Presidential Ties and Tidewater Roots

   By Tiffany Amber Stockton

We made it! My daughter and I attended the 100th anniversary of the first official Pony Penning Day on Chincoteague Island the last week of July. Although I grew up about 2 hours from the island and attended this more than once, it's always a delight to watch, and especially fun seeing it through the eyes of my 16yo daughter. If you missed last month's post detailing the history of this event, you can view it here.

A fascinating encounter that took place that week was discovering a family connection to the captain of the boat we rode for our sunset cruise around Chincoteague and Assateague. Our grandmothers were both Jesters, and since we knew they weren't sisters, we figured they were cousins. I'll be adding that mention in my upcoming book series set on Chincoteague (release date TBD).

Speaking of family connections, I thought it might be fun to go back to the father-in-law of that grandmother, and his connection to "American Royalty."

Tracing Family Through Edith Bolling Galt Wilson

Family stories often start as whispers, passed down over supper tables, tucked between photo albums, or told with a wink before bedtime. In my case, one of those whispers involved a cousin who became First Lady of the United States. According to some, she also ran the country during a critical moment in history. Her name? Edith Bolling Galt Wilson.

It wasn’t until I began researching my family roots that the puzzle pieces began fitting together in surprising ways. One piece led me back to my great-grandfather, who once shipped clams and oysters from Chincoteague Island to the White House during Woodrow Wilson’s presidency. Another piece led to Edith.

A Cousin by Marriage—and a Quiet Leader in the White House

Edith Bolling was born in 1872 in Wytheville, Virginia, a descendant of colonial aristocracy with deep Southern roots. Her life entered our family history in 1895, when she visited her sister in Washington, D.C., and met Norman Galt. He's my great-grandfather’s first cousin, and he owned the prestigious Galt & Bro. Jewelers, established in 1802.

Their marriage in 1896 tied our family to elite Washington society, but after Norman’s sudden death in 1908, Edith showed remarkable fortitude. She personally selected a capable manager to continue the jewelry business. Thanks to that foresight, she helped sustain the Galt legacy and kept the doors open to Washington’s most influential clientele.

But Edith’s legacy was only beginning. In 1914, she met a widowed President Woodrow Wilson. They shared mutual intellect as well as grief in losing a spouse. As a result, their bond quickly deepened, and they married in 1915. Just four years later, when a stroke left the president partially paralyzed, Edith quietly stepped into the background of American history.

Driven by Devotion

Though some dubbed her “the secret president,” Edith rejected any titles. Instead, she described her role as “a stewardship,” overseeing routine duties, protecting her husband’s health, and determining which matters deserved his attention. She didn't make any attempt to assume power or rewrite policy. She simply stood by her husband’s side with unwavering love, and remarkable grit.

A 2013 commemorative $10 gold coin from the U.S. Mint beautifully captures that image. One side features a sculpted likeness of Edith. The other shows her hand resting atop her husband's, steadying his cane. Such a simple symbol of strength and shared burden. And it's one I’d love to add to our family’s keepsake collection.

From Tidewaters to Washington, D.C.

Growing up, I always loved hearing Edith's story. Digging deeper into my mother’s side of the family, though, led me to how that story also touched the small seaside town of Chincoteague, where hardworking folks like my great-grandfather once helped feed a president.

These days, Chincoteague Island remains a vivid part of my heritage. It’s where stories come alive in salty sea air and oyster beds. I still feel the pull of generations before me. Strong, resilient, and deeply rooted in both the soil and the soul of the Eastern Shore.

Why It Still Matters

In our world of shifting trends and fleeting fame, there’s something grounding about knowing where you come from and who your people were. Edith Bolling Galt Wilson wasn’t just a First Lady. She was family. Her story, along with the others I continue to uncover, reminds me that we all carry a bit of history within us.

So here’s to the cousins, the clams, the coins, and the quiet strength of those who came before us.

NOW IT'S YOUR TURN:

* Have you ever uncovered a surprising or notable figure in your own family tree? If so, what stories or legacies have you learned from them?

* What part of your family’s history feels most "alive" to you, whether through stories, heirlooms, or local ties?

* If you could sit down for coffee with one ancestor, who would it be, and what would you ask them?

Leave answers to these questions or any comments on the post below.

