Washington D.C. Genealogy – Access Genealogy

Slave Narrative of Page Harris

Interviewer: Rogers Person Interviewed: Page Harris Location: Camp Parole, Maryland Place of Birth: Charles County MD Date of Birth: 1858 Place of Residence: Campe Parole, A. A. C. Co., MD Reference: Personal interview with Page Harris at his home, Camp Parole, A.A.C. Co., Md. “I was born in 1858 about 3 miles west of Chicamuxen near the Potomac River in Charles County on the farm of Burton Stafford, better known as Blood Hound Manor. This name was applied because Mr. Stafford raised and trained blood hounds to track runaway slaves and to sell to slaveholders of Maryland, Virginia and other … Read more

The Meeting in 1811 of Tecumseh and Apushamatahah

Peter Perkins Pitchlynn was the Choctaw Principal Chief from 1864-1866

The meeting in 1811, of Tecumseh, the mighty Shawnee, with Apushamatahah, the intrepid Choctaw. I will here give a true narrative of an incident in the life of the great and noble Choctaw chief, Apushamatahah, as related by Colonel John Pitchlynn, a white man of sterling integrity, and who acted for many years as interpreter to the Choctaws for the United States Government, and who was an eye-witness to the thrilling scene, a similar one, never before nor afterwards befell the lot of a white man to witness, except that of Sam Dale, the great scout of General Andrew Jackson, … Read more

Governor Houston at His Trading Post on the Verdigris

In February, 1828, the vanguard of Creek immigrants arrived at the Creek Agency on the Verdigris, in charge of Colonel Brearley, and they and the following members of the McIntosh party were located on a section of land that the Government promised in the treaty of 1826 to purchase for them. By the treaty of May 6, 1828, the Government assigned the Cherokee a great tract of land, to which they at once began to remove from their homes in Arkansas. The movement had been under way for some months when there appeared among the Indians the remarkable figure of Samuel Houston. The biographers of Houston have told the world next to nothing of his sojourn of three or four years in the Indian country, an interesting period when he was changing the entire course of his life and preparing for the part he was to play in the drama of Texas.

Herbert Luzerne Todd of Washington D.C.

Herbert Luzerne Todd9, (Luzerne8, Lemuel7, Jehiel6, Stephen5, Stephen4, Samuel3, Samuel2, Christopher1) born March 30, 1846, married Feb. 7, 1869, Mary C. Hardee. They lived in Cherrydale, Washington, D. C. Children: 2588. Edward Luzerne, b. Sept. 1, 1869. 2589. Glen Herbert, b. March 21, 1871. 2590. Charles William, b. Aug. 19, 1873. 2591. Mary Alice, b. Feb. 23, 1876, m.(???)Payne. 2592. Daisy, b. July 18, 1878, d. May 5, 1880. 2593. Lillie Bell, b. April 21, 1881, m.(???)Potterton. 2594. Elsie, b. Nov. 16, 1883, m.(???)Dye. 2595. John Brady, b. April 29, 1886. 2596. Ethel Irene, b. Aug. 14, 1889, m.(???)Dye.

Biography of John Hamilton Farish

John Hamilton Farish, prominently known in real estate circles in St. Louis, has conducted business since 1890 under the name of J. H. Farish & Company, and is also identified with prominent financial interests as a representative of the directorate of several important corporations. Born in St. Louis on the 5th of March, 1863, he is a son of Edward T. and Lilly (Garesche) Farish, the former an attorney at law. The family comes of Virginia ancestry, represented at an early day in Caroline county. In fact, the first of the name came to America about one hundred and fifty years … Read more

Biography of James Porter Greves, M.D.

James Porter Greves, M. D., deceased, was familiarly known as the “Father of Riverside,” and well he deserved the title. He was the real founder of the Colony Association, the first to visit and select the land, and the first to occupy them, camping upon the desert plain now occupied by the city of Riverside, September 19, 1870. For nearly twenty years his life and life’s efforts were intimately interwoven with the history of Riverside and the colony. No man in the community was better known or more universally respected and esteemed than he. His death was sincerely mourned and … Read more

Biography of Francis Merriman Barnes, Jr., M. D.

