Why we love local history (and you should, too!)

I think just about everyone who had to take a history course in high school or college was subjected to the lecture on "Why we study history."

With apologies to George Santayana, lecturers typically conclude that spiel with the tired old maxim: "Those who do not learn history are doomed to repeat it."

I always had a problem with that conclusion, because it implies that everything that happened in the course of human history had potential to cause tragic harm if revisited.  

But, that is a discussion for another blog post.

What turns people off to the study of history (besides uninspiring, knee-knocking lecturers) is that it is all too often painted with very broad strokes.  We are all expected to learn the "common core" of history, to borrow a much-despised term.  We simply must know the big names, the big battles, the key words, the important dates, the highlights if we want to pass a standardized test.

Local history is different, because it is tangible.  Its students are surrounded by it, allowing them to instantly immerse themselves.  Thus, it can be explored to much greater depths than might be done in trying to learn about people who lived and events that occurred in distant places.  Even a passing knowledge of local history will give a resident vital context for their present environment.

For example, in this neck of the woods, you will learn the answers to questions like:

1. Why does Orange Avenue split south of Orlando, with only the southbound lanes retaining that name?

2. Why were those northbound lanes named "Hansel Avenue?"

3. Why do the cities of Edgewood and Belle Isle exist?

4. Why don't Holden and Gatlin Avenues cross Orange Avenue?

5. Was there ever a real "Pine Castle?"

If you don't know the answers to those questions, or if you have others you'd like to ask, come visit the "Old Timers Tent" during Pine Castle Pioneer Days at Cypress Grove Park on February 21st and 22nd!  (www.pinecastlepioneerdays.org)

15 Best Blogs About Florida's Pioneer Era

Abandoned Florida - several contributors have been documenting abandoned buildings and other places with posts at this site since 2010.

Authentic Florida - a great clearinghouse of material about the Sunshine State and our unique lifestyle.

Civil War Florida - by history writer Dale Cox, focuses on the War Between the States and reenactment information.

Craftsman Blog - by Orlando-based writer and preservationist Scott Sidler, mostly about fixing-up and maintaining old houses but also peppered with posts about local history.

Florida Heritage Book Festival - great resource about Florida writers and the annual gathering that has celebrated them since 2008.

Florida Historical Society Quarterly - maintained by the University of Central Florida's history department, posts serve as a detailed index of the popular FHQ podcasts.

Florida History Network - contains some great posts by Volusia-based blogger Denny Bowden.

Florida Memory Blog - created and maintained by the state's Division of Library & Information Services, this blog has a great search engine that allows you to search thru tons of text and images.

History@UF - the official blog of THE University of Florida's history department (GO GATORS!)

Life Down a Limerock Road - a new discovery, posts focus on old homes/buildings (primary in North Central Florida) with great photos and history.

Orlando Retro - posts by Steve Herring are infrequent/irregular, but worth the wait.

Orange County Regional History Center - most of the posts deal with History Center events, many of which have nothing to do with LOCAL history (i.e. recent spate related to the Gone With the Wind exhibit); but occasionally, they put up something of interest to the natives.

Pineapple Press - posts from the publisher of some of the greatest books about Florida since 1982.

Studio Hourglass - "Old Florida" ephemera and musings posted by Michigan transplant Rick Kilby.

Today in Florida History - a featured blog of The Florida Times-Union of Jacksonville.

Something to blog about

In keeping my new year's commitment to daily blog posts, I sometimes find myself at a loss for a topic.

If you ever find yourself in that boat, here's a handy widget that can clear your writer's block:

http://www.hubspot.com/blog-topic-generator

Just enter three words and an algorithm will generate 5 topics.

I tried it myself just moments ago.  The three words I chose (as we prepare to stage and host the Pine Castle Pioneer Days festival) were:

PIONEER - HISTORY - CENTENNIAL

The topics suggested were:

* 15 Best Blogs About the Pioneer Era
* Why we love local history (and you should, too!)
* 14 Common Misconceptions About Our History
* 10 Quick Tips for Enjoying Pioneer Days
* The Ultimate Cheat Sheet on Local History

And, yes, I will be using them over the next five days.    You have been forewarned!

No do-overs

Several things have occurred lately that brought to mind an old adage:

"You cannot re-write history, but you can make it right."

