Friday, September 05, 2003

Steamer Alabama Passenger List
Havana to New Orleans 1845
Transcribed by Joe Beine


Steamer Alabama
This Ship Arrived in New Orleans 24 March 1845 from Havana, Cuba
Ship Master: Windle

The Passengers...
name (age/gender, occupation, country to which they severally belong)



C. Hasenclever (31m, merchant, Germany)
C. Poultney (40m, merchant, U. States)
M. O. H. Norton (33m, merchant, U. States)
Mrs. L. Norton (25f, no occupation, U. States)
Haro y Tamasiz (36m, no occupation, Mexico)
J. Van Benthusen (32m, merchant, U. States)
T. C. Worchester (29m, merchant, U. States)
J. Jenkins (26m, merchant, U. States)
W. Reinsen (41m, merchant, U. States)
J. Stout (30m, merchant, France)
C. Minton (45m, merchant, U. States)
C. A. Minton (20m, merchant, U. States)
J. Polk (35m, merchant, U. States)
J. C. Conoser (45m, merchant, U. States)
A. Y. Sharpe (32m, merchant, U. States)
A. Ames (37m, merchant, U. States)
J. G. Vassar (34m, merchant, U. States)
C. Brussle (29m, merchant, U. States)
J. G. Forbes (43m, merchant, England)
J. W. Stevenson (38m, merchant, U. States)
E. Kunz ? (22m, merchant, U. States)
E. A. Gomez (27m, merchant, Cuba)
G. Grigon [Gizon?] (32m, merchant, Germany)
W. Parker (25m, merchant, U. States)
P. C. Johnson (44m, merchant, U. States)
Mrs. Johnson (30f, no occupation, U. States)
Miss Johnson (18f, no occupation, U. States)
Miss M. Johnson (15f, no occupation, U. States)
W. Pickett (30m, no occupation, U. States)
M. Pickett (39m, no occupation, U. States)
De Paz (40m, Judge, Cuba)
A. Pedroso (27m, merchant, Cuba) A. Balta (34m, merchant, Cuba)
D. J. Rogers (40m, merchant, U. States)
L. Cincet (28m, merchant, Cuba)
J. M. Fathan (31m, merchant, U. States)
F. Maso (29m, merchant, Spain)
A. Birmingham (33m, merchant, Spain)
R. Ruonza ? (34m, merchant, Spain)
A. McLaughlin (34m, mechanic, U. States)
J. B. Gordon (46m, merchant, U. States)
P. Limendoux (50m, farmer, Cuba)
J. Mitchell (35m, merchant, Cuba)
F. Alzina (40m, merchant, Cuba)
M. A. Isquierdo (32m, merchant, Cuba)
M. Bach (30m, merchant, U. States)
B. Driggs (40m, merchant, U. States)
J. Long (36m, merchant, U. States)
F. de Fernandez (38m, merchant, U. States)
D. A. Layse (40m, merchant, U. States)
W. Holmes (33m, merchant, U. States)
M. Blaser (34m, merchant, U. States)
Mrs. R. Sentemanat (30f, no occupation, U. States)
Miss Holmes (24f, no occupation, U. States)
Mrs. Tuta ? (27f, no occupation, U. States)
Miss Sismandoux (18f, no occupation, Cuba)
Mrs. de la Calleja (38f, no occupation, Cuba)
Miss de la Calleja (17f, no occupation, Cuba)
Mrs. A. Gigon [Gizon?] (57?f, no occupation, Germany)
J Wade (30m, laborer, Ireland)
P Haggarty (40m, laborer, Ireland)
J. M. Ferguson (35m, laborer, Ireland)
M. Doring (42m, laborer, Germany)
G. Dilinger (37m, laborer, Germany)



For all passengers - the country which they intend to inhabit: U. States

Source: This transcription is from...

Microfilm: Quarterly Abstracts of Passenger Lists of Vessels Arriving at New Orleans, LA 1820--1875. (NARA Microfilm Series M272 - 17 Rolls). Roll 2.

Thursday, September 04, 2003

Three years ago, Cynthia and her husband, Sam, left their
seven-acre spread in north Coweta and traveled to Jamaica to
visit relatives. Cynthia's cousin, Glenville Shaw, took them to a
cemetery in Green Hill, outside Ocho Rios and led them to the
grave of Jane Knox Wilson, who happened to be Cynthia's
grandmother. She also happened to be white.

Rosers wasn't surprised. She already knew that on her mother's
side of the family, all her ancestors were white until her
grandmother, Edna Louise Innerarity, married Elliott Gooden, a
Jamaican of Arawac Indian descent. The Inneraritys, who came to
the Americas in the 18th century from Inverness, Scotland, were
prosperous merchants whose ships sailed the Gulf of Mexico and
the Caribbean filled with tobacco, molasses, rum and...
human beings.

Although her Innerarity ancestors sold slaves, to Rosers'
knowledge, they weren't slave owners. And her Gooden ancestors
were all what were then known as "free people of color."

