Trivial Trivia - taking trivia to new levels

[RJNorton]

Kudos, Eva! Yes, Robert Lincoln purchased an umbrella for 75 cents on January 17, 1859. The Lincoln family had a credit account at the store and settled their account several times a year. However, not all customers were as good about this as the Lincolns, and in 1860 Smith announced he would no longer give credit to customers.

Clark Moulton Smith owned the store along with his brother, Stephen. He married Mary Lincoln's sister, Ann, in 1846.

Clark Moulton Smith

http://www.earlyspringfield.org/People/S...Clark.html

[AussieMick]

“The rain it raineth on the just
And also on the unjust fella;

But chiefly on the just, because
The unjust hath the just’s umbrella.”

Charles Bowen

[Gene C]

Thanks Roger for posting the link for "Hidden in Plain Site: The Material World of Early Springfield"

Some interesting photo's and illustrations.
My favorite page - "the People of Early Springfield"

[L Verge]

Where was the funeral service for Gen. William Tecumseh Sherman held (and yes, there's a story there)?

[Steve]

St. Louis; Sherman died in New York but his wife had been buried in St. Louis.

[L Verge]

(01-20-2019 08:49 PM)Steve Wrote:  St. Louis; Sherman died in New York but his wife had been buried in St. Louis.

Be careful, 'cause I'm asking for where his funeral service (religious) was held. I'll double-check to see if he had more than one church service, but right now I am looking for another city.

[Steve]

New York, then?

[L Verge]

Yes, and I won't stretch it out further, but I was specifically looking for St. Patrick's Cathedral on Fifth Avenue because it has a small tie to Dr. Mudd.

The cornerstone of the cathedral was laid in 1858, but work was disrupted by the Civil War. The driving force behind the planning and construction was Archbishop John Hughes, who saw it as "worthy of our increasing numbers, intelligence, and wealth as a religious community, and worthy as a public architectural monument." Remember that Catholics were looked down on by many during the 1800s. The project was called "Hughes's Folly" because the site chosen was so far south of the city's center at that time that few thought anyone would go all the way uptown to worship. But the architectural designs by James Renwick,m Jr. made the structure too magnificent to ignore.

Now, as to the ties to Dr. Mudd - Archbishop John Hughes (nicknamed Dagger John for the shape of the crucifix he always used as part of his signature) emigrated from Ireland and was employed first as a slave overseer in Maryland. Before his death in 1864, he supported the Union, but did not believe in immediate emancipation and often made fun of abolitionists. He felt each state should be given the right to eliminate slavery at its own pace.

In October of 1861, Mr. Lincoln invited Archbishop Hughes to the White House to get his support. Hughes refused an official appointment, but did agree to visit Europe and seek Union support in Paris, Rome, and Dublin. By the time of his death, the Archbishop was one of the most powerful men in New York and had raised the Catholic church to a position of great respect. He also founded Fordham University, and a statue to him is at the main entrance to the campus in the Bronx.

Now, what are the ties to Dr. Mudd? In a reply to another post on another thread, I mentioned an angry letter that Dr. Sam sent to Orville Brownson with a Catholic journal. Archbishop John Hughes is mentioned as one of the Catholic hierarchy that he blamed for the changing attitudes.

P.S. Wish I could find out where in Maryland John Hughes started out as a slave overseer...

[Steve]

The history of Archbishop Hughes and St. Patrick's is interesting.

[L Verge]

I did find that John Joseph Hughes and his family immigrated to Emmittsburg, Maryland, and that at the age of 20, young John was hired as a "gardener" at Mount Saint Mary's school (founded in 1808 and still in existence today as a university). I chose to put the word "gardener" in parentheses because I believe we are dealing with a little historical/cultural semantics.

My original source states that Hughes was a slave overseer in Maryland, and I believe that may well be accurate. Maryland and its Catholic Church were well-known as a slave holding state and institution. I suspect that young Hughes was a "head gardener," in politically correct terms for today, that oversaw the labors of the enslaved forces under him.

Hughes was a good friend of Seward dating back to days of New York politics as well as Thurlow Weed (who accompanied him on his European mission). Since I'm one of those who probably would not like Fernando Wood, I wonder how close he was with him?

[L Verge]

Edwin Booth was buried from a church in New York City. Which one?

[Steve]

Edwin was buried in Massachusetts, wasn't he? I'm going to assume you meant memorialized. So, I'm going to guess the stain-glass window of Edwin at the Church of the Transfiguration.

[L Verge]

(01-24-2019 02:25 PM)Steve Wrote:  Edwin was buried in Massachusetts, wasn't he? I'm going to assume you meant memorialized. So, I'm going to guess the stain-glass window of Edwin at the Church of the Transfiguration.

Steve - remember that many folks (especially before 2000) are taken first to church for a burial service and then to the cemetery for burial. Maybe my Episcopal way of phrasing it as "buried from a church" is confusing.

That said, your answer is correct, but I almost asked for the church's nickname and decided not to since it would probably give it away. Most people know it as "The Little Church Around the Corner." In the early-1800s, when actors were frowned upon, Joseph Jefferson (Rip Van Winkle fame, early minstrel, friend of the Booths) went to the priest of another church and asked him to conduct the funeral service for a fellow actor, George Holland. The minister declined, but suggested that Jefferson and his friends try "the little church around the corner" because they did "that sort of thing." Jefferson replied, "In that case, sir, God bless the Little Church Around the Corner." The rector there, Rev. George H. Houghton, did perform the service, and the church became a favorite for actors. The stained glass window that you mentioned was created in Edwin's memory and depicts him as Hamlet. The artist was John LaFarge.

Rev. Houghton also allowed about 300 black persons to take shelter in his church and adjacent buildings during the horrible Draft Riots of 1863. At one point, he actually stood at the door wielding a very large cross to protect everyone from the rioters who were threatening to get inside. There is another window in the transept memorializing a black couple, George and Elizabeth Wilson, who worked for the church for thirty years following the riots.

BTW: The Little Church still holds services. I was last in it in 1970.

[Steve]

Thanks Laurie, for the history of the church. The part about the good Rev. fighting off rioters with a big cross was particularly fascinating.

[L Verge]

What controversial Reconstruction politician, who had served in the House as well as the Senate, fell on Broadway during the blizzard of 1888, and died of exposure and pneumonia where he fell?