Curtis Roosevelt was three when he and his sister, Eleanor, arrived at the White House soon after their grandfather’s inauguration. The country’s “First Grandchildren,” a pint-sized double act, they were known to the media as “Sistie and Buzzie.”In this rich memoir, Roosevelt brings us into “the goldfish bowl,” as his family called it—that glare of public scrutiny to which all presidential households must submit. He recounts his misadventures as a hapless kid in an unforgivably formal setting and describes his role as a tiny planet circling the dual suns of Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt.Blending self-abasement, humor, awe and affection,Too Close to the Sunis an intimate portrait of two of the most influential and inspirational figures in modern American history—and a thoughtful exploration of the emotional impact of growing up in their irresistible aura.
Historic Emergence of 100 unpublished Edward S. Curtis photographs and personal journal from Alaska! Join Edward Curtis on his harrowing journey on the Bering Sea in the summer of 1927. His first-hand accounts, as written in his personal journal, bring to life his final field season to complete The North American Indian project. This Alaska voyage is truly an example of the tenacity it took for Curtis to complete his grand opus. Between the towering gale-driven seas breaking over the deck, the blizzard snow conditions, the falling barometers, and the hole in the boat, it is a miracle he and his crew lived to tell this story.Included with Curtis' historic journal are 100 previously unpublished photographs. Occasionally unseen Curtis prints surface, but never 100 at once. Be the first to experience these images and make this book a part of your personal library. "How I managed to keep that log during all the stress is beyond my present understanding, yet on reading it twenty years after it was written, it brought the day by day incidents, locations and storm conditions vividly to mind. Frankly, it's reading gave me the shivers, and I constantly marveled that at any time in my life I had the strength and endurance to do such a season's work." ~ Edward Curtis
This brilliantly reported, unforgettable true story reveals how one of the most monstrous sexual criminals in the history of the Mormon church preyed on his victims even as he was protected by the church elders who knew of his behavior. When Seattle attorney Tim Kosnoff agreed to listen to an eighteen-year-old man who claimed to have been molested by his Mormon Sunday school teacher, he had no idea he was embarking on a quest for justice on behalf of multiple victims or that the battle would consume years of his life and pit him against the vast, powerful, and unrepentant Mormon church itself. As Kosnoff began to investigate the case, he discovered that the Sunday school teacher, a mysterious figure named Frank Curtis, possessed a long and violent prison record before he was welcomed into the church, where he became a respected elder entrusted with the care of prepubescent Mormon boys. Through Lisa Davis’s deft storytelling, two astonishing narratives unfold. The first shows how Brother Curtis ingratiated himself into the lives of young boys from working-class Mormon families where money was tight, and was accepted by mothers and fathers who saw in him a kindly uncle or grandfather figure who enjoyed the blessing of the church. Having gained the families’ trust, Curtis became fiendishly helpful, offering to supervise trips or overnights out of the sight of parents, when he could manipulate his victims or ply them with alcohol. The other narrative is a real-life legal thriller. As Davis shows, Kosnoff and his partners tirelessly assembled the case against the church, sifting through records, tracking down victims, and convincing them to testify about Brother Curtis’s acts. What began as a case of one plaintiff turned into a complex web stretching across multiple states. Joined by what would become a team of attorneys and investigators, Kosnoff found himself up against one of the most insular institutions in the United States: the secretive and powerful Mormon church. The amazing legal case at the heart of The Sins of Brother Curtis shows how the church’s elite, well-funded team of attorneys claimed the church was protected under the Constitution from revealing that Curtis had molested a number of Mormon boys. Yet Kosnoff and his devoted legal team (which included a female investigator adept at getting parents of victims to talk to her) succeeded in forcing the church to reveal that it knew about Curtis and ultimately achieved a successful settlement. Emotionally powerful page by page, The Sins of Brother Curtis delivers a redemptive reading experience in which the truth, no matter how painful and hidden, is told at last and justice is hard won. This is a remarkable story, all true.
