450 Famous Americans

Alabama

2010-05-08T16:18:00.000-07:00

I just rode my motorcycle from Boston to New Orleans, all back roads, and I spent about 15 hours crossing Alabama. I've been reading quite a bit about Alabama the past few weeks and not at all about the other the other states I passed through. For whatever reason, Alabama had a certain allure. Maybe because it's nicknamed "The Heart of Dixie" and I am a born and bred New Englander. Alabama was nothing like I expected.

I traveled along the eastern edge of the state and cut across through Montgomery heading pretty much due south from there to Atmore on the Florida border. I passed through forests the whole way, which I found surprising for a place that is also unofficially nicknamed "The Cotton State." I didn't pass through any plantations or farmland.

One reason cited to justify calling Alabama the heart of Dixie is that it is the industrial heart of the South. It's true that I passed plenty of working factories plopped down in the most improbably places. Mobile is certainly an industrial city, all grit and pipes, a stevedore's city if there ever was one.

I did get more than one chance to see Alabama's state flag waving and I can report that the flag is rectangular, not square.

A beautiful state, Alabama. Friendly people. God's country in the good, old US of A. I'm glad I had a chance to visit and I regret I didn't have more time to explore it.

Capital of the Confederacy

2010-04-24T13:36:00.000-07:00

Another of Alabama's unofficial nicknames is the Heart of Dixie. One reason cited is that the first capitol of the Confederacy was none other than Alabama's capital, Montgomery. The center of Confederate government was later moved to Richmond, VA, of course, but Montgomery was an obvious choice due to its central location.

I've got an Automobile Club of America guidebook to Alabama, Louisiana & Mississippi arranged in alphabetical order. Chapter one begins, "The Deep South doesn't get any deeper than Alabama." I think that's how most people think of Alabama and how the state got its reputation as being the Heart of Dixie. Any further south and a traveller will end up in the Gulf of Mexico. Alabama is surrounded by Deep South States, Tennessee to the north, Georgia and Florida to the east, Mississippi to the west. Georgia has the Atlantic as its opposite border. Mississippi has Louisiana on its western side, a state unique among the fifty. Tennessee isn't 'deep' enough to be considered 'Deep."

Major civil rights battles were fought in Alabama during the 1960s, making it stand out as an exemplar of Southern protests against what we think of today as modern, enlightened views toward race relations.

Is Alabama the Heart of Dixie? I don't know enough about Dixie to be able to say for certain at this point, but it is a likely candidate. The New South and the Old South are very different concepts. Alabama has played a pivotal role in both. If not where all notions of southern-ness are hatched or exemplified, Alabama is probably just on of fifty unique states that shares more in common with its neighbors than it does with North Dakota or Alaska and Hawai'i.

Tallulah Bankhead (1903 - 1968)

2010-04-18T12:37:00.000-07:00

According to the Alabama Women’s Hall of Fame, Tallulah Bankhead redefined the world’s perception of what an Alabama woman is and can be.

I’m from Connecticut and I live in Boston and I’d rather not say what I think the popular perception of what Alabama women are up here in New England. Let’s just say that when New Englanders think of Alabama women, they don’t think of Tallulah Bankhead. In fact, they think the opposite.

I didn’t realize Ms. Bankhead was from Alabama. She was born in 1903 and died in 1968. I always think of her as a cosmopolitan woman who shed whatever parochialism she retained from childhood and became a citizen of a glamorous world apart from any agriculture or iron smelting.

Ms. Bankhead spent most of her adult life in New York, London and Los Angeles. She is buried in Maryland. While she cut a personality that was larger than life and has a name that still conjures images of a sophisticated, sexy, in control woman of mystery and ennui, she doesn’t seem to have a connection to Alabama beyond birth and family.

I may be wrong. Perhaps Tallulah Bankhead does represent Alabama women and many are like her. The years between her death and today haven’t seemed to convince anyone beyond the staff at the Alabama Womens’ Hall of Fame, though.

The Cotton State

2010-04-15T15:14:00.001-07:00

As I’ve mentioned, Alabama doesn’t have an official state nickname. One of its unoffical nicknames, however, is The Cotton State. While, as a southern state (and some would spell that with a capital S), cotton is grown in Alabama, it is nowhere near being a leader in cotton production. It may have had a higher ranking in the past, but it’s difficult for me to tell at this stage in my research.

