Tag Archives: Minnie Wise Florian

Talking about death with my son

I was 13 years old on December 29, 1981 — the day that my great grandmother Minnie Wise Florian died in Liberty, Kentucky. I was with her when she passed, a few weeks after her 89th birthday. It was a traumatic night. My father was out, playing basketball with some old high school friends, and […]

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Mark’s Covid Diary… May 19, 2020

I wouldn’t say that I’m necessarily giving up on the idea of posting longer pieces about specific, god-awful things that are happening in the news. Knowing myself, I think it’s likely that, in the very near future, something will happen that will cause me to go back to my old ways, and spend an entire […]

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The story about my great, great grandfather nearly severing the leg of his brother with an axe

Not too long ago, as you may recall, I shared a few family stories here that had been handed down by my great grandmother’s cousin, Mattie Belle Wise (1892-1992). Well, I’ve got another family story to share with you today. This one, however, comes from my recently-discovered fourth cousin, Stephen Wise. [Stephen reached out to […]

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Finding my family’s version of “Little House in the Big Woods”

Quite often, I find myself thinking things like, “If not for this one thing having happened, I likely wouldn’t be where I am today.” I wonder, for instance, if my father hadn’t gotten into an accident that kept him from shipping off for Vietnam, how my life might have turned out differently. Or I start […]

Posted in History, Mark's Life, Uncategorized | Also tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 10 Comments

It looks as though my great, great, great, great, great grandfather, Clark Wise, may have been with Washington at Valley Forge

While I’m tempted to make the case that my family’s Wise line goes all the way back to Colonel John Wise (1617-1695), who is thought to have arrived in the Virginia Colony from England in 1635, I think it’s probably more likely that the first Wise in my family to step foot in America was […]

Posted in History, Mark's Life, Uncategorized | Also tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 16 Comments

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