WILLIAM HENRY SEWARD (May 16,1801 – Oct. 10, 1872) On January 10, 1861, 150 years ago this week, William Henry Seward of Auburn, New York, was named Secretary of State in president-elect Lincoln’s Cabinet. Seward is best known for his service under Presidents Lincoln and Johnson and for his management…
This week, I share my birthday (January 4) with Louis Braille (1809) who developed a system of reading for the blind, actress Jane Wyman (1914), Sir Isaac Newton (1643), and General Tom Thumb, born Charles Sherwood Stratton (1838). P. T. Barnum & General Tom Thumb Charles Sherwood Stratton’s parents lived…
What ever became of Grace Bedell, the 11-year-old girl who proposed to Lincoln that whiskers would improve his chances for election? Grace Greenwood Bedell was born 162 years ago this week, in Albion, NY, on November 4, 1848, to Norman and Amanda (Smiley) Bedell. Norman was a carriage- and stove-maker. …
Brass Castle Arts is a potpourri of my various interests, professional endeavors, hobbies, vocations and avocations, and other sideline activities. I intend this blog to showcase my own written work, primarily in the form of profiles of well-known and little-known American characters and events, primarily from the 19th Century. Also…
