Mary Maverick: Texas Fever

On August 4, 1836, Mary Ann Adams Maverick (1818-1898) married Samuel A. Maverick, in Mary’s hometown of Tuskaloosa, Alabama. Mary was 18: Sam, 33. Sam had recently returned from Texas where he had fought in the Texas Revolution. For the next several months, the newlyweds traveled throughout the South, visiting relatives, before arriving at Sam’s family home in South [...]

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A Little Remedy Against Indian Arrows

Here is an article that appeared in an 1840 Texas newspaper: A little remedy against Indian arrows: Take about 16 or 24 sheets of common blotting paper; lay between them some thin layers of cotton or silk; make a kind of jacket of it to be put on in the moment of danger, and you [...]

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The Cottingley Fairies

Do you believe in fairies? Frances Griffiths, 16, and her cousin Elsie Wright, 10, did. They claimed to play with dancing fairies along the enchanted stream [the beck] behind Elsie’s house in Cottingley Village, England - and they had 5 photographs to prove it. There in the frames, dancing around the girls, were four female fairies! When [...]

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Abe Lincoln: The Freedmen’s Monument

Oration in Memory of Abraham Lincoln Frederick Douglass delivered a speech at the unveiling of the Freedmen’s Monument in Memory of Abraham Lincoln at Lincoln Park, Washington, D.C., on April 14, 1876. This is the conclusion of what Douglass said to the crowd:   “Fellow-citizens, the fourteenth day of April, 1865, of which this is the eleventh anniversary, [...]

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Frederick Douglass, an American Slave

Frederick Douglass (1817-1895) The following is an excerpt from the Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave (1845), which includes recollections of Douglass’ experiences on a Maryland plantation: “To describe the wealth of Colonel Lloyd [his master] would be almost equal to describing the riches of Job. He kept from 10-15 house servants. [...]

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Doris Day was Poodle-icious

In post WWII America, the poodle dog became the rage. It went from being the 25th most popular dog in 1946 to No. 1 in 1960. All of a sudden, poodles …were chic; they stood for modernity and sophistication, which anyone could shoot for, whether they were rich or just wanted to appear a la [...]

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Frida Kahlo Had Childhood Polio Part 2

(First see “Frida Kahlo Had Childhood Polio Part 1.”) Frida Kahlo (1907-1954) Mexican artist Frida Kahlo‘s childhood polio caused more than a slight deformity in her right leg. The decreased circulation to the limb caused her lifelong problems and pain. From November 1-15, 1938, the first exhibition of Frida’s paintings was held at the avant-garde [...]

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Langston Hughes Gave Jim Crow a 1,2 Punch

MERRY-GO-ROUND by Langston Hughes (1902-1967) colored child at carnival:   Where is the Jim Crow section On this merry-go-round, Mister, cause I want to ride? Down South where I come from White and colored Can’t sit side by side. Down South on the train There’s a Jim Crow car. On the bus we’re put in [...]

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General Tom Thumb Had a Small Wedding

The best known of circus pioneer P.T. Barnum‘s performers was Charles Sherwood Stratton (1838-1883), also known as General Tom Thumb. Stratton weighed 9 lbs. 8 oz. at birth, a bouncing baby boy for the time, but stopped growing at six months. When Barnum discovered him at the age of five, Stratton weighed only 15 lbs. [...]

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Langston Hughes: When Sue Wears Red

Langston Hughes (1902-1967) was an African-American poet, novelist, columnist, short story writer, and playwright. His exceptional literary talents were recognized early in life; he was elected class poet at his Lincoln, Illinois elementary school. Langston Hughes scoffed at the “honor” of the position: “I was a victim of a stereotype. There were only two of us Negro kids in [...]

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What Did Elvis and Diego Rivera Have in Common? (No, Not Frida!)

What did Mexican muralist Diego Rivera and rock sensation Elvis Presley have in common? They both had twin brothers who died. Diego Rivera and his twin brother Carlos were born on December 8, 1886 in Guanajato, Mexico. Carlos, however, died eighteen months later. On January 8, 1935, in Tupelo, Mississippi, Gladys Presley gave birth to identical twin [...]

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