Category Archives: Florence Stratton

Thoughts and Ramblings: Whereabouts Unknown Forgotten Cemeteries

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For centuries, those who traveled to and resided along the Neches River eventually expired, and their offspring laid them to rest, usually on a bluff because it was the highest land they could find, and it was safe from flooding. The original residents—the Atakapa, Karankawa, and Nacazils—made their homes on bluffs, along what is now the Port Neches area. During the 1,500 years of history that these tribes lived here (archaeological records go back between 10 and 12 thousand years), six burial mounds were built along the bluffs. According to a W. T. Block article, these burial mounds were 60 feet (18 m) wide, 20 feet (6.1 m) tall, and 100 yards (91 m) long.

When Joseph Grigsby arrived in 1827 (we’ll talk about Grigsby Cemetery later), he tore down one mound to build slave quarters and other structures on his farm. According to W. T. Block, “between 1841 and 1901, all six of the mounds disappeared due to human actions.” At least two of the clam-and-sea-shell burial mounds ended up on the muddy Beaumont streets. There is no mention of where the seven-foot Indians they pulled out of the mounds were reinterred (because they weren’t). Good or bad, history is messy.

One note: The Native tribes of our area take me to the writings of Mrs. Bruce Reid, as Florence Stratton would introduce her. Bessie Reid from Port Arthur was a birder who wrote extensively on Native American tribes. She was the primary researcher on Florence’s last book, When the Storm God Rides: Tejas and Other Indian Legends. Bessie also wrote the legendary story of Kisselpoo, which was published on July 1, 1923, in The Port Arthur News. This story was a compilation of what you can find in the abovementioned book, with a twist. Reid took many tales and myths from around Texas and used them to create one of her own. This story, or legend, lived for many decades, but fact and fiction tend to become fuzzy after many years, and history gets lost in time—until someone points it out (I digress).

Over the years, I’ve discussed several stories of cemeteries that have reached the “whereabouts unknown” status, but once you start delving into an area’s history, you find more questions than answers. God help those at the state level (I’m referring to you, Texas Historical Commission!), but I’m at the county level (the Jefferson County Historical Commission) or, actually, at the multicounty level, so I may be of help in some ways. Free of charge, by the way. You’re welcome! No taxpayer dollars were spent or harmed during my research. It’s called volunteering.

For the past 18 months, the Texas Historical Commission has been updating its Texas Historical Sites Atlas and reaching out to all county historical commissions and the public for help. This is needed especially when it comes to cemetery sites. Luckily, in Jefferson County, we had a trooper who compiled a lot of information on the county’s cemeteries and put them in three books, which you can download for free on the website of the Jefferson County Historical Commission. I’ll leave a link at the bottom of this blog.

The trooper in question was Mildred Wright, who was known as the Cemetery Lady because of her years of hard work researching on the county’s cemeteries as cemetery chair on the commission. Her work gives those who came after her a head start, but still not all the answers. I’ll reference Lewis Cemetery here, which is in Mildred’s books. We have a general idea of where it was located—between 19th Street and 23rd Street in Beaumont. I also know this cemetery because I went through the files of the historian Bill Quick, which are kept at the Sam Houston Center in Liberty, Texas. Quick had an article from the 1930s about a cemetery located on the Lewis tract, around 200 yards from the end of Calder Avenue. At the time, Calder Avenue ended on 11th Street (remember, there was no interstate back then!).

Here in Mid-Jefferson County, along the Neches River, there are a few modern, uncharted cemeteries that have been forgotten or just blatantly desecrated. I say “modern,” but the time frame is 200+ years. Joseph Grigsby died in September of 1841, and he is supposedly buried at the end of Grigsby Avenue, where his house was. In terms of research, this is hearsay and legend. We can’t confirm where he is buried, but we do know that many pioneers were interred along the banks of the Neches River.

The headstone of Sebron Berry is the only one located at Sunoco Partners Marketing and Terminals, but there are other possible burials in the vicinity. The company reached out to the Jefferson County Historical Commission before running a pipeline through this unknown area. Thanks to those on this project for caring and taking the time to tell us, as well as for moving their project away from a cemetery. There are many other stories with no happy endings like this one.

Remly-Hillebrandt Cemetery is a site W. T. Block wrote about. I’ll link his article at the bottom of this blog. When you read it, you can tell that he was ticked off. The cemetery, located on the southeast corner of the Dearing and Rachford Streets intersection, was bulldozed and concreted in the 1940s. W. T. discovered this after he returned from serving in the army during World War II.

Another Port Neches cemetery that is lost is the original Block Cemetery. It may have also been called the Block-Merriman Cemetery because—I believe—the Merriman family purchased the land. W. T. mentions that his grandfather and his uncle Earnest died the same year and were buried there in 1893. The cemetery was located somewhere between Llano and Merriman Streets, which run parallel to each other. I’ve added a map to show where this cemetery would have been, or might still be, because in 1905, when the Merriman family “began building streets and surveying their property into town lots, Dad and Uncle Martin (fearing the original Block Cemetery would not survive) had Grandpa Albert’s and Uncle Earnest’s bodies disinterred and re-buried in the new Block Cemetery, now Oak Bluff.”

That quote was from W. T.’s autobiography. I’m glad he mentioned his uncle Martin because I have a spiritual connection to him. As I’ve said before, I live under the oaks on Ye Olde Block Farm, where Martin was the first farmer. I thank him for planting these beloved live oaks before 1908. I love these trees!

Hoppy Easter to those who celebrate! Until next time . . .

Bessie Reid and the Story of Kisselpoo:

Bessie Reid and the story of Kisselpoo; Sorry for ruining your childhood stories; Iron Eyes Cody was Italian; Gremlins in the courthouse; Old Roy

THC Texas Historic Sites Atlas:

https://atlas.thc.texas.gov/Map

History of Jefferson County – Cemeteries: Mildred Wright

https://jeffersoncountytx.gov/Historical_Commission/Jeffco_History_Cemeteries.html

Southeast Texas Indian Homeland:

The Burial Mounds of Old Port Neches

http://www.wtblock.com/wtblockjr/indian.htm

History of the Neches River Bluffs in Jefferson County:

http://www.wtblock.com/smith.htm

W.T. Block Autobiography:

http://www.wtblock.com/AutoBiography.htm

Thoughts and Ramblings: Beaumont Heritage Happy Hour; Galveston’s Historic Homes Tour; Section W and X at Magnolia Cemetery and the Mayumi Child

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The Beaumont Heritage Society will be hosting a happy hour at Magnolia Cemetery on Thursday, March 20th, from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Sources say that this is the most requested place to host their event, and I believe them. There have been at least two happy hours at the cemetery, and both went well. Actually, they went very well after most of the guests indulged in their second beer on tap. Most of them went walkabout and did their own tours, while we had a significant number of people on the official tours. This year, we are doing 20–25-minute tours beginning every 20 minutes, so you don’t have to be there at the start. But get there early so you can partake in the craft beer that is offered.

