Showing posts with label News Story. Show all posts
Showing posts with label News Story. Show all posts

Sunday, February 18, 2024

The New Cook County Flag, Explained. (2021)

In celebration and recognition of the 190th anniversary (2021) of the founding of Cook County, the Cook County Board of Commissioners unanimously voted to create a contest to redesign Cook County's flag in December 2019.

The Flag Advisory Panel received nearly 300 submissions from students at 40 schools throughout Cook County and narrowed the field to 25 semifinalist teams in 2020.

The top 25 semifinalist teams were selected by an appointed Flag Advisory Panel. In December 2020, semifinalist teams were paired with volunteer professional design mentors to clarify and refine the students' artwork, symbolism, and descriptions. The Flag Advisory Panel selected the top six finalist flag designs based on composition and representation in July 2021. 
The "I Will" flag, designed by Drew Duffy and Martin Burciaga, has been named the official new flag of Cook County. It's a representation of our lands, culture, history, and the core values that bring us together — different from a depiction of the physical boundaries that separate. The flag ensures that we reflect on the past while focusing on what we will build moving forward and continue striving to make the best County we can.
Looks Great!




The "I Will" Cook County flag. Blue symbolizes the County's great lake and rivers, green for natural lands and riverbanks, red for social change, and the blank canvas of white for the innovation that has thrived and is to come. 

The central "Y" shape highlights the regional rivers joining at Wolf Point while harkening back to the original County Seal, and the "Y" symbol of the municipal device of Chicago is used throughout Chicago to promote pride in the city.

Each of the seven points on the star represents each County region, the city of Chicago, and the Forest Preserves, which join together to symbolize residents' unity. The six stars represent six foundational moments marking who we are. The founding of Cook County. Our commitment to health care through the founding of Cook County Hospitals Stroger and Provident. Defeating disparities through the founding of the Cook County Department of Public Health. The preservation of national lands through the founding of the Cook County Forest Preserves. Cook County's historic efforts in family and juvenile justice reform and local business partnerships.

Compiled by Dr. Neil Gale, Ph.D.

Thursday, January 25, 2024

Scam email about Mammoth and Mastodon Ivory Sales in Illinois.

I'm writing this article, which includes a screen capture of the email below I received as a preemptive warning to Illinois residents and readers from other states.
With the poor spelling and bad English, it is most likely a scam.




Paleo-Indian artifacts are the remnants of tools, weapons, and other objects left behind by the first humans known to inhabit North America, dating from roughly 15,000 to 7,000 years ago. These fascinating objects offer invaluable insights into the lives and technologies of these early peoples despite the challenges of studying such ancient remains.
Mammoths were bigger and heavier compared to their predecessors, the mastodons, and closer in appearance and constitution to elephants today. Mastodons had cusps (grinding bumps) on their molars, which mainly distinguished them from mammoths and elephants with ridged molars.


There's currently no definitive evidence that Paleo-Indians in North America carved mammoth and mastodon ivory as artworks. While some tools and utilitarian objects made from ivory have been found, they lack clear artistic intent or decoration.

Types of artifacts:
Stone tools: These are the most common artifact type, as stone was readily available and durable. Tools include:

Clovis points: Large, lance-shaped spear points with distinctive flutes (grooves) running down the base are iconic symbols of the period.

Other projectile points: Different styles like Folsom, Scottsbluff, and Dalton points reveal regional variations and adaptation to changing environments.

Scraper tools: Used for processing hides, wood, and other materials.

Knives and blades: Employed for cutting and slicing tasks.

Non-stone artifacts: While less common, these offer valuable glimpses into other aspects of life:

Bone tools: Awls, needles, and ornaments made from animal bones suggest various practical and symbolic uses.

Fire hearths and cooking features: Evidence of controlled fire use, crucial for warmth, cooking, and toolmaking.

Rock art and engravings: Rare but potentially offering insights into spiritual beliefs and communication.

Several states have banned the sale of all "Ivory," meaning any tooth or tusk composed of ivory from any animal, including mammoths and mastodons. As of 2024, these states include ILLINOIS, California, New York, New Jersey, New Hampshire, Nevada, Oregon, and Hawaii. Other states may restrict the sale of ivory depending on the item's age, origin, and value.

Since the sale of ivory in Illinois is illegal, reporting it is crucial to protect endangered elephant populations and combat wildlife trafficking. 


Here are some resources to report the sale:
1. Illinois Department of Natural Resources (IDNR):
Online Reporting: You can file a complaint online through the IDNR's Turn in Poachers Website: https://dnr.illinois.gov/lawenforcement/target-poachers.html
Phone: You can call the IDNR's Conservation Police hotline at 1-800-252-8934.

2. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS):
Online Reporting: You can file a report through the USFWS's National Wildlife Service Tip Line: https://www.fws.gov/wildlife-crime-tips
Phone: You can call the USFWS's Division of Law Enforcement at 1-800-847-7353.

3. Wildlife Crime Stoppers:
Online Reporting: You can submit an anonymous tip through Wildlife Crime Stoppers' Website: https://wildlifecrimestoppers.org/contact-us/
Phone: You can call Wildlife Crime Stoppers at 1-800-642-WILD (9453).

Compiled by Dr. Neil Gale, Ph.D.

Wednesday, January 17, 2024

A Brief History of Alphonse Francis “Sonny” Capone Jr.

Alphonse Francis “Sonny” Capone Jr. was born December 4, 1918, in Chicago, Illinois, to parents Al Capone and Mary "Mae" Josephine Coughlin with congenital syphilis, a serious mastoid infection, passed on from Al. He survived the required brain surgery for the disease but was left partially deaf.
Sonny Jr. did not share his father's first name. His full name was Albert Francis Capone.

Al Capone had money, power, and prestige in Chicago, New York, and Miami. He sent his son to the best schools available, among them Saint Patrick’s High School in Miami. 
Sonny in 1934
There, Sonny befriended a young Cuban expatriate by the name of Desiderio Alberto Arnaz and graduated in 1937. Arnaz was the bandleader and I Love Lucy star and creator who later gained lasting fame as Desi Arnaz. 

Sonny attended the University of Notre Dame but eventually completed his studies and obtained his degree at the University of Miami. Sonny maintained a simple life after completing his schooling.

After attending the University of Notre Dame in Indiana, Sonny Capone transferred to the University of Miami, earning his bachelor's degree from the institution in 1941. In one of his first big career choices, he found he couldn't escape the criminal element entirely. While working as a used car salesman in Florida, he found out his boss was changing the numbers on vehicles' odometers, a seedy and illegal practice. So, Sonny quit and switched gears to printing, where he served as an apprentice before deciding on a couple more profession changes. In addition to trying tire distribution, the younger Capone ran a restaurant in Miami with his mother. According to Capone: The Man and His Era, Sonny attempted to use his underworld connections to secure a loan, asking the Chicago "Outfit" for $24,000 to expand the business. It refused.

