ONE AMERICAN MIND from Gayle Alstrom

Al Smith and Democracy

2012-01-26T15:02:00.000-05:00

Al Smith 42nd Governor of New York

The cure for the evils of democracy is more democracy...Al Smith

More Democracy does not mean less regulations but more fairness for all. I'm reminded of how New York City was back in the early part of the 20th century. When no regulations on employers and factories existed. When children and women with children worked in factories 7 days a week until the labor reform movement in which Al Smith from the lower east side headed. When men ran factories with locked doors so the workers couldn't escape and were killed when fires broke out like in the shirtwaist fire in NYC in 1911. If it weren't for regulations, working conditions like that would still exist.

The republicans equate lack of regulation as democracy, but it's not. Lack of regulation is barbarianism. If Democracy can't provide fairness for people in all walks of life and on every level of income, then what good is it?

Rich Republicans like Gingrich and Romney find regulations stifling, because they think it keeps people from making money, but that isn't true. Look at them. It only keeps opportunists like them from running amok over everyone else. Regulations provide rules that have to be followed in making money in order to keep fairness in the marketplace. Romney proves that success and great wealth is still very possible and still have regulations. We need more regulations in the marketplace, not less, and especially in the financial sector. It's lack of regulations on Wall Street that brought about the recession and the present financial mess in the country, not too many regulations.

The difference between the poor and the rich is too great. That isn't what Democracy is ideally suppose to be about. We need regulation in order to bring society closer together. It's not true that the rich are better people. They mostly are people who just care more about money and less about other things.

This Republican idea that making the rich even richer, by getting rid of taxes and have less regulations, will create jobs simply isn't true. The President who created the most jobs was Franklin D. Roosevelt. He did it through the government providing public works projects. When we were in the Depression of the 1930's, the rich people did nothing to provide jobs and they had even less regulations and lower taxes than we do now. When Bush lowered the taxes on the rich, unemployment went up. It didn't go down. Nothing happened except for the gap between the rich and the poor widened and more people fell into poverty.

Snowy Owl Invasion

2012-01-26T07:47:00.002-05:00

One of my favorite organizations is the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. If you love birds as much as I do, you will enjoy a visit to their website. Watch Video below on the snowy owl. Just beautiful.

Romney is more Trustworthy than the Newt

2012-01-24T08:34:00.001-05:00

There are aspects of both Romney and Newt that I like and dislike. However, I think Romney's business expertise might be good for Washington. He would run the country as though he were running a corporation. He did good with corporations so he might do good with the country. I'm reminded of Bloomberg in NYC. Bloomberg, another consummate business man, who bought the job as mayor of New York City, has, despite all of that, been the best mayor we've ever had. And I think that's because of his business mind.

What I like about Gingrich is how he sees everything from a historical perspective, which is largely corresponds to my own referencing. I was a history major in college for a few years, and I wish I had a PhD in history. However, he didn't make his money by any kind of business expertise, but by peddling influence based on his Washington ties. He made his money from opportunity, not anything he did to create anything. What is good about Gingrich is that he really understands how Washington works. He's not the outsider as he likes to portray himself, but the total opposite. He claims he wasn't a lobbyist for Fanny Mac, but that's just like Clinton saying that he never had sex with Lewinsky only because he's defining sex as only total sexual intercourse. Gingrich says he wasn't a lobbyist only because that title isn't listed on his contract. He has learned to mince his words just like Clinton did. He was hired by the chief lobbyist at Fanny Mac, it's ridiculous to think that he could have been hired for any other reason. A mortgage company would have no need for a historian. If they really wanted a historian then why were they not hire a professional historian from one of the major universities? Gingrich pushes the law right up to it's limit. He knows which laws have grey areas that he can maneuver in. He's a shyster.

Considering the pros and cons of these two men, I think Romney would be the best choice. I think he's more trustworthy than Gingrich.

This is only if I were a Republican, which I'm not. I'm still for Obama. I think he made lots of mistakes based on the fact that he lacked Washington experience. However, he's gaining that experience every day. I like how Obama handles foreign policy. However, I disagree with him on the pipeline question. On the whole, I would prefer Obama to be less conservative.

Blessing of the Animals Ceremony at Christ Church

2011-12-11T21:30:00.001-05:00

Today was the annual Blessing of the Animals Ceremony at Christ Church on Park Avenue in Manhattan. It's a glorious affair that is sponsored by the ASPCA. There are police animals, farm animals, and animals from the ASPCA as well as N.Y. residents with their pets. To see my video go to my other blog called Old Woman on a Bicycle, where I also have some more photos.