Alabama is certainly prime cotton land but the state diversified early in the century. Much of the South had been dominated since inception by cotton monoculture. That ended in the first decade or so of the 20th century when the boll weevil, the scourge of cotton farmers made its way up from Mexico, crossing the Texas border and spreading quite rapidly throughout the South.

While Alabama’s economy has diversified into manufacturing, services and aerospace, agriculture still has its place and the state is a cotton state. Whether it can claim to be THE Cotton State is another matter. Currently (as of 2009) the state ranks 11th out of the fifty American states in cotton production. The total value of the last year’s crop was US $193,535. Nothing to sneeze at but only 3.58% of the national total.

The nice thing about not having an official nickname is that the state doesn’t need the legislature to pass an act to get another. Alabama has more than one nickname, none of them by statute.

Alabama nickname

2010-04-10T13:55:00.000-07:00

Alabama doesn’t have an official state name. It’s called the Yellowhammer State, the Cotton State, and the Heart of Dixie. None of these are particularly convincing.

The first capital of the Confederacy was apparently in Birmingham, but it didn’t last long and that’s not really a bullet point in history books.

Many other states produce cotton and most of them have traditionally produced more cotton than Alabama up to the present day.

A yellowhammer is a kind of bird. You probably don’t know that. It is a woodpecker species native to all of Alabama as well, presumably to the states that border it. I doubt the yellowhammers restrict themselves to the lines surveyors draw on maps or the stakes they plant in straight lines along legal borders.

Alabama flag

2010-04-03T13:36:00.000-07:00

Alabama's flag doesn't officially have to be any shape. That is, it can be square or it can be rectangular. I was under the impression that Alabama's flag is officially square and I can find some examples of that. I see more rectangular examples on the internet, though. I've never been to Alabama, though I intend to pass through in a few months as part of this project. You can bet I'll have my eyes peeled to see which model is more prevalent.

The current design for the Alabama flag was authorized two days after Valentine's Day in 1895. The legislature approved a flag consisting of a red cross of Saint Andrew on a white field. The only size specification was that the arms of the cross had to be six inches wide.

If the flag is rectangular, this makes Alabama's flag identical to the flag of Saint Patrick which was incorporated into Great Britain's Union Jack. The various patron saints' flags of England, Scotland, Ireland and Wales are combined to make up the British ensign. Alabama is in the heart of the Bible Belt and I don't have the impression that many Catholics have lived there, let alone Irish ones, so I doubt this was a consideration in 1895. It is probably a coincidence.

Interestingly, the State of Florida has a similar flag. Florida is represented by a red Saint Andrew's cross on a white background. The difference is that Florida's state seal is superimposed where the cross' arms meet. Alabama, being the first version to bear this design doesn't bother with any distinguishing characteristic. Red 'X' on white means Alabama, whether the cloth is cut oblong or square.

Alabama creed

2010-03-31T14:24:00.000-07:00

I believe in Alabama, a state dedicated to faith in a God and the enlightenment of mankind; to a democracy that safeguards the liberties of each citizen and to the conservation of her youth, her ideals and her soil. I believe it is my duty to obey her laws, to respect her flag and to be alert to her needs and generous in my efforts to foster her advancement within the statehood of the world.

This was entered into the Acts of Alabama on July 29, 1953

Course correction

2010-03-31T14:17:00.000-07:00

I got a lot of positive feedback for the 450 Famous Americans idea and the posts that started this blog. As you can see from the gaps in frequency though, this project didn't really capture my fancy. I've been stalled in the Ks for I don't how long and my thoughts have turned elsewhere.

I've been offered another project so I'm going to change course here on Post #15. I've started to research each of the fifty states and I thought I'd use this blog as a repository for some of the curious items I come across. I'm terribly disorganized and this promises to be a long project so I appreciate that blogger will let me keep some of my notes here.

Much like the previous format, I intend to progress alphabetically though the contents will be more freeform. Sometimes I'll leave some quotations either with or without commentary. Other times I'll just be jotting down impressions from my research. It should be a rather eclectic grab bag. Feel free to leave comments about what I've written, what these snippets may mean, if they are relevant, or if they are way off base.

