Month: October 2021

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From Ragland to Riches

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Evan Ragland was 14 years old when he and his cousin, John Davis, decided to take a stroll along the dock of the port town of Watchet in Somerset, England. The year was 1670. Unfortunately, it was common practice at that time to seize unsuspecting souls, throw them into the cargo holds of ships and take them to foreign lands where they would be placed into servitude.

Such was the fate of Evan who became the first in his line to come to America (although against his will). He was ultimately sold to Stephen Pettus, successful owner of a plantation along the Chickahominy River in New Kent County, Virginia.

Apparently, Evan did come from a family with close ties to Welsh nobility and Tudor royalty (Raglan Castle remains a tourist attraction as one of the last true castles to be built in Wales). Evan’s father was Sir Thomas Ragland and his mother was Lady Jane Morgan.  As such, he would have been given a superior education prior to his abduction.

He must have impressed his Virginian “master” who took him into his home and appointed him as his secretary. Within five to seven years, Evan was able not only to purchase his freedom, but also fall in love and marry Susanna Pettus, daughter of the plantation owner. He eventually inherited the 500 acre plantation where he once worked as an indentured servant along with the acquired wealth of the Pettus family.

Evan was the 7th great grandfather of my sister-in-law. The Ragland Mansion in Petersburg, Virginia (pictured above) was built by Reuben Ragland, Evan’s great-grandson, and still stands today, serving as a bed and breakfast. 

Michael Ondrasik and Home Video Studio specialize in the preservation of family memories through the digitalization of film, videotape, audio recordings, photos, negatives, and slides. For more information, call 352-735-8550 or visit our website.

Crossing the Delaware

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In 1776, the war for American Independence was not going well for George Washington and his troops. Malnourished, poorly clothed, lacking many of the basics that would keep an army strong, they had been handed a number of defeats and morale was at a low point. On top of all that, winter and its harsh weather conditions had arrived. Washington knew he needed a victory.

He concocted a bold and daring plan. Learning of a garrison of Hessian troops located in and around Trenton NJ, he decided that a surprise attack on Christmas by an overwhelming force would give his troops a quick victory and bolster support for the cause. The problem? The Delaware River which stood between him and his enemy was treacherous and needed skilled, experienced hands to navigate the winter waters.

Col. John Glover’s regiment contained a number of New Englanders with extensive experience as seaman. To aid them, Washington mobilized about 100 locals who had first hand knowledge of the river. Among them was James Henry Slack, the 6th great grand uncle of my niece’s husband. According to family lore, 20 year old James and his friends were standing by the shore, curious about why the soldiers were gathering. He walked up to one of the generals and asked, “What can we do?” The general replied, “What do you know about the river?” “Oh, we know all about it.”

James and his two brothers became oarsmen who ferried Washington’s troops across the partially frozen Delaware providing the future president the victory he so badly needed. There is evidence that James continued with Washington after this event. He was at Valley Forge in June 1778, White Plains in August 1778, Fort Schuyler from August to December of 1780, and at the High Hills of Santee in 1781. He eventually returned to his family farm in Bucks County PA where he married Alice Torbert and had seven children, the first in his family to be born under a newly independent American flag.

Michael Ondrasik and Home Video Studio specialize in the preservation of family memories through the digitalization of film, videotapes, audio recordings, photos, negatives and slides. For more information, call 352-735-8550 or visit our website.

The Pause That Refreshes

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Coca Cola has always been viewed as being at the top of the game in terms of advertising and branding. Long before there was the internet or tv commercials, Coca Cola sold people on their carbonated beverage by associating it’s “refreshing taste” with attractive, wholesome women.

Known as the Coca Cola Girls, these fresh-faced females served as the models for a team of talented illustrators who were skilled in presenting the epitome of feminism to the American Public. This successful campaign ran for nearly 70 years, from 1890 to 1960, spanning both World Wars and the Great Depression.

