James Bradley paid the actual price of freedom

James reads and I consult my notes in Covington KY

It was $700.

The statue of James Bradley, honoring anti-slavery activity in Kentucky, is one of the several statues along the scenic Covington Kentucky Riverwalk portraying persons having a strong association with the Ohio River and its history.

In Bradley's autobiographical letter, he was about 3 years old “when the soul-destroyers tore me from my mother’s arms, somewhere in Africa, far back from the sea”.

Sometime around 1819, he was taken to a plantation in South Carolina where he was given his name James Bradley after the surname of the man who purchased him. He recalls being treated physically well there, however, later in his own words he wrote, "...from the time I was fourteen years old, I used to think a great deal about freedom. It was my heart’s desire; I could not keep it out of my mind. Many a sleepless night I have spent in tears, because I was a slave. I looked back on all I had suffered – and when I looked ahead, all was dark and hopeless bondage."
After many years he managed to earn $700, about $15,000 in today's money, by sacrificing precious sleep to do extra work on the plantation and finally bought his freedom in 1833. He headed for the closest free state which was Ohio and crossed the Ohio River near this statue.

Lane Seminary was in Cincinnati's Walnut Hills

In 1834, Bradley learned of Lane Seminary which was run by the father of Harriet Beecher Stowe who later raised US awareness of the plight of slaves in her 1852 book Uncle Tom's Cabin. Bradley was admitted to the school and was the only black person admitted to an American institution of higher learning before the Civil War. He participated in the highly publicized Lane Seminary Debates regarding the cruelty and immorality of slavery which helped shift students and many Americans toward that point of view.

Not much is known of James Bradley after he left the school. Nothing more is written about him. I hope he at least lived to see the day decades later when the end of the US Civil War finally began the process to free his people from, in his words, "the soul destroyers" and "hopeless bondage" of slavery.

The bronze statue to honor him was made and installed in 1988 by sculptor George Danhires as part of Cincinnati's bicentennial.

Piqua, Piqua, Will Rock You - The Mills Brothers!

Growing up and getting their start in Piqua OH in churches and other local venues in the late 1920's, The Mills Brothers, Herbert, Donald, Harry, and John Jr., were a popular jazz and pop vocal quartet for several decades. They created their unique vocal style of imitating musical instruments when one of the brothers forgot his harmonica and he was forced to improvise without it. Later, when they were on Brunswick Records the label boasted “No musical instruments or mechanical devices used on this recording other that one guitar”. I couldn't help but be reminded that 40 years later, the rock band Queen, also known for their unique vocal style, would make a similar brag of "no synthesizers were used on this record" because people mistook their multi-multi-tracked guitar sound to be synthesizers. (I make several more Queen references. If you enjoy that keep reading.)

Herbert, Donald, Harry, and John Jr. performed on Cincinnati's 5000 watt WLW radio which allowed them to reach audiences as far away as Chicago and New York City. The brothers were billed under various other names for these shows such as Four Boys and a Kazoo and the peculiar Tasty Yeast Jesters, which sounds like some modern Indie rock band but this name came from the sponsor of the show, Tasty Yeast.

After a broadcasting executive heard them in late 1930 on WLW, CBS Radio signed them to a three-year deal becoming the first African-Americans to have a network radio show. After this, they became national stars and their version of the jazz standard Tiger Rag went to #1 in 1931, which became the first recording by a vocal group to sell one million copies.

They followed up with a string of hit songs. In 1934, they became the first African-Americans to perform for British Royalty including the Queen (Mary, not the band). During the War Years, they continued churning out the hits and touring worldwide to great acclaim and delight.

Mills Brothers monument in Piqua

In 1943 The Mills Bros had their biggest song with Paper Doll going to #1 and selling 6 million copies. Not bad for a song that was recorded in 15 minutes. The group remained active up through the rock and roll era still topping the charts and appearing on popular TV variety shows such as Jack Benny, Perry Como, and the Tonight Show.

After four decades and 71 chart singles (Queen only had 18), The Mills Brothers disbanded after their final hit Cab Driver in 1968 which happened to be the same year Brian May met Roger Taylor forming the basis for the rock band Queen.