Cindy Adams with one of her two dogs

Christ Church on Park Ave. and 60th St., NYC

Man with Friend to be Blessed

Rooster to be Blessed

Cat to be
Blessed

Prayer of Saint Francis for Animals God Our Heavenly Father, You created the world to serve humanity's needs and to lead them to You. By our own fault we have lost the beautiful relationship which we once had with all your creation. Help us to see that by restoring our relationship with You we will also restore it with all Your creation. Give us the grace to see all animals as gifts from You and to treat them with respect for they are Your creation. We pray for all animals who are suffering as a result of our neglect. May the order You originally established be once again restored to the whole world through the intercession of the Glorious Virgin Mary, the prayers of Saint Francis and the merits of Your Son, Our Lord Jesus Christ Who lives and reigns with You now and forever. Amen.

SantaCon 2011

2011-12-10T20:04:00.001-05:00

Today was SantaCon. The day where everyone dresses up like Santa and parties on the streets and in the taverns of New York City. However, there is usually a primary venue every year. Last year it was the Village, and this year it was the South Street Seaport. Because I hadn't been there in a long time, I enjoyed visiting at the South Street Seaport again. I would say there were probably 5000 santas down there. More photos on my other Blog with a longer video: Old Woman on a Bicycle.

Santas in Grand Central Station

Green Hornet(?)

Down at the South Street Seaport

Necessity the Father of Invention

2011-11-30T19:11:00.001-05:00

I was in the City today and came across two of these characters standing on the Avenue of the America in Midtown NYC. This guy and on another corner was Mickey Mouse. This seems to be a new occupation in NYC. People dress up in costumes and stand on the street and you are suppose to pay them for taking their photo. Mostly people like to take pictures of their kids with the character. I couldn't think the name of this character, which I believe is from Seseme Street, so I asked him the name of his character and he said in a very think Latin accent "$1 Please." Maybe because that was I had already taken this photo. I didn't give it to him. Maybe I should have. I might have given it to him if he had been a little friendlier.

My New Kindle Fire

2011-11-21T09:00:00.001-05:00

When I go to Whole Foods (Tribeca store), I like to buy food and eat in their cafe where they have wifi, but I couldn't connect there with the Kindle, even though I hadn't any problem before with my mini HP computer. I was in a park today that had wifi, but I couldn't get connected. The Kindle doesn't seem to be as strong in signal strength as with a regular computer. I don't have any problems in getting on the Internet when I'm at home where I have WiFi.

The screen is extremely sensitive to the touch--sometimes--and sometimes not at all. It takes a little practice to be able to do it just right. One reason I bought it was that I wanted to watch Mad Men ( I love this) on it, but then found out that it would cost me a lot extra. The main reason I bought it was just to read books while I'm eating out someplace alone. It does that just fine. And I have finally started reading Jane Austen because they give you Pride and Prejudice for free at the beginning. I loved that. I'm now reading Emma, which I also got for free, but I'm not liking that as much.

Amazon says that you can use it for 7 hours before recharging the battery. That's about true--6-7 hours, but I've only used it for reading--only briefly on the Internet. If you only want the Kindle to read books on, you might get by with a less expensive model. If you can afford it, getting an iPad I'm sure would be better.

I'll give it 3 stars our of 4. I was so excited to receive my Kindle Fire the first day it was released. I bought it without examining the Nook at Barnes & Noble, so I can't say how they compare. I probably should have waited a little longer. It's a lovely little creature. My biggest problem with it is connecting to the Internet.

Celebrating my Father, Maj. John T. Alstrom, Jr. on this Veterans Day

2011-11-11T06:17:00.001-05:00

John T. Alstrom, Jr. (1914-1984)

On Veterans Day, I'd like to pay homage to my father John T. Alstrom, Jr. He was a professional Army Officer, serving in World War II and in Korea where he had a leg blown off by stepping on a land mine. He was born in Baltimore, Maryland on November 27, 1914 and died in Sun City, Arizona in January of 1984.

After being discharged from the Army in 1951, he then worked for a veteran's organization in Southern California that helped veterans with their problems. He and my stepmother had a home in Monterey Park, California. He was a history buff who especially studied the Civil War. He received the Purple Heart and the Bronze Star for heroism in Korea.

