#west michigan cemetery

[babylon-crashing]

Shrines of my misbegotten youth (by which I mean 2019)

There's a cemetery across the street from where I live where I kept a semi-permenant shrine, for about 7 months, off in a distant corner few folks ever visited.

Then, one day, I found that some lovely soul had come upon it and smashed it.

The nice thing about votive offerings is that it doesn't matter how many times you have to glue Santa Muerte back together, she still knows it's all about the love.

[spacetimewithstuartgary]

Windy City of Lights

At night, the Windy City transforms into a city of lights, illuminated by the orange and white hues of the Chicago Metropolitan Area. In this nighttime photo, taken by an astronaut aboard the International Space Station, light-yellow lights illuminate the city’s densely populated downtown area.

The Chicago Harbor and Navy Pier in downtown Chicago extend into Lake Michigan. Warm-hued lights illuminate sprawling roadways like Interstate 90, which stands out as the wide, orange line. The range of colors in nighttime cityscapes worldwide, including Chicago, is often due to the types of lighting used. High-pressure sodium lighting has a much warmer tone than the cooler, blue-to-green-hued light-emitting diodes (LEDs).

Flowing through the city, the Chicago River appears as a slender strip of darkness, running nearly parallel to interstates 55 and 90. The Chicago River connects Lake Michigan barge traffic to neighboring rivers, such as the Des Plaines River, through tributaries and various canal systems. The Des Plaines River appears as a dark feature between the metropolitan area and Chicago O’Hare International Airport. This river is lined with nature preserves, golf courses, and parks, all of which appear dark in this nighttime image. In urban landscapes, city lights outline dark and open areas like the Rosehill Cemetery and Big Marsh Park.

As Chicago expanded in the late 1800s, the city needed a solution to simplify navigation. The city was reorganized into a grid layout, restructuring street names, address numbers, and blocks into north-south and east-west orientations. This grid pattern is made obvious by the nighttime lights of the urban area. The warm-toned lights associated with residential areas contrast with the predominantly white lighting of commercial, industrial, and transportation areas. These land uses typically line highways and are spread across the outskirts of the Chicago area.

Astronaut photograph ISS070-E-105097 was acquired on March 1, 2024, with a Nikon D5 digital camera using a focal length of 400 millimeters. It is provided by the ISS Crew Earth Observations Facility and the Earth Science and Remote Sensing Unit, Johnson Space Center. The image was taken by a member of the Expedition 70 crew. The image has been cropped and enhanced to improve contrast, and lens artifacts have been removed. The International Space Station Program supports the laboratory as part of the ISS National Lab to help astronauts take pictures of Earth that will be of the greatest value to scientists and the public, and to make those images freely available on the Internet. Additional images taken by astronauts and cosmonauts can be viewed at the NASA/JSC Gateway to Astronaut Photography of Earth. Caption by Sara Schmidt, GeoControl Systems, JETS II Contract at NASA-JSC.

[fog-hill]

after 820 hours of work, my island, though not what I would call "finished," is at least ready to share!! come visit FogHill anytime at DA-5087-3742-9665!

Fog Hill is a quaint rural community based very loosely on areas in my home state of Michigan! There's a bnb with a pool, a seaside flea & farmers market, rooftop KK viewing cafe, a 50s themed ice cream diner, a riverwalk, a drive-in theater, community gardens, a fishing village, and even a cemetery!

In the northwest corner of the map, you'll find a tiny Mackinaw bridge (best viewed from the cliff by the museum with your first person camera). The northeast contains my own house as well as an attempt to invoke the dune habitats of west Michigan. just south of my house is a boardwalk "hiking" trail, several campsites, and Gonzo's orchard farm.

Several interiors are also completed or near done: My house (4/5 rooms), Muffy, Pango, and Gonzo. My island will also have a dispensary at some point but I need more whistloids!!! if anyone wants to trade I'll give you any amount of any other gyroid I have in exchange!