Over the years since, The Mills Brothers performed reunion shows with different members. The last original Mills Brother, Donald passed away in 1999 at the age of 84. The son of John Jr, John Mills III and Elmer Hopper of the Platters currently tour as a version of "The Mills Brothers" much in the same way Brian May and Roger Taylor still perform without Freddie Mercury or John Deacon as a version of "Queen".

Segregated Soldiers in Hillcrest Cemetery

original crude hand-made gravemarker

Geocaching sometimes takes me to interesting and forgotten places that pique my curiosity after scratching the surface a bit. Hillcrest Cemetery, a Cincinnati OH cemetery on Sutton Road in Anderson Township is one of those places.
Its 14 acres were established as a resting place for the remains of African-American US veterans and members of their families. Most of these men served in the Civil War, the Plains Indian Wars, the Spanish-American War, World War I & II, and Korea.

The bodies of nearly 1,000 African-American veterans rest in this ground and most fought for their country despite not having equal rights at home under the law. Upon returning from their sacrifices they were still met with segregation and racism. These men came to be here because Jim Crow laws even applied to burials in many places in the US prior to the 1960's. Cincinnati was no different. There are several other segregated cemeteries with African-American veterans in the area including United American Cemetery and Beech Grove Cemetery.

Sadly, over the years, Hillcrest's private ownership fell into dispute. With no one caring for the grounds, the cemetery became vandalized and run down. Erosion had even exposed some graves and vaults to the point where bones were visible and groundhogs had taken up residence. No one wanted to assume responsibility for its maintenance. In 2002, the Ohio National Guard with assistance and funds from private, local and state organizations helped with the restoration of the property and replaced or restored many missing headstones for these forgotten men and their families.

Buffalo Soldier

I am sure there are many forgotten stories to tell in this graveyard. Being an aficionado of local ties to Native American history, one marker, in particular, caught my eye on my 2nd visit here.


Pvt Nelson Morrow of the US 24th Infantry Regiment was one of the "Buffalo Soldier" units organized of black men to fight in one of the many hundreds of confrontations with Native Americans. The US Army dubbed them the "Indian Wars" which occurred west of the Mississippi from the Civil War up until 1898. The Cheyenne supposedly came up with the term Buffalo Soldier because the curly black hair reminded them of buffalo fur. The Lakota called them black wasichu which meant "black white person".
Here also rests an American paradox. Morrow is a young post Civil War "free" black man sent off by his country to kill or force another group of individuals into Indian reservations only to return home and live out his days in segregation even upon his death. Pvt Morrow probably felt he was doing the right thing to get his share of the American Dream and improve his own lot in life or perhaps he had no real choice in the matter, but nonetheless his story still represents the struggle of two ethnic groups of Americans that certainly didn't get their piece of the freedom pie as easily as others... or at all. At any rate, it is good to see that the men buried here have at long last been given some respect and recognition by the local community in the country they served.

Local Indian Drowns, Hit By Pontiac

Emily and the Fernbank Indian

In the area known as Sayler Park along the Ohio River west of Cincinnati at the intersection of Gracely & Thornton Avenues is the City of Cincinnati’s smallest park, Thornton Triangle. So they have that going on for them.
In addition to that bit of tiny trivia, in this same park stands the J. Fitzhugh Thornton Memorial. The statue, locally called "Tecumseh" is also known as the Sayler Park Indian, the Fernbank Indian and its catalog name, Indian Chief No. 53. Just like the saga of the American Indian, this effigy has an unusual history which evokes a paradox of civic pride in Sayler Park's modern residents.

Dedicated 100 years ago on January 15, 1912, the memorial was given by Eliza Thornton in memory of her husband John Fitzhugh Thornton who died in 1907. Thornton was an early and prominent resident of the Village of Fernbank, which became part of Sayler Park when the area was incorporated into the city in 1912. I'm not sure why an Indian image was selected by Eliza to memorialize her dead husband. Maybe he just liked Indian history like me. Please make a note of that.

civic pride

The figure was originally cast as Indian Chief No.53 by the J. L. Mott Foundry after a design by Samuel Anderson Robb and was zinc with a cast iron base. It is not on the National Register, however, it is a Cincinnati Historic Landmark.