** This note is for our email readers. Please do not reply via email with any comments. View the blog online and scroll down to the comments section.

Come back on the 9th of each month for my next foray into historical tidbits to share.

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BIO

Tiffany Amber Stockton has embellished stories since childhood, thanks to a very active imagination and notations of talking entirely too much. Honing those skills led her to careers as an award-winning and best-selling author and speaker, while also working as a professional copywriter/copyeditor. She loves to share life-changing products and ideas with others to help them just get rooted and live a life of purpose.

Currently, she lives with her husband and fellow author, Stuart Vaughn Stockton, along with their two children, two dogs, and three cats in southeastern Kentucky. In her 20+ years as a professional writer, she has sold twenty-six (26) books so far and has agent representation with Tamela Murray of the Steve Laube Agency. You can find her on Facebook and GoodReads.

Gault & Galt: A Family Legacy

 By Tiffany Amber Stockton

Only 1 more month until the festivities surrounding the 100th annual Pony Penning Day celebrations, but I'll cover that in July. :) Actually, the famous fair is having a special allowance this year and will be open every weekend during both June and July. I recently shared some family history with my daughter, and that set me to thinking about family legacy.

If you missed last month's post about the Beebe family legacy on Chincoteague, you can view it here.

When History Gets Personal

When I was a little girl, my mom read me the beloved classic Misty of Chincoteague. I was completely captivated—wild ponies, island adventures, brave kids. But the best part? My mom didn’t stop at the story. She followed it up with tales of her own childhood and how her dad actually knew Grandpa Beebe, Paul, and Maureen. Then she pulled out a photo—a real picture—of her standing next to Misty. The Misty.

To little me, it was like finding out my mom and grandfather were local celebrities. In my eyes, they kind of were.

But let’s rewind a bit. Way back to 1919, when my grandfather—Pop-pop, as I called him—was born on Chincoteague Island. His parents, Daniel W. Gault, Sr. and Carrie Jester Gault, each brought a child from previous marriages, and together they had seven more. Pop-pop was the first of those seven. A big, bustling family.

In 1925, when Pop-pop was just six years old, the very first official Pony Penning Day took place. I love imagining him as a little boy, heart racing as he ran toward the beach, waiting for the moment when the saltwater cowboys would herd the wild ponies across the channel from Assateague to Chincoteague for the big auction. That tradition still lives on today, but for him—it was just part of growing up.

The Great Depression hit everyone hard, and my family was no exception. My mom used to tell me how Pop-pop’s father, my great-grandfather, would get creative just to keep the family going. He’d cut up old car tires to use the rubber for resoling shoes. Can you imagine? That kind of grit always stuck with me. By age 13, Pop-pop was already cutting hair in his dad’s barbershop to help make ends meet.

He graduated from high school in 1937, and not long after, the family sold the island barbershop and moved to Washington, D.C. That’s where he met my grandmother, Esther Mae Seiple. They got married after he returned from serving in the Army for five years stationed in the Panama Canal during WWII. After the war, he joined his father once again, this time at the “Father & Son Barber Shop” on Pennsylvania Avenue, just steps from Capitol Hill.

And let me tell you, their client list was impressive. Senators, congressmen, and D.C.’s elite sat in their chairs. It ran in the family, apparently. Another branch of our family, the Galts (spelled without the “u”), owned Galt & Bro., Inc. Jewelers. That shop served U.S. presidents and opened in 1802, right near the White House. The stories that came out of that business—like fixing Abraham Lincoln’s watch during the first shots at Fort Sumpter, or Edith Galt marrying President Woodrow Wilson—could fill an entire book. Maybe that can be my next project.

 

But back to Pop-pop.

Around 1952, not long after Congress opened a barbershop in the Capitol basement, my great-grandfather retired and moved back to Chincoteague. That left Pop-pop running the D.C. shop on his own. He kept it going until 1966 when Safeway bought out the block for a new loading dock. That’s when he, my grandmother, and my mom (who was born in 1950) packed up and moved to Suitland, Maryland.

He rented a chair in a barbershop in Fairfax Village, and that’s where my older brother had his very first haircut. Pop-pop stayed there, cutting hair and telling stories, until 1979 when he returned to his roots on Chincoteague Island. He took over a barbershop there and moved into a little apartment across the street.

