Duchess of Weaselskin

Bayfield, Colorado - With a warm past few days and the snow melting at what seemed a rapid pace, this April Monday started out with cloudy skies and snow began falling at Vallecito Reservoir, in Southwest Colorado around 11:00 a.m. Mountain Daylight Time. But nothing sticking or accumulating even at 5:00p.m. through 7:00p.m. this evening.

Ellis Raymer shared a photo he received from Jack Wheat and a first grade class in Alva, Woods, Oklahoma. Does this first grade photo jog any memories out there?

Tell the GOP, "Stop the War On Women, senior citizens!"
Good Night & Good Luck! View/Write Comments (count 1)   |   Receive updates (1 subscribers)  |   Unsubscribe

100 Years Ago Today - April 2, 1912

New York - In The Evening World, New York, Tuesday, April 2, 1912, there was this headline sprawled across the top of the front page, "First Woman Makes Flight From London To Paris." Although, Miss Mary Davis was only passenger, she was recognized as the first women to cross the English Channel with aviator Gustav W. Hamel made the trip in an Aero-plane from London and landed safely in Paris. It was reported that Miss Davis soared to great heights over water. Miss Davis was reported as saying she "greatly enjoyed her record flight."

London, April 2, 1912 -- Mary Davis was a young woman who had shown great interest in aviation and had been a passenger with many famous aviators. Miss Davis crossed the English Channel in an airplane as the passenger of Gustave Hamel as she set a new record, being the first woman to make the air trip across the Channel.

Hamel and Davis started their trip from Hendon, on the outskirts of London, at 9:38 o'clock, as Hamel immediately shooting his machine 2000 feet up in the air. At 11:15 o'clock the airplane, with Miss Davis and Hamel crossed over Dover and began the passage across the Channel, flying sky high. It was the aviators' intention to pass over Boulogne and make for Paris, but he changed his mind after approaching Boulogne and alighted at noon at Saint Inglevert, not far from Boulogne.

The aviator and passenger said that their trip had been altogether without incident. Mary Davis said that she enjoyed the flight, and they both had lunch at St. Inglevert, which was to the southeast of Cape Grianez, before reporting their arrival to the Aero Club of London. The delay in receiving their report caused anxiety among the friends of the young woman and the aviator, who had gathered at the Aero Club to get news of the trip.

The Boulogne citizens were disappointed greatly that Hamel did not land in the city, in which a great reception had been planned for them, as the Mayor and common council awaited them. Watchers at Boulogne watched the sky carefully for hours for a speck in the sky for the aeronaut and his companion.

It was later in the day that Hamel and Miss Davis again ascended and proceeded to Paris, arriving safely in the French Capital. Enthusiasm was great in the aviation circles there over the new record Miss Davis had made for her sex. She was described as an absolutely fearless woman, always ready to take any invitation extended to her by an aviator.

Paris, April 2, 1912 -- Gustave Hamel, with his woman passenger, Miss Mary Davis, after a short stay in Saint Inglevert, after a the flight across the english Channel, made another ascent and flew to Paris, where they arrived on the aviation ground at Issy-les-Moulineaux at five minutes to six that evening. View/Write Comments (count 0)   |   Receive updates (0 subscribers)  |   Unsubscribe

NW Okie's Corner

Bayfield, Colorado - Today was the day that 1940 U.S. Census archives came out and you can start your search in the 1940's collection featuring more than one billion hand-selected U.S. records to help you locate your family in the 1940 and years beyond. You might find it overloaded with requests, though, so keep trying.

Gerald was telling us this week that there was another older Hugh McLaughlin that married the daughter (Agnes Nancy Gwin) of David Gwin. The Sq. Hugh McLaughlin Gerald was talking about last week was born in 1801 and married the granddaughter of David GWIN.

I also asked Gerald about the "Old Sam Lindsay place" and to see if I can get a recent photo of the place, where it was located. I understand it is where the Gwin/Echard cemetery is located. Would love to see some photos of it today and how to get to it from Monterey or Mountain Grove, Virginia.

The last time I was there was some 40 years ago when Dad flew us back to Virginia when my sister, Dorthy, was attending Greenbrier College for Women. Anyway, I remember a few things from that trip like the huge staked tomatoes, Virginia ham and homemade biscuits that Sam's wife, Lucy made for us. I believe now that some of the "old" Virginia photos I have put up on Picasa and Flickr showing my dad, grandmother Constance Warwick McGill and Gwin/Echard relatives posing in front of what I believe is the Gwin/Echard farm place near Mountain Grove, in the Highland Valley of Virginia. We know that the GWIN/Echard cemetery is located on the "Old Sam's Lindsay" place, and the house was/is a two-story house. Is it still standing, though? We would love to see what it looks like today and if it is still owned within the Gwin/Echard family.