I've always regarded the statement as an indictment of revisionists who seem hell bent on demonizing historic icons and reframing episodes in our past to suit their own peculiar political perspectives.

And, I still feel that indictment sticks.

But, I have come to appreciate the second half of the statement as more important.

You CAN make things right, even if it's decades or centuries after a wrong occurred.  Justice delayed is still justice.

Drinking from the Saucer

Continuing yesterday's theme, here's a poem found in Uncle Oui Oui's Bible when he passed away earlier this month:

I've never made a fortune,

And I'll never make one now.

But it really doesn't matter,

'Cause I'm happy anyhow.

 

As I go along my journey,

I'm reaping better than I've sowed.

I'm drinking from the saucer,

'Cause my cup has overflowed.

 

I don't have a lot of riches,

And sometimes the going's tough.

But with kin and friends to love me,

I think I'm rich enough.

 

I thank God for his blessings,

That His mercy has bestowed.

I'm drinking from the saucer,

'Cause my cup has overflowed.

 

He gives me strength and courage

When the way grows steep and rough.

I'll not ask for any blessings,

For I'm already blessed enough.

 

May I never be too busy

To help bear another's load.

Then, I'll be drinking from the saucer,

When my cup has overflowed.



The Man in the Glass

Family and friends celebrated the life of my Uncle Oui Oui this afternoon and gave him the last word.  Shortly before he passed away, he recorded himself reciting the following poem:

The Man in the Glass

 

When you get what you want in your struggle for wealth,

And the world makes you King for a day,

Go to the mirror and look at yourself,

And see what that man has to say.

 

For it isn't your Father or Mother or Wife,

Whose judgment upon you must pass.

The man whose verdict counts most in life

Is the one staring back from the glass.

 

You may be like Jack Horner and chisel a plum,

And think you're a wonderful guy,

But the man in the glass says you're only a bum

If you can't look him straight in the eye.

 

He's the fellow to please, never mind all the rest,

And he's with you clear to the end,

And you've passed your most dangerous, difficult test

If the man in the glass is your friend.

 

You can fool the whole world down the pathway of years,

And get pats on the back as you pass,

But your final reward will be heartaches and tears

If you've cheated the man in the glass.

 

Good message.  Rest in peace Richard Morgan (1930-2015).

American Sniper

It takes an awful lot to get yours truly to patronize a movie theater.  I don't much care for a lot of what Hollywood produces anyway.  And, I'm generally willing to wait however long I have to wait to be able to watch it in the comfort of my own home.

But, I made an exception for Clint Eastwood's new hit American Sniper.

I will admit a large portion of my motivation was based on the desire to do my part to stick it to its unworthy critics like Michael Moore, Seth Rogen, and Bill Maher.

A somewhat lesser motivation was to see how closely the film followed Chris Kyle's autobiography of the same title.

As usual, I had to conclude the book is better than the movie.  Well, at least it was better at giving a well-rounded insight into just who Chris Kyle became as a result of his wartime experiences.  He was less interested in building himself up as a hero and presented an unfiltered account of his impressions of the Iraqi people and Islamofascism. 

That being said, Eastwood masterfully repackaged Kyle's narrative into a truly moving film.  Contrary to what the liberal elite might have us believe, it is assuredly NOT a pro-war film.  In fact, one might even say it is anti-war insofar as it depicts quite vividly how war and violence are dehumanizing forces. 

You cannot watch this film without being convinced of the bravery of our fighting men and women, not just for what they are forced to do to defend our liberties but also for the internal battles they have to wage to "return home."

SPOILER ALERT:
Chris Kyle had just begun his own return home when he was murdered.  That is the real tragedy of his epic life story.

Takeaways:
(1) Bradley Cooper deserves the Academy Award nomination he received for bringing Kyle back to life on screen.
(2) The next time you encounter a veteran, thank them not only for their service in uniform but also for their ongoing efforts to "come home."

1940 Census tip

This evening, I was updating my ahnentafel (http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~oldpinecastle/ahnentafel.html) to include 1940 census enumerations for my direct ancestors and came across one image that threw me for a bit of a loop:

 



 

The Lola Morgan enumerated to the right of the red arrow was the widow of my namesake great-great-grandfather.  The census schedule indicates she lived on Dade Street in Orlando, Florida, with her son-in-law Michael J. Doyle.  But, I knew this could not be.  None of her daughters married a man by this name. 

