Continuing the study of A. Max Wilson’s children, we now meet the second son, James Fannin Wilson. And confidentially, I’ve sat on the story of Fannin for several days because I wasn’t sure how to present it. In straight journalism, one presents the data, without editorializing or embroidering the piece further. […]
Dateline: April 30, 1914. The scene: Statuary Hall, U.S. Capitol, Washington, DC. Emmett Wilson, accompanied by a delegation from Florida, dedicates and unveils the statue of Dr. John Gorrie, the inventor of artificial refrigeration. Gorrie was, according to The Pensacola Journal of February 1, 1914, a man “memorialized in every ton of […]
One of the challenges in doing research on an obscure person who lived 100 years ago, as did Emmett Wilson, is that the majority of their correspondence and records might not exist. Time can be tough on historic documents. For instance, colleagues at Stetson University Archives have told me that […]
Last week, I mentioned that Katie Wilson Meade’s granddaughter shared a seven-page narrative that Katie wrote about her (and Emmett’s) childhood when they lived in Belize. Katie, Emmett, and Julian were the only Wilson children born in Belize. They emigrated back to the U.S. in 1884. Emmett and Julian were […]
Congratulations to colleagues at the University of West Florida: In the article, Garner said he happened upon the artifact site quite by accident: Driving along, he saw disturbed dirt at a construction site, in an area he’d long thought ‘might’ be the location of the Luna settlement. “Might.” He wasn’t […]
This was an interesting find the other day. Yes, this is the veritable “Who’s Who” of Florida’s legal and political leadership as of 1899. If you were ANYBODY of importance, your mug was here, in this eye-test of a montage. I went through every single doggone one of these images. […]
When I was in Pensacola, I had a list of places I wanted to visit, and as I put the list together, I realized I had a theme going — so, I decided to give it a name: The Death Tour. Apropos as we near Halloween. Stop one: 904 North […]
I spent most of last week in three different courthouse archives: Escambia, Santa Rosa, and Jackson Counties, Florida. I don’t have a favorite. They are all my favorites. Know why? It isn’t about the records. It’s about the archivists — the unsung heroes and heroines who care for ancient and […]
Folks, I’m spending a few days decompressing from the road trip to Pensacola. I have to take a few days off from research and writing about our guy because, frankly, I’m beat. It was a great trip, and I enjoyed it, but it was intense and compressed. I can’t get […]
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. That, plus I was told on Thursday that — surprise […]
Tell my story. 