COST OF PERSERVERANCE (Part II)

 

By Catherine Ulrich Brakefield

Last month, we learned that Abraham Lincoln's dad thought education was  a convenience and unnecessary. Oftentimes his dad would destroy Abe’s books. Abe endured the hardships of his childhood, a rocky youth, and a discouraging business career. Abe did not quit. Self-taught, he passed the bar exam and became an Illinois lawyer for the Eighth Judicial Circuit. He rode the 450-mile circuit by horseback. 

     When the love of his life, his young fiancée, died with Typhoid Fever, he was heartbroken. Then he met Mary Todd, they fell in love and married. Mary knew that her husband was an honorable man. The more she got to know him, the more she realized just how honest and trustworthy Abe was. Her husband was the type of man their nation needed, and Mary Todd wasn't about to have anyone say otherwise, including her husband.

Abraham Lincoln was pleased that his wife thought so highly of him. But he was busy enough with pleasing her and providing for a houseful of three boys, especially with riding the circuit as a lawyer and fulfilling the needs of common folk like himself. He often would meet the Reverend James F. Jacques, a circuit preacher. Abe grew to admire Jacques. He was levelheaded and displayed integrity in every aspect of his preaching.

Because his wife was a Presbyterian, Abraham Lincoln decided to attend the Presbyterian Church. After his mother’s death, his religious learning had ended. The year was now 1850. Edward (Eddie) Baker Lincoln had enjoyed a happy Christmas with his brothers when, suddenly, he came down with consumption (this is something like tuberculosis). He was three years old when he died. It devastated the household, especially Abe.

         Abe threw himself into his work. His ethics on slavery and his love for his fellow man prohibited him from quitting. With the westward expansion and the formation of territories, Abe's concern grew as these territories, soon to become states, considered joining the Southern states' philosophy of slave ownership. Free soil, free labor, and free men was often heard. These people oppressed slavery with a determination which evidentially led to the formation of the Republican Party in 1856.

Encouraged by his always devoted wife, Abe kept on attempting to get into politics. Having won the favorite-son candidate of Illinois in 1856, the Philadelphia Republican National Convention nominated Abe for the position of Vice President. He didn't even make a hundred votes. You can just imagine his discouragement.

Abe felt America was heading in the wrong direction. The Constitution of the United States stood for freedoms for every American.

In 1858, because of his many soapboxes and town hall speeches, it became a well-known fact regarding Abraham Lincoln's views regarding slavery and its spreading to the western territories.

"I have always hated slavery. I think as much as any abolitionist." Lincoln often said. He decided then to run for the Senate—and lost.

Lincoln was undaunted. As I tell in Swept into Destiny, Abraham Lincoln argued against the Supreme Court’s ruling on the topic of the Drew Scott Decision that stated no Black person, regardless of their status as slave or free, could be a citizen of the United States.

    Lincoln foresaw the repercussions of The Dred Scott decision. It was a major step in a larger, orchestrated effort to nationalize slavery by making it legal in all US territories. His only hope was that these hard-working farmers and ranchers would hold strong to their beliefs. They believed in freedom for every person and that slavery gave an unfair advantage to large plantation owners.

With his strong views and bold words, it looked as if Abraham Lincoln holding a position in Congress or the Senate, let alone the Vice-Presidency or Presidency, would be nothing short of miraculous. So, how did this miracle come about?

         See next month’s exciting conclusion of “The Cost of Perseverance.”

Swept into Destiny:  Ben (first book of Destiny series) McConnell is a proud Irish immigrant who is determined not to give up despite hunger and deprivation. He clings to his mustard seed faith, believing that nothing is impossible.

Maggie Gatlan is a rebel disguised as a Southern belle. Ben's and Maggie's journeys delve deeply into the truth about faith and devotion.

