A History of Ashton Villa


Book Description

This volume tells the story of the stately Italianate Galveston mansion known as Ashton Villa. Built in 1859, Ashton Villa stood out in antebellum Galveston for its extensive use of new materials: brick and cast iron. It has weathered many a storm, including the Great Hurricane of 1900, when floodwaters invaded its first floor. Now as a historic house museum, Ashton Villa speaks eloquently about the lives and aspirations of an upper-class Texas family in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.




Ashton Villa


Book Description




Ghosts of Galveston


Book Description

Discover the haunting history of this town on the Texas coast—includes photos. One of the oldest cities in Texas, Galveston has witnessed more than its share of tragedies. Devastating hurricanes, yellow fever epidemics, fires, a major Civil War battle, and more cast a dark shroud on the city’s legacy. Ghostly tales creep throughout the history of famous tourist attractions and historical homes. The altruistic spirit of a schoolteacher who heroically pulled victims from the floodwaters during the great hurricane of 1900 roams the Strand. The ghosts of Civil War soldiers march up and down the stairs at night and pace in front of the antebellum Rogers Building. The spirit of an unlucky man decapitated by an oncoming train haunts the railroad museum, moving objects and crying in the night. In this fascinating book, Kathleen Shanahan Maca explores these and other haunted tales from the Oleander City.




Civil War Day by Day


Book Description

“In all the vast collection of books on the American Civil War there is no book like this one,” says Bruce Catton. Never before has such a stunning body of facts dealing with the war been gathered together in one place and presented in a coherent, useful, day-by-day narrative. And never before have statistics revealed human suffering of such heroic and tragic magnitude. The text begins in November, 1860, and ends with the conclusion of hostilities in May, 1865, and the start of reconstruction. It is designed to furnish the reader not only with information, but to tell a story. Here, in addition to the momentous events that are a familiar part of our history, the daily entries recount innumerable lesser military actions as well as some of the other activities and thoughts of men great and unknown engaged in America’s most costly war: · May 5, 1864—a private in the Army of Northern Virginia writes at the beginning of the Battle of the Wilderness, “It is a beautiful spring day on which all this bloody work is being done.” · May 6, 1864—Gen. Lee rides among his men and is shouted to the rear by his protective troops. · April 30, 1864—Joe David, five-year-old son of the Confederate President, dies after a fall from the high veranda of the White House in Richmond. · April 14, 1865—President Lincoln’s busy day includes a Cabinet meeting where he tells of his recurring dream of a ship moving with great rapidity toward a dark and indefinite shore; that night Mr. Lincoln attends a performance of a trifling comedy at Ford’s Theatre, “Our American Cousin”.




Galveston


Book Description

A colorful history of the island city on Texas’s Gulf Coast and its survival through times of piracy, plague, civil war, and devastating natural disaster. On the Gulf edge of Texas between land and sea stands Galveston Island. Shaped continually by wind and water, it is one of earth’s ongoing creations, where time is forever new. Here, on the shoreline, embraced by the waves, a person can still feel the heartbeat of nature. And yet, for all the idyllic possibilities, Galveston’s history has been anything but tranquil. Across Galveston’s sands have walked Indians, pirates, revolutionaries, the richest men of nineteenth-century Texas, soldiers, sailors, bootleggers, gamblers, prostitutes, physicians, entertainers, engineers, and preservationists. Major events in the island’s past include hurricanes, yellow fever, smuggling, vice, the Civil War, the building of a medical school and port, raids by the Texas Rangers, and, always, the struggle to live in a precarious location. Galveston: A History is an engrossing account that also explores the role of technology and the often contradictory relationship between technology and the city, providing a guide to both Galveston history and the dynamics of urban development.




Island of Color


Book Description

Architecture for Hiring is a practical tool for those tasked with hiring for the church or para-church organization. It carries an unambiguous message that interviewing is first intentional and then spiritual/intuitive. The book offers tools that will help any interviewer improve and increase the intentionality of her or his interview process that evaluates credentials, competencies, character, chemistry and capacity. By using this criterion both the interviewer and the interviewee are able to make an informed, intelligent, objective and spiritual decision about a ministry relationship.




