Franklin's thrift tale shows the dollar's long arc
The piece explains Benjamin Franklin's 1791 will gifting £1,000 to Massachusetts and Boston, to be lent at 5 percent for 100 years, with a further 100 year roll. By 1891 the fund grew to $431,383.62, then split for public work and continued earning. By 1918 the remainder reached $267,805.15 and could reach about $6,000,000 by the next century’s end.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Benjamin Franklin
Commonwealth of Massachusetts
Boston
England
Franklin
Mayflower voyage tales and Puritan bravado in a comic vein
A humorous reminiscence on the Mayflower landing at Plymouth Rock. The piece recalls Puritan families, a rocky coast, rudimentary lodging, a meeting house, and attempts to convert locals. It lightly muses on conscience and modern comforts while poking fun at historical hardships.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Plymouth Rock
Plymouth
Fresh Eggs Joke at East Twenty Fifth Street Store
A grocery port proprietor in East Twenty Fifth Street is famed for wit. A neighbor asks for renal fresh eggs and he replies with vigor. A later visit sees him directing a clerk to check if eggs from this morning are cool enough to sell.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
East Twenty-fifth Street
Indianapolis News
Famous London Mulberry Tree Falls After 144 Years
A famed north London mulberry tree linked to the first reading of the American Declaration of Independence in Britain collapsed from age. American boy scouts at an international conference nearby documented the event as 800 people photographed beneath its branches while religious leaders spoke in its shade and visitors sought chips from the historic stump.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
London
England
Mildmay Conference Hall
Also Mentioned on This Page
Europe
Poland
European Relief Council
America
Council
Herbert Hoover
American Relief Administration
American Red Cross
American Friends’ Service Committee
Quakers
Federal Council of the Churches of Christ In America
Jewish Joint Distribution Committee
Knights of Columbus
Craighead
THE
Walker Dry Goods CO
Capitol Street
Charleston, W. Va
Mary
Hoover
the Electric Shop
Beckley
W. E. Moorefield
G. W. Willis
M. B. Smith
Red Cross
Crossett Shoes
Beckley Department Store
the Store OF Fair Prices
West Virginia
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!