Curious natural oddities and famed figures in a single issue
A garbled wealth of items includes a rattlesnake despatched by bees in Sweetwater valley and a striking Red Bud tree in Griffin Georgia. It also recounts a steamboat detachment on the river, lists ages of famous men like Emerson and Barnum, and notes a Pennsylvanian family dispute over a burial with insurance. The widening tale mentions Samuel J. Tilden's new Gramercy Park house, its price estimates and lavish stonework.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Samuel J. Tilden
Gramercy Park
New York
Carlisle
Scotland
Belleville
Maine
Jumbo the Elephant’s Ocean Voyage and Rampant Rumors
A crowded narrative traces Jumbo the elephant’s London to New York voyage with Barnum. It recounts lavish hospitality, 100 pounds of onions, and a club that prized wisdom and hypocrisy. The tale notes Jumbo’s beer and whisky intake and the trainer’s harsh methods, ending with fears over Jumbo’s cage height near railroad bridges.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
New York
London
Scott
Barnum
Jumbo
Mr. Barnum
Eailers
Animals and literacy across states in historical reflections
A wary essay reflects on animal mortality and fidelity with a Cornhill Magazine anecdote of a collie returning with a puppy after delivering a stray sheep. It then cites educational statistics showing illiteracy rates by state, noting the West’s comparative literacy and listing several states from Nebraska to New York with varying per 1000 illiteracy figures.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
James Hoae
Cornhill Magazine
Cuisus
Nebraska
Iowa
Wyoming
Dakota
Kansas
Minnesota
Ohio
Maine
Michigan
Wiscongin
Oregon
Ilinois
New York
Utah
Maginn Tricks Blackwood in Edinburgh Interview
The tale recalls how William Maginn, an Irish writer, sought an interview with Blackwood. He travelled from Cork to Edinburgh, arrived Sunday evening, and early Monday presented himself at Blackwood’s shop. A bluff exchange over authorship ends with a jovial meeting and renewed ties between the editor and Maginn.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
William Maginn
Blackwood
Maginn
Edinburgh
Cork
Prince's Street
Blackw
Ireland
Mr. Blackwood
Scott
Uebaugh
Octoherty
Love Eternal in Alice Carey Verse
Poem proclaims true love as immortal and steadfast beyond life and fate. It contrasts fleeting earthly affection with a passion that endures despite doubt or sorrow, asserting love that comes to stay and cannot perish.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Tharo
Alice Carey
Women Workers in Italy and Social Customs Across Regions
The passage contrasts European and Egyptian attitudes toward women smoking and working. It notes English and American women abroad face scrutiny, while Chinese and Italian women exhibit varied practices. Upper Italy shows women in work and earning a living, including aristocrats, unlike southern provinces where labor is ridiculed and many prefer idleness.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Italy
Tosti
Deuza
Rotoli
Armenian Bride and a Turkish Moneylender Tale
A Boston Herald reporter recounts a tale in which Bekian a moneylender in Constantinople marries Margaretta Amassin an Armenian woman. She plots to kill him with a cousin and refugees after a demanded ransom. The couple are sentenced to long hard labor and Bekian vows never to trust travel writing again.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Bombay Herald
Turkey
Constantinople
Bekian
Margaretta Amassin
Probasional Beauties Stir London Society
A London correspondent notes professional beauties disrupt social harmony in elite circles. Rival claims, coquetry, and public endorsements by aspirants split drawing rooms as equestrians or courtly patrons press for preeminence. The craze erodes unity, provoking a cautious backlash from parents and peers.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
London
Paris
Bon Gaultier
Beauty Recipes From The Past Suggest Gentlewomen’s Regimen
The article discusses societal concerns over a beauty regime’s spread and lists various cosmetic preparations. It cites methods using pumpkin and gourd seeds, cucumber, and melon seeds with cream and milk, plus tonics like camphor water and benzoin. It includes remedies for pallid or shiny skin, wrinkles, crow’s feet, and a Span ish egg rose-water paste.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Roland
Sumatra
Lula Montez
Louis Spectator
Lifting a Note and Czar Diary Fragments
Henry Clay recalls a secret note paid to him by unknown backers that enabled his wealth and public life. He vows to uncover benefactors after leaving public duty. The diary entries describe a perilous morning with poison gas torpedoes and a fatal coach crash, noting scorpions and canned goods.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Henry Clay