Rosers knew the stories, but for some reason, that Jamaican visit
three years ago moved her. As soon as she got back home, she began
an intensive Internet search for information about her Innerarity
ancestors. She called and introduced herself to Nelda Innerarity
Creamer, of Palestine, Texas,
and then flew west to spend a day
and a night with a newfound white relative going through the
reams of family records Creamer had collected over the years.
Rosers now has documents on her mother's side of the family
dating back to the early 1600s.

http://www.unitedfruit.org/zemurray.html
THE WILD STORY OF SELMA'S SAM, THE BANANA MAN
1877 Samuel Zmurri is born in Besarabia, Russia. When immigrating to the United States he changed his name to Samuel Zemurray
1892 Young Samuel Zemurray arrives to the United States from Besarabia. He settles with his family in Selma, Alabama. After their arrival, young Samuel worked for an aged pack-peddler who bartered tinware for pigs, earning a dollar a week. He went to Mobile, Alabama, to enter the fruit business, buying second-hand bananas in carload lots and disposing of them to nearby dealers. He used a railroad car for his pushcart in his first banana venture, buying about $150 worth of bananas in Mobile and shipping them inland by Railway Express, telegraphing grocers along the route to come to the railroad sidings for ripe bananas. He made about $35 on his first investment.
1902 The Hubbard-Zemurray Company is established in New Orleans.
1905 Zemurray goes to Honduras to study the possibility of creating his own banana export corporation.
1910 With a loan of two thousand dollars Zemurray buys five thousand acres in the lands of the Cuyamel River in Honduras to establish his plantations. He named his new company Cuyamel Fruit Company which would eventually become into the most serious competitor of United Fruit. However, after having invested in purchasing the lands he found out that the current Honduran President, Miguel Davila, would not grant him the tax, land, and transportation concessions he was expecting from him. Then he decided to organize and finance a military coup against Davila in order to replace him with the President's rival Manuel Bonilla. Zemurray's military expedition sailed from New Orleans led by the legendary American mercenaries Lee Christmas and Guy "Machine Gun" Molony. The operation was successful and Zemurray and Bonilla got rid of Davila. When Bonilla became the new Honduran President he granted the Cuyamel Fruit Company with all the concessions Zemurray was expecting..
1911 The Hubbard-Zemurray Company changes its name to Cuyamel Fruit Company .
1915 Zemurray becomes into the most serious competitor of United Fruit
1929 November: After an unsuccessful price war against Zemurray's Cuyamel Fruit Company, United Fruit decides to merge with it. United Fruit sold Zemurray $31,500,000 in the company's stocks in return for all Cuyamel stock. After this operation Zemurray became into the biggest shareholder of United Fruit
1930 Louisiana's governor Huey Long denounces Samuel Zemurray in the U.S. Senate for being involved in corrupted businesses in Central America
1933 During the first years of the Great Depression the shares' price of United Fruit fell dramatically and its profits decreased from $44.6 million in 1932 to 6.2 in 1932. The members of the board of directors vote to name Zemurray general director of the company. Two weeks after the price of the company's stock doubled. Zemurray's first move was to replace the existing tropical managers with experienced managers from the tropics and former employees of Cuyamel. He also improved transport and intra-company communication while reorganizing the company with a clear hierarchy with a specialization of the employees within the different parts of the company.

During the 1930s Zemurray used his fortune in several philanthropic works such as a big donation to the New Orleans Child Guidance Clinic and backed financially the creation and survival of The Nation magazine
1942 Samuel Zemurray, President of the United Fruit, establishes the Escuela Agricola Panamericana in Honduras. This was a free higher-education school paid by the company for the locals and specialized in agricultural research
1948 Samuel Zemurray lets one of the company's ships to participate in the settlement of Jews in Palestine after the war. The ship was re-baptized with the name of Exodus and carried the first wave of Jewish immigrants to the Middle East
1954 Zemurray approves the publication of a book called "Report on Guatemala" which claimed that Arbenz Agrarian Reform had been planned in Moscow. The book was distributed to Congressmen
June, 18. Using military bases in Nicaragua Guatemalan Colonel Carlos Castillo Armas attacks Guatemala in what his supporters called "the Liberation war against Communism." The operation was backed by all the other Central American governments and the United States. Castillo succeeded at forcing Arbenz to go on exile and immediately ended the legal actions against United Fruit under the Agrarian Reform Law. Twenty-five year old Argentinean Ernesto Guevara (later known as el "Che") witnesses the coup and gets convinced that radical changes in Latin America were only possible through an armed revolution. Guevara was living in Guatemala at that time working as a doctor and book-seller and volunteered to organize resistance militias against Castillo's army. When facing an inevitable defeat he escaped from Guatemala to Mexico where he met another political refugee who became into one of his closest friends: Cuban Fidel Castro
1961 A group of Cuban exiles attempts unsuccessfully to invade Cuba and depose Fidel Castro. United Fruit provides two ships for the disastrous Bay of Pigs invasion of Cuba. http://www.unitedfruit.org/zemurray.htm

Wednesday, September 03, 2003

SHOCKING!!!! :

He thought:

He got along with women so no sweatski.

He liked to be nice to women because it kept him out of trouble.

He was born again every day.

When he was inoculated with his redneck allergy shot, he would be full of beans and snot.

When he emptied his pockets, he'd come up with something other than a blank.

That inside the dance hall, the nubile young things would be gyrating to their heart's desire just like those good old days everyone heard about but no one actually believes.

saludos,
roberto

Tuesday, September 02, 2003

Nedra:
I know I had seen that letter from John to James cited and I may have read portions,however, tonight I printed out all 12 pages, popped a top on a Milwaukee's Beast Ice, and sat down and began reading. Thank you so much for taking the time to send it to me and to post it on your myfamily.com Innerarity site.
Before I started reading it, I knew I would have a comment for you.
Well, here it is.
On page 5 (that's as far as I have gotten), John is writing about the riot at the Tan Yard in Pensacola and then he writes that the Indians "committed other excesses, but advice & information was [given to the Governor,who] ordered to beat to arms."

