I can only imagine the thrill reading these papers will be for you. Have fun!

It will be great reading, but it is going to be tiring trying to figure how to get from one issue fo the paper to another. This is not modern computer stuff. Guess I don't mind though, because it is so great to find them. I have navigated archives before in my research, but this seems harder than usual.

Just kidding, but I do remember those days. Maybe 150 years from now my great great great grandchildren will find this post and laugh.

I don't have the roots to do that but I'm so happy that you do!

It's been a hard few years for our family, many losses. This brings a bright spot. The only thing that might bother me if I find it.....the church archives say he called them heathens. I think I hope I don't run across that online. It would be upsetting. I think it would upset the Seminoles also. I did a lot of genealogy for a while, but haven't for several years.

Just the few things I've re-lived through my own long-deceased grandfather, I can well imagine how you must feel about this find. That's great!

BTW, I'm really sorry you've had a rough year. I'm sending a big old cyber-hug. I hope it all gets better and better soon.

Enjoy and savor!

My genealogical finds haven't been quite as exciting, but they really do hit you to the core.
Savor the words and flavor of your ancestor as you relive his thoughts from 140+ yrs ago.
Congratulations!

Thanks for the wishes. Time for a break in the new year. Hoping for good stuff only.

That is my Great Grandfather and he was a Methodist minister in Jacksonville, FL.

Maybe I can give you some help with your genealogy research.

Did you try them in the Jacksonville area? I called one in our area and was able to get the very long memorial tribute to my great great grandfather mentioned in the OP. It was a treasure, and it really started my research.

I will keep your offer in mind. Thanks.

Maybe you will be able to share some of it with us.

A prevailing theme in my 2nd great grandfather's writing, and also in others in the archived pages, is their condescending view toward the Seminoles and other tribes. I wonder if it was the era or what? It surprises me. And bothers me.

Religion was often the excuse for treating the native population with contempt as they did, "They're Godless heathens."

Even after the Seminoles escaped to the everglades where no Europeans would choose to live and the Apaches escaped to the far reaches of arid canyon lands, they were still hounded and hunted down like animals. This happened from one end of the continent to the other. It is a sad and sorry legacy.

The Seminoles were run over by the steamroller of white culture, just as many other tribes were. If your ancestor was a Christian missionary, you may discover that he was instrumental in that. The natives were regarded as heathens and savages, and any excess could be excused by claiming they were being "civilized" or "brought to Jesus." It would not be surprising at all if your ancestor participated in that view. It is only relatively recently that those of European descent have come to view other races as human.

-- Mal

His memoriam from the church and several other clues had made me realize he and I would not agree on much.

From what I hear, the Baptist line was more rigid. Not many liberals in my background.

I read the journal entries of a young woman who'd traveled to Ohio with her minister father and her mother to work with what was left of the Shawnee tribe. They lived and worked among Black Hoof's people. One thing that struck me was this young woman's compassion for these people: alcoholism was rampant, their old way was dying, and very few had a way to get by. She and her parents arrived after the back of the tribe had already been broken. They seemed incredibly sympathetic to the tribe's plight. Unfortunately, they wouldn't stay long. The woman's mother became ill and died, and her grieving father took the family back east so they could be with their own people. Absolutely fascinating look at another time.

Like others have said, be aware that you're dealing with the 19th century. Issues, and viewpoints, were different.

you have take the whole page or nothing. I see nothing so far that allows cropping. Would have to try a program to crop just the section. There are free ones. Not sure if that would work.

When I get results from historians or archivists, I always donate even if they don't ask a fee. They deserve it.

I worry though because I don't think the articles will be as legible in print as they are online in digital format. Maybe though, worth the try.

They will send more later. One tells of a meeting with Tiger Tail who treated him with courtesy as a guest. I had to look that name up, as it was not familiar.

http://www.theledger.com/article/20101205/COLUMNISTS/12055017?p=1&tc=pg

"Tiger Tail, also known as Thlocklo-Tustenuggee, was one of the last chiefs to continue fighting the Second Seminole War in the 1840s. He was described as tall and intelligent, and at times could be quite friendly to settlers. In fact, it was universally reported that he maintained close ties with Robert Gamble, a plantation owner near Tallahassee, even during the war.

When the Second Seminole War broke out in December 1835 -- a direct result of President Andrew Jackson's Indian Removal Act of 1830 -- Tiger Tail aligned himself with Seminoles and Miccosukees who refused to emigrate from Florida to Oklahoma. Although his name is not as widely remembered as Osceola, Micanopy, Wildcat and Jumper, Tiger Tail fought fiercely throughout the statewide, seven-years-long conflict.

It was in November 1842 that Tiger Tail finally seemed to acquiesce. It appears he made an agreement to emigrate -- a common tactic among Seminoles to peacefully gain supplies from the military before escaping into the night. This time, however, it's said Tiger Tail was captured in earnest so he could be transported to the west."

Interesting stuff.

let us know what you find.