A Reckless Ride and Bridge Fire at the War’s Start
In May 1861 a Virginia home guard, led by Captain Moss, from Fairfax and Vienna to Manassas Junction, attempted to burn a bridge to hinder Union advance. The narrator and Dallas Powell aided by mobilizing laborers and cars, engaging a wary foreman and local Unionists, ultimately igniting the bridge and driving the train to safety in a dramatic, near-fatal escape.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Murray
Washington Republican
Fairfax Station
Orange
Washington
Alexandria
Ball
Jim Jackson
Ellsworth
Pet Lambs
Home Guards
Fairfax County
Alfred Moss
Loudoun
Hampshire
Leesburg
Manassas Junction
Moss
Vienna
Fairfax
Ope
Captain Moss
Burnit
Dallas Powell
Kea
Bossing Buck and Bright in the Good Old Days
A humorous reminiscence recalling youth guiding oxen with a plough, the dangers of stump work, the hired man, and mishaps from snakes to yellow jackets. The narrator describes early duties, misadventures, and the chaos of farm life, ending with the oxen vanishing into water and the day devoted to burning wasp nests.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Pan
Yellow Jackets
Practice makes perfect says train boy on speeding rails
A Chicago Herald tale recalls a train boy who explains how he jumped between trains at fifty miles an hour to alight at his girlfriend’s Syracuse station. He describes observing a slower local ahead, timing a cross to the next car, and disembarking safely for ten cents.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Chicago Herald
New York Central
Syracuse
Satirical Prose on Foolishness and Belief
A reflective piece mocks human folly and belief with wry lines about superstition, afterlife fears, and stubborn opinions. It contrasts public persona with private character, noting how education can breed fools who read but do not learn. The tone is clipped and aphoristic.
Webster’s heir named by garden truck tale
In Texas Siftings a humorous anecdote recounts Jim Webster blessing a son with a grand name. The clergyman asks for a baptism name, Jim frets, and after a whispered suggestion from his wife, the infant’s intended moniker is revealed as a playful, garden-like mishearing.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Hyacinth Webster
Texas Siftings
Jim Webster
Jim
The Game of Chess as Civil War Catalyst in France
A survey of chess in world history, tracing legends of Al Amin and Kuthan, rulers and nobles absorbed in play while crises unfolded. It covers Indian, Chinese, Persian, and European chess evolution, famous players like Phillidor and Deschapelles, and feats such as blindfolded matches by Murphy and Paulsen.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Palamedes
Troy
Asia
India
Mahesh Ghutuck
Timour
Tamerlane
Persia
Sechahrohk
Charlemagne
Canute
Kit
Ivan the Terrible
Russia
Elizabeth
Napoleon II
St. Helena
Waterloo
Louis XIII
France
Casimir II
Poland
Hakim
Louis IX
St. Louis
Edward IV
England
James I
Knights Templar
St. Bernard
Montaigne
Joseph Tchelebi
Tripoli
Buzecca
Europe
Ruy Lopez
Spain
Philip
Paolo Bol
Sicily
Leonardo Cutri
Italy
Father Sacchi
Turin
Paris
Ponziani
Taruth
Ercole del Rio
Phillidor
Francois Andre Danican
Philtidor
Deschapelles
Louis XVI
Elles
En Id
Desch Segin
Dow Chess Club
St. Amant
Tech
Menkeess
Paulsen
United States
Murphy
New Orleans
Lindfolded
Birmingham
Eng
London Chess Club
St. George Chess Club
London
Indian Dancing Girls Nautchnees Described In Detail
In Mrs Leonowens's recent work the Nautchnees establishment is depicted as a walled complex with bamboo halls and over 100 girls aged 10 to 14 practicing a circular dance called chakranee. The piece notes attire, dormitories, and the fate of Khangee, a Nautchnee born in Thur in Cuteh, bought at seven, plus judgments on beauty and value.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Leonowens
Dancing Girls of
India
Nautchnees
Saidah Bebee
Kesineh
Nautehnee
Khangee
Hindlish Boarding: A Tour of English Hotels
The piece contrasts American and English hotel welcomes. It describes entryways, doors, and the awkward, indirect path to admission, noting the tense, private foyer, delayed service, and eventual examination by higher staff, often women, before acceptance.
Hair and Beard Through History Across Nations
Long hair and beards have sparked fashion, law, and prejudice across eras. From Roman youths shaving at twenty one to Cleopatra's red tresses and Queen Elizabeth's yellow locks, hair shaped power, identity, and social standing in cultures, courts, and battles.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
George P. Goff
San Francisco Ingleside
Tait
Knight Bruce
Cleveland
George Jonington
John Adams
Antony
Olympias
Elizabeth
Scandinavia
Godiva
Coventry
Second Wind Explained by Physiological Habits of Breathing
The article outlines how ordinary respiration uses only part of the lungs and explains how persistent training expands lung use. It cites experience with three miles daily on a hilly route, describes the transition to a full second wind, and advises breath-control drills to improve breath-holding and swimming stamina.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Longsman’s Magazine
Mexican Republican Eyes as Abyss and Sky
The text contrasts women’s eyes from the South and the North. It likens southern women’s eyes to an abyss full of depth and temptation, while northern women’s eyes are described as a fragment of sky revealing vastness and the universe.
