Emma Mclaughlin (1831 - 1916)

Refresh this page to see various historical events that occurred during Emma's lifetime.

In 1831, in the year that Emma Mclaughlin was born, on August 21st, in the United States, Nat Turner's slave rebellion broke out in Southampton County, Virginia. Rebel slaves, led by Nat Turner, killed from 55 to 65 people - the largest and deadliest slave uprising in U.S. history. The rebellion was suppressed after a few days and Virginia executed 56 slaves accused of being part of the rebellion although many were innocent. Nat Turner was captured on October 30th, tried, and hung on November 11th.

In 1843, she was only 12 years old when on March 21st, the world didn't end! It was the first time that Baptist preacher William Miller predicted the Second Coming - he kept predicting it until his death in 1849.

In 1890, when she was 59 years old, on December 29th, the Wounded Knee Massacre occurred in South Dakota on the Lakota Pine Ridge Indian Reservation . The U.S. 7th Cavalry Regiment said that they rode into the Lakota camp "trying to disarm" the inhabitants. One person, Black Coyote - who was deaf - held onto his rifle, saying that he paid a lot of money for it. Shots rang out and by the end at least 153 Lakota Sioux - some estimates say 300 - and 25 troops had died. The site of the massacre is a National Historic Landmark.

In 1906, Emma was 75 years old when Finland became the first European country to give women the vote and to allow them to run for political office. (Women in Australia and New Zealand already had that right but couldn't run for office.) Although Finland belonged to the Russian Empire, there was great unrest and the Tsar wanted to broker a quick peace. As a part of the brokered peace, women got the vote.

In 1916, in the year of Emma Mclaughlin's passing, the U.S. National Park Service - part of the Department of the Interior - was created by an act of Congress in August. The Park Service was charged with the dual role of "preserving the ecological and historical integrity of the places entrusted to its management while also making them available and accessible for public use and enjoyment". The resources managed by the National Park Service have often been referred to as the "crown jewels" of the United States.