The Coen Brothers' "True Grit"

An article on Annie's Dorchester Home.

Widely regarded as the only existing home Annie used as a primary residence, her home in Cambridge, Maryland was featured recently in a Washington Post article.

With luck...

...I'll be going back to Ohio soon.

...I'll be looking for assessed tax discrepancies in chattel holdings in Eaton for a family of interest.

...I'll be conducting at least 1-2 interviews in person.

...I'll be revisiting an interesting home... ...maybe.

...stopping by Blair County, PA, for research.

...I'll meet up with fellow researchers and telling them, perhaps, which of the things they've been seeking that I've since found.

...contemplating how to secure an historic home for preservation and restoration.

...scanning pictures, if they exist.

...and more. :)

So...

It's been altogether too long since I've updated this thing, but I've been insanely busy after my research vacation. So much to be thankful for on that trip -- meeting new contacts and such -- but here's a little tidbit I'll elaborate upon later:



^ That's my guy.

Pics.

The following are postcards from the area and near the era I'm studying. They prove invaluable points of reference for understanding what ones' characters might be seeing and hearing...





Above is the Darke County Infirmary in Greenville, OH. The original measured but 48' X 80', and was expanded, doubling its capacity. It burnt down and this was built in it's place, and a separate Children's Home was built to better serve the population.

The present structure occupying the site bears no resemblance to the original, nor to the one pictured here.





Greenville City Hall pictured above.





Broadway, looking north to City Hall off in the distance.






Arcanum is a small town in Twin Tmp. once fed commerce via the Dayton & Union Railroad. The D & U long since dissolved, Arcanum has fallen into disrepair. People still live there, but it's littered with abandoned buildings and an empty church not yet modified for residence. Elsewhere nearby, you can find at least two churches that have been converted to residences as the population base that once sustained them dissipated, likely following employment into larger urban centers. It is the primary cause of most modern "Ghost Towns".





An old Opera House from Arcanum in its heyday.




Here's how it appears today.


I plan to pick up more postcards, especially of the RPPC (Real Photo Post Card) from neighboring Lewisburg, and the surrounding area if I can find them. They're not only great pieces of Americana themselves, but great reference for the historical writer to get their head in the proper time/space.

Acquisitions.

I’ve doubled-down on my research investment, purchasing several items, including a surprisingly clean copy of a rare atlas from 1875. There's a lot more to it than what historicmapworks.com shows, and I really can't be arsed to get to NYC or Philly (if Philly even has a copy) just to get glimpses at the data I want. Besides, they have all sorts of limitations on the material's use, but now that I have an original copy, I can decide my own limitations, and have all rights. It cost an arm and a leg, but it was worth it. It falls neatly between Federal Census years, and lists landowners, names of businesses and restaurants, and has a number of other intriguing details to help fill out the portrait...

An idea of how rare this atlas is? I have it, but ancestry.com does not, and I come up empty when Googling for auctions for it. The crazy stuff you'll turn up on ebay on a lark. :)

I also picked up a copy of "Missie" (1947) by Annie Fern Swartwout -- a niece of Annie Oakley's who traveled with her for a time as her assistant. It's said to be fact and myth in equal measure, but it may provide some good flavor. I'd tried to get a cheap copy, but someone sniped me, so I bit at a signed copy w/dustjacket. Probably didn't get any other bids because the seller labeled it poorly, not even mentioning Annie Oakley in the heading, so even if it's absolutely horrible, I can turn it around for an easy $25-50 dollar profit when I want, likely more. Similar copies have gone for more than twice what I paid, so I'm pleased.

I’d only received Walter Havighurst's book the week prior but it has probably proved the most useful when looking for a style from which to take inspiration. The man's got a way with words and really nails dialect and accent. Plus, he cites Annie talking about a family she’d stayed with in terms I’d not heard before, reminding me that there’s still some personal writing of hers I’ve got to track down.

New York Public Library, OCRs and whatnot...

I hit the Schwarzmann Building (Milstein and Map Divisions) last week in NYC, and had a chance to examine:

History of Darke County, Frazer Ellis Wilson, 1914

The History of Darke County, W.H. Beers, 1880

The Biographical History of Darke County, 1900

The two former were most useful, the third very little. I've since procured OCR (optical character recognition) versions of the two I found useful, but let me warn any who would attempt similar: OCRs are crap. Optical Character Recognition technology is hit-and-miss. These versions, unedited, are rife with blatant typos, making them difficult to make sense of in some places. "N" is sometimes translated as "X". "W"s as quotation marks. If anything is to be made of them beyond the notes I already made in NYC, they'll have to be cross-referenced with online resources to guard against error. Pity that proper editing for these isn't deemed profitable. Clean modern reprints would be incredibly useful among the history-nut group.