And on that note, we begin. Thanks for stopping by!

2010-02-27T14:36:00.000-08:00

Hello. I apologize for taking so long on this next entry. I am moving through the alphabet and we are now on a famous person who's last name begins with K. I picked a doozy, I'm afraid, and I'm having a hard time wrapping my head around his story.

It's complicated. He's an American, by gum, and a real one, voted on by Congress. He is also a European hero who has monuments dedicated to him all over the world, including geographical features. His appeal is a bit of a mystery to me and I'm trying to get at the nut of it. I had never heard of our next feature until I started the research. If you know who this gentleman and patriot of democracy is, you went to a more thorough public school than I did.

Do you want a hint? He was born in either Russia or Poland depending on what part of his history you want to emphasize. I don't have my notes handy, but his influence and reputation seems to be felt, or at least recognized, on every continent but Antarctica.

Eliza Jumel (1769 - 1865)

2010-02-01T23:23:00.000-08:00

Eliza Bowen led an interesting career and her story is entwined with a national park. Wikipedia says she was born to a prostitute mother in 1776. She claimed she was born at sea in the Carribean in 1869. She had an early career as a prostitute herself, and this affected her relationships and haunted her decisions.

Hiding her background, Eliza married the wealthy French wine merchant Stephen Jumel in New York City. Rumors of her past dogged the couple and they eventually settled in what is now called the Morris Jumel Mansion on West 106th Street at Edgecomb Avenue. This was still a rural part of Manhattan at the time.

In 1815, the couple moved to France where Madame Jumel was accepted in social circles befitting someone of her husband’s wealth. She developed a strong admiration for Napoleon and her Bonapartist tendencies were so strongly expressed that she was asked to leave the country a year later by King Louis XVIII.

Back in New York, Madame Jumel tended to her husband’s business interests, often selling off assets and spending lavishly on social events and causes. Some say the sale of the assets was a business move to protect them from being seized by creditors. Others say they were sold to underwrite Madame Jumel’s aspirations.

Stephen died while still in France in 1832. Fourteen months later, the widow Jumel married former Vice President of the United States, Aaron Burr. The bride was nineteen years younger than the groom. Though her husband was of dubious reputation, it is speculated that the marriage brought a degree of respectability to the new Mrs. Burr and that was her reason for matrimony. As for Mr. Burr, he is sized up as being a gold digger and his less than prudent use of the remaining Jumel fortune led to divorce proceedings. The divorce was finalized on the day of Burr’s death in September 1836.

The fortune wasn’t entirely squandered and Madame Jumel, who returned to her former name lived out her days in the mansion she shared with her first husband. She died a ripe old age, outliving many who shunned and disparaged her. If not a matron of New York society, she survived long enough to be a fixture.

The Morris Jumel Mansion is a museum and one with a fascinating story of its own.

Charles Ives (1874 - 1954)

2010-01-14T00:12:00.000-08:00

Charles Ives was a classically trained at Yale but he became one of the most original modern American composers. He was athletic and manly, disdaining people as cowards who didn’t go their own way. He had an independent streak, as evidenced by his career.

His father was an army bandleader who encouraged Charles to experiment with instruments. Charles went to Yale to study composition and he played football while he was there. Though he was talented and wrote his first symphony in college, he ended up in a career in the insurance industry, eventually as head of his own firm.

He supported himself through insurance, not with music. His compositions weren’t well received during his life time. I’m from Danbury, Conn. where Ives is from and where he is buried, so I’ve always known the name and what he is famous for. I was in my twenties before I heard a piece of his music performed. I haven’t heard a lot of it since then because it seems to be ‘difficult listening.’

Ives was a practitioner of discordance. He took inspiration from all sorts of sounds and melodies and combined them all in each piece. He didn’t shy away from atonality or from special effects. There is nothing wrong with any of this, but Ives‘ work is unique and it takes some getting used to. Once familiar with his methods, many people have told me it has its rewards. I just haven’t had my aha! moment yet.

