Memorable May 5th - Part 1

Back in January of this yr I was at the old Quaker Cemetery looking for a grave to satisfy a photo request for Find a Grave.  I came upon this broken stone, I said "what a shame this is broken' and yet it was such a perfect stone in every other way and I read it...

Sacred to the Memory of My Husband

Lucius R LeGrand

aged 31 years

Who was drowned on the Memoralble 5th May, 1860

at Boykin Mill Pond

Since Im very familiar with the Boykin Mill Pond, about 10 miles outta town....I was intriqued immediately..and then right beside that stone was this one

WHAT??? A brother also drowned...May 5th, 1860? So of course that did it...I had to find out why these brothers drowned!!! So I googled it..

HOLY COW...here's what  I found:

SUMTER WATCHMAN EXTRA  FRIGHTFUL ACCIDENT!

SPECIAL TELEGRAPHIC INTELLIGENCE TO KINGSVILLE FOR THE WATCHMAN

TWENTY FIVE PERSONS DROWNED

BOYKINS' MILL POND, NEAR CAMDEN

THE SCENE

MONDAY MORNING MAY 7, 1860 -- SIX OCLOCK

TERRIBLE ACCIDENT

UNbelievable!! Ive found 2 graves of 25 persons drowned in a mass drowning...

So it was that the old newspaper article declared it such a horrid tragedy...the news was relayed by telegraph and old Mr Whitherspoon took down the names of the dead and that list was published, 25 people DROWNED...IT was later learned that the number was 24....the grisly list saddened every heart as it was read. Listed were the 22 sir names of the now dead young girls and boys and at the end of the list was stated ....and 2 negroes! Pre Civil War....(DAMN-how inhumane is that? More on this at a later Date!)

So a picnic and party was on and about 50 or so of the prominent family members got on a flat bottom boat, they intended to pole the boat across the pond and back it was such a beautiful May day...out about 100 ft from shore in 25 feet of water, they got caught on a snag...The polers rocked it back n forth in an attempt to get free but------THE WOOD BOTTOM busted and the craft began to take on water,,,,most paniced and jumped sinking to the depts of the murky mill pond muddy bottom.....and it took their lives away...SO I decided to TRACK down the burial place and hopefully photo of each of the victims gravesites....next week part 2!!

For Taphophile Tragics

PEACE



Trying Times....

This photo shows my purple martin houses, I do have another photo  taken  on a nice fall day but I couldnt find it, but found this one...

Can you see the very tall martin house? MY X is forcing this land be sold because he is  a  confused but anyways I   have 2 of them I am moving these bird houses so they wont be nested in till I can get them in a new location ...normally I  get E. bluebirds in one and Great Crested Flycatchers in the other...

MY wish is to keep the land as a sanctuary for animals but...my wishes wont happen...i have a court date on Wednesday...oh the times that try a WOMAN's souls...

Went to Sesqui State Park yesterday with my best friend to clear my head... it was quite COOL and breezy...so not much was going on bird wise, lately the weatherman has been way off base with his predictions!! WE did get the rain they promised on Friday...
so my friend and I went for a walk around the lake overhead we heard brown headed nuthatches, pine warblers, red bellied woodpeckers, but WAYYYY up high in the tall pines....out on the lake there were Pied Billed Grebes, some mallards and double crested cormorants dying drying....lol on old pilings posts..




and of course the Canda Geese were around....they always co operate for a photo...



as we walked the trail around the lake we ran into some high water....from Fridays rain...

lots of robins in the grass looking for worms...

We didnt see a lot but it was nice to be outdoors after a hard week of work and dealing with crap'ola...I dont like lawyers, and I dont trust people who wear suits and heels so very stressful times for me...
I have to look at the big picture that we are meerly walking thru life and what has gone before and what will come after is not as important as  what we are doing at the MOMENT !

PEACE

County Life

Last week I had ONE trip to make to the neighboring county..it was a bit overcast day...Look at all these pine trees in various stages of growth...around here Cotton and Pine Trees are a  cash crop!!  The Long Leaf Pine is native to our area...the tall ones  are about the right size to harvest.

In the Desert Southwest the sage brush creates a musky earthy smell...this broomsedge is kinda like that it creates an earthy fragrance..and its all over the place!!

back in the days of the tenant farms before the Dust Bowl and the depression, families lived in these small frame homes Field Side...of course we all know after reading the Grapes of Wrath that the tractor replaced the tenant farmers and a way of life was gone forever...here in the south the small frame structures remain...

I imagine this cabin could be made cozy again, with a woman's touch, some lace curtains at the window and few window boxes of red tulips--they say if you can imagine it you can create it..Im a firm believer of that!!

