When we think of the men who gathered that hot July day in 1776 to put their signature on the foundational document of the Declaration of Independence, many notable men come to mind. But each of the fifty-six men who signed were equally putting their lives on the line, whether they were notable or not….
The Stones of Poynton Manor – Governor William Stone
The Stones of Poynton Manor in Port Tobacco, Maryland, like their name are much like building stones that became part of the foundation and structure of America from its early colonization to its expansion in the west. Poynton Manor, located on the shore of the Potomac River in Maryland, is the ancestral home and birthplace…
Bea Denham Diary 1941 – Complete
Bea Bryan Denham Diary – 1941 Louisiana State Archives, N1998- 5 …
Hoofbeats in the Theater
My Dad once told me the story of the time “Tex” Ritter came riding down the aisle of the local movie theater on his horse before the showing of one of his singing cowboy films. I was a little skeptical. I mean, that’s quite a stunt for the little beachfront theater in Bay Saint Louis,…
The Four-Sided Pentagon
One of the first questions asked by any visitor to the Pentagon Barracks in Baton Rouge, Louisiana is, “Where is the fifth building?” There is a space for it, but there are only four, hefty-columned brick buildings in a pentagon arrangement with the fifth side open to the river. This architectural anomaly, originally…
Faces Lost to Time…almost
As an historian and genealogist, one of the saddest things for me is to find a box of old photos in an antique store with no name written on the backs of the photographs to identify the person or persons pictured. The photos were possibly left in a drawer or an album at a time…
“I am the only Primitive Naive Acadian Artist.”
“I am the only Primitive Naive Acadian Artist,” she would always tell me. Mrs. Mary Anne Pecot De Boisblanc was indeed the only known Primitive Naive Acadian Artist designated as such. Her art is classified as “primitive” because of its simplistic ethnic content. It is noted as “naive” due to the style in which this simple…
The Bicentennial of the Battle of the “Dirty Shirts” and the “Red Coats”
Down in south Louisiana, Andrew Jackson is a big deal. Nearly everything there is named after him — Jackson Square in the New Orleans French Quarter sports a large equestrian statue of its namesake, Fort Jackson once guarded the mouth of the Mississippi River, Jackson Barracks houses the headquarters of the Louisiana National Guard,…
Veteran Voices Project
The Veteran Voices Project is something that has been in my heart for many years now, but has finally come to fruition. This project consists of interviewing veterans about their service and making a public space where these stories can be told. So I have created a new blog called Veteran Voices. (www.vetvoices.wordpress.com) I hope…
The Guice Box
I have been in possession of the Guice Box for several years now. It is a well-built, sturdy, varnished box emblazoned with the Guice family crest on top and trimmed out with brass handles and latch. I came to acquire it in a roundabout way. In 2008 my mother and I traveled with other members…
Fascinating stories discovered along my heritage journey 