That apartment became special to me. I can still picture myself sitting on his knee, spinning wild tales about my brother and me being in some sort of danger, and Pop-pop swooping in to save the day. What can I say? I’ve always been a storyteller...even at age four. :)

Sadly, our time together didn’t last as long as I wish it had. Pop-pop passed away from a heart attack in 1983. I was only seven. But the stories, the history, and the legacy we shared have stayed with me ever since.

And now, through this blog and the books I’m currently writing, his story lives on.

NOW IT'S YOUR TURN:

* Do you have a family story that connects you to a famous place, person, or moment in history? Share how your family’s past has shaped your perspective or inspired you.

* What childhood memory or family tradition still sticks with you today, and why? Whether it’s a holiday ritual, a special person, or a place you visited, we’d love to hear about it.

* Have you ever felt a personal connection to a book or story that tied into your real life? Maybe like me with Misty of Chincoteague, a fictional tale suddenly felt real. What is it?

Leave answers to these questions or any comments on the post below.

** This note is for our email readers. Please do not reply via email with any comments. View the blog online and scroll down to the comments section.

Come back on the 9th of each month for my next foray into historical tidbits to share.

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BIO

Tiffany Amber Stockton has embellished stories since childhood, thanks to a very active imagination and notations of talking entirely too much. Honing those skills led her to careers as an award-winning and best-selling author and speaker, while also working as a professional copywriter/copyeditor. She loves to share life-changing products and ideas with others to help them get rooted and live a life of purpose.

Currently, she lives with her husband and fellow author, Stuart Vaughn Stockton, along with their two children, three dogs, and three cats in southeastern Kentucky. In her 20+ years as a professional writer, she has sold twenty-six (26) books so far and has agent representation with Tamela Murray of the Steve Laube Agency. You can find her on Facebook and GoodReads.

Could Dirt, Flora, and Fauna be National Treasures?

 

What is the first thing that comes to mind when you hear, “national treasure?” Perhaps a movie? What next? Merriam-Webster online defines a national treasure as: “something that is greatly valued by the people of a country.”

When researching this subject, not what, but who often appeared at the top. In certain instances, the choices of those individuals were subjective within populations and generations as to who was or is a national treasure.

In the case of what – locations, buildings, structures, and items were in consideration. There was an exhibition of treasures in American history at the Smithsonian that ran from November of 2006 through April 2008. Featured objects in the collection included Abraham Lincoln’s hat, Lewis and Clark’s compass, Edison’s light bulb, Thomas Jefferson’s Bible, and even Kermit the Frog.

For this post, the treasures to which I am referring are more of a natural persuasion. In the United States we have precious gifts of National Forests, National Parks, and Wildlife Management Areas.

National Forest: a usually forested area of considerable extent that is preserved by government decree from private exploitation and is harvested only under supervision (Merriam-webster online).

National Park: an area set aside by a national government for the preservation of the natural environment (Britannica online).

Wildlife Management Area: a wildlife management area is synonymous with a national wildlife refuge (according to the US Fish and Wildlife Service).

Why do these three concepts exist? American conservationists toiled to retain natural environments in the US. This movement surged from 1850 to 1920. The ideas of the national park and forest systems took root (could not resist the pun). The establishment of wildlife refuges is also a part of the legacy. In addition, the 26th president of the United States from 1901 to 1909, Theodore Roosevelt, landed preservation efforts for future generations that extended beyond his terms of office. Nicknamed the “Conservation President” his actions helped establish five national parks. The Antiquities Act of 1906 enables presidents to this day to declare landmarks, structures, and objects as national monuments.

One such national treasure is Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest in Washington State. We had the pleasure of exploring this beautiful site during optimal weather conditions this fall. Our son's sweet girlfriend suggested this as a hike. We were grateful to spend time with him exploring the mountain trails, observing wildlife, and watching the water meander over rocks and around bends. Lovely. Gorgeous. Awe-inspiring. This land could have been lost to private purposes or development. Instead, it remains a rich resource for visitors to enjoy.

