Celebrating Black History Month: Lucy Higgs Nichols, Union Army nurse in the Civil War

Lucy Higgs Nichols, born April 10, 1838 in Hardeman County, Tennessee, was a slave, but escaped in late June 1862 with her daughter Mona and several other slaves.  She eventually arrived at the Union lines near Bolivar, Tennessee.  Major Shadrack Hooper of the 23rd Indian Infantry Regiment reported Lucy joining their regiment and described her as having integrity, honesty, intelligence, always smiling, cheerful and kind, a willing washer woman, seamstress, nurse, cook, and singer, as well as a "rattling good forager".

Her daughter Mona died at the Siege of Vicksburg.  After which she followed the Indiana 23rd Infantry when they were deployed to the war in Mississippi.  She was present at every siege.  She followed the Union army east in General Sherman's March to the Sea.

After the war, she was a free citizen of New Albany, Indiana.  She worked for officers and nursed veterans back to health.  Five years after the war, she developed measles and soldiers nursed her back to health.  When she had a stroke years later, soldiers cared for her again.

She passed away in January 1915 and is buried in an unmarked grave at West Haven Cemetery in New Albany, Indiana.

Celebrating Native American Heritage Month: Jesse Chisholm, Cherokee developer of the Chisholm trail

Jesse Chisholm, born around 1805 in present-day Tennessee, was a Cherokee with Scottish ancestry who developed what became known as the Chisholm Trail.  He moved to Indian Territory with his mother, and became involved with a gold-seeking party, who blazed a trail to explore the area around present-day Wichita, Kansas.

He married Eliza Edwards in 1836 and he became a trader, working and serving as an interpreter between the Republic of Texas and local Native American tribes. He also worked between the US government and Native American tribes in Texas after Texas joined the US.  

After the Civil War, he settled near present-day Kingfisher, Oklahoma and traded into Indian Territory.  He built up a military trail into a road capable of carrying heavy wagons for his goods.  

Later, this trail was used by ranchers driving cattle from Texas to Kansas.  They named it the Chisholm Trail.

Jesse Chisholm passed away in Indian Territory, now Oklahoma in 1868.

Happy birthday, astronaut Michael Baker!

Astronaut Michael Baker, born October 27, 1953 in Memphis, Tennessee, has been to space four times.  

His first trip was aboard Atlantis (STS-43) as pilot in August 1991.  He spent almost 9 days in space, making 142 orbits.

His second flight was aboard Columbia (STS-52) as pilot in October-November 1992.  He celebrated his 39th birthday during the mission.  He spent almost 10 days in space and made 159 orbits.

His third mission was aboard Endeavour (STS-68) as commander in September-October 1994. He spent over 11 days in space and made 182 orbits.

His fourth and final mission was aboard Atlantis (STS-81) as commander to the Mir space station in January 1997.  It was the second flight to Mir to involve an exchange of US astronauts. He spent over 10 days in space and made 160 orbits.

Remembering actor Leslie Jordan (1955-2022)

Actor and comedian Leslie Jordan, born April 29, 1955 in Memphis, Tennessee, passed away today after a medical emergency caused him to lose control of his vehicle and crash into a building.  He was declared dead on the scene.  

Leslie won the hearts of everyone who watched him.  He has over 135 action credits according to imdb.com.   The first role I remember him in fondly is his performance in Sordid Lives, and his depiction of Tammy Wynette.  I was pleasantly surprised and happy to see him in a season of American Horror Story.  During my research, I realized he was also in Jason Goes to Hell: The Final Friday.  These do not seem to be his strongest talents, but I'm glad to see he stepped outside of the box.  

I was again surprised and delighted to see he starred in an episode of Star Trek: Voyager: False Profits in 1996.  I remember watching the episode and not realizing he was playing one of the Ferengi!  Must watch again!  

He won a Primetime Emmy for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series for his performance in the Will & Grace episode Beverly Leslie.

Although he stood only 4'11", he stood tall on screen and had a habit of stealing scenes in any work he was acting in.  

He is already missed.

Celebrating Asian-American Heritage Month: Garrett Wang, Star Trek actor extraordinaire

Garrett Wang, born December 15, 1968 in Riverside, California, is best known and beloved actor for his role as Ensign Harry Kim on Star Trek: Voyager.  His parents were Chinese immigrants and he moved from California, to Indiana, to Bermuda and then Tennessee.  

In 1997, he was named one of People Magazine's 50 most beautiful people in the world. 

Happy birthday, Queen of the world Dolly Parton!

Dolly Parton, born January 19, 1946 in Pittman Center, Tennessee, is a singer, songwriter, actress, and humanitarian.  She is probably best known for her work in country music.    She started her career on the Porter Wagoner Show, which I remember watching.

She has won more country music awards and Hall of Fame honors than anybody else in history.  There was an opinion published on cnn.com, which said just make Dolly Queen of the World.  

I agree.

Happy birthday, astronaut Barry Wilmore!

