Writings of Doesticks and the Bohemian Humorists
A critical survey of Mortimer M. Thomson and fellow Bohemian humorists led by Doesticks and George Arnold. It chronicles their New York roots at Pfaff’s and Vanity Fair, notable works like Doesticks What I Says and History and Records of the Elephant Club, and surveys their influence, style, vulgarity, and shifting popularity. It also profiles Grimson, Phoenix, and related writers, noting their contributions to American humor and the postwar shift to new voices.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Philander Doesticks
P. B
Mortimer M. Thomson
Universites
Parson Wilbur
Doesticks
I. Ti
Pfaff's
New York
New York Mercury
Vanity Fair
Hey
Mercury
Elephant
The
Elephant Club
Mischellows
Thomson
Arnold
Cooperstown
N.Y
Damon and Pythias
Phoenix
W. D. Howells
Mr. Howells
Derby
Imilar
John Phoenix
Nasby
Hans Treitmann
Orpheus C. Kerr
Artemas
One Touch of Nature Language at a Railroad Junction
A Burlington Hawkeye sentimental vignette describes a German immigrant man at a railway junction caring for his aging mother. In a waiting room a baby laughs at German, the man reassures the mother, tips baggage staff with kindness, and expresses universal maternal love, seen through a bilingual moment of affection and duty.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Burlington
Unite Tates
Iowa
Megs
Anguage
Libby Prison Escape Recap Ends With Freedom at Night
The article recalls Colonel Rose completing the Libby tunnel on February 8 1864 allowing 61 Union soldiers to flee to Federal lines Captain Frank E Moran a current prisoner attempted to join the group but faced guards. Moran later escaped with William Watson and Charles Morgan after crawling through a narrow tunnel and fighting through rats and darkness to reach safety.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Rose
Libby
Frank E. Moran
Seventy-third New York Regiment
Moran
Union Epee
U- al
Mo Uwon
Morgan
Terra Firma
William Watson
Wisconsin Regiment
Watson
Thrilling Predicament of a Cincinnati Steeple Climber
Cincinnati Enquirer details Jo Weston a steeple-climber who narrowly escaped a fatal accident atop St Pauls spire on Spring Street. A rope load system failed when a handkerchief caught on a moveable rope, pulling him tight and nearly choking him. He slid to safety using scaffold hooks below.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Cincinnati Enquirer
Jo Weston
St. Paul’s
Spring Street
Wren
Jay
I've Got a Grandmother
A nostalgic piece from the Detroit Free Press reflects on the comforting role of elderly grandparents in a child’s life. It contrasts busy fathers with the gentle guidance of grandmothers who soothe joys and sorrows and share stories of faith and heaven.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
iDetroit Free Press
A Rail Road Raid Seizing a Train Into Confederate Territory
A Philadelphia Weekly Times report recounts Captain J J Andrews West Virginia Unionist leading twenty two men to seize a Confederate bound train near Big Shanty Georgia in 1862. Pursued by Fuller Cain Murphy the party abandoned their mission after seventeen were captured and Andrews was executed later with others.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Philadelphia Weekly Times
J. J. Andrews
West Virginia
Mitchell
Atlanta
Chattanooga
Andrews
W. J. Scott
Weekly Times
Brown
Kingston
W. A. Fuller
Jeff Cain
Anthony Murphy
Fuller
Mazeppa
Ukraine
Dalton
Chickamauga Bridge
Ringgold
Knoxville
Birth of Dixie Song and its contentious authorship
The 1859 genesis of Dixies tune by Dan Emmett while with Bryant's minstrels in New York, the quick creation of the refrain I wish I was in Dixie, and its tumultuous publishing battles, disputed authorship, wartime notoriety, and final rise as a national anthem-like tune.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Dan Emmett
Bryant
Minstrels
Mechanics’ Hall
New York
Dan Bryant
Emmett
Dan
Dixie
North
South
Mason and Dixon
Ero House
W. W. Newcomb
Buckley
Werling
New Orleans
Peters
Pond
William
Hays
Louisville
Music Publishers
Maine
John Wood
Carlo Patti
Tom McDonough
Ahoued
Dolly Davenport