Dr. Francis Merriman Barnes, Jr., a graduate of the Johns Hopkins University and prominently known as a neuropsychiatrist of St. Louis, was born in Middletown, New York, August 20, 1881, a son of Francis Merriman and Mary Drusilla (Reynolds) Barnes. The father, a native of Pennsylvania and a representative of one of the old families of that state of English lineage, is now a successful dentist. He was graduated from the Baltimore Dental College and is in active practice in Middletown, New York. His wife, a native of the Empire state, passed away in 1884. In their family were four … Read more

Biography of Samuel J. Crawford

Samuel J. Crawford was one of the first members of the Kansas State Legislature, by service on the field of battle attained the rank of brigadier-general during the Civil war, and was the third governor of the state. He was one of the history makers of early Kansas, and what he did to influence the early political development of Kansas must be told on other pages. Following is a brief sketch of his personal career. He was born in Lawrence County, Indiana, April 10, 1835, grew up on a farm, attended the graded schools of Bedford, Indiana, and the law … Read more

Biography of Thomas P. Smith

Thomas P. Smith was born in Clinton County, New York, in 1861, and died in Muskogee, Okla., on October 4, 1917. He attended the village school of Clinton until he was twelve years of age, when his family moved to Plattsburg, N. Y., where he entered the public schools. Graduating from the high school, he became associated in the mercantile business with his two brothers, M. A. and M. J. Smith. In 1884 he was made deputy postmaster at Plattsburg, which place he held until 1887, when he was appointed chief clerk at the San Carlos Indian Agency in Arizona. … Read more

The Meeting of Folsom and Nittakachih

When the council, convened for the adjustment and final distribution of the annuity, adjourned in such confusion, together with the animosity manifested and openly expressed by both contending parties the one toward the other, (a similar scene never before witnessed in a Choctaw council) I feared the consequences that I was apprehensive would follow; but hoped that the conflicting opinions then agitating my people would be harmonized upon calm reflection and the adoption of wise and judicious measures. But when I ascertained that Nittakachih and Amosholihubih were truly assembling their warriors, I began to view the matter in its true … Read more

Biography of Thomas Murray Pierce

Thomas Murray Pierce, a man of splendid professional qualifications and of high social standing in St. Louis, is practicing at the bar as a member of the firm of Jourdan, Rassieur & Pierce and is also vice president and general counsel of the Terminal Railway Association, of which at one time he served as president. He was born in Union City, Tennessee, July 18, 1877. His father, Rice A. Pierce. also a native of that state, is a representative of an old Tennessee family of Welsh lineage that was founded in America by Rice Pierce, who came to the new … Read more

Biography of John Lane

Colonel John Lane, the senior member of the law firm of Lane & McDonald, has long resided on the Pacific coast, but has made his home in Lewiston for only two years. In that time, however, he has gained prestige as one of the ablest members of the bar of this locality, and is therefore a valued addition to the professional circles of the city. A native of the state of Indiana, Colonel Lane was born in Evansville, May 17, 1837. His ancestors were of Irish and French stock and were early settlers of North Carolina, where they founded the … Read more

Biographical Sketch of L. F. Morse, M. D.

L. F. Morse, M. D., physician and surgeon, Mattoon; was born in Canterbury, N.Y. Feb. 5, 1839; his father was a farmer, and his early life was that of a farmer’s son; at the age of 14, he went to live with an uncle; in the winter of 1860, he began the study of medicine, under the supervision of Dr. L. T. Weeks, of Canterbury; after an extended course of reading, he attended a course of lectures in the Burlington Medical College, at Burlington, Vt.; in June, 1862, he was engaged in the Government hospital at Washington, as Contract Surgeon; … Read more

