JOHN TYLER

-
John Tyler
  John Tyler (1790-1862) had more children than any other president. He had eight by his first wife and seven by his second. Tyler was 70 when his last child, Pearl, was born. He was also the first president to be married in office though his eight children from his first wife did not approve of the wedding and did not attend. Tyler is also the first Vice-President to assume the office of President after the death of a sitting President. He was Vice President to William Henry Harrison who died of pneumonia one month after giving his inauguration speech bare headed in cold March weather. Many believed that the Constitution only meant that the Vice President would serve until a special election could be arranged to elect a new President. Tyler, through the force of will, would not let that happen. Because Tyler took a stand it is now expected that the Vice- President will automatically assume the office of the President upon the death of the President while in office. This was codified into law by the 25th Amendment. He was a life-long Democrat and Harrison was a Whig. Tyler alienated himself from the Whig Party by rejecting their policies. Most of his cabinet resigned in protest. This may be where I get my stubbornness because his great grandmother Alice Strother, who was born in 1719, is kin to me through my grandmother Ella Belle Frogge Brown. Tyler was President when Texas was admitted to the Union in 1845 and was the only former President elected to the Confederate Congress but he died in 1862 before he could assume that office.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

THE DEATH OF JAYNE MANSFIELD

-
Image
Jayne Mansfield   Jayne Mansfield died way too young on June 29, 1967 at the age of 34 in a gruesome car wreck, She was killed instantly but contrary to urban legend she was not decapitated. Jayne was called the poor man's Marilyn Monroe. She had enjoyed about a four year stint of popularity on Broadway and in Hollywood from 1954 until 1958. Her career was in decline in the late 50's and early 60's but she was still popular in Europe and on the nightclub circuit. She took her last name from her high school sweetheart Paul Mansfield when she married him at the age of seventeen. Her second husband was a former Mr. Universe named Mickey Hargitay who was from Norway. The third and last husband was Matt Cimber. Mansfield was highly educated, attending Southern Methodist University, the University of Texas and U.C.L.A. She supposedly had an IQ of 163 and was called the smartest dumb blonde ever. Of course she couldn't be too smart. In 1966, a year before her death, while
Read more

CARNTON PLANTATION

-
Image
   My first association with the Carnton Plantation in Franklin was when I would see the old house while hunting for Civil War relics in the early 1970's. There is a subdivision near Carnton today in the area where I hunted when it was primarily farm land. I knew it was an antebellum home but I wasn't aware of how historic Carnton was. It was in a horrible state of disrepair and I have learned since then that a farmer was using the house as his hay barn. In 1977 the owner of the property donated the house and ten acres to the Carnton Association and they have done a fantastic job of restoring the plantation to it's former glory. Originally the McGavock's owned 1400 acres. It was built by Randall McGavock in the 1820's. He was mayor of Nashville and a close friend of Andrew Jackson and James K. Polk. Jackson on several occasions was an overnight guest in the home.    His son John took over the plantation in 1843 upon the death of Randall. In 1848 John mar
Read more

NASHVILLE AND JESSE JAMES

-
Image
The James brothers with their mother Zerelda James   Most everyone has heard of the notorious outlaws Jesse and Frank James, however; did you know that they lived in Nashville from 1875 until March 1881? Jesse's oldest son Jesse James Jr. was born in Nashville along with his sister Mary. Jesse Jr. was born at 606 Boscobel Street on August 31, 1875. Mary was born on West Hamilton Road in Bordeaux on July 17, 1879. Jesse Jr. went by the name Tim and as far as he knew his last name was Howard. He and his sister would not know their real last names until after Jesse was killed in 1882. Jesse and his wife Zerelda would also lose two male twins in infancy.  Jesse's brother Frank lived on Clarksville Pike. While living there he and his wife Annie Ralston James gave birth to a son named Robert Franklin on February 6, 1877. For a time he would be dressed as a girl and go by the name of Mary. Why his parents did this I do not know.  The brothers were on the run. Nashville was
Read more