March Madness

Having had another 24 hours to further digest the recent constitutional travesty, I am pleased to see our state's attorney general Bill McCollum is taking the lead on filing a lawsuit against the ObamaNation's stealth scare scheme.

Florida, along with eleven other states (so far!) have filed suit in federal court at Pensacola, claiming the socialist agenda is unconstitutional. I'm pleased to see the AG from Louisiana, a Democrat, standing by our side on this one.

Virginia, for a variety of reasons, has filed a separate suit up in Richmond. The basis of their claim is that the mandates issued from on high by Pelosi, Reid, and their ilk, conflicts with existing state law.

Furthermore, it is my understanding that at least 32 other states have either put into place, or are in the process of creating, legislative and constitutional challenges in a variety of forms.

So, America isn't just sitting back and taking it.

I love it!

It sounds like this version of "March madness" may just be settled in the courts, too!

Hope and change, y'all!

Breathe! We're 25% thru this nightmare!

Yours truly is wondering, given last night's results out of Massachusetts and the earlier reverses in New Jersey and Virginia, if our esteemed "leader" would revise the letter grade he so humbly awarded himself on the Oprah show. ("B")

What is blowing my mind this morning is the level of criticism he is receiving from liberals.

Folks at Human Rights Watch and the ACLU aren't happy with him. And, the anti-gun Brady Campaign went so far as to give him a big fat "F" for his first year's work.

All I can say, ye socks of whatever political stripe, is that this maladministration is like a kidney stone. And, this too shall pass!

Hope and change, y'all! ;)

Of Michener and his Chesapeake

So, yours truly managed to pick up a first edition of this book for a few shekels recently.

I found it to be very typical of Michener.

His detractors will try to tell you that his formulaic writing style and lack of character development made the late author nothing short of a hack.

Indeed, I found this best-seller from 1978 to be very much like the other two Michener novels I've read.

And, as he covers nearly four centuries over 865 pages, the folks who populate his narrative are painted in very broad strokes.

Still, Michener fans will argue that his novels transcend these flaws.

They have a point.

If the reader will forgive the uninspired structure and lack of identification he allows (either with would-be heroes or villains), one can put down a Michener novel feeling that they truly know the spirit or character of a given place.

This is certainly true of "Chesapeake."

As American as Apple Pannini . . . er . . . Pie

The lunch hour found yours truly at Citrus Restaurant on North Orange Ave.

A little ritzier than my typical lunchtime haunts, to be sure.

One of the specials was a pannini whose innards included slices of the proverbial forbidden fruit . . . about as close as I was likely to get to apple pie on this Election Day 2009.

Of course, the politics of the day was covered in the lunchtime conversation.

I believe the general consensus is that Virginia and New Jersey will switch back to the GOP column, at least as far as their governors' mansions are concerned.

But, that's about where the consensus ends.

Whether or not one chooses to read anything more into this off-off-year election results is none of my business.

If you really want a tough choice, try to figure out what more peculiar pannini ingredient the folks over at Citrus might try to inject into the lunchtime menu . . .

Gaines genealogy: A brick wall of sorts

Ok, I know some of ye socks out there get a little bored with my occasional genealogical posts. But, you're just going to have to deal with this one, because this little mystery is what has been occupying my spare time lately.

In comparing family trees with a friend recently, I discovered the GAINES surname appears in both of our direct lines.

My line goes back to a Richard Gaines of Charlotte County, Virginia.

His goes back to a Hiram Gaines of Elbert County, Georgia, a native of Virginia.

The men were contemporaries, in that they were of the same general age. Don't know if they actually knew one another, or if they were related. But, would like to find out if they were!

Anybody got any clues or suggestions?

1920 Census records raise more questions

Following up on yesterday's post, I've been trying to answer some of the questions raised in the New York Times article about the 1921 murder of Dr. William Strother of Lynchburg, Virginia, at the hands of his neighbor Jesse Ford.

I thought a good way of putting the principle figures into context would be to see how they were enumerated in the 1920 Census.

If ye socks have not yet discovered Heritage Quest, yet, you need to check them out. Most public libraries (at least those in this little corner of heaven) offer free access to their indexed census images simply through obtaining a library card.

Here's what I uncovered in this case:

1920 Cenus, Campbell County, Virginia, page 272a
1208 Floyd Street, Lynchburg, renters:
(all white, born in Virginia, as were their parents)
* Ford, Jesse W., head of household, 28, married, engineer/contractor.
* Ford, Juanita, wife, 24, married.
* Ford, James R., 4, single
* Ford, Barbara J., daughter, 1, single.

Mr. Ford was evidently the son of a couple who owned a home nearby at 1223 Floyd Street, enumerated on the same page:

* Ford, James R., head, 51, married, general contractor.
* Ford, Barbara A., wife, 50, married.
* Ford, Abigail, daughter, 24, single, bookkeeper.
* Ford, Grace, daughter, 19, single.
* Ford, Elizabeth, daughter, 14, single.

