The Tidballs and Lincoln

With a name like Tidball you do not met many people with the same name who are not near relatives.  The only Tidball I had ever met was a guy in Montana in 1964.   A couple of years ago in North Dakota we met a woman whose vet's name was Dr. Tidball.  Even though I never had a real interest in genealogy, I googled the name and found not only the vet's name, but a biography on John C. Tidball, a Civil War officer who was the first to order Taps played at a military funeral and who also wrote the army manual for field artillery.  While reading the book I found a reference to a genealogy that John Tidball did in the late 1890's.  It is the same family tree that was given to me by my grandmother who died 40 years ago.  It turns out John was a relative.  On our travels last fall we went to Antietam to see the new Tidball Trail on the battlefield where John's unit was assigned during that battle.  Here is a link to that blog post. 

 

During that same google search listing I found a bar located in Bowling Green named Tidball's.  Last summer we stopped in Bowling Green, Ohio so we could check it out only to discover that it is located in Bowling Green, KY.  Duh!  I then made Tidball's a friend on Facebook to make sure we would be in the right place this year as we traveled north.  This time we were in the right city and found Tidball's.   

Tidball's is a neat little music bar that has become the main music scene in Bowling Green.  They have performances five nights a week with a variety of musical genres.  Their slogan also describes our lifestyle "NO BALL, NO FUN".

It is a simple no frills place that is only open from 9:00PM to 2:00AM six days a week.  No food and no wine (Nanc drank Jack) just beer, booze and music.

Here I am with the owner, John Tidball.  He has to be a distant relative from somewhere on the tree as all Tidballs in this country are traceable to Thomas Tidball who arrived in Philadelphia in 1714.  John's father is from Ohio, but they now live in Tennessee  It does not seem we are near relatives.  We had a great evening talking to John.  We were the first Tidballs who have ever been to his place.

The evening we were there was open mike night and several different people played.  It was a fun evening sharing stories with John and listening to great music.  If you love music and neat little bars make sure you stop at Tidball's.  Tell John you read about his place on our blog.

 

From Bowling Green we moved on to Bardstown, KY to explore a couple of Abraham Lincoln park service sights and do the Bourbon Trail (next post entry).

Lincoln was born near Hodgenville, KY in 1809.  The cornerstone of this memorial was laid in 1909, the 100 anniversary of Abe's birth.  The site became a national park in 1919 and was designated the Abraham Lincoln Birthplace National Historical Park in 1959.  Like the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, DC that opened in 1922, this monument has 56 steps representing each year of his life.

A statue of young Abe, his father Thomas, his mother Nancy and older sister Sarah.

When we were here in 1976 they were still saying this was the actual cabin where Lincoln was born.  It has since been discovered that the logs are too new to have been the real birthplace, but it is very typical of frontier homes of the period.

The statues of young Lincoln and the president are located in the Hodgenville town square.  The Lincoln family bible is on display at the historical site.

 Located ten miles from Lincoln's birthplace in Knob Creek is the Lincoln Boyhood Home.  This is where Lincoln said he had his first memories of his childhood.  This cabin is also a reproduction that was built by a local family as a tourist attraction.  This property became a national park site in 2001. 

This portrait of Lincoln was done by Iraqi War Wounded Warrior, Arthur Jones, while he was recovering at nearby Fort Knox.  It has 846 pennies including two from 1909, a Canadian penny, and a 1943 steel penny that represents the assassin's bullet.  It is a very interesting tribute to the president who ended slavery and saved the Union.  Although the buildings are not original, the stops are worthwhile as they give great insight into Lincoln's life as a young boy.