In the Flood of 1937, the statue was partially submerged and damaged. In 1940 it was hit by a car and then sold as scrap to an antique dealer for $10 before the community raised funds to repair it and bring it back. It was again hit and damaged by a car in 1965 and repaired. Full disclosure, I am not sure if either of these cars were Pontiac's but it made an amusing title for the post. The Fernbank Indian was extensively repaired yet again in 2002 and re-cast in bronze. The "new" statue was re-erected in late 2002 and re-dedicated in 2003. Technically this statue is a bronze reproduction of the cast iron/zinc1912 original.

Indian Chief No. 53

As long as I am on the subject of full disclosure, one thing for certain is that the statue in no way resembles the very non-Woodland Shawnee Chief Tecumseh who lived from 1768-1813 CE and owned a gun. The Late Woodland Indian period ended years prior to Tecumseh and goes back to the pre-Columbian times in 500 BCE. This likeness seems to resemble how Native American Indians may have dressed in this area during the 17th century French LaSalle explorations of Ohio, however, the facial features look very European to me. Ah well, at least they didn't perpetuate the image of a 19th century Plains Indian, you know, the ones you usually see in movies with the big war bonnet fighting cowboys that say "how". Those guys never set foot East of the Mississippi despite what movies, sports logos and bad drawings in history books might lead you to believe. I am in no way disparaging this fine statue. I am just being a stickler for details. It is, in fact, a very dignified representation of an American Woodland Indian from the Ohio Valley.

Short Woods Mound

Also noteworthy and very historically significant are the two nearby and well preserved Adena period mounds.
The Short Woods Mound, now on the edge of the local golf course measures 38 feet high by 150 feet wide. It has been excavated and radiocarbon dated to 800 BCE.
Another mound from that era known as the Story Mound is on the property of Sayler Park Elementary. Both mounds were listed on the National Register of Historic Places in the mid 1970's.

I wish I had better pictures of the statue. The sun was not cooperating during my visit in the Summer of 2011 and some of the pictures were lost due to a corrupt memory card. More full disclosure...a geocache brought me here!

Up Caesars Creek with a paddle

I knew that the popular enormous flea market called Caesar's Creek near Wilmington OH derived its name from the nearby Ohio State Park.
What I did not know and never thought about much was where the name came from. Like the name Cincinnati, I assumed it was a nod to the Roman era. The billboards for the flea market seem to emphasize that angle too. It turns out the billboards aren't exactly historically accurate and as usual, there is more to the story.

The name comes from an escaped or possibly captured black slave named Caesar who was adopted by the Shawnee, a fairly common American Indian practice in those days. Sometimes these adoptees escaped but many they stayed with their new Indian families. Caesar stayed, preferring this new life to his old one. I'll bet that wasn't a hard decision for him. He was eventually given his own hunting land by the local Chief.  I wish there was more information on Caesar himself but his significant place in history was recalled by the famed frontiersman Simon Kenton who owed him his life...

marker near Xenia OH has been stolen

In 1778, Kenton was captured by the Shawnee in Ohio and forced to run the gauntlet..nine times. The gauntlet was a form of a furious beating torture used to test the mettle of captives, who were then considered for adoption themselves. Simon, already well known among the Shawnee, was a prized captive and paraded from village to village for all to see. Kenton was then condemned to die near present-day Xenia OH. The Shawnee named him Cuttahotha meaning "condemned to be burned at the stake", something that was attempted three times, yet each time circumstances resulted in his escape. The Shawnee saw this as a sign he was protected by the Great Spirit, Monetoo. They commuted his death sentence and he was adopted into a Shawnee family.

During his captivity, Caesar, now a full member of the Shawnee, took some pity on Simon who was barely clinging to life from his ordeal. Caesar could not offer direct assistance or face punishment himself, but he did give him information on how to escape if given the chance. By following the creek on his hunting land he named for himself...Caesars Creek, to the Little Miami and then to the Ohio River, a trip of at least 60 miles, he could then reach the safety of the settlements in Kentucky.

Simon Kenton never got to use the advice from Caesar but his words gave him hope when all hope seemed lost. He finally did escape in 1779 during a stop at the British Fort Detroit and made it back to American settlements thereby securing his status as a living legend, feared and respected by whites and Indians alike. But this post is really about Caesar. You can look forward to a full Gehio post about Simon Kenton one day!

