Benjamin Rush Milam was born in Frankfort, Kentucky in 1788 to Moses and Elizabeth Boyd Milam. He was named for Dr. Benjamin Rush, who had served soldiers including Moses Milam in the American Revolution at Valley Forge. Ben enlisted in the Kentucky Militia as a private and eventually rose to the rank of Lieutenant during the War of 1812. He remained in the army until his enlistment was concluded in 1815.
James H. Perry was a long time detractor of Sam Houston. Perry (unrelated to the Naval officer, Oliver Hazard Perry, as far as we can tell) was born in June of 1811 in New York. He had wanted to attend the United States Military Academy at West Point but his appointment was not immediately secured. In the meantime, he studied law, began practicing as an attorney and also married. He was finally admitted to West Point in 1833 but resigned during his third year there and relocated to Texas.
Charles Lindbergh flew from New York to Paris, touching down at his destination on May 21, 1927. He had won the $25,000 Orteig Prize and achieved almost instant notoriety around the world. Lindbergh been the first to fly across the Atlantic Ocean in his Ryan monoplane he had named the “Spirit of St. Louis” that now hangs in the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, DC. It took him 33 1/2 hours to cover the 3,610 miles. Prior to this flight, Lindbergh had been a mail pilot when he’d heard of the prize and began to plan for the flight.
Continue reading “Lucky Lindy” comes to TexasSam Bass was born July 21, 1851 in Lawrence County, Indiana and died on his 27th birthday, July 21, 1878 in Round Rock, Texas He had lived a life that had made him famous to the point that he had become a folk hero to some. Sam had been orphaned at the age of 13 after which he began to live with an uncle who was stern and strict with him. As soon as he could, young Bass left his uncle and relocated to Rosedale, Mississippi where he worked for about a year in a saw mill. In the summer of 1870, he set out for Texas, traveling with a family named Mayes who were returning to their home in Denton County, Texas. He had heard about Texas and the cowboy life and wanted to try it.
Continue reading Sam BassIn September 1936, Dad was living in Alvord, Texas, on Hubbard Street at the edge of town. There were no house numbers back then, he recalls. His aunt Ovie and uncle Bunk who lived in Petrolia, Texas had made plans to take Dad and his cousin Jimmy to the state fair in Dallas. Dad was about 10 1/2 and Jimmy was about six months older. Uncle Bunk was a tailor and had a shop in Petrolia. Dad said that the night before, Uncle Bunk had driven his family down to Alvord to be ready to leave for Dallas the next morning.
Continue reading Dad’s Trip to the Texas Centennial State Fair, 1936
Texas History Notebook 