Okanogan-Wenatchee is the largest National Forest in WA, spanning 3.8 million acres. The originally named Wenatchee NF was established in 1908 with headquarters in Leavenworth. That year 150,000 sheep grazed among the trees. By 1909, 60 percent of the sheep in Washington spent summers in this NF. Over the years growth included the creation of Ranger districts, additional employees, new programs, added acreage, and relocated headquarters. There is a lot to offer thanks to over 115 years of combined efforts and expansion.

We visited the Icicle Gorge Trailhead. A miles long and winding gravel road leads visitors to the parking area. After securing a pass for your vehicle, you can enter the trails and choose a direction. We passed people of all ages enjoying the scenery. This day and area were for walking only.

There are multiple opportunities for recreation depending on the location and season. Camping and hiking are popular pastimes. Nearby residents can secure permits to collect firewood and cut down their own Christmas tree. If they carry with them the “free Incidental Use Mushroom Information Sheet,” they may collect up to five gallons of mushrooms for personal use. Commercial permits are also available for firewood and mushrooms. In winter: Mushing/Skijoring, Skiing/Snowboarding, Sledding/Tubing, Snowmobiling, and Cross-country Skiing/Snowshoeing. Imagine all the individuals who have and continue to be blessed by this gift of conservation.

       

Have you visited a National Forest, National Park, or Wildlife Management Area? Which one and where?

As a child, Rebecca loved to write. She nurtured this skill as an educator and later as an editor for an online magazine. Rebecca then joined the Cru Ministry - NBS2GO/Neighbor Bible Studies 2GO, at its inception. She serves as the YouVersion Content Creator, with over 112 Plans on the Bible.com app.

Rebecca lives near the mountains with her husband and a rescued dog named Ranger. If it were up to her, she would be traveling - right now. As a member of ACFW and FHLCW, Rebecca learns the craft of fiction while networking with a host of generous writers. She is working on her first fiction novel. This story unfolds from the 1830s in Northern Georgia.

Connect with Rebecca: Facebook Goodreads Instagram Pinterest Twitter

State Name Origins - Part V

     By Tiffany Amber Stockton

In October, my post focused on the world-famous and first ever of its kind surgery in 1809 to remove a tumor from a woman thought to merely be pregnant. You can read last month's post if you missed it.

Today, it's time for the final 10 state name history stories. I can tell you're sitting on the edge of your seat, anxious with anticipation at seeing these posts come to a close. :)

STATE NAMES and their ORIGINS

One thing I found interesting with this list is it's almost a 50/50 split of the state names starting with a letter of the alphabet from either the first half or second half of the 26 letters. Montana is the 26th state out of 50 and the last one with an "M." The remaining 24 states come from the latter half of the alphabet. It would have been fun to see 25 of the states start with letters in the first half of the alphabet and the other 25 from the second half, but we're close!

South Carolina is also named after the monarch, King Charles II, as Carolus is the proper Latin version of Charles.

South Dakota, like North Dakota has the word Dakota which describes the Dakota people, but it also means friendly or allies.

Tennessee (was included in group IV)

Texas is another old Spanish name from the word tejas, meaning friends or allies.

Utah has a short, spunky sound from the Spanish yuta, the name given to indigenous Uto-Aztecan people of the mountains.

Vermont has an elegant French sound and meaning – mont vert means green mountain in French.

Virginia is a Latin nod to sovereign Elizabeth I, the Virgin Queen.

Washington is named for President George Washington. His surname means estate of a man named Wassa in Old English.

West Virginia is simply the western separation from the original Virginia colony, so it has the same origin as Virginia.

Wisconsin may come from the Miami word meskonsing, which was spelled by the French as mescousing and then shifted to ouisconsin.

Wyoming has origins from the Algonquian wewamink, meaning at the big river flat. There is another theory, however, that states Wyoming comes from a word for mountains and valleys alternating.

And that's a wrap of all 50 states with their known origins. If you're like me and LOVE puzzles but haven't done so yet, download this PDF for some puzzle challenge fun.

NOW IT'S YOUR TURN:

* Which one of these states was the most fascinating to you?

* Do you live in any of the 10 featured states this month? If so, do you have any other unique tidbits about your state?

* Which state origin of all 50 states surprised you the most? Why?

** This note is for our email readers. Please do not reply via email with any comments. View the blog online and scroll down to the comments section.

