David Crockett. Engraving after a portrait by John Gadsby Chapman. Courtesy of the Library of Congress (LC-USZ62-93521).
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Crockett, Davy (1786-1836)
Maker: John Gadsby Chapman
In
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Crockett, Davy (1786-1836), frontiersman, Tennessee and U.S. congressman, and folk hero
Michael A. Lofaro
Crockett, Davy (17 August 1786–06 March 1836), frontiersman, Tennessee and U.S. congressman, and folk hero, was born David Crockett in Greene County, East Tennessee, the son of John Crockett, a magistrate, unsuccessful land speculator, and tavern owner, and Rebecca Hawkins. John Crockett hired his son out to Jacob Siler in 1798 to help on a cattle drive to Rockbridge County, Virginia, and Siler tried forcibly to detain young Crockett after the completion of the job. The boy ran away at night, however, and arrived home in late 1798 or early 1799. Preferring to play hooky rather than attend school, he ran away from home to escape his father’s wrath. His “strategic withdrawal,” as he called it, lasted about thirty months while he worked at odd jobs and as a laborer and a wagon driver. When he returned home in 1802, he had grown so much that his family at first did not recognize him. He soon found that all was forgiven and reciprocated their generosity by working for a year to settle the debts that his father had incurred....
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Keckley, Elizabeth Hobbs (1820?–26 May 1907), White House dressmaker during the Lincoln administration and author
Gertrude Woodruff Marlowe
Keckley, Elizabeth Hobbs (1820?–26 May 1907), White House dressmaker during the Lincoln administration and author, was born in Dinwiddie Court House, Virginia, the daughter of George Pleasant and Agnes Hobbs, slaves. Her birth date is variously given from 1818 to 1824 based on different documents that report her age. The identity of her father is also uncertain; in later life Keckley reportedly claimed that her father was her master, Colonel A. Burwell. George Pleasant, who was owned by a different master, was allowed to visit only twice a year and was eventually taken west....
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Randolph, Martha Jefferson (1772-1836), lifelong confidante to her father
Elizabeth R. Varon
Randolph, Martha Jefferson (27 September 1772–10 October 1836), lifelong confidante to her father, was born at “Monticello” in Albemarle County, Virginia, the daughter of Thomas Jefferson and Martha Wayles (Martha Wayles Skelton Jefferson). After the death of her mother in 1782, Martha Jefferson, known to her father in childhood as “Patsy,” became his most trusted and beloved female companion. Throughout her life she moved in a rarified intellectual and social atmosphere. After spending two years in Philadelphia, in 1784 she and her father moved to Paris, where he served as U.S. minister to France. There she continued the formal education she had begun in Philadelphia by attending the elite Abbaye Royale de Panthémont convent school. Her father maintained an avid interest in her education, frequently writing her letters filled with advice and encouragement; “the more you learn the more I love you,” one of his missives averred. During her years in France Martha Jefferson was also introduced to fashionable society, counting as her friends ...
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Taylor, Zachary (1784-1850), army hero and twelfth U.S. president
Elbert B. Smith
Taylor, Zachary (24 November 1784–09 July 1850), army hero and twelfth U.S. president, was born in Orange County, Virginia, the son of Richard Taylor, a revolutionary war officer and pioneer political leader, and Sarah Strother, a cousin of James Madison and Robert E. Lee...
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Taylor, Zachary (1784-1850)
Maker: Mathew B. Brady
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Zachary Taylor. Photograph by Mathew B. Brady. Courtesy of the Library of Congress (LC-USZ62-13012 DLC).
