Posts from — October 2009

Footnote.com, the premier history website for original content, announced today the launch of its Great Depression Collection, which provides unique insights into life’s struggles and the financial challenges Americans faced during the 1930s.

The Great Depression Collection includes millions of digitized and indexed documents including historical newspapers. Visitors to Footnote.com can view original pages featuring articles and advertisements that reveal fascinating details about what was happening in Washington, D.C., as well as in mainstream America.  Visitors can also read articles about Roosevelt’s New Deal or see how much groceries cost during the time of the Depression.

As part of this collection, Footnote.com is pleased to introduce the first ever Interactive 1930 US Census.  Footnote.com has combined innovative technology with the 1930 Census to create an interactive experience allowing members to contribute their own family photos, documents and stories by attaching them to the names on the census.

“On Footnote.com, the 1930 Census is taking on a new role: a gathering place for the American story,” said Russ Wilding, CEO of Footnote.com. “Now all those stories that our parents and grandparents told us about the Depression have a place to come together and be preserved for future generations.”

In addition to contributing to the census documents, members can automatically create Footnote Pages for any individual found in the census. Footnote Pages allow users to create:

•    Timelines
•    Photo galleries
•    Maps
•    Links to other Footnote Pages

These pages can serve as memorial pages, research pages, or simply a starting place where individual shoeboxes of memories and memorabilia can be uploaded.
Footnote.com has successfully created a social framework around historical documents. Numerous people have already made hundreds of thousands of contributions on the site. “If you had family in America in 1930, you will most likely find them in the census,” continues Wilding. “We encourage all to come to Footnote.com and add your family story and preserve our nation’s heritage.”

To view the Great Depression Collection, including the Interactive 1930 US Census, please visit Footnote.com.

About Footnote, Inc,

Footnote.com is a subscription website that features searchable original documents, providing users with an unaltered view of the events, places and people that shaped the American nation and the world. At Footnote.com, all are invited to come share, discuss, and collaborate on their discoveries with friends, family, and colleagues. For more information, visit www.footnote.com.

Last Saturday (October 24) night the Richmond High School (California) held it’s homecoming dance. It was about midnight, about an hour after the dance ended between four and seven males beat, robbed and gang-raped a 15-year-old girl on the high school’s campus, according to police.

Investigators believe as many of 10 witnessed the attack on the girl and failed to stop or report it. Other people came by, saw the attack, and failed to report it.

Police found the girl unconscious. She was airlifted to a hospital in critical condition. Her condition has since been upgraded to stable.

The matter is under investigation.

Why did no one intervene to help the girl or even call 911 to report it? It has been reported it went on for over an hour.

What would permit the males engaged in the rape to do such a thing? Why would the onlooker’s standby and allow such a thing to occur?

What is wrong with people?

Heathkit Radio

Way back in the 1980s I bought my first computer–an Apple /// complete with a dot matrix printer. My interest in the then new idea of a desktop computer had begun in the 1970s when I was active in ham radio. My call letters were K6DKS.

I had built my own ham radio from a kit by Heathkit. A friend of mine was an avid ham radio operator. I had learned Morse code by listening to tapes of Morse code to learn how to listen and “read” the combinations of dots and dashes translating them into words. I had a telegrapher’s key so that I could transmit my own dots and dashes to others around the world, trading QSL cards with people throughout the United States and foreign countries. Ham radio is a marvelous hobby.

I subscribed to various ham radio magazines, such as QSL, and ARRL (American Radio Relay League). It was a whole new world.

In the ham radio magazines I was reading I came across articles about connecting the radio to a computer so that my computer would translate the Morse code dits and dahs (dots and dashes) into words displayed on my computer’s monitor.

Along about the same period of time this thing we now know as the World Wide Web emerged. That opened a whole new avenue to explore. Both ham radio and the WWW are means of communication. That led to e-mail and permitted world wide communication between us ordinary mortals. Fascinating.

Now, thirty years or so later I’m still at it and the possibilities continue to evolve. I have long since sold my Heathkit ham radio to a man in Tokyo via eBay.

My old Apple /// is long gone, relegated to museums. I transitioned to the Macintosh, and finally succumbed to the Dell computer I now use.

I’ve come from DOS to Windows, upgrading each cycle to the latest operating systems as the evolved. Last Friday I upgraded from Windows Vista to Windows 7. Each upgrade necessitates an exploration of the newest features of each edition of operating systems.

