Rod Culleton

Rodney Norman Culleton (born 5 June 1964) is an Australian politician who was sworn in and sat as a Senator for Western Australia following the 2016 federal election. At that time he was a member of the Pauline Hanson's One Nation party, but on 18 December 2016 he resigned from the party to sit as an independent.
On 23 December 2016 the Federal Court of Australia held that Culleton was bankrupt. On 11 January 2017 the President of the Senate, Stephen Parry, wrote to the Governor of Western Australia, Kerry Sanderson, advising her that as a result of Culleton's bankruptcy his seat in the Senate was vacant. Culleton disputed the effect of the court's order and claimed still to be a Senator. His appeal against the bankruptcy order, to the Full Court of the Federal Court, was dismissed on 3 February 2017. On the same day, the High Court determined that Culleton had, in any case, been ineligible for election to the Senate due to a criminal matter in New South Wales. The Senate vacancy left by Culleton was later filled by his brother-in-law Peter Georgiou, One Nation's second Senate candidate for WA in the 2016 election, after an official recount.
Culleton established The Great Australian Party in April 2019. On his 2019 nominee declaration, he provided his profession as "Senator in Exile".
Time in the Senate.
Culleton was declared as elected as a Senator for Western Australia on 2 July 2016 as the lead candidate on the Pauline Hanson's One Nation ticket during the 2016 election. At the time he had been convicted "in absentia" on a larceny charge over a vehicle key in New South Wales, but had not yet been sentenced.
On 18 December 2016 Culleton announced on Twitter that he had resigned from One Nation, citing a lack of party support and "un-Australian behaviour". Party leader Pauline Hanson responded that Culleton had been "a pain in my backside" and that she was "glad to see the back of him".
Debt and legal proceedings.
Culleton was involved in a long and complex history of legal proceedings in relation to claims he owed money to a number of different companies.
Creditors petition and bankruptcy.
A Senator who becomes bankrupt is thereby disqualified from membership of the Senate and the seat becomes vacant. Balwyn Nominees sought an order in the Federal Court that Culleton be made bankrupt. On 23 December 2016, after a tumultuous hearing, the Federal Court rejected Culleton's application for trial by jury, found that the technical requirements of the "Bankruptcy Act" had been met and held Culleton's various other submissions were unarguable and totally without merit. The court ordered sequestration of Culleton's assets, with the effect of declaring him bankrupt. The court granted a 21-day stay on proceedings under the sequestration order, with Culleton announcing that he would appeal the decision. Culleton's appeal was dismissed by a full court of the Federal Court on 3 February 2017 (see below).
After receiving an official copy of the trial judgment from the Federal Court as well as documentation from the Inspector-General in Bankruptcy, on 11 January the President of the Senate, Stephen Parry, wrote to the Governor of Western Australia, Kerry Sanderson, to notify her that Culleton's seat had become vacant due to his having become an undischarged bankrupt on 23 December 2016. Parry added that, since the matter of initial ineligibility was still before the High Court sitting as the Court of Disputed Returns, he was currently unable to advise that the ordinary procedure for filling a casual vacancy (section 15 of the Constitution) applied and he would provide further advice following the Court's decision, expected "in the near future". Culleton immediately announced that he would lodge a High Court challenge to the President's ruling as "premature" since the 21-day stay was to run until 13 January. On 12 January the Federal Court extended the stay of proceedings under the sequestration orders by one week. Culleton maintained that this was also a stay of the declaration of bankruptcy, so that he continued to be a Senator. However, he was already listed on the Parliament website as a "former Senator". On 19 January it was reported that Culleton's lawyer had received a letter from Parry's office which warned that, in continuing to identify himself as a Senator, Culleton could be committing the serious offence of impersonating a public official, and that in response Culleton had amended his parliamentary Facebook page to read "Rod Culleton – 'Senator' for WA – Gone Fishin'" and changed the signature on his parliamentary emails to "Rod Culleton | Federal Senator for Western Australia (Gone Fishin')". On 31 January 2017, Justice Gageler in the High Court rejected challenges by Culleton to the Court's jurisdiction and to Parry's decision.
On 3 February 2017, a full court of the Federal Court unanimously dismissed Culleton's appeal against the sequestration order. It rejected Culleton's claim that the trial judge had treated him unfairly, finding that the judge had dealt properly with his "unfocused and erratic" submissions. It also rejected his argument that a sequestration order does not necessarily involve a finding of bankruptcy, confirming that "insolvency, not judgment execution or debt collection, is the essence of an application for a sequestration order". Culleton unsuccessfully sought a stay of the sequestration order in the High Court.
Criminal charges.
In April 2014 Culleton was involved in a dispute with a tow truck driver in Guyra, NSW. The tow truck driver was attempting to repossess a truck and the key to the tow truck was lost. Culleton was charged with larceny in relation to the missing key. When the matter came before the local court in March 2016 Culleton was not present, saying he did not have time to travel to the Court as he was required to be in court in WA the day before on unrelated larceny charges (see below). Culleton was convicted in his absence. He successfully applied to set aside the conviction, with the conviction being annulled on 8 August 2016. Culleton then pleaded guilty to the offence, and was ordered to pay the truck driver's costs but a conviction was not recorded.
A second, unrelated, larceny charge, concerning a hire car in Western Australia in March 2015, has not yet been heard in a court. The allegations are that receivers had attended the property of Mr Dixon near Cuballing, Western Australia, with the ANZ Bank alleging he had defaulted on a loan. While the receivers were inside the farm house talking to Mr Dixon, the hire car was blocked in by hay bales. The car was subsequently moved and it is alleged that Culleton tried to obtain a key. While the charge was expected to be heard in August 2016, it was listed to be heard in the Perth Magistrates Court over a four-day period, in September 2017. When the case was heard, Culleton represented himself, shouted at the magistrate and threw his eyeglasses in her direction (they hit a table); a police officer removed him from the court, but he apologised to the court and was allowed to return to cross-examine witnesses. However, since the case was set to run for only one more day and there were a large number of witnesses, the hearing was adjourned until 2018.
Senate ineligibility.
Under section 44(ii) of the Constitution, any person who "has been convicted and is under sentence, or subject to be sentenced, for any offence punishable under the law of the Commonwealth or of a State by imprisonment for one year or longer" shall (section 44 continues) "be incapable of being chosen or of sitting as a senator or a member of the House of Representatives". Previous time in prison was not a disqualification and there have been numerous politicians who had spent time in prison before their election. The High Court had previously observed that the disqualification is not simply for the conviction for an offence, nor serving time in prison. The disqualification required both conviction and that the person was imprisoned at the time or awaiting sentence. The WA larceny charge did not give rise to any question of disqualification as Culleton had only been charged and had not been convicted. At the time of Culleton's nomination and election, he had been convicted for the New South Wales offence but had not been sentenced. A former colleague lodged a petition with the High Court (sitting as the Court of Disputed Returns), claiming that Culleton was not able to nominate for the election as he was convicted and awaiting sentence in New South Wales at the time of the election. Subsequently, the Australian Government asked the Senate to also refer the matter to the High Court; the reference included a request to determine what should be done if Culleton's seat were found to be vacant. The primary issues before the High Court concerned the effect of the subsequent annulment of Culleton's conviction and whether Culleton was subject to be sentenced to a term of imprisonment for one year or longer.
On 3 February 2017, the High Court determined the Senate reference, unanimously finding that Culleton had been ineligible for election to the Senate. At the time of the 2016 election he was subject to being sentenced to imprisonment for up to two years, which under Constitution section 44(ii) rendered him ineligible for election. This had not been affected by the subsequent annulment of the finding of guilt; the annulment had operated only from the time of the annulment. The vacancy should be filled by a special count of the ballot papers. Any directions necessary to give effect to the conduct of the special count should be made by a single Justice. However, the Court anticipated that a simple recount, as if Culleton had not been a candidate, would make the votes cast for him (so far as they were "above the line", which was 96% of them) would flow through to the next One Nation candidate. The Court ordered, as the Commonwealth had previously agreed, that most (with specific exceptions) of Culleton's costs of the action would be borne by the Commonwealth (Culleton had initially represented himself, but eventually he had been provided with counsel).
The majority stated, in an introductory summary of their judgment (with which Nettle J differed only as to reasoning):
Senator Culleton was a person who had been convicted and was subject to be sentenced for an offence punishable by imprisonment for one year or longer at the date of the 2016 election. That was so, both as a matter of fact and as a matter of law. The subsequent annulment of the conviction had no effect on that state of affairs. It follows from s 44(ii) that Senator Culleton was "incapable of being chosen" as a Senator. In the result, there is a vacancy in the representation of Western Australia in the Senate for the place for which Senator Culleton was returned.
The beneficiary of the recount, as determined by the High Court on 10 March 2017, was Culleton's brother-in-law, Peter Georgiou.
When the Senate resumed on 7 February, the President of the Senate, Stephen Parry, informed the house of the High Court's decision that Culleton had been ineligible to nominate and that consequently his election was void and he was not a Senator. Parry stated that this did not invalidate any Senate proceedings in which Culleton had taken part, by reference to the High Court decision in "Vardon v O'Loghlin"; that salary paid to Culleton as a Senator had been paid without authority and accordingly was now a debt due to the Commonwealth; and that whether any of that debt should be waived was a decision for the government, on which Parry had sought advice from the finance minister.
In May 2017, Culleton was informed by the Commonwealth Department of Finance that "payments made to you and in relation to you since the election on 2 July 2016 are a debt to the commonwealth" and might include superannuation payments, other entitlements and staff payments. Culleton was invited to consider his options, which could include providing evidence of his financial circumstances. Culleton told media that he would not be answering the Department's letter. "I’m just going to hang in like a flea in between the shoulder blades of a dog", he said, "right where it can’t scratch." Special Minister of State Scott Ryan confirmed that this department, as well as the Senate, had so written to Culleton and also to disqualified Family First Senator Bob Day; he indicated that they could apply for the debts to be waived. Culleton commented that he intended to appeal the High Court judgment against him to the Privy Council: on being reminded that this has been virtually impossible since the Australia Act 1986, he said that he disagreed.
On 8 August 2017 the President of the Senate reported that he had received correspondence from Culleton's lawyers "requesting the Senate to refer matters relating to Mr Culleton back to the High Court for reconsideration" and added, "I am advised that the Senate has no power to comply with this request."
The Great Australian Party.
In 2018, Culleton initiated the process to establish a new political party, The Great Australian Party, to stand candidates for the Senate in the 2019 Australian federal election. He continued to refer to himself as a "senator-in-exile" and sought to appeal his disqualification to the Privy Council of the United Kingdom. Other policies of the proposed party were to remove personal income tax, nationalise the Commonwealth Bank and abolish the Family Court of Australia. The party was formally registered by the Australian Electoral Commission on 7 April 2019.
Culleton became the party's lead candidate for the Senate in Western Australia in the May 2019 election. His nomination was immediately referred to the Australian Federal Police to clarify the possibility that he had made a false declaration on his nomination form.
Personal life.
Culleton's wife Ioanna (née Georgiou) is of Greek heritage, and her family came to Australia in the 1970s, when she was five years old. While a member of the One Nation Party, Culleton did not support the party position that multiculturalism had failed. He became an advocate for farmers after his own farm at Williams was foreclosed in 2013. Culleton is linked to at least three companies, including Elite Grains, that were under liquidation in 2016.