Simon Kenton (1755 - 1836) in Covington KY

The area around Caesar's Creek fittingly became an important part of the Underground Railroad in the 1850's by the area Quakers who helped slaves escape.
No one knows what happened to Caesar, but without his encouragement, Kenton would surely have perished or been forgotten himself and changed American history.

A Special Thanksgiving Edition of Gehio

As we gather with family and friends and slip into our food-induced comas, we should also reflect on the greatest event in Thanksgiving Day history that took place in 1978 in Cincinnati OH.

Today marks the first ever Turkey Drop orchestrated by WKRP radio station manager Arthur Carlson.
33 years ago, live turkeys were dropped from a helicopter at two thousand feet before a curious but well-behaved crowd at Pinedale Shopping Mall.  Things got pretty strange after that as witnessed by news commentator Les Nessman on this momentous occasion in local history. Not since the Hindenberg tragedy had there been anything like this.

Let's have a closer look at the events as they unfolded in this documentary footage...

WKRP in Losantiville

the first settlement happened right here 11/18/1788

Cincinnati folks learn that their city was founded in 1788. There are signs around the perimeter of the city on the different highways that seem to confirm this.
There was actually no such thing as a community called "Cincinnati" until 1790. It also wasn't incorporated as a village until 1802 and not incorporated as a city until 1819. Let me explain.

After the Revolutionary War formally ended with the signing of the Treaty of Paris in 1783, the US Congress established 260,000 square miles called the Northwest Territory in July 1787 which was previously under British rule. This paved the way to establish the modern states of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, Wisconsin, and Minnesota in the 19th century.

John Cleves Symmes came along and purchased a chunk of this land between the two Miami rivers, had it surveyed, and began reselling it to potential settlers. Out of these land sales, 3 settlements along the Ohio River were established:

Stites has a nice grave marker in Columbia

Columbia was the first settlement by a man named Benjamin Stites and 26 settlers on November 18th, 1788.
Columbia was a Romanesque term widely used then to refer to America and American things in the early days and was, of course, derived from the name of Christopher Columbus. Stites had been to the area previously while pursuing Indian raiders who had stolen horses in Kentucky. He decided to purchase land from Symmes when it became available. This settlement was on the Ohio River at the mouth of the Little Miami River near where present-day Lunken Airport is located. This original settlement was destroyed by flooding and the subject of frequent Indian attacks. Today, the "East End" is one of modern Cincinnati's oldest neighborhoods called Columbia-Tusculum with 3000 people. Benjamin, along with many of the other original settlers is buried near the original landing in a cemetery across from Lunken.

Cincinnatus gets a statue at Yeatman's Cove

The second settlement, Losantiville, was about a month later on December 28th, 1788. Colonel Robert Patterson and Israel Ludlow and their party arrived at a spot a few miles up from the Little Miami on the Ohio River at the mouth of the Licking River. This is near present-day Yeatman’s Cove in downtown Cincinnati. The expedition was financed by Mathias Denman. This is the date and place that is credited with the founding of modern Cincinnati.
John Filson, who surveyed this area earlier in 1788, created the name Losantiville which meant "the city opposite the mouth of the Licking River" from the following:
"L" for the Licking River in KY on the other side of the Ohio.
"os" from the Latin for mouth.
"anti" from the Greek for opposite.
"ville" which was French for city.
Filson actually disappeared earlier in 1788 near Losantiville during a survey. No one really knows what happened to him and his body was never found. He may have been captured by Shawnee or he may have gotten lost and died in the wilderness. Either is plausible since Filson really wasn't much of a frontiersman and more of an historian and bureaucrat.

Now for some Cincinnati related Daniel Boone trivia!...It was Filson's mostly factual 1784 "Adventures of Colonel Daniel Boone" that made Boone one of America's best known legendary folk heroes and made him famous worldwide. It was also Daniel Carter Beard's 1905 "Sons of Daniel Boone", founded in Cincinnati, that became the modern-day Boy Scouts. The I-471 yellow "Big Mac Bridge" bridge that crosses the Ohio near Yeatman's Cove is officially named for Beard.