In 2016 and 2017, Magnolia Cemetery and the Beaumont Heritage Society hooked up to do the same kind of event, and on both occasions, it was a success. We did a two-hour walking tour back then, and it still worked! On a side note, I’m up for a two-hour tour if you want, as long as it doesn’t clash with my work time. Have a group? Email me at rediscoveringsetx@gmail.com!

Galveston’s Historic Homes Tour is approaching fast (the first two weekends of May), and I already have my marching orders for Sunday, May 4, with the Candy Lady! I’m certain that there will be many “May the fourth be with you” references, especially because it’s a Sunday—I digress. I’ll be at the 1896 James and Pauline Foster House from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., then off to Mama Theresa’s before I board whatever boat is running to Bolivar Peninsula. I always seem to get the Robert H. Dedman. So, the song “Down Among the Dead Men” by Flash & the Pan usually plays. Yes, I’m a bit demented. Shout-out to the Titanic’s band, which continued to play!

The fifty-first Historic Homes Tour looks good; we’ll be doing it on Saturday, May 3rd. As usual, we will give you a heads-up regarding long lines and traffic, but when taking the tour, it is always good to have a plan, especially if you want to do so in one or two days. We’ll post the “What to Expect” on Friday. I also intend to make my yearly visit to Old City Cemetery that Friday evening to photograph the wildflowers and look for the resting place of Beaumont’s first mayor, Alexander Calder, who died in 1853.

I’ve been hibernating this winter, but I have received a few calls from a friend to offer some help concerning Magnolia Cemetery. He had a few questions about veterans and finding former mayors of Beaumont. My friend is determined. He has done a lot of volunteer work on the database to find all the World War I Beaumont Boys in order to inscribe their names on the World War I memorial, which The Beaumont Journal intended to do in the 1930s. He hates it when I put him on a pedestal, but the fact is that he goes above and beyond in his research. He is awesome, and I will call him Don in my praise so I don’t ruffle his feathers by stating his full name. He is one of the Smart est people I know when it comes to doing research, and I am constantly in awe when he brings history to life at our yearly Historic Magnolia Cemetery Tour!

Speaking of the Historic Magnolia Cemetery Tour, I’ve stated that we will be starting the tours at the front entrance of the cemetery, which is where we begin our yearly tour in October. We usually plan our tour to ensure that the public can participate, with all our presenters on Thursday evening and Saturday morning. This is difficult because the cemetery is eighty acres, and we have more than thirty thousand stories to tell. This is why we stick to the older parts at the front, but there are many tales to tell in other sections, such as Sections W and X. These areas have many tales to tell, and you’ve heard a few of them.

On our tour, you’ve seen one of our presenters, Katherine Leister, talk about the story of Florence Stratton, a.k.a. Susie Spindletop. Florence and family are at the top of the road, catacorner from the Herring Coe plot, which, as you may know, is located near Pine Street in Section T. As we travel through Sections W and X, you’ll notice many people who perished in 1918–1919. I would assume that some of these deaths have to do with the Spanish flu; there are also a few Beaumont Boys who died in World War I.

One grave that I checked, which usually isn’t widely known, is the Mayumi child. He is the only member left of the Mayumi family, which grew rice in Fannett. Unlike the Kishi family of Orange County, which stayed in our area, the Mayumis sold their land in 1924 due to the negative sentiment toward Japanese people that was prevalent in the 1920s. Here is their story!

In December 1917, Toshiko, Yasuo’s wife, bore her and Yasuo’s first child; unfortunately, the baby was born premature and lived only for one day. In a Beaumont Enterprise article, Gwendolyn Wingate wrote the following:

One evening in early December, Mayumi rode horseback up to the Bailey Wingate home. For days, it had been raining a cold drizzle, and the roads were underwater. Apologizing for what he said was an intrusion, Mayumi explained that his first child, a son, had been born, but after only one day of life, the baby was dead. Mayumi needed help.

Wingate’s sturdy widowed mother, Artemise, who had borne nine children and had seen three buried, bundled up against the cold and rode back to the Mayumi place with the men. She found Mayumi’s wife with the dead child in her arms, rocking back and forth in mute grief. She tried to comfort the woman who spoke no English and helped prepare the baby for burial.

Hope to see you on Thursday, March 20th. I want to remind you that there will be alcohol! Cheers! Come join the fun!

Galveston’s Historic Homes Tour:

Galveston Historic Homes Tour

Mayumi Family:

https://hirasaki.net/Family_Stories/Mayumi/Mayumi.htm

Flash And The Pan – And The Band Played On (Down Among The Dead Men) [1978]

Thoughts and Ramblings: Cemetery Preservation Workshop; Florence Stratton Research Findings, and Mistakes; Battleship Texas May Have a New Home

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On Wednesday, February 12, I attended the Cemetery Preservation Workshop and African American History Harvest, where I enjoyed the presentations by Carlyn Copeland Hammons, Jenny McWilliams, and Alan Garcia from the Texas Historical Commission. I also want to give a shout-out to the Jefferson County Historical Commission (JCHC) and the Tyrrell Historical Library for organizing this event and making it free to the public.

I loved seeing a few friends and fellow historical researchers that I hadn’t seen in a while. This was a plus, especially during the cemetery inventory talk, which took place after lunch. During this talk, we had some questions answered, and we received a couple of new assignments that I need to research. One topic that was discussed was multiple headstones, or headstones that were thrown away because the family bought a new one. This is definitely a thing. Every year, the JCHC gets a few calls asking whether there is a grave on properties in the county. Ninety percent of the time, the headstone was discarded from a cemetery because the family bought a new one. An attendee also brought up the subject of Anthony Cemetery. It seems that there are some headstones in a wooded area off Gill Street, which I need to investigate. If you have any information on Anthony Cemetery that you would like to share, please email me at rediscoveringsetx@gmail.com.

It rained while we did the walk-through at Pear Orchard Cemetery, but all in all, I think the event was a success! Hopefully, we can have a practical workshop at the cemetery to teach how to repair a headstone.

Finally, I want to give a shout-out to Chuck’s Sandwich Shop at 493 Pearl St. in downtown Beaumont. A friend recommended this place for lunch, and I WILL BE BACK! Support local businesses, especially if they are as excellent as Chuck’s Sandwich Shop!

Last weekend, a colleague brought to my attention a possible abandoned cemetery about 300 yards from Sarah Jane Bridge in Groves. He was told by someone that when they camped in the woods years ago, there were a couple of vaults near the waterline of the swamp in the area. This was before Jefferson Chemical (now Indorama) purchased the land in question. My colleague was also told that the vaults may now be under water. To be continued.

Also, last Saturday, I was out of town attending a wedding in Crosby. The venue was beautiful and surrounded by cows. Everything was perfect (except for the rain). The only thing I would suggest is knowing your clients. Play the right music when no one is dancing, and you keep edging them on. Both sides of the family were pro-Los Tucanes de Tijuana and didn’t want to listen to “Brown Eyed Girl”—I digress. “La Chona” it is!

