Samuel Adams: The Face of a Revolution

John Singleton Copley's
portrait of Samuel Adams

Samuel Adams was one of the founding fathers of the United States, a Boston revolutionary and the current face of Bostonian beer. He is inextricably linked with the Boston rebels who helped ignite the revolution in the years leading up to 1775 and the famous documents that severed the many ties between the colonies and England. Unlike most of his contemporaries, he was not a soldier, an inventor, a successful merchant, a tradesman or a plantation owner. His only interest and success was in politics, but it was not for lack of trying other things.

Samuel Adams was born in Boston on September 27, 1722. He was raised in Boston and schooled at Boston Latin, like most of his peers. Also like his fellow Boston patriots, he went to Harvard College, graduating with his masters in 1743. After graduation, he became a merchant, but he was terribly bad at it. He seemed uninterested in money, instead being interested in public service. His father was a politician, but also a successful businessman. Samuel would not follow his father's example in that regard.

In 1749, Samuel Adams married Elizabeth Checkley, who bore him two surviving children before dying in childbirth. In 1764, he married Elizabeth Wells, who cared for his children, but had none of her own. Elizabeth Wells is remembered in a way as the woman who put up with Samuel Adams. He made very little money in public service. He had some land and a house, but Elizabeth did some work from home to keep them with money while he gave speeches and attended to the masses. In 1756, he became a tax collector and actually lost money due to his ineffective tax collecting strategies.

When Samuel Adams' father died, Samuel also had to fight off the British over a banking scheme his father had. It was popular among the people, but deemed illegal by the British. Samuel Adams was on the brink of having to hand over his estate, but he prevailed and the British were eventually run out of town anyway. Samuel also received the run of his father's maltsing business after his death. That was another failure for Adams.

As history shows us, Samuel Adams was not some poor unfortunate who was just no good at anything. The brewing discontent in the colonies gave him the perfect opportunity to showcase his talents. When Christopher Sieder was shot, Samuel Adams was quick to publicize the incident. Some say his speeches were such that he was something of an agent provocateur, though on the same side as those provoked. Indeed, the Boston Massacre occurred little more than a week after the event. Samuel Adams was also giving speeches before the Boston Tea Party. Suspicious? Historians think so. One thing is certain, instigator or not, he was one of the best orators in Boston before the American Revolution.

In 1765–five years before the Boston Massacre–Samuel Adams became a member of the Massachusetts Assembly. As revolution became inevitable, he served on the Massachusetts Provincial Congress and later the Continental Congress. He was positioned politically to be one of the men instrumental in creating the new nation. He signed the Declaration of Independence and helped draft the Articles of the Confederation.

In 1781, Samuel Adams retired from Congress and helped develop the Massachusetts Constitution. Eight years later, he became Lieutenant Governor. Five years after that, he became the Governor of Massachusetts. He remained governor until his health dictated that he rest in 1797. He died in Boston on October 2, 1803.

Mary Hays McCauley: Revolutionary War Hero

Currier and Ives painting
of Molly Pitcher

Mary Hays McCauley was an American Revolution heroine who earned herself the nickname “Molly Pitcher” for her brave actions during the Battle of Monmouth. Her dedication and fearlessness are legendary.

Molly Pitcher was born near Trenton, New Jersey on October 13, 1754. Her parents were German immigrants, whose names are not known. Her maiden is not known for certain either, but it may have been Ludwig.

In 1769, at the age of fifteen, Mary Hays McCauley went to work for future Colonial Army colonel and Brigadier General, Dr. William Irvine. She worked in his household as a maid, but she was not happy in her position. She soon fell in love with a barber named John Casper Hays and left her place of employment to marry him. John soon enlisted in the artillery of the Continental Army. When John went off to war, Mary followed.

During the Revolutionary War, it was common for women to follow their men so that they may do chores such as washing and cooking for them. They were also handy for tending the wounded. Mary Hays McCauley was present with her husband at Valley Forge, but it was at the Battle of Monmouth that she proved that she could do far more than cook and clean. The temperature was very hot on the battlefield, so Mary decided to begin collecting pitchers of water from a nearby water source and bringing them to the men on the battlefield. This is what earned her the fond moniker Molly Pitcher.