Day Break in Zuccotti Park

2011-11-08T15:25:00.000-05:00

Adam Smith on Taxes

2011-11-08T06:29:00.000-05:00

Is this how it is in the USA?

Obama and Seniors

When Obama came into office, for two years he cut the yearly raise on social security checks, which is very small to begin with. It only comes to about $30.00/mo. He said that everyone, across the board, has to help in the recession by cutting back. He also said that since the cost of living hadn't gone up, there would be no cost-of-living raise, which was totally bogus, because every time one went to the grocery store the prices were higher. What contribution was required from the 1% rich? What contributions have they made for the good of this nation in these hard times? I don't see any cutbacks for them. They just keep getting richer. I'm afraid that Obama doing that lost him the senior vote. Now this year he has re-installed the cost-of-living raise for the social security checks, which will only be about $30.00 more per check on the average. Maybe since it's election time again, he wants to get the seniors back on his side, but I think it's too late. Obama has only widened the gap between the rich and the poor, which is why people are taking to the streets in protest. Many seniors are participating in the Occupy Wall Street protests.

Yesterday in Zuccatti Park

2011-10-25T05:55:00.000-04:00

Obama Needs Competition from within his Own Party

2011-10-17T09:32:00.000-04:00

Presently, there seems to be no particular person who is a major player in the current America's political landscape, who is on the left of Obama. The U.S.A., politically, looks like a boat tipped over on it's right side. It's as if the "Occupy Wall Street" movement is moving in to straighten the boat out. All the current players in politics are in the middle or to the right of the middle, but no one to the left of the middle. The most left person I can think of is Nancy Pelosi and, because she is so unlikeable, no one pays much attention to her opinions. Forget Harry Reid.

Talk about the dearth of leaders in the Republican party! What about the lack of leaders in the Democratic party. There's Obama, who appears to be in over his head, but all the other Democrats are even weaker. Biden, seems to be doing a good job in his ancillary role, but no one on earth thinks of him seriously as Presidential material and Hillary says she is no longer interested in politics. I think that if Obama had competition for the Democratic nomination within his own party it would help him to shape-up his game.

On my other blog "Old Woman on a Bicycle" I have a video I made at the Occupy Times Square Demonstration. Check it out.

Down at Battery Park Today

2011-10-11T22:05:00.002-04:00

A Sail Boat on the Hudson in New York Harbor

The Pride of Baltimore II sailboat

On Board the Pride of Baltimore II for a Tour

Steve Jobs (1955- Oct. 6, 2011)

2011-10-06T10:49:00.001-04:00

My blogger memorial to Steve Jobs

People Lined Up outside the Apple Store on Broadway in New York City to get an updated version of the Iphone (2010). It was a very hot day and they have umbrellas to protect themselves from the sun and heat.

Occupy Wall Street Demonstration in NYC (5 Oct. 2011)

2011-10-06T01:13:00.002-04:00

Marchers are chanting some of their favorite slogans, such as,
"We got sold out, banks got bailed out," "We ain't scared, never scared, occupy everywhere," "All day all week Occupy Wall Street," and "Show me what Democracy looks like, this is what Democracy looks like."

It's Time for Labor to Bark

2011-10-03T10:40:00.001-04:00

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It's time to get mad.

Visiting the 9/11 Memorial Preview Site

2011-09-30T17:55:00.001-04:00

This morning I visited the 9/11 Memorial Preview Site which consists of park-like grounds, two square pools that have falling water down their sides. The names of all killed in the attack surround the two pools. There is also a museum, but it's not yet completed. It has glass wall and I have a photo below of people looking in at the construction. [my film coming tomorrow]

South Pool [water flows down the sides of the big pool] The North Pond is exactly the same.

One World Trade Still Under Construction.
The park-like grounds below are where the two pools are located.

Close-up of one of the Pools

Museum which is located between the two pools has glass walls that reflect the surroundings

9/11 2011

2011-09-11T08:48:00.001-04:00

God Bless Everyone

In Battery City Along the muddy Hudson Looking Over at New Jersey

Took photo of One World Trade, still under constructions, from inside the World Financial Center

Battery Park

My Hurricane Irene Diary [part 3]

2011-08-29T22:45:00.000-04:00

South Beach, Staten Island, New York, USA
No people allowed on beach due to Hurricane Irene
It was being cleaned. Not many people on the FDR Boardwalk
[Coney Island, Brooklyn is in the far distance.] Verrazano Narrows Bridge
that connects Staten Island to Brooklyn in back on left.
It doesn't look like a Hurricane happened two days before.