Sunday was a good day for digging into my Florence Stratton files for someone who is writing an article on her for their newsletter. Once it’s out, I’ll share the link. On Monday, I was the Uber driver for some members of our family who took a cruise; I brought them to George Bush Intercontinental Airport. Of course, I gave them lots of information on Galveston’s history. I’m not Kathleen Maca, but after 14 years of visiting and volunteering there, I can pretty much fake it. And yes, I did drive through Old City Cemetery. I also want to give a shout-out to our lunch stop, Taco Mezquite at 422 Aldine Bender Road in Houston. Five stars!

When I began my research on Florence Stratton, a.k.a. Susie Spindletop, in 2012, I knew nothing about her. After more than 12 years, you’d think that I’m an expert on the subject. I would say yes and no. Every time I look into something, I find more information to file. This doesn’t include all of Florence’s family members and friends, who are relevant to telling her story. It’s a massive undertaking. My research on her is ongoing. I will keep the lines open for more info about her to come in. Her story will be told. Also, when I find an error in my research, I change what I’ve said. Unfortunately, some errors come from past information found by other researchers, but some are my fault. We’ll deal with two of my mistakes first.

On Wednesday, I was still trying to understand why Florence had taught at Miss Anne’s Private School around 1903. I found this detail in one of her obituaries from The Beaumont Enterprise, which was published on January 29, 1938. My copy from the relevant microfilm is mostly illegible. I visited the Sam Houston Regional Library and Research Center in Liberty to get a scanned copy of the obituary, and the one I got is better than my microfilm copy, but it’s not perfect. I also checked the Beaumont directories from 1903 and 1904, and there was no Miss Anne’s Private School. Basically, what happened was that I misread the obit—I thought it said “Miss Anne’s Private School” when it was actually “Miss Austin’s Private School.” This changes everything because we know that Florence also taught at Bell Austin’s Private School around that time. So, I can say for sure that Miss Anne’s was, in fact, Bell Austin’s.

My second mistake is not due to an error of mine but to the possible misnaming of a high school or a nickname used for it. In a few places, it is stated that Florence taught English at Central High School, but as we all know, this school did not exist in 1904. In an article from The Beaumont Enterprise dated September 2, 1903, we learn that Florence taught Grade 6 in North End (at the Millard School). Another article, dated September 19, 1904, states that Florence was teaching grammar at the high school. This article also mentions teachers from the other four Beaumont schools, the two in North End (one for Whites and one for Blacks both part of the Millard School) and the two in South End (one for Whites and one for Blacks). I’m 90 percent certain that Central High School was Beaumont High, but you never know what will suddenly appear and prove you wrong.

Well, I believe that the battleship Texas has found a home. It appears that BB-35 will be moored at Pier 15 near the Royal Caribbean International Terminal. I’ll leave it to the followers of the Battleship Texas Foundation’s Facebook page to decide whether this is a good or bad site because I have a life—I don’t have time for this jibber-jabber.

Until next time, my forecast has no cows, weddings, or family taxi services this weekend. “La Chona” it is!

Battleship Texas Foundation: 

https://www.facebook.com/groups/450347275643485/user/61555563144973

La Chona:  https://youtu.be/4gA5iaZ11lU?si=xgldfuR9UC3E4kIV

Thoughts and Ramblings

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I won’t research a family just for fun, especially if I’m not interested. Throughout my studies, I have mostly investigated individuals, not whole families. Wait a moment—that’s a lie! I have looked into the Kishi, Kondo, Rowley, and Norvell families because of what I found in terms of history. I’d say that the Rowley family research is second to the Stratton family research, which I will present to you below, as a result of many triggers. Gene was the initial spark. I went down many rabbit holes to trace her short life history. Then, it was her father’s untimely demise. Thanks to a family member, I found out about the story of Vera (Dido) and her brother Jerry, who were local musicians. They made George Jones, the “Possum,” write about them in his autobiography.

Last week, while searching for more information about Louise Stratton, I came across a census from 1880 that contained all the Stratton family members: Asa (the father), Louisa (the mother), Emily (the oldest sibling), Berta (the middle sibling), and Louise, who was three years younger than Berta. I may have seen this mentioned once in my more than twelve years of research on Florence Stratton, but I’ve never found the smoking gun to make my historical work accurate. To digress a bit, I never met the historian Bill Quick, but he is definitely in my head when I’m studying something, and everything I find is analyzed based on his rule. You must have at least three sources to paint an accurate picture of what is happening. I believe it wasn’t a coincidence that I attended my first Jefferson County Historical Commission meeting in 2012, a year from the day he passed. Mr. Quick had a plan to be accurate in his research, and if I’m bringing up the rear in his absence, then that’s what I will do!

My research on Florence Stratton has shifted from her to her mother and father. In her father’s newspaper archives, I still haven’t found substantial information on Louisa, but I did discover more on Berta, including census pages and city directories concerning where she lived. Unfortunately, Berta was invalid (like Louise), and she died in 1902. As far as I know, Florence did not speak about her or Louise in Susie Spindletop’s Weekly Letter, which was published in The Beaumont Enterprise from February 28, 1926, to January 23, 1938. This is an epic find, but further research on the family is required.

Regarding Florence’s story, a master researcher—we’ll call her Kate H.—found a map of railroad stops in Texas from 1908. This haunts me a bit, but I was glad to learn that Florence’s niece, Eunice Stephens, was right when she said that a town had been named after her aunt in an interview in the 1980s. It wasn’t really a town, though; it was a railroad stop. Still, Florence Switch did exist. It had nothing to do with Florence in Texas, north of Austin. I’ll give Eunice kudos for this.

I wasn’t going to get into this, but since my whole feed has been yelling about the upcoming snow/ice/freeze/rainmageddon, I want to put my tinfoil hat on and rile you up even more. Forget that the government is releasing something via the High-Frequency Active Auroral Research Program and that there are drones in Orange County peeking into people’s rear windows. I want to talk about the fact that recently, every time it has snowed, we’ve had a hurricane. Actually, we’ve had one before and after the snow, so I have no idea what the future holds.

Growing up, there were a few times when it snowed, but they only closed the school because the heater wasn’t working. I’m not going to give a shout-out to the nuns or any other Peace Corps teacher at St. James because I hated that school. The only time I enjoyed being there was when I was in first grade and we had to sit in the hallway with the seventh graders. Bad weather ensued, and the seventh graders were crying that their homes had been destroyed by a tornado. Nothing major happened that day, and I made fun of those seventh graders. Yes, I was probably an a-hole, but I was in first grade!

I remember when it snowed on Christmas Eve, 2004. The cat was elated, but he wasn’t that happy when we evacuated on September 22, 2005. He lived through Rita, and when I came back, he had a girlfriend and kittens. I couldn’t catch him when we evacuated, but he found an alternative home for his family.