 

There are other problems with the schedule.  It implies Mr. Doyle (who was actually ten years OLDER than his apparent mother-in-law) had an 11-year-old son who bore a different surname (Walker) and was born in Pennsylvania (a part of the country where I have no known family connections.)  And, a few lines further down there is another woman listed as mother-in-law (Florence Mathews).

 

So, just what the heck is going on here?

 

The solution to this little mystery is the unassuming number 242 to the left of Lola's name (indicated with the red star).  According to the column heading, it indicates the order in which the census enumerator visited a given household.  Note, there are different numbers given not only for Mr. Doyle but also the Walker boy and Mrs. Mathews.

 

It dawned on me this was probably a "make-up" schedule prepared to include people who were missed during the transcription of field notes.

 

On a hunch, I scrolled up through the rest of the enumeration district until I got to household number 242.

 

BINGO!

 

Household #242 included Lola's eldest daughter Agnes, her husband Arthur, and their daughter Lois at a known family residence in the College Park section of Orlando. 

 

The take-away: Check the end of the enumeration district's schedules for make-up entries that may include additional members of your ancestral households.

Gateway ancestors

Following up, here's a list of the "gateway ancestors" who serve as the common link between yours truly and the notables mentioned in yesterday's post.  The numbers in parentheses after their names refers to their sequential order on my ahnentafel.  Thus, the lower the number the closer the kinship to me.

Edward Allerton (#10326) - Zachary Taylor & Joanne Woodward

Sir Edward Aston (#25184) - Harry Cust

Lancelot Bathurst (#2162) - Chris Dudley

Robert Batte (#16648) - Britney Spears

Moses Blakesley (#1088) - Jon Huntsman

Robert Bolling (#1086) - Mary Custis Lee

Robert Bolling (#2172) - Admiral Richard Byrd & Edith Wilson

Richard Cocke (#4348) - Bill Bradley

James Coffin (#2574) - Nathaniel Gorham, Edith Roosevelt, and James Spader

John Coffin (#1282) - Levi Coffin

Peter Coffin (#5128) - Calvin Coolidge, Amy Poehler, Kyra Sedgwick, and Robert Gould Shaw

Tristram Coffin (#2564) - Gerald Ford, Herman Melville, Herman Webster Mudgett, John Greenleaf Whittier, and Tennessee Williams

Jordan Flake (#74) - Jeff Flake

Peter Folger (#2582) - Abigail Folger, Henry Clay Folger, Jr., James Athearn Folger, Sr., and Benjamin Franklin

Richard Gaines (#266) - Jimmy Carter

Richard Gardner (#2562) - Richard Chamberlain, Sam Ervin, Erle Stanley Gardner, and George Plimpton

John Jones (#520) - John Anthony Winston

Thomas Judd (#4576) - Nancy Reagan

Richard Kimball (#10302) - Sir Timothy Berners-Lee

Samuel Lathrop (#4382) - Benedict Arnold, Thomas Dewey, John Foster Dulles, Ulysses S. Grant, Frederick Law Olmstead, Anthony Perkins, Mitt Romney, and Adlai Stevenson, III

Robert Lowry (#152) - Robert Lowry

John Macy (#160) - William H. Macy

John Macy (#1280) - Charles Austin Beard, Rita Hayworth, George Nelson Macy, Rowland Hussey Macy, and Ezra Pound

Robert Macy (#320) - Dick Lugar

Thomas Macy (#640) - Lucretia Mott & Chris Van Hollen

Charles Miller (#308) - Mary Chesnut & Stephen Decatur Miller

James Lorenzo Morgan (#32) - Andrea di Robilant

John Moss (#2190) - Clint Eastwood

Robert Munford (#2970) - George H.W. Bush, George Bush, and Jeb Bush

Patrick Norton (#28) - Katie Coyle & Erin Willett

Thomas Joseph Norton (#14) - Pat Pacillo

Degory Priest (#5162) - Richard Gere, Franklin Roosevelt, and Dick Van Dyke

John Severance (#5150) - Albert Fish

Samuel Shattuck (#5126) - T.S. Eliot, John Marshall Harlan, John Kerry, and Sandra Day O'Connor

