BRAINARD-BRAINERD-BRAYNARD HISTORICAL TIDBITS - page 1

EZRA BRAINERD - COLLEGE PRESIDENT & BOTANIST

EZRA BRAINARD (394 William2 line) b.1844 - d.1924, was president of Middlebury College VT from 1885 until 1908. In 1995, the college named Brainerd Commons in honor of Ezra Brainard. A graduate of the college in 1864, Brainerd assumed the presidency at a time when the college was struggling to attract students and remain open. During Brainaerd's 23 year tenure, the student body doubled in size. A number of buildings were constructed, and the college changed from an almost exlusively local college into a more regionally oriented institution.

Brainerd was an educator with diverse interests, teaching in almost every subject from Physics, to Mathematics, to English and Rhetoric. His diverse talents and interests also formed his educational philosophy, and he strengthened and broadened the education offered by Middlebury, rather than enforcing discipline and Religion.

Brainerd was especially interested in Botany. His papers and letters are in several herbariums and libraries throughout New England, including 82 letters in the Library of the Gray Herbarium at Harvard University. The Brainerd Hawthorn was discovered by Ezra, and is named for him. Its description is as a much-branched shrub, or small tree with a broad, rounded crown of spreading branches, twenty feet in height, and flowers with white petals. It can be found throughout the Northeast fom Nova Scotia south to Connecticut, and west to Ohio and Michigan. It is listed in the National Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Trees.

Information for the above article was sent by Laurie Brainard of Forest City, NC

Crataegus brainerdii Sarg.
Brainerd's hawthorn

Britton, N.L., and A. Brown. 1913. Illustrated flora of the northern states and Canada. Vol. 2: 303. Courtesy of Kentucky Native Plant Society. Scanned by Omnitek Inc. Usage Guidelines.

BRAINERD MISSION, TENNESSEE

In a small clearing in the wilderness in 1817, Brainerd Mission was founded among the Cherokee Indians by the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions. Brainerd Mission was situated on Chickamauga Creek near present-day Chattanooga. It was named in honr of David Brainerd, the 18th century missionary to Indians along the Delaware River in New Jersey.

During its two decades of operation, the mission enrolled more than 300 mail and female Cherokee students. While the institution was a frequent source of conflict between the Cherokees and the board, most students acquired a basic proficiency in reading and writing. Brainerd Mission closed in 1838, when the Cherokee were forcibly removed from their ancestral homeland to Oklahoma in what became known as "The Trail of Tears."

In 1819, President James Monroe visited the mission, and government financial support was authorized for the mission. But, in the end, political pressure to remove the Cherokee Indians became overwhelming. President Andrew Jackson, ignoring the US Supreme Cour ruling of Chief Justice John Marshall, forcibly removed nearly 17,000 Cherokee from their ancestral homeland. Tennessee Representative Davy Crockett, a friend and fellow Democrat of President Jackson, also sided with the opposition to removing the Cherokee, and as a result, lost his seat in Congress.

The only reminders of the Brainerd Mission, located six miles east of central Chattanooga, are the name Brainerd Road -- a multi-lane highway, the Brainerd Shopping Mall, and the small Brainerd Mission Cemetery lost among the commercial establishments. There are about 60 grave markers, but most have no legible inscriptions. The oldest inscribed date is 1821.

The above information has been sent by June Brainerd Rice. It includes excerpts from the magazine, National Parks--ParkScope, Summer 2006, and from the websites TN Encyclopedia: Brainerd Mission, and roots web.com: Brainerd Mission Cemetery.

DAVID BRAINERD (1718-1747) - David Brainerd was commissioned by the Scotland Society for the Propagation of Christian Knowledge as a missionary to the Indians.

Have you ever heard of the Brainard Diarrhea???

Wikepedia defines it as follows:

Brainerd diarrhea is a sudden-onset watery, explosive diarrhea that lasts for months and does not respond to antibiotics; the cause of Brainerd diarrhea is unknown. Brainerd diarrhea was first described in Brainerd, Minnesota in 1983. It has been associated with the consumption of raw milk and untreated water. Of the ten outbreaks reported since 1983, nine have been in the US. The characteristics of each outbreak have been similar to that caused by an infectious agent. The largest ever outbreak (117 patients) occurred in 1996 in Fannin County, Texas. There have been no secondary cases reported in any of the outbreaks, suggesting that the causative agent cannot be passed from person to person, but boiling water appears to inactivate the Brainerd agent. Although there is no treatment available, the disease does appear to resolve itself, although this process takes months if not years.

NEWS: Gordon Brainerd's book, Bell Bottom Boys, is now available from Amazon.com. There are copies of Gordon Brainerd's book "Bell Bottom Boys" in three King County (WA) libraries.
Product Description
The year is 1944. The United States has finally done what it must throw its full weight into the fight against evil then known as the Axis Powers. Gordon Brainerd is but 16 years old, too young to join the regular forces, but just old enough for the Merchant Marines. Dropping out of high school and leaving his small hometown for the first time, this is his coming-of-age story, wherein from the streets of New York City to the ports of South America and the Philippines, Gordon maintains his small town values while learning to become a man. His own man.
About the Author
Gordon's spirit of adventure started almost at birth. He and his brother would lie on the floor in front of the radio completely engrossed in "Jack Armstrong, the All American Boy," "The Green Hornet," and "Sky King." Later, his favorite lullaby was the sound of the late night train passing through town. In his imagination, he traveled the world. In the final year of World War II, when he turned sixteen, his father suggested he join the Merchant Marines. Gordon jumped at the chance. His imaginary places soon became reality far beyond his wildest dreams and changed his life forever.

Click here to read "The Arctic Saga of David Legg Brainard" - David Legg Brainard, No. 431 of the 8th generation, in the Elijah Line of the family, had a great adventure as part of the Greeley Expedition in the Arctic in 1882.