I also remember when it snowed in December of 2008. I remember this because I laid sod at an undisclosed government facility (we’ll call it MARAD). Of course, no one watered it, but we did get a considerable amount of snow around that time, which did the job. Thank you, mother nature, and not the government! On a side note, this week, during the US National Weather Service briefing for Lake Charles, Louisiana, I saw someone post that we are in the “snow cone of uncertainty!” Sometimes, I watch the briefings just for the comments.

I found out more about the spring cemetery tour this week, and there will be alcohol. So, stay tuned!

Stay safe this week. I hope that the snow cone of uncertainty doesn’t do too much damage.

Until next week, I yearn for Mr. Heat Miser to bless us again because his brother, Mr. Snow Miser, sucks!

Thoughts and Ramblings: Cemetery Edition

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I hope everyone is thawing out from last week’s arctic blast. Thankfully, it was a non-event here, but it was pretty nasty from the Texas panhandle to North Carolina. As I said before, I’d take a hurricane over any storm with ice or snow in it. To me, jacket weather is anything under 67 degrees, so take that as you will.

One positive side to the cold weather (besides the white beans and tamales smelling up the house) was my ability to finish digitizing a year’s worth of research, and boy, was it a mixture of both Southeast-Texas and World-War-II history. I also had a lot of entries from Find a Grave and Ancestry.com of people that I had to struggle to find why I was looking them up in the first place. This happens when someone contacts the Jefferson County Historical Commission (JCHC) because they saw a headstone on their new property or they drove by a property they’ve driven by for years and thought they were passing a cemetery, and then someone moved all the stones into a pile. These inquiries are taken seriously, and we get a couple of them yearly.

Most of the time, some headstones are discarded because the family has purchased another for their plots. This, at least, has usually been the case while I have been Cemetery Chair at the JCHC. I don’t know the etiquette of how to discard an old headstone, but a few years back, Magnolia Cemetery had an erosion problem around Babyland (a section for buried infants), so they used some of the discarded stones to help stop the erosion. This is a great idea to me, but if you are not in the know, and have no idea what is happening and are concerned you usually contact 12NewsNow instead of inquiring if there is a problem at the cemetery. “Of course, the graves are falling in Brakes Bayou. Film at 10.” Shout out to Gene Tuck! A blast from the past. I wonder if he still rides dirt bikes, but I digress.

We had someone contact the JCHC early last year about a possible incident of cemetery desecration on Moore Road near Sour Lake Road. Apparently, someone put a considerable number of old discarded headstones on a property in rows, and they were there for at least a few years because some people I talked to thought it was a cemetery. One day, someone drove by and saw they were all in a pile. Thinking that the owner was desecrating a cemetery, they contacted us. We thanked the person for the call because it is not beyond someone in our history to do this. Luckily, these were discarded stones. We traced them to Magnolia Cemetery. Most were from Section Seven, but all were accounted for. I have no idea who owned the property and decided years ago to place a fake cemetery on their property, but I do know that with all the land for sale on that road, no one wants the burden of dealing with a cemetery, fake or real. Ask a realtor!

A few cemeteries here in Jefferson County are abandoned, and some are even under concrete. W.T. Block wrote about a cemetery in Port Neches on Dearing and Rachford, the owner of which bulldozed the headstones in the 1940s. I believe Block because he was really pissed off when he wrote the article. He had just returned from the “European campaign” (World War II) and found the headstones removed and the graves under a slab.

Another cemetery that has been lost to time is the La Blue cemetery, which may have been a part of Spell Cemetery on Caswell Road. It is located between Spell Cemetery and the Dupont Credit Union (yes, under the highway). When you drive north over the LNVA Canal, you are driving over a cemetery under Highway 69-96-287. There is no record of burial removals. I will leave a link to an article I did on the Lewis Cemetery located somewhere between 19th and 23rd streets in the Calder addition. It also has been forgotten, and its were-a-bouts unknown.

During my research, which I digitized last week, I also came upon two articles from 1903 and 1910. The 1903 article stated that there were two coffins uncovered on Washington Street and Jefferson Street while a sewer line was being put in. (Washington Street is no longer a street. It was replaced with a railroad track.) The journalist wrote that this may have been the location of Robinson Cemetery, “which went out of commission in 1869 or 1870.” The 1910 article was more extravagant. The old cemetery was thought to be someone from the pirate Jean Lafitte’s gang. (Note: the pirate Jean Lafitte and his men are thought to be buried in this county and Orange County. I call B.S. If you disagree, then show me the money! Whether he died in France, Honduras, or an apartment in Los Angeles, I don’t care.) Argh!

A week later, I found another article stating that the land was a burial site used during the Civil War. Since then, there have been discussions of just how many people were buried there because of wounds inflicted during the Battle of Sabine Pass or from the yellow fever (“yellow Jack”). Some say 100, others say 500. I doubt we will ever know. I’ll leave a link to an article written by Judith Linsley about this cemetery and how historian Bill Quick found out the real story of Union Navy Lieutenant Robert Rhodes’s fate at the Battle of Sabine Pass. Also, I want to give a shout-out to Bitsy for reminding me of this history a couple of weeks back. You are missing out if you are not a Facebook follower of BeaumontTexasHistoryBits.

“Susie Spindletop’s Weekly Letter” was a permanent fixture each Sunday morning in the Beaumont Enterprise. There were a few occasions when Florence Stratton missed a week or two while traveling, but for the most part, Beaumonteers looked forward to reading about the gossip of their neighbors, or even themselves. In January of 1929, though, it was not good month for Florence. On January 9, she lost her sister Louise after being ill for several months. Then, on January 14, she lost who I consider to be her best friend, Willie Cooper Hobby, wife of W.P. Hobby. Needless to say, there was no new “Weekly Letter” from January 6 to February 3.

I’ve never found much information on Louise other than that she had been sickly all her life. She lived with her mother, Louisa, and father, Asa Stratton, until her mother’s death in 1895. After that, it seems she lived at different times with her older sister Emily and her husband, Walter Stevens, her sister Florence, and her father and new stepmother, Ina Smith Stratton.

I’ve stepped away from this research for a year now and believe it is time to jump back in. My goal this year, for what it’s worth, is to look into the Stratton family, particularly Louise and her mother, Louisa Waldman Stratton. To be continued.

As for Willie Copper Hobby, I’ll have something to say about her on the 14th.

Until then, ciao for now!

Mysteries of the Battle of Sabine Pass:

https://www.sfasu.edu/heritagecenter/3935.asp

Lewis Cemetery:

The Search for Lewis Cemetery

Thoughts and Ramblings: It Sucks Getting Old; Donating History; Legend of Bragg Road; Chambers House is Getting a Historical Marker; Godzilla

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I’ve had quite a few days off work these past few weeks. I mentioned last week that I couldn’t attend the Wings Over Houston airshow because I was having an ongoing issue with my landing gear. It’s nothing major; I just have a problem walking on uneven ground and long distances. This is a problem at Ellington field, and I knew there was no way I could get around without a golf cart. (Shout out to Magnolia Cemetery for providing golf carts for our tour two weeks ago because I was in the same predicament.)

