Yes, thanks Gary. It is interesting to connect with primary sources on this (and any) history. Fwiw, I remember as a kid, seeing something claiming that all the broomcorn in the US was descended from three seeds that Benjamin Franklin found in a broom. Nice story but the actual history is more interesting - and the early part cloudy. Franklin apparently got his seeds from Virginia - who was growing it for what there? And since when? Also, the letters Gary shared hint at a broader awareness and use of sorghum. The African connection - specifically through the enslaved people held in this country, is unavoidable, but not well-known. On a separate topic, I wrote the following in response to private comments about the meaning of "broomcorn." If anyone has any corrections to this, please let me know: A note on definitions, with thanks to those who asked: * "broomcorn" is basically sorghum (Sorghum bicolor), altho the term may apply to other species of the genus Sorghum whose panicles may be used in brooms or whisks. The Merriam-Webster page on broomcorn has examples that offer context: https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/broomcorn * "broomcorn millet," on the other hand, is proso millet (Panicum miliacum). It can similarly be used to make natural brooms. Common names being what they are, one might hear "broomcorn" used indiscriminately to refer to certain plants in either genus... DO, EL, MI, US NAMA On Fri, Jun 21, 2024 at 11:31 AM Joni Kindwall-Moore < joni@snacktivistfoods.com> wrote:
Wow, this is very interesting Gary. Thanks for sharing this.
On Fri, Jun 21, 2024 at 6:02 AM Gary Wietgrefe via Collab < collab@lists.millets2023.space> wrote:
Here are more links to document early use of sorghum by American founders....Gary Wietgrefe
--Ben Franklin From Benjamin Franklin to Samuel Ward, 24 March 1757 (archives.gov) <https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Franklin/01-07-02-0058>
--Thomas Jefferson (note also comments on hemp seed and eating broom corn) Thomas Appleton to Thomas Jefferson, 15 January 1820 (archives.gov) <https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Jefferson/03-15-02-0297> and a short broom corn reference To Thomas Jefferson from Thomas Mann Randolph, 14 June 1805 (archives.gov) <https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Jefferson/99-01-02-1898>
--James Madison To Thomas Jefferson from James Madison, 1 July 1791 (archives.gov) <https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Jefferson/01-20-02-0239>
On Fri, Jun 21, 2024 at 6:02 AM <collab-request@lists.millets2023.space> wrote:
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Today's Topics:
1. History of sorghum in North America? (Don Osborn)
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Message: 1 Date: Thu, 20 Jun 2024 15:46:32 -0400 From: Don Osborn <don@milletsalliance.org> To: collab@lists.millets2023.space Subject: [Collab] History of sorghum in North America? Message-ID: < CA+RHibXN1idZnjASc12HgL63PvG4+uSVmM2fv8d9_NYuQPQABQ@mail.gmail.com> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8"
What is the history of sorghum in North America?
For some perspectives we turn first to a quite good piece on the True Treats Historic Candy LLC website that offers a broad US historical context while focusing on sorghum syrup or molasses: "The Triumph, Defeats, and Ultimate Victory of the Sorghum Syrup"
https://truetreatscandy.com/the-triumph-defeats-and-ultimate-victory-og-the-...
The National Sorghum Producers quarterly magazine, Sorghum Grower, has an article taking the focus more to the central plains "sorghum belt" entitled "Milo or Sorghum What Say You?"
https://sorghumgrowers.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/2021_SorghumGrower_Fal... (scroll down to p. 6)
What of the supposed role of Benjamin Franklin in the introduction of "broomcorn" US (another name for sorghum) to the US. It turns out that sources are not clear, even if he had a role in promoting it:
https://bacacountyhistory.com/2016/12/09/did-ben-franklin-really-have-an-key...
It bears noting, in any case, that the first seeds of sorghum in America likely came with enslaved Africans (like seeds of pearl millet & African rice, to speak only of grains). Amont the sources discussing this: https://www.pullupyourplants.com/archive/sorghum/benfranklin
Sorghum came as a crop to Canada only about 3 decades ago: https://www.topcropmanager.com/sorghum-in-canada-20528/
Altho sorghum may have come to Mexico much earlier, the first publication about it there was in 1882, and its cultivation as a crop was boosted beginning in the 1950s by availability of hybrid varieties from Texas (per a 2002 paper by Hector Williams-Alan?s, "Sorghum and Millet in Mexico"): https://doi.org/10.1002/9780470384923.ch75 (I shared this link previously on Collab).
Don Osborn, PhD (East Lansing, MI, US) North American Millets Alliance