Strange tales mix warnings and duels across the land
A string of odd reports from railroad superstition in Winfield Kansas to a deadly duel in New Mexico, a three hour cat versus alligator encounter on Holmes River, and a Dawson Georgia death by sneeze. Also stories of missing Brice Blair lookalikes in Wyoming, a hunt for a chicken thief with a dog rescue, revival from apparent death in St Petersburg, and curious property disputes in Biddeford Maine.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Frank Prerer
Etna
N. J
How Hotels Are Robbed
A New York hotel owner details systematic pilferage by guests and strangers. Envelopes ink bottles soap towels toothpicks and sheets are taken, with daily losses mounting to dozens of items per guest and hundreds yearly for towels and linens. European plan hotels face similar pilfering.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
New York
No Full Length Portraits for Him
Thackeray disliked vanity and mocked it. After family pressure he allowed Lawrence to paint him. At a club, a Guards officer asked about the portrait, and Thackeray quipped that full length portraits suit soldiers, not authors, noting the man’s character matters more.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Thackeray
Lawrence
London
Tinckeray
Cleveland
Why Leap Year Name Baffles The Curious Reader
Inquiries into why leap years are called leap years yield no simple answer. The idea of leaps or bounds, or leaps over time, is debated, with references suggesting the exact reason remains unknown. The note cites The Century Dictionary and St. Nicholas in exploring the puzzle.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
St. Nicholas
Dialectal Surprises in Montserrat Irish Heritage
American Notes and Queries notes that Cromwell banished many Irish to the West Indies and that Montserrat’s white settlers are largely of Irish descent. It observes that even the island’s Black residents speak a rich brogue, suggesting valuable dialectal survivors in the old colony.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
West Indies
Island
Montserrat
Montsrrat
Eld
Ladies Fashion and Beauty Advice From 19th Century Columns
The article warns women about vaseline possibly promoting facial hair with heavy use, citing New York Mercury. It reviews spring and summer fashion trends including jacket styles, lace on hats and bodices, pearl and diamond bracelets, silk and satin gowns, colored sashes, wide braids, and decorative trims.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
New York Mercury
Queen Anne shoe fashion vs plain black styles in New York Post
The New York Post notes the Queen Anne shoe with lent instep flap and Irish diamond buckle as fashionable for tea gowns, but plain black un dressed kid shoes with jet beads appear more graceful and smaller on the foot. It highlights a rage for gray dyes and elegant toilettes, while shades like fawn and almond suit demi blondes and colorless brunettes.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
New York Post
Boneless dress waist on fashion scene noted
Detroit Free Press reports a boneless dress waist praised for its quiet design, costing 55 dollars, with no whalebone or cord yet offering comfort. It also mentions a Russian blue cloth dress with Scotch thistle motifs and a shepherds plaid shawl suit with silver clasps, admired but costly.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Lalso
Detroit Free Press
Fashionable muffs through the French centuries
A San Francisco Chronicle excerpt traces muff history from 1720 to the Revolution. It describes changes in size and materials from yellow fox fur to chenille and grebe skins, wall decorations costing five crowns, and later small black satin or miniver variants for men and women at social events.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
France
Louis XVI
San Francisco Chronicle
Miss Webster Boston Carpenter Turns Heads In City
Miss Webster of Boston, sister of the writer Albert Webster, becomes a wood carver after hardship. She runs a shop with ten Back Bay pupils making chairs tables cabinets and a yacht locker while also teaching interior decoration and planning a lodge on the south shore for a permanent home.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Miss Webster
Boston
Albert Webster
Marrie Una
Nathaniel Hawthorne
Houston
Back Bay
Althourh
New York
San
Undressed calf to become new eating fad startles shoppers
Fragmentary notes describe an odd fashion trend and dining shift with terms like undressed calf and toecraps referenced among fashion and shop displays. The text hints at popular footwear and fabrics without clear narrative.
Feathered Cannibal: Screech Owls Fight and Eat Each Other
New York reader Leonard Streeter near Northwood reports a rare avian clash in which a screech owl killed another and began eating it. An ornithologist notes cannibalism occurs in screech owls, while the great horned owl is cited as more destructive to other raptors.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Leonard Streeter
Northwood
N. Y
Spe
Streeter
Cooper
Hawk
Coapme
Also Mentioned on This Page
Ruth
Erase
Robert Harland
Winfield
Kansas
Las Vegas
New Mexico
Old
Holmes River
Vernon
Fla
Walton
Severa
Brice R. Blair
Carbondale
Penn
Colorado
Marysvale
Utah
Idaho
Salt Lake
Salt Lake City
Brve R. Blair
Lanier
Wyoming
Young Blair
Bryce Blair
Lanier i
James Blair
Nebraska
Dawson
Savannah News
Martha Roundtree
Main Street
St. Petersburg
Russia
Loukhmanov
Biddeford
Mary Haynson
St. Hedvig
Texas
Issane
Tule Ranch
Alamo
Cal
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!