It is hard to believe this is the last day of 2018. In some ways, it went by too fast, and in others, it truly crept. But it will officially be gone in another few hours. I do hope everyone has had a safe and wonderful holiday celebrating with family and friends. I’ve been busy … Continue reading Yesterday and Today Along Jackson’s 1818 Route Across the Panhandle
Holmes County, Florida
“Welcome Awaits You in Holmes County, Florida: The Garden Spot of West Florida” – 17 May 1914
The Holmes County edition of The Pensacola Journal, dated 17 May 1914, is not only a significant part of the newspaper for that edition but a wealth of information on Holmes County in 1914. Holmes County takes up two sections of the newspaper and runs for 20 pages. Photos of homes and businesses, names of … Continue reading “Welcome Awaits You in Holmes County, Florida: The Garden Spot of West Florida” – 17 May 1914
Washington County: Highlights from the 1907 Pensacola Journal newspaper
A few months ago I was browsing early Pensacola Journal newspapers at the Chronicling America website and discovered that they would occasionally do a whole section of the paper on a Florida Panhandle county with ads and articles about the county. I quickly got sidetracked from what I had gone there to look for and … Continue reading Washington County: Highlights from the 1907 Pensacola Journal newspaper
Lois Brett Marsh Sims: Hard and Soft in a Tiny Package
Finishing up my posts on Women in the Florida panhandle for Women's History Month, I would like to introduce you to my paternal grandmother. My Florida panhandle ancestors go back to around 1820, but that is on my Mom’s side of the family. My Dad’s Florida lines began moving into Florida around 1848 and that … Continue reading Lois Brett Marsh Sims: Hard and Soft in a Tiny Package
The Challenge of Holmes County Family History Research
Introduction I, like a number of other native Floridians, have ancestors who helped settle Holmes County, Florida. It is a difficult county to research in. As I mentioned in my post of 8 January 2018, the early moving county boundary lines for the area that would become Holmes County in 1848 makes it a challenge … Continue reading The Challenge of Holmes County Family History Research
Southern Music Back in the Day
We drive around these days listening to the radio, free or paid; listen to music from our TV satellite service; watch musical videos that entertain visually more than stimulate our hearing sense; and have a band accompanying many church services so the voices can't be heard well. Many people can't read music, can't play an … Continue reading Southern Music Back in the Day
A Glimpse of Early Holmes County
I was recently reminded that I did most of my 2017 posts on Escambia, Santa Rosa and Okaloosa County. So, to start 2018 out, I will move east to Holmes County and start by exploring its earliest days and settlers. It might be good to start with the ever changing county list that the land … Continue reading A Glimpse of Early Holmes County
Questions of Honor and Courage: Individual Decisions During the Civil War
Many of us with ancestors in the Florida panhandle know there was a Union regiment of Southern men that served during the Civil War at Ft. Barrancas. Many of us have ancestors who served with that regiment and we have family stories or reasons that they served that we hold to be true. But most … Continue reading Questions of Honor and Courage: Individual Decisions During the Civil War
Randal Fulford of Holmes County and his Experience in the 4th Florida Infantry
Randal Fulford of Holmes County was a young man when the Civil War started. I believe he had been orphaned as a young boy and raised by his mother and stepfather. He could read and write and did well on his farm and in raising children that were active participants in Holmes County. His life … Continue reading Randal Fulford of Holmes County and his Experience in the 4th Florida Infantry
Early Northwest Florida Churches
I have to admit that one of the many things I find interesting in history is the efforts to organize churches early in human settlements. Churches served a number of purposes other than the education and nurturing of the soul; they were ways for people that were often scattered, isolated and busy trying to survive … Continue reading Early Northwest Florida Churches
