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“—star jelly—”
“…transparent gelatin…”
“…the shape of a serpent…”
“…an auspicious night…”
“…8,660 meteors…”
“…200,000 falling stars…”
“…surreally silent.”
“Some smelled sulfur…”
“In certain counties…”
“…the devil’s jurisdiction…”
“On one plantation…”
“…‘Stars Fell on Alabama’…”
“…the song was released…”
“…Howell Raines…”
Richard Carruthers
“—star jelly—”
Of course, falling stars do not actually make “star jelly.” Star jelly is still a bit mysterious, but the best explanation appears to be that it’s related to frog reproduction.
“…transparent gelatin…”
“Observations on the Meteors of November 13th, 1833,” Denison Olmstead, American Journal of Science and Arts, 1834, Vol. XXVI, p. 161, 162.
“…the shape of a serpent…”
There are numerous accounts of the serpent image.
“On the Meteors of November 13,” 1833, Edward Hitchcock, American Journal of Science, 1834, Vol. XXV, p. 356.
“Observations on the Meteors of November 13th, 1833,” Denison Olmstead, American Journal of Science and Arts, 1834, Vol. XXV., p. 366, 375. (Quoting the New Haven Daily Herald and a letter from a man named Virgil H. Barber.)
“…an auspicious night…”
“Observations on the Meteors of November 13th, 1833,” Denison Olmstead, American Journal of Science and Arts, 1834, Vol. XXV., p. 363.
“…8,660 meteors…”
Quoting the Columbian Centinel.
“Observations on the Meteors of November 13th, 1833,” Denison Olmstead, American Journal of Science and Arts, 1834, Vol. XXV., p. 367.
“…200,000 falling stars…”
“Observations on the Meteors of November 13th, 1833,” Denison Olmstead, American Journal of Science and Arts, 1834, Vol. XXV., p. 389.
“…surreally silent.”
Quoting the Reverend Doctor Humphries and a Maryland newspaper.
“Observations on the Meteors of November 13th, 1833,” Denison Olmstead, American Journal of Science and Arts, 1834, Vol. XXV., p. 372, 374.
“Some smelled sulfur…”
Quoting James M. Palmer.
“Observations on the Meteors of November 13th, 1833,” Denison Olmstead, American Journal of Science and Arts, 1834, Vol. XXV., p. 374.
“In certain counties…”
Narrative of Lou Williams.
Library of Congress. (2018). Slave narratives: A folk history of slavery in the U.S., Texas Narratives, Vol. 4, p. 166-7.
Lou Williams
“…the devil’s jurisdiction…”
Narrative of Richard Carruthers.
Rawick, G. P., Hillegas, J., & Lawrence, K. (1978). The American slave: A composite autobiography: supplement, series 2. Westport, Conn: Greenwood Pub, Vol. 3, Texas, p. 634.
Richard Carruthers
“On one plantation…”
This is a family anecdote in the oral tradition, recalled by Angela Walton-Raji. It’s an account as told by Amanda Young to her great-granddaughter, Francis Swader, and told by Ms. Swader to Ms. Walton-Raji. I’m grateful to Ms. Walton-Raji for additional details about this story.
“…‘Stars Fell on Alabama’…”
At the time of the creation of The Anarcha Archives, numerous recordings of “Stars Fell on Alabama” were available on YouTube.
“…the song was released…”
It’s unknown whether the writing of the song and the publication of the book were connected as a marketing ploy, but the New York Times later noted that the timing of the book and the song were conspicuously adjacent to one another.
New York Times, September 27, 1964, p. 131.
“…Howell Raines…”
Raines wrote an introduction for a later edition of Stars Fell on Alabama. Raines served as editor of the Times for just two years, and was ousted in the wake of the Jayson Blair episode.
Carmer, C. L. (1985). Stars fell on Alabama. University of Alabama Press, p. xxii.