Thus far I like what I am experiencing with the new Windows 7 version. It appears to be even more stable than Vista. My connection with the WWW is broadband via satellite. My desktop computer is now connected, wirelessly, with my wife’s new laptop. For me it is something like technological paradise. I have, over the years, built and maintained websites, engaged in blogging, and even discover my ancestors in my family’s tree.

Today I read about the commercial use of Facebook and Twitter being used by some Las Vegas Casinos to communicate with their customers. Casino “executives can monitor customer suggestions on how to improve business, bask in guests’ kudos, offer immediate assistance to customers in distress — and cringe when unhappy patrons post critical remarks that ding their companies.”

“And for their part, customers are discovering that such Web sites are offering them an unprecedented voice, with their comments and reviews not only reaching casino managers but an untold number of other customers and potential customers over whom they can now wield influence.”

One gambler posted a remark on Facebook which read “Please folks …do N-O-T gamble in this casino. They run some of the TIGHTEST machines in Las Vegas. I LOSE almost E-V-E-R-Y time I try playing at (name of casino).” The managers of the casino read every word — and let the comment ride. Before they could engage the gambler about the competitiveness of their slot machines, another customer came to their defense minutes later: “If you don’t like (casino) that much — then just don’t go there. But the rest of us LOVE the place … better luck next time.”

Some time ago I read about a Pizza Parlor putting out a Tweet on Twitter about a sale they were having on a particular pizza and were inundated with customers appearing to buy their offering.

Literally millions of people are online and read or watch videos about such things. It is a whole new world of communication. It is here to stay and will continue to expand. There is no looking back.

Washington launched its biggest offensive yet against runaway Wall Street pay practices Thursday, taking aim at everyone from senior executives to high-flying traders of complex securities.

“The Federal Reserve is working to ensure that compensation packages appropriately tie rewards to longer-term performance and do not create undue risk for the firm or the financial system,” Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke said in a statement.

Separately, the Obama administration’s “pay czar,” Kenneth Feinberg, is expected to unveil sweeping pay cuts for 175 top executives at the seven biggest bailed-out companies.

Citigroup, AIG, Bank of America, Chrysler, General Motors, GMAC, and Chrysler Financial.

Cuts of compensation packages for its top 25 most highly-compensated employees 50%, on average, a senior administration official told CNN.

These guys are paid obscene amounts. Good move I think.

[CNN]

The Associated Press is reporting this morning that Pfizer’s profits increased 26% over last year’s. Pfizer attributes the increase in profits from cutting costs.

The maker of cholesterol fighter Lipitor, impotence treatment Viagra and smoking cessation drug Chantix slashed costs on everything from manufacturing and marketing to research and development to produce a profit of $2.88 billion.

The $68 billion acquisition of Wyeth last Thursday cements Pfizer’s position atop the industry, and the combined company is expected to eliminate nearly 20,000 jobs by the time integration is complete.

The CEO of Pfizer is Jeff Kindler. He is also Chairman of the Board of Directors. While CEO of Pfizer in 2008, Kindler earned a total compensation of $14,788,302, which included a base salary of $1,575,000, a cash bonus of $3,000,000, stocks granted of $7,553,015, and options granted of $2,222,026.

[Read more →]

People who use marijuana for medical purposes and those who distribute it should not face federal prosecution, provided they act according to state law, the Justice Department said on Monday in a directive with political and legal implications.

At the same time, the department emphasized that it would continue to pursue those who use the concept of medical marijuana as a ruse for drug trafficking. “Marijuana distribution in the United States remains the single largest source of revenue for the Mexican cartels,” the department said in pledging that prosecuting the makers and sellers of illegal drugs, including marijuana, would remain a “core priority.”

The most affected state is California. That should provide some welcome relief to those in California that use marijuana for medicinal reasons. [New York Times]

Now, tax the marijuana, and use the tax revenue to help finance health care.

October 16 was World Food Day. One billion people suffer from hunger—mostly women and children. More people die of hunger each year than from AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis combined. One child dies every six seconds from hunger related causes. Malnutrition prevents children from reaching their full developmental and cognitive potential. [World Food Day]

The most hunger-ridden region of the world is Africa. But malnourishment is spread around the world in Asia, South America and even into Europe. The incidence of lack of food is rising, affected by the economic situation around the globe. The poor of the world are hardest hit. [Barnacle Grenada.com] The number of undernourished people has been increasing this past decade.

