Camp Pickett, Virginia - Oct 23, 1942

     During the summer of 1942, the Army 3rd Division trained at Fort Ord in preparation for the United States' involvement in World War II.  In September of that year the Lt. John B. Armstrong as a member of the 3rd Division was transferred across the country to Camp Pickett near Blackstone, Virginia.  At Camp Pickett the 3rd Division went through final training for what was then a secret operation.  According to history books only 800 people in the army and government in America and England knew the final objective.

     Word must have trickled down to Elmer John Armstrong, at that time a Major in the Army and stationed at Fort Hayes, Columbus, Ohio. He somehow learned that his son was about to be sent  overseas.  He visited his son at Camp Pickett only a few days before John was deployed.

     The following picture of Major (later Colonel) Elmer Armstrong and Lt. (later Captain) John Armstrong was taken on Oct. 23, 1942.  On Oct 24, 1942 over 100 ships and 35,000 troops began leaving Virginia and other locations on the east coast for the start of Operation Torch.

Father and Son on Oct 23, 1942 at Camp Pickett
Major Elmer J. Armstrong and Lt. John B. Armstrong

Did Clement Gardiner Need Title Insurance in 1797?

     On July 3, 1797 Clement Gardiner agreed to purchase 380 acres of land in the waters of Coxs Creek in Nelson County, Kentucky¹. The agreed upon price was 342 pounds Kentucky Currency.  The seller was Nicholas Paul alias Powell.  The deed was recorded by the County Clerk on July 9, 1797.

A small portion of the recorded deed
Nelson County, Kentucky Deeds Vol 7 1796-1813 page 191

Now if I was purchasing property from someone and they had an alias, I would think twice before finishing the deal.  In 1797 not everyone could read and write so names were often spelled numerous ways.  (I have seen situations where the same name was spelled several different ways in the same document.)  So this was not uncommon.  But there was a problem because less than two months later a notice appeared in the Stewart Kentucky Herald.

Notice of Bond²

     Nicholas Powell had received a Warrant for one thousand acres from the Commonwealth of Virginia in 1780.  That thousand acres was surveyed and the deed was recorded in Nelson County in 1791.  He may have mortgaged his land in 1792 and then cleared that mortgage about the time of the sale. This may have been at the root of the dispute.  In any case Clement Gardiner lived in Fairfield for the rest of his life.

1.  Nelson County, Kentucky Deeds Vol 7 1796-1813 page 191

2. "Notice", Stewart Kentucky Herald, Sep 12, 1797

A Tempest of Shooting Stars

       Last night’s talk on the news about the Perseids meteor shower reminded me of a story about my Great-great-grandmother Elizabeth Homan.  Elizabeth was Lizzie Fox Pickett’s mother.     
     In 1833 Elizabeth Homan’s father, Joseph, a blacksmith decided to move his family from Rockingham County, Virginia to Ohio.  He settled in Muskingum County for five years, before moving to Licking County for ten years and eventually to Delaware County.  He traveled rather late in the year because we know that the family was on the road to Muskingum County on November 12, 1833.  We know the exact date they were traveling because of the family story about shooting stars.  
     The Grundy County, Illinois History¹ states 
     “. . . while en route [the family] witnessed the remarkable phenomenon of shooting stars which occurred that year. They made their journey westward with team and wagon, and one night took refuge in a school-house, in which place they saw the wonderful astronomical display. . . ”
     It is because of this astronomical display that we know exactly when they were traveling.  Contemporary accounts tell of the shooting stars falling about half as frequently as  flakes of snow in a snowstorm.  It was estimated that about a quarter of a million meteors were visible during the night in Boston.  There were at least 40 per second.  It frightened people half to death.  Nov 12, 1833 is still considered to be the greatest astronomical display in recorded history.  This was the Great Leonid Meteor Shower of 1833.
     In the summer of 1969 I participated in a sailboat race from Los Angeles to Honolulu.  About 2:30am on the morning of July 15, I spotted an incredibly bright shooting star.  As I wrote in my log, "spotted brilliant shooting star...lit up the whole sky... and left a huge vapor trail".  I remember that I could have read a book, it was that bright.   It left quite an impression on me. 
     I think that if I had seen that starry night in 1833 that it would have made quite an impression also.

NASA article regarding Nov 12, 1833
1.  Biographical & Genealogical Record of LaSalle & Grundy Counties, Illinois, Volume II, Chicago, 1900, p708-711