Here's a preview from HHP (and if you'd like to visit either my dispo or the Hot Topic I built for Happy Home Network, find me there @ RA-1470-4924-4564 !)

Enjoy, and if you take any good pictures or witness any villager drama you'd like to share while visiting, please do feel free to tag me here or on Twitter (@_picklejar)!

[middleland]

Nette Crum by Kate Keller

Via Flickr:

Annette Jennie “Nette” Crum, daughter of Carlton Willard “Carl” and Olive Hellen (McKarnes) Crum, was born 24 Aug 1903 in Brady, Ohio and died 28 Jun 1942 in Allen Co., Ohio. On 1 Jun 1920, in Adrian, Michigan, she married Daniel Percival “Rusty” Bishop (1900-1981). They are buried in Floral Grove Cemetery, West Unity, Ohio. They had four children. Carl Richard (1920-1967), Patricia Ann (1926-1999), James Robert (1929-1995) and Daniel Lee (1932-2018). Photographer is E. Johnson, West Unity, Ohio. Cabinet Card. www.findagrave.com/memorial/89598170/annette_jannel-bishop     

[67-romeo]

In May of 1861, 9 year old John Lincoln "Johnny" Clem ran away from his home in Newark, Ohio, to join the Union Army, but found the Army was not interested in signing on a 9 year old boy when the commander of the 3rd Ohio Regiment told him he "wasn't enlisting infants," and turned him down. Clem tried the 22nd Michigan Regiment next, and its commander told him the same. Determined, Clem tagged after the regiment, acted out the role of a drummer boy, and was allowed to remain. Though still not regularly enrolled, he performed camp duties and received a soldier's pay of $13 a month, a sum collected and donated by the regiment's officers.

The next April, at Shiloh, Clem's drum was smashed by an artillery round and he became a minor news item as "Johnny Shiloh, The Smallest Drummer". A year later, at the Battle Of Chickamauga, he rode an artillery caisson to the front and wielded a musket trimmed to his size. In one of the Union retreats a Confederate officer ran after the cannon Clem rode with, and yelled, "Surrender you damned little Yankee!" Johnny shot him dead. This pluck won for Clem national attention and the name "Drummer Boy of Chickamauga."

Clem stayed with the Army through the war, served as a courier, and was wounded twice. Between Shiloh and Chickamauga he was regularly enrolled in the service, began receiving his own pay, and was soon-after promoted to the rank of Sergeant. He was only 12 years old. After the Civil War he tried to enter West Point but was turned down because of his slim education. A personal appeal to President Ulysses S. Grant, his commanding general at Shiloh, won him a 2nd Lieutenant's appointment in the Regular Army on 18 December 1871, and in 1903 he attained the rank of Colonel and served as Assistant Quartermaster General. He retired from the Army as a Major General in 1916, having served an astounding 55 years.

General Clem died in San Antonio, Texas on 13 May 1937, exactly 3 months shy of his 86th birthday, and is buried at Arlington National Cemetery.

Credit: Respective Owner ( DM for credit or removals )

[cuzikan]

In May of 1861, 9 year old John Lincoln "Johnny" Clem ran away from his home in Newark, Ohio, to join the Union Army, but found the Army was not interested in signing on a 9 year old boy when the commander of the 3rd Ohio Regiment told him he "wasn't enlisting infants," and turned him down. Clem tried the 22nd Michigan Regiment next, and its commander told him the same. Determined, Clem tagged after the regiment, acted out the role of a drummer boy, and was allowed to remain. Though still not regularly enrolled, he performed camp duties and received a soldier's pay of $13 a month, a sum collected and donated by the regiment's officers.

The next April, at Shiloh, Clem's drum was smashed by an artillery round and he became a minor news item as "Johnny Shiloh, The Smallest Drummer". A year later, at the Battle Of Chickamauga, he rode an artillery caisson to the front and wielded a musket trimmed to his size. In one of the Union retreats a Confederate officer ran after the cannon Clem rode with, and yelled, "Surrender you damned little Yankee!" Johnny shot him dead. This pluck won for Clem national attention and the name "Drummer Boy of Chickamauga."

