The phrase “ a man of many trades is most assuredly applicable to New Englander Wallace Nutting. He was born in 1861 in Rock Bottom, MA. His education included studies at Hartford Theological Society and graduation from Harvard, in 1887.

Using a bicycle and camera donated by parishioners, he traveled the countryside taking photos. This led him to developing his own work and he came up with the idea of hand coloring them. This turned out to be a successful enterprise and by the early 1880’s he had opened a studio on East 23rd Street in New York later moving it to Southbury, CT which he called “Nutting- ham.” He was also a lecturer, furniture maker and a minister, along with that of photographer.

He used silver nitrate paper for longevity and its ability to handle the paints used at that time. During its peak the studio employed over 150 colorists. Many of his works have survived the times and even a few originals are available by collectors. Proud to say I have a couple.

He died in Framingham, MA on July 19, 1941 at the age of 79. If you are lucky and poking around antique shops and have access to one of his photographs, buy it. They have become more valuable recently.

There is another Grant in the Civil War. His name is Lemuel P. Grant. Born a Yankee in Frankfort, Maine he went south to make his fortune. Lamuel ended up working as a laborer for Georgia Railroad. By 1844 he became an investor in Atlanta Real Estate purchasing huge tracts of land.

His knowledge learned as a laborer soon became obvious that he had a talent for engineering and contracted to build railroad lines for the Georgia, Central, and Macon Lines to name a few .In 1857 he turned his hand to banking and founded the Atlantic Bank. He also donated land in Atlanta for the first black church.

When fighting was getting heavy he was asked to build fortifications to defend Atlanta. No small undertaking they did what they felt necessary. Home owners were also advised to strip their wooden shingles from roofs and install tin.

Despite these efforts we know what happened. The city was burned. Resistance was nearly void due to a large munitions dump accidentally exploding and leaving resistance forces almost defenseless.

At that time the rail lines he built were important as they became the center from which munitions and supplies were shipped to The Army of Northern Virginia under the command of Gen. Robert E. Lee.

I spent some time attempting to come up with a subject that was worthy of a blog Recalling the one regarding Torrington native John Brown it hit me, The John Brown tune and Mother’s Day, What do they have in common? Julia Ward Howe is the answer.

She wrote The Battle Hymn of The Republic, an anthem during our Civil War and used the tune from John Brown’s Body. Howe, an abolitionist and Woman’s Suffrage supporter was also responsible for forming Mother’s Day.

Born in New York City in 1819 she died in Portsmouth, RI in 1910.Julia was a descendant of Roger Williams and two Rhode Island Governors. Her Mother was the grandniece of Francis Marion, better known as the Swamp Fox during the Revolutionary War.

She read and spoke seven languages and her first works were a series of poems. She was not supported by her husband who did not appreciate her strong will and determination to write. He wasted her family’s wealth on investments and would not allow her to have any say in the ones he chooses. After his demise she plunged full-time into writing as a means of support

Her focus also included Woman’s Suffrage, Peace, and Education reforms. She established Mother’s Day in the hope that women worldwide would work for peace .She has been called the Queen of America often and by many. Here’s to the many wonderful mothers’ out there.

In a previous blog I mentioned an escaped slave who ended up serving as a Man Servant on the famous ironclad, THE MONITOR. The story deserves much more content as it is truly very interesting.

His name is Tommy Taylor who at the age of 15 and working on a tobacco plantation in Coles Point, NC stole a Confederate Officer’s horse and embarked on a 116 mile trek to the Union Naval Station, Hampton Roads, Virginia.

Taylor turned himself in and was assigned as a manservant to an officer aboard the ship. The Captain was John Worden. Little did he, Taylor, ever dream what was in store for him as within a few days of arriving he was engaged in the first battle of “the ironclads.” MONITOR vs MERRIMAC, the Confederate ship. The battle lasted for 5 hours and both sides claimed victory.

It was during the engagement when young Tommy, was converted to what was then called a “powder monkey”. These were smaller boys able to negotiate tight quarters and bring gunpowder to the gunners

One of the stories told me by people who knew Taylor went as follows “Captain Worden sustained an eye injury and the intercom, a hollow tube, broke, Taylor positioned himself in tight quarters conveying verbally the gun elevations for Worden to the gunners. Taylor was quoted as saying we gave it to them really good that day.”

It seems after two years service aboard the USS ROANOK, he worked his way to MA and finally to Putnam, CT. In 1960 Taylor’s grave site, Grove Street Cemetery, Putnam, was placed on the CT Historic Trails. His marker is simple and says, “Last Survivor of The USS Monitor.”

I wrote and self published a children’s book for my grandsons on Taylor and his exploits and the end is a sad one. After visiting family in Oxford, MA, during the Christmas holidays, he was beaten by thugs and robbed of his pension monies and died from pneumonia that following March.