He had four daughters with Diane Ruth Casey, whom he married in 1941. Veronica, Teresa, Barbara, and Patricia Capone-Brown. Diane and Sonny divorced in July 1964, and Sonny remarried twice. Albert was married to a woman named America "Amie" Francis. It is not sure if it was his second or third wife, but she was listed in his daughters' obituary as step mother. We assume she was his third wife.

Mae Coughlin and her son, Albert Francis Capone, purchased Ted's Grotto in Miami in 1956.

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Ted's Grotto started in the 1940s as a small, unassuming diner on Biscayne Boulevard in Miami by its namesake, Ted Bowers. Ted's Grotto became a regular hang-out for Entertainers like Frank Sinatra, Sammy Davis Jr., and Judy Garland. They'd swing by after their gigs at the Fontainebleau or the Eden Roc hotels, drawn by the intimate atmosphere and enjoying a good time. The Grotto wasn't just for entertainers, though. Politicians, athletes, and yes, even mobsters rubbed shoulders at its red booths, creating a unique Miami cocktail of glitz and grit. Ted's Grotto's reign as Miami's hottest spot didn't last forever. By the late 1960s, the city's nightlife scene had shifted, and the Grotto began to lose its luster. The restaurant closed its doors in the early 1970s, leaving a legacy of good food, music, and even better memories.

Mae Coughlin and Sonny injected Ted's Grotto with a much-needed dose of glamour. The restaurant expanded, the soup and sandwich menu got much fancier (Oysters Rockefeller, Lobster Thermidor, Tournedos Rossini, Steak Diane, Baked Alaska, and Crêpes Suzette), and the clientele shifted towards celebrities and socialites. 

On August 7, 1965, Albert Francis Capone was nabbed by the police for a petty crime. A store clerk from the Kwik Chek market in North Miami Beach caught him pocketing two bottles of aspirin and some batteries worth $3.50 ($30.60 today). from the Kwik Chek market in North Miami Beach. "Everybody has a little larceny in them," Sonny quipped upon his arrest. He pleaded no contest to the charge of shoplifting and was sentenced to two years' probation. 

When he went before a judge, he got two years of probation but shrugged off his crime by saying to the judge that “everybody has a little larceny in them.”

Following his arrest, he changed his name to Albert Francis Brown in 1966. According to his lawyer, Sonny Capone did so because he was “just sick and tired of fighting the name.”

On July 8, 2004, Albert Francis Capone died in the tiny California town of Auburn Lake Trails. His wife, America “Amie” Francis, told a reporter that Albert Francis Capone was much more than his family name.

“Al Capone has been dead a long time,” she said. “His son had nothing to do with him. Let him rest in peace, for crying out loud. He suffered enough in his life for being who he was.”

After changing his name, Albert Francis Capone, aka Sonny Capone, aka Albert Francis Brown, lived a quiet, law-abiding life. He married three times and is survived by numerous grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

Compiled by Dr. Neil Gale, Ph.D.

Thursday, January 11, 2024

The Tunnels of Northeastern Illinois University (NEIU), Chicago, Illinois.

NEIU HISTORY
The University traces its history to Chicago Teachers College (now Chicago State University), which, as Cook County Normal School, was founded in 1867 to train elementary and high school teachers. The Chicago Teachers College (CTC) established the Chicago Teachers College (North Side) branch in 1949. The school relocated to the present site at North Park, Chicago, in 1961 and changed its name in 1965 to Illinois Teachers' College: Chicago North, when control of CTC passed into the hands of the State of Illinois.

In 1967, the Illinois Legislature acted to remove the title of "teachers college" from all state colleges and universities, and the college became Northeastern Illinois State College.
Northeastern Illinois University, 5500 North St. Louis Avenue, North Park Community, Chicago, Illinois.
In 1971, the school became Northeastern Illinois University after it was granted university status and was given a mandate by the Illinois Legislature "to offer such courses of instruction as shall best serve to qualify teachers for the schools of the State; and to offer such other courses of instruction, conduct such research and offer such public services as are prescribed by the Board of Governors of State Colleges and Universities or its successor."

In January 1996, Northeastern Illinois University established its own board of trustees.

THE TUNNELS OF NEIU
The basement tunnels that connect Lech Walesa Hall to the Student Union and other buildings on campus make traveling easier at NEIU. Students and staff can access specific tunnels to skip the cold walks between buildings.

Discovering the tunnel connecting Lech Walesa Hall (LWH) to the cafeteria took half a semester. The first time we attempted to go through the entrance, we turned right back around. We'll admit to being afraid of walking through the unknown space and getting in "trouble."
A Tunnel at Northeastern Illinois University (NEIU), Chicago, Illinois.


One occasion, we saw a group of students walking to the tunnel entrance. We were very blatantly following them. Despite this, our curiosity to discover where the tunnel led was stronger.

The offices and lounge area became apparent in the distance when we reached the first crossroad. It was like we had discovered another world. The cafeteria came into view as we walked and passed the second crossroad.

Since then, using the tunnel between LWH and the cafeteria has become a part of our daily routine.

The best way to travel through the tunnels is with an expert or a buddy. Our expert, Catherine Duffy, NEIU's Program Administrative Assistant, was more than willing to give us a tour of the tunnels. We met Duffy while walking through the tunnel closest to the cafeteria and into the Office of Student Employment hall.

We also met Beverly Projansky, Staff Clerk in the Office of Student Employment. Projansky, an NEIU alumna from the graduating class of 2000, recalled the blizzard of '99. "It was great for students if you figured out the tunnels," she said. "You would cross from Lech Walesa Hall through the Student Union to avoid going out."

Most students have become familiar with the shortcut during the harsh winter months.

Duffy walked us through the LWH tunnels leading into the cafeteria. The first connection is uninterrupted until you reach the first crossroad. On the left, you will see a short hallway with some organization offices; on the right, you'll see the maintenance hall. "It's not a good idea to mess around in the tunnels. Even contractors get lost," said Duffy.

If you continue straight, the Student Health Services office is on the right, and the leadership and organization offices are on the left. The lounge is just ahead, and more student organizations and media offices are tucked inside.

Although most tunnels contain storage and electrical rooms, Duffy gave us helpful hints. From the basement of Building C, students can ascend the building by taking the elevator or going up the stairs. "The elevator stops working after 5:00 PM," said Duffy. "And there is a receptionist on every floor."