"… Brakefield's flowing descriptions pull you into Swept into Destiny and keep you immersed in the world of the Antebellum South…This isn't just a world of beaus, belles, and balls, but of moral ambiguity and searches for truth…" L.H. Reader

Catherine is the award-winning author of Wilted Dandelions, Swept into Destiny, Destiny's Whirlwind, Destiny of Heart, Waltz with Destiny, and Love's Final Sunrise. She has written two pictorial history books, The Lapeer Area and Eastern Lapeer, and short stories for Guideposts Books, CrossRiver Media Group, Revell Books, and Bethany House Publishers. Catherine and her husband of fifty-three years live on a ranch in Michigan and have two adult children, five grandchildren, four Arabian horses, three dogs, two cats, and six chickens. See CatherineUlrichBrakefield.com for more information.

https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/march-20/republican-party-founded

https://www.abrahamlincolnonline.org/lincoln/art/circuit.htm

https://www.history.com/articles/abraham-lincoln-family

https://lightmagazine.ca/abraham-lincolns-freeing-encounter-with-christ/

Transforming Christmas in America: From Rowdy and Shunned to Beloved Tradition

by Sherry Shindelar

Christmas wasn’t a welcomed tradition in the New World. The Puritans shunned the holiday because they associated it with the Church of England and Catholicism. The city of Boston even banned the celebration from 1659 – 1681. Jamestown and some of the other colonies celebrated the day, but it was often an occasion for drunkenness following the pattern from Great Britain and Europe where Christmas was celebrated with parties, drinking, and mummers (groups of people dressed in costumes going door to door entertaining and expecting gifts and food).

So how did the rowdy, shunned holiday of 17th and 18th century America become the Hallmark treasure of today?

It wasn’t until the 19th century, that two forces came together to remake and reshape the celebration in America: the Second Great Awakening and the Industrial Revolution. During the Second Great Awakening (1795 – 1835) revivals swept across the country inspiring many people to integrate their faith into their daily lives and to seek to transform their culture. This awakening gave birth to movements supporting abolition, temperance, and the emancipation of women and to a new appreciation of Christmas.

At the same time, the Industrial Revolution made the mass production of products, including gifts, a new reality.

In addition, well-told stories captured the imaginations and hearts of the masses. Washington Irving’s Sketchbook (1819), Charles Dickens’s A Christmas Carol (1843) and Rev. Clement Moore’s “Twas the Night before Christmas” (1822) helped establish many of the traditions that carry on today, such as gift-giving, the focus on children, and the importance of family.

Queen Victoria's Christmas Tree, Godey's Ladies' Book, Christmas 1850 by After Joseph Lionel Willaims

You’ve probably heard it said that the tradition of Christmas trees came from Germany. That is true, but it was the influence of Prince Albert of Germany that led to America adopting the tradition. When he married Queen Victoria of England in 1840, he worked to popularize the German traditions of Christmas trees, ornaments, and special wrapping paper for presents. He donated Christmas trees to schools and army barracks, but the spark that ignited the fervor that carried across the ocean was the beautiful trees he imported from Germany and decorated at Windsor Castle.

In 1848, periodicals across England publicized an engraving of one of the trees, and American publishers quickly followed suit. Suddenly, it wasn’t a proper Christmas without a decorated tree. An explosion in German immigration to the U.S. from 1840-1860 also aided in the spread of these traditions.

By the eve of the Civil War, the commercialization of Christmas was in full swing. Christmas cards flourished, and Christmas stories and songs abounded. It had become a special day for children and families.

Thomas Nast "Christmas Eve 1862" Published in Harper's Weekly Jan. 3, 1863

However, for four million enslaved Americans, Christmas was bittersweet. The conclusion of the year was the time for contracts to end and begin. Some of the slaveholders leased out their slaves to work on other farms and to businesses, etc. Changes in contracts could mean separation for families. In addition, taxes were due, and some owners sold slaves in order to pay taxes.

During the Christmas season, many of the owners “treated” their slaves to presents, extra food, time off from work, and alcohol. For too many slaves, the season was a time of drunkenness. Owners encouraged the drinking as a safety valve to reduce the potential for rebellion the rest of the year.

On the other hand, some slaves treasured the season as a reminder of their spiritual freedom, that the babe in the manger was the Savior who’d welcome them to Heaven someday.

But neither slavery nor the Civil War loosened the foothold that Christmas had in the hearts of Americans.

