Author Archives: Diana
Rev. David Elkins and Abraham Lincoln and Spencer County, Indiana
Rev. David Elkins was the brother of my 4th great grandfather (John H. Elkins) on my father's side of my family tree. David was born about 1779 in Montgomery County, Virginia, where most of my father's ancestors lived for generations. Around the year 1800, when he was about 21, David…
S.S. Columbia sailing [video]
A short video of the Columbia, the ship Rev. William Weiler came to the in May 1891 on, filmed only 3 years later in June 1902. It shows the ship as it gets under way in Hoboken, with waving passengers. I suspect the scene would have been similar when it…
Wagner Treasure Trove of Photos
Recently my cousin Ben Wagner sent me scans of over a hundred photos that were in boxes from his parent’s estate. I was thrilled to discover a photo of my great great grandfather William Wagner in his Civil War uniform. I had written an extensive chapter about him and his…
Are we related to John Philip Sousa?
Yes! We ARE related to the famous American conductor and composer John Philip Sousa (1854-1932). Sousa is best known for composing the marches "The Stars and Stripes Forever" (National March of the USA) and "Semper Fidelis" (official march of the United States Marine Corps). John Philip Sousa was born in…
Bill Russell, Cosimo Matassa, and the Musical Culture of the French Quarter
February 03, 2016 Robert Ticknor, reference assistant, The Historic New Orleans Collection ... Russell, born in 1905 in Canton, Missouri, became an indefatigable jazz-record collector after he found a Jelly Roll Morton record that one of his students had left in the classroom at the school on Staten Island where…
Bill Russell and the Discovery of Jazz
Leading A Revival 12/28/2018 Jason Berry photograph courtesy of Preservation Hall An eccentric man of many talents, William Russell was a catalytic presence in the rise of early jazz. Born in 1905 in Canton, Ohio, the classically trained violinist got hip to the groove in 1928 while teaching in New…
Bill Russell’s Explorations Of The Origins Of Jazz
Published in Offbeat Magazine MARCH 1, 1996by: JASON BERRY1 COMMENT 1 When The Outspoken Jazz Documentarian Died, Much History Died With Him. But He Left Behind Enough To Keep Historian Arguing For A Very Long Time. Editor’s Note: This is the second installment of Jason Berry’s continuing series on the history…
Rollin’ on the River: Pittsburgh Shanty Boat Life
This article by Sue Morris discusses shanty boat living in Pittsburgh, a topic close to my mom's heart, who lived on several in the 1960s on the Allegheny River. Here are some excerpts: there were plenty of other Pittsburghers who called the rivers home year-round, for whom living on…
Grimm’s Landing, Pittsburgh
When I was born in 1964, my parents, Charles and Lois Thornton, were living on a 1-room houseboat docked just above "Grimm's Landing" (previously "Zubik's Landing") on the Allegheny River on the North Side of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Back then the river was lined with "squatters". The land that ran along…
Snowville by Rev. James T. Taylor
by Rev. James T. Taylor (ca 1912) About a hundred years ago , a village called Snowville on Little River, Pulaski County, Va. miles south of Radford, was started. This village was called "The Foundry" at first, with the post office named Humility. In those days there were no postage…