Today, I took the bus over to South Beach in Staten Island. South Beach is at the tip of Staten Island as one enters the harbor, and it was an evacuation zone in Staten Island. I wanted to see if there was any damage. The only damage I could see was on the beach the life guard stations were all over-turned. There was some pools of water before coming to the boardwalk. Some people had their garages flooded and were busy throwing out things. I'm the kind of person who looks through trash to try to find interesting things that I can use in my art or otherwise. I had some good finds today. I feel very lucky. There was no serious flooding near where I live in Port Richmond, Staten Island, and I didn't lose power, which worried me because I hate not being able to go on the Internet, and I had a refrigerator full of food.

Today was the most beautiful beach day I've ever seen in my life. The air was perfectly clear, and it was maybe 80 degrees at the most. I could see Coney Island clearly. I didn't see any damage of the FDR boardwalk whatsoever. Yellow tape was up on the ramps that go from FDR boardwalk to the beach, to keep people off the beach and no one was on the beach except for a man in a tractor driving around cleaning the sand. You can see all the tractor tracks in the photo above. The sand was probably still wet, which is why the tracks show up so well and there was no wind. A few people on the boardwalk sun bathing, or jogging, or riding bikes, but nothing like it usually is on a beautiful, sunny day.

South Beach being cleaned after Hurricane Irene. Red flag is up meaning no
swimming, but people aren't being allowed on beach either.
Verrazano Narrows Bridge connecting Staten Island to Brooklyn.
FDR Boardwalk with a few people.
Ships go under bridge upon entering New York Harbor from the Atlantic and points east

My Hurricane Irene Diary [Part 2]

2011-08-28T01:16:00.001-04:00

I got tired of watching, hour after hour, all the Hurricane Irene news coverage on the Telly. Nothing else on. I don't have cable. I was planning on going to sleep, but instead indulged in my current waste-of-time addiction, playing chess against my computer. I played two games, losing as usual, even though I was ahead in material. The computer is far better on strategy than I am, but I'm trying to study its moves to understand strategy better. Since I found out that William the Conqueror was my 26th great-grandfather, I have started to ask myself what he would have done, when I'm cornered in chess. I play chess doing what he was doing in reality. That's how the generations deteriorate. I only love chess when I'm winning. I wonder if my 26th great-grandfather was the same way. Undoubtedly, because who isn't?

After my second game, I suddenly was able to think about something else like the hurricane going on outside my window. Suddenly, I notice the roar of the wind. Irene is here. As previously mentioned, I don't have air conditioning and it's very hot although it's 1:10 am. I'm sitting in front of my computer listening to the vociferous wind, now gusting between loud and silent, I'm dripping wet in sweat. The cool breeze feels so good that I can't close the window even though the rain is coming in a little bit. I have a blanket up next to the window to try to absorb the water. Just switched over for a second to MSNBC to catch up on the news. Such beautiful photographs of the storm. I especially liked the one of Times Square (see below). I would have liked to be in Times Square taking photos, but no way to get there or home from Staten Island. It seems to me they could save electricity by dimming the some of the bright lights in Times Square. It seems such a waste, all those bright lights beaming down with hardly anyone to see them. I think I should try to go to sleep. It will be interesting to see how the wind and rain right outside my bed will affect my dreams. Will continue this in the morning.

Photo pilfered from MSNBC.com

To walk in Times Square when there are no other people is really an eerie experience. I've done it back in the 70's when I use to live close by. The first time I came to NYC back in the 1974, I got a room at a cheap hotel only a block from Times Square. I ended up living there for 14 months. Sometimes I would walk out to Times Square at 5 or 6 in the morning when there would be hardly any people on the streets. That was when I liked it the best because it seemed so strange--the quiet.

8:54 a.m.

Just woke up after a good night's sleep. The worse of the storm seems to be over. It seems like Irene was just a bad rain storm. I don't think it was as bad as Gloria in 1992. Intense wind only lasted for about an hour or so, but I could have slept through it. I think I did. Since then it's just been rain. Where I live in Staten Island there's no flooding, but there is some in other areas. Staten Island has two lakes, and the houses near them seemed to be affected the most. I still have power. [knock on wood]. There doesn't seem to be trees or wires down, at least not in my neighborhood. I wish the buses would start running again so I could go into the city. I'm listening to the commentary on the Telly. It doesn't seem that Manhattan was damaged much at all. The news is reporting and showing a tree down here and there, so that must be the most dangerous thing. The commentator on the news just said the wind was extremely bad so stay inside. Here where I live, there is no wind at all. Only a light breeze. The tree leaves are hardly moving, and when we have these weather problems, it's usually worse in Staten Island than in Manhattan. I may go out for a walk.