Barry Wilmore, born December 29, 1962 in Murfreesboro, Tennessee, has been in space twice, and will return in 2021.

His first trip into space was aboard Space Shuttle Atlantis (STS-129) as pilot to the International Space Station in November 2009. He celebrated Thanksgiving with the other crew members and the residents of the International Space Station.

His second flight was aboard Soyuz TMA-10M to the International Space Station in September 2014.  He participated in Expeditions 41 and 42.  He returned to Earth in March 2015 after more than 167 days in space.

He is scheduled to be commander of the Boeing Crewed Flight Test (Boe-CFT), the first crewed mission of the Boeing Starliner to the International Space Station, expected to launch in July 2021.

Celebrating Black History Month: Robert Reed Church, first African-American millionaire in the South

Robert Reed Church, Sr, born June 18, 1839 in Holly Springs, Mississippi, is the first African-American millionaire in the South. (I haven't been able to find out who the first black millionaire in the north was.)  He was an entrepreneur, businessman and landowner in Memphis, Tennessee.  Although born into poverty, he purchased many properties around Memphis after the yellow fever epidemic in 1878, becoming very wealthy.

With his immense wealth, he funded facilities for Memphis' black population, which were oppressed by racial segregation of the white institutions at the time.  He funded a free annual Thanksgiving meal for poor blacks, and developed a public park, a playground, concert hall and an auditorium.

He helped establish Memphis' first black bank and served as its fouding president, ensuring black people could have access to loans for businesses and homes.

He passed away in August 1912.

Happy birthday, Space Shuttle astronaut Rhea Seddon!

Margaret Rhea Seddon, born November 8, 1947 in Murfreesboro, Tennessee, is one of the first group of astronauts to include women and is a veteran of three space shuttle flights.  She has a doctorate of medicine from the University of Tennessee and has served in hospitals in Mississippi and Tennessee. 

Selected as an astronaut in 1978, her first mission was aboard Discovery (STS-51-D) in April 1985 as mission specialist.  She logged 168 hours in space.

Her second mission was aboard Columbia (STS-40) in June 1991 as mission specialist. This flight was dedicated to life sciences with experiments involving cardiovascular/cardiopulmonary, renal/endocrine, blood, musculoskeletal, neurovestibular and immune systems.

Her third and final mission was aboard Columbia (STS-58) in October-November 1993 as Payload Commander on another life science research mission, continuing many of the experiments began on STS-40.

She is married to former astronaut Robert Gibson.

Happy birthday, Space Shuttle astronaut Roger Crouch!

Roger Crouch, born September 12, 1940 in Jamestown, Tennessee, is a veteran of two space shuttle flights.  His bio on wikipedia.com says he was "on loan" to NASA from MIT to be the Senior Scientist for the International Space Station.

His first flight was on Columbia (STS-83) in April 1997 as payload specialist.  The mission was cut short because a problem with Fuel Cell #2 developed and Columbia landed just short of 4 days after it lifted off.

Crouch's second and final trip was on Columbia (STS-94) as payload specialist in July 1997.  This was considered a "reflight" of the STS-83 mission, since the earlier flight was cut short.

Happy birthday, Expedition 1 commander William Shepherd!

William Shepherd, born July 26, 1949 in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, is a veteran of three shuttle missions and was a member of the first crew aboard the International Space Station.  He was selected as an astronaut for NASA in 1984. 

His first mission into space was aboard Atlantis (STS-27) as mission specialist in December 1988.  Atlantis carried payloads for the Department of Defense so many of the details of the trip are classified.

Shepherd's second flight was aboard Discovery (STS-41) in October 1990.  This mission deployed the Ulysses probe to investigate polar regions of the Sun.

His third flight was aboard Columbia (STS-52) October-November 1992, which deployed the Laser Geodynamic Satellite.

In 1993, he was assigned to become the commander of Expedition 1 to the ISS aboard Soyuz TM-31 in October 2000.  With cosmonauts Yuri Gidzenko and Sergei Krikalev, he stayed on board until March 2001.  They returned to Earth aboard Discovery (STS-102).

Happy birthday, Space Shuttle astronaut Tammy Jernigan!

Tamara Elizabeth Jernigan, born May 7, 1959 in Chattanooga, Tennessee, is a veteran of 5 space shuttle flights.

Her first flight was on board Columbia (STS-40) in June 1991 as mission specialist.  It was the first flight to have 3 female astronauts.

Her second mission was also on Columbia (STS-52) in October-November 1992.  On this mission, ashes of Gene Roddenberry were carried during the flight.

Jernigan's third flight was on Endeavour (STS-67) in March 1995.  At just over 16 1/2 days, it was Endeavour's longest flight.

Her fourth mission was back on Columbia (STS-80) in December 1996. At just over 17 1/2 days, it was the longest shuttle flight ever.

Her fifth and final flight was on board Discovery (STS-96) May-June 1999.  It was the first space  shuttle mission to the International Space Station.

She retired from NASA in 2001 and is married to fellow ex-astronaut Peter Wisoff.