HARD TIMES

NOTES ON HENDERSON YOAKUM FROM THE TEXAS ARCHIVES

2010-05-11T09:51:00.004-05:00

If all men were as high minded and honourable as Henderson Yoakum, the world would roll smoothly around its axis, until it just wore out, without any of those jars, discords, strifes & contentions which now distract & disgrace it.
Pleasant Williams Kittrell (1805 - 1867)

Henderson Yoakum's home near Huntsville, where he wrote the first
History of Texas in 1855.

During my visit to Austin, Texas, some years ago (see my earlier post "Deep in the Heart of Texas" for an account of this trip), I stopped at the state archives and had a number of papers pertaining to Henderson Yoakum copied and mailed to me. I have transcribed some of those papers below:

13 Feb 1833 Place: Monroe Co., Tennessee

Source: Holdings of the Texas State Archives

Envelope: Robt. Cannon Esq.
New Philadelphia, East Tenn.
(via Campbell Station)

Murfreesboro, Tenn.
April 3, 1833

Dear Mother,

I take this opportunity of writing to you to let you know we are well, and in fine spirits. As for Henderson, he is so used to being from home that it does not hurt him to leave his people, and, for my part, I have made so many affable acquaintances, that my mind is too much occupied and diverted to think much about home. But this of itself, would not be sufficient to keep up my spirits were I not consoled by the presence of the one I love better than all my kinfolks, dear as they are to me. Among my acquaintances are Judge Mitchell’s family, in the country, and the John Laughlin family in town, all of whom have treated us with the greatest possible kindness. Mrs. Welker, that is, Judge Mitchell’s daughter, is one of the finest ladies I ever was acquainted with. She is so kind and affectionate, and withal such a great talker, that I have no time to indulge in thoughts about home.

This is one of the most beautiful countries in the world. It is level, and like Murfreesboro is healthy. We are now at the Laughlins in town, and will go to housekeeping in a few days.
Henderson is busily engaged in studying Law. He says he thinks he’ll get his license in about six months when he will be able to live by his own industry. He is going to have a Grench school, which will occupy but little of his time, and be of some profit to us. The Judge advises that if he can make out to live in the mean time, he ought to turn his attention to his studies. The Judge says by way of (smudged) that when he began the practice of Law he was (smudged) hundred in debt, and otherwise worse (smudged) than nothing.
Henderson is trying to teach me to read and write, but I make a good jest, as you see. I should like very much to hear from you and papa. Give my love to Eliza. I think of her often, and also to Uncle Mathew’s family.

Please accept the affections of your child,

Evaline

To Robt. Cannon Esq. If you see any of our acquaintances coming to Nashville, tell them to call and see us. Tell Wm. Allen I paid Mr. Sublett two dollars for him. Please accept the assurance of my regard. H. Yoakum

Henderson Yoakum moved to Texas at the tail end of the Republic and on the cusp of the great migration that would come with annexation. His friendship with Sam Houston, a leading figure in the American Revolution, brought him in contact with the movers and shakers of his time. His diary discusses his introduction to the state’s future senators and governors.

In his 1954 doctoral dissertation at the University of Texas, Herbert Howard Lang talked of Henderson’s roots:

“Henderson King Yoakum was born on September 6, 1810, at Yoakum’s Station in Powell’s Valley, Claiborne County, Tennessee. His ancestors, of Welsh origin, had migrated to New Amsterdam with a group of early Dutch settlers. His great-grandfather, Valentine Yoakum, had moved from New York to Greenbrier County, Virginia, where, in 1771, he built a fort, which he called Yoakum’s Station. Valentine Yoakum, his wife, and all of their children, with the exception of their son George, were massacred in a Shawnee Indian raid on the fort.

NOTES: Sister Eliza (Elizabeth Martin) married Thomas H. Moore.

=======================

FROM THE TEXAS STATE ARCHIVES

When he died in 1856, his estate estimated he had nearly 9,000 acres valued at $17,773, with the majority being in Walker County, where he lived, and the rest spread through Polk, Houston, Cherokee (willed to a nephew), Leon and Trinity counties. In Polk, he owned land that was part of the George Wright Red River Co. appraised at $400 an acre.

Leaves from H. Yoakum’s Diary.

From Texas Archives, Austin.

Saturday, May 31, 1845. (at Smithland, Kentucky?) Our boat ran aground last evening, and we were prevented from reaching this place til this evening. We start home after supper tonight, for Nashville in the “Doctor Watson.”

At home Monday 2 June. Reached Nashville today at 10 a.m. and home by four p.m. and found all well for which I am grateful.

June 10, 1845. Gen. Jackson departed this life on Tuesday last at 6 p.m. 8 (mst) at his residence in the full possession of his mental faculties. During the last thirty years no man has filled a larger space in the world’s eye.
The Mexican Congress by a vote of 41 to 13 in the House and unanimously in the Senate did on the 3 of May ult. acknowledged the independence of Texas on condition she would not be annexed to the U. States.
Gen. Houston lately made a speech in New Orleans, admitted that he “had coquetted a little with Great Britain, and made the United States as jealous of that power as he possibly could.” He arrived at the Hermitage a few moments after Gen. Jackson expired.
A man by the name of Booth has written a letter to Mr. Clay and to our Pres. Polk to know their views in regard to the division of the Methodist church. The Prest. very properly declined an answer. Mr. Clay has come out expressing the idea that said a division would tend to weaken the union.

Huntsville. November 27. 1845. Yesterday we went to house keeping in the house, old, open, leake and smoky. In addition to all this, there has been a severe “northern” ever since. Yet we have some sweet potatoes and coffee, upon which we try to make ourselves as comfortable as we can.

Dec. 1, 1845. Last night the cold was considerable. The thermometer (Reaumer) being at Cincinatti (Texas) light this morning three degrees below zero.
Introduced to Gen. (T.J.) Rusk, one of the most considerable men in Texas. His character is pronounced excellent. He is of good stature, rather fleshy, a countenance evincing good nature rather than good intellect. He is expected to be one of the first Texas senators to the U. States Congress. It is said he’s too fond of his liquor - a fault very common among the prominent men of Texas. His politics while in the states are said to have been whiggish; though it is said he will not cooperate with the democratic party.
Also became acquainted with Judge W.B. Ochiltree, a man of decided character, warm feelings, seems genius, a thorough going democrat, but too strong in the expression of his views to meet with a hearty reception from all quarters.
Also met Gen. (J. Pinckney) Henderson, an old acquaintance, having seen him in 1836. He is a candidate for Governor under the new constitution. Is mild and conciliating in his manners, much liked by the people, of homely appearance, good sense, strongly democratic in his sentiment. Had only a nominal opposition, and will, if he lived, take his seat as the first governor of Texas as one of the states of the Union.
Much is said of the relative popularity of Rusk and Houston. There is little doubt they will both go to the senate; should a contest however arise between them, the result at present would undoubtedly be in favor of Houston.
Liquor and profanity are at present the distinquishing faults of the great men of Texas.
The town of Crockett is a new place, prettily situated some 12 miles from Trinity in the middle of one of the largest and prettiest counties in Texas.
Sworn in today as an attorney and counsellor of Law in Texas.
Gen. Rusk disgraced himself today by getting desperately drunk.
The country from Cincinnati (Texas) to Crockett lies beautifully, but is for the most part second rate land. Though said to be good cotton land.

December 5, 1845. (In Edwards, five miles from Parker’s bluff, Trinity) Passed from Crockett north 38 miles to Fort Houston, thence 15 miles west across the Trinity to this place. Described the saline flats at Edwards. The yield of salt at present is one bushel for eighty gallons of water.
Fort Houston is finely situated on a hill; is now a new town and quite small. It will probably grow to be a considerable plan. I am now on the border of the great buffalo and wild horse.
August 1847. (In Huntsville) Gen. Houston denounces (C. Edwards) Lester’s book (“Sam Houston and His Republic”) as a burlesque, that he had occupied only about thirty hours in dictating to him, and that Lester had left out the very best incidents in his life.
Aug. 14, 1847. (Yoakum, Henderson) Col. (Isaac) Vanzant and Gen. (George T.) Wood candidates for Governor spoke here today. Vanzant is quite an able speaker, and a gentleman of general information. Wood is a very plain man of moderate abilities and no speaker at all. Yet his good character and popularity are such that he will probably be Governor.”
Aug. 19, 1847. Huntsville. Several items in regard to the progress of our arms in Mexico. The drought here has been very great; vegetation is nearly burnt up. Old settlers say they have not seen such a one in Texas.
Aug. 21, 1847. Gen. Scott was in Puebla July 30.
May 1848. Notes on the presidential candidates of the United States. Santa Anna has left Mexico and gone to Cuba.
May 12, 1848. Comment of Generals Scott and Gid J. Pillow, occasioned by their appearing before a court of inquiry. Gen. Houston remarked … that he never knew a man who signed himself T. Jefferson Chambers, J. Pinckney Henderson, or any such name, that was of any account.”

1848. Gen. Scott’s letter to the Secretary of War, charging him and the administration with many things, called forth a reply from Secretary March that completely demolished Scott.

CONDOLENCE LETTER FROM PETER W. GRAY

Dec. 1, 1856

My dear Mrs. Yoakum,

I hardly know what to say, or how to express my feelings about the death of your good and loving husband, and my sincere friend. My sorrow has been great - and it is increased when I think of the sadness and distress it must cause you and your family.

I trust however it will be some consolation to you all to be assured that he received all the attention in his sickness it was possible for his friends here to give. (Smudge) Clepper of Montgomery who came down with him and Wm Porter, both were most kind and attentive. I was with him every day, and when ever my duties in Court allow it.

As soon as I received information of his arrival in town and sickness (on Monday evening last) I went to see him, and immediately procured the best medical aid. Dr. McCraven who has attended on my family for many years and in as experienced physician attended him. Up to Friday evening, he was doing aapparently well, and had been relieved of the severe pain he suffered at first on that evening an abscess seemed to have broken in his lungs. He expectorated to a great deal - suffered very much from it, and continued to grow worse until he died on Sunday morning at 1½ o’clock.

From the first he seemed to think that he would not get well. On Tuesday morning, he made his will, which I enclose to you. He said he had made one before, but as the law was now changed, he wished to change the will. Next day, he said that there was another thing he wanted to add to it, but afterwards, on my advice not to trouble himself about it, he let it pass.

What he wanted to add was this - that his library should be given to whichever of his sons should hereafter seem to take most pleasure in books or who would profit most by them. And that he wished me to take care of his historical manuscripts and papers until a state historical society was formed and then to give them to such society for preservation.

During his illness, his mind was often wandering and flighty, but very clear when aroused. He expressed his entire faith in God and that he would do what was right though he said once that he did not wish to die yet. He retained his senses until a very short time before he died and departed easily and without a struggle. His spirit left his weary body in calmness and peace. I felt entire confidence that he has attained the Christian’s reward and blissful abode. We should not then sorrow as those without hope but place our trust and confidence as he did in the goodness and mercy of God, who doeth all things well.

Mrs. Gray has written to you and Mrs. Campbell. She went to his sick bed a few hours before his death. He knew her and smiled pleasantly and said he was glad to see her and wish her well if he soever saw her again. It seemed to cheer him to see his friends about him.
He spoke to me of the birth of another son since he left home, and his being absent from you and his children seemed to distress him more than anything else.

I cannot say in a letter half I wish, but I wish you to feel comforted with the assurance that your husband wanted for nothing that could be done, and that he gave full evidence that our loss is his eternal gain.

Mr. Branch’s arrival today has relieved Mr. Porter and myself very much. We had made all preparation for the removal of the (deceased) and tomorrow Mr. Branch will return with the (splotch). I have settled all the bills and expensces incurred here during the sickness, and enclose a statement of them, with receipts for most.

I trust we shall meet again and I shall be most happy to render you every aid in my power. Praying that the God of the fatherless and widows may bless and keep you,

I am Your friend

P.W. Gray

Remembering Carl “Cedar Buck” Cabbage (1918 - 1987)

2010-04-18T07:22:00.002-05:00

Author's note: Cedar Buck Cabbage, who died on Dec. 10, 1987, would have been 92 today April 18, 2010. He may be gone, but his broad grin and those bright blue eyes have left an indelible print on those of us who spent a lifetime appreciating his special charm. Happy Birthday, Cedar Buck, wherever you are!

Family vacations when I was growing up in Detroit, Mich., were spent in Lone Mountain, where my mother, Louise Yoakum Marchio, and many of her forebears lived and died. If we arrived in the summer, we knocked off the long, dense cobwebs and cleared out the dead chimneysweeps in my great-grandfather Mr. J.W.D. Hill’s old house, vacated when the family moved to Michigan for badly needed war jobs. But if we traveled in the winter, we always stayed with my Aunt Dallas and Uncle Ed Jennings. They lived on the old Jennings farm where Joe Davis later built his auto recycling empire, called simply a junkyard back then.

On those frosty mornings at Aunt Dallas’ farmhouse, a little girl used to central heating would be acutely aware of the temperature difference under the quilts and outside them. I soon learned the practical habit of leaving my day’s outfit within reach so I could quickly if awkwardly dress under those covers. But, most of all, I was grateful to the man who had patiently built a morning fire in the living room. That man was Carl Lee Cabbage, who became my friend as a child but who had already been my mother’s companion for decades.

Carl, born on April 18, 1919, was the son of Dallas Gose Cabbage Jennings. His father, James Lafayette Cabbage, had been a teacher. The Cabbage family tradition says that two Revolutionary War soldiers came to this part of the country and never left.

Thanks to first family reports written by my sister Nell Marchio Quesenbery of Lone Mountain and printed in the Claiborne County Progress back in the 1980s, I have also developed an interest in genealogy. Through the Internet, I discovered some interesting facts about the Cabbage family.

Carl’s ancestor was the Revolutionary War vet John Cabbage, who was born on Feb. 24, 1758, in Chester County, Pa. In John Cabbage’s pension application papers filed on March 11, 1834, in Campbell County, Tenn., he states that he served the Virginia militia. Also filing in Campbell County was James Cabbage, whose military papers were never located. John Cabbage died on Jan. 8, 1852 in Union Co., Tenn.

Carl descends from:

(1) John Cabbage’s son, Jacob Cabbage, born in 1794 in Grainger Co., who married Frances Ann Bolton on Dec. 7, 1818, in Grainger Co. Frances, born in 1789 in Virginia, was the daughter of Thomas and Jemima (Hammack) Bolton. She died in 1865.

(2) Russel T. Cabbage (Jan. 19, 1825 TN - May 7, 1907) married Rebecca Ann Haynes (July 17, 1835 - May 5, 1905 Union Co., TN), daughter of Carlisle and Mary (Williams) Haynes. Mary Haynes was the granddaughter of William and Polly (Pennybacker) Williams.

(3) Carlisle Marion Cabbage (March 19, 1860 TN - April 17, 1940 Knoxville, buried in Cabbage Cemetery, Grainger Co.) Carlisle married Martha Ann Reagan (July 22, 1861 TN - Jan. 25, 1940 Knoxville, buried in Cabbage Cemetery, near the Black Fox church, Grainger Co.) on Feb. 29, 1880 in Grainger Co. Their children were:
1. Caltha Cabbage (1881- ).
2. Victor Cabbage (May 3, 1885 - Dec. 1, 1968 Knox, buried in National Cemetery, Knoxville.).
3. James LaFayette Cabbage (1887 Grainger - 1922, Aberdeen, Wash., burial Gose Cemetery, Lone Mountain, Claiborne, TN).
4. Thomas N. Cabbage (born 1889, Grainger).
5. Jesse Mae Cabbage (July 5, 1896, Grainger - March 25, 1928. Killed by a streetcar in Aberdeen, Wash., burial Cabbage Cemetery, Grainger).
6. Doris Irene Cabbage (April 14, 1901 - June 17, 1941, Grainger, burial Cabbage Cemetery, Grainger).

Young James Lafayette Cabbage was a personable schoolteacher when he married Dallas Gose. The West called to the newlyweds, however, and they traveled to Aberdeen, Wash., where “Fate” was a manager in a lumber company. A baby with the bluest of blue eyes was born to this handsome couple in Aberdeen. They named him Carl. Little Carl was hardly 3 when family tragedy struck. The hotel where Fate was staying caught fire and he was killed when he tried to jump to safety from the second-story. The grieving widow Dallas and her son escorted his body back Claiborne County and he was buried in the Gose cemetery, near Bear Creek, on a hilltop above the old Gose farm.

Lou Dallas Gose was born about 1895 to a prominent family at Walker’s Ford, which was on the main road to Knoxville until it was drowned by Norris Lake. Her father was John R. Gose (born about 1849), who married the widow Manila Walker Smith about 1880.

The death of Manila’s first husband, James Smith (brother of the Rev. Ballard Smith) is recorded in Mary A. Hansard’s “Old Time Tazewell.” Manila was the daughter of James Walker Sr., who lived on a farm on Bear Creek that eventually became the property of John Gose, son of Stephen Gose of Straight Creek. When James Walker died, his wife, the former Mary Ann Campbell (daughter of Barnie Campbell of Cedar Fork) was left with three children: Ewell, Clementina and Manila. The youngest daughter, Manila, married James Smith and lived on the Walker homestead with her mother for several years. Around 1890, however, her husband was killed by Burnside Yoakum in the heat of “political excitement caused by an election.” According to Hansard, James and Manila Smith had children, but I could not discover who they were. The children of John Gose and his wife, Manila Walker Smith, were (1) Charlie “Fat Charlie” C. (born around 1891, married Hattie H. (L.) Lewis, daughter of William Lewis and Mary Ann Shumate), (2) Ethel M. (Mary Ethel) (Jan. 6, 1892 - March 25, 1911 and buried in Gose Cemetery in Claiborne Co.) (3) Lou Dallas (about 1895) and Robert C. (born about 1898 and married Ruth Lewis, daughter of William Lewis and Mary Ann Shumate).

The immigrant ancestor of the Gose (or Goss as it was spelled in German) family arrived in Pennsylvania about the same time as the immigrant ancestor of the Cabbage family. This earliest Gose, 14-year-old Stephen Gose, arrived from Rotterdam on the ship Brothers at the port of Philadelphia on Sept. 22, 1752. Family history also says the Goses were from a fairly wealthy family in Strasbourg, on the Rhine River, where the province of Alsace, France, is today. Researchers have traced this family from Pennsylvania to North Carolina and into Cripple Creek, Wythe County, Va., where Stephen Gose died in 1799.

Dallas Gose’s grandfather (John Gose’s father) was also named Stephen Gose, but the Stephens don’t stop with the ancestor and this descendant. The Tennessee Stephen Gose’s father was also named Stephen (married to Anna Reynolds). The latter Stephen was the son of Christopher Gose (who married Elizabeth Litz), son of the immigrant Stephen.

Sometime in the 1850s, the “Tennessee” Stephen Gose (born Aug. 6, 1832 in Russell Co., VA, and died in Claiborne Co., TN, after 1910) married (1) Mary Avalee Burch, the oldest daughter of John M. Burch and Celia Thompson of Virginia. The old Burch farm was nine miles west of Tazewell on the old Knoxville road not too far from where Straight Creek used to hit the old road. Stephen and Mary Burch Gose owned and lived on part of this homestead, which was passed on to the heirs of Wiley Burch and Stephen Gose.

Stephen and Mary Gose had 11 children. Mary Avalee died in Claiborne Co., TN on 17 May 1887; she was buried in Head of Barren Cemetery, Claiborne Co., TN. Stephen is buried in Straight Creek Cemetery.

About 1888, when Stephen was 55, he married (2) Susan Ruth Laws in Claiborne Co., TN. Susan was born on June 16, 1839, in North Carolina and died in Claiborne Co., TN. She is buried in the Burch/Straight Creek Cemetery in Claiborne Co., TN.

The children of Stephen and Mary Avalee Gose are:

(1) Sarah Jane Gose (Sept. 24, 1854 - Oct. 23, 1895), who married Abner Christian. Hansard Jr. in 1872 and died in 1895, also leaving nine children.

(2) James W. Gose (1855), who married Melvina Jackie Stump of Virginia and lived on Straight Creek. They had a farm on Straight Creek.

(3) George W. Gose (July 16, 1855 - Aug. 28, 1915), who married Sarah Rebecca “Sallie” King, daughter of the Rev. David King and farmed in Union County near Walker’s Ford. They moved to Knox Co.,TN, when Norris Lake was built. George W. was buried in the Butcher Cemetery, Union County, TN. That burial was relocated to Big Barren Cemetery in 1935 by the TVA. According to one of George’s descendants, Roger Lynn Edmondson, who obtained the information from a handout at a 1961 Gose Family Reunion at Cedar Grove Park in Claiborne County, the children of George and Sarah were:

(a) Orlander C. Gose (born 1875 or 1877) who married L. Loy. Orlander. Their children were: 1. Maggie M. Gose (Oct. 2, 1896 - Sept. 23, 1969) married Robert Dewey Edmondson (June 3, 1898 - Feb. 16, 1992); 2. Herbert Gose (born March 25, 1903); 3. Ulesse Gose (born Aug. 6, 1904); 4. Ellard Gose (born Dec. 21, 1905); 5. Curtis Gose (born Sept. 31?,1906); 6. George C. Gose (born Sept. 6, 1911); 7. Cecil Gose (born Oct. 24, 1916; and 8. H.M. Gose (born June 8, 1919). All these Goses but Maggie died in Knox County, TN.
(b) Arthur Gose (Oct. 12, 1878 - June 18, 1941), who married L. Grubb. Child: Cloud W. Gose, owner of Norris Homes Mobile Home Plant.
(c ) Charley M. Gose B. Dec.31, 1888 D. Oct.6, 191 ?
(d) Clayton Gose B. Abt.1900 D. 1953 Gunshot M. Unk D. 1953 Gunshot Murder/ S Knox Co., Tn.
(e) Roy Gose
(f) Fred Gose

(4) John R. Gose (Nov. 28, 1858 - May 30, 1916), who married Manila A. “Mandy” Gose Smith.

Ann's note: In an April 2010 interview with Mary Alice Larue, Jean Gose Campbell gave this further information: Mary Avalee was born Sept. 30, 1833 (100 years before me, notes Jean) and died May 17, 1887. She mentions three children of John and Manilla: James W. Gose, George W. Gose and John K. She gave John’s middle name as “K” (not an initial and no period). John K and Manila Gose are buried in Gose Cemetery on Bear Creek in Claiborne County. Two sons of John K Gose married two sisters. Charles Cleveland Gose married Hattie Lewis and had sons John K and Bill Gose. Robert Clayton Gose married Ruth Lewis and had the following children: Frank, Sam, Alfred, Joe, Jean, Linda, and Mary Lou Gose. Dallas Gose married (1) Fate Cabbage and had son Carl Cabbage; and (2) Edd Jennings and had daughter Betty Ann Jennings.
(5) Celia A. Gose (Born Aug. 15, 1860), who married Robert Cole (born 1859) and lived near Straight Creek.

(6) Martha C. Gose (born Nov. 10, 1861), who married Dexter S. “Dee” Owens of Virginia. He was a teacher when they emigrated to Texas, where Martha died several years later. He returned to Straight Creek with their three children.

(7) Thomas J. Gose (Oct. 14, 1863 - Jan. 31, 1942), who married Sarah Alice Hodge, daughter of Granville Hodge of Lone Mountain and widow of Albert Atkins (son of Sam Atkins) of Union Co. They also farmed near Walker’s Ford.

(8) Sterling Price Gose (March 23, 1867 - Aug. 27, 1940), who married Susan Isabelle “Belle” Herrell (Oct. 20, 1870 - June 18, 1941), daughter of Noah Herrell and widow of John Carr, son of David Carr of Sandlick.

(9) Andrew “Andy” Grant Gose (Oct. 4, 1868) - died young.

(10) Charles H. (Oct. 14, 1871), a farmer. About 1888, he married Mary D. Greenlee, daughter of Jesse M. Greenlee and Martha Margaret Wells. Mary D. was born in Feb 1870 in TN and died at age 79 at her daughter’s in Maynardville, TN, on June 25,1949; buried in Skaggs Cemetery, Union Co., TN. Charles and Mary’s children listed prior to 1900 included: Walter, Lottie E., Lulu M., Hopson, Lillie M., Lizzie and General G. At Mary’s funeral, her surviving children were listed as: Mrs. J. T. Edmondson, Mrs. Glenn Edmondson, Mrs. Ott Ousley, Mrs. Claude McPhetridge, all of Maynardville; Mrs. F. L. Walters of Corryton; sons Walter F. and Dee Gose of Maynardville; Hop Gose of Monroe, Mich.; Grant Gose of Toledo, Ohio; 26 grandchildren, 42 great grandchildren; four brothers and two sisters.

(11) Arlie, M. (October 1879 in TN). About 1899, he married Lervona, who was born in January 1881 in TN.

Carl Cabbage was still a young boy when his widowed mother married my great-Uncle Ed Jennings of Lone Mountain. Ed had also lost a spouse, Mary Johnston, who died during the flu epidemic of 1918. Ed and his first wife had two children, Clyde Jennings, who became first a teacher in Lone Mountain and later a dentist in Memphis, and Paul Jennings, who ran a grocery store on the Lone Mountain Road. Ed and Dallas Jennings also had a daughter, Betty Ann Jennings, who married Ed “Red” Williams. Red taught math for years at East Tennessee State University and Betty Ann taught English at ETSU until she retired.

Carl Cabbage, my mother Louise Yoakum Marchio and Carl’s future wife, Anna Lee Jennings (daughter of Lucy Phelps and Jeff Jennings, Ed Jennings’ half-brother) were all about the same age and grew up together. They remained fast friends their entire lives. Carl and Ann had a son, James Richard Cabbage, named James for Carl’s father and Richard because it was Carl’s favorite name. Richard, who married Judy K. Baker, earned a medical degree and went on to become a missionary for 12 years in Africa and four years in Scotland. Today he is a dean at a branch of St. Leo’s College in Savannah, Ga. His wife adds a master’s degree to the family treasury of education, and their daughter, Mary Ann, is a talented musician and singer, having studied piano, organ, violin, flute and guitar. She works closely with the church and offers private lessons as well.

A younger set of Jennings and Goses also grew up together. They were Betty Ann Jennings (Carl’s half-sister) and Nell Marchio Quesenbery (daughter of Louise Yoakum Marchio, who married Dennis Marchio of New York City). Nell and Betty Ann also played with the children of Dallas’ brother, Robert Gose - Mary Lou, Alfred and Frank. Robert married Ruth Lewis, sister to Mark Lewis, who started the Citizens Bank.

For years before moving to Knoxville, Robert lived on the old Gose farm where he was born. Dallas’ husband, Fate Cabbage, had bought this farm. Dallas sold the farm to Clarence Payne, son of A. and Byrd Payne. Then it became the farm of John and Iris Ruth Mitchell. Iris Ruth, a Leabow descendant, still lives there.

I only recently learned how Carl got the nickname of “Cedar Buck.” Ann Cabbage said Ed Jennings used to watch how his young stepson took off through the woods like a young deer. “Cedar Buck,” Ed called him and the name stuck.

MY COUSIN WILLIAM PENN

2010-04-05T10:05:00.010-05:00

Rembrandt's Girl With a Broom

Some decades ago, I visited the Toledo (Ohio) Museum of Art to view a traveling exhibit titled “The Dutch Reformation.” The darkly painted landscapes engulfing tiny human figures, the ports overcrowded with heavily masted ships, the portraits of maids at their daily chores and the red-cheeked men lifting their glasses at taverns were captivating. Fueling this wave of creativity were the newly rich burghers and the art guilds, whose members sold their works in the markets. Among the masters detailing life in the 17th century Netherlands were my favorites, Rembrandt and Vermeer.

At the exhibit, I bought a dozen postcards and decorated my dorm room at the University of Michigan with them. I also purchased a poster-size copy of Rembrandt’s “Girl With a Broom” at the famous Ulrich’s bookstore on campus. During one of my many moves, I gave this framed poster to my parents and it hung for decades in their living room in Lone Mountain, Tenn.
Many years later, I found out that some of our family roots go back to this era of the Netherlands. Through the art, I already felt familiar with my forebears.

Adding spice to the family history was the little known fact that among those of Dutch extraction was the founder of Pennsylvania, William Penn. His father, Admiral William Penn (1621-1670) of England had married the Dutch widow of Nicasius Van der Schure in Bristol. This Margaret was the daughter of Jan Jasper, a burgher of Rotterdam, and Alet Gobels Pletjes, whose family came from Kempen, Prussia. In London, on October 14, 1644, their son, William Penn, the founder of Pennsylvania, was born.

Penn’s great-aunt, who was Alet Pletjes’ sister, Greitjen Pletjes, was the wife of our ancestor Herman Op Den Graeff (1585-1642). That would make William Penn and the Op Den Graeff’s son, Isaac Hermans Op Den Graeff, first cousins. Isaac was to set sail from Krefeld, Rhineland, Germany to become one of the original 13 Krefeld immigrants in Pennsylvania.
William Penn came from a well-heeled family. His father, a ship’s captain at 20, moved steadily up the ranks of the English navy as rear-admiral and vice-admiral of Ireland and then vice-admiral of England. He was a general in the first Dutch war, fought primarily over trade disputes, and, in 1664 he was chosen great captain-commander under James, Duke of York, who as King James II, knighted Admiral William Penn.

The Battle of Scheveningen, 10 August 1653 by Jan Abrahamsz Beerstraaten, painted c. 1654, depicts the final battle of the First Anglo-Dutch-War.

The young William received much of his early religious training from his mother, because of the admiral’s long absences at sea. Although Admiral Penn’s fierce loyalty remained with the crown, perhaps because of the maternal Dutch influence, they were not as staunch in their fealty to the state-mandated Anglican religion. When the family removed to Ireland during the elder Penn’s service as vice-admiral and were living at Macroom Castle in County Cork, which the family was granted instead of the property of his wife, Margaret, Admiral Penn invited Thomas Loe, the itinerant Irish preacher who was a disciple of George Fox, founder of the Quaker movement, to his home. At the age of 12 or 13, William had a spiritual experience he later described as God appearing unto him and making it clear there was important work for him.

Penn’s higher education began at age 15 or 16 at Christ Church College at Oxford University, where he was befriended by the Lord Robert Spencer, second earl of Sunderland, a friendship that would dishearten Penn’s father because of Spencer’s disloyalty to Penn’s benefactor, King James II. Young Penn himself became a nonconformist after again hearing the preaching of Thomas Loe. Loe railed against the Anglican Church, which operated the college, and what he viewed as popish trappings at Oxford, including the wearing of gowns. In sympathy, Penn stopped attending Oxford’s mandatory Anglican services and was fined. He joined other rebels who refused to wear vestments and continued to criticize the established church. Loe was thrown imprison for preaching what was then regarded as arising from an evil spirit, and anyone connected to this teaching was held in disgrace.

Penn was expelled from the college, and his friend, Robert Spencer, left, too. Perhaps as a distraction and perhaps to remove his son from Anglican authorities, William Penn the elder sent his son to France, where he was presented to King Louis XIV and enrolled in l'Académie Protestante, a well-respected French Protestant university in Saumur. He studied theology under the eminent scholar, minister and Christian humanist Moses Amyraut, who supported religious toleration. The restless Penn, however, took up traveling through France and Italy and was joined by his fast friend Lord Robert Spencer. His worried father brought him back to England in 1644 and convinced him to study law at London’s most prestigious law school, Lincoln’s Inn.

A year later, the plague struck London, and the specter of death rekindled the law student’s spiritual fervor. He was sent back to Ireland and tended the family estates there. For a time, he pursued the military under the leadership of the Duke of Ormond in Dublin and, as a soldier, helped subdue a mutiny at Carrickfergus, Ireland. But it was here, also, that he made his final break with Anglicanism as he came for a third time under the influence of the Quaker Thomas Loe. Of his conversion, Penn wrote: “It was in this way that God, in His everlasting kindness, guided my feet in the flower of my youth when about 22 years of age."

Within a year, Penn became invested as a Quaker preacher. He remained a Quaker until his death, 51 years later. Penn’s life after his conversion did not lead through a garden path, however. Penn published a pamphlet, “Sandy Foundations of God Standeth Still,” and Anglican officials found Penn's views blasphemous. He was tossed into the Tower of London prison for seven months, the first of six imprisonments for his Quaker beliefs. During his confinement, he continued to write, including the first draft of what is considered his great masterpiece, “No Cross, No Crown” Two quotes from this treatise:

“No pain, no palm; no thorns, no throne; no gall, no glory; no cross, no crown.”

“True religion does not draw men out of the world but enables them to live better in it and excites their endeavors to mend it.”

In 1670, British authorites padlocked Gracechurch Street Friends Meetinghouse in London, where Penn was a prominent member. Denied access to the church, Penn took his preaching to the streets, where hundreds gathered to hear him. He was arrested and charged with inciting a riot. Bolstered with his legal training at Liberty Inn, Penn used the trial to argue against the charges.

"If these ancient and fundamental laws, which relate to liberty and property, and which are not limited to particular persuasions in matters of religion, must not be indispensably maintained and observed, who then can say that he has a right to the coat on his back? Certainly our liberties are to be openly invaded, our wives to be ravished, our children slaved, our families ruined, and our estates led away in triumph by every sturdy beggar and malicious informer -- as their trophies but our forfeits for conscience's sake."

The jury members, which refused to convict him, were fined and imprisoned, but were they vindicated by the lord chief justice on appeal. Their victory and Penn’s established the principle of independence of the jury in British law.

Penn made short trips to Germany and Holland to see how Quakers there were faring. In Holland, he experienced a country unencumbered by laws that outlawed dissenting religions and he began to visualize a community based on the equality of its citizens. When he returned to England, he presented his notion of religious toleration to Parliament, but its members were more worried about the royal family of the Stuarts reinstating Catholicism, as the Duke of York had converted to that religion and was married to a devout Catholic.

William Penn's first wife, Gulielma Maria Springett

In 1672 he married Gulielma Maria Springett. Gulielma was the daughter of Lady Mary Proude Penington by her first husband, Sir William Springett. Gulielma shared her husband’s Quakerism, and he was devoted to her. In a letter to her just before he first sailed to America, he wrote:

My Dear Wife,
Remember thou was the love of my youth, and much the joy of my life - the most beloved as well as the most worthy of all my earthly comforts; and the reason of that love was more thy inward than thy outward excellencies, which yet are many. God knows and thou knowest I can say it was a match of His making; and God's image in us both was the first thing, and the most amiable and engaging ornament in our eyes. Now I am to leave thee, and that without knowing whether I shall ever see thee more in this world. Take my counsel into thy bosom, and let it dwell with thee in my stead while thou livest.

Penn had another idea: He called in a debt owed his father by King Charles II, and, on March 4, 1681, he was presented with the charter for Pennsylvania. In August 1682, he gained the rights to Delaware from his friend James, the Duke of York. His ostensible goal was to sell tracts of land to investors, but his spiritual goal, as he explained to his friend and land agent for Pennsylvania, James Harrison, was to create a "holy experiment" that would become the “seed of a nation." With this goal in mind, he wrote a charter of liberties, based on his belief in a divine right of government, for the 7,000 residents of his territory. A sentence in this first Frame of Government reads:

Men being born with a title to perfect freedom and uncontrolled enjoyment of all the rights and privileges of the law of nature ... no one can be put out of his estate and subjected to the political view of another, without his consent.

Thomas Jefferson would later call Penn “the greatest law-giver the world has produced.” Penn remained as governor of his new colony from the fall of 1682 until August 1684. During this first sojourn, he drew up treaties with the Delaware, Iroquois and other native leaders. He also began construction on his mansion. He had this to say in a farewell:

And thou. Philadelphia, the virgin settlement of this province, named before thou wast born, what love, what care, what service, and what travail hath there been to bring thee forth and preserve thee from such as would abuse and defile thee! My soul prays to God for thee, that thou mayest stand in the day of trial, that thy children may be blessed of the Lord, and thy people saved by his power.

Penn did not return to his colony of Pennsylvania until 1699. His Quaker preachments were still considered dangerous by the authorities, but England had other troubles. Penn remained a supporter of Catholic-leaning King James II, who abdicated during the bloodless “Glorious Revolution” of 1688 led by the Dutch prince William of Orange and his consort, Mary, the Protestant daughter of James. Suspected of treason, Penn lost control of his colony from 1692 to 1694. He also suffered the loss of his wife on February 23, 1694.

Gulielma and William had been married two decades. The Rev. S.F. Hotchkin wrote a tender account of this sad occasion:

The blessed end is thus described by the husband: "She quietly expired in my arms, her head upon my bosom, with a sensible and devout resignation of her soul to Almighty God. I hope I may say she was a public as well as a private loss; for she was not only an excellent wife and mother, but an entire and constant friend; of a more than common capacity, and great modesty and humility, yet most equal and undaunted in danger; religious, as well as ingenuous, without affectation; an easy mistress and a good neighbor, especially to the poor; neither lavish nor penurious, but an example of industry as well as of other virtues; therefore our great loss, though her own eternal gain."

