Bonus April posting - The original rendition of this video was created for my Mom's 90th birthday party. I've added a number of women to the video to create a video celebrating Mother's Day. The song is Mother's Patience by RimskyMusic. If you have a documented photo of any of the women who are included without … Continue reading Some Upper Yellow River Area Women Through History – A Video
Oak Grove, Okaloosa Co, FL
Keeping Warm in By-Gone Days
Most Floridians, whether native or transplant, prefer warm and/or hot weather. Most of the time, winter isn’t too bad. We get a good, low-swinging cold front in December, or sometimes November, and we get a dip or two in January and February. And then there is the Easter cold snap that those of us who … Continue reading Keeping Warm in By-Gone Days
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
Brick Walls in Your NW Florida Family History
When I’m out talking to groups about my books on Northwest Florida, I almost always have at least one person come up and start talking about one of their brick walls. It is just natural for family historians to get around to commiserating about their research brick walls. If you do genealogy, you likely have … Continue reading Brick Walls in Your NW Florida Family History
Reuben Hart: FL/AL Pioneer, Slaveholder & Enigma
It is believed that Reuben HART was born in NC around 1783, migrated to GA sometime before 1810, migrated first to south Alabama then to northwest Florida sometime around 1816-1817, then back to Alabama before 1840. In tow from Georgia to Alabama/Florida were his family - wife Nancy Ann RIGDON HART and their children Reuben, … Continue reading Reuben Hart: FL/AL Pioneer, Slaveholder & Enigma
Learn From the Past; Prepare for the Future
I’ve been thinking a lot lately about how our Florida panhandle ancestors produced their food, preserved it for the long winter and protected it from bad weather. While there is much about our current way of life that has its benefits, our fragility in the face of bad weather events is clearly laid out in … Continue reading Learn From the Past; Prepare for the Future
The Little Red (or White or Log) Schoolhouse in Northwest Florida: The Student Experience
This week we will skip forward a bit and leave the system and enter the schools of our ancestors. Many of our grandparents and great-grandparents in Florida attended those famous one-room schoolhouses. Generally, this meant all of the students were in the same room, studying materials for their own level; and the older students helped … Continue reading The Little Red (or White or Log) Schoolhouse in Northwest Florida: The Student Experience
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
Northwest Florida History & Genealogy: My Current Projects
This post will be a little different. I’m going to talk about my current projects in history and genealogy of the Northwest Florida panhandle and then do some encouraging for readers to take on similar projects. I posted on my Facebook page a few weeks ago on the recent appearance of the original Yellow River … Continue reading Northwest Florida History & Genealogy: My Current Projects
The Three Seminole Wars: Florida’s Forgotten Wars, Part 2
The Second Seminole War has the distinction of being the most expensive Indian conflict, as well as the longest, in America’s long history of Indian conflicts. In 1823, the U.S. government negotiated the Treaty of Moultrie Creek establishing a reservation in the middle part of the Florida peninsula. In addition, several chiefs were allowed to … Continue reading The Three Seminole Wars: Florida’s Forgotten Wars, Part 2