Largely modeled after the Gibson Girls made popular by illustrator Charles Dana Gibson, the Coca Cola ads began by featuring women in Victorian outfits, both refined and demure. As the decades passed, the depiction of the women also changed to reflect a more independent and confident demeanor.

This Golden Age of Illustration began to wane with the rise of television and broadcast advertising. But the image of attractive, alluring young women gracing the billboards of our cities and the pages of our newspapers will forever be a part of our remembered past. And our family had a part to play in it.

Valeria Lamar (pictured above) was the sister-in-law of my grand uncle. She and her sister Camille were both hired by the Coca Cola Company to be models for their Coca Cola Girl campaign. They hailed from Macon, Ga (not too far from the Coca Cola headquarters in Atlanta).

Michael Ondrasik and Home Video Studio specialize in the preservation of family memories through the digitalization of film, videotapes, audio recordings, photos, negatives, and slides. For more information, call 352-735-8550 or visit our website.

The Fighting Italian

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Boxing was a popular form of entertainment in the 1940s but, like most everything else, was interrupted by WWII. Many of the most popular fighters of that time enlisted and served overseas. Familiar names like Joe Louis, Beau Jack, and Bob Montgomery put their athletic careers on hold to answer the call to duty. Some, like Louis, were used in a promotional way to entice Americans to join the war against Germany. Others simply entered the ranks to fight alongside their fellow soldiers.

I had a relative among them. Chester “The Fighting Italian” Rico was an up and coming lightweight from New Jersey with 44 wins already under his belt since he turned pro in 1938. He traded his boxing trunks for an army uniform in 1944 but once being released from his service, he resumed his activities in the ring with a well-publicized bout against Patsy “The Bronx Cyclone” Spataro in Long Island’s Queensboro Arena. He battled, through the rain, to a victorious and unanimous eight round decision.

He continued boxing for another seven years, until retiring in 1952 with a professional record of 65 wins (14 knockouts), 25 losses, and 8 draws. During his career, he went toe-to-toe with some of the best in the business, including future lightweight champions Beau Jack, Bob Montgomery and Tippy Larkin.

Horace (Chester) Rico was the nephew of my wife’s granduncle.

Michael Ondrasik and Home Video Studio specialize in the preservation of family memories through the digitalization of film, videotape, audio recordings, photos, negatives, and slides. For more information, call 352-735-8550 or visit our website.

A Debt Repaid

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It is always uncomfortable to come across family members who participated in the reprehensible practice of slavery but this story, passed down through the generations, is worth telling. Just prior to the Civil War, a young Georgian farmer named Thomas Reese, purchased a slave named Nathan to help him work his fields. A short time later, Nathan asked Thomas if it were possible for him to purchase another slave, a woman named Adeline, who worked on a neighbor’s farm.

Thomas did and shortly thereafter Nathan and Adeline were married. Thomas then presented Nathan with two sets of documents and told him to keep them safe. They were emancipation papers. Nathan couldn’t read but believed what Thomas said so he locked them in a box he kept on his fireplace mantle. When told that they were free to go, neither Nathan or Adeline had that desire. “Where would we go? We don’t know any other place.” They chose to stay and work the farm alongside Thomas’s family. The family referred to them as Uncle Nathan and Aunt Adeline. All this happened before Fort Sumter was fired upon, marking the beginning of the Civil War.

Nathan and Adeline remained on the farm throughout the entirety of the war. During its waning days, a group of Union soldiers under the command of General James Wilson was sweeping through the area, tasked with destroying any property that could be used by the Confederates. They came upon Thomas’ farm while Thomas was away. As they prepared to set fire to the buildings, Nathan came out and asked why the soldiers were going to burn the place down. The officer replied that all slave-holders’ property was to be destroyed.

“But we ain’t slaves!” Nathan exclaimed and ran off to get the papers he had safely stored years ago. The officer read through the documents and then told his men to stand down and move on. Thomas’ farm was one of the few places in the area that was spared destruction.

