Old Sing Sing marble built Albany statehouse tale
Vivid history recalls the Sing Sing prison built State Capitol at Albany with Doric stone quarried and cut inside the prison. A life prisoner engineered the marking system and faced mockery, but he secured a pardon in exchange for completing the project, leaving a lasting memory of a genius who seized opportunity. Also a brief note on three remarkable men and a dental ad.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Albany
Henry Smith
Assembly
Eagle Street
Pine
Steuben
Sing Sing
Old State House
New York Herald
Doctors are Puszzted The Melver Case In Maine
Kenneth Melver of Vanceboro Maine suffered severe throat inflammation and lung congestion. Three doctors gave him up to die before trying Dr Kings New Discovery, which he credits with saving his life. It cures coughs colds bronchitis tonsillitis weak lungs hoarseness and la grippe. Guaranteed at L Bosworths drug store. 50c and 1.00 Trial bottle free.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Puszzted
Kenneth Melver
Vanceboro
L. Bosworth’s
King Alfonso Tests Sand Draw to Find Hidden Diamond
King Alfonso of Aragon visits his jeweler with court ladies. After a theft rumor, he orders a basin of sand brought in and each person dips a clenched fist into the sand to draw out a flat hand. The diamond remains hidden and undiscovered among the grains.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Alfonso
Aragon
Calcium’s First Tiny Batches Grow in Electrolysis
Calcium is produced in minute quantities by an electrolysis process where chloride of calcium is fused in a receptacle. An iron cathode supports molten calcium which forms an irregular stalk resembling a cabbage stalk, then grown stalks are chipped off and dipped in paraffin wax to prevent air exposure.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Humphry Davy
Napoleon's Escapes From Death Highlighted By Battles
The article recalls Napoleon's claim that he faced his greatest danger at the start of campaigns and notes his numerous wounds at Toulon and Acre. It contrasts popular English belief he was never wounded with the reality of several violent injuries, while describing his staff’s silence to protect morale and the fate of Europe.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Napoleon
Toulon
Acre
Egypt
Caesar
Achilles
Europe
Natal Autographs The Unchanging Human Signature
A historical meditation on the body as a unique identifier. The piece argues that fingerprints and sole patterns are inherent, immutable, and impossible to counterfeit, enduring from birth to death. It notes even twins differ and criminals cannot erase their natal autograph.
Names Born in Slavery Stir Southern Pride and Irony
A Virginia gentleman recounts a Richmond area enslaved man with a remarkable Christian name—reflecting how southern naming practices blend religious aspiration with inherited servitude in the antebellum era.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
South
Virginia
Richmond
What-timer-ous-souls-we-poor-mortals-be Jackson
The passage summarizes a lawsuit moment where a man long called Tim refuses to reveal a full name, insisting his name is What-timer-ous-souls-we-poor-mortals-be Jackson and that people call him Tim for short. The quote underscores racial caricature and the informal naming convention.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Tim
the Darky
Timothy
Jackson
Success Magazine
Painter's plagiarized work mocks historic figures
A notorious plagiarist painted a historical scene with every figure copied from others. Shown to Michelangelo, the artist praised the piece but warned that at the day of judgment the figures would regain their own limbs, leaving little of the painting's original identity.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Michael Angelo
Angelo
Wit, Chemistry and Quick Retorts in Trade Training
A Baltimore American quip highlights chemists as a witty class always ready with retorts. The joke ties sharp humor to professional wit in business training contexts.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Baltimore American
Missing Feature and Train Woes Tie Ocean Trip
A brief from the St. Louis Post-Dispatch notes a missing feature, a weathered ocean trip sentiment, and a boy with boxes of pigs missing a train, capturing a quirky local moment.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Gobang
Ukerdek
St. Louis Post-Dispatch
Goethe Quote About Life and Immortality
A compact reflection on life as the childhood of immortality attributed to Goethe. The saying suggests existence leads to enduring legacy beyond mortal years.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Goethe
Chamberlains Cough Remedy Praised By Editor
W W Kearney editor of the Independent Lowry City Missouri urges families to keep Chamberlains Cough Remedy at hand to check colds early and treat croup in children. The product is sold by Judisch Bros.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Chamberlain
Chamberberlain
W. W. Kearney
Edtor
Lowry City
Judisch Bros
Button Mishap Sparks Humorous Quip in Nuritch Tale
In a Pittsburg Post item, young Mr. Nuritch quips about lost collar buttons and swearing. He says he keeps a man to attend to such things, delivering a dry retort on a trivial domestic mishap.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Mr. Nuritch
Pittsburg Post
Bankers Celebrate John Jones Bankruptcy Doom
In a sharp quip the Fliegende Blatter reports bankers view John Jones's bankruptcy as favorable. They expect to recover debts otherwise unrecovered if he stayed in business.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
John Jones
Bucklen’s Arnica Salve Claims Scientific Wonder Status
An advertisement touts Bucklen’s Arnica salve as a scientific wonder healing piles for E. R. Mulford in Waynesboro Pennsylvania and treating burns sores ulcers cuts wounds chilblains and rheum. It promotes a 25 cent price at L. M. Bosworth’s drug store.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Bucklen
E. R. Mulford
Patrons of Husbandry
Waynesboro
L. M. Bosworth
Early Glassmaking in America
The first glassmaking attempt in this country occurred years before the Revolution in Quincy Massachusetts by German company. The site became Germantown and later Sailors' Snug Harbor occupies the location. Around 1785 Robert Hewes from Boston tried to establish a window glass factory in New Hampshire forests.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Quincy
Mass
Germmns
Germantown
Sailors
Sex in Handwriting Reveals Few Gender Cues
An excerpt notes that expert graphologists cannot reliably determine writer sex from handwriting. Bold masculine looking script may come from women, while fine precise lines may belong to men. A small experiment with labeled envelopes suggests most guesses are incorrect.
