The Train Ride on the main page has gotten longer. If you get time, try to take a quick ride! Vicki Gibson Co. TN CC http://www.rootsweb.com/~tngibson

Be careful Diana, you'll get me started again. LOL, glad you liked them, and just a short one this time. The old Steam Locomotives, in the 1890s, set a world speed record for that time, at well over 100 miles per hour. New Yory Central's old 999 was clocked at 112 mph in 1893. Jessie James never would have caught that train on a horse. Unlike the later diesel and diesel-electric engines, the Steam engine hardly had a speed limit, just how hot you could stand the fire, or until the boiler blew. er = blew. =20

How Specs Live Forever The US Standard railroad gauge (distance between the rails) is 4 feet, 8.5 inches. That's an exceedingly odd number. Why was that gauge used? Because that's the way they built them in England, and the US railroads were built by English expatriates. Why did the English people build them like that? Because the first rail lines were built by the same people who built the pre-railroad tramways, and that's the gauge they used. Why did "they" use that gauge then? Because the people who built the tramways used the same jigs and tools that they used for building wagons, which used that wheel spacing. Okay! Why did the wagons use that odd wheel spacing? Well, if they tried to use any other spacing the wagons would break on some of the old, long distance roads, because that's the spacing of the old wheel ruts. So who built these old rutted roads? The first long distance roads in Europe were built by Imperial Rome for the benefit of their legions. The roads have been used ever since. And the ruts? The initial ruts, which everyone else had to match for fear of destroying their wagons, were first made by Roman war chariots. Since the chariots were made for or by Imperial Rome they were all alike in the matter of wheel spacing. Thus, we have the answer to the original questions. The United State standard railroad gauge of 4 feet, 8.5 inches derives from the original specification for an Imperial Roman army war chariot. Specs and Bureaucracies live forever. So, the next time you are handed a specification and wonder what horse's a** came up with it, you may be exactly right. Because the Imperial Roman chariots were made to be just wide enough to accommodate the back-ends of two war horses. Randy Martin Pasadena, Texas jrmartin@pdq.net <http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Plains/7746/>

I haven't hated ANY of these messages..........they have all been interesting! Vicki ----- Original Message ----- From: Charles R. Young <tncharles@mindspring.com> To: <TNGIBSON-L@rootsweb.com> Sent: Friday, July 02, 1999 4:27 PM Subject: RE: [TNGIBSON-L] Vicki hates that she mentioned trains! > my high school history teacher emma inman williams in jackson tn authored > several books on west tenn history including at least one on civil war > action on the mobile & ohio railroad. one anecdote that i remember was how > the confederate snipers would lay up on the banks along the rail lines and > take pot shots at the federal troops that rode the flat cars as guards. > often they would tear up the tracks in order to stop the trains so they > could capture badly needed supplies. gen. n.b. forrest secured much of his > supplies in this manner. the public library in jackson has these books on > file. chas young > > > -----Original Message----- > > From: Red & Pat Anthony [mailto:redpata@artelco.com] > > Sent: Friday, July 02, 1999 5:00 PM > > To: TNGIBSON-L@rootsweb.com > > Subject: [TNGIBSON-L] Vicki hates that she mentioned trains! > > > > > > One more story and I will quit: > > The amazing thing about the railroad industry is how fast it > > grew and how well built the structures were. Some of them still > > in use today are well over 100 years old. Lots of the bridges and > > tressels were built in the 1800s. The subway system in New York > > City was built around 1890, but the most durable has been the > > Chicago El. It was finished and opened in October, 1893. El means > > Elevated, and the steel infrastructure that supports the track, > > two stories off the ground, hasn't changed since it was built. > > The El forms a 2 mile loop around downtown Chicago before > > branching off to different destinations. Since the early 1900s, > > about 1600 trains a day make the loop. OK, Vicki, I'm outta > > here,,,,,,,,,Red Anthony > > ,,,,,,,,Red = > > Anthony > > >

