Category Archives: History
The Texas Highsmith Family
Even under the best of circumstances, whether by land or sea, the passage into Texas was an arduous undertaking in the early times. Families making the overland trip knew that they would face a plethora of challenges, so they prepared … Continue reading
So Long, Everybody …
Who knows what gets into people? You would think that good parenting would always produce off-spring who turn out to be good neighbors and someone their parents could be proud of —and this is probably mostly true. It isn’t always … Continue reading
The Best Indian Fighter
The United States Army developed a number of very fine officers between 1840-65. Men who gained valuable experience in the Mexican American War and took that expertise into the American Civil War. Many (if not most) of these men came … Continue reading
The Dalton’s
Altogether, Lewis Dalton from Jackson County, Missouri, had eight sons. Lewis was a saloon keeper in Kansas City when he married Adeline Younger, an aunt of Cole and Jim Younger. Lewis and Adeline named their sons Charles Benjamin (1853-1936), Henry … Continue reading
Ulysses S. Grant and the Quaker Peace Policy
A backdrop It is impossible to explain the substantial effects of the American Civil War in a few words in this or any other blog, but it may be sufficient to say that it was the power of the federal … Continue reading
The Dumb Gray Fox
Whenever watching western films, particularly those produced between 1950-70, a standard line of dialogue in a hold up might begin with, “Hands up!” The man actually responsible for this phrase was a real-life bandit by the name of George Anderson … Continue reading
Mountain Men
A mountain man was a frontier explorer. Many of these men travelled alone across the vast forested wilderness of what became the northwestern United States; a few travelled in small groups of two or three, but all these men survived … Continue reading
The Masterson’s
The old west produced a number of legends, some of whom became famous in their own lifetime, others only after they were dead, and some of these fellows were only legends in their own minds. As children, we were most … Continue reading
The Elm Creek Raid
There are those who lament and deplore the atrocities foisted upon American Indians as Anglo-settlers moved westward through the present-day United States. Looking at these events through the rose-colored lenses of the twenty-first century, one might argue that (a) white … Continue reading
The Chisholm Trail
Who do we associate most with the Chisholm Trail? John S. Chisum? John Wayne? We’ve allowed ourselves to become a bit confused about this period of history and I think it’s time we sorted it out. Here we go. The … Continue reading