This week I’ve been going through my books, etc., as part of a fall clean. There are a few books that I’ve purchased at estate sales just to save them, and Friday I decided to donate a few to the Tyrrell Historical Library and our own Jefferson County Historical Commission’s library. The American Heritage books found a good home at Tyrrell library, while the East Texas Historical Journal I purchased years ago went to the JCHC. There are a lot of good articles in these publications, and I copied the good stuff because that’s what you do when doing research. You are a researcher first and not an investor. Copies are best, although I cherish my autographed copy of the Story of Beaumont by Florence Stratton.

It’s that spooky time of year again. I did see the video and Beaumont Enterprise article of Tessa Noble’s journey down Bragg Road. That road is definitely spooky, and there is a light, but what it is I don’t know. Back in the 1980s, I investigated what, but my findings were inconclusive, as you can see in the article below, where I wrote about my experiences.

My last venture into the spooky realm might have been eerie, but Bragg Road has always been much more so, mainly because I have seen the light, so to speak. In the late 80s, a few friends and I frequented the sandy eight-mile road, which runs between Highways FM 787 and FM 1293 near the town of Saratoga. Located in the heart of the Big Thicket, one could definitely lose oneself in the pitch blackness of the forest. Except for the single light that mysteriously shines on occasion. But what is this all about? Let’s delve into the history of this lonely road.

In 1902, the Santa Fe railroad cut a line through the dense thicket between Saratoga and Bragg. These tracks were needed for hauling oil from the Saratoga oilfields, along with logs and cattle. For a long time, just one trip per day to Beaumont and back seemed to be enough to progress this wilderness into civilization. However, perhaps inevitably, the wilderness won, and the city of Bragg is all but forgotten.

In 1934, the tracks were removed, leaving behind a sandy road, which was used mostly by hunters who inadvertently kept the thicket from reclaiming it. It was around this time that some began seeing a strange light. (Note: In the book, Tales from the Big Thicket by Francis E. Abernethy, there was one sighting of the light even before the tracks were removed.)

So, what is behind this strange light that has been seen for nearly 80-plus years? The most common story is that a railroad man was decapitated in a train wreck, so now he holds a lantern high while he looks for his head. Other explanations include a Mexican cemetery where a foreman, rather than pay his road crew, killed them, and kept the money. They were swiftly buried. Now, their restless spirits haunt the road.

Whatever the source, there is a light on that darkened stretch. Skeptics will tell you that it is a reflection from car lights, but that would not explain the earlier sightings when there were few cars traveling down or near the road. Furthermore, the old Model T’s headlights wouldn’t have shined brightly enough. Another possibility is swamp gas. I could entertain this theory because of an investigation I was part of 25 years ago.

In the late 80s, I made numerous trips to Bragg Road. The first was a day trip, and my friends Bryan and Hector tagged along. I only mention this because, after being unsuccessful in identifying the road, we stopped at a store in Saratoga where Hector asked a lady where Bragg Road was. She explained how to get there and asked why we were looking for the road. Without pause, Hector explained we were going to a friend’s house that was located on the road. The lady grinned and wished us well. We found the road and traveled down all eight miles without ever seeing a house or any sign of life. We had a good laugh over this.

My second trip down Bragg Road was a night-time journey alone. On that trip, I saw nothing, only the blackness of the thicket. Fortunately, my next jaunt into the forest with friends paid off, and we saw the light. When standing on the tracks, it looked like an oncoming train. However, much as we tried, we could never get close to it. The light would flicker and then disappear.

On another occasion, Paul Newman (note: not the actor turned racecar driver turned salad-dressing king) and I undertook an investigation to find out just what the light was. We started by removing all evidence of tire tracks at the entrance to the sandy road, followed by all three turnarounds. We figured that if we saw a light, then we would have some idea if it were from a vehicle traveling down the road or something else. As the night progressed, we saw the light several times, but only one vehicle, other than ours, passed down the road. We checked each turnaround and found only one set of tracks. Our investigation ended without a clear answer as to the source of the light, or if it were indeed paranormal. However, we concluded that the light, at the very least, was not from a vehicle.

Usually, when I go down that road, I see the light, except on nights when there is a full moon. Although the light seems to be far off, I have talked to people who know people who have seen the light close up. Sadly, I have never personally met anyone who has done so, and I have not been privileged to witness it in close proximity. So, please take the last statement as is.

If you’re ever along the FM 787 or FM 1293 and want a thrill, just turn onto that dark sandy road. You may just see that ghostly train headlight coming toward you. And what a sight it will be.

Tessa Noble’s experience:

https://www.beaumontenterprise.com/entertainment/article/discover-haunted-saratoga-light-texas-s-bragg-road-19873849.php?fbclid=IwY2xjawGSbq5leHRuA2FlbQIxMQABHQhWc84Q6A6bwnqx3WQVy7xQEJz9JGkehCDorGFSRUAbBIK05GUYdEFtfA_aem_Q4H9-9QKe8gmkmaG2k0rww

A brand-new historical marker from the Texas Historical Commission will be dedicated next Saturday November 9 at 2240 Calder Ave in Beaumont. Some might know this address as the Chambers House Museum. You would be right! My favorite historic house in Beaumont is getting state recognition, as it should. The Chambers House began my journey into Southeast Texas history (SETX) in 2012 and love the family’s history. Thanks to the Jefferson County Historical Commission and the Beaumont Heritage Society for this. The dedication ceremony will take place from 10 a.m. to 11 a.m. Hope to see you there!

Seventy years ago today, Godzilla ゴジラ` first appeared on the big screen. Thanks to director Ishirō Honda and special effects master Eiji Tsuburaya, this franchise would span the globe for seven decades. The story of the King of the Monsters has changed through the years, but there has always been a constant flow of movies from the Toho Co., Ltd. In Japan, they produced thirty-three epic films, and as a fan of Kaijū (Strange Beast) movies, I tend to look upon these movies with fond memories.

As a child, I grew up watching Captain Kangaroo, The Electric Company, and Sesame Street (Shout out to Bunny Rabbit, Morgan Freeman, and Oscar the Grouch!), but Ultraman was my go-to. Yes, the monsters in both the Godzilla films and Ultraman were in rubber suits, and there was a lot of tin foil worn, but this was something that I couldn’t get enough of. Today, I still consider the Toho Co. films to be better than Hollywood’s take on Godzilla. Of course, the newer films have CGI, and to the eye, they are way better, but…

Godzilla was never a friend to humanity. Mothra was, but we will discuss this at a later date. From the first film in 1954, Godzilla came to destroy humanity as it knew it. Probably the best movie of the franchise was released last year: Godzilla Minus One ゴジラ-1.0マイナスワ told the origins of how the monster came to be and the postwar trauma of a country that was lied to by the government and suffered the realities of its actions. Godzilla was the boogie man ready to strike, per se, and a constant reminder to those who lived through postwar Japan and watched the early films.

