In November of 1864, about the 10th to the 20th, my gg grandfather was fleeing with his family, heading west, with bounty hunters on his trail seeking to kill him and the family!
He used his farm near Des Moines, Iowa to aid fugitive slaves on what became known as the underground railway (UGRR). He was a "station master" on the UGRR. His secret was discovered and the family abandoned their farm in a hurry. They headed west and settled where modern day Dawson, Nebraska is located today. This was a 200 mile journey in the worst possible time period to travel as winter sets in early.
They most likely traveled the UGRR backwards towards Kansas, where the UGRR started. They could get help at all the "stations" along the way. But I often wondered if they could have been using the sun rise and sun sets to guide them. Turns out it is very possible!
In November, from the view point of Des Moines, IA, the sun sets pretty close to Dawson, NE where the family fled to.
How do I know this? SunCalc!
Here is the link you can use to type in any date of the year, and drag the locator to your position to see the path of the sun from rise to set! It probably opens to my location, so drag the bubble dot to your location and make sure the date is set to May 15th.
http://suncalc.net/#/40.4607,-88.9962,6/2023.05.15/21:27
This is where the sun will rise and set from my viewpoint today May 15,2023. If I move the dot to Des Moines, Iowa then change the date to November 15th and adjust the time to 16:00, the sun sets right over Dawson, Nebraska, from the viewpoint of Des Moines, Iowa! Pretty Kewl!!!!