Notable Kin

I imagine every genealogist who's been root digging for any length of time will discover not only a bunch of deceased ancestors but also a few surprise connections.  They can be famous or infamous, past and present.  Sometimes, they are people you know in your own day-to-day life, but had previously not realized were blood relatives.  I've been updating my list this week.  Here are some of the more recognizable names:

Abolitionists: Levi Coffin & Lucretia Mott

Actors & Actresses: Richard Chamberlain, Clint Eastwood, Richard Gere, Rita Hayworth, William H. Macy, Anthony Perkins, Amy Poehler, Kyra Sedgwick, James Spader, Dick Van Dyke, and Joanne Woodward

Athletes: Chris Dudley & Pat Pacillo

Civil War figures: Mary Chesnut, Mary Custis Lee, Gen. George Nelson Macy, and Col. Robert Gould Shaw

Explorers: Admiral Richard Byrd

Historians: Charles Austin Beard

Inventors & designers: Sir Timothy Berners-Lee & Frederick Law Olmstead

Merchants & business people: Henry Clay Folger, James Athearn Folger, Sr., and Rowland Hussey Macy

Revolutionary War figures: Benedict Arnold, Benjamin Franklin, and Nathaniel Gorham

Serial killers & one victim: Albert Fish, Abigail Folger, and Herman Webster Mudgett

Singers & musicians: Britney Spears & Erin Willett

U.S. First Ladies: Nancy Reagan, Edith Roosevelt, and Edith Wilson

U.S. governors: Jeb Bush (FL), Thomas Dewey (NY), Jon Huntsman (UT), Robert Lowry (MS), Mitt Romney (MA), and John Anthony Winston (AL)

U.S. Presidents: George H.W. Bush, George W. Bush, Jimmy Carter, Calvin Coolidge, Gerald Ford, Ulysses S. Grant, Franklin Roosevelt, and Zachary Taylor

U.S. Representatives: Chris Van Hollen

U.S. Secretaries of State: John Foster Dulles & John Kerry

U.S. Senators: Bill Bradley (NJ), Sam Ervin (NC), Jeff Flake (AZ), Dick Lugar (IN), Stephen Decatur Miller (SC), and Adlai Stevenson, III (IL)

U.S. Supreme Court justices: John Marshall Harlan II & Sandra Day O'Connor

Writers: Katie Coyle, Harry Cust, T.S. Eliot, Erle Stanley Gardner, Herman Melville, George Plimpton, Ezra Pound, Andrea di Robilant, John Greenleaf Whittier, and Tennessee Williams

The Winter People

Picked this one up at Target on my lunch break today.  Stay tuned for review.

Plato or Aristotle, take your pick

In his The Cave and The Light, Pulitzer Prize finalist Arthur Herman demonstrates the duality of the western soul and traces its roots back to the ancient philosopher Socrates.  [ISBN 978-0-553-38566-3]

The title refers to an example Socrates gave his Athenian students, wherein most of humanity is in a cave watching a shadow play on one of the walls.  But, they do not fully grasp what they are watching, much less the scheme used to produce it or the source of the light that makes it possible.

He argued a true philosopher seeks to discover such things about the world around us.

But, he also warned his students that the audience back in the cave is not always receptive to the message.

Over the 24 centuries since his time, two schools of thought have emerged.  One was founded by his student Plato, which undergirds the modern argument for intelligent design.  Through reasoning, it concludes this world is governed by a divine power.

The other was founded by Plato's student Aristotle, which casts doubt on such an inspired origin to the universe.  It relies on clinical observations of the material world, scientific methods.

Herman goes on to explain that both schools of thought have led western civilization both to great heights and to great depths: the Renaissance to the fascism, the Great Awakening to eugenics.

Thus, through nearly 700 pages, perhaps the greatest takeaway is that any philosophy can be carried to an extreme.

But, I'll still cast my lot with Plato. 

New book on College Park history

I am so proud of my friend Tana Porter for her dedication and perseverance in gathering a wonderful array of images and documents related to the history of Orlando's College Park neighborhood.

And, I was thrilled to hear from her yesterday that her hard work is finally going to be published as part of the popular "Images of America" series.  

Copies will be available for purchase on February 16th for $21.99.

Tana herself will be available to sign copies at two upcoming community events:

* Feb 23 (Mon) 7pm - College Park Community Center - 2393 Elizabeth Avenue - light refreshments will be served.

