Old Times in Georgia Reminisces on Life Without Modern Comforts
A Georgians' nostalgic letter contrasts split-level homes, factory-made clothing, and modern conveniences with the harder, simpler world of fifty to sixty years ago. It laments the lack of matches, candles, and coal fires, recalls making candles by dipping and the old barter of neighbors, and celebrates how children would cope with such scarcity, while noting the inevitability of progress.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Atlanta Constitution
Marietta
Jey
Owe
Augusta
Savannah
Macon
Xerxes
Leaccheus
Forsyth County
Sawnee
Sawnee’s Mountain
George Lester
Ieero Strong
Lucifer
Pat
Deserters and Scouts in North Alabama Battles and Ballads
A Confederate scout recalls hiding deserters in caves near Lebanon and Guntersville, raids on homes, and the dangers of pursuing conscripts. He describes two Alabama population classes, mountain bands, and encounters with Union forces, plus a solitary mountain ball lit by fiddles and a bold dancer who outshines him.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Philadelphia Times
Alabama
East
Tennessee
Jefferson
St. Clair
Cherokee
DeKalb
Marshall
Randolph County
Tallapoosa
North Alabama
Ot Mountain
Lebanon
Death County
St. Clair County
Legistare
Forwood
Mshwack
Eir
Bres Neck
Guntersville
Tennessee River
UDP
Ladega
W. T. al
Jefferson County
Gadsden
Gunter’s Ferry
Lewis
Gunter's Ferry
Sand Mountain
Ater
P. KR
Dames’ Roes
Asheville
St. Clair Ty
Eveng
Eeera
Authorship Under Difficulties in Literary History
A survey of how illness and disability shaped great writers across centuries. Heine, Goethe, Paley, Shelly, and others produced enduring work despite paralysis, consumption, or blindness. The piece notes how composition sometimes intensified pain, yet yielded lasting literature and insights into creativity under duress.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Harper’s Baxar
Heinrich Heine
Germany
Merlin
Broceliande
Brittany
Paley
Shelley
Crabb ‘Robinson
Goethe
Philip Gilbert Hammerton
Wadsworth
Rylstone
Green
Mr. Green
England
Mark Pattison
Prescott
Mexico
Peru
Arvard College
Spain
A Yankee Tavern and its Unchanging Miranda
A vivid profile of the Anchor Tavern on the eastern lake shore. It highlights its centuries of hospitality, famed landlady Miranda, and the omnipresent, tireless helper who served guests day and night, capturing the tavern’s homely, welcoming spirit.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Oliver Wendell Holmes
Atlantic
Anchor Tavern
Miranda
Anchor
A Boy's Autobiography From Kansas City Journal
A ten year old Kansas City public school pupil writes his own life story. He describes birth in Kansas City Missouri and lifelong residence there, notes minor accidents including a fall down a well and steps, and recalls a pepper sting incident. He expresses a desire to become an angel.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Kansas City Journal
Kansas City
Jackson County
Missouri
West Central States
Western Hemisphere
Expecting Too Much Texas Sittings and a Misfired Lesson
A humorous fragment from a Texas piece depicts Mr Sampleson harshly disciplining his sons. He notes one boy needs new ants after wearing out 118 Clothes quickly. The boy retorts that no pants last long under his father strong whippings, highlighting a comical clash of dialect and expectation.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Texas
Sampleson
Managing a Mimic World: Stage Carpenters and Gas Men
A New York Sun report describes how actors, musicians, carpenters, property men, and gas men coordinate under the stage manager. It explains prompt stands, gas and electric lighting, speaking tubes, call bells, and the roles of carpenters, land props, and live animals in theatre production.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
New York Sun
Aston
Rankin
Third Avenue Theatre
Haverly’s
Henry Irving
Columbia
Chicago
Minneapolis
Carpenters’ Department
Leader
New York
China
How Women Halt Horse Cars in Public View
Gertrude Garrison describes how women of varying temperaments signal horse-car drivers to stop in Pittsburg. The piece notes the severe, nervous, young, old, stout, and graceful types, plus a shy basket carrier, all using gestures and expressions to secure a halt.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Gertrude Garrison
Pittsburg
Cutting Glass Under Water With Scissors
The Pittsburg Dispatch explains that glass can be cut under water using strong scissors. Keep the glass level, begin by trimming corners and edges, and gradually shape it. Potter plane glass works best. edges may be rough but the method yields straight breaks, offering a useful diamond substitute when a real diamond is unavailable.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Pittsburg
Behind the Scenes Contrasts in Stage Life at Rehoboth
A humorous piece contrasts stage life behind scenes with performance. It sketches characters from a melodramatic pre show exchange and a chaotic backstage scene, noting shifts in tone, authority, and absurdity between fronts. The excerpt highlights budget worries and reneged salaries in a comic backstage tableau.