This lovely woman, whom her husband calls "one of ten thousand," left two sons and a daughter. These were Springett, Lætitia and William the younger. Mary and Hannah, the other children, had died in infancy.

Gulielma's health was broken by troubles, and the strain of the absence of her loved husband in the strange and distant land. She died at Hoddesden, away from her loved home. Her body was carried thence to the sweet and quiet graveyard at rustic Jordans, where her husband in after days was buried at her side, and the picture has often met the eyes of Americans. The green graves are not far from Chalfont, where began the young dreams of a pure love which are now renewed in Paradise.

In the year before his wife’s death, Penn carved out a vision for the “Present and Future Peace of Europe,” a primer for settling disputes between nations by arbitration rather than war. Centuries later, his work served as a prototype of the United Nations. The annual U.N. Day is aptly celebrated on Penn's birthday, October 24.

William Penn's second wife, Hannah Callowhill

After the loss of his wife, Penn began preaching at Quaker meetings throughout England, becoming reacquainted in Bristol with a Quaker friend and linen draper, Thomas Callowhill, whose daughter, Hannah, immediately captured his attention. At 24 and half his age, Hannah did not immediately share his interest. And a relationship was complicated by her sense that he was born to a wealthy family and because of his recent loss of fortune, and his reliance on the eventual inheritance of his late wife. But Penn was determined to win her, and wrote her letters professing his love and beseeching her to love him in return:

O let us meet here, most Dear H! the comfort is unspeakable, and the fellowship undissolvable. I would persuade my Self thou art of the same mind, though it is hard to make thee say so. Yet that must come in time, I hope and believe; for why should I love so well & so much when I am not well beloved?

Even Penn’s daughter Letitia sent letters of encouragement to the young Hannah, writing:

I must tell thee that at my father’s first coming from Bristol ten months since, though I kept it to my self, I perceived which way his inclinations was going, and that he had entertained an inward and deep affection for thee, by the character he gave of thee, and the pleasure he took to recommend thee for an example to others.

It took a year, but Penn finally prevailed and the couple received approval for their marriage before a Friends meeting. Three months later, on March 5, 1696, they were married. Hannah was 24 and Penn 52.

Hannah was expecting their son John, one of seven children and later nicknamed “The American,” when Penn sailed on the ship Canterbury to Pennsylvania. To the consternation of her family, who thought that Penn would remain to help at the drapery in Bristol, Hannah went with her husband. Traveling with them was Penn’s new secretary, James Logan, and Penn’s daughter Letitia.

The return to Philadelphia had its challenges. In 1691, George Keith had led a religious schism, and Pennsylvania and Delaware had been separated into two provinces. By 1696, a charter written by William Markham, Penn’s former secretary and later governor of Delaware, had replaced Penn’s earlier charter. Penn again revised this charter when he returned.

Penn had planned to remain at his manor Pennsbury, located up the Delaware River from Philadelphia, but the political troubles in England forced him to return. In 1712, he was felled by a series of strokes that disabled him both physically and mentally. Hannah managed his affairs in Pennsylvania until his death at the age of 73 on July 30, 1718, and continued as proprietor until her own death in 1727, at which time the proprietorship of Pennsylvania passed to their sons John, Thomas and Richard.

Postscript:

On November 28, 1984, President Ronald Reagan made both Hannah and William Penn honorary citizens of the United States. Hannah Callowhill Penn was the first woman to receive this honor.

A PENSACOLA CONNECTION TO WASHINGTON AND NAPOLEON

2010-03-29T11:39:00.008-05:00

Catherine Willis Gray Murat

In “The Supposed Portrait of Mary Washington” by Mrs. Roger A. Pryor, written in 1903, you can learn way more about this family than you ever cared to know. I stumbled upon the Pensacola link and decided to explore this further. Most of the following is excerpted from the book to preserve the vintage text and gossipy nature of the author.

MILDRED WASHINGTON GREGORY LEWIS
The widow Mildred Washington Gregory, who was George Washington's aunt and godmother, married Henry Willis in Fredericksburg, Va. Her three charming girls by her first husband, Roger Gregory, were prominent figures as they trod the streets of old Fredericksburg, the streets named after the Royal Princes, clad in their long cloaks and gypsy bonnets tied under their chins. They were soon absorbed by a trio of Thorntons, and their mother Mildred was left alone with her one son, Lewis Willis.

Old Henry Willis, the boy’s father, had married three times, boasting that he “had courted his wives as maids and married them as widows." He was a rich old fellow with a long pedigree and gorgeous coat of arms on his coach panels. Mildred Gregory had wept so bitterly when the death of his first wife was announced to her that a friend expressed surprise.

“Mildred Willis," she explained, "was my namesake and cousin, and I grieve to lose her. But that is not the worst of it! I am perfectly sure old Henry Willis will soon be coming down to see me -- and I don't know what in the world I can do with him!”

Would it be sinister to suggest that the lady was already won? It appears she knew her man. Had he not been her suitor in her girlhood? His grandson says, "In one little month, he sat himself at her door and commenced a regular siege: and in less than two months after his wife's death, he married her."

Through the Willis family, Mary Washington's descendants became allied to the Bonapartes. The second child of Byrd C. Willis (son of Lewis Willis) was Catherine. Her mother was the daughter of George Lewis, the son of George Washington’s sister Betty Washington. Thus George Washington’s mother, Mary Washington, was ancestress of Catherine Willis, who at thirteen years of age married, and at fourteen was a widow, having lost also her child. She accompanied her parents to Pensacola, where she married Achille Murat, ex-prince of Naples and nephew of Napoleon Bonaparte. She was very beautiful, this child twice married and a mother before she was fifteen.

The Murat and Bonaparte families at first opposed the marriage, but all opposition vanished when they learned that she was nearly related to General Washington.

It is said that she was well received abroad: "In London she stood up for her country and fought its battles in all companies." She was once accompanied by John Randolph of Roanoke and other distinguished personages on a visit to the London art galleries. In one of these, the portraits of Washington and Napoleon hung side by side, and Randolph (who was always dramatic), pointing to the pictures, said, "Before us we have Napoleon and Washington, one the founder of a mighty Empire, the other of a great Republic." Then turning to Catherine with extended hand, he exlaimed, "Behold! In the Princess Murat, the niece of both, a distinction which she alone can claim."

As it turns out, the mother of Catherine Willis Murat, whose name is Mary W. Willis, is buried in St. John’s Cemetery in Pensacola at Lot 23, Section 19, Block 2 North. She connects to George Washington through his sister Betty, as delineated earlier. Her life in Pensacola is well documented by her great-great grandson, Col. George Willis Tate at http://www.stjohnshistoriccemetery.com/pensacolas_heritages/citizens.htm.

Tate writes in part:
Wife of Pensacola brickmaker Colonel Byrd Charles Willis, Mary W. Willis arrived in Pensacola from her home in Virginia, by way of Tallahassee, in 1825. Her husband was a Pensacola brickmaker who also served as agent of President Andrew Jackson at the Pensacola Navy Yard. His title of Colonel derives from appointment in the Florida Militia. Family genealogical records always identified Mary W. Willis's burial here in a private family plot, but a new look at some old material confirms that Betty Washington's granddaughter and the mother of a princess of France is in fact buried in our St. John's Cemetery.

Pensacola's Mary W. Willis, grandniece of the esteemed George Washington, died here in a yellow fever year on October 7, 1834. At her death, the Pensacola Gazette eulogized that "We have lost a friend and the city has lost one of its brightest ornaments, a lady the center of social attraction, one whose place will not soon be filled." The Gazette went on to lament that the scourge of yellow fever, whose source was not yet understood to be Pensacola's prodigious mosquitoes, had taken her life. "If her life alone could have been saved by preventive measures, they would have been cheap at thousands of dollars."

Two of Mary Willis’ sons are also buried in St. John’s Cemetery, George Willis and Dr. Lewis Willis. Reportedly, some of the brick at Old Christ Church in Historic Seville, Pensacola, was Willis brick.

Tate concludes his report with:

In addition to descent from the Washington family, Mary W. Willis's family was connected to the Bonaparte empire in France. Her daughter Catherine married Charles Louis Napoleon Achille Murat, Crown Prince of Naples and son of Emperor Napoleon I's sister Caroline. Achille Murat's father was Napoleon's greatest cavalry commander, Marshal of the Empire, Grand Duke of Berg and Cleves, and King of Naples, Joachim Murat. Tchaikovsky's famous "1812 Overture" was written to commemorate Murat's thundering cavalry charge at the Battle of Borodino.

After her husband's death, Catherine Willis Murat, daughter of Pensacola's Mary W. Willis, was recalled to France from frontier Florida by Emperor Napoleon III and made a Princess of France. She returned to Tallahassee where she lived out her years, and is buried beside her prince in Tallahassee's St. John's Cemetery. Her simple wood-frame home has been relocated from its original site to the grounds of Tallahassee's Museum of History and Natural Science, a far cry from the glittering palaces of France.

Regarding the Princess Murat, L.M. Blackford of Alexandria, Va., wrote a letter to the New York Times that was published on April 23, 1898. Please note that in his letter, he is referring to the book by Mrs. Pryor, referenced in a Times article in its Saturday Review dated March 26, 1898:

Comment and Query. Achille Murat, Again.
To the editor of The New York Times:
The letters published on the 9th inst. in your Saturday Review of Books and Art in regard to the American wife of the Prince of Naples, Achille Murat, are highly interesting, and in the main correct. Some additional points of interest, particularly in regard to her family and her relationship to Washington, may be added.
Catherine Daingerfield Willis, afterward Princess Murat, born in 1803, was the eldest daughter of Col. Byrd Charles Willis (not Bird Willis) of Willis Hill (not Hall), near Fredericksburg, Va. She married at thirteen Atcheson Gray of Stafford County, opposite Fredericksburg, who lived less than a year. The only child of this marriage died in infancy. The Widow Gray became on July 30, 1826, the wife of Achille Murat, who died in Florida in 1847, and survived him more than twenty years. There was never any issue of this marriage.
Col. Byrd C. Willis, born in 1781, was the son of Lewis Willis, who was the son of Col. Henry Willis of Willis Hill, by his third and last wife, Mildred Washington, the aunt of Gen. George Washington, being her only son. Lewis Willis was the first cousin and schoolmate of Washington, who was but two years his senior. He spoke often of his illustrious kinsman’s “industry and assiduity at school as remarkable. While his brother and other boys were at bandy or other games in play hours, he was behind the door, ciphering.”
Col. Byrd C. Willis at nineteen married Mary Willis Lewis, daughter of Major George Lewis of Marmion, son of Col. Fielding Lewis, whose wife, Betty Washington, was a sister of Gen. George Washington.
Thus it will be seen that Catharine Murat was, through her mother, the great-great niece of Washington, and, on the father’s side, great-granddaughter of Washington’s first cousin.
These particulars are mainly drawn from a manuscript prepared at Pensacola, Fla., in 1834, by Byrd C. Willis, “intended only,” he says, “for the eyes of my own people and expressly for their gratification.” This paper is now in possession of John G. Williams, Esq., of Orange, Va., whose wife is Col. Willis’s granddaughter. Being myself a great-great nephew of Col. Willis, I write also of person knowledge.
L.M. Blackford, Alexandria, Va., April 20, 1898

Mrs. Pryor's book is online at:
www.archive.org/stream/motherofwashingt00pryo/motherofwashingt00pryo_djvu.txt

Jim Crow in the Pensacola Journal: 1905-1907

2010-03-24T20:36:00.008-05:00

Jim Crow in the Pensacola Journal in 1905-1907

From Showboat's 2nd version (1936) Paul Robeson - "Ol' Man River," a song originally written for the well-known singer and actor of the time.

Earlier this year, I went to see "Showboat" put on by the Pensacola Opera. The original Ziegfeld production premiered on Broadway in 1927 and was controversial even then.

While the music was so familiar, viewing the play left me uncomfortable. A Wikipedia clarified the discomfort:
Show Boat boldly portrayed racial issues, and was the first racially integrated musical, in that both black and white performers appeared on stage together.[11] Ziegfeld’s Follies allowed single African American performers like Bert Williams, but would never have had an African-American woman in the chorus. However, Show Boat had two choruses — a black chorus and a white chorus, and it has been perceived that "Hammerstein uses the African-American chorus as essentially a Greek chorus, providing clear commentary on the proceedings, whereas the white choruses sing of the not-quite-real."
Show Boat was also the first Broadway musical to seriously depict an interracial marriage, as in Edna Ferber's original novel, and to feature a character of mixed blood who was "passing" for white.
Since the musical's 1927 premiere, Show Boat has both been condemned as a prejudiced show based on racial caricatures and championed as a breakthrough work that opened the door for public discourse in the arts about racism in America. Some productions have been cancelled because of objections.

This week, as I was reading some 1905 issues of the Pensacola Journal that is online at Chronicling America, I came across a "Jim Crow" headline. It was a startling discovery, as I had not realized the Jim Crow laws dated back that far. I immediately began a quest to see how black Americans were covered by the local editors. What follows is a sampling of the material online.

SEGREGATION OF THE STREET CARS
The Pensacola journal. (Pensacola, Fla.) 1898-1985, April 15, 1905, Image 4
It is said that the committee approval of Mr Avery’s bill providing that street car companies shall furnish separate cars for whites and blacks has caused Hon W H Northup, ex-mayor and present postmaster of Avery’s home town, Pensacola and who is incidentally president of the Pensacola electric railway, undertaker, liveryman, steam tug owner and many other etceteras, to think Campbell a very naughty boy. Hon. J. Campbell Avery is a mere lad unripened by experience but he has caused a flutter throughout the state and quite an increase in the revenues of the telegraph companies.

The Pensacola journal. (Pensacola, Fla.) 1898-1985, October 13, 1905, Image 1
JIM CROW LAW EFFECTIVE TODAY
The New City Law Separating the Races on Street Cars Goes Into Effect.
The new Jim Crow street car ordinance which was passed by the city council over the mayor’s veto fifteen days ago becomes effective today. [Mayor was Charles H. Bliss]
The new law is somewhat similar to the state law which was declared unconstitutional. It was drawn however in such shape that it will hardly be declared unconstitutional if any attempt is made to carry it to the Supreme Court.
The street railway company will divide the cars as it did during the time that the state lawwas being compiled with, exept that cards will be posted designating the white and colored parts of a car.
The colored population seems to be well satisfied and it is not expected that the cars will be boycotted as was the case when the state law became operative.
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The Pensacola journal. (Pensacola, Fla.) 1898-1985, February 07, 1906, Image 1
DECISION ON JIM CROW LAW WAS EXPECTED
A decision on the legality of Pensacola’s Jim Crow law was expected yesterday but if such was rendered by the supreme court to the state no news of it reached Pensacola yesterday or last night. Yesterday was the day set for handing down the decision but it is supposed that it was not done or some notice of the action would have reached this city. It is now the supposition that the decision will not be made until next Tuesday.
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The Pensacola journal. (Pensacola, Fla.) 1898-1985, March 15, 1906, Image 1

JIM CROW CASE TO U.S. SUPREME COURT
Jim Crow Law Has Been Appealed to Highest Court and Will Be Heard April 17
Pensacola’s Jim Crow law which has so far stood the test in every court to which it has been taken has now been appealed by the negroes to the highest court in the land, the United States Supreme Court, and it will be heard on April 17. It was not known that the case had been appealed from the decision of the Florida Supreme Court until yesterday when Marshal Schad was served with a subpoena to be present in Washington on the above date. This was turned over to City Attorney Jones. It is not likely that the marshal will have to go to Washington, neither will the city attorney as the case will probably be submitted on briefs.

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THE ROSA PARKS OF PENSACOLA REFUSED TO GIVE UP HER SEAT BACK IN 1906.

The Pensacola journal. (Pensacola, Fla.) 1898-1985, August 15, 1906, Image 1
The Jim Crow Law
The Jim Crow law had another round in the municipal court yesterday morning when Mary Sims, a negro woman, was arraigned upon the charge of seating herself in a compartment in the car other than that provided for colored people, and refusing to change her seat when notified by the conductor. The woman got on the car downtown Monday night and when she refused to get into the portion reserved for colored people, she was arrested. Officer Etheridge, making the arrest upon complaint of the conductor at the union depot. After hearing a portion of the testimony it was decided to hear more witnesses and the case continued until this morning.
Update: The Pensacola journal. (Pensacola, Fla.) 1898-1985, August 17, 1906, Image 1
Among the interesting cases in this court was that of Mary Sims, colored, charged with yiolating the Jim Crow street car law. The case had been continued from Tuesday morning to allow further witnesses to be introduced and heard. The recorder, after hearing her case, adjudged the woman guilty and imposed a fine of $5 and costs.

The Pensacola journal. (Pensacola, Fla.) 1898-1985, October 11, 1906, Image 1
Negroes Protest Against Jim Crow DiscriminationBy Associated Press
Washington Oct 10 Representative negroes of the South in behalf of their race have complained to the interstate commerce commission of the use by the railroads of the south of Jim Crow cars for interstate passengers and have requested the commission to investigate the subject and on development of the facts to issue an order compelling the railroads not to discriminate against passengers on account of their color. The petition signed by Thomas Oliver and W.D. Johnson of Mississippi and about a dozen other negroes.

URGES NEGROES TO ORGANIZE AND FIGHT FOR RIGHTS
By Associated Press
New York Oct 10 Such men as Hoke Smith, John Temple Graves, Vardaman and Tillman ought not to be able to obtain any services from the colored man, said Oswald G. Villard. In an address before the American Council now in session here, Villard declared that no negro should think of contributing one cent for the support of the anti-negro newspapers in Georgia. He urged the negroes to organize and fight for their rights. He said the time was ripe for serving notice on the country that further efforts to degrade the negro to a servile position and to create a republic with millions of persons taxed but not represented should be fought from now on. “Leave the murdering in cold blood to the race that proudly calls itself superior and better civilized,” he said.

Emancipation ended slavery but only to replace it with an American form of apartheid, euphemistically known as Jim Crow, used to keep African Americans as second class citizens.

November 24, 1906, Page Page Four, Image 4
MONTGOMERY WILL REVOKE STREET CAR FRANCHISE
Ordinance and Company Refuses to Observe Jim Crow --
Council Will Revoke Its Right to Operate In That City
By Associated Press
Montgomery Ala Nov 23 - At a meeting for the avowed purpose of revoking all of the franchise privileges of the Montgomery Traction Company because of its failure to observe the Jim Crow street car ordinance which went into practice today the city council could not take action tonight because of the rule requiring twenty four hours notice of special meetings. A call has been issued for a meeting tomorrow afternoon when it is probable that action will be taken revoking the privileges. Since the issuance of the injunction this morning the cars have been running, after suspension of traffic for two hours and a half.
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The Pensacola journal. (Pensacola, Fla.) 1898-1985, July 22, 1906, 1st Section, Image 1
THE JIM CROW LAW
A J Leggitt, Colored, Arrested Upon This Charge by Officer Schmitz
A.J. Leggitt, a colored hackman, was arrested yesterday afternoon by Police Officer Schmitz for an alleged violation of the Jim Crow law. He gave bond for his appearance at the municipal court Monday morning. The arrest was made upon complaint of Conductor Chas Meade of the Street Railway Company who stated to Officer Schmitz that the man had taken a seat in an open car in the space provided for white passengers and refused to change his seat when told that he was in the wrong compartment. The conductor further stated that when the man refused he told him to consider himself under arrest and that after riding a few blocks further Leggitt jumped from the car and evidently walked to the city. A short time afterwards the conductor who knew Leggitt saw him upon the street near the hack stand and calling Officer Schmitz made the charge against him.
Note: August 02, 1906, Page PAGE [ONE], Image 1 Leggitt was later discharged.
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The Pensacola journal. (Pensacola, Fla.) 1898-1985, December 18, 1908, Image 3
JIM CROW DINING ROOM
Prisoners confined in the city jail who are working out their sentences on the streets were furnished their meals in the their meals in the “Jim Crow” dining room at police headquarters yesterday for the first time, a large lattice partition
separating the two races. Jeff Spottswood, the city jail chef, says that this arrangement for feeding the prisoners is a great improvement over the method of feeding the prisoners in the cells and all the officials at the police station endorse the change.

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The Pensacola journal. (Pensacola, Fla.) 1898-1985, June 09, 1906, Image 1
CONVENTION OF FORMER SLAVES ADJOURNED YESTERDAY
TO MEET IN JACKSONVILLE DURING OCTOBER 1907
By Associated Press
Washington June 8 The The Nation Ex-slave convention today adjourned a four days session here to meet meeting in Jacksonville in October of next year. The convention commended President Roosevelt for his stand for equal constitutional liberty for all. An appeal was issued to congress for legislation pensioning former slaves. Jim Crow legislation was opposed.

The Pensacola journal. (Pensacola, Fla.) 1898-1985, August 17, 1906, Image 1
NEGROES WORK TO PROMOTE EQUALITY
By Associated Press
Harpers Ferry W Va Aug 16 - At today’s meeting of the Niagara movement in which the negroes from many states are working to promote negro equality, reports from many states emphasized the organized nature of the movement among the negroes of thirty-two states. Reports say the movement was organized to give prominence to definite principles among which is abolition of all distinction based on color.

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USING VERNACULAR IN THE NEWSPAPER

July 01, 1906, 1st Section, Page PAGE EIGHT, Image 8
LOVE CHAIRS RESERVED
Negroes Sued For Right to Sit Where They Gould Make Eyes
A Jim Crow suit of two negroes against the Baltimore Chesapeake and Atlantic Railway company was tried recently in the city court at Baltimore, says the New York World. Robert Syke, colored, was called to the stand as a witness for the plaintiffs.
“Dey jes excluded us from all de good parts cf de boat,” Syke said.
“What do you mean by the good parts of the boat?” was asked.
“Well,” was the reply, “dare wuz a piannah on de boat, an’ we couldn’t git neah it. Den dey wouldn’t let us neah de love chaiahs.”
“What do you mean by the love chairs?” asked a lawyer.
“Love chaiahs is dem tings wot a fellow sits on when he’s got his gal. Dey’s twisted so’s dey can look into each other’s eyes.”
The plaintiffs lost their case.

David Pilgrim, the curator of the Jim Crow Museum at Ferris State University in Big Rapids, Michigan, grew up in Mobile, Ala.

ARTICLES ON LYNCHINGS AND CITIZEN MOBS:

THREATEN TO LYNCH NEGRO
By Associated Press
Meridian Miss July 21 Charles Hall, a negro and ex-convict, broke into the room of Miss Bettie Davidson at Energy, Clarke county late last night for the purpose of criminal assaut. Hall was employed by the lady’s father who recognized him as he was leaving the house. The negro was arrested this morning and confessed the intention. He was removed to the county seat to prevent lynching by the angry citizens.

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(SHADES OF THE SALEM WITCH TRIALS )

The Pensacola journal. (Pensacola, Fla.) 1898-1985, August 15, 1906, Image 1
FIEND WILL BE LYNCHED IF CAPTURED
By Associated Press
Greenwood S C Aug 14 - An attempt at criminal assault was made today on Miss Jennie Brooks the twenty year old daughter of J P Brooks a prosperous merchant and farmer near this place. The young woman was left in I charge of the store and a negro after making a purchase seized a large knife and threatened her. She made a desperate attempt to defend herself with an iron bar but the negro slashed her throat and nearly severed two of her fingers. A posse is in pursuit and the negro will probably be lynched if captured.

Update: The Pensacola journal. (Pensacola, Fla.) 1898-1985, August 17, 1906, Image 1
GOVERNOR MADE PLEA TO MOB IN VAIN
Negro Who Murderously Assaulted White Woman Lynched
by Associated Press
Greenwood S C Aug 16 - Bob Davis, a negro captured this afternoon near Ninety Six, was positively identified tonight by Miss Jennie brooks whom he murderously assaulted last Tuesday. He was carried a short distance from the Brooks home and lynched, a negro woman firing the first shot. Governor Heyward made an unsuccessful plea. Governor Heyward reached the scene shortly after the negro was captured and addressed the mob in an effort to prevent the lynching. When he concluded, the mob cheered but took the negro from the governor’s view and riddled the fiend with bullets.

NEGRO FEDERAL TROOPS UNRULY
Killed One Man and Seriously Wounded Another at Brownsville --
Will Be Moved to Prevent Further Trouble
By Associated Press
Brownsville Texas Aug 14 - Angered because of a search made in their ranks in an effort to apprehend the negro who attacked Mrs. Leon Evans at her home last Friday evening, members of a battalion of negro federal troops at Fort Brown near here entered Brownville today and became unruly, firing several volleys down the main street. Frank Natus, a bar keeper, was killed and Policeman Doings seriously wounded and his horse killed. Bullets entered many houses. The negroes belong to the twenty- first regiment and a request has been made that they be removed to avoid trouble.
Update: The Pensacola journal. (Pensacola, Fla.) 1898-1985, August 17, 1906, Image 1
Armed Citizens Guard Homes Against the Negro Soldiers
By Associated Press
Brownville Texas Aug 16 - Further trouble is feared with the negro troops. A citizens guard of one hundred and fifty men is stationed along the road between the city and Fort Brown, and if the negro soldiers attempt to leave the garrison, it is the purpose of the citizens to shoot them down. Many people living near the fort are leaving their homes, and an additional appeal is being made to Governor Lanham to send state troops. Business is entirely suspended in the city.

The man who ended Jim Crow: Charles H. Houston ~ Brown v Board of Ed Topeka

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September 12, 1906, Page PAGE FOUR, Image 4
ONE POINT OF VIEW
It is a noteworthy fact that a great deal of the spoken and implied objection to Mr [William James] Bryan’s advocacy of the government ownership of railroads comes from the South and from men of his own party. The reason is not far to seek. We do not conceive that it comes from any deep seated antipthy to the national operation of our great steel highways in spite of the South’s lingering devotion to State rights and opposition to centralization outside the ranks of the ancient bourbons those two issues are no longer very potent. The protest is social in the main rather than economic.
The Southern States practically without exception indulge in what are known as the Jim Crow laws touching upon railway transportation. Their effect is well known to everybody. No negro even Booker T Washington may ride in coaches occupied by whites but must take those reserved for people of their own color. What would be the result of Federal railroad ownership upon the scheme?
Clearly no citizen could be debarred on account of his color in any cars operated by the United States. Every Jim Crow law would fall to the ground at once and the Southerners would have to stomach mixed company as best they could. This is perhaps but a side issue of a very great question but it is interesting as showing how strongly social and racial antipathies can affect men’s views of what is bound to be an important part of the next Presidential campaign.

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The Pensacola journal. (Pensacola, Fla.) 1898-1985, October 03, 1908, Image 4

Washington’s Race Trouble
Paramount Issue in Nations Capital is the Negro Question
By WILLIAM E CHANCELLOR in Colliers Weekly
The author of the following article was formerly superintendent of schools in the District of Columbia.
On Friday March 27 in the evening Congressman J. Thomas Heflin of Alabama shot a negro upon Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington and within a few hours all the country knew the story. But there are some features of that story which the North is not likely to know.
Congressman Heflin is a brilliant young man who served his State as municipal attorney and as legislator for ten years before being sent to Congress three years ago. He comes from the Black Belt and perforce holds certain views that he has been free in expressing.
To begin with he is certain that the only way toward any solution or even any endurance of tie negro problem is to reduce the negro to a caste. To forward this purpose he introduced into Congress at the last session a bill to require all negroes riding upon cars in the District to occupy separate cars or definitely assigned rear seats.
Next he saw that in order to control the negroes of the District it was absolutely essential to keep away from them all opportunities for consuming alcoholic stimulants. Consequently he backed in Congress and publicly supported in speeches in the District the bill for prohibition in the capital.
Lastly it was commonly believed that he was a supporter of the Tillman bill in the Senate directed toward removing from the District all persons without known and reputable means of support. The purpose of this bill was to clear out negro vagrants.
All these matters together with the details of the shooting were given out to the national press. Incidentally it is worth noting that the shot that struck the negro Lewis Lumly hit him upon the side of the head flattened there and slipped around for several inches between the skin and skull and then stuck there. The bullet was 38 caliber and was fired at close range as the congressman was leaving the car. The man owes his life to the thickness of his skull.
Some Unpublished Facts
But the matters not given out to the press or at least only hinted at are of greater concern. The cause for the introduction of the bill for Jim Crow cars was by no means mere imitation of the familiar Southern legislation. Nor was the congressman in possession of a heavy revolver because of a habit of carrying concealed weapons.
There are now in the District of Columbia one hundred and ten thousand negroes about one in three of the population. The men and women are in about equal numbers but in the absence of economic opportunity for the negro men in a community without factories or shops not one half of the men are employed. The unemployed live upon the earnings of their wives, mothers, daughters, sisters, sweethearts, mistresses and worse. In some instances granted that they must live here at all is not altogether their fault. The negro man can not in Washington as in many other Southern cities work on equal terms with Caucasians at a trade. Many of the labor unions deny him membership nor is he allowed to form unions allied with those of the whites. The negro therefore is limited to such occupations as domestic service in a population that fluctuates fifty thousand and more between January and July duties as porter and driver about commercial establishments certain minor Government posts and mechanical and other work for his own people including medicine dentistry law and surgery.
Washington or the District of Columbia now the synonymous term is the largest negro community upon the earth and has among its negro residents a group whose average wealth is greater than is that of any other group of negroes in the world. There are three whose wealth is over $100,000 each. These negro landlords and capitalists live in special blocks one of which is famous as quality row.
On the other side of tie social picture there are to be seen the two hundred and eighty-six alleys in which are thousands of small brick and frame houses. In large part owned by wealthy negroes and constituting the Show City’s disgrace.
Add one more fact and the entire situation becomes clear. In the District as of course nowhere else in the country no man votes and therefore the black is upon equal political terms with the white. In consequenc Washington has come the Mecca of negroes of two classes the rich who know that they can live here in fine houses and invest their money to advantage often as silent or side partners with the whites and the poor who know that even if the men of the family can not set work the women can and at good wages in the winter season This latter class of poor negroes is transient its members are going into and out of the District to and from Maryland Virginia and the Carolina all the time.
The Brights are Assertive
The wealthier and the better educated negroes constitute in Washington as permanent a class as the landowning families of the whites and in matters of outward social decorum they are often models. Many of them indeed arc almost white themselves. They are negroes because of class consciousness. But at the same time Washington is the great clearing house for those who would cross the line or go to the whites or go over to white in the familiar phrase. It is useless to go to white unless the family has a fair competence and with that competence if rejected in Washington the
negro has but to go farther north and professing himself and his family to be former Washingtonians he will be received as white without question when really light in color. There are cases in Washington where even a dark child has not forced the family back over the line to black.
There is in Washington negro circles a growing feud between the brights and the black to use the terms of the former or between the “yallers” and the browns to use the terms of the latter. The former are better bred and in general better
reared than the latter.
Among this transient parasitical and generally black element of the colored population are thousands whom if they were white we would brand as rowdies cutthroats thugs cadets holdup men hoboes but whom in our careless scorn we now content ourselves by loosely classing together as d----d niggers. Recently four of them attacked in a street car a white young man who was escorting a young lady.
They cut him with a razor beyond recognition and he lay for weeks in a hospital. The fear of a race war is one of the several blights upon the community and is sufficient to prevent any adequate dealing with the growing trouble.
Makeshift Negro Schools
It might be supposed that the schools being supported by Congress would help in the solution of the problem. But for several reasons they only make bad matters worse.
Twenty thousand children one-third of them colored are upon half-time in the schools and there are about one third as many kindergartens as are required. Instead of building schools congress rents an extraordinary number of miserable buildings paying some forty thousand dollars a year for this item. The negro children go to school for three or four years mostly upon halftime and then drop out to go to work which means to help their parents at home or to enter service. The negroes resent this and congress will not afford any adequate funds for manual and industrial training. What schooling most of them get is worse than nothing for it enables perhaps half of them to read daily newspapers and to acquire much perverse information in consequence of this situation.
Congressman Heflin found himself pursued by hundreds of anonymous letters warning him to quit his attack upon disorder and crime and treated with insolence in the streetcars and criticized by timid District whites for stirring up trouble. This timidity of the whites makes the negro bully in his own eyes sacrosanct. Being
incapable of cowering in this storm of threats and of reproaches as a matter of common sense the Congressman applied to the police for permission to carry a revolver. And when the time came for him to use it after a half-drunken man adding to his load the car itself by taking out a flask freely to imbibe from it had drawn a razor upon him the Southerner could only do what any man would do and used the revolver first as a bludgeon then as a firearm.
Of course it will be said that his life was not in danger. Those who know the situation believe that the life of any and every man in the District is in danger when attempts in any serious way to halt the license of these thousands of brutal negroes.
As matters are now the only other course for a decent man to pursue when thus insulted in a car or upon the street is to move away fast. And this is what most persons in the District do. They get out of the car that has the drunks upon it,
they cross to the other side of the street, they avoid certain streets and they move out of the District.
One sixth of the white population moves away every year. The changes of politics have very little to do with this. The general political condition has much to do with it. The Republican party is committed to preserving things as they are. Republicans who would not allow their own children to go to school with negro children nevertheless maintain as directors of the public schools upon the Board of Education one-third negroes. As one consequence though the city grows steadily there are actually two hundred and fifty less children enrolled this year in the public schools than last. So discredited are these schools that partially as a result two hundred private schools also are maintained in the District.
Some Needed Reforms
The negro problem in Washington will grow steadily worse and worse until some climax comes. It may come when if soon enough the republican regime is overthrown and Southern democrats who alone know how to deal with the negro are given an opportunity to restore self-government with a restricted suffrage to this
Southern city. And it may come in a worse form at some time when crowds gather. The tinder and the tar barrels and the fuel for a great and let us hope never-to-be-realized social conflagration are ready and in place. Only the lighted match and the hand to use it have not yet come. How much better it would here to remove all this inflammable material.
Yet it is not reasonable to suppose that congress will give the District prohibition separate cars ordinances calculated to encourage industrialism practical schooling and laws against vagrancy all of which are requisite for even a partially effective disposition of the negro question. In this disfranchised and helpless appanage of the nation.
Race Hybridization Next?
Strong races from the North arc always diluted into the weaker blood of the more Southern races until all their force is lost. It was so in Greece with the golden-haired blond Hellenes and unless more measures are taken to keep the lines rigid and distinct, it will be so despite the theses of scholars like the late Francis A. Walker in America with the so-called Anglo-Saxons. Of course no man has yet looked upon the face of Skuld; she is but a presented fancy, an illusion beautiful or frightful as one’s mood proposes. But some day it will fall to Urd to record that in the capital city of the American people race-prejudice broke down and amalgamation proceeded through social equality. Only very recently an octoroon family of considerable means moved into a white street of families of the highest standing. And we waited to see what would happen. There was some gossip and then silence came. As I have shown in a quieter way this moving across the line is proceeding with far more rapidity than some people care to admit However others think that race hybridization the Anglo Saxon re-enforcement will ultimately produce in America a fine tawny race superior in physique lo the Amer-indian. This doctrine is spreading out from Washington in quantity and quality very gratifying to these theorists Others think that a race competition will set in that will be immensely stimulating to both whites and hybrids. A considerable number of others the unreconciled look for extermination or at least deportation of the colored folks. Such is the trilemma toi which the results of the great war have brought us undesignedly, of course, and equally of course the result of that miserable conspiracy hatched in this District against the one man who knew, Abraham Lincoln.

IT HAPPENED ON GREGORY STREET

2010-03-01T11:07:00.009-06:00

ITEMS FROM THE PENSACOLA JOURNAL
1905-1909
Compiled by Ann Hill, all rights reserved.

In an earlier blog posted here, I took the 1885 and 1893 Pensacola city directories, plus the 1880 census, to locate the names and addresses of many families living in the West Hill / Belmont-DeVilliers neighborhood in that decade. What I’ve done with this blog is transcribe the mostly social references to West Gregory Street in the Pensacola Journal, located online at the Library of Congress: http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov. Through this research, I have found glimpses into the lives of the many families who lived along this corridor, which ran from Palafox to about “I” Street in the early 1900s. Posted here are their birthday parties, card parties, visitors, deaths and other activities that show the lively interaction of the residents at that time.
Journalists at that time took great liberties with the spellings of names and the accuracy of the information they were reporting. For the most part, I’ve left the name spellings as they appeared in the paper.
Because this is a blog, it is not a finished work, so there is much that could be reorganized and categorized, but I’ve done all I care to do for the moment.
If you are acquainted with these families, have photos or care to add information, please note this in the comments or send me email at sfnewsgal at yahoo.com. While this was primarily an exercise for my own enjoyment, I do hope it helps others who are researching their families or Pensacola.
Ann Hill
P.S. Check my earlier blogs for earlier news items that covered the great fire and hurricanes that hit Pensacola in the early 1900s and some other postcards of that era.

