by Sharon Hall | Apr 4, 2014 | Surname Saturday
Coffin This family can trace its roots back to Sir Richard Coffin, a knight who was with William the Conqueror when he went to England in 1066. Many historians agree that the surname is derived from the French word “cofin” or “coffin”, which was derived from the...
by Sharon Hall | Apr 2, 2014 | Digging History Magazine, Wild West Wednesday
One of the West’s most effective lawmen, Henry Andrew “Heck” Thomas, was born on January 3, 1850 in Athens, Georgia to parents Lovick and Martha Thomas. When the Civil War broke out, Heck’s father and two of his uncles joined the Confederate Army. Heck was twelve...
by Sharon Hall | Apr 1, 2014 | Tombstone Tuesday
Bigger Head was born in Highland County, Ohio on October 12, 1812 to parents William and Mary (Elder) Head. According to the Head family genealogy, William and Mary were cousins and together they had fourteen children, with ten of them living to adulthood. Bigger...
by Sharon Hall | Mar 29, 2014 | Surname Saturday
Doe The Doe surname is believed to have been of ancient Norman origins, presumably arriving in England as a result of the Norman Conquest of 1066. One family historian hypothesized that the surname was perhaps of Danish origin since the Danes frequently made...
by Sharon Hall | Mar 28, 2014 | Feudin' & Fightin' Friday
A town’s designation as the county seat often determined whether it would thrive or fade away into history. Some county seat disputes turned into outright wars, bloodshed and all. Others, although politically charged and volatile, were more amicably (or sneakily)...
by Sharon Hall | Mar 26, 2014 | Digging History Magazine, Wild West Wednesday
It’s been called “The Gunfight at Hyde Park” or the “Newton Massacre”. The Emporia News (Kansas) headlined it as “Wholesale Murder at Newton”, the White Cloud Kansas Chief called it an “affray” and the Lawrence Daily Journal called it a “riot”. Whatever, it was...
by Sharon Hall | Mar 22, 2014 | Surname Saturday
The surname Starbuck is believed to have Scandinavian origins. Norsemen (Vikings) came down to Scotland and Ireland between 800 and 1100 A.D. to plunder and terrorize. After a time these Vikings intermarried with women of the villages and later plundered along the...
by Sharon Hall | Mar 21, 2014 | Feisty Females
Cornelia Clark Fort was born February 5, 1919 in Nashville, Tennessee to parents Rufus Elijah and Louise Clark Fort. Her father was a successful physician and businessman who had already made his fortune long before Cornelia was born. In 1909 he married Louise Clark...
by Sharon Hall | Mar 19, 2014 | Digging History Magazine, Wild West Wednesday
She was born under less than “normal” circumstances. Her birth mother had fallen in love with someone who promised to marry her upon his return from a trip to Kentucky. When his trip was extended, she despaired and thought that she had been betrayed. ...
by Sharon Hall | Mar 18, 2014 | Tombstone Tuesday
It has been said that the tragedy that occurred seventy-seven years ago on Thursday, March 18, 1937 was the “day a town lost its future, the day a generation perished, the day when angels cried.” (Gone at 3:17). On that day, just minutes before school was to be...
