Our Story So Far: In 1820, the United States Congress decided to link what had been several separate measures to admit Missouri (a slave state) and Maine (a free state) to the Union and to prohibit slavery in the territories north and west of Missouri. This legislative package was known as the Missouri Compromise. The [...]
Continue reading about Rise Above the Noise and Confusion . . .The Civil War Starts in the Heartland
In Appreciation: Veterans Day 2007 In 1954, Congress and President Eisenhower re-designated Armistice Day as Veterans Day to honor all veterans, living and dead. My uncle, Richard Edward Gines, served as a sergeant in the U.S. Army Air Forces at the end of World War II. Following his discharge, he continued his education at New [...]
At eleven a.m. on November 11, 1918, a cease-fire went into effect in France between the Allied Powers and Germany, effectively ending “The War to End All Wars.” This day was thereafter known as Armistice Day in the United States and Remembrance Day in the British Commonwealth. For many years, a moment of silence was [...]
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Thanks to a link I found in the Genealogical Research Resources Group started by Denise Olson, I found myself at the Historic Missouri Newspaper Research Project. The project is a collaboration among several institutions in Missouri, including Lincoln University, the University of Missouri- Columbia Libraries, the Kansas City Public Library, and the State Historical Society [...]
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Click here for Marine HymnYesterday, we noted the November 6 birthday of John Philip Sousa, leader of the Marine Band. Today we recognize the entire Corps. On November 10, 1775, the Continental Congress passed the following resolution: “That two battalions of Marines be raised consisting of one Colonel, two Lieutenant-Colonels, two Majors, and other officers, [...]
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“The March King,” John Philip Sousa was born November 6, 1854, in Washington, DC. Thus began a life-long association with United States Marine Band. Sousa’s father, John Antonio Sousa, was a trombonist in the Marine Band. Sousa grew up in Washington and studied music under John Esputa, Jr. He became a very skillful violinist by [...]
Over at Family Matters, Denise Olson is sharing a veritable treasure trove of genealogical on-line resources. The links she’s been posting are part of the collection at the Genealogy Research Resources Group at Diigo, a self-described “social annotation” site. I had not used Diigo until now, but it seems simple and a great way to [...]
Thanks to Sally Jacobs for pointing this out [actually late last year]: The Donald C. Davidson Library at the University of California, Santa Barbara, has a “Cylinder Preservation and Digitization Project” going in its Department of Special Collections. Here’s what the librarians say about this fascinating project: Cylinder recordings, the first commercially produced sound recordings, [...]
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This story’s been around awhile, but I’ve just studied it in depth for the first time. You were taught in school, of course, that America was named after a Welshman, Richard Amerike (or in Welsh, ap Meryk), who was the patron of a Genoan sailor, Giovanni Cabatto (“John Cabot”), who in1497 sailed from England to [...]
Continue reading about The United States of Ap Meryk; Or Why Are There No Amerikens in Amerike
I have loathed and feared November for as long as I can recall. It’s odd, strange, dark month. Perhaps this fear and loathing got started on that most horrible of all November weekends some forty-four years ago. (If you’re of a certain age, you “know exactly where you were when you heard . . . [...]