Happy Godzilla Day!

Thoughts and Ramblings: Baseball; Tapeworms, Mrs. Sol Elisha, and Memorial Day

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Usually, when I’m spent, I hand the blog over to the reliever Susie, and boy did she give me a rabbit hole to explore this week. I had just finished reading The Wingmen: The Unlikely, Unusual, Unbreakable Friendship between John Glenn and Ted Williams by Adam Lazarus, and I was interested in mentioning Hank Greenberg and other Beaumont Exporters who famously made it to the major league, but then Susie mentioned Mrs. Sol Elisha, and down the rabbit hole I went. I even dragged a couple of other researchers down with me. Although I won’t be getting into the Beaumont Exporters, Hank Greenberg, or the odd couple (Ted and Glenn), I will get into a little bit of the Elishas’ story. Some more will follow next week.

The Elishas lived at 812 Magnolia, right next to Magnolia Park, which opened in 1911. Addresses can change over the years; also, according to Don Streater, a reporter for the Beaumont Enterprise, Piggly Wiggly bought the property in 1939. For researchers, Streater is NOT a source of accuracy. He forgot to mention that in 1929, the Masons bought the property, which was supposed to become a new Masonic temple. Plans change, and to this day, the site is still an empty lot. I’m sure Mrs. Sol Elisha would revel in knowing the absence of people, traffic, and baseballs.

In May 1916, the first lawsuit (for $15,940) was filed against the Beaumont Baseball Club, with Ed Stedman, H. C. Langham, and E. A. Fletcher as defendants. I’m sure some of you can recognize these names. The lawsuit against these property owners and baseball itself did not succeed.

I don’t know if the Elishas’ property was at the back of the home plate and the grandstand (I think it was) or in the homerun derby zone. However, I think they were disgruntled, and they had a good reason to be. Most of their gripes were related to baseballs hitting the roof and windows of their property, as well as other damages. Also, they lived in the same scenario that plagues anyone living near a high school football stadium today—loud, obnoxious fans and lots of people walking down their street. I feel for them, but this article appeared in October 1916. A Quaker Herb Extract advertisement states that this elixir got rid of a 33-foot tapeworm from Mrs. Elisha’s body and that you should buy it for a dollar.

The things you saw in the media in 1916 sucked as much as those in 2024. CHANGE MY MIND!

We’re still looking into the Elishas and this episode in particular, but after all that went on, Mrs. Elisha refused to give the baseballs back, so she accumulated a tub of them. Luckily, Florence did not accumulate the legs, arms, and tonsils thrown out by the new medical clinic built next to her apartments on Magazine Street.

It’s Memorial Day weekend, and I hope you understand what this holiday is all about. It is not about barbecues, beaches, jeeps, and you getting a DWI charge on the peninsula. Memorial Day is a special day that remembers those who died protecting this country and others. Our heroes are scattered in hallowed ground worldwide, and their memory should be preserved.

Here is the origin of the holiday; it goes back to the Civil War. I understand that there were memorials both in the North and the South, but history is mostly written by the victors. Have a safe and happy Memorial Day weekend.

Memorial Day is a time to reflect on peace and remember those who made the ultimate sacrifice in the service of our country. It is a time to honor the dead, but many have forgotten its meaning over the years. Most people see this day as the start of summer and shenanigans such as barbeques, beach outings, and vacations. I guess this is acceptable. But we should not forget that those who we remember on this day played a vital role in retaining the freedoms we still enjoy.

Finding the origins of this holiday should be simple, but it’s easy to get bogged down in different timelines and arguments about which city and state first celebrated the day. Everyone agrees that the first ceremony was held during the American Civil War. At the time, both the South and the North observed their fallen by placing flowers on their graves. Warrenton (Virginia), Savannah (Georgia), and Jackson (Mississippi) are a few places where people publicly expressed their love toward the dead during the war. There is even a story about 10,000 people, including recently freed slaves, who held a parade in honor of 257 Union soldiers who had died in captivity in Charleston, South Carolina.

The official National Decoration Day began on May 5, 1868, when General John A. Logan proclaimed that this date would be observed as a holiday nationwide. According to the US Department of Veterans Affairs (USDVA) website, in 1966, Lyndon B. Johnson declared Waterloo, New York, as the birthplace of Memorial Day because people there honored “local veterans who had fought in the Civil War.” I wouldn’t rely on the USDVA for accurate history. Honor a veteran on Veteran’s Day, and honor the dead on Memorial Day.

There have been many accounts on both sides about when this tradition started; I lean toward the Southern ones. It doesn’t matter if it was Southern women placing flowers on the graves of both Confederate and Union soldiers or 10,000 ex-slaves marching to honor Union soldiers in Charleston, South Carolina. Regardless of the precise scenario, these events happened. A brother against brother war is idiotic; moreover, sisters also died in this Schadenfreude war. Let us not forget this human tragedy.

As we remember, so shall we honor.

Until next week!

          Susie Spindletop’s Weekly Letter :

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Dear Della:

      Rumor is telling it around that some doctors are going to build a clinic right alongside of Stratton’s flat in Magazine street. Della, if this is true I DO hope they won’t throw all amputated legs, arms, tonsils, adenoids and appendixes out of the back window into the front yard of the flat. You know, I’m in debt for that flat. However, that mortgage I have plastered all—over the place may keep this human debris out. Guess I had better ask Miss Pearl Brock—she is the yes-and-no man for the building company.

So with a clinic next door, it looks like I will inherit the burden lifted from Mrs. Sol Elisha’s shoulders when the baseball park was moved. Mrs. Elisha had a tub full of baseballs which had fallen into her yard after inflicting damage to the roof of her home. Well, Della, I’ll promise you not to carry the burden that far. I’m not going to save things in my yard until I get a tubful.

             *                                                   *                                               *

 If I had my druthers, druther build over an old house any time than a new one. How about you? Owen Southwell is rebuilding an old farmhouse out from Atlanta that has a natural stone walk and steps. It’ll have a conference room, too. Owen told me so himself. What is a conference room, Della? Owen’s place has toadstools in the front yard and four huge redwoods at the front gate will give it its name “The Red Woods.”

Owen is a bachelor, girls. Don’t crowd.

             *                                                   *                                                 *

Mr. Fletcher, Mr. Mapes and Mr. Thompson are paying daily visits to the foot of Pearl street in case their Tyler county farms come washing down. I’d suggest they carry along spears and spear them.

             *                                                    *                                                 *

Della, believe it or not, but I played a return engagement in Brazoria county last Sunday and visited the Hogg place, although the Hoggs didn’t know it.