Stop the War On Women, middleclass, & Senior Citizens!
Good Night & Good Luck!
Think Globally! View/Write Comments (count 0)   |   Receive updates (0 subscribers)  |   Unsubscribe

Highland County Virginia - Civil War 1861

Highland County, Virginia - This week we explore Highland county of Virginia and it's history and attitude of Highland people and the militia companies and the Battle of Camp Alleghany (13 December 1861, 105 acres, Pocahontas County, West Virginia) in the war of 1861 (Civil War) and how it affected Highland.


View Larger Map
This is a Google interactive map of Monterey, Virginia that you can zoom in and out to get a view of the surroundings.

In the presidential contest of 1860 the two great sections of the Union were arrayed against one another, each having a radical and a conservative candidate. The North presented Lincoln and Douglas. The South presented Breckenridge and Bell. Lincoln and Breckenridge represented the extremes in the four-sided contest. Only a handful of Southern men, and these in the border states, voted for Lincoln (Republican). Only a handful of Northern men, except in the small area where a fusion of the Douglas and Breckenridge followers was attempted, voted for Breckenridge. The conservative Douglas had a considerable number of votes in the South and the conservative Bell a considerable number in the North. Lincoln won the election because he was the successful candidate of the more populous section. Lincoln lacked a million votes of having a majority over the other three men.

It was the temper of the times that caused the political fight be be followed by the appeal to arms. In each section the conservative element came over to a more or less complete support of the radical, except in portions of the border states.

Highland gave a majority of more than 100 to Douglas, the Northern conservative. The vote in Highland was significant of the feeling of the people. It was Unionist from the Southern viewpoint. Secession was not in favor. Nine-tenths of the people were white, and the organization of society was more Northern than Southern.Yet the political sentiment was Southern. The river bottoms were largely held by a wealthy and influential class of slave holders. The commercial outlets were eastward, where the distinctive Southern feeling was still more pronounced. Unlike many counties west of the Alleghany, its social and industrial contact with the North was slight.

When the crisis came, in April of 1861, the people of Highland Valley followed their honest conceptions of civic duty, just as people did in all sections of the Union, both North and South. The mass of the Highland people sided with the action of their state, but there were some persons of undecided convictions. Some could not bring themselves to uphold secession and kept out of military service or went within the Federal lines.

George W. Hull was a delegate to the convention of 1861, opposed secession until President Lincoln's call on Virginia for 2,700 volunteers to help put down the revolution in the cotton states brought matters to a crisis. George Hull reluctantly, supported the measure.

George W. Hull/Hohl was a my 1st cousin 5 times removed through the following ancestors:

1. Hannah KEISTER (1757 - 1837), Mother of George W.
2. Frederick KEISTER (1730 - 1815), Father of Hannah Esther KEISTER (1767 - 1825) Daughter of Frederick
3. Esther (Hester) HULL (1804 - 1853), Daughter of Esther
4. William Fechtig WARWICK (1822 - 1902), Son of Esther (Hester)
5. John Robert WARWICK (1857 - 1937), Son of William Fechtig
6. Constance Estella WARWICK (1882 - 1968), Daughter of John Robert
7. Gene M MCGILL (1914 - 1986), father of Linda Kay McGill Wagner.

Sweden To Give Women Vote And Parliament Seat

Sweden - In the same edition of The Evening World, dated 2 April 1912, we find that Sweden gave women the vote and parliament seat. The government bill conferred equal rights with men in the elections.

Stockhom, Sweden, April 2, 1912 -- The Swedish Government had introduced a bill into Parliament extending to women the Parliamentary franchise and the right to stand for election to Parliament on the same condition as men. Women whose husbands have not paid taxes for three years were excluded from the vote, though. View/Write Comments (count 0)   |   Receive updates (0 subscribers)  |   Unsubscribe

2 April 1912 - New England Is Fast Lining Up For Roosevelt

New England - It is in The Washington Times, dated Tuesday evening, 2 April 1912, that we find the headlines, "New England Is Fast Lining Up For Roosevelt." Vermont and Maine would be followed by other States, as the New York contest grows bitter. Taft managers had abandoned hope of winning on first ballot. Anyone old enough to remember hearing stories about the battle between Taft and Roosevelt in April, 1912?

