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,...
by Sharon Hall | May 6, 2014 | Tombstone Tuesday
Zadoc Bliss was born on February 11, 1837 in Deersville, Harrison County, Ohio to parents Ralph L. and Sarah Sherrow Bliss. Ralph and Sarah married in Guernsey County, Ohio on April 21, 1836 and Zadoc was their first child, named after his grandfather Zadoc Bliss. ...
by Sharon Hall | May 5, 2014 | Military History Monday
By 1864 it was becoming increasingly more difficult to conscript enough able-bodied men to fight for either the North or South. Before the war began in early April of 1861, the United States Army had around 16,400 officers and men. On April 9, 1861 a call was made...
by Sharon Hall | May 3, 2014 | Surname Saturday
Bliss The Bliss surname is believed to have been brought to England during the migration following the Norman Conquest of 1066, possibly a reference to Blois in the Loir-et-Cher region of France. Another place which might be connected to this surname was “Bleis,”...
by Sharon Hall | May 2, 2014 | Feisty Females
Many stories have been written about today’s “feisty female”, but if based on her short autobiography, it’s debatable whether they are true or not. Generally speaking, she was known for her “wild side” and it was legendary, based on the numerous stories in newspapers...
by Sharon Hall | Apr 30, 2014 | Digging History Magazine, Wild Weather Wednesday
By the morning of March 24, headlines reported news of the first devastating wave of weather that had first impacted Omaha, Nebraska (see last week’s article). A tornado later roared through Terra Haute with at least two dozen killed. Even though the articles...
by Sharon Hall | Apr 29, 2014 | Tombstone Tuesday
Henry Collis and Zipporah (Chandler) Rice were both born and raised, lived and died, in Madison County, North Carolina in the heart of Appalachia. They are both buried in Rice Cove, a family cemetery. Their ancestors came from England, perhaps some from Scotland. ...
by Sharon Hall | Apr 28, 2014 | Motoring History
Henry Ford, with only an eighth grade education, always valued hard work. He did, however, make sure that his only child Edsel received a good education at a prestigious Detroit all-boys school. As a young boy, Edsel had followed his father around the plant, much to...
by Sharon Hall | Apr 26, 2014 | Surname Saturday
These two surnames, Rhys and Rice, share similarities. First of all, both are of Welsh origin. Secondly, both can be traced back to the Celts (or Britons) who once lived in the Moor of Wales. Thirdly, both are derived from the old Welsh forename “Ris”, which means...