The war separated millions of families. Men in army camps across the nation longed for the warmth and comfort of home especially on Christmas.

The industrial North was able to provide some trappings of comfort for the Federal soldiers as the war dragged on. For these soldiers, Christmas brought extra-rations and gift parcels.

Thomas Nast "Christmas 1863" Published in Harper's Weekly Dec. 26, 1863

In the Confederacy, the scarcity created by the war and blockades led some parents and newspapers to tell the children that Santa was a Yankee and/or that the Yankees had shot Santa, in order to explain why there wouldn’t be any presents under the tree.

For too many families who had lost loved ones, Christmas would never be the same again, but Lincoln, Grant, and others viewed Americans’ love for Christmas as a way to reunite the country, a hope that Lincoln didn’t live to see.

President Grant declared Christmas a national holiday in 1870.

Amongst all of the trappings of tinsel, lights, gifts, may we see the true gift, a Father giving his only Son that we might have life and hope everlasting. Love so amazing. 

Originally from Tennessee, Sherry loves to take her readers into the past. A romantic at heart, she is an avid student of the Civil War and the Old West. Sherry is a multi-award-winning writer. She currently resides in Minnesota with her husband of forty-one years.

Connect with Sherry: website, newsletter, Amazon, FB, Goodreads

Can love blossom between a woman haunted by her family’s past and a man with a war-scarred heart?

Cora Scott is determined to hold onto her family's Texas ranch and provide a stable home for her young half brother, Charlie, despite the mounting challenges of post-Civil War frontier life. But when a scheming creditor threatens to seize their land, she must accept help from Ben McKenzie, a former Yankee soldier sent by her late brother. Though Ben's generosity and strength draw her, the man's private struggle she stumbles upon—too reminiscent of her father's alcoholism—makes her question whether she can trust her heart to him.

Ben McKenzie arrives in Texas intent on fulfilling his promise to his dying friend to protect Cora and Charlie. While using his inheritance to save their ranch, he battles not only the loss of their cattle but also his dependency on laudanum—a medicine that turned into a curse after his imprisonment at Andersonville. As his feelings for Cora deepen, he must choose between his promise to his father to take over their Philadelphia newspaper and his growing dream of a life with Cora in Texas.

A WOOPs, A Blue Moon, & A Secret City

These three things may seem to have nothing in common. Yet they do in my latest release, a novella called Beneath the Rare Blue Moon.

The story takes place in eastern Tennessee and begins on October 31, 1944, the night of a blue moon.

WOOPs

The heroine, Kathleen Forrest, is with the Tennessee Valley Authority’s Women Officer of Public Safety unit. These women were not part of the military, like WACs or WAVEs, and their stories aren’t nearly as well-known.

Yet, their responsibilities were considered so important they were taught judo, trained to handle guns, issued .38 caliber pistols, and often worked with trained military dogs.

Since the men were heading off to fight in WWII, the TVA hired these women to guard and protect potential targets, such as hydroelectric dams, aluminum factories, and other important industries, from sabotage (TVA).

“Blue Moon”

You’ve probably heard of the phrase “once in a blue moon” which, literally, has three definitions:

The second full moon in a month. That means the date falls at the end of the month. 

The third full moon when four moons appear in a season. Usually, only three moons appear in winter, spring, summer, or fall.

The moon’s appearance when, under certain atmospheric conditions, it takes on a bluish hue. This can happen when “volcanic eruptions or large-scale fires release particles into the atmosphere” (Blue Moon).

The next blue moon is May 31, 2026.

Our next seasonal blue moon is May 20, 2027.

The Story ~ Kathleen Forrest, a WOOPs heroine of Beneath the Rare Blue Moon, has an unusual experience on a blue moon night when she disarms a potential “saboteur.”

“Secret City”

To find the “Secret City” on a map, you’ll need to locate Oak Ridge, Tennessee.

It’s also known as the “Atomic City” and, by those who lived and worked there, “The Reservation.”

The town was built by the military as a base for the Manhattan Project, the top-secret atomic bomb research program. 