Sept 9, 1906 Pensacola Journal: Sept. 27, 1906 nuptials announcement. Bride is Miss Lilla Josephine Ryals of Fort Deposit, Ala. Daughter of Z.A. Ryals.
Note: April 20, 1909: Mrs. McCallister was the guest of friends and relatives in Pensacola yesterday, spending the day in town. It will be recalled that her daughter and family recently removed to Pensacola, where they are now nicely located on West Gregory street. Also found: Felomann McAllister of 415 West Gregory St.
Note: Earlier that year, on Jan. 28, there was one large room for rent at 415 West Gregory, double furnished, with hot and cold bath, board.
Note: June 25, 1905: FOR RENT – Two nicely furnished rooms, with hot and cold water, baths and privilege of telephone. Apply No. 415 West Gregory street.
Note: Another nicely furnished rooms were available at a new house at 212 West Gregory (“good neighborhood and on the car line”) and at 500 West Gregory on Feb. 15, 1906, and a two-story dwelling on West Gregory was for sale.

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Aug 31, 1909: Ad: Large, airy front room, furnished. 127 West Gregory street.

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Sept. 1, 1908: Infant son of Mr. and Mrs. H. R. Witskovski passed away at 500 West Gregory. Funeral at family residence, interment at St. John’s Cemetery.
Note: Sept 2, 1908: The funeral of the infant son of Mr. and Mrs. R.B. Witskovski, who died Monday night occurred yesterday afternoon, a number of friends of the family attending services, which were conducted at their home on West Gregory street. The interment was made in St. John’s cemetery.
Note: Louise Witkovski at same address Dec. 10, 1905.
Note: “Neatly furnished front room for one or two gentlemen; also a suite of rooms for light housekeeping complete, at summer rates. Bath and gas at 422 West Gregory.” Aug. 12, 1906
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July 9, 1905: Miss Katharine Touart of Mobile is visiting her cousin Miss Fodie Eggart, 422 West Gregory.
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June 4, 1905: A PLEASANT PARTY FOR MISS HUNTER’S GUESTS
A pleasant party was given Thursday night by Miss Marguerite Hunter, 201 West Gregory, to her two aunts and uncle, Mr. and Mrs. Becht and Mrs. Fletcher of Scranton, Miss.
The rooms were decorated with ferns and flowers, many enjoyable games were played, refreshments were daintily served, and the guests, having a delightful time, did not depart till a late hour. Those besides the hostesses and guests of honor were:
Mrs. Morton Mrs. V Hunter, Mrs. Valanzano , Miss Mellie and Miss Mittie Morton, Miss Rena and Miss Silva Salira, Miss Nora and Miss Hattie Fleming, Miss Hattie Brartram, Miss Dora Mace, Miss Lillian Harris, Miss Hannah Chestnut, Miss B Thompson, Miss Theresa and Miss Regina Valanzano, Miss Agnes Morton, Miss Clara Hunter.
Also, Mr. Jack and Mr. Daniel Benson, Mr. Darby Thompson, Mr. John and Mr. Alex Chestnut, Mr. Victor Mabire, Mr. George Mr. Bennie and Mr. Charlie Howse, Mr. Joseph Salira, Mr. Johnny Webb, Mr. Elvin Grant, Mr. Lawrence Chestnut, Mr. Daniel Mabire, Mr. Ernest Harris and Mr. Charlie Mabire.

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United Daughters of the Confederacy to meet at the home of Mrs. A.E. McDavid, 310 West Gregory St. Sept 9, 1906 Pensacola Journal
Note: Mrs. McDavid must have also offered furnished rooms at this same address, with or without board. Jan 24, 1906
Note: Nov 12, 1905: Mr. and Mrs. Alexander have returned from Selma and are pleasantly located with their mother Mrs. McDavid, 310 West Gregory.
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Mr. Lee MacDonell of Tampa and Mr. Harry M. Wilson of Sewannee Valley arrived Monday to meet their wives who are visiting their parents, Mr. and Mrs. M.E. Wilson, 305 West Gregory St. July 3, 1906 Pensacola Journal
Note: June 14, 1907: Very Peasant (sic) Birthday Party
Miss Christina Wilson, 814 West Gregory street, entertained a few of her little girl friends last Sunday evening in honor of her eleventh birthday. Delicious refreshments of ice cream cake and fruits were served from 4 to 6 o’clock. Miss Christina was the recipient of many presents. Her little friends departed wishing her many more happy and pleasant birthdays. Those present were Julia Anderson, Berith Peterson, Honsena Peterson, Clara Reinhardt, Christine Johnson, Althea Anderson, Blanch Linzee, Homer Lingee, Olga and Anna Wilson.
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Mr. and Mrs. M.E. Batts have taken the cottage at 16 West Gregory and will occupy it as soon as they have it in readiness. July, 3 1906
Note: Henry Monk, general contractor, also gave this address when selling tools on Jan. 24, 1906.
Note: Oct 14, 1906: Mrs. M.E. Batts had company for the winter: Mrs. Harriet Matthews of Nashville.
Note: April 5, 1907: Mrs. M.E. Batts is seriously ill at her home, 16 West Gregory.
Note: Aug 16, 1908: Mr. and Mrs. J.W. Holden of 16 West Gregory street, left yesterday for a visit to Chicago and the lakes.
Note: Jan 22, 1909: MRS J W HOLDEN ENTERTAINED YESTERDAY
Mrs. J W Holden was hostess yesterday afternoon at a delightful bridge and euchre party given at her home on West Gregory street. The house was beautifully decorated in Narcissi, roses and ferns, the color arrangement having been both dainty and artistic. A pretty feature of the afternoon was the fact that each prize was an exquisite specimen of the needlecraft of the hostess which was much appreciated by the lucky winners. Miss Fannie Caldwell won the highest number of points in bridge, receiving a beautiful centerpiece while the first euchre prize was secured by Mrs. Rix Robinson being an elaborate sofa pillow. Mrs. Gant won the consolation, a hand-embroidered pin cushion and Miss Ethel Suter the booby, a crocheted sachet. Elaborate refreshments were served, Mrs. Holden having proved a most charming hostess.
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Mrs. Connell at 712 West Gregory advertised her dressmaking on Aug. 12, 1908.
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Dec. 7, 1909: Bridge club meeting at the home of Mrs. William Gonzalez on West Gregory St. Note: June 22, 1906: The friends of Mrs. William Gonzalez of 505 West Gregory were pained to learn of her illness but will be pleased to learn that she is now improving.
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March 30, 1909: Nomads met at the home of Mrs. Warren E. Anderson on West Gregory.
Also Annie LeBaron was a guest at the home of Mrs. Willie Gonzalez on West Gregory, and Miss Susie Hargis (possibly of 412 West Gregory, need to check whose daughter she was) sang “Face to Face” at the evening service at St. Michael’s Church.
Note: Nov 3, 1908: The Nomads met at the home of Mrs. Warren Anderson on West Gregory street yesterday afternoon, a pleasant and profitable meeting being the result. The subject was “The Dawn of History,” Mesdames C.W. Oliver and L.J. Reeves reading interesting papers on appropriate subjects.
Note: Dec 6, 1908: Mrs. R.M. Bushnell will entertain the Nomads at their regular weekly meeting tomorrow at her home on West Gregory Street. “Nineveh” will be the subject for the afternoon, the following papers to be read: “The Pride of Assure,” Mrs. Thomas V. Hannah; “The Gathering of the Storm,” Mrs. Walker Anderson. Mrs. H.A. Brosnahan will give a reading. Note: Dec 8, 1908: Re: Nomads. “Later Babylon” will be the topic next week, and there will be two papers, entitled respectively “Nebuchadnezzar and His Successors” and “The City of Babylon,” to be read by Mrs. Philip Hannah and Miss Julia Whiting. Mrs. Mallory Kennedy will give a reading.
Note: Nov 4, 1906: The Nomads will meet for the first time this year with Mrs. Wm. R. Gonzalez on West Gregory Street Monday Nov 5th. The subject for the year’s work is “England During the Georgian Period.” In addition to the usual routine, there will be two papers, “The Accession of the House of Hanover” by Mrs. Zeek and “Sir Robert Walpole and his Contemporaries” by Mrs. F.O. Howe.
Note: March 10, 1908: The Nomads met yesterday afternoon with Mrs. Thomas Hannah as hostess at her pretty house on West Gregory street. … Miss Julia Whiting read a beautifully written paper on Elizabeth Barrett Browning. Mrs. F.S. Mellen was on the program for a paper, but was unable to attend the meeting. Miss Hilda Blount gave an interesting talk upon the subject of English painters. The next meeting of the Nomads will be with Mrs. Phillip Hannah.
Note: July 4, 1906: Garbage contract annulled: Capt. R.M. Bushnell told the board that over a week ago he had placed a box of garbage in front of his residence on West Gregory and had complained to the contractor of its non-removal every day, but without results. It had finally been removed by the city carts.
Note: March 10, 1909 Mrs. William R. Gonzalez of 507 West Gregory wins a $10 prize of the winning name “Rockaby”’s Bear’s balm for babies. Lewis Bear, druggist.

March 15, 1908 Warren E. Anderson running for county judge.
Note: May 17, 1908: Dr. and Mrs. Warren E. Anderson, who have an attractive home near the water, have decided to stay in town this summer, as their big comfortable home on West Gregory street with its cool surroundings, is too attractive to leave. However, they will let their home on the bay shore to friends for the season.

Nov. 2, 1906, page 1: (with photo)
Honorable Chas. M. Coston Died This Morning
Democratic Legislative Candidate Expires Four Days Before Election
POPULAR YOUNG LAWYER SUCCUMBS AFTER LONG FIGHT TO
TUBERCULOSIS -- HE WOILD HAVE BEEN ELECTED TO LEGISLATURE
Hon Chas M. Coston, nominee to the Democratic party for representative in the legislature from Escambia county and whose name appears upon the ballots which will be voted at the general election next Tuesday expired this morning about 1:15 o’clock at the home of John L. Pinney on West Gregory street. His illness covered a period of many months and he sought health and relief in the mountains of Virginia returning to Pensacola only a few weeks ago and since then he has gradually declined in health, the end coming this morning.
The news of his death will be received with regret throughout the city and by all with whom he was acquainted. He was a young man and was just entering upon a bright
career when attacked by the dreaded tuberculosis.
Nominated for Legislature
Mr. Coston was nominated for representative to the legislature in the Democratic primary last summer and bore the distinction of leading the ticket. His vote was an exceptionally flattering one especially as he had a number of opponents. Shortly afterwards his health began to fail but he remained in the city until his physicians ordered that he make a change in hopes that it would benefit him. He did so accompanied by his mother
and sister and together they went to the mountains of Virginia, where they spent many months. His health did not improve and finally the family returned to the city, locating with their relatives on West Gregory street.
There for the past few weeks there have been many callers all hopeful that the young man would recover from the attack, but he continued to slowly decline and this morning he passed away.
Born in Norfolk
Mr. Coston was born in Norfolk, Va. on March 27, 1869. He was the son of Capt Henry H. Coston, an officer of the United States Marine service who was stationed at the Pensacola Navy yard for many years and who was the inventor of the Coston distress signal. He received his education in the public and private schools of Norfolk and later took a course in the Washington and Lee University at Lexington, Va. In 1891 he graduated in the law school of that university and in the summer of the same year was admitted to practice law in that city. He practiced there until June 18, when he came to Pensacola on account of the illness of his father, then stationed at the local navy yard. In October of the same year he was admitted to the bar of this city and had practiced law here since then.
The deceased had held several positions of public trust. When the water front commission to adjudicate the titles of the waterfront lands of the city was formed, he was appointed as one of the three members and he also held the position of Circuit Court commissioner for a number of years.
The deceased was prominent in fraternal and social orders being a member of the Knights of Pythias, the Elks and the Eagles, having been elected to the position of worthy
president when the area was formed in this city.
Mr. Coston leaves a mother, sister and one brother to mourn his death, in addition to a large circle of friends.
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Nov 22, 1906: MOTHER FOLLOWS SON TO THE GREAT BEYOND
Stricken With Apoplexy Mrs. Ella V Coston Passes Away
TAKEN ILL YESTERDAY MORNING AT 3 OCLOCK THE AGED AND
RESPECTED LADY DIES AT 6:45 LAST NIGHT BARELY REGAINING CONSCIOUSNESS AFTER THE ATTACK
Stricken with apoplexy yesterday morning at 3 o’clock Mrs. Ella V Coston expired last night at 6:45 o’clock at the home of John L Pinney on West Gregory street thus following her son Chas M Coston to the Great Beyond within three weeks. The news of the sudden illness and later the death of the aged and highly respected lady came as a shock to many and especially to her large number of intimate friends She was apparently enjoying good health although very much affected by the recent death of her son. Mrs. Coston retired Tuesday night at the usual hour and made no complaint of feeling ill. About 5 o’clock her daughter was awakened and discovered that her mother was seriously ill. A physician was hastily summoned but her condition was beyond medical aid and although she uttered a few words she relapsed into a state of unconsciousness from which she never emerged and death came while she was surrounded by loving relatives and friends.
Mrs. Coston had reached the age of 61 years She had long been a resident of Pensacola and the navy yard coming here in 1846 with the family and living at the navy yard. She was the daughter of Major William Morrill who was stationed at the Pensacola yard. There she married in 1859 Jas H Nichelsen and to this union was born one son. Mr. Nichelsen met death on the battlefield at Franklin Tenn. in 1864 at that time being the adjutant general of Finlay’s Florida Brigade. In 1865 she married Lieut H H Coston, USMC, and to them were born four children Chas M, who recently died, Harry, who is in naval service at Norfolk, Miss Ella who is now in Pensacola, and Mrs. Flora Hall, residing in Virginia. Captain Coston which rank he attained before retiring died at the navy yard some years afterwards and the remains are burled in the National cemetery. Mrs. Coston also leaves one sister, Mrs. John L Pinney, and two brothers, Capt W Thomas Morrill US engineering department of Mobile, and Edward Webb Morrill of South Florida.
The hour of the funeral and the place of interment have not yet been announced as relatives have been wired informing them of her death.
Note: Nov 23, 1906:
THE FUNERAL OF MRS ELLA V COSTON
Will Occur This Afternoon From St Katharine’s Church
The remains of Mrs. Ella V Coston who expired at the home of John L Pinney on West Gregory street Wednesday night will lie placed at rest this afternoon in St John’s cemetery. the services being conducted at St Katharine’s church at 3 o’clock. The cortege will move from the residence of Mr. Pinney at 2:30 o’clock and proceed to the church and thence to the cemetery.
The pallbearers will be H Horsler, Herman Pinney, P B Bruce, C M Jones, John B Jones, W L Moyer, A C Blount Jr and J C Pettersen. The remains of this highly respected lady would have been placed at rest in the National cemetery but for the fact that the regulations or the department do not permit of but one member of a naval officers family to be buried in the national cemetery and recently Mrs. Coston had the remains of her son Hon Chas M Coston buried there by his father, thus waiving her right and her body will consequently be interred in St Johns cemetery.
Note: Nov. 24, 1906: FUNERAL OF MRS ELLA V COSTON.
REMAINS OF ESTIMABLE LADY PLACED AT REST YESTERDAY AFTERNOON
The remains of Mrs. Ella V Coston, the estimable lady who died Wednesday afternoon of apoplexy, were placed at rest yesterday afternoon in St Johns cemetery, a large concourse of friends and relatives being present to pay their last sad tribute of respect.
The cortege moved from the family home on West Gregory street at 2:30
o’clock to St Katharine’s church where Rev Mr. Sharpe conducted the services after which the cortege proceeded to the cemetery. Many handsome floral tributes were placed upon
the grave presented by loving friends.
Note: Oct 27, 1905: Capt. W.T. Morrill, who has been visiting his sister Mrs. John L. Pinney, 508 West Gregory street, has returned to his home in Mobile.
Note: April 21, 1905: Mrs. C.M. Coston entertained at dinner Wed. eve. for Mrs. Ahrens of Chicago, guest of Miss Rehfield and Mrs. E.R. Burgoyne. Mrs. Ahrens leaves Friday noon for home.
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April 21, 1905: COMPLIMENTARY TO MRS AHRENS
Mrs. E R Burgoyne and Miss Pauline Rehfield gave a particularly delightfu1 day’s outing for their attractive guest, Mrs. Ahrens of Chicago, that enabled her to see the chief points of interest on land and water.
In the morning they went by “dummy” to the navy yard. There they boarded a pilot boat and went out into the Gulf, where they spent five delightful hours, cruising near enough to the target range of the warships to see the flash of the big guns at practice. They also enjoyed the experience of sending one pilot aboard a big British ship that was coming in and of receiving and bringing in two pilots from the battleships Maine and Kentucky on their way to target practice.
They visited the life saving station and had dinner on board while there, cruised about to the other points of interest on the lower harbor, returned to Warrington for supper and then returned to the city after an ideal day and magnificent sea weather.
In the party besides Mrs. Burgoyne and Miss Rehfield and the guest of honor Mrs. Ahrens were Hon Charles M Coston and Miss Ellie Coston, Mrs. D. Dannheisser and Mrs. Alex Lischkoff.
Hon J Walter Kehoe, Mrs. Kehoe and their sister Miss Minnie Kehoe were also passengers on the pilot boat during the trip.
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April 21, 1905: Mrs. Northup’s at home. The following invitations have been
issued: Mrs. W H Northup at home Wednesday April twenty-six from four to six.
Miss Walker, Mrs. Gustav Eitzen, Mrs. E.E. Saunders, Mrs. J.R. Kellar.
Note: March 15, 1908: Latest in Cornett Puffs and Pompadours offered by Mrs. Sarah Beirne, 508 West Gregory, near corner of DeVilliers.

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Feb. 6, 1907: GEORGE U. BONIFAY HAS PASSED AWAY
Well Known Citizen Died at An Early Hour Yesterday Morning
Geo. U. Bonifay, a well known and highly respected citizen, passed away
yesterday morning at 3:30 o’clock at the home of his sister Mrs. Robert Hargis on West Gregory street. He had been confined to his bed for about a week with a complication of diseases.
Mr. Bonifay had long been a resident of Pensacola and for years was
one of the prominent merchants of the city In later years he was identified with the firm of Halliday Co. and later with W J B Forbes. For the past three years he has been with the firm Hooton Watson as bookkeeper. He was taken ill on January 28th on which date he posted his books at the close of the day’s business, and although he returned to duty the following morning, he was too ill to attend to his duties and went back to his home. Since then he has been gradually growing worse and yesterday morning, the end arrived.
Mr. Bonifay was a man liked by all with whom he was acquainted. His employers spoke highly of him stating that he was a very valuable man in the position which he held with the firm, faithful and trustworthy and admired not only by his employers but by all of those in the employ of the firm.
The deceased leaves a sister, Mrs. Robert Hargis and three brothers, M.G. Bonifay, Peter Bonifay and M. Bonifay, the latter of Bonifay. With the exception of the latter, they are all residents of this city. He also leaves a large number of other relatives and a host of friends.
The funeral services will be conducted at 3:30 o’clock this afternoon at St. Michael’s church, the cortege leaving the family home on West Gregory street at 3 o’clock. The interment will be in St Michael’s cemetery.
The following friends of the deceased will act as pallbearers: F C Brent, W A Blount, J J Hooton, Thos C Watson, Frank Reilly and J Thornton Whiting.
Note: April 14, 1907: Fire Dept. called to home of John L. Pinney on West Gregory, where the roof had ignited from sparks. It was extinguished with but little damage.
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Dec. 19, 1909: BONIFAY FUNERAL WILL BE HELD THIS MORNING
At 10:30 o’clock this morning the remains of the late M.G. Bonifay will be borne from his late residence on West Gregory street to St. Michael’s church, where Father Fullerton will conduct the funeral services. Interment will be made at St. Michael’s cemetery. Close friends have been selected as pallbearers.
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March 17, 1907 page 1 Pensacola Journal
MAJOR GONZALEZ HAS PASSED AWAY
Only Surviving Son of Don Manuel Gonzalez Passes to Great Beyond
Major Sam Z. Gonzalez. One of the oldest and most highly respected citizens of Pensacola passed away yesterday afternoon at his home at No 313 West Gregory street after a lingering illness. Death was due to old age.
The deceased had reached the age of 89 years and leaves a wife, a large number of relatives and many friends to mourn his loss. The "Major", as he was known by his numerous friends was a native Pensacolian, having been born here, and he lived here continuously throughout his life. He was respected by all with whom he was acquainted and had a kind word for everyone. He retired from active business many years ago and for the past few years has been seen upon the streets but occasionally.
The funeral cortege will leave the family home on West Gregory street this afternoon at 4 o’clock and proceed to St Michael’s church, where the funeral services will be conducted. The interment will be in St Michael’s cemetery in the family burying ground, and friends and relatives are invited to be present but are especially requested not to bring flowers.
The pall bearers will be six nephews of the deceased as follows: W R, C H, L X, S J, O A and C G Gonzalez.
Was Only Surviving Son
Major Gonzalez was the only surviving son of Don Manuel Gonzalez, who came to Pensacola in a sailing vessel in December of 1784 and who married a French lady Miss Marie Louise Bonifay and they resided at what was then known as the Fifteen Mile House, which is now known as Gonzalez. Don Manuel received at various times large grants of land from the Spanish crown until he came to possess immense tracts lying in Pensacola and surrounding it. Some of these estates were Gonzalia, now known as Gonzalez, Vacaria Baja at Oakfleld and another at Cantonment.
Don Manuel gave the Plaza on Public Square to Pensacola and gave it in the name of Ferdinand VII in honor of the monarch whom Bonaparte exiled in 1808 in order to place his brother Joseph Bonaparte upon the Spanish throne. After West Florida had been ceded to the United States in 1821, the father of Major Gonzalez was made quartermaster general and colonel of the army and it was at his home at the Fifteen Mile House that the first council of thirteen assembled and the first statutes were enacted.
Don Manuel Gonzalez died at Vacaria Baja in 1828, being then 71 years of age and lies buried in St. Michael’s cemetery in this city.
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Oct. 14, 1905: New Cases of Yellow Fever reported. Henry Monk has about passed critical stage. Also new: Mr. and Mrs. Crass of 528 West Gregory; and Thomas Raucher of 634 West Gregory.
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Oct. 21, 1905: Also now with yellow fever: Mrs. Geiger and baby (the baby died of the disease) at 710 West Gregory and Mrs. HC Witt at 806 West Gregory. Count is now at 458.
Note: Nov. 5, 1908: Mrs. J.D. Jordan of Scottsboro, Ala., is visiting her niece, Mrs. A. Gieger on West Gregory St.
Note: June 3, 1908: HENRY C. WITT PASSES AWAY
Former Pensacolian Dies in Houston To Be Buried Here
Henry C. Witt, formerly of Pensacola and an old Confederate veteran having been connected with the Third Alabama regiment and later with the Fifteenth Confederate cavalry died in Houston Tex yesterday morning. The remains will arrive in this city and the funeral take place Thursday morning at 10 o’clock from the home of W C Rowland, 806 West Gregory street.
Note: July 18, 1908: Page one: The remains of John C. Witt, who shot himself at his home in Houston, Texas, Thurs. morning, accompanied by his wife and brother, and will be taken direct from the depot to the home of his sister, Mrs. Rowland on West Gregory Street. The funeral services are to be conducted there this afternoon at 4 o’clock and the interment will be in St. Michael’s cemetery. Much regret was expressed in Pensacola yesterday when it became known that Mr. Witt had suicided. He was known by a large number of the residents of 18 years ago, and they were pained to learn of his death.
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Note: April 18, 1907 ELEANOR ROLAND DIED LAST NIGHT
Eleven Year Old Daughter of Mr. and Mrs. W E Roland Passed Away at 9 O’clock
Eleanor Roland, 11 years of age, died last night at 9 o’clock at the home of her parents Mr. and Mrs. W E Roland of 806 West Gregory street. The little girl had been ill for a number of weeks suffering from heart trouble and although her death was not unexpected it was nevertheless a severe shock to her parents and relatives, who have the sympathy of their many friends in their bereavement. The funeral services will be conducted this afternoon at 4:30 o’clock at the family home Rev J B Commyns of the First Methodist church officiating and the cortege will move from there to St Johns cemetery where the remains will be placed at rest.

Note: April 19, 1907
FUNERAL OF LITTLE MISS ELEANOR ROLAND
The funeral services of little Miss Eleanor Roland the nine months old daughter of Mr. and Mrs. W E Roland were conducted yesterday afternoon at the family home on [806] West Gregory street and were largely attended especially by employees of the Pensacola navy yard where the bereaved father is employed. The Interment was in St Johns cemetery and many followed the remains to the last resting place and placed beautiful floral tributes upon the grave. The bereaved parents have the sympathy of their large number of friends in their bereavement.
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June 24, 1906: Misses Helen and Eva Gonzalez of West Gregory St. had a number of visitors, including Annie Kidd and Virginia Lyde of Birmingham. They were accompanied by Mrs. Paul Kuester and Mr. O.A. Gonzalez.

Note: Sept 23, 1908: SHEPPARD-GONZALEZ LOVELY WEDDING YESTERDAY
The first of the fall church weddings occurred yesterday afternoon at half after five o’clock at St Michael’s church when Miss Eva Gonzalez, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. O A Gonzalez, was united in marriage to Mr. Oscar Mixon Sheppard of this city.
The ceremony was characterized by its sweet simplicity which added a charm to the impressive marriage rites. The church was decorated in ferns and potted plants, the rays of western sunlight shining through the stained glass windows adding a touch of red and gold to the feathery green of the ferns and stately palms.
At the appointed hour Mendelssohn’s wedding march, played by Miss Fannie Kehoe, poured forth its sweet strains, filling the church with music as the bridal party entered. The lights on the altar burned brightly, marking the arrival of the wedding party. First came the pretty maid of honor, who was charmingly gowned in a lovely creation of grandmother Swiss, elaborately trimmed and worn over a slip of white taffeta silk. She wore a becoming white picture hat, trimmed in white plumes. A bouquet of pink carnations completed a very chic costume.
Following the maid of honor came the fascinating bride leaning upon the arm of her father. She was simply gowned in white grandmother Swiss over white taffeta fashioned al a princesse and elaborately trimmed in tiny val lace. Her lovely brunette type of beauty was enhanced by her soft white bridal robes and the big bouquet of fragrant carnations and feathery ferns which she carried.
The bridal party was met at the altar by the groom and his brother. Mr. Raymond B. Sheppard, who was best man. Father Fullerton performed the impressive marriage ceremony, after which the young couple and the bridal party were given a delightful dinner at the home of the bride’s father, No 503 West Gregory street. At eight o’clock Mr. and Mrs. Sheppard left on the steamer Tarpon for a visit to relatives at St Andrews.
As Miss Gonzalez the bride has many friends in Pensacola where she has lived her young life who wish her much future happiness. The groom is a son of Mr. and Mrs. Francis H Sheppard of St Andrews, both of whom attended the wedding and are guests of Mr. and Mrs. William Gonzalez.
Mr. and Mrs. Sheppard will reside at the home of Mr. Frank Riera on North DeVilliers street, as Mr. Sheppard holds a responsible position with the Garfield Ice Company, the future home of the young couple will be made in this city.
Many lovely presents were received from their many friends here and
elsewhere.
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Oct. 4, 1908: Bridge luncheon at Mrs. E.H. Simpson of West Gregory.
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Nov. 3, 1908: Dr. W.E. Anderson to erect a one-story frame bldg at 223 West Gregory for the storage of coal.
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July 1, 1906: John Frenkel (502 West Gregory) was a winner of a pound of Huyler’s candy at Mr. D’Alemberte’s drugstore.
Dec. 10, 1905: Ed. M. Frenkel at the same address.
June 20, 1906: Mrs. Morris Frenkel of Monroe, La., is the guest of her mother, Mrs. F. Frenkel, 501 West Gregory.
April 9, 1905: The wedding of Miss Evelyn Frenkel and Mr. Archie L. Rosenstein will take place Monday evening, April 17. The ceremony will be followed by a large reception at the residence of the bride’s mother, Mrs. M. Frenkel, 520 West Gregory, at 8:30.
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May 18, 1909: Thomas Pate was painfully kicked in the abdomen by his horse while hitching the animal to a wagon at his home on West Gregory street.
Also: Sam Canteraker, charged with keeping open store and selling groceries on Sunday, was fined $11 in the recorder’s court. He conducts a store at the corner of Gregory and Barcelona streets and was arrested at that place by Policeman M. Fillingim.
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Feb. 18, 1906: COLONEL TARBEL’S FUNERAL TODAY
FORMER MAYOR OF PENSACOLA WILL BE BURIED THIS AFTERNOON IN ST. JOHN’S
The remains of Colonel John Milton Tarble who expired at his home on West Gregory street Thursday night will be placed at rest this afternoon. The funeral cortege will leave the family residence at 3:15 and will proceed to Christ church where the services will be conflicted. Afterwards the cortege will move to St John’s cemetery where the remains of the former mayor of Pensacola will be placed at rest with appropriate ceremonies.
The news of the death of Colonel Tarble came as a shock to many persons in the city, some of whom were not even aware of the fact that he was seriously ill.
The colonel for many years was a familiar figure on the streets of Pensacola, but in recent years his health was such that he rarely appeared on the streets. His death is regretted by many, especially those who knew him when he was in the prime of life.
Note: Jan 5, 1906: Colonel and Mrs. Tarbell are now located at 515 West Gregory.
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Jan 27, 1909: MR AND MRS E H SIMPSON CELEBRATE 17th ANNIVERSARY
On Thursday last at their pretty home on West Gregory street Mr. and Mrs. E H Simpson entertained a number of their friends In celebration of the seventeenth anniversary of their marriage. The house was prettily decorated for the occasion, red and green forming the motif for the color scheme. Ferns, lovely red roses and white narcissus made the dining rooms very pretty and attractive. Mrs. Simpson was assisted in receiving her guests by Mrs. J S Johnson, Mrs. Mahoney, Mrs. Joe Hughes, Mrs. A Neil and Mrs. Jack Langford.
The guests present were Miss Aeneid Barrow, Miss Delia Johnson, Miss Emma Greneger, Miss Annie Langley, Miss Gertie Burns and Mr. Claud Mahoney, Mr. Ben King Mr. Nick Conlin, Mr. Toney Licata, Mr. Willie Stanley, Mr. Oscar Burns, Mr. G H Simpson, Mr. Jack Langford, Mr. Joe Hughes, Mr. Charles Neil, Mr. Jim Burns and Mr. Dudley Johnson.
After spending a very pleasant evening in playing games and dancing the guests were invited into the dining room where steaming plates of gumbo were served.
Mr. and Mrs. Simpson were remembered by their friends with several
handsome presents.
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Dec. 3, 1909: An 18th birthday party for Miss Mabel Wilson, the popular and very attractive daughter of Mr. and Mrs. George Wilson of West Gregory. Chaperoned by Mesdames Hernandez and Rheinhardt. Attending: Misses Lucille Gray, Mabel Pfeiffer, Geraldine Boras, Irene Hernandez, Ada Reidei, Stella Rheinhardt, and Messrs. Paul Gray, Herbert Pfeiffer, Guy Holland and Otto Rheinhardt.
Note: Feb. 6, 1909: Mrs. Wilson hosted the Ladies Mission Society at her home, 305 West Gregory. Also Miss Alice Quina hosted bridge club at her home, corner Gregory and Baylen.
Note: July 12, 1906: The merry summer reunion and house party that has been so delightfully entertained by Mr. and Mrs. J.M. Wilson at their home, 305 West Gregory, for several weeks past breaks up today. Mr. and Mrs. Harry Wilson and little son, John Powell, of Suwanee Valley, left Tues. for home. Mr. and Mrs. Lee MacDonnell of Tampa leave this morning for Jacksonville, where they will visit Mr. McDonnell’s relatives before going home.
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Dec. 11, 1909: C.B. Lewis of Jacksonville, Illinois has a winter home on West Gregory St. and is a big promoter of Pensacola tourism. He is particularly pleased with improvements made in his immediate neighborhood: “I really wouldn’t recognize my street. I think that with the paving getting on so well, and everything else considered, that everyone should catch the improvement fever, too, and clear up the yards, paint the home, and have the best looking street in the city out there. In the line of improvements, however, the entire city appears to be getting in line. I have seen more changes for the better this year than in any past five years, and still there are indications of more work being done by next year.” Upon being asked what had impressed him most upon his recent return to Pensacola, Mr. Lewis said that outside of the street improvements, the new ten-story bank building and the new half-million dollar hotel had struck him as most noticeable. “That hotel means a lot of the right kind of tourist travel for Pensacola. Mr. Lewis was president of the Tourist Club for several years and has watched the city grow for a quarter-century. Note: He’s probably referring to the Hotel San Carlos, now torn down.
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Dec. 19, 1909: Lyda May Lancaster, 15, of 305 West Gregory, submitted a Christmas poem to the paper.
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Dec. 10, 2005: William Sibley at 112 West Gregory among newspaper contest entrants, as was Lillian Friedman, 204 West Gregory (where the main library is now).
Note: Feb. 17, 1907 Mrs. Alec Friedman hosted the Euchre card club at her home on West Gregory. Delicious refreshments of ices and cakes were served in the dining room, which was lovely with flowers, cut glass and handsome silver. First prize was won by Mrs. Max Klein, a pretty bric-a-brac ornament. Second prize, a half dozen handkerchiefs, was awarded to the hostess, and the guests prize was presented to Mrs. Ischbaum, Mrs. B.H. Solomon’s guest. The club will meet this week with Mrs. Morris Bear at her home of Palafox hill.
Note: April 28, 1907: Ann’s note: Worst headline of the year – charmingly is misspelled and the birthday girl is 16, not 60!
MISS ETHEL FRIEDMAN CELEBRATES
CARMINGLY HER SIXTIETH BIRTHDAY
A birthday party which for a genuine good time will be long remembered by the happy crowd of boys and girls who attended was that of Miss Ethel Friedman, the eldest daughter of Mr. and Mrs. S A Friedman.
The party occurred Friday night at the handsome home of her parents on West Gregory street and after the very bad weather of the week the night was clear and the moon shone with such dazzling radiance that one could almost believe the April rains had polished its face.
Miss Ethel looked very dainty and sweet in a pretty dress of pink and white organdie, finished with pale pink ribbons. She was assisted in receiving her guests by her mother, Mrs. S A Friedman, and her aunt Mrs. David Edrehi, Miss Lillian Friedman and Miss Alice Wagenheim, the two latter young ladies being prettily gowned in white organdie.
The color scheme of the decorations was pink, white and green. The reception hall was beautifully decorated in English ivy, the parlors and dining room being in pink roses and pink carnations intermingled with the graceful tendrils of ivy.
The wide back gallery was waxed and most of the evening was spent in dancing. There were two prizes offered, one each to the girl and boy who made the best rhyme the subject being “sweet sixteen.”
Miss Goldine Jacoby captured the ladies first prize, a silver jewel case. The prize winning rhyme was: “Out of childhood into girlhood days, sweet Ethel has ventured, with her winning ways.”
The boys first prize, a silver ink well, was awarded Lazarr Cahn, his rhyme being as follows:
“It was midnight
And the sky was bright.
When the happy guests
Bade sweet Ethel good night.”
There were many very clever little rhymes about Miss Ethel and her birthday, the judges, Rabbi Schwartz, Mrs. Dave Kugleman and Mr. Simmons, selecting Mr. Cahn and Miss Jacoby as the prize winners.
The dining room was the most elaborately decorated of any of the rooms and looked very lovely in pink roses, ferns and English ivy. The refreshments were very sweet and dainty and bore the color scheme throughout. The centerpiece was a big birthday cake pure white, with Sweet Sixteen in pink letters upon it. The ices were pink and white and the bonbons and small cakes were pink white and green.
Little J Montrose Edrehi, the seven year old cousin of the hostess proposed the toast to sweet sixteen as follows:
“Sweet sixteen is girlhood’s fondest dream,
To you dear Ethel so pure and true,
May heaven’s blessings rest on you.”
Miss Friedman received many pretty presents from her friends and she, as well as her happy guests, will always remember the sixteenth anniversary of her birthday and the great pleasures of the evening that with minds and hearts free from care they spent in the company of each other.
The following guests were present: Miss Lillian Friedman, sister of the hostess, Miss Alice Wagenheim, Miss Sara Goldstucker, Miss Jannette Israel, Miss Lena Alfman, Miss Rosa Zung, Miss Goldine Jacoby, Miss Sadie Cashman, and Messrs Bertram Coleman, Bertram Heinberg, A Freinkle, Lazaar Cahn, Leon Mandle, Asbury Weiland, Leo Israel, Lep Heinberg, Max Gugenheim, J Montrose Edrihi.
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Jan 27, 1907: Mrs. W.H. Northup of West Gregory (now Pensacola Victorian B&B) to give a large card party at her home.
Note: March 22, 1908: Mr. and Mrs. Oswald Quinlivan are now located with Capt. And Mrs. Northup, corn Spring and Gregory streets. … Mrs. Northup will give a thimble party to a few of her friends next Monday afternoon at her home on West Gregory street. The guests will indulge in various games. After this there will be a cutting for the golden thimble.
Note: March 24, 1908: Yesterday afternoon Mrs. W.H. Northup gave a pleasant party to a number of her friends. Although the rain fell in torrents, every guest was present and one of the most delightful of afternoons was spent playing bridge and euchre. The pretty home was beautifully decorated with roses from Mrs. Northup’s rose garden which is one of the ornaments of West Garden Street. After the games the prize, a beautiful gold thimble, was cut for by six of the guests and a peculiar feature was that all six of the ladies cut the tray of various suits in the park of cards, the prize finally falling to the lot of Mrs. E.E. Saunders. Refreshments, which were dainty and delicious, were served and consisted of ices, bon-bons and cakes.
Mrs. Northup’s guests were Mrs. E F Bruce, Mrs. Fred Marsh, Mrs. Frank Dunn, Mrs. Irving Post, Miss Fannie Caldwell, Mrs. William Johnson, Mrs. John Holden, Mrs. E E Saunders, Mrs. Bleeker Forbes, Mrs. Simon Johnson, Mrs. Hollands of Detroit, Mrs. Frederick Gilmore, Mrs. Rix M Robinson, Mrs. M E Batts, Mrs. Quinlivan, Miss Lizzie Rogers, Mrs. Ammerman of Illinois, Mrs. Sheppard.
Note: June 17, 1906: Mrs. Fred Gilmore – Nellie Cravey Gilmore the writer – left Friday noon for Jacksonville, where she is the guest of her brother and sister-in-law Mr. and Mrs. George Cravey for a few days. She will also see her uncle Mr. E.C. Cobb of Gainesville, who will go to Jacksonville and meet Mrs. Gilmore there.
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Note: Oct. 1, 1908:
MRS W H NORTHUP ENTERTAINS AT BRIDGE
Mrs. W H Northup entertained a number of friends at a cozy little bridge party given at her lovely home on West Gregory street yesterday. There were twelve guests present and bridge was played from three until six o’clock after which dainty refreshments were served. The house was very prettily arranged with potted plants and cut flowers, Mrs. Northup’s rose gardens always yielding a quantity of beautiful flowers which at this season of the year are particularly lovely and went far in brightening the pretty furnished rooms.
There were three tables of bridge, Mrs. Jas. Macgibbon [813 North Barcelona] making the highest score and winning the first prize, a handsome drawn work bureau scarf. The consolation prize, a deck of imported playing cards was won by Mrs. John Stillman.
Mrs. Northup’s guests were Mrs. Bleeker Forbes, Miss Fannie Caldwell, Mrs. W B Runyan, Mrs. George Wentworth, Mrs. A O Anson, Mrs. E F Bruce, Mrs. Jas. Macgibbon, Mrs. Walter Kehoe, Mrs. John Stillman, Mrs. T F McGourin, Mrs. T H Lannon, Mrs. L J Reeves.
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Jan. 30, 1907: Mrs. T.C. Watson entertains at cards at her handsome home at 20 West Gregory St.
Note: Oct 6, 1908: Mrs. F.D. Watson, who has been very ill at her home on West Gregory street, is convalescing, much to the please of her many friends.
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Note: Oct 24, 1908: Mr. and Mrs. William Runyan are pleasantly located with Mrs. W.H. Northup, West Gregory street.
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March 30, 1905: Mrs. H.R. Insley, wife of Paymaster Insley of the USS Olympia, and her sister, Miss Gard, are at Mrs. H.C. White’s, 222 West Gregory.