my high school history teacher emma inman williams in jackson tn authored several books on west tenn history including at least one on civil war action on the mobile & ohio railroad. one anecdote that i remember was how the confederate snipers would lay up on the banks along the rail lines and take pot shots at the federal troops that rode the flat cars as guards. often they would tear up the tracks in order to stop the trains so they could capture badly needed supplies. gen. n.b. forrest secured much of his supplies in this manner. the public library in jackson has these books on file. chas young > -----Original Message----- > From: Red & Pat Anthony [mailto:redpata@artelco.com] > Sent: Friday, July 02, 1999 5:00 PM > To: TNGIBSON-L@rootsweb.com > Subject: [TNGIBSON-L] Vicki hates that she mentioned trains! > > > One more story and I will quit: > The amazing thing about the railroad industry is how fast it > grew and how well built the structures were. Some of them still > in use today are well over 100 years old. Lots of the bridges and > tressels were built in the 1800s. The subway system in New York > City was built around 1890, but the most durable has been the > Chicago El. It was finished and opened in October, 1893. El means > Elevated, and the steel infrastructure that supports the track, > two stories off the ground, hasn't changed since it was built. > The El forms a 2 mile loop around downtown Chicago before > branching off to different destinations. Since the early 1900s, > about 1600 trains a day make the loop. OK, Vicki, I'm outta > here,,,,,,,,,Red Anthony > ,,,,,,,,Red = > Anthony >

One more story and I will quit: The amazing thing about the railroad industry is how fast it grew and how well built the structures were. Some of them still in use today are well over 100 years old. Lots of the bridges and tressels were built in the 1800s. The subway system in New York City was built around 1890, but the most durable has been the Chicago El. It was finished and opened in October, 1893. El means Elevated, and the steel infrastructure that supports the track, two stories off the ground, hasn't changed since it was built. The El forms a 2 mile loop around downtown Chicago before branching off to different destinations. Since the early 1900s, about 1600 trains a day make the loop. OK, Vicki, I'm outta here,,,,,,,,,Red Anthony ,,,,,,,,Red = Anthony

By the 1850s, the railroad industry was growning so fast and the settlers moving west, the government came up with a plan to get the west connected with the east by rail. They offered large land grants and mileage bonuses for two companies, Central Pacific and Union Pacific, to build the railroad. The work was stopped during the Civil War, but when it ended the building of the track was started again with the Chinese workers for Central Pacific and the Union Pacific Irishmen in stiff competition. In fact, it was so great, the companies recruited armed bandits to go out at night and disrupt the competitors work. Even with these minor problems, the two companies laid 423 miles of track in 1868. In Europe, with their skilled workers, it took 10 years to produce this amount of railroad. In the latter part of 1868, the workers met at Promontory Summit, Utah. The mileage bonuses were so lucrative on the final stretch, that when they met, they just kept going parallel to each other f! or 155 miles, until the government intervened and forced them to join lines. On May 10, 1869, the Union Pacific's locomotive 119 met nose to nose with Central Pacific's Jupiter at Promontory, Utah, connecting the first transcontinental line in the United States. The Chinese and the Irish had a drink and shook hands to celebrate. I bet the Irish outdrank the Chinese. There are some railroad terms, such as "Caboose", that no-one knows where they originated. I wonder if they came from those Irishmen trying to talk to the Chinese after a round or two. LOL Red Anthony ese after a round or two. LOL Red Anthony