What memories that expression "ordered to beat to arms" brings back for me!!!!

In the summer of '74, I was living in the Las Penas district of Guayaquil, Ecuador. Of course, this was the summer of the Tuna War between Ecuador and the U.S., plus Nixon resigned, plus Ecuador was under a dictatorship because the Marxists were getting strong after Allende got popped in Chile and Peru had become "Southern Russia". Anyway, my neighborhood was on the river, between the brewery and the Ecuadorian Marine base. There was an intersection near me which brought you into the end of the Malecon where the Polytechnica and the Cemetery were located.
Well, one night the communists at the Polytechnica decided to riot so I went down to the intersection to watch all the action. Oh, they raised Cain, cursed the world and then they started throwing Molotov cocktails. They tossed a few in the park which wasn't a big deal. There were no police even though the country was under a dictatorship.
Then they started throwing Molotov cocktails across the Malecon toward the Marine base.
(Here's where John Innerarity's July 30, 1813 comment [was....ordered to beat arms] triggered my memory.)
As soon as that first fire hit, the drums of the Marine base began "to beat to arms". The gates of the base opened and an entire company of Ecuadorian Marines(a bunch of shaved headed Indians from every corner of the country), armed only with machetes held up with their right hands, doubletimed out into the Malecon.
Their commander brought them to attention and had them put their machetes in their scabbords. He then put them through an entire order arms using just the machete.(same as an American commander would do with M-16s)
As soon as they finished their order arms, their commander ordered them to charge the students with machetes drawn.
You have never seen people run so fast in all your born days.

Thanks for jogging my memory.
Saludos,
Roberto

Monday, September 01, 2003

b. 3 April 1942, Valdosta, Georgia, USA. Raised in Marietta, Georgia, Royal's father owned a truck-driving company and the family moved to Atlanta when Royal was aged 10. At school he entertained in school concerts, and after graduation, worked for


two years in a nightclub in Savannah, Georgia. Starting in 1962, Royal made several unsuccessful singles, but then teamed with a local songwriter/producer, Joe South. In 1965, they made the US Top 20 with "Down In The Boondocks" and "I Knew You When", the latter of which in theme and vocal delivery was similar to Gene Pitney's hits. Royal's subsequent records were not as successful, but he failed to appreciate the potential of "Rose Garden", as it later became a hit for Lynn Anderson. In 1969, he returned to the US Top 20 with "Cherry Hill Park" and worked for several years in Las Vegas. Royal, whose early influences came from country musicians, turned to country music and his 1987 Looking Ahead spent a year on the US country albums chart. His US country hits include "Burned Like A Rocket", "I'll Pin A Note On Your Pillow", "I Miss You Already" and a duet with Donna Fargo, "Members Only". He has also revived Aaron Neville's "Tell It Like It Is" and Johnny Tillotson's "It Keeps Right On A-Hurtin'". He continues to make successful singles and regularly appears in the US country chart.



BILLY JOE ROYAL

b. Joe Souter, 28 February 1940, Atlanta, Georgia, USA. South was obsessed with technology and, as a child, he developed his own radio station with a transmission area of a mile. A novelty song, "The Purple People Eater Meets The Witch Doctor", sold


well in 1958, and he became a session guitarist in both Nashville and Muscle Shoals. South backed Eddy Arnold, Aretha Franklin, Wilson Pickett, Marty Robbins and, in particular, Bob Dylan (Blonde On Blonde) and Simon And Garfunkel (most of The Sounds Of Silence). His 1962 single, "Masquerade", was released in the UK, but his first writing/producing successes came with the Tams' "Untie Me" and various Billy Joe Royal singles including "Down In The Boondocks" and "I Knew You When". His first solo success came with the 1969 single "Games People Play", which made number 12 in the US charts and number 6 in the UK. South also played guitar and sang harmony on Boots Randolph's cover version. The song's title was taken from Eric Berne's best selling book about the psychology of human relationships. Another song title, "(I Never Promised You A) Rose Garden" came from a novel by Hannah Green, and was a transatlantic hit for country singer, Lynn Anderson. "These Are Not My People" was a US country hit for Freddie Weller, "Birds Of A Feather" was made popular by Paul Revere And The Raiders, but, more significantly, "Hush" became Deep Purple's first US Top 10 hit in 1968.
South himself made number 12 in the US with "Walk A Mile In My Shoes", which was also featured by Elvis Presley in concert, but his own career was not helped by a drugs bust, a pretentious single "I'm A Star", and a poor stage presence. He told one audience to "start dancing around the hall, then when you come in front of the stage, each one of you can kiss my ass." South's songs reflect southern life but they also reflect his own insecurities and it is not surprising that he left the music industry in the mid-70s, heeding his own words, "Don't It Make You Want To Go Home". He returned to performing in the mid-90s



Joe South







This US group was formed in 1952 as the Four Dots in Atlanta, Georgia, USA. Their line-up featured Joseph Pope (b. 6 November 1933, d. 16 March 1996), Charles Pope (b. 7 August 1936), Robert Lee Smith (b. 18 March 1936) and Horace Kay (b. 13 April


