American, 0.33% Native American, 1.51% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 3.39% from other races, and 2.24% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 9.65% of the population.

There were 11,678 households, out of which 32.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 52.9% were married couples living together, 12.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30.4% were non-families. 26.1% of all households were made up of individuals, and 11.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.57 and the average family size was 3.12.

In the town, the population was spread out, with 24.6% under the age of 18, 8.7% from 18 to 24, 29.4% from 25 to 44, 22.2% from 45 to 64, and 15.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females, there were 91.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 86.7 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $49,545, and the median income for a family was $56,355. Males had a median income of $41,820 versus $29,005 for females. The per capita income for the town was $22,293. About 2.6% of families and 4.3% of the population were below the poverty line, including 4.1% of those under age 18 and 5.5% of those age 65 or over.

Transportation
Barons Bus Lines services Merrillville seven days per week as part of schedule 0025, westbound, with local service between Cleveland, Ohio and Chicago, Illinois.

Gary Public Transportation Corporation provides bus service along the Broadway Avenue Corridor via the Broadway Metro Express and within the US 30 retail/office corridor. The closest South Shore Line station is in downtown Gary and can be reached using the Broadway Metro Express or Barons Bus schedule 0025. The closest Amtrak station is in Dyer, Indiana. It cannot be directly reached by public transit.

Education
Public education in the town is provided by the Merrillville Community School Corporation. Andrean High School, a Roman Catholic institution operated by the Diocese of Gary, is also in Merrillville.

Lake County Public Library operates the Central Library at 1919 West 81st Avenue in Merrillville.

References

External links
 Official website
 Merrillville Historical Society website
 Merrillville Chamber of Commerce

Towns in Lake County, Indiana
Towns in Indiana
Northwest Indiana
Chicago metropolitan area
Populated places established in 1834
1834 establishments in Indiana

Merrillville, Indiana


The New Hurley Reformed Church, listed on the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) as the Reformed Dutch Church of New Hurley, is located on New York State Route 208 roughly  north of the hamlet of Wallkill, New York, United States, midway between it and Gardiner to the north, in the town of Plattekill. It is a wooden structure built in the Greek Revival style during the 1830s. In 1982 it was listed on the NRHP.

The church was established in the late 18th century, shortly before the Revolutionary War, when a flood on the nearby Wallkill River washed out a bridge that Dutch settlers in the area had used to reach services at another nearby Dutch Reformed Church. After several years, they were granted permission to establish a new church on the condition it was located away from the river. The site was purchased several years afterwards, and a primitive church built on the spot, with a parsonage and cemetery added later. For its first half-century it shared a pastor with another Reformed church in New Paltz.

It was replaced by the current building in 1835. While the Greek Revival style was used for many American churches at the time, the New Hurley church's implementation is unusually large, and visibly restrained in its use of decoration, per the austere style favored by the Reformed Church. Its front columns were created by laying brick in a circular pattern and then plastering over them to create the fluting on the exposed points.

In the early 20th century the current stained glass windows were installed; during the 1920s the aging building was renovated after a period in which church membership had declined to the point that a vote had to be taken to save it from closure. A second renovation, in the middle of the century, focused on the interior; around the same time a new church hall was built on the property to replace one that had been located a short distance away. Further work was done on the interior in the 1970s.

Building and grounds

The church is located on the east side of New York State Route 208, in the northeast corner of the three-way intersection with New Hurley Road (Ulster County Route 20). It is three miles () north of the hamlet of Wallkill and roughly the same distance south of Gardiner, the next hamlet to the north; it is almost a thousand feet south of the boundary of the town of that name. The church is in the westernmost corner of the town of Plattekill; neighboring Shawangunk, where the church's Wallkill ZIP Code is based, is on the south and west across the two roads.

The surrounding area is primarily rural in character, with a mix of woodlots, orchards and open fields. The terrain is gently rolling, mostly level on the east side of the church but descending slowly towards the Wallkill River, two miles (3.2 km) to the west in that direction. On the south side of New Hurley are two residences on large lots with mostly wooded area to their south; another large woodlot is on the west side of Route 208. To the east is the Catskill Aqueduct, part of New York City's water supply system. Around  to the southwest along the highway is the combined property of Shawangunk and Wallkill state prisons.

