Look what came in the mail this week! It is the history of the first 100 years of Stetson University by Gilbert Lycan, a longtime professor of history at Stetson. The book is out of print, but I found a great copy via Amazon from a used book store for […]
Good news: I’m nearing the end of the first installment of Emmett Wilson’s biography. There is definitely some light shining in the tunnel, even though I still have quite a way to go before the journey is complete. In January, I decided to break the story of Emmett’s life into […]
Continuing the story of Emmett’s youngest brother, Walker (no middle name) Wilson: Walker started a career with the Seaboard Air Lines Railroad around 1908, and moved to Tampa. Two years later, in 1910, Walker married Jesse Evans, of Gainesville. The family genealogy reports that Walker met Jesse in Gainesville while […]
Our last sibling essay in Emmett Wilson’s family story focuses on the youngest son, Walker Wilson. Walker was born in Chipley, Florida in 1884, six months after his family emigrated back to the U.S. from Belize, when Emmett was two years old. I have a few clips from the Chipley […]
For the past week, I’ve been working on the section of the book about Emmett’s graduation ceremony from Stetson University, and searching for Emmett’s valedictory speech. While the archive has a few things from 1904, such as Emmett’s commencement program, Emmett’s speech isn’t there — and unless his Elusive Scrapbooks […]
Readers, early on in the Emmett Wilson research, I found this article from The Richmond (Va.) Times-Dispatch: Julia Maxwell, Emmett’s first cousin, was the only daughter of Emilie Cussen and Walker Anderson Maxwell, who were married in 1902, in Richmond, Virginia. Julia, named for Walker’s mother, Julia Anderson Hawkes Maxwell, was born […]
Earlier this week, we looked at a few of Emmett’s colleagues from his early days in Pensacola. Since then, I’ve had an update on Emmett’s uncle, Walker Anderson Maxwell, from the excellent Sue Tindel of the Jackson County (Florida) County Courthouse. Just to review, here’s the newspaper clip from the last post: […]
Emmett’s brother, Percy Brockenbrough Wilson, was born in Holly Springs, Marshall County, Mississippi, on October 25, 1871. Percy was the fourth son of Dr. Francis C. and Elizabeth Maxwell Wilson, only about 18 months after the Wilsons moved from Pensacola to Holly Springs. As discussed elsewhere in the blog, […]
The third chapter of Emmett’s book is moving right along, but now and then I have to step away from it. I’ve been steeped in Emmett Wilson’s life and the 1910s for three years. Sometimes, I just need a break, to read something different, and to do something 21st-Centuryish. Otherwise, […]
I’ve discovered more about the story behind yesterday’s post, and the article featuring Emmett — a mere Freshman in the world of West Florida politics — in the company of several leading Florida politicians. Apparently this was not a simple tag-along for neophyte lawyer Emmett; there was a specific purpose: […]
Tell my story. 