stories of america
-
The Pilgrims Weren’t Exactly Great Neighbors
Most of us learned a fairly tidy version of the Mayflower story in school. A ship full of Pilgrims crossed the Atlantic in 1620 in search of religious freedom, landed in a strange new wilderness, struggled through a terrible first winter, and – with the help of the Native people they encountered – managed to… Continue reading
-
Want to Join the Union Army? Open Wide.
Imagine showing up to enlist in the Union Army during the Civil War and being told to open your mouth. The Army wanted to see your teeth. And not just because they were concerned about whether you could chew your dinner. Civil War soldiers carried ammunition in paper cartridges. To load a rifle-musket, a soldier… Continue reading
-
One Week in Charleston: 118 Deaths in 1836
Sometimes I find history when I’m not looking for it. While searching old newspaper archives for something entirely unrelated, I came across this report published in The Charleston Daily Courier on October 4, 1836. It is a mortality report from the Charleston (South Carolina) Board of Health, and what gave me pause was not simply… Continue reading
-
Greenfield Village: Where History is Still Happening
There are places where you go to learn about history, and then there are places where you can walk straight into it. Greenfield Village in Dearborn, Michigan is very much the latter. Spread across 80 acres, adjacent to the Henry Ford Museum of American Innovation, the village is filled with historic homes, workshops, farms, businesses,… Continue reading
-
An 11-Year Old Almon Hunt and a Hanging in Norwalk
Sometimes the most interesting pieces of family history are hiding in a single sentence. While searching old newspapers, I came across an article in the September 8, 1894, Sandusky Register about Huron County, Ohio. Near the end, the wandering correspondent stopped to mention a familiar name: “Almon Hunt is the oldest man here; he is… Continue reading
-
Varina Davis, Mary Bowser, and a Very Revealing Letter: Life Thoughts After the Civil War
A few years ago I came across the story of Mary Bowser, a formerly enslaved woman who became a Union spy in Richmond during the Civil War. Bowser reportedly worked inside the Confederate White House, where Jefferson Davis lived with his wife, Varina, and passed information she gathered there to the Union. Naturally, that sent… Continue reading
-
The Crowd at John Brown’s Hanging
John Brown remains one of the most complicated figures in American history. A fierce abolitionist who came to believe slavery would never be destroyed peacefully, Brown was willing to use violence against those who defended it. In 1856, during the bloody conflict over whether Kansas would enter the Union as a free or slave state,… Continue reading
-
When Sandusky, Ohio Had Four Buildings: The Memories of Almon Hunt (1808-1896)
Some of my favorite genealogy discoveries are the documents that let me see beyond the basic facts of an ancestor’s life. The 1889 letter below from Almon Hunt is one of those treasures. Rather than simply telling me where the family lived or when they moved, Almon tells me what he actually remembered – the… Continue reading
-
Before Wendy’s, There Was A Bucket of Chicken
Some of the most interesting history is hiding in the most ordinary places – including the food we eat every day. While watching the History Channel’s The Food That Built America, I learned a fascinating little piece of fast-food history involving Dave Thomas, Colonel Sanders, a bucket of chicken and eventually, a Frosty. Dave Thomas,… Continue reading
-
Twenty Minutes from Home: The Battle of Fallen Timbers
Sometimes the most fascinating history isn’t found hundreds of miles away – it is practically in our own backyard. Just twenty minutes from my home lies the site of the Battle of Fallen Timbers, fought on August 20, 1794, near present-day Maumee, Ohio. I have visited the battlefield several times over the years, but today,… Continue reading
Tiny Acorns & Mighty Oaks 