March 12, 1907: Miss Margaret and Miss Mabel Allerman, two charming young ladies of Marianna, are the guests of their aunt and uncle, Mr. and Mrs. David Edrehl on West Gregory St.
Note: Feb 28, 1905: Miss Blanche Metzner of Tallahassee arrived Sat. night on a visit to Mrs. David Edrehl, 202 West Gregory.
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March 14, 1907: Mrs. Kauffman, 422 West Gregory, telephoned the Journal as follows: “Please take out my ad. I have rented all my rooms and I still have calls for them.”
Note: Sept. 2, 1906: MISS KAUFFMAN’S CANDY PULL
Miss Myrtle Kauffman entertained quite a number of her little friends on Wednesday afternoon with an old fashioned candy pull at her home at 422 West Gregory street. There were two prizes, a first and second to be given to the ones who made the most perfect initial with the candy after it was pulled and it was decided that Miss Gladys Smith and Mr. Fred Kuester were entitled to the prizes. The happy crowd of children who were fortunate enough to be present were Merci and Fred Kuester, Lilian McDonald, Ethel McDonald, Florence Bobe, Louise Wolf, Vergie Reed, Gladys Smith, Florida Wallace, Thelma Hinson, Dudley Gonzalez, Rosco Wallace, John Franklin, Harry Smith, Dent Smith, Alfred Reed, Louis Kauffman, Sherrod Hinson, Oral Gonzalez.

Note: Sept 24, 1907: A Buster Brown Party
Master Louis Kauffman entertained a large number of his young friends at a Buster Brown party at the home of his parents, No 422 West Gregory street, yesterday afternoon from 4 to 6 o’clock. The event was the celebration of his ninth birthday anniversary and the large number of little guests enjoyed themselves thoroughly. Three prizes were given and the winners were Misses Lillian McDonald and Sadie Kugleman and Master Warren Riera. Before they departed for their homes delicious refreshments such as ice cream, lemonade and cake were served and greatly enjoyed. The young hostess was the recipient of many pretty presents from his guests. Those who were present were Masters Ernest Gonzalez, Asbin Howe, Warren Riera, Clint and Eugene Bonifay, Montrose Edrehi, Edward and Bert Pooley, Alfred Reed, Emmet Reinhardt, Sam Alfman, John Van Pelt, Harold Goldring, Sherrill Hinson and Lamar and Celestine Serra, Misses Sadie Kugleman, Lillian and Ethel McDonald, Virginia and Cora Reed, Mercy Kuester, Evelyn Hartford, Julia and Rosie Alfman, Florida Wallace, Thelma Hinson, Della Cashman, Ruth Van Pelt, Lucile Goldring and Myrtle Kauffman.
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March 29, 1909: Miss Reffie Smith of West Gregory street is preparing to leave for Gulfport, Miss., in the near future, where she will be the guest of relatives. Miss Reffie’s many friends are anticipating a pleasant sojourn for her in the delightful Mississippi town.
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Sept 20, 1908: Mrs. Martin McDonald, formerly of 415 West Gregory street, has moved to the former Fisher residence, corner of Palafox and Gregory streets, where she is at home to her friends.
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May 22, 1907: Miss Janie Lehman of Greenville, Ala., is visiting the Misses de la Rua at their home on West Gregory street and will remain several weeks.
Note: Aug 6, 1908: Mrs. P.J. McKay and Mrs. Langon and daughter left for their homes in Mobile after spending a few days with Mrs. L.O. Kauffmann, at her home of West Gregory street. … Miss Myrtle Kauffman left Wed. for Mobile to visit friends for a few weeks.
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June 2, 1907: Mr. and Mrs. J.F. Mathis have moved into the handsome residence of Mr. and Mrs. Ben Dunham, No. 419 West Gregory St, where they will reside during the summer months.
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June 16, 1907: Miss Edna Ward and Miss Addie Tiener are expected today from mobile to visit Miss Etta Kauffman, 422 West Gregory St.
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Note: Dec 4, 1908: Mrs. L.A. Kauffman, who recently underwent a serious operation, is convalescing in a most satisfactory manner at her home on West Gregory street. The operation, which was for the relief of appendicitis was a thoroughly successful one, much to the satisfaction of the many friends of the worthy lady who were interested in her condition.
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Nov 18, 1908: Permit to Joseph Wyer to repair the building on West Gregory street, near “I”.
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Aug. 12, 1906: George W. Seniba, residing at No. 212 West Gregory street, expired at his home yesterday morning at 4 o’clock after a painful illness. The deceased had reached the age of 85 years. He leaves a wife, who in is New York, and one daughter.
Note: Ad Sept 30, 1906: Miss Georgia Sensiba, graduate of Knox College, Illinois, and Ferris Kindergarten College, Mich., will open a Kindergarten and Primary School Oct 1 at her home, 212 West Gregory street. Terms $3 per month.
Note: Ad Sept 30, 1906: Private instructions given in advanced English, French, stenography and the usual grammar school studies. Apply to Miss Z.D. Adams, 411 West Gregory street or Box 798.
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April 2, 1909: Mrs. Welch has been ill at her home on 138 West Gregory street.
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May 7, 1909: The Pensacola Maidens’ Club held a pleasant meeting on Thurs. night at the home of Miss Annie Ainsworth on West Gregory street. Euchre was playing, a delightful evening having passed. The ladies’ ace prize was won by Miss Antoinette DiLustro and the booby by Miss Annie Ainsworth. The gentleman’s ace was secured by Mr. Elliot and the booby by Mr. Thos. White. Delicious refreshments were served during the evening, which was one of real pleasure, reflecting much credit on the charming young hostess. The next meeting will occur at the home of Miss Hilda Touart on East Intendencia street.
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July 4, 1908: Mr. M. Hirscher of Montgomery is the guest of his daughters, Mrs. Sidney Cahn and Miss Celestine Hirscher on West Gregory st.
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Sept 4, 1908: Misses Mabel and Pearl Morris of Mobile are the guests of Mrs. R.C. Sackoff at 112 West Gregory street.
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Oct 26, 1908:
THE EXCITEMENT LAST SATURDAY AT HANNAH BROS
Was Caused By a Monster Parasite Alive 62 Feet in Length Head and All Complete Was Expelled by Mr. Walter L Lankford Who Resides at No 2012 (sic) West Gregory Street Whose Spark of Life Was Slowly But Surely Growing Dimmer Day by Day Is Transformed From a Life of Misery and Despair to a Life of Happiness and Sunshine in a Few Short Hours
At No 2012 West Gregory street resides Mr. Walter L. Lankford with his loving wife and baby. Everything was peace and happiness in the home with one exception: That was the poor health of the head of the family, although never so sick as to be in bed but always had that tired languid feeling.

Some four years ago when Mr. Lankford was a member of the 8th U S Art. Band, he had a very hard spell of sickness a raging fever, his stomach was bloated to enormous size, he had shortness of breath, dizzy spells, sharp shooting pans in his lower bowels and the back of his head; he partially recovered from this attack, but ever since he has been troubled more or less. He had a ravenous appetite most of the time; sometimes he could not eat at all. The very sight of food would make him sick; a bad, nasty taste in the morning, sometimes fluttering of the heart, tongue coated, especially in the mornings.

For the past 8 months, he was employed as conductor by the Pensacola Street Car Co., but he had to give it up owing to his poor health and nervous condition. Mrs. Lankford had read and been advised by his friends about the wonderful cures Gray, the Quaker health teacher, was making at Hannah Bros. with his wonderful Quaker Herb Extract and Oil of Balm; he decided to call on Gray. After hearing about the remedies he purchased one bottle of the Herb Extract and in just three days expelled a monster life-sapping tape worm 62 feet in length squirming and alive, head and all complete. He brought it down to Hannah Bros. drug store for Gray to see and the worm is there now and can be seen by all who wish to call, absolutely free, and Gray will answer all questions pertaining to parasites in the human system and how easily Quaker Herb Extract will expel them. No sickness or starving.
Gray claims the Quaker Herb Extract and Oil of Balm will cure rheumatism, catarrh in any form, stomach, kidney, liver and blood troubles, in digestion and constipation. It’s a system purifier and a worm and germ destroyer. Gray has been telling you he proved what he said. How does he prove it? By curing the people right here in Pensacola the same as he has done in hundred of other cities. He has the same medicine here that he has used for years with the same wonderful success. Call today. It costs nothing to talk to Gray. If you can not call, order by mail. The goods will be sent you by express on receipt of price. Quaker Herb Extract, $1.00 per bottle, 3 for $2.50 Oil of Balm, 25 cents, 5 for $1.00. Gray prepays all charges on orders of $3.00 or over. Our mail order department is complete. Gray proves what he says at Hannah Bros drug store 17 South Palafox Street from 9 a m to 9 p m. Come to the Quaker free show on West Garden street next to McHugh’s Grocery Co Every night 7 pm. Don’t forget - free to all.
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Nov 3, 1909: Encroachment suits. The city attorney was instructed to enter proceedings against owners of property on West Government, near DeVilliers, and on West Gregory, near Reus, who had refused to move property from encroachment on the streets. The motion was that the attorney be instructed to proceed in the matter of enforcing the city’s legal rights.
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Nov 5, 1905: A HALLOWEEN PARTY
Mrs. Smith entertained a party of young friends Tuesday night at her home on West Gregory street with a Halloween Party. Those present were Miss Maud Cercuti, Miss Hazel Johnson, Miss Agnes Quigley, Miss Amelia Johnson, Miss Ivy Smith, Miss Quilla Smith, Miss Marie Smith, Mrs. Johnson, Mr. Chip Klumpker, Mr. Cecil Hovey, Mr. Robert Pine, Master Robert Smith. They enjoyed the evening by playing games, telling fortunes and with music. After the “ghosts” appeared they were served with refreshments. The party broke up at one o’clock, each one voting it the best time they have had in a long time.
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Nov 15, 1905: page one: Mrs. Bonar, wife of Frederick Bonar, deceased, former British vice-consul at this port, is very ill at her home on West Gregory street. In fact this morning it was reported that she could hardly recover, being at that time in a dying condition. Mrs. Bonar has been ill for many weeks, or before her husband died of yellow fever. Her critical illness and probably death will be learned with regret by her many friends.
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Jan 21, 1909: E.E. Forum Sr. was painfully injured yesterday afternoon by the breaking of a scaffold on which he was painting the ceiling in the building being erected at the southeast corner of Government and DeVilliers street. He was carried to his home on West Gregory street, where he received medical attention.
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Feb 7, 1909: Mrs. Fred Gillmore will be hostess tomorrow afternoon at an informal bridge party at her home on West Gregory street. A number of invitations have been extended.
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Feb 28, 1909: Yesterday afternoon at 5 o’clock, a conference was held at the exhibition hall by the physicians of the city. Plans were thoroughly discussed as to present and future work of the campaign against tuberculosis, which has aroused much intense interest among all classes of people.
Among other things, the following doctors volunteered to out today to the colored churches of the city and make a personal appeal to the various congregations not only to attend themselves, to the exhibition on next Thurs., but to do everything in their power to help the good work on:
Dr. Pierpont will speak at the Houser chapel at 2200 North Hayne street.
Dr. Simpson will speak at Mount Norris church at 716 West Gregory street. …
Dr. Hargis will speak at Bethel church on Brainard between F & G streets.
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March 5, 1909: Mrs. F.M. (Frank) Thigpen and charming little son (of Montgomery) are guests at the home of Dr. and Mrs. R.C. White on West Gregory street. Mrs. Thigpen’s many local friends are enthusiastically welcoming her during her sojourn in the city.

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July 24, 1909:
HOME OF J.M. COE ENTERED - IT IS NOT KNOWN WHAT THE THIEVES SECURED AS MR COE AND HIS FAMILY ARE ABSENT FROM THE CITY
A door in the residence of John M. Coe, No 113 West Gregory Street, was found open yesterday by Rev. Julian S. Sibley, who resides across the street from the Coe residence and who is looking after the home during the absence from the city of Mr. Coe and family. An investigation of the interior of the residence showed that the place had been ransacked by an unknown party but owing to the absence of the Coe family it has not been learned whether anything was taken from the building. The matter was reported to the police who are making an investigation. A copy of The Journal of July 16 was found on a lounge and the police are of the opinion that the intruder took a rest and perused the paper during his visit to the residence.
Note: March 10, 1907: Lawn party set at the residence of Mr. J.M. Coe, 113 West Gregory by the ladies of St. Catherine’s church.
Note: June 23, 1907: Miss Margaret Eliston and Mr. H.S. Shapiro will be married at 8 pm at the residence of Mrs. McDonald, 133 West Gregory street, Rabbi Schwartz officiating. Thurs. afternoon Euchre Club meets with Mrs. Francis Commyns at 4 pm. Miss Marie Bonifay and Mr. Harry Thompson will be married at St. Michael’s rectory June 26 at 6 o’clock pm. Miss Mabel Gonzalez entertains at cards from 4 to 7, honor of the young college set.
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April 1, 1906: Mr. Celestine H. Gonzalez and family have removed to 416 West Gregory where they occupy the residence of the late Judge Bonifay.
April 1, 1906: Miss Beck of The Journal is pleasantly located at Mrs. McDavids’ 310 West Gregory, where she has her own private phone in her room, just as she had in her sister’s home, and the same number – “669”.
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March 21, 1909: Permit to Leslie E. Brooks to repair wooden dwelling at Nos. 710 and 712 West Gregory street.
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July 31, 1909: Mr. W.L. Hart, with his daughter and son of Marianna, have been the guests of Mrs. J.D. Johnson on West Gregory street for the past few days. They will return home today.
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Sept 8, 1909: James Lovett and William Duffee and Miss Katharine Duffee of Apalachicola are visiting their uncle, James Lovett at 431 West Gregory Street. William Duffee to St. Bernard’s College, near Cullman, Ala.
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Sept. 14, 1909: Mr. and Mrs. Oscar M. Kruester, of No. 513 West Gregory street, are the proud parents of a fine son.
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June 5, 1908: McKENDRICKS-KUESTER WEDDING WEDNESDAY
The marriage of Miss Isabelle Kuester, daughter of Mrs. Emily Kuester, and Mr. Richard McKendricks of Mobile occurred Wednesday at six thirty o’clock in the evening at St Michael’s rectory, Rev Father Fullerton officiating. The wedding was a quiet one, only relatives of the contracting parties being present. The bride wore a pretty going away gown with hat and gloves to match and looked very pretty and dainty. Her flowers were brides roses. After the ceremony the young couple left for Mobile and other cities of Alabama.
Mr. and Mrs. McKendricks will probably make their home in Pensacola. The bride is well known and popular in Pensacola, being the daughter of Mrs. Emily Kuester, residing on West Gregory street. Both Mr. and Mrs. McKendrick have the best wishes of a host of friends for much future happiness.
Although the wedding was very quiet, a number of handsome presents were received from friends which will go far towards beautifying their home.
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June 25, 1908: KUESTER-DURANT WEDDING AT ST. MICHAEL’S
One of the pretty weddings of yesterday which was quietly and simply celebrated was that of Mr. Oscar Kuester and Miss Mary Eulalie Durant which occurred at St. Michaels church at five thirty o’clock, Rev Father Fullerton officiating.
The ceremony was performed in the presence of friends and relatives after which an informal reception was held at the home of the bride’s mother. Mr. L Durant, brother of the bride, gave her away and as she entered the church leaning upon his arm she was the object of many admiring glances. Her gown was of white grandmother Swiss beautifully made and trimmed in filmy lace in which she looked the picture of sweet girl hood. The groom and his best man Mr. Eric Gonzalez met the bridal party at the altar where the ceremony was performed.
After the reception the young couple left for Texas, where they will spend a few weeks. The bride wore a pretty going away gown of brown toile over silk with hat and gloves to match. The bride is well known and popular in Pensacola. Her sweet disposition endearing her to every one Mr. Kuester is one of the valued employees of the Louisville and Nashville railroad and numbers his friends by the score. Mr. and Mrs. Keuster will make Pensacola their home and will reside with the groom’s mother on West Gregory street. Many beautiful presents were received which will go far to beautifying their future home. Good wishes and congratulations went with the young couple on their honeymoon journey.
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Jan. 30, 1908: Little Engebar Bovett of Myrtle Grove is very ill at the home of her grandparents on West Gregory street.
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Oct 16, 1906: QUINA-WHITING WEDDING OCTOBER 24
The following invitation has been received by the friends of Miss Bernadette Quina and Mr. Frank Whiting in Pensacola and elsewhere: Mrs. Mary Alice Quina requests the pleasure of your company at the wedding reception of her daughter Mary Bernadette and Mr. Franklin Moss Whiting on the evening of Wednesday the twenty-fourth of October from half after eight until ten o’clock, One hundred and three West Gregory street, Pensacola Florida.
At home after the 15th of November, one hundred and nineteen West Gadsden street. Both Miss Quina and Mr. Whiting are well known and popular members of Pensacola’s society set, and have many friends who wish them much future happiness.
The wedding will take place at the home of the bride’s mother Mrs. Mary Alice Quina and will be attended only by the intimate friends and relatives of the contracting parties. Rev Father Fullerton of St Michaels church will perform the ceremony. Immediately afterward a reception will be held to which a large number have been invited.
Miss Quina’s bridesmaids will be her sister. Miss Celestine Quina, maid of honor, and Miss Belle Whiting, a sister of the groom.
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Feb 25, 1908: The many friends of Miss Esther Johnson will be glad to hear that she is improving. She has been confined to her home on West Gregory street with the measles.
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March 11, 1908: Mr. Ray Guest of Honor at Tea
Miss Cecilla Robinson entertained at tea at her home on West Gregory street in honor of Donald Ray of Fayetteville N C. The tea was informal and much enjoyed by the guests. The decorations were in yellow and purple and were very pretty and tasteful. The pretty parlor was decorated in yellow jessamines, the dainty fragrance from the pretty golden flowers being especially pleasing to the senses. Jonquils and violets furnished the decorations for the dining room , which was prettily arranged. The evening was delightfully spent.
Miss Colin Smith dressed as a gypsy and created a good deal of amusement reading the palms of the hands of the guests. Miss Robinson’s guests were Mr. Ray, Miss Velma Maura, Miss Margaret Campbell, Miss Colin Smith, Miss Georgia Collins, Mr. Herron D’Alemberte, Mr. John Lewis, Mr. A J Robinson.
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Jan 26, 1905: The many friends of Mr. J.K. Dailey, formerly of Millview, regret to know of his serious illness at his home, 520 West Gregory, Pensacola.
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Feb 7, 1905: The Presbyterian parsonage, lately destroyed by fire, is being replaced by a very handsome new structure, which will add greatly to the appearance of West Gregory.
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Jan 3, 1907: The meeting of the Jewish Woman’s Council will not be held until next week On Thurs. afternoon, with Mrs. S.A. Friedman, 206 West Gregory street.
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Feb 9, 1905: SURPRISED MISS SERRA
On Monday evening by a very clever ruse a number of young ladies succeeded in giving Miss Annie Serra the most agreeable surprise of her experience to celebrate her 17th birthday.
With a party of friends she started to the theatre but when they reached the residence of Mrs. M McDonald, 415 West Gregory, they entered on some pretext when the lights were suddenly turned on displaying the surprise.
The entire first floor had been thrown in one great reception hall and beautifully decorated with holly, ferns, palms and Mrs. McDonald's wealth of potted plants. And here a jolly crowd of young people were already assembled to help her celebrate the day and wish her many returns.
Music, dancing and games served to while away the hours all too rapidly.
Miss Florida de la Rua and Miss Hela Gonzalez presided at the punch bowl and Mrs. C C Brown and Miss Daisy Horsler served delicious hot chocolate.
Those present were Miss Hela Gonzalez, Miss Florida de la Rua, Miss Eva Gonzalez, Miss Isabel Cuesta, Miss Daisy Horsler, Miss Carrie Horsler, Miss Violette Gonzalez, Miss Louise Bond, Miss Cora Murphy, Miss Teal of Indiana, Mr. and Mrs. C C Brown and Mr. and Mrs. M. McDonald.
Also Mr. Hargiss McGuire, Mr. Edgar Langford, Mr. C M Coston, Mr. Harry Brooks, Mr. Eric Gonzalez, Mr. Oscar Cuesta, Mr. John Riccards, Mr. Willie King, Mr. Hargiss Gonzalez, Mr. Tucker of London, Eng, Mr. Willie Hautz and Mr. Ray Horsler.

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March 1, 1905: VOLK - ROBINSON
A quiet and pretty wedding was that of Mr. August Volk and Miss Margie Robinson, which took place at the bride’s home on West Gregory on Monday night. Rev George W Carpenter officiated with the ring ceremony in the presence of a very few friends. The pretty home was decorated with flowers and potted plants and the lights were softened by harmonizing shades. Mr. and Mrs. Volk left on the late train for Montgomery Ala, where they will visit his people during a part of their honeymoon.
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March 2, 1905: NEEDY CASE WORTHY OF ASSISTANCE
The Journal learns of a very needy case which is well worthy the attention of the charitably inclined people of the city. The case is that of the Godwin family at 630 West Gregory street. The father died about two weeks ago leaving the mother and four children without means. The mother and two of the children are now down with typhoid fever and are greatly in need of attention. Some assistance has been rendered them by the Rathbone Sisters but the latter’s’ means are not sufficient to furnish the relief necessary and assistance is now greatly needed.
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March 29, 1907: John N. Day realty, located at 6 West Romana, advertises for $1250 a 50-foot lot on West Gregory with two small houses on the lot, each renting for $7 a month, making a 13 percent investment.
Note: may 21, 1907: John N. Day realty offers a 5-room house at 519 West Gregory, close in, for $2600. The house has bath, gas, sanitary closet, hot water boiler and has just been painted outside and in, and nicely papers. Has cabinet mantels and tile hearth and bronzed fronts in fire places and 9-foot hall in center.
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July 27, 1905: Miss Maude Walthall of Vicksburg, Miss., is visiting her aunt Mrs. J. M. Moreno on West Gregory.
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May 18, 1905: ANTONE-ROBERTS. There was a quiet home wedding at the residence of the bride’s father, 802 West Gregory Wed morning at 9:30 o’clock, when Mr. Ira Augustus Antone and Miss Clara Gertrude Roberts were married. Rev. Frederic Jones, pastor of the First Baptist church, officiating. Mr. Antone and his bride are both Pensacolians, and will continue to reside in the city.
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DEEP IN THE HEART OF TEXAS

2010-01-20T17:56:00.005-06:00

I recently won a book by a relative of mine: Henderson Yoakum, who wrote the first "History of Texas." It is the first volume of his two-volume history published in 1855. Most of these books were destroyed in a fire, so I am quite thrilled to have even half a set. The purchase reminded me of a journal I wrote after a camping trip across East Texas back in the early 1990s. I decided to post that journal here in tribute to my 19th-century cousin.

