Battle of the Crater Narrow Escape After Civil War Battle
Recount of the Battle of the Crater near Petersburg July 1864. Narrator describes Confederate and Union actions, a mine explosion, chaotic fighting, and the intense heat. Eyeing mines, countermines, and the chaotic retreat, with notes on prisoner treatment and the fallout leading to Burnside's resignation.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Murray
Washington
Petersburg
Grant
James River
Richmond
Jackinson
Base-Burner vs Buck Saw in Moral Debate
In Chicago Ledger, LE P Brown argues that the base-burner and bucksaw shaped youth behavior. He contends coal burning demoralizes society, comparing past wood-pile discipline to modern speed and comfort, urging a return to simpler, rugged upbringing to curb mischief.
Woman's finer ear noted as a social advantage
The New York Times reports that research concludes women's hearing is more acute than men's. It suggests nature endowed women with superior ears to converse with their sex, explaining why six women talking loudly in a room can still be understood, unlike six men in a room.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Daniel
Archés
Calf Blandford Church Hill
Madera
Pennsylvania
Spgre
Lee
Eire
Ikett’s
New York Times
Heart of
Man
The Ingenuity of a Hired Girl
A Chicago Ledger anecdote recounts Colonel Dunlap and Orator Perkins as they joke about snoring. The hired girl devises a clever ruse by grinding shelled corn with gravel to disrupt the couple's sleep, preserving the grandmother during a jury visit.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Chicago Ledger
Colonel Dunlap
Orator Perkins
Ark
She Preferred Virgil
A lighthearted college romance scene unfolds as two students, Minnie and George, drive through a shady wood. Minnie declares Virgil her favorite poet for his directness, prompting George to hug her after her witty quip about the opening line.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Virgil
St. Paul Herald
Shady Wood
Minnie
George
The Spring Has Sprung in Washington Hatenet Moment
A fragment from a Washington Hatenet piece notes a playful exchange about spring and a joke about ice cream. A friend arrives, advancing with a counter sign, and a chestnut quip closes the scene.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Washington
How 10 Become a Belle in New York Mail and Express
A clubman explains a faux-decorum guide to feminine allure from mouth to eyes and figure. He claims coaching can craft a belle by shaping lips, gaze, hair, and dress while balancing voice, wit, and discreet merriment for social success and a successful engagement.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
New York Mail and Express
Noice
Whio
Ex Governor Underwood recounts Kentucky kiss vote tale
Ex Governor Underwood recalls stumping a mountain Kentucky count y, handing out nickels and kissing multiple women to win votes. He describes Buck Holmes and his gang threatening to vote him out, then claiming 150 extra votes secured.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Underwood
Pittsburg Dispatch
Kentucky
Vet Weil
Vane
Han
Bill
Buck’ Holmes
Carter County
Buck Holmes
Bliss and the Grenades Firefighting Farce Ends in Chaos
Detroit observer recounts Bliss of Ninth Avenue stockpiling hand grenades to test at fires. During a party a curtain caught, Bliss doused flames with water and a dipper, knocking down two men and scattering a crowd. He later hurled a grenade to finish the blaze, shouting to fire engines to stay away.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Detroit Free Press
Bliss
Ninth Avenue
Over the Counter in a 1900s Chicago Shop
A lively Chicago Rambler scene in a store where a clerk and Sally pitch cheap alpacas and yard goods to Miss Spoopendyke. They gossip about Lent, Newport dances, an oyster supper, strawberry festivals, and Sabbath school activities while handling a small sale and cash exchange.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Chicago
Miss Spoopendyke
Yaas
Sally
Bertie Doolittle
Mother
Darnee
Mary
BILL NYE ABROAD. Genoa Verona and Rome Visited
The writer recounts travel from Genoa to Verona and Athens, noting Genoa’s ancient origins, modern rail issues, beggars, and marble memories. Verona’s amphitheatre, library, and Titian works receive focus, with reflections on aging history, Italy’s churches, wine, and the unchanging pull of old cities. Athens is touched with nostalgia for classical glory and Demosthenes.
