The Bow Tie Lives!

When was the last time you saw someone wearing a bow tie? I do watch the reality TV series 48 Hours, and one of the featured detectives wears a bow tie. He always stands out from the rest of the detectives because of his elegant sartorial difference. However, this is not why I’ve been thinking about bow ties: It was a very recent family picture that made me wonder about the bow tie and who in the family might have worn them. Now, I use the term “family” loosely, as I also include in-laws as part of the group. I decided to look at photographs I have accumulated to see if I could find men wearing bow ties. But first, some information on bow ties.

There is more than one spelling for bow tie. The site “Bow Ties 101: An Introduction to Bow Ties” spells the term with two words. However, the site “Bowtie Origin and History” spells the term as one word. Whether you spell it as one word or two, the Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines a bow tie as “a short necktie tied in a bowknot.”

So, how did the bow tie come to be? According to the site “Bowtie Origin and History,” the bow tie developed in the 1600s during the Prussian wars (the Prussians fighting the Swedes and Turks for territory). The Croat mercenaries needed to keep their shirts closed, so they used a scarf tied around their necks. The French upper class adopted this “fashion statement” calling it a “cravat” – the French term for “Croat.” From this humble beginning in the 1600s, we now have the necktie and the bow tie.

Now that I had some background on the bow tie, I started going through family photos to see if I could find any men wearing bow ties. I found more pictures than anticipated; however, more often than not, the men were wearing neckties. I had to wean the list to make it manageable. It was hard to pick, but I finally chose six men: two each from my husband’s family (Jim Oliver), two from my daughter-in-law’s family (Melissa Murphy Oliver), and two from my family. Plus, there is one extra-special surprise at the end of this blog:  It is the photo that inspired these musings.

JIM'S BOW TIE WEARING ANCESTORS

Richard Lee Taylor (Jim’s 4th cousin 6 times removed) 1744-1829. Taylor was born in Virginia and died in Kentucky. In 1769 he explored the Ohio River and Mississippi River from Pittsburgh to New Orleans. During the American Revolution he fought in the battles of White Plains, Trenton, Brandywine, and Monmouth:  He was a lieutenant-colonel. Additionally, he was the father of Zachary Taylor, the 12th president of the United States, and the father of Joseph Pannell Taylor, a general in the Union Army during the Civil War.

Francis Dale Knippling (Jim’s uncle by marriage) 1916-2011. Knippling was born in Iowa and died in Texas. He attended Michigan State University and graduated as a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine in 1950. In addition to being a practicing veterinarian, Francis worked at Merck Pharmaceuticals in their research laboratories, as a USDA meat inspector, as a professor at the Tuskegee Institute, and as a quarantine inspector in Hawaii.

MELISSA'S BOW TIE WEARING ANCESTORS

Walter Perry Weyand (Melissa’s 3rd great-grandfather) 1853-1931. Weyand was born and died in Somerset County, Pennsylvania. According to the 1880 U.S. census, Walter started out his working life as a cooper in Somerset County. A cooper is an individual who makes and/or repairs wooden casks, tubs, and barrels. By 1900, per the U.S. census, Walter had settled on farming in Somerset County, Pennsylvania, and continued in that profession through the 1920s.

James Bernard Murphey (Melissa’s great-grandfather) 1882-1927. Murphey was born in Maryland and died in West Virginia. James enlisted with the U.S. Army on October 7, 1904, for a three-year stint; and, in the process, the Army change the spelling of James’ last name to Murphy. He was stationed at Fort Douglas, Utah, which had been built to protect the overland mail route and telegraph lines. In 1906 he was transferred to Fort Riley, Kansas. He was discharged from the Army, at Fort Riley, on May 23, 1906. James returned home and became a coal miner. Coal mining was, and still is, a dangerous profession. James died in a coal mine explosion at Federal Mine 3 in Everettville, Monongalia County, West Virginia.

LINDA'S BOW TIE WEARING ANCESTORS

Herman Jacob Newhouse (Linda’s 2nd granduncle) 1843-1919. Newhouse was born in Holland and died in Idaho. Herman arrived in the United States with his parents in 1844. He enlisted February 1864 in the U.S. Army, Co. H, 8th Minnesota Volunteer Infantry Regiment. On May 15, 1864, the regiment made a trip across the plains after the Sioux Indians. In the fall of 1864, the regiment came back to St. Paul, Minnesota, and was ordered to go south to join Sherman’s Army. On July 11, 1865, the regiment was discharged at Charlotte, North Carolina, and came home to St. Paul. Newhouse then mustered out and headed for home in Pine Island, Minnesota. Before and after the war, Herman was a farmer.

Frank George Newhouse (Linda’s father) 1906-1972.  Frank was born in Goodhue County, Minnesota, and died in Olmsted County, Minnesota. Newhouse was an attorney and examiner of real estate titles. He was also a “Special State Attorney” for the State of Minnesota (1939-1940), a municipal judge (1945-1951), and a county attorney (1951-1954). He was also in the U.S. Army from 1942-1944. Despite neckties being the fashion of the day, Frank always wore neckties; and, they were always some shade of red or a red pattern.

And now, the reason for the title of this blog “The Bow Tie Lives!”: Tyler Gabriel Oliver.

Tyler is the son of Patrick and Melissa Murphy Oliver. He is Jim’s and my grandson. He loves bow ties!

Dancing With the Cavalry

Unless you are a historian, not much thought is given to what was happening in America during non-emergency times.  In 1904 thousands of men enlisted in the U.S. Army:  The Civil War was over, but there were conflicts in Cuba, the Philippines, and the Russians and Japanese were at war.  However, most of the enlisted men stayed in the United States stationed at camps and forts.  One such “family” person was James Bernard Murphey, the great-grandfather of my daughter-in-law, Melissa Murphy Oliver.

Melissa has shared with me photographs from the time James was in the army, and one of them is particularly delightful:  I call it “Dancing with the Cavalry.”  It is labeled as being at Camp Sugar Springs, Wyoming.  I do not know if James is in the picture or not, but it is obvious that the men were able to make their own fun while out in the field.

In exploring the above picture and others, I delved into a time period of America that was little known to me.

James enlisted with the U.S. Army on October 7, 1904, for a three-year stint, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, approximately 100 miles from his hometown of Midlothian, Maryland, where he was born on February 22, 1882.  When he enlisted, the clerk who entered his name into the record “changed” the spelling from Murphey to Murphy. Sometimes it is a mystery as to why last names get changed; the entry (found on Ancestry.com) probably answers this question.  On the enlistment register, James is listed as being 5′3″ tall; having blue eyes, black hair, dark complexion.  He was assigned to the 22nd Battery Field Artillery.

The above picture shows James in his dress uniform.  Wanting to find out more information about his uniform, with the hopes it would direct me towards his actual type of military service, I tried to track it down.  It appears that he is wearing the standard uniform of enlisted men which was adopted in 1875.   The “field” uniforms were more casual as the below picture shows.  James is the fifth individual from the left.

James was stationed at Fort Douglas, Utah, which was originally established to protect the overland mail route and telegraph lines along the “Central Overland Route” to the west.  In 1906 the majority of soldiers stationed at Fort Douglas were transferred to Fort Riley, Kansas, including James.  He was discharged on May 23, 1906, at Fort Riley.

J.B. Murphy (right) at Fort Douglas