However, I didn't find Dr. Strother anywhere on Floyd Street. Nor was he enumerated on either the preceding or following pages in Lynchburg. Instead, I found him living in the countryside beyond the city limits. Here's the extract on his household:

1920 Cenus, Bedford County, Virginia, page 87b
Boonsboro & Coleman Falls Road, Forest District, owners:
(all white, born in Virginia, as were their parents)
* Strother, William A., head, 35, married, physician with country practice.
* Strother, William M., son, 13, single, attending school.
* Strother, Paul M., son, 12, single, attending school.
* Mitchell, Lorna, housekeeper, 30, widow.

Note, the census record correctly give the murdered doctor's middle initial "A," whereas the newspaper article says "M." His middle name, as given on his tombstone at Spring Hill Cemetery in Lynchburg, was Alexander.

But, it also raises some new questions. Like, if the doctor was married, as the enumeration states, where was his wife?! Also, what prompted him to leave his "country practice" and move into the city, where he would lose his life within a year's time?

I suppose this case serves as a pretty good example of why genealogy is a never-ending project. Each new tidbit of information prompts more questions.

If any of ye socks can answer some of the questions surrounding the doctor's murder, or can suggest additional avenues of research, yours truly would greatly appreciate hearing from ye!

GoogleNews unearths 88-year-old family scandal

Here's an online research tool that I recently discovered and thought I would share with ye socks.

The next time you go to http://www.google.com/, click on the "more" option on the toolbar. Then select the last item on the list, "even more." This will take you to a page crowded with icons that will help you narrow your internet searches. If you scroll down to the NEWS icon, click on the hypertext link "archive search." This will let you search thru a bunch of old newspapers whose indexed images are available online.

But, be forewarned. You never know what you're going to uncover when you start rooting around ye olde family tree.

In my case, I uncovered an 88-year-old family scandal surrounding my great-grandfather's cousin Dr. William M. Strother. (The doctor's mother was Roberta Morgan Strother, daughter of my Civil War ancestor James Lorenzo Morgan.)

Anyway, here's a transcript of an article published in the New York Times back on 25 September 1921 that gives the (somewhat cryptic) details of the doctor's murder:

KILLS PHYSICIAN IN OFFICE

Lynchburg Man Then Helps Own

Wife Carry Body to Veranda.

Special to the New York Times

LYNCHBURG, Va., Sept. 24. -- Dr. William M. Strother was shot and almost instantly killed this morning at his home by Jesse Ford, Lynchburg superintendent for the J.R. Ford Company, contractors, who was living near Dr. Strother's home.

Ford surrendered, and a Coroner's jury, at which his wife testified, held him for the murder. Ford went to Dr. Strother's home, and after talkin with him briefly shot him several times. It is said that Dr. Strother fired twice at Ford as the latter walked away and then fell dead.

Mrs. Ford is said to have come out of Dr. Strother's house, and at her solicitation Ford Assisted her in carrying the body of the physician to the veranda of the house.

Dr. Strother was a native of Lynchburg and a member of one of the most prominent families of the city.

As with any new tidbit of genealogical information, this one leaves yours truly with more questions than it answered. The only question I ever had about Dr. Strother before finding this article was wondering why he died at such a relatively young age (38). Well, now I have THAT answer. But, what about the questions the Times article fails to answer. Like, what was Mrs. Ford doing in the doctor's home to begin with? And, was Ford ever tried for the murder? If so, what was the verdict? And, if found guilty, what was his sentence? I couldn't find any more articles on the subject, so would welcome any light ye socks can shed on the case!

Give us liberty!

In these days leading up to our big national holiday, I've been thinking about how those days leading up to the orginal Declaration of Independence must've been like for our foresocks in the dryer.

According to my handy almanac of American history, I find it was on this date back in 1776 that Virginia ceased being merely a colony by adopting its first state constitution and making the great patriot Patrick Henry its first governor.

Years ago, while visiting the old Morgan family ancestral stomping grounds in Campbell County, Virginia, I took a brief detour to visit Governor Henry's retirement home at Red Hill.

The grounds are a lot more rustic and secluded than those of Mount Vernon or Monticello, allowing visitors to feel a more personal connection to the place.

I suppose that's why Henry remains my favorite among the founding fathers. Kind of an offbeat selection, I suppose. But, I'm known for such . . .

Morgan genealogy updates

Just a quick post to update ye socks who aren't completely weary of all the genealogy-related material in the dryer lately.

I recently received copies of some old newspaper clippings pertaining to the Morgan family in Virginia, and have added them to my ongoing online collection at: http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~oldpinecastle/morgan/index.html

The Hemingses of Monticello: An American Family

That's the title of a book [ISBN 9780393064773] by Annette Gordon-Reed that the Orange County Library System was kind enough to deliver to yours truly this afternoon.

I had seen the author on a recent talk show, which sparked my interest. She's a smart cookie, teaching both law at NYU and history at Rutgers. And, I figured any work that wins a National Book Award is worthy of a perusal. Besides, the whole genealogy angle is always appealing to me.

Though I am only just beginning to delve into it, I have not been disappointed so far. Gordon-Reed writes in a style that is easily followed, and cites her sources in a way that would make any English teacher proud.

