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!
This newspaper page contains 53 articles. Subscribers can read the full text of each article.
Newspaper
Bristol Phoenix
Location
Bristol, Rhode Island, United States of America
Date
Dec 30, 1871
Page
2
The author reflects on gifts and happiness from giving and family joy after Christmas. It urges expanding our hearts, notes that labor balances play, and commends turning the holiday spirit into wholesome work and vigor in John and Jane, while poking fun at Mrs. Grundy and promoting cheerful effort.
A historical comparison portrays John Quincy Adams in mixed light as critic of democracy grows harsher. The piece notes a younger Adams mimicking elder stance but failing to rise to lofty ideals, while recounting his autograph gift and a barbed New Year’s hope for improved spirits.
The Post Office reports the highest monthly mail volume in history for November 1871, illustrating the people’s writing spirit and enterprise. The author believes literacy will drive reconstruction, purify social life after fire, and speed up progress through documented deeds.
The piece denounces royal pivoting on the Prince of Wales health as petty and self-serving. It argues the danger to the throne is exaggerated for political aims and predicts monarchy's downfall amid calls for American restraint.
Prof Hilgard of the Coast Survey analyzes census data showing steady westward population shift. He predicts slower growth of the West and places the 1900 population center near Bloomington Indiana about 40 miles southwest of Indianapolis.
An 18 year old youth from Providence with acute pneumonia received a physician’s prescription. A druggist misread it and prepared three ounces of aqua ammonia instead of a gentle remedy. The patient later swallowed a second dose, worsened by his father’s assurance. His digestive tract is badly eroded and he remains critical.
The article explains straw bids used to win mail contracts. A fraudulent low bid is placed to trigger acceptance, then the bidder vanishes when duties begin. The Post Office must either stop service or pay the old contractor to continue until new bids are opened, as laws limit switching to next highest bidder. The cycle repeats, benefiting the original contractor.
The Alaine Farmer reports 70 500 salmon eggs packed at Orland on the 18th and shipped by steamer Katahdin to Bucksport. Mr. Atkins sent 21 750 eggs to Norway, Me to hatch by Crockett Holmes trout breeders for release into Androscoggin tributaries next spring. Fertilized eggs show heart pulsation and wriggling embryos. expected non fertilization loss is two to three percent.
Two Jamaican sisters living in London thirty years ago formed a nightly habit of sneaking into the kitchen after curfew and eating cockroaches. They argued that shrimp fed on carrion too, while cockroaches fed only on crumbs left behind. The craving persisted despite the mistress’s discovery and remonstrance.
The Rhode Island Department of Public Instruction calls the Third Annual Convention of School Officers for January 8 1872 at Normal Hall Providence. Delegates include boards of education school committees district trustees and superintendents with sessions on organization duties compulsory education and plans for a state association.
Scientists report a late sun eruption hurled debris over 200000 miles, forming a 15000 mile chromosphere protrusion that burst, the globe’s hydrogen gas composing the plume.
In Fitchburg Massachusetts a cat crawled into a fly wheel and lay unmoved until the engine ran for three hours. A dog alerted nearby workers who stopped the machine and freed the uninjured cat after it had endured sixty revolutions per minute.
President Grant indicates no cabinet changes before March 4 and that Fish will stay as Secretary of State unless an unforeseen event forces a change. The president does not anticipate or desire alterations to his Cabinet in the near term.
A shipment of 7000 salted kangaroo skins from Australia is being tanned at a Oakland beach tannery opposite Yerba Buena Island. The skins are noted as thin yet very tough and whenturned to leather they become pliable and water resistant longer than calfskin.
The Democrat notes a quiet period in La Crosse river traffic with locals offering odd trades. A man even proposed swapping a side-wheel steamboat for an oyster stew, but found no takers and kept his vessel.
A Japanese student sent to the United States for liberal education died on Monday. He had spent one year in this country and, through Troy Academy, had learned to converse and read English fluently. He planned to study law and hoped to advance Japanese jurisprudence if allowed to complete his studies.