Leave answers to these questions or any comments you might have on this post in the comment box below. For those of you who have stuck around this far, I'm sending a FREE autographed book to one person every month from the comments left on each of my blog posts. You never know when your comment will be a winner! Subscribe to comments so you'll know if you've won and need to get me your mailing information.

Come back on the 9th of each month for my next foray into historical tidbits to share.

For those interested in my "fictional" life as an author and industry news about other authors, subscribe to my quarterly newsletter. Receive a FREE omitted chapter from my book, A Grand Design, just for subscribing!

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BIO

Tiffany Amber Stockton has been crafting and embellishing stories since childhood, when she was accused of having a very active imagination and cited with talking entirely too much. Today, she has honed those skills to become an award-winning, best-selling author and speaker who is also a professional copywriter/copyeditor. She loves to share life-changing products and ideas with others to help improve their lives in a variety of ways.

She lives with her husband and fellow author, Stuart Vaughn Stockton, along with their two children and four cats in southeastern Kentucky. In the 20 years she's been a professional writer, she has sold twenty-six (26) books so far and is represented by Tamela Murray of the Steve Laube Agency. You can find her on Facebook and GoodReads.

The War of 1812: When the British Burned Washington

 Today's post is by special guest Sandra Merville Hart

Washington’s 8,000 residents worried about more than humidity in August of 1814. War with the British had broken out two years earlier, a mere 36 years after the signing of the Declaration of Independence.

A new military district instituted by President Madison called for 2,000 U.S. Army regulars to guard the nation’s capital with 10,000 – 12,000 militiamen in reserve; only a small part of this force was ready when the enemy entered the area from Chesapeake Bay.

Washington’s occupants panicked. Many fled. Clerks gathered important national documents and left town. On August 24^th, President Madison was with about 6,000 troops six miles from the capital at Bladensburg, Maryland, when the British arrived. The Americans retreated.

Dolley Madison, watching British troops marching closer to Washington through a spyglass, escaped with a full-length painting of the nation’s first president.

British General Ross led about 4,000 troops toward Washington. A few entered with their general under a flag of truce. Shots fired from a citizen’s home killed the general’s horse and angered the soldiers. They killed everyone inside and burned the home.

The uncompleted Capitol drew their attention next. Soldiers tossed rocket powder on piled up furniture and torched it. Flames burst through the roof and windows, destroying House and Senate wings, the Supreme Court, and the Library of Congress located there.

Barracks for 2,000 to 3,000 men were burned. Cannons, small arms, and an arsenal were destroyed. Naval and military storehouses, a dockyard, a frigate, gun brigs, and armed schooners were burned or destroyed.

Soldiers marched down Pennsylvania Avenue to the President’s House. They found the dining table set for forty guests. Meat still hung on spits in the kitchen, evidence of a hasty exit. Filled pots and saucepans stood on the grate. Hungry soldiers ate the elegant dinner before setting fire to the White House.

Folks in Baltimore saw the fire’s glow.

The next day, British burned the Treasury building and smashed newspaper presses. Torching of powder magazines caused explosions that killed about a dozen British soldiers and injured others.

Fearing a counterattack, they left the city that evening after a thunderstorm.

A few days later, the British successfully took Alexandria, Virginia. They then lost two key battles. Their momentum vanished.

Britain signed a peace treaty with the United States on December 24, 1814. Reconstruction began on the White House and the Capitol. President Madison and his wife, Dolley, lived in Washington’s Octagon House the remainder of his term.

  

“British Troops set fire to the White House,” This Day in History, 2016/07/11

http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/british-troops-set-fire-to-the-white-house.

Greenspan, Jesse. “The British Burn Washington, D.C., 200 Years Ago,” History.com, 2016/07/11

http://www.history.com/news/the-british-burn-washington-d-c-200-years-ago.

“The British Burn Washington, DC, 1814,” EyeWitness to History.com, 2016/07/11

http://www.eyewitnesstohistory.com/washingtonsack.htm.

Sandra Merville Hart is the column writer for "History in the Making" at the popular and growing site, www.AlmostanAuthor.com. She is Assistant Editor for DevoKids.com where she contributes many historical articles. Her debut book, A Stranger On My Land, IRCA Finalist 2015, released in 2014. She has written for several publications and blogs. Sandra loves to find unusual facts in her historical research to use in her stories and drags her husband along on her adventures. Thankfully, he also enjoys these fact-finding missions.