In addition to the church, the property includes a cemetery, the oldest portion of which is included along with it in the one-acre () portion listed on the National Register, since it has many intact gravestones of locally prominent church members from the early 19th century. It fills out most of the property to the north and northeast, ending just short of the aqueduct. On the east side of the church is an asphalt parking lot, with the parsonage and church hall on its east.

Exterior

The church building itself is a rectangular wooden structure, four bays by three,  , on a stone foundation. It is sided in clapboard and topped by a front-gabled roof pierced by a square bell tower near the south elevation; a brick chimney is to its northeast. A paved driveway runs across the south (front) elevation from Route 208 to the parking lot; a lengthy inclined sidewalk flanked by metal guardrails connects the front portico with the parking lot near the handicapped spaces, to provide accessibility. Mature Norway spruces on the east and southeast shade the building in that direction. A metal fence anchored to the building on both sides near the front delineates the church's cemetery.

Three sets of steps, the central one with metal handrails, cut in the bluestone porch provide access to the portico on the south elevation. Four round fluted Doric columns support a projecting pediment with a tympanum faced in flushboard. On the facade behind the colonnade, the curtain wall has two wide smooth square pilasters at either corner. A wooden wall is at the west end of the porch.

In between the pilasters are three wide entrances. The main entrance, in the center, is flanked with two iron lamps. Above it is a wooden plaque with "R.D. Church of New Hurley, founded 1770, rebuilt 1835" on it; the other two are topped with windows of equal size.

Both sides have four evenly spaced tall and narrow windows. A pair of bulkhead doors to the cellar is located on the east side near the south corner. On the rear there are two near the corners. The roofline is set off by two wide molded friezes divided by a narrow dentilled course and topped by a raking cornice, a treatment that continues into the broken pediment on the rear. Below the eaves on the front pediment are two plain linear nested molded friezes.

The roof is sheathed in wooden shingles. The bell tower has five stages, all faced in narrow clapboard. The first ends in a narrow molded cornice; the second, slightly smaller, ends in a much larger cornice. Above it the taller third stage has a louvered rectangular vent on each side, flanked by pilasters with a larger pilaster at each corner, all topped with mutules ending on a molded course. The fourth stage, above that, is another short clapboarded section ending in a projecting cornice, above which a short clapboarded parapet, the final stage, rises. It is topped by eight pluicles.

Interior

All three entrances, set with paneled doors, open into a narrow vestibule. They in turn open into the sanctuary, corresponding to three aisles between and aside the wooden pews, each with mahogany back rails and arm rests. At the rear of the church is a lectern on a raised platform. Behind it is an entablature screen supported by four fluted pilasters, flanked by the rear windows.

Pilasters flank all eight side windows, rising to a broad, flat cornice at the ceiling. In the space between the cornice and window sash are five wooden bosses. The space is illuminated by chandeliers hung from the ceiling. Staircases at opposite ends of the front vestibule lead up to the organ and choir where a trap door permits access to the bell tower. In the basement is a furnace.

History

The church owes its establishment to the accident of a flood along the Wallkill River denying settlers in the area easy access to what had up till then been their church. For its first half-century it shared a pastor with yet another nearby church. The current building, erected in 1835, has been in continuous use ever since.

1628–1766: Establishment of the Dutch Reformed Church in the Hudson Valley

Dutch colonists brought the Dutch Reformed Church with them to New Netherland when they began settling the Hudson Valley in the early 17th century. The first Reformed church in the colony was established in New Amsterdam (today's New York City) in 1628; the colony's capital Fort Orange (now Albany) followed in 1642.

Over the course of the century, even after the Dutch ceded the colony to Britain after the Esopus Wars, settlers and their descendants ventured out of their original communities in search of arable land in the valley. They brought the Reformed Church with them, establishing today's Old Dutch Church in Kingston in 1660 and another in what is now New Paltz in 1717. Two decades later, settlement had reached the valley of the Wallkill River and its major tributary the Shawangunk Kill below the eponymous ridge, where the towns of Shawangunk and Gardiner are today, south of New Paltz.