The opposing tunnel of the Office of Student Employment holds the mailroom, shipping and receiving center and the Production Technical Services. On the first floor, you would find yourself in buildings E and F near the Art Gallery outside FA and by the Stage Center Theatre.

Students Erica Vergara and Jennifer Alvarez visited NEIU before their admittance.

"I knew about the tunnels since high school," said Alvarez of her past high school visits to the University.

Walking through the tunnels is quite the experience. You'll notice a change in temperature and tunnels that become narrow from protruding vents. If you travel through the tunnels, notice the signs outside doors and hallways. Signs that read "Authorized Personnel Only" should be respected.

The tunnels are convenient to those who already use them, so become acquainted with the tunnel system, save time, and follow them.

By Natalie Sanchez and Viviana Serrano

OTHER PEDESTRIAN TUNNEL SYSTEMS
University of Minnesota: named the Gopher Way. The University's tunnel system began in the 1920s when the first one connected the Nolte Center and Northrop Auditorium. SEE MAP. 

University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign: Their tunnel system, officially established in 1954, is extensive and well-documented, connecting many campus buildings.

Purdue University: Their tunnel system, developed primarily in the 1960s, became integral to campus connectivity and even includes a "tunnel tour" program.

University of Massachusetts Amherst: Construction of their tunnel system began in the early 1960s, expanding over time and becoming a prominent feature of campus life.

https://drloihjournal.blogspot.com/2016/11/the-pedway-chicagos-loop-underground.html

Edited by Dr. Neil Gale, Ph.D.

Sunday, January 7, 2024

Solomon Miller's Kosher Mulligan Stew Recipe, the first Jewish Scoutmaster in America.

I first tasted Miller's Kosher Mulligan Stew at Olin Sang Ruby Union Institute, Oconomowoc, Wisconsin, in the mid-1970s, during one of many weekend trips with my Sunday school. You'll love it too!


Mulligan's stew recipe is a Kosher Irish Beef Stew adaptation. Initially, the ingredients were added into a large coffee tin and heated over a fire to cook it. Mulligan stew ingredients varied depending on what was available. Feel free to substitute vegetables. If you add more vegetables — add more stock.



SOL'S KOSHER CAMPFIRE MULLIGAN STEW RECIPE
INGREDIENTS
3 tablespoons oil
3 pounds cubed kosher beef OR 2½ pounds cut-up kosher boneless skinless chicken breasts
2 peeled and small diced yellow onions
128 ounces of kosher beef stock (4 x 32oz liquid boxes or equivalent ounces in powder form)
7 peeled sliced large carrots
7 medium celery stalks, sliced
1 pound trimmed green beans
4 pounds peeled and "large diced" russet potatoes
3 cups corn kernels
2 cups white or red beans or a mix
3 cans of 15oz or 1 x 28oz + 1 x 15 oz cans crushed tomatoes
¼ cup chopped fresh parsley

reminder
Beef broth may contain a lot of salt. Make it from scratch or shop accordingly.

INSTRUCTIONS
In a large pot over medium-high heat, add 3 tablespoons of oil and cook the beef until browned OR Chicken until browned and cooked through, which takes about 4-6 minutes. Remove and set aside.

Add the onions to the pot and brown over medium-low heat while stirring every 1-2 minutes, which takes about 10 minutes.

Add the cooked beef or chicken back into the pot along with the beef stock and cook for 30 minutes over medium heat to help tenderize the meats.

Place in the carrots, celery, green beans, potatoes, corn, beans, and tomatoes and cook for 20-25 minutes over medium-low heat or until tender.

Salt and pepper to taste.

Finish with parsley.

Serve with a crusty French or Italian bread.

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I you make Miller's Kosher Mulligan Stew, please return and comment on this article.

Courtesy of Dr. Neil Gale, Ph.D.

Friday, January 5, 2024

Al Capone's Police Photo from New York City, December 26, 1925. The real story.

Twenty-six-year-old Al Capone's primary reason for being in New York was to bring his son, Albert "Sonny" Capone, to a specialist for a critical medical procedure. Sonny was suffering from a mastoid infection that threatened his life. The operation, thankfully, was successful and saved Sonny's life, although it left him partially deaf.
While Sonny was recovering, Capone took the opportunity to socialize and visit old haunts. He ended up at the Adonis Social Club in Brooklyn, a speakeasy with ties to his former boss, Frankie Yale. During the early hours of December 26, a violent altercation broke out involving the infamous Irish mobster Richard "Pegleg" Lonergan. Lonergan was shot and killed, along with two of his associates, in what some believe was a planned hit orchestrated by Yale and potentially carried out with Capone's involvement.

Following the Adonis Social Club incident, Capone was briefly detained by the New York Police Department. This was likely due to his proximity to the crime scene and his high-profile status. While in police custody, he was photographed as part of a lineup procedure, a standard practice for identifying suspects.

It's important to note that the exact details of the Adonis Social Club incident and Capone's role in it remain shrouded in some mystery. He was never officially charged with Lonergan's murder, but the incident undoubtedly added to his notoriety and cemented his image as a ruthless and powerful mob boss.

Copyright © 2024 Dr. Neil Gale, Ph.D. All rights reserved.

Monday, December 25, 2023

Hope Shines in Chicago Amidst the Great Depression's Shadow.

Christmas in 1930s Chicago during the Great Depression starkly contrasted with today's festive holiday. The Windy City, once a bustling industry hub, was gripped by the harsh realities of economic hardship. Unemployment hovered around 50%, breadlines snaked around city blocks, soup kitchens overflowed, and families huddled in cramped, unheated apartments. Yet, amidst the despair, flickers of hope and resilience illuminated the season.
Chicago men wait in a soup line during the Great Depression in the 1930s.

Christmas, in its essence, is a celebration of hope. And in the bleakest days of the Depression, that hope was more precious than ever. It was the hope for a better tomorrow, a job, a warm meal, a future where families could be together again.

A City of Contradictions:
Glittering department stores on Michigan Avenue displayed lavish Christmas wares, a cruel reminder of the unobtainable for many. Meanwhile, soup kitchens overflowed, and makeshift shelters emerged in abandoned buildings.
People rallied for jobs and in support of unions in Chicago in 1930.


Christmas spirit, however, refused to be extinguished. Families decorated trees with handmade ornaments crafted from paper chains, popcorn strings, and painted pinecones. Homemade carols filled the air, sung by carolers bundled in threadbare coats.