Thomas Clopton Reese was the great-grandfather of my grandaunt.

Michael Ondrasik and Home Video Studio specialize in the preservation of family memories through the digitalization of film, videotape, audio recordings, photos, negatives and slides. For more information, call 352-735-8550 or visit our website.

Good For What Ails You

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Dating back to colonial America and reaching its peak of popularity in the 19th century, “magic elixirs” were sold with the promise that they could cure just about every ailment known to mankind. In the 1800s, snake-oil salesmen would travel from town to town, selling their questionable and highly unregulated patent medicines to unsuspecting citizens. Some examples include “Morley’s Liver & Kidney Cordial,” “Grove’s Tasteless Chill Tonic,” and Dr. Potter’s “Chock-A-Saw-Sagwa Tonic.” Oftentimes, these “medicines” contained alcohol, cocaine, or heroine which may have relieved pain but were also highly addictive, all but assuring a strong repeat customer base for the salesman.

It is amazing to find any that have survived and continue to exist. And yet, there is at least one.

In 1826, as a reward for a kindness done to one of their chieftains, the Creek Indians bequeathed to Captain Irwin Dennard of Perry Georgia the formula for a treasured remedy made from swamp sumac from Alabama, Queen’s Delight (a root from South Georgia), and sumac from North Georgia. Dennard sat on the formula for a few decades but eventually passed it onto Charles Swift who partnered with Henry J Lamar, the great grandfather of my grand aunt. Henry suggested moving to Atlanta to take advantage of the transportation benefits of the railroads to be found there as they grew their new company.

Marketing the formula as SSS Tonic (the three S’s stood for Swift’s Southern Specific) the owners claimed that it was an effective treatment for dyspepsia, cancer and syphilis. In the 1950s, singer Eddy Arnold made a commercial touting its ability to enrich the blood with iron. The original formula of roots and herbs has not significantly changed since its early days although it is now fortified with iron and vitamins. 

SSS Tonic continues to be sold today. In 1997 it earned nine million dollars in annual sales and is still paying dividends to some of our family members, or so I’m told.

Michael Ondrasik and Home Video Studio specialize in the preservation of family memories through the digitalization of film, videotapes, audio recordings, photos, negatives and slides. For more information, call 352-735-8550 or visit our website.

Laurens Lodge No. 75

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There is no definitive answer as to when Freemasonry “began” although most seem to point to the stonemason’s guilds of the Middle Ages. While it has been linked to any number of conspiracy theories due to its use of symbolism and secret rituals, it professes to emphasize personal study, self-improvement, and social betterment via individual involvement and philanthropy.

The Lodge is the basic organizational structure of the Masons. The first lodges that operated in America were based in Pennsylvania as early as 1715. The 75th lodge to be established in the US was the Laurens Lodge of Dublin, Georgia in 1848. It’s earliest members were considered to be the elite in Dublin’s business and government communities. Included among them was John M. Dasher, the first cousin (three times removed) of my grand-uncle.

John was appointed the masonic position of “Tyler.” As I understand it, the post is often held by an officer or sometimes a Past Master. Armed with a sword (kept drawn), he would be tasked with guarding the outer door of the lodge against ineligible masons or malicious people. He would be required to examine the Masonic credentials of anyone wishing to enter the Lodge, admitting only those qualified to attend the current business. 

Some lodges permit the Tyler to “tyle from within” which would allow him to participate in the business portions of the meeting while still manning his post. 

Freemasonry grew dramatically during the 1800s and many communities came to depend upon them. As our federal government was still in its infancy, there were few social programs to be had. The Masonic tradition of building orphanages, homes for widows, and homes for the aged provided the only kind of security that many people knew.

Michael Ondrasik and Home Video Studio specialize in the preservation of family memories through the digitalization of film, videotapes, audio recordings, photos, negatives and slides. For more information, call 352-735-8550 or visit our website.

