Before antibiotics, diseases were serious – sore throats and scarlet rash (or scarlet fever) were often fatal. It is hard sometimes to read these old letters – I find myself growing fond of my ancestors, their siblings, their friends, and … Continue reading →
My great-great-great-grandmother, Mary Howard Affleck was not alone in criticizing the government over management of the Civil War army. The following excerpt is from a letter written to Sarah Forrer by Joan Murray (a close friend of Mary and her … Continue reading →
written from Bridgeport, Ohio, July 4th 1869 “……nobody home but Dr,. Mary and myself – none of us, I believe, in a very festive mood. It don’t seem at all like the 4th of July. There was some kind of … Continue reading →
In searching through records of Quaker meetings, I was surprised to find the names of Nixon and Milhaus present at meetings attended by my Howard ancestors. Today I find that the Howards were more than casually acquainted with the Milhaus … Continue reading →
An anecdote appears in The Life and Times of Edwin McMasters Stanton. Variations of this anecdote appear elsewhere in histories of the man who would become Secretary of War under President Lincoln. Stanton was living in Columbus, working at a … Continue reading →