The hardships fostered a sense of community. Neighbors shared meager meals, bartered skills for goods, and organized charity drives. Churches, Synagogues, and charitable organizations became lifelines, offering food, shelter, and a sense of shared humanity.
Mayor William Hale Thompson posed next to baskets of Christmas cheer for the poor at Polk Street and Marshfield Avenue in December 1930. The baskets were donated by Joseph Savage and the 25th Ward Republican Club.



Gifts of a Different Kind:
With jobs scarce, time became a precious commodity. Families cherished moments spent together, playing games by candlelight, sharing stories, and listening to the radio.

Necessity became the mother of invention. Broken toys were mended, clothes were patched, and discarded materials were transformed into Christmas decorations and gifts.

Christmas, above all, offered a glimmer of hope. Despite the bleak present, people clung to the belief that better times were on the horizon. They sang carols of joy, prayed for brighter days, and held onto the promise of a new year.


The Christmas of 1930s Chicago was a testament to the human spirit's enduring strength. In the face of unimaginable hardship, Chicagoans found ways to celebrate, connect, and hold onto hope. Their story is a reminder that even in the darkest times, the light of compassion, creativity, and community can find a way to shine through.

Copyright © 2023 Dr. Neil Gale, Ph.D. All rights reserved.

Thursday, November 2, 2023

The Great Kiss-Off at Woodfield Mall, Schaumburg, Illinois. 1974

June 8, 1974, the rock group KISS made an appearance at the Woodfield Shopping Center in Schaumburg, Illinois, to promote the “Great KISS Off” kissing competition.










The contest began June 8 at noon, with 11 couples from across the country competing. These couples had already participated in a preliminary round for radio stations near their homes and were ready to win the big prize. At stake was an eight-day cruise to Acapulco and a place in the Guinness Book of World Records.

After more than 114 hours, Woodfield Mall finally had a winning couple. Vinnie Torro and Louise Heath, the kissing couple, successfully locked lips as part of the Great Kiss Off of 1974—and the rock band KISS, for whom the event was named, was happy to play their part.

Each couple was given a five-minute break every hour. They were also incentivized with a big kickoff for the event led by WCFL’s superjock, Larry Lujack. 

Compiled by Dr. Neil Gale, Ph.D.

Wednesday, October 25, 2023

The Legacy of Chicagoan David Kennison, Debunked.

RECORDED HISTORY
Most Chicagoans have likely never heard of David Kennison (aka Kinnison). And yet, when he died here in 1852, his funeral was the largest affair of its sort in the history of Chicago. The city officials paid for the funeral and donated two cemetery lots for a proper burial site, intending to erect a monument in his honor.

When he died, Chicagoans believed David Kennison to be the last Survivor of the Boston Tea Party. In addition to the honor of having such an important historical figure in their midst, early Chicagoans were also proud to claim Kennison as a Revolutionary soldier. To add to the fascination of this man, everyone knew he was old. Really old.
This boulder, honoring David Kennison, is located at the foot of Wisconsin Street at Clark Street. It was placed one city block north of the actual grave site.


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The plaque does not say that David Kennison had fought under General Washington nor that he was a soldier at Fort Dearborn (he avoided the famous massacre because he was a prisoner of the Potawatomi Indian tribe at the time). Furthermore, he claimed to have fought under General Cornwall at the Battle of Bunker Hill. 

The plaque on the boulder in Lincoln Park that commemorates the grave of David Kennison states he died at the age of 115, 3 months and 17 days. It doesn't say that people also knew he had been married four times and had twenty-two children.

The newer plaque also does not say that David Kennison had fought under General Washington and that he was a soldier at Fort Dearborn but avoided the massacre because he was a prisoner of the Potawatomi Indian tribe at the time. He also fought under General Cornwall at the Battle of Bunker Hill. These stories and more have accompanied Kennison's legacy, which was intact for over one hundred years.

DEBUNKING THE DAVID KENNISON STORY
If Kennison's birth year of 1764 is true, he was only nine years old at the time of the Boston Tea Party and twelve at the start of the Revolutionary War in 1776. His years would have precluded the possibility of his participation in the Tea Party and his enlistment in the Revolutionary War…

It is true that after 1812, Kennison gave his age in 1814 as 42 years; in 1818, he said he was 56, while in 1820, he claimed he was 79. Startling conclusions would emanate from these dates, and they would have necessitated his being born on three different dates, 1772, 1762, and 1741, respectively. When making the statement that he was 79 in 1820, he also said that he had a family of young children, 17, 14, 11, 7 and 5. years old.

Setting aside as unanswered whether or not it is remarkable for a man of this age to have so young a family, would it not be possible that the last vestige of memory as to birth year might have been obliterated from the mental tablet of this soldier, who received a severe hand wound from a musket shot, who had both legs below the knee, his collar bone and two ribs broken; and, too, who was wholly illiterate, having learned to read after he was 62 years of age?

Another point involving the question of correct birth data has evolved from anthropometry or the science of measuring the body by regions, but in this case, by stature. Documentary evidence shows that Kennison was 4'9" tall in 1781, while 33 years later, he was 5'6 1/2" tall. How was this done?

Up to about 15, girls grow tall faster than boys. From this time on to 22 and 23, boys sprint up to about the stature they retain for the rest of their days. A boy can increase his height by 9 1/2 inches between the ages of 17 to 23. These deductions are, with few exceptions, quite reliable. This would seem to be in favor of the birth year 1764. David Kennison died in 1852. Was he 115 years old or 88?

Although several gaps in the story are told of a certain soldier who died in Chicago at the age of 115 years, gaps a correct historian might wish were better bridged, nevertheless, after the late Fernando Jones, with others, had pointed out the spot of Kennison's burial place, as best they could, the following organization set up a monument to him.

In conclusion, the doctor said: "Even though metaphorically speaking, the accuracy of 1764 as the birth year would take away one glittering pearl from the crown of our hero, his unusual longevity, we have left two orbs that shine with great brilliancy – these orbs are his services in the war of independence and in the war of 1812. For these services, a grateful people clothe him with an armor that neither jealousy nor envy can tarnish, nor can the shafts of hate penetrate and efface the good work he did in helping to break asunder the throngs that were intended to bind a mighty people in servitude."

The David Kennison chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution was founded in 1921.
The original brass plaque in Lincoln Park, Chicago.


From that time through the 1950s, gatherings were held at the boulder to commemorate Memorial Day, Flag Day, George Washington's birthday, and the Boston Tea Party anniversary. David Kennison was consistently mentioned in various books about the Boston event and Chicago's Lincoln Park throughout this period.

