On July 22, 1900, John Wigmore jumped on a trolley car at Flushing headed for Far Rockaway. According to the U.S. Census, the 18-year-old, who lived in a New York City tenement and caned chairs for a living, was thrown off the car by either the conductor or the motorman after he refused to pay an […]
Archives for October 2010
Judge Edward McCullen’s Death Brought Tammany Society to a Close
When Judge Edward McCullen died in 1971, so apparently did the last active member of New York’s infamous Tammany Society, which ruled the political scene in the 1950s. Edward J. McCullen, my grandmother Mabel’s uncle, was elected to the Court of General Sessions in New York City in 1942. He took the bench in January […]
Visit to Thompson Park Provides Unintended Consequences
As the sign says, you can’t drive a recreational vehicle off-road in Thompson Park. You aren’t supposed to shoot anything inside the park, either. But apparently it’s okay to leave your dog’s droppings all over the place. At least that’s what I learned, the hard way, during my visit to the park in Butte, Montana, […]
William A. Clark Probably Disapproved That I Slept in His Bed
William Andrews Clark slept in a very comfortable, elegantly carved bed in his 34-room Butte, Montana, mansion. He could call his servants from this room, and nearly every other, for that matter. He kept a liquor stash in the billiard room. And he could escape boring dinner table conversation through a secret door shaped like a window that […]
Confederate Major J.R. Boyce Fled to Montana to Avoid Proscription
Confederate Major J.R. Boyce fled to Virginia City, Montana, in 1864 to avoid proscription after the Civil War. Boyce, who lost his Missouri plantation after the conflict, later told a biographer that while his head sympathized with the Union and “he loved his country,” his heart sided with the Confederacy. Though Boyce was born in Kentucky, his family hailed from Virginia, where […]
Ancient Document Reveals Tie to Legendary Mountain Man
Legend has it that mountain man Peter Wright, snowbound in a cave for four days, resorted to eating part of his moccasin for sustanance. Thankfully, before he had consumed all of his footwear, a deer ambled by. He promptly shot it and made a meal out of raw venison. He returned home safely, most likely with very cold feet. A recent trip […]