Gateway Arch, St. Louis, Missouri

The Gateway Arch in St. Louis, Missouri is the world's tallest arch and the tallest man-made monument in the Western hemisphere. It is 630 feet tall. Its facade is made of stainless steel. From the top of the arch, it is possible to see up to thirty miles in each direction.

In 1933, civic leader Luther Ely Smith came up with the idea to build a memorial on the Mississippi River riverfront in St. Louis. As a result, the Jefferson National Expansion Memorial Association was created. In 1945, a design competition for the memorial was announced. The contest opened on 30 May 1947, and the winning design, by Finnish-American architect Eero Saarinen, was chosen on 18 February 1948.

The monument's construction began on 12 February 1963. It was completed on 28 October 1965.

References
About the Gateway Arch
Gateway Arch 
History of the Gateway Arch

Those Places Thursday: Vaughn's Gap, Davidson County, Tennessee

Vaughn's Gap is located in southwestern Davidson County, Tennessee, near the Williamson County border. Edwin Warner Park is located in this area.

Excerpt from Foster, Wilbur F. Map of Davidson County Tennessee, from actual surveys made by order of the county court of Davidson County, 1871. New York : G.W. & C.B. Colton & Col., 1871. Available from Library of Congress.

James Sawyer (or Sawyers), who I believe to be my 4th-great-grandfather, purchased land at Vaughn's Gap on 9 November 1871.

Nashville Union and American, 10 November 1871, page 4

My 2nd-great-grandfather James William Tarkington lived with James Sawyer and his wife Louisa (McDowell) Sawyer. After James William Tarkington married my 2nd-great-grandmother Anna Malvina Binkley, the couple lived with the Sawyers in Vaughn's Gap in the 14th District of Davidson County. They later lived in Vaughn's Gap the 11th District of Davidson County with their children, including my great-grandmother Anna Gertrude Tarkington. Anna Malvina Binkley's brother James Rutherford Binkley and his wife Clementine Virginia "Jennie" (Leech) Binkley, and their children also lived in Vaughn's Gap. James and Jennie both served as postmasters. Jennie was also the ticket agent for the Nashville, Chattanooga & St. Louis Railway. The Binkley residence was in the same building as the post office and ticket office.

Members of my family are buried in the J. R. Binkley Cemetery, Vaughn's Gap.

I am working on a one-place study of Vaughn's Gap. It is a sub-project of the Davidson County, Tennessee One-Place-Study.

Wordless Wednesday: City Hall, St. Louis, Missouri

Tombstone Tuesday: Katherine Elizabeth Gatlin

Katherine Elizabeth Gatlin was born in Nashville, Davidson County, Tennessee on 16 November 1909. She was the daughter of Clarence Bateman Gatlin and Ella Lee. She worked for AT&T for forty-one years. She died on 18 June 1994 in Kettering, Montgomery County, Ohio and was buried on 21 June 1994 in Calvary Cemetery, Nashville, section 16, lot 64, space 7.

Mappy Monday: Bass Islands, Lake Erie

Map of the Bass Islands in Lake Erie. By NormanEinstein CC BY-SA 3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0). Available from Wikimedia Commons.

This map shows the location of the Bass Islands, which are in the western half of Lake Erie, and are part of Ottawa County, Ohio.

My 5th-great-grandfather Andrew Russell was a private in Tunstall Quarles' Company of Infantry, 2nd Regiment Kentucky Volunteer Militia during the War of 1812. His regiment formed on 1 September 1812. By mid-September, they reached General William Henry Harrison's headquarters in St. Marys, Ohio. They then proceeded north and began the construction of Fort Jennings. After the fort was completed, the regiment remained on garrison duty for a few months. They then headed north to Put-in-Bay, which is located on South Bass Island. The U.S. had suffered defeats in and near the western Lake Erie area at the beginning of the war. Andrew's regiment may have been sent north to help increase the U.S. military presence in the area. They were eventually sent back to Cincinnati because their term of service was coming to an end. I am not sure how much time Andrew spent in Put-in-Bay. South Bass Island has been called the "Key West of Lake Erie," but surely it did not seem that way to Andrew and the other men during the winter of 1813.

Mother-in-Law Day

Since today is Mother-in-Law Day, I am posting a picture of my mother and her mother-in-law, my paternal grandmother Helen Martha Marie (Anderson) Gatlin.

Sibling Saturday: Tarkington Siblings in Chancery Court

In October 1907 in Davidson County, Tennessee, Maggie Tarkington took her younger siblings Gertrude (my great-grandmother) and Robert Tarkington to chancery court in order to sell land that they had inherited from their father James William Tarkington, and to determine the division of the proceeds.

Nashville American, 17 October 1907, p.10

Davidson County, Tennessee Chancery Court Minutes, October Term 1907, 30 October 1907, p. 505. Metropolitan Government Archives, Nashville Public Library, Nashville, Tennessee.

A portion of the land had already been sold.

Davidson County, Tennessee Chancery Court Minutes, October Term 1907, November 1907, p. 14. Metropolitan Government Archives, Nashville Public Library, Nashville, Tennessee.

One year later, Gertrude and Robert received $364.00  .

Davidson County, Tennessee Chancery Court Minutes, October Term 1908, 13 October 1908, p. 359. Metropolitan Government Archives, Nashville Public Library, Nashville, Tennessee.