American Humor Doesticks and Phoenix Among Bohemian Wits
A detailed sketch of Mortimer M. Thomson and his Doesticks group, their New York and Vanity Fair ties, and the rival humorists like John Phoenix and His McArone circle. It covers Doesticks works from 1855 to 1857, Phoenix’s mergers, Griswold, Derby, and Howells praise, plus wartime humorists Nasby Kerr and Orpheus C Kerr, ending with a note on postwar humor’s rise.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Q.K. Philander Doesticks
P. B
Mortimer M. Thomson
Parson Wilbur
Doesticks
P. KB
Pfaffs
New York
New York Mercury
Vanity Fair
Mercury
Mwan
Cooperstown
N.Y
Damo and Pythias
Atullx
Almort
Phoenix
W. D. Howells
Mr. Howells
Uch of Derby
John Phoenix
Nasby
Hans Sreitmann
Orpheus C. Kerr
Artemas
One Touch of Nature Love of Mother Across Languages
In a Burlington Hawkeye vignette a German son escorts his non English speaking mother through a railroad waiting room. A train stop reveals tender care from a baggage agent and passersby, underscoring that maternal love translates beyond language, age, and culture. The encounter ends with a quiet affirmation that love of mother is universal.
Recaptured Within Sight of Smoke from Libby Picket
A Civil War escape tale recounts Captain Frank E. Moran of the Seventy third New York and companions fleeing Libby Prison on February 8 1864 after a tunnel breakthrough. Moran describes crawling through a rat infested cellar tunnel then breaking into the yard and gaining fresh air before a harrowing swamp chase.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Rose
Libby
Frank E. Moran
Seventy-third New York Regiment
Moran
Thrilling Predicament of a Cincinnati Steeple Climber
Mr. Jo Weston, a steeple climber, recounts a near fatal accident on St. Pauls spire in Spring street. A rope and handkerchief incident nearly choked him. he was saved when the scarf freed and he dropped onto scaffold hooks below. The tale emphasizes danger and quick thinking in a dramatic rooftop mishap.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Cincinnati Enquirer
Jo Weston
St. Paul's
Spring Street
Grandmother Inspires Tender Childhood Reflections
Detroit Free Press passage laments a world without grandmothers and the soothing presence of elderly faces. It contrasts fathers busy with finances with grandmothers who share patience, stories of the manger, ladders to heaven, and comforting, loving eyes for children.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Detroit Free Press
A Railroad Raid And The Battle For Chattanooga
A Union party led by Captain J J Andrews plotted to seize a Confederate train and burn bridges between Atlanta and Chattanooga. The daring plan failed after pursuit, many captured or executed, including Andrews in June 1862, with others sent to Knoxville or Atlanta for trial and death.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Philadelphia Weekly Times
J. J. Andrews
West Virginia
Mitchell
Atlanta
Chattanooga
Andrews
W. J. Scott
Weekly Times
Brown
Mazeppa
Ukraine
Dalton
Chickamauga Bridge
Ringgold
Fuller
Chattandoga
Knoxville
The Birth of Dixie The Song That Shaped a Nation
The tale traces Dan Emmett and Bryant's minstrels in 1859 Mechanics Hall New York as Dixie was born from a walk round melody. It details authorship disputes, publishers profits, wartime reception, and Emmett's faded later life while Dixie became a national refrain.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Dan Emmett
Bryant
Minstrels
Mechanics’ Hall
New York
Dan Bryant
Emmett
Dan
Dixie
North
South
Mason and Dixon
W. W. Newcomb
Buckley
Peters
Pond
Werling
William 8. Hays
Louisville
Music Publishers
Maine
John Wood
New Orleans
Jared
Carlo Patti
Tom McDonough
Dolly Davenport
Leffingwell
Mark Smith
John Owen
Zouaves
Susan Denin
Washingtge
Artors
France
Chicago
How the South Held Out
In this Detroit Free Press extract the writing notes that blockade running remained active despite organized efforts to seal ports. It credits Confederate successes in obtaining material, ammunition, ordnance, and uniforms from Europe, aiding the South’s ability to sustain fighting through the early war and into 1864.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Stonewall Jackson
Virginia
Europe
Confederacy
South
A Mormon King and Beaver Island's Turbulent Rule
A Cleveland Herald retells the rise of James Jesse Strang known as King James on Beaver Island near Lake Michigan. It covers his Mormon leadership, the colonization of St James, clashes with Gentile fishermen, a forged Smith letter, the 1857 59 arrest for treason, his brief Detroit trial, murder by an ex-army surgeon, and the community’s collapse after his death. Captain Norton recalls a Beaver Harbor rescue of a fleeing couple from Strang’s men.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Lake Michigan
Straits of Mackinaw
Manitoba
Beaver Island
Cleveland
Chicago
Joe Smith
Strang
Blackstone
Smith
Kirkland
Ohio
Independence
Wisconsin
Aving
Havin
Nauvoo, Ilinois
Nauvoo
Brigham
Prosreas
Beaver Harbor
St. James
James
Robert Willis
United States
Michigan
Jeader
Detroit
United States Army
Farewell the Fairs. Prize Pumpkin and Other Grangers Delights
Milwaukee Sun reports the year’s fair closes with failures and humor. Prize produce spoiled, bread mocked, and floral hall emptied as crowds depart. Patents churn and sewing machine sellers flee, while bands, committees, and grangers head home. City gates close, harvest memories linger until next year.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Milwaukee Sun
Beating the King and the Captain's Escape Tale
A seafaring man recounts an island adventure where the king demanded his wife, sparking his rage. He claims a revelation compelled him to whip the king, escaping with his wife by boat. They later reached Milwaukee, and he swore never to enter Beaver harbor aboard the schooner Sheppard again.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Milwaukee
Beaver Harbor
