Interesting Facts About Dixie

HOW MUCH DO YOU KNOW ABOUT SOUTHERNERS AND THE SOUTH? 
                             
               The purpose of this quiz is to talk about some interesting facts about the South.

Don’t take Your Score too seriously. If you get one right you are doing good. The questions all relate to the South or Southerners although they might not seem to at first. 
 
 

1. Of the ten largest American cities, according to the U.S. Office of Management and Budget, which one has never recorded a temperature over 100 degrees Fahrenheit, as reported by the U.S. Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration? Here’s the list of the 10 largest cities. 
   

              1) New York                 2) Chicago                 3) Los Angeles                 4) Dallas          
              5)   Houston 
          6) Washington            7) Philadelphia          8) Miami                          9) Atlanta         10) Boston      
 
  
       2.     What are the three southernmost state capitals? Name them in order from Southernmost. 
                For instance, Honolulu is the farthest south so that would be number one-woops! I’m not 
                supposed to tell you the answers. Oh well, what are the next two southernmost state capitals? 
 
 
       3.     The familiar Confederate flag borrowed the diagonal Saint Andrew’s Cross, which 
                represents Scotland, from the British Union Jack. The Confederate flag was originally to 
                 have the other of the two crosses, the more traditional Saint George’s Cross which represents 
                England. The change to the Saint Andrew’s was made at the request of a group of Confederate 
                citizens. Who were they and why did they request the current design? 
 
       4.     What is the largest city in the US named for a Jewish person? 
 
       5.     What is the largest city in the US named for a Confederate officer? 
 
       6.      The Confederacy had two capital cities at different times. Can you name them? 
        
       7.      Who was the only man to serve as governor of two different states? He was also 
            the only governor to be forced out of office in two states? Hint: He has a big city named for him.   
 
       8.       In 1830 New York and Pennsylvania recognized the right of free black men to vote                      
             but with restrictions not required of white men. New York mandated that they have a net 
             worth of $250, a large amount of money at the time. Pennsylvania would disallow black people 
             to vote at all in 1838 (Keyssar, 55). In 1830 only seven states extended the franchise to 
             free African-American men without restrictions and one of those would withdraw the right 
             that year. Which seven from the list 10 listed below extended the right to vote to free black 
             Men in 1830? 
                           Connecticut    Maine    Massachusetts      New Hampshire     North Carolina 
                                  Ohio          Rhode Island         Tennessee            Vermont         Virginia 
      
            9. One of the most popular and famous actors of the first half of the 19th century wrote a letter         
                to President  
                Andrew Jackson threatening to kill the president if didn’t release two men convicted of piracy. 
               The man, whose first and middle names were Junius Brutus was a friend of “Old Hickory” and in 
                the 1830’s it was not illegal to write threatening letters to presidents. The father would later 
                write a letter to Jackson apologizing for the missive. Junius had a son who would also be a 
                famous actor. Do you know who the son was? 
     
          10. Martha Ann Holliday and John Henry Holliday were first cousins. They were also rumored to be 
                 in love with each other. You probably think that these two Georgians are just fictional 
                 Characters. You would also never think they were related in any way, much less first cousins  
                 but they were very real. You just know them both by different names that they acquired  
                later in life. Guess who they are? 
       
 
         
 
        
1. 
       1)      New York           106                                                          6) Washington           105 
 
       2)     Chicago               110                                                            7) Philadelphia         104 
 
       3)     Los Angeles        104                                                             8) Miami                     98              
 
       4)     Dallas                 113                                                             9) Atlanta                   105 
            
       5)     Houston             107                                                             10.)  Boston               102 
Hot air from the Everglades continuously rises bringing temperate breezes over Miami. 
 
2. What are the three southernmost state capitals? Honolulu is the Southernmost. What is second most and what is third?  
    Number one: Honolulu. (Hawaiian for safe harbor). 21 18’ 25”. Two: Austin (abbreviation of Augustine meaning “the magnificent one”) Texas 30 16’ 2” Three: Baton Rouge. (French for Itta Humma, Choctaw for the “red stick” that marked the boundry between the Houma and Bayagoula Indians' territory in 1689,) 30 26’ 51” and, if you’re interested, the fourth capital from the equator is Tallahassee at 30 27’18”.       
These coordinates were taken from the Wikipedia entries for all four cities. 
 