Michael Arbogast was restless He viewed his future in Baden-Württemberg, Germany as bleak. It was a part of his DNA to create a better life for himself and his descendants, at least give them a better opportunity than he saw in his existing situation. Local talk had it that the frontier wilderness in this place called America offered opportunities if one had the right stuff to survive the challenge. But was his life so reached in Germany that he should risk his future on a gamble of wrestling a small parcel on the earth surface from the current owner who would die before he gave it up, and ever mindful that the former owner lingered in the nearby forest. Could this be a better life, knowing most of his remaining years would be committed just surviving while getting a toe hole in the American wilderness? The payoff for the toil and suffering of the pioneer comes from the 'better life' of future generations .. And so Michael Arbogast came, leaving the hinder land of Baden-Württemberg. He put down roots in the heart of the Allegany Mountains, straddling the Eastern North America continental divide in what is now Highland County, VA. Here his family came into existence and prospered, expanding to well over 15,000 descendants. The size of the Michael Arbogast family exceeds what can be included in one volume. As a result it is presented in three volumes. Contents unique to each volume are: Volume One - History of Michael the Man, His immediate family, and the descendants of his oldest son Odessus Adam.Volume Two - The descendants of his children David, Mary Elizabeth, son Michael, Dorothy, Volume Three - The descendants of his children Henry, Peter, John and GeorgeThe bulk of each volume is a recording of the descendants of Michael and his wife Mary Elizabeth Samuels, plus interesting side stories about many descendants. This book is about caring for your ancestors. If you don't care then Dr. Price (William Price, author of Historical Sketches,1901) had it correct, "Persons knowing but little of those gone before is very likely to care but little of those coming after them." And why should you care? Consider this; if you are the product of an emigrant ancestor didn't some not-to-be-forgotten relative prevail over the obstacles so that you might exist. If any thread of your emigrate ancestry had wiggled ever so much from the path they followed you would have experienced an eternity of nonexistence. So why would one not collect the data and honor our ancestors? Thucydides said "Both justice and decency require that we should bestow on our forefathers an honourable remembrance." And the Good Book offers these words "Hath this been in your days, or even in the days of your fathers? Tell your children of it, and let your children tell their children, and their children another generation. Joel 1:1-3
The Newberry Medalist brings humor and heart to this story of a Civil War–era boy struggling to do right in the face of history’s cruelest evils. Twelve-year-old Charlie is down on his luck: His sharecropper father just died, and Cap’n Buck—the most fearsome man in Possum Moan, South Carolina—has come to collect a debt. Fearing for his life, Charlie strikes a deal with Cap’n Buck and agrees to track down some folks accused of stealing from the cap’n and his boss. It’s not too bad of a bargain for Charlie . . . until he comes face-to-face with the fugitives and discovers their true identities. Torn between his guilty conscience and his survival instinct, Charlie needs to figure out his next move—and soon. It’s only a matter of time before Cap’n Buck catches on. Praise for The Journey of Little Charlie A National Book Award Finalist “This is a compelling and ugly story for middle-grade readers told with genuine care. Little Charlie is a product of his Southern upbringing, yet in Curtis’s skillful hands he learns the world is not as he’d thought . . . Christopher Paul Curtis does it again.” —Historical Novel Society “A characteristically lively and complex addition to the historical fiction of the era from Curtis.” —Kirkus Reviews
Thucydides said "Both justice and decency require that we should bestow on our forefathers an honorable remembrance." This is a major purpose of this volume. The first two chapters are about the history of the Morrison Clan in in the Outer Hebrides of Scotland. Their 700 plus years in that bleak, windswept landscape shaped their physical and mental facilities in such a way to make them ideal for migration to a new wilderness. and Morrisons in America. Little is known of the history of the peoples of the Hebrides before the 6th century as they, like the rest of Scotland, was in the depths of what centuries later became known as the Dark Ages. Nathaniel Morrison, born 1707 in Scotland on the Isle of Lewis, was a product of that environment. This book is about him and his descendants. This Nathaniel was one of no doubt many Morrisons whose children sailed the stormy North Atlantic for a new life in America. Did our 1707 Nathaniel make the journey? That is unsure, but three of his sons, all born in Scotland, account for the 9550 descendants identified in this A Morrison Family. Most would have interesting stories to tell of their life, and where available they are recorded here. So what was the personality and character of this Morrison family that emerged from the west coast of Scotland whose founder was probably of Norwegian origin? After seeking and reading about members of this family the answer to that question become clear, at least about the early generations. Without a doubt they were strong, industrious, bright, thrifty, determined people, always seeking the moral high ground. It was their desire to make a good life by investing their God given traits for hard work. Check this out. John Wesley Morrison married Virginia Mary McCorkle, both born in Greenbrier County, VA died in Oxville, Scott Co., IL. First they moved from Virginia to Lawrence Co., OH in 1813, and about 1823 moved to Pike Co., OH. From there by by flat boat they came down the Ohio River, and then polled the boat up the Mississippi River to Grafton, then up the Illinois River to Naples, IL where they landed. John purchased a farm on and began farming. During the years he acquired considerable land (in excess of 2000 acres), later given to each of his children, 13 of 14 surviving.14. Were they strong, industrious, bright, thrift? The Morrisons may also have had a little more of their share of wanderlust. The first few generations were on the move, mostly west where there was ample and cheap land. This book is speckled with such stories, which records Morrison descendants living and/or dying in every state, frequently blended with a personal mandate for education. Chapter 3 chronicles some minor and major detail about the 9550 Morrison descendants and their families. An example, abbreviated notes about John Morrison, fifth generation; b. Mar 04 1804 in Greenbrier Co., VA, d. Dec 08 1884 in Braxton Co., VA, buried in Morrison UMC, Newville, Braxton Co., WV. John went from Greenbrier to Nicholas, now Braxton County, as a young man, marrying Mary Lough of Pendleton Co., VA. History of Braxton County says John "-- was a prominent and respected citizen from the early settlement of that section until his death. He lived and reared his family on his farm, filling several public offices at different times. Upon his death a friend reported "I think he was the most lovable man I ever knew. He always greeted you with a smile. I never saw him angry. He was a most pious man and one of the leaders of the Church." At the beginning of the Civil War, he chose the Union side, and some rangers (southern sympathizer) visited his place, burned his house with its contents, drove away the stock and abused and maltreated Mary, from which she never recovered, dying in 1863.. A complete and robust index simplifies finding your kin folks.
"We are a family on a journey to a place called wonderful" is the motto of Deza Malone's family. Deza is the smartest girl in her class in Gary, Indiana, singled out by teachers for a special path in life. But it's 1936 and the Great Depression has hit Gary hard, and there are no jobs for black men. When her beloved father leaves to find work, Deza, Mother, and her older brother, Jimmie, go in search of him, and end up in a Hooverville outside Flint, Michigan. Jimmie's beautiful voice inspires him to leave the camp to be a performer, while Deza and Mother find a new home, and cling to the hope that they will find Father. The twists and turns of their story reveal the devastation of the Depression and prove that Deza truly is the Mighty Miss Malone.