Beaverton Hardware Co Proprietor Recommends Remedy
Henry Croll Jr of Beaverton Michigan fell ill with bowel trouble while in Suffolk Virginia. A traveling salesman advised Chamberlain's Colic Cholera and Diarrhoea Remedy which quickly cured him. He urges travelers to carry it, noting it is hard to obtain on ships or trains. Sold by Judisch Bros.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Suffolk
Henry Croll, Jr
Beaverton, Mich
Saginaw
Mich
Judisch Bros
Safety in Elevators in Philadelphia Building
The superintendent notes elevators are statistically the safest place to be. Over seven years an average of 2,400,000 people per year rode the building's elevators, totaling 16,800,000, with only one nonfatal injury recorded. The Rochester Post-Express reports this observation.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Philadelphia
Rochester Post-Express
A Famous Widow Agrippina in Ancient Rome
Agrippina the widow of Germanicus was famed for joining campaigns and sharing dangers. Suspecting poisoning she had the alleged murderer killed and later endured Tiberius’s indignities, driving her to despair and starvation.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Agrippina
Germanicus
Tiberius
Tradition Defied Bull Disrupts China Shop
A bull enters a china shop, declares he will knock tradition endwise, exits carefully without breaking any saucers, then asks for directions to the stockyards and leaves. Humorous anecdote from the Philadelphia Ledger.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Philadelphia Ledger
Harry Breaks College Contest Record Again
In a lively account a young enthusiast cheers Harry for breaking a college contest record. Grandma jokes about the cost of repairs or replacing the item after the feat and playful family banter follows.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Harry
Chamberlains Salve touted for skin diseases and itch relief
An advertisement promotes Chamberlains Salve as a swift itch reliever for eczema tetter salt rheum and barber's itch with claims of permanent cure after continued use. It sells for 25 cents a box through Judish Bros. The piece also briefly traces Genesis of Cotton in America from 1621 plantings in the Carolinas to its spread along Chesapeake Bay and toward New Jersey and New York by the Revolution era.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Judish Bros
America
Carolinas
Winthrop
Barbados
Chesapeake Bay
Baltimore
New Jersey
New York
The Chameleon Inhabits The Southern United States
The American chameleon is a small lizard found in the southern United States. It rapidly changes colors from brown to yellow and pale green, feeds on insects, and is harmless to larger life forms. It is sometimes kept as a pet and has even been worn as a chain ornament. its toes have adhesive pads enabling it to run on smooth vertical surfaces.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
United States
Cough Remedy Promises Fast Cold Relief
This advert promises Chamberlain's Cough Remedy cures a cold quickly and counters danger of pneumonia. For sale by Jadisch Bros. and promoted as best for acute threats and long troubles.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Chamberlain’s
Jadisch Bros
Also Mentioned on This Page
Lomance
Dumas
Hollisters Rocky Mountain
NATAL
Foleys
Foley
George Batson
Fountain Grove
Oughran
Fauer
A. & C. Raiolway
H. Westerman
Manacen
A. M
Bre
Mies
Annie Viaca
P.M
A.M
W. M. Greeley
M. K. Smith
H. Kelso
D. D
Hamilton
Ames
Iowa
C. E. Gardnes
Crown and Bridge
Mutual
Gamble’s
Hont & Brownlie
Ames, Iowa
F. H. Waters
Ames Savings Bank
McCord, M. D
Bosworth
W. E. Harriman
McWiellias
Margaret M. Jones
C. W. Payne, M
Boone, Iowa
B. G. Dyer, M. D
Groves
M’carthy
Lef
Adams
Calla
E. F. Posegate
Anes
Hollister
Howister Dera Company
Madison
Wis
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!