Clem stayed with the Army through the war, served as a courier, and was wounded twice. Between Shiloh and Chickamauga he was regularly enrolled in the service, began receiving his own pay, and was soon-after promoted to the rank of Sergeant. He was only 12 years old. After the Civil War he tried to enter West Point but was turned down because of his slim education. A personal appeal to President Ulysses S. Grant, his commanding general at Shiloh, won him a 2nd Lieutenant's appointment in the Regular Army on 18 December 1871, and in 1903 he attained the rank of Colonel and served as Assistant Quartermaster General. He retired from the Army as a Major General in 1916, having served an astounding 55 years.

General Clem died in San Antonio, Texas on 13 May 1937, exactly 3 months shy of his 86th birthday, and is buried at Arlington National Cemetery.

[mightyflamethrower]

Michigan Town Bans All Cemeteries to Stop Family From Starting One

JOE LANCASTER FROM REASON 10:00 AM on January 23, 2024

A Michigan couple wanted to start a “green” cemetery, a place where the dead can be buried in a more natural and environmentally friendly manner. Local officials didn’t want that—so they banned all cemeteries within the township.

Instead of pumping bodies full of preservatives like formaldehyde and burying them in wood-and-metal caskets or concrete vaults, green burials involve placing the deceased directly into the ground to decompose naturally into the soil, often in biodegradable wood caskets or cotton shrouds.

Peter Quakenbush tells Reason that he learned about the process while working in wildlife management. “I’ve always been interested in biology and nature, and I have a few degrees in biology,” he says. The idea of preserving a natural green space while simultaneously providing people an environmentally friendly place to be buried—which would, in turn, provide natural nourishment for the forest—struck him as “a really wonderful kind of win-win combo.”

Peter and his wife Annica set about to make the dream a reality. After years of searching, they found a 20-acre parcel of undeveloped land within an hour of Grand Rapids that would make a suitable site. There they planned to establish the West Michigan Burial Forest, developing the land using criteria set out by the Green Burial Council, a private organization that certifies green cemeteries. As of December 2023, the council had certified 333 green cemeteries in the U.S. and Canada.

As far as I'm concerned this is one of the better ideas to come out of this century. If managed well they could eliminate the threat of disease and the plots could be reused every 40 years or so. As it is now cemeteries are a phenomenal waste of valuable real estate. Ninety percent of existing plots haven't had a visitor in years.

[thepicassos]

thePicassos, "Divination Scars: among the dead in symmetry" Album Review

"Avant-Goth". "Death Folk". "Cemetery Punk". All are fitting descriptors for Michigan's own thePicassos. Yet, none of these fully capture the true depth of their sound, and their newest full length, "Divination Scars: among the dead in symmetry" is proof of this. The album begins strong with opening track "Wicker Casket", bringing in sounds from influences found outside the typical Goth genre. The guitars jangle, but not in the way that most post-punk enthusiasts are familiar with, and the vocals, melodious and drenched in reverb, sound more like The Pixies going through a deep depression. The mood shifts completely on the next track, "Leather Wings (the blood is the life)", which marches forward like a funeral dirge in the best sense. The entire album carries so many different influences and sounds, ranging from deathrock to folk, post-punk to indie, with even a little Mid-West post-hardcore ( I REFUSE to use the term "screamo" because it is utter nonsense) thrown in for good measure, all layered in between a little bit of cabaret. The most incredible thing about this album is the fact that there are so many different influences on display, yet thePicassos manage to all blend it together into a cohesive sound. More so, not one song on the entire album sounds like the one before it. This is, in this writer's opinion, a sign of true innovation. As we start counting down to the end of the year, "Divination Scars: among the dead in symmetry" is a strong contender for album of the year.