A Venerable Gentleman’s Tool Scheme
A Philadelphia merchant Townsend Sharp Jess kept a tool shop with implements arranged by propriety. He had tools hung on walls and a painter render each tool’s form so shadows showed their correct place. If tools were removed, the pictures guided rehang, preserving order in his shop.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Phrenological Journal
Philadelphia
Agriculturist Bill Nye Describes Odd Garden Tale
In a humorous farm monologue, Bill Nye recounts his season of trials and triumphs in agriculture. He details tending worms and pests, feeding cutworms cabbage and tomatoes, and ultimately losing his worms to a warty toad, lamenting the pest as a modern agricultural scourge.
Piute Courtship Customs Revealed In Simple Marriage Rite
The San Francisco Call describes Piute practices for reaching marriageable age. A grandmother mentors a girl for twenty five days in the teepee with wood stacking and river bathing, then the debut marks readiness to marry. The courting man silently judges interest through horsemanship and skill, visiting at night by the girl's couch without dialogue or approval from family.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Murray Hill
Beacon Street
Plymouth Rock
Sarah Winnemuces
London
A White Man Describes A Japanese Girl’s Morning Toilet
A lengthy historical account outlines a Japanese girl’s daily toilet from washing to dressing, hair care by a visiting dresser, use of white face powder, red lip paint, and gilding. It then details layered garments, undergarments, and festival dress with wide sleeves, belts, and a black velvet neckpiece. The piece transitions to courtship by a Sioux or Native American narrator, describing male pursuit, family interventions with ashes and water, and eventual engagement and wedding customs around a campfire, concluding with a critical remark on white readers’ views of Native marriage rites.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Kail
Min
Noisy Nursery Riot Ends in Darkness and Slipper Discipline
A humorous account describes a domestic scene where a strict mother checks a bedtime riot in the nursery. A slipper is brandished as she subdues the laughing children while light is extinguished. A drunkenly bold husband accidentally enters and is soundly reeled in by the family.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Auty
Lympus
Indy
Where Ignorance Was Bliss
Mr Simpson notes his wife cannot sing or play and Mr Wilson replies with pity. Mr Simpson counters that she never attempts either, revealing a humorous exchange about talent and effort.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
New York Graphic
Mr. Simpson
Mr. Wilson
Mixed Up With the Family
A San Francisco Call item notes a prominent municipal servant with a sharp tongue and strong presence who has married a wife described as a stately figure with Homeric gravitas, illustrating a pairing of contrasting qualities within city life.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
San Francisco
Jino
First Baby and Other Verse Parodies in a 19th Century Review
A collage of humorous verses and mock dialogues. It features playful poems about a baby, a young papa and mama, a grandmamma, and a disinterested friend, plus satirical quips on opera fashion, romance, and domestic life. The pieces parody social roles and romantic clichés with light wit and urban voice.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Emily Steinester McNamara
N. ¥. Mercury
Lemonade and Lemon Squeezes in a Humorous Exchange
The passage describes a playful summer scene with lemonade making and affectionate teasing between a couple. It shifts to a whisper of romantic intent and touches on a teasing threat about fidelity. The tone mimics light gossip and domestic comedy from a period newspaper column.
Also Mentioned on This Page
Georgia
Aga
Aris
North
Uater
Pontine
Irving
Ealdiums
Rehoboth Sunday Herald
Curly
Jimmy
Hero
Lillie
Iean
Bill Nye
Miller
Cirl
Griffis
St. Nicholas
Puck
Mamma
Grandmamma
Deuce
Vex
Mollie E. Moore
New Orleans
Pepita
Inez
Chloe
St. Paul
Janey
Professor Gaunt
Papa
Inairl
Rockland
Kicker
Evansville
Old St. Peter
Pearly Gate
Peter
Bessie Chandler
Jove
San Francisco Chronicle
Henry
Iever
Anna Maria Smith
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!