Chanel's Riviera


Book Description

Far from worrying about the onset of war, in the spring of 1938 the burning question on the French Riviera was whether one should curtsey to the Duchess of Windsor. Few of those who had settled there thought much about what was going on in the rest of Europe. It was a golden, glamorous life, far removed from politics or conflict. Featuring a sparkling cast of artists, writers and historical figures including Winston Churchill, Daisy Fellowes, Salvador Dalí, the Duke and Duchess of Windsor, Eileen Gray and Edith Wharton, with the enigmatic Coco Chanel at its heart, CHANEL'S RIVIERA is a captivating account of a period that saw some of the deepest extremes of luxury and terror in the whole of the twentieth century. From Chanel's first summer at her Roquebrune villa La Pausa (in the later years with her German lover) amid the glamour of the pre-war parties and casinos in Antibes, Nice and Cannes to the horrors of evacuation and the displacement of thousands of families during the Second World War, CHANEL'S RIVIERA explores the fascinating world of the Cote d'Azur elite in the 1930s and 1940s. Enriched with much original research, it is social history that brings the experiences of both rich and poor, protected and persecuted, to vivid life.




Jean Laffite Revealed


Book Description

"Jean Laffite Revealed: Unraveling One of America's Longest Running Mysteries takes a fresh look at the various myths and legends surrounding the life and death of one of the last great pirates, Jean Laffite, exploring the theory that Laffite faked his death in the early 1820s and re-entered the United States under an assumed name. Beginning in New Orleans in 1805, the book traces Laffite through his rise to power as a privateer and smuggler in the Gulf, his involvement in the Battle of New Orleans, his flight to Galveston, Texas and eventual disappearance in the waters of the Caribbean, then picking up the trail as he makes a return into the country under a new identity. The tale follows Laffite's subsequent journey across the South and his eventual end in North Carolina, where he died in 1875 at the age of ninety-five. Backed up by thorough research and ample documentation, the book contradicts the prevailing thought about the disappearance and death of Laffite, making a compelling case that is sure to intrigue and inspire scholars and history buffs for many years to come"--




A History Lover's Guide to Galveston


Book Description

A guide through the history of the Playground of the Southwest. Established in 1839, Galveston was the largest city in Texas for much of the state's early history. The island city has hosted the likes of Cabeza de Vaca, Jean Lafitte, Sam Houston, Jack Johnson, King Vidor, and Sam Maceo. A strategic target during the Civil War and military stronghold during both World Wars, Galveston endured through countless calamities, including the most damaging hurricane to hit the United States. From historic mansions to long-hidden outposts of the vice district, author Tristan Smith surveys the best places to catch a glimpse of the Oleander City's past, whether that comes in the form of museum treasure or Seawall panorama.




Galveston 1900: A Storm, A Story of Twin Flames


Book Description

Set in Galveston, Texas, Galveston 1900: A Storm, A Story of Twin Flames is the story of Uri Petrokov, a Russian immigrant, and Genevieve Parker, a beautiful, independent-thinking young Texas woman who is far ahead of her time. As successful as Uri has been partnering with his brother Peter in the print business and thus living the American Dream, Uri remains, none the less, unfulfilled until the day Genevieve walks into the shop. The struggles the young couple endure to be together including prejudices in the community- and more agonizingly in Genevieve's own family- test the very limits of their being and love. Meanwhile, another storm is brewing, quite literally. On a Saturday in 1900, Galveston is taken by complete surprise when a hurricane unexpectedly devastates the port city, nearly sweeping it from the face of the Earth. The resulting cataclysm, an intersection of personal and communal tragedy, changes the young couple's life forever. Galveston is a compelling, unique love story that will appeal not only to romantics, but history and weather enthusiasts alike. The love story aspect is built on the mystical concept that each of us has a Twin Flame, the other half of our soul energy that is instantly recognizable as self, and much more intense, fulfilling, and clairvoyant than any soul mate relation. Moreover, the novel is constructed on a foundation of thorough research and historical accuracy. By studying books relating to The Storm, survivor memoirs, period photos and maps, by personally studying the city, and by using his healthcare background when dealing with the medical issues raised in the novel, Dr. Mendlovitz interwove actual historical characters that survived the horrors of that night with the fictional ones in a veritable, exact setting and manner. Galveston is also informed by the author's own experience of growing up as a minority in Texas allowing him to pour genuine emotion into the characters. These factors combine to make the novel have a ring of truth and a feel of authenticity that readers will find compelling. Above all, Galveston is a universal and timeless love story