Here’s the scientific info: 

“The Y-12, K-25, and S-50 plants were each built in Oak Ridge to separate the fissile isotope uranium-235 from natural uranium, which consists almost entirely of the isotope uranium-238. The X-10 site, now the site of Oak Ridge National Laboratory, was established as a pilot plant for production of plutonium using the Graphite Reactor, used to develop full-scale plutonium production…” (Oak Ridge).

The Story ~ Kathleen and Army intelligence officer Roger Craig are recruited on a secret mission to find a possible saboteur in the "Secret City." 

I visited Oak Ridge a few years ago. The community center built by the Army as a gathering place for the residents is now a small history museum with amazing exhibits that preserve and honor the town’s legacy.

Beneath a Rare Blue Moon released this week and is available on Amazon.

Johnnie Alexander writes award-winning stories of enduring love and quiet courage. Her historical and contemporary novels weave together unforgettable romance, compelling characters, and a touch of mystery. A sometime hermit and occasional vagabond who most often kicks off her shoes in Florida, Johnnie cherishes cozy family times and enjoys long road trips. Readers are invited to discover glimpses of grace and timeless truth in her stories. Connect with her at johnnie-alexander.com.

Photos

Norris Dam ~ By Johnnie Alexander

City Seal. By http://www.cortn.org/PW-html/CDBGConsolidatedPlanHomePage2008.htm, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=64434822

Aerial View. By Department of Energy Oak Ridge - http://www.oakridge.doe.gov/em/ssab/, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=1931232 

Shift Change. By Ed Westcott / US Army / Manhattan Engineer District - Ed Westcott / American Museum of Science and Energy, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=7006834

Billboard outside Oak Ridge. By James E. Westcott - https://www.flickr.com/photos/amse/2965051856/sizes/z/in/photostream/, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=12075242

The Chapel on the Hill ~ By Johnnie Alexander

Sources ~ Each source accessed on December 5, 2025.

Blue Moon. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blue_moon.

Oak Ridge. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oak_Ridge,_Tennessee. Accessed December 5, 2025.

TVA. https://www.tva.com/the-powerhouse/stories/home-front-defenders. Accessed December 5, 2025.

When the President Became a Firefighter on Christmas Eve

Christmas Eve of 1851 proved to be a devastating day for the Library of Congress, and the sitting U.S. President helped to save the Capitol building.

On the morning of Dec. 24, the captain of the Capitol Police discovered a fire in the Library of Congress, which was then housed in the Capitol building. The fire spread rapidly, destroying thousands of books and documents, and even some priceless paintings.

According to White House historians, President Millard Fillmore was enjoying the holidays with his family when he heard the calls of “Fire! Fire! The Library of Congress is on fire!” He rushed to join the eight fire wagons loaded with water barrels and hoses, pulled by draft horses, and he was joined by some cabinet members and members of Congress. The president also gave orders to a bucket brigade formed by Marines from the local navy yard. The bucket brigade worked until noon Christmas Day, with Fillmore at the head, “flames flickering near his thick head of snow white hair.”

At the time, the library contained about 55,000 volumes, including Thomas Jefferson’s complete library which Congress had purchased in 1815. An estimated 35,000 books were destroyed. Those saved were located in an adjoining room separated by a thick wall.

The library room was “a beautiful specimen of Corinthian architecture,” according to one newspaper description. Located in the Capitol on the same level as the houses of Congress, it was 92 feet by 34 feet, with an arched ceiling 36 feet high with three sky lights. On each side were alcoves supporting an upper gallery.

The cause of the fire was later found to be a faulty chimney, and when wood was burned in the furnaces below, sparks escaped through holes in the chimney.

But the Christmas Eve fire was not the first time the Library of Congress had been destroyed by fire. The library had been established in 1800 with an appropriation of $5,000 to purchase “such books as may be necessary for the use of Congress.” By 1814, the collection, housed in the Capitol, had grown to 3,000 volumes. They burned along with many government buildings when the British invaded the Capitol city during the War of 1812.

Retired President Thomas Jefferson offered to sell his extensive personal library to replace the Congressional Library. In January 1815, Congress and President Madison agreed to purchase 6,487 volumes for nearly $24,000. About two-thirds of those books were among the ones lost in the 1851 fire.

