A little about me. I live with my husband and three cats in Douglas, GA. I’m a military brat (a term of affection for one born and raised in a military family) and a retired military spouse. My husband did three deployments that resulted in PTSD and severe lung issues and, consequently, was medically retired at the age of twenty-five from the Air Force. There is a ten-year age difference between myself and my husband, but I love him more than words can ever say. I’m a mom; I have two grown boys and two who fly with the angels.
Being a military kid and wife impacted me, and I love the men and women in the military who will sign that blank check for our country. So, it made sense for me to combine my love of our military men and women with my passion for history. I have attended Liberty University since 2014 and love our History Department and its professors. When I started this journey, I always thought my only focus would be Civil War history. However, a fantastic professor had the foresight to see in me something I never saw myself. Because of him, I can proudly say that my Master’s focused on Aviation in the Pacific during World War II. This past May, I graduated, completing my dissertation on The Lieber Code and its rules, laws, and definitions surrounding prisoners of war.
I chose the name The Solitary Historian because, for me, history is solitary, and it is something I do on my own that renews my soul. It did not help that the pandemic was raging when I started my journey as The Solitary Historian, and everyone was locked inside their homes. Museums, battlefields, and other historic sites were closed down, travel was restricted, schools were closed, and I needed an outlet to explore the historical world. I hope you will follow me on this new journey, and hopefully, something I say will inspire or encourage you.
The Solitary Historian 
Good Morning, I happened on your blog while Goggling ‘women’s funeral attire in 1900’ but all I found was about “widow’s weeds.” So I’m hoping you can help. I’m a novelist working on a murder mystery that takes place in Newport, RI in 1900. A Naval Lieutenant is killed and two of my characters attend the funeral. Neither are related to the Lt. One only knows him slightly (he was her husband’s friend, but he is ill) and the other not at all. Would both women wear ‘mourning’ black, or simply something somber?
Thanks in advance,
TR Rankin
Tomr@trankin.com
TR,
Funeral attire during the 1900s was more somber in nature. If they knew the character in your novel, they most likely would wear black to the funeral as a sign of respect but would not be held to the traditional wearing of black throughout their daily lives after the funeral.
Thank you. That was my surmise, but it’s nice to have confirmation!