[dertaglichedan]

In May of 1861, 9 year old John Lincoln "Johnny" Clem ran away from his home in Newark, Ohio, to join the Union Army, but found the Army was not interested in signing on a 9 year old boy when the commander of the 3rd Ohio Regiment told him he "wasn't enlisting infants," and turned him down.

Clem tried the 22nd Michigan Regiment next, and its commander told him the same. Determined, Clem tagged after the regiment, acted out the role of a drummer boy, and was allowed to remain. Though still not regularly enrolled, he performed camp duties and received a soldier's pay of $13 a month, a sum collected and donated by the regiment's officers.

The next April, at Shiloh, Clem's drum was smashed by an artillery round and he became a minor news item as "Johnny Shiloh, The Smallest Drummer".

A year later, at the Battle Of Chickamauga, he rode an artillery caisson to the front and wielded a musket trimmed to his size. In one of the Union retreats a Confederate officer ran after the cannon Clem rode with, and yelled, "Surrender you damned little Yankee!" Johnny shot him dead. This pluck won for Clem national attention and the name "Drummer Boy of Chickamauga."

Clem stayed with the Army through the war, served as a courier, and was wounded twice. Between Shiloh and Chickamauga he was regularly enrolled in the service, began receiving his own pay, and was soon-after promoted to the rank of Sergeant.

He was only 12 years old. After the Civil War he tried to enter West Point but was turned down because of his slim education.

A personal appeal to President Ulysses S. Grant, his commanding general at Shiloh, won him a 2nd Lieutenant's appointment in the Regular Army on 18 December 1871, and in 1903 he attained the rank of Colonel and served as Assistant Quartermaster General.

He retired from the Army as a Major General in 1916, having served an astounding 55 years. General Clem died in San Antonio, Texas on 13 May 1937, exactly 3 months shy of his 86th birthday, and is buried at Arlington National Cemetery.

[hoffmans-hoffman]

Jackson Pax

Name: Jackson Kenneth Pax

Nickname: Jacky K(Josh), Jack(A lot), Pax/Pus(Danny), Son/Kid/Boy(Jed/Abby)

Gender: Male, He/Him/His

Status: Deceased

Occupation: Josh's Boss in a technical way, The under Counselor To The President (Basically Leo's bitch lmao)

Adopted Family: Jules Ziegler(Father), unnamed mother(Deceased), Dr David Ziegler(Older Brother, Deceased), Tobias Ziegler(Older Brother), Two unnamed sisters(younger) Molly and Huck(Niece and Nephew)

First appearance: Pilot

Last appearance: 20 Hours in America: Part I

-----------------------------------------------

Jackson Pax is the adopted younger brother to Toby Ziegler and much like Josh, President Jed Bartlett sees Jackson as a son. Jackson is 6'0 and has blonde hair and brownish blue eyes. He mostly wears dress shirts and pants but he rarely wears suit jackets.

His personality is very scattered, he can be described as caring, kind, understanding but also loud, snarky and quick to throw a comeback.

-----------------------------------------------

First major injury

Like most people who work in The West Wing people share a dislike for Jackson, in an annoyed walk a few Bartlett protestors knock the snot out of Jackson and this is one of a few times Jackson confirms he's a pacifist. His nose is broken making it a bit difficult for him to breathe.

Second major injury

Jackson's pacifist-ness makes him an easy target for injuries/attacks. During a tour of the white house he comes out of his office to say hi as he normally does. He is attacked and stabbed in the right ear...losing hearing in that ear for four months and gaining tinnitus.

Religion

Jackson was brought up as Jewish but has since become atheist, learning his biological mother was Catholic and carries her rosary. There are a few events that have made him go to a church and pray but for the most part he is an atheist.

Death

With everything seeming slowly building up Jackson goes for a walk out of the White House...he tries a few times to call Josh but gets no answer. As he is walking he is stopped by someone who attempts to mug him but once the person finds out who he is...he is killed.