Being gainfully unemployed has left me raring for wide open spaces and unbridled freedom. Somewhat like swallowing the entire state of Texas. So it didn’t take much of a nudge from my online friend, Buddy, a native Texan, to talk me into traveling the length and breadth of the Longhorn state with no agenda and no deadlines. A pilgrimage of sorts, with us the spiritual pioneers. I was the first to pull into the parking lot at the First Methodist Church in Orange. There is always an FMC in any Texas town so it was a natural choice for a meeting spot. I parked out of the Texas sun and took my 5-1/2-pound poodle under tow for a walk around the block. I looked up when I heard a clang, clang, clang of a muffler and, sure enough, it was my email buddy, Buddy. He told me he’d be driving a 1979 Pontiac Phoenix - and, although I don’t know much about cars, this had to be IT. Back when we lived in Nashville, the kids called these heavyweight vehicles landcruisers.
Buddy had been on the road several days, coming in from Nevada, stopping to visit his son in Fort Collins. I had an easier drive from Pensacola, Fla., stopping to visit my daughter and new granddaughter in New Orleans and then driving across Louisiana to the Texas border. It took us a while to unload his filled car to make room for my things, eliminating camping gear and items we wouldn’t really need. Buddy is a true southern storyteller and I knew I was in for some entertaining days ahead. He began telling me about his work in the Texas oil fields as a young man growing up in Graham in West Texas. A roughneck is a jack-of-all-trades, he began.
“He’s not a plumber, but he can cut pipes. He’s not an electrician, but he can split wire. He’s not an operator, but he can use heavy equipment.” A roustabout, on the other hand, is the lowest form of labor on the rigs - like the gophers at a newspaper - they “go for” this and “go for” that. On the trip, I finally learned the difference between a oil rig and a radio tower - and even began to distinguish the singles, doubles and triples. The taller the rig, the more quickly a team can change out pipes when the bits break. Buddy told me how Howard Hughes’ daddy made his money on a type of drilling bit that broke less often, one that time-conscious drillers (the boss of the drilling crew) quickly took a shine to. Buddy’s father had been a driller - “a dingdong daddy from Dumas,” explaining this title was from a song popular way back when. The family traveled from boomtown to boomtown.
On a side road (highways used locally now that the interstate is in place) near Orange, we encountered the first of several abandoned vintage “filling” stations. The people in the Lone Star state seem to have a deep attachment to these monuments to the automobile. They looked more like movie sets to me - and I kept expecting the ghost of Jimmy Dean to walk up to us. Our first roadkill sight was an armadillo and I quickly snapped a photo of it in case I didn’t see a live one during the trip. The Stuckey’s in this area was decorated with giant aloes and several impressive cattle skulls. I thought of Georgia O’Keeffe’s painting of similar bones - and decided my trip wouldn’t be complete unless I found one, too. It was a kind of zen visualization on my part. I like to test this theory out at times - if forms are formless and thoughts take form, or however the sutra goes, well, then perhaps I can connect with my Buddha mind and create the scene as I go. I bought a bumper sticker for Buddy’s car that already was beginning to seem appropriate: “Don’t Mess with Texas.”
As I was examining a plant that looked like yarrow, I began inadvertently to swat my bare legs. Finally, irritated to the point of consciousness, I turned my attention from the plants to my body. Monster mosquitoes had invaded them.
“Whoa,” I remarked. “Everything is bigger in Texas.” We abandoned the field.
The next stop was civilization: Houston. We toured the Mark Rothko Chapel with its dozen or so somber black paintings inside its muted skylighted tomb. Buddy decided to return from this underworld to the reflective pool with its broken obelisk - a tribute to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. I sat in one of the pews and stared at the black canvasses. As my eyes adjusted to the light density, I began to see various strokes of paint and to distinguish various hues of black among the paintings. At one point, I felt I could even sense dominant hues - such as purple - within the mass of blackness. I was no longer seeing black rectangles against white walls but a whole other world of dark spontaneity and dark color. To see deeper into things, one has to abandon the boxes that wall in thoughts.
Outside, Buddy had discovered some great plays of light around the pool - and took me on a walk, letting these unfold for me as well. The constant ripple of the water grabbed the sunlight and danced in the corner. It turned the water on fire and seemed almost three-dimensional. There were some wild plums in the landscape - and I enjoyed a few of these. Buddy found a piece of broken bamboo and began carving a smaller version of the walking stick he carried - filled with Chinese characters carved in the cane following a mishap on a mountain in China. I had read a book by an American photographer who made the pilgrimage to the 88 temples on one island in Japan. Pilgrims there are called henros and they are identified by their bamboo canes. I hadn’t made it to Japan, but I was now a henro and had my cane. We only had an hour to tour the Menil Collection next door, which is hardly enough time to walk in and acclimate to an art museum, but we concentrated on the ancient works - and I thought of my young roommate, Jodi, who is studying ancient art history as I passed by hieroglyphs and a tiny Venus of Willendorf-type statue. Little did I realize that as I helped her review time periods and styles that I would be a witness to the real thing several weeks later.
We walked over to the Greekfest just in time for the closing announcement - and managed to get a bite to eat (they weren’t selling anything) by asking for scraps for Petey, my dog. I got my first taste of Texas Rangers on horseback as they escorted the crowd to the gate. They are serious folks - and I told Buddy they were ominous to visitors. I couldn’t imagine sheriff’s deputies mounting steeds and driving people like cattle off the grounds off our beautiful Greek church in Pensacola. But then, Texas is like that and Texans don’t seem to mind. I tried to get into the restroom at two corner gas stations and was told it was broken at the first and was “closed” for the evening at the second. Buddy waved his stick at the cashier the second time, and he rang the silent alarm. It’s amazing how threatening bamboo can be. We ducked into the Chinese restaurant to avoid any more Rangers - and got an equally odd reception there. Buddy confessed the Chinese script on his bamboo cane was carved by nationalist Chinese and apparently caused the less political proprietors some consternation.
“They probably think we belong to the CIA,” Buddy explained. He had addressed them in Chinese and the girl answered, “ I don’t speak Chinese.” Odd that she recognized it, though.
Besides filling stations and cowboy cops, a central theme to Texas is the court houses. Buddy had sent me a book of photos of them - and I wondered why anyone would purchase such a book. Richmond broke me in on Texas history. The city was on high ground and therefore flourished more than its Brazos River-flooded neighbors. The monument at the modest city hall was crested by a bluejay and contained a poetic tribute to some human Jaybirds. We couldn’t piece together this political puzzle, so Buddy went inside the city water office and came out with a Richmond native who explained that the Jaybirds were a county party that pre-existed the Republicans and Democrats. It was formed following Reconstruction when most townsmen who were disenfranchised for participating in the treason of the Confederacy had regained the privilege of voting. The Yankee Carpetbaggers were not pleased and wanted this group disbanded. Someone fired a shot from a window of a residence that was still extant and killed three bystanders who weren’t even Jaybirds. The monument contained their names and a tribute to this effort to win Texas back for Texans. The town also boasted the last of the Diebolt jails, which could be purchased like a large construction kit and built onsite.
The land comprising this high ground sported many plantations, and most owners kept a city dwelling in Richmond as well. The gentleman from the water company also noted that although teetotaler Carrie Nation lived in Richmond and although Richmond supported eighteen saloons while she was in residence, “she never bothered any of them, but went up North with her campaign against drinking.” Guess she knew enough not to mess with Texas.
Texas natives are abundant in this diverse state. And nearly every one of them boasts a surname that belongs to one of the “three hundred.” Finally, I asked the obvious. “What three hundred?” It turns out that in all the mishmash of ownership by Spain, France and then Mexico, an Anglo-American by the name of Moses Austin convinced the Mexican government to honor the Spanish land grant given to him in 1821. Under the plan, Austin was allowed to settle 300 families in the area between the Brazos and Colorado rivers. In 1825, Empresario Austin was authorized to bring in 900 more families and six years later, 800 European and Mexican families, bringing the population of Texas up to 5,665. A lot of these settlers came from Tennessee, including members of my mother’s family, the Yoakums. I knew that Yoakum County and Yoakum city were named for family members, but genealogy had never taken root in me, so the facts were always ho-hum. The undauntable character of this state was working its charm, however, and I began to marvel at the idea my pioneer family played some as yet unknown role here.
At Richmond, the role of trains began to loom. Where I live, I hear a train about twice a day at most. Here there was a constant rumbling on the tracks. These people don’t know trains are outmoded, I surmised. I also learned what being on the wrong side of the tracks really meant. If a rail executive didn’t like your town, he could destroy it very legally by running tracks right up main street. Here and in other cities I witnessed this. The business area moved out and those without financial means moved into the nouveau wrong side of the tracks. The town of Rosenberg, for example, was created by a railroader after Richmond refused to allow the steam train to refill water for the engines in their town. When the tracks ran through the town (ahem), the town had to relocate and rebuild.
It was pretty obvious that making 30 miles a day was going to take us about a year to cross Texas, so we abridged our plans and decided to limit our visit to East Texas. When my daughter learned of my upcoming visit to this state, she remarked, “All I remember about Texas is thinking we would never make it through that state. It takes forever!” Imagine how much longer it would take using only FM roads (farm to market). We vowed not to use the interstates except as a last resort.
Buddy told me about doodlebugs as we traveled on FM 36 in Austin County. These are the local name for short trains traveling between towns. Just as people get sidetracked by imposing ideas, these doodlebugs are sidetracked for their more powerful brethren. They are also the name of the ant lion, which lays a vortex of sand for its clients. I had tried to unearth the bug beneath the shifting sands many times while living in south Alabama, but saw one for the first time when Buddy captured one. He also told me about tumblebugs, which roll dung into small balls and bury them in the grounds as an egg hatchery. Like Eskimos regarding snow, Texans have many references to dung of various origins, none of which can be found in Webster’s. Texans must live by the compass. Road signs in Texas have their own personality as well - you can be on South 190 traveling East and it will have both indicators. Despite the precision of the signs, directions are often given as “thataway” or “thisaway.” After giving elaborate instructions, Texans always end with an encouraging “you can’t miss it.” As often as not, we did, however.
Crop identification was not as easy for my roughneck tour guide. I would ask, “What’s that growing there?” and after hearing “combine maize” a number of times, I realized that was generic for something to feed the cattle.
Now I am an urban camper. My idea of wilderness is at an RV park with hot showers. Buddy, on the other hand, wouldn’t have anything to do with organized campgrounds.
“Anyone from Texas knows it’s okay to camp on a non-working ranch if the owner hasn’t posted a ‘no trespassing’ sign. Very reluctantly I climbed a fence to search for a campsite. As we walked toward what we hoped would be dryer turf, I noticed what could have been fresh cow patties and remarked I preferred not ending my life being gored by an irate bull. Not to worry, he said. The first set of cattle bones sans head were stark to me. Eerie. Buddy explained that someone had rustled this bovine victim and left the carcass for the buzzards. Up a ways we came across a whole graveyard of bones. I gave a whoop that may have passed for a Hollywood version of a Native American. There was a bull skull. With an extreme show of tolerance, he let me claim my prize. Then I saw another one - with a different set of horns and insisted I needed two skulls, so he carried one and I the other.
By this time, my legs were almost dripping from the goring of Texas mosquitoes and we decided this would not be a good campsite. I retraced my steps faster than Buddy - he wore long pants - and then leaned the horned skull on the wire as I crossed over. That’s when I noticed the exiting of several large red hornets. Gingerly, I looked inside, and, sure enough, I was carrying a nest of them. Why they had let me carry them over the rough terrain for about a half-mile, I’ll never know, but I was grateful. We chose to leave this head right where it was and put the other one in the back seat. I covered it with a sheet when I decided it looked like a platform for diabolic worship.
A historical marker along the road pointed out that a New Yorker whose last name was Allen - one of the three hundred - had survived a battle with Santa Anna in which his father and nephew perished - because he was away on a recruiting mission. Buddy also explained there are no adverbs in the Texas language. “Run quick,” for example.
The landscape changed when we reached Sealy. Of course, nature was still with us, and we found a hunter spider (the jumping kind) that looked the size of Jack the Giant Killer. First we went to Eagle Lake, where Buddy and his brother had engineered a prototype solar house ten years earlier. The cement block contractor who had originally built the house with his own products had sold it to a local restaurateur, who was kind enough to take us out to see it. The brothers had added a solar greenhouse-type room to the side. Solar heat was used to heat up the block walls that conducted heat through air rather than water. Other solar engineers pooh-poohed the idea, but it was still working very well. In fact, the owner said a university in Florida was repeating the experiment.
This section of Texas had been settled by German immigrants and the roadside no longer looked wild and woolly. They had tamed the fields, erected lovely American windmills, raised herds of dairy cattle and in general created a tidy little Europe. We decided to visit Hackamacks in Industry. We discovered this popular German restaurant was only open four evenings a week. Our camping choices were another attempt on abandoned property, an unused state park we’d passed earlier or the “rest stop one mile.” We decided to check out the latter - and traveled a mile in all four directions. Must have to be Texan to interpret that one. It was dusk, and I wasn’t in the mood to face too much more of the unknown so we returned to the park. In the dark, the grass seemed three feet high. I commented I’d never been in a state park that left the main road unmowed. We couldn’t find a parking space, so we decided to just park on the road and set up the tent in front of the car so we could use the headlights. We had just settled in for the evening when I heard a forlorn cry. Immediately, it was answered by another. And another. We seemed to be circled.
“Buddy, are those wolves?”
“No, they are coyotes.”
“Do coyotes eat people? No, they are afraid of them, but they might eat a poodle.”
I thought of the people snuggled in their houses, probably not even cognizant of these eerie cries. People don’t realize how fragile life is, I thought. They are content to ignore their mortality. I was grateful for seeing how fleeting life is. After all, wasn’t my great- great- etc. grandfather George Yoakum of Claiborne County, Tenn., who was squeezed to death by a bear? As a boy out in the woods, didn’t Valentine Yoakum watched his entire family be killed by Indians?
Well, my fate didn’t end with the coyotes. The next morning the aging namesake of the memorial park, Lawrence Kuehns, I believe, stopped to tell us we can’t camp in the park. He had donated the land to the Lions twenty years earlier and was quite disappointed they hadn’t followed through with their plans to develop this spot as a showcase of community pride. Kuehns took me on a tour of all the plants and trees he had added, including every now-tall pine. He was experimenting with some plants he’d brought back from Hawaii as well as with persimmon and pomegranate. I really encouraged him to work at the latter.
“I remember them as a kid,” I told him. When I visited Lone Mountain, Tenn., someone would always bring me round to a persimmon or pomegranate stand and harvesting them seemed so exotic. I could see Texas youths arriving at this park in the future and being amazed at these fruits that are so rarely found at produce stands anymore.
Buddy and Lawrence talked about war. Kuehns’ ship was just coming into Pearl Harbor when the Japanese arrived. Buddy had his finger on the buttons (read “launch control manager”) that triggered the Atlas E Minuteman II missiles. I wildcrafted flower seeds.
After repacking the tent, we discovered the battery was dead. The local sheriff’s deputy rescued us and was quite nice about it, although he did a check on our licenses.
“Ms. Hill, your Florida license is invalid.”
“What? That’s impossible. I haven’t had a ticket since 1980.” Then I thought of my off-the-wall insurance company. They had recently misplaced a check I’d sent them and canceled my insurance. I had called and gotten it straightened out and they assured me they wouldn’t send the cancellation notice to the state license bureau, which cancels the licenses of uninsured motorists. I explained this to the officer. He called Florida and, after a hot wait, said: “No problem.” I had been wondering if Texas jails are like Mexican jails.
We headed toward Fuehlsberg to get fuel and discovered FM 71 heading for the La Grange court house, the town being named for the hometown of some settlers from Tennessee. The monument there was dedicated to those “who picked the black bean.” I decided it sounded like something the Mexican army would do - those who picked the black bean were assassinated. I later discovered that 41 Texas citizens were shot to death in this fatal lottery.
My caffeine addiction kicked in, so we went to Frank’s Cafe across the street from the hall of justice. On the walls were a number of photos, including some lovely women who were probably employed at the brothel that inspired the staging of “The Biggest Little Whorehouse in Texas.” Frank’s served wonderful homecooked meals so we ate as well.
FM 71W continued toward Austin. Occasionally, we passed farms displaying their antique tractors. Buddy knew the models somewhat. I recalled thumbing through a magazine that had a photo of a “mystery tractor” and realized there was an element of the population that was inspired by such knowledge. Like the filling stations, tractors are not something to be tossed aside with progress, but, rather, set up like an Andy Warhol icon for the world to view.
We traveled along the outskirts of Austin for ages, passing the Edwards Aquifer forever. Buddy told me it runs underground and floods the entire country from Philadelphia to Denver. This very aquifer enabled nineteenth-century folks on the prairie to set up their windmills and farm.
“The water level keeps getting lower and lower,” Buddy continued, “and at a great expense, the government has set up several recharging stations. This must be one of them.” Apparently, the station catches the surface flood water and pumps it into the aquifer to keep the level high enough, so the wells across America’s farms won’t dry up and all of us starve. Hmm. Never knew anything about this whole operation which keeps cereal in my bowl every morning - even if at nearly four dollars a box these days.
We would see Austin to the right. It would disappear and reappear on the left. We stopped at the first sign of civilization, a Jack in the Box, and asked the attendant how to get to downtown Austin. She had no idea. What city are we in? Austin, she said. Amazing. An inebriated young man passed by us and offered to take us home for a drink, but we declined. He did recall that route 365 in front of us would take us to the capitol. We had delicious bagels for breakfast and walked into the dome – Petey my poodle in hand. Buddy had toured it before, so he didn’t join the tour group I discovered. The senate chamber was furnished in finer wood than the house chamber and had better phones. I learned that while, yes, Governor Hogg did name one of his daughters Ima, he did not name another one Ura as legend dictates. What father possessed such a sense of humor as to name a daughter Ima Hogg?
At one painting of the “Betsy Ross” of Texas, I asked about the origin of the Lone Star. Seems the seamstress only had enough silk for one star - and sewed up the flag’s future because of it. I prefer to think of the symbol as reflecting its time as an independent republic and the state’s shining spirit of independence and individuality.
Paintings of Sam Houston and Moses Austin were displayed at the front, including “The Raven” portrait that shows him wrapped in a Cherokee blanket, holding his hickory (I bet) cane and Texas hat. On the Senate Chamber walls were H. A. McArdle’s paintings of the battle of San Jacinto and dawn at the Alamo. An 1875 version of the Alamo painting went up in flames when the court house burned in 1881. The burnings of capitals is a lively legacy in Texas. Three times was about the average. Seems that vigilante injustice prompted some citizens to burn the court house when they wanted to destroy incriminating papers. Eventually, the townsfolk wised up and stopped building wooden structures. The stone buildings are still standing.
While parking near the capitol and the town’s first lawyer’s office, we ran into an old man in a hard hat with a walking stick. Buddy asked to examine his and gave me a full report on the virtues of this innocent-looking but whiplike fiberglass creation. The old man was also a descendant of the three hundred. He talked about his two aunts in their nineties, who still used a washboard, eighteen kerosene lamps and two wood stoves. Every spring, they made him carry everything out of the house so they could scrub it from top to bottom. As we were talking, I noticed another working man walk up to the nearby corner and begin using a walkie-talkie.
When we passed out of earshot, Buddy said they were both security persons, that we were in a sensitize area. He pointed out some discrepancies in how they were dressed. If I had known this, I wouldn’t have picked some branches of the wandering jews along the sidewalk. I’ve always known if I went to jail, it would be for plant “rescuing.” It occurred to me being in the CIA or in some sensitive defense position would make you automatically paranoid about everything going on around you. Just as we ignore our fragility, we remain totally ignorant of our surroundings. I saw these two men and accepted them as workers. Buddy saw them, looked further and interpreted the scene more fully. He was two or three steps ahead of everyone we met - had them all figured out by the time we encountered them. I don’t know whether I would want to give up my naiveté for this knowledge. I always said I trusted people until they give me a reason to distrust them. Of course, sometimes the reason can be unretractable.
The capitol was under heavy renovation and we had to make long detours to get anywhere, but we did pass the Texas archives. While Petey and Buddy lolled in the shade of an old oak tree, I went in to find my Texas kinfolk. I was in for a treat. Turns out that in 1849 Henderson King Yoakum, the grandson of George Sr. and son of George Jr., wrote the first History of Texas, dictated by his lifelong friend, Sam Houston. He had first moved to Murfreesboro, Tenn., not far from Nashville and became mayor and senator there. In between he passed the bar exam. In Texas, he wrote the charter for Austin College, was among the first trustees and received a perpetual scholarship for himself and his descendants.
While I was proud of his achievements, I was touched by his personal life. I read the impassioned letter he wrote to the Robert Cannon, Tennessee hotelier and father of the woman he loved. Because of the income disparities, the father refused the match. The young couple eloped and carved their destiny in Texas. The archives contain a letter Evaline wrote to her mother, praising the qualities of the man she married and saying her great love for him eclipsed even her sadness at the separation from her family. She noted how Henderson had taught her to read and write and this letter was a testimony to her new skills. The devoted husband wrote Cannon another letter, witnessing to how much Evaline’s linking her life to his continued to inspire him. The couple bore nine children during their marriage. I was also touched to see that Henderson had a hand in founding a woman’s college.
A new lengthy publication of by the Texas Historical Society offered a write-up on three other Yoakums. Turns out Franklin L. Yoakum, brother to Henderson, was a physician and Presbyterian minister. He also taught at Tehuacana College in Limestone County. Later, he was president of Larissa College in Cherokee County and, after the Civil War, founded the Texas Academy of Science. One of his sons, Ben Franklin Yoakum, was a railroad executive who oversaw the merger of the Frisco (St. Louis and San Francisco Railway Company) and the Rock Island Line in 1905 and became known as the Yoakum Line. Two years later, he moved to a farm in Farmingdale, L.I., and became president and board chair of the Empire Board and Mortgage Company. He married Elizabeth Bennett of San Antonio, the daughter of a pioneer Southwest banking company and had two daughters. This Yoakum was active in the Democratic party but deserted it because he considered their farm relief programs inadequate. In his leisure he wrote articles for popular magazines and lectured on railroads.
Ben’s brother, Charles Henderson Yoakum (1849-1909), was an attorney, state legislator and U.S. congressman. During a spell of ill health, he practiced law in Los Angeles.
Along the trip I visited the grave of Henderson, a stone’s throw from Sam Houston’s burial spot in Huntsville. I also discovered the graves of Franklin, Eliza and daughter Lillian, age 15, in Myrtle Cemetery at Ennis. In metaphysically catching up with them after so many decades, I felt I had completed a family circle that had been broken by distance. A moving experience, indeed. I had looked at the rolling hills in Huntsville, Texas, where Henderson settled and knew that he, too, saw a touch of his native soil in Claiborne County, Tennessee. That must have been comforting for a young son who could not inherit the family farm and went off with two other brothers to follow the promise of adventure from Sam Houston, who inspired many Tennesseans to head West. The New Handbook of Texas carries a portrait of the handsome Henderson, whose broad forehead, high cheekbones and deep-set eyes I can easily recognize as a family trait.
The Walker County Court House in Huntsville was lavishly decorated with Texas and U.S. flags to celebrate Columbus Day. The brickwork in the Gibbs building and the post office were intricate and incredibly pleasing. Someone explained the layout of Texas counties - no more than 30 miles apart with the seat no more than five miles from center of the county. Most sat on a square surrounding by turn-of-the-century business structures. At the little bird sanctuary adjacent to the Gibbs home a block or two down from the court house I picked a seeds - vines, marigolds, a soft ferny flower. We also picked up some old-time black walnuts and pecans. I was sure the black walnuts originated from Claiborne County, where they grow in abundance.
Outside of town the previous night, we had passed a giant highway statue of Sam Houston, cane in hand. I tried to find the road again but ended up on 30S heading for Shiho. Something prompted me to take a picture of the antique store there, but let the prompting go. Later, at the four-corner barbecue restaurant, a Tejana couple told me that the store was the site of the first bank Bonnie and Clyde robbed on their way out of Huntsville. Of course, I went back and took a photo. Found out the pair had robbed this bank twice. We doglegged down FM 1375 to 149, which passes through the Sam Houston National Forest. Rescued a few wing feathers from a roadkill turkey vulture, took photos of the beautiful lake there and came out ten miles from the statue we had missed that morning. Texas roads are just like that.
We were going to head back to Orange the next morning, but ending up going west rather than east on 190. Couldn’t find 75 that was “straight ahead” for love or money. The first sign we came to said Dallas 162 miles. That’s when we became officially sure we were heading the wrong way. Stopped for a ranchero breakfast (beware, Texas biscuits are not soft and fluffy) and headed for Cowtown USA, Fort Worth, just below Dallas. We thoroughly enjoyed the Kimbell Art Museum, which featured an exhibit of Japanese pleasure prints. The docent was just starting a lecture when we arrived. Afterwards, we spent some time at the Japanese Garden downtown. The quiet ponds were filled with floating baskets of chrysanthemums. As we walked along the natural path, a caretaker came up with food for the pond fish, and the quiet waters teamed with multi-hued and huge goldfish. Buddy had brought a stick of incense with him and we found a quiet spot, lit it and meditated. I watched fall leaves land lightly on the water, create tiny ripples and float like weightless fairies. Yes, I was a henro, all right, and my journey took me deep into the heart of Texas.

REDNECK EARRINGS IN YOUR FAVORITE BREW - REAL CHEAP!

2009-10-24T10:54:00.008-05:00

Wear your favorite brew with pride! Just $5 a pair, plus $2 for shipping total. Great conversation pieces. Bartending fashionistas love them. They also make unique Christmas stocking stuffers. If you prefer, I can custom make a pair for you at the same price using your own bottle caps. Or I'll trade a pair for your collection of upscale bottle caps that yuppies like, namely expensive imports and micro brews. Will consider all consignment and wholesale offers. Email me at sfnewsgal (at) yahoo.com.

Will trade $10 Bob Evans gift card or bead earrings for bottle caps needed for art project.

2009-10-17T10:41:00.006-05:00

HERE'S MY OFFER for YOUR BEER BOTTLE CAPS.
I have a $10 Bob Evans restaurants gift card (no expiration)that I won in a sweepstakes, only to discover there aren't any of these eateries near me. I would like to trade it for unscratched, unbent beer bottle caps, especially Corona, micro brews and imports or any uniquely designed metal twist-offs from other soda bottles. I will be using the caps in an ongoing project, so this blog doesn't expire. And if you don't have any caps, I'll consider a trade for junk jewelry that can be taken apart and recycled into new pieces or beads or findings or what have you.

SECOND TRADE OPTION.

I have a great number of hand-crafted earrings that I will also trade for bottle caps. Here is a youtube video of some of my jewelry (forget the etsy.com reference, however, as I quit listing these some time ago). Again, if you don't have caps, tell me what you do want to barter.

Here are a few pics:

Email me at sfnewsgal at yahoo.com. Thanks. Ann

My cousin Bessie Yoakum: Belle of New York

2009-10-10T17:59:00.012-05:00

We both descend from George Yoakum of Greenbrier Va and Powells Valley, Tn. Her ancestor went to Texas and wrote the first state history there. He's buried by his good friend Sam Houston. But that story is for another post. My grandmother's married name was also Bessie Yoakum.

BESSIE'S FATHER: Benjamin Franklin Yoakum circa 1900

SOME YOAKUM HISTORY:

YOAKUM BIOGRAPHIES
From VAN BIBBER PIONEERS E-NEWSLETTER Vol. 4 No. 4 February 2001, Gary
R. Hawpe, ed.

Isaac VanBibber and Sarah Davis
Martha VanBebber and George Yoakum, Sr.
George Yoakum, Jr. and Mary Ann Maddy
Franklin Laughlin Yoakum and Narcissa C. Teague
Benjamin Franklin Yoakum

YOAKUM, BENJAMIN FRANKLIN (1859-1929). Benjamin Franklin Yoakum, railroad
executive, was born near Tehuacana, Texas, in Limestone County on August
20, 1859, the son of Narcissa (Teague) and Franklin L. Yoakum. At age
twenty he became a rodman and chain bearer in a railroad surveying gang,
laying the International-Great Northern Railroad into Palestine, Texas. He
later became a land boomer and immigration agent for the Jay Gould Lines.
He drilled artesian wells and brought European immigrants from New York to
farm the land of the Trans-Mississippi and Rio Grande valley. In 1886 he
became traffic manager of the San Antonio and Aransas Pass Railway. In 1887
the town of Yoakum, Texas, was named for him. In 1889 he was promoted to
general manager of the railways, and in 1890 he became receiver. For three
years he was general manager and third vice president of the Gulf, Colorado
and Santa Fe. In 1897 he became general manager of the Frisco (St. Louis
and San Francisco Railway Company). Under him the lines grew from 1,200 to
6,000 miles. In 1905 the Frisco and Rock Island lines were joined, and
Yoakum was the chairman of the executive committee. This line was known as
the Yoakum Line and at the time was the largest railroad system under a
single control. His career was one of the most colorful of the many men in
railroad history. He knew each branch of work - engineering, traffic,
operating, and finance. In his later years he became very interested in the
farm problem. He was an advocate of an agricultural cooperative society,
growing and marketing farm products to reduce the spread between farm and
consumer. It is said that his genius made Hidalgo and Cameron counties into
agricultural communities. In 1907 Yoakum moved to New York, where he had a
farm in Farmingdale, Long Island. He became president and later chairman of
the board of the Empire Board and Mortgage Company. He wrote articles for
popular magazines and lectured about railways to clubs and labor unions. He
worked for farm legislation in Congress but deserted the Democratic party
in 1928, because he considered their farm relief programs inadequate.
Yoakum married Elizabeth Bennett of San Antonio, the daughter of a pioneer
Southwestern banker. They had two daughters. Yoakum died at his home in New
York on November 28, 1929.

BIBLIOGRAPHY Paul C. Boethel, The History of Lavaca County (San
AntonioNaylor, 1936; rev. ed., AustinVon Boeckmann-Jones, 1959). Dictionary
of American Biography. S. G. Reed, A History of the Texas Railroads
(HoustonSt. Clair, 1941; rpt., New YorkArno, 1981). Who Was Who in America,
Vol. 1.

The Handbook of Texas on line

--------------------

Isaac VanBibber and Sarah Davis
Martha VanBebber and George Yoakum, Sr.
George Yoakum, Jr. and Mary Ann Maddy
Franklin Laughlin Yoakum and Elizabeth Wright
Charles Henderson Yoakum

YOAKUM, CHARLES HENDERSON (1849-1909). Charles Henderson Yoakum, attorney,
state legislator, and United States Congressman, son of Narcissus (Teague)
and Franklin L. Yoakum, was born near Tehuacana, Texas, on July 10, 1849.
His father, a physician, educator, and Presbyterian minister, was the
brother Henderson King Yoakum, attorney and friend of Sam Houston, and
author of a two-volume history of Texas published in 1855. Charles Yoakum
was educated at Larissa College, Larissa, Texas, which his father served as
president, and at Cumberland College. Upon completion of his education,
Yoakum became a schoolteacher. He studied law in his spare time, was
admitted to the bar, and began a practice at Emory, in Rains County, in
1874. Two years later he was elected county attorney, a position that he
held for several years. Yoakum moved to Greenville, the county seat of Hunt
County, in 1883 and established a law practice. Three years later he was
elected district attorney of the Eighth Judicial District and remained in
this position until 1890. His experience in public office no doubt aided in
his election to the Texas Senate in 1892. Four years later Yoakum won
election, as a Democrat, to the House of Representatives of the
Fifty-fourth Congress. He declined a reelection attempt in 1898 due to ill
health and in that year, seeking a healthier climate, moved his law
practice to Los Angeles, California. He met with continued success in
business and legal affairs in California. In 1904, having received an
appointment as general attorney for the Frisco Rail system in Texas-a
system made up of the Fort Worth and Rio Grande, St. Louis, San Francisco
and Texas, and Paris and Great Northern lines-of which his brother,
Benjamin F. Yoakum, was chairman, Charles Yoakum returned to Texas. He
settled in Fort Worth, headquarters of the Frisco lines in Texas. Yoakum
died of a heart attack at his home on January 1, 1909. He was a lifelong
Democrat, a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, and the
Masonic, Odd Fellows, and Grand fraternities. Charles H. Yoakum was buried
in his family's plot at Myrtle Cemetery in Ennis, Texas.

BIBLIOGRAPHY Dallas Morning News, January 2, 1909. Fort Worth Record,
January 2, 1909.

The Handbook of Texas on line

--------------------

Isaac VanBibber and Sarah Davis
Martha VanBebber and George Yoakum, Sr.
George Yoakum, Jr. and Mary Ann Maddy
Franklin Laughlin Yoakum and Narcissa C. Teague
Finis Ewing Yoakum

Pisgah Home Founding by Dr. Finis E. Yoakum

Faith healer and social reformer, A medical doctor in Texas, Colorado, and
California, Finis Yoakum (1851-1920) gave up his lucrative medical career
following a personal healing miracle to found the Pisgah Home Movement in
Highland Park at the Christ Faith Mission/Old Pisgah Home. Born to Franklin
and Narcissa (Teague) Yoakum; his father was a country physician in Texas,
who later became a minister with the Cumberland Presbyterian Church and
served as the president of their college in Larrisan Texas. A younger
brother, Benjamin Franklin Yoakum, was an important figure in American
commerce, serving as president of the San Antonio and Arkansas Pass Railway
and chairman of the board for the St. Louis and San Francisco Railroad
("Frisco") as well as several other major railroads and business enterprises.

In 1873, Finis took a wife, Mary. They had three sons and twin daughters.
Yoakum studied at Larissa College ultimately graduating from the Hospital
College of Medicine in Louisville, Kentucky, with the M.D. degree on June
16, 1885. Following medical school, he specialized in neurological
disorders and finally occupied the Chair of Mental Disease on the faculty
of the Gross Medical College in Denver, Colorado.

On the evening of July 18, 1894, while on his way to organize a Class
Leader's Association for his Methodist Church, Finis Yoakum was struck by a
buggy operated by a drunken man. A piece of metal pierced his back, broke
several ribs, and caused internal hemorrhaging. A medical assessment of his
injuries predicted them to be fatal. Plagued by infection for several
months, he moved to Los Angeles hoping to gain relief in its mild climate.
In early 1895, he made a miraculous recovery during a dramatic healing
experience and by the Summer of that year he was again practicing medicine.
After his recovery Dr. Yoakum received visions directing him to create a
mission for the needy. He soon turned his home at 6044 Echo Street into a
mission moving himself and his family into a tent adjacent to his home. The
site soon grew with additions to his original Queen Anne home and the
conversion of an adjacent barn as a new tabernacle that also doubled as a
dormitory. He vowed to spend the remainder of his life serving the
chronically ill, poor destitute, and social outcasts. This is what gave
rise to the Mission Site still operating today.

While in Los Angeles, he associated with a number of churches speaking on
divine healing and hosting many camp meetings at the Mission site or along
the Arroyo Seco two blocks to the east. During the Azusa Street revival
gatherings in Los Angeles (credited as the founding movement of the
Pentecostal Church) he hosted many followers at the Mission site in
Highland Park. He named his Mission site, Pisgah Home after the hill where
Moses stood to view the promised land. By 1915, he had built an impressive
Tudor home just three blocks from the Mission at 140 S. Avenue 59. Most of
the labor to build this home came from Mission residents.

Headquartered from Christ Faith Mission on Echo Street, Dr. Yoakum created
a variety of outreach ministries throughout the Los Angeles area. These
efforts were called Pisgah, giving the Mission Site the additional name as
headquarters for many of these efforts. In 1911, Pisgah Home provided
regular housing for 175 workers and stable indigents and made provisions
for an average of 9,000 clean beds and 18,000 meals monthly to the urban
homeless, the poor, and the social outcasts, including alcoholics, drug
addicts, and prostitutes. Each week, Yoakum sent his workers throughout Los
Angeles to distribute nickels for the cost of trolley fare to Pisgah Home.
Other activities included the nearby Pisgah Store, Pisgah Ark (recovery
House for Women), Pisgah Gardens (rehabilitative center, orphanage, and
farm in North Hollywood), Pisgah Grande (3,225 acres for a utopian
community in Chatsworth), and a later donation of a 500 acre retreat center
and farm in Tennessee.

Dr. Yoakum was a controversial figure throughout the latter part of his
life. He was the object of a love hate relationship with the City of Los
Angeles, because his ministry at the Mission site attracted indigents to
the City from across the country, yet the City was happy to send many of
their own to him for care.

The site is closely aligned with the founding of the modern Pentecostal
church. Pentecostalism, a world wide Protestant movement that originated in
the late 19th century in the Los Angeles area, Kansas and in the Southern
Appalachian Mountains in the Southeast, takes its name from the Christian
feast of Pentecost, which celebrates the coming of the Holy Spirit upon the
disciples. Pentecostalism emphasizes a post conversion experience of
spiritual purification and empowering for Christian witness, entry into
which is signaled by utterance in unknown tongues, also known as glossolalia.

--------------------

Isaac VanBibber and Sarah Davis
Martha VanBebber and George Yoakum, Sr.
George Yoakum, Jr. and Mary Ann Maddy
Henderson King Yoakum

YOAKUM, HENDERSON KING (1810-1856). Henderson King Yoakum, historian, son
of George and Mary Ann (Maddy) Yoakum, was born in Claiborne County,
Tennessee, on September 6, 1810. He graduated from the United States
Military Academy at West Point in 1832. On February 13, 1833, he married
Evaline Cannon of Roane County, Tennessee; they became the parents of nine
children. In the spring of 1833 Yoakum resigned his lieutenant's commission
in the army and began to practice law in Murfreesboro, Tennessee. He became
captain of a company of mounted militia in 1836 and served near the Sabine
River under Edmund P. Gaines. In 1837 Yoakum was mayor of Murfreesboro.
In 1838 he reentered the army as a colonel in the Tennessee infantry and
served in the Cherokee War. He was a member of the Tennessee Senate from
1839 to 1845 and as senator urged the annexation of Texas. On October 6,
1845, Yoakum established residence at Huntsville, Texas, and on December 2,
1845, was admitted to the Texas bar. In 1846 he was instrumental in making
Huntsville the county seat of Walker County. At the outbreak of the Mexican
War he volunteered as a private under John C. (Jack) Hays and served at
Monterrey as a lieutenant under James Gillaspie. With the expiration of
his enlistment on October 2, 1846, he returned to his law practice at
Huntsville, where Sam Houston was his close friend and client. Although a
member of the Methodist Church, Yoakum, in 1849, wrote the charter for
Austin College and served as a trustee for that school from 1849 to 1856.
He helped establish the Andrew Female College in Huntsville and in 1949
was appointed director of the state penitentiary there. In 1853 he became
"master mason" and then "high priest" of the Huntsville Lodge. In July of
that year he moved to his country home, Shepherd's Valley, seven miles from
Huntsville, where in 1855 he completed his two-volume History of Texas from
Its First Settlement in 1685 to Its Annexation to the United States in
1846, for which Houston was said to have given him much of the information.
In the fall of 1856 Yoakum went to Houston to deliver a Masonic address,
attend to some courtroom duties, and visit his friend, Judge Peter W.
Gray. While attending court he suffered a severe tubercular attack and
was treated after being taken to Judge Gray's home, but weakened and died
there on November 30, 1856. Yoakum County, established in 1876, was named
in honor of Henderson King Yoakum. In 1936 the Texas Centennial Commission
erected a marker at the site of the Yoakum home in Shepherd's Valley.

BIBLIOGRAPHY George W. Cullum, Biographical Register of the Officers and
Graduates of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, New York (8 vols.,
New York [etc.]D. Van Nostrand [etc.], 1868-1940). Dallas Morning News,
August 21, 1932. Dictionary of American Biography. Harold Schoen, comp.,
Monuments Erected by the State of Texas to Commemorate the Centenary of
Texas Independence (AustinCommission of Control for Texas Centennial
Celebrations, 1938). Vertical Files, Barker Texas History Center,
University of Texas at Austin.

The Handbook of Texas on line
_____________

You can also review the archived postings by going to the following
internet address http//archiver.rootsweb.com/th/index/Van_Bibber.

THE TENNESSEE BRANCH OF FINIS YOAKUM'S PISGAH HOME MOVEMENT

Established around 1920, this branch in Pikeville, Tenn., not too far from where George Yoakum once lived, is still going strong. Here's what the movement has posted at http://www.havenrest.net/mission.html :

WHO? HavenRest Farm is part of a larger Christian organization, Pisgah Home Movement, Inc.

We are a non-profit religious corporation, registered in, and recognized by The State of Tennessee, USA.

WHEN? In 1896, a medical doctor from Denver, Colorado, founded Pisgah Home Movement. His name was Finis E. Yoakum, and his original headquarters was known as Pisgah Home, located on Echo Street, in Highland Park, the first suburb of Los Angeles, California. About 1922, the parent organization was moved to the mountains in San Bernardino County, California. After a devastating fire in 1943, the organization moved for the final time to the Sequatchie Valley, in Bledsoe County, Tennessee, our current home.

WHAT? A greater vision for HavenRest Farm was visited upon members of the Board of Directors in the winter of 1993, at a special prayer and board meeting at the farm. The name A Haven of Rest was created (And later shortened to HavenRest); the farm/retreat was re-dedicated to serve God's ever-evolving purpose and master plan.

WHERE? HavenRest Farm is located about 2 miles southeast of Pikeville, Tennessee, at 326 Cooper Lane (Intersecting State Highway 30 E). The farm encompasses nearly 450 acres of pasture-land, crop-land, and forest. This is the famous Sequatchie Valley, utilized by forces of both the Union and Confederacy, in American Civil War history.

WHY? In our dedication to the Lord, we hope only to fulfill His will, and reap His divine pleasure.
In so-doing we seek:
Primarily to act as a physical sanctuary for meditation, inner healing, counsel, relaxation, and spiritual renewal for Christians, and their families. At HavenRest Farm the retreatants will experience an environment similar to how most Americans lived their entire lives a century ago, far from the cities' lights, pollution and congestion--out in the country, in the atmosphere of a working farm. There is NO formal activity structuring imposed. Our farm/retreat guests may decide exactly what their individual pace should be.

Secondarily, we serve as a rural retreat location for Christian groups needing a place to do church planning, business seminars, conferences, charity events, and for the younger, or rugged, outdoors-minded Christian individuals, a great camp-out site with lots of hiking trails.

“Come Away” to HavenRest Farm; be alone with God, in His nature.

Koko-Nola, Early Newspapers of Pensacola and the McVoy-Roche Families

2009-09-12T10:05:00.013-05:00

309 West Chase – 1920s Home of Henry M. Roche and Virginia McVoy

The other day I received this email from a member of the Escambia County list group:

Ann, I know that you were interested in info on one of the addresses on Chase Street. You were looking at the house across from our office on 306 W. Chase Street. When I was going through the death records on FamilySearch, I found that Henry M. Roche and Virginia McVoy lived at 309 W. Chase Street in 1921 & 1924. Janet

Always curious about folks who lived in my neighborhood, I did a bit of googling on this couple. Janet sent some information, and I located other tidbits:

They are listed with two other family members on page 95 of St. Michael’s cemetery register:

Henry M. Roche – 11 Sep 1857 – 13 May 1924
Virginia McVoy wife of H.M. Roche
– 27 June 1949 – 1 Dec 1921
Mrs. Daisy M. (Holst) Roche died 20 Feb 1967
aged 81 years
Miss Leona Josephine Roche died 1 June 1975 aged 69 years
They are quite near the Rhoulac Anderson-Mrs. Warren E. Hargis Anderson
cemetery, where John Whiting Hargis and Edythe Grant Hargis are also buried.

Henry Roche’s occupation: In the March 7, 1905 Pensacola Journal, he was elected recording secretary and a delegate to the Central Trades Council of the Pensacola Typographical Union on page 10.

In the Feb. 9, 1907 issue: Wm. Fisher and Wm. A. Blount to Mrs. Virginia Roche – The west 10 feet of lot 12, block 11. Maxent Tract. $95.

In the June 14, 1907 issue: J.J. McCaskill to Virginia Roche, Lots 13 and 14 in block 31 Belmont Tract - $1 and other consideration. (Note: sold in 1909 below)

In the Nov. 4 1909 issue of the Pensacola Journal: Henry M. Roche to Lee Daniell, $1 and other cons. – Lots 13 and 14, Blk. 31, Belmont Tract. In that same issue, C.U. Thiesen sold A.M. Avery for $1000 and other cons. a lot with 93 feet on DeSoto St. by 141 on Baylen St. in the S.E. corner of Blk. 50, Belmont Tract.

What seems to be a real plum, however, are the Roches' Spanish heritage. Virginia’s family is on this list (along with my children’s ancestral members: Pedro Suarez and Thomas Commyns. Of course, also listed are the ancestors of the people who built my house in the 1890s: Gonzalez and Bonifay.) If you’re not from Pensacola, you may not realize that this year marks the 450th anniversary of our founding by the Spanish. Although a hurricane wiped out that first colony, we still lay claim as America’s “first place” for European settlement, earlier than any of the first English settlements we studied in grammar school.

Colonial Inhabitants of West Florida proven by the Galvez Committee:

Pedro de ALBA
Jose MAURA
Mariana Pingrow BONIFAY
William MCVOY
Josefa CABERA
Fernando MORENO
Thomas COMMYNS
Ysabel NICHOL
Francisco DAUPHIN
Francisco PALMES
Francisco DE LA RUA
Maria Josefa Antonia RODRIQUEZ
Josefa FALCON
Salvador RUBY
Andrea GONZALEZ
Pedro SUAREZ
Salvador GUERRA
John SUNDAY
Ysabel HIDALGO

I found a google guidebook to old Spanish correspondence among Cuban archives, and among them were, for example, letters dating to 1781 that were directed to Martin Navarro by: Galvez, Havana; Enrique Grimarest, Mobile; … Henrique Roche, Pensacola. I don't think it's too much of a stretch to think Henrique Roche and Henry Roche might be related. I wonder if anyone has ever gone to Cuba and made copies of these hundreds (thousands) of letters? And if so, has anyone translated them? It looks like years of work, but what a fascinating time period! Do you know if any of this type of material is available locally? I have corresponded with a Vanderbilt professor, who researches the early black families, many of whom lived in my neighborhood, and she tells me:

I’m afraid that Cuba is not integrated into the usual system of archives where
you can make requests and receive information or copies of documents…nor do they
have things on line. Normal citizens do not even have access to internet.

I have worked in church records not controlled by the Cuban state but I
have only been digitalizing black and Indian records…those are available at
http://sitemason.vanderbilt.edu/ecclesiasticalsources/home

But you may have better luck trying the Spanish archives on line. Those are excellent…just Google PARES and it links you to seven archives in Spain and has a simple search function.