After Kennison was cited in a 1959 Chicago Tribune article on the whereabouts of the remains of Illinois' Revolutionary War veterans, his name did not appear in that newspaper again until 1974. In an excerpt from a question to the Action Line column, someone wrote, "A special marker stone, complete with a bronze plaque, was placed near his grave near the Wisconsin Street entrance to the park. But look at it now! Vandals have stolen the plaque and spray-painted the rock with obscene graffiti. Is this how Kennison's grave should look for our nation's bicentennial?"

The Lincoln Park neighborhood was in a housing slump in the 1970s, and the area was run down. This timeframe coincides with the downfall of the David Kennison legacy. On July 17, 1972, Chicago Daily News reported that "three bronze plaques had been torn from the granite boulder marking the burial spot." The boulder stood bare in the park for two and a half years. The original bronze tablet was replaced with an aluminum replica on December 19, 1974.

The Chicago History Museum's research center has an essay on file with the cataloged date 1973. The report, titled "David Kennison and the Chicago Sting," was written by Albert G. Overton. In this paper, Overton systematically discounts David Kennison's Chicago exploits by explaining, through various primary source documents, that he assumed other Kennison (and Kinnison) men's identities to tell his own story. In five written pages, followed by four pages of cited sources, Albert Overton presented information that historians accepted as the real David Kennison story. Early in the essay, after describing Kennison's funeral procession, Overton writes:

"Muffled drums beat a slow march for this magnificent parade was a funeral cortege to honor a well-known Revolutionary War hero. Actually, they were escorting the mortal remains of one of the most colorful imposters ever to take the City of Chicago."

After listing the battles in which Kennison asserted to have been a participant and citing another Kennison claim, Overton writes:

"Apparently, no one ever questioned his ability to attend the surrender in Yorktown, while at the same time, he was a captive of the Indians in upper New York State."

The charm of his story has endured over 123 years. His claims have never been challenged in all the articles about him, and only a few have suggested he might have bent the truth a little.

Overton then breaks down David Kennison's likely age and military history, citing many National Archives documents, including pension files, census records dating back to the first census of 1790, and Bounty Land files.

Albert Overton acknowledged that David Kennison spelled his family name Kinnison and traces the authenticity of his signature by the distinctively written "K." Overton chooses to refer to Kennison through the Kennison spelling as it had been the accepted name in which the man had been known. After listing dates, supposed ages, and summarizing mathematically, Overton concludes:

"He was about 7 years old at the time of the tea party, saw no Revolutionary War service, and was about 85 years old, not 115 when he died."

Overton continues his paper, parsing through the Kennison family genealogy. Acknowledging that although Kennison may have had four wives, he found documentary evidence for only four children. Of those four, only a daughter, Sarah B. Johnson, had specific documentation. The Overton paper concludes:

"Hopefully, this publication will sometime assist those who may be David Kennison's true descendants, be used as an example of what can be found through proper research efforts, and amuse those who will appreciate the humor of the little old man who conned his way into history and stung Chicago for a most valuable piece of real estate as his final resting place."

CONCLUSION
These stories, and more, have accompanied Kennison's legacy, which was intact for more than one hundred years.

Compiled by Dr. Neil Gale, Ph.D.

Saturday, October 21, 2023

Lillian B. Williams was Riverview Amusement Park's most popular freak show draw ever.

Unusual human beings have been exhibited in public since antiquity. The first traveling "freak show" appeared in 1738 in Europe. Curiosity is the motivating factor of the audience.

For over 150 years, carnival and circus freak shows were immensely popular in America. At one time, there were 105 exhibitions of human freaks traveling the United States, as well as many featured in amusement parks.

The most unusual people were those in the Palace of Wonders, later known as the Freak Show, owned by Ray Marsh Brydon. People would stare at the tattooed lady, a contortionist, a sword swallower, a fire eater, or the "Human Blockhead" who would pound nails into his nose. There was the "Two-Faced" man who was promoted on the outside banner with two separate and distinct faces. The real two-faced man had only one face. One side was normal, and the other side was significantly deformed.

Chicagoan Marshall Brodien (1934-2019) worked the Freak Show stage at Riverview Amusement Park as a "carnival barker," enticing people to buy tickets to the show. He was a professional magician and later played Wizzo the Wizard on Chicago's Bozo's Circus and The Bozo Show. Marshall Brodien, the inventor of the TV Magic Cards, opened a magic shop in Old Chicago Mall in Bolingbrook, Illinois, and would perform a magic show in Old Chicago amusement park. All that ended when Old Chicago closed in 1981.

But the most notable Riverview Park "freak" was Lillian B. Williams ("Betty Lou"), the world's only "4-legged" girl. Born on January 10, 1932, she was the youngest of 12 children born to sharecroppers in Albany, Georgia. 

At age two, Betty Lou began to be exhibited by Ripley's Believe It or Not. According to Ripley's pamphlet, an X-ray revealed a perfectly developed head inside her chest. 
Lillian B. Williams ("Betty Lou")
While still a teenager, she had become quite wealthy, earning a handsome living, $1,000 a week during her heyday. Betty Lou put all 11 siblings through college and bought her parents a 260-acre farm, paying cash. She was known as a generous person, perhaps too generous, as her fiancé absconded with most of her money. She died in 1955 officially of asthma, but, as her friends believed, she died of a broken heart. 
Betty Lou lived her 23 years with a parasitic twin embedded in her torso with two legs and one arm protruding.

Compiled by Dr. Neil Gale, Ph.D.

Tuesday, September 19, 2023

Abraham Lincoln's Brother, Thomas "Tommy" Lincoln Jr.

Very little is known about Tommy Lincoln, Abraham Lincoln's younger brother. Thomas Lincoln Jr. was named after his father and was born while the Lincolns lived at the Knob Creek Farm in Hodgenville, Kentucky. The family lived there from 1811 to 1816, and many sources list 1812 as the year of Tommy Lincoln's birth. The birthdate is lost to history.

Tommy lived only for a short period. Dennis Hanks said that the baby "did not live 3 days." Augustus H. Chapman, a Lincoln family relative by marriage, said Tommy "died when only 3 days old." No cause of death is known.

Dr. Daniel B. Potter of Elizabethtown, Kentucky, rode 13 miles on horseback to the Lincoln cabin to treat infant Tommy, but he was unable to save the baby's life.

Dr. Potter arrived in the area in 1811. He passed away in 1814. When his estate was settled, it was discovered that Thomas Lincoln had once paid him $1.46 for services rendered. It is possible that there was a connection between this account and the death of Tommy. As Dr. Potter was only active in the area for three years, it makes 1812 a logical guess as the year of Tommy's birth and death.