The Map Division was rather less useful. Any images they make for me would prove unnecessarily expensive, and would grant no rights to reproduction. I know that once this work is finished, any rights to reproduction would be procured by the publishing house, but I like to have everything done myself. Little control freak in me, I guess.

I have a bid in for a copy of Swartwout's "Missie" on eBay. Swartwout was Annie's niece and accompanied her as an assistant overseas. The book is said to be truth and fiction in equal measure, but I'm welcoming such versions at this point. I want to see the apocrypha of Annie as well as the truth, and see what was skillfully woven, what was not, and what territory remains untread. I already have an interesting account for children, by Ellen Wilson, circa 1958.

And, watching "America: The Story of Us" tonight, I've learned that "milk-sickness" was caused by livestock eating white snakeroot, which injured not only the livestock, but also human consumers of the milk with its toxicity. Very useful, even though the cause of milk sickness wasn't recognized until well after the period I'm researching.

Almost New York.

By this time tomorrow, I'll be a very sleep-deprived boy in NYC. I'd received research copies of the maps I was seeking from Historic Mapworks, but they're not quite all I was hoping, so Tuesday I'm hitting the NYPL while I'm there to get my own copies. While Shannon's at Book Expo America, I should have plenty of time to do that, and skim a couple of obscure books I need to look at.

Left some research materials at dad's, so I haven't ordered the microfilm I need.

Unlikely that I'll get the DCI Daybook data I need before I go there myself. The real question is, will I fly or drive? I need to use that Southwest Airlines leftover refund somehow... Maybe on Florida.

Oh Holy Crap.

I just signed on to ancestry.com for a sec 'cause I hadn't been there in a bit, and a bunch of leads off the one family tree popped up... There may well be more living relatives I can track down and talk to... It'll be a few days while I sift through the info and start making connections, but I'll update when I've completed it.

Slowly.

My Dayton contact has been busy researching his own stuff (can't say I blame him), so I reckon while he might get around to mine, I'll likely first see the data firsthand when I get out there myself.

Wrote a letter to a member of a research family asking for memories, stories, and whatnot, but the lack of a printer is a hindrance. Things are slow now as I've been having the urge to draw more than write.

All for now.

Progress.

Through my ancestry.com account, I've found and contacted a link to one of the families I'm studying. It has revealed that there are, once again, a great many new avenues to pursue in the pursuit of comprehensive data about the family.

More later.

Well...

*sigh* This weekend wasn't as fruitful as I'd hoped...

The National Archives is broken into regional branches, and unbeknownst to me, they have only material specific to their region, excepting U.S. Federal Census data... The USFC data I can get off Ancestry.com with greater ease, and it seems that my local NARA branch covers only the mid-atlantic states (which means zippo about Ohio).

I ran on over to the Free Library to see if I could access their atlases, but naturally, the map department closes an hour before the rest of the joint -- which was precisely the time I arrived.

Don't get me wrong... Some gelatto, some food, and chilling with Hal Sparks was lovely, but I'd hoped to get so much more accomplished for what I've spent this weekend.

And now I have to do taxes tomorrow... Grr.

One highlight was that my Dayton contact said he'd likely be able to conduct the research-by-proxy in about two weeks, so hopefully, I'll have the confirming data soon.

Anyway, a bit sleep-deprived now, so, off to sleep. Peace to all you random passersby! :)

Waiting/Thin Blue Flame.

I've got my own copy of Courtney Ryley Cooper's biography "Annie Oakley" -- that's the first printing in 1927, not the later "Annie Oakley: Woman At Arms". Having the original is important to me... As though it's more authentic somehow, and authenticity is imperative in this process... Only adds a couple more details, little substantially different, and I probably paid more than it was worth, but this is fuel in my fire... I get easily distracted, and so on something I'm determined to get done I must encourage my more obsessive tendencies... Besides, I have a special fondness for rarity, especially as it pertains to books.

I'm still waiting to hear word from my researcher by proxy, and whether he's arranged to see the materials.

I like to keep a consistent mood here... This site is meant for darkness, foreboding, Americana, mystery, magical realism... And so, I offer you Josh Ritter, "Thin Blue Flame":

Google Map!

I've added a Google Map I'm building that will help chronicle the story of Annie's early childhood. Included thus far are her Birthplace Historical Marker, an estimate of where the cabin itself would have been, the location of what once was Darke County Infirmary, and finally, the properties in question, and the likely location of what would have been the house where Annie would have stayed.

I'm looking into making a trip out to Ohio spanning about a week this summer, approaching the owner of the home, asking to have a look around, and maybe sharing what I speculate about it. Hopefully by then, I'll have viewed the DCI Day Book, and will have more certain confirmation of who employed Annie, and can offer more than just speculation.