In those early days, the settlers had kept their faith by gathering in their houses. After more years had passed and the population became larger, this was no longer feasible, and in 1753 the Reformed Church of Shawangunk was chartered. Its church in the nearby hamlet of Bruynswick, also listed on the National Register, is the oldest building in continuous use by what is now the Reformed Church in America.

1767–1774: Establishment of the New Hurley church

At that time, the farmers in the New Hurley area were able to reach the church by means of a bridge across the Wallkill. In September 1767, a flood washed that bridge away, greatly inconveniencing those members of the congregation who lived east of the river. They appealed to the church's consistory to let them build a new church they could reach, but were rejected out of concern that a new church so close to the existing one would deprive it of members and resources, and urged the petitioners to be "patiently content with the present divine arrangement."

Two years of the arrangement did not make them any more patient. They appealed to the consistory again in 1769, but received no reply. So instead they went up to the classis which governed the area's Reformed churches. After some deliberation, a committee appointed by the classis concluded that "the aforesaid community [should] in a friendly manner be permitted to accomplish their desire to be constituted into a church." However, to avoid the potential diversion of resources from the existing Bruynswick church, the classis required that the new church be located some distance away from the Wallkill.

A majority vote of the putative congregants chose the present site for the church, as yet unbuilt. The congregation was formally established in late 1770. Three years later, the church bought the land the current structure stands on and began building the first church, using the timber felled in clearing the property to build a plain  wooden structure. The building had no heat of its own—members brought their own foot stoves to keep warm during winter services.

1774–1828: Shared pastors with New Paltz

In those earliest years, the church had no pastor, laving with sporadic, mostly nonexistent records. That changed in 1775, when it agreed to share a pastor with the Reformed Church in New Paltz. The arrangement worked well enough that the two churches pooled their resources to build a parsonage three years later.

The pastor, Stephen Goetschius, had given his services in Dutch as he spoke little English. But by the end of the 18th century, English was beginning to displace Dutch as the native language of the younger residents of Dutch descent. Whether to hold services in English was a subject of much discussion in the Dutch Reformed Church of the Hudson Valley, and the New Paltz and New Hurley churches had to consider this issue as well when they sought a new pastor in the later 1790s. They hired the bilingual J.H. Meyer, who gave his sermons in Dutch first and then English every other Sunday, as the churches had decided, for the three years he held the position.

In 1811 a  extension was added to the rear of the church. It thus became one of the few churches wider than it was long. The following year, the new section was nearly burned down when a celebration of Oliver Hazard Perry's victory over Britain's Royal Navy in the Battle of Lake Erie during the War of 1812 became overzealous.

Six years later, William Bogardus came to serve as pastor of both churches. He would be the last to serve in this dual capacity, taking leave of New Hurley to become New Paltz's pastor exclusively in 1828. The following year F.H. Vanderveer became the first full-time pastor at New Hurley.

1829–1848: New buildings

During Vanderveer's tenure, the church would totally revamp its facilities. Before his arrival it had already purchased the land for a new parsonage; soon after he took office it was actually built. The major task, however, was the construction of a new church, the current structure.

By the early 1830s the population in the New Hurley had grown, testing the limits of even the expanded structure. At the same time, that original church, now almost 60 years old, had begun to deteriorate. Accordingly, it was demolished to make way for a new church, built on the same foundation, in 1835.

The new church, whose architect is unknown, was a larger wooden structure built in the popular Greek Revival architectural style, complete with a front colonnade. Those columns were built in an unusual manner. First, bricks were laid in a circular pattern, their projecting points corresponding to those in the fluting planned for the columns. After they had set, they were plastered over.