My understanding is the Governor bought the old Patton plantation just about the time he went out of office. The colonial house is situated right on the banks of Varner’s creek. There’s a big bell hanging above the kitchen door and a playful cousin tugged at the bellrope just to see what would happen, she said. She saw. A dog gave us a wicked look. Ditto caretaker. A swell thing to do on an incog trip, being uninvited and all that.

The live oak trees on the lawn are too wonderful for words and I blush to repeat what one of our party said… that I could have the live oaks but he’d take the oil wells.

I have been told that Governor Hogg very greatly admired trees and that he requested to be buried beneath the spreading branches of a pecan. I’m going on believing, Della, that the great pecan grove at his place had as much to do with his purchase as the prospective oil field did.

In the offing there’s a crumbling red brick something. An aunt said it must be an old sugar house. Somebody else opined that ’twas Governor Hogg’s big outdoor bathtub. We didn’t go close enough to investigate.

              *                                            *                                              *

Speaking about Brazoria county … I’ve had an answer from one of the owners of grandpa’s old place down there about the plantation bell which I aspire to own. He wrote that he was referring my letter to his partner and while not saying so, I rather think he classed it as a nut request.

And he set me straight too on his name. Earley, NOT Easley. Now, how could he blame me with all tha Easleying and Tabering in the papers?

              *                                              *                                              *

A postcard in my mail yesterday was signed informally “Sam,” and gave Cadiz, Spain, as the writer’s next stop. I ran up and down the list of all the Sams I know… Mr. Sam Park, Uncle Sam, Sam Young. Nothing doing. Then I took a look at the postmark and read “Ss. Raleigh.” Sam Waite himself, son of Bob and brother of Bitsie.

Join the navy and see the world, Della.

Sam addressed me as Miss “Francis” Spindletop. Don’t blame Mr. Earley a bit for not letting me have that bell.

                *                                              *                                           *

Now, Della, what do you know about me getting a letter from the Bow and Arrow Man of Woodville. He’s on the warpath. It seems, against the slaughter of magnolias. “I am sorry the automobile manufacturer ever found out that magnolia lumber makes good auto bodies,” he wrote. “The Rolls Royce uses ash for its bodies; so why is ash not good enough for the best American cars? Unless some one comes to the rescue of our magnolias, as Colonel Roosevelt did in the case of California’s royal sequoyas, they are doomed.”

All I can say is if the auto makers do damage to the big magnolia in Mr. Tubb’s yard, I’ll take it as a personal matter.

Just as soon as the flood waters abate, I’m off to keep a watchful eye upon it and also visit the Bow and Arrow Man’s archery shop just across the canyon from the grammar school because he promises to show me the finest beech tree in Woodville under which he has his summer work bench, but I notice doesn’t promise to teach me to arch.

              *                                                *                                              *

Texas history furnishes two dramas with marvelous possibilities for the screen, according to D. W. Griffith. These are the life of Sam Houston and the battle of San Jacinto. No, three, Della. Mr. Griffith’s attention must be called to the Battle of Montauk Point.

              *                                                 *                                              *

When Edna Akers moved into her new home, the girls gave her a book shower, How about a ham shower for me?

Yours for more and bigger showers,                                             SUSIE.

                                             So wrote Susie, May 19, 1929

                                             Until next week!

About Florence Stratton, aka Susie Spindletop:

A brief History of Florence Stratton part1
A brief History of Florence Stratton part2

Thoughts and Ramblings; Eclipse; An Exit Plan; Scarlet O’Hara’s Younger Sister, and the Museum of the Gulf Coast are Awesome; 2024 Hurricane Forecast, and More on the 50th Annual Galveston Historical Homes Tour .

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I hope everyone got a peek at the solar eclipse on Monday. It was cloudy here, so there was a filter effect, and you could actually get a photo or two from a regular camera. I took a few cell phone photos. I’m not that into photographing the sun. In contrast, I will go to great lengths to get a shot of a lunar eclipse. I have a few on my Flickr page. I’ll leave the link to it at the bottom of the blog.

For the past 12 months, I’ve been going through some things I’ve collected over the years, and I feel that some of this stuff needs a home now. Other things, such as the regional history books, need an exit plan—my exit plan, to be blunt. I have a considerable number of books on the history of Southeast Texas (SETX), and although most of them do not have monetary value, the references they contain are priceless for researchers, and they eventually will need homes.

My research on SETX history and my twelve years of researching Florence Stratton are in good hands. This data shouldn’t be lost because it is currently held by multiple people and a few organizations. History should be available to everyone; it should not be locked up! For the most part, this blog and its Facebook page have sought to uncover little-known SETX stories and facts. I’ve tried to show the glory of these stories because I think that they are as good as any well-promoted celebrity in our area who has a billboard dedicated to them stating “X lives in our museum.”

On a side note, I know a celebrity who doesn’t live in a museum, although part of her is in a genie lamp interred in one. That would be Scarlet O’Hara’s younger sister, and she is as awesome as the museum. I’ll leave the links at the bottom of the blog, and I will state that the Museum of the Gulf Coast is a top-notch museum, which you must visit!

Not to cause alarm, but those weather people are getting a bit giddy. No, not the ghost-hunting weather people in our area, which I wrote about in October, but those folks who think that weather forecasting should always be dramatic. Hell, they even name snowstorms now! Apparently, we are supposed to run out of names for tropical storms during this season. If that’s the case, then I hope they add phi, slama, and jama from the Latin alphabet (a couple of these characters may or may not be in the Latin alphabet). A friend at the University of Houston suggested that I recommend these names. Sometimes, I question her input concerning facts.

Honestly, I do believe that if I ever see Jim Cantore in my area, I will run like hell. He has a bit more cred than anyone at WeatherNation. I only know about this channel because I had Dish during Hurricane Laura, and they were reporting “from Lake Charles, Texas.” It’s not that I put the Weather Channel on a pedestal, but WeatherNation is its Dollar Tree version, if you see what I mean.

The 50th anniversary of the Galveston Historic Homes Tour is a few weeks away, and I acknowledge that I am a bit dizzy because of this tour. I kind of know where some of the ghosts are hiding, but they will not be on the tour, and as volunteers, we do not talk about such things. If you want to talk about such things, you can hit me up while I’m standing in the line on Saturday, May 4, as I will be taking the tour. Alternatively, you can ask the expert, Kathleen Maca, and take one of her tours. Whether it’s a Galveston cemetery tour or learning about ghosts on the strand, she is the best when it comes to Galveston history and those stories you can’t find anywhere else. I’ll leave a link to her tour schedule.

Today, I smelled summer, or at least I smelled May. The ligustrums are beginning to bloom, which is lovely for me but a death knell for those of you with allergies. I refuse to quote Lynyrd Skynyrd, but “Ooh, that smell!” Growing up, I loved the smell of ligustrums in the morning, at noon, and during the night. Unfortunately, one of my siblings is not too keen on this hedge, and she’s a step away from the ER if she goes near it. I’ll just state that I love ligustrums, but it’s bad when you invite people over for a garden party and the heads of half of your peeps explode.