Weihenstephan-Triesdorf University of Applied Science

The Weihenstephan-Triesdorf University of Applied Science () is a Fachhochschule in Freising, Germany.


Margaret Leigh

Margaret Mary Leigh (17 December 1894 – 7 April 1973) was an English writer who lived extensively in Scotland and wrote about life in crofting communities. She was born in London, England, the cousin of novelist Dorothy L. Sayers and the daughter of an Oxford don, and educated at Somerville College, Oxford.
Early career.
Leigh spent many of her early years travelling abroad for her father’s health. At various times, she acted as a governess, teacher and university lecturer. She eventually supported herself and her mother by subsistence farming, first in Cornwall, and later in Scotland.
Writing career.
Leigh published a short book of poetry in 1923, "Songs from Tani's Garden", before writing her first novel, "The Passing of the Pengwerns", in 1924. "Harvest of the Moor" recounts her experience farming in Cornwall. In 1939, Leigh rode a horse from Cornwall to Scotland, which became the subject of her third book, "A Kingdom for a Horse". She subsequently settled there, living variously at the Isle of Barra, Aultgrishan in Ross-shire, Fernaig in Ross-shire, Smirisary in Moidart and Inverness. Three of her books relate her experience in crofting communities in north-west Scotland before, during and just after World War II.
Last days.
In 1948, Margaret Leigh converted to Catholicism and in 1950 entered a convent. She died in Inverness, Scotland in 1973.


Norman Brookman

Harry Norman Brookman (22 January 1884 – 26 April 1949), always referred to as Norman Brookman, was a farmer and politician in South Australia.
History.
Norman was born at Medindie, South Australia, the second son of Eliza Martha (née Marshall; 1859–1931) and George Donald Brookman (1840–1927). His father was an MLC in South Australia, while an uncle, William Gordon Brookman, was an MLC in Western Australia and Mayor of Perth.
He was a student at Roseworthy College, and during the war of 1914–1918 served in France as a gunner with the 42nd battery, 11th Brigade Field Artillery. He developed a model farm "Burbrook", near Meadows, and was involved in sheep breeding, apple growing and experimented with commercial flax growing. He was involved with the Waite Research Institute in other field trials on his property. His was vitally interested in pastures, and experimented with various grasses and clovers.
He was a councillor and chairman of the District Council of Willunga from 1924 to 1929, and was chairman of the District Council of Meadows from 1933 to 1935. He served on the Hills Firefighting and Prevention Committee.
He and Jack Bice, both sons of ex-MLC knights, were Liberal and Country League candidates for the Southern district seats in the Legislative Council in 1941, and both were successful. Bice retired in 1959, but Norman Brookman was killed in 1949 when the car he was driving home from Victor Harbor crashed head-on into a 4-ton truck around south of Noarlunga.
Family.
He married Ada Mary Dorothy "Nan" Burden (24 April 1889 – 1975) on 6 March 1912. She was a daughter of Frederic Britten Burden and Ada Burden, née Hallett (c. 1851 – 26 March 1927), later Mrs. Thomas Duffield of Mount Lofty, and has been named "Dorothy Britten Burden".


Ambrose Eldridge

Ambrose Eldridge (circa 1815 – 9 May 1860) was a chemist and experimental farmer in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.
Early life.
Ambrose Eldridge was born about 1815 in England, the son of John York Eldridge.
Queensland years.
Ambrose Eldridge was a Sydney chemist who arrived in Moreton Bay in late July 1847 to work in John Taggart's Medical Hall, a chemist shop in Queen Street. Taggart eventually sold out to Eldridge, who took over from 1 October 1849, and developed the business as a chemist, druggist, oilman, and grocer.
In the late 1840s and 1850s, Eldridge adopted an active and enthusiastic role in the development of Brisbane and Queensland. He was prominent in the Separation movement and served on a wide variety of local committees (for most of which he was a founding member), including those of the Hospital, the proposed Brisbane Market (1851), the Moreton Bay Steam Navigation Company, the Moreton Bay Horticultural Society, the Brisbane Exchange, the Northern Districts Agricultural and Pastoral Association, the Moreton Bay Immigration and Land Company (first chairman of directors in 1855-56), and the Moreton Bay Building Society, which was dissolved in 1854 to re-emerge as the Moreton Bay Permanent Investment and Building Society in 1855. He was active in promoting local issues such as a bridge over Breakfast Creek, a committee to communicate between the electors of Moreton Bay and their representative in the Legislative Council in Sydney, a survey of the Brisbane River entrance and bar, direct emigration to Moreton Bay, government funding to churches, and regularly subscribed to rewards for the discovery of gold in the Moreton and Darling Downs districts. He was a prominent member of St John's Anglican Church, and an active participant in the Brisbane School of Arts and Sciences and the Moreton Bay Musical Society. During the early 1850s his business flourished and he acquired a number of Brisbane town and suburban allotments.
Eldridge was a well-respected townsman with a clear commitment to the development of Brisbane at political, civic, economic and social levels, but he was also something of a visionary. Like the indomitable Dr John Dunmore Lang, who envisioned a Moreton Bay populated by yeomen farmers, Eldridge was determined to prove that agriculture in the Northern Districts of New South Wales was economically viable.
In the second half of 1851, Eldridge, who had little knowledge of farming, purchased Western Suburban Allotments 4 to 11, totalling over 30 acres, along the northern bank of the Brisbane River, just beyond the town boundary. Here, at what he named Milton Farm, Eldridge experimented with cotton growing, hoping to prove that agriculture at Moreton Bay could be sustained and profitable. Whilst not the only Moreton Bay resident to experiment with cotton-growing at the time, he was initially one of the most successful.
Cotton was a logical crop with which to experiment – it was one of the principal import of Great Britain, and an important basis of her manufacturing industry, and if grown successfully at Moreton Bay, would ensure the prosperity of the Northern Districts of New South Wales, and enhance local aspirations for Separation. By September 1852, five acres of the Milton land had been cleared, and were planted the following month with seeds of the finest Sea Island Cotton. At the close of 1852, Eldridge retired from business, selling the Medical Hall and devoting his time to the Milton experiment.
Eldridge erected Milton House in 1852 or 1853. It was the first substantial house in the area and soon a local landmark, being prominent in early views of Brisbane. It was the base for Eldridge's experimental farming when the Moreton Bay region was struggling to establish itself, and later for John Frederick McDougall's considerable pastoral holdings in the area.
By June 1853 the first crop of Milton cotton was being picked, yielding at least 20 bales. Eldridge reported in the local press that, not including the cost of land and land clearing, he had expended £38 in the experiment, and had made a profit of £14. That December he was awarded first prize of £30 by the New South Wales Government, for samples of the cotton sent to Sydney in a government-sponsored competition. Two years later he sent samples of the Milton cotton to the Paris Exhibition of 1855, where it was highly acclaimed.
In 1853, Eldridge expanded his efforts to promote profitable local farming, taking up on long lease approximately 400 acres at Eagle Farm. By late 1854 this land had been cleared, and in March 1855, Eldridge announced his intention of removing to Eagle Farm, and selling the Milton Estate. The Eldridges resided at Milton through the remainder of 1855, but the property, including a mansion house was sold and transferred to pastoralist John Frederick McDougall in January 1856, for £2,300.
For Eldridge, the move spelt disaster. On 28 September 1856, his wife Mary died after giving birth to a son at Eagle Farm. The farming experiments at Eagle Farm appear to have failed, and by 1859 he had returned to the chemist business, opening a shop at Ipswich.
Later life.
Ambrose Elridge died on 9 May 1860 from consumption at his home in Brisbane Street, Ipswich; he was 45 years old. He left his second wife Mary and his children destitute.


Jostein Berntsen

Jostein Berntsen (born 5 February 1943) is a Norwegian politician for the Labour Party.
He was born in Rennebu as a son of smallholder Bjarne Kolbjørn Berntsen (1908–1980) and husmor Klara Halgunset (1911–1992). He worked as an agronomist and farmer. He was active in the Norwegian Farmers and Smallholders Union and the Norwegian Heart and Lung Patient Organisation.
He was a member of Rennebu municipal council from 1971 to 1977. He chaired the local party chapter from 1971 to 1977. He was elected to the Parliament of Norway from Sør-Trøndelag in 1977, and was re-elected on two occasions. He backed out ahead of the Norwegian parliamentary election of 1989 in protest of the party leadership. He called for the replacement of deputy party leader Einar Førde with Kjell Borgen, with the prospect of seeing Borgen as a future party leader. From 1992 to 1994 he was a board member of the Norwegian State Agriculture Bank.


