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Boston
Aug 5, 2006 11:07:43 GMT -6
Post by Diane Merkel on Aug 5, 2006 11:07:43 GMT -6
One of our members has been corresponding with the father-in-law of a man named Custer who claims to be a direct descendant of BOSTON! Has anyone heard that one before???
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Boston
Aug 5, 2006 11:44:12 GMT -6
Post by Tricia on Aug 5, 2006 11:44:12 GMT -6
Well, Bos wasn't exactly a kid when he died--and Tom certainly got around (GAC, too, if you tend to believe that kind of thing). Sounds like a fascinating story there, even if it is untrue. I would love to know more!
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Boston
Aug 5, 2006 12:07:00 GMT -6
Post by elisabeth on Aug 5, 2006 12:07:00 GMT -6
In Men With Custer, the entry on Boston quotes a letter he wrote to GAC in 1868 (he'd have been 19 at the time) saying how much he wants to live "a Christian life" in the future -- which does suggest he had something to reform from! Looking at the way Tom backslid after every such effort, it would perhaps not be surprising if Boston, too, got up to his share of naughtiness ...
Fascinating indeed!
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Boston
Aug 5, 2006 12:28:45 GMT -6
Post by Tricia on Aug 5, 2006 12:28:45 GMT -6
Such a story would certainly put a new spin on the character of Boston and add a dimension to his story. He's always portrayed as bearing the brunt of his elder brothers' practical jokes, supposedly in less-than-perfect health (although better than that of Nevin); he's almost rather sad, if not pathetically innocent. And he's almost always regarded as a "youth," even at LBH ...
Perhaps he made clever trade on the Custer name?
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Boston
Aug 5, 2006 12:39:22 GMT -6
Post by Diane Merkel on Aug 5, 2006 12:39:22 GMT -6
I've only been given sketchy details. The man in question is an Army officer -- on his way back to Iraq duty -- but apparently has no interest in LBH. The family apparently is from South Carolina. Was Boston in SC?
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Boston
Aug 5, 2006 13:30:07 GMT -6
Post by Tricia on Aug 5, 2006 13:30:07 GMT -6
Well, Tom was in South Carolina in 1871 and 1872. Perhaps Boston visited his older brother and his favorite haunts? Tom looked to be spending his free time doing the usual: Upon his return [after leave to the northeast: my notation] to South Carolina, Tom reacquainted himself with another vice from his past, alcohol ... from Day, pg. 155.
Hmmm ... is the descendant from the Spartanburg, Darlington, or Unionville areas? And if in Tom's "care," Boston would have been able to call on TWC's recent experiences with the effects of a love-'em and leave-em. Though nobody seems to know the specifics when it comes to Thomas C. Custer, it appears that the family of the woman accepted the Custer last name as payment for Rebecca Minerd's trouble. TCC has a birth date anywhere from 1866 to 1871, with 1870 or so the more accepted time, so TWC would have known some of the ways to soothe the angry parents of an inconvenienced female!
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Boston
Aug 8, 2006 15:44:54 GMT -6
Post by guidon7 on Aug 8, 2006 15:44:54 GMT -6
'Twas it ever so -- we "Kick the Dead Lions".
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Boston
Aug 8, 2006 16:18:29 GMT -6
Post by Tricia on Aug 8, 2006 16:18:29 GMT -6
I'd refer you to the LBHA Research Review, Volume 19, Number 2, Summer, 2005, pages 13-23: "Tontogany's Deep Secret: The Unknown Son Of Thomas Ward Custer." The journal's prestigeousness pretty much precludes the kicking of a dead anything.
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Boston
Aug 8, 2006 19:40:24 GMT -6
Post by Diane Merkel on Aug 8, 2006 19:40:24 GMT -6
The author of that article won the award for the best Research Review article for 2005 at last month's LBHA Conference.
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Boston
Aug 9, 2006 0:07:23 GMT -6
Post by markland on Aug 9, 2006 0:07:23 GMT -6
"prestigeousness"
Huh?!
LMAO,
Billy
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Boston
Aug 9, 2006 8:41:30 GMT -6
Post by Tricia on Aug 9, 2006 8:41:30 GMT -6
"prestigeousness" Huh?! LMAO, Billy If there's a word I can attach an "ness" to, I do it!
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Boston
Aug 9, 2006 8:47:58 GMT -6
Post by Tricia on Aug 9, 2006 8:47:58 GMT -6
Diane--
It's a well-deserved honor; the article was remarkable! I know there are a lot of people out there who squinch at the idea of any speculation about the Custers' private lives--other than what was written about by Libbie and Whittaker--but I think the kind of information presented by Mark Miner just fills the characters out much more fully, adds dimension. I don't think the majority of us are out to trash anybody, but rather to understand both motivations and foibles.
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Boston
Aug 9, 2006 16:47:29 GMT -6
Post by Diane Merkel on Aug 9, 2006 16:47:29 GMT -6
I would guess that some people were surprised that LBHA published some Custer family dirty laundry, but I'm all for the truth. If I could nail down the Boston story, I'd love to run it. In fact -- I'll stretch my neck out here -- I would run a Monaseetah (or whatever) story if it were well done and at least somewhat documented.
BTW, Mark Miner's acceptance speech was one of the most gracious and sincere I've ever heard.
That award is also open to Newsletter articles although I'm not aware that the NL has ever won it. I am sure that one of you has an award-winner just waiting to be sent to me . . . .
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Boston
Aug 10, 2006 18:15:08 GMT -6
Post by guidon7 on Aug 10, 2006 18:15:08 GMT -6
It is debatable whether we can equate "prestigeousness" with gospel truth. There is a man sitting in a chair in the Oval Office and occupying the most prestigeous position in the U.S. that claimed Iraq's WMD would be raining down on the U.S. and various other tall tales since proven total fabrications. On the other hand, sometimes we do have to go by only what information is available when concrete proof is lacking. I am not claiming here that GAC, TWC, and perhaps BC also, did not sow their wild oats -- many, if not most of us have done just that -- it's just that sometimes I get the feeling that the Custers get more than their share of criticism for alleged, but unproven, picadilloes. That was my point in "Kicking the Dead Lions" and my opinion remains unchanged.
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Boston
Aug 10, 2006 18:21:35 GMT -6
Post by Tricia on Aug 10, 2006 18:21:35 GMT -6
Nobody on this thread is criticising any of the Custers--and certainly, Mark Miner did no such thing in his article. The discussion here does not equate to what you're attempting to represent in your post above. Sorry.
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