The new, fireproof Library of Congress room built in 1853

Recognizing the significance and importance of protecting the collection after the second fire, the Capitol architect designed and built a cast-iron structure in 18 months. Called by the press the “largest iron room in the world,” it was encircled by galleries and filled the west central front of the Capitol.

Congress initially provided funding only to replace the books lost. Over time, however, more funds were added to expand the library. Copyright law required two copies of every book published in the U.S. to be housed in the Library of Congress, so the collection grew. By the 1890s, the need for a separate, more spacious, building became evident, and on Nov. 1, 1897, the library opened in its new home.

The Thomas Jefferson building housing part of the
Library of Congress today

Today, some 170 million items held by the library include books, maps, manuscripts, photographs, films, audio and video recordings, prints and drawings. The Library now occupies not only the 1897 building, named after Thomas Jefferson, but two additional buildings on Capitol Hill, named after Presidents John Adams and James Madison.

Additionally, the Packard Campus in Culpeper, Virginia, houses the National Audio-Visual Conservation Center, a state-of-the-art facility where the Library of Congress acquires, preserves and provides access to the world’s largest and most comprehensive collection of films, television programs, radio broadcasts, and sound recordings.

The Library’s Director of Special Collections has said, “You can find answers to anything you’re curious about here. What is your question?”

Sources:

Fire ravages Library of Congress | December 24, 1851 | HISTORY

The True Story of the Fire That Destroyed the Library of Congress

What Sparked the 1851 Fire That Devastated the Library of Congress?

The White House Library: A Twice Told Tale - Our White House | Looking In, Looking Out

Library of Congress

The Other Fire at the Library of Congress

The Burning of the Library of Congress

Multi-award-winning author Marie Wells Coutu finds beauty in surprising places, like undiscovered treasures, old houses, and gnarly trees. All three books in her Mended Vessels series, contemporary stories based on the lives of biblical women, have won awards in multiple contests. She is currently working on historical romances set in her native western Kentucky in the 1930s and ‘40s. An unpublished novel, Shifting Currents, placed second in the inspirational category of the nationally recognized Maggie Awards. Learn more at www.MarieWellsCoutu.com.

When the lights of Broadway dim, Delia leaves the city behind. But will her family welcome her home again?

The historical short story, “All That Glistens,” was included in the 2023 Saturday Evening Post Great American Fiction collection and is now available free when you sign up for Marie's newsletter here. In her newsletter, she shares about her writing, historical tidbits, recommended books, and sometimes recipes. Soon she'll be sharing a historical romantic short story set in Scotland.

It Really Was a Wonderful Life

The Greatest Gift, book cover, eBay

By Kathy Kovach

Imagine you’re a 4,100-word short story titled, “The Greatest Gift: A Christmas Tale,” loosely based on the 1843 Charles Dickens novella, A Christmas Carol. Your author, Philip Van Doren Stern, envisions you the morning of February 12 in 1938 while shaving. He asks himself: What if a family man is on the verge of suicide on Christmas Eve and is rescued by a stranger who shows him what life would be like without him?

You, the little story, have a ton of potential, but nobody wants you. You’re rejected by several publishers, but your author refuses to give up. By 1943, he ultimately makes 200 copies and sends the booklets out as Christmas presents, reserving two to send to the Library of Congress and the U.S. Copyright Office.

In 1944, Stern’s eight-year-old daughter answers the home telephone. The caller asks to speak with her father. Even at that age, she fears it might be bad news regarding the war. However, it turns out to be Stern’s Hollywood agent with fantastic news. RKO Radio Pictures has just bought you, the story, for $10,000 as a vehicle for Cary Grant.

The film rights prompt a buzz, and you are published in the magazines Reader’s Scope and Good Housekeeping. The latter publishes a longer and darker version under the pseudonym, Peter Storme, and title it “The Man Who Was Never Born.” You, the original story, also find a book publisher in David McKay.