The late Robert James Taylor of Newport R I died after a stint as a New Bedford Custom House clerk and later led a local Newport drug store from 1823 until death. He was a public spirited citizen involved in many activities and movements. His funeral Saturday drew a large procession from City Government, the Artillery Company, Odd Fellows, the Artillery Veteran Association, and the Redwood Library Corporation, with which he had long been associated.
Senator Buckingham presented a memorial against woman suffrage claiming more than ten thousand refined women oppose it and seek protection from new burdens. He cited sixteen hundred Connecticut signers and argued suffrage would harm work, marriage harmony, and general order, offering no benefit to women or the nation.
A fragmented collection of holiday witticisms and riddle lines pairs humor with seasonal themes. It features playful questions about Santa Claus, stockings, trees, and merchants. Notable items hint at charity, courting, and clever wordplay in a late 19th or early 20th century tone.
Bristol readers are wished a Happy New Year. A question is raised about drunkenness in Bristol. Quickstep Engine Company No 2 led by Captain Fish will hold a firemen's ball in Armory Hall on State Street next Friday evening.
A note of gratitude credits Benjamin T. Eames for supplying copies of the Daily Globe and for providing public documents from Washington, D. C.
New and improved machinery will soon be introduced in the spinning department of the Richmond Manufacturing Co. s mill.
Work on the foundation walls of the new school on the Common has been suspended and will resume early in the Spring.
A local quip credits a former postmaster with a riddle about Bristol and corn kernels. The joke notes that Bristol resembles a large car of corn because it contains many colonels.
The Board of Managers of the Y M C A will hold their monthly meeting on Thursday evening after the prayer meeting at their rooms.
The Town Council and Court of Probate will hold their regular monthly meeting in the Council Chamber on Monday afternoon next, commencing at two o'clock.
The Bible class at the rooms of the Y M C A will consider part of the second chapter of Hebrews this Saturday evening. All interested will be warmly welcomed.
The Metacom Debating Club will question whether the present national banks or the old state banks are preferable in a debate next Tuesday evening. The event invites members to weigh the merits of both banking systems and their impact.
The schooner George W Whitford under Captain Charles D. Eddy reached Providence from Aquadilla Porto Rico last Tuesday. It brought 620000 oranges and 200 bags of coffee in its cargo.
A Christmas ball was held at the Artillery Armory Monday night with music provided by a Fall River band. Supper was served in the Armory basement.
The Young Men's Christian Association will hold a meeting at Steamer No. 1 engine house tomorrow evening starting fifteen minutes before six and lasting one hour.
The Excelsior Cornet Band will hold a grand promenade and social dance at Town Hall on Monday evening next. At the opening and intermission the Excelsiors will perform some of their best selections for patrons.
Captain Allen G. Wright of the boot-room in the National Rubber Company factory received a valuable gold watch and chain from the department employees last Friday. The presentation honors his leadership in the boot-room at the Rubber Works.
The Y M C A library added several titles in December including Divine Tragedy My Wife and I Chris and Otho Fire in the Woods Lost in the Fog Young Dodge Club Aunt Joe's Scrap-Bag and Child's History of England.
Dr. G P Barnes, an allopathic physician from Chicago Illinois, has taken an office at the corner of Slope and Wardwell streets in the rooms formerly used by N T Sanders Esq and plans to permanently reside in the town.
The town observed Christmas with workshops and banks closed and streets presenting a holiday appearance. Weather was warm for the season with fog overhead and mud on the streets.
The eccentric preacher Rev Lorenzo Dow was initiated as a Mason in St Alban's Lodge No 6 during a special meeting held on December 25 1624. The lodge W Master then was the late Mr Sylvester Luther.
A lecture titled Life in a Convent by Edith O Gorman the Escaped Nun drew a small audience at 9 Town Hall last Wednesday evening with fewer than one hundred attendees. Police were present but order was not challenged.
Monday evening marked the twenty fifth anniversary of Mr. and Mrs. John B. Munro. They hosted a pleasant silver wedding celebration at their residence with many friends attending.
Pupils remembered the High School staff warmly the day after Christmas. The Principal received a six volume edition of Milman Gibbon's Rome and the Assistant Teacher a beautifully bound set of Hood's poetical works.