Thomas Lincoln made a coffin for his child. He also carved the letters T.L. into a stone that would be Tommy's grave marker. Tommy was buried in the Redmon family cemetery on a knoll overlooking the Lincolns' farm.
Tommy Lincoln's gravestone was discovered in 1933
by Work Progress Administration workers. 
Workers from the Works Progress Administration found a small stone buried just below the sur while clearing the cemetery. The stone had the initials T.L. carved into it, and the initials matched the T.L. that Thomas Lincoln carved into pieces of cabinetry he made for neighbors. It was felt that this was indeed Tommy's grave marker.
The Knob Creek cabin where the Thomas Lincoln Jr. was born.


Boy Scout Post 15 of Des Moines, Iowa, donated a new tombstone for Tommy in 1959. For years, the original grave marker for Tommy was on display at the Nancy Lincoln Inn next to the Abraham Lincoln Birthplace National Historical Park, but it's now under the care of its owner. Tommy's grave is located on private land.
Photograph of the new tombstone for Tommy that was
donated by Boy Scout Post 15 of Des Moines, Iowa.
Abraham Lincoln only made mention of Tommy on one occasion. When Lincoln ran for President in 1860, John L. Scripps of the Chicago Tribune asked him to write an autobiography. In it, Lincoln wrote that he had "a brother, younger than himself, who died in infancy."

Little Tommy was the third and last child born to Thomas and Nancy Lincoln. The first child, Sarah, was born February 10, 1807. The second child, Abraham, was born February 12, 1809.
Otis Wayne Miller, 4, pictured with Tommy's original grave marker in 1958.

Compiled by Dr. Neil Gale, Ph.D.

Sunday, September 10, 2023

Lewis and Clark, the Entire Story.

                   Meriwether Lewis                                           William Clark


Prelude: 1803 to May 1804
In 1803, President Thomas Jefferson won approval from Congress for a visionary project that was to become one of American history's greatest adventure stories. 

Jefferson wanted to know if Americans could journey overland to the Pacific Ocean by following two rivers, the Missouri and Columbia Rivers. He knew both rivers flowed from the Rocky Mountains; the Missouri River flows east from the Rockies, and the Columbia River flows west to the Pacific Ocean.

If the sources of the rivers were near one another, Jefferson reasoned that American traders could use that route to compete with British fur companies pressing southward from Canada.

On February 28, 1803, Congress appropriated funds for a small U.S. Army unit to explore the Missouri and Columbia Rivers. The explorers were to make detailed reports on the land's geography, climate, plants, and animals, as well as to study the customs and languages of the Indians. Plans for the Expedition were almost complete when the President learned that France had offered to sell all Louisiana Territory to the United States. This transfer, which was completed within a year, doubled the area of the United States. It meant that Jefferson's army Expedition could travel to the crest of the Rockies on American soil, no longer needing permission from the former French owners.

Jefferson selected an Army captain, 28-year-old Meriwether Lewis, as the Expedition's leader. The Jeffersons and Lewises had been neighbors near Charlottesville, Virginia, where Lewis was born on August 18, 1774. As a boy, he had spent time in the woods, acquiring a remarkable knowledge of native plants and animals. In 1794, he served in the Virginia Militia when President Washington called it out to quell the Whiskey Rebellion. Lewis had a successful army career when, in 1801, the newly elected Jefferson summoned him to work as his private Secretary in the "President's House."

Lewis chose a former Army comrade, 32-year-old William Clark, to co-leader the Expedition. Clark was born on August 1, 1770, in Caroline County, Virginia. At 14, his family moved to Kentucky, where they were among the earliest settlers. William Clark was the youngest brother of General George Rogers Clark, a hero of the Revolutionary War. William served under General "Mad Anthony" Wayne during the Indian wars in the Northwest Territory.
Lewis prepared for the Expedition and visited President Jefferson's scientific associates in Philadelphia for natural sciences, astronomical navigation, and field medicine instruction. He was also given a list of questions about their daily lives to ask the American Indians that they would meet. During these preparations, Lewis purchased "Seaman," his pure-breed Newfoundland dog, to accompany him to the Pacific for $20 ($520 today).
Camp River Dubois, the Lewis and Clark State Historic Site, Hartford, Illinois.


Lewis and Clark reached their staging point at the confluence of the Mississippi and Missouri rivers near St. Louis in December 1803. They camped through the winter at the mouth of Wood River on the Illinois side of the Mississippi River and the confluence of the Missouri River. The two captains recruited young woodsmen and enlisted soldiers who volunteered from nearby army outposts. Over the winter, final selections were made of proven men. The Expedition's roster comprised approximately 45 people in the spring, including some military personnel and local boatmen who would go partway up the Missouri River with the Expedition. Lewis recorded that the mouth of Wood River was "to be considered the point of departure" for the westward journey.
Camp River Dubois State Historic Site, Hartford, Illinois.



Lower Missouri: May 1804 to April 1805
The Expedition broke camp on May 14, 1804. Clark wrote in his journal: "I set out at 4 o'clock P.M and proceeded on under a gentle breeze up the Missouri River." The party traveled in a 55-foot-long keelboat and two smaller boats called "pirogues." Through the long, hot summer, they laboriously worked their way upriver. Numerous navigational hazards slowed their progress, including sunken trees called "sawyers," sand bars, collapsing river banks, and sudden squalls of high winds with drenching rains. There were other problems, including disciplinary floggings, two desertions, a man dishonorably discharged for mutiny, and the death of Sgt. Charles Floyd was the only member to die during the Expedition. In modern-day South Dakota, a band of Teton Sioux tried to detain the boats, but the explorers showed their superior armaments and sailed on.

Early in November, they came to the villages of the Mandan and Minitari (Hidatsa) Indians, who lived near present-day Washburn, North Dakota. On the north bank of the Missouri River, they found a grove of thick cottonwood trees to construct a log fort. Standing close together, the trees also offered protection from the prairie winds.

In four weeks of hard work, the men built a triangular-shaped fort. Rows of small huts made up two sides; a wall of upright cottonwood logs formed the front. They named it Fort Mandan in honor of the local inhabitants. The party was now 164 days and approximately 1,510 miles from Wood River.

The explorers spent five months at Fort Mandan, hunting and obtaining information about the route ahead from the Indians and French-Canadian traders who lived nearby. The Expedition's blacksmiths set up a forge and made tools and implements, traded for the American Indian's garden crops of corn, melons, and beans. A French-Canadian named Toussaint Charbonneau visited the captains with his young pregnant Shoshone wife, Sacagawea.

