Sylvia Conner, who worked as a seamstress in New Bern, NC

Sylvia Conner, who worked as a seamstress in New Bern, NC. She was photographed June 5th 1863 during the Union occupation of the city - A Union soldier, Henry A. Clapp, said to be taken with her - had a photographer take this photo and another of her sister-in-law, Mary Jane Conner

What little is known about Sylvia and Mary Ann Conner comes from Private Clapp from Dorchester, Massachusetts, who was quite taken by both her and her sister-in-law, Mary Ann Conner.

Private Clapp was 21 years old when he arrived in New Bern, North Carolina in the Fall of 1862. He was Harvard educated – a graduate and halfway through his law studies at Harvard when he enlisted, joining the 44th Regiment from Massachusetts. They were sent to New Bern after it's already under federal control.

Clapp participates in a variety of military missions leading him into different parts of eastern North Carolina. He also is the chief census taker among African Americans in New Bern. Clapp writes home to his family to describe this unusual land of the South..

Below, are excerpts of his letters that describe in greater detail who these women are in the eyes of this young Union soldier.

March 31, 1863

To Mother,

Mary Ann (as she is called, though her name is Mary Jane Conner) is about the most remarkable colored woman I ever saw…She had been a slave for years (all her life) before our troops took Newbern and been hired out as cook at the great Hotel here the Washington House – and which was burnt by the rebs when we came into Newbern. She supports an aged and infirm mother. She told me once or twice in answer to my questions, that if it were not that she felt as if she ought to stay and take care of her mother she would go to New York at once. She could earn a handsome living any where, for she is thoroughly capable.

April 10, 1863

To Willie (brother),

I want you to tell mother about the seamstress whom we employ to mend our clothes. She is a sister in law of our famous boarding-house keeper, Mary Jane, and glories in the classical name of “Sylvia.” She was formerly the slave of one of the richest men in New Berne who owned the house Gen Foster now lives in, and was the family seamstress I should judge. She is about forty, and though very dark of very pleasant appearance. Her address and manners are remarkably agreeable and really of unusual refinement.

I’ve seen the wives of millionaires who were much her inferiors in urbanity and polish of manner. She is a superb seamstress, as my dress-coat just rescued from many rents will bear happy witness. She seems also to be a woman of very good sense & well worth listening to. We often wait in the house whilst they are putting the finishing touches on the dinner and spend the time in talking with her and Mary Jane.

May 18th, 1863

To Father,

The pieces of clothing and the presents for Mary, Sylvia, and Eunice were sent with admirable judgment, as Mother’s always is. .. The bundle was opened in the presence of Mary and the elegant Sylvia who had just returned to her home with Mary after quite a severe illness, and it was very interesting to watch the faces of the spectators as I passed them their separate packages with a few appropriate remarks in each case, and information, as to who the giver was. … Sylvia remarked that mother “seemed to have guessed her taste exactly” and Mary reechoed the sentiments.

Comments

Holocaust Concentration Camps Liberated - Color Photos (Caution).

Holocaust Concentration Camps Liberated - Color Photos (Caution). Can you imagine coming across one of these death camps, or worse, having been held prisoner in one? Over 400,000 Americans died during World War II fighting Adolf Hitler and the other Axis powers. During the Allied victory in Europe concentration camps were liberated, which was a shocking sight for even for the most battle-hardened soldiers. Photojournalists documented what was found in these camps so that there would be visual evidence for the world to see what happened. The following images were all originally done in black and white but have recently been colorized by various individuals. The colorization process makes the images much more life-like. Caution, some of the images are graphic, particularly the latter ones.

