So, what does a history teacher do with so much time on his hands and a ton of records readily available to the public through the Missouri Secretary of State’s Archives? Get more data. I can’t take credit for all of the data collected. This project…

Before Missouri had achieved statehood, Beverly Porter was born a slave in Culpepper County, Virginia. Although it is unclear how (or when) Beverly was moved to Lincoln County, MO, it is likely that he was moved here by his enslavers, the Porters,…

About 9:00 a.m., the Ottumwa Belle, a steamboat excursion from Keokuk, Quincy, and Hannibal, which was carrying a group of about 300 African Americans, arrived at the wharf in Clarksville, MO. As church bells were ringing, beckoning late-arriving…

On September 15, 1911, at Kinloch Field (St. Louis, MO), Albert B. Lambert (namesake of Lambert International Airport), “qualified for a pilot’s license to manipulate an aeroplane.” That same week, newspapers in and around Lincoln County began…