Symmes got a nice sign near his grave

The third settlement, North Bend, was February 2nd, 1789 a few miles East of present-day Cincinnati near the mouth of the Great Miami on the Ohio River and was the town that John Cleves Symmes himself started.
It was named so because it was the most northern bend in the Ohio River. This was the settlement that Symmes thought would become the most successful but it turned out that the area, like Columbia, was prone to constant flooding and not sustainable. This area did later became the home of future President William Henry Harrison who married Symmes daughter Anna but this area did not grow as much as Symmes had hoped. Harrison's Tomb is here as well. The grave of father-in-law John Cleves Symmes is adjacent to the tomb. North Bend remains today as a small 1.2 sq mi village of about 600 residents.

Ft Washington Marker near Lytle Park

Besides the flooding, what really made the second settlement of Losantiville take off was the 1789 addition of Fort Washington  by Northwest Territory Governor Gen. Arthur St. Clair near present-day 3rd & Broadway. This certainly made would be settlers feel a bit safer.
St. Clair wanted to make that area the seat of the territorial government but he didn't like the name Losantiville and renamed the new city to Cincinnati in 1790. There really wasn't much objection to this as it was the now dead Filson who came up with Losantiville anyway.
It is an often repeated falsity that Cincinnati was named directly for the Roman farmer turned leader turned farmer Lucius Quinctius Cincinnatus. St. Clair actually named the city after the club of Revolutionary War veterans he was president of called the Society of the Cincinnati that honored George Washington. The members saw Washington as a modern day Cincinnatus. This, of course, pleased his friends and his boss George Washington, very very much. In 1791, after St Clair lost a major battle to the Indians at St Clairs Defeat, Washington fired him from the Army but let him remain as Governor of the Northwest Territory. Several years later, over political differences about the territory, after 15 years as Governor, President Jefferson fired him in 1802 and Ohio became our 17th State in 1803 or the 49th in 1953. I find it ironic that a man who presided over a club nobly named for a farmer turned leader turned farmer had no intention of doing so himself. Politicians always have like the "do as I say not as I do" motto.

St Clair got a rock at a busy intersection

So, while the area which grew to become known as Cincinnati was formally settled in 1788 there were actually earlier settlements in the area (such as the 1785 Fort Finney near North Bend) but it was not officially called Cincinnati for 2 more years until 1790 when a gouty fat cat governor by the name of Arthur St. Clair tried to impress his boss and his friends. That's probably too much to fit on a sign on I-75.

Oh My Stars, John Quincy Adams visits Cincinnati

version 2 of the Cincinnati Observatory

On November 9th, 1843, a 77-year-old John Quincy Adams helped lay the cornerstone for the new Cincinnati Observatory in Mt Ida OH and the following day November 10th, delivered what would be his last public speech to 3,000 citizens. The 6th US President was a bit of an astronomy buff and came to the area for the dedication despite his ailing health. Adams was the first US President to visit Cincinnati. The observatory was one of the best astronomical research centers in its time and is still in use today. It is the oldest professional observatory in the United States, a National Historic Landmark, and considered the Birthplace of American Astronomy.

But there is more to the story....

If you live in Cincinnati, you might be thinking, "Where the heck is Mt. Ida?" 
Mt. Ida was renamed to Mt. Adams to honor the former President following this event. Land was donated by Nicholas Longworth, a prominent banker, winemaker and general rich guy. The man responsible for raising the funds for the observatory was Astronomer Ormsby MacKnight Mitchel, a professor of mathematics and philosophy at Cincinnati College, which later became the University of Cincinnati. Mitchel later served as a Major General for the Union during the Civil War. Nearby Ft Mitchell KY gets its name from the fort he built to defend Cincinnati against the Confederate Army. An extra L was added to the end of the city name due to an oversight. (It is Kentucky after all and <obligatory Kentucky hillbilly joke goes here>). Ormsby MacKnight Mitchel died in South Carolina of yellow fever in 1862 during the war.

You might be thinking, "But there is no observatory in Mt. Adams!" You are correct. Cincinnati was really on the rise at this time. So was the pollution and smoke from the local industries that ruined the view in the Mt. Adams area by the 1860's. This made it nearly impossible to view the heavens from this location.

John Quincy Adams touched this stone

So, in 1873 the equipment at the original observatory (the present day site of Holy Cross Monastery and Church) was moved to a new observatory building built on a different nearby hill on land donated by a local businessman, John Kilgour. The old cornerstone was re-laid for the new building.This area near Ault Park, then known as Delta, was then renamed to Mt. Lookout. The Cincinnati Observatory has been owned and operated by the University of Cincinnati since that time. 