At some point during the battle, Mary Hays McCauley’s husband collapsed beside his canon. Some reports say that he had been wounded but that Mary noticed that he would survive. The men around her watched as Molly Pitcher took up her husband’s post and began firing his canon. She supposedly did this for the remainder of the day. Joseph Plumb Martin, who had witnessed Mary’s bravery, wrote of her in his memoirs. He stated that an enemy canon ball had gone straight between Mary’s legs. She behaved as if nothing untoward had happened and continued firing her canon. She did however remark upon what would have happened had the canon ball been a little higher.

The story goes that, after the battle, brave Molly Pitcher was presented to George Washington himself, who commended her for her efforts. He supposedly also gave her a new nickname, “Sergeant.” She soon became legendary among the colonial troops.

After the war, Mary Hays McCauley and her husband moved to Carlisle, Pennsylvania. John Casper Hays died there in 1789. Mary remarried shortly thereafter, to a man named George McCauley. Reportedly, McCauley was not particularly kind to his wife and treated her as if she were a servant. Their union was not a happy one and they were not well off financially.

An answer to some of Mary Hays McCauley’s troubles came in 1822. The local government decided that she earned herself a lifetime annuity for her services. She collected that annuity every year until her death in Carlisle, Pennsylvania on January 22, 1832.

Vincent Price: Horror's Most Iconic Actor

Vincent Price is one of film's most legendary actors. He was beloved for his haunting performances in numerous classic and modern horror films. However, there was much more to Price than an eerie voice and an unforgettable face. He was a philanthropist, author, chef, art collector and promoter of lesbian and gay rights. Behind the characters he played was a man with many and varied interests.

Vincent Leonard Price, Jr. was born on May 27, 1911 in St. Louis, Missouri. His lineage can be traced to a baby born on the Mayflower off the coast of Massachusetts, making him as American as Thanksgiving. His immediate family was in the candy business and had done well for themselves, making it possible for young Vincent Price to attend private schools and eventually get a degree in art history from Yale. He would later collect art and donate thousands of pieces to the Vincent Price Art Museum at East Los Angeles College.

Price was initially a teacher, but he found his calling on the stage in London. While he is most memorable in horror roles, thanks to his distinctive features, he started out as a character actor in dramas and even a comedy or two. Horror roles did pop up early in his career. However, it wasn't until the 1950's, when he had roles in The Fly, House on Haunted Hill, House of Wax and others, that he became known for his abilities in the genre. In the 60s, he further cemented his place in horror history with a slew of Poe adaptations, including The Pit and the Pendulum and The Raven.

Even while making his mark in horror, Vincent Price branched out, landing roles on television– including the role of Egghead on Batman. He also continued to do stage roles until late in his career. Music gave him another outlet for his talent, gaining him a new generation of followers. He did a cover of Monster Mash and a voice over for Alice Coopers Welcome to My Nightmare. His most significant contribution to music was his narration of Michael Jackson's Thriller. If you didn't know him before Thriller was released, you knew his voice afterward.

Vincent Price married three times. His first wife was actress Edith Barrett. They married in 1938 and divorced about a decade later. They had one child­–a son named Vincent. The following year, he married his second wife, Mary Grant Price–a costume designer with whom he had a daughter they named Victoria. The couple also authored cookbooks together. Vincent's third wife was actress Coral Brown. They married in 1973, the year after his divorce from Mary. They stayed married until she passed away in 1991.

In 1990, Vincent Price played the role of the inventor in Tim Burton's Edward Scissorhands. The pair worked together before on the short film Vincent in 1982. Unfortunately, the aging actor was so sick with emphysema and lung cancer by the time he did Edward Scissorhands opposite a young Johnny Depp that his work with the film was cut short. He died just a few years later at the age of 82. To this day, there is no one in horror who comes close to his reputation.