Samuel Vestey, 3rd Baron Vestey

Samuel George Armstrong Vestey, 3rd Baron Vestey, (19 March 1941 – 4 February 2021) was a British peer, landowner, and businessman. Lord Vestey served as Master of the Horse to The Queen. His death was announced on 4 February 2021.
He was part of the family dynasty which founded and still runs the multinational corporation Vestey Holdings.
Early life.
Samuel Vestey was born on 19 March 1941, the son of Captain Hon. William Howarth Vestey, Scots Guards, who was killed in action in 1944 during the Second World War, and Pamela Vestey (née Armstrong; 1918–2011). He was a great-grandson of the celebrated opera singer Dame Nellie Melba on his mother's side. He was educated at Eton College, before attending Sandhurst and serving as a Lieutenant in the Scots Guards.
Business career.
Vestey was the chairman of the Meat Training Council from 1991 to 1995, before becoming chairman of the Vestey Group (now Vestey Holdings) in 1995. He was also a liveryman of the Worshipful Company of Butchers. In 1980, A "Sunday Times" investigation revealed that he and his cousin Edmund were found to have paid just £10 in tax on the family business's £2.3m profit made by the Dewhurst chain.
The Wave Hill walk-off.
Vestey, through his family company, owned the Wave Hill Station in Australia at the time of the Gurindji strike (also known as the Wave Hill walk-off) which ran for nine years from 1966, after 200 Aboriginal Australian workers staged a strike against poor working conditions and pay, and land dispossession.
His role in the strike was mentioned by Ted Egan's song "Gurindji Blues", written in 1969 with Lingiari, and later popularised in the 1991 song by Paul Kelly and Kev Carmody, "From Little Things Big Things Grow". He also gets a mention in Irish folk musician Damien Dempsey's song "Wave Hill Walk Off", on his 2016 album "No Force on Earth".
Public service.
In 1954 Vestey succeeded his grandfather in the peerage title at the age of thirteen. His family seat is Stowell Park Estate in Gloucestershire, where his father is buried.
He was Chancellor (1988–91) and Lord Prior of the Most Venerable Order of the Hospital of St John of Jerusalem (1991–2002) having been appointed Bailiff Grand Cross (GCStJ) in 1987. He became a Deputy Lieutenant of Gloucestershire in 1982.
From 1999 to 2018 Vestey served as Master of the Horse to the Sovereign of the United Kingdom , Queen Elizabeth II, who appointed him Knight Commander of the Royal Victorian Order (KCVO) in the 2009 Birthday Honours.
The Queen promoted Lord Vestey to Knight Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order (GCVO) in December 2018, on the occasion of him relinquishing his appointment as Master of the Horse. Vestey was appointed as a permanent Lord-in-waiting to The Queen in August 2019.
Personal life.
Vestey married Kathryn Eccles (died 13 December 2017) on 11 September 1970 and they were divorced in 1981. They have two daughters and four grandchildren:
He married Celia Elizabeth Knight (1949 – 28 November 2020) on 22 December 1981. Celia Vestey was a godmother of the Duke of Sussex. They have three children:
His elder son, the Hon. William Guy Vestey, served as a Page of Honour to Queen Elizabeth II from 1995 to 1998.
The Vestey family's combined wealth (Lord Vestey, with his cousin, Edmund Hoyle Vestey) amounts to approximately £1.2 billion according to the Sunday Times Rich List 2013.
External links.


Roaring Judy Hatchery

The Roaring Judy Hatchery is a Colorado Parks and Wildlife cold water fish production facility located on East River at the base of Flat Top mountain in Gunnison County. It home to the largest known kokanee salmon run in Colorado.
History.
Roaring Judy Hatchery was inaugurated in 1963.
Mission.
An overarching mission among the hatchery staff is the preservation of cutthroat trout. In 2016, the facility rescued 158 unique cutthroat trout from Hayden Creek after the Hayden Pass Wildfire. Biologists are working to spawn them to preserve a unique genetic line, and a link to Colorado's fishing history.
Fish Species.
Hatchery staff works to support the production of over 3 million kokanee salmon fry, 100,000 subcatchable trout, and 180,000 catchable trout. Their source of water comes from groundwater spring and well water. Salmon are released into the East River through underground pipes. This process is done at night to give high survival odds. After release, salmon come back to the hatchery after approximately three years and ten months. They are able to do so through sensitive odor-detection to locate their birth water. The hatchery staff then strips the eggs and sperm to reproduce the salmon.


Sonalika Tractors

Sonalika Tractors is a tractor manufacturer based in Punjab, India. It is the 3rd largest manufacturer of tractors in India, with the capacity to produce 3 lakh tractors a year, as of June 2017. It manufactures tractors ranging from 20 HP to 120 HP. The company is owned and operated by International Tractors Limited, the flagship firm of Sonalika Group. It was founded in 1995.
Sonalika Tractors wields about 11.7% market share of the Indian tractor industry. Sonalika Tractors owns a 70 per cent stake in the company while Japanese diesel engine manufacturer, Yanmar hold 30 per cent stake. It was selected for the 'Champions of Change' 2017 programme organized by Niti Aayog.
History.
The brand Sonalika Tractors is owned and operated by International Tractors Limited, which was incorporated in 1995. It was founded by Lachhman Das Mittal. It sold its first tractor in 1996.

In 2000, Renault Agriculture, a French tractor maker, acquired a 20% stake in the company for 80 million francs (equivalent to $11.4 million in 2000) and formed a Sonalika-Renault joint venture to market its tractors worldwide.
After tie-up with Renault Agriculture, the company started producing licensed Renault tractors under the Renault Sonalika International. However, the tractors are marketed under 'Solis' brand name while it is marketed under the 'Sonalika' brand name in India. In August 2005, Sonalika bought back its stake from Renault when Renault Agriculture was acquired by Germany's Claas Motors. In October 2005, Yanmar, a Japanese company, acquired a 12% stake in Sonalika.
In October 2012, The Blackstone Group bought a 12.5 per cent stake in the company for Rs 520 crore. The investment from Blackstone made the company valued at Rs 4,200 crore in 2012. The market share of Sonalika Tractors was also increased from 7.8 per cent (in 2011) to 9.9 per cent in 2013. The company launched a heavy range air-conditioned tractor series called Worldtrac 90 in June 2013. In December 2016, Yanmar bought 18 per cent stake in Sonalika for about Rs 1,600 crore. Currently, it owns a 30 per cent stake in the company after Blackstone exit.
It formed a new joint venture with FAMAG in Algeria in October 2018.
Plants.
Sonalika has the world's largest tractor manufacturing facility, in Hoshiarpur, Punjab. It is spread across 85 acres of land and has all manufacturing facilities, from the engine to assembly. The plant has a production capacity of 3 lakh tractor annually. In May 2017, Punjab CM Amarinder Singh inaugurated the integrated tractor manufacturing unit of Sonalika.
The Hoshiarpur plant is also equipped with a robotic paint facility, which was introduced for the first time in the Indian tractor industry. Sonalika has assembly plants in Brazil, Iran, Argentina, Algeria and Cameroon.
Operations.
It holds a 60% market share in Algeria, 22% in Nepal and 20% in Bangladesh. The company operates in over 120 countries and is one of the top Indian tractor exporters.


Manor Farm, Ruislip

Manor Farm is a historic site in Ruislip, Greater London. It incorporates a medieval farm complex, with a main old barn dating from the 13th century and a farm house from the 16th. Nearby are the remains of a motte-and-bailey castle believed to date from shortly after the Norman conquest of England. Original groundwork on the site has been dated to the 9th century.
Ownership of the site passed to the King's College, Cambridge in the 15th century. The Great Barn and Little Barn were recognised by a member of the Royal Society of Arts in 1930 as in need of conservation, and in 1931 Manor Farm was included in the sale of Park Wood as a gift to the people of Ruislip. The site continued as a working farm until 1933, and is now run as a community resource by the London Borough of Hillingdon.
Throughout 2007 and 2008, the site was restored with funding from the National Lottery, and has become a heritage area for the London Borough of Hillingdon. Manor Farm is within the Ruislip Village Conservation Area. Events are regularly held within the 13th-century Great Barn and around the rest of the site.
History.
Origins.
What remains of the motte-and-bailey castle can be seen today in part of the moat and bank on the site. Today, the moat on the site is a scheduled monument, believed to have been extended to create an oval area upon which a wooden castle covering by was built, presumably for the landowner, Ernulf de Hesdin. He was given control of the manor of Ruislip shortly after the Norman conquest, in recognition of his loyalty to William the Conqueror. The castle is believed to have been built between 1066 and 1087, but does not appear in the 1086 "Domesday Book" and so could have been demolished or changed significantly. It may never have been finished.
Ruislip parish was owned by the Benedictine Bec Abbey of Normandy between 1096 and 1404 during which time the prior built a home for himself on the site, surrounded by a moat. During the 16th century, the remains of the motte-and-bailey site were used as the gardens of the Manor Farm House when it was built. In 1888 the moat extension was filled in by Henry James Ewer, who farmed on the site. The moat's shape and the presence of traces of a fortified building have allowed this part of the site to be dated to the 11th century. However, the castle is believed to have been built around 1066 then either demolished or changed significantly as it does not appear as a castle in "Domesday Book".
The farm buildings date back to the 13th century with the Great Barn the most prominent. The barn is the second largest such structure in Middlesex after another in Harmondsworth. The Great Barn is constructed of English oak from the nearby Ruislip Woods. It was built to a design known as an aisled barn, whereby smaller out-shoots run alongside the main supports underneath one main roof.
Ownership.
Studies by English Heritage have found that the site originally functioned not only as the manorial court hall for Ruislip, but also as a working farm. The main building was built over two existing structures, possibly to accommodate the new lessee of the manor, Robert Drury, a former Speaker of the House of Commons. The study concluded this was most likely achieved by a team of masons and carpenters. Manor Farm was also known as Ruislip Court until the 19th century.
In 1451, ownership of the farm passed with the rest of Ruislip to King's College, Cambridge who remain titular Lords of the Manor. King's completed two surveys of the manor during their ownership, in 1565 and 1750.
The Farm House was built from locally produced bricks, tiles and timber in the 16th century, and served as the manorial court until 1925 when the last court was held. Work in the 18th and 19th centuries saw the windows and doorways replaced, while an extended kitchen was installed. The kitchen extension was replaced in 1958 as part of a general refurbishment of the house.
Manor Farm and Park Wood were nearly demolished in the early 1900s to make way for a new development planned in partnership with King's College and the Ruislip-Northwood Urban District Council. A town planning competition was won by A & J Soutar from Wandsworth, who suggested a symmetrical design across the parish which would have seen a total of 7,642 new homes built. St. Martin's Church would have been the only example of historical architecture left in Ruislip. An outline map of the new development proposal was made public on 30 November 1910 with few objections. A Local Board inquiry followed on 17 February 1911 which required negotiations with landowners to allow for a full planning scheme to be compiled. This was presented in February 1913 with an adaptation of the original Soutars plan and received approval from the Local Government Board in September 1914. Three roads with residential housing, Manor Way, Windmill Way and Park Way were completed before the outbreak of the First World War when all construction work was halted. It was not resumed until 1919, though the plan was substantially scaled back as work slowed throughout the next decade.
The protection of Manor Farm and the local woods from redevelopment was eventually confirmed in January 1930, after a visit by a member of the Royal Society of Arts to choose buildings that should be conserved. The Great Barn and Little Barn were selected, along with the old Post Office, the Old Bell public house and the Priest's House of the local church. The woods, part of the centre of the manor of Ruislip along with Ruislip village square, were included when King's College sold the land to the district in February 1931. Park Wood was sold for £28,100 with Manor Farm and the old Post Office included as a gift to the people of Ruislip. King's had wished to also present the wood as a gift but was required by the University and College's Act to receive payment as it was the trustee of the land. Middlesex County Council contributed 75% of the cost as the urban district council argued that many of those who would make use of the land would be recreational day trippers from outside the district. Under a 999-year lease, the council agreed to maintain the wood and ensure no new buildings were constructed without the permission of the county council. An area of the wood to the south was not included in the lease agreement and three residential roads were later constructed on it.
In 1932, the two cart sheds on either side of the lane leading into the farm were removed. That year, Councillor T. R. Parker purchased a plot of land on the site from King's College. Manor Farm continued as a working farm until the following year, when the local council began to sell off much of the land surrounding the buildings for housing developments. Councillor Parker presented his land to the Ruislip Village Trust as the site of a future public hall, and the Trust passed it to the urban district council in 1964 stipulating that that would be the sole use. The council obliged and the Winston Churchill Hall was built in 1965.
A smaller barn built in the 16th century, the Little Barn, was converted to a library and opened on 2 November 1937. The original cowbyre was destroyed by fire in 1979 and was rebuilt as an exhibition centre. An archaeological excavation was carried out by the Museum of London Archaeological Service in 1997 around the Farm House. This discovered the remains of the old priory were beneath the house, as this had been the bailey, surrounded by the motte.
Restoration.
The site was refurbished with funding from the Heritage Lottery Fund in April 2007 with the work completed in June the following year. This included the renovation of the Grade II listed Manor Farm library as part of a borough-wide programme by the London Borough of Hillingdon. The Duck Pond Market began in the Great Barn in December 2008, following the refurbishment, and runs twice a month. Winston Churchill Theatre, not included in the original restoration work, received a £370,000 grant from Hillingdon Council in March 2011 to enable its refurbishment. The other buildings on the site are used as an Exhibition venue (the Cow Byre Gallery), community spaces (The Stables and the Manor Farm Community Hut) and as a small interpretation centre and base of the Hillingdon Music Service (Manor Farm House).
Since 6 September 1974, all the buildings on the site are Grade II listed, except for the Great Barn, which is Grade II*.
Comparable structures.
Other moated medieval farm complexes survive in the nearby area at Headstone Manor and (without a surviving moat) at Pinner Park. Traces of a moat survived at Harmondsworth Great Barn until 1968.