Hi, I'm new to the list. I'm researching my CRENSHAW family roots in Gibson County. I've been searching the web site at www.rootsweb.com/~tngibson/ and have found a small amount of info there. I noticed that there is a Crenshaw-Wyatt Cemetery, but it hasn't been transcribed, yet. Any additional information about them will be appreciated. Thanks, Curtis Lathan Colo Spgs, CO Here is what I have so far: 1. Archie CRENSHAW; b. 1792? in Virginia; d. After Aug 1826 in Dyer, (Gibson Co.) TN + Nannie ?; m. ??? b. 17?? in Virginia; d. After Aug 1826 in Dyer, (Gibson Co.) TN 2. Children of Archie & Nannie 2A) W.E. CRENSHAW b. August 26, 1826 in Virginia; d. March 26, 1900 in TN + Martha S. HALE; b. February 19, 1832 in TN; d. May 30, 1926 in TN 3. Children of W.E. & Martha 3A) Albert Louis CRENSHAW b. October 24, 1851 in (Gibson Co.) Tennessee; d. Aft. June 27, 1929 in Texas + Mattie SHELTON; m. October 23, 1873 b. February 16, 1857 in TN; d. June 10, 1901 in Texas 3B) Robert L. CRENSHAW b. June 24, 1854 in Tennessee; d. 1901 in ??? + ??? FLOWERS; m. 1878 b. ???; d. 1896 in ??? 3C) W.V. CRENSHAW b. September 22, 1862 in TN d. ??? + Mollie E. NOLL m. ??? b. ??? d. ??? 3D) W.J. CRENSHAW b. August 14, 1866 in TN d. June 19, 1885 in ??? 3E) J.P. CRENSHAW b. March 04, 1877 in TN d. ??? 4. Children of Albert & Mattie 4A) Robert Abner CRENSHAW b. September 13, 1875 in Rutherford, (Gibson Co.) Tennessee d. November 10, 1947 in NM + Bertha Eulah STARKEY m. November 22, 1901 in Rutherford, (Gibson Co.) Tennessee b. February 19, 1881 in TX d. October 18, 1965 in TX 4B) Jessie M. CRENSHAW b. May 17, 1878 in TX d. September 13, 1934 + ? KELLER 4C) William J. CRENSHAW b. June 04, 1880 in TX d. Abt. December 25 in NM + Ritta M. MOSS m. Abt. 1901 b. June 1880 in TX d. ??? 4D) Rosa CRENSHAW b. December 04, 1882 in TX d. December 29, 1964 + Reginald Blew Page 4E) Mae E. CRENSHAW b. March 22, 1885 in TX + Edd MOORE 4F) N.O. CRENSHAW b. May 30, 1887 in TX + Will WOLTRIP 4G) Asa Albert CRENSHAW b. October 25, 1889 in TX d. September 1975 in TX + Elvira LEON m. September 02, 1929 in AZ b. November 23, 1904 in Mexico d. November 1965 in AZ 4H) Nina L. CRENSHAW b. May 24, 1892 in TX + Ed WILLOUGHBY b. July 08, 1890 4I) Eula CRENSHAW b. January 07, 1895 d. March 17, 1897

The recent talk of trains brought back memories of my love and fascination of the big engines that pulled the trains. Thought someone else might like a few facts and memories about them. The first machine built to meet the modern day definition of a Locomotive was Stephenson's Rocket. It was built in 1829 in Great Britain. A railroad was built from Liverpool to Manchester and the local government was considering using horse-drawn trains, but decided to have a Locomotive contest with a prize of 500 pounds sterling to anyone with a steam engine that would out perform the horses. George Stephenson came with his Rocket, and easily won the contest. The Rocket weighted almost 5 tons, but would pull several times its weight at a blazing speed of 30 miles per hour. Stephenson became the first great railroad industrialist, and the railroad industry was off and running. And grow it did, just 25 or 30 years later, even the little new towns in Gibson County were connected by the rails and the people had a modern way to travel. a modern way to = travel.=20

Thanks for the train history discussion. I am printing it off to show other family members who enjoy trains and model railroading. Diane