Regarding the McVoy surname, it appears that the earliest in Pensacola I can find bearing that name was an agent of James Innerarity, the famous Pensacola trader. Bonnie McVoy Treon, who has posted many tidbits on the McVoy family online, found a John MacVoy listed as a private in the British Army’s West Florida Royal Foresters. In a google book called Mr. Jefferson’s Lost Cause: land, farmers, slavery and the Louisiana Purchase, by Roger G. Kennedy, there is an intriguing reference:

In 1814, the British, finally free of Napoleon, could redirect their forces against the Americans and began to arrive along the coast in force. The officers in charge of their expeditionary forces were badly briefed, however. The Creeks and Seminoles were consistent, but the partners of The Firm (trading company) were switching sides. James Innerarity was entrusted with weapons and supplies for the Indians and to keep up the good work of stirring up the blacks. Innerarity withheld those supplies put into his care, whereupon the Seminoles and Red Sticks showed their economic sophistication by annulling the cessions of land just made to The Firm and scalping those of its employees who strayed into the backcountry.
Still under misapprehensions about the loyalty of the former Tories, the British commander at Pensacola informed its Spanish governor of his plans to attack Fort Bowyer, Mobile and then New Orleans. The governor confided in his confessor, Father James Coleman. Coleman promptly passed the word to another visitor to his confessional – Innerarity. Innerarity dispatched an agent named McVoy posthaste to Fort Bowyer, to acquaint the Americans with what the British had in mind. Forewarned, the garrison made a massacre of the British assault. Finally the British understood. After retreating to The Firm’s plantation next to the fort, they freed nine hundred slaves and put to the torch all its buildings. Some of those slaves subsequently joined the coalition against the Americans, as did many released from The Firm’s plantations in East Florida. An indignant Inneraritiy wrote John Forbes: “Time was when the name of Englishman was honorable, now it is synonymous with nay it is a term to designate a man capable of every thing that is low, vile, base, villainous, atrocious.”
Comfortably within the fortifications of Mobile, (Andrew) Jackson laughed at the British flotilla beyond the barrier islands and commenced moving at his own pace against Pensacola, the possession of Spain, a neutral state.

A few other postings about the McVoy family:

Bonnie McVoy Treon Posted: 29 Feb 2000 12:00PM GMT

MARTIN MCVOY, SR./ Born 5-14-1841, PENSACOLA, ESCAMBIA CO>CO FL. Son of WILLIAM MCVOY of PENSACOLA and JOSEPHINE HERNANDEZ MCVOY. He was raised as ROMAN CATHOLIC and had several siblings. Eldest brother was JOSEPH MCVOY, b.1839 and WILLIAM MURRELL MCVOY, B.1843, CHARLES LEBARON MCVOY (went by LEBARON) and THOMAS E. MCVOY and a sister ANN MCVOY and VIRGINIA MCVOY. MARTIN came to BALT.MD possibly as an apprentice machinist and may have been draughted (drafted) to serve in the UNION ARMY. The entire rest of his family were Confederate.

Bonnie McVoy Treon also posted this McVoy resource:

This copy of my family's MCVOY line excerpted from the
MCVOY FAMILY BIBLE which was in the possession of
BELLE MCVOY MCSWEEN 1966-1967, who was a resident of
PENSACOLA FLORIDA:

This only includes my line which is all that was sent to
me. If anyone out there has the rest of the FAMILY INFO.
PLEASE CONTACT ME AT: BONNIE MCVOY TREON gatreon@ctc.net

MCVOY BIBLE:

1966-1967, Owner, Mrs. Belle M. MCSWEEN, and listed her
address at that time in PENSACOLA.
(UNREADABLE NAME- DUOHY???) BIBLE, pub. by JOHN DOYLE, 294
PEARL ST. (either KY or NY -- COPY is very light.)- 1836
WILLIAM MCVOY, b. 29 AUG 1776, s/o JOHN and ISABELLA MCVOY, m. 12 Feb. 1799, and d. 2 SEPT.1835 ?
MARGARET MCVOY, wf. of WM. MCVOY and d/o GERALD & ANN BYRNE
was b. 3 Nov.1783.
ALEXANDER MCVOY, b. 8 OCT. 1801, d. 24 NOV. 1801
ANN MCVOY, b. 21 Oct.1803
WILLIAM & GERALD MCVOY, twins, born, 12 Feb. 1806,
d. 6 AUG 1806
THOMAS MCVOY, b. 5 Sept 1807
MARY MCVOY, b.22,?,1807
JAMES & DIEGO MCVOY, twins, b. 1 Nov 1814, and d. 15 Nov 1814
JOSEPH MCVOY was born 17 MAY 1818, d. 30 OCT 1822
JAMES ALEXANDER MCVOY, b. 28 APR 1822, d. 26 JUL 1865
MARTIN MCVOY b. 15 NOV 1825, d. 22 APR 1841
WILLIAM MCVOY,b. 25 MAY 1812, d. 27 MAY 1879
THOMAS MCVOY b. 20 MAR 1846
W.M. (WM.MURRELL) MCVOY, b. 17 FEB 1843, d.24 APR 1918
C.(Charles) LEBARON MCVOY, b. 13 AUG, 1851, d. OCT 1916
VIRGINIA MCVOY, b. 27 JUN 1848
JOSEPH MCVOY, b. 17 APRIL 1839, s/o WILLIAM & JOSEPHINE
MCVOY, m. 27 NOV 1867, d. 26 DEC 1910
MARION H. MCVOY, wife of JOSEPH MCVOY, and d/o JAMES &
ELIZABETH P. BRYAN, b. 23 APRIL, 1849. (Born) Boston MA,d?
*****note from Bonnie, it is written elsewhere she was born
in Canada and died young at age 22.
MARTIN MCVOY, s/o WILLIAM MCVOY and JOSEPHINE MCVOY was b. 14 MAY, 1841. (*** Bonnie's great grandfather!)
ANN MCVOY, b. 23 AUG 1844.
JOSEPHINE MCVOY, wife of WILLIAM MCVOY, b. 13 JAN 1813,
d. 4 JAN 1874
MURRELL MCVOY & CECELIA ROCHE were married 27? APRIL 1882?
(note: his name was WILLIAM MURRELL MCVOY)
MURRELL MCVOY d. 14 APR 1918
WILLIAM MCVOY was b. 19 OCT 1883, d. DEC? 19??
ISABELLA MCVOY b. 6 MAY, 1885
MARION (MARIAN?) b. 15 FEB 1888, D. 13 SEPT,1888
FELO ANDREW MCVOY b. 4 FEB 1889, d. 9 JUN 1910
HENRY MITCHELL MCVOY, b. 22 SEPT, 1892 & d. 5 NOV 1934 at a
Government Hospital in AUGUSTA,GEORGIA
CECELIA ROCHE MCVOY, b.20 MAY 1861, wife of WILLIAM MURRELL
MCVOY, 5 JULY 1941

Ms. Treon seems to have discovered the connection between the very Irish-sounding McVoy surname and its Spanish connection:

I found these same names on the 1788? Canary Migration Ships' lists to Louisiana! I know they HAVE to be connected! In my family, ISABEL MELIAN married a JUAN MACABOY or later spelled as MCVOY and MCAVOY.
She is listed in the 1783 Pensacola Census but he is not.
OTHER SURNAMES connected with my MELIAN include MADRID, de MADRID,
MCVOY,MCAVOY,MACABOY,MCABOY,MCBOY,HERNANDEZ,FERNANDEZ,HERNANDES,
BYRNE,BYRN,BYRNS,BYRNES,PALMER,ALLMAN,(ALLEMAN?),GONZALEZ?,ROCHE,
BOUSAGE,STICKNEY,PAGELS,PAYEN, and a couple more I can't think of right
now. The locations include SAVANNAH,GA,USA (PRE-1776),ST.AUGUSTINE,FL,USA.

From "Spanish Plat Books of Land Records of the District of Pensacola, Province of West Florida, > British and Spanish Land Grants 1763-1821 Translated Manuscript by Fernando J. Moreno 1895" compiled by Billie Ford Snyder & Janice B. Palmer Copyrite 1994 Antique Compiling Co., PO Box 36335, Pensacola, FL 32518 (I'm not sure they are still in business - maybe Janice gets this list if so - please let people know) Possibly you can get this book through interlibrary loan - it has a lot of information regarding the land, etc.

> McBoy, Guillermo 220, 411, 423, 424, 425
> McBoy, William 180, 231, 422
> McVoy, Ana 471
> McVoy, William 137, 474

================
THIS 1907 ARTICLE MENTIONS ELVIRA CHRISTIAN McVOY:

THE PENSACOLA JOURNAL SUNDAY MORNING JANUARY 13 1907Delightful Entertainment in
Honor of “Young Old” People

Friday night Mrs. M. P. Bonifay delightfully entertained her friends at
her handsome home on Romana street.
The house was prettily arranged
for the entertainment and the evening
was spent very merrily.
The guests of honor were Professor
L. E. Allen and Mrs. Elvira Christian
McVoy.
Mrs. McVoy blushingly admitted
that she had passed her eightieth
summer while Professor Alln gallantly
announced that he was seventy-
nine of the third inst.
Mrs. McVoy and Professor Allen
were the musicians of the evening, the
professor with his fiddle and Mrs.
McVoy as an accompanist.
The musical programme consisted
of “General Lee’s March,” “General
Jackson,s March,” “Haste to The Wedding,”
“The Campbells Are Coming,”
and a number of other selections
which were like a fragrant breath
from the days of their youth to the
musical performers, and the guests
agreed that Professor Allen and Mrs.
McVoy were the youngest old people
in the state.
The dining room was handsomely
appointed for a luncheon and at nine
thirty o’clock the guests were invited
in. Fourteen covers were laid and
the menu embraced everything delicious
and appetizing.
With laughter and pleasant conversation
the hours flew by, and beforethe guests
were aware the time arrived for bidding
each other good night, after sepnding
a very pleasant evening.
Those present at the party were
Mrs. Elvira McVoy, Miss Margret
McVoy, Mr. and Mrs. A. C. Harrell,
Mr. and Mrs. Chas. Rupert, Mrs. Josephine
Rupert, Mr. Fred Muller, Mr. Britton,
Misses Hatton, Mrs Lounesberry, Miss
Emma Gentry, Mrs. M. P. Bonifay,
Professor I E Allen and Mr. Miller.

There was a Hatton family living at 400 West Gregory, next door to my house at this time, and I suspect the above misses were from that family.

MCVOY BOTTLING OF KOKO-NOLA

On May 14 of that same year (1907), John M. McVoy, Ernest Y. Morgan and Gamuel J. Morgan published a notice of incorporation that was the charter of the Pensacola Bottling Works. The “general nature of the business” was to be manufacture, bottling, buying and selling of soda water, kokonola, syrups, extracts, and similar products. Doing a google on the intriguing word “kokonola,” I discovered a history of Coca-Cola, which reads in part:

Coca-Cola began its history in the late 19th Century. The original recipe was developed by a pharmacist named John Slyth Pemberton. He originally made the recipe as an alcoholic beverage mixed with coca, kola nut, and damiana with its purpose being to help people feel better. People were to have one teaspoon of it, and then drink a glass of water.

In 1887, Pemberton sold Coca-Cola to Asa Candler for twenty-three hundred dollars because he was in poor health and was largely in debt. A year later, Pemberton sold the rights to Coca-Cola again to four more businessmen because of an ongoing morphine addiction. At the same time, Pemberton’s son Charley Pemberton began selling his own version of Coca-Cola. To clear the confusion, Pemberton stated that the name of Coca-Cola belonged to his son, but the other two manufacturers could continue to use the formula.

… Because of Coca-Cola’s success, there became many imitators. So in 1919, after the war and production restrictions were ended, lawyers of the Coca-Cola Company prosecuted brands such as Koke Company, Karo-Cola, Curo-Cola, Sola-Cola, Koka-Nola, and Taka-Cola. Source: http://socyberty.com/history/history-of-coca-cola/).

A google book, Pure Products, Volume 6 published in 1910 found that Koco Nola Co. was found to be misbranded because the syrup contained cocaine, without that substance being shown on the label. The company was prosecuted, found guilty and fined $100. It seems pretty obvious the “koca” reflected the cocaine in the bottle even if the label didn’t. Later labels were labeled “dopeless” – and I suppose that’s where the “Dope” nickname for “Coke” originated.

Pensacola Bottling Works was a confirmed franchise of Koca Nola. These bottles are now highly collectible You can view the actual Pensacola Bottling Works Koca Nola bottle at www.fohbc.com/PDF_Files/KocaNola_Sp2005.pdf .

On Nov. 12, 1909 the Pensacola Journal noted that Cantonment farmer Joseph McVoy, who advertised his grist mill and cotton gin in the same issue, won several first-place prizes at the Baldwin County Fair, including gallon new syrup, short staple and six handles of oats. On May 24, 1907, Joe McVoy, a Confederate veteran, was heading to Richmond, Va., for a Confederate reunion and to attend the Jamestown Exposition.

In reading back issues of the Pensacola Journal, I found one very informative article on the history of Pensacola newspapers, with a reference to typographer Henry M. McVoy. I will close this section with that article and a few other newspaper tidbits. Ann

Title: The Pensacola journal. (Pensacola, Fla.) 1898-1985, December 20, 1908,
Christmas Edition, Section 5, Image 39

A JOURNALISTIC TRIUMPH
By Donald McLellan
Gratifying indeed it is to the loyal Pensacolian to look upon and
comprehend today’s Journal, a representative and leader in Florida
journalism, and one whose opinions count for and stand for something. It is
a source of congratulation that the city is able to boast of a paper of such a
standard of excellence, for, however widely divergent may be our individual
opinions, we must act fairly and confess that your paper today is a type of
successful venture demonstrating that though some of us disagree and “cuss” at
it at times, The Journal clearly stands out as the leader in the West Florida
press, and holding its own with any daily published in the state of Florida.
But the purpose of this article is not that of extolling the paper which
is published in the daily morning field of our city. On the other hand,
it is a cursory review of the journalistic graveyard, for which this city
has an unenviable fame.
As far back as the writer is able to remember, when the contents of a blue-backed speller were being driven into a stubborn brain, the old Pensacolian is recalled. That was when the types were all handled with the nimble finger; and it is with pleasurable recollection that the bulky weekly paper is recalled. Received at Bagdad, then the home of the writer on Sunday mornings, it was a veritable treat.
Pensacola news was dished in terse style, indicating that there was a force of well-trained but unsuccessful men at the helm, for it was not long before the paper ceased to arrive, and the Sunday morning visitor was known to have passed to a last resting place.
Even at the time of the Pensacolian’s demise, there was being published the Commercial, edited by the lamented J. Dennis Wolfe, whose pungent style of writing is remembered and re-read with interest until this day.
That was a daily, and it flourished like the green bay tree, only to
be added to the field of newspaper failures. With it went the hopes and
ambitions of one of the most powerful editors that the state has ever
produced, but he afterwards entered the journalistic field as editor of the
Times when that paper made its appearance in a little office on Baylen
street. Its existence was not too long for its patronage and management
did not succeed.
Previous to that publication, however, it is recalled that the well-known Frank Phillips had a lively paper, the Advance-Gazette, which as its name implied, was the merging of two publications. That paper also went the way of its predecessors. Copies of the issues of the eighties may be seen at several points in the city.

The Daily News

The Daily News, the original of the Evening News, now being published,
made its appearance with Messrs. Witt and O’Connor the helm. Those two giants of journalism were not slow in showing what a newspaper was, and although composition bills were enormous, a number of hand “cases” being operated at all times, the paper lived through many trials and tribulations going through several complete changes of management as well as ownership, and finally living today missing but one issue, and that was upon the occasion of the great storm of several years ago, when the office was flooded and linotypes, presses and motors were lifeless through the inactivity of the electric light plant.
There are many in Pensacola today who are able to tell of the vicissitudes through which the News has passed, yet existing and being published in the local afternoon field. The ill-starred Argus was another venture, launched first in the weekly field and being later merged into a daily, a syndicate having secured the control from J.H. Hamilton, a local newspaper man who yet resides in Pensacola. The Times
was the outcome of this control, but its failure to make good with the Pensacola
public is fresh in the minds of comparatively late comers.
A competitor, the Star, under the editorial management and ownership of Julius Menko, soon secured the control, and under the name of the Times-Star, it was published, but not for long. Something was radically wrong, and it soon found a grave
beside those which had been launched in the past.
The Daily Globe, a production by I. B. Hilson, who afterward became identified with the News, was another grave-finder in the journalistic cemetery. Under very trying odds, this paper’s existence was maintained for some months, publishing both a daily and weekly issue, but at that time the News was in its heyday of success and held to the lion’s share of the patronage both in the local and the foreign advertising field. It was then under the management of W.M. Ball, and was hand-set from start to finish.

The Pensacola Press

A third daily soon made its appearance and had a sorrowful existence, although the proprietor was said to have expended wads to make it a go. That was the Press, published by John Denham, now deceased. It made a brave fight for a living, but the odds were against it. Unreliability was possibly the mill-stone which finally led to a final swamping of the Press. Mistakes, known in newspaper parlance as “bulls”, were too frequently appearing in its columns, and during the life of the present Journal, it was merged into the afternoon field, later suspending publication. This paper started out with brilliant prospect, but could mot overcome the tide of a decided unpopularity, which met it soon after its appearance.
Mr. W. M. Loftin, for many years connected with the News, launched the seed of what turned out to be the most successful of the many attempts at local newspaper-making. He started the Weekly Pensacola Journal, which shortly before his sad death, was
merged into a daily. How the present energetic editor and manager of The Journal
secured control just prior to the well-known originator’s death is not news to the Pensacola public today, and soon after F. L. Mayes and an associate secured absolute control and management, the paper soon forged to the front, today representing a lot of hard work, a great improvement over any paper ever successfully published in the morning field and a triumph of journalism over which the present editor may exult with pardonable pride. And, although in its 10th year of publication, it has never missed an issue, even going through the memorable September storm with success, although considerably damaged mechanically.
Those of the Old School And of the old school of editors and printers, there are not a few who occupy silent sleeping places in the cities of the dead within the city limits. The aged J. Dennis Wolfe, whose writings today are yet read with avidity, occupies a certain mound in beautiful St. John’s cemetery. The lamented John O’Connor and his former business Partner, the well-recollected John C. Witt, sleep in the same enclosure in that burial ground. And another mound holds the mortal remains of the lamented William M. Loftin. In another cemetery, the silent and revered St. Michael’s, recline the remains of several old printers of the
old school.
Arthur Quina, Frank Jeudevine and William Bauer, all at one time on the News, have been gathered unto their fathers and are in St. Michael’s. In the same place the remains of Emmet Touart may be located. He was for many years a pressman on the same paper, working with the three printers already named.
Ed. H. Ackerman, another printer, occupies a place in St. John’s, I believe,
although I do not state it as a fact. My recollection is that he was buried
there. Col Ike Vincent, who was associated with Mr. Hamilton on the Argus is buried in Alabama, his death having Occurred since he left here and it followed a long illness. Three other printers of what we are pleased in reminiscent moments to refer to as the old school, are yet in Pensacola.
Henry M. Roche is a partner in the White printing house, Peter McLellan is with the Journal, and Henry Jeudevine is with the Mayes Printing Co. These old “comps” are full of tales of the early printing trade in Pensacola. A younger member is J. L. Bierne, who holds a reportial position on the Journal. “Jack”, as his friends are pleased to reter to him, can also in reminiscent moments relate interesting life experiences covering the local field.
Many traveling printers who held cases on the local papers are heard from at frequent intervals. Our friend Cleveland of the DeFuniak Herald, is one of them.
There are several others who have been lost sight of completely, but who probably have responded to their last “thirty,” and have gone to their reward.
All of the above, when taken into consideration, will naturally serve to make the loyal Pensacolian feel a kindly pleasure in having the Journal yet with them, And for one the writer hopes that the days of a newspaper’s vicissitudes are a thing of the past, so far as The Journal is converned. May it be the pleasure and ability and task of the present editor and manager to issue many, many more Christmas editions, and to look back with a degree of superiority up the newspaper-wreck-bestrewn past.

For those of you who didn't grow up in the newspaper business, reporters used to add the notation -30- to show the completion of a story - hence the above reference to a last "thirty" above.

The 1905 Halloween Night Fire in Pensacola

2009-08-01T12:06:00.005-05:00

http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn87062268/1905-11-01/ed-1/seq-1/

ENTIRE BLOCK SWEPT BY FLAMES
DAMAGE WILL AGGREGATE $300,000

FLAMES SPREAD
WITH GREAT
RAPIDITY

Whole Brent Building a Roaring
Mass Within a Few Minutes

MANY TERRIFFIC
EXPLOSIONS
When Fire Reached Stocks of
Powder and Cartridges

LARGE PLATE GLASS STORE
FRONTS SHATTERED AND
GLASS DRIVEN ACROSS THE
STREET IN SHOWERS -- SEVERAL
FIREMEN NARROWLY ESCAPED
SERIOUS INJURY -- BUT
SMALL AMOUNT OF CONTENTS
OF BUILDINGS SAVED.

Probably the worst fire in the history of Pensacola for a period of ten or fifteen years occurred early this morning when almost the entire block, Garden street, south to Romana, was destroyed. The los entailed by the conflagration is estimated in the neighborhood of three hundred thousand dollars.
Hundreds upon hundreds of people, who were awakened shortly after midnight by the cries of fire and the general alarm calling out the firemen, congregated upon the streets and watched the firemen and volunteers as they battled with the flames.

Discovery of the Fire

The fire was discovered about 12:25 by two young men who were on their way home. They were attracted by sparks falling through the floor of the Osceola Club kitchen into the building which was soon to be occupied by the L. &.N. as a city ticket office. They quickly ran down the street and notified Watchman Way, who sent in an alarm.
The fire trucks to respond found the buildings in a smouldering state. No flames were discernable, but as far south as Main street, the burning and smouldering timbers could be plainly smelled. Several streams immediately began to play upon the building, where the fire seemed centered, but apparently the entire section of the block from the Hannah drug store to the Blount-Watson building was in flames the flames burst forth, evidently coming from the new Brent building.

Flames Burst Forth

There was a roar as the fire came through the roof and within a few minutes the building was a mass of flames. Ladders were quickly paced and firemen climbed to the balcony where they played upon the fire, but with little result, as it continued to spread with great rapidity. A second and general alarm was then sent in calling out all of the trucks of the city.

Big Building Ablaze

While the firemen, with numerous volunteers from the ranks of citizens were fighting, it was noticed that smoke was rapidly emerging from every window in the big Blount-Watson building. The fire had been carried through the corridor or hallway of the Brent building to that of the Blount-Watson one and secured a good lead upon the men. Volunteers with ladders quickly entered the second story of this building and endeavored to save the valuable library of Blount & Blount and partially succeeded, not ceasing until the flames broke forth with such terrible fury that they were driven away.

The Wind Grows Stronger

The fire continued to gain upon the firemen. The Bruce sporting goods house was among the first to reach such a state that no goods could b saved from it. Several terrific explosions occurred, each driving flying glass across the street. For some time previous to the blaze reaching that place workmen were engaged in removing goods from all of the stores, but when the explosions of the powder and cartridges occurred, no one would venture near. While a large amount of material of this character had exploded during this time, the heavy explosions were caused by spontaneous combustion, blowing out the big plate glass windows. Later when the blaze reached the portion of the Bruce store the small cartridges began to explode and sounded like Gatling guns in action.

The Oseola Club

The Oseola Club seemed to be the point where the fire was mainly centered. The entire upper portion of the stores was in a mass of flames. The firemen fought bravely under Chief Bicker and at one time it was feared that two or three of them would either be seriously injured or lose their lives. This was directly after an explosion in the Bruce store. The flames had then reached the roof of the Oseola club and the awning of the building caught fire shutting off several firemen from the ladder on which they had ascended. Marshal Schad, who was on the scene quickly saw the condition of the men and directed streams of water which played upon them and the ladder with the result that they were able to leave the burning gallery, although scorched and with their clothing burned. The explosion injured them slightly.

Greek Fruit Store.

The Greek fruit store, adjoining the drug store of Sidney Kahn, was the next to go, sparks falling from above, and it was only a few minutes afterwards that Mr. Kahn’s store was in flames. The Forbes Furniture store was next in line, and here the fire raged, the strong wind carrying the blaze up the stairway and feeding rapidly upon the furniture contained in that place. The firemen had a stubborn fight here, and more than once did they have narrow escapes from falling glass and galleries.

The Big Building

There seemed to be a lull in the fire’s southward progress at that time, but it went north, first breaking out on the lower floor of the Blount-Watson building. The flames seemed to break out at once in the offices of the McDavid-Hyer Company, the Gordon & Brown Hardware Co. and Thos. C. Watson Co., and it was only a few minutes before these places were gutted. About this time the flames broke out on every floor of the Blount-Watson building and it was quickly seen that this building was doomed to destruction.
Persons who were in the building endeavoring to save property were notified to leave the building, as it was becoming dangerous to longer remain there. They quickly left and all turned to saving the property south of the Osceola Club.

A Hard Fight

Here the firemen fought their hardest. Every line of hose available was strung, every man of the department was on buildings, galleries and at plugs, in an effort to stop the spread of the fire south. The idea of the chief was to stop the fire at the south end of the Osceola Club, and all efforts were centered there. Chief Bicker centered his forces at that point and notwithstanding the strong southwesterly wind and the big gain of the fire, the men held their own in the hard fight, receiving valuable assistance from citizens who were on the streets and who showed a willingness to help in the work.

Feared Block Would Go

For a short time, after the wind began to rise, it was feared that the entire block would go, and some even predicted that the entire business district from Garden street to Intendencia or Government would be burned. Persons as far south as Intendencia street began moving out their stocks, and the livery stables on that street got their horses and vehicles out upon the streets.
Sparks and pieces of burning timbers, in some instances as large as a bat, were falling in all directions, especially on the residences and cottages at the corner of Romana and Baylen streets, and every moment it was expected that a new fire would break out.

Water Pressure Good

While the pressure of water was nothing extraordinary when the fire was first discovered, the pressure continued to increase during the course of the big blaze and within thirty minutes the streams coming from the hose seemed to be very strong.

Mobile Assistance

When news by long distance phone reached Mobile, Chief Price of the Mobile fire department, quickly ran one of his engines out and placed it on a car, preparatory to leaving at a moment’s notice. A long distance phone from Mobile notified the Pensacola city officials that the engine with a full crew of men were ready to leave at a moment’s notice for Pensacola, should their services be necessary.

No Fatalities

Although numerous narrow escapes were witnessed by spectators during the course of the fire, there were fortunately no fatalities resulting. There was a great deal of uneasiness especially when the fire was burning in the hardware and sporting goods houses for fear that a large amount of powder or cartridges might explode. Several of the firemen were slightly burned and injured during the fire fighting, and serious injuries were sustained.

The Insurance

But little could be learned regarding the account of insurance carriers by those who were burned out, but the following amounts were estimated on the property given:

Brent Building ….. $40,000
Blount-Watkins Building … $25,000
Gordon Brown Hdw Co stock … $10,000
J. Geeker’s Fruitstand … $1,000
Hannah Bros. Drug store … $8,000
F.B. Bruce …. $2,000
L. Jacoby … $3,000

The insurance of the others, E.M. Anderson, C.H. Turner, G. Neri, Osceola Club, and the various offices upstairs in the Brent building and the Blount-Watson building could not be learned.
The fine law library of Blount & Blount, valued at $30,000 was almost all destroyed only a few of the books being saved.
Thos. C. Watson & Co. saved most of their most valuable records, but all of their office furniture and a large part of their books and records were lost.

The Fire Under Control

It was 3 o’clock before the fire was got under control, though the place was still burning at 5 o’clock this morning. While the Neri ice cream stand was more or less damaged, the fire practically stopped with the Osceola building, the extreme south part of which was occupied by Laz Jacoby.

A Shower of Sparks

From the time the flames burst through the roofs of the buildings, a perfect shower of sparks rained down upon the buildings to the south, falling as far as Zarragossa street, and it is a miracle almost that the whole tier of blocks from Garden street to the bay did not burn. Had there been any kind of breeze blowing nothing could possibly have saved that portion of the city.

Horses Were Taken Out

When the fire began to spread and it was feared that it might sweep the whole tier of blocks down to the custom house, the horses in the livery stables on Intendencia street were all led out to places of safety and were not taken back until the fire was gotten under control.

Walls are Down

Practically al of the walls of the buildings from Garden street to Neri’s ice cream stand, a distance of 500 feet along Palafox street are down, the most of them falling out into the street. The debris will have to be removed before the street car traffic can proceed on that street this morning.

Wicke & Co. Escape

Wicke & Co. Escape, whose plumbing establishment was just at the rear of the Blount-Watson building on Garden street, escaped without damage, although the building got very hot.

Origin of the Fire

The porters at the Osceola club stated that they left there at about 12:15 a.m. and that they saw no fire in the building when they left. F.B. Bruce said that he was in his store until 9 o’clock and that during the evening some one seemed to be doing a great deal of pounding and packing upstairs and that some of the straw in the rear of his building was carried upstairs, apparently for the purpose of packing something. Who was doing the packing and who carried up the straw could not, however, be learned.

Electric Circuit Cut Out

At 3:25 o’clock Marshal Schad ordered the electric circuits all cut out, thereby leaving a large part of the city in total darkness. The Journal officer’s light went out with the rest and the motor that runs its machinery also stopped. This caused some delay in getting out the paper and a part of the fire report could not be gotten into type for the first edition.

The 1906 Hurricane that Devastated Pensacola

2009-07-31T08:59:00.008-05:00

I just discovered the Library of Congress' 1905-1906 images from the Pensacola Journal editions. I'm reading the issues day by day to get a feeling of reporting back then. Having seeped myself in Pensacola history for the past few years, I find many "aah" moments when I recognize a person, a business, or government leader. As I was reading about the D'Alemberte wedding in Greenville, Ala., the ads of bookstore owner John Coe and his promise of a new opera house for Pensacola, and the fond farewell statements made at the passing of Dr. J.M. Brosnaham, I also read about the growing troubles of the emperor of Russia, anxious moments about Cuba and the thriving shipping industry here. Then I recalled that 1906 was the year of one of the most devastating hurricanes in our history. When I lived in San Francisco, 1906 was always recalled as the year of one of the most devastating earthquakes in our history. So I moved up to September 27, 1906, edition pictured above.

While the Library of Congress has done a great job preserving these issues and posting them up for us to read, the OCR translation still leaves a lot to be desired and I have cleaned this up.

http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn87062268/1906-09-27/ed-1/seq-1/

Pensacola Journal
VOL IX NO 232 1
PENSACOLA FLORIDA THURSDAY MORNING SEPTEMBER 27 19O6
PRICE 5 CENTS

MOST TERRIFIC TROPICAL HURRICANE
PENSACOLA SWEPT BY GREATEST AND
MOST DISASTROUS STORM IN HISTORY
Whole Water Front Is Strewn With
Wreckage and City Is Almost Devasted
TEN LIVES ARE
REPORTED LOST
Big Bayou and Many Houses
Along Bay Front Are
Swept Away

LOSS WILL RUN INTO MILLIONS
AND MONTHS WILL ELAPSE
BEFORE DAMAGE CAN BE REPAIRED OR SHIPPING BUSINESS
AGAIN FULLY RESUMED

The most terrific storm in the history of Pensacola or since the village of Pensacola on Santa Rosa Island was swept away 170 years ago broke over this city in all its fury Wednesday afternoon and kept up with increasing violence until about noon today when it moderated to a considerable extent. During the height of the storm property valued in the millions was destroyed and it is stated that at least ten lives were lost although the names of those supposed to have been drowned cannot be ascertained at this time.
The greatest loss was to the shipping interests and a large number of ocean going vessels, tugboats fishing smacks, launches and craft of all kinds are wrecked upon the beach, the wreckage being strewn from Magnolia Bluff to the entrance of the harbor. During the height of the storm, people of the city were panic stricken, many believing that a repetition of the Galveston disaster was imminent, and large numbers of people took refuge to the higher portions of the city braving the high wind and stinging rain in the hope of reaching a haven of refuge.

Duly Bulletined

While the approach of the storm was bulletined by the weather department and although it was believed that it would be felt in this city, the idea prevailed that as usual Pensacola would escape the full fury of the hurricane. When the wind reached a velocity of sixty miles an hour on Wednesday night, it was apparent that Pensacola was in the track of the storm, and every effort was made to protect property of every description. People were driven from their homes along the water front, the conveyor of the L. & N. elevator was carried away, trees were uprooted, and vessels in the harbor began to drag their anchors, being slowly but surely forced upon the beach.
The tide was the highest on record, and terrific waves, lashed to fury by the howling gale broke upon the beach, carrying all before them. The entire waterfront was inundated, the water reaching as far as Main street, and all the residences along Main street, many in the vicinity of Muscogee wharf, and houses along the entire waterfront in the western portion of the city were either carried away completely or damaged to such an extent that they were uninhabitable.

Ten Fatalities Feared

As far as can be learned, there are about ten fatalities. Capt. John Walters of the launch Pauline, which berthed at a wharf at the head of the slip between Palafox and Baylen streets, was seen near his vessel about 10 o’clock last night but has not since been heard from. The vessel sank in the slip, but if the captain drowned, his body has not been recovered.
Last night, when the first of the heavy gale accompanying the storm struck the city, a party of nine were seen in a boat near Fisheryllle. Four were rescued, and it is believed that the other five perished. The wife and child of Tom Harris, who runs the store at Palmetto Beach, are said to be among the dead. Two children are reported to have been drowned in the vicinity of Muscogee wharf, and it is also reported that three men were drowned at different parts of the waterfront.

Some Narrow Escapes

Several narrow escapes are reported. Two negroes were taken from a house near the corner of Intendencia and Cevallos streets this morning after the house was half submerged. One of them, an old woman, was sitting on the mantel piece with her feet hanging in the water when found by the rescuers who were forced to swim to the house at imminent peril of their lives.
Early Wednesday afternoon, the surf was reported breaking over Santa Rosa island and is believed that the waves have cut the island in two, which would account for the height of the tide, to some extent. Every effort to see the island by the aid of marine glasses was futile, but it is believed that the pavilion is wrecked, and a rumor was current on the streets at noon that the Life Saving Station had also been blown away
Three vessels were reported in the gulf late yesterday afternoon, and they certainly have not yet made port. What their fate has been can only be surmised and it will be several days before the extent of the calamity to shipping will be known even partially.

Waterfront Havoc

The havoc along the waterfront seems to have been evenly distributed, every section suffering greatly. The storm serried to be most severe in the western portion of the city, but the damage is so great in all sections that it is impossible to make any reasonable estimate of it.
Along the eastern waterfront, the damage was great. The bridge over the entrance to Bayou Texar, which was covered completely with wreckage, is said to be badly damaged, although the extent of the damage cannot be learned until the storm subsides. It is also said that the entire waterfront from the city to Escambia Bay has been badly damaged, being washed away in places. The Escambia trestle was under water yesterday morning.
South of the Bayou Texar trestle, a number of small buildings were wrecked, most of them being located on or near the waterfront. The wind in this section, when the storm began, was not severe, East Hill offering protection while the wind remained in the east. When it veered to the south, however, the full fury of the storm was felt, and great damage done.

PHOTO: Beautiful Bay Front Residence of W. H. Knowles just completed at a cost of $75,000. The veranda was washed away by the storm and the whole front is settling down as a result of the undermining effect of the water.

Muscogee Wharf Wrecked

Muscogee wharf, the magnificent structure of the L. & N. R.R. Co., is practically a wreck, having been broken in two in the middle, and the tracks on either side of the main deck washed away. Thirty eight coal cars which were on the wharf have gone overboard and five large vessels which were at the wharf when the storm began are hard ashore near the head of the wharf. These vessels are the Norwegian bark Superb, Italian ship Olivero, Swedish bark Alfhild, Portuguese ship Ferere, and one other vessel whose name could not be ascertained. The office at the end of Muscogee wharf is completely washed away.
The boom between Muscogee wharf and Wright's mill (now owned by the
Escambia Land and Manufacturing Co.) was broken and the timber cast adrift, this timber and wreckage of every description being jammed upon the beach in a torn and twisted mass. Wrights mill is practically destroyed, the big mill building having been totally wrecked by the storm and the three big wharves washed away. Last night, something over 2,500,000 feet of lumber was stored on the wharves and in the yards of the company, but this morning not a stick was left. The only parts of the plant that remain are the planing mill and a dry kiln recently constructed, and both of these are badly damaged.