Sheppard
Severed by Fate in a Moonlit Glen
Ingomar McCloskey and Gladys Perkins share quiet night pie under locust trees. He denies doubt in love, then reveals the real doubt is whether the pie will hold out as the moonlight falls and the sawbuck rests against the woodshed. The scene unfolds with lyrical dialogue and suspenseful tension.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Chicago Tribune
Pasa
Ingomar McCloskey
la Porte
Ingomar
Gladys Perkins
Ingemar
Gladys
Kenosha
Why Jewesses Are Handsome At Asbury Park
The Washington Critic praises Miss Solomon sisters of Washington for beauty and intellect, claiming they exemplify their race. It recalls a legend attributing Jewish women’s enduring beauty to biblical sorrow, noting their faith and knowledge while contrasting men’s decline.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Washington
Asbury Park
Solomon
India
Christus
Golgotha
Judeanim
Obituary Poem Won Spare Night at Wayside Inn
John McCullough recalls a rainy night at a closed tavern after a death in the landlord's family. Barrett consoles the grieving host, then writes a moving obituary poem for the dead baby. The landlord, moved by the verse, offers a free bed and hospitality.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
John McCullough
Barrett
Harper & Brothers Plan Westward Expansion in Cincinnati
The Cincinnati Enquirer notes Harper & Brothers have acquired 110 feet on Fourth Street and 100 feet on Plum Street for a brick branch publishing house six to eight stories high. The site currently hosts large structures including the former Cuvier club building.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Harper & Brothers
Cincinnati Enquirer of
Fourth Street
Plum Street
Cuvier Club
Seasons in Verse and Autumn Imagery
A collage of Romantic and seasonal poetry excerpts celebrating autumn, Indian summer, and year end reflections. Notable lines evoke Longfellow Clara Heath and Anon on harvest imagery, with vivid nature scenes and a sense of time passing through fading bright hues and lingering warmth.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Longfellow
Ateve
Clara B
Heath
Joel Benton
New England
Anon
The Slow Train Conductor and the Restless Passenger
A gray-haired traveler questions delays on a freight side track while the conductor reassures him they are not hitched to anything. The man jokes about a one-car berth and recalls riding this road in his youth as he contemplates returning home.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
War Department
Jeff Davis
Army
Department
Derby
Davis
Bat
Erby
San Diego
Cal
San Francisco
San Diego Herald
Call & Tuttle
Tuttle
Kearney Street
Lindy
Bounivard
Byron
Chillon
Libby
Kingston
W. A. Fuller
Jeff Cain
Anthony Murphy
Fuller
Andrews
Stillwater
Kalamazoo
Hiram
Travellers’ Magazine
Memories An Anon Poem On Repetition Across Generations
A reflective verse claims people tread old paths and share enduring traits across generations. It notes shared emotions, habits, and ambitions, joking that officials act the same as in the past, with a sly, self aware tone about continuity and human nature.
St Patrick and the Fairies tale of Noahs Ark voyage
A story recounts St Patrick explaining why fairies and devils could not board Noahs Ark. The tale contrasts holy weather outside with the dangers for demons, who lingered above the flood rather than dive for a sinner. It ends with a digressive note about devils seeking other shores until the flood ends.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
St. Patrick
Paddy
Satan
Saumon
Dog Star
A Thistle, A Yellow Bird, And A Star That Stays
Urania Locke Bailey presents a whimsical verse about a star seen to fall and the gossiping creatures of garden, bog, and marsh. The lilies and lilies alone witness truth while the firefly reports joyfully of a star that remains in the sky.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Urania Locke Bailey
Polite Uncle Fritz Story Ends With A Drowning Farewell
In a humorous aside a German named Fritz recalls his uncle who saved a hat and offered to escort ladies by saying polite words before sinking with the vessel. Gilhooly cracks that the uncle showed no manners by crowding ahead of others, deeming him selfish.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Fritz
Gilhooly
Bridal Escape in Pathetic Countdown
In a fragment from the Conciergere-1798, Ellen Mackay Hutchinson depicts a bride hurriedly readying under pressure from bridesmaids as dawn unties her long hair and a dramatic prison door exit leads to a vow between a brave lover and a hushed, poignant wedding amid a rousing chorus and La Carmagnole.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Ellen Mackay Hutchinson
Paul
Jean
Thedie
Saint Guillotine
Monsieur
Fortune Fickle Rich pugilist and poor preacher in town talk
In Hollidaysburg the crowd notes Slugger the pugilist, well dressed with a canine entourage, who has netted about $500 from a recent benefit. Nearby, old Faithful the country clergyman is seen weary and poorly clad, also having a modest benefit. Parishioners brought what they could, totaling about sixty cents.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Hollidaysburg Standard
Slugger
Pugilist
Also Mentioned on This Page
Q. K. Philander Doesticks
George Arnold
John Phenix
Elephant Club
Dampheol
Jess Flac
Seorge Arnot
A. Minor Griswold
Cleveland Leader
Artemus Ward
Plaindealer
Browne
Griswold
Cincinnati
Times
Cincinnati Gazette
Cincinnati Saturday Night
George Horatio Derby
United States Engineer Corps
California
Arizona
Texas
Squibol
Burlington Hawkeye
Nan
Iowa
Libby Prison
Gettysburg
Charley Morgan
Chickamauga
Rebs
Morgan
Terra Firma
William Watson
Twenty-first Wisconsin Regiment
Watson
Great Lakes
Cleveland Herald
C. T. Norton
Detroit Street
King James
L. I
Thad
Tiana
Fair Ground
City of
Plenty
Harry Barrett
Sainte
Harriet McEwen Kimball
Anne
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