Even within the conventions of the Greek Revival, very popular at that time, the church is distinctive. Its proportions and scale are unusually large for the temple-style variant, muted somewhat by the use of narrow clapboard siding instead of the flushboard more commonly used at the time. Also, in keeping with the minimalist aesthetic of the Reformed Church, it uses far less ornament than was otherwise common on contemporary Protestant churches in the style.

At that time there was also a row of sheds along the east wall exterior. These were primarily meant for members to stable their horses during services, but they also served to house the occasional church bazaars. On the building's inside, the organ and choir were located at the front of the sanctuary rather than the rear, as is the tradition in the Reformed Church.

1849–1926: Prosperity and decline

Church growth continued with the new facilities. Vanderveer had long been succeeded by two other pastors when, in 1848, the church reported to the classis that it had increased its membership by 85 people since that time. In 1854 L.L. Comfort took over as pastor; he would oversee the church during the difficult Civil War years. Afterwards, in 1870, he composed a hymn to mark the church's centennial.

Comfort retired due to health problems the next year. Eight different pastors would preside over the church in the next half-century. Many members got wealthier as the country itself did during the Gilded Age; this was reflected in the stained glass windows purchased for the church and installed in 1905–06. One, on the east side of the north facade, was based on Heinrich Hofmann's Christ Knocking at the Door.

But this increase in affluence was accompanied by a decline in membership, as people became more materially satisfied. Churches closed around the country. When New Hurley's pastor resigned in 1922, no one was called to replace him as the members were too few. This situation persisted for the next four years.

1927–present: Renewal and reconstruction

The classis summoned the remaining members of the church to a meeting and asked them if they wanted to close the church or not. Unanimously, they voted to continue, and hired a new pastor, Arthur van Arendonk. He revitalized the church's ministry, and oversaw the first serious renovations to the building, now almost a century old.

On the outside, the church was repainted and the steeple repaired. Inside, the church was wired for electricity and a new baptismal font installed. Both the property and the building were formally conveyed to the church. A building four miles () from the church, at what is today the intersection of New York State Route 300 and Plains Road (Ulster County Route 20), was put into use as a church hall.

Van Aredonk died in 1932, but the church's renewal survived. His replacement, a younger man named Vernon Negal, added a weekday Bible study group and a Daily Vocation Bible School. He also bought new hymnals, and most significantly led the project to build a new parsonage on the site of the old one, whose wood fueled heating system was no longer efficient or effective.

Negal left in 1939. His successor, John Tysse, would stay through 1955. He continued to expand the church's programming outside of services, coordinating massive donations to the War Emergency Fund and instituting a Good Cheer Committee to help the sick and grieving in the Wallkill area. New Hurley joined with six other Reformed churches in the area to start the Wallkill Valley Union Lenten Series; which continues to meet today after Lent services, making it the oldest such continuous series in the history of the Reformed Church.

Under Tysse the church and its members continued their improvements to the church's physical plant. The congregation had outgrown the church hall after only 20 years; it was sold and a new one, complete with a full-size gym and industrial cooking facilities, constructed by the end of Tysse's tenure. Between the two new buildings and the church, the old horse sheds were finally torn down and a parking lot built on their location, acknowledging that congregants now traveled to the church by automobile. Within the church itself the cellar was excavated so that a modern furnace could replace the old wood stoves that had up till then provided heat in wintertime.

When the church's bicentennial came in 1970, another new pastor, D. Reardon, came to New Hurley. His project would be further renovations to the interior. Most significantly, the organ and choir were finally moved from the front of the sanctuary to the rear upstairs, bringing them into line with Reformed Church tradition. The pews were removed and repainted, the floor was refinished and a new ceiling was installed.

Services and programs

"We seek to be an honest and faithful Christ-centered Biblical group of people," the church says in its mission statement. "We have committed ourselves to joyfully and obediently offer praise to God." To that end its members aim to create "an accepting environment for people on their [s]piritual journey towards a greater commitment to Jesus Christ." Sunday school, for children 4 and up with another class for interested adults, and regular services are held every Sunday morning, with a coffee hour afterwards.