Abigail Adams: First Lady and Mother of a President

Abigail Adams by Gilbert Stuart

Abigail Adams was the wife of lawyer and politician John Adams. The couple met when Abigail was just a teenaged girl. John was ten years older than his future wife but the age difference meant little. Their 45-year marriage was apparently a very happy one, judging by the scores of letters the lovebirds sent each other. For the better part of their early married life, Abigail lived in Quincy and Boston without the company of her husband, but that did not stop them from starting a family.

Abigail Adams nee Smith married John Adams on October 25, 1764. Their first child, a daughter they named Abigail, came just shy of nine months later. Their second child and future President of the United States, John, was born in 1767. The following year, a daughter named Susanna was born to the couple. She passed away when she was two years old. Right around the time Susanna passed away, John and Abigail Adams had their second son, a boy they named Charles. A third son-Thomas- followed two years later.

Abigail Adams was well educated (by her mother). As such, she was suited for life as the wife of a lawyer, politician and eventual President of the United States. During the American Revolution, she wrote a letter to her husband that would become the first evidence of an early push for women's rights in the United States. In this letter, she wrote, ". . . in the new Code of Laws which I suppose it will be necessary for you to make I desire you would Remember the Ladies, and be more generous and favorable to them than your ancestors." During her time as First Lady, she stood up for the rights of a young African-American man to get his education in Massachusetts. She was not a pushy or aggressive woman, but her intentions were made clear and no one could question her morality.

Abigail Adams was the first First Lady to occupy the White House, if only for a few months. She was also the first First Lady to demonstrate an interest in politics and to hold something akin to political office. During the American Revolution, members of the Massachusetts Provincial Congress appointed her as one of the women sent to question female British loyalists.

Abigail Adams was as loyal, loving and dedicated as a woman can be. We know this about her through her correspondence with several individuals. She passed away on November 10, 1818 from complications of a stroke she suffered a few days prior.

Simo Hayha: A Finnish Sniper

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During World War II, Germany was not the only country on an invasive path. The Soviet Red Army was pushing west. On November 30, 1939, the Red Army invaded Finland. What ensued became known as the Winter War. The Red Army met with some serious opposition, which they likely did not expect. It is estimated that Finnish soldiers killed more than 100,000 Soviet soldiers. This number was exponentially higher than Finnish losses during the Winter War. One of the Finnish soldiers responsible for the amazing defense Finland put up was a small (little more than 5' tall) man by the name of Simo Hayha.

Simo Hayha was born in 1905 or 1906 in Rautajarvi, Finland. His was a simple life of farming and hunting with his family. He joined the Finnish Army in 1925 and completed his mandatory year in the service. By the time the year was over, Hayha was a corporal. When the Red Army invaded in 1939, Hayha was called up to serve with the 6^th Company of JR34.  He served on the Kollaa River during what became known as the "miracle of Kollaa." The Finnish Army was grossly outnumbered and yet the area was held for the duration of the conflict.

During the winter of 1939-1940, Simo Hayha served primarily as a sniper. He has said that his weapon of choice was a Mosin-Nagant Model 28. However, he has been photographed with a Mosin-Nagant Model 28/30. Either way, his sniper rifle was iron-sighted. This means that he did not use a scope, but essentially a couple of prongs of metal lined up on the top of the barrel. With this, he reportedly killed many Soviet soldiers, possibly hundreds, at a distance of more than 400 yards.

Another weapon that Simo Hayha was talented with was a Suomik 31 SMG (sub-machine gun). He is credited with killing roughly 200 men with this weapon. Nonetheless, Simo was a much more accomplished sniper. His skill and technique are still amazing us 70 years later.

Simo Hayha had hunting Soviets in Finland down to a science. He knew it was cold and that the bright sun will glint off glass, so he opted out of using a scope. The cold could have broken or fogged up the glass in his scope and the glint would have given away his position. In fact, this is how he spotted many of his targets. He would also pack his mouth with snow to keep his hot breath from giving him away in the freezing cold Finland winter. Simo Hayha was working in temperatures that were consistently below zero, after all. Another technique Simo had was to shoot from a sitting position. This is odd for a sniper, but he says it helped because he was so small.