1934). Although such an early origin suggests longevity, it was not until 1960 that the group emerged with a single on Swan. Now dubbed the Tams (derived by their wearing of Tam O'Shanter hats on stage), they added a further member, Floyd Ashton (b. 15 August 1933), prior to signing with Bill Lowery, an Atlanta song publisher and entrepreneur. Among those already on his books were Joe South and Ray Whitley, two musicians who would work closely with the group. "Untie Me', a South composition, was recorded at Fame and leased to Philadelphia's Arlen Records. The song became a Top 20 US R&B hit, but follow-up releases failed until 1963 when Lowery secured a new deal with ABC-Paramount. The Tams" first single there, "What Kind Of Fool (Do You Think I Am)", reached the US Top 10 and established a series of Whitley-penned successes. His compositions included "You Lied To Your Daddy" and "Hey Girl Don't Bother Me", ideal material for Joe Pope's ragged lead and the group's unpolished harmonies.
After 1964, the group preferred Atlanta's Master Sound studio, by which time Albert Cottle (b. 1941, Washington, DC, USA) had replaced Ashton. South and Whitley continued their involvement, writing, playing on and producing various sessions, but the Tams had only one further US hit in 1968 with the bubbling "Be Young, Be Foolish, Be Happy", which peaked on the Billboard R&B chart at 26 and reached the UK Top 40 in 1970. By the end of the 60s their mentors had moved elsewhere while the Master Sound house band was breaking up. Dropped by ABC, the Tams unsuccessfully moved to 1-2-3 and Capitol Records until a chance reissue of "Hey Girl Don't Bother Me" became a surprise UK number 1 in 1971. They were not to chart again until 16 years later when their association with the Shag, a dance craze and subsequent 80s film, secured a further lifeline to this remarkable group, giving the group a UK Top 30 hit with "There Ain't Nothing Like Shaggin'".



Roy Orbison

THE BIG O

b. 23 April 1936, Vernon, Texas, USA, d. 6 December 1988, Madison, Tennessee, USA. Critical acclaim came too late for one of the leading singers of the 60s. He became the master of the epic ballad of doom-laden despair, possessing a voice of


remarkable range and power, and often finding it more comfortable to stay in the high register. The former reluctant rockabilly singer, who worked with Norman Petty and Sam Phillips in the 50s, moved to Nashville and became a staff writer for Acuff-Rose Music. He used his royalties from the success of "Claudette", recorded by the Everly Brothers, and written for his first wife, to buy himself out of his contract with Sun Records, and signed with the small Monument label. Although his main intention was to be a songwriter, Orbison found himself glancing the US chart with "Up Town" in 1960. A few months later, his song "Only The Lonely" was rejected by Elvis Presley and the Everly Brothers, and Orbison decided to record it himself. The result was a sensation: the song topped the UK charts and narrowly missed the top spot in the USA. The trite opening of "dum dum dum dummy doo wah, yea yea yea yea yeah", leads into one of the most distinctive pop songs ever recorded. It climaxes with a glass-shattering falsetto, and is destined to remain a modern classic.
The shy and quiet-spoken Orbison donned a pair of dark-tinted glasses to cover up his chronic astigmatism, although early publicity photos had already sneaked out. In later years his widow claimed that he was an albino. Over the next five years Orbison enjoyed unprecedented success in Britain and America, repeating his formula with further stylish but melancholy ballads, including "Blue Angel", "Running Scared", "Crying", "Dream Baby", "Blue Bayou" and "In Dreams'. Even during the take-over of America by the Beatles (of whom he became a good friend), Orbison was one of the few American artists to retain his ground commercially. During the Beatles" peak chart year he had two UK number 1 singles, the powerful "It's Over" and the hypnotic "Oh Pretty Woman". The latter has an incredibly simple instrumental introduction with acoustic guitar and snare drum, and it is recognized today by millions, particularly following its use in the blockbuster film Pretty Woman. Orbison had the advantage of crafting his own songs to suit his voice and temperament, yet although he continued to have hits throughout the 60s, none except "It's Too Soon To Know" equalled his former heights; he regularly toured Britain, which he regarded as his second home. He experienced appalling tragedy when, in 1966, his wife Claudette was killed as she fell from the back of his motorcycle, and in 1968, a fire destroyed his home, also taking the lives of his two sons.

In 1967 he starred as a singing cowboy in The Fastest Guitar Alive, but demonstrated that he was no actor. By the end of the decade Orbison's musical direction had faltered and he resorted to writing average MOR songs such as the unremarkable "Penny Arcade". The 70s were barren times for his career, although a 1976 compilation topped the UK charts. By the end of the decade he underwent open-heart surgery. He bounced back in 1980, winning a Grammy for his duet with Emmylou Harris on "That Lovin' You Feelin' Again" from the movie Roadie, and David Lynch used "In Dreams" to haunting effect in his chilling Blue Velvet in 1986. The following year Orbison was inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall of Fame; at the ceremony he sang "Oh Pretty Woman" with Bruce Springsteen. With Orbison once again in favour, Virgin Records signed him, and he recorded an album of his old songs using today's hi-tech production techniques. The result was predictably disappointing; it was the sound and production of the classics that had made them great. The video A Black & White Night showed Orbison being courted by numerous stars, including Springsteen, Tom Waits and Elvis Costello. This high profile led him to join George Harrison, Bob Dylan, Tom Petty and Jeff Lynne as the Traveling Wilburys. Their splendid debut album owed much to Orbison's major input.