In 1904 a second smaller building was built on the property for another telescope.

In 1935, an asteroid was discovered by Edwin Hubble and named, 1373 Cincinnati after the observatory staff who did the orbit calculations on Hubble's discovery. 

One of the telescopes housed here is the oldest continually used telescope in the world but more importantly, there is a really nice multi-level geocache here that takes you on a tour of the property and the Planet Walk which my kids and I did in July 2010.

my kids are standing on Uranus on the planet walk

John Quincy Adams died 5 years later on February 23rd, 1848, two days after suffering a massive stroke on the House floor.

The Cincinnati Observatory Center is open to the public where you can tour the facility and use the two 19th and early 20th-century refractor telescopes. 
For more information and the calendar of events, visit their website: http://www.cincinnatiobservatory.org/

Straight Outta Tippecanoe

The November 7th, 1811 loss at the Battle of Tippecanoe near Lafayette IN was a devastating blow to Tecumseh's Pan-Indian Confederation but it wasn't just the military skills of William Henry Harrison that won the battle. Not to disparage Harrison or anything. He showed great leadership rallying his troops when under fire. Most observers say that if it were not for Harrison's boldness and courage, many of his troops would have cut and run. He was an impressive military leader overall and had a great resume but fair is fair. The "win" by the American's can be attributed mostly to the rise of Shawnee religious fundamentalism by Tecumseh's brother, Tenskwatawa or "The Prophet" rather than any brilliant strategy by Harrison. From what I understand, much of Tenskwatawa's "prophecies" were based on natural phenomena that Tecumseh had read about in almanacs that he had access too. I suppose with any prophet there will also be a large degree of luck before and much interpretation after the fact. For a while, this strategy worked but it would ultimately be their undoing.

Prophet's Rock where Tenskwatawa rallied his troops

Up until this point, much of Tecumseh and Tenskwatawa's plan in building the confederation of Indians involved returning to the old ways to please the Moneto, their supreme being. The Prophet taught that Indians were suffering and losing ground to the "Shemanese" (AKA Americans) because they had lost their way and had succumbed to the influence of the whites and their lifestyle. He taught that they should refrain from the use of alcohol, trading for European foods and goods, marrying whites, practicing Christianity, etc. There were exceptions to this. In this case, it was the use and trade of European weapons which they received from their British allies.

While encouraging abstinence from alcohol was a noble cause, as it had an especially devastating effect on Native American culture, the other items came with quite a heavy price. For example, in the autobiographical captivity story of Chippewa adoptee John Tanner, he writes of encountering Shawnee parties who were quite literally starving to death because of this lack of trade goods that the Native Americans had come to rely on.

The Prophet also taught that the Moneto, the Shawnee Supreme Being, would protect them in battle. Literally. As in bullets would not harm them. Up until this time The Prophet had been on a pretty good run of prophecies that seemed to have come true. There was much faith in this man at this time. In fact, Tenskwatawa, had so much faith in himself at this point he felt he could make his own decisions without his brother who had already been instructed him not to engage the enemy at Prophetstown and wait for his return. The Prophet had other ideas and decided to strike first as Harrison's army moved in to quell what Harrison rightfully perceived as an Indian uprising in the making.

at Tippecanoe battlefield

In keeping with the assurance and words of The Prophet at about 4am on November 7th, the Indians uncharacteristically attacked and fought openly and did not seek cover. When they saw that their warriors were easily being cut down by the soldiers this shook their faith and saw it as a bad sign and withdrew their attack. They had no way of knowing that they were actually winning the battle at that point. They likely would have overrun the advancing soldiers in this surprise preemptive attack if their ammunition held out. Harrison meanwhile, rode alongside his troops boosting their morale and encouraging them. In the number casualties at the battle, the Indians were technically winning when they withdrew. Their number of fatalities was 50 to Harrison's 62 and an even lower number of wounded to Harrison's men and after 2 hours of fighting that was the end of the Battle of Tippecanoe.

After this loss, many Indians retreated back to their villages and Tecumseh, upon learning what had happened nearly killed his own brother but instead chose to strip him of all rank and prestige. Not much is known of Tenskwatawa's life after this event. He died 25 years later in 1836 near Kansas City, Kansas in relative obscurity.