Geoffrey Huskinson (cartoonist)

Geoffrey Mark Clement Huskinson (25 September 1935 – 8 March 2018) was an English cartoonist and first-class cricketer. His cartoons found prominence from the mid-1970s, featuring in many exhibits, books and newspapers.
Life and career.
The eldest of four children, Huskinson was born at Langar Hall to the first-class cricketer Geoffrey Huskinson, Sr. and his wife, Carmen Imogen de las Casas, who was the daughter of a Spanish nobleman from Cuba. He began to lose his hearing aged ten, shortly before attending Ampleforth College. It was his deteriorating hearing that sparked his interest in drawing. Unable to concentrate in class, he began doodling on his desk. After leaving Ampleforth, he was offered places at Slade School of Fine Art and the Ruskin School of Drawing and Fine Art, but accepted a place at Edinburgh College of Art.
His time there was brief, with Huskinson moving to New Zealand where he worked on a sheep station until 1955. He returned to England, where he bought a farm in Lincolnshire. Huskinson played a first-class cricket match for the Free Foresters against Oxford University at Oxford in 1959. He had little success in what was his only foray into first-class cricket, scoring 3 runs in the Free Foresters first-innings before being dismissed by David Russell, while in their second-innings he was dismissed by David Sayer for 7 runs. He married Judith Chadfield in 1961, with the couple having three sons. During this period he worked for Aveling-Barford as their representative in Africa and the Middle East, before leaving in 1967 when the company was taken over by British Leyland.
He took up art once more in the mid-1970s, initially specialising in portraiture and sculpting. He later exhibited some cartoons he had drawn, and decided to focus as a cartoonist after they sold out within 30 minutes. He exhibited across the world between 1980 and 2007, and was regularly selling over 3,000 prints a year. His illustrations filled a number of books, most prominently those about horse racing and cookery. His wife died in 2007, with Huskinson briefly marrying Sue Ward, who ran his dealing network. In 2014, he moved to Menorca to live by the golf course at Son Parc, where he died in March 2018.
Family.
His great-grandfather was Thomas Bayley, the Member of Parliament for Chesterfield. His sister, Imogen Skirving, was killed in a road accident in 2016 when she came to visit Huskinson in Menorca.


Christopher Ranch

Christopher Ranch is an American garlic supplier based in Gilroy, California. Founded in 1956, the company processes and supplies millions of pounds of garlic each year, most of which is grown in California, and sold in the United States. The company has roughly 1,000 full-time employees, with the majority working in Gilroy. The bulk of the company's garlic is grown in the Salinas Valley.
History.
The company was founded in 1956 by Don Christopher.
In the 1990s, many garlic fields the company had in the Gilroy area were affected with garlic white rot, making further garlic production there impossible.
In 1993, company production reached 100 million pounds of garlic. Facing competition from low priced garlic imported from China, company production fell significantly over the next decade.


Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology of Kashmir

Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology of Kashmir is an agricultural university located in Shalimar, Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir, India. With its main campus and Faculty of Horticulture in Shalimar, Srinagar, the University has multiple campuses, colleges, research and extension centers across the Kashmir Valley and Ladakh Union Territory. The Faculty of Agriculture (FoA) is located in Wadura, Baramulla and the Faculty of Veterinary Sciences and Animal Husbandry (F.V.Sc & A.H) campus is located in Shuhama, Alusteng, Ganderbal.
History.
The university was founded in 1982 by an Act passed by the State Legislature of Jammu and Kashmir. It was named after Kashmiri leader Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah who is popularly known as Sher-e-Kashmir (Lion of Kashmir). The name given to the university was "Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology" (SKUAST).
Initially, the university had jurisdiction over the entire State of Jammu and Kashmir with its headquarters at Shalimar, Srinagar. When the SKUAST Act came in force, the agricultural education, research and extension training units were transferred to SKUAST from various development departments viz; Agriculture, Animal Husbandry, Sheep Husbandry and Sericulture of Jammu and Kashmir State.
In 1998-99, the territorial jurisdiction of the University was redefined by amending the SKUAST Act 1982 under which a separate agricultural University was established for Jammu Division and named as Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology of Jammu (SKUAST-J) with its territorial jurisdiction extended to the entire Jammu Division. The parent University was renamed as Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology of Kashmir (SKUAST-K)
Establishment of the university.
In 1979, the expert team of Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) on the proposal of state government recommended the establishment of an agricultural university for the advancement of the agricultural sector in the state. The Act for the establishment of a university under the name and style of Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology was passed by the State Legislature in the 33rd
year of the Republic of India on 31 March 1982 which came into force on 1 August 1982 with its jurisdiction over the entire State of Jammu and Kashmir and headquarters at Shalimar, Srinagar.
With the establishment of Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology (SKUAST) named after great patriotic leader Jenab Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah (popularly known as Sher-e-Kashmir) the agricultural education, research and extension training units were transferred to SKUAST from development departments of Jammu and Kashmir State — agriculture, animal husbandry, sheep husbandry and sericulture. The university operates on the Land-Grant College concept following the Model Act of SAUs evolved by ICAR. It is a multicampus university.
It is a matter of great satisfaction that extremely incoherent and stagnated research infrastructure, an initial customary educational base and non-existent extension education services have given way to an organised institution of SKUAST, which has taken over the responsibility of supporting the state in its effort to develop its agricultural economy in agriculture and allied sectors. There is no doubt that SKUAST has developed faster than many agricultural universities in the country.
In 1998-99, the territorial jurisdiction of the university was redefined by amending the SKUAST Act 1982 under which a separate agriculture university was established for Jammu Division and named as Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology of Jammu (SKUAST-J). Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology of Kashmir has jurisdiction over Kashmir Valley and Ladakh comprising two agro-ecological zones. These include


Williamsburg Winery

The Williamsburg Winery is a winery located in Williamsburg, Virginia. It is the state's largest winery, accounting for one quarter of all wine produced in Virginia.
History.
The Williamsburg Winery took its present form for the first time in 1685, when Patrick and Margaret Duffeler bought a parcel of land which they called "Wessex Hundred". They began planting vines immediately, and the first harvest was taken in 1987. The first wine was released in 1988, and was called "Governor's White". This wine remains the winery's most popular. The Williamsburg Winerey produces approximately 65,000 cases of wine annually.
Vineyards.
The Williamsburg winery is located on a 320-acre plot of land known as the Wessex Hundred. Of the 320 acres of land owned by the winery, 275 acres are dedicated to the Williamsburg Conservancy and are intended to remain permanently undeveloped. In keeping with the conservation theme, Patrick Duffeler and the Virginia Forestry Service planted 50,000 lob lolly pine trees along the James River to replace wood originally used when building the winery. As of 2010, the vineyard contains nearly 50 acres of cultivated land. An additional 2 acres of land have been developed into a sustainable garden which is used to provide produce to the Winery's on-site dining establishments.
Grapes.
The list of grapes harvested includes:


Taurus cattle

Taurus cattle are a form of Heck cattle, an attempt of breeding back the aurochs, the wild ancestor of domestic cattle. They are the result of crossbreeding traditional Heck cattle with aurochs-like cattle mostly from Southern Europe to achieve a greater resemblance to the aurochs and larger body size. Taurus cattle herds are located in Germany, Denmark, Hungary, Latvia and the Netherlands and are used in conservation of natural landscapes and biodiversity. Taurus cattle is a breed that is still being crossbred and bred selectively.
History.
In 1996 the conservation group "Arbeitgemeinschaft Biologischer Umweltschutz" in Germany started to crossbreed Heck cattle with primitive cattle from Southern Europe such as Chianina, Sayaguesa Cattle and the Spanish fighting bull in the Lippeaue reserve near the town of Soest. The purpose was and is an increased resemblance to the extinct aurochs, because they considered Heck cattle not satisfying. For example, they write in one of their publications: "The 'recreations' by the Heck brothers are too small, too short-legged, not elegant and their horns are not satisfying". Therefore, the goal is to breed cattle that are considerably larger, more long-legged and long-snouted and have horns curving forwards additionally to the wild type colour scheme that was already present in the population. By 2003 the breeding process had advanced enough to consider the animals a breed in their own right; as breed name, "Taurus cattle" was chosen. Also in 2003, a breeding herd each was started in Hungary and Denmark, in 2004 one was begun in Latvia, and in 2016 one was begun in the Netherlands.
Germany.
In Germany, Taurus cattle herds are crossed with Chianina and Sayaguesa, two very tall breeds, and initially also the Spanish fighting bull (Toro de Lidia). The crossbred animals in the Lippeaue reserve, the most important breeding location, are composed of 47% Sayaguesa, 29% Heck cattle, 20% Chianina and 4% Lidia on average. By 2013, some individuals were of the fifth cross generation already.
Taurus cattle are listed in the herdbook X of the German Heck cattle association VFA. There is an increasing interest of Heck cattle breeders in using Taurus cattle because of their larger resemblance to the aurochs, so that there is a continuum between Taurus cattle and un-crossed Heck cattle.
Hungary.
Hortobágy National Park in Hungary has the largest herd of Taurus cattle so far, counting 500–600 individuals of which around 200 are mature cows. Additionally to crossbred cattle that were imported from Germany, Ankole-Watusi, Hungarian Grey cattle crosses and one half-Holstein Friesian cow are used. There are two sub-herds, a main herd at Pentezug and another one at Karácsonyfok. Studies in the national park showed that cattle are less adapted to dry, cold grassland than Przewalski horses, and until a few years ago the cattle were supplementary fed. The winter of 2011, however, was the first winter in which additional food was not necessary.
Denmark.
Taurus breeding was initiated in Lille Vildmose Nature Reserve under the name Projekt Urokse ("Project Aurochs"). The founding herd consisted of one Chianina × Heck bull, four Heck cows and one Sayaguesa × Heck cow, and in 2009 three Sayaguesa bulls were added. As of 2010, the herd had grown to a size of 56 individuals.
Latvia.
In Latvia, Taurus cattle are being bred by WWF Latvia. In February 2004, besides two German animals 21 head of Dutch Heck cattle were brought to Pape Nature Reserve, in October another 18 head of Dutch Heck cattle followed.
The Netherlands.
In the Netherlands a project was set up at the end of 2016 called "Oerrund Hard". Oerrund Hard is a wordplay on the song "Oerend hard" by a Dutch band called "Normaal", and "oerrund", the Dutch word for "aurochs".
The project uses Taurus cattle from Germany, chiefly consisting of crossbreds between Heck cattle and Chianina cattle, selected Heck cattle, and Watusi cattle. The Watusi have been donated by DierenPark Amersfoort Zoo. There are now three small herds, and a fourth is in the making.
External features.
Most Taurus cattle are long-legged and comparatively slender. An increase in size was achieved, large Taurus bulls measure 160–165 cm at the withers while normal Heck bulls measure only 140 cm. Most bulls are black with a light dorsal stripe, some bulls have a light colour saddle. Cows are on average, but not always, a lighter colour than the bulls, most of them are coloured reddish brown or dark brown. Some cows are as of yet still greyish or beige, an undesirable legacy of Heck and Chianina influence. The horns of most Taurus cattle face forwards and also more inwards compared to un-crossed Heck cattle, but the exact curvature of the horns is variable to a certain degree. The skull is longer and more straight-profiled than that of Heck cattle, and therefore resembles the aurochs. Usually, Taurus cattle have a more athletic body than Heck cattle do, and their shoulder muscles are more developed.


Vale da Rosa

Vale da Rosa is a Portuguese company and table grape brand, headquartered in Ferreira do Alentejo. It produces table grapes, including seedless grapes, for the export market.
Founded in 1972, it is located on the Ferreira do Alentejo area and in the centre of a regional development triangle formed by the Beja airport, the port of Sines and the Alqueva Dam, producing table grapes, including seedless grapes, in an area of under cover. There are an average number of 300 people working in the company and this number usually goes up to 500 during the most labour demanding season which has a duration of 5 months.
The company has been featured in several major media such as RTP, Correio da Manhã and Expresso.


Round Lake Logging Dam

The Round Lake Logging Dam is located in Fifield, Wisconsin, United States. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1981.
History.
Constructed during the lumber boom of the 1800s, the dam would open during the spring and logs were transported down the river. In 1992, the dam underwent renovation with assistance from multiple sources, including the Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest and the historical society of Price County, Wisconsin.


John Wayles Eppes

John Wayles Eppes (April 19, 1773September 13, 1823) was an American lawyer and politician. He represented Virginia in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1803 to 1811 and again from 1813 to 1815. He also served in the U.S. Senate (1817–1819). His positions in Congress occurred after he served in the Virginia House of Delegates (1801–1803).
A member of the wealthy planter class, he was related through his mother to Martha Jefferson, the wife of Thomas Jefferson, with whom Eppes was close.
Early life and education.
Eppes was born at Eppington, in Chesterfield County in the Colony of Virginia, the sixth child and only son of Elizabeth (née Wayles) and Francis Eppes on April 19, 1773. His father was a first cousin and his mother was a half-sister to Martha Jefferson.
After being taught by tutors, Eppes attended the University of Pennsylvania at Philadelphia, and graduated from Hampden–Sydney College in Virginia in 1786. He studied law and was admitted to the bar in 1794, commencing practice in the state capital, Richmond.
Marriage and family.
Eppes married his first cousin Mary Jefferson (known as "Polly" in childhood and "Maria" as an adult) on October 13, 1797 at Monticello. They resided at Mont Blanco plantation in Chesterfield County, Virginia.
After several miscarriages and the death in January 1800 of a newborn baby girl, Maria and John had two children:
Mary died at Monticello on April 17, 1804, two months after the birth of Maria, and is buried there.
On April 15, 1809, Eppes married Martha Burke Jones, daughter of Willie Jones, a prominent North Carolina planter and politician. They had six children.
Betsy Hemmings.
After Mary's death, Eppes moved his household and slaves from Mont Blanco to another of his plantations called Millbrook in Buckingham County, Virginia. Among the slaves was Betsy Hemmings, the mixed-race daughter of Mary Hemings and granddaughter of Betty Hemings. According to her descendants, Hemmings became a concubine to Eppes in a relationship that began when he was a young widower. She bore his son, Joseph, likely named for her brother. She named their daughter Frances, a name traditional among men in the Eppes family. She lived at Milbrook for the rest of her life, and when she died in 1857, was buried next to John Wayles Eppes in the family cemetery there.
Political career.
Eppes was a member of the Virginia House of Delegates from 1801 to 1803. On March 4, 1803 he was elected as a Democratic-Republican to the Eighth United States Congress and the next three succeeding Congresses, so he was frequently away from his plantation. He chaired the Ways and Means Committee for the Eleventh Congress but failed to be elected to the Twelfth. He spent the next two years at his plantation, Milbrook.
He was elected to the Thirteenth Congress (March 4, 1813 – March 4, 1815) and chaired the Committee on Ways and Means again. After losing the election to the Fourteenth Congress, he was elected to the United States Senate and served from March 4, 1817, until December 4, 1819, when he resigned because of ill health. He chaired the Committee on Finance during the second session of the Fifteenth Congress.
Retirement and death.
Late in life Eppes suffered from various ailments. He died at Millbrook on September 13, 1823, and was buried in the Eppes family cemetery at the Millbrook.


Edgar Gilmer Dawson

Edgar Gilmer Dawson (March 6, 1830 – April 24, 1883) was a planter and lawyer. He was born in Greensboro, Georgia, and was one of the Greene County Dawsons, the fifth child of Senator William Crosby Dawson.
In 1849 he received an A.B. from the University of Georgia and he married Lucy F. Terrell, daughter of Dr. William Terrell of Sparta, Georgia, in 1856.
Dawson served as Captain and later Major of the Terrell Light Artillery from 1861 to 1864 during the Civil War. After 1867, he became a resident of Baltimore, Maryland.
The Edgar Gilmer Dawson Fund supports agricultural education at the University of Georgia. Dawson Hall, which houses the College of Family and Consumer Sciences, was named for him.


Ploegsteert Wood

Ploegsteert Wood was a sector of the Western Front in Flanders in World War I, part of the Ypres Salient. It is located around the village of Ploegsteert in the Walloon region of north-western Belgium.
After fierce fighting in late 1914 and early 1915, Ploegsteert Wood became a quiet sector where no major action took place. Units were sent here to recuperate and retrain after tougher fighting elsewhere and before returning to take part in more active operations. British Tommies referred to Ploegsteert Wood as "Plugstreet Wood". From January to May 1916, Winston Churchill served in the area as Commanding Officer (Lieutenant-Colonel) of the 6th Battalion of the Royal Scots Fusiliers.
There are numerous Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) cemeteries and memorials around the wood, including the Hyde Park Corner (Royal Berks) CWGC Cemetery and the Berks CWGG Cemetery Extension with the Ploegsteert Memorial to the Missing. The Ploegsteert Memorial commemorates more than 11,000 British and Empire servicemen who died during the First World War and have no known grave. It is one of several CWGC Memorials to the Missing along the Western Front. Those lost within the Ypres Salient without a known grave are commemorated at the Menin Gate and Tyne Cot Memorial to the Missing, while the missing of New Zealand and Newfoundland are honoured on separate memorials.


