Lokale Geschichte

Arlington County, Virginia's oldest African American community, the Nauck community, which dates back to 1844, is rich in history and abundant with bridge builders, both past and present, who have made local and national contributions while fighting for their right to experience a good quality of life. Bridge Builders of Nauck/Green Valley: Past and Present is a compilation of the stories, interviews, and biographies of these extraordinary African Americans who pursued and found success, despite the laws at the time that limited their access to everything from home loans to education. The perseverance of the pioneers of Nauck is alive through their accomplishments, triumphs, and achievements. Whether in their own words, the words of their loved ones, or through history books, Taylor's labor of love seeks to memorialize the important work these African Americans have achieved and the legacy they leave for future generations. Said Taylor, "Ordinary Nauck/Green Valley residents surviving Jim Crow Laws, lacking financial backing, becoming economically independent, educating themselves and their children, fighting for freedom, and remembering from whence they came should be an inspiration to all to celebrate and continue sharing future, ordinary resident's accomplishments."About the AuthorDr. Alfred O. Taylor Jr. was born and raised in Arlington County, Virginia. He earned a Bachelor of Science in Technical Teacher Training, a Master of Arts in Administration and Supervision of Adult Education, and a Doctorate of Education from the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University in Administration of Higher Education. Taylor served as Assistant Dean for the College of Professional Studies (and was later named Acting Dean). Taylor retired from the University of the District of Columbia after thirty-one years of service. Taylor is still active in his community and religious community, serving as President of the Nauck Civic Association and as Chairman of the Deacon's Ministry at the Macedonia Baptist Church, among many others. Taylor and his wife, Delores, a retired D.C. Public Schools teacher, have two children, three grandsons, and two great-granddaughters. He hopes that Nauck/Green Valley: Past and Present will become a living document that will be continuously supplemented as future generations of "Nauckians" make their contributions to society.

The town of Bedford, Massachusetts, is located in Middlesex County, Massachusetts. For nearly one hundred years, this territory comprised the outlying districts of Concord and Billerica; Bedford was incorporated by the General Court in September of 1729. This illustrated history, which covers the town from its earliest settlement to 1891, when the book was originally published, includes information on early Indian claims; Bedford's part in the Revolutionary and Civil Wars; its burial grounds and epitaphs; and a genealogical register of old families.

Irving Van Wart's humorous rhyming travelogue of a journey through Europe—largely Germany and France—was illustrated by his son Ames Van Wart. Originally published in 1864, Van Wart remarks on the prodigious quantities of beer in Germany and describes a donkey ride in Aix, France. Irving Van Wart was named after his uncle, Washington Irving (Washington's sister Sarah was Irving Van Wart's mother). Washington Irving lived with the Van Wart family in Birmingham, England on a few separate occasions, and wrote many of his classic stories there, including ""Rip Van Winkle.""

"Between two tall gate-posts of rough-hewn stone (the gate itself having fallen from its hinges, at some unknown epoch) we beheld the gray front of the old parsonage, terminating the vista of an avenue of black-ash trees."So begins Nathaniel Hawthorne's 1846 sketch "The Old Manse," which leads off this collection of short stories. Hawthorne and his wife Sophia lived at the Old Manse in Concord, Massachusetts from 1842-1845, during the first years of their marriage. The sixteen other selections collected here were all written during the time the Hawthornes lived in the house, today a National Historic Landmark."They should be sold by the hundred-thousand, and read by the million; and admired by every one who is capable of Admiration." -Herman Melville review of "Mosses from An Old Manse"

Nancy Luce, a poor woman in ill health who lived alone and loved her chickens, spent her entire life (1814-1890) on Martha's Vineyard. She also wrote her own unique brand of poetry, which she self-published and sold to the summer trade. Walter Magnes Teller published this appreciation of Luce's life and poetry in 1984, with the help of the Dukes County Historical Society (today the Martha's Vineyard Museum). Said the New York Times, of the work in 1986, "Reading the book makes one wonder how many Nancy Luces and their male counterparts have existed - sensitive people doomed by invalidism and lack of both financial and emotional support, but determined to leave behind some record, some expression, no matter how meager."

This wonderful story of the people who occupied Concord Massachusetts' fascinating Old Manse, among them Emerson and Hawthorne, was originally published in 1983.

On June 25, 1914, a fire that started at the Korn Leather Factory on Boston Street in Salem, Massachusetts, quickly spread through the city, "sweeping all before it." By the time it was extinguished early the following morning, it had burned 253 acres, destroyed 1,376 buildings, and caused millions of dollars worth of damage. Of Salem's 48,000 population, 20,000 people lost their homes. For months, tent cities on Bertram Field at the high school, on Salem Common, and in Forest River Park housed those who were made homeless.Arthur B. Jones, member of Salem's Hose Company Number 2, published his account of the great fire later the same year. The book is illustrated with 43 historic black & white photographs.

Hinton Rowan Helper (1829-1909) of North Carolina became one of the South's most controversial figures in the 1850s for his criticisms of slavery in "The Land of Gold" and his better known book, "The Impending Crisis." "The Land of Gold" (1855) draws on Helper's three years residence in California and leads him to the conclusion, "California is the poorest State in the Union." Aside from gold, he can see nothing to recommend the state economically, and his book damns the state's populace in terms of morals and intelligence.

Graff

Copy 2 : Verso of p. 67: Entered at Stationers hall. Errata ..

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The author of Waubun, Julliette August Magill, was a clever, cultured, educated woman who was born in 1806 and raised in Connecticut and for a time attended Troy Female Seminary, which provided an education for girls "equal to that of their brothers." In 1830, she moved to Wisconsin as the new bride of John Kinzie, the Indian Agent for the Winnebago people at the portage of the Fox and Sauk rivers. She was fascinated by the romance of the wild frontier, and blessed with an adventurous spirit and hearty sense of humor. Mrs. Kinzie was a keen observer of everything around her. She wrote Waubun as a narrative of the significant years between 1830 and 1833, during which time her husband disbursed the annuity payments to the native people, payment for the lands relinquished in treaties with the Winnebago people in Wisconsin. Her descriptions of daily incidents and major events include the sights, the sounds and the scents of her experiences. The Kinzies shared a true affection for the native people and an interest in native culture. Mrs. Kinzie's book, first published in 1856, provides the rare perspective of a genteel and educated woman, who felt strongly that the native culture should be respected and protected.

Dr. James L. Tyson sailed from Baltimore for California in January 1849, crossing the Isthmus and sailing on to San Francisco. Diary of a physician in California (1850) recounts his 1849 tour of the Northern Mines in search of a likely place for his medical practice and his hospital at Cold Spring, where his patients included a number of Oregonians. Tyson closes his hospital at the end of the summer, sailing from San Francisco as a ship's physician, crossing the Isthmus and landing in the United States in December 1849. His diary pays special attention to miners' health and working conditions