Tag: Books

366 Days in History Series, Podcast - United States History Timeline

Podcast – Boston Tea Party

Parliament had passed the Tea Act on May 10, 1773 to help the struggling East India Company compete with other tea importers. The legislation allowed the company to undersell their competition, including colonial tea smugglers. The company sent ships to Boston, New York, Charlestown, and Philadelphia in September 1773 with combined cargoes of over 500,000 pounds of tea. Tea importers in Charleston, New York, and Philadelphia, under pressure from local patriot groups, refused the shipments. However, the Boston merchants allowed the ships to dock. Continue reading Podcast – Boston Tea Party

366 Days in History Series, Podcast - Stories of American History

Podcast – Beginning of the Boston Impressments – Sparked the Knowles Riots

Commodore Charles Knowles anchored his ship, the HMS Cornwall, in Boston Harbor in mid-November 1747 to retrofit and re-supply it. British seamen worked under harsh discipline, thus many of the crew deserted while the ship lay at anchor. When the ship prepared to depart, the ship was short of crew, so Commodore Knowles sought to replenish his crew by impressing Bostonians into naval service. Continue reading Podcast – Beginning of the Boston Impressments – Sparked the Knowles Riots

Podcast - Indiana Places and History, Road Trip Indiana Series

Working Men’s Institute Museum & Library

Philanthropist William Maclure established the Institute in 1838. The Working Men’s Institute inhabited a wing in the Harmonist Church until 1894. In that year, it moved to this impressive building three-story structure on Tavern Street. The Institute at one time comprised 144 Institutes in Indiana and additional sixteen in Illinois at its height. The Working Men’s Institute has dwindled to this location. This is the oldest continuously operating library in Indiana. Continue reading Working Men’s Institute Museum & Library

Podcast - Indiana Places and History, Road Trip Indiana Series

Podcast – Roofless Church in New Harmony, Indiana

Jane Blaffer Owen (April 1915 – June 21, 2010)
The daughter of Robert Lee and Sarah “Sadie” Campbell Blaffer, Jane was native to Houston, Harris County, Texas. Her father was the founder of Humble Oil Company, which later became Exxon. She attended The Kinkaid School in Margaret Kinkaid’s home, which is a college prepatory school for children K – 12. She attended high school at Ethel Walker School in Connecticut, graduating in 1933. She later attended Bryn Mawr College and the Union Theological Seminary in New York. She married Kenneth Owen, who was a descendent of Indiana philosopher, manufacturer and social reformer Robert Owen. The couple would have 2 children. Kenneth was from the small Indiana town of New Harmony. Continue reading Podcast – Roofless Church in New Harmony, Indiana

366 Days in History Series, Podcast - Stories of American History

Podcast – First Continental Congress assembles in Philadelphia

The crises with England had grown after Parliament passed the so-called Intolerable Acts. In an attempt to provide a united response to Parliament and get the Acts repealed, delegates from twelve of the thirteen colonies on the Atlantic seaboard assembled in Philadelphia at Carpenter’s Hall. The last inter-colonial meeting had been the Stamp Act Congress of 1765. Continue reading Podcast – First Continental Congress assembles in Philadelphia

366 Days in History Series, Podcast - Stories of American History

First of the Hutchinson Letters Published

June 29, 1773 – First of the Hutchinson Letters Published
Leaking sensitive government documents is nothing new. Ben Franklin, in an attempt to soothe the heat of the growing American Revolution, ended up fanning the flames instead when he sent a packet of letters written by Boston Royal Governor Thomas Hutchinson that he had acquired to colonial leaders. Continue reading First of the Hutchinson Letters Published

Indiana's Governors, Sample Chapter

Sample Chapter – Thomas Posey

The details of Thomas Posey’s parentage are uncertain. Historians know that he was native to a farm on the banks of the Potomac River near Mount Vernon. Rumors persist that he was the illegitimate son of George Washington, however no one has ever been able to either prove or disprove it. We know little of his early childhood except that Thomas enjoyed George Washington’s patronage as a child. Continue reading Sample Chapter – Thomas Posey