This 1912 news article was written by Judson C. Welliver, in April, 1912, claiming that (Teddy) Roosevelt had captured both the Vermont and the Maine State conventions, and that New Hampshire and the preponderating share of Massachusetts would follow their lead. The Roosevelt managers had issued an enthusiastic declaration that they had seized the better part of New England, routed Taft in the territory that was expected to be his Gibraltar, and decided the Presidential fight.

It was reported that the Roosevelt situation was regarded as better than ever before, partly because of the New England victories, and partly by reason of the now announced purpose of the New York bosses to permit no instructions.

See Campaign Crumbling

As the news article continues, "William Barnes, Jr., of Albany, is the man who has made this situation, all at once, the mort engrossing in the whole fight. Next week will see the crumbling of the Taft campaign, for New York, Maine, and Vermont will all hold their conventions then. New York meets at Rochester, Vermont at Burlington, and Maine at Bangor."

Desperate efforts were then known and made by Taft people for months past to get an instructed delegation from New York. It was thought that if Roosevelt could be badly defeated in New York county, it would convince the State machine that an endorsement of Taft would be good politics. BUT . . . the New York primaries constituted such a tremendous fiasco that the bad politics of a Taft instruction became more apparent than ever.

It was reported that Barnes stated positively some time ago, the place then held by William Loeb, if Loeb would come in and use his power to get instructions for the president. But Loeb refused and said he was equally hostile to Roosevelt and Taft. Loeb was hostile to Roosevelt because Roosevelt was too progressive. Loeb refused Taft because he can't win.

Mr. Barnes comes of a race of great politicians and wanted to boss New York in his time, as his ancestors had done. But what was the use of bossing the party, if the State was in control of the other party? Barnes wanted the substance, not the shadow, of power. He wanted to keep New York in the Republican column, therefore, he wanted to make it the pivot at the national convention, the maker of a Presidential nomination. That was reported as Barnes' game back then.

It was reported that if Barnes won int he big part he was playing, he would likely be chairman of the national committee in 1912.

Lower Mississippi Valley Flood

Also in that same newspaper was mention of a flood crisis in the lower Mississippi valley, April 2, 1912, within 48 hours. The people of the entire valley were fleeing from the lowlands back of the levees. The river had risen a foot at Memphis within the last twenty-four hours and the levees were strained to the breaking point.

Stirred by the desperate situation, president Taft rushed to Congress an emergency message asking for the immediate appropriation of $500,000 to be expended in relieving the present dangerous conditions, and averting a possible great life and property loss as the Mississippi and the Missouri rivers were breaking over their banks and threatening to wash away the protecting levees and the smaller contributory streams unable to empty into the two big rivers were backing up and flooding the cities and towns along their shores.

Havoc Wrought by Floods

~ Hickman, KY - hundreds homeless and 1000 men out of work as result of break in levee. Estimated property loss $100,000.

~ Columbus, KY - flood so high small steamer launches run through streets.

~ St. Louis, MO - One million dollars estimate of damage in northern Indiana and Illinois.

~ St. Joseph, MO - Missouri river above flood stage and families in lowlands have abandoned homes.

~ Cedar Rapids, IA - Cedar River has left banks and has flooded homes and stores.

~ Des Moines, IA - One hundred families driven from home by flood. View/Write Comments (count 0)   |   Receive updates (0 subscribers)  |   Unsubscribe

April 1st, 1912 - Third Party Vision Looms Up Stronger

America - If you go back in time to 1 April 1912, Monday, The Washington Times was reporting that a possible third party vision was looming on the sidelines and getting stronger. And . . . Standard Oil was loosing it's Supreme Court Appeal. Let us look at the news article that Judson C. Welliver wrote concerning the 3rd party vision that politicians avoided discussing as the rumors were spreading all over the country. Thoughts were that if Taft, Clark or Harmon get nomination inducement, a new faction would grow.

One of the evidences was found in the fact that newspaper correspondents, representing papers in all sections of the country, had recently been asked to investigate the origin of persistent reports about a third party movement. It was reported that among men who might be involved in it, said there was no ground at that time for such a belief of a planned third party.

