Category Archives: Nifty History People

Surgeon Joseph K. Barnes: Epic History

Surgeon Generals are seldom associated with mega-events. The Surgeon General More than 200 years ago, the US Army created the position of Surgeon General, the ranking doctor of public health.  By the time of the US Civil War, the position … Continue reading

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Grant’s Tomb: A NY Icon

The Civil War could have been fought 3x over in the time it took for Grant’s Tomb to be erected. We Love New York Choosing New York City to be the site of Grant’s final resting place was not difficult. … Continue reading

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General Ike’s Last Mission

But The General’s Health… …was not very good. He had suffered a few aches and pains and illnesses during his first six decades. But they were nothing out of the ordinary for a man his age, and with the great … Continue reading

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Julia Grant’s Bad Hat Story

Julia, The Plain Child Julia Dent (1826-1902) was the fourth of eight children (one died in infancy) born to Frederick W. Dent and Ellen Bray Wrenshall. Four boys and four girls. In that order. Colonel Dent (an honorary title) was … Continue reading

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Andrew Johnson: The Kirkwood Inaugural

Andrew Johnson is one of the most unlikely US Presidents The Unlikely POTUS Beginning with Andrew Jackson in 1828, and into the 20th century, the White House was the home of some of the most unlikely men who ever rose … Continue reading

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The Booths: Collateral Damage

The Booth Brothers While Junius Brutus Booth Sr., the patriarch of the illustrious acting family had long been dead, three of his sons reached genuine stardom in the days preceding the Lincoln assassination. Junius Brutus, Jr. (the eldest) was considerably … Continue reading

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An Assassin in Utopia: A Book Review

An Assassin in Utopia: The True Story of a Nineteenth-Century Sex Cult and a President’s Murder, is one of those “you can’t make this stuff up” historical episodes, well documented and engagingly told by Susan Wels. In 1881, Charles Julius … Continue reading

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Dolley Madison: Decorating the White House

Dolley Madison was 41 years old when she became First Lady in 1809… But… For eight years prior to 1809, she served frequently as de facto FLOTUS for President Thomas Jefferson, a widower. Even prior to the Jefferson Administration, Dolley … Continue reading

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The First Burial of Willie Lincoln

Willie Lincoln was 11 when he died in the White House. Willie. In December, 1850, ten months after his sickly four year old brother Edward Baker Lincoln died, William Wallace Lincoln was born. He was the third son born to … Continue reading

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Nellie Taft and the Philippine Band

Helen Herron Taft’s happiest years were in the Philippines. The Manila Years In 1900 Helen Herron Taft (1861-1943), married and mother of three, traveled to Manila, where she spent the next few years. Her husband of 15 years had been … Continue reading

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