During class on March 29, my group, the Timeline Group, met to discuss how we were going to approach the project and assign different tasks to each member. We concluded that for our first step, it would be vital to check for which events we have primary sources for. Thus, instead of deciding which events are significant to the Dowling story and his memory first, we believe it is more important to find which dates we actually have sources for. My group believes this way we can eliminate any extraneous information and events. Furthermore with this knowledge, we can proceed more easily into deciding which events and dates will actually go onto the timeline. We agreed that for this blog post, as part of our next action, each of us would watch the video on how to build a timeline using Google Docs and the SIMILE software. In addition, Clarissa agreed to do additional research on Dowling’s personal life, Victor would read through library assignments #1, and I would look through the blog posts related to the Houston public library archives. These steps are instrumental in deciding which events and dates we have primary sources for, and thus should go on the timeline.
The timeline tutorial written by Brian Croxall is extremely helpful in demonstrating how simple the software is to use. The tutorial illustrates how we can separate the timeline into different categories, including possibly biography, memorial services, and Civil War related events. However, we could also categorize the events into those that discuss his life, his Irish heritage, his role as a Houstonian, and the notion of Dowling as a Civil War hero. This decision is one our group must make in order to enhance the effectiveness of our timeline.
As part of my next action, I was assigned to peruse the blog posts discussing the articles located in the Houston public library archives. Many of the posts acknowledge that by the 1990s, press focus on the statue had shifted almost entirely to focus on Dowling’s Irish heritage. Craig confirms this conclusion, stating, “The documents of the archive, especially news clippings post-1905 show a gradual shift in public opinion away from the triumphant image of Dick Dowling as ‘The Hero of Sabine Pass’ to Dick Dowling as ‘the model Irish citizen’ and downplaying his Confederate past”. Furthermore, during the rededication of the Dowling statue in 1997, the focus was on Dowling’s Irish history and civic contributions to Houston. Hence, there appears to be a lot of information pertaining to the erection of the statue in 1905 as well as the rededication statue in 1997 in the archives. Adam notes that the statue was moved from City Hall in 1940 after City Hall burned down to Sam Houston Park where it stood until 1957 when it was moved to storage. One year later, the Dowling statue was placed in its current location in Hermann Park. In addition, Kat in her blog post, commented on several articles within the archives that addressed the Davis Guards, including the names of the members and those who deserted. Also, there is information available on the planning process for the Dowling statue courtesy of the secretary’s notes in the archives. Thus, most of the blog posts pertain to the original planning and erection of the statue in 1905, the rededication ceremony in 1997, and Dowling’s legacy.
I like the idea of breaking up the timeline, since Dowling’s life and the ways people remember him serve so many different functions. Discussing things like the focus on Dowling’s Irish heritage may be difficult to do on a timeline, but its good to know that we have so much information on the statue itself.
I also agree with breaking up the timeline. It would mean we could provide a wide range of information, but if someone was just looking for Civil War events they wouldn’t have to deal with irrelevant events.
I think we have enough information from past assignments and such to start with, but we might want to look further into the same resources to fill out the timeline in the end. However, for now I think we can start to get an idea of what our timeline will include.
Nice post, Juri, and I like your suggestion that you talk as a group to decide how to break apart the different categories of events about Dowling (or the battle–it’s also possible you may decide to include events about the Dowling that don’t directly include Dowling, like Magruder’s letter to the governor talking about slave conscription, or the completion of Fort Griffin).
Incidentally, a quick suggestion: to help visitors to your blog find their way to the other blog posts you mention, consider creating hyperlinks to those posts. For example, if you quote Craig’s post, highlight Craig’s name when you’re writing the post in the Dashboard, and then click on the “link” icon. You’ll be prompted to enter the URL of the post you want this text to link to. That way, someone reading this paost can quickly click through to read the whole thing.