* March 8 (Sun) 1-5pm - Dartmouth Park - "Sunday in the Park"

Vivian Apple and suspending reality

Ok, I'm sure it seems odd that I would subject myself to "young adult" fiction, having so recently declared my book selection independence with the beginning of 2015.

But, as previously posted, I felt the need to read Vivian Versus the Apocalypse because I discovered the author is a distant cousin on the Norton side of the family: Katie Coyle.

Clearly, this book wasn't written to appeal to an adult male. 

It also won't be appealing to anyone who believes in such claptrap as the "Rapture."

Indeed, the only redeeming portion of the novel (from my viewpoint) came late in the narrative.  Page 225 to be exact.  That's when the title character gets verbally (and deservedly) bitch-slapped for lumping together all people of faith.  And, it's great that the reality check is delivered by a devout Catholic.

I kept waiting for a similar bucket of cold water to be thrown on young Vivian's anti-capitalism delusions.  Sadly, that did not happen.

The takeaway Coyle would leave us with is that we are all meant to be the hero of our own life stories.

To a degree, I suppose that may be true. 

Vivian Apple's story would have us believe the stories of our origin are myths and ultimately disappointing.  She would have us believe all the "supporting characters" are caricatures rather than fully-actualized human beings in their own right.  And, a hero may only emerge in apocalyptic settings created by capitalist bogeymen.

Quite simply, Ms. Apple is quite naïve.  She started out that way, and she remained in that condition at the end of this novel.  Not a very good story arc for a title character.

We all stand on the shoulders of those who went before.  We also have a tremendous cast of "supporting characters," whether we choose to recognize it or not.  And, if we are blessed--yes, blessed--to live in a capitalist society, then we may actually have a setting worthy of a truly amazing story.

Albert Sidney Johnston: fated for martyrdom

Just finished reading Jeff Shaara's opening salvo in a planned trilogy of historic novels: A Blaze of Glory.

As previously posted, I regret my interest in the War Between the States has mostly focused on events in the East.  So, a lot of this very well written book was new material for me.

I think the big takeaway will be profound respect for Gen. Albert Sidney Johnston, who led the surprise attack that could very well have ended the war. 

It is easy to speculate what may have transpired if the brilliant scheme to crush the Federal invasion had succeeded in capturing or discrediting U.S. Grant and W.T. Sherman.

Certainly, Sherman deserved to be discredited for failing to realize the storm building around him and denying it was happening even when the bullets began to fly.

But, the less said about Sherman the better, both in this case and generally.

What if the Confederacy had a leader in the West as inspiring as Robert E. Lee was in the East?

But, it was not Sidney Johnston's fate to be a western version of Lee.

Sadly, he was destined to fill a more tragic role, as one of the greatest martyrs of the "Lost Cause."  Perhaps second only to Stonewall Jackson.

Thank you, Mr. Shaara, for shedding light not only on this heroic figure but on the entire tragedy that was the Battle of Shiloh.

Thanks, Mr. Pyne

Fellow Chestertonian Greg Pyne forwarded me a link to this great site:

http://www.rabbitroom.com/

So, I figured one good turn was worth another.

Or, at least worth reposting.

I'm certainly having fun perusing, and contemplating the purchase of Molehill Volume 3 with its supposedly heretofore unpublished piece by the great GKC.

Another author in the family

 

Such a dreary day here in usually-sunny Central Florida.  So, it brightened my day more than just a little to find a package waiting for me on my front porch.

 

This intriguing tale was composed by my distant cousin Katie Coyle.  (Our common ancestor being a feisty Irish immigrant named Patrick Norton.)

 

From what I've been able to discern so far, the title character Vivian Apple wakes up to discover her parents and a bunch of other people have suddenly vanished.  Not believing in such hokum as the "Rapture," she embarks with her volatile friend Harp on a journey across America in search of any family who may have been left behind like them.

 

I'm not sure why she doesn't just pick up her iPhone and start calling her family members.  Maybe, they're not in her contacts list?  Guess I'll have to read the book to find out the answer to that question and several others . . .

 

Thanks for the reminder, Luke

One of the toughest things in the world is dealing with irrational people who purposely seek to mistreat you.

You can waste a LOT of time trying to diagnose the source of their anger and bad behavior.