Boats Wrecked

West of Wright's mill wharves, a number of pleasure boats were anchored last night, but all have been wrecked and not a vestige of them remains. The tug Celestine, owned by the Escambia Land and Manufacturing Company, is also a wreck, being sunk at the west of the mill property. The entire basin at the foot of East Government street is a mass of timbers and wreckage, and the houses in this vicinity are all more or less damaged, one being torn entirely from its foundations.
The ditch that runs through the Wright's mill property caused the water to back up in the low ground north of Intendencia street, where several cottages occupied by colored people were inundated, the water in places reaching a depth of ten feet. As far as can be learned, there were no fatalities in this section, although many narrow escapes were reported.
The home and bath houses of Frank Segari, at the corner of Zarragossa and Cevallos streets, were completely wrecked, the waves not only washing away the buildings and piers but a number of fishing and oyster boats and even the ground
upon which the Segari residence stood. At an early hour this morning, the waves were breaking clear over the site of the house, not a sign of which remained.
The house on the south side of Zarragossa street immediately opposite the Segari residence was twisted around by the force of the wind and waves and badly wrecked. Next to this house is a small frame residence standing directly on the beach, which was only saved from being washed away by the fishing smack Chapman, owned by Saunders Co., which was washed ashore directly behind it and acted as a breakwater. The building was badly wrecked. All the houses along the beach in this section of the city suffered greatly.
The property owned by Mayor Bliss at the corner of Zarragossa and Florida Blanca streets suffered greatly, the bath houses being completely washed away, and the celebrated pier, which caused so much controversy in the city council being entirely removed by the elements. Two of the large palm trees which the mayor recently planted on his property have been washed away, the fences blown down and the beach cut away by the force of the waves.
About the greatest havoc was wrought along east Main street, the south side of which has been completely washed away. Beginning at the corner of Zarragossa and Florida Blanca, every house clear to the De Silva mill has been destroyed, and the mill which caught fire from some lime, which water managed to reach, is a total loss. The houses on the north side of East Main street are all more or less damaged. Saswell’s fish house at the foot of Alcaniz street is completely destroyed and all of the fishing vessels are ashore. A number of sail boats and launches which were kept in the basin near the fish house have also been wrecked.
A large sailing vessel lies half submerged on the rocks which form the timber boom off the foot of Alcaniz street and is in a dangerous position. It is the general opinion that the vessel will break in two as soon as the tide goes down.
The wharves of the L. & N. R.R. Co. were badly damaged by the storm, and immense quantities of freight that were stored upon them will be a total loss. The conveyor on the Tarragona wharf is completely demolished, and a large portion of the pier has disappeared. The damage to Commandancia wharf is also great, a number of vessels having been thrown clear to the platform.
In the slip between the wharves, several vessels found a safe haven from the storm, among them being the coasting steamer Tarpon, which was due to leave the city on its eastward trip on Tuesday night, but which was held in port owing to the storm signals. The large vessels are sunk in the slip between the wharves, and one is aground to the west of the slip. The tug Flanders managed to get in the slip before the heaviestortion of the storm broke, and is among the few vessels in the bay that was not damaged.
Sullivan’s wharf, which was used by the Pensacola, St. Andrews and Gulf Steamship Co., is a complete loss, only the shore end remaining.
In the slip between the head of this wharf and the Palafox street wharf, several vessels are ashore, among them the tug Okaloosa. The Florence Wetherbee is sunk at Palafox wharf, only her upper works being out of the water.
The entire plant of Saunders Co. is in ruins, and the wharf is practically destroyed. The main building was shifted to the west of its original location, and what now remains of it is tottering on the edge of the pier. Palafox street, which was inundated as far as the tracks of the Terminal Co., is filled with rubbish of every description, including timbers, lumber, reefs and pieces of vessels that were destroyed during the storm.
The Barge office at the bulkhead of the slip between Palafox and Baylen streets was badly damaged, the balcony being blown away by the wind, and the slip is literally jammed full of rubbish and wreckage, a number of vessels being mixed up with it. Several launches have been sunk in the slip -- in fact but few escaped damaged. All of the boat houses and buildings of various descriptions that occupied space on the sides of the slip have been blown away, and the rear of many of the buildings fronting on Palafox street suffered severely.
The plant of the Warren Fish Co. on Baylen street wharf is completely wrecked, and all of the vessels that were at the pier have been blown ashore. West from the Baylen street pier, the scene is one of ruin. Vessels of every description are upon the beach, some of them left high and dry by the receding waters. Others are smashed beyond all hope of repair. The ship yard is a total wreck, and a number of vessels that were undergoing repairs are badly injured. The steamer Columbia, which has been on the waves for some time, is wrecked, as are several of the vessels of the Dunwody-Aiken Towboat Co., which owned a large pier and had an extensive plant a little west of Baylen street. The houses along the bayshore from Barcelona street to Perdido are in ruins, and all along the shore innumerable vessels of every description are scattered as far as the eye can reach.
The tug Simpson, one of the largest in the harbor, is hard and fast on Sullivan’s ballast crib. The Simpson attempted to get to sea at 6 o’clock last night with the expectation of being able to weather the storm, but was forced to turn back and was run on the rocks to save her from being a total loss.
The Monarch and Mary Lee are high and dry with their noses almost in Pine street, but both can be floated with comparatively little loss. They were damaged to some extent by the wind and waves but were in a fairly safe position. The ship Avon was driven ashore near the end of Baylen street wharf, but will probably be saved with little loss.
A report from Fisherville at 2 p.m. is to the effect that the many homes along the bay shore in that vicinity suffered severely, many being practicallyl ruined. The new residence of Laz Jacoby which is some distance back from the waterfront was completely turned around and the building badly damaged. The home of Mitch Jacoby was also badly damaged, and a large fishing smack the Haskins and the big lighter Iris were thrown into his yard on the bay side. The Fisher residence was also damaged considerably, and all wharves and docks swept away. The Perdido wharf was also badly damaged, but the full extent of the damage could not be learned during the afternoon.
Reports from along the bayshore south of Fisherville are meager, but an impression prevails that immense damage was done.
=======================================

Pensacola Journal, Sept. 29, 1905 page four

Mrs. LeBaron Gonzalez and Son Are Drowned
Husband Makes Attempt to
Save Them, But His
Efforts Proved Futile.

Mrs. LeBaron Gonzalez and son George, twelve years of age, are among the drowned. They perished across the bay, where they, with the husband, had gone on a pleasure trip. Mr. Gonzalez made a heroic effort to save his wife and son, but without avail. The story is one of the many sad ones resulting from the hurricane.
Mr. and Mrs. Gonzalez, who reside at the corner of Alcaniz and Wright streets, went across the bay several days ago to spend a week or ten days fishing. They were in one of the houses there when the hurricane struck it and the place was carried away.
The husband, wife and son started for a place of safety, the husband carrying the boy, owing to the depth of the water that was then driving across the place. They battled with the storm for hours, the water continually growing deeper and deeper, until the exhausted wife was also taken in the arms of the husband. He struggled on the best he could in the middle of the night, with the waves dashing over him.
Finally, the wife and won were drowned, both having become exhausted and the bodies were washed away from the frantic husband by the waves.
Mr. Gonzalez, half-dead, finally succeeded in reaching the Dunham place, when he, with others, was brought back to the city yesterday. He was badly bruised and so weak and exhausted that he could not walk last night without assistance.
The body of the boy was recovered yesterday and brought to the city, and is now held at Pou’s undertaking parlors. Search is now being made for the body of Mrs. Gonzalez.

Mrs. J.F. Mathews and
Two Children Drowned

Information was received by the railroad officials yesterday to the effect that Mrs. J.F. Mathews and two chidren, the wife and daughters of the tender of the Escambia bridge, are among those to perish in the storm.
Mr. Mathews with his wife and children and an assistant were in the cottage that stood on the bridge when the hurricane struck that section. The house was carried away with the structure, and the mother and children were evidently drowned, but their bodies have not been recovered.
Parties from Ferry Pass came to the city yesterday and reported that Mathews and his assistant had both been found alive near that point. They had clung to wreckage from the bridge and had thus been saved.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

P.S. The 1906 San Francisco earthquake occurred about 6 months earlier on April 6. Here is a photo of City Hall after the shake. I didn't realize the dome survived. It is now gold-plated and the entire City Hall complex beautifully restored.

A Flag for Aaron's New Boat

2009-07-18T17:07:00.010-05:00

Aaron's new boat will be named the Insta-Gator.

There are places to sleep and cook downstairs, as well as a head (isn't that the name for the bathroom on a boat?)

Valerie and Aaron and their pirate's booty.

My daughter Teresa and I bought a pirate flag from Peg Leg Pete's restaurant in Pensacola Beach for a boat-warming present for my son Aaron and his wife Valerie. It's just like the flags wafting on the roof at Peglegs. Teresa went back to Colorado before we remembered to give them the present, so I did a video for him as Valerie opened the package. That way Teresa could be with us virtually.

A video taken at Sumo Sushi before the volcano, cowboy, dragon and dragonfly rolls were served!. This one's for Teresa.

Peg Leg's first opened in March 1991. The menu was simple at first - but that included what's still the best, namely shrimp and raw oysters. The kids meals (be sure to pick the grouper nuggets) comes with a plastic pail that can be used later to make sandcastles or hold shells at the beach. Wednesdays when Teresa in town mean only one thing: 25-cent oysters at Peg Leg's. She eats 2 dozen at one sitting without batting an eyelash.

Teresa protects her oyster stash.

Tim, Mikela, Teresa and I visit the beach after dinner at Peg Leg's. Jodi took the photo.

Mik blows a kiss to her favorite pirate. (Or is Captain Jack Sparrow still No. 1?)

Mikela hits the water in the summer and the ski slopes in the winter. What a life.

Teresa steers the boat while Aaron and Valerie pull in a grouper.

The happy couple. If you think Aaron catches all the fish, think again. Valerie won 2d place is a recent fishing competition. She brought in about $700 with of prizes!

Here are some of Valerie's winnings!

Getting to know the Ax Murderer

2009-07-16T12:48:00.015-05:00

PHOTO: Wanderlei Silva writes out Aaron's name on his palm to be sure he signs the Hooters holder correctly for Mikela. He is just an all-around nice guy!!!

PHOTO: Pensacola Mayor Mike Wiggins presents the key to the city to mixed martial arts fighter Wanderlei Silva at Paradise Gardens, 508 W. Gregory St. To the right of the mayor is martial arts instructor Alex Silva Ruas, who has a studio at this address. The Hooters girls are on the left side of the photo, and the gentleman in the red shirt was kind enough to escort us into Wanderlei's cottage to get a photo signed for my son.

My son Aaron called me early yesterday and asked me if I am friends with the owner of Paradise Gardens down the street from me. Yes. Well, he said, Wanderlei Silva will be there with the mayor. Who? You know, he said, the ax murderer. No, I don't know any ax murderers named Silva, I said. Mom, he's an MMA fighter. Hmm! I said, what's that? Mixed martial arts, you know, I've told you about it. I went to a fight in Biloxi, he said. Oh, yeah, so what do you want me to do? I said. Get an autograph or an autographed photo for me because I can't leave the dealership (my son manages the Nissan dealership in Pensacola). As good as done, I said.

So this morning at 7:30, I walked Frisco past the Gardens. Lots of activity, time to get a move on. Mikela dressed quickly and we wandered over there. Mostly martial arts types, but Neil Richards of the Belmont Arts Center came through, and we talked to Freddie, who helps run the Mexican import shop on the property, until the mayor and his guest came in.

Mayor Mike Wiggins gave Wanderlei Silva the key to the city, the first Brazilian to be given this honor in any city, according to what I heard. The martial artist speaks mostly Portuguese, and his Pensacola host, martial arts instructor Alex Silva Ruas, interpreted what he said. It was a good speech, talking about knowing when to fight and when not to fight. Silva would be speaking to at-risk teens at the Methodist church at T St. and DeSoto later on, and the minister was on hand to encourage everyone to bring their kids to this event.

We didn't get in a good spot for photos at first, but Mikela worked her way to the front and took some really nice shots. Then we got in line with a Hooters can holder one of the girls gave us and figured we could get him to sign that. When Mik asked him to write To Aaron, he couldn't quite catch the spelling so he wrote Aaron's name on his palm as she spelled it. I have a picture of that moment at the top of this page.

Wanderlei Silva holds the key to the city of Pensacola.

Mayor Mike Wiggins poses with Mikela. Afterwards, he bought her some GatorAde from Freddie at the concession stand behind them.

Desi, who owns Paradise Gardens, enjoys a photo op moment with Wanderlei Silva and his wife.

Once we had enough photos, we took the memory card to Walgreens and had two 8X10s of this photo printed. Note that Silva is holding the Hooters holder with Aaron's name. By the time we got back, Wanderlei had already gone inside the cottage, but the gentleman in the red shirt (see top photo) escorted us into the cottage for the silver signatures for Aaron AND Mikela. I also got to see Desi's new hair color up-close - gorgeous! We put the photos into two frames and delivered Aaron's photo and Hooters holder to him at work. He was all smiles - we should have gotten a photo of this!! Oh, well. Mik and I stopped by Taco Rock and ordered two of the best burritos in town to go. A great reward for a job well done. Thanks, Mr. Ax Murderer, for making our assignment such a pleasant one!

Here are examples of when Wanderlei Silva fights. Dang, he's scary.

Mikela took the above video in which Wanderlei Silva credits martial arts for his success in life.

Old Photos of Pensacola Shipping

2009-07-09T17:05:00.004-05:00

PCH Trivia winner - that's me (and Mik)!

2009-07-08T09:36:00.007-05:00

Pcolamus - that's me (and Mik), taking no. 3 in the Publishers Clearing House trivia games for July 8. We played the World category in Prize Patrol contetst for 10x the number of tokens. We thought we had won with 50,000 tokens the day before, but someone beat us by a hair, so we dedicated another day (off and on) to matching our score, ending up with 105,400 tokens that will be entered to win various gift cards (Target, Walmart, etc.). I'm curious if anyone has ever won one of these PCH gift cards. At any rate, we (granddaughter Mik and I) haven't netted a prize (yet), but feel like a winner in testing our collection of trivia against everyone else who's playing online.

http://www.pchtrivia.com/default.aspx

Yesterday’s Top Winners
Check out your competition and then play your way to the top of the winner’s list.
jccentennial
Total tokens won 80900
raml
Total tokens won 76700
pcolamus
Total tokens won 56400

A Researcher's Look at Leta Loyce's Memoir of Pensacola

2009-06-02T04:19:00.003-05:00

LETA LOYCE: A MEMOIR OF PENSACOLA
By Meta Lois Diffenderfer White
Published in 2003 by Lindenstruth Books Inc. of Pensacola, Fla.
Hardcover Price $19.95
Barnes and Noble gives this summary:

In rich detail, a native Pensacolian portrays the charm and exuberance of this colorful seaport during the '20s and '30s, that brief peaceful interlude between the world wars. Included are Pensacolians as diverse as the seaport itself: old and young, from all walks of life. One can stroll Palafox Street with mothers and daughters, visit in homes both prominent and modest, sail Pensacola Bay on sunny afternoons as planes piloted by youthful Navy fliers arc overhead. More than 100 photos, many of them historic, 335 pages, 4-color dust jacket, fully indexed, including surnames that reach back to Spanish times. Engaging seaside reading, a must for local and women's history collections, valuable also for genealogy.

The view of 323 West Gregory from my window.

I first became aware of the author after finally acting on my curiosity about the pink Victorian house on the corner that I see every time I look out my upstairs window. A bit of deed research gave me the owner’s name and I called her in Virginia. She told me the house was built around 1850 and was owned by the Spanish Moreno family that married into the Dorrs. The house had long ago been purchased by her grandfather, and she spent some happy childhood days there. She tried to place my 2-story Victorian house that is almost kitty-corner from hers, but didn’t quite recall it. What she did suggest was that I read her memoir to get more information.

There are 2 copies of the book at the downtown Pensacola library, one available to take out and the other as a reference. I must say that anyone with a mild curiosity about Pensacola’s past will find this easy and satisfying reading. Her sources are her Aunt Bessie Lindenstruth’s 1906 and 1920-24 diaries and her own 5-year diary from the 1930s, plus decades of meticulous scrapbooking from high school, college and her wedding.

The first thing longtime Pensacolians ask is: What’s your pedigree? In other words, when did you become a Pensacolian? Leta Loyce’s coastal roots go back her grandfather, Peter Lindenstruth, a widower with two children, who sailed here from Georgia in 1889. The talented watchmaker set up a jewelry shop on Palafox Street and eventually brought his daughters.

Most of the author’s memories involve the neighborhood of east Pensacola, where her father, Will C. Diffenderfer, who also owned a jewelry shop at 166 S. Palafox, built a home 1924 East Jackson St. Their lot was purchased from Malcolm Yonge, and their hollow brick house reflected the Arts and Crafts movement that was popular at the turn of the century.

The diaries of her aunt, however, conjure up scenes of West Hill and Pensacola’s downtown business district.

But I must zero in on what’s the most significant for my studies of West Gregory Street. In 1906, Peter Lindentruth and his daughter Bessie, who were at first living above the jewelry shop, rented a house owned by a “Mr. Bell” at 309 West Chase St. That same year, they relocated their shop to 320 S. Palafox. I took a walk over to West Chase and Barcelona and found one house that could be a sibling of the house at 309. It was at 307 West Chase St. and has in recent years been housing Constance Cosby Interiors. A sign said “tenants leaving,” so that’s apparently about to change. I took a quick pic of the house. It is so well renovated, it wasn’t easy to determine its age.

307 West Chase Street, Pensacola, FL

When I returned home, I went to the decorator’s web site and found this at http://www.constancecrosbyinteriors.com/ :

Connie Crosby specializes in upscale residential interiors. She studied design at Florida International University, Florida State University, Harvard University’s Graduate School of Interior Design and in Europe. She is an Allied Member of the American Society of Interior Designers. Her work has been published in numerous publications, most recently Southern Living’s Inaugural Bath book. She was recognized in the ASID 2006 Design Renovations. Crosby’s work reflects a classic and timeless understated elegance with warmth and comfort. Her showroom and studio is located in a 1900s Creole Cottage at 307 West Chase Street. Connie is the widow of Harold Bryan Crosby and has lived in Florida most of her life. She has an intense passion for music, art, architecture, design, film, travel and her canine companion, Sushi.

I did not have as much luck finding the given name of Mr. Bell. In 1906, the rent for their cottage was $20 a month. One of the first to come the father and daughter was their neighbor, “Mrs. Northup”. I assume she was Harriet Northup, the wife of Capt. William Hazard Northup, who, in 1892, built the Queen Anne Victorian with the cute turret at 201 / 203 West Gregory St., directly across the street from the downtown library. Here’s what is posted on the Northups in the 1893/1894 Pensacola Business Directory:

Undertakers WH Northup & JG Wood, Jefferson cor E Zarragossa
(Pensacola Livery & Sales Stables)
Northrup William H Mrs. . boarding-house h 201 W Gregory

This 1884 map shows Chase Street, which is one block south of Gregory. DeVilliers on the left is one block west of Reus. The Lindentruths house is located at the southeast corner of Gregory and Reus. The Northup house would be built in a decade at the southwest corner of Barcelona and Gregory, and the site of the Bell Creole cottage built in the 1900s on the south side of Chase near Reus is just a field. When I expressed to a city architect some concern that my house on Gregory between Reus and DeVilliers does not show up on the map, he told me that it appeared that some streets and houses were transposed in the creation of this map.

The huge house, known presently as Pensacola Victorian bed and breakfast, with its restored carriage house that now houses the fantastic Cottage Café eatery, now has a 203 West Gregory St. address (which makes me think 207 West Chase could have once been 209 West Chase). My own house down the street has had several addresses, especially when several families have occupied it at once.

Here’s an extract from the B&B’s web site at www.pensacolavictorian.com/aboutinn.html

Capt. WH Northup
During Captain Northup's distinguished careers at sea and on land, he also served Pensacola as a Councilman, as Mayor, and as Collector of Customs and Postmaster under Presidents Roosevelt and Taft. His exquisite home, with its gleaming hardwood floors and paneling, sparkling chandeliers, and charming Victorian nuances was a favorite gathering place for the leaders of turn-of-the-century Pensacola. Northup's son Edwin, continued this tradition after he and his family moved into the house upon Captain Northup's death. Because Edwin and Louise Northup deeply loved music, the "gatherings" expanded to include a group of musicians and eventually led to the founding of The Pensacola Philharmonic Orchestra in 1926.

An early photo of 201 West Gregory

203 West Gregory today

The Cottage Café

More on the Northups can be found at the St. John’s Cemetery website at www.stjohnshistoriccemetery.com/pensacolas_heritages/business.htm#w_h_northup
Peter Lindenstruth sold the jewelry store in 1919. Although the purchaser is not mentioned in the book, it was Elebash Jewelers. That company’s history is posted at www.elebashs.com/history.htm and says in part: Elebash's can be traced back to early 20th century beginnings in Selma, Alabama, the birthplace of brothers Eugene P. and Le Grand S. Elebash. After completing apprenticeships, the brothers opened their own store, naming their new firm "Elebash Jewelry Company."

“On April 1, 1919, Eugene and Le Grand (Elebash) purchased Lindenstruth Jewelers in downtown Pensacola and subsequently renamed the store "Elebash's". Within a few years, the family was operating several stores across the Southeast. Eugene moved to Pensacola to focus on overseeing the Pensacola location while his brother Le Grand assumed supervision of the Selma store.

Soon after the sale of the business, Mr. Lindenstruth bought the clapboard house at 323 West Gregory, the house I still see every time I look out my window. The father and daughter both lived the rest of their lives here, and the house at this date in 2009 is still owned by the author.

323 West Gregory St.

According to Mrs. White, the house was built in 1850, which would be significantly earlier than a lot of houses in North Hill. She states that the Moreno family had lived there and had run a florist shop in a small building near the big house. Although there is a small house in the backyard of the big house, more than likely the florist shop is the other building that faces Reus Street. This is what it looks like today:

The outbuilding at 323 West Gregory St. that probably held the Moreno florist shop.

“Previously, there were two Dorr brothers who lived there,” writes Mrs. White. “The Dorrs were related to the owner of the Dorr house on Seville Square. In the house on Gregory Street, both families left envelopes addressed and mailed from relatives. I have the envelopes, but unfortunately, someone removed the letters that would have been inside. The only letter that remained was from a Moreno written to his wife during the Civil War. He told her to try to find some seed to plant a garden. He also tells her how much he loves her.”

The Morenos, the author continues, “must have planted the hundreds of narcissus bulbs that bloomed every Christmas.” Bessie Lindenstruth apparently sold these flowers during her time at the house. The house boasted many other rare species of trees and shrubs, some of which are still growing there, including the ginko and mulberry. I haven’t notice located the pomegranate or loquat in the yard yet. I do have a small loquat tree in my yard, however, planted in memory of the loquat tree that grew in my daughter Teresa’s backyard in New Orleans when she was attending Loyola.

Finding which Moreno lived at 323 West Gregory was not too difficult. James N. Moreno was living at 323 W. Gregory in 1885 directory. He was born in 1836, so I doubt he would have built the house at age 14 if it dates back to 1850.

According to the genealogy pages of Thomas W. Saltmarsh Jr. (http://www.familyorigins.com/users/s/a/l/Thomas-W-Saltmarsh-jr/FAMO1-0001/d31.htm), James Nicholas Moreno was born on Dec 7 1836 in Pensacola, the son of Don Francisco Moreno and Margarita Eleutaria Lopez. He died on Mar 7 1898 in Pensacola and was buried in St. John's Cemetery, Pensacola. Furthermore:

Little is known James' Civil War career. He enlisted at Mobile, Alabama, in May, 1862, as a private in the "Mobile Cadets" Company, an Alabama Infantry Regiment commanded by Capt. R. M. Sands. How long he remained with this unit is unknown. After the war, his brother Theodore left a brief note entitled "War Record Moreno Family," in which he wrote "Jas. N. Moreno, Capt. Qr. Masters Department."
James Moreno married Clara Dorr on February 15, 1860. She has been confused with her sister-in-law, Clara Barkley Dorr, after whom the Dorr House next to the old Christ Church on Seville Square was named. Clara Barkley Dorr was the sister of Clara Dorr's brother.

Their children were: Reverend Eben D. Moreno , Scarritt Moreno, Mansfield Moreno, Ruth Moreno, Violette Moreno.

It turns out that Ruth Moreno stayed in the neighborhood. I can also see her house at 207 N. Reus from my upstairs window. She moved there in 1891 after her marriage to to John McClay Coe on Oct 14, They were married at the nearby Christ Church by the Reverend Eben D. Moreno of New Orleans, the brother of the bride. Their Coes’ honeymoon was spent in New York, with stops at Cincinnati, Washington and Philadelphia. Their children were: William Cecil Coe, John Moreno Coe.

Scarritt Moreno
Source: http://www.familyorigins.com/users/s/a/l/Thomas-W-Saltmarsh-jr/FAMO1-0001/d32.htm#P19
Scarritt Moreno, born on March 13, 1862, who married Fannie Linton Jones about 1915.
The 1860 census, has these folks at probably at 323 W Gregory:
James N. Moreno merchant, 23
Clara B (or R) Moreno, 23
Sarah C. Dorr, age 57, Clara’s mother
Anna W. Dorr, age 25, probably Clara’s sister
Thomas Byrnes, 16, clerk

James N. Moreno’s personal value was put at $2000, but there is no value on real estate, so they must not have owned the home? Could it be that the house was actually owned by the two Dorr brothers mentioned in the White memoir? Only the mother and sister Dorr were there in 1860. Mother Sarah Dorr is 74 in the 1880 census. In the household at that time are: James Mareno, 43, wood merchant; Clara Moreno, 38 wife, sons Edmond, 19, an office clerk; Scarrett, 18, an office clerk; Mansfield, 16; Ruth, 12, and Violet, age 12. The census margin says West Chase Street, but they are obviously living at 323 West Gregory.

Escambia County Courthouse
One final anecdote. This postcard of the Escambia County Courthouse that once stood at the corner of Palafox and Chase streets shows the tower that holds the clock that is now preserved outside the old Customs House on Palafox at Government St. The clock was saved due to the efforts of the Lindentruths. Mrs. White explains how this happened:

“In 1925, the county commissioners were thinking of replacing the tower clock with an electric one. This upset Grandpa, who had cared for the clock for many years. ‘They can’t put up an electric clock – they mustn’t. They don’t have any works, any soul – they’re just a face with cords attached,’ my grandfather told The Pensacola News Journal. I was fairly young back then, but I do remember Aunt Bessie’s telling me about Grandpa’s going up into the tower to set the clock.”
To rally support, Miss Lindenstruth wrote an article for the paper that detailed the clock’s history. It was published on Dec. 6, 1925 and part of it reads:
“Back in 1883, Pensacola was having a ‘boom’ year … Chase and Palafox Streets had two busy corners for that year both St. Michael’s Church and the county courthouse were being built. There was a tower built on the courthouse at that time, but for several years this tower remained silent and empty. … “

Miss Lindenstruth notes that a donation by ship Capt. William Folker, a winner in a Louisiana lottery, kicked off the fund drive for the tower clock with its booming bell. The clock arrived in April 1890: and was given this report in the Daily News:

“This is a McShane bell, made in Baltimore and weighing 1500 pounds. … Attached to this bell is also a hammer with a bell cord which was formerly used for fire alarms. … This clock is a very fine piece of mechanism, made by the E. Howard Clock Co., makers of the finest tower clocks in the world. … These clocks and the material sent with them never wear out and should show no signs of wear in thirty-five years of service if they received proper care. … For several years my father had the care of this clock and during that time its accuracy was remarkable. On the last night of each year he would always climb those winding stairs and watch carefully that the midnight strike told the exact second of the arrival of a new year.

“Let us ‘hold fast to that which is good.’ Commissioners, spare that clock! It can be made to give perfect time. It has counted out only half the allotted three score and ten years of a human life. It should be put into condition to count accurately a century of time.”

Aunt Bessie’s argument won them over, and the clock tolled on for a dozen more years until the courthouse was going to be torn down. Miss Lindenstruth helped save it a second time in 1938 by arranging for Congress to give the clock to the Pensacola Historical Society. It was stored in the basement of City Hall until the 1960s when Mrs. White read that it had been given to Francis Taylor, who wanted to put the clock outside his business at 200 E. Main St. A phone call by the author retrieved the clock. In 1982, the clock and bell were installed at their present location.

P.S. Theckla White Williams, the noted Pensacola artist, is the daughter of Meta Lois Diffenderfer White.

The House that Dr. Robert W. Hargis Built

2009-05-30T15:12:00.011-05:00

I tried squidoo and have yet to have a visitor to the web site. Because I've owned the house since 1991, I have always been fascinated by its history. Dr. Robert W. Hargis was the president of the Escambia County, Florida, Board of Health. He posted the quarantine rules for yellow fever in the April 20, 1889 issue of "The Pensacola Daily News." His father, Dr. Robert B.S. Hargis, was also active in battling the yellow fever epidemics that plagued the Gulf Coast. Click on the title to see my squidoo blog.

In 1860 census, the young Robert W. was living at home with his parents on Romana Street on the site where the Pensacola News Journal stands today.

In the 1870 census, Robert W. is listed twice, once on page 30 with his father and $200 in real estate and then on p. 65 as head of household with 10 seamen plus servants and 2 laborers - and $3500 in real estate. Question is: Could he have built my house in 1870 and used it as a hospital? He owned or ran several during his lifetime.

PHOTO: Dr. Robert B.S. Hargis

Here's the 1870 census page with his father:

Dwelling 206 (Romana Street)
Hargis Robt BS 50 M W Physician $500 NC
Hargis Modeste 30 F W Keeping house $3,500 Fla
Hargis Marcie B 72 F W VA
Hargis Ann A 48 F W NC
Hargis R. W. 22 M W Pharmacist $200 Ala
Hargis Marion P 13 F W Ala
Hargis P Mary 6 F W Ala
Hargis Kate F 4 F W Fla
Hargis J C Whit(n)ey 9/12 M W Fla

This is the other census page: Dwelling 476:
Robt W. Hargis age 23
The following were seamen in the same dwelling:
Ann's note: Most of these do not appear in the 1885 and 1893 directory.
John Morgan KY age 33
Thomas Durant MS age 22
Frank Comerson/Cowerson MD age 39
James Railey England age 82 England
R Alexander age 79 AL
Charles French age 35 Ireland
Harry Hamblett age 37 England
George Moore age 33 FL
William Clarke/Starke age 42 LA Ann's note: 1885 directory: Clarke William D. . carpenter h Gregory n Cevallos)
John Lewis age 38 Germany Ann's note: 1893 directory Lewis John B. baker h 124 W Intendencia
Elizabeth Nicholson age 32 Black Cook AL
Viney Nicholson age 16 Black Servant
Fran/May Nicholson age 2 Black Servant
Hary?Nicholson age 48 Black Laborer
Eugene Horton age 22 Black Laborer Ann's note: relatives in 1893 directory?

In the 1880 census, the Hargis family is living with Merced's Bonifay brothers, as they did for many years on West Gregory St., although the location in the census margin says West Garden Street.

Household Members: Name Age
R. W. Hargis 32
Merced Hargis 31
R. B. Hargis 5
Irene Hargis 4
Petronilla Hargis 2
Merced Hargis 4M
Olena Demouy 14 servant
Geo. Bonifay 33
Manuel Bonifay 25
Peter Bonifay 22

What's interesting is that Royal Putnam is the next person on the census page, and he lived at Spring and Chase and definitely not West Garden as indicated in the margin.

In fact, if you look at the margins on all 32 pages of this district, there are only a few streets actually named: North Palafox, North Baylen, North Spring and then West Romana, West Garden, West Chase and then many pages labeled Wright Street. It appears this district runs down what is now considered South Palafox (below Cervantes down to the wharf) and west almost to A Street, with Coyle being mentioned as the westernmost street. Around 1880, this section was known as West Hill, and includes the Belmont DeVilliers neighborhood.

To help relocate the addresses of these families in this District 45, I've incorporated where possible the addresses and information found in the 1885 Pensacola business directory. Some people have moved and some have died in the intervening five years. One the first page of the census it describes this section as embracing the 4th ward, 2nd election precinct of the city. The symbol * in the 1885 directory is used to indicate people of color. I left this to show the great mix of races in this part of the city as well as to help any family researchers who come across this post. My system improved as I moved through the pages. I will clean this up if this is deemed an important contribution by anyone. I find that the more ways I come at a problem, the more I'm inclined to find the solution. Unfortunately, I have not proven beyond a doubt that R.W. Hargis built the house in 1890, only that he lived there. Based on the research below, my best guess is that if the house was already built when he moved in, more than likely it was occupied by Peter and Gila Gonzalez, who both passed away in 1881. The property was sold by their son M.F. Gonzalez to R.W.'s brother-in-law, George Bonifay, who then sold it for $1 to his sister. Here is a summary of key deeds:

March 11, 1890. To George Bonifay from W.E. Plummer. Block 3 Belmont. 8 157
Ann’s note: 1893 Directory: William Plummer. machinist home 215 N Reus. A Victorian house remains on that property. 1885 directory: Plummer William * machinist h Reus n Gregory. That means George Bonifay bought a house on this lot in 1890, not just a lot.

March 19, 1890. To George Bonifay from M.F. Gonzalez 8 194 Block 3 Belmont. $1,000.

1890. Deed to Hugh B. Hatton from George Bonifay. 8 489 on Gregory Street.
Ann’s note: 1893 Directory: Hatton Hugh B . clothing, custom tailor, gents' furnishings, hats, shoes, etc home 402 W Gregory 41-43 S Palafox
Hatton P Frank. Clerk. Home 226 N Reus corner Wright (this lot does not touch 402 West Gregory).
Another note: Jotted from March 17, 1889 newspaper item: Hugh Hatton, father of Hugh B. Hatton of this city, died at Warrington. The deceased was born in Ireland in 1817, a resident 40 years, 25 years as a merchant. Eldest son John. P.F. Hatton also a son. M.F. O’Brien.

July 2, 1890. Book 8 p. 521. THIS IS DEFINITELY 412 WEST GREGORY. To Merced B. Hargis from George Bonifay. $1 plus natural love and affection. North line of Maxent tract 124 at right angle and northward from Reus in Block No. 3 of Belmont, thence southward along west line to lot belonging to Hugh B. Hatton 90.75 feet to Hugh B. Hatton’s southwest corner on Gregory Street (124 feet) westward (together with tenements and appurtances). Signed June 30, 1890.

PLEASE LEAVE A COMMENT IF YOU HAVE ANY FURTHER INFORMATION ON THESE FAMILIES AND THEIR HOME ADDRESSES OR EMAIL ANY PHOTOS TO ME AT sfnewsgal at yahoo. Ann

Page 1. North Palafox 10 households incl.
Cody Fanny, Mrs. 1885: home on Gregory near Alcaniz;
Santo Corigrano . 1885: clerk h Intendencia c Baylen;
Soderlind Charles . merchant tailor h outside city limits business at 24 Palafox;
Edmunds George * servant/laborer h Gregory n Coyle;
Wyer Joseph, Mrs. * bakery and confectionery h Palafox n Post-office;
Kahn Jacob, clothing and gents' furnishings h Chase n Palafox business Palafox c Zarragossa;
Stone Phineas, clothing, hats, trunks and gents' furnishing goods h Palafox n Chase business Palafox n Government;
Criglar, William L., lumber merchant h Government facing Seville sq;

Page 2. North Palafox 9 households incl
Bell John W. . (Bell & Bell) h Palafox cor La Rua Palafox Wharf
Jordan Robert J. . bookkeeper h Barcelona n Wright .
Taylor Emma H. . widow h Palafox n Belmont . (husband L.B. Taylor, book agent)
Emanuel Catherine . widow h Belmont cor Palafox .
Herron James S. . M.D. h Palafox n Belmont, plus his mother Fanny M. Herron and siblings.

Page 3. North Palafox 5 households North Baylen 5 households incl
Blount Alexander C. . atty-at-law h Palafox n Belmont .
Reese George . tax assessor h Baylen cor Jackson .
Flinn/Flynn James M. . captain h Baylen n La Rua .
Thomas James W. * barber h Coyle n Gregory Palafox n Wharf
Dawson Frank * laborer h Baylen cor Belmont .
Larkin Kate * . h Baylen ab Wright .
Larkin Richard * waiter h Wright n Coyle
Raucher Julia in census, but not in 1885 directory (see Rauscher below)
Nash Francis . mcht. tailor h Baylen n Garden .
Frohlichstein Nathan . cigar mfr h Intendencia n Palafox .

Page 4 North Baylen (not written) 11 households incl

Jacoby Joseph M. . clerk P. Stone b Palafox n Garden .
Watson Thomas * laborer h Baylen n Romana .
(alternatively) Watson Thomas C. . real estate and collecting agent h Gregory near and E of Palafox Government next City Hotel opp Pub sq
Lewis John B. * clerk h Government n Baylen
Jackson William * drayman h Baylen cor La Rua .
(Alternatively) Jackson William * laborer h Zarragossa n Baylen .
Cole Ellen * widow of laborer William in 1885, h Baylen n Intendencia .
Butterfield John * painter h Jackson n Reus .
Scott J. Jackson, D.D., L.L.D. . Rector Christ's Church h Baylen cor Garden .

Page 5. North Baylen 4 households North Spring 5 households incl
Smith Margaret * restaurant h Zarragossa cor Commendencia; also in 1885: Ditmars Agnes . widow h Zarragossa n Barcelona . Margaret was the daughter of Sarah Ditmars.
Rauscher Henry . saloon and summer garden h Baylen bet Zarragossa and Government Baylen bet Zarragossa and Government; also Rauscher Mary, Mrs. . . . Wright c Baylen .
Harvey March * expressman h Tarragona beyond gas house .
Cottrell Julius (was in March household in 1880) * laborer h De Villiers cor La Rua .
Goldbach Samuel M. grocer and dry goods h Spring n Belmont; also Goldbach Milton . groceries (in same household, son of S.M., in 1880). h foot 10th ave n saw mill
Sellars Lewis H. . ice h Spring n Wright . also daughter Louise age 11 in 1880 house: Is she related to: Sellars Louis H. in 1885. Tres. Pensacola Ice Co. h 8th Ice House Wharf
McVoy Thomas . . h Spring c Wright . Three Hernandez brothers-in-law living in same house: Herrell (Heroldo), Willie and Reuben
Williams Henry H. * carpenter h Belmont cor Coyle .