Politicians were silent. It was also reported that the fact that everybody seemed more interested than the politicians, and that the politicians avoid discussion of the subject while the people were anxious to hear about it, which warranted the growing feeling that conditions may develop in 1912 to make a third party movement a serious affair.

Welliver also reported, "No third party movement in this country could produce the result which Lincoln's nomination in 1860 brought about, unless it brought together three elements that have never been very amiably disposed toward each other. The three elements are rather vaguely represented by the names of leaders most intimately associated, in the public mind, with them. If these three men could be brought together in an independent party movement, and if they should, in turn, be able to bring in their respective personal followings, they would make a Presidential campaign more mixed than any since 1860."

These three men were Theodore Roosevelt, William J. Bryan and Robert M. LaFollette. If you went anywhere among the politicians, you would hear that if these three men could bet on the same platform of popularizing the government, could co-operate in a national convention of a new party, would bury minor differences and fight on the common ground of bringing the government back to the people.

It was no secret that a large element of people in the Republican party, including those holding very high political positions as members of the party, had long discussed the question of whether the party had much longer to exist as a compromise between hopelessly opposed progressive and reactionary elements.

Bryan, Roosevelt and LaFollette had all been reliable party men. Bryan was once a populist for a short time, but since his arrival among first-class figures in national affairs he had always kept his regularity on straight, albeit the substance was not very notable at times. Roosevelt in 1884, was a very young man already a leader in his party, supported Blaine after it was generally conceded that he would bolt. LaFollette in 1904, though his Wisconsin delegation was thrown out of the national convention, remained regular. In 1908, though, he was invited to get out, but he stayed in the party.

Bryan and LaFollette were sincere and close personal friends, but between Bryan and Roosevelt, or LaFollette and Roosevelt, there had never been any lavish affection. Neither pair had been drawn together. It would be only a most extraordinary set of circumstances that would bring these three men to call upon their respective followings in a fight to create a new party.

It was thought that if Clark or Harmon could get the Democratic nomination, and if Taft could get the Republican, then the inducement for a third party would be vastly increased. The progressives in both parties, beaten at home, would see no chance at all unless they should get together in a new party for all progressives. That was the condition most likely to make a third party a serious possibility. View/Write Comments (count 0)   |   Receive updates (0 subscribers)  |   Unsubscribe

Women Suffrage Movement of 1920's

Missouri - It was in The Evening Missourian, out of Columbia, Missouri, Thursday February 5, 1920, page 3, that we find the article concerning women suffrage movement, with the headlines "Women Will Mix In Politics of 1920." It was predicted that a large number would take part in National elections, and States rank high as Missouri leaders press Kentucky and Illinois for leadership.

New York, Feb. 4, 1920 -- "That the political campaigns of 1920 will see a larger array of American women taking part in national affairs than ever before is proved by the number of women already active in the councils of the two major parties as well as the now victorious suffrage association."

There was to be a National American Woman suffrage Association in Chicago in May, and Illinois and Kentucky took first rank, with New York and Missouri pressing them hard for leadership.

Mrs. John G. South of Frankfort, who for three years was president of the association, was chairman of the National Republican Women's Committee. Mrs. Samuel T. Castleman of Louisville, vice-president of the association, is the Kentucky member of the women's committee, National Democratic Committee.

Mrs. George Bass of Chicago of the women's committee, National Democratic Committee, and Mrs. Medill McCormick, wife of the Illinois senator, retiring chairman of the National Republican Women's Committee, were both leaders in the Illinois Equal Suffrage Association.

Mrs. Fletched Dobyns of Chicago and Mrs. Howard T. Willson of Virden were the state chairmen of the women's committees of the Republican and Democratic committees, respectively.

Although, Illinois and Kentucky held the first places in women's party leadership owing to the fact they had furnished the only national chairmen, New YOrk and Missouri were hard by with candidates for honors. New York City League of Women Voters had furnished Miss Mary Garrett Hay, chairman of the executive committee of the women's division of the National Republican committee, while the state league had given Mrs. Arthur Livermore as state chairman of the Republican women's committee.

Suffragist, Mrs. David O'Neil of St. Louis and Mrs. Alfred Bruggeman of St. Louis were Missouri's members of the Democratic and Republican national committee, respectively. Miss Alma B. Sasse of Brunswick, state chairman of the Missouri Republican Women's committee, has the distinction of being the youngest state chairman in the U.S. View/Write Comments (count 0)   |   Receive updates (0 subscribers)  |   Unsubscribe