Or, you can simply accept that their behavior is just that.  Theirs.  They own it.  It's on their "permanent record," so to speak.

Really, the best advice I've had in weathering such storms may be found in the Book of Luke.

At the risk of mixing metaphors, his account of the Sermon on the Plain warns us against responding to angry people with more anger. That results only in a more toxic atmosphere.

If someone is behaving badly, why emulate them?  Someone who allows bitterness to govern their actions and decisions is not a good role model.

Instead, try emulating the greatest example mankind has ever had, and show them some mercy. 

With the hope these words may speak to you as they have to me this day:

Luke 6:
27 ¶ But to you who hear I say love your enemies, do good to those who hate you,
28 Bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you.
29 To the person who strikes you on one cheek, offer the other one as well.  And from the person who takes your cloak, do not withhold even your tunic.
30 Give to everyone who asks of you; and from the one who takes what is yours, do not demand it back.

Snippets of sense from Uncle Oui Oui

Came across this tidbit from Gene Kruckemyer in an old "Semantics" column in The Orlando Sentinel (2 Dec 2007):

 

"What this country needs is a muffler that lasts as long as a beer can."

 

Barber-philosopher Richard Morgan, who cut my hair before he retired, made that observation to me about 20 years ago.

 

He also had a theory about men wearing out their left shoes first -- because when they open a car door to step inside, they always swivel on the ball of their left foot. Multiply that by several times a day and you can see why that shoe wears out first, he surmised.

 

Morgan owned Conway Barber Shop in Orlando and had cut my hair since, well, since there was enough up there to actually have a flattop in elementary school.

Richard Morgan (26 Jan 1930 - 12 Jan 2015)

This morning, I woke up to follow my normal workday routine. 

As I staggered thru the dining room to iron a shirt, I glanced out the windows to check the weather.  It was blustery.  We got a lot of rain last night, but all the clouds were being blown out to the ocean by bursting gusts of wind.  Each one of them violently tickled the chimes my Uncle Richard made for me.  They are still hanging from a branch of my grapefruit tree where he hung them several years ago.  He had come over to the house while I was away at work and just hung them there to see how long it would take me to notice them.

He would do things like that from time to time.  Sometimes, he'd tune-up my lawn mower.  Other times, he'd drop off a book or a video or newspaper clipping.  And, I'd stumble across it whenever I stumbled across it.

There have been fewer things to stumble across lately as he battled cancer.

After ironing my shirt, I reached into the dryer for my work pants only to discover they were still a little damp.  So, I opened the overhead cabinet to get some fabric softener and give the pants one more spin.  I smiled as I caught a glimpse of an heirloom pocket watch Richard gave me when he and Aunt Lois downsized.  It had belonged to his great-grandfather (my great-great-great-grandfather), a Civil War veteran who used it in his subsequent career as a railroad conductor.  You can still see the spots on the side of the watch where Grandpa Blakesley's fingers wore away the gold plate as they grasped it to check the trains agains the time tables.

The watch hangs in a neat little display case, but hasn't worked in years.  It's one of those things I have promised myself I will fix "one of these days."

As I waited for the pants to tumble dry, I remembered it was trash collection day in my neighborhood and I had just enough time to push my can out to the curb before the garbage truck came rumbling down my street.  There wasn't much in it, but there's no use letting it sit there til it filled-up. 

Stepping out the utility door, I noticed for the first time how foggy it was.  I supposed it would soon burn off or be blown away by the wind along with the higher clouds.

Resting against the wall beside the can were two folding chairs Uncle Richard made me.  He hand wove them in red and black, the colors of one of my alma maters.  (Or, is that almas mater?  Latin has always been like Greek to me!)  And, he had even managed to weave a double-T into the design (for Texas Tech).  One of the chairs is just a plain folding chair but the other is a rocker, my favorite. 

In passing, I thought how much I wish I could stay home today and rock in that chair under my grapefruit tree and watch the wind blow all the clouds and fog away.

But, I have work to do.

Just before I left the house to begin my commute, I decided I would quickly check my facebook page and was again peppered with little reminders of Richard. 

People were posting pictures of him here and there.

I got a sick feeling in my stomach as it dawned on me just why that was.

Why you should always examine the original document

God bless all the people who work so hard to index all the wonderful material at ancestry.com.