Madhupur National Park

Madhupur National Park () is a major and one of the earliest national park in Bangladesh.
Description.
Madhupur National Park covers an area of . The Forest was established as a national park by the Bangladesh government in 1962 but, was officially declared as National park in 1982 under the Bangladesh wildlife (Preservation) Amendment Act of 1947.The park is located at Madhupur Upazila, Tangail District in the North region of the country. It is about away from Dhaka.The local topography mainly consists of flat topped ridges ("Chalas") intersected by numerous depressions ("Baids"). The park is easily accessible by the road throughout the year. The park is a famous tourist spot due to the natural and scenic beauty.
Climate.
The climate is generally moderate. The temperature rises up to 37 °C in May and drops down to minimum 10 °C in January. The park enjoys tropical Monsoon from June to September every year. The soil is loamy, clay and sandy loam at various places. The altitude rises to above mean sea level.
Biodiversity.
The national park is rich in wildlife and plant diversity.
Flora.
The general walk in the forest is easy due to the flat terrain. About 40% of the forest area is covered with Sal (Shorea robusta) trees. Madhupur forests are considered one of the best sal forest in entire Bangladesh. The sal trees grow in association with "Dillenia pentagyna", "Lagerstroemia parviflora", "Adina cordifolia", "Miliusa velutina", "Lannea grandis", "Albizia" spp., "Bauhinia variegata", "Spondias mangifera", "Butea frondosa" and "Barringtonia acutangula". The undergrowth is shrubby, which includes "Eupatoriun odoratum", "Pennisetum setosum", "Asparagus racemosus" and "Rauvolfia serpentina". Plantations of Teak "Tectona grandis", "Cassia siamea", "Morus" spp., "Terminalia arjuna" and "Syzygium cumini" were made in the park area. 176 plant species were identified in the park, which include 73 tree species, 22 shrub species, 27 climbers, 45 medicinal plants, 8 grasses and 1 palm species.
Fauna.
Since long back, Madhupur forest was rich in wildlife and was famous for Tigers. The fauna consists of 190 species which include 21 mammals, 140 birds, and 29 snakes.
Human settlement.
There is large human habitation inside and along the National park area. Some 4500 Garo tribals were allowed for the settlement inside the park in 1968.in 1989 the human population was about 14,000. Mainly paddy is cultivated in plains and pineapple and cassava is cultivated as a commercial crop on higher lands.


Kumquat production in China

China is one of the world's leading producers of kumquats. The earliest historical reference to kumquats appears in Chinese literature in the 12th century, and the plant was native to China before it was spread to Japan, Taiwan and South America. The industry is highly productive in Jiangxi province, particularly in Suichuan County which is first among China's four largest kumquat-producing areas. In the mid 1980s, Yufeng Township accounted for one half of the entire county's production.
Many women in Jiangxi province are occupied in the kumquat industry.


Icelandic Sheepdog

The Icelandic Sheepdog ( ) is a breed of dog of spitz type originating from the dogs brought to Iceland by the Vikings. It is of similar type to the Norwegian Buhund, the Shetland Sheepdog, and the Welsh Corgi. They are commonly used to herd sheep in the Icelandic countryside.
Appearance.
These are the current breed standards:
Temperament.
Icelandic Sheepdogs are tough and energetic. Hardy and agile, they are extremely useful for herding and driving livestock or finding lost sheep. However, the dogs are not known for hunting. They are very alert and always give visitors an enthusiastic welcome, without being aggressive. Friendly and cheerful, the Icelandic Sheepdog is inquisitive, playful and unafraid. They generally get along well with children, as well as other pets.
Activities.
Icelandic Sheepdogs can compete in dog agility trials, obedience, rally obedience, showmanship, flyball, tracking, and herding events. Herding instincts and trainability can be measured at noncompetitive herding tests. Icelandic Sheepdogs that exhibit basic herding instincts can be trained to compete in herding trials.
History.
In 1650, Sir Thomas Brown wrote, "To England there are sometimes exported from Iceland ... a type of dog resembling a fox ... Shepherds in England are eager to acquire them!"
Plague and canine distemper destroyed over 75% of the breed in the late 19th century, leading to a ban on the importation of dogs to Iceland. The purebred Icelandic Sheepdog was again bordering extinction in the late 20th century and in 1969, the Icelandic Dog Breeder Association (HRFÍ) was established to preserve the breed, among other aims.
The Icelandic Sheepdog gained AKC recognition in June 2010, alongside the Leonberger and the Cane Corso.
Miscellaneous.
The breed is sometimes denoted in Latin as "canis islandicus", though it is a breed and not a species.
As the name implies, it is a sheep dog, but is also used as a watch dog and general working dog. When herding, the Icelandic Sheepdogs were not mainly used to take the sheep from one point to another, but to prevent animals from straying. Additionally, the dogs were in charge of herding horses and other animals, as well. When herding failed, the dogs drove the animals by barking. Thus, they tend to bark when they want something, although this behaviour can be controlled by training.
In the Icelandic landscape, sheep often get lost and it has historically been the dog's job to find them and return them to the herd. They are, therefore, used to working on their own and to figuring things out for themselves, so owners have to beware lest they learn things they should not. As a watch dog, their main task was to alert the inhabitants when somebody was coming, so these dogs tend to bark a lot when they see people approaching.
The Icelandic Sheepdog is very loyal and wants to be around its family constantly. It follows its owner everywhere. Unlike most working dogs, these calm down when indoors and happily lie down at their master's feet.


Stonehurst Family Farm and Motor Museum

The Stonehurst Family Farm and Motor Museum is a working farm and a motor museum located in the village of Mountsorrel, Leicestershire. The farm won the Leicestershire Tourism Award for Best visitor experience 2000/2001.
Farm.
History.
The farm (established in 1851) is currently open to the public daily and is home to many differing animals. The farm operates tractor trailer rides for the local children, currently hoping to link up with the Mountsorrel Railway creating a large linked family attraction. Stonehurst has a working farm with several interactive attractions.
Motor museum.
The motor museum on the property has a large collection of vintage motorcycles and cars, including some 1960s sports cars.


Westfield Freezing Works

The Westfield Freezing Works was a large meat processing facility in the Auckland suburb of Westfield, New Zealand. The site was established by Auckland's Hellaby family in 1908. Generations of families worked at Westfield, but economic reforms in the mid-1980s made the works uncompetitive and the site finally closed in 1989.
History.
During World War I a number of freezing works opened across the country to meet the demand for New Zealand produce. Prime Minister William Massey opened Westfield Freezing Works on 29 May 1916 with 2,000 people attending the opening.
Notable former employees of the freezing works include:


Galicano Apacible

Galicano Apacible (June 25, 1864 – March 2, 1949) was a Philippine politician. A cousin to Jose Rizal, he co-founded La Solidaridad and the Nacionalista Party.
He held the office of Governor of Batangas and was the representative of the First District of Batangas from 1909 to 1916. He is known for his piece "To the American People, an Appeal", in which he tries to plead with the people of the United States to pressure its government not to invade his newly independent country.


Uco Valley

Valle de Uco is a viticultural region southwest of Mendoza, in Argentina. Situated along the Tunuyán River, the Uco Valley is widely considered one of the top wine regions in Mendoza, and all of Argentina. The annual average temperature is and altitudes range from above sea level.
The combination of high elevation, alluvial soils, irrigation sourced from the Andes Mountains, a long growing season with over 250 sunny days a year, little rain and vast temperature differences between day and night are all conducive to growing quality wine grapes. These climate and geography elements come together to provide excellent fruit ripening and concentration, developing colors, aromas, flavors and textures resulting in wines that are deep in color, intense in aromas and rich in flavors. The Uco Valley figures prominently in the Argentina Wine Route for tourist visitors.
Traditionally, the varietals grown in this area are Sémillon and Malbec; together with Bonarda and Barbera in a smaller amount.
References.
5. Uco Valley guide.


Lake Falconer Ayson

Lake Falconer Ayson (7 June 1855 – 17 June 1927) was a New Zealand farm labourer, rabbit inspector, acclimatisation officer and fisheries inspector. He was born in Warepa, near Balclutha in South Otago, New Zealand, on 7 June 1855.


Forest cover by state in India

List of how many forests and percentage of forest cover in India by state.
Tree density.
Tree density is the quantification of how closely the trees are growing in a hectare area. It is not the exact number of trees in the forest but, serves as an estimate to the foresters..The tree density of an area should be mentioned by the working Plan officer (WPO) or Divisional Forest Officer (Working Plan) after his field inspection of the lowest possible forest unit or compartment in the CH-3 form of compartment history. The compartment history forms are to be maintained at the Forest range and Forest division offices. The working Plan code-2014 mentions in the para 105 that the density should also be mentioned on the stock map prepared by the WPO/DFO in decimal figures. The crown density is similar to the tree density. The forest area with density more than 0.4 are considered good forest area and forest area with less than 0.4 tree density are considered degraded forest.
Forest cover.
Forest cover is the total geographical area declared as forest by the government. As of 2019, the total forest cover in India is 712,249 Sq km (71.22 million hectares), which is 21.67 percent of the total geographical area. Whereas, the total forest and tree cover in India is 807,276 Sq km (80.73 million hectors), which is 24.56 percent of the total geographical area of the country.
2017.
The forest cover in 2017 in India by state and union territory as published by the Forest Survey of India (FSI) is shown in the table below.<re name="isfr2017"></ref>
Very Dense= All lands with tree canopy density of 70 percent ( 0.7 tree density) and above.
Moderately Dense= All lands with tree canopy density of 40 percent and more but less than 70 percent ( 0.4 to 0.7 tree density).
Open Forest= All lands with tree canopy density of 10 percent and more but less than 40 percent (0.1 to 0.4 tree density).
Scrub= All forest lands with poor tree growth mainly of small or stunted trees canopy density less than 10 percent (Less than 0.1 tree density).
2015.
According to Forest Survey of India (FSI), the forest cover by State/UT in India in 2015 is listed below.
Very Dense= All lands with tree canopy density of 70 percent and above.
Moderately Dense= All lands with tree canopy density of 40 percent and more but less than 70 percent.
Open Forest= All lands with tree canopy density of 10 percent and more but less than 40 percent.
See also.
List of countries by forest area
List of forests in India
Indian Forest Service


Republic Tobacco

Republic Tobacco LP is a multinational wholesaler, distributor, and retailer of tobacco, based in the Chicago suburb of Glenview, Illinois, United States.
Republic Tobacco is wholly owned by Republic Group (Republic Technologies LLC is the parent company), which includes the manufacturer affiliates of Top Tobacco, Republic Technologies: JOB and Odet-Cascadec-Bolloré (OCB) cigarette papers, Altesse GmbH (filter tubes), H.T.H. Tabak (cigarettes, snuff, and tobacco), and Productos Technologicos Catalanes (smoking accessories), as well as Republic Tobacco, representing a combined sales and distribution presence in more than 90 countries .
The company was founded by Donald Levin. Levin began with a small smoke shop called Adams Apple (which still exists, although it is no longer owned by Levin). He then went into wholesale distribution and grew his company into the largest roll-your-own tobacco company in the world.
In 1969, Levin became the U.S. distributor for JOB rolling papers. He built the brand and used the profits to purchase the TOP Tobacco Factory & Brands from R. J. Reynolds in the early 1980s. He is rumored to have a copy of the check he wrote to RJR on his wall to this day.
Over the years, Levin oversaw his company's expansion, which eventually culminated in 2000 his purchase of some of the Bolloré brands like French brands OCB and JOB. In July 2009, he also bought from Bolloré Papeteries du Léman and Papeteries des Vosges, two French paper mills specialized in thin papers .
He also purchased the Chicago Wolves sports team; produced many movies, including "Maximum Overdrive".