Post death

Jackson's pallbearers are Toby Ziegler, Jules Ziegler, Josh Lyman, Sam Seaborn, Leo McGarry and Charlie Young. Jackson is buried in Lakeside Cemetery in Michigan as that is where Jackson's biological parents are buried.

Later after Jackson's death, it is found out that he had a weak immune system causing him almost dying during season one.

Huck has Jackson's name for a middle name

[strawberry-metal]

Weird law fact anon here to give you some laughs!!!

In Alabama, it is illegal to wear a mustache in church that makes people laugh.

In Alaska, you can not wake a sleeping bear to take a photo.

In Arizona, it's illegal to let a donkey sleep in a bathtub.

In Arkansas, you cannot honk your car horn near a sandwich shop after 9pm.

In California, if a frog dies during a frog jumping contest, it is illegal to eat that.

Also in California, it is illegal to eat an orange in the bathtub.

In Colorado, you are not allowed to keep a couch on your porch.

In Connecticut, a pickle cannot legally be called a pickle unless it bounces.

In Delaware, it's illegal to sell dog hair.

In Florida, if you tie an elephant to a parking meter, you still have to pay the same parking meter dues as you would with a car.

In Georgia, you cannot keep an ice cream cone in your back pocket on Sundays.

In Hawaii, it's illegal to stick a coin in your ear.

In Idaho, it's illegal to give someone a box of chocolates that weighs more than 50 pounds.

In Illinois, it's illegal to fall asleep in a cheese shop.

In Indiana, it's illegal to catch a fish with your bare hands... or with a firearm.

In Iowa, it's illegal for one armed piano players to charge money for their performances.

In Kansas, there's a poorly phrased law that states, "If two trains meet on the same track, neither shall proceed until the other has passed".

In Kentucky, it's illegal to sell dyed baby chicks, unless you sell them in groups of 6.

In Louisiana, it's illegal to send a pizza to anyone else's house without their knowledge.

In Maine, you can't keep up Christmas decorations after January 14th.

In Maryland, though outdated, it's still technically illegal to wear sleeveless shirts in public.

In Massachusetts, you can't own an explosive golf ball.

In Michigan, women are technically not allowed to cut their own hair without their husband's permission.

In Minnesota, contests where the point is to catch a greased or oiled pig are illegal.

In Mississippi, it's illegal to disrupt a church service and parishioners are allowed, maybe encouraged, to perform a citizens arrest on them.

In Missouri, it's illegal to drive with an uncaged bear.

In Montana, putting an animal on railroad tracks with the intent of harming the train or the tracks is punishable by a $50,000 fine or 5 years in prison.

In Nebraska, it's illegal for people with STDs to get married.

In Nevada, it's unlawful to drive a camel down the highway.

In New Hampshire, you can't collect or carry away seaweed at night.

In New Jersey, it's illegal for men to knit during the fishing season.

In New Mexico, the state ordered over 400 words removed from "Romeo and Juliet" for being a little too unsavory.

In New York, it's illegal to take any pictures with big cats.

In North Dakota, it's illegal to lie down and fall asleep with your shoes on.

In Ohio, you can't get a fish drunk.

In Oklahoma, you can't make glue out of dead skunks.

In Oregon, it's illegal to go hunting in a cemetery.

In Pennsylvania, it's illegal to catch a fish with your mouth.

In Rhode Island, it's illegal to race horses on a highway, but if you do it's only a $20 fine.

In South Carolina, a man over 16 can't seduce a woman by lying and saying he'll marry her. Women can do it to men, though.

In South Dakota, casinos are not allowed to have a sign that says "casino".

In Tennessee, you can't share your Netflix password.

In Texas, it's unlawful to sell a human eye.

In Utah, it's illegal to ride a bike without at least one hand on the handlebars.

In Vermont, women need permission from their husbands to wear fake teeth.

