Father's day had been celebrated for many centuries in europe, but in the United States, wasn't established until after the inception of mother's day. In europe it was celebrated as a Christian holiday. For centuries, the Orthodox Church has appointed the second Sunday before Nativity as the Sunday of the Forefathers to commemorate the ancestors of Christ according to the flesh, starting with Adam and emphasizing the Patriarch Abraham, to whom God said, "In thy seed shall all of the nations of the earth be blessed" (Genesis 12:3, 22:18). This feast can fall between December 11th and 17th.[4][5] This feast includes the ancestors of the Theotokos and various holy prophets.
A customary day for the celebration of fatherhood in Catholic Europe is known to date back to at least 1508. It is usually celebrated on March 19, as the feast day of Saint Joseph, who is referred to as the fatherly Nutritor Domini ("Nourisher of the Lord") in Catholicism and "the putative father of Jesus" in southern European tradition. This celebration was brought to the Americas by the Spanish and Portuguese. The Catholic Church actively supported the custom of a celebration of fatherhood on St. Joseph's Day from either the last years of the 14th century or from the early 15th century,[6] apparently on the initiative of the Franciscans.
In the Coptic Orthodox Church, the celebration of fatherhood is also observed on St Joseph's Day, but the Copts observe this on July 20. The Coptic celebration may date back to the fifth century.
Started by Civil War Veteran in the United States
William Jackson Smart was a twice-married, twice-widowed
Civil War veteran and father of 14 children, one of whom dedicated her life to the creation of
Father’s Day in honor of her devoted and selfless dad.
The story goes that William’s daughter, Sonora Smart Dodd, was attending one of the first official
Mother’s Day
services in 1909 at her church in Spokane, Washington, when she had an epiphany—if mothers deserved a day in honor of their loving service, why not fathers?
When Sonora was 16, her mother Ellen died, leaving William as a single father to Sonora and her five younger brothers. And by Sonora’s
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account, he performed brilliantly. “I remember everything about him,” Sonora said many years later to the Spokane Daily Chronicle. “He was both father and mother to me and my brothers and sisters.”
Sonora’s mother Ellen, herself a widow, had three children from a previous marriage. On top of that, William had also been married and widowed before he met Sonora’s mother. William had five children with his first wife, Elizabeth, who were already grown when William became a widower for the second time.
In 1910, Sonora brought a petition before the Spokane Ministerial Alliance to recognize the courage and devotion of all fathers like William on June 5, her dad’s birthday. The local clergy liked the idea of a special Father’s Day service, but couldn’t pull something together so quickly, so they settled for June 19, the third Sunday in June.
On that first Father’s Day in 1910, church sermons across Spokane were dedicated to dear old dad, red and white roses were passed out in honor of living and deceased fathers, the mayor of Spokane and governor of Washington issued proclamations, and Sonora found her calling. She would spend much of the next 60 years pushing for the official recognition of Father’s Day as a national holiday.
William Jackson Smart, the original inspiration for Father’s Day, was born in Arkansas in 1842 and records show that he enlisted as a Union soldier there in 1863. That was odd, because Arkansas was a Confederate state. Spokane resident, Jerry Numbers, who owned what had been Sonora’s home, researched the Smart family history for Spokane’s Father’s Day Centennial Celebration in 2010. Numbers says that William, in fact, fought for both sides in the Civil War.
Driving a supply wagon for Confederate troops, William was captured in the Battle of Pea Ridge, a decisive Union victory in Arkansas in 1862. Rather than languish in a prisoner of war camp, he opted to join the northern cause. As indication that William was a “Reb” before he was a “Yank,” Sonora was a member of both the United Daughters of the Confederacy and the Daughters of Union Veterans.
When Sonora was born in 1882, William and his second wife Ellen were living on a “coal ranch” in Jenny Lind, Arkansas. Instead of mining for coal, William and the family “farmed” it, collecting chunks of coal from the surface and carting it to town for sale. William and Ellen sold the property in 1887 for $5,000—a handsome sum at the time—and the family traveled by train to a new homestead outside of Spokane. (The farm in Arkansas would turn out to be one of the most productive coal fields in the entire nation.)
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Marshall Gold Discovery
State Historic Park
310 Back Street, Coloma, CA 95613
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The site of Sutter’s Mill in 1848, now Marshall Gold Discovery State Historic Park, is home to the epicenter of the most definitive event in California’s History, the California Gold Rush. Johann August Sutter (John Sutter), was a German born, Swiss immigrant whocame to America in 1838, and, after considerable travel, including his time on the Oregon Trail, and his sailing to the Kingdom of Hawaii. Sutter ultimately settled in Alta California in 1839, which was still part of Mexico, but would one day become Sacramento. It was there he would construct his fort
,which he christened New Helvetia (New Switzerland) in August of 1839. Sutter’s Fort quickly became the stopping point for most immigrants crossing the Sierras and searching for a new life in California. Throughout the early 1840s Sutter continued to grow New Helvetia and develop it in his own image. He armed his fort with guns from the Russians at Fort Ross, farmed and raised cattle and developed his fort into a center of commercial life in the Sacramento Valley.