Veteran's Park, Port Richmond, Staten Island after Hurricane Irene (8/28/11)

Took some peanuts with me to Veteran's Park to feed to the birds and squirrels. Took a few photos, like the one above. This was 3 photos that I turned into a panorama on my computer after I got home. Something that amuses me to do. This was the most damage I've seen in my neighborhood. I think nature comes by and cuts down dead tree branches that people haven't cut down yet. It's like nature takes care of its own problems. No flooding near my house, but I hear on the telly that's it's bad in some other areas of Staten Island. I'm anxious to see how the FDR boardwalk came out of this. It's not flooded in my area and the weather is fine. There's no reason they couldn't put some buses out on the streets.

Last September (2010) we had a small tornado in my area of Staten Island that did far, far more damage than Irene. Some cars were even crushed, but, hardly anyone paid any attention to that. It took a week for the city to pick up tree branches from the streets. That's because it only affected a small area of the city.

My Ancestor, William the Conqueror

2011-08-09T23:09:00.003-04:00

I just found out on Ancestry.com that William the Conqueror was my 25th Great Grandfather.

Suddenly history is so much more interesting than ever before, especially English History. King Edward III was my 18th Great Grandfather and all the kings and queens that formed his heritage also formed mine from him on. I'm even related to Richard the Lionhearted. He was a distant uncle. These kings had so many children that there must be thousands of descendants. I love Ancestry.com so much.

On my mother's paternal side of the family, I'm entirely of English heritage, except for one Powhatan Indian Woman whom one of my English ancestors married when he came to America in the 1700's. Most people, like myself, don't become interested in their ancestry until they get old.

King Edward III (1312-1377)

William the Conqueror 1024-1087

Castle where William the Conqueror was born

The Rich are Getting Richer and the Poor Poorer

2011-08-04T07:54:00.005-04:00

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Religion is what keeps the poor from murdering the rich ...Napoleon

The fact that the rich are doing so well (see above video--unfortunately, the part I'm referencing in this blog comes near the end) while no one else is, proves that lowering the taxes on the wealthy does nothing but give them more discretionary money for spending and flaunting. They don't use it to hire more employees. A person hires only the employees that he needs, he doesn't hire people he doesn't need just to give them jobs and help people out. The rich people I've met weren't better people, they just were keener in the department of how to make money and manipulate the economic system to their advantage.

A large gap between the rich and the poor is not a healthy situation for a society

A basic rule of business is that you use a few employees as you can get by with in order to save money. Employees are a business's biggest expense, so it's only logical to keep them at a minimum. No one is going to add jobs that aren't absolutely necessary just to help their fellow man. That's the downside of the philosophy of Ayn Rand--think about yourself first and that is what is best for everyone else. Is that true? There are many rich people in the world who do much good for other people, but they are a small minority of the people who can afford to do good.

One characteristic of Capitalism is that it requires government regulation to keep the gap between the rich and the poor from becoming too great. Money is power, and power corrupts, which makes government regulations necessary. Industry wouldn't provide any benefits for workers if they weren't required to by law. If it weren't for government regulation and laws, the work environment would still be like it was in the beginning of the industrial revolution.

In history when the gap between the rich and and poor became so great that it became unbearable, there was revolution, i.e., the French Revolution and the Russian Revolution. The role of government in a capitalistic and democratic society should be to keep that gap from becoming too great, because a country can self-destruct if it becomes too great. People should learn from history, not disregard it as not relevant to our own situation.

After I moved to New York City, I discovered an entire class of people that I never knew existed--a large segment of the population have jobs where they are paid "under the table." They are paid in cash and there is no record of their employment. The employer doesn't have to pay taxes on them, or provide benefits for them, and the person doesn't have any income to declare and usually receives some kind of welfare benefits in addition. A large segment of our population goes through life like this, and the worse part of this is, that these people who work "under the table" don't expect anything more from life. In American society, the people at the bottom as well as the people at the top have learned how to manipulate the system to their advantage, while the middle class work at legitimate jobs, pay taxes, and follow the rules, unless they are put in a position where it no longer becomes advantageous for them to follow the rules, but start in the manipulation game. One role of government is to see that doesn't happen. I think these are the people who should be rewarded the most, and yet they pay a price for trying to play the game by the rules.