Bashful youth survives snake encounter at quilting party
A Georgia man shy about socializing hid during a quilting party at his home. He fled to a plantation back area where a large coach whip snake attacked. In a chaotic chase he outran the snake back to the yard, the reptile striking his coat but failing to injure him. Moral: don't be too bashful.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Georgia Quilting
Jackson
SOME FAMOUS ORATORS Demosthenes and His Similarity to Mr Nye
A rambunctious late 19th oration parodies famed orator Demosthenes and Patrick Henry. The speaker contrasts Demosthenes rising from stammering to fame, noting his stubborn, dramatic delivery and influence on audiences, and then pivots to Patrick Henry through breezy, humorous commentary.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Demosthenes
Mr. Nye
Patrick Henry
Strange Signs and Taverns Then and Now in Ads
A travelogue of old tavern signs in America and England traces weather cocks like the Democratic rooster, figure heads, and Tobacconist icons. It notes Philadelphia sign painters such as Matthew Pratt and recalls inns along the Philadelphia to Baltimore route with swinging portraits and historic emblems.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
New Amsterdam
Gambrinus
Bacchus
Washington
Ranklin
Pagiend
Nuremburg
Old South Church
Boston
New England
Philadelphia
Matthew Pratt
Fourth and
Chestnut Streets
Pratt
Benjamin West
Spruce Street
Arch Street
Pennsylvania
Baltimore
Anthony Wayne
Virginia
England
Lodge of
Yaa Fellows
Great Britain
Annapolis
Old Dominion
King’s Head
Raleigh Tavern
Duke of Cumberland
New York
Manhattan
Ben Jonson
Dickens
Walter Raleigh
Jim Crow
Uncle Tom
Eee Jinks
Cologne
Chelsea
Washivon
Bright
Casey
A Reverie of Spring
Evening strolls to Myrtle Hill will return and the average girl’s heart grows glad as the sun sets. A young man nears with rapid steps and the father waits at the gate two hours and ten minutes, provoking a grumpy response. The girl’s heart quivers as another beau is expected at eight, a pleasant prospect for spring.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Lome
Myrtle Hill
Sol
China
Afghanistan
Monkeys Smear Each Other Then Seek Honey In Forest
Two monkeys in an Indian forest smear each other with red clay then one hides in a tree hollow near a beehive. Bees sting the clay coat as the clever monkey climbs to the honeycomb, ending with the other monkey puzzled and the coated one seeking honey.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Honeycom
How Fritz Took a Sip of Sap in Oshkosh
An Oshkosh Northwestern item recounts a German resident in Madison Wisconsin thwarting efforts to tap a maple tree on a roadside. Carrying an axe and wedge, he attempted to sap the tree but the misadventure caused trouble and confusion.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Fritz
Madison Wisconsin
Nose caught in wedge ends in rescue
A man attempting to reach sap wedged his nose in a cut opening and was held helpless for two hours until bystanders released him. The incident occurred on a roadside, drawing attention from passersby who aided in freeing him.
BRIC A BRAC IMPromptu Verses and Humble Tales
A miscellany from a periodical features verses and vignettes about love dreams and humor. It includes quips about beauty, a shred of physics humor, sentimental pieces and brief comic sketches such as a girl recalling a lost papa and a robin versus chicken tale.
Astonishing Jane Price and April Reflections
A fragment from Wide Awake features dialogue about Shylock and a springtime verse on April rain and youth. It includes poems and sketches on happiness, love in rain, and a portrait of the Typical Southern Girl with prose on beauty and social expectations.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Jane Price
Chicago
Also Mentioned on This Page
Lever
Ovaliontas
Impad
Pointland
Etersburgy
Mahone
Hr Cross Marshal
Cetereuate
Bridgeford
Burnside
LE. P. Brown
Congress
Diogenes
Perdition
Belles Lettres
Shane
Edward. Eggleston
Feelis
Charley Alicash
Bill Nye
Laramie
Genoa
Verona
Rome
LBNL
Nye
Columbus
Chris
Turin
Europe
Italy
America
William Tell
Shakespeare
Lydia E. Pinkham
Gildervy
Déwe
Adoge
Veron
Rock Island
Aalde
Myself
Erona
Cheyenne
Taly
Gains
Sam
Titian
Nace
Athens
Otcal
Christ
Piuto
Atieris
Cordwood Syndicate
Stave T Corporation
Athena
Lysander
Phillip
Phimmecs
Florida
California
Sandwich Islands
Hitory
Wey City
Attica
Oratory
Plutarch
First Baptist Church of
Pretoes
Lord Brougham
Vanderbilt Steel
Horace Creeley
Philadelphia Times
Pat
Chestnut
Philadelphia World
John Miller
April Harper
Vremdenblatt
Mortimer Collins
Alice Trumbull
Whale
Maggie
Kitty
Johnnie
Christian
Mamma
Robin and the Chicken
Grace F. Coolidge
St. Nicholas
San Francisco
New Orleans
Renee
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!