Physician, Heal Thyself

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Georg August Benjamin Schweickert was born in Zerbst, Germany in 1774, the son of a pastor. It was initially intended for him to follow in his father’s footsteps and he began his studies in theology, but upon his father’s death, switched his interests to medicine. 

Upon completing his studies and receiving his degree, he married and began his private practice in his home town of Zerbst. But when his wife died two years later, he became unhappy in Zerbst and took an opportunity to move to Wittenberg to become an Lecturer in Obstetrics. In 1812, he was appointed Director of the French Military Hospital in Wittenberg but was so outspoken about his German nationalism that the French courtmartialed him and sentenced him to death. Two days before his execution, the Prussians captured Wittenberg and liberated him.

He moved to Grimma and became the city physician. Keeping up with new trends in medicine, he began reading Samuel Hahnemann’s writings on homeopathy and began conducting clinical trials on this new method. In 1824, he put himself on homeopathic treatment for a persistent abdominal complaint and the successful results made him a most fervent advocate for this developing field. When a homeopathic hospital was created in Leipzig, Georg offered to take charge at no fee. He was appointed director in 1833.

His conversion was remarkable for its time. Albrecht wrote this about him, “He ranked among the most eminent advocates of Homeopathy and, to a certain extent, with justice. He was a singular character, and his experience in the practice of medicine was most remarkable. At first, devoted heart and soul to Allopathy, experimenting and curing by purgatives, emetics, bleeding, leeches, bucketfuls of infusion of Peruvian bark (in scarlatina), the towns of Wittenberg and Grimma not only experienced, but suffered, from his practice. Suddenly he abandoned his allopathic principles, resigned his office of physician of a public school, and like a genuine Paul, he became a convert to Homeopathy.”

His interests seem to have passed on through the family. Not only did his son Julius became a well-known homeopathic physician in his day but they are related to us through my daughter-in-law, a Chiropractic doctor and Reiki Master practicing in Colorado.

Michael Ondrasik and Home Video Studio specialize in the preservation of family memories through the digitalization of film, videotapes, audio recordings, photos, negatives and slides. For more information, call 352-735-8550 or visit our website.

Manhunt

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John Wilkes Booth’s escape from Ford’s Theater after the assassination of Abraham Lincoln prompted one of the largest manhunts in American history. 

After leaping from the balcony to the stage, breaking his leg in the process, he managed to hobble into the back alley where he was joined by accomplice David Herrold who was standing by with the getaway horse. Together, they rode off into southern Maryland eventually arriving at the home of Dr. Samuel Mudd who agreed to splint Booth’s leg and allow them to rest the night.

They continued moving south on horseback, hiding from view in swamps and a dense pine thicket. Eventually they reached the shores of the Potomac River and managed to cross it to enter Virginia, a state they believed to be more sympathetic to the Confederacy. 

For twelve days, they evaded capture even though there were a thousand Union soldiers tasked with tracking and apprehending them.  One of these soldiers was Eustace Tower, a distant uncle of my brother-in-law. In a letter he wrote to his cousin, Eustace, a private in the 13th Independent Battery of the Michigan Artillery, stated that he was “out two weeks with the detectives going night & day on the track of Booth. We captured one of his boots (which was cut off his injured leg) and the razor that he shaved his mustache off with. And we arrested the Doctor who set his leg and two or three other men that will swing at the gibbit.”

Booth and Herrold were cornered by Union soldiers as they took refuge in a tobacco barn on the Virginia farm of Richard Garrett. Herrold surrendered immediately but Booth indicated that he would fight his way out. In the confusion that followed as Union troops set the barn on fire, Booth was shot in the neck by sergeant Boston Corbett. He died around five hours later.

Michael Ondrasik and Home Video Studio specialize in the preservation of family memories through the digitalization of film, videotapes, audio recordings, photos, negatives and slides. For more information, call 352-735-8550 or visit our website.