Closed for Memorial Day
The Davenport Public Library will be closed
Monday, May 27, 2013
For Memorial Day
We will reopen on Tuesday, May 28, at 9:30.
RSSC’s Featured Image
- How did people keep cool before air-conditioning was invented?
In the 1890s, they used the River!
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For your convenience, please explore our page of upcoming genealogical and local history events in the Quad-City area.
Be sure to mark these dates down in your own calendar!
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Author Archives: swesson
Just Shelved: Germans, Canadians, and Iowans–Oh, My!
We are now the proud owners of volume 25 and 26 of Kevin M. Hansen’s Map Guide to German Parish Registers. These volumes primarily contain information on the Lutheran and Catholic parishes of the Kingdom of Saxony, but other churches are also … Continue reading
Rat-a-tat-tat. Vvvvvvvvvbbbbbbbbrrrrrrrrr.
Not usually the sounds of silence you might expect in the library, especially in the Richardson-Sloane Special Collections Center, right? Well, all that noise is preparation for welcoming back our dancing, leaping and running cherubs, or “putti”, to the Davenport … Continue reading
Those Vital, Vital Records
To a genealogist, vital records are the mainstay of his or her research, the triumvirate of documentation. Birth, marriage, and death records pin down a life from start to finish and connect an unbroken (one hopes) line from one generation … Continue reading
A Fine Day for a Dedication
Have you ever wondered if children of the nineteenth century groaned when it was time to return to school after summer break? If they did grumble about such things the week of September 10, 1866 would have been the time–back … Continue reading
October is National Archives Month
October is National Archives Month, when we attempt to “Celebrate the American Record.” If not for all these records, there would be very little for researchers to go on when it came to family history or investigating political, social or … Continue reading
The Free and Independent State of Scott
As has been said before here, Davenport was the home to many breweries and saloons in the mid-1800s. This wasn’t a problem during the Civil War, when those of a teetotal inclination had other things to worry about. But once … Continue reading
Posted in Local History
Tagged Davenport, Ernst Claussen, Iowa, Prohibition, The September Project
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Archives, the historical record and freedom
If you’re a regular visitor to this blog, you’ve read lots of brief histories of people, events and places in Davenport and Scott County. Have you ever thought “that doesn’t sound accurate to me” or wondered “just how do they know that?” … Continue reading
Posted in Library, Local History
Tagged Davenport City Archives, Special Collections, The September Project
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A Veteran’s View: Dale Elliot
Since 2004, libraries across the world have organized events about freedom and issues that matter to their communities during the month of September. This grassroots project favors free over fee, public over private, and voices over silence. Throughout the week of … Continue reading
A Veteran’s View: Joan McAdams
Since 2004, libraries across the world have organized events about freedom and issues that matter to their communities during the month of September. This grassroots project favors free over fee, public over private, and voices over silence. Throughout the week of … Continue reading
Dred Scott Slept Here
In 1833, John Emerson, an army physician, moved to Fort Armstrong on the Mississippi River Island now called Arsenal Island. With him, Dr. Emerson brought his slave, Dred Scott, whom he had purchased in St. Louis, Missouri. Dr. Emerson became … Continue reading