That said, Ives did begin to receive critical recognition though few of his were performed. He did publish his scores and his 114 Songs captured the eye of Aaron Copland, who praised it. In 1947, Ives won the Pulitzer Prize for music for his Symphony #3, a work he wrote in 1904.

Anna Harrison ( 1775 - 1864)

2010-01-04T09:27:00.000-08:00

Anna Harrison was the First Lady of the United States in 1841, however she never went to the White House.

She was born Anna Symmes, in New Jersey but after her mother died in 1776, her father smuggled across British lines to be cared for by her maternal grandparents on Long Island, NY. Her father was later a New Jersey delegate to the Continental Congress and, after a successful career in New Jersey politics, he moved his family to the Northwest Territory. Anna had since been reunited with him by then.

At the age of 20, she met Lieutenant William Henry Harrison while both were visiting Lexington, KY. Her father disapproved of the match but the two continued and were married on November 11, 1795. Anna’s father was remained unhappy and it took many years before he accepted his son-in-law.

The couple had a happy marriage that bore ten children. After an eventful career, William Harrison was elected to be the 9th President in 1840.

When William was inaugurated in 1841, Anna was ill at their home in North Bend, Ohio. On April 4, his 32nd day in office, William Henry Harrison died, the shortest serving President of the United States. Anna never made the trip to Washington though her bags were packed.

Anna Harrison received the first pension for a presidential widow when President Tyler signed a law granting her $25,000 in 1841.

Besides being the wife of a president, Mrs. Harrison was also the mother of one. Their son Benjamin grew up to be elected the 23rd President for a single term beginning in 1889.

George Jay Gould (1864 - 1923)

2009-12-29T12:44:00.000-08:00

Aside from his father and his death, there doesn’t seem to much overly remarkable about George Gould. He was rich, but many people are rich, that doesn’t make them famous. George Gould inherited his father’s fortune and railroad holdings. He was the capable head of the Denver & Rio Grand Western Railroad and also the Western Pacific Railroad. He wheeled and dealed, set up proxy companies, made sure the trains ran on time, expanded service and carried out his duties as head of the companies admirably and capably.

George Gould married an actress and had seven children by her. He also kept a mistress and had three children by her. Ten children seems like a lot today, but families were bigger back then.

George Gould set himself up on an ornate, country estate with his wife and seven children in Lakewood Township, New Jersey. Their home is now the core property of Georgian Court University, which took its name after the Gould estate.

While being an apparently sober-minded businessman comfortable with high finance and sprawling enterprise, George Gould enjoyed the benefits of his wealth. Besides maintaining two families and an opulent, private retreat, he travelled and his last trip is why he is best remembered today.

George Gould was friends with Lord Carnarvon, a companion of Howard Carter during the unearthing of Tutankamun’s tomb in Egypt. Lord Carnarvon was the first person to succumb to the supposed curse of the tomb: “Death shall come on swift wings to him who disturbs the peace of the King.”

On May 15, 1923, George Gould, on a touring trip, visited Tut’s tomb, well aware of the fate that befell his friend. The day after his visit, George Gould contracted an unexplainably high fever. Shortly after the fever was diagnosed, George Gould died of pneumonia in the French Riviera. Some people say a day had elapsed, some say twelve hours. No matter the exact moment he contracted the fever, he died on May 16th. Few doubted that Tut’s curse was what killed George Gould and his demise is still cited as support for the theory that woe betides those who disturb the pharaohs.

Barbara Fritchie (1766 - 1862)

2009-12-23T15:07:00.000-08:00

There are some people who say that Barbara Fritchie didn’t do the thing that makes her famous. If that’s so, how could her name be so renowned? Unlike Connecticut, the state of Maryland doesn’t seem to have a state heroine, but if Maryland did, it would be Barbara Fritchie.

When Stonewall Jackson marched into the town of Frederick, MD, Ms. Fritchie, then 90 years old, leaned out her window and displayed the Union flag, Old Glory. Not only did she display the flag, she hung out her window and waved it. “Shoot if you must, this old gray head, but spare your country’s flag,” she said. General Jackson was ashamed by her spirit of patriotism and he left that flag unfurled on display as his troops marched by.