Reverend David Beckmann, president, Bread for the World, noted that in 1980, 17 cents out of every aid dollar from wealthy nations were aimed at developing agriculture and helping poor farmers around the world. It has been declining ever since. “By 2006, it had fallen to less than 4 cents for every dollar,” he said. [Wisconsin AgConnection]

“We have the economic and technical means to make hunger disappear, what is missing is a stronger political will to eradicate hunger forever. Investing in agriculture in developing countries is key as a healthy agricultural sector is essential not only to overcome hunger and poverty but also to ensure overall economic growth and peace and stability in the world,” FAO World Food Programme (WFP) Director-General Jacques Diouf said.

Lack of political will—the same complacency plaguing reformation of the health care system in the United States.

Not only is hunger increasing, so is the world’s population. At each tick of the clock another person is added to the planet — not just births, but births minus deaths. At 140 ticks a minute, that amounts to about 200,000 people a day. [SCTimes] More people, more demand for food. At the current pace, the Earth’s population will swell from the current 6.7 billion inhabitants to 9.5 billion by 2050. The Earth’s resources are being depleted faster than they can be renewed. More than 1 billion people do not have enough water for their basic needs, and that number is expected to increase dramatically if the population growth continues.

Food and water shortage for a billion people.

And what about global warming?

As we all sit, inert, a report was prepared by a team of 30 scientists from the United States, Britain, Denmark, Norway, Canada and Finland and primarily written by Northern Arizona University professor Darrell Kaufman. Its conclusion, that human-caused greenhouse gas emissions over the past several decades have rendered the Arctic region warmer than at any time since 1 B.C., and published by the prestigious journal Science.

Another study released last month was produced by the World Wildlife Federation. It concluded that warming in the Arctic could shift global weather patterns and affect agriculture, forestry and water supplies in the United States, Europe and elsewhere. That “United States” includes us, here in Nevada. [Las Vegas Sun]

A third study was released in April by researchers at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the University of Washington. The study concluded that Arctic sea ice is melting so fast that most of it could be gone in 30 years. With little ice to reflect sunlight back into space, the Arctic Ocean will just get warmer, leading to an acceleration of warming around the world, the study said.

The melting of the Arctic ice cap will lead to drastic changes in global weather and the inundation of highly populated areas as Arctic ice melts. Nevada can help by switching to renewable energy sources reducing greenhouse-gas-emitting power sources.

But nothing will happen without the political will to make it happen.

Ronald Reagan

In what government officials are calling a stirring testament to the leadership and foresight of late U.S. president Ronald Reagan, nearly $20 trillion in low denomination bills were discovered this week buried in the White House Rose Garden.

Hey, that is good news. We’re flush with cash. Not broke. And we owe it all to President Ronald Reagan, the idol of the Republican Party.

Sealed in hundreds of old mason jars, crumpled shoe boxes, socks, metal tins, and oven mitts, the financial windfall is believed to have been stashed away by Regan, then 76, during his second term.

The stash was found by White House gardeners. President Obama was jubilant about the find, the report says.

“Everything is here,” added Obama, standing among the towering stacks of money, as well as several other items that were uncovered, including three dozen toothbrushes, multiple tire hubcaps, two teddy bears, and a broken desk lamp. “This truly is a tribute to Mr. Reagan’s incredible presence of mind.

[Source: The Onion]

Nancy Jane (Batts) Wood

Nancy Jane Batts is my paternal great grandmother. She was born in a log cabin in Kentucky, moved to Missouri at the time of the Civil War, reared 15 kids, and spent the remainder of her life in Monroe County, Missouri.

Nancy Jane Batts

1823

Nancy Jane Batts was born March 6, 1823 at Turners Station, Henry County, Kentucky.

She was born in a log cabin one year after the marriage of her parents.

Nancy’s father was Thomas Burchette Batts (1791-1871); her mother was Mary Jane Muir (1792-1860). Nancy was their first-born child.

Henry County was named after Patrick Henry, the Revolutionary War Patriot.

1830

Thomas Burchette Batts appears on the 1830 Federal Census for Henry County, Kentucky on page 295.

1832

In 1832, Nancy survived the cholera epidemic of 1832, which swept between New York and Louisiana. About 7,340 people died.