Biography of Willard H. Voyles

Willard H. Voyles, a leading representative of the Craig County bar and a member of the firm of Voyles & Rye, practicing at Vinita, has followed in the professional footsteps of his father and is worthily sustaining the traditions of the family in this respect. He was born at Salem, Indiana, September 13, 1874, of the union of Samuel B. and Maude H. (Huston) Voyles, the former also a native of that place while the latter was born at Macomb, Illinois. The father was reared on a farm and after completing his public school course became a student at a … Read more

Biography of Michael C. Normoyle

In the olden days the kings and rulers of countries erected palaces, temples or shrines in honor of themselves and to serve as monuments perpetuating their memory after they had passed away, but how much more does one do for civilization and his fellow men who aids in the substantial upbuilding of a city, the promotion of enterprises that add to its prosperity or the establishment of movements that produce progress and improvement along intellectual, social and material lines. Such Michael Charles Normoyle has done. No resident of Kendrick through the past nine years has done more for the city … Read more

Biographical Sketch of H. Q. Sargent

Sargent, H. Q.; merchant; born, Tampworth, N. H., Sept. 28, 1838; son of Joel and Hannah K. Boyd Sargent; studied in public school in Tampworth, and went to New Hampton Literary and Scientific Institute, graduating in 1858; poor health prevented a college course at Yale; married, Boston, Mass., June 28, 1860, Eliza E. S. Drew; issue, two daughters, Mabel, now Mrs. Alfred A. Guthrie, of Albany, N. Y., and Grace C., the wife of Rev. Arthur Dumper, of Norwalk, O., taught school for several years, and in 1862, entered the army as private in the 12th Regiment, N. H. Vol. … Read more

Slave Narrative of Tom Rosboro

Interviewer: W. W. Dixon Person Interviewed: Tom Rosboro Location: Winnsboro, South Carolina Age: 79 Ex-Slave 79 Years Old Tom Rosboro lives with his daughter, Estelle Perry, in a three-room frame house, on Cemetery Street, Winnsboro, S.C. The house stands on a half-acre plot that is used for garden truck. Estelle owns the fee in the house and lot. Tom peddles the truck, eggs, and chickens, in the town and the suburban Winnsboro mill village. “My pappy was name Tom, just lak I is name Tom. My mammy was name Sarah but they didn’t b’long to de same marster. Pappy b’long … Read more

Robert Love – Letter About Pension Application

Copy of a letter received by Mrs. Margaret Hilliard from the Pension Department, Washington, D.C., and explains itself. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Pensions, Madam: Washington, D.C. Nov. 15, 1895 In response to your request for the military record of Robert Love, a soldier of the Revolutionary War, I have the honor to advise you that in April, 1833, while residing in Waynesville, in the County of Haywood, N.C. he made an application for pension, and from an examination of the papers it appears that he first entered the service in the year 1776, and was engaged for about … Read more

Governor Houston’s Life Among the Indians

Detail from Houston at the Battle of San Jacinto

The year following his failure to secure the contract, Houston spent writing letters defending his acts and denouncing the officials who had been discharged. In addition to the Indian officials, he poured his wrath and denunciation on Colonel Hugh Love, a trader on the Verdigris whom Houston accused of being in league with the Indian Agent to rob the Creeks; Love replied to Houston with some spirited charges against the latter. Stung by the contents of an article appearing in a Nashville paper, in a burst of passion Houston gave to the press of Nashville a most intemperate letter, July 13, 1831, beginning:

Laurence Todd of Washington D.C.

Laurence Todd9, (Oliver H.8, Alfred7, Caleb6, Caleb5, Stephen4, Samuel3, Samuel2, Christopher1) born Dec. 15, 1882, in Nottawa, Mich., married May 15, 1915, Constance Davis, daughter of Francis E. and Ada (Murdock) Keupp, who was born in Syracuse, N. Y. He graduated from the Literary Dept. of the University of Michigan and at once took up journalism. At one time he was the city editor of the Kalamazoo Gazette; later he became a reporter for the San Francisco Bulletin and the Daily News. He is now (1913) located in Washington, D. C., where he is a Senate reporter for the United … Read more