History Archives - Page 3 of 5

10Mar 2018 by Vincent Summers 2 Comments

The Tragedy in Minnehaha Finney’s Life

[caption id="attachment_19572" align="alignright" width="440"] Sleep in Peace, Minnie[/caption] Many of us are not fond of our own name, though others may think it is grand. But somehow I think there are very few who would desire a name such as Minnehaha Finney. On the other hand, the name catches the eye, it is decidedly different! The very name itself makes us want to learn about the woman. And, we want to know what she looked like. A Little Background Here is an excerpted history of the life of Minnehaha Olive Finney, including a terrible tragedy that involved her family when she was yet a child, as told by a relative: Minnehaha was born at Pittsburg, Carroll County, Indiana, January 24, 1867. She graduated in the High School at Beloit, Kansas,…

10Mar 2018 by Vincent Summers 6 Comments

David Weatherly: Railroad Executive, Silversmith, Clock and Watch Maker

History, People

[caption id="attachment_19539" align="alignright" width="440"] Grandfather clock face[/caption] It's funny how specialized Society has become. Perhaps it is just as funny how diverse the skills of persons in the past could be. A prime example was an emigrant to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania – David Weatherly, Sr. Who Was David Weatherly? Born 14 Jun 1779 at Berwick upon Tweed, County Northumberland, England, David married "Molly" Lawson, daughter of grocer Joseph Lawson on 9 Feb 1806. The couple would eventually have some nine children, the youngest being Ellen Weatherly, born in 1826. David would die 05 Feb 1851 in Philadelphia. His most famous child would have been David Weatherly, Jr., the "Philadelphia Lawyer". The Couple in Philadelphia These last decade of the 1790s and for perhaps a handful of years thereafter, Philadelphia was devastated…

06Mar 2018 by Vincent Summers 2 Comments

Catharine Jekyll Hicks Ceronio Servel Browne Buried in West Bengal, India

History, People

[caption id="attachment_19507" align="alignright" width="480"] South Park Street Cemetery - Image Giridhar Appaji Nag Y.[/caption] Born into a family connected with the Revolutionary War, Catharine Jekyll Hicks married men of great historical interest. Eventually, she wound up in Calcutta, West Bengal, India. How did this come about? She married three times, the first of which was to Stephen Ceronio. Stephen Ceronio was directed in his Revolutionary War secret agent activity by Robert Morris and Benjamin Franklin. Stephen Ceronio and Robert Morris were well acquainted. Notice their proximity in the Philadelphia City Directories: 1785: Willing, Morris, and Swanwick 11 Penn St. Merchants 1791: Ceronio, Stephen Merchant 1 Penn St. The Marriage and Demise of Stephen Ceronio The wedding of Stephen and Catharine is listed in records as, Marriage: 12 May 1784 in…

03Mar 2018 by Vincent Summers 2 Comments

Civil War Reenactment – Is It Curious They Have Such Appeal?

History, People

Reenactment. Perhaps the most significant war in any nation is an internal war, a civil war. This is doubtless because a civil war threatens the very existence of a nation. Since technology within a nation is likely accessible to both sides, it might be expected there would be heavy damage, including considerable mortality, inflicted on both sides. Motivation for the Civil War The United States engaged in civil war during the presidency of Abraham Lincoln, from April 1861 until the Spring of 1865. There are any number of opinions as to what motivated the North to take a stand against the South. One person will say it was because of slavery. Maybe this was the primary motive, but others think it was not. Perhaps it was a bit more like…

18Nov 2017 by Vincent Summers 2 Comments

The Ten Commandments – Are They for Christians?

Bible, History

[caption id="attachment_18239" align="alignright" width="480"] Dead Sea Scroll containing the Decalogue or 10 Words.[/caption] The Ten Commandments or Decalogue are part of a larger collection of laws included in an agreement between God and the Nation of Israel. The agreement was a covenant (sometimes called a "testament"). Such an agreement is comparable to a marriage agreement or covenant, in which both parties promise fidelity in a legally binding relationship. As a marriage is adulterated by unfaithfulness between husband and wife, a covenant between God and humans is tainted by spiritual adultery. The covenant that included the additional 600 or so laws was mediated by Moses. Thus it came to be called the Mosaic Law covenant. Does this covenant or do these laws apply today to Christians? A Blessing and a Curse…