Less than a month after its critically acclaimed release, Orbison suffered a fatal heart attack in Nashville. The posthumously released Mystery Girl in 1989 was the most successful album of his entire career, and not merely as a result of morbid sympathy. The record contained a collection of songs that indicated a man feeling happy and relaxed; his voice had never sounded better. The uplifting "You Got It" and the mellow "She's A Mystery To Me" were impressive epitaphs to the legendary Big "O". His widow Barbara filed a sizeable lawsuit against Sony Records in 1998. She is claiming damages for the underpayment of royalties for Orbison's work with Monument Records over a lengthy period. He possessed one of the best and most distinctive voices in the history of popular music.

The cream of the studio musicians from Atlanta, Georgia, USA, the Atlanta Rhythm Section (actually from nearby Doraville, Georgia) came together in 1970 after working at a Roy


Orbison recording session. Dean Daughtry (b. 8 September 1946, Kinston, Alabama, USA; keyboards) and drummer Robert Nix had been members of Orbison's backing group, the Candymen, and both Daughtry and J.R. Cobb (b. 5 February 1944, Birmingham, Alabama, USA; guitar) had been members of the Top 40 hitmakers Classics IV. Rounding out the line-up were vocalist Rodney Justo (replaced after the first album by Ronnie Hammond), Barry Bailey (b. 12 June 1948, Decatur, Georgia, USA; guitar), and Paul Goddard (b. 23 June 1945, Rome, Georgia, USA; bass). The band, guided by manager/producer Buddy Buie, recorded two albums for Decca Records in 1972, neither of which made an impact, before signing to Polydor Records in 1974. Their first album for that company, Third Annual Pipe Dream, reached only number 74 in the USA and the next two albums fared worse. Finally, in 1977, the single "So Into You" became the band's breakthrough, reaching the US Top 10, as did the album from which it came, A Rock And Roll Alternative. Their follow-up album, Champagne Jam, went into the Top 10 in 1978, together with the single "Imaginary Lover", after which Nix left, to be replaced by Roy Yeager (b. 4 February 1946, Greenwood, Mississippi, USA). The band's last hit on Polydor was a 1979 remake of "Spooky", a song with which Cobb and Daughtry had been involved when they were with Classics IV. A switch to Columbia Records in 1981 gave the band one last chart album, Quinella, and a US Top 30 single, "Alien', after which they faded from the national scene. The band continued to perform to a loyal audience, although they have only recorded sporadically in the subsequent decades. The line-up for 1999"s Eufaula comprised Hammond, Bailey, Daughtry, R.J. Vealey (drums), Justin Senker (bass) and Steve Stone (guitar).



The Classics IV

Formed in Jacksonville, Florida, USA, the Classics IV were "discovered" by entrepreneur Bill Lowery upon their move to Atlanta in 1967. This strongly commercial quintet comprised Dennis Yost (vocals), James Cobb (b. 5 February 1944, Birmingham,


Alabama, USA; lead guitar), Wally Eaton (rhythm guitar), Joe Wilson (bass) and Kim Venable (drums). Seasoned session musicians, they had already worked on records by Lowrey protégés Tommy Roe, Billy Joe Royal and the Tams. Between 1968 and 1969, they enjoyed three soft-rock US hits with "Spooky" (which sold in excess of one million copies), "Stormy" and "Traces", all expertly arranged by producer Buddie Buie. For a time, lead singer Dennis Yost was billed independently of the group, as Gary Puckett and Diana Ross had been in the Union Gap and the Supremes during the same period. Despite expanding the line-up to that of an octet with Dean Daughtry (b. 8 September 1946, Kinston, Alabama, USA), the eventual loss of major songwriter Cobb proved insurmountable. Yost failed to emerge as a star in spite of the new billing and, somewhat adrift in the early 70s, Classics IV enjoyed only one more minor hit, "What Am I Crying For" (1972). Cobb and Daughtry later formed the Atlanta Rhythm Section.



That's Danny Davenport on the left and Buddie Buie on the right


HERE, IN MORRO CASTLE, AT THE ENTRANCE TO THE HARBOR OF HAVANA, WILLIAM AUGUSTUS BOWLES PASSED AWAY ON DECEMBER 23, 1805.


On Saturday, May 28, 1803,near present-day Wetumpka, Alabama, the Indians turned Bowles over to the Spanish and Hawkins' blacksmith put him in handcuffs. Bowles was seized, placed in a canoe and began his sad journey to Morro Castle in the harbor of Havana.
Today I will take the journals of Stephen Folch and John Forbes and begin to describe the events which transpired over 200 years ago here in Alabama.

(from The Journal of Estevan Folch, May-June, 1803), Archivo General De Las Indias, Papeles de Cuba, Sevilla: Legajo 2372-

Sunday, May 22. Mr. Durouzeaux and Tom Car came over with a message from the Singer that he was so busy with the newcomers that he could not come and see us. Peryman again brought forward the Okalagany grant. He was told by Mr. Forbes that the sum they asked for the lands was to much, that the land would be of no use to him and might become of value to the Nation at some future day, and therefor he advised them, as friend to the Nation, that they adopt the measure of selling the lands to the Okmulgee and keep the Okalagany from some future necessity when it became valuable, but that they might see he did not undervalue their land, he would allow them 30, 000 dollars for the grant, provided they would extend the line from Okalagany to the big pond on the east branch of Appalachy, which would include all the Yamacee Old Fields, and upon the other province that Bowles should be made away with and the consent of the Mickasoocky Indians obtained.