Simo Hayha was so good at his job that he became known as the "White Death." His white camouflage (suitable for snowy battlefields) and insane kill count led to this arguably intimidating moniker. What kill count can be considered insane, you ask? Well, Simo Hayha is credited with killing at least 705 Soviet soldiers with his sniper rifle (remember, he killed roughly 200 with his SMG). This makes him the most successful sniper in history. Moreover, he was only fighting for close to 100 days. That means he killed an average of seven men per day with his sniper rifle alone.

The killing streak ended for Simo Hayha on March 6, 1940, when a Red Army sniper shot him in the face with an exploding bullet. Teams of snipers had been sent to kill Hayha before then and the Red Army had even resorted to using artillery against him. They had not so much as injured him. However, the exploding bullet that hit him in March tore off part of his face. He was carried away by his fellow soldiers, but not before killing the man who shot him, according to Hayha. He then drifted into a coma for a week. The day he woke up, March 13, 1940, was the day the Winter War came to an end.

Simo Hayha spent his later years breeding dogs and hunting moose. He died on April 1, 2002. He was 96-years-old.

Sources

Tuco, Simo Hayha, retrieved 8/4/10

Josiah Quincy: Lawyer, Politician and Abolitionist

Josiah Quincy

Josiah Quincy was a lawyer, politician and abolitionist. As a lawyer, he rarely practiced. As a politician, he was largely disregarded, except for his time as "The Great Mayor" of Boston. As an abolitionist, he wrote papers on the subject and supported his abolitionist son Edmund. He is most famous in his hometown of Boston where his policies changed the face of the burgeoning city. Even today, nearly 200 years after his death, his contributions are a part of Boston.

Josiah Quincy (not to be confused with the many other Josiah Quincys in his family) was born in Boston, Massachusetts on February 4, 1772. He was the son of Josiah Quincy Jr. and Abigail Quincy nee Phillips. Both of his parents came from wealthy and influential families. The Quincy family was full of influential politicians, teachers and military (militia) men. His father was a well-known patriot who aided John Adams in the defense of the British soldiers involved in the "Boston Massacre."

When he was in his early thirties, Josiah Quincy Jr. died of tuberculosis. His son was just a toddler at the time, but he was left in the capable hands of Abigail and his grandfather--Josiah Quincy. He began attending the Phillips Academy in Andover, Massachusetts when he was six-years-old. Even there, he was under the influence of his family. His uncle, Reverend Samuel Phillips, was his teacher. From there, he went on to study at Harvard University like most great men in Boston at the time. He graduated from Harvard in 1793, but that was not the last he would see of the revered school.

After graduation, Josiah Quincy began his apprenticeship in law. He became a lawyer, but decided to spend his life in politics. Two years after his graduation from Harvard, Josiah Quincy was elected to the Boston Town Committee. (He was a Federalist.) He remained in that position for five years before running for Congress. He was not successful his first time around. However, he was elected in 1804 and he left for Washington, D.C.

While Josiah Quincy was a member of the Boston Town Committee, he married Eliza Susan Morton. The couple would go on to have seven children together, notably Edmund Quincy and Josiah Quincy Jr. (Yes, another one.) Edmund would go on to become a famous abolitionist periodical editor. Josiah Quincy Jr. would follow in his father's footsteps and become Mayor of Boston.

Things did not turn out well for Josiah Quincy in Washington. His ideas were becoming passé and his time in Congress was not noteworthy, except for his departure. In 1813, Josiah Quincy disagreed with the United States' latest war with England, so he returned home to Boston, where he was elected to the Massachusetts State Senate. He spent 12 years in that position. He was also a delegate to the Massachusetts Constitutional Convention in 1820 and a Massachusetts House of Representatives Judge in 1821. In 1823, Josiah Quincy was elected Mayor of Boston.

Josiah Quincy made Boston a cleaner, safer place to live. He focused on juvenile delinquent reform. He brought municipal water and sewage to the city. He organized the fire department and more. Most notably, he cleaned up the area where Quincy Market is today and established the market, which still stands facing Faneuil Hall. In a modern city, it is a rather awkward position for the building, but it makes for great historical atmosphere and street performer fun. Mr. Quincy probably never imagined Quincy Market as it is today, but he would surely be pleased to see how beloved it is by the city's residents.