                                                                      Prosperous once

MY friend and I are gonna try to get together for some birding this weekend...(we've been trying the last 2 weeks) The weather should be nice not like Today it was 81 VERY MILD degrees but a bit of rain and then cooler air is headed our way... but the rain will be outta the way by Saturday morning...last week I got yet another northern Mocking bird to pose for me, they are not intimitaded by cameras or people with cameras!

I've seen this flock of Wild Turkey before in the same PLACE, so glad to see them again!

And my mom always calls this a Robin Redbreast, 

PEACE

The Rest of the Story...



SO I got the STORY......This is kind of an update to my post to Taphophile Tragics last week...the small grave with the name Little Maxcy Gregg..first some background to help make sense of the name...



Maxcy Gregg, from the Web.



Maxcy Gregg born in Columbia, SC in 1814 son to Col John Gregg was educated at the South Carolina college graduated head of the class then practiced law with his father and was active in local politics and law.  He entered a military career in 1846 but saw no action in the Mexican/American War. He had many interests such as astronomy, botony, ornithology, and language so he was a scholar. He was one of the signers of the delcaration of secession for the State of SC in Dec 1860 and fought at Fort Sumter (the shot heard round the world, the first conflict of the US CIVIL WAR) so he was a statesman right from the get go.  He later died with honor when a rifle ball the size of a marble entered his side at the battle of Fredericksburg, VA and hit his spine and he died 2 days later.  His body was returned to Columbia at rest in Elmwood Memorial Gardens...

 

NOW THE CONNECTION: During times of OLD people were often named after famous persons or leaders they held in reverance...like George Washington, Benjamin Franklin, or Maxcy Gregg in this case...

ALexander Leslie McCandless was born in NJ in 1820...but

somehow he ended up an orphan in the Charleston orphan house and was taken from there and given an education...he graduated from South Carolina College in 1838...(I'm assuming he met Maxcy Gregg at College)

Later he began teaching at the Orphan Society School in Camden at age 18, and was headmaster of the school from 1839-1846...

He married his beloved Frances Agusta Coleman in 1847.  They taught at the Orphan Society School where Leslie was known to be as hard as Fannie was gentle as he had a reputation of being physically violent toward his young charges passing out whippings whenever the opportunity arose.

SO when the Civil War broke out Leslie McCandless left his job at school as the enrollment dwindled due to the enlistment of many of his charges into the CSA (Confederate States of America).  The rough n tough school master enlisted with Boykin's Rangers, Co A 2nd SC Calvary, but was later discharged not being of a soldierly disposition...after his discharge he moved to Atlanta with his family but soon returned to Camden...alone! Fannie stayed and never lived with her husband again.  She opened a school for girls in Atlanta and died in 1889.  Her body was sent back to Camden to eternally lay next to her beloved first born.....
Little Maxcy Gregg McCandless
  Sept 9th 1849--May 21, 1850
in the Old Quaker Burial Ground. 

Fannie and Little Maxy"s gravestones 

 Typhoid Fever took many during those days... although I dont know that is what Little Maxcy died of just a hunch....now we know the rest of the story.

The McCandless Family-- The tall obleske  on the left is Leslie McCandless, then Fannie, Little Maxy, Linnie McCandless Wilson, and in front left is Kate Leslie McCandless, and to the right Sidney Coleman McCandless.

THIS post is linked to Taphophile Tragics

PEACE

What do Vegans Eat?

I FOUND IT..
I wish my laptop had screenshots, but for some reason it doesnt work, I thought there may be others who are wondering how to get the reply botton to show up under the comments...Sometimes you want to reply to a particular comment, and its kinda cool to be able to have it right under that comment..SO I saw a few blogs that had it but didnt know how it got there and neither did the BLog Owners when I asked!!

SO I went plundering thru the options and found it...so if you're one of those who enjoys replying to comments on your blog in the thread, then this may be of use to you..

Sorry I dont have the screenshots to show you but its NOT that hard..
I am still using the old dashboard but I feel it will be found in the same way.

GO to Dashboard, and if you have more than one blog go to the Blog title you want to make this change on. and select Settings
So its Dashboard/Blog Title/settings
 then when it opens to the new view you will see a row of tabs with Comments, Settings, Design, Monetize, Stats, and below that a line of much the same but in Blue link type font. Select: Comments

scroll down to Comment Form Placement, and select the "Embed Below Post" and then Save and its DONE. 

So thats Dashboard/settings/comments/comment form placement/Embed Below Post/Save
so that was fun to find and now I have it enabled on my blog


Anyways so this post is not just about that...I get asked all the time What do Vegans eat? Most people get confused and think we spend all our time running around looking for "substitutes" for meat--ANK  not true!! Although I do eat some foods that are veggie substitues for some foods, its not important to find a substitute for "animal products"..just dont eat them period!!
So here is a typical meal at my table...

