05 May 1881
Page 1
This is just the beginning! Our collection holds over 300 years of history, including rare newspapers, obituaries, marriage records, birth records, and so much more—most of which you won’t find anywhere else!
This newspaper page contains 15 articles. Subscribers can read the full text of each article.
Newspaper
Acton Free Press
Location
Acton, Ontario, Canada
Date
May 05, 1881
Page
1
Two citizens recall meeting eleven years ago at the same fountain while sharing soda. One retrieves a memo book and a debt note, remarking life’s coincidences. the exchange ends with a returned debt and a grim playful quip about history.
A seven year old, Tammy, pleads for work to help his mother in poverty. A kind clerk, Mr Saunders, offers him a job at one dollar a week with advance pay, while the boy’s story of his lost father and mother’s hardship moves all in the tenement.
A city resident awaiting travel posted a bold placard inside the hall door of his home. The warning claimed all jewellery and valuables were at the Safe Deposit Company and detailed cupboard contents as uninteresting. It offered a certified cheque of 850 to reimburse the thief for time and disappointment.
A tale describes a woman who, upon receiving a telegram, imagines a cascade of disasters from a missing husband to family calamities. She fears a fatal accident and fears a drowned sailor, a sister scalding, and a dangerous will. Her courage returns when she reads a message from her husband about bringing a customer home for dinner.
A minister recalls paying for meals by saying grace in a satire about a dinner with a Black person as the chief dish. His poetic blessing asks the Lord to bless the Black person John and his host and grant them grace to run the race and catch another.
A narrator observes a handsome girl walking behind a well dressed youth. She kindly holds a heavy gate open to let a poor old man with a wheelbarrow pass, earning his thanks and the narrator’s praise for her beautiful spirit.
The passage proclaims Niagara Falls as the greatest cataract, Mammoth Cave in Kentucky as the largest cave, the Mississippi as the greatest river, Lake Superior as the largest inland sea, the Pecitte Railroad as the longest, and Cedar Creek bridge as the greatest natural bridge. It also mentions Mount Fea Mountain in Missouri as the largest solid mass and Pennsylvania as hosting the world’s largest anthracite coal deposit.
All orchard owners should inspect trees and cut off twigs bearing tent caterpillar eggs. Eggs are dark grey brown, resemble bark, form a ring about half an inch long circling the twig, and enlarge as warm weather approaches.
The passage advises perpetual calm and politeness in social interaction. It warns against drawing attention to oneself, displaying anger or excitement during accidents, interrupting conversations, and making noise. It emphasizes humility and faithfulness in small duties as a path to broader order.
An exhortation to diligence and persistence urges boys to reject excuses and “put your shoulder to the wheel.” It calls for effort in all work—from workshop to farm to desk—and links future effort to national progress, urging a brave, honest will.
A reflective meditation on labor as wealth and truth as virtue. The text argues sorrow reveals truths, education should cultivate head and heart, and falsehood corrodes character while honest words nourish actions. It emphasizes wisdom as fruit from conscience.
A fragment lists varied riddle style lines on things like fire doors lawyers and farmers with playful comparisons. It ends with a question about something everyone can divide yet cannot see where it has been divided. The content resembles a humorous or reflective wordplay page.
A group gathers in a cigar store discussing a horse race pace. A handler bets five dollars that a 1:90 mile time can be proven, while the stakeholder is urged to pay out for the claimed claim of a 1:90 pace and a faster time.
A man with a Newfoundland lost his check after leaving shirts at a Chinese laundry. The Chinese proprietor refused until the customer produced the dog, then agreed to hold the shirts in exchange for the dog. The tale ends with the man retrieving his shirts by offering the animal’s fate.
An old gentleman recalls a curious exchange with a minister. A chemist’s brisk reply, a mention of dying faces and Pine chain imagery, plus an odd Sunday scene in a city, appear in a garbled, fragmentary narrative.
We want people to find what they are looking for at NewspaperArchive. We are confident that we have the newspapers that will increase the value of your family history or other historical research. With our 7-day free trial, you can view the documents you find for free.
People find the most success using advanced search. Try plugging in keywords, names, dates, and locations, and get matched with results from the entire collection of newspapers at NewspaperArchive!
You can also successfully find newspapers by these browse options. Explore our archives on your own!
Browse by location and discover newspapers from all across the world.
Browse by date and find publications for a specific day or era.
Browse old newspaper publications to find specific newspapers.