In Virginia, having sex outside of marriage is still illegal.

In Washington State, should you be the person to confirm the existence of the species, it is illegal to harass or kill Bigfoot or Sasquatch.

In West Virginia, it's illegal to whistle under water.

In Wisconsin, butter substitutes cannot be served in a restaurant unless people specifically ask for it.

In Wisconsin, it's illegal to take a picture of a rabbit from January to April without a permit.

Lmao bruh what are these laws? Catch me in the streets selling human eyes yall. I got browns, blues, and even the rare gray and greens!

[babylon-crashing]

Traveling through Big Rapids I found this gravestone, “Oh to see one more sunrise,” “To speak of the dead is to make them live again,” and “Thank you for your visit.”

[girlactionfigure]

In May of 1861, 9-year-old John Lincoln "Johnny" Clem ran away from his home in Newark, Ohio, to join the Union Army, but found the Army was not interested in signing on a 9-year-old boy when the commander of the 3rd Ohio Regiment told him he "wasn't enlisting infants," and turned him down. Clem tried the 22nd Michigan Regiment next, and its commander told him the same. Determined, Clem tagged after the regiment, acted out the role of a drummer boy, and was allowed to remain. Though still not regularly enrolled, he performed camp duties and received a soldier's pay of $13 a month, a sum collected and donated by the regiment's officers. The next April, at Shiloh, Clem's drum was smashed by an artillery round and he became a minor news item as "Johnny Shiloh, The Smallest Drummer". A year later, at the Battle Of Chickamauga, he rode an artillery caisson to the front and wielded a musket trimmed to his size. In one of the Union retreats a Confederate officer ran after the cannon Clem rode with, and yelled, "Surrender you damned little Yankee!" Johnny shot him dead. This pluck won for Clem national attention and the name "Drummer Boy of Chickamauga." Clem stayed with the Army through the war, served as a courier, and was wounded twice. Between Shiloh and Chickamauga he was regularly enrolled in the service, began receiving his own pay, and was soon-after promoted to the rank of Sergeant. He was only 12 years old. After the Civil War he tried to enter West Point but was turned down because of his slim education. A personal appeal to President Ulysses S. Grant, his commanding general at Shiloh, won him a 2nd Lieutenant's appointment in the Regular Army on 18 December 1871, and in 1903 he attained the rank of Colonel and served as Assistant Quartermaster General. He retired from the Army as a Major General in 1916, having served an astounding 55 years. General Clem died in San Antonio, Texas on 13 May 1937, exactly 3 months shy of his 86th birthday, and is buried at Arlington National Cemetery.

Vintage History

[conradscrime]

Little Jane Doe/ St. Louis Jane Doe

November 15, 2022

On February 28, 1983, two individuals entered an abandoned 24 unit red brick building located at 5635 Clemens Avenue in St. Louis, Missouri. The two individuals found a headless body of an African-American child in the basement of the building. 

The two individuals noticed the child’s body after lighting a cigarette. The child was found naked except for a yellow sweater, and had been laying on her stomach. Her hands had been bound behind her back with red and white nylon rope. 

The victim was originally thought to have been working in sex work, but the police discovered when moving the body that she did not have developed breasts, which meant she had not gone through puberty yet. 

It was soon discovered that the victim was not killed in the red brick building, as there was no blood traces found by or around the body. Authorities believed that the blood had been drained elsewhere. The Jane Doe’s stomach was also empty at the time of her death, and mold tests were conducted on her body, determining that she died within 5 days of her being discovered. 

Jane Doe’s head had been severed cleanly off by a large blade, possibly a carving knife. It was estimated that she had been between the ages of 8 and 11 years old when she died. She had also been raped. 

She wore a yellow, long sleeved V-neck sweater and had two coats of nail polish on her fingers, a red shade. Her head has never been found, but authorities were able to collect fingerprints, footprints and DNA from the body successfully. 