This moment, and Mrs. Fritchie’s words were immortalized by the poet John Greenleaf Whittier in the poem named after this patriot. When Winston Churchill, who knew something about patriotism, stopped in Frederick in 1943, he paused in front of Mr. Fritchie’s house and recited this poem from memory.

While the house in Frederick has been preserved and is now a museum, this act of heroism has been immortalized in other ways. The Barbara Fritchie Handicap is a thoroughbred race held annually at the Laurel Park Racecourse in Laurel, MD. The first race was in 1952 and it was won by a horse called Singing Beauty. While Barbara Ritchie didn’t exactly sing her defiance to Stonewall Jackson, her shout to the general and her actions certainly were operatic in their majesty.

Not only is there a horse race named after her, There is also a Barbara Fritchie Classic motorcycle race, also held in Maryland.

America can memorialize its heroes and heroines in ways that seem strange. Compared to some of the other 450 Americans we are memorializing here though, at least Barbara Fritchie is being remembered, at least locally. Many more have become obscure footnotes in our nation’s story with nothing named after them to keep memories of their accomplishments alive in the present day.

Mary Baker Eddy (con't)

2009-12-20T13:34:00.000-08:00

Mary Baker Eddy was sickly as a child and it wasn't until she was into adulthood that she experienced real health. In 1862 she became the patient of the 'magnetic healer' Phineas Quimby and began to experience relief. Quimby's theories and teachings seem to have influenced Mrs. Eddy's later teachings, but that is a tangled skein that we won't try to disentangle here.

Mrs. Eddy came to believe that deeper understanding of the Bible had the power to heal disease and injury. She benefited from this and she started to teach the same. Her book, Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, launched her into popular consciousness in 1875 (originally under a slightly different title). Modern medicine hadn't been established yet with its antibiotics and retroviral drugs and radiography and even more esoteric imaging technology. Pathology didn't really exist as a specialty. Doctors came in two classes: physicians and surgeons. Whatever spiritual merits Mrs. Baker's teachings may have, her medicinal ones seemed no worse or better for healing than what the professional scientific establishment had to offer.

I don't want to dwell on theology here and I don't claim to understand Mrs. Eddy's. Let it be said that she founded the Church of Christ, Scientist in Boston and that the church continues to this day. I am from New England so I am used to seeing Christian Science reading rooms in downtowns when I travel between the villages in my area. I don't know how common these reading rooms are in, say, Iowa or Wyoming, or Arizona. I suspect not so much, but I may be wrong. At least in the Northeastern part of the US, Christian Science is part of the religious as well as the medical landscape.

Mary Baker Eddy (1821-1910)

2009-12-15T14:56:00.000-08:00

I live in Boston, where Ms. Eddy made a name for herself and the impact of the institutions she founded is still felt. She founded the Church of Christ, Scientist and the mother church is about a half mile from my house. It's quite impressive. She also founded the Christian Science Monitor, a Pulitzer Prize winning newspaper.

For someone who founded a church which has reading rooms in downtowns all over America, Mrs. Eddy's online presence is surprisingly skimpy. She certainly wasn't absent from the popular media while she was alive. None other than Mark Twain wrote about her, though not in the best light. She wasn't so much a contentious person or personality, but her ideas stirred up controversy.

The Longyear Museum, in Chestnut Hill, near Boston and accessible by the Green Line trolley, preserves her last home and documents her life. The link I've provided features pictures of Mrs. Eddy at various ages. She kept her appearance pretty much unchanged throughout her years.

Of course, if you are in Boston, you may want to visit the Mother Church. The church itself is a beautiful Renaissance Revival building set in a modern plaza that contains the headquarters for many of the church's operations. The Church of Christ, Scientist is a sizeable landlord in this neighborhood of the city and a good one, responsible for redeveloping acres of land while providing affordable housing in the latter half of the 20th century.

This article is a bit skimpy on details on Mary Baker Eddy's life. The impacts of her life had far-reaching ramifications and I thought I would deal with those first, especially since I see them at least weekly. She made her mark not only on Boston and America, but Christian Scientists are found in more than eighty countries. Thus far, at the letter E, we have met a personality whose impact is still felt in the present day.