A PAINFUL STORY OF HOW DRUG CARTEL KIDNAPPED A WOMAN FROM HER HOUSE AND HUNG HER HALF NAKED AS A WARNING TO THEIR ENEMIES.

the dominant organized crime group in this part of Mexico, The note said some Gulf Cartel members were responsible for the kidnapping and killings and apologized for their actions. Half-naked woman hanged on a bridge Members of a drug cartel kidnapped a woman from her house and hung her half-naked on a road bridge as a warning to their enemies. It is likely that the incident happened in Mexico... ,5 alleged Mexican cartel members charged in kidnapping of 4 Americans Five alleged members of a powerful Mexican cartel were charged with aggravated kidnapping and murder on Friday in connection to the kidnapping of four Americans, and the killing of two of them, in the border city of Matamoros. The Attorney General's Office of Tamaulipas announced the charges a day after the Gulf Cartel allegedly took responsibility for the kidnapping. The five men were found tied up near a pickup truck on Thursday morning and a handwritten note was found placed on the windshield of the truck, who...

What made your blood boil?

Yesterday afternoon, around 3 PM, while returning from school, on the road at Rabindrapally of Patharghata Gram Panchayat area, a girl heard that a girl is screaming in pain. The boy called locals and rushed into an abandoned house beside the road. There, locals found the girl, wearing a school uniform, lying on the floor in a pool of blood. Her face was smashed with a heavy object. Within a few minutes, the girl breathed her last. Locals informed Matigara Police. Officials from Matigara Police Station along with ACP Rajen Chhetri and DCP Abhishek Gupta reached the spot. The body was soon sent for postmortem. The Police launched an investigation into the brutal murder after forming a Special Investigation Team. During the investigation, the Police analysed footage from all available installed CCTV cameras in that area. Also, police talked to the locals and roadside shop owners of that area. In a press meeting, DCP Abhishek Gupta said, “After analysing CCTV footage and ...

THE TERRIBLE EXECUTION OF CLIFFORD GODFREY WILLS FOR A CASE OF OVERKILL...

31 year old Clifford Wills had served in the army during World War II and after demob in 1945 worked as an electrician but was unemployed in 1948. He was having an affair with a 32 year old married woman, Sylvina May Parry who lived with her husband 36 year old John and 14 year old son, Anthony, at 11 Wayfield Crescent in Pontnewdd, a suburb of Cwmbran, South Wales. On Tuesday the 8th of June 1948, John Parry had gone off to his job as a furnace man at G.K.N. as usual. He was on afternoon shift, working 2 p.m. - 10 p.m. and when he got home was surprised to find his wife was not there. He went for a walk round the village in search of her but returned home without finding any trace. The following morning he reported her missing to Sgt. Daniel Plummer. He then went home where he discovered Sylvina’s body hidden under the spare bed in the small box room. He went and told Sgt. Plummer who then initiated a murder investigation. A thorough sear...

a girl who was trafficked by a trafficker, and then she found out and sold the trafficker to another trafficker.

Every time I see this problem, I think of a girl who was trafficked by a trafficker, and then she found out and sold the trafficker to another trafficker. (This is a real thing, not a story. CCTV's legal program has a report. You can check it out.)The girl's name is Liu Hui. She has just graduated from high school and is not yet 18 years old. She went to play in the city and was ready to go home. A thief stole her purse at the station. When she found her purse was gone, she said, "I lost my wallet. Who has stolen my purse?". At this time, a beautiful woman in her thirties came to her and said, "sister, you lost your wallet. Where are you going? Liu Hui said she wanted to go home and the place where she lived. She also said that she had no money to buy a ticket. The woman said, "what a coincidence. I'm from there, too. We're fellow villagers. I'll buy you a ticket.". Liu Hui said, "thank you, elder sister. It's very kind of you. I...

THE WORST AND HORRIBLE CRUCITIXION ANCIENT METHOD OF EXECUTION..

The Crucifixion was an ancient execution method, in which the criminal's hands and feet were bound or nailed to a wooden, cross-like structure. It wasa capital punishment reserved for slaves, traitors, "heretics", and usually the worst of criminals. It became widespread during the reign of Alexander the Great, but it still remains in occasional use in some countries. There were various methods of performing the crucifixion. Usually, the prisoner had to drag the crossbeam of his cross, weighing around 100 pounds, to the place of execution. Subsequently, his outstretched arms were bound to the crossbeam, or sometimes nailed through the wrists, and the crossbeam was raised and fixed to the already standing upright post. Death was usually caused by overall exhaustion or by heart failure. Sometimes, to shorten the victim's suffering, his legs were shattered using an iron club, so that subsequent asphyxiation soon ended his life.