366 Days in History Series, Podcast - Stories of American History

Podcast – Slave Girl Priscilla Begins Her Horrible Journey

Kidnapped in the African interior of the Rice Coast, a ten-year-old girl joined eighty-three other kidnapped Africans on the slave ship, the Hare April 9, 1754. After a ten-week voyage, the girl, whose African name is lost to the ages, was sold to a Carolina rice plantation owner at auction in Charlestown. He named her Priscilla. Continue reading Podcast – Slave Girl Priscilla Begins Her Horrible Journey

Indiana's Governors

Indiana’s Governors – Book 1

Learn about Indiana’s early governors by reading the book, Indiana’s Governors – Book 1. The book provides biographies for the Territorial governors Arthur St. Claire of the Northwestern Territory to Indiana Territory governors William Henry Harrison and Thomas Posey of the Indiana Territory. The first seven governors of the State of Indiana from Jonathan Jennings to Paris C. Denning are also included. These were the governors that served Indiana residents from the time of the 1816 Constitution until the 1851 Constitution took effect. Continue reading Indiana’s Governors – Book 1

366 Days in History Series, Podcast - Stories of American History

Podcast – The Rescue of Alexander Selkirk – Progenitor of Character Robinson Crusoe

British governor Woodes Rogers, during his mission to destroy the Pirate Republic, accidentally found Alexander Selkirk, who had been stranded on an island for over four years. Author Daniel Defoe used the experience of Selkirk to write his classic book, Robinson Crusoe. Continue reading Podcast – The Rescue of Alexander Selkirk – Progenitor of Character Robinson Crusoe

366 Days in History Series, Podcast - Stories of American History, Video

Podcast – The First Woman Hanged In Georgia

Colonial justice was harsh and quick. Just over one year after Oglethorpe founded Savannah in 1733 indentured servants Alice Riley and her boyfriend, Richard White allegedly murdered their master William Wise, becoming the first murderers in the fledgling settlement. The first hanging came just weeks after the murder. Continue reading Podcast – The First Woman Hanged In Georgia

Podcast - United States History Timeline, Timeline of United States History

Podcast – The Pilgrims – Part 3

Pilgrim women gave birth to two children on board the Mayflower. The first, Oceanus Hopkins, was born during the voyage. His parents, Stephen Hopkins and his wife, Elizabeth, named him Oceanus because he was born on the ocean. Peregrine’s parents, William White and wife Susanna named him Peregrine because he came into the world during the peregrination, or journey. The word “peregrinus” means “pilgrim” in Latin. Naming children for important events was common in the Seventeenth Century. Continue reading Podcast – The Pilgrims – Part 3

Podcast - Indiana Places and History, Road Trip Indiana Series

Podcast – Eli Stout Print Shop

Located near the Red House, the last building on the tour is the Eli Stout Print Shop. Mr. Stout served as the printer for the Indiana Territory. He received $500 per year to print the laws passed by the Territorial Assembly. The building originally stood on Second Street before the State moved it to this location. The shop has a printing press similar to the one Stout used. A fire in the print shop destroyed his press. The shop also has a replica newspaper of one he printed, type cases and other tools used by printers of that era. Continue reading Podcast – Eli Stout Print Shop

Podcast - United States History Timeline, Timeline of United States History

The Pilgrims – Part 2

The Pilgrims arrived in Southampton on the Speedwell from their refuge in Leiden, Holland. In Southampton, they were to rendezvous with the Mayflower and some other settlers. The Pilgrims planned to sail to the New World on the two ships. These two ships departed Southampton, England around August 5. The Speedwell created the first of what were many problems by springing a leak. The ships put in at Dartmouth to repair the ship. Continue reading The Pilgrims – Part 2

Podcast - Stories of American History, Timeline of United States History

Podcast – First Blacks Land at Jamestown Virginia

First Blacks Land at Jamestown Virginia
Sometime in late August, 1619 a ship docked at Jamestown bearing a cargo of blacks. The probable origin of these people was Angola, Africa. Thus, the first blacks had arrived in the New World. The status of these people is unknown. The institution of slavery did not exist yet. Many historians feel that these blacks served as indentured servants for a period. There are records that blacks received awards of land in later years, lending credence to that theory. Continue reading Podcast – First Blacks Land at Jamestown Virginia