Old Style Thanksgiving

A collage of turkey day illustrations from old newspapers, circa 1898-1904.

Gideon M. HOLLINGSWORTH

Battle of Wilson’s Creek, Kurz and Allison lithograph c. 1893, Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division Washington, D.C.

Battle of Wilson's Creek Mural at the Missouri State Capitol by N. C. Wyeth
From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Wilsons-cropped-better.jpg

One hundred and fifty years ago, on August 10, 1861 the first major Civil War battle of the western United States was fought about 10 miles southwest of Springfield, Missouri; it was the Battle of Wilson’s Creek. The Confederate Army referred to it as the Battle of Oak Hills. The battle was considered a Confederate victory. The Union Commander, General Nathaniel Lyon was killed during the battle; he was the first Union General to be killed in the Civil War.

General Nathaniel Lyon
From Wikipedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Nathaniel_lyon_small.jpg

Approximately 535 Union and Confederate soldiers died in the battle. One of the casualties of the battle was a young soldier named Gideon M. Hollingsworth. He was mortally wounded in the lungs in the fighting on “Bloody Hill.” He was taken to the Missouri State Guard Hospital in Springfield where, according to the Hospital Register, he died on August 18, 1861.

Gideon was a private in the Missouri State Guard; his unit was Company A of the Extra Battalion of the 4th Division of the MSG. A report from Colonel R. H. Miller, listing the killed and wounded from Clay county at the battle on the 10th of August, was published in the Liberty Tribune on August 23, 1861; “G Holiingsworth, mortally, Clay co.” was among the casualties of the battle. In the same article was the following statement from Colonel John T. Hughes, commander of the 4th Division Infantry Regiment:

“I have never before witnessed such a heart-rending scene – State, Federal and confederate troops in one red ruin blent on the field; - enemies in life, in death friends, relieving each other’s agonies and sufferings.”

A week later, on August 30th, the Tribune carried a death notice, although the newspaper mistakenly identified Gideon as “George.”



Gideon was born January 23, 1840 in Todd County, Kentucky. His father was Samuel Gordon Hollingsworth and his mother was Susan Mimms. His family had moved to Clay County, Missouri from Todd County, Kentucky in 1853. In 1860 the family lived in Washington Township, Clay County, Missouri. Along with his father Samuel, stepmother Mary and his siblings Josephine, Jeptha, Leander, Lucy and James F., Gideon’s cousins Mary, Leland, Edward and Emma were living with the family. These were the children of Samuel’s brother Leander F. Hollingsworth.

1860 US Census, Washington Township, Clay County, MO.

Gideon had an interesting family connection; he was a third cousin, once removed, to the famous outlaw Jesse James who also lived in Clay County, Missouri. David Mimms was Gideon’s great-great-Grandfather and was also Jesse James’ great-great-great-Grandfather. Jesse and Frank James are listed on the 1860 census living with their mother Zarilda and stepfather, Reuben Samuel in the same township as the Hollingsworth family.

Although there are no military records to confirm Frank James’ Civil War enlistment, it’s believed that he was a member of the Missouri State Guard and fought at the Battle of Wilson’s Creek. Gideon’s half brother, born in 1860, was named James Franklin Hollingsworth. Gideon had an uncle named Benjamin Franklin Hollingsworth but it’s also possible that “James Franklin,” or “Franklin James” Hollingsworth, he was listed both ways on different censuses, was named after Frank James. The outlaw's full name was Alexander Franklin James.

Headstone photo from FindAGrave

Gideon is buried in a very small, two–headstone, cemetery located near Lawson, Missouri. His headstone is decorated with a weeping willow tree. The inscription on his headstone reads:

"GIDEON M. HOLLINGSWORTH BORN JAN. 23, 1840 DIED AUG. 15, 1861"

His death was recorded as August 18th in the Missouri State Guard Hospital Register, 1861, which contradicts the death date engraved on his headstone, August 15th. The second headstone in the cemetery is Gid’s younger brother, Jeptha who died eight months later on April 15th, 1862.

The small Hollingsworth graveyard sits in the middle of a corn field, next to a golf course, on land that was probably originally owned by Samuel Hollingsworth. In September, 1863 a Sheriff’s Sale notice in the Liberty Tribune listed property belonging to Samuel which was to be auctioned off. The property was located in Clay County in Sections 1, 11, and 14 of Township 53, Range 30. In 1877 S. G. Hollingsworth is listed in an atlas as owning some land in Ray County right next to Lawson, Missouri, Township 53, Range 29; this section is about a mile from Gideon’s cemetery. By 1897, the land in Ray County is owned by someone else.

A local chapter of the Son of Union Veterans of the Civil War has been working for several few years at clearing overgrown trees from the cemetery and replacing the fence around the cemetery. This cemetery is located about 8 miles from the James Family farm.