Lefingwell
Mark Smith
John Owen
Zouaves
Susan Denin
Washington Artillery
France
Chicago
How the South Held Out
After the blockade was organized Federal admirals boasted of captures and port control but blockade running persisted as a regular business. Stonewall Jackson and Confederates supplied 75,000 men with captured material, and until spring 1864 Federal ammunition fueled Virginia battles. Europe supplied the Confederacy with its best ordnance muskets ammunition and uniforms despite blockades, explaining the South’s endurance.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Stonewall Jackson
Virginia
Europe
Confederacy
South
A Mormon King and Beaver Island Tale of King James
A Cleveland Herald account recounts James Jesse Strang known as King James, a Mormon leader who seized Beaver Island near Lake Michigan. The piece covers his rise from a New York farmer’s son to a self styled ruler, his ban on liquor, polygamy, and warfare with Gentile fishermen, his brief Detroit trial for treason, his eventual assassination by a disgruntled follower, and a witness account of seekers rescued from his island stronghold. The narrative frames the island's transformation under Strang and its decline after his death.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
A. Minor Griswold
Cleveland Leader
Artemas Ward
Plaindealer
Browne
Griswold
Cleveland
Cincinnati
Times
New York Mercury
Cincinnati Gazette
Cincinnati Saturday Night
Lake Michigan
Straits of Mackinaw
Les
Manitoba
Beaver Island
Chicago
King James
Joe Smith
James Jesse Strang
Vias
Herkimer County
N. Y
Strang
Blackstone
Smith
Rieland
Ohio
Independence
Wisconsin
Havin
Israel
Brigham Young
Nauvoo
Illinois
Brigham
Isconsin
Beaver Harbor
St. James
James
Robert Willis
Planetesa
United States
Michigan
Detroit
United States Army
Atrang
T. Norton
Detroit Street
Lakes
L. B. Shepparty
Milwauee
Isand
New York
Farewell the Fairs and Grangers Delights Finale
Milwaukee Sun recalls the closing of the fair season with jumbled praise and scathing wit. The prize pumpkin, potatoes, bread, and turnips are mocked for poor quality while floral halls and calico quilts fade from the scene. Poultry diplomas, honey, and butter churns are lampooned as the fair ends. vendors pack up, committees disperse, and the grounds empty into a long idle spell until next year.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Milwaukee Sun
Hco
Heaven
Stillwater
Kalamazoo
Hiram
Indian Autumn and Harvest Quiet in Poetry Tone
A collage of seasonal verse highlights late autumn scenes from New England to Keats and Heath. It paints Indian summer, harvest moons, and mellow fruitfulness with vivid nature imagery and nostalgic mood.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Clara B. Heath
Joel Benton
New England
Anon
King Demands Wife as Revelation Sparks Duel on Island
A man recounts an island tale in which a king claims the narrator's wife as his. The narrator declares a counter revelation to whip the king, threats arise, but the couple escapes with the narrator and wife reaching a boat. They later travel to Milwaukee with the captain.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Milwaukee
Beaver Harbor
Sheppard
Severed by Fate in a Chicago Tribune Pairing
Ingo McCloskey and Gladys Perkins sit on a moonlit Glen porch eating pie as a romantic confrontation unfolds. She questions his devotion while he feigns doubt, finally admitting concern over the pie’s endurance. The scene blends quiet romance with a wry, fatal hint at fate.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Ingomar McCloskey
la Porte
Ingomar
Gladys Perkins
Ingemar
Gladys
Kenosha
Why Jewesses Are Handsome at Asbury Park Claim
The Washington Critic praises Misses Solomon of Asbury Park as the prettiest girls, noting trim figures and beauty features. It recounts a legend about Jewish women’s preserved beauty through history, with a biblical origin story linking tears to hair and eye beauty across generations.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Washington
Asbury Park
Solomon
India
Christus
Golgotha
Harry Barrett and the Landlord Obituary Poem Night Tale