The Escape.

Using some historical maps, I've been able to plot...

(REDACTED FOR PRAGMATIC PURPOSES)

This is all probably meaningless to the random passerby, but it's all very important to my story. I'm just very pleased at this point that the math makes sense and squares with her own reporting. Accuracy is paramount in what I'm aiming at.

Urban Camping.

Unfortunately, the Ohio Historical Society doesn't have the microfilms I'm looking for... They have the Register of Inmates from D.C. Infirmary, but not the Pauper's Register, the Day Book, or others... To make copies of an existing microfilm is within my price range, but to order a new one be made is about $500. And that would be $500 for something of which I don't know the value -- it could well be that it contains no relevant information. It's actually far cheaper to fly out and see the materials in person at Wright State U.

It puzzles me though, that I've seen an existing microfilm for the Pauper's Register, so I know it exists somewhere -- there's a copy at the Garst Museum. Maybe it's time I get on the horn with Phyllis again, and see if they have what I'm looking for.

That said, I'm giving serious consideration to a trip to Dayton. A trip I'd considered taking earlier in the year had to be cancelled, and I have refund money available to cover the cost of the flight. I'd just have to find a room -- and there is some super cheap (I'm talking $33-a-night-cheap!) stuff available. It won't be the Ritz-Carlton, but I view trips like this as "urban camping" -- you've got a good wind-block and shelter at the least. You may be sleeping with some creepy-crawlies, but I did that in Boy Scouts, too. No biggie.

Meanwhile in the real world, I'm up in NY to celebrate Nephew-Monkey's birthday on Sunday! Woot!

And Mom, Happy Birthday today, wherever you are. :)

That is all.

Patsy Cline.

On this day in 1963, Patsy Cline died in an airplane crash. She was the first female solo artist inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame.



G'night, Patsy.

Tweaks.

I'm doing a few tweaks here and there, despite just how tech-inept I am -- adding wallpaper, a pic... I tried to do a title banner, but it never seems to fit its space, so perhaps later. I'd like to get some music on here, too... Just trying to get the mood right.

I've printed out an order form for the Darke County Infirmary Register microfilm. Sure, it seems like a small thing to those of you with working printers, but I had to drive to the library, people. Anyway, the next steps include investigating to see if the Day Book has been translated to an accessible microfilm, and finally contacting the Annie Oakley Foundation, to be completed Thursday and Friday.

Meanwhile, I'm in the midst of proofing a friend's screenplay... It'll take a while. I was silly to take it on while working on the current project, but I do silly things sometimes.

Anyway, here's another clip from the movie "Brendan and The Secret of Kells". Enjoy!

Huzzah!

The Ohio Historical Society responded to a query, and I can buy the Darke County Infirmary Register of Inmates on microfilm for under $20! From this, I'll be able to tell who was staying at the Infirmary/Poor House during the time Annie was there, and maybe a little something as to why... Commentary like "idiotic" and "insane" are not uncommon, but sometimes there are some more interesting details...

Considering that I was considering making researching that data a centerpiece of my next research trip out there, this is something of a little coup for this novice researcher. I wish someone had the Day Book on film, though, too... That would be killer.

On a different note, I'm looking to include any number of things I find dark, haunting and wonderful in this blog, and so, I'll begin here with a movie I desperately want to see... This is "Brendan and The Secret of Kells", an independent traditional 2-D animation piece from Ireland that's running with the big dogs for Best Animated at this year's Oscars:




I'm really rather taken with this movie, so I'll probably post more clips later.

Good fortune.

Some Googling this morning yielded some worthwhile results, including three new links I've included: Darke County Infirmary Data, Darke County Local Government Records (Wright State U.), and the Ohio History Online Portal... I've discovered that the records at Wright State include a Day Book for Darke County Infirmary during the time of Annie's stay there. I'm hoping that access to these sources will help reveal useful details.

Welcome.

This Dark Country is dedicated to my assorted thoughts and creative works, and the process of forging them into complete, tangible things...

Currently, my primary focus is on a story involving Annie Oakley. It's required a considerable amount of research, including two personal trips to Greenville, OH (thus far), and it seems that for every stone overturned in this process, two more are revealed beneath it. But the learning has been rewarding, and I'm settling upon the feel I want the story to have -- something near a classic gothic horror piece.

To this end, I'll be consuming what I can of the pertinent classics I've neglected: Dracula, Frankenstein, and works by Poe and Lovecraft. I'm looking to absorb what I can, and let it influence what I envision as a lush and deeply atmospheric work.

This is just one of many works I have planned, and I hope organizing my thoughts in a blog will help me get them done.

I'll try to keep this blog updated.

End first entry.