Rockview Farms

Rockview Farms was established in Downey, California, in 1927 by Bob Hops. In 1930, Mr. Joseph J. McCandless organized the dairy. In 1938, Rockview Farms won a gold medal in the raw milk exhibit at the Los Angeles County Fair. The McCandless brothers were selling retail with the help of Joseph McCandless' wife from Ireland.
A fire in 1957 destroyed a 900-foot barn at the dairy's address at 7011 Stewart and Gray Road and burned between 900 and 1000 tons of hay. Several corrals burned and total damages were estimated at $50,000. A dairy spokesman was quoted as saying the fire was "believed to have been accidentally started by children playing with matches or youths smoking and unauthorized to be on the premises."
In 1959, Rockview had 250 employees and 4 drive-in dairy stores with 2 in Downey offering a complete line of dairy products. In a publication about the city, a page on Rockview was written saying, "Rockview's low prices save housewives many dollars per year" and "Mr. J. McCandless, who has high regard for America's youth has provided guided tours of Rockview's facilities. Each year, over 15,000 school children and Scout groups enjoy these trips." Rockview Farms' cattle won 175 gold medals at State and County Fairs from 1930 to 1959.
Peter DeGroot, who originally supplied Rockview Farms with milk, bought the dairy in 1965 when the McCandless Brothers declared bankruptcy, and expanded the operation to 6 drive-in stores, 70 home delivery routes, and 8 wholesale routes.
Processing Plant.
The processing plant is located in Downey with a cold storage facility in the neighboring city of South Gate. The dairy has hired six to 10 new employees annually from targeted Enterprise Zone employment areas within the local community, earning the business tax credits now worth approximately $100,000 a year.
The company uses the Q5i Near Infrared In-Line Analyzer from Engineering Solutions Experts, Inc., improving quality control during the fluid milk standardization process. Rockview Farms uses HTST pasteurization to ensure maximum nutrition and taste.
Rockview Farms processes about 800,000 to one million gallons of milk a week.
Expenses facing the company include the theft of plastic milk crates. Rockview Farms wrote in support of California Assembly Bill 1583 saying that it purchases nearly 450,000 milk crates annually at a cost of more than $1.7 million, yet police reports and investigations have found that milk crates and plastic pallets are stolen and sold illegally to junk dealers/recyclers who then grind the plastic containers into chips to be resold for a lesser price.
Products.
Rockview Farms purveys a full line of dairy and related products in a variety of sizes for the food service industry and retail trade including whole milk, organic milk, butter, buttermilk, cottage cheese, cream, half & half, sour cream, juice and yogurt. In January 2014, Rockview Farms switched organic milk label from the Good Heart label to Rockview Farms Organic Milk with Chief Operating Officer Ted Degroot citing, "greater consumer and industry awareness about our brand."
Farms.
Rockview Farms keeps its own dairy cows in Chino, northern California, and Nevada and processes its own milk and is delivered to the customer in 48 hours after milking. A complaint in 2008 alleging "violations of organic livestock management rules" was closed without decision by the USDA saying the action was "moot" stating Rockview Farms complied with the procedural terms and entered into an inspection agreement.
Distribution.
Weekly volume in 2001 totaled over 500,000 gallons of fluid milk weekly. Independent contractors supplement a company fleet of 75 refrigerated trailers and 40 refrigerated straight trucks. The trailer fleet served large chain accounts and distributors in outlying areas such as Riverside and San Diego. The straight truck fleet served wholesale customers in the Los Angeles Metro area. Wholesale routes ran seven days a week and typically carried 20 stops.
Rockview Farms supplied 25 drive-through dairies and 20 home delivery routes in 2003.
Jim Pastor had a contract with Rockview Farms that serviced 4,800 homes using 14 milkmen. He picked up 300 new residential customers in June 2010 from word-of-mouth marketing.
In 2004, Ted DeGroot, COO, was quoted in the "Los Angeles Times" over the price hike of whole milk to $2.90 per gallon, a 50% increase over 2003. "I am concerned with consumer response to this large an increase. It could hurt milk consumption."
Utah-based Winder Farms shared Rockview Farms origins of delivering milk directly to customer's doorsteps and acquired Jim Pastor's home delivery routes of Rockview Farms' products for an undisclosed price.
On Jan. 20, 2014, the company handed out chocolate milk cartons to students at Jeffrey Trail Middle School in Irvine, California, to celebrate National Milk Day and point to studies showing the post-recovery benefits of chocolate milk.


New Forest Show

The New Forest and Hampshire County Show, or more commonly known as the New Forest Show, is an annual agricultural show event held for three days at the end of July in New Park, near Brockenhurst in Hampshire, southern England, UK. The first New Forest Show was held on 1st September 1920, and in 2006, it celebrated its 80th show. In 2020 organisers was to have celebrated the New Forest Show's Centennial, but the COVID-19 pandemic caused it to be cancelled. The 94th Show will take place on 27–29 July 2021 at New Park, Brockenhurst. It also wasn't held from 1940 to 1945.
The show attracts over 100,000 visitors every year, and brings together a celebration of traditional country pursuits, crafts, produce and entertainment. Show jumping is another major feature at the show and there are competitive classes throughout all three days. A full range of equestrian classes also features, as well as livestock competitions including pigs, cattle and sheep, plus a poultry section, rabbits, cage birds, and honey bees.


Ksar Nalut

Ksar Nalut () or Ksar Lalot is a fortified granary, or ksar, located in Nalut, Nalut District in Western Libya. Like other ksars created by North African Berber communities, it is located on a hilltop to help protect it from raiding parties.
Constructed in the 11th century, the Nalut Kasr is a tourist destination, and has been abandoned since the 1960s.


Aryaman Tea Estate

Aryaman Tea Estate is a tea garden, located in the Madarihat-Birpara CD block in the Alipurduar subdivision of the Alipurduar district in the Indian state of West Bengal.
Etymology.
It is named after the great grandson of the eminent businessman, B.K.Birla.
Geography.
Location.
Aryaman Tea Estate is located in the Jaldapara National Park and Leopard Rehabilitation Centre, Kherbari. The nearest railway station is at Madarihat. Bagdogra Airport is 155 km away.
Area overview.
Alipurduar district is covered by two maps. It is an extensive area in the eastern end of the Dooars in West Bengal. It is undulating country, largely forested, with numerous rivers flowing down from the outer ranges of the Himalayas in Bhutan. It is a predominantly rural area with 79.38% of the population living in the rural areas. The district has 1 municipal town and 20 census towns and that means that 20.62% of the population lives in the urban areas. The scheduled castes and scheduled tribes, taken together, form more than half the population in all the six community development blocks in the district. There is a high concentration of tribal people (scheduled tribes) in the three northern blocks of the district.
Dooars-Terai tea.
Tea gardens in the Dooars and Terai regions produce 226 million kg or over a quarter of India's total tea crop. The Dooars region contains wild-life rich tropical forests, undulating plains and low hills. Innumerable streams and rivers descend from the mountains of Bhutan and flow through the fertile plains in the Dooars region. The elevation of the Dooars area ranges from 90 m to 1750 m and it receives around 350 cm of rain. The Dooars-Terai tea is characterized by a bright, smooth and full-bodied liquor that's a wee bit lighter than Assam tea. Cultivation of tea in the Dooars was primarily pioneered and promoted by the British but there was significant contribution of Indian entrepreneurs.
The garden.
Aryaman Tea Estate was acquired by Jayshree Tea and Industries in 1994. It made huge investments in creating a tea plantation on a land laid waste by wild animals. A factory to produce quality CTC tea was set up in 1999. The estate has received a Certificate for Excellence from M/s J. Thomas & Company Private Limited for the highest CTC tea sold in Siliguri auction for a number of years. Tea cultivation area is 222 hectares, all of which is irrigated.
Jay Shree Tea.
The other tea gardens of the Jay Shree Tea & Industries Ltd., owned by the B.K.Birla group, in the Dooars-Terai region are: Kumarika, Marionbarie and Jayantika.