For more advanced adults, a Bible study group is held midweek on evenings. Also during the week, Footprints, a morning day care program, is held. Local Alcoholics Anonymous meetings are held on Tuesday and Thursday evenings, with a women-only session on Fridays.

See also
National Register of Historic Places listings in Ulster County, New York

References

External links
Church website

Churches in Ulster County, New York
National Register of Historic Places in Ulster County, New York
Churches on the National Register of Historic Places in New York (state)
Greek Revival church buildings in New York (state)
Reformed Church in America churches in New York (state)
Religious organizations established in 1770
1770 establishments in the Province of New York
Churches completed in 1835
19th-century Reformed Church in America church buildings
Plattekill, New York

New Hurley Reformed Church


Manjadikuru () is a 2008 Malayalam film written and directed by Anjali Menon. A shorter video version of the film was premiered at the 2008 International Film Festival of Kerala, and won the FIPRESCI Award for best Malayalam film and Hassankutty award for Best Debutant Indian director.  In 2009, it received awards at the South Asian International Film Festival (SAIFF) at New York, winning five Grand Jury Awards - Best Film, Best Director, Best Screenplay, Best Cinematographer and Best Emerging Talent.

Plot
Manjadikuru is a story of homecoming from late 1980s, when 10-year-old Vicky arrives at his grandparents home in rural Kerala to attend his grandfather's funeral. The disjointed family gathers together for the sixteen-day-long funeral period. During this period, Vicky discovers more about himself, his family and culture than he had expected to. The journey is narrated through the memories of an adult Vicky who returns to the same house to recount the experience. After some years the boy returns as a young man, to visit old grounds, and finds the 'Lucky red seeds' scattered away.

Cast

Release
The film released in theatres in May 2012, after winning awards in film festivals. For the commercial release, songs and additional scenes are added to the film to make it more appealing to people.

Soundtrack

Awards
Kerala State Film Awards 2012
 Best Screenplay - Anjali Menon
 Best Child Artist - Vyjayanthi
 Best Sound Editor - M. R. Rajakrishnan
13th International Film Festival of Kerala 2008
 Hassankutty Award for Best Debut Director - Anjali Menon
 FIPRESCI Prize for Best Malayalam Film in Malayalam Cinema Today section
6th South Asian International Film Festival 2009
 Grand Jury award for Best Film
 Grand Jury award for Best Director - Anjali Menon.
 Grand Jury award for Best Screenplay - Anjali Menon.
 Grand Jury award for Best Cinematography - Pietro Zuercher.
 Grand Jury award for Best Emerging Talent - Vyjayanthi.
Other awards
 Best Debut Direction by a Woman at New Jersey ISACF, New York, US
 Certificate of Appreciation, SCHLINGEL International Film Festival, Germany
 Official selection to the 2010 La Rochelle International Film Festival, France.
 Official selection to Cinekid Festival, Amsterdam
 Official selection to Festival Internacional de Cine Para la Infancia Y La Juventud, Madrid, Spain
 Official selection to Indian Panorama, International Film Festival of India

Critical reception
Aswin J Kumar from The Times of India gave the movie 3.5 stars saying that "Manjadikkuru is a beautifully shot film that can be loved for its sheer earnestness and sense of belonging.". Chris Fujiwara from Federación Internacional de la Prensa Cinematográfica said that "It is a lesson in the ways of society but a metaphorical lesson for the audience, the kind of lesson that (as one imagines, or remembers, while watching Lucky Red Seeds) the cinema was invented to teach." Ben Umstead from Twitch Film said that "Manjadikuru is undoubtedly one of the most beautiful films about childhood I've seen. ".

Veeyen from Nowrunning gave the movie 3 stars saying that "Anjaly Menon's 'Manjadikkuru' is an ode to the inherent innocence that once existed in us. Appealing equally to viewers of all ages, the flight of fancy that she offers to this incredible world that once was, is certainly not to be missed! ".  Metromatinee said "The film has been kept simple, highlights relationships and family values, and has to be seen with the whole family. Verdict: Small But Beautiful & Nostalgic ...!" Parvathy Anoop from Deccan Herald stated that "Anjali Menon leaves no stone unturned as she explores elements of hypocrisy, love, sympathy and sorrow inside a large Nair family."