A JOURNAL OF JOHN FORBES, MAY, 1803

Sunday May 22
Perryman again brought forward the Okalagany grant I told him that the sum asked for the land was too much that the land would be of no use to me & might become of value to the Nation at some future day, and therefore I would advise as a friend to the Nation that they adopt the measure of selling the Lands to the Okmulgie, & keep the Okalagany for some future necessity, when it becomes valuable: but that they might see I did not under value their land, I would allow them 30,000 Dollars for the grant, provided they would extend the line from Okalagany to the Big pond on the East Branch of Appalachy, which would include all the Yaunaica old fields and upon the other proviso that Bowles should be made away with and the consent of the Mickasuky indians obtained-



The Flag of Muskogee, Designed by Director-General William Augustus Bowles



Gonna try to bring some more attention to William Augustus Bowles. Stay tuned!!!!

These microfilms are available in the Special Collections Library on Hackberry Lane at the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa. Many of the documents come from the Archivo General de las Indias, Papeles de Cuba.


The Papers of Panton, Leslie and Co.
by Ruby Dusek, February 1996

A recent Clayton Library acquisition—applauded by many of us doing research in British West Florida—is The Papers of Panton, Leslie and Company: Guide to the Microfilm Collection (Woodbridge, Connecticut: Research Publications, Inc., 1986). This is a guide to the 26 rolls of microfilm containing the more important records of the trading firm of Panton, Leslie and Company and (after 1805) John Forbes and Company, 1783-1847. The work is introduced by Dr. William S. Coker, project director for the Panton-Leslie collection and professor of history at the University of West Florida in Pensacola. Dr. Coker is coauthor of Indian Traders of the Southeastern Spanish Borderlands, 1783-1847 (Gainsville, Florida: University Presses of Florida, 1986), which delves into the historical context of the Company.

The book, as of this writing, is shelved in the new book section under USA with the call numbers 970.1 P198. The book is not only valuable for research in British West Florida but also for the whole southeastern United States. Those interested in Native American research will also find this book to be of interest.

Panton, Leslie and Company, established in 1783 and headquartered in Pensacola from 1785-1830, was the Sears and Roebuck of its day, dealing in a variety of goods and servicing over a large geographical area. The company had trading posts scattered as far north as Memphis (then known as Chickasaw Bluffs) and as far west as New Orleans, including posts at Mobile and at several locations in Florida, the Bahamas, and in the Caribbean.

William Panton and John Leslie were merchants from Scotland who emigrated to Georgia. When the American Revolution heated up, they—being Loyalists—relocated to St. Augustine in British East Florida. Accompanying them were other Scots including Thomas Forbes, William Alexander, and Charles McLatchy. They were all experienced merchants involved in the Indian trade, and together they formed Panton, Leslie and Company (known as John Forbes and Company after 1805).

By the time the Company received its license in 1783, British East Florida had again become Spanish East Florida, and in 1784 we find John and Thomas Forbes, William Alexander, and William Panton joining other loyalists in the Bahamas. In 1785, however, William Panton and John Forbes relocated again to Pensacola and established the Company’s headquarters there.

By 1795 the company had a monopoly on the Indian trade from present day Memphis to St. Augustine, possibly due to the fact that one of their Pensacola stockholders (or partners according to one source) was Alexander McGillivray, chief of the Creeks. They also traded with the Seminoles, Upper and Lower Creeks, Chickasaws, Choctaws, Cherokees, and other Indian tribes. Even though under Spanish domination, many of these tribes preferred British goods, and the Panton-Leslie Scots were favored traders. As a result, by the late 1700s, the Company had annual business activities that exceeded $200,000.

In 1795, when the northern boundary for the Floridas moved up to the 31st parallel, Natchez and St. Stephens in Alabama became part of the United States, making it harder for the Company to collect money owed to it by those residing in that area, especially the Indians. However, through negotiations between the Company and the U.S. Government, arrangements were made for such debts to be paid through the transfer of property rights. As a result, Panton-Leslie was able to acquire, at one time, over three million acres of land.

The Papers of Panton, Leslie and Company provides a background on the Company’s papers and gives a general description of the microfilm collection, much of which contains correspondence between the firm and those doing business with it, including individuals who owed money to the Company.

The collection is owned by the University of West Florida at Pensacola (Special Collections Department), and since 1972 the University has been attempting to gather as much Panton-Leslie material as possible. The University of Florida, the Florida Historical Society, and the National Historical Publications and Records Committee all became involved in the effort. Currently, over 200,000 pages of documents are on hand. Of this, some 8,357 documents (ranging from one to several hundred pages each) were chosen for microfilming.
The Papers of Panton, Leslie and Company lists, in chronological order, each of the microfilmed documents and provides the date of the document, the sender and receiver, the location of the receiver, the type document (account, memorial, affidavit, petition, indenture, etc.), the language in which the document was written, the original source citation, and an abstract of the document. In the front of the book are eight pages of source references.

The abstracts really make one want to see the original documents. Some of them are fascinating. If it were your ancestor mentioned in one of the following examples, wouldn’t you love to obtain a copy of the original?