Little Jane Doe had no distinct marks or deformities on her body, she was between 4′10 to 5′6 tall when alive. On December 2, 1983, Little Jane Doe was buried at Washington Park Cemetery, 10 months after her discovery. 

The yellow sweater Jane Doe had been found wearing was sent to a psychic in Florida who wanted to touch it to see if she could determine anything about the case or child. However, the sweater was never returned and was assumed to be lost in the mail. 

There have been 4 different girls who have been ruled out as being Little Jane Doe, as well as Northampton County Jane Doe from North Carolina. 

Little Jane Doe was suggested as being a victim of Vernon Brown, who had murdered a young girl in a similar way. However, he was executed in 2005 and never confessed to murdering this Jane Doe. 

Little Jane Doe’s body was exhumed by authorities in 2013 in order to get more forensic information. The remains however had been misplaced, along with other bodies in the Washington Park Cemetery, due to negligent cemetery records and her body was not found until mid June of that year. 

Isotope tests were done to determine where Jane Doe likely lived. It was determined that Little Jane Doe likely lived her entire life in one of these southeastern states: Florida, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Arkansas, Texas, Tennessee or North/South Carolina. 

The National Center for Missing & Exploited Children listed more mid-western and midatlantic states that Jane Doe could possibly have been from such as Pennsylvania, Ohio, Michigan, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Indiana or West Virginia. 

After the exhumation took place, Jane Doe was re-interred at Calvary Cemetery in the Garden of Innocents, a section specifically created for unidentified individuals. 

There was a documentary released about the case in September 2022, titled “Our Precious Hope Revisited: St. Louis’ Little Jane Doe.” In the documentary it determined that the two individuals who found Little Jane Doe in 1983 were only teenagers, and that the police actually did receive something back in the mail from the psychic (research didn’t specify whether it was the yellow sweater or not). 

The director of the documentary also may have found the brand of sweater that Little Jane Doe could have been wearing. The autopsy report and mold reports conclude that she had been beaten, raped and then strangled before she had been decapitated. 

There is still a huge possibility that St. Louis Little Jane Doe can be identified even without finding the head, as police successfully have DNA collected. 

[dreaminginthedeepsouth]

Sharpshooter Annie Oakley while touring with Buffalo Bill’s Wild West show in Italy, 1890

Annie Oakley (born Phoebe Ann Mosey; August 13, 1860 – November 3, 1926) was an American sharpshooter and exhibition shooter. Her "amazing talent" first came to light when the then 15-year-old won a shooting match with traveling show marksman Frank E. Butler (whom she married). The couple joined Buffalo Bill's Wild West show a few years later. Oakley became a renowned international star, performing before royalty and heads of state.

Oakley's most famous trick was her ability to repeatedly split a playing card, edge-on, and put several more holes in it before it could touch the ground, while using a .22 caliber rifle, at 90 feet

Annie continued to set records into her sixties, and she also engaged in extensive, albeit quiet, philanthropy for women's rights and other causes, including the support of specific young women she knew. She embarked on a comeback and intended to star in a feature-length silent movie. In a 1922 shooting contest in Pinehurst, North Carolina, 62-year-old Oakley hit 100 clay targets in a row from 16 yards

In late 1922, Oakley and Butler suffered a debilitating car accident that forced her to wear a steel brace on her right leg. Yet after a year and a half of recovery, she again performed and set records in 1924.

Her health declined in 1925 and she died of pernicious anemia in Greenville, Ohio, at the age of 66 on November 3, 1926. Her body was cremated in Cincinnati two days later and the ashes buried at Brock Cemetery near Greenville, Ohio. Assuming their marriage had been in 1876, Oakley and Butler had been married just over 50 years

Butler was so grieved by her death, according that he stopped eating and died 18 days later in Michigan. Biographer Shirl Kasper reported the death certificate said Butler died of "Senility". His body was buried next to Oakley's ashes, or, according to rumor, Oakley's ashes, placed in one of her prized trophies, were laid next to Butler's body in his coffin prior to burial. Both body and ashes were interred in the cemetery on Thanksgiving Day (November 25, 1926)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Annie_Oakley

(Dead Fred’s Genealogy Photo Archive)

[handeaux]

Ida Gray: A Pioneering Cincinnati Dentist Who Earned National Fame

The very first African American woman to become a dentist was brought up, educated and practiced in Cincinnati.

