How to Steal a Train: John Allen Bigelow

08/22/23 • 29 min

John Allen Bigelow was a man of many talents but taking life too seriously wasn’t one of them. Come along with us as we sneak into the Union Army to fight in the Civil War twice, form a love connection with a good friend’s sister, steal a train, brand ourselves as a one-armed insurance salesman and give future historians headaches with our inability to walk in a straight line with one of Birmingham’s most colorful characters.
To access a full episode transcript as well as to access additional material about John Allen Bigelow, check out our website.
For questions, concerns, corrections or episode suggestions please reach out to us at [email protected].
Special thanks to the Birmingham Area Cable Board for PEG grant funding that made this podcast possible. Also thanks to past and present staff of the Birmingham Museum, and our amazing volunteers.

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Bonus Episode! Napoleon the AntiChrist

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The world has always been ending, which means there's always a candidate or two around waiting to be cast in the role of the Antichrist. In the late 1700s, a friend or family member of Rhoda Bingham Daniels wrote an 8 page manifesto about how Napoleon Bonaparte was the figure the book of Revelations in the Bible warned about.
Why Napoleon? And what exactly did the end of the world look like for an American in the late 1700s?
To access a full episode transcript as well as to access additional material, check out our website.
For questions, concerns, corrections or episode suggestions please reach out to us at [email protected].
Special thanks to the Birmingham Area Cable Board for PEG grant funding that made this podcast possible. Also thanks to past and present staff of the Birmingham Museum, and our amazing volunteers.

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The Disappearing Man: Robert Opdyke

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To access a full episode transcript as well as to access additional material about the mill and the Opdyke family, check out our website.
For questions, concerns, corrections or episode suggestions please reach out to us at [email protected].
Special thanks to the Birmingham Area Cable Board for PEG grant funding that made this podcast possible. Also thanks to past and present staff of the Birmingham Museum, and our amazing volunteers

Birmingham Uncovered - How to Steal a Train: John Allen Bigelow

Transcript

Remember in George Taylor’s episode we talked briefly about the census taker who refused to do his job and walk in a straight line, thus causing us to not know where the Taylors actually lived? Today is all about that guy, John Allen Bigelow, who, before he was a census taker, snuck into the army twice, stole a train, dabbled in art and advertised himself as a one-armed insurance salesman. It takes some mental strength to make it through war and to re-adjust to civilian life as an amputee w