With their right arms extended stiffly forward, angled upward with fingers straight, man, woman, and child reflexively spoke the familiar words in unison. While this scenario might easily be mistaken […]
Genealogy Mystery #1: Fayette, Missouri, 1887
Genealogy Mystery #1: Fayette, Howard County, Missouri – 24 May 1887 I was browsing an antique store on July 29, 2015, in Waynesville, Missouri, and found this original photograph from […]
Divining the Truth: The Ancient Mystical Practice of Dowsing
Having spent years discussing all things genealogy with fellow family history enthusiasts, the subject of dowsing for the location of graves has come up on several occasions. Not only are […]
Strange Traditions Involving Death in the Victorian Era
The following traditions involving death were once commonly observed in the United States and elsewhere in the English-speaking world. While you may find the occasional instance of one of these […]
Murder Castle: Henry Holmes’s Hotel of Horrors
Dr. Henry Holmes was a serial killer who built a hotel of horrors dubbed the “Murder Castle” in Chicago in the 1890s. It was 1893 in Chicago, Illinois, and celebration […]
Civil War Medal of Honor Recipient Orion P. Howe
Inspiration at Vicksburg: Poetry Beyond the Forlorn Hope In the December 31, 2018, edition of the Missouri Unionist you’ll find an article remembering the brave actions of Civil War […]
Jesse James: The Legend Who Would Not Die
For anyone who grew up in the Ozarks, the James brothers are not just historical figures, they are local legends. Jesse James and his brother Frank were members of Quantrill’s […]
Ernest Smelcer (1903-1991), Pulaski County, Missouri
Ernest Smelcer was born in or near Crocker, Pulaski County, Missouri, on December 15, 1903, to James Benjamin Smelcer and Sarah Elizabeth (McMillian) Smelcer. He was the youngest of nine children. […]
Unlikely a Lincoln: The Improbable Progeny of Honest Abe
October 14, 1968, was a day like any other in Williamsburg, Virginia. It was a rough year nationally for the Civil Rights Movement as the country still reeled from the […]
A Long Journey into Night: Abraham Lincoln’s Corpse at Rest
Although Abraham Lincoln was assassinated in 1865, his final burial didn’t occur until 1901, and only after his coffin had been moved and opened several times. April of 1865 was […]