Her name was Ida Gray, later Ida Gray Nelson and even later Ida Gray Rollins. She was born in 1867 in Tennessee to a Black teenager named Jenny Gray, who died soon after Ida’s birth. Ida’s white father had no interest in her welfare, so she was sent to live with an aunt in Cincinnati.

Ida’s aunt, Caroline Gray, was a seamstress who lived on George Street, a block south of the Catholic cathedral, at the eastern edge of the city’s Red Light district. Aunt Caroline made sure that her own three children and their cousin, Ida, attended Cincinnati’s segregated schools. Ida graduated from the segregated Gaines High School.

While still a high school student, Ida was hired by dentist Jonathan Taft to assist him in his practice on Seventh Street. Taft taught in the Ohio College of Dental Surgery, located around the corner on College Street. He was an early proponent for encouraging women to pursue careers in dentistry.

Around the time Ida earned her diploma from Gaines High School, the University of Michigan recruited Taft to organize a dental college. The new dean encouraged his protégé to apply for admission and helped Ida prepare for the entrance exam. Ida was accepted for admission to the University of Michigan in 1887, and when she graduated in 1890, became the first African-American woman to earn the degree of Doctor of Dental Surgery in the United States.

Within the African American community, Ida’s fame spread rapidly. An 1893 book, “Noted Negro Women: Their Triumphs and Activities” by Dr. Monroe Alphus Majors, notes of the new Dr. Gray:

“On returning to her home she opened a very cozy office on 9th street, and has in these two years built up a large practice, having as many white as colored patients.”

Ringwood’s Afro-American Journal, among the first magazines aimed at Black women, had this to say:

“As a result of strict attention to business and the thoroughness of her work she is kept constantly busy. Cincinnatians are proud of their Afro-American lady dentist, and she in every respect proves herself worthy of their confidence and admiration.”

The Richmond Planet, an African American newspaper, was positively enamored by the new practitioner:

“Her blushing, winning way makes you feel like finding an extra tooth anyway to allow her to pull.”

Also enamored was James S. Nelson, a lawyer, captain, and quartermaster for the Illinois National Guard, who later worked for many years as an accountant for the city of Chicago. It is not known if he was introduced to Dr. Gray as a patient or in a social setting – likely the latter, since her participation in various gatherings was frequently mentioned in the society columns, and she was a regular visitor to Chicago, where Nelson lived. Dr. Gray became Dr. Nelson on March 14, 1895. The Cincinnati Commercial Tribune reported the event via its “In Colored Circles” column:

“The marriage of Dr. Ida Gray to James Nelson took place last Thursday morning, at the home of the bride, 261 West Ninth street. It was a quiet affair. Rev. H.D. Prowd, D.D., performed the ceremony, after which the company partook of a light breakfast. They departed for Chicago where they will reside.”

Dr. Ida Gray Nelson became the first Black dentist of any gender to practice in Chicago. As in Cincinnati, she was socially and professionally active. Her name appears among the attendees of charity balls and medical conventions. For a Chicago celebration of the Emancipation Proclamation, “Thirty Years of Freedom,” Dr. Nelson represented dentistry among the goals African Americans could now achieve, including medical doctor, lawyer, editor and artist.

James Nelson died in 1926. Ida retired from dental practice in 1928 and the next year married William Rollins, a railroad porter who became a plasterer. She died on May 3, 1953 in Chicago and is buried in Lincoln Cemetery on the city’s south side.