That being said, they are not perfect.

I think even they would agree with that.

Case in point, I was searching for the service record of my great-uncle Henry Walker Brown, who was killed in action at the First Battle of Kernstown during the War Between the States.

Unfortunately, his name didn't pop up in any of the index searches I tried.

I did however get an odd hit for a man named Brown who was killed in the battle.  But, the indexer had assigned him four initials preceding that very common surname: "O.S.M.W. Brown."

Even General Beauregard limited himself to just three initials!

Anyway, past experience encouraged me to click on the link that would allow me to view the original image. 

Lo and behold, I stumbled across the image included with this post, a handwritten account of all the soldiers who had been killed or wounded in the battle.

The indexer got the first two initials correct after all, but they were not abbreviations for given names.  Rather, they represented the dead soldier's rank: Orderly Sergeant.

Oh, and the letter recorded as an "M" is clearly an "H."

Needless to say, I'm thrilled to find this great document related to my family's involvement in our nation's greatest conflict.

But, I wouldn't have found it if I had simply trusted the index.

Shiloh

Cold weather kept me indoors most of the day, perfect opportunity to tackle the reading backlog.

Decided on Jeff Shaara's account of the Battle of Shiloh, as I'm planning to visit the battlefield later this year en route to the NGS convention.

 

I'm a little embarrassed how little I know about the western theater of the WBTS.  I suppose that's because most of the family history I have uncovered has involved soldiers who served with the Army of Northern Virginia.

 

I know my Arnett and Bonner forebears served in Confederate units from Alabama during the war, but I haven't fully researched the details. 

 

If we get any more cold days like this one, I may just get around to finding a personal connection to Shiloh!

An attempted murder to investigate

Today, I came across the following article about an attempted murder up in Ohio in 1872, that apparently involved a member of my family.  Unfortunately, the journalism of that era was not as specific with details as we would demand of modern news accounts, so it fails to give the would-be victim's complete name.  It merely give his surname (Blakesley) and that he formerly lived in Sandusky, Ohio.  This is tantalizing, because my ancestor Edson McClure Blakesley (1845-1931) lived in Sandusky before moving to Indiana about the time of this story.  But, so did his father and all of his brothers.  So, I am uncertain at this time which one of the Blakesley men may have been involved.

Nevertheless, I post the story here in the hopes that some genealogical sleuthing may be able to solve this little mystery.

From The Tiffin Tribune, Thursday, 18 Jan 1872:

The Sandusky Register says that on Wednesday last a former citizen of Sandusky named BLAKESLEY put up at a hotel in Forest kept by a man named Stevens, and while in his room, two young men named Joe and Bill Stevens brought him up some liquor which, from its peculiar taste, led him to think he was drugged.

Accordingly, he left the hotel and started up the railroad track for Whartonsburg, fearful that if he remained in Forest he would be robbed and perhaps suffer a worse fate.  When he was passing through the swamp, two shots were fired at him by someone, but he was not hit.  Hastening to Whartonsburg, he related his story and men started out in search of the would-be murderers.

Near the place where the shots were fired, it was found that two horses had been hitched to the trees and their color was ascertained by the hair found upon the bark.  Proceeding to Forest, it was learned that the Stevens brothers had hired two horses at a livery stable there without stating where they were going.  It was also learned that a boy who knew them both well had seen them enter the swamp together.  The horses they rode were grey and bay and the hair found upon the trees corresponded to those colors.

A warrant was procured for the arrest of the two brothers and they were lodged in jail to await the action of the Grand Jury in their case.

One of the prisoners, Joe Stevens, was formerly an insurance agent and was doing well at it until liquor got the mastery over him.  His brother Bill is said to be a rough character.

Time to get your roots on!

Getting ready to drop off a copy of my recent book at the meeting of the Central Florida Genealogical Society.

Should make for a half decent door prize, so come on down if you haven't bought a copy yet!

A book cover might be needed

Remember those brown paper bag covers we used for text books back in the good old days?

Yeah, well, I should probably use one for this week's reading selection.  

Wouldn't want to risk offending anyone at the local diner as I peruse the tome over breakfast.

Lest any of the regulars take it as a personal indictment of their behavior, I can assure everyone that I am simply working my way thru my reading backlog in the most expeditious fashion: alphabetically!

www.onassholes.com 

Apparently, discriminating consumers don't read books?

