Apologies for the radio silence. It has been a good trip to Pensacola and I have plenty to report, but frankly, I haven’t slept well the entire week, so I’ve neither heard nor felt the presence of Calliope at all.

Writing advice courtesy of The Worst Muse. Source: io9.com

That, plus I was told on Thursday that — surprise — I’m now the lead catechist in a class that starts this Sunday. It’s not difficult, but I never wing it in a classroom, so the only writing I’ve been doing over the past 24 hours is a lesson plan on this week’s Gospel reading and Our Lady of Fatima.

OK. Here’s a brief progress report on the data gathering for Emmett Wilson Research Trip II:

• The ‘new’ information gathered on this trip confirms Emmett’s whereabouts in his timeline (something I’ve kept since the beginning of this project over two years ago), what he was doing, where he was living, who his associates were.
  

  Ad from The Chipley Banner, 1894. DJ Jones was a well-established attorney and judge for many years. Source: Chronicling America.com

  For example, in 1901, when Emmett found out he wasn’t going back to West Florida Seminary to finish his degree, he worked for about six months for a judge in Chipley, D.J. Jones.

• I’ve located one of the descendants of Judge Jones. I can now ask her if there are any papers or journals anywhere. There’s a new avenue to explore.
• I have made new friends in three county courthouse archives: Escambia, Santa Rosa, Jackson. These are wonderful ladies; all care very much about history and love that someone else is excited about it, too. All of these clerks let me see and handle original documents. (If any students of mine are reading this, note: NONE of this was online, although it might be one day. And yes, research IS hands-on; also, making friends with archivists is one of the best things you can do in investigations.)

I’m getting ready to schlep over to the airport, return my car, and hope that Hurricane Joaquin won’t impact the trip back to D.C. all that much. Maybe I’ll get some sleep, too.

I’ll report back in when I get home. I have a lot to tell you.

Categories: Book Florida History Research Status The Writing Life

Tagged as: Calliope Chipley D.J. Jones Emmett Wilson Research Trip II Our Lady of Fatima West Florida Seminary

jsmith532

Professor,
Communication, Arts, and the Humanities
The University of Maryland Global Campus