Clement of Alexandria and the benediction on wigs
The passage describes Clement of Alexandria addressing listeners who wore false hair. He asserted the benediction remained on the wig and did not reach the soul. Wearers then removed the head covering at the critical moment to allow the blessing to strike where it would do the most good.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Fiderie Avolinaire
Clovis
St. Germer
Toulouse
Ecclesiastic
Coventry
Italy
Tertullian
Clement of
Alexandria
Whistling Away Ghosts in a Forest Romance
The narrator recalls whistling to scare away ghosts during a courting era with Clarissa. In a moonlit woodland near Skillet Fork, two spectral figures kiss him and steal his tune Yankee Doodle, guiding him to reveal his love for Clarissa. The tale ends with neighbors adopting the whistle and rallying around the couple.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
The
Mercury
Ben Cope
Clarissa
Wilkie Collins
Hades
Tim
Railway Etiquette Rules for Travellers by Bill Nye
Carl Pretzel's Weekly prints a satirical guide advising rail and travel conduct. It lampoons rude habits, such as blocking aisles, sleeping with a head in a linen closet, dining car etiquette with forks, and intoxicated behavior, urging politeness and patience while rail travel remains chaotic.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Bill Nye
Carl Pretzel
Ladies’ Department
Gertie
James Boys
War from the Sky Hazardous Balloon War Tale
An account describes a perilous aerial assault against three steamers near Dalkey Island using ten pound bombs. The narrator details descent, shell bursts, rockets, and night flooding lights as ships are hit, with the crew signaling alarms and the assaulters rallying for a final strike before aborting and considering a second target.
A Fisher of Men and Hornpout
A Saginaw deacon rebukes boys fishing on the Sabbath at the dock but interrupts his sermon to call out a bite by a distracted youngster. The moment ends with humor as human nature wins over pious caution.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Imal
Bedsy
Saginaw
Mich
He That Is Sad Bill Nye in New York Mercury
Fragmentary OCR presents a humorous verse by Bill Nye in the New York Mercury. The text mocks public figures and folly with archaic phrasing and wordplay. It hints at political guesses and luck, though the full context is unclear from the damaged excerpt.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Bill Nye
New York Mercury
London Street Criers From Saloop to News by Horns
A historical sketch recalls London street vendors crying saloop at night and peddlers shouting penny violets and lavender as summer wanes. It contrasts Saxon era news cries with early newspaper hawkers using horns, hung hats, and one shilling sales while Marlborough era battles are chronicled in the Spectator.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
London
Charles Lamb
Saloop
Temple Bar
Marlborough
Gazette
She Knew the Styles at the Stafford Dinner Table
A Buffalo Graphic item notes a very particular man seating at the Stafford dinner table. The brief fragment hints at social dining context and a distinctive character shaping the scene. No further names or dates are readable in this snippet.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Buffalo Graphic
The
Stafford
Bric-a-Brac and verse fragments from old papers
A collage of brief literary snippets and captions from various newspapers and magazines. It weaves humor and verse about fairs, fashion, hospitality, love, and aging pages, with quotations from The San Franciscan The St. Paul Globe The Philadelphia Call Chicago Ledger Harper's London World and Somerville Journal.
Odious Comparison and Frustrated Romance in Chicago Rambler
A fragmented excerpt from Mary Ashley Townsend presents an engagement ending, with a provocative exchange about padded coats between Angelina and William. The piece shifts to a sentimental poem about longing for carefree nature, clover fields, and the exhaustion of rigid duty, voiced as a female lament on desire and freedom.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Chicago
Angellina
William
Martin
John
Poetry and chores collide in garden daydreams
Fall River Advance notes a humorous verse set about poetry, appearances, wealth, and romance, then shifts to a lively garden scene. The speaker revels in sunlight, farming tasks, and playful country imagery, ending with a zest for tending beds while brimming with energy and chill.
Honest Farmer Slogan At Bottom Of Bar Policy
A farmer explains he does not stack big apples at the top of the bar and notes that others do. The deacon praises restraint, while the farmer suggests city folks learn by visiting and placing large apples at the bottom. Public sentiment shifts toward fewer suspicions about choosing the top spot.
Also Mentioned on This Page
Powell
Lloyd
Hibernian
John Brady
Leming
Lydecker
Beir
Cal. Powell
Cpl Pave
Arosa
Senay
Buck and Bright
Yellow Jacket
Bloomington
Josh Billings
Rehoboth
al Amin
Bagdad
al Murun
Kuthan
Rouen
Philip Augustus
Charles I
John Frederic
Elector of
Saxony
Wittenberg
Cafe de la Regence
Chess Clubs
M. de la Bourdonnais
Kings of Chess
Marshal Blucher
Mr. Lewis
Hritish Isles
Lewis
Deschap
Detroit Free Press
Bac
Cleopatra
Jefferson
Monroe
Madison
John Quincy Adams
Andrew Jackson
van Buren
Harrison
Tyler
Polk
Taylor
Illmore
Buchanan
Lincoln
Andrew Johnson
Grant
Hayes
Garfield
Arthur
Judas
E. Huddle
Deedalus—Greer
Dalkey Island
Otting
Seith
Mary
Lemars Mirror
St. Paul Globe
Philadelphia
tChicago Ledger
Austin Dobson
Harper's
West
Somerville Journal
London World
Mary Ashley Townsend
Fall River Advance
Monk
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!