1834

In 1834, when Nancy was eleven years old, just 150 miles south of her birthplace, Cherokee Indians began their Trail of Tears as ordered. George Edward Wood, who will later marry Nancy, was an overseer on a Kentucky plantation. The story is that Nancy was visiting nearby when they met.

It is said that George Edward Wood, at age 17, paid two mules and a goat for Nancy Jane Batts, an illiterate. I have found no confirmation of that statement.

1837

On March 6, 1837, George Edward Wood, age 26, and Nancy Batts were married on her 14th birthday in Gallatin (now Carroll) County, Kentucky. George was born in 1810, according to records, to William Wood and Nancy Corley, in Virginia. However, in the 1880 Census he is listed as being born in Kentucky and that his father and mother was born in Virginia.

1840

George appears on the census of 1840 in Carroll County, Kentucky. The census shows George as having one male child under age 8, which I believe must be Thomas William Wood born in 1838. It also shows another male being 30-40 years of age. That must be George himself who was born in 1810 and would have been age 30 in 1840. One female is listed as being 16-20 years old, which must be Nancy Jane who would have been 17 years old in 1840.

1850

Nancy and George Wood appear on the census taken on 21 Aug 1850 in District 1, Henry County, Kentucky.

George Wood was 45 years old, farming with $563 worth of real property. George is shown to have been born in Kentucky.

Nancy was 21 years old, listed as born in Kentucky.

Their children were:

1. Thomas William Wood was 10 years old, born in Kentucky.

2. Sarah Ann was 8 years old, born in Kentucky.

3. Mary Francis was 7 years old, born in Kentucky.

4. Nancy Jane Wood was 5 years old born in Kentucky.

5. Malinda Wood was 3 years old, born in Kentucky.

6. John Wood was 1 year old and listed as having been born in Kentucky.

1856

Nancy and George moved their family, sometime after 25 May 1856, from Kentucky to Missouri.

1860

Nancy appeared on the census taken 14 Jun 1860 in the household of George Edward Wood at Marion Township, Monroe County, Missouri. The census reflects:

George Wood was 50 years old, male, white, farmer, owned real property valued at $1,475 personal property valued at $375, born in Virginia and married.

Nancy was age 38, female, white, born in Kentucky.

Their children were:

1. Thomas Wood, age 20, male, white, farmer, born in Kentucky and attending school.

2. Mary Wood, age 16, female, white, born in Kentucky and attending school.

3. Nancy Wood, age 14, female, white, born in Kentucky and attending school.

4. Malinda Wood, age 12, female, white, born in Kentucky and attending school.

5. John Wood, age 10, male, white, born in Kentucky and attending school.

6. James Wood, age 7, male, white, born in Kentucky and attending school.

7. Chrissa Wood, age 5, female, white, born in Kentucky and attending school.

8. Lucy Wood, age 2, female, white, born in Missouri.

1870

Nancy and George appear on the census of 7 Jul 1870 at Paris, Monroe County, Missouri. On July 1, 1870, the United States Census taken in the Marion Township, of Monroe County, Missouri. The Wood household at that time consisted of:

George, then age 68, was farming. He owned $3,000 in real estate and $1,000 in personal property. The census lists him as being born in Virginia. There seems to be a discrepancy whether he was born in Virginia or Kentucky as is shown in the 1850 census.

Nancy is shown as 48 years of age and the housekeeper. She is recorded as being born in Kentucky. The 1870 census indicates Nancy could not write.

As to their children:

1. Mary F. was 25 years old according to the census. Mary is listed as having been born in Kentucky. No occupation is indicated for her.

2. Malinda Butler is listed as Butler M. age 20 and as a male. It may well be the first name is Butler and the name Malinda, which sounds feminine, is in error. Butler may well be the correct name. This needs to be cleared up. Butler shows no occupation, just living at home. He/she was born in Kentucky.

3. John is shown as age 18 and engaged in farm labor. He was born in Kentucky. He was also going to school, as well.

4. Joseph is listed as age 16 and working as a farm laborer. He, too, was born in Kentucky. He was also attending school. His name was given as James in the 1860 census.

5. Crissy M. was 14 years of age and living at home with no occupation indicated. She was born in Kentucky. Crissy was also attending school. Her name was given as Chrissy in the 1860 census.

6. Lucy Alice is listed as just plain Alice, age 9, living at home and born in Missouri. She was attending school as well.

