I am in a retrospective mood today. I have not done a single thing all day. Well I did go pick my truck up from town but that was it.
My paternal Grand Mother was from Virginia. Her family owned land and some small coal mines. In the 1920s they moved because her father had a breathing problem that meant he could not be around coal soot. They where not real wealthy but upper middle class.
She had a letter that one of her Uncles wrote home during President Grant's inaugural. Her Uncle had been in a group of men that had floated logs down river to the Chesapeake bay. That group had stopped in Washington DC on their way home. The uncle wrote that he had attended the inaugural party. He did not think much of Grant. Said he was an uncouth man and seemed to drink too much. He actually met Grant at this party and stated that he did not look like he was portrayed. He seemed shifty to her Uncle.
My Grand Mother would often mention that letter and its contents when ever Galena, Il. would make a big deal about Grant living there. She always seemed to want to get a little dig in. LOL
I would have liked to talk to that Uncle to see if his opinion was based on the fact that Virginia had been on the losing side of the Civil War or the fact that Grant did not act like a true gentleman. I can well remember my Great Grand Father and he was a true Southern Gentleman. Any of you that live or have lived in the South know what I am talking about. Is was almost like the British aristocrats honor system of the 1800s.
I will have to find that letter. It is in my safety deposit box. I used to have a copy here at the house but I have lost it. I need to make another. I will try to post a copy of it.
My paternal Grand Mother was from Virginia. Her family owned land and some small coal mines. In the 1920s they moved because her father had a breathing problem that meant he could not be around coal soot. They where not real wealthy but upper middle class.
She had a letter that one of her Uncles wrote home during President Grant's inaugural. Her Uncle had been in a group of men that had floated logs down river to the Chesapeake bay. That group had stopped in Washington DC on their way home. The uncle wrote that he had attended the inaugural party. He did not think much of Grant. Said he was an uncouth man and seemed to drink too much. He actually met Grant at this party and stated that he did not look like he was portrayed. He seemed shifty to her Uncle.
My Grand Mother would often mention that letter and its contents when ever Galena, Il. would make a big deal about Grant living there. She always seemed to want to get a little dig in. LOL
I would have liked to talk to that Uncle to see if his opinion was based on the fact that Virginia had been on the losing side of the Civil War or the fact that Grant did not act like a true gentleman. I can well remember my Great Grand Father and he was a true Southern Gentleman. Any of you that live or have lived in the South know what I am talking about. Is was almost like the British aristocrats honor system of the 1800s.
I will have to find that letter. It is in my safety deposit box. I used to have a copy here at the house but I have lost it. I need to make another. I will try to post a copy of it.