Now in RKO’s hands, three different scripts are written, but none work out for the studio. Frank Capra had recently formed a new production company, Liberty Films, and he buys the rights for $10,000. He hires a husband and wife team, Albert Hackett and Frances Goodrich, to write a completely new screenplay, piecing together you, the original story, and the previous three scripts. They add backstory and additional characters. Capra sends the finished script to his longtime collaborator, actor Jimmy Stewart, who enthusiastically agrees to play the lead, George Bailey.



The film, now titled, It’s a Wonderful Life, premiers in New York City, December of 1946 with its wide release in January of 1947, eventually winning a Golden Globe for best director and receiving five Academy Award nominations. A special scientific achievement award is also captured due to the ingenious invention of artificial snow. Made from fire-extinguisher foam, sugar, water, and soap flakes, the “snow” floats naturally, and doesn’t make as much noise when walked upon as the white painted cornflakes previously used. The movie had been filmed during a heatwave in California, making realistic cold weather a challenge.

At this point, you, the now re-vamped and beautiful story, should be on top of the world, just as George Bailey is when he marries Mary and they hop in the jalopy to see the world on their honeymoon. However, darkness descends. George’s plans and dreams are squashed when he learns that the Building and Loan is in trouble.

And you, the story, become embroiled in political mayhem.

Blacklist tract

The post-war 1940s gives birth to the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC), set up as a watchdog to keep communist activity at bay, particularly in Hollywood. The Blacklist becomes swollen with actors, writers, producers, etc., who may have sympathies toward the communist cause. The FBI already have their eye on Capra, as well as the writers Hackett and Goodrich. Some of the previous seven writers from RKO are also on the radar as radicals. According to the FBI, the fictional character of Mr. Potter, and his Scrooge-like tendencies, was written to discredit bankers. Their 1947 report, The Communist Infiltration into the Motion Picture Industry, also calls out George Bailey’s quest to help the “common man”, citing that it's propaganda and “communist in nature.”

Alas, the communist controversy squelches the audience’s desire to attend. Some also attribute the poor timing of a Christmas movie released in January. Another contributing factor is that post-war audiences want something lighter. It’s a Wonderful Life fails to earn back what it cost to produce the film. Box office returns disappear by way of a classic fade out, and you are doomed to be forgotten, as if you never existed.

The devastation hits so hard that Frank Capra sells Liberty films to Paramount Pictures.

American movie-goers are given the opportunity to see what the world would be like without Frank Capra’s It’s a Wonderful Life starring James Stewart and Donna Reed showing every Christmas season. They will go through the rest of the 1940s, 50s, 60s, and half of the 70s without knowing the joy of watching George and Mary’s romance. They never see them fall into the swimming pool or hear George’s offkey rendition of “Buffalo Gal Won’t You Come Out Tonight.” They never agonize over Uncle Billy’s ineptitude of losing the Building and Loan’s $8,000. And Mr. Potter? Not even a thought of him being a warped, frustrated old man. Clarence Oddbody, AS2 (Angel Second Class), remains in the heavens with Joseph and never gets his wings.

But then something miraculous happens in the mid-1970s. After being sold to several companies, the final one, National Telefilm Associates, fails to renew the copyright due to a clerical error. This error—Or is it divine intervention?—puts the rights and all the film negatives in public domain. Television stations jump on the chance to air it royalty free. Home video companies snatch it, as well, making sure every home in America has the chance to rejoice over Zuzu’s petals.

After nearly three decades, a new audience, and ultimately everyone up to this day, come to appreciate you, the little story that wouldn’t die.

And Clarence gets his wings.

Titanic: Legacy of Betrayal

A TIME-SLIP NOVEL

A secret. A key. Much was buried on the Titanic, but now it's time for resurrection.

Follow two intertwining stories a century apart. 1912 - Matriarch Olive Stanford protects a secret after boarding the Titanic that must go to her grave. 2012 - Portland real estate agent Ember Keaton-Jones receives the key that will unlock the mystery of her past... and her distrusting heart.