Today the Battlefield at Wilson’s Creek is preserved by the National Park Service. Unlike some more famous eastern US Civil War battlefields, that are now be buried under fast food joints and grocery stores, Wilson’s Creek hasn’t changed that much. This year a 150th anniversary reenactment was held at Wilson's Creek with approximately 3,500 re-enactors and 25,000 spectators attending the event.



MORE INFORMATION & LINKS:
Son of Union Veterans of the Civil War Cemetery Restoration Project:
http://members.tripod.com/westport64/hollingsworth_map.htm

Find A Grave Memorial for Gideon M. HOLLINGSWORTH:
http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GSln=hollingsworth&GSfn=gideon&GSbyrel=all&GSdyrel=all&GSob=n&GRid=16892385&df=all&

MISSOURI State Archives Soldiers Records; War of 1812- WWI:
http://www.sos.mo.gov/archives/soldiers/

Gid Hollingsworth’s Card:
http://www.sos.mo.gov/Images/Archives/Military/s00732/s00732_3185.pdf

Missouri History Museum, Missouri State Guard Hospital Register database:
http://genealogy.mohistory.org/genealogy/names/63

Wilsons Creek National Battlefield, Missouri:
http://www.nps.gov/wicr/index.htm
http://www.wilsonscreek.com/Default.aspx

150th Anniversary Reenactment information, articles and photos:
http://mocivilwar150.com/event/35
http://www.wilsonscreek150.com/
http://www.kspr.com/news/kspr-battle-of-wilsons-creek-reenactment-20110815,0,2345651.special
http://www.kansascity.com/2011/08/13/3075171/civil-war-battle-is-on-again-for.html
http://www.news-leader.com/article/20110816/NEWS01/108160359/Re-enactment-pleases-organizers?odyssey=mod|newswell|text|Special%20Reports|s

Ray County, Missouri Section Comparisons:
http://ray.mogenweb.org/maps/sections1/album1/T53R29/T53R29S06/index.html

Historic Map Works:
http://www.historicmapworks.com/
Township 53N, Range 29W, Ray County Missouri 1877
http://www.historicmapworks.com/Map/US/483485/Township+53+N++Range+29+W/Ray+County+1877/Missouri/

The Composer - Sylvester Legg

Sylvester A. Legg 

Illustration from Kansas City Journal, August 27, 1897, page 1.

Advertising Cards for Legg Brothers Music Store 

From the Missouri Valley Special Collections, Kansas City Library, Kansas City, Mo.

In 1897 an article about a popular song, “In the Shadow of the Pines” was published on the first page of Kansas City Journal. The article was about the song’s history and composer, a Kansas Cityan named Sylvester A. Legg.

Sylvester owned a Kansas City music store with his brother, Edward N. Legg. He was also an organist and in 1897 had played at the Cathedral in Kansas City for 17 years. According to the newspaper story, Mr. Legg read a poem, written as an advertisement for the Wabash Railroad, in Godey's magazine and decided that it should be set to music. He and his brother Edward received permission from Godey’s magazine to do this. Later on, the Leggs corroborated with the poem’s author, Miss Hattie Lummis of Pittsburg, Kansas on additional songs.

By 1897 the song "In the Shadow of the Pines," had sold more than 100,000 copies. Sylvester wrote under the “nom de plume” G. O. Lang. Some other songs that he published as sheet music were “Dreams of Old Kentucky,” “Say Not Goodbye,” “Dreaming of Home,” and “The Sun Will Shine Again.”

Sylvester A. Legg was born in St. Louis, Missouri about 1857. Sylvester's father was Matthew Legg and his mother was Zelena Gilbert or “Guilbert”. He was a middle child and had five siblings, Augustus, Isabelle, Florence, Edward and John. The newspaper reported that Sylvester came from a musical family and that Zelena “was a musical prodigy as a child in St. Louis.” According to Edward Legg, "My brother as a boy played the piano while I played ball."

The family also had connection to the railroads. Sylvester’s older brother, Augustus, worked as an auditor for the Wabash railroad; its likely Augustus knew and worked with Charles Crane, the Wabash railroad passenger agent who is named in the Godey's magazine advertisement.

Sylvester Legg was married to Julia M. Chouteau, who was a member of a prominent St. Louis family. Her great-great grandfather was Pierre Laclede Liguest, one of the founders of St. Louis. In 1764 Liguest and his stepson Auguste Chouteau had established a fur trading post where St. Louis now stands.

Sylvester and Julia had one son, Edward Chouteau Legg, born in 1883. Sylvester died in 1927 and is buried Mount Saint Mary’s Cemetery, Kansas City, or at least he has a marker there. The family’s musical tradition was carried on by Sylvestor's son. In 1920 Edward was living in Tulsa, Oklahoma and was employed as an organist in a theater; his wife, Emma had the same occupation.