Town officials report liquor license refusals and varied smuggling methods. A rice cask hid a barrel of whiskey in a store, while a large pepper plant raised by Mrs. Phebe R. Mott drew attention at the office with peppers and blossoms observed Wednesday morning.
An exchange notes Narraganset Bay lacks marshes along its borders with abrupt, precipitous shores. The Bristol and Providence railroad runs between the headlands, its deep cuttings illustrating this coastal feature.
Quartermaster General Flagg with Captains Willard and Browne toured the town last Tuesday evening to inspect arms and equipment of two military companies. The Artillery were found lacking proper care while the Light Infantry were reported in fine condition.
A reader corrects your report on Mrs. Rogers donation to the Redwood Library in Newport. She notes the amount was 4000 dollars and was not a fulfillment of her husband’s will as misrepresented, his illness preventing the broader endowment.
The Providence Press reports a celebrated genius in the city has arranged a large hall in a neighboring town for a marriage to a Providence lady in about two weeks. Tickets are one dollar to witness the ceremony and hear the city orchestra in the hall. Rumors of the event have circulated here that it may occur in Town Hall the following week.
A Monday evening vestry festival by the South Christian Church Sunday School filled the room with members, friends, and visitors. Four Christmas trees and two tables held presents, cake, confectionery, and fruit while Rev. Wm. Miller received a cash envelope. The exercises were engaging and the gathering a source of great enjoyment.
The Sabbath School at State Street M E held a Christmas festival in the church vestry on Monday evening. The program opened with choir singing and a pastor’s prayer by Rev. E I Smith, with Scripture reading and school singing. Superintendent George H Burgess announced gifts for distribution and the gifts were given to scholars. Attendees enjoyed confectionery cake and apples. attendance of friends was large and the gathering was pleasant.
A pleasant Christmas festival was held Tuesday evening at the Orphan's Home on Congregational street. Revs. J. P. Lane E. F. Smith and H. M. Jones gave brief addresses to the children as they recited and sang. A gift laden Christmas tree provided clothing books toys cakes fruit and confectionery for all inmates. Many visitors attended and called it an enjoyable time. Rev. William Miller closed the festival with prayer.
At Richmond Manufacturing Bristol Steam Mill Charles Wilkinson led weavers in presenting overseer Royal Dawley with a silver water pitcher salver and goblets as a Christmas keepsake. Dawley, astonished, expressed thanks and later received silver napkin rings from other workers. Dawley has overseen weaving since 1839.
The brig Mary E Rosevelt capt Farnum ran aground at Long Branch New Jersey on the night of the 22nd and was refloated and towed to New York for repairs. Telegraph boy Coggeshall heard bullets near Wood Street and Ferry Road last Monday morning, raising concerns over firearm care in town.
The Daggett estate on State street near Hope and High has been bought from heirs and given to the First Baptist Church for a parsonage. Donors include Mrs. Harriet B. Norris Col Samuel Norris of London England Mr John Norris of Paris Deacon Stillman Welch George Traile Esq Mrs Jackson and Mrs Rogers of Providence and a memorial of Robert Rogers of one thousand dollars. The house is occupied by Rev H M Jones.
Citizens flock to view a comical nondescript displayed in George W. Easterbrooks’s show window. The contraption resembles a turkey legged bird with squash body and rubbery tail, carrying a monkey rider and labeled “Goldsmith Maid, 2.17.”
Children’s service began at six with organ voluntary and carols. The rector Rev G L Locke delivered a Luke 2:15 sermon after candlelight format, followed by benediction. The church was decorated with evergreens and wreaths. the regular service followed at 7:30 with further carols and Collects.
We want people to find what they are looking for at NewspaperArchive. We are confident that we have the newspapers that will increase the value of your family history or other historical research. With our 7-day free trial, you can view the documents you find for free.
People find the most success using advanced search. Try plugging in keywords, names, dates, and locations, and get matched with results from the entire collection of newspapers at NewspaperArchive!
You can also successfully find newspapers by these browse options. Explore our archives on your own!
Browse by location and discover newspapers from all across the world.
Browse by date and find publications for a specific day or era.
Browse old newspaper publications to find specific newspapers.