A Stranger on My Land is a Civil War novella set on Lookout Mountain, Tennessee. Carrie finds Adam, a wounded Union soldier, on her Southern property after a battle near her home. He will die if she turns her back on him. She takes him in her family’s cave hideaway.

Carrie soon falls in love with him. The bullets inside Adam require a Union surgeon’s skill. How can she save the life of the man she loves and protect her family’s hideout?

Amazon link: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01GM05TQQ/

Dismal Nitch

With Nancy J. Farrier

Looking across the Columbia River from Oregon
toward Dismal Nitch, Washington

Imagine that you have been traveling for months. You are out of fresh food. The clothes you have with you are falling off your back. You have a deadline, and if you don’t make the rendezvous you won’t be able to resupply—or to fulfill your mission.

These conditions are what Meriwether Lewis and William Clark, along with their Corps of Discovery, experienced in November of 1805. They were dispatched in 1803 by President Jefferson and had traveled hundreds of miles through uncharted territory. By late 1805 they were on the lower Columbia River, on the last leg of their destination to reach the Pacific Ocean, trying their best to meet the last of the trading ships before the winter weather became too severe. If they met the ship in time, they could send their journals and collected items home to the President. They would also have the chance to resupply using the letter of credit President Jefferson had given them before they departed. They could charge enough food and clothing to last them until they could return back east.

Looking across the Columbia River

What they didn’t count on was the fierce winter storm that moved in before they could meet the ship. Lashing rains and high winds made continuing on too precarious. The only place close to them, a steep, forested area that had a series of coves and nitches, provided meager protection. As the weather worsened,

they took shelter just upriver from the modern day Dismal Nitch.

Dismal Nitch Rest Area

That night they were battered by the weather. Soaked and freezing, the next day they faced thunder, lightning and hail. Clark wrote of their experience, "As our situation became Seriously dangerous, we took the advantage of a low tide & moved our Camp around a point a Short distance to a Small wet bottom at the mouth of a Small Creek (Megler Creek), which we had observed when we first came to this cove…"

The storm continued to batter the small party. They became discouraged with their circumstances and the possibility they would find no relief. Finally, on November 10^th, Clark woke to calm weather. He describes their exodus in this way, "About 3 oClock the wind lulled and the river became calm, I had the canoes loaded in great haste and Set Out, from this dismal nitch where we have been confined for 6 days…"

Lewis and Clark, as we know, made it to the Pacific Ocean. Their journey is documented and they were hailed as some of the greatest of the early explorers. After they rendezvoused with the ship, only eleven of their men continued on with them to reach the ocean. Their forced stay at Dismal Nitch proved too disheartening for many of the party.

Bridge to Dismal Nitch

Today, there is a 4.1 mile bridge spanning the Columbia between Astoria, Oregon and the Dismal Nitch Rest Area on the Washington side of the river. The scenery is beautiful. Many people enjoy bird watching, hiking or observing the ships that run up and down the Columbia River. The Lewis and Clark National Park encompasses parts of both sides of the Columbia River.

Bridge Looking to Oregon Side

The day we came across the Dismal Nitch Rest Area, the weather was a bit dismal. Cold rain lashed the landscape, but didn’t detract from the beauty. However, we were in a car, protected from the elements. As I studied the story of Dismal Nitch, I thought about those men who spent days in miserable conditions. Their bravery and fortitude in the face of difficulty is to be commended.

Have you ever been discouraged by a trip going awry? Did you continue on? I recall a time when our five kids were pretty young and we went on a vacation only to have one thing after another go wrong. At one point, my husband and I stepped aside and considered giving up and going back home. We decided to continue on. I don’t recollect all the discouragements of that trip, but I do remember some of the delights. I’m very glad we didn’t give up.

Nancy J Farrier is an award winning author who lives in Southern California in the Mojave Desert. She loves the Southwest with its interesting historical past. Nancy and her husband have five children and one grandson. When Nancy isn’t writing, she loves to read, do needlecraft, play with her cats, and spend time with her family. Nancy is represented by Karen Ball of The Steve Laube Literary Agency. You can read more about Nancy and her books on her website: nancyjfarrier.com.