Category Archives: Nifty History People

Ellen Herndon: Mrs. Chester Alan Arthur

Chester Alan Arthur was a recent widower when he was elected VP in 1880. The Private Arthurs No one was more surprised than Chester Alan Arthur when he was nominated for (and elected) Vice President in 1880. Had she lived, … Continue reading

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Lincoln, Brady and the Cooper Union Photograph

Lincoln of Illinois In February 1860, Abraham Lincoln, a country lawyer from Illinois was little known outside of his home state. He was fifty-one years old and a former Whig. Despite having served in the state legislature while he was … Continue reading

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The Unexpected Death of Zachary Taylor

During the past few decades, a couple of mild kerfluffles were posed by eminent scholars who suspected that POTUS Rough and Ready may have been done in! Ol’ Zach Zachary Taylor (1784-1850) was Virginia born to a middle class family … Continue reading

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Bess Truman: Waiting for Harry

The Old Soldier Harry Truman was 33, well past the age for a man to be a volunteer soldier, unless, of course, the country is in severe danger. In 1917, when the US entered the Great War, as it was … Continue reading

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Abraham Lincoln: Quibbling Thanksgiving

In 1863 Thanksgiving Day had been a local or regional holiday for more than two centuries. Quibbling The Day Massachusetts has long maintained that a day of Thanksgiving was celebrated a year after the devout Pilgrims landed in Plymouth in … Continue reading

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Lou Henry Hoover and Women’s Athletics

The Western Woman Despite her birth and early girlhood in Iowa, Lou Henry (1874-1944) spent most of her growing-up years in California when it was still considered the “Wild West.”   Her father, Charles Henry, was a middle class banker, … Continue reading

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Burying Mary Lincoln

Everybody knows about Lincoln’s assassination and the huge funeral journey back to Springfield. But what about when Mary died? Mary Lincoln, Widow Mary Todd Lincoln (1818-1882) became a widow when she was 45, and survived her husband by seventeen years. … Continue reading

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Dolley Madison and the War of 1812: A Book Review

This is a book for middle-school readers. Eons ago, when old-me was a very very young-me, Scribner’s published as “Scribner’s Junior” – a series of biographies geared to perhaps second through sixth grades, depending on reading skills. (Mine were excellent!) … Continue reading

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Grant and Lincoln at City Point

In 1864-5, City Point, VA briefly became the tenth largest city in the United States. Grant in the East On February 29, 1864, President Lincoln promoted General Ulysses S. Grant as General of the Army – outranking everyone. Since Grant … Continue reading

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Theodore Roosevelt Sr. and Jr. and the Museum of Natural History

This was actually a “family” undertaking. The Father On April 8, 1869, a formal meeting was held in the front parlor of the Roosevelt home, at 28 East 20th Street in New York City, to draft the charter that established … Continue reading

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