Paresh C Palicha from Rediff.com gave the verdict of 3 stars saying that "Manjadikuru is enchanting. In this film, Anjali Menon succeeds in giving us a charming view of the adult world seen through the eyes of a child." Sify gave the movie a verdict of Good stating that "Manjadikuru comes as a whiff of fresh air. Enjoy this fabulous debut of a new talent called Anjali Menon straightaway!". Indiaglitz gave the movie a rating of 6.5 in 10 stating that "'Manjadikkuru' is a right addition to the list of well made films that came out this year. Just have a go into this scent of fresh air."

Home media
The VCDs and DVDs were released by Satyam Audios on 17 June 2013.

References

External links

 മഞ്ചാടിക്കുരുവിനൊപ്പം ഇന്ദുലേഖ - an article on movieraaga.com by Tom Magatt
Anjali Menon's Manjadikuru

2008 directorial debut films
2008 films
2000s Malayalam-language films
Indian children's films
Films directed by Anjali Menon

Manjadikuru


House of Curzon, which dates back to the 1200s, is one of the most acknowledged English aristocratic families. Its family members have held almost 14 hereditary titles, including Earl Howe, Marquess Curzon of Kedleston, Earl Curzon of Kedleston, Viscount Scarsdale, Viscount Curzon, Viscounts Howe, Baron Scarsdale, Curzon of Kedleston, Baron Ravensdale, Baron Howe, Manor of Curzon, Baron Curzon, Baronet Kedleston Hall and Baronet Mosley.

History
In the year 1759, when Nathaniel Curzon did the house's commissioning and then by Robert Adam's designation. The first son of the 4th Baron Scarsdale, known as George Nathaniel Curzon, was also the first Marquess Curzon of Kedleston. Kedleston was the second Baroness Ravensdale from 1896-1966, while Sir Nicholas Mosley was the 3rd Baron Ravensdale his mother was Cynthia Blanche Mosley (1898-1933), a daughter of George Curzon. The first Earl Howe was known as Curzon-Howe Richard William (1796–1870), the second was Curzon-Howe George Frederick (1821–76), and the third was Earl Howe as Curzon-Howe Richard William (1822–1900). Curzon Richard George (1861–1929), Curzon Francis Penn (1884–1964), Curzon Richard Assheton (1908–84), and Curzon Frederick Richard (b. 1951) were the fourth to seventh, respectively.

The Kedleston Hall is one of the estates owned by the Curzon family, and it's located in the northwest of Derby, more precisely Derbyshire's Kedleston, which is six kilometers away. Its main function is to cat as the Curzon's family seat. Even after Richard Curzon met his death, the Kedleston Hall maintained its expensive status hence compelling Francis Curzon, his cousin, to settle death dues by submitting the estate to the state.

Today
Several facilities have been named after the Curzon family, such as Curzon Street, of which most residents believe that it was named after Mr. George Howe, who was the 3rd Viscount Howe. However, the street was transferred to another member of the Curzon family, who had maintained the surname "Curzon". Another street in North West expanse London is named Curzon Avenue, and it's located in the Northwich, Weaver Vale constituency. A soccer club called Curzon Ashton F.C. is located in the Ashton-under-Lyne, whose history can be traced back to the Curzon's family since several family members participated in the club's activities. Three other parks bear the Curzon family's name, namely; Curzon Park (in Chester), Curzon Park Abbey (a monastery of nuns) and Roker Curzon Park (Sunderland).

In honor of his cousin John Barnewall Curzon, Henry Francis Roper, who originated from the House of Roper, decided to join houses in the year 1788. To date, some of his descendants still use the name Roper-Curzon, and some of the famous members of the Curzon's family include Harry Roper-Curzon, John Roper-Curzon, and David Roper-Curzon.

Family Motto
Their family motto states, "Let Curzon hold what Curzon held," and it acted as the coat of arms' alternative.

References

Baronets
English Barons
English noble families

Curzon family