The Gun Wielding Philanthropist and the Adventuress Socialite: The Charming and Eccentric Lives of Truxtun and Marie Beale, 1856 – 1956

I don't blog here nearly as often as I should, but I figured I would stop by (6 months late) to let everyone here know that my book about Truxtun Beale is finally out.

You can buy a copy of The Gun Wielding Philanthropist and the Adventuress Socialite:  The Charming and Eccentric Lives of Truxtun and Marie Beale, 1856 – 1956 though most online book sellers, such as Amazon. If you are in Annapolis, you can buy a signed copy from Back Creek Books on Main Street.

Who was Truxtun Beale? He was an American diplomat, adventurer, and philanthropist, among other things. He lived from 1856 until 1936, where he died near Annapolis, Maryland. His wife, Marie, lived until 1956, where she was a major player in the social scene in Washington, D.C.

Named after his great-grandfather, Thomas Truxtun, who commanded the USS Constellation in the Quasi-War, he was also the son of Edward Fitzgerald Beale, who served with distinction in the Mexican-American war and who Beale Air Force base is named after (among other places and things). Although Truxtun Beale never served in the military, as a young man he faced danger as a diplomat, especially as U.S. Minister to Persia (now Iran).

I became interested in Truxtun Beale after moving to Annapolis and spending time in Truxtun Park, which is named after Thomas Truxtun, but was donated to the city by Truxtun and Marie Beale. There were plenty of books out there about his father and great-grandfather, but no books published about him. So, I set out to gather together all I could find about him and put it in a book.

It is a relatively easy read and full of crazy adventures that he and his wife had. I also think there is much that we could learn from him that would be useful to us today.

Truxtun Beale Book

 Years ago I wrote here about Truxtun Beale and Truxtun Park. I wanted to write a book about him, but never found the time to do the all the research, which involved visiting the Library of Congress to review his family papers. In early 2019, I got around to spending nearly two weeks at the Library of Congress, where I was able to collect a lot of good information. During 2019 and 2020, I wrote and then rewrote a book on Truxtun and his wife, Marie.

I am about to start the editing process. I am hiring a professional to do this and should have a book ready to go in a few months. Then I have to see if I can find a publisher. If not, I will self-publish.

In the meantime, I have created a website for this project, which can be found here: Truxtun Beale book website.

I will post again here when I had something that you can buy.

Wayne Simmons update

Wayne and me, September 7, 2019, Annapolis

I have decided to unpublish my Wayne Simmons posts. I haven't been writing at all on here for a while and I may eventually take the whole site down. I ran into Wayne the other night in Annapolis and we had a nice conversation. He still insists that he was wronged. I told him I would be interested in seeing any evidence that he had. There has been plenty of reporting on him and his situation. As he is trying to reestablish himself, I didn't feel right about continuing to pile on. So Wayne, go make your case. If you can convince us, I'll apologize and support you. Otherwise, I'm just moving on. Will just leave it there.

The Law Office of William Cooke, LLC

I started out my legal career working as an Assistant State's Attorney in Baltimore City, prosecuting cases. After doing that for nearly four years, I decided to switch things up and join the other side. For nearly 10 years, I worked as an Assistant Public Defender in Anne Arundel County. Both jobs were challenging, in different ways. Both were also great jobs, in different ways. I especially enjoyed being a public defender where I had the opportunity to help people directly, without having to worry about getting paid.

Despite this, after much thought and reflection over the years, I came to the conclusion that I would be at my best in private practice. After investigating the practicalities of this and setting aside enough money to keep me afloat for a while, I resigned as a public defender and set up my office here in Annapolis.

My focus is on criminal law, but I will take other cases. If I don't think I can help you, I can refer you to an attorney who can. While I am based in Annapolis, I am willing to take cases anywhere in the State of Maryland. The website for my firm is at http://www.williamcookelaw.com. My phone number is 410-905-2185. Please leave a message if I do not pick up. The initial consultation is free. My office is located at 150 South Street, Suite 207, Annapolis MD 21401. I do not recommend just stopping by without setting an appointment as I expect to be in court, and thus out of the office, often. I am happy to setup a weekend and evening appointments, if necessary. There is plenty of street parking around South Street, although you may need to walk a few feet.

Please give me a call or send me an email if you or a loved one has any sort of legal problem. 

Baltimore Barristers Update

Last year, I wrote a blog post about how I was the guest co-host on the Baltimore Barristers, a radio show on 1300 am in CBS Radio in Baltimore. Alex Bush, one of the regular co-hosts, is a friend of mine. Alex came up with the idea for this radio show and got it on the air. When his co-host was unavailable one night, I was asked to fill in.

I must have done a decent enough job, because when Alex's co-host decided to leave the show, I was asked to take his place. I was on the radio almost every Tuesday night discussing politics and the law with Alex and our guests.

We recorded our last show on election night. Both Alex and I have moved onto to other pursuits, but might team up again in the future.

You can listen to all of the episodes, which are now saved forever as podcasts at the Baltimore Barristers website.

I felt the highlight of the show as when we got to interview Ron Paul last October.

I'm wearing the t-shirt from the Annapolis Cigar Company

I really admire Dr. Paul and it was great to meet and talk with him. At 81 years old he has plenty of energy. After meeting with us he spoke at Gettysburg College for over an hour and then spent about an hour taking photos with students. He was on his feet the entire time.