 3. The Confederacy’s Jewish citizens. They thought the Saint George’s Cross to be too Christian and therefore, seemingly at least, exclusionary of other religious beliefs. Thousands of Jewish men fought      for the South’s independence. 
 
 4. Fort Myers, Florida was named for Abraham Charles Myers whose wife was Marion Twiggs Myers.  Twiggs County, Georgia was named for Marion Twiggs Myers father, Revolutionary War hero General John Twiggs. Marion’s mother was Ruth Emanual whose brother, David Emanuel, was governor of Georgia. David Emanuel was America’s first Jewish governor. The first white person to be born in Georgia was also Jewish. Philip Minis, son of early (1733) British emigrants Abraham and Abigal Minis, was born in Savannah on July 11, 1734. Philip was a successful merchant and was banned from holding office by Georgia’s British government because of his outspoken yearning for an independent America. 
 
5. Fort Myers, Florida was named for Col. Abraham Charles Myers, Quartermaster General of the Confederacy. 
 
6. Montgomery, Alabama was the first capital of the Confederacy. It was named for General Richard Montgomery of Revolutionary War fame, who died outside of Quebec City leading what, evidently, he alone perceived to be a surprise attack against the British. Although General Richard Montgomery had no relationship to Alabama it’s just as well that the early name of the town was changed as it is unlikely that the Confederacy would have chosen the city as its capital had it kept its earlier name “Yankeetown”. Actually, the official name of the place was New Philadelphia, not much better, but it was better known as Yankeetown. Montgomery is of Norman derivation and means “Gomer’s Hill” in Norman French. Montgomery is the seat of justice for Montgomery County, named for War of 1812 General Lemuel Montgomery and not the “hero” of the Quebec City campaign. 
The Confederacy’s second capital was Richmond, Virginia. The extant state capitol buildings of both cities served as the meeting place for the Confederate Congress. Richmond is also Norman French and means “Rich Hill”. Although it’s an independent city and not in any county, Richmond is the seat of justice for Henrico County. 
 
7.Sam Houston was governor of first Tennessee and then Texas. He was also president of the Republic of Texas. He resigned as governor of Tennessee after his wife publicly bad-mouthed him in the severest way over his loutish behavior. He was forced to resign the governorship of Texas because he was a strong unionist and also because of his dishonesty. Houston, Texas is the largest city in the US named for a slave owner. He owned twelve. Houston’s son, Andrew Jackson Houston ran unsuccessfully for governor of Texas in 1892 as a “Lilly White Republican”. The “Lilly Whites” wanted only whites to vote in Texas’s Republican party. At the time the Texas Republican party was the sixth largest vote getter in the Lone Star State, gathering fewer constituents than the socialist party.  One would think they would have realized they were in no position to cull voters.  
 
 8.  1) Connecticut: No. Blacks lost right to vote in 1822. (Howe, 497 and Keyssar, 354)       
      2) Ohio: No (Keyssar 55)      
      3) Maine: Yes (Keyssar 55, Howe 497)          
      4) Rhode Island: No. Disqualified Blacks in 1822 (Howe,497) Right to vote reinstated in 1841 (Howe, 497) 
      5) Massachusetts: Yes (Keyssar 55)      
      6) Tennessee: Yes, but free Blacks disfranchised in 1834.(Keyssar, p.354)       
      7) North Carolina: Yes, but free Blacks were disfranchised in 1835.  (Keyssar, 55, Howe 497) 
      8) Virginia: yes, but free Blacks were disfranchised in 1830. (Keyssar, 354) 
      9) Vermont: yes (Keyssar 55)    
      10) New Hampshire. Yes, but Catholics and Jews were not allowed to vote. Only men professing          a belief in any protestant sect could vote as per the state constitution.  All Southern states recognized the right of Jews and Catholics. (vote: bozonblogger.blogspot.com) 
Keyssar, Alexander. “The Right to Vote: The Contested History of Democracy in the United States,” Basic Books 2001. 
Howe, Daniel Walker. “What God hath wrought: The Transformation of America (1815-1848)”. Oxford University Press 2007. Oxford. 
Litwack, Leon Frank, “Been in the Storm So Long: The Aftermath of Slavery” publisher Alfred A. Knopf. NY 1979. 
 