Nancy, My aunt, Thelma Ruth FRAZIER, married a WADE in Gibson County. I thought you may be interested in this information. My primary interests in Gibson County are FRAZIER, WATSON, McCOY, McCLINTOCK, PALMER, ADAMS, HAMMONDS. Don't know if any married WADEs or not. Laura Darr Descendants of Raymond Dale Wade Generation No. 1 1. RAYMOND DALE1 WADE He married THELMA RUTH FRAZIER May 29, 1939 in Milan, Tennessee, Gibson County, daughter of ALFRED FRAZIER and LEILA WATSON. She was born December 05, 1918 in Cedar Grove, Carroll County, Tennessee. Children of RAYMOND WADE and THELMA FRAZIER are: i. RICHARD2 WADE. ii. JAMES WADE. Nancy Wilson wrote: > Hello- > I am new to the Gibson County list, and this is my first post to the list. > I am looking for information on the names WADE and FERRIS. Specifically, > Lewis Wade (1803 - ?) and Francis (sic) Ferris (1807 - ?) both of whom died, > I believe, in Gibson County in the mid 1800s. > I have a copy of a book called "The Wades - The History of a Family" by Zada > Wade Beadles, which traces the genealogy of Zachary and Mary Hatton Wade > (circa 1627 - 1697). Their descendants moved to Gibson County around 1800, > and there were a great many of them. I have developed an index to the book. > In addition to several hundred Wades, there are also about 250 related > surnames (those who married Wades). > I am willing to do lookups for anyone who thinks their kin married my kin. > Be patient if the response is not immediate. Contrary to what my husband > may think, I DO have a life away from this computer! > > Nancy Wade Wilson > California

This might be helpful to some of you. Vicki ----- Original Message ----- From: nick ragsdale To: Vicki Sent: Thursday, July 01, 1999 5:54 PM Subject: Re: [TNGIBSON-L] Re: Internet Search Tips [FIND HISTORICAL TEXTS ONLINE - 06/30/99] Sorry about that: This is a neat site with lots of links FIND HISTORICAL TEXTS ONLINE Mississippi State University maintains the Historical Text Archive, a tool that can help you locate historical documents on the Internet. You can browse by region or topic, or you can use the search engine to find specific information. The Webmaster has thoughtfully included tips for using the search engine just below the box you use to enter terms. http://www.msstate.edu/Archives/History/ - ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Do You Yahoo!? Get your free @yahoo.com address at Yahoo! Mail. ddress at Yahoo! Mail.

thought this might help _________________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Get your free @yahoo.com address at http://mail.yahoo.com

Can anyone tell me just what is a Jersey Wagon? Thanks, Madelon -----Original Message----- From: Llita@aol.com <Llita@aol.com> To: TNGIBSON-L@rootsweb.com <TNGIBSON-L@rootsweb.com> Date: Thursday, July 01, 1999 4:10 PM Subject: [TNGIBSON-L] (no subject) >Hi Everyone! > >I thought this would be pretty relevant concerning genealogy. I received this >on another mailing list I belong to and thought I should pass it on. Yahoo >is claiming legal rights over all member web pages. The sites to read more >about it are below: > >http://www.wired.com/news/news/technology/story/20472.html > >http://www.internetnews.com/wd-news/article/0,1087,10_147231,00.html > >Michelle England

Hi Everyone! I thought this would be pretty relevant concerning genealogy. I received this on another mailing list I belong to and thought I should pass it on. Yahoo is claiming legal rights over all member web pages. The sites to read more about it are below: http://www.wired.com/news/news/technology/story/20472.html http://www.internetnews.com/wd-news/article/0,1087,10_147231,00.html Michelle England

Eddy, I will be glad to share about a dozen photos of Dicksons 1800 to 1900 with any Dickson researcher.. Some in TN. Due to my poor computor skills must snail mail. So I will need your address to send the copies. Also looking for an expert to identify ages of photos. Help anyone? Thanks Madelon -----Original Message----- From: Vicki <TnGibson@worldnet.att.net> To: TNGIBSON-L@rootsweb.com <TNGIBSON-L@rootsweb.com> Date: Wednesday, June 30, 1999 5:22 PM Subject: [TNGIBSON-L] The Way It Was! >This is a great URL! Try it! > >http://waltonfeed.com/old/default.htm > >Vicki >

I have very little information on my LEWIS line. Lucy Love LEWIS b. 18 Sept 1858 Madison Co., TN d. 22 July 1915 Trenton, Gibson Co., TN. She was married ca 21 Dec 1876 to William Charles TYREE. Lucy's parents were James Wilson LEWIS and Malissa MAYS. Her grandfather was Aaron LEWIS. That is all I have. Can anbody help me? Thank you. Judy Bean judy_bean@juno.com ___________________________________________________________________ Get the Internet just the way you want it. Free software, free e-mail, and free Internet access for a month! Try Juno Web: http://dl.www.juno.com/dynoget/tagj.

I don't know if this is the train that came through Gibson Co, but probably was, but here is a reference I found in a little booklet on Columbus, KY by a CJ Custer. "The Mobile and Ohio railroad, starting from Mobile in 1852, was built to Columbus. That ws before the invention of the steam-shovel and the pile-driver. Irish-men with picks and shovels and Irishmen with wheelbarrows built that road, and its trestle piling rested upon whiteoak mud-sills. And when it was completed and opened from Columbus to Mobile on April 22, 1861, it was teh longest railroad under one management in the world. Years later when the Mobile and Ohio was laid with steel rails purchased from Sheffield, England, it was the first railroad on the Western Hemisphere to have steel rails. the other roads had iron rails." Sorry, no info on east west but if I recall my American history, the cross country railroad to California was begun in 1859 but had to be delayed until after the Civil War to be completed due to the war.

Milton, I have an album of Dickson Family Pictures. Our name is Dickson not talking County here. One of those pictures of a man, wife and two children were taken at a photography studio in Rutherford, Tn. Could you please check and see if you can come up with anyone with the surname Dickson? Thank you for any help and for even offering, mighty nice of you. Thanks, Madelon -----Original Message----- From: Milton Webb <mwebb@iswt.com> To: TNGIBSON-L@rootsweb.com <TNGIBSON-L@rootsweb.com> Date: Wednesday, June 30, 1999 5:33 PM Subject: [TNGIBSON-L] Train >Hi, all. I love and read a lot about the history of Gibson County, and then >promptly forget what I read.:0) With that in mind I referenced "In and >Around Rutherford, A History" by the Rutherford Heritage Committee for >Homecoming 1996, for a little gibson Co. train history. > >The first charter for a train in TN was in 1831, but it seems this was just >a good idea, since it did not get built. In W. TN, the Mobile and Ohio >started surveying a line in 1851. This line was completed in 1857/8. So if >your folks traveled in Gibson County before 1857/8 is was by river, wagon, >foot or horseback. > >If any have an interest I will do lookups in the Rutherford History. It is >not indexed by names so its a hunt and read type lookup. > >Milton > >~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ >Volunteer of "Random Acts of Genealogical Kindness" >at http://www.rootsweb.com/~tnraogk/index.htm

Hi, all. I love and read a lot about the history of Gibson County, and then promptly forget what I read.:0) With that in mind I referenced "In and Around Rutherford, A History" by the Rutherford Heritage Committee for Homecoming 1996, for a little gibson Co. train history. The first charter for a train in TN was in 1831, but it seems this was just a good idea, since it did not get built. In W. TN, the Mobile and Ohio started surveying a line in 1851. This line was completed in 1857/8. So if your folks traveled in Gibson County before 1857/8 is was by river, wagon, foot or horseback. If any have an interest I will do lookups in the Rutherford History. It is not indexed by names so its a hunt and read type lookup. Milton ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Volunteer of "Random Acts of Genealogical Kindness" at http://www.rootsweb.com/~tnraogk/index.htm