About
Without revealing all–the bane of bloggers–I am an historian and a Christian. And, am a father, husband, teacher, pilot, home owner (mortgage payer), pet keeper (five dogs, one cat), leaf blower, chief early morning coffee brewer, and like to write books and articles, following my fancy which takes me all over the place.
I like the sixteenth century these days, since I am finishing a long biography of a Dominican friar, Bartolomé de las Casas (1484-1566) who was fortunate enough to live at a time when he could probably read most of the books printed until then. He became the greatest protector of American Indians in the face of the Spanish conquest.
A shorter “issues and points of view” book–Bartolomé de las Casas and the Conquest of the Americas (2011)–is out and you can find it online anywhere. The longer, complete biography will be published by Cambridge University Press in 2012.
My last non-history book, Cleared for Landing: On Living a Christian Life, suggests a plan for living as a Christian. Like being a good pilot, it takes practice. Check it out.Well, that’s enough for now. Hope you enjoy the blog. Join me and we can explore the world together!
Carlton Clayton
January 4, 2010
Hey Pops! Love the blog keep it up
Christopher Crofton-Atkins
April 4, 2011
Hello Mr. Clayton.
I was intreguied by eading that you grew up in Lima. I did so myself as did my brother, & I wondered what years you lived there. My Dad ran the Peruvian Central Railway at Desamparados in Lima & retired before it was nationalised.
I also read that you went to Tulane in New Orleans. A great family friend, Tita Steerlin was Peruvian consul here for a while & I belive her children teach there now. I wonder if you knew her.
It can be avery small world sometimes! Best wishes, Christopher
laclayton
April 4, 2011
Chris. Small world. Sometimes cliches are worth remembering!
I lived in Lima first time 1945-1952, and then have returned periodically since 1960 many times over the years, sometimes for months at the time, usually for a week or two.
My dad worked for Casa Grace. He was a chemist and engineer and helped his boss, Gaston Lipscomb, bring the the first paper machine to Paramonga in 1939 to begin the paper industry there. He worked in Chile in the nitrate fields in the 1920s, then managed the technical side of the Cartavio sugar plantation, and, in sum, like most of the Grace people, was here and there and all over the place until transferred to NYC office in 1952 and retiring finally in 1965 after 42 years with the company.
And, yes I went to graduate school in New Orleans after I got out of the Navy. That was in the late 60s and early 70s. I don’t believe I ever met Tita Steerlin.
Where did you go to school in Lima? If FDR, there is a great alumni group that Fred Luss (FDR about 1965 or 1966) runs on the web. I can put you in touch if you are interested.
And there’s a wonderful web site dedicated to PANAGRA. I thought many of those entities were memories long forgotten!
Long ago I wrote a book about Grace in Peru. I got started on it curious about what it was like being a gringo–my father–in Chile and Peru in the 1920s and 1930s.
Ah well, I prattle. Great to hear from you.
Larry Clayton
david gerstel
December 16, 2011
hello, i am looking for documentation on grace line vessels trading between ny and the west coast during the last 20 years of the 19th century. this is for a painting showing an american downeaster, an australian blackwall frigate, and the future–steam. unfortunately, grace says they have lost all their documentation, so i need photos and information on one of their ships on that run. i would appreciate any help you can provide. thank you
laclayton
December 16, 2011
Be glad to help. I’m running chores this afternoon and going out to a flic tonight (date night with better half!) but I’ve got some information and images that may be useful. I’ll get back to you tomorrow, Saturday. If I don’t, send me an email heads up, lclayton@simplecom.net
Larry Clayton
david gerstel
December 16, 2011
thanks very much.
laclayton
December 17, 2011
David,
The best source of images and information that I know of on the early W. R. Grace & Co. ships is Grace Ships 1869-1969: An Illustrated History of the W. R. Grace & Co. Shipping Enterprises by William Kooiman. I bet you can find copies on a used or rare book online dealer like abebooks. The used ones I just saw in amazon are pricey.
I used a beautiful painting of the W. R. Grace for the cover of a book I did years ago Grace: W. R. Grace & Co., The Formative Years,1850-1930. Ottawa, Illinois: Jameson Books, 1985. The W. R. Grace was a downeaster built in Maine in the 1870s if my memory serves me, and named for the founder of the company William Russell Grace. If you are just looking for a copy of the image to paint from, it is on the cover of my book, but you have to find a copy of the book with the original cover. I probably have one somewhere if you can’t find one and I can scan and send it.
Also, see if you can find Marquis James, Merchant Adventurer: The Story of W.R. Grace which I edited. It too has a copy of the downeaster.
And, finally, if you want to see the magnificent painting of the W. R. Grace that hung for many years in some of W. R. Grace & Co.’s corporate headquarters in NYC, I think it was donated to the Maine Maritime Museum. I just browsed their web site and I don’t think their collections and holdings database is online, but you can easily reach them via phone or email I suspect.
Good luck. If you still can’t turn up anything, get back to me.
Larry
david gerstel
December 17, 2011
hello, i found the book you mention on amazon, and i can easily locate it elsewhere./ is it better for images and specifics than yours?
thanks again.
david
laclayton
December 17, 2011
David,
Which one you find on amazon? I mentioned three: mine, Marquis James, and William Kooiman. All three have images. Kooiman may be the best since he focused on ships and their histories.
Larry
cgehrz
December 30, 2011
Larry,
Thanks for the link to my blog on your church history course webpage. Hope I manage to say something useful (or, at least, usefully wrong) for your students to chew on…
Cheers,
Chris Gehrz
laclayton
December 31, 2011
Chris,
I just browsed your “The Pietist Schoolman” in a bit more detail. Wonderful site. Hope some of my students this next semester will get adventurous and follow some of the links–like to your blog–on my web page for the history of the Christian Church. Have a nice trip to Europe, although I would have picked a warmer clime (like Spain or Portugal) and a different season! I’ve been so long in the Deep South (this is my 39th year of teaching at U of Alabama) that my blood has thinned out.
Larry