THE HORRIBLE EXECUTION OF TERESA LEWIS FOR THE MURDER OF HER HUSBAND.

Teresa Wilson Bean Lewis who became only the second woman executed by Virginia, when she was put to death in 2010, at the age of 41. Teresa had first met Julian, a widower, in the Spring of 2000 at the Dan River Inc. fabric factory where they both worked. By June of that year, they were married and Teresa moved into Julian’s trailer on five acres of land in Keeling, in rural Pittsylvania County, Virginia.Julian’s son, Jason, had died in an accident in December 2001 and his father had received his life insurance payout, a sum in excess of $200,000, which he placed in an account that was only accessible by him. In August 2002, Julian's son Charles was required to report for National Guard duty so Julian made a will and took out a $250,000 life insurance policy on him. Both only named Teresa as the secondary beneficiary. In other words, she would get nothing if Julian died and was survived by Charles. Sometime in the Fall of 2002 Teresa met Matthew Shallenberger in Walmart. She and Sh...

THE EXECUTION OF PAUL BLOBEL

The bodies were literally in layers. A police shooter advanced by firing a submachine gun in the neck of each of the extended people. As soon as they were stripped naked, the Jews were brought in [Babi Yar]. They were channeled through two or three narrow passages, which led to the bottom of the ravine . As soon as they arrived down, the Schutzpolizei agents grabbed them and forced them to lie down on the Jews already shot. Everything happened very quickly. The bodies were literally in layers. A police shooter advanced by firing a submachine gun in the neck of each of the extended people. The victims arrived so upset by the horrifying scene that they no longer had any willpower. As soon as he had killed one, the shooter, walking on the body of the shot, proceeded to the next one, which in the meantime had stretched out on the ground, and shot him. It went on like this, uninterruptedly, without any distinction ...

Meet Armin Meiwes, The German Cannibal Who Placed An Online Ad To Eat Someone — And Someone Answered

"Blood is the juice of life. It contains everything a person needs for nutrition." In 2001, Armin Meiwes killed and feasted on a willing victim at his home in Rotenburg, Germany who he met through an online ad he placed looking for someone to be eaten. And once he was done, he butchered the man's body and stored it in freezer bags in a secret compartment in his kitchen refrigerator for the next 20 months. In total, Meiwes consumed more than 44 pounds of human flesh and even tried to grind his bones into flour. But eventually, the meat began to run out, so Meiwes returned online to find a new victim. This time, however, a college student alerted the police to the ads. When they raided Meiwes' home, they uncovered his first victims' remains along with a four-hour-long videotape of the initial encounter — only 19 minutes of which were played at his trial because the rest was deemed "too disturbing to show." Go inside the disturbing story of the German c...

On this day in 1892, Kathryn Card was born in Butte, Montana.

American radio, television, and film actress who may be best remembered for her role as Mrs. McGillicuddy, Lucy's mother on I Love Lucy. On February 8, 1954, Card made her first television appearance in an episode of I Love Lucy. The installment, entitled "Fan Magazine Interview", featured Card playing a slatternly woman named Minnie Finch. The following year, she was cast as a totally different character, Mrs. MacGillicuddy, Lucy's bird-brained mother. She joined the Ricardos and the Mertzes in Hollywood when Lucy's husband, Ricky Ricardo, was given the opportunity to star in a motion picture. Mrs MacGillicuddy would frequently annoy Ricky immeasurably by mistakenly calling him "Mickey" or mistaking him for his fellow bandleader Xavier Cugat. She portrayed that character in five episodes during the 1954-1955 season, and appeared in three more installments during the 1955-1956 season when the Ricardos and the Mertzes traveled to Europe. However, Card...

KNOW YOUR WORLD (past and present)

Search This Blog