by Sharon Hall | Nov 25, 2013 | Military History Monday
Soon after the Kansas-Nebraska Act was signed, the Massachusetts (New England) Emigrant Aid Society sent 200 “Free-Staters” (anti-slavery) to counteract the influences of southern states and neighboring Missouri who were strongly pro-slavery. The Massachusetts group...
by Sharon Hall | Nov 23, 2013 | Home Remedies and Quack Cures
Before it became illegal to lie on the package label, this “cure” for alcoholism was called “Golden Specific” – later changed to “Golden Treatment” when the law went into effect. Dr. James Wilkins Haines of Cincinnati, Ohio claimed his medicine was endorsed by the...
by Sharon Hall | Nov 22, 2013 | Feudin' & Fightin' Friday
San Elizario in El Paso County, Texas was the location of this conflict over mineral rights. San Elizario was founded in 1789 south of the Rio Grande River. In 1831 a flood changed the course of the river and San Elizario became an “island” between the two channels...
by Sharon Hall | Nov 20, 2013 | Digging History Magazine, Ghost Town Wednesday
Once upon a time this ghost town came within three votes of becoming the capital of Mississippi. Native Americans found it a good place to cross the Mississippi River long before the area was settled by the French in 1763, who named it “Petit Gulf”. In 1781 the...
by Sharon Hall | Nov 19, 2013 | Tombstone Tuesday
I normally write Tombstone Tuesday articles about ordinary, everyday people who lived economically and physically challenging lives out on the American frontier somewhere. Today’s article is related to tomorrow’s Ghost Town Wednesday article, and since I ran across...
