February, 2008
Carnival: The IGene Awards:GeneaBlogie’s Best!
Overture, curtain, lights! This is it. The night of nights. No more rehearsing or nursing a part. We know every part by heart! Overture, curtain, lights! This is it. We’ll hit the heights! And oh, what heights we’ll hit! On with the show, this is it! Tonight what heights we’ll hit! On with the show, this is it! The Academy …
February 16, 2008 Saturday at 3:14 am
Black Catholics In America: Who Was The First African-American Priest?
The answer is . . . it depends on who you ask. And sometimes the same person will give two different answers! The contenders are Father James Healy (1830-1900), ordained 1854; and Father Augustine Tolton (1854-1897), ordained 1886. The simple genealogical data would seem conclusive: James Healy was the first African-American priest. But it’s not quite that simple. The 1830 …
February 12, 2008 Tuesday at 11:47 pm
Black History Month: Black Catholics in America
I have obliquely alluded, in this space, to the fact that I am of the Roman Catholic faith. This may come as a surprise to a lot of folks, some of whom believe a black Catholic is rarer than a campfire at the North Pole. Frequently, when people learn that I’m a Catholic, they say, “When did you convert?” Well, …
February 10, 2008 Sunday at 6:30 pm
Black History Month: Guinda, California
For those who know the Capay Valley in Yolo County, California, it’s a place of great natural beauty, almond orchards, a few wineries, and (lately, unfortunately), Indian “gaming.” Few folks know that the Capay Valley town of Guinda is rich in African-American history. Read more here.
February 10, 2008 Sunday at 5:45 pm
Black History Month: Dr. Rebecca Davis Lee Crumpler
Today is the 177th anniversary of the birth of Rebecca Davis Lee Crumpler, the first black woman in America to graduate from medical school and practice as a physician. [Early sources say that this distinction belongs to Rebecca Cole; however, it appears that Crumpler graduated several years before Cole]. Sources say she was born in Delaware and that her parents …
February 8, 2008 Friday at 9:39 pm
Old Photo Solves Mystery Drowning After 15 Years
A treasured old photograph, a police investigator’s long-shot appeal to the public and a retiree’s sharp memory have combined to solve a 15-year-old drowning mystery. State police in Somers, N.Y., tried for years to identify a body found in the Titicus Reservoir on June 13, 1993, carrying 38 pounds of rocks in a backpack. The man left no clues to …
February 8, 2008 Friday at 5:23 pm
Family Linguistics
From the Sacramento Bee this morning (February 8, 2008): If you’re looking for distinctive lingo with a heart, tune into the conversations that take place around the house. That’s where families come up with colorful words and terms as individual as Suzy’s untamable cowlicks and Joe’s double-jointed thumbs.. . .Ask people about the special words or expressions their family uses, …
February 8, 2008 Friday at 4:00 pm
Two Heroes: Wilson and Shadrach of Andrews’ Raiders
Note: This is the last in a series of four posts about heroic soldiers who were denied or overlooked for the Medal of Honor at the time of their extraordinary acts. Less than ten days ago, Congress authorized the award of the Medal to five of these men. One of the most daring events of the Civil War took place …
February 7, 2008 Thursday at 11:18 pm
An American Hero: PFC Henry Svehla: Help Bring Him Home
Note: This is the third in a series of four posts about heroic soldiers who were denied or overlooked for the Medal of Honor at the time of their extraordinary acts. Less than ten days ago, Congress authorized the award of the Medal to five of these men.Henry Svehla was born in 1932 in Essex, New Jersey. His ancestors came …
February 7, 2008 Thursday at 1:50 am