Sacagawea's tribal homeland lay in the Rocky Mountain country, far to the west. She had been kidnapped by plains Indians five years before, when she was about twelve years old, and taken to the villages of the Mandan and Minitari, where she was eventually sold to Charbonneau. Sacagawea spoke both Shoshone and Minitari, and the captains realized that she could be a valuable intermediary if the party encountered the Shoshones. They also knew that she and Charbonneau could be helpful in trading for the horses that would be needed to cross the western mountains. In addition, Sacagawea and her baby would prove to be a token of truce, assuring the Indians that the Expedition was peaceful. While descending the Columbia River, Clark later noted, "No woman ever accompanies a war party of Indians in this quarter." As a result, the captains hired Charbonneau, who was joined by Sacagawea and their infant son Jean Baptiste Charbonneau, born at Fort Mandan on February 11, 1805. The boy became a favorite of Clark, whom he nicknamed "Pomp," citing his pompous "little dancing boy" antics.

Upper Missouri: April 1805 to July 1805
Moving up the river from the Mandan villages, they passed the confluence of the Yellowstone with the Missouri River. They entered a country where Lewis observed "immense herds of Buffaloes, Elk, Deer and Antelopes feeding in one common and boundless pasture." Grizzly Bears charged the men hunting them.

Lewis said he would "rather fight two Indians than one bear." River navigation became more difficult. During a fierce windstorm, the pirogue that carried vital records and instruments filled with water and nearly capsized. Sacagawea, who was aboard, saved many items as they floated within her reach. Near the end of May, the Rocky Mountains came into view.

The river's current grew stronger. The explorers had to abandon the paddles and tow the heavy canoes with rawhide ropes while walking along the shoreline. When river banks gave way to cliffs, the men had to wade in the water, pushing and pulling the boats upstream.

In early June, the explorers reached a point where the Missouri River divided equally into northerly and southerly branches. They spent nine days concluding that the south branch was the true Missouri. Lewis named the "Marias River" north fork and scouted ahead with a small advance party following the south fork until he heard waterfalls. The Indians at Fort Mandan had told them about the falls of the Missouri River, so Lewis knew he was on the right stream.

In the vicinity of present-day Great Falls, Montana, the Expedition had to portage 18 miles around a series of five cascades of the Missouri River. The men attached cottonwood wheels to the canoes to push them overland. The weather was hot, with intermittent squalls pelting the party with large, bruising hailstones.

Transporting the heavy boats and baggage up the steep incline from the river and traversing the long stretch of prairie lands was exhausting. Prickly pear spines penetrated their feet through moccasin soles, adding to the difficult and exhausting portage.

After three weeks of shuttling canoes and baggage along this portage, a camp was established above the falls at "White Bear Island." They had brought along a metal framework over which they stretched hides to make a large, light boat to resume their journey on the river. The plan failed when stitches in the hides leaked water, and they had to abandon the framework and make two more cottonwood canoes.

West of the Divide: July 1805 to November 1805
On July 25, the Expedition arrived, where the Missouri River was divided into three forks. They named the southeast branch the "Gallatin" for the Secretary of the Treasury, and the southerly one was called the "Madison" for the Secretary of State. The westerly branch became the "Jefferson" River, "in honor of that illustrious personage Thomas Jefferson, President of the United States."

Because it flowed from the west, the captains decided to follow the Jefferson River. Learning from Sacagawea that they were now within the traditional food-gathering lands of her people, Lewis went ahead to look for the Shoshones. He reached a spring in the mountains in mid-August, which he called "the most distant fountain" of the Missouri River. Just beyond was a saddle in a high ridge (today's Lemhi Pass), from which Lewis saw towering, snow-covered mountains to the west. A brook at his feet ran westward, and he knew he had crossed the Continental Divide. The brook was one of many tributary streams of today's Snake River, joining the Columbia River.

Immediately west of the Continental Divide, Lewis came upon two Shoshone women and a girl digging edible roots. Lewis gave them presents, and soon, they were joined by a large number of Shoshone men on horseback. Lewis rejoined Clark and the main party, returning from this scouting trip accompanied by several Shoshones. The explorers formed a camp with the Indians a few miles south of present-day Dillon, Montana, called "Camp Fortunate." Here, Sacagawea found a childhood girlfriend. The girl had been with Sacagawea when both were captured but had escaped and returned to her people. Sacagawea learned that her brother, Cameahwait, was now chief of the tribe. It was an emotional scene when brother and sister were reunited.

Thinking ahead to their return journey, Captain Lewis ordered the canoes submerged to "guard against both the effects of high water and that of fire the Indians promised to do them no intentional injury." The party then proceeded across the Continental Divide to the main village of the Shoshones. With Sacagawea providing vital service as an interpreter, a Shoshone guide was hired, and trading with the Indians for riding and pack horses was successful. After a short stay, the now horse-mounted corps followed their guide, Old Toby, into the "formidable mountains."

September found the half-starved explorers surviving on horse meat while following the Lolo Trail's ancient Indian route across the Bitterroot Mountains in modern Montana and Idaho. During an early-season snowstorm, they encountered fallen timber, bone-chilling cold, and slippery, hazardous travel. Descending the west slope of the mountains, they reached a village of the Nez Perce.

Here, the natives provided a salmon, roots, and berries feast. The ravenous explorers found, to their dismay, that this unaccustomed diet made them extremely ill.

The group reached today's Clearwater River, where they branded and left their horses in the care of the Nez Perce until their return. They built new canoes and proceeded through boulder-strewn rapids, making speedy but risky progress. They reached the Snake River and then the Columbia River on October 16. They floated down that mighty river reaching the now inundated "Great Falls of the Columbia" (Celilo Falls) near the modern Oregon town of The Dalles. Here, and also when confronted by the raging rapids within the Cascade Mountains that Clark called the "Great Shute," they again were forced into toilsome portages.

On November 2, they drifted into the quiet upper reaches of tidewater on the Columbia. On November 7, Clark wrote: "Great joy in camp we are in view of the Ocean, this great Pacific Ocean which we have been so long anxious to see." They were still 25 miles upstream and saw the storm-lashed waves of the river's broad estuary.

For the next nine days, savage winds blew, ocean swells rolled into the river, and the rain poured down, stranding them in unprotected camps just above the tide at the base of cliffs. In mid-November, the captains finally strode upon the sands of the Pacific Ocean near the Columbia's mouth, the western objective of their journey. Clark recorded that 554 days had elapsed, and 4,132 miles had been traveled since leaving Wood River.