A declaration by inhabitants of East Florida showing their gratitude for the prosperity that loyalists have enjoyed under the King’s reign. They proclaim themselves against the rebellion. Many signatures.
A memorial written by inhabitants of East Florida in June 1783 discussing their preparation for the prosecution of their claims should East Florida be ceded by the English to the Spanish. Many signatures of Loyalists.
An affidavit (in English) to John Leslie (who was a judge) in St. Augustine taken on 12 October 1784 from two men who saw five armed Spaniards with tow-laden horses around the house of Mr. Proctor, alias Welch, who at that time was in jail. Immediately following this is another affidavit from Louisa Waldron (Welch, Proctor) stating that she was imprisoned by the Spaniards for supposedly having stolen a Negro woman. While she was in prison, her house was ransacked and her horses stolen. Her stolen articles are also listed.
A letter written in June 1786 giving the account of the scalping of a young English girl who lived on the southern shores of St. Mary’s River. A second letter written in August stating that the scalped girl had recovered. (This one might prove someone’s family story about great-great-...grandmother being scalped!)
A list of claims dated January 1787 of East Floridians suffering losses upon cession of East Florida to Spain; report on names and numbers of the claims and claimants.
Letter from the commandant of His Britannic Majesty’s forces in Florida to Jean Lafitte dated 31 August 1814 offering him the rank of Captain and his followers land if they joined the British. This was before Lafitte offered his services to the Americans just before the Battle of New Orleans.
The book is a guide to the microfilm collection, NOT an index. The index at the back of the book is only a “To/From” index, so unless your ancestors wrote or received one of these documents, their names will not appear in the index. It is best to read through the book and select the document you would like to examine, then go directly to the microfilm containing that document. Unfortunately, Clayton does not yet own this microfilm. In fact, unless it has been recently purchased, the collection is not available anywhere in Texas. The closest known repository is Tulane University in New Orleans. Other locations where this microfilm can be found include Mobile, Pensacola, Oklahoma City, and the Newberry Library in Chicago.
The originals of this collection are housed in the Manuscript and Special Collections Department at John C. Pace Library at the University of West Florida in Pensacola, open 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday. There is also a guide and a set of microfilm in the main part of the Pace library, which is open until 10:00 most evenings.

The documents on the microfilm are each preceded by the same information found in the guide book, providing the reader pertinent facts about the document. As in all microfilms of old documents, some images are excellent, some barely readable, and others nearly illegible. Remember also that the University started making copies of Panton-Leslie materials in 1972, so some of the older, chemical-process copies are faded, and microfilming them did not improve their readability. A few of the copies are black with white writing and are impossible to read. Fortunately, this represents only a small percentage of the collection. Many of the documents are in English, but quite a few are in Spanish or French (some translated). In a number of cases, handwritten documents are accompanied by typescripts.

This is a fabulous collection and one that Clayton Library really should have. All 26 rolls can be purchased for around $2,000; however, since the cumulative cost of the individual rolls is more than this amount, it is best to purchase the entire set at one time. If you would like to contribute to the purchase of this collection, please do so. One way to contribute is to provide a designated cash gift to Clayton Library Friends, stipulating that your gift is to be applied toward the Panton-Leslie acquisition. Gifts can be mailed to the address shown on the second page of the newsletter [Clayton Library Friends, P.O. Box 271078, Houston, TX 77277-1078].

Sunday, August 31, 2003

babbs and ben:
I was talking to Michael McFerrin this morning and he mentioned Wilbur Walton Jr. Wilbur's Daddy was my Grandpa's preacher at the First Methodist Church of Dothan and he preached my Granddaddy's funeral at Johnson's Funeral Home in November of 1959. Like a typical preacher's kid, Wilbur Jr. became a (GREAT) soul singer. I used to see him at the Rec Center in Dothan when I was a kid and the last time I saw him was in the early '70's at The Old Dutch in Panama City Beach on a Sunday afternoon.
Anyway, these guys in Europe love soul music. The soul4U link down below has an incredible juke box that includes Wilbur Walton Jr.'s 24 Hours of Loneliness
Buddie Buie was also from Dothan. I'm am certain that he managed Wilber Walton Jr. because I remember him taking up money at the Rec Center at Wilbur's dances. His folks owned the City Cafe and he started off managing the Webs (Bobby Goldsboro and John Rainey Adkins),and then the CandyMen (Bobby Goldsboro and John Rainey Adkins) for Roy Orbison(The Beatles had their first European tour fronting for this band and the members of the Candymen argue that the Beatles stole their licks) and later Buddy had the Classics IV (he co-wrote Spooky and Stormy with J.R. Cobb) and later still he started up Studio 1 in Doraville where he formed the Atlanta Rhythm Section.
Anyway, I am in shock at how much the Europeans appreciate what all of us take for granted.
Saludos,
Reg

Subject: Re: This Side Up (pic)

Groovedog wrote

> This Side Up including our own Art Shilling! I


Forgot how cool we all were in those days. And how much hair I had.
Don't know where John Sherril is. I don't believe he's related to
Billie Sherril. David Rosenthal lives in Atlanta, Ronnie Seitel teaches
school in Birmingham, and of course southersoul list's own Dr. Frank
Freidman, from Dallas now, you know about.

That picture was taken in the summer of "Seargent Pepper", in Atlanta
after we had just signed with Buddie Buie's management company.