John McCullough recounts a night at a rural tavern when a grieving landlord refused strangers yet welcomed Harry Barrett. Barrett writes a touching obituary poem for the landlord’s dead child, moving the host to share a bed and hospitality free of charge.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Harry Barrett
John McCullough
Barrett
Harper Brothers Acquire Plot for Cincinnati Branch Publisher
Harper & Brothers have acquired 110 feet on Fourth Street and 100 feet on Plum Street in Cincinnati to build a brick six to eight story branch publishing house. The site currently hosts sizable structures including the former Cuvier club building.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Harper & Brothers
Cincinnati Enquirer of
Fourth Street
Plum Street
Cuvier Club
Conductor and Passenger Seek Shelter on Delayed Train
A gray-haired traveler questions why the train sits on a side track as the conductor explains they are not hitched to anything. The passenger frets about a possible freight strike and insists on a sleeping car berth while a dispute about the journey unfolds.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Travellers’ Magazine
Memories Anon Reflects on Repeating Generations
An anonymous piece contemplates repeating lines of history across generations. It notes shared hills, tears, housing, girls, sun, and stories told by forebears, while praising enduring inspiration and common ambitions as officials endure unchanged routines.
St Patrick and the Fairies Tale of Noahs Ark
In a tale from a sour continent voice, St Patrick explains that only the ark, God’s boat, was barred to devils during the flood. The outside world endured holy rain as the windows of heaven opened, while demons lurked above. Some fled to the Dog Star world and abroad until the flood ended.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
St. Patrick
Paddy
Heaven
Satan
Saumon
Dog Star
The Star That Fell and Yet Stays Bright
A whimsical verse about gossip and nature birds and insects, tracing how rumors spread from thistle to willow and mosquitoes. The lilies and blue waters witness the tale of a falling star, and the goblin meteors dance while the star remains.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Urania Locke Bailey
Polite Uncle Fritz Fails in Sheep Boat Tale
A witty evening tale centers on a man named Fritz boasting his uncle was the politest ever as his uncle saved himself from a sinking sheep boat by tipping his hat and praising a fine pie. Gilhooly counters that Fritz’s uncle showed no manners for cutting ahead of others, especially with ladies present.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Olerman
Ritz
Gilhooly
Fritz
The Bride’s Shorn Veil in Conciergere-1798 Scene
In the Conciergere-1798 segment Ellen Mackay Hutchinson portrays a dramatic bridal scene. A bride pleads with a groom and attendants as she faces forced trimming of her hair before a swift marriage. The moment ends with the bridal escape and a hushed, intimate embrace.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Ellen Mackay Hutchinson
Daine
Paul
Jean
Saint Guillotine
Fortune and a Fickle Foe in a Cold Night Crowd
A hard hitting pugilist nicknamed Beast is mobbed by admirers after a benefit that netted him $600. Nearby a weary old clergyman, Faithful, dressed thin for winter, recalls a surprise parishioner gathering where sixty cents was the total collected for expenses and regents.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
iHoliidageburg Standard
Slugger
Also Mentioned on This Page
Q. K. Philander Doesticks
George Arnold
John Pheonix
McArone
Chevalier McArone
George Horatio Derby
Joan Phoenix
United States Engineer Corps
California
Arizona
Texas
War Department
Jeff Davis
Army
Department
Davis
San Diego
Cal
San Diego Herald
Judge Ames
San Francisco
Call & Tuttle
Kearney Street
Libby Prison
Gettysburg
Charley Morgan
Chickamauga
Rebs Comine
Lipby
Bonnivard
Byron
Chillon
Great Lakes
Cleveland Herald
Carse
Fair Ground
Plenty
Piods Acadian
Sonia
Cas —lAnow
Harriet McEwen Kimball
Chicago Tribune
Siow
Azes
Ted
Monsieur
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!