19Apr 2017 by Vincent Summers 2 Comments

I Follow Dmitri Mendeleev’s Recipe for Chromyl Chloride Preparation

Chemistry, History

[caption id="attachment_17682" align="alignright" width="380"] Chromyl chloride. - Image by W. Oelen CCA-SA3.0 Unported[/caption] When I was young, I’d sign out chemistry books from three libraries. One of these was the local public library. Another was my high school library. Yet another favorite library was the one at Franklin Institute in Philadelphia. A special favorite book was a thin, early volume featuring the writings of Russian chemist, Dmitri Mendeleev (1834-1907). That volume was published in the late 1800s. Its pages were old—its recipes enticing. One of those recipes was for the making of a compound of the element chromium, a red-brown volatile liquid. A chromyl chloride preparation! I would learn first hand what it was like. But I needed some specialized laboratory equipment and supplies. I needed a retort, a burner,…

13Apr 2017 by Vincent Summers 2 Comments

A Chance Encounter Leads to a Rendezvous with History

Genealogy, History

[caption id="attachment_17629" align="alignright" width="440"] The Breakers Hotel in Atlantic City, NJ.[/caption] A rendezvous with history? One day, a car group of about four of us were traveling through Arrington in Nelson County, Virginia. We turned on to a road called Cold Storage Lane. It soon formed a V-intersection with Copperhead Road. The wedge of land was thin, like a slim slice of cheesecake, and it was easy to see into the woods. Then one of us noticed a stone or two—grave stones. Likely it was a small family graveyard. I asked the driver to stop, as I would sometimes transcribe a small graveyard—write down the inscriptions appearing on the stones—and put them online for others to view. The stones read as follows: Presented by the Employees Of the Breakers Hotel…

27Mar 2017 by Vincent Summers 2 Comments

Message Encoding from Ancient Rome to WW2 Germany

History, Language

Message Encoding from Rome to WW2 Germany, by Ellen Hetland Fenwick "What matter all these mysteries to me Whose life is full of indices and surds?" [caption id="attachment_14580" align="alignright" width="380"] 1946 Captain Midnight Mirro-Flash Code-O-Graph[/caption] X²+ 7X + 53 = 11/3 - Lewis Carroll It started with my reading a wonderful book, “From Mary, Queen of Scots to Quantum Cryptography” by Simon Singh, 1999. It became clear to me that much of the process used by the Nazis in the workings of the Enigma, the encryption machine that encoded and decoded messages for the Nazis during World War II, originated in ancient Rome. Evolution of Enigma involved only two major advances in cryptography over the course of almost 2000 years. These steps will be described in the remainder of this…

22Feb 2017 by Vincent Summers 3 Comments

Purines and Gout and Our Joints

Health, History

Gout is a condition of the joints and nearby tissues. The iconic feature is extreme swelling with great pain. Until recently, gout was considered a wealthy man’s disease. The development of gout is not bacterial or viral. Rather, it is a matter of body chemistry. Diet is the most controllable factor. Purines and gout were associated with consuming an abundance of rich food. That food included oysters, red meat, and strong brew. Purines and Gout Was an attack on diet a valid call? Somewhat. Gout pain and swelling arises from needle-like crystal deposits. Chemically, these crystals are the hydrated sodium salt of uric acid. Now red meat is rich in purines (we're not changing the subject). Compare the ring structures of purine and of uric acid. Very similar, no? They…

06Dec 2016 by Vincent Summers No Comments

I was a Fuller Brush Door to Door Salesman

History, People

[caption id="attachment_15837" align="alignright" width="380"] The Fuller Brush Girl - Lucille Ball[/caption] I was once, if only for a short while, a Fuller Brush man. Perhaps you were, too. If not, maybe you were a customer. Fuller was one of the more iconic door-to-door enterprises. Two Namesake Movies Two cute movies were named for the firm. One, starring Red Skelton, was The Fuller Brush Man (1948). The other starred Lucille Ball and Eddie Albert, named The Fuller Brush Girl (1950). Is Fuller Brush Still Around? Fuller Brush still has a presence. Certainly it has a web site. While it still offers its superior brushes and brush-related products, it is by no means limited to these. Where Was My Assignment If I recall correctly, my assignment was in the town of Haddonfield…