To buy: Amazon

Kathleen E. Kovach is a Christian romance author published traditionally through Barbour Publishing, Inc. as well as indie. Kathleen and her husband, Jim, raised two sons while living the nomadic lifestyle for over twenty years in the Air Force. Now planted in northeast Colorado, she's a grandmother and a great-grandmother—though much too young for either. Kathleen has been a longstanding member of American Christian Fiction Writers. An award-winning author, she presents spiritual truths with a giggle, proving herself as one of God's peculiar people.

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“Grandma” Agnes Paschal – Georgia Gold Rush Angel of Mercy

Pre-Civil War Hotel in Auraria

by Denise Farnsworth

My last several posts introduced the Georgia Gold Rush, offered a tour through its first boom town/ghost town of Auraria, and discussed mining methods. Today let’s focus on a beloved resident of Auraria, Agnes Paschal. Mrs. Paschal is one of several real-life characters who make an appearance in The Songbird and the Surveyor, first novel of my Twenty-Niners of the Gold Rush series. Oftentimes, I limit historical characters to brief cameo appearances. It can be difficult to confirm enough information about a person to grant them significant page time. The life of Agnes Paschal, however, was well-documented enough that she gained several conversations with my main characters in her role as healer and Baptist church leader.

Agnes was born to Burrell Brewer and Elizabeth Patrick Brewer in 1776. According to Ninety-Four Years, an account of her life penned by her son. George W., Agnes was 5’5” with fair skin, very black hair, and a sweet temperament. She received no formal education but had a good head for numbers, a love of theology, and a penchant for herbal remedies. She had no ear for music and could not dance. Her father died in 1799 and a year later, her mother. Agnes became the companion of a wealthy woman in Lexington, Georgia. There she met former soldier George Paschal, whom she married in 1802. The couple opened a tavern and a store. Doctors boarded with them and taught her medicine.

From 1811-1817, the Paschals ran an inn at the paper mill town of Scull Shoals, south of Lexington. As the War of 1812 ended, loans came due, and drought lowered the river, manufacturing efforts in the settlement waned. The couple moved to manage Bowling Green Inn in Oglethorpe County, catering to wealthy planters. George taught school. Agnes converted the owner of the racetrack for local thoroughbreds, Ferdinand Phinizy, to Methodism, and they closed the race grounds. Agnes found her calling as a healer during the outbreak of a fever that returned for three subsequent summers. She became famous for red-pepper tea,well-ventilated convalescent rooms, and her stand against leeching, bleeding, or blistering.

The Paschals raised a family and became pillars in Oglethorpe County until George’s death in 1832. Their son, George W., a lawyer, persuaded his mother to move with him to the boom town of Auraria in gold country. They purchased the Nuckolls’ hotel and tavern, tore out the bar, and made additions. They soon built a better hotel on the north end of town with signage that read, Mrs. Paschal and Sons. Former Vice President John C. Calhoun lodged with the Paschals two weeks at a time, overseeing his lucrative gold mine. His oratory drew many listeners to their porch.

Meanwhile, Mrs. Paschal went about her work of healing the body and soul. She was known to engage drunken miners in conversation that reminded them of their parents and godly raising. She collected subscriptions for a Baptist church, built so poorly of logs that it fell down the first winter of 1833-34. After that, “Grandma Paschal” opened her hotel dining room for services. When there was a fever among the people, she became known as an angel of mercy. Even when the county seat moved to Dahlonega and many residents followed, Mrs. Paschal never left Auraria. She was laid to rest in the cemetery there at the age of 94, beside her husband, whose body she’d brought from Oglethorpe County. Her children went on to notable military and political careers. George W. acted as a lieutenant in the Georgia Volunteers. He married Sarah Ridge, daughter of Cherokee Chief Major Ridge, and moved to Arkansas.

Look for further upcoming posts about the Georgia Gold Rush. Book one, The Songbird and the Surveyor, set in Auraria in 1833, is now available for purchase. A marriage of protection. A past full of pain. In Georgia's wild gold country, love might strike when it's least expected. https://www.amazon.com/Songbird-Surveyor-Twenty-Niners-Georgia-Gold-ebook/dp/B0F556951W/

Denise Farnsworth, formerly Denise Weimer, writes historical and contemporary romance mostly set in Georgia and also serves as a freelance editor and the Acquisitions & Editorial Liaison for Wild Heart Books. A wife and mother, she always pauses for coffee, chocolate, and old houses.

