April 9, 2022Chevy Chase, Maryland Emmett’s command performance for Whit Kelly in Columbus, Georgia on October 24, 1911 wasn’t solely to placate Kelly. Someone else was watching this play out for a good reason, and it wasn’t Byrd Kelly. It was Frank Mayes. Mayes and the Florida Democratic Executive Committee […]
September 29, 20155 pmPensacola, Florida What: Emmett Wilson and Byrd Kelly’s engagement announcement. Where: Walter Kehoe’s annual summer vacation gathering at St. Andrews, Florida; August 1-14, 1911. Why/how: In June, 1911 Emmett was named (not elected) State’s Attorney for his brother Cephas Wilson’s unfinished term as State Attorney. This was […]
September 29, 20153:15 pmPensacola, Florida When Nancy and I returned to the hotel, we found an empty table near the gigantic coffee pot. Nancy made us both two cups of coffee, while I pulled out my laptop and a folder of notes, a spreadsheet, archived newspaper clips, and letters, and […]
January 25, 2022Chevy Chase, Maryland While Nancy and I were still in Pensacola and talking about the adventures of Emmett Wilson in 1911, I found this little snippet from the want-ad section of April 11, 1911 issue of The Pensacola Journal, and I shared it with her: If you’re wondering […]
September 29, 20151:25 pmPensacola, Florida After spending several productive hours with the awesome Santa Rosa Court archivists, Nancy and I went to Denny’s for brunch to review where we were so far with Emmett’s discovery. There’s nothing like a plate load pancakes and pots of coffee to refuel and relax. […]
September 28, 20153:45 pmPensacola, Florida Nancy and I made plans to hit the Santa Rosa County archive in Milton the next day; because we were archived out after eight hours with the Escambia County folks, we decided to visit historic St. Michael’s Cemetery. Several of Emmett’s good friends were buried […]
September 10, 2015Chevy Chase, Maryland As of today, I booked my second research trip to Pensacola. It’s time: I’m at the point in his story that I have to know what kind of lawyer he was, and how his political background was developing. What papers I can see online are […]
October 19, 2019Chevy Chase, Maryland The remainder of 1909 was rather busy for Emmett — he divided his time traveling for the L&N case for most of the year, between Pensacola, and Louisville — he spent Thanksgiving in Louisville — only to return home to head to Tallahassee for U.S. […]
March 15, 1908, Plaza Ferdinand VIIPensacola, FL Frank Mayes enjoyed visiting the Plaza Ferdinand VII park, especially on this pleasant Spring day. A soft breeze rustled the new leaves in nearby trees; the sun was warm, birds twittered here and there on nearby benches. An occasional passerby nodded greetings as […]
September 16, 2015The Library of CongressWashington, D.C. I admit it was a surprise finding this tidbit when I was scrolling through the archives on a recent visit to the Library of Congress research rooms: And here I was thinking — up until now — Emmett was basically an unknown, unconnected […]
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