7. Laura was age 6, living at home, born in Missouri and attending school. Laura was born after the 1860 Census.

8. George Washington was 3 years old, shown to have been born in Missouri. George was born after the 1860 Census as well.

1880

George and Nancy also appeared on the census of 23 Jun 1880 at Marion Township, Monroe County, Missouri.

George was age 72, still farming, shown as born in Kentucky.

Nancy was age 55, still keeping house, born in Missouri according to the 1880 Census.

Their children had thinned out:

1. Alice was age 19, single, attending school and born in Missouri.

2. Laura was age 15, single, attending school and born in Missouri.

3. George was age 11, single, attending school and born in Missouri.

1883

George died on March 13, 1883 in Madison, Monroe County, Missouri at age 72, leaving Nancy as his widow.

1899

On April 5, 1899 the following news item appeared in the Moberly Evening Democrat under the heading of Advertised Letters:

List of advertised letters remaining uncalled for in the Moberly, Mo., post office for the week ending April 1, 1800.

“Mrs. Hallie Burton, John Bourdon, M. A. Cox, Marie Davis, W. C. Duvall, Mrs. Gillia Edwards, Mrs. K. M. Gray, Nick Henderson, Joe Hinton, Ella Johnson, Frank Leach, Charlie Lee, John McCune, Geo. J. Mc Daniels, Nora Martin, H. A. Mitchell, William Norton, Thos. Henry Nickles (3), Nellie Reynolds, A. J. Redding, Geo. E. Reeso, Chass. M. Rusb, Mrs. Lizzie Rodgers, Mrs. Willie Torrill, Bonnio Utterback, Nancy Jane Wood. Thos. KELLY, P. M.”

1900

Nancy appeared on the census of 5 Jun 1900 at Marion Township, Monroe County, Missouri. Nancy is named as head of the household, born in March 1823 in Kentucky of Kentucky parents. She was then age 77. Living with her was her son, Thomas William Wood, born in July 1838, in Kentucky. He was age 62.

According to the census, Thomas and his mother, Nancy, were living together in Madison, Monroe County, Missouri. He farmed and operated the Hayden Hotel. Thomas also owned and farmed property in Oklahoma.

The town of Madison, Missouri was named in honor of James Madison, President of the United States. The first house in Madison was built by Henry Harrison, who came from Madison County, Kentucky. Harrison used the house as a tavern in 1837. James Eubanks, from Tennessee, opened the first Madison store in 1838. George Cunningham was the pioneer blacksmith. Madison had a population of 500-600, a public school, two churches, two general stores, one harness shop, three drug and grocery stores, one grocery and a meat market, one flouring-mill and a sawmill, one furniture store, and one wagon shop.

1905

Nancy died on 25 May 1905 at Marion, Monroe, Missouri, at age 82. Her obituary in the newspaper recorded the obituary as:

DEATH OF “GRANDMA WOOD”

“While the good people of Madison were sleeping last Wednesday night there was one awake and at work — Death. Just after the night had turned he called at the home of Nancy J. Woods and claimed her as a victim.”

“Nancy J. Woods was born in Henry County, Kentucky March 6th, 1823, died May 25th 1905, aged 82 years, 2 months and 19 days. She was married to George E. Woods March 9th 1837. To this union 11 children were born, nine of whom remain to mourn her loss. In 1856 she came to Missouri and since that time has made her home in and around Madison.”

“Grandma Woods” as she was called by all who knew her, was loved and respected by everyone from the smallest to the greatest. She had often remarked to the writer, “She was ready for when the Lord called for her (*** 2 words missing). She early in life found her Saviour and united with the Christian Church of which she was a member at the time of her death. Services were conducted at the home Friday afternoon by Eld. J. B. Corwin assisted by Rev. R. A. Jones.”

“Five generations were present at this service; 34 grandchildren, 23 great-grandchildren, 6 great, great-grandchildren, after which the body was conveyed to the Cottingham graveyard and laid to rest to await the great day when the dead shall arise. To the children who mourn the loss of a mother and grandmother we would say look to Jesus who is able to keep you in this time.

“Yes there’s a home for weary souls,

A rest for pilgrims found;

A home where God the father dwells,

Where peace and joy abound.” R.A.J.”

http://www.kykinfolk.com/henry/1830HenryIndex.txt