Connect with Denise here:

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Lord of the White Elephants

By Suzanne Norquist

As Christmas season approaches, many of us will be invited to “white elephant” gift exchanges. The invitation may specify that guests are to find an unwanted item in their home to bring as a gift to exchange. The gifts themselves don’t have anything to do with elephants but with ancient myths.

Be aware that white elephants are not actually white, not like albinos in other animal species. They tend to be light pink instead of the typical gray. They can look white when wet. This distinction, however, didn’t diminish their value in the eyes of kings in Southeast Asia.

In Buddhist tradition, the beasts were revered as symbols of royal power and divine favor. Kings would collect them and pamper them in the royal stables. Wars were fought over them, particularly between the 1500s and the 1700s. Even today, some countries maintain a small herd.

The Thai and Burmese kingdoms fought the “elephant wars.” A couple of the kings chose to be known by the title “Lord of White Elephants.” Until 1917, the animal appeared on the national flag of Siam.

These valuable animals were seldom given as gifts, and few could afford to keep them. In 1514, Pope Leo X received a white elephant named Hanno from King Manuel of Portugal—a great honor. The Pope arranged for a special building to house the animal as part of the papal collections. Sadly, Hanno only lived a couple of years in his new home.

Stories have circulated about ancient kings giving white elephants as gifts to people they didn’t like—those they wanted to ruin. Because the animals were so expensive to keep and impossible to get rid of, the recipient would face financial disaster. However, it is unlikely that these stories are true. The beasts were too valuable to use in this manner.

In 1863, Charles Dickens published a story in the popular magazine, All Year Round, about the King of Siam gifting white elephants to ruin people. Later, an 1873 article from the New York Times also helped to spread the myth.

P.T. Barnum realized the difficulty of maintaining a white elephant when he brought one named “Toung Taloung” or “Gem of the Sky” to New York City. People were disappointed that the animal wasn't white—not compared to the elephant one of his rivals had painted white in order too fool his patrons. The investment didn’t bring the returns he had hoped for.

Since then, many large, expensive projects that didn’t pay out have been referred to as white elephants. The Empire State Building is one. Planned during the Roaring 20s and completed during the Great Depression, it took decades for the building to reach full occupancy. And its fancy docking station for airships (dirigibles) didn’t even work.

What we call white elephant parties today were known as swap parties in the 1880s. The white elephant name wasn't adopted until 1907, taking on the premise of giving useless gifts taking space in one's house. Some women joked that they'd bring their husbands. A year later, guidelines for hosting parties and exchanging gifts appeared in newspaper columns.

If I’m invited to a party this year, I may ask if I can be called the “Lord of the White Elephants.”

What will you bring to a white elephant party this year?

***

Love In Bloom 4-in-one collection

“A Song for Rose” by Suzanne Norquist

Can a disillusioned tenor convince an aspiring soprano that there is more to music than fame?

“Holly & Ivy” by Mary Davis

At Christmastime, a young woman accompanies her impetuous younger sister on her trip across the country to be a mail-order bride and loses her heart to a gallant stranger.

“Periwinkle in the Park” by Kathleen E. Kovach

A female hiking guide, who is helping to commission a national park, runs into conflict with a mountain man determined to keep the government off his land.

“A Beauty in a Tansy”

Two adjacent store owners are drawn to each other, but their older relatives provide obstacles to their ever becoming close.

Republished from Bouquet of Brides

Buy links: https://books2read.com/u/bOOx8K

https://www.amazon.com/Love-Bloom-Mary-Davis/dp/B0FPLFYCXR/

 

Suzanne Norquist is the author of two novellas. Everything fascinates her. She has worked as a chemist, professor, financial analyst, and even earned a doctorate in economics. Research feeds her curiosity, and she shares the adventure with her readers. She lives in New Mexico with her mining engineer husband and has two grown children. When not writing, she explores the mountains, hikes, and attends kickboxing class.