Author Archives: SCblogger

In Her Own Words: Red Cross nurse Grace Van Evera

Grace Van Evera was born January 9, 1877 in Davenport, Iowa to Charles and Henrietta Kepler. The family lived on Utica Ridge Rd. and were prominent residents of the county.  Ms. Van Evera received her education from Davenport High School, … Continue reading

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In Memoriam: John Willard

Retired Quad-City Times local history columnist John Willard passed away on October 30th, 2017 at the age of 74. Mr. Willard frequently used our resources to do research for his weekly column, “Backward Glances” and other features. John Michael Willard was … Continue reading

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The Mysterious Death of Fritz Ehrig – Part II

Click Here For Part One It was on the morning of October 7, 1869 that the body of Friedrich “Fritz” Ehrig was found in the bottom of the cistern in the churchyard of St. Anthony’s Church in Davenport. Mr. Ehrig … Continue reading

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The Mysterious Death of Fritz Ehrig – Part I

The morning of Thursday, October 7, 1869 probably seemed like a typical fall day to Patrick Higgins, Sexton of St. Anthony’s Catholic Church in Davenport. The church was (and still is) located on the corner of 4th and Main Streets. … Continue reading

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A Friday the 13th in October…1916

101 years ago today, in 1916, Friday the 13th also fell in the month of October. The evening issue of the Davenport Democrat and Leader listed several unlucky ocurrences of the day under the following heading on page 6: For one, the … Continue reading

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#familyhistorymonth at the RSSC Center

October is #familyhistorymonth! One of our eagle-eyed volunteers spotted these photographs taken by the Gustav Dahms studio in Davenport (218 Brady Street from 1the 1870’s to approx. 1915) at an antiques store in Illinois. Although she purchased and donated them … Continue reading

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Genealogy Night at Davenport Public Library

October is National Family History Month. We are kicking off the festivities with our semi annual Genealogy Night! The Richardson-Sloane Special Collections Center will be open after hours on Sunday, October 1st to give genealogy researchers uninterrupted research time. It … Continue reading

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The Vietnam War: Research at the RSSC Center

Have you been watching? Ken Burns and Lynn Novick’s ten-part PBS documentary series The Vietnam War is generating a great deal of interest in our nation’s experience during the conflict. Satisfy your own curiosity by exploring sources available here in the … Continue reading

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Celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month 2017!

Hispanic Heritage Month 2017 begins today, September 15th! To celebrate, we are featuring a unique source of information about the Mexican-American community in the Quad-Cities area: materials from the Iowa Stories 2000 collection (Acc# 2005-02). A little more than ten … Continue reading

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Back to School: A Letter from Immaculate Conception Academy, 1873 – Part II

This week we continue with our “back-to-school” theme, learning about the Richardson-Sloane Special Collections Center resources that help us place Immaculate Conception Academy student Ada Sala’s 1873 letter to her father, E.M. Sala, in historical context. Imma Conception, Davenport, Iowa, … Continue reading

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