 
9. John Wilkes Booth was the son. Junius Brutus Booth was the father. The pirates were De Ruiz and DeSoto who had been sentenced to death. The letter was written on July 4, 1835 but was long thought to be a forgery of some sort. It was verified as authentic by hand writing specialists in 2009. The elder Booth was no stranger to intoxicants and was often uncivil under their influence. This could explain, to some degree, the malice in the letter. John Wilkes Booth was named for a collateral ancestor, the British parliamentarian John Wilks who was a proponent of American independence during the Revolution. MP John Wilks was noted for his wit. Allegedly, once a fellow member of Parliament, who opposed Wilks both politically and personally, said to Wilks that “you will either die on the gallows or of the pox (syphilis)”. To which Wilkes responded “that depends on whether I embrace your politics or your mistress.” Yale book of Quotations by Fred Shapiro. Yale University Press, 2006 pp.281-282. Wilks was also reported to have had a conversation with a constituent where as the man said he would rather vote for the Devil. Wilks responded, “Naturally” then said “And if your friend decides of against standing, can I count on your vote?” Cash, Arthur H. (2006) “John Wilks: The Scandalous Father of Liberty” New Haven; London: Yale University Press. P.211   
       The actual plot to kill Lincoln was more fascinating AND convoluted than anything today’s spy novels could fabricate. To learn more about it read “Why was Lincoln Murdered” by Otto Eisenschiml. Published by Grosset & Dunlap, New York, NY. 1937. To learn more about John Wilkes Booth read “John Wilkes Booth: a sister’s Memoir” by Asia Booth Clarke. University of Mississippi Press, Jackson. Written in 1874. First published in 1938. Copyright 1996 by University of Mississippi Press. 
 
  10. Martha Ann Holliday became a nun in the order of Sisters of Mercy and took the name Sister Mary Melanie. It was said Sister Melanie joined a convent, in part, because of her first cousin, John Henry Holliday. They had a close relationship which some assumed to be romantic. John was a dentist in Griffin Georgia. He developed tuberculosis (the disease killed his mother) and moved west to a healthier climate where he became known as Doc Holliday to Wyatt Erp and his friends. Doc lived his famously exciting and event filled life before dying in Glenwood Springs, Colorado on November 8, 1887.  The local paper reported his passing by saying: 
     “He had only one correspondent among his relatives- a cousin, a Sister of Charity, in Atlanta, Georgia. She will be notified of his death, and in turn advise any other relatives he may have living. Should there be an aged father or mother, they will be pleased to learn that kind and sympathetic hands were about their son in his last hours, and that his remains were accorded Christian burial.” 
  One day Sister Melanie’s second cousin once removed, Margaret Mitchell, visited her and told the elderly nun that she was writing a book and that Melanie was going to be in it to which Sister Melanie reportedly said “Well, make me be good.” 
Sister Melanie discarded much of her saved correspondence with Doc. After Melanie’s death her youngest sister burned the remaining letters Melanie and Doc wrote to each other. (Roberts 399). Some of Melanie’s family denied that Doc was related to them. The shame wasn’t because of any first cousin taboo which didn’t exist at the time but because a respectable Southern family certainly wouldn’t have been proud to be kin to an outlaw; however, most of the family honestly admitted their relationship to Doc Holliday. One relative recalled Sister Melanie saying that if people had only known him as she had, they would have seen a different man from the one of western fame.  Roberts, Gary L. Doc Holliday: The Life and Legend.2006, John Wiley and sons, Inc., Hoboken, New Jersey p. 399.