Mr. Webster
Massachusetts
Conrad
New Orleans
Mr. Clay
Clay
Conran
Claus
Jongdoin Wentworth
Fragmented San Francisco letter with violent anecdotes
A San FranciscoVea Letter describes a bizarre scene with a poisoned dagger in a chair, a dinner disrupted, and a fatal outcome. It mentions Baron Laischotmowonski, consumed oysters from Baltimore, London stones, a theater shooting in the first act, and the writer sleeping on a palace roof after an audience change.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
I.ad
Baron Laischotmowonski
Baltimore
London
San Francisco
Agriculture in Arizona's Irrigated Valleys in 19th Century
The article highlights Yuma and Mohave counties in the Colorado River valley as rich agricultural regions. It notes extensive irrigation potential, with thousands of acres of fertile land, rapid vegetation after floods, and the need for canals and embankments. It cites hemp, sugar-cane, and crops in the Big Sandy area, stressing irrigation as key to prosperity.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Yuma
Mohave
Colorado Valley
United States
Ehrenberg
Colorado
Yume
Gila
Mohave County
Arizona
Arc
Court Confusion As Drunk Man Questions Identity
Henry Slater awakes in a courthouse believing he is in Detroit and asks if he is a prisoner. The judge confirms he is drunk and jailed for lying on the sidewalk. Slater jokes about flukes, pays a five dollar fine, and worries his family won’t believe the arrest.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Henry Slater
Denuke
Detroit
Aarne
Crank
The Speed of Thought And Sense Perception
The article notes Helmholtz findings on nerve transmission speeds, Hirsch on facial touch, and differing senses with sight slower than sound and touch. Dondero’s device estimates brain processing at about seventy five thousandths of a second, with recognition forty thousandths and willing thirty five thousandths. Youth show quicker mental operations, averaging a thought every one fortieth of a second.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Helmholtz
Hirsch
Dondera
The Peru vian Investigation Witnesses Clash In Hearing
The Shipherd examination was renamed on the 19th and testimony touched on the Peruvian Company amid denials of correspondence with Blaine and questions over stock. Witness refused to reveal a Hat of stockholders and confirmed no direct links to the President, while discussions over compensation for claims and the directorate were noted before a committee vote to set aside the witness.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Shipherd
Wm. A. Hurbort
Miniater
Maiia
Gen. Grant
Arthur
House
Witnese
Sadrea
Tary
Blaine
Belmont
Lord
Hurlbut
Sdvice
Cova
Ietonaive
Hed Rotary
Shepherd
Wilson
Deadly danger on ice voyage of the Jean nette
An American in Siberia, Dr HL C Tadyard, relays grim details from Lieut Dannenhower about the loss of the Jean nette. Caught by ice near Herald Island, the crew endured pumps and peril for months, retreating 29 days south through 300 miles of broken ice before the ship sank. Survivors blamed much suffering on a detour to Bon nett island and harsh tides near Tone river.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Periis
San Trancisco
HL C. Tadyard
Siberia
Irkontsk
Ledyard
Lieut
Dannenhower
Herald Island
Dbonnett Island
Bine
Tone River
Melville
Horrible Explosion Blasts Baltimore Factory Killing Several
A boiler explosion at A. I. Bibley’s flour and feed mill in Baltimore’s western district killed seven people and injured many others. The blast shattered nearby homes as debris flying through the air caused numerous casualties and missing persons amid a chaotic scene.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Baltimore
A. I. Bibley
Joby Addison
Henry Walter
Colors
Union
Alne
John W. Addison
Harerston Walter
Frank Kraemer
Abraham Hub
Maria
Kauff
Georgie Penta
Gracie Grey
Andrew Cooper
Janos Poole
Akull
Edward Coulshen
Bernard Taylor
Ida Rosenburg
Perdona
Lior
Vaid
Also Mentioned on This Page
Sweetwater Valley
Cale
George Niles
Griffin
Warr
Jackson County
Ale
Tennessee Line
Ralph Waldo Emerson
Charles O'Conor
David Dudley Field
Charles Francia Adams
John G. Whittier
Jefferson Davis
Oliver Wendell Holmes
Cornelius K. Garrison
Jeremiah 4. Black
Robert Toomba
Phineas T. Barnum
Wendell Phillips
Judah P. Benjamin
Alexander H. Stephens
Horatio Seymour
Sunaton Hata
Chandler
Hale
Brather
Trespasa
Connecticut
New Hampshire
New Jersey
Pennsylvania
Indiana
Montana
Vermont
Washington
Iolaho
California
Nevada
Rhode Island
Missouri
West Virginia
Delaware
Maryland
District of Columbia
Kentucky
Exas
Tennesse
Arkansas
Virginia
Florida
North Carolina
Mississippi
Georgia
Alabama
Louisiana
South Carolina
New Mexico
Egypt
Yankel
Doring
Mecklenburg-Strelitz
Grand Duchy
Puorouni
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!