Tecumseh died two years after Tippecanoe in the War of 1812 at the Battle of Thames in Canada fighting with the British against General Harrison.

1840 Yard Sign

In 1841 after 30 years, William Henry Harrison who after his military career served as the Governor of Indiana, US Representative for Ohio and a US Senator from Ohio was inaugurated as the 9th US President. His campaign was based heavily on his military career, most notably this battle, using the slogan Tippecanoe and Tyler Too. People seem to think that modern politics invented political spin to get elected but opponents of Harrison characterized him an out of touch drunkard of an old man. Harrison's people touted him as a common man who grew up in a log cabin. He was anything but a common man and gave speeches that would rival Roman emperors. Harrison was certainly wealthy and privileged by the standards of his day. As usual, the truth is in the middle somewhere.

the tomb of #9 in North Bend OH

What Harrison is mostly known for now will help you win at Trivial Pursuit. He caught pneumonia and died 30 days after his lengthy inauguration speech and became the first President to die in office with the shortest Presidency. His death was supposedly the beginning of "Tecumseh's Revenge" that killed 7 US President elected every 20 years from 1840 - 1960. In 1980 Reagan broke the supposed curse, but just barely. As for the origins of the "curse", there is no record of one until someone noticed the pattern and published it in 1934s Ripley's Believe it Or Not.

the baddest US President is from Ohio!

Warren "sex and booze" Harding

I actually knew very little about Warren G Harding, the 29th US President when I saw that it was his birthday today. So I learned some fun facts about him that I will share with you.

He was born in Blooming Grove OH in 1865 and was President from 1921-1923. Now that the boring stuff kids learn in history textbooks is out of the way...

When I say "baddest" I mean the worst. Harding was a bastard.

Most historians rank Harding as one of the worst US Presidents. One historian even said he was "a bumbling fool who stumbled into the presidency".

He spent several weeks in a sanitarium after a nervous breakdown when he was 24.

Harding was a drunk and had all night parties with bootleg liquor at the White House...during Prohibition. Apparently, he was a big believer in "do as I say...". Prohibition was for the poor and middle class as far as he was concerned.

Several women claimed extra-marital affairs with him resulting in at least one child. All things he denied. However, in the 1960's, about 100 intimate letters between him and one long-term lover, Carrie Phillips, were discovered but a court order sealed them until 2014. Someone who has viewed the letters said some were quite erotic. I know I've got my calendar set! UPDATE: The letters were made public on July 29th, 2014 and erotic they are. When he says "Wish I could take you to Mnt. Jerry. Wonderful spot" he is talking biology, not geography.

Oddly while at the same time being accused of being a secret member of the Ku Klux Klan (likely false), at a time when white supremacy was at an all-time high in the US, he was also accused of being black because of the one drop rule (likely true) in an effort to make people not like him. Remember, this was at a time when being Catholic could get you lynched as well. In fact, the one bright spot I know about Harding is, he urged Congress to pass an anti-lynching law during a speech...in Birmingham AL, so I'm not buying the Klan thing, that actually may have helped him in those days.

His administration was subject to many scandals, most notably the Teapot Dome bribery scandal which sent a member of a Presidential cabinet to prison for the first time in US history. Two other officials enveloped in the scandal committed suicide. Until Watergate, this was considered the worst US Presidential scandal.

Harding Tomb in Marion OH

Harding's sudden death in office on August 2nd, 1923 was officially listed as a heart attack but no autopsy was performed. There is evidence that he was poisoned by his wife or a political enemy. Seriously. Google it. This development probably saved him from being impeached in the growing Teapot Scandal closing in around him. The one that sent one guy to prison and two others committed suicide. That scandal.

After Harding died, his wife Florence, in an attempt to protect his legacy destroyed most of his papers. Presidents usually like to preserve them for posterity and Presidential libraries and such. She knew he was a bastard and as a result of this, we know very little about his personal life and thoughts while in office or how involved he was in the Teapot Dome scandal.

Despite this legacy, he has a very nice and elaborate tomb in Marion Ohio. He was the last US President to have such a grandiose resting place.

Happy Birthday, Warren! You make Ohio proud! They sure don't make presidents like you anymore!