Richard Harding Davis (1864-1916)

2009-12-08T03:53:00.000-08:00

He was a dashing man, a bit of a dandy, and an adventurer. Richard H. Davis was a reporter who cut his teeth covering the horrific Johnstown, Penn. flood of 1889. After that he went on a successful career reporting on man made disasters until his death.

It seems Mr. Davis was one of the pre-eminent war correspondents of his day. If there was a conflict, he was in the thick of things. He covered the Spanish-American War from Cuba. He covered the Boer War from South Africa. He covered the Russo-Japanese War from the viewpoint of the Japanese. He covered WWi from the Selonika Front, the border land between Serbia and what was Greek Macedonia.

Mr. Davis was friendly with celebrities, being one himself. He was friends with Theodore Roosevelt and was made an honorary member of the Rough Riders. He was friends with the illustrator Charles Dana Gibson and he is rumored to be the model for the quintessential "Gibson Man." Mr. Davis certainly had the good looks for it and the resemblance is certainly there.

As a prolific traveller and writer, Mr. Davis published not only newspaper accounts of his adventures and observations but also non-fiction books. As a prolific writer, he also published numerous short stories, novels and even plays that were dramatizations of his novels. All of these sold quite well.

Among his works of fiction: The Lion and the Unicorn, Ranson's Folly, and Soldiers of Fortune.

Hiatus ended

2009-12-05T06:58:00.000-08:00

This project got lost in the shuffle. That was unfortunate, because while many of the 450 Americans slotted to be featured were at one time famous, most of them are not as well known as they used to be. My goal is to do my tiny part to put the spotlight back on them, if only briefly.

Fame is fleeting, of course, but only if it is fame for its own sake. It's my impression that many of the famous people for which I have pictures were famous because of what they accomplished. You won't find celebrities, per se, here. Many of them are military men and statesmen. Some are writers and painters. There are a few actors and musicians. The bulk of them left a lasting impression on America, if not singlehandedly then by being a part of a larger movement.

After a haitus, I am resuming my research and recounting the lives of 450 famous Americans. I have to admit, I don't know all of them right now beyond thier faces. All in good time, though, all in good time. Thanks for you patience. Let's begin again.

Andrew Carnegie (1835-1919)

2009-06-14T13:47:00.001-07:00

A captain of industry, Andrew Carnegie has the distinction of being the second wealthiest man in history after John D. Rockefeller. He also has the distinction of being the patron saint of philanthropy; his name is synonymous with giving away riches for the advancement of human knowledge.

He came from a family of Scottish weavers but made his money in steel after working his way up from telegraph running boy to the head of the Carnegie Steel Company, using vertical integration methods of controlling production to gain market share and supply railroads with necessary infrastructure. He sold his business in 1901 to J.P. Morgan and retired on the proceeds as well as his accumulated wealth. His retirement wasn’t about lounging, he distributed his stores of cash for purposes he felt would benefit people much like he had been when he first arrived in America. He valued education above all other pursuits.

Carnegie endowed libraries all over America and in the English-speaking world. He put up the front money if organizations found the land and means to supply an operating budget for libraries that bore the stamp of his genius. He endowed universities in his adopted Pittsburgh, Penn., and his impact is still felt in New York City’s medical research hospital community.

Carnegie believed the first third of a person’s life should be spent learning as much as he or she can. The second third should be spent accumulating wealth. The last third should be spent redistributing that wealth in ways the benefactor felt best for the advancement of his or her values. There is a paternalistic streak to this line of thought, but it is a noble one that never tries to impose values. Knowledge should be available to all whatever conclusion scholars may reach from the available facts. Their conclusions are not predestined; there is no agenda, only the availability of resources.

Andrew Carnegie looked like Santa Claus. When he was younger he had darker hair and when he was older he had lighter hair but his appearance changed little as the years went by. He always looked benevolent, as a philanthropist should. At this early stage of the 21st century we can argue that his mindset wasn’t ideal. We cannot argue that he didn’t accomplish what he set out to do and we are all better for it.

Daniel Carter Beard (1850-1941)

2009-06-07T12:22:00.000-07:00

Unlike the Daughters of the American Revolution, who need to prove their pedigree, the Sons of Daniel Boone needed be descendants in spirit only. This was an organization for boys who could blaze a trail, defend a wagon train, scout the outskirts of civilized settlement, and cook the food they caught on the wing.