One of my favorite stories from This Side Up was when we went to
Nashville to record our single for Capitol Records. We had won the
recording contract in a battle of the bands contest in Birmingham. We
didn't have many songs that we had written. We wound up recording a
Buddie Buie song called "Book A Trip". Capitol assigned us a producer
named Kelso Hurston. He used to produce Ferlin (the proof is in the
puffin) Huskey. Our contract gave us two singles, so Kelso said one day
that he was going to send a guy over to our room to play some songs for
us, that he had alot of good songs, and for us to see what we thought
for the second single later on that summer. The fellow who came by was
Bucky Wilkin, later to be partnered with John D. Wyker in the American
Eagles project. Anyway, he played some songs and told us that the main
song he thought we ought to do was one he played for us that his room
mate had written, done to the tune of "Bringin In The Sheaves" and the
lyrics were about the Rolling Stones being busted recently. When he
left we all had a good laugh about that song, and all agreed that we
would never consider doing something so corny, in our opinion. The song
was called "Blame It On The Stones" and his room mate was an as yet
unknown guy named Kris Kristofferson. Kelso informed us, after
listening to our opinion, the next day before we left town that we would
be doing that song for the next single. He still hasn't called us back
.

This Side Up was a good band. We sort of had a rivallry that summer
with the Candy Men from Atlanta to see who could do more Seargent Pepper
songs than the other. I played with Frank later on in a band called
Willie, that became "Wet Willie" Frank Friedman was really the founder
of "Wet Willie."

Another Bham band at that time was a band called "The Distortions" with
Zack Zackery and Robert Alexander. If anybody knows anythinbg about
those guys I'd love to hear about it.

By the way, the first time I ever met Johnny Wyker was behind the Oporto
armory in Bham. We had played a show there with "The Rubber Band".

OH yeah! John Sherril had a Hofner bass, just like McCartney.

Art Shilling

dave@barrett45.freeserve.co.uk

http://www.soul4u.net/webspace/

This Side Up

Personnel:
ALAN ARKUS drms A
FRANK FRIEDMAN vcls, gtr A B
DAVID ROSENTHAL ld vcls, drms A B
STEWART ROYAL keyb'ds A
RONNIE SEITEL ld gtr A B
JOHN SHERRILL bs A B
ART SHILLING drms, vcls B


45s:
1(A) Why Can't I Dream / Sun Arise (Prestige Productions PP66-151) Aug. 1966
2(B) Book A Trip / In (Capitol 2129) 1968


The Romans were formed in 1963 with members drawn from Ramsey and Shades Valley High Schools in Birmingham, Alabama. A couple of years later they evolved into This Side Up when core members Rosenthal, Seitel and Sherrill were joined by Friedman, Royal and Arkus. The latter pair departed around the time of their debut 45 in 1966, and Shilling was brought into the fold.

Why Can't I Dream is readily accessible again via Psychedelic States: Alabama Vol. 1 (CD). It's a yearning, dramatic pop-punker.

The following year they won a Battle of The Bands, sponsored by WSGN radio and Capitol records, thereby securing a 45 deal. Composed by the Buie-Cobb team, Book A Trip is not surprisingly heavily-produced bouncy mainstream pop; the flip is a soft'n'cosy orchestrated ballad (have to wonder if any of the band were allowed to play on these tracks?). Oh, and Buddie Buie became their manager into the bargain.

http://www.borderlinebooks.com/us6070s/fuzz.html?http://www.borderlinebooks.com/us6070s/t4.html

P.K. Yonge Library of Florida History


Heloise H. Cruzat
Papers, 1788-1859.

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

Typescripts of original business papers of the Indian trading houses Panton, Leslie & Company, and John Forbes & Company. Cruzat was a descendant of entrepreneur John Innerarity. Other typescripts of these documents are held by the Florida Historical Society.

Gift of Heloise H. Cruzat.



A Brief Description of the Cruzat Papers:
The late Mrs. Heloise Cruzat, of New Orleans, bequeathed the Papers to the Florida Historical Society. The Papers are comprised of some six hundred individual pieces; ranging from business papers (accounts, correspondence, etc. – especially of Panton, Leslie & Co., and their successors, John Forbes & Co.), court records (lawsuits to recover moneys due, property in slaves, etc.), ship’s papers/documents, market reports, powers-of-attorney; documents re land/property ownership/deed/title (with particular respect to Pensacola and southern Alabama), Pantons’ estate, etc.

The correspondence from Panton, Leslie & Co., and John Forbes & Co. forms an especially interesting part of the collection. It primarily consists of letters between their various business concerns in Pensacola, St. Augustine, Nassau (Bahamas), London; their business associates in Havana, New York, Vera Cruz, etc.; and their branches in Mobile, New Orleans, etc. Additionally there is correspondence with the traders Daniel McGillvary, and someone only identified by the initials "E.G."; and with Spanish and American government officials, Indian (Native American tribes) chiefs, etc.

Though much of it is in the nature of routine business material, taken as a ‘whole’ it does form an exceedingly interesting and valuable part of the material on the history of the Floridas, and the southern United States frontier from 1788 to 1832 (the extreme chronological limit of the collection).

Elizabeth Howard West



I AM SEEING MANY OF THESE BUTTERFLIES EACH DAY. WHAT A BEAUTIFUL SUMMER!!!!!