Most people know that I don’t have garden parties, and if I did, I would have cetirizine as an appetizer.

Since it’s the 50th anniversary of the Galveston Historic Homes Tour, I will insert a few additions to this blog from the early days. Looking back, I’ve blogged, promoted, and taken the tour since 2012. I love the tour, and I treasure the Candy Lady, whom I volunteer with. I will also state that the homes are haunted. As far as the Galveston Historical Foundation goes, I’ll give them a positive nod and say that they have rid themselves of the parasites who used to run what was a dog-and-pony show. The tour is now a decent event to visit and volunteer for. I hope to see you on the tour on May 4 and at the 1871 Frederick and Minna Martini Cottage on 1217 Market Street on Cinco De Mayo!

Rediscoveringsetx Flickr: https://www.flickr.com/photos/25032584@N05/albums

Museum of the Gulf Coast: https://www.museumofthegulfcoast.org/

Evelyn Keyes:

Tales From Hallowed Ground: Evelyn Keyes

2024 Hurricane Forecast:

https://weather.com/storms/hurricane/news/2024-04-04-hurricane-season-outlook-april

44th Historic Homes Tour (Flickr photos):  https://flic.kr/s/aHsmj557xC

39th Historic Homes Tour:

39th Annual Galveston Historic Homes Tour

Thoughts and Ramblings: Middle Passage Marker; 50th Anniversary Historic Homes Tour; So Said Susie on Easter Sunday

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There’s a new marker in Martin J. Popeye Holmes Park in front of the sub-courthouse. It was installed and dedicated last Saturday by the African American Cultural Society and the Middle Passage Ceremonies and Port Markers Project. The marker states that its purpose is to “Commemorating the Lives of African Ancestors Who Perished During the Middle Passage and Those Who Survived and Were Transported Through Sabine Pass, Texas” (1817–1837).

Seeing the wording of the marker makes more sense to me now because I heard in November that the organizations wanted to put up a marker in Port Arthur. It makes sense that it was a passage through Sabine Pass because, at that time, there was no Port Arthur, nor any other town or port existing on the northern banks of Lake Sabine. The township of Aurora came later, but it was wiped out by the hurricane of 1886.

To my knowledge, slave traders, such as Jean Lafitte, usually used the land where the city of Prairie View (Bridge City) would develop, and around Deweyville, on the Sabine River. For those not in the know, yes, Jean Lafitte was a slave trader. I guess that changes your search for his treasure—I digress. Note, I’m not a fan of anything French, especially if they’re running slave ships for the Spaniards—my twenty-four percent Spanish ancestry digresses as well.

According to their Facebook page, the Middle Passage Ceremonies and Port Markers Project was supposed to dedicate this marker on December 1, but I’m sure things happen, like markers not being ready at the foundry. I’m not in the know, but it’s up and in a good place to see it. I will add a link to the Port Arthur News article written by Mary Meaux. I also want to add this quote by Gail Pellum, president of the African American Culture Society: “You can’t let [history] go. If you don’t learn from it, you will repeat it and it will not be good on either side.”

As someone interested in many histories, this is the truest quote that you will hear. This is why it is important to remember all histories and learn from the past, as there are those who will try to repeat it.

The Galveston Historical Foundation finally released the addresses of this year’s 50th Historic Homes Tour. I, for one, am ecstatic to see a home on the tour that I volunteered at in 2018. It was the cover house that year, and according to the owner, it’s haunted, but don’t tell the GHF because they don’t like people talking about that—or so I was told a few years ago. It was also the house where the neighbor’s cat used to hang out on Sunday mornings in the nice Catholic church (which looks like a mosque) and then look for dinner. That year, he hung out in the front yard and dined on a bird that he’d caught. I can’t say it was much fun for the lines of people waiting to enter the house. I saw him the following year on the tour, as there was a house on the tour about a block away. He certainly got around and loved the attention.

All the houses look great, and I’m ready to tour these gems. I am also ready to volunteer! I will be at the 1871 Frederick and Minna Martini Cottage at 1217 Market Street on the first Sunday, so stop by! I hope to see you there. The Galveston Historical Foundation is always looking for volunteers, so if you think you might be interested in volunteering for this tour or other projects they have going on, I’ll leave a link at the bottom of this blog.

It’s Easter Sunday, and I hope you and your peeps are doing well. As a closer, I’ll let Susie Spindletop finish the blog, as she knows she has to carry me sometimes. Who does that better? Well, Susie, of course!

                                                   March 28, 1932

OLD-TIME Easter in Beaumont meant seeing Mrs. Messenger drive in from Rosedale with her buggy filled with dogwood, honeysuckle and palmettoes to trim St. Mark’s church. One year Mrs. Messenger created a sensation by managing to get a calla lilly to bloom in time for Easter.

Dr. Messenger was the rector who held the service here one Sunday and in Orange the next. He swelled his salary by raising fine fruit.

                                *                                       *                                    *

NOW, Della, did you ever hear of live chickens being party favors? I didn’t either until I learned that Elizabeth Tyrrell gave them away at her Easter party. Ann Page Carey named hers Susie. Thank you, Ann Page.

                               *                                        *                                    *

Did I tell you that I hear that Lois Cunningham has bought the C. F Graham senior house corner of McFaddin and Fifth? Ruth and I.D. Polk are living there now, but some day I predict Mrs. Cunningham and Lois will move in.

When I first came to Beaumont it was the A.L. Williams home.

                                          March 28, 1937

Easter gives us one diversion. Instead of arguing over which came first, the hen or the egg—we can switch off to the rabbit and the egg!

                                   *                            *                            *

Every Easter brings forth a different egg. Just a few years ago everybody speculated on what the minister’s wife was going to wear Sunday, or what tie Mr. Flapjacks would sport. Then came the day of movie stars and they do some strutting for they don’t have to depend on papa or hubby to open up diplomatic relations with the milliner and dress maker.

Take Constance Worth featured in “China passage” falls for sport effect with a little Juliet cap of bright colored raffia instead of sports hat with her simple silk, which is belted in braided Raffia.

Remembering the late news from Ethiopia with Ras this and Ras that we should change raffia to raf.

Della, I had to stop here to keep all these dress names from driving me to the tung nut house.

 *                         *                             *

Today, Easter will be exactly 12 hours and 23 minutes long. You spend 12 hours dolling up to show off 23 minutes.

SUSIE.

Port Arthur News: Middle Passage Marker

Middle Passage Marker in Port Arthur commemorates ancestors, provides history of local slave trade

Jean Lafitte:

https://www.battlefields.org/learn/biographies/jean-lafitte

50th Historic Homes Tour:

Galveston Historic Homes Tour

Galveston Historical Foundation Volunteer Opportunities:

GHF Volunteer Opportunities

Florence Stratton (Susie Spindletop):