by Sharon Hall | May 20, 2014 | Tombstone Tuesday
Horatio Nelson Jackson was born on March 25, 1872 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada to parents Reverend Samuel Nelson and Mary Ann (Parkyn) Jackson. Samuel was a minister who was also born in Canada (Brome), although according to census records Samuel’s father had...
by Sharon Hall | May 19, 2014 | Motoring History
In honor of the upcoming Memorial Day weekend when many Americans “hit the road” to officially begin summer, today’s article is about the first successful coast-to-coast American road trip. On May 19, 1903, Horatio Nelson Jackson was in San Francisco on business. His...
by Sharon Hall | May 17, 2014 | Surname Saturday
The “Gwinnett” surname is of Welsh origin, first seen in Herefordshire where the family seat was held. The name derived from the Old Welsh nickname “Gwynn” for one who was fairly complected and had blonde hair. The area in Wales known as “Gwynnedd” was home to the...
by Sharon Hall | May 16, 2014 | Feisty Females
In 1833 two hundred men, women and children made their way from Illinois to Texas led by Reverend Daniel Parker. They crossed the Mississippi and continued their journey southward through Missouri, Arkansas and Louisiana until in mid-November they reached the Sabine...
by Sharon Hall | May 14, 2014 | Digging History Magazine, Ghost Town Wednesday
Way back when, long before settlers began making their treks west, this area of Utah was along a route used by Native Americans as they made their seasonal migrations in the spring and fall. The first recorded European expedition was made in 1776 by Francisco...
by Sharon Hall | May 13, 2014 | Tombstone Tuesday
Early Greathouse was born on October 4, 1810 in Clarke County, Georgia to parents Abraham and Sarah Curley Greathouse. The family later migrated down to Newton in Baker County, Georgia where Early married Susan Elizabeth Talley on June 11, 1831. Early and Susan made...
by Sharon Hall | May 12, 2014 | Military History Monday
This Civil War regiment, the 7th Kansas Cavalry, was organized by Charles Rainsford Jennison and became known as “Jennison’s Jawhawkers.” By the time the regiment was mustered in on October 28, 1861, the terms “jayhawk,” “jawhawker,” and “jayhawking” were already...
by Sharon Hall | May 10, 2014 | Surname Saturday
The Pillsbury surname is believed to have been emanated from an area in either Oxfordshire or Derbyshire, England. It is possibly a derivation of the Old English word “Pilsburg.” Broken down into its component parts: “pile” or “peel”, followed by “burgh” or...
by Sharon Hall | May 9, 2014 | Feudin' & Fightin' Friday
This “battle” only lasted about ten minutes, and perhaps only receiving historical mention because from it emerged the legend of James “Jim” Bowie, expert knife-fighter, who less than a decade later famously perished at the Battle of the Alamo. James Bowie was born in...
by Sharon Hall | May 7, 2014 | Digging History Magazine, Wild Weather Wednesday
On May 7, 1840 a massive tornado tore through Natchez, Mississippi. Just the night before the area on both sides of the river, Concordia Parish in Louisiana and Adams County in Mississippi, were drenched with over three inches of rain. With all the rain in the area,...