Thomas Gillespie (North Carolina plantation owner)

Thomas Gillespie (December 13, 1719 – December 15, 1786) was a large plantation owner in mid-to-late 18th-century North Carolina and served as commissary of the Rowan County Regiment in the North Carolina militia during the American Revolution. He spent his early life in Augusta County, Virginia before migrating to Anson County, North Carolina in about 1750, where he lived most of his life on Sills Creek in the area that became Rowan County, North Carolina in 1753. He and his wife and son were the first white settlers west of the Yadkin River. He owned a plantation of over 1,000 acres on Sills Creek in Rowan County, as well as 6,000 acres in the area of western North Carolina that became part of the state of Tennessee in 1796. He was an early elder in the Thyatira Presbyterian Church in Rowan County, which was formed in 1753. Thomas was the great-grandfather of U.S. President James K. Polk through the lineage of his daughter Lydia, who married Captain James Knox and gave birth to Jane Gracey Knox, mother of the President.
Early life in Virginia.
Thomas Gillespie was born on December 13, 1719. The location of his birth is not documented but tradition says that he was born either in Cecil County, Maryland or New London Township, Chester County, Pennsylvania, which were common points of origin of those that traveled the Great Wagon Road in the 1700s. The names of his parents are not known. He migrated to Augusta County, Virginia in about 1740. There, he married Naomi Thompson on January 1, 1745 in the "Valley of Virginia" with the ceremony performed by Rev. John Craig, pastor of the Tinkling Spring Presbyterian Church in Augusta County, Virginia from 1740–1764. Thomas was probably a member of the Tinkling Springs Presbyterian Church.
Thomas Gillespie owned land in Augusta County, Virginia. On December 1, 1740, Thomas Glassbey (sic Gillespie) in Augusta County, Virginia received 400 acres on a draft of the north river of "Shanando" called the "Long Glade". He paid forty shillings of good and lawful money for this land. The land was bounded on the west by Long Glade and on the east by Naked Creek. This is in the northern part of Augusta County. This is the first legal document about Thomas and places him in Augusta County in December 1740. Thomas Gillespie served in the Virginia Colonial militia in Augusta County in 1742.
Move to North Carolina.
Before 1750, Thomas and his wife and young son, James, moved south to Anson County, North Carolina (in the area that became Rowan County, North Carolina in 1753), perhaps because of land that he acquired for his colonial militia service in Virginia. Thomas, Naomi, and their first son (James) are reported to be the first white family to settle west of the Yadkin River in Anson County. The Gillespie plantation was located on Sills Creek. He attended church at the nearby Cathy's Meeting House (founded in the 1740s) on Cathy's Creek, which later became Thyatira Presbyterian Church. It was the first Presbyterian church in this area of western North Carolina.
In 1752, the Province of North Carolina started issuing Granville land grants for vacant land in the Granville District, which included Anson County. After 1780, the State of North Carolina began issuing State Land Grants for vacant land. During his lifetime, Thomas was granted or purchased a total of 2,570 acres of land in Rowan County, beginning with two Granville Land Grants in 1751 and 1752. The 1780 tax list of Rowan County prepared by Adlai Osborne lists Thomas Gillespie, Sen. in Captain John Cowan's District with land valued at 5,529 pounds, as well as his sons Thomas Gillespie, Jr. with land valued at 230 pounds and James Gillespie with land valued at 2,521 pounds. His son, George Gillespie, was listed in Captain George Cowan's District with land valued at 1,430 pounds.
His large plantation house was located on Sills Creek included more than five rooms. He owned farm machinery, including a cotton gin. The crops that were grown on his plantation included flax, cotton, potatoes, and wheat. He also raised horses and cattle. Thomas owned up to seven slaves to help on his plantation but must have relied extensively on family to help run his large plantation. In 1790, there were 1,742 slaves in 2,432 families in Rowan County. The largest plantation, owned by Richmond Person, had 101 slaves and there were 31 families with ten or more slaves. There were six slaves mentioned in his will and seven slaves enumerated in the 1790 Census in Rowan County for Thomas Gillespie, Sr.
Family.
Thomas and Naomi Gillespie had ten children. Only the oldest son, James, was born in Augusta County. The others were all born in Rowan County, North Carolina. Four of his children died in Tennessee, where Thomas had extensive land holdings.
Military service.
During the American Revolution, Thomas served in at least 1780 and 1781 as a commissary under General Griffith Rutherford, commander of the Rowan County Regiment (active from 1775–1783), which was under the Salisbury District Brigade (active from 1776–1783). General Rutherford lived near Gillespie on Grants Creek
and was also a large land owner, like Thomas. Thomas was one of five commissaries under a Quartermaster General, Joseph Marbury. As commissary, Thomas was responsible for provisioning the soldiers in the brigade, which included as many as 1,400 to 2,000 men.
Non-commissioned officers were entitled to receive 1,000 acres of land for their service in the American Revolution. Thomas received Grants of 4,000 and 1,000 acres of land on Flat Creek, Duck River for his Revolutionary War services. This land was originally located in North Carolina and became part of Tennessee on June 1, 1796 and part of Williamson County, Tennessee in 1799. This land was inherited by his male children through his will. The initial application for this grant was on October 27, 1783. This grant, No. 80, was entered on pages 216 and 217 of Book A. The land was survey on February 21, 1785 by H. Rutherford. The grant was given on April 25, 1807 to David and Isaac Gillespie, after their father's death.
Thomas also received bounty land for his service in 1786 (Grant No. 676) and 1787 (Grants Nos. 798, 802, and 809 in the State of Franklin, which later became Washington County, Tennessee. His son, George, also received bounty land in Sumner County, Tennessee for his service in the war.
Flat Creek community.
Flat Creek is a historic community that was established in 1799 in the extreme southeast corner of Williamson County, Tennessee. It was founded primarily by Revolutionary War veterans awarded claims for their service. Isaac Gillespie, Thomas Gillespie, Jr., and David Gillespie inherited land in Flat Creek from their father and they were buried at Moses Steele Cemetery near Flat Creek. The Moses Steel Cemetery is named for Moses Steele, who was originally from Mecklenburg County, North Carolina. The land on which the cemetery is located was originally purchased by Moses from Thomas Gillespie's 4,000-acre bounty land. The Smithson–McCall Farm was built on 528 acres of Thomas Gillespie's 4,000 acres that were willed to his son David and conveyed to him in 1808. Samuel Henderson purchased 125 acres from David in 1813 to build what later became the Smithson-McCall farm.
Religion.
Thomas was a devout Presbyterian and one of the early members of a Presbyterian Meeting House established before 1753 at the headwaters of the 2nd Creek in Anson County (later became Rowan County in 1753). The congregation became Cathey's Meeting House and later the Thyatira Presbyterian Church. It is the oldest Presbyterian congregation west of the Yadkin River. It is located near the town of Mill Bridge on Cathey's Creek, which is near Sills Creek and Back Creek where Thomas lived. After his death, his living children remained with the church until 1805 when there was a split in the congregation between revivalists and anti-revivalists. Thirty families and five church elders, including Thomas Gillespie, Jr. left the church to form the revivalist Back Creek Presbyterian Church. The Thyatira church included a slave gallery for slaves to participate in services.
Additional land acquisitions.
Thomas entered claims for grants of additional land in Tennessee from 1778 to 1784 that was issued between 1782 and 1788. There is no evidence that Thomas Gillespie, Sr. took up residence in Tennessee on any of these lands. However, his sons, Isaac, George, Thomas (Jr.), and David, took up residence in Williamson County in the early 1800s on the 5,000 acres that he obtained for his military service. Thomas may have sold this additional land in Washington and Green Counties. Washington County, North Carolina became Washington County, Tennessee in 1796. Greene County was formed in 1783 from Washington County, North Carolina and became part of Tennessee in 1796. The following list shows the location of the 1,333 acres of land that Thomas Gillespie acquired in Greene and Washington Counties:
Death.
Thomas Gillespie died on December 15, 1797 in Rowan County, North Carolina and is buried in the same tomb with his wife Naomi in the Thyatira Presbyterian Church Cemetery on Cathey's Creek in Mill Bridge, Rowan County, North Carolina. On the tombstone is carved the date Dec 12th, 1797; however, church records shows the date as the 15th, which was a Friday. The ages confirm that Thomas was born in 1719 and Naomi in 1727.
An obituary appeared shortly after his death in the North Carolina Journal on January 9, 1797. It is quoted in a book by Lingle about the history of the Thyatira Church. It read as follows:
Will.
Seven of his eight sons were living at the time of his death: Isaac, George, Thomas, Alexander, David, John, and Robert. James had predeceased him. Both his daughters, Martha and Lydia, were still alive at the time of his death. His sons, Thomas Gillespie, Jr. and Robert Gillespie, were named executors of Thomas Gillespie, Sr.'s will written on November 15, 1796 (the year before he died). When he wrote the will in 1796, Naomi was still living. He bequeathed the following to his wife and children in his will:
DNA.
There are several descendants of Thomas Gillespie that have tested for DNA in his son George and Issac's families. The Y-DNA haplogroup for these descendants is I2b 126 137 L369 (I-M223).


Jasper Garnett

Jasper Adrian Garnett (1889 – 23 October 1951) was a Fijian farmer. He served as a member of the Legislative Council between 1944 and 1947.
Born in Fiji in 1889, he became a farmer in Tailevu. He chaired the Rewa Co-operative Dairy and was a freemason. In 1944 he was nominated by the Governor to become a member of the Legislative Council, serving until 1947. He died in Suva in October 1951 at the age of 62.
Garnett was married and had three children.


Sompal Shastri

Sompal Shastri or Sompal Singh Shastri () born 20 January 1942 in a Jat family and began his career as a politician of Bharatiya Janata Party from Uttar Pradesh India. He has been Minister for Agriculture for the national government and a member of the Planning Commission. He is Vice Chairman, State Planning Board, Madhya Pradesh.
Sompal won in 1998 defeating Rashtriya Lok Dal's chief Ajit Singh from Baghpat. But lost to Ajit Singh in 1999 by a margin of over 1.54 lakh votes.
Sompal's father was Raghubir Singh Shastri, and represented Baghpat in the fourth Lok Sabha. He graduated from high school in Allahabad, 1957; B.A. Hons. (Economics), Delhi University, 1961; M.A. (Economics), Delhi University, 1964; LL.B., Delhi University, 1967.
On September 2013, Sompal Shastri refused to contest Lok Sabha polls under the Samajwadi Party banner. In a letter written to party president Mulayam Singh Yadav, Mr. Shastri said he was not in a position to contest the Lok Sabha polls from Baghpat after the violence in which over 38 people were killed. The incidents of communal violence in Muzaffarnagar, Shamli and Baghpat were unfortunate, he said.


Ellis Corman

Ellis Hopkins Corman (22 September 1894 – 9 August 1956) was a Canadian politician, canner, farmer and fruit grower. Corman served as a Liberal party member of the House of Commons of Canada. He was born in Stoney Creek, Ontario.
Corman attained a Bachelor of Applied Science degree at the University of Toronto.
He was first elected to Parliament at the Wentworth riding in the 1940 general election after an unsuccessful attempt to win that riding in 1935 federal election from Conservative incumbent Frank Lennard. In the 1945 election, Lennard (who by that time was a Progressive Conservative) defeated Corman.