The holiday crowds have finally subsided from the mall across the street from my office, and it is safe once again to seek out its food court for a brief mid-day respite.

Those who live in Orlando would recognize the mall I refer to as the area's premiere retail destination, home to the purveyors of luxury wares and toggery.

But, my shadow has never darkened any of their doorways.

To date, I have only dropped coin at the Chinese takeaway and the hidden-away U.S. post office.

Just not my scene, I guess.

I attribute the majority of the sense of alienation to the fact this particular mall has no bookstore in it. 

Not one.

It got me thinking, as I chowed down on my chow mein.  Maybe, the demographics are wrong there.  It's not hard to accept the notion that people who relish the flaunting of bling and designer labels don't spend a lot of time in literary pursuits.

Or, maybe, they've simply evolved beyond my cavemanesque mode of reading actual books and rely solely on cloud-served lit.

Either way, not my scene.  Well, except for the food court and the post office .  .  .

Make your mark

I have often pondered the ironic absence of the Book of Wisdom in the Protestant canon.

It's one of my favorite scriptures, probably because it reminds the reader of the importance of keeping things in proper perspective.

If you don't believe me, check out Chapter 5 in particular.  

The allegories are timeless.

And, they will make you question how you are or are not making your mark in this world.

Kinda makes me wonder why Martin Luther chose to eschew the text (among others).

Not a very wise choice, but I'm sure he had his reasons.

Organizing the backlog

As noted in prior postings, keeping my 2014 resolution forced me to put several books on the "to be read later" pile.

Fifteen to be exact.

Anyway, as part this weekend's flurry of new year housekeeping, I've added a little widget to keep track of these tomes.

It's over there to the right, see it?

Let me know of any titles you think should be added, since I'm not relying on the list makers at the New York Times anymore.

How 2014's best sellers stack-up

My 2014 resolution to read the NYT best seller each week has (thankfully) drawn to a close.   These pix show how they stack-up, so to speak.

First image has them arranged chronologically.  Second is sorted by genre. (L to R): spy/murder "thrillers," creepy stuff by Stephen King, stuff that aspires to be actual literature (with a few successes), period pieces, chick lit, stuff that's probably good but would have required reading too many prequels, and (finally) absolute crap that I didn't look at twice.

So, WTG, America!  I guess points are deserved for making an effort to read at all in this culture of short attention spans. But, I am very much looking forward to a 2015 full of books of my own choosing.

Don't put words in my mouth

It seems like it happens about this time every year: we are confronted with a "news" blurb about a handful of words being added to the dictionary.

I don't know why this annoys me, but it does.

Of particular annoyance this year was the so-called-word "bae."  If you choose to accept it into your personal lexicon, it is supposed to be an abbreviation of the legitimate word "babe."

You know, because "babe" is such a long word and so difficult to pronounce.  It practically demanded an abbreviated form . . .

Annoying as I find this annual assault on English, I am even more disgruntled by ongoing efforts to artificially alter the meanings of age-old words.

As a student of history, I understand words evolve over time--in pronunciation, spelling, and even meaning.  Sometimes, we even adopt words from other languages into English, because they have particular cultural import or when we have no existing term to suffice.  But, in the past, this has been an organic process--not one dictated from on high.

It is Orwellian (if not just plain absurd!) to attempt to legislate a word's definition, be it from a judge's bench or any other locale.

Stop policing our vocabulary!

It is what it is.

Unless, of course, you're Bill Clinton.  In which case, we must settle the meaning of the word "is!"

That is all for today's little rant. 

Book suggestion for the day: "1984," by George Orwell.

Carry on!

And, the 2014 reading resolution is finally over . . .

Last year, I made a resolution to read the #1 book on the New York Times' best seller list (hardcover fiction) each week.

It has been a long (and sometimes torturous) journey in keeping that resolution.

But keep it I did.

I still have a few chapters left of the penultimate volume, then the final book to read.

A complete recap will be posted here for those interested in discovering just what America is reading these days.

For those not interested in said sad assessment, stay tuned.  My resolution for 2015 is to get back into the habit of daily blog posts and they most assuredly will not be confined to book reviews.

Wishing all of you in the blogosphere a happy, healthy, and prosperous 2015.