Category Archives: Nifty History People

Margaret Taylor: Army Wife

“She was just as much a soldier as I was.” – Zachary Taylor Margaret Mackall Smith …long forgotten by history, Margaret Smith was a Mackall on her mother’s side. They were a prominent Maryland family, whose distaff members were said … Continue reading

Posted in A POTUS-FLOTUS Blog, Nifty History People, Zachary Taylor | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Dusting Off Franklin Pierce

The Basic Pierce Facts Franklin Pierce (1804-69), Democrat from New Hampshire, was a dark horse nominee, elected President in 1852. It took 49 Ballots to put him on the ballot, which was an exhausting exercise for the convention attendees. Few … Continue reading

Posted in A POTUS-FLOTUS Blog, Franklin Pierce, Nifty History People | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

John and Abigail Adams: Mourning Alone

Late Fall, 1776 John Adams, following a momentous time in Philadelphia, promoting, drafting and approving the Declaration of Independence, requested and was granted some leave of Congress to attend to his family and business in Massachusetts. John had been away … Continue reading

Posted in A POTUS-FLOTUS Blog, John Adams, Nifty History People | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

The Inauguration of Theodore Roosevelt 1901

Vice President Theodore Roosevelt had a quiet, somber inaugural. The Sad Circumstances Vice President Theodore Roosevelt was taking a rare family vacation at a resort in New York’s Adirondack Mountains when news came that President William McKinley had been shot … Continue reading

Posted in A POTUS-FLOTUS Blog, Nifty History People, Theodore Roosevelt, William McKinley | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Grant, Greeley and the Strange Election of 1872

The Unlikely General Ulysses S. Grant was an unlikely general. West Point educated (class of ’43), he was a middling student, and other than his fine horsemanship, there was little that stood out. True, he served admirably in the War … Continue reading

Posted in A POTUS-FLOTUS Blog, American Civil War, Nifty History People, Ulysses S. Grant | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

The Justice and the Presidents

OWH, JR Oliver Wendell Holmes Junior (1841-1935) was Massachusetts born into a solid and prosperous family. His father, OWH Senior was a physician and occasional poet, probably best known for the versifying part. As such, his son was attending Harvard when the Civil War … Continue reading

Posted in A POTUS-FLOTUS Blog, Abraham Lincoln, American Civil War, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Nifty History People | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

James Buchanan: The Successful Failure

The Stellar Resume James Buchanan (1791-1867), a Pennsylvanian from mid-state, was the last President born in the 18th century. His family was large, but he was essentially a brother among a slew of sisters.  Blessed with above average academic gifts, … Continue reading

Posted in A POTUS-FLOTUS Blog, Andrew Jackson, Franklin Pierce, James Buchanan, James K. Polk, Nifty History People | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Abigail Adams and The Misdirected Tea

Tea was expensive. Very expensive!! The Colonists and Tea By the time of the Boston Tea Party, tea itself was one of the most expensive commodities traded between Great Britain and her American colonies. It was more than just a … Continue reading

Posted in A POTUS-FLOTUS Blog, John Adams, Nifty History People | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

John Adams and the King

John Adams was a loyal subject of the British Monarch for forty years. The American Colonies and the British Monarchs From the time the first British explorers came to America, the relationship between the colonists and their King/Queen was strong, … Continue reading

Posted in A POTUS-FLOTUS Blog, John Adams, Nifty History People | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Abraham Lincoln: A Big Apple Farewell

The entire country was stunned by Lincoln’s Assassination in 1865. New York’s Electoral Votes By 1860, New York had been the most populous state for more than a half-century. It accounted for a whopping 35 electoral votes, and gave them … Continue reading

Posted in Abraham Lincoln, American Civil War, Nifty History People | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment