Saturday, May 20, 2023

My Dad at INL in 1961 and the SL-1 disaster

 I picked up a pamphlet at an Idaho rest stop on the way to Pocatello, Idaho.  It was entitled, "EBR-1 - The Birthplace of Nuclear Power".


EBR-I is part of INL and so the pamphlet caught my attention as I didn't know there were any museums there.  I have often heard of INL, Idaho National Labratory, as it plays a part in my parents meeting and getting married.

I showed the pamphlet to my Uncle who I was staying with and he offered me a book he had entitled, "Idaho Falls: The Untold Story of America’s First Nuclear Accident".  It is about the SL-1 incident at INL the first American nuclear reactor disaster.  Three men perished in the incident.

I found the book quite interesting and quickly read through it.  I would recommend the book.

A couple things about the accident rang a bell with me, the location and the year.  The accident happened on January 3, 1961 at INL.  My father received US navy nuclear reactor operator training at INL in 1961.  My parents met due to my father being there for this training and they were married in 1961 in the area.  It is likely my Dad was there when the incident happened or shortly after and would have known about it as much as anyone else at INL would have known about it who was not directly involved.


Monday, December 27, 2021

Williamson County, Tennessee Early History

 

    [Source: A History of Tennessee and Tennesseans: The Leaders..." Vol 3, By Will Thomas Hale, Dixon Lanier Merritt; pub 1913]

    Williamson County (formed in 1799 from Davidson): Previous to 1800 settlers began coming to what is now Williamson county. David McEwin, with several families, arrived in Nashville in 1796, but as there were still fears of Indian disturbances in remote settlements, they remained in that village until 1798, when McEwin, if not others, located at Roper's Knob. It was about this time that William, a son of Timothy Demonbruen, left Nashville and settled at College Grove, where he became a wealthy planter. A man named Sledge settled near the present Peytonsville. From 1797 to 1810 the following persons were among the county's pioneers: Samuel Crockett, John Aulson, Andrew Goff, George Neely, Thomas H. Perkins, Mathew Johnson, William Edmondson, Ewen Cameron, Thomas McKay, Abram Maury, Solomon Brent, William Hulmey, Zion Hunt, Robert Caruthers, R. P. Currin, John Harness, Edmund Wall, Byrd Bramlett, Nicholas Perkins and Stephen Childress. Byrd Bramlett, settling near Nolensville, grew the first hogs- head of tobacco in Middle Tennessee, tradition says.



Tennessee County Map


 

Sunday, December 26, 2021

Carothers Family Historical marker in Franklin, Tennessee


"Robert Carothers, Sr., a Revolutionary War soldier, and his family came to Tennessee from North Carolina in 1791 and were living in Williamson County in 1799. His son James, a War of 1812 veteran, became a prosperous landowner well-known for his nearby Pleasant Exchange Plantation. Robert Carothers, Jr. and his family owned land adjacent to this marker. James' son, Thomas Jefferson Carothers, was a Confederate soldier. James sold his two-story log house to another son, Robert Blake Carothers, who enlarged it. Owned by the Carothers family almost fifty years, this historic Cool Springs House was moved in 1993 from Franklin to Crockett Park in Brentwood."

Location. 35° 56.891′ N, 86° 48.446′ W. Marker is in Franklin, Tennessee, in Williamson County. Marker is at the intersection of Carothers Parkway and Corporate Centre 
Carothers Family Marker image. Click for full size.
By Duane and Tracy Marsteller, May 9, 2020
Drive, on the right when traveling north on Carothers Parkway.

Some research links for William Carothers (1785-1826)

Some research links for William Carothers (1785-1826).

There is a record of William Carothers marriage to Sally Carothers in Williamson, Tennessee on Feb 6, 1808.  Cousins or married name used instead of maiden name?


Williamson County, Tennessee

County Record Archives: http://williamsoncounty-tn.gov/70/Search-Collections

There is a record of a Carothers Cemetery #1.


Rutherford County, Tennessee


Rutherford county is adjacent to Williamson County, Tennessee and there is a Carothers cemetery that is being examined and recovered by Kenneth Sawyer as it is on his property.


This cemetery is located in the Murfreesboro, Tennessee area.  
This looks like the address: 1306 Atlas St, Murfreesboro, TN



Monday, May 25, 2020

Memorial Day 2020 - The fallen crew of the USS Thresher, gone but not forgotten!

My thoughts on this Memorial Day are of the fallen crew of the USS Thresher (SSN-593).

"On 10 April 1963, Thresher sank during deep-diving tests about 350 km (220 mi) east of Boston, Massachusetts, killing all 129 crew and shipyard personnel aboard."

My Dad served briefly on the USS Thresher, but decided the submarine service was not for him. He knew crew members who lost their lives and always remembered those who lost their lives in that tragedy.



Among his mementos, my Dad kept the following



as well as a thank you letter for those who contributed to the education fund for the crew's children.

USS Thresher motto: Vis Tacita (Silent Strength)

May God bless all the armed forces who gave "their last full measure of devotion" on the altar of freedom for the United States of America.  And may God bless their loved ones.

They may be gone from us, but they are not forgotten!

Thresher Base United States Submarine Veterans

Thursday, May 21, 2020

More information on Thornton Carothers

Thornton Carothers is the older brother of Clark Carothers.  Occasionally I see if I can turn up anything new about Thornton.  The 1860 reference to him is the last I know about him, see my blog entry Thornton Carothers in California in 1860.

In the 1860 US Census Thornton was a farm laborer on the farm of Henry Reed.  I found the following newspaper reference to Henry in 1867.


"Marysville Daily Appeal, Volume XVI, Number 79, 2 October 1867"

This likely narrows down exactly where Thornton was in 1860, "Reed's Ranch" in Dry Creek, West Bear River Township, Yuba County, California.  G.E. Chittenden is listed in the 1860 US Census along with Henry Reed and Thornton and quite a few other farm laborers.



"Marysville Daily Appeal, Volume XVI, Number 52, 31 August 1867"


Sunday, January 26, 2020

Phebe Kendall candidate in 1870 US Census, Leavenworth County, Kansas

Leavenworth County Kansas



Phebe Crawford is a Phebe Kendall candidate in the 1870 US Census, Leavenworth County, Kansas.
Note that Douglas County is adjacent to Leavenworth County.  Phebe Kendall is listed in the 1860 US Census in Douglas County as 14 years old.  Phebe Crawford is 24 years old and born in Kentucky.



William Crawford is listed in the 1860 US Census with Phebe Crawford as his 17 year old wife with a 7 month old child, so I think it is safe to discount Phebe Crawford as the Phebe Kendall I am looking for.  Not because Phebe is 17 years old, as that is likely a fib as she is likely 14 years old and doesn't want to admit it. The following lists Phebe's age for each census.

1860  17
1865  22
1870  24
1875  28
1880  37
1895  52

Rather it is the 7 month old child.  I think there would have been a shot gun wedding a bit sooner, but I could be wrong!




Relevant Kansas Maps for William Kendall Family


Douglas County, Kansas
















Morris County, Kansas
















Kansas County Map