by Sharon Hall | Apr 8, 2014 | Tombstone Tuesday
Lycurgus Dinsmore Bigger was born September 19, 1843 in Blue Ball, Warren County, Ohio to parents James and Elizabeth (McCandless) Bigger. I wouldn’t pretend to know the origin of his first name. Lycurgus, however, is a common name in Greek mythology and in Greek...
by Sharon Hall | Apr 7, 2014 | Motoring History
In the history of the Ford Motor Company, they call it the “race that changed everything.” Henry Ford had founded the Detroit Automobile Company on August 5, 1899 and in January of 1901 the company was dissolved. Henry Ford had already reinvented himself when he...
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...
