You’ve undoubtedly heard of P.T. Barnum, world-renowned showman and circus guy. But have you heard of E.T. Barnum? Probably not, unless you’re into penal history. E.T. Barnum, you see, was in the jail accountrements business. From 1866 on, if you were in need of a heavy-duty jail cage, plate-iron cell lining (something to stop prisoners from […]
A Scandalous 1886 Elopement
A Runaway Marriage: The year was 1886, and Mary Cosser and William John Swail knew what they wanted – each other. But the would-be bride’s parent were apparently less than excited about the match. The fact that Mary was just 16 while her sweetheart was eight years older might have had something […]
Poison Parsnip & Fun Facts From 1887
I’m working on a third time-travel novella, set in 1887. And what a fun trip back in time it’s been, reading the old newspapers to capture the period flavor! There were wonderful ads, of course, like Genoa barber David DeLong, who doubled as a dentist. And then there […]
Widows In The Civil War
When Life Gives You Lemons: Widows In the Civil War Love stories come with all kinds of surprising twists and turns. Handed down through my own family is the fascinating story of a Civil War widow – with a quirky happy ending. As the tale goes, Sarah Jane Dukes […]
Ever heard of ‘Bastardy Bonds’?
Ever heard of “bastardy bonds”? I certainly hadn’t. Not until I was researching my own family history, when TMCC genealogy librarian Sue Malek helped me discover a whole book about North Carolina Bastardy Bonds (with, yes, a few family surnames inside!) Turns out bastardy bonds were an early way […]
Forgotten Victoriana: Stickaline
You gotta love forgotten bits of Victoriana. I was scrolling through a Scribner’s Magazine from 1880 when this ad for Stickaline caught my eye. The label graphics are just so Gilded Age. But what was this stuff? Turns out Stickaline was a simple adhesive and it was cheap: just 20 […]