Further information and links:
Previous blog post on the newspaper article:
http://miscellaneousmar.blogspot.com/2011_07_01_archive.html

Newspaper article: Library of Congress, Chronicling America, Historic American Newspapers –
Kansas City Journal, August 27, 1897, page 1, “Written As An AD.”
http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn86063615/1897-08-27/ed-1/seq-1/


Advertising Cards: Missouri Valley Special Collections (MVSC) Digital Gallery, Kansas City Public Library -
http://localhistory.kclibrary.org/cdm4/document.php?CISOROOT=/Advert&CISOPTR=1603&REC=2


Silvester A. Legg (1855-1927) Find A Grave Memorial
http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GSln=legg&GSfn=silvester++&GSbyrel=all&GSdyrel=all&GSst=26&GScntry=4&GSob=n&GRid=8645221&df=all&

Written as an AD

“Written As An Ad.” Kansas City Journal, August 27, 1897, page 1.

From Advertisement to Song

Today popular songs are often used as the music for television advertisements. Companies have found that the popularity and familiarity of music may induce consumers to buy their products. While researching my family’s history I found and interesting story where the reverse happened, a song started out as an advertisement and then became popular.

In 1895 a musical score was composed for a poem that had been used in a magazine advertisement for the Wabash Railroad. A poem being used to sell railroad travel sounds a little unusual in today’s world, but back then, just as today, advertisers tried to find innovative ways to grab the public’s interest. At that time, since there wasn’t the variety of entertainment that we have today, when new sheet music came out I’m sure it was similar to the release of a new movie or video game.

The Article

On August 27, 1897 an article with the heading “Written as an Ad" was published on the first page of Kansas City Daily Journal. The article reported that net sales had reached over one hundred thousand copies for the song. The name of the song was “In the Shadow of the Pines."

The story behind the song was that in about 1895 the general passenger agent for the Wabash Railroad, Mr. C. S. Crane, paid Miss Hattie Loomis $1000 for a poem to be published in Godey's magazine, a popular ladies magazine of the time. The magazine was originally named Godey's Lady Book and was published monthly from 1830 to about 1898. Godey’s focused on fashion, education and health and included poetry and songs in each issue. At its most popular Godey’s had a readership numbering 150,000. Godey’s was considered innovative because women worked at the magazine and the format of the magazine is still used today by many women's magazines. A copy of the magazine published sometime in early 1895, with this particular Wabash railroad advertisement wasn’t to be found, but other issues of Godey’s Magazine are available online at Google ebooks.

The Wabash railroad system produced other advertisements aimed specifically at women in several magazines of the time period. A 1905 ad in Good Housekeeping magazine depicts a man and a woman sitting in a railroad car; the man is ardently talking and reaching towards the woman, who appears to be ignoring him. This style fits in with the poem Miss Lummis wrote for her Wabash advertisement since the theme is about broken love and the song’s refrain implores “come back to me sweetheart and love me as before.”

Good Housekeeping Magazine, 1905

The poem Miss Lummis wrote for Godey’s contained the word “Wabash” as an acrostic in the first verse, that is the first letter of the first word in each line of the poem spelled out the word “Wabash.” The newspaper article reported that the second and third verses of the poem contained the name and address of the general passenger agent, Mr. Crane.

We wandered in the shadow of the pines my love and I,
As the wind was blowing freshly from the sea,
But a sudden fitful darkness stole across the summer sky,
And a shadow came between my love and me.
Some hasty words were spoken and then almost unawares
Hasty answers to unthinking anger led.




Further Reading:

Newspaper article, “Written As An Ad.” Kansas City Journal, August 27, 1897, page 1; Library of Congress, Chronicling America, Historic American Newspapers:
http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn86063615/1897-08-27/ed-1/seq-1/


Godey's Magazine, January 1898 Google ebooks:

http://books.google.com/books?id=J7o7AAAAMAAJ&dq=Godey%20magazine%201898&pg=PA124#v=onepage&q=Godey%20magazine%201898&f=false


Next: More about the article, the composer, and the song.