Jesus, Søren Kierkegaard and Dietrich Bonhoeffer

2011-07-24T09:55:00.003-04:00

Since it's Sunday, friends, I thought I would share some of my religious philosophy.

Three religious men that I admire tremendously are Jesus, Søren Kierkegaard and Dietrich Bonhoeffer. All three were anti-establishment guys. They put God before their society. All three men stood up for what they believed in opposition to their society no matter what the consequences, and two of these men were executed for it, and one just ostracized.

Even though I pray every day, I detest organized religion. In my heart, I'm a Protestant in that I believe I can talk directly to God without having to go through some kind of religious authority figure, all of whom I've met in my life were weaker than myself. I take my orders from God, not from some flawed man. The most advantageous thing to do when one has a problem is to ask God what to do. Ask God for strength and his mercy, and it will come to you. Running to some person is not strong. God likes strength and rewards it.

Dietrich Bonhoeffer

When Hitler was coming into power in Germany, the Christian Church, Protestant and Catholics, did nothing to oppose Hitler, with the exception of Dietrich Bonhoeffer. The Christian Church in Germany tried to combine German nationalism with Christianity instead of rejecting it, which would have been the right thing to do, but it would mean going against their society and the German religious establishment didn't have the strength to do that. Bonhoeffer stood up against Hitler and for doing so was put into prison. I highly recommend the great book by Bonhoeffer Letters and Papers from Prison. This book was my first introduction to him, after which I became a disciple. Bonhoeffer was executed one month before Hitler died, for allegedly taking part in the well-known attempt on Hitler's life. In prison, Bonhoeffer continued and deepened his spiritual journey and did his best writing. Many of his prayers apply to people are in deep distress:

O Lord God,
great distress has come upon me;
and I do not know what to do.
O God, be gracious to me and help me.
Give me strength to bear what you send,
and do not let fear rule over me;
Take a father's care of those I love,
My wife and children.
O merciful God,
forgive me all the sins that I have committed
against you and against my fellow men.
I trust in your grace
and commit my life wholly into your hands.
Do with me according to your will
and as is best for me.
Whether I live or die, I am with you,
and you, my God, are with me.
Lord, I wait for your salvation
and for your kingdom.
Amen.

A New Revelation Today on Ancestry.com

2011-07-23T00:11:00.011-04:00

Today, on Ancestry.com, I traced back to the first person from one branch of the family (my Texas Branch consisting of the Lawrence's and the Johnson's) to come to America. His name was Matthias Button, my 9th great grandfather, who came from England. He came to America on the ship ABIGAIL with Governor John Endicott's party, landing at Salem, Mass. 6 Sept 1628.* Although he came 8 years after the Mayflower, I still found this very exciting. I didn't realize before that Button is an English name. It's believed that Matthias Button had 4 wives. He worked as a mariner.

The Button Family Crest

*quoted from http://kinship6.homestead.com/MBUTTON.html

William Vaughan and Fereby Benton

2011-07-19T21:14:00.019-04:00

I've been on Ancestry.com for two days and I'm going insane, but I'm so excited I don't care. I've traced one side of my family back before the American Revolution. My Fourth Great-grandmother and fourth great-grandfather were Fereby Benton and William Vaughan, whom really seem to have lots of descendants. Up until a couple of weeks ago I didn't think I had any family, but I do, tons of them, they are just very far removed. According to some sources, Fereby Benton lived to be 105, which gives me hope, because I want to live that long, and maybe I could have inherited some long-life genes. I've seen different accounts of her age at death from anywhere between 97 and 105. That may be because she was so old when she died that no one really knew when she was born so they were just guessing. There's quite a lot of information on the Internet about her, as well as a group of her descendants on Yahoo. Because she lived in the Cherokee Nation, it has been thought that she was Cherokee, but according to research I've done on the Internet, she didn't have any Indian blood in her. People who are descendants have had DNA testing and have found no Indian blood in them. It seems that her husband William Vaughn was an Indian trader on the reservation. I'm a descendant through her daughter Martha Patty Vaughn. By 1850, when Fereby died, the beginning stages of photography existed, which is why you can see the image of her below.

On Ancestry.com they have this cool thing where you put in the name of your ancestor and then it tells you your exact relationship to that person, therefore you don't have to figure it out for yourself.