Before I began reading, I couldn't help myself but check out all the illustrations inserted in between the pages near the middle of the book. Often times, pictures do indeed say a thousand words and offer the best prelude to a lengthy text like this.

Imagine my surpise (and discomfort) to discover the third illustration of the accounting of a slave sale dated 30 December 1772 included my own ancestor Richard Stith among the list of buyers of human chattel.

Clearly, this book's subject matter is going to be as challenging to this descendant of slaveowners to read as it must have been for the descendant of slaves to compile.

Fortunately, I'm always up to a good challenge . . .

Scott McClellan: The proof is in the pudding

I hope none of ye socks will waste your money on the book by former White House press secretary Scott McClellan when it is released on Monday, and not just because it's a bunch of hogwash. But, also because I just don't believe in rewarding bad behavior.

Those of you from the great and sovereign Lone Star State probably saw this coming as long as I have, because we're more familiar with Scotty-boy's family background than most folks in this country.

His mother, Carol Keeton Strayhorn, is a political opportunist of such magnitude that she could only get away with it in a state as big as Texas. We all remember her as the liberal Mayor of Austin who backed Walter Mondale for president in 1984; figured out how dumb that was and became a RINO; then sought to unseat the incumbent Republican governor in 2006. Fortunately, she's basically harmless, as she was unsuccessful in all three of those endeavours. Unfortunately, her boy inherited her lack of integrity.

His paternal background, however, offered an even more obvious clue about Scotty's lack of a moral compass. His father, Oliver Barr McClellan, worked as an attorney in the Lyndon Johnson administration, only to later become the author of tripe that has become fodder for countless conspiracy nuts: Blood, Money, and Power: How LBJ killed JFK. That's right, his daddy backstabbed the president he worked for, too.

Like father, like son, I guess.

Fortunately, in Papa McClellan's case, people quickly clued-in to his lack of character and forced him to surrender his license to practice law.

I don't know what lays in store for Scotty-boy, but hope it is slightly less than the proverbial 15 minutes of fame followed by the perpetual irrelevance he so richly deserves. To paraphrase the motto of the great Commonwealth of Virginia: SIC SEMPER PRODITOR!

Until then, I will leave you with a few quotes:

It appears to be more about trying to justify personal views and opinions than it does

about looking at the results that we are achieving on behalf of the American people.

-- Scott McClellan, on former Treasury Secretary Paul O'Neill's book.

Well, why, all of a sudden, if he had all these grave concerns, did he not raise them sooner?!?

-- Scott McClellan, on former anti-terror chief Richard Clarke's book.

Gilmore's departure good for Huckabee

I heard late last night that former Virginia governor Jim Gilmore has withdrawn from the crowded field of Republican presidential candidates.

This is a good thing for Mike Huckabee, the former Governor of Arkansas who I believe should be our next president.

I have told a lot of you socks in one-on-one conversations that the best formula for success (for either party) involves nominating someone from a southern state with executive branch experience.

True, Virginia is only on the fringe of the Sun Belt. But, given that criteria, Gilmore was the only other GOP hopeful besides Huckabee who could meet it.

Now, would anyone care to speculate when John McCain will withdraw?

Oh, and before I forget to mention it, the Huckabee campaign has added The Sock in the Dryer to their list of blog links:

http://www.mikehuckabee.com/index.cfm?FuseAction=Blogs.Home

Go, Mike, go!

Surely, I'm not the only Gator fan who's feeling conflicted today . . .

Billy D says he had to leave the University of Florida after back-to-back NCAA championships so he could grow as a coach and a person.

Of course, his bank account will be growing substantially, too.

But, now, I'm afraid he's going to get tangled up in the mess that is the Orlando Magic.

I'm sorry, but our local NBA franchise just hasn't been the same since that low-life Penny Hardaway launched his coup against Brian Hill in the late 90's.

Oh, and you can laugh-off GM Otis Smith's assurances that BD isn't being brought to Orlando as a bargaining chip in the team's ongoing effort to squeeze dollars out of local tax coffers to expand the O-rena (or "better" yet, build a new one).

But, the Magic front office is always trying to spin one story or another, aren't they?

The inmates have been running the assylum over there for a long time.

I hope the dawn of the Billy-ball Era will change all that.

But, you know what they say about hoping in one hand, and doing something else with the other.

So, the question remains: Who will have to come down to Gainesville and try to fill Donovan's sneakers? Odds are it will be his former assistant Anthony Grant, currently coaching up at Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond. But, who's to say what AD Jeremy Foley will do?!

Sometimes, the off-season is more fun than the actual sport. Certainly filled with a lot of drama and pointless speculation! A lot like reality tv, no?!

The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation

Even if you can't make it up to Virginia to commemorate the big 400th anniversary this year, you can still play a role in both marking the occasion and preserving our colonial heritage for future generations by contributing to The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation.

I did. And, they sent me a cool plush animal from their historic breeds collection as a "thank you." Last year, they sent me a sheep, which I promptly gave to my niece. And, this year, they've sent me a cow of some sort. Hope my nephew enjoys this one.

But, even if you're not the donating kind, I would encourage you to visit their web site. It's full of really neat information/activities for "kids" of all ages:

http://www.history.org