As a youth, young Dan Beard lived in Covington, Kentucky near a bend in the Licking River. He was mesmerized by tales of frontier life and that hero of the region, Colonel Daniel Boone, who you have probably heard of more often than Dan Beard. Mr. Beard carried these tales with him throughout adulthood and he was inspired to pass frontier, American values on to the youth of his day. Hence, in 1905, the Sons of Daniel Boone were born of his boosterish enthusiasm.

Dan Beard was an illustrator and columnist by trade. He went to art school in New York but he didn’t go in for modern stuff. New York may have been avant garde compared to Covington, KY but it was nothing like today. He wrote a series of articles for St. Nicolas Magazine that became the basis for his American Boy’s Handy Book. He was ahead of his time in many ways.

The Sons of Daniel Boone started in 1905. In 1910 it merged with another boys’ organization that was founded in that year. Dan Beard bore no ill will for the upstart corps; in fact he served in positions of authority within the Boy Scouts of America, over the course of his career.

Daniel Beard was known as “Uncle Dan.” You can’t really have the name Beard without sporting one and this Mr. Beard did so. It was a rather crisp Van Dyke accompanied by a flourishing mustache. You will notice in this photo that Mr. Beard is wearing a fur coat. Could it be a bear skin coat? The records don’t support this allegation, but we like to think the answer is yes.

This last one isn't connected to Dan Beard except in spirit, the way he was connected to Daniel Boone.

Abigail Adams (1744 - 1818)

2009-05-25T13:51:00.000-07:00

She was the apple of the second President’s eye, his boon companion, his anchor and a spur driving him toward his better nature. Abigail Adams, born Abigail Smith in Weymouth, Massachusetts, was anything but plain. She had her outward beauty and she her inward refinement. She was a flower in her youth and as she grew more matronly as her years progressed, she maintained a certain handsomeness that belongs only to women who know where they stand.

She was sickly but she never let fatigue or ague get in the way of robustly propounding her heartfelt beliefs. She was a freethinker. She was a Unitarian who could resolve contradictions and find the best resolution with limited means at her disposal. She believed in slow change and the equality of races and sexes. She wasn’t a prude. She was passionate and tender while being prim and proprietary. The people who knew her loved her in varying degrees depending on how close they were to her company. No one has ever said an ill word of Abigail Adams after she went to meet her maker.

She knew what she believed and she spoke her mind, both in public and in her husband’s ear in what may have been the most fraught and philosophical pillow talk that has taken place off stage from the Oval Office. Unlike her sole predecessor in the role of First Lady, Abigail Adams was no Martha Washington. She wasn’t a footnote. She wasn’t just the First Lady of the United States by willful accident of marriage. She was called “Mrs. President” by members of Congress. She had opinions and she voiced them.

When you read the letters Abigail Adams wrote her husband, you realize she wasn’t just Mrs. John Adams. She was Abigail Smith, the homeschooled, independent thinker born of enlightened, Puritan stock, raised in Weymouth, Mass.. She came of age in a time of assertive rebellion and she matured in a time when opinions and free inquiry mattered more than pedigree. She had plenty of pedigree. It’s evident in her cheekbones, patrician nose, and sharp eyebrows. Abigail Adams came from good stock.

She married America’s second president and birthed and raised its sixth. Through indirect influence, Abigail Adams, more than Martha Washington, can be considered the mother of her country. There is a statue of Abigail on Commonwealth Avenue in her second home, Boston. Her writings are studied by scholars and popularized in the 21st century. Her relevance hasn’t dimmed. It has been polished. She is an inspiration.

Women and men of America can take heart that at the dawning of our Republic, a woman was sharp enough to see all the contradictions that make the American experience a conundrum. She cut through the folderol and falsehoods. She rested on the bedrock of what keeps America sound. She lived with a man who served his country to the best of his ability. She served that same country as best as she was afforded. She begot a lineage that carried the colors of her faith into another generation. Abigail Adams, not Mrs. John Adams, is a heroine. Any perusal of her letters offers proof that individuals make this country great and she is one of them.