Page 6. North Spring 7 households total page incl
Everett Nathan L. . engineer h 11th ave cor Garden . (moved by 1885)
Oneal Chester . clerk h Spring n Romana . also in household: Oneal (George H.) Chaffin (James A.) & Co. . . timber and lumber h Spring n Romana Palafox Wharf
Oneal William R. . clerk h Spring n Romana . Children of New York merchant G.L. and Rachel Oneal
Jolly George (jr) father deceased by 1885 . . h Spring n Garden . also: Jolly Josephine, Miss . dressmaker h Spring n Garden . Jolly Sarah . widow of Maryland merchant George Jolly; h Spring n Garden .
Thomas Virgil * . h Reus n Belmont .
Carr Thomas * cook h Spring cor Garden .
Leary Eliza * laundress h Spring n Garden .
Jackson John R (wife Eliza) * carpenter h Garden n Spring .

Page 7. North Spring 9 households incl
Smith Betty * widow h Government n Alcaniz .
McVoy La Barron . conductor L.& N. R.R. h 1st n 8th ave . moved
Roche Myra C. G. . widow h Baylen n Government . could be Catherine, wife of Joseph Roche in 1880. Nephew Henry Roche and sister Charlotte Roche also live here in 1880 (missing in 1885)and brother-in-law Faust Maura.
Merritt John * laborer h 9th ave n 2d .
Merritt John A. . inspector b Jackson c Spring .
Merritt Erastus B. . (L. M. Merritt & Co.) b Gadsden c Baylen Government opp Public Square
Merritt Lucius M. . Vice-Consul Argentine Republic and (L. M. Merritt & Co.) ship brokers, timber and lumber merchants originally from Massachusetts; h Gadsden c Baylen Government opp Public Square
Merritt Lucius M., Jr. . (L. M. Merritt & Co.) b Gadsden c Baylen Government opp Public Square
McGaughy John R. . Canadian bookkeeper h Spring c Gadsden .
Baars (Henry) & Downing (Elisha) . . Bremen lumber and timber h Spring cor La Rua Palafox Wharf

Page 8. West Romana 10 households incl
Douglas Parker * gardener h Romana n Palafox .
Riera Albert . (Riera Bros.) h Romana n Baylen Palafox opp Pub sq (not listed in 1880 census, only Anthony's family); Riera Anthony . (Riera Bros.) h Romana n Baylen Palafox opp Pub sq Riera Bros. (Anthony and Albert) . billiards . Palafox opp Pub sq (up stairs) .
Ramirez Aniese * widow h Baylen n Intendencia . Mother Saline Savage
Burke Mary A. . widow in 1885 of Irish laborer Thomas Burke in 1880 census h west end Intendencia .
Hyer William K. . (Hyer Bros.) Father bavaria, mother bohemia, but he was born in Florida. h Wright cor Barcelona business at Zarragossa, 1st door from Palafox
Whiting Clara R. . widow of Virginia physician J.C. Whiting h Spring cor Jackson .
Whiting J. Thornton son bookkeeper b Spring cor Jackson .

Page 9. West Garden 6 households (Hargis, Bonifays)incl
Sarah and Juliet Hyer, J.C. Whiting's sisters-in-law
Knowles Peter, Whiting's brother-in-law, and a real estate agent
Thornton Henry H. . commission h Barcelona n Belmont . Laura Thornton, his mother, is deceased by 1885. She might have also been a sister of William K. Hyer, since she was born in Florida, had a Bavarian father and Bohemian mother.
Knowles Louis P. . President Merchants' Bank of Pensacola and Insurance and (Knowles Brothers) real estate agents h Barcelona n Belmont Government cor Palafox; Government near Palafox; also in household is Knowles William H. . Vice-President Merchants' Bank of Pensacola and (Knowles Bros.) h Belmont n Barcelona . In 1880, they are listed as nephews of JC Whiting. Louis is 31 and WH 28 in 1880.
Hyer Albert . (Hyer Bros.) h Belmont cor Barcelona Zarragossa, 1st door from Palafox
Abercrombie James E. . timber h Jackson cor Spring . Mother is Sarah Abercrombie in 1880 census. He is 26 in the census, with several siblings in the house.
Bonifay George . dry goods and gents' furnishing goods . Palafox n Romana .
Hargis RW - not listed with address in 1885
Putnam Royal . inspector custom house h Spring n Chase .

Page 10. West Garden 8 households incl

McGovern Edward . stevedore h Zarragossa n Barcelona .
Hendricks Dietrich . laborer h Barcelona n Zarragossa . Nellie Hendricks is listed as Edward McGovern's sister-in-law and is in his household in 1880.
Oliver Anais . widow of Portuguese pilot LA Oliver, who is age 37 in 1880 census, h Garden n Palafox . Her sister is M.S. Jackson. Probably 15 West Garden
James G. Gonzalez, age 40, is lister as his "brother" (brother is law, maybe?). Gonzalez James G. . policeman h Garden n Palafox .
Nephew is Willie Hall. hall William J. . clerk h Romana n Barcelona .
T Wentworth, painter from Prussia, is next - can't find him in 1885 directory.
McNeil General * laborer h Intendencia n Barcelona .
Harman Flay / Flavius * laborer h Main cor Alcaniz .
Davis Lee M. . Grocer (Johnson & Davis) . Palafox cor Intendencia .
Goldstucker Otto . liquors h Chase n Baylen 18 Palafox
Goldstucker (Otto) & Borelli (John S.) . . bar room and billiards . 20 Palafox .

Note: Here is the obit of James G. Gonzalez, who lived at 15 W. Garden in 1880:
Gonzalez, James G.
Dec 1838 - Mar 17, 1901
Daily News, Mon., Mar 18, 1901
James G. Gonzalez is Dead
Death has claimed another of Pensacola's aged citizens. James G. Gonzalez, a native of this city, a gallant Confederate soldier, has been called to his final reward. The funeral will take place from St. Joseph's church at 4:30 o'clock this afternoon. The cortege will leave the residence of Mrs. A. S. Oliver, 15 West Garden street at 4 o'clock. In his younger days, Mr. Gonzalez was employed as a ship carpenter at the Pensacola navy yard and he had held many places of honor and trust in this city. He was a gallant Confederate soldier, having been shot through the lung in the service of his country, his health having been broken by the injury, leaving him but a wreck of his former giant strength. He leaves many loving relatives to mourn his demise and every man who knew him was his friend. He had passed the three score mark in life's journey and it was always a rare treat to hear him talk of the Pensacola of long ago.

Page 11. West Chase Street 7 households (Gonzalez families) incl
Goldstuker Adolph . leather and shoe findings h Baylen c Chase Palafox n Main
Grant Alexander . captain h Chase cor Spring .
92 Gonzalez Peter age 70 and Wife Gila/Eulalie age 64 (he's missing in 1885 directory); He died March 11, 1881. She died 8 months later on Nov. 21, 1881. They are buried in St. Michael's Cemetery.
Kuester Paul F., age 30 in 1880, a bookkeeper h Gregory bey De Villiers in 1885 and married to Emily, Peter's daughter, and their son Leo are in this first household.
93 Gonzalez Samuel J. . (Peter's son) grocer h Gregory cor De Villiers Business: Gregory cor Barcelona Wife Florence and their son Albert are in this household.
94 Gonzalez, J.B. wife Emilia and children Winters, Gila, Blake and Erick.
Note: Son Blake lived at 214 N. DeVilliers when he died in 1952.
95. Gonzalez C.H., wife S.J., son C.H. Jr., son Gamaliel F. and daughter Mary E. This could be Celestino.
96. Gonzalez Mannie F. . miller h De Villiers cor Wright . Peter's son lived at 226 N. DeVilliers when he died in 1907 - see obit at end of this section. M.F. Gonzalez married Kate Chapman. In 1880, he had William, Viva, Blanche and Kate in the household.
97. Gonzalex Lambert and Laura, plus toddlers Stella and Marie.

Gonzalez, Manuel F.
Dec 18, 1839 - Mar 6, 1907

#1 Pensacola Journal, Thurs, Mar 7, 1907

Prominent Citizen Has Passed to Great Beyond. M. F. Gonzalez Dies at Home After a Lingering Illness. Had Been In Ill Health For A Year Or More, But Taken Seriously Ill About A Week Ago - Funeral Will Occur To-Morrow Morning.
M. F. Gonzalez, one of the oldest most popular and successful business men of the city, died yesterday morning at 9:45 o'clock at the family home, No. 226 North De Villier street. He had been in ill health about a year or since he suffered an attack of pneumonia, from which he never fully recovered, but his condition did not become serious until about a week since. The deceased had many friends in Pensacola. While his charities were unknown to the public in general he assisted in a quiet and assuming manner many of the poor families of the city. He always had a kind word for the needy and no worthy person ever asked for assistance from him, but they met with a ready response. He was a devout Christian, and always attended services at St. Michael's church. Mr. Gonzalez was born in Pensacola and spent most of his life of 69 years in this city. He became prominent in business circles many years ago, and throughout his life held the confidence and esteem of the entire public. He was a member of one of the oldest and most prominent families of the city, and leaves many relatives and friends to mourn his death. His sons are Chapman, William R., Charlie F. and Dixon B. Gonzalez, and daughters Mrs. Wm. D. Greenwood of Mobile; Mrs. Harry Sheppard and Mrs. W. D. Howe, of this city. He also leaves a number of brothers and sisters, as follows: Blake J., Celestino H., Lambert X., Samuel J., and O. A. Gonzalez, Mrs. Mary Louise Kendrick, of Baldwin county, Ala.; Mrs. Eulalie Bobe, Mrs. Emil Kuester, of this city, and Mrs. Merced D. Greenwood, of Bohemia.

The remains of the deceased will be placed at rest to-morrow morning, the funeral cortege leaving the family home at 9 o'clock and proceeding to St. Michael's church, where requiem mass will be said. The remains will be placed at rest in the family plot in St. Michael's cemetery. The following personal friends of the deceased will act as pall bearers and are requested to meet at the family home at 8:30 a.m.; W. K. Hyer, Jr., Wm. H. Knowles, F. C. Brent, W. A. Blount, Geo. W. Wright & Jas. McVoy, the latter of Cantonment.

#2 Pensacola Journal, Sat., Mar 9, 1907

Funeral of M. F. Gonzalez. Many Were Present to Pay Their Last Sad Tribute of Respect to Deceased.
The remains of M. F. Gonzalez, one of the most widely known and highly respected citizens of Pensacola, were placed at rest yesterday morning in the family burying ground in St. Michael's cemetery. The funeral services were conducted at St. Michael's church, where requiem mass, was said. The spacious church was filled with the hundreds of friends of the deceased , who listened to the eulogy upon the life of the deceased delivered by Rev. Father Fullerton. When the funeral cortege moved to the cemetery many followed the remains to the last resting place, and the floral offerings were many and beautiful. Many in Pensacola regret the death of Mr. Gonzalez, who was an exemplary citizen and a man who during his entire life lived a true Christian life.

Page 12. West Chase Street 11 households (incl James N. Moreno, Dorrs of 323 West Gregory St)
98 Moreno James and wife Clara (nee Dorr), plus sons Edwin, Scarrett and Mansfield, plus daughters Ruth and Violet. Also in the house at 323 West Gregory St. is Sarah Dorr, mother-in-law.
99. S.Z. Gonzalez with H.A., his wife. They live next door at 313 West Gregory.
100. Putnam E.H. Edward), retired merchant wife F.N. and 19-year-old son R.H., a printer. A Pensacola map shows he had a dairy at 401 West Gregory, at the corner of Reus. Called Gulf City Dairy.
101. Ahrens Robert, a shoemaker, and Josephine, his wife. Plus 5 kids and her mother, Emma Laus (?).
102. Gonzalez James, a retired merchant, age 65, and wife Fannie living with nephew Gregory Yniestra (age 10, son of sister Eulalie and Peter.) If he is actually S.J. Gonzalez, then he's a grocer living on Gregory corner De Villiers with grocery on Gregory corner Barcelona
103 Plummer Solomon, wife Sarah and daughters Roxanna and Sarah Ann.
104 Plummer Alex, son of Solomon, wife Mary and their two children Mary A. and James Thomas. The 1885 directory has this:
Plummer Solomon * laborer h Gadsden n Reus . (moved)
Plummer William * machinist h Reus n Gregory .
105 Weatherford Henry, * laborer / line rep, with wife Louisa and 6 kids. Home in 1885 listed at Spring near Gregory
106 Townsend Scott * wife Lucy son William 1885: laborer h Belmont n Reus .
107 Milton Thad, * shoemaker, wife Elizabeth, children Caroline and Warran. 1885: Milton Thaddeus h Reus c La Rua .
108 Judge Anthony * wife Maria laborer h Gregory bey Coyle .

Page 13. Wright Street (West Gregory skipped over?) 8 households
108 Gibson Benj * and Melissa family; 4 kids and father Jack Gibson
109 Wright George W and M.E. family; 7 children, mother in law W.B. Baglery, 1885: Wright George W. . manufacturer and shipper of yellow pine and cypress lumber and timber, and cypress shingles and laths h Baylen c Gregory east end Intendencia and foot 10th ave
110 Sullivan M.H., wife Kate, 4 kids. 1885: Sullivan Martin H. . Pres. First National Bank, timber and lumber h Gregory c Baylen Sullivan's Wharf
111 Avery O.M., judge county court, wife M.E. and daughter Annie 1885: Avery Martha E., Mrs. . . h Baylen cor Gadsden .
112 Ruby V, wife Merced, 5 kids, one grandson Ruby 1885: Ruby Valarie * grocer h Romana c Baylen business Romana c Baylen
113 Hafler Charles, wife Missouri, 5 kids. Hotel keeper, not in 1885 directory
114 Epping Carl C. age 60, wife S.E., son J.E., his wife and child, 2 other sons C.A. and J.A. Timber merchant - not in 1885 directory.

Page 14. Wright Street (not written) 12 households
115 De la Rua, John, age 37 wife Mattie kids Elwood and Philo. De la Rua John . Deputy Co. Clerk h Gregory n Tarragona . De la Rua Filomeno E. . Clerk Escambia Co. Circuit Court h Gregory n Tarragona Court House
116 Strout Albion wife Addie daughter Irene E.
117 Tarble J.M. wife Sarah A and son Jno E 1885: Tarble John M. . collector of customs h Belmont n Palafox Palafox cor Government
118 Shepard James, wife Christina, sons Charles, John, Eddie dau Annie and Lavonia 1885: Sheppard James . engineer h Gregory cor Reus
119 D'Alemberte A.H., age 22, wife C.A., age 20, 1885: D'Alemberte Arthur H. . dry goods h Gregory n De Villiers
120 Benjamin M. wife Ida son Anderson, one other son?, mother Emily
121 Lucas Nassau, wife Elizabeth, 4 kids
122 Gaskins Frank, wife Emeline dau Emma and Melanie? 1885: Gaskins Caroline * widow h De Villiers cor La Rua .
123 Burton S, wife Rhoda, 3 sons and nephew William
124 Seikauf U. wife Mary dau Lizzie
125 Hill Chas wife Virginia, dau Julia, dau Bella McNair and 2 grandsons 1885: Hill Charles * carpenter h Gregory n Coyle .

TO BE CONTINUED if for some reason a lot of people ask for more! Obviously, these are not all Wright Street.
15. Wright Street (not written) 14 households
16. Wright Street (not written) 9 households Thomas Sunday (lived at Coyle and Wright)
17. Wright Street (not written) 11 households
18. Wright Street (not written) 10 households
19. Wright Street (not written) 10 households
20. Wright Street (not written) 10 households
21. Wright Street (not written) 10 households
22. Wright Street (not written) 10 households
23. Wright Street (not written) 10 households
24. Wright Street (not written) 10 households
25. Wright Street (not written) 10 households
26. Wright Street (not written) 10 households
27. Wright Street (not written) 10 households
28. Wright Street (not written) 10 households
29. Wright Street (not written) 10 households
30. Wright Street (not written) 10 households
31. Wright Street (not written) 10 households
32. Wright Street (not written) 10 households

This iPod Touch has Mikela's Name on It

2009-04-04T11:13:00.011-05:00

OK, so I've been sweeping like crazy since Christmas - not meaning that I have been cleaning my house, but that I've been entering sweepstakes. It began when I googled to see if there were any iPod Touch sweeps online so that I could win one for my granddaughter Mikela, who had her heart set on getting one for Christmas, but didn't (see earliest blog below). I'm happy to announce that on April Fool's Day, I became the proud winner of an iPod Touch during the Oberto's Ultimate Alpha Zone Sweepstakes. When I told Mikela, she hit an operatic whoop for a solid 30 seconds. No foolin'!

The question of this hour is: Will I keep sweeping now that I've reached my original goal - or will I move on to the next round? Easy enough: My Ford Taurus is 10 years old. I can't decide if I'd rather have the All-American Rejects' Honda, the Pink Panther's Smart Car coupe or one of the three Priuses being given away right now. Gander Mountain's Dodge Ram truck looks great, but I've never driven a truck before, so I might have to barter that one. Oh, well, beggars can't be choosers. But sweepers can be winners!

HEY, LITTLE GECKO GUY!

What's funny is that I won a second prize on April Fool's Day: the Geico Gecko Pack given away by Gena M at http://themorrisbunchblog.com/. This one's for me - at least, the little Gecko bobblehead! I love that little guy - I hope that's not the only reason I have Geico insurance. Gena's blog contest was really fun - it went "live" and set an end time at 200 comments with no limits on how many comments you could post, only that each one had to be relevant to the contest. My competition included some fast-and-furious dueling mommas, but I had random pick on my side that day and took home the prize.

MIKELA'S VIDEO ON THE MONK THEME
HAS BEEN VIEWED NEARLY 900 TIMES
ON YOUTUBE!!!

In deference to Monk's OCD, I posted 900 so that this would be a nice even number. He would also be pleased to know that this video is exactly 1:00 long (although it sometimes comes up as 1:01 - but don't tell him).

Midwife to a Polyphemus Moth

2009-03-24T18:59:00.007-05:00

When you live in Florida, you can expect natural surprises on a regular basis. A couple of days ago, for example, I was looking out my second story window in downtown Pensacola when a large redtail hawk landed on the live oak branch not 30 feet from me.

So it wasn't too shocking today as I was taking my 6-month-old non-poodle poodle home from a walk when I noticed something crawling in the grass that looked remarkably like a tarantula. On closer inspection, I realized I was looking at a giant polyphemus moth trying to emerge from its cocoon. The legs were thick and huge and the antenna fanned out like a peacock's tail. Glued in some fashion to the walnut-size cocoon were several liveoak leaves that gave the whole production a sense of tribal ritual. Apparently, the strong winds today had broken the branch on which the cocoon was attached. The poor giant moth couldn't get grounded and so was dragging its prison in an attempt to break free of it.

I took the little critter home and put it in a cardboard box and held the branch as if it were still attached to the tree. Slowly the creature pulled free, but its wings were folded and crumpled, and I thought it would never make it. Gradually, however, it climbed up a cardboard box and hung itself out to dry. The little crumpled wings turned into about a five-inch wingspan that is still expanding.

I'm keeping him by the window in the hope that he'll take flight (do they only travel at night?). But I'm worried some hawk or bird will grab him as soon as he is free. I feel like a protective mother and am hoping he'll stay in his little box a bit longer before testing his wings.

The two videos above are of my moth, but I found a time-lapse video on youtube that really tells the tale. Life is so amazing!!

DAY 2-3. I left the shoebox and moth near an open window that night, and in the morning, the box was empty. The moth, however, had chosen to attach itself to a wall rather than fly out the window. It was threatening to storm, so when I left for the day, I closed the window. That evening, the first thing I noticed was a lizard at the top of a floor-to-ceiling window (see pic) and the moth on the second section. This gave me a cold shudder because I had once before witnessed a lizard attacking a huge moth in my room. (Long story, but these windows raise up into the attic and both the lizard and moth had come through the opening from the attic. I heard the fluttering one night and put the light on just in time to see the battle, but not in time to save the moth.) I immediately nudged the moth from its perch and then took several photos of the moth with his wings outspread (see top photo). Fearful of the lizard's intentions and worried that the prevailing wind was too strong still, I boxed up the moth for the night.

This morning, the lizard had disappeared and I let the moth go out into the predawn world. I watched him fly a bit spastically, and then I went to make a cup of coffee. I saw him flying some more as I looked out the kitchen window. Yes, he can fly pretty well now, but I worry about birds and lizards and cats that can catch him. How do these beautiful creatures ever survive???

Ultimate Blog Party 2009

2009-03-21T20:50:00.007-05:00

This virtual blog party is surreal. It's international in depth and up-close and personal in breadth. The party, which runs March 20-27 is hosted by a blog site called 5minutesformom.com, and already the stats are impressive. On day 2, close to 1,500 bloggers of just about every persuasion have added their link to the party. Nearly 200 have posted their facebook links, and nearly 600 have signed posted their twitter addresses.

Invitations to the party come in all sorts of media - from photos of wine salutes to families around the table sharing cupcakes and party favors.

Of course, there are nearly 100 prizes that help spur the activity, many baby related items, but also ones generic enough to be useful to almost everyone. My favorite was an international prize:
INTL 34 — $30 care package of Italian regional delicacies
Provided by: Milanese Masala
Prize details: Hankering for an authentic taste of Italy? Milanese Masala is donating a $30 care package full of goodies direct from “The Boot”.

I've not only been hankering for an authentic taste of Italy ever since I left San Francisco, but have entered every trip to Italy sweepstakes I can find. (Come on, Olive Garden, be good to this half-Italian pizza lover!)

The prize entry rules require that you post comments on at least 20 blogger websites. I decided to visit The Milanese Masala site first at http://milanesemasala.wordpress.com/2009/03/. There I learned the Masala came from the blogger's Indian heritage (I love anything cooked using garam masala spice mix.) Linda posted a great Seinfeld clip on the Costanza family's Festivus celebration (where they have a pipe instead of a tree and spend their holiday being critical). In a archived post, she mentioned a Milanese singing idol named Adriano Celentano. He apparently loved Elvis and imitated his style in some of his songs, such as the one called "Prisencolinensinainciusol" below on youtube. Can you imagine that title ever reaching No. 1 on the Hit Parade? Fact is, I watch this video frequently now. I love it!
Ciao bella, for now.

PS - If some other worthy blogger wins the Milanese package, I'd be interested in (aren't these prizes wonderful and generous???):

58 – Kitchen Aid Artisan Stand Mixer
Provided by: Moms Who Think
Prize details: From Amish Friendship Bread to Decadent Cheesecake and all the meals in between dessert, Moms Who Think has recipes you’ll love. We would like to donate a Kitchen Aid Artisan Stand Mixer to help make one lucky winner’s home cooking even easier. (winner’s choice of color, $349.99 retail value)

21 — $50 gift certificate to Target Stores
Provided by: Agoosa - Funny Name, Sound Advice
Prize details: Agoosa would like to donate a $50 Target gift card to one winner.

88 –$40 gift certificate to Carrabba’s Italian Grill
Provided by: The Divine Miss Mommy
Prize details: Discover the Passion, the Thrill and the Grill of Carrabba’s! The Divine Miss Mommy would like to donate a $40 gift certificate to three winners to be used at any Carrabba’s Italian Grill.

20 – 5 bars of handmade goat milk soap, your choice of scent
Provided by: Goat Milk Stuff
Prize details: Feel the difference that goat milk makes! Goat Milk Stuff is donating 5 bars of our handmade goat milk soap (made with milk from our own dairy goats). And the best part - you get to choose your favorite scents!

43 — Two $25 gift certificate to eco Store USA
Provided by: Rachael @ Little Bites of Heaven
Prize details: Eco store has eco friendly products for your home + life; their tagline reads No Nasty Chemicals™. Little Bites of Heaven would like to offer a $25 gift certificate to two winners to be used at their online store.

83 – Prize: $25 Gift Certificate to ecostoreusa.com
Provided by: Sweet Serendipity
Prize details: Winner will receive a gift card worth $25 to be used at ecostoreusa.com to purchase earth friendly products.

55 – $21 Strawberry Smash Moisturizer from Farmhouse Fresh
Provided by: Now What Baby
Prize details: Enjoy this deliciously scented strawberry moisturizer made with live strawberry cells! The packaging is so cute you have just have to see it!!

21 — $50 gift certificate to Target Stores
Provided by: Agoosa - Funny Name, Sound Advice
Prize details: Agoosa would like to donate a $50 Target gift card to one winner.

22 — $50 gift certificate to Target Stores
Provided by: Beginner Baby Blog
Prize details: Everyone loves a gift card! Beginner Baby Blog would like to donate a $50 Target gift card to one winner.

26 — $30 gift certificate to Target
Provided by: Little Miss Hannah - Our Fight Against Gaucher’s Disease
Prize details: Go shopping!

91 — $25 gift card to Target
Provided by: Mummy Deals
Prize details: What girly doesn’t want a moment to splurge at Target? Enter to win a $25 gift card from Mummy Deals and go shopping on me!

118 — $25.00 Old Navy Gift Card
Provided by: Manic Mother
Prize details: Buy something fun for yourself or the little one

130 — $25 gift certificate for DOVE Chocolate Discoveries
Provided by: Aimee Wilson, Independent Chocolatier
Prize details: Discover new ways of enjoying chocolate with exclusive DOVE Chocolate Discoveries. This prize must be redeemed directly with this Chocolatier only.

12 — $20 gift certificate to The Gift Closet
Provided by: The Gift Closet
Prize details: Pamper yourself with this $20 Gift Certificate to The Gift Closet! Choose from my handmade Shea Butter, Soy Linen & Body Spray, Scrabble Pendants, or Scrabble Magnets!

42 — 5 kajeet phones with $5 of airtime
Provided by: kajeet
Prize details: kajeet the pay-as-you-go cell phone service for kids, created from a kid’s point of view. kajeet services include unlimited free parental controls and GPS – along with all the text, pictures, talk and games that kids want. kajeet is pay as you go with no long term contracts, no activation fees, no termination fees, and no high overage surprises.

ONE CALL ALLOWED FOR ROYAL CARIBBEAN'S CLUES TO THE CRUISE SWEEPSTAKES

2009-03-12T08:24:00.009-05:00

Two days ago, I came across the new sweep by Royal Caribbean that ordinarily would not draw me in because it takes more than 20 seconds to enter. I've never taken a cruise, and really have no desire to take one, but the contest starts out with really fine animation of a big ship that looks like the Love Boat. Posted on its stern (or bow?) are 25 squares, and out of curiosity I clicked on one. A word game similar to Wheel of Fortune popped up. Curiously, there were no letters to scramble and when I clicked, no real help.

Well, the shortened version is I became addicted to figuring it all out. Some clues took me to a youtube video, some to the advertising posted on the game site. The one that really impressed me was a clue that popped up in the advertising to the right of my yahoo mail center. I never look at the stupid ad videos that slow down my mail, but this had the image and the letters I was trying to unscramble. Great scot, I thought, do they have so much control of our computers now that they know which clue I'm working on and send it to yahoo when I check my messages. No, I reasoned, it's a big contest and they know I play games, so it's a coincidence. Whatever, I was glad for the letters.

Again, cutting to the chase, I worked quite a few hours (doesn't the time fly when you're playing games?) and got down to several games of skill I just couldn't beat. One was a maze with a bunch of Hs, and you have to collect all of them. Another was a bunch of flags you have to puzzle back together. The third was several rows of deliciously looking smoothies that need to be sipped down before they spill over. Dang, I couldn't get any of them. So, like the Slumdog Millionaire, I made my one call. Naturally, it was to my 12-year-old granddaughter.

"Mikela, are you on your computer?" Yes. "Go to cluesforthecruise.com and click on No. XX." My daughter interrupted and said it was nearly time to leave for their dinner invite. "Well, just try it once and see if you think it's beatable." She called me back in three minutes and said it was done. OMG! She solved the Coke puzzle while she was telling me about the Hs. I told her to take a look at the flags. "Gotta go, Grandma. Mom insists." All right. Do it when you get back.

While she was out dining with the millionaires from Wyoming, I figured out how to beat the glasses. I stopped reasoning on which one to click on to empty and clicked my mouse like a maniac without a brain.

I got a call at 9. It was from my son. He was trading in one boat for a bigger one with beds and a cabin I could sit in to get away from the sprays of water. It was big enough now he could go cobia fishing in the gulf with it. Did the sweeps time this call, too, so that I would be lured into an adventure in the sea? As the contest states, "Why not?"

At midnight, I got a call from my granddaughter. She solved the last square! Wow. I had tried to beat that puzzle all evening without success. "So, Grandma," she asked, "what can we win?" "I'm not too sure," I said, but mostly cruises to the Caribbean and Mexico. There's also one to Alaska, but if we win that one, I'm not going. I can't imagine being around glaciers." "Me either," she said, even though she lives in the heart of Colorado ski country. Goodnight, and great job.

Confessions of a Sweepaholic

2009-03-10T11:58:00.003-05:00

My name is Ann and I'm a Sweepaholic. I wasn't always like this. I used to play Yahoo games. I was able to limit myself to mainly Bejeweled and Tiptop. I could stop after two hours. Then people started laughing at me for playing games, told me what a waste of my good brain that was. Sure, I said, but it might keep Alzheimer's at bay (but not RSI at my keyboard). I got so good. Sometimes the game would take so long, I'd have to take a nap and continue later. I could play for money, I reasoned, but I wasn't that good. I needed to direct my energy into something that could yield a buck or two while wearing pajama bottoms and a long-sleeved shirt.

That's when the neuron telling me to make money and the neuron wanting money to yield to my granddaughter's wish for an iPod Touch collided, and I googled. I've written about how I found Walmart's "11 Moms" each giving away an iTouch. It was like a free sample of crack cocaine, introducing me to the seriously Type A world of Mom bloggers. I was a mom like them 30 years ago. I qualified.

Then I won something. It wasn't one of the iPods, but it was a Flip camcorder, and I know my granddaughter would love it. She was elated. I was hooked. Then I won $14 in Kraft coupons, one of which was for Triscuits, my all time favorite cracker. My favorites bar became peppered with daily entries: iPod 1-5, Prius 1-3, a year's supply of Annie's, Olive Garden's trip to Italy. My next win was a $700 gift card to Dick's Sporting Goods. Hurray - a bike for both Teresa and Mikela and some boating items for my son. This is cool. Next I want to win a designer handbag for Jodi, who's on a limited budget, and maybe a watch for myself (my Timex keeps ticking but it's falling apart). Jodi also wants me to win a trip to NYC, and I would enjoy that, too.

I've never been into fashion or makeup or designer this or that, but I just had to watch the Confessions of Shopaholic movie. I see how similar we are - she maxes out her credit card and I max out my entries to win the same things. The difference is she wants all this stuff for herself. I just want to pass these items on to my friends and family members who actually love this stuff. In other words, I enter giveaways to give away. I love it! But I'll have to stop discussing this for now. Madberries and March Madness sweeps are calling me.

HARD TIMES

2009-03-09T06:27:00.002-05:00

I was raised by a generation that went through the Depression, by parents who worried that I would get polio and were fearful our days were numbered by a nuclear blast from Moscow. When my great-grandmother spotted a safety pin on the floor, she would pick it up and add it to the string of pins already attached to her dress. She rolled string into a ball for future recycling.

As a 12-year-old, I wondered if I could shoot someone trying to break into our fallout shelter (if, indeed, we ever built one). During the moon landing, my grandmother insisted she saw the moon turn blood red. There were winter months when my father, a construction worker, could not find work and I overheard my parents worrying about paying the mortgage on our $12,000 post-war prefab in Detroit. There was some minimal unemployment compensation back then, but no food stamps, and I don't ever recall my dad mentioning health insurance.

Mostly, though, I was oblivious to their concerns and challenges. Kmart was new and amazing, and I had bright dresses for school. My lunch box always had treats, and I was an all-A student who actually loved learning. My dad and I created a beautiful garden in the backyard, with tomatoes that had a flavor I haven't tasted in decades. He built a garage from wood left over from the jobs he was on and refinished the attic so I could have my own room.

On the weekends, we took picnics to parks with lakes for swimming or ventured to a spot of curiosity. Yates cider mill was about the most fascinating place I'd ever seen. Thousands of bees swarmed around the rotting apple mash, piled high in a pit you could look into. Dozens of apple trees of many varieties were there for the picking (even if we could only afford half a bushel). But the grandest moment was the free glass of ice cold cider coupled with a 5-cent donut lifted from a vat of hot lard and sugared.

Thrift stores like the Salvation Army were magical back then, although there was a stigma attached to going to them. We had our own code name for them - "Sallie's" (from "Salvation"). The main Sallie's in the heart of Detroit was a three-story warehouse. I always headed for the book section after a tour of the furniture (so many curved glass, heavy dark pieces that nobody wanted) but fascinating to me, aging oil paintings of obscure topics and bulky, fascinating jewelry so out of fashion. I always came home with a box of books, mostly Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys, but often books from obscure series about girls like the Bobsey twins who were young when my mother was young. The books were a dime apiece, and my father bartered with the old clerk to give him a deal. He was determined that I would go to college and I don't think I ever spent a dollar that I received as a gift - it all went into the bank for college.

I seldom think of these years. I did get two college degrees. Art, theater and literature were the focus of my studies, so money or the lack thereof remained part of my lifestyle, but it was one that I chose, not one that I was forced to struggle within. In 2006, however, I began having a deja vu experience from my childhood. I was a news copy editor at the San Francisco Chronicle, which was purchased by Hearst a couple of years earlier. The managers, who had paid a whopping $66 million to the Fang family to take the Examiner off their hands and who had merged the Chronicle and Examiner staffs into one humongous newsroom, started complaining about huge losses - a million dollars a month or some such unbelievable figure! They needed to trim the staff and offered handome buyouts to anyone who would volunteer to leave. I was 59 at the time and could take an early pension, along with the buyout. I decided to return to the house I owned in Pensacola, Fla.

I had a pretty nice 401(k) and transferred it to a Treasury money market, deciding to forego all the quick profits I was getting from the high-risk stocks I'd been purchasing, now favoring of preservation. I suppose it was the Depression-era influence kicking in, and in view of the stock market today, I'm glad I thought that way a few years ago. I still get very meager returns, but I still have my principal.

Last week, the Chronicle email staff basket (which I still belong to) started perking again. Hearst is insisting that it needs to lay off 175 of the 225 Newspaper Guild staff members, and if the union doesn't agree to it, the paper will lay off all 225 members. Imagine a newspaper that's been around since 1865 and the heart of the heart that everyone leaves in San Francisco (according to the song) not having any newsroom or copy editors or photographers? These are not people 3 years from early Social Security. These are young people with kids who may soon find themselves in mortgages they cannot pay looking for jobs that don't exist. Unlike my dad, they will have good unemployment compensation for a year, continued medical insurance, job training and food stamps if they need it. But their houses in the Bay Area are $300,000, their gas is at times $4.00 (not 25 cents) a gallon and their car payments can run $300 (my dad's new Ford cost $2,000 total). We didn't have credit cards to max out.

My first early Social Security check will arrive in July. I told the application taker that every check that comes in will be like winning the lottery. I don't know if it will be there for the rest of my life, but I plan to use what comes in as wisely as I can.

There is an old blues singer that laments, "If I didn't have bad luck, I wouldn't have any luck at all." Today's blues singer might complain, "If we didn't have hard times, we wouldn't have any times at all."

WIN A TRIP TO SEAWORLD IN ORLANDO (CONTEST IS OVER)

2009-02-14T10:49:00.010-06:00

Six bloggers recently toured SeaWorld courtesy of Izea and the theme park itself. Each of them is currently hosting a Seaworld giveaway on their blogspots. I've put this info in one spot to make it easier to enter all six contests. You can enter the contest up to three times in most cases, by leaving a comment on the blog, tweeting the contest (pay attention to how they want it composed) and by blogging. I am entering the contest, too, in the hope I'll win the trip in order to take my granddaughter on a tour of Seaworld this summer. This blog is part of my entry. :))

1. http://geekmommy.net/2009/02/11/manta-mania-win-a-trip-for-4-from-izea-to-seaworld-in-orlando/

2. http://www.sparkplugging.com/momsational/win-a-trip-to-seaworld-for-four-from-izea/

3. http://pop17.com/

4. http://www.juliaroy.com/juliapatriciaroy/2009/02/seaworld-manta-mania-contest.html

5. (In Spanish) http://www.fayerwayer.com/2009/02/manta/

6. http://www.ted.me/manta/