THis particular meal is a heaping pile of mixed organic greens, and fresh spinach with sliced red onions, Baby Bella Shrooms.(I make my own salad dressing using EVOlive Oil, balsamic vinegar, asian vinegar, low sodium soy sauce, lemon juice, some dehydrated garlic) and on the side a baked potato with fresh out of the garden chopped chives.

I love whole wheat flat bread toasted and sprinkle fresh parsley and garlic on it--and a wee bit of wine...
And thats WHAT Vegans eat, and trust me IM EATING GOOD!!!
OH did you know the rutabaga is from Sweden?

There is a small percentage of accidentals in my food, the only way I could be 100% instead of 99.9% vegan is to make ALL my own bread too...SO what I need is a bread machine, right?

PEACE

The Story Left Behind...

For Taphophile Tragics

... regular dixxeland readers (all much appreciated) know I am a Photo Volunteer for the Find A Grave website..and anyone can do it...its a wonderful network of people helping people with ancestry, research, and fact finding,  and  it's a huge vault of information.  I have enjoyed all the trips to the various cemteries Ive visited over the past almost a year since I started...One of the local cemeteries that I get lots of requests for photos is Quaker Cemetery  c-1759...I also combine birding with the photo shoots, since this old cemetery has Large Live Oak trees throughout.  Birds seem to love it here.

So Ive veiwed many cemeteries containing all kinds of stones...I like the old style stones best...although a few are hard to read some are in very good condition considering the age! This stone is over 200 yrs old and is still very legible!!

Ive believe in family plots it's a good idea for the Living, and after all that is what cemeteries are for, a place for the living to remember the ones who paved the way for us, they have left their legacy for us to carry on...I consider a walk around a cemetery to be a walk through the pages of family history and Community, State, and Country history....one can find great grand father, grand father, and father resting alongside or nearby and a spot for son awaits...time keeps moving forward one falls by the way so another may pick up the torch and carry it into the future.

Every stone tells a story, its up to us to find out what that story is...I enjoy doing more research to uncover the story, get the facts, and this little grave has me intrigued so I want to try and find out what is the story here?  Since Maxcy Gregg was a great Civil War Brigadier General and was killed at the Battle of Fredericksburg, VA Dec 15, 1862, that makes me wonder who this tiny grave belongs to and why the name Little Maxcy Gregg?

Unsolved mysteries abound!!

This post is linked to Taphophile Tragics Meme

thank you for visiting!

PEACE

Kind Of a Blustery Day ~~~~

...a friend and I were to go birding today in a neighboring county, then on Friday the weather man said Cold and 20 mph winds for Saturday and being old birds sun loving chickadees ourselves we figured sitting on a cold bench trying to scarf down picnic food in the wind and attempting to focus binos on a bird hanging onto a swaying branch is NOT exactly fun---SO we postponed to next weekend...and HOPE for the better clymes then.

...so I went about my day...DANG that weather man  I ought to string him up ....it got cold and windy but not till late in the afternoon...Im pretty sure we would have gotten in a good day before the front hit....anyways I did a little birding around the house before errands.  The Junco's are still hanging around here..

dark-eyed junco

I love the matching pink beak and legs of these guys this is a male..the females are a lighter color not such a dark grey...and waiting his turn at the feeder is the White Throated Sparrow...


white throated sparrow

One of my favorite singers...he has about every shade of brown in his feathers and the yellow lores are a nice complement to his coloration.  They usually scratch around on the ground, but I notice more and more they are taking a turn up on the feeders.  They normally leave us when its time to breed.

The Brown Headed Cowbird is not a well like bird due to the parasitic behavior, but they are pretty birds..

A northern cardinal really stood out amongst the woods....we have had a good bunch of Cardinals..males and females, they do not migrate.

Then had to spend money run errands so on the way back stopped at my local lake there was NOT ONE water bird around...maybe some canada geese way back in the reeds I didnt hike over to the far side...but the water was pretty, with the Cyprus all lined up in the background...

 Goodale State Park

Then the weather changed up-- you can see the ripples in the water and it did get quite unpleasant with that cold wind so I didnt hang around..

I found a few items to add to the Dixxeland Express today....a wrap around screen for the 10x10 canopy, a folding "tailgate party" table, and some solar party lights---one more thing I need now is some "grass Carpet" a 10 x 10 foot piece I am looking for a really cheap one that I can fold up IM getting so excited---i did find a multi colored cheap rug and I'm pondering that one...
ITS almost time for a road trip. I am noticing gas prices are on the rise again.  ;0/

OH and a red shouldered hawk is attempting to build a nest in a tall pine near my yard...IF she continues I hope to be able to record some of her comings n goings...she may be faking it tho so we'll see...last weekend she was sqwaking and making a ruckus and found a good spot in a tree...

PEACE

a Spring Day!