Pacific Ocean: November 1805 to March 1806
Captain Lewis carried a letter of credit signed by Jefferson, guaranteeing payment for the explorers' return by sea via any American or foreign merchant ship encountered in the Columbia River estuary. They saw no ships upon reaching the ocean, nor as their records reveal, would any enter the turbulent river entrance during their four-month stay at the coast. In truth, the captains never seriously intended to return by sea, preferring to establish a camp close to the coast instead. They hoped to obtain from trading ships "a fresh Supply of Indian trinkets to purchase provisions on our return home."

Due to the absence of game and their unprotected exposure to fierce winter storms on the Columbia (Washington State) north shore, the party crossed the river to the south side (Oregon), where Indians informed them elk and deer were numerous. An actual vote of the members was recorded, representing the first American democratically held election west of the Rockies that included the vote of a woman, Sacagawea, and a Negro-American man, York.

Crossing the river, they built their 1805-06 winter quarters on a protected site five miles south of modern Astoria, Oregon, naming it Fort Clatsop for their neighbors, the Clatsop Indians. The men spent the winter hunting elk for food and making elk skin clothing and moccasins to replace their worn buckskins.

Lewis filled his journal with descriptions of plants, birds, mammals, fish, and amphibians, weather data, and detailed information on Indian cultures. Clark drew illustrations of many animals and plants and brought his maps of the journey up to date. Sacagawea joined Clark and a few men on a coast trip to procure oil and blubber from a "monstrous fish," a whale washed up on the beach. They visited the Expedition's salt-making camp at present-day Seaside, Oregon, where several men kept a continuous fire burning for nearly a month, boiling seawater, to produce twenty gallons of salt.

Return Journey: March 1806 to September 1806
On March 23, 1806, the explorers started back up the Columbia in newly acquired Indian canoes. At the Great Falls of the Columbia River, they bartered with local Indians for pack horses and set out up the river's north shore on foot. The party obtained riding horses from various tribes along the way and reached the Nez Perce villages in May. While camped among the Nez Perce for a month, waiting for the high mountain snows to melt, the captains gave frontier medical treatment to sick and injured Indians in exchange for native foods.

The Nez Perce rounded up the Expedition's horses that they had cared for over the winter, easing the captains' concern for adequate transportation as the party resumed its eastward travel in early June. Retracing their outbound trail through the Bitterroots, they were turned back by impassable snowdrifts and made their only "retrograde march" of the entire journey. After a week's delay, they started out again and successfully crossed the mountains. On June 30, they arrived at their outbound "Travelers Rest" camp, eleven miles south of modern Missoula, Montana, where they enjoyed a welcome rest from their toils.

On July 3, 1806, the party separated. With nine men, Lewis rode directly east to the Great Falls of the Missouri River. Then, with three men, he traveled north to explore the Marias River almost to the present Canadian border. Lewis and his companions camped overnight with some Blackfeet Indians, who attempted to steal the explorers' guns and drive off their horses at daylight. In describing the ensuing skirmish, Lewis related that he was fired upon by an Indian, which resulted in a near-miss that "I felt the wind of the bullet very distinctly." Lewis afterward would elaborate that two of the Blackfeet were killed during the brief encounter but that he and his companions miraculously escaped unharmed.

Meanwhile, with the balance of the party, Clark proceeded southeasterly on horseback, crossing the Rockies through today's Gibbons Pass. Returning to the Jefferson River (now the Beaverhead River in its upper reach), the submerged canoes were recovered and repaired. Clark placed some men in charge of the canoes while the others continued on with the horses, all following the river downstream to the Three Forks junction of the Missouri River.

Here, the group is divided. The canoe travelers continued down the Missouri River to White Bear Island, where they recovered their cached equipment and portaged back around the falls. With the remainder, Clark rode their horses easterly to explore the Yellowstone River. While the Expedition was again passing through the Shoshone lands, Sacagawea remembered from her childhood, Clark praised her "great service to me as a pilot."

Upon reaching Yellowstone, new canoes were made. Clark assigned three men to drive the horses overland while he and the others drifted down the river. On July 25, 1806, Clark named an unusual rock formation on the south bank of the Yellowstone River (Montana) "Pompy's Tower" in honor of Sacagawea's son.

The parties were reunited on August 12 near the confluence of the Yellowstone and the Missouri rivers. Here, Clark learned that Lewis had been shot while searching for game in the brushy shoreline of the Missouri River. In his buckskin clothing, Captain Lewis was mistaken for an elk by Pierre Cruzatte. Clark treated and dressed the wound with medicines they carried.

Arriving at the Mandan villages on August 17, the Charbonneau family was mustered out of the Expedition. At his request, Private John Colter was discharged to join a fur trapping party bound up the Missouri River. The remainder of the party, accompanied by a Mandan chief and his family, headed down the Missouri River on the last leg of the homeward journey.

After September 23, 1806
On September 23, 1806, the tattered Corps of Discovery arrived at St. Louis and "received a hearty welcome from its inhabitants." Jefferson's explorers had covered 8,000 miles of territory over 2 years, 4 months, and 9 days. Its records contributed important information concerning the land, natural resources, and native peoples. Lewis and Clark learned that the surprising width of the Rocky Mountains chain destroyed Jefferson's hoped-for route between the Missouri and Columbia River systems. This finding resulted in a passage over what is now South Pass (Wyoming) during later trips westward by fur traders and other explorers. Despite difficulties, Lewis and Clark remained friends after the Expedition. Congress rewarded the officers and men of the military enterprise, including Toussaint Charbonneau, with land grants. Neither Sacagawea nor York received compensation for their services.

On February 28, 1807, President Jefferson picked Lewis as Governor of the Upper Louisiana Territory. His career started well, but controversy involving government finances arose in 1809, culminating with his decision to travel to Washington, D.C., to resolve the dispute. Traveling through Tennessee, Governor Meriwether Lewis, on October 11, 1809, died mysteriously from gunshot wounds inflicted while at Grinder's Stand, a public roadhouse. It is not known conclusively whether he was murdered or committed suicide. His grave lies where he died, within today's Natchez Trace National Parkway near Hohenwald, Tennessee.

Clark enjoyed a lifelong, honorable career in public service in St. Louis. On March 12, 1807, Jefferson commissioned him Brigadier General of Militia and Indian Agent for Upper Louisiana Territory. In 1813, he was appointed Governor of Missouri Territory, which he held until Missouri Statehood in 1820. In 1822, he was appointed Superintendent of Indian Affairs by President Monroe. He was reappointed to this post by each succeeding President and served in this capacity for the remainder of his life. General William Clark died of natural causes in St. Louis on September 1, 1838, and is buried in the Clark Family plot at Bellefontaine Cemetery, St. Louis. 


Compiled by Dr. Neil Gale, Ph.D.