Speaking of 'Rats', I just got a note from the Smithsonian. Is it not amazing what we 'run into' ? [ Some of you may recall that a month or so ago, while pouring over some of the Louisville Directory Data others have sent to me ( J.L. Nichols, Are you out there? ) I noticed that my Great- Great Grandfather, Theophile Conrad hired one John F.C. Hegewald in about 1902 as Secretary of his Conrad Tanning Co., Inc. I was very curious about his initials 'J.F.C.' and at the time, plugged his name into the search engines and got back John 'Falls City' Hegewald. My curiosity was further aroused. ( By the way- The Internet is a dynamic, living, breathing entity. I have as yet been unable to replicate my original discoveries. For the moment you will just have to take my word for it ). Once again I set off on the 'Quest'. This time I discovered that in about 1878 General William Tecumseh Sherman, among other things a regent at the then new Smithsonian Institution, asked Col. Peter T. Swain ( Jot that name down, will you. It comes up a little later from a Genealogical perspective ) to recover what have become known as the 'Sherman Logs'. Col. Swain, in turn, selected Lieutenant J.F.C. Hegewald to head up a unit of about 12 - 14 men and set about to recover the multiple-ton petrified trees from Navajo Springs. About a year later he succeeded. At the time they were associated with the 15th Infantry Regiment. The 15th, in it's various manifestations, was involved in Indian Wars, The Civil War, more Indian Wars, The Spanish American War, The Boxer Rebellion, the Filipino Uprising ...... [ Not Necessarily in chronological order, Virginia ] Sherman, if you will recall, was in Louisville for some time on the express orders of Mr. Lincoln " Protecting Kentucky ". Hegewald was born in New Albany, and in all likelihood enlisted at Louisville. Now, about Col. Peter T. Swaine. Theophiles daughter Lucy, married James Phillip Eagle, grandson of the Governor James Phillip Eagle ( Arkansas 1889 - 1893 ) and himself related to Charity Swain ....... Ooops !! [ Swaim, Swain, Swaine ........ Hhhm-mmm-mmn ?? ] Anyway, The Smithsonian has promised me a copy of a letter written during or just after the journey / adventure to General William Tecumseh Sherman, which they say, is all that remains of the whole affair ........ By the way, Governor Eagle's Wife was one of the movers & shakers of the Great Southern Expositions in Louisville from about 1882 - 1886. The Smithsonian, and one might suspect General Sherman were also quite involved. Again, last year I was able to access quite a great deal about 'The Governors Wife' & The Great Southern Expositions ...... This year, I have not been able to find it again. A Genealogical Lesson: Back Everything Up !!! You might recall my Great-Great Grandfather began building Conrad Castle ( 2 Saint James Court or 1402 depending on how you look at it ) in 1882 - 1883. Belgravia Court AND Saint James Court .... At the time he lived kitty-corner to the site on Park or Magnolia ( Drat- I need a map ) Anyway ..... It's the big Brick structure with the convent-like wall around it ( In fact, I believe it became a convent just after that ) that was also used briefly for what was to become Collegiate. This entire area was, in theory, occupied by the Great Southern Expositions. Theophile's daughter Lucy most likely met her husband here. In early August ( 6 - 11 August to be exact ) she and her Father were at-court in Austria where she made her Debut on the event of her 21st birthday. ( Later she was to knock at least two years off her birthday out of feminine vanity ). Footnote: Conrad Castle, later bought and then sold again by the Caldwell's ( who later moved to Bates Court just down the street from the house where I grew up ) was NOT done up originally in that French Motif. Theophile and his Wife Mary Krieger were of Germanic / Austrian or Prussian stock. Granted, it was considered far more fashionable to be French after the time of Napoleon <ggg>. 'A Day In The Life of Genealogy ......... Eric Cabot Steed '5th Generation Louisvillian' ----- Original Message ----- From: "Thomas Fiske" <evitom@altrionet.com> To: "Eric & Karen Abston Steed" <kas65@cvip.fresno.com> Sent: Wednesday, July 17, 2002 10:33 AM Subject: Re: [KYJEFFER] 'Bewildered ......... > Oh, Rats!