ITs so warm this past weekend... I ate pancakes on my front porch the doors and widows thrown open and a warm breeze had the American Flag on the house flappin to and fro! Yeah I KNOW pancakes at 3 pm, how can I be so reckless? LOL I dont think its one of the deadly sins...but its possibly a cardinal sin. NO low cal syrup either!! JUST slurped it up and the girls licked the plate when I was done..trust me they didnt get much.

So its Spring here--

More Evidence...

Blue Moon 

Robin 

 ...ran into a large flock of Grackles....

This Loggerhead Shrike was watching them and I believe he said the grackles reminded him of a honey badger...er something like that.

More history of the Boykin Tragedy

Yesterday I was at the Archieves all day...I got carried away trying to read microfilm...omg I get carsick watching that stuff whiz by...ugh-the elderly gentleman spoke so softly I barely heard him when he cleared his throat and whispered right by my left ear,

"Miss we are closing in 4 minutes."

WHAT?  I found some interesting facts concerning my research project--the mass drowning from 1860- each time I dig I come up with more pieces of the puzzle. History is only life gone by so each day that we live its history!! DO the next generation a big favor KEEP RECORDS of your life events...and family history.

WELL this time it was a BIGGIE...see there were 24 dead-
mind you this is PRE-CIVIL WAR in South Carolina---slavery was the way of life here.  So it was that the old newspaper article that I first read declared it such a horrid tragedy...the news was relayed by telegraph and old Mr Whitherspoon took down the names of the dead and that list was published, 24 people DROWNED...the grisly list saddened every heart as it was read.  Listed were the 22 sir names of the young dead girls and boys and at the end of the list was stated ....and 2 negroes! DAMN-how inhumane is that?

OKAY---now that makes my goal VERY HARD--see Im searching for the burial locations of these long ago victims, a peaceful sunny afternoon in May around the old Mill Pond, picnicing, playing games, girls in gay dresses and young masters in their finery....it was told to me by the broom maker in Boykin that it was a birthday party. So many of the party goers crowded onto a flat bottom boat and intended to cross the pond and then back again, just to add to the frolic of the day...and they shoved off.  One of the "negroes" was poling the boat along with one of the "gentlemen" and they hit a snag about 100 feet from shore in 25 feet of water...and was firmly stuck!  They rocked the boat back and forth in hopes of freeing it but instead of it gaining freedom a huge hole ripped thru the planking and water rushed in...
The old article May 7th, 1860 stated that most went into a frenzied panic at this point yelling to be saved and yet they were not...many jumped overboard! One can only imagine the young ladies in their dresses of silk or cotton skirts with hoops and layers of ruffles and petticoats and buttons and bows, sinking into the murky depths of the black waters of the Swift Creek now held high and wide by the dam of the Boykin Mill Pond....a
Men from the shore jumped in and rushed to save as many as they could, Mr James Jones a fireman on the train that waited nearby rushed in and saved three himself...the number of boaters varies from one source to the next so Ill go with between 35-50 persons were onboard...and 24 very healthy bodies lay drowned at the bottom of the lake when it was all said and done...
They opened the flood gates  to lower the dept in hopes of finding the bodies, but only 13 were brought by train back to our town of Camden on that night, and the tragic news moved swiftly through the community...the rest were brought out when the water level finally dropped.
Mr Ralph Leland Goodrich an educator from NY working at McCandless school (YES the very same McCandless of from my previous T-Tragics Post) on Laurens St recorded  details of the accident in his diary, and he attended many of the funerals, I quote:

Truly in the midst of life we are in death. It deeply impressed my mind & the shock will not soon be removed. So teach me O God to number my days that I may apply my heart into wisdom. One mother exclaimed whose almost every child was gone, “& these too, & these too.” The grief could not be measured.

So what had me so excited you ask?? I was given a book called the Historic Camden and In it I found a page about the drownings, and a list of the dead..WHOA--and at the end of that list:

Dorcas Page- a free negro, 

Pender Ciples - a negro slave

HIGH FIVES ALL ROUND!!! Just having those names is amazing...now I have to try and document where the author of this book got those names!! There was an inquest and Mr Jones and a E E Sill testified so thats my next clue!!

I DO NOT know where Dorcas and Pender are buied, and I may never know...just getting their NAMES is a small miracle.  I have found the burial locations of 13 of the dead so far...

I have created a Virtual Cemetery on Find a Grave for the Victims.  For the ones Im unable to find I have created a Cemetery called the BMP Tragedy, when I find the grave sites I delete them from my imaginary cemetery and then add them and the little headstone shows the photo of their graves. SOME were already listed in Find a Grave..LAST week I found yet another and today I got a good lead so Ive sent off an email to the Wofford College hoping for a copy of the obit in the Southern Christian Advocate from June of 1860!

PEACE