Typical Day (with kids)

This is a couple of pages from an old journal I kept in 1998. Not very well written and a little hard to follow, but I think it captures a typical day with school age kids. My oldest was in middle school, two middle ones were in elementary school and the youngest was in preschool, always running to take kids to school or pick them up!
This is an actual journal, all events are true and the kids are real but their names have been changed to protect their privacy:
B – age 13
K – age 11
E - age 8
C –age 4


Transcription:
Thursday 9/24/1998
A.M. Make lunch, K won't take medicine - won't eat lunch. C whining about clothes, E refusing to go to school. Off to school, whew! {Home} Return call from S D about candlelight vigil plans. Run to pick up B at school, take to Dr. orthodontist. Take B back-to-school, (stop at DQ for blizzard). Home - make lunch for C. Off to keep preschool to work, don't work since switched yesterday. J S picks C up {for preschool}. Clean our bathroom – (a little), do laundry- (our underwear, shirts). Mop kitchen floor. Off to store to pick up a few things (DW detergent, butter, etc). Run into L G at the store- update about E so no time to shop.
P.M Pickup C and M S {from preschool}, take M home. C won't get off bike to leave, rush back home, miss meeting the bus. {Home} Sit down. Tell B to do homework, to empty the dishwasher. E eats her lunch since she didn't at school. Read 50 papers from school, Thursday folders. K has a tummy ache. Ask B to do homework and empty the dishwasher. Finish dinner, cut potatoes for corned beef and cabbage. Call from Dad and Mom – B called yesterday to get magazine orders from them, everything fine. Feed the kids. Send C and K to shower. Ask B to do homework and empty the dishwasher. Watch baseball. Send K to bed since he has a tummy ache, (hope it's not e-coli from the fair yesterday, three cases on the news). Ask B if he did his homework, the dishwasher is half empty. B {comes} home {from work} at nine o'clock, E. to bed at 9:45. Kids mostly in bed at 10, too late! Finish watching a movie at 11, to bed.
Friday 9/25/98
A.M. – Make lunch {for school} – no bread. Ask B if he did his homework - "yes". Ask B about spelling words. Couldn't find paper - so didn't do. I put paper on the desk so it's my fault. Fight about not leaving papers on the dining room table – put them away. He tells me to leave his stuff alone. Get E's clothes. {take B to school} Fight all the way to school. {Home} K dizzy, stomachache, lying on the couch. E wants to study spelling, gets mad. I call C J - Keith is sick, don't know about school, so don’t pick up. C wants help with his clothes. E crying about spelling, hates school. K lying on the stairs - dizzy, can't walk, won't get up. Take E to school, crying mad. Sit at the front of school while she cries. Get out, walk her to class, she cries. Mrs. P {teacher} brings her in, she cries. I leave, left my keys in the car, lucky not locked in. Home, clean up kitchen mess, put laundry in, more shirts, check e-mail.
{Note: The journal entry ends abruptly, don't remember what happened next, probably had to take K to the emergency room to make sure he didn't have e-coli!}

Abstract Aerial

This is the whole photograph I used for the background of the MiscellaneousMar title bar. I thought the blog design program would use more of the photo than it did, but I still like how it turned out. I wanted to share the photo in it's entirety, since it's a beautiful shot. It's an aerial photo that I took of the Skagit Bay, Washington at low tide

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skagit_Bay


View Larger Map

Women in the News 1890s

Miss Eva COBB, Miss Louise KING, Mrs. Kate Cabell CURIE, Miss Louisa SALMON, Miss Le VINSEN, Miss Clara SHIELDS.

Why are they in the news: One is to be married to an Oklahoma Mayor, one disappeared while bathing at Coney Island, one is the President of the United Daughters of the Confederacy, one is a sponsor of the Missouri Division of the United Confederate Veterans, one is the 2nd cousin of Theodore Roosevelt and engaged to become a Baroness, one announced her engagement at a dinner-dance given by President McKinley

All engravings are from the Kansas City Journal, 1897 - 1899.
http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/

Vintage Women Ads

Another set of old newspaper advertisements I found searching through old (circa 1890s) Louisiana newspapers.
Some of the ads shown were for: Ripans Tabules, Gerstle's Female Panacea, Dr. Miles' Restorative Nervine,  McElpee's Wine of Cardul, , Bradfield's Female Regulator, Cascaret's Pills, Kabo Corsets, Henderson Corsets,  Mrs. Pinkham's Vegetable Compound, and Syrup of Figs.

Vintage Ads

I found these old newspaper advertisements (from circa 1890s Louisiana newspapers) while searching for marriage/birth/death announcements for my ancestors. I wonder if our advertisements will look so quaint in 125 years?! Even 125 years ago they used deceit to sell; many ads were made to look like legitimate news articles.

The ads shown in this collage were for W.L. Douglas Shoes, Smith's Bile Beans, Syrup of Figs, W. Baker & Co., Ayer's Sarsaparilla and St. Jacobs Oil.

Squirrel Antics

Hanging upside down from the suet feeder.
These guys are so cute, I don't mind them getting into the feeder as much as I do the #$! greys! They have no fear, I was able to reach out and touch this young fellow. I brought out my cat (holding it in my arms) to see his reaction and finally, he decided that it was time to leave, but he wasn't in a big hurry.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Douglas_Squirrel

Spooky Super Perigee

The sky was cloudy for the super perigee moon on March 19, 2011, so this is the best shot of the fuzzy moon I got.