Nora Barraford, when asked about her life, says "Which one? I seem to have lived so many."

A summary of the changes of country, of occupation due to world events seems to agree with her statement. A child in WWI, she watched air battles from an English cottage Pennsylvania farm girl ‘between wars’; she dreamed of a future as a poet, painter or sculpture. During WWII, she was a WAAF officer. After marriage to the C.O. of her station in N. Ireland, Lt. Daniel M. Barraford, USAF, she retired from the RAF to become a wife, mother of five, professor and portrait painter. Predominantly, however, she has remained a writer...

"It’s because I’m insatiably curious," she explains. "The first word I learned to say was ’Why’." My first sentence was ‘Look! See what I’ve found.' History isn’t my field, but as you can see in my article on "The 14^th Colony." I poked around and found a ‘missing’ state."

She was referring to her book Tittle Tattle.

"I don’t understand how it came to be missed until recently. It was a perfectly obvious fact, but no one ever told me about it in class."

What is her motive for writing?

"Writing has always been an outlet for my thoughts," she replies. "You are your own best audience. Besides, if you listen attentively to others, take their ideas into account when forming conclusions, editors may listen, too. It is fun also, to look back and find out, if, given fresh data, you can change your conclusions."

14^th State & 14^th British Colony

17 January, 1999

Recently in the Sunday Parade Magazine, Kenneth Davis’ article "How Well Do You Know Your History?" asks if you know the name of the 14^th state? The answer is, of course, the one that used to be the 13^th, because the State of Carolina split into two states over secession, (although Vermont is the accepted answer). A more interesting question would have been: "What happened to the 14^th British colony?"

Davis points out that 90% of the American Revolutionists’ ammunition came from France. He doesn’t mention that a large part of the remaining 10% of ammunition and aid on the high seas came from Spain in return for the Revolutionists’ gift to that country of the 14^th British Colony. As far as I can tell, it was a dirty tricks deal. I have found no evidence so far that the 14^th Colony settlers were consulted as to whether they wished to remain British Americans or American Spaniards.

According to the American Society of Genealogists, Washington, D.C., in their journal, Genealogical Research: Methods & Sources, Revised Edition, Volume II, 1983, edited by Kenn Stryker-Rodds, pp.267-269, "by a proclamation dated 1763, the English organized Florida into two colonies or provinces.

The area west of the Apalachicola and Chattahoochee rivers became West Florida, that east of the boundary became East Florida. The English met with some success in encouraging settlers to colonize the Floridas. There were approximately one hundred landed estates in East Florida". Davis states that a good book to read on this subject is East Florida As A British Province, 1763-1784, (Berkeley, Univ. Of Cal. Press, 1943) by Charles Lock Mowatt.

Davis goes on to say that "At the end of the Revolution and by the terms of the Treaty of Paris,1783, the Floridas were turned over to the Spanish."

It was not until 1813 that part of the Floridas west of the Perdido River was turned over to the Americans. On 22 February, 1821, President Monroe proclaimed that by the Adams-Onus Treaty, all of Florida was ceded to the United States.

We would do well to remember that the Spanish in Florida, by their co-operation in the American Revolution, have just as much right to claim a part in the founding of the Republic of the United States as the Anglo Americans in the thirteen other British Colonies. Too bad there are only 13 stripes for the original colonies on the flag. I am sure those settlers given away to the Spanish felt there should have been 14.