Josiah Quincy served as Mayor of Boston for five years. On June 15, 1829, he became President of Harvard University. Despite his best efforts, his time there was marked with unrest in the student body. There were violent protests and the students openly disliked Josiah. Quincy did his best to punish the students responsible and put his efforts toward making the school better. He did make some great changes to the school, but he never did win over the students. He retired from his post on August 27, 1848.

In Josiah Quincy's twilight years, he wrote a great deal about the history of some famous Boston institutions. He also wrote about his son Edmund's passion, abolitionism. He died on July 1, 1864 and was interred at Mount Auburn Cemetery in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

Sources

Josiah Quincy, retrieved 10/27/10, harvardaquarelibrary.org/HVDpresidents/quincy.php

Josiah Quincy, retrieved 10/27/10, uua.org/uuhs/duub/articles/josiahquincy.html

Albert Cashier: Crossdressing Civil War Soldier

Albert Cashier was a member of the 95^th Illinois Infantry during the Civil War. He was present at many battles and marched thousands of miles with his comrades during his three years of service in the Union Army. He was known his bravery, despite being the smallest soldier in Company G. In fact, he was the shortest soldier in the entire regiment. However, Albert Cashier had a secret–a big secret. Albert Cashier was actually Jennie Hodgers. Yes, this brave soldier of the Union Army was born a woman.

Not much is known about Albert Cashier’s early life. We do know that ‘Jennie Hodgers’ was born in Ireland. She immigrated to the United States from Clogherhead. She was five feet tall and illiterate. There weren't many jobs she qualified for, unless she wanted to be a laundress or something of the sort. This is probably one of the reasons that Jennie Hodgers decided to dress herself as a man and join the Union Army.

During the Civil War, physical examinations for soldiers were perfunctory, at best. In fact, Albert Cashier was nowhere near the only soldier who was a woman masquerading as a man. However, he was one of the very few, that we know of, who wasn’t discovered while in service. A great sense of patriotism must have driven these women, as well as the promise of regular wages. The battlefields of the Civil War were notoriously savage. It had to have taken a very brave soldier to enter the battlefields voluntarily, regardless of whether that soldier was male or female.

During the war, Albert Cashier was present at the Siege of Vicksburg, the surrender of Mobile, the Red River campaign and Guntown, Mississippi. His comrades later told stories of his bravery on the battlefield. However, they also told stories about his private nature. It would seem, and this makes perfect sense, that Albert didn’t like to be alone with the other men very often. He didn’t share bunks with his comrades the way the others sometimes would. It was the only indication any of them ever had that he was a woman, though they never suspected.

Albert Cashier was discharged from the Union Army in 1865. After the war, Jennie Hodgers did not want to give up her newfound freedom as a man, so she continued to masquerade as Albert Cashier. With this identity, she could earn better wages and keep in touch with her war buddies. She even voted. Albert Cashier eventually moved to Sauremin, Illinois, where he picked up odd jobs and lived in a modest home.

Albert Cashier kept his secret for the next nearly fifty years. He would have kept it longer, but he was involved in an accident that occurred while he was working on his boss’ car. The injuries he sustained were crippling and when a doctor looked at him, the ruse was up. Despite his deceit, he was allowed to live at the Illinois Soldiers and Sailors Home for three years. However, his mental and physical health continued to decline and so he was sent to a state hospital in 1914.

While in the state hospital, workers forced Albert Cashier to wear skirts. This was very uncomfortable for him, obviously. However, he didn’t have to suffer for long. Albert Cashier died at the state hospital in October of 1915. Jennie Hodgers’ true identity is carved on her gravestone, which reads ‘Albert D.J. Cashier, Co. G, 95 Ill. Inf.’

Sources

Davis, Rodney O., Private Albert Cashier, retrieved 1/7/10, dig.lib.niu.edu/ISHS/shs-198summer10.pdf

Paul, Linda, In Civil War, Woman Fought Like a Man For Freedom, retrieved 1/7/10, npr.org.templates/story/story.php?storyId=104452266