In 1848 Sutter continued to diversify his holdings and tasked a 38-year-old New Jersey immigrant, James Wilson Marshallwho had a background in farming and had come to California in 1845, like so many others, in search of something new. He found himself at Sutter’s Fort like so many others and while his intent was to embrace farming and ranching in Mexican California, he found himself employed by Sutter at the Fort, doing mostly carpentry related work. Marshall later joined Fremont’s battalion in 1846 and fought during the Bear Flag Revolt. By 1848 He found himself once again involved with Sutter, though this time as a partner in another of his ventures. Marshall had beentasked with overseeing the construction of Sutter’s latest business venture, a saw mill, on the South Fork of the American River.Marshall worked for a portion of the lumber produced at the site. He began by choosing a site suitable for the mill, which he would do at a site approximately 40 miles from Sutter’s Fort in a place called Coloma, Cullumah by the Nisenan natives, and there he would employ immigrants like himself, former members of the Mormon Battalion, and a spattering of California natives. Construction began in August of 1848 as the War with Mexico raged on and the fate of California still
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hung in the balance. On February 2, 1848 the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo was signed and put an end to the Mexican-American War and with it came California, less than a month after Marshall made his historic discovery.
Gold, Gold, on the American River. Marshall was inspecting the tailrace of the Mill when he looked into the water below his feet and saw something glittering back at him. January 24, 1848 changed the world. The discovery of gold touched off one of the largest voluntary mass migrations in history. The world came to Coloma and the quiet mill site became the focus of the dreams of countless men. The California Gold Rush changed the direction of the newly acquired territory, it rushed California to statehood, helped pay for the Civil War, and changed Americain countless ways.
Coloma’s history did not end with the Gold Rush, however, it is an area that changed with the introduction of agriculture, and eventually outdoor recreation. Coloma is popularly considered a ghost town, though it boasts a population of over 500. It was designated a National Historic Landmark District in 1961and, along with many of its historic structures maintained by the State Historic Park, it offers a unique opportunity for those looking to learn about California’s Gold Rush history. The park and the surrounding environs also provide a unique living history opportunity for those looking broaden their experiences with the Gold Rush. The park hosts the Eureka Experience for school groups, volunteer programs, and gold panning alongside their museum and historic structures. They hold their annual Coloma Gold Rush Live Event in the fall which brings together a diverse group of park volunteers and outside living history groups such as The Trans California Mining Company, based primarily in northernand central California, and whose sole mission is to experience the California Gold Rush though a version of experimental anthropology. We are a small group of experienced living historians who strive to accurately portray the Gold Rush Era. We believe that to do so as accurately as possible is implicit inextensive research on material culture, construction techniques, mining methodology, and artifact study. If you are all curious about what we do, we encourage you to check us out on Facebook at
Transmining Company Facebook and please consider checking out Marshall Gold State Historic Park online at
Park website
or better yet, by visiting them in person.
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Discounted magazine subscription offered to our cusotmers!
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The past few months have been nothing short of a nightmare for the entire planet. LIves were turned upside down as we all waited for the danger to pass. The suddenness of the precautionary lockdown precluded us from making any anticipatory purchases, and we had to work with what we had on hand. Through luck and determination, we were able to get through this, as we pass through this tunnel of seclusion, to the other side of the mountain. We are happy that our suppliers are back up and running, and we are all scrambling to pick up where we left off.
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Gary has had a passion for history since he was 14 years old and began reenacting the War Between the States at that time. Over time he progressed through the ranks of an infantryman. As an adult he has experience as a Fireman and Medical Technician. This experience shifted his passion for medical aspects of the War Between the States. He researched historical records to bring to life historical accounts in first person scenarios. He wanted to educate others on the suffrage of others during this time. He uses his skills from his emergency service to recreate realistic wounds and trauma to make first person scenarios come to life. He is currently employed as the Interpretive Programs Coordinator for Tryon Palace in New Bern, NC. This was the fist Colonial Capital of North Carolina. His job includes both the Civil War Era, Pre-Revolutionary War Era and the Revolutionary War Era. He has created his own impression by purchasing several high-quality items from NJ Sekela and by using his sewing and woodworking skills to make several of his items.
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New products coming!
As life starts to recover a normalcy, we are looking towards new products for the future. There are some really fun and eye catching items that we are going to add, which, as with all the other items, have not been manufactured since the end of the American Civil War.
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The first two chapters of Harriet Beecher Stowe’s now famous work Uncle Tom’s Cabin were published
#OnThisDay
June 5, 1851, in The National Era, an abolitionist newspaper printed in Washington D.C. Harriet Beecher Stowe’s anti-slavery story was published in forty installments over the next ten months. For her story, Mrs. Stowe was paid $300. In March 1852, a Boston publisher pursued publishing the story as a book. Three hundred thousand copies were sold the first year, and approximately two million copies were sold worldwide by 1857.
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NJ Sekela
1425 Chambersburg Road
Gettysburg PA 17325
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