Author Archives: SCblogger

A Flood of Images: July 2014

We may have posted  The Flood of 1870: Bridging the gap between memories and measurements a bit too soon. Apparently, instead of celebrating no floods in 2014, we should have celebrated no spring floods. The summer flood of 2014 crested less than a week … Continue reading

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Mapping Early Churches

Early Davenport had a lot of two things: bars and churches. It would be difficult to document all the places that might have offered our citizens refreshments of an alcoholic nature prior to 1880; many of them didn’t exist long enough to … Continue reading

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Soldiering On: Local Veterans of “The Great War”

June 28, 2014 marks the hundredth anniversary of the assassination of Archduke Francis Ferdinand of Austria, heir apparent to the Austro-Hungarian Empire, whose death launched a series of political events that culminated in world-wide war.  The date of his murder … Continue reading

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We Mustache This Question: The 1884 Davenport Police Department

As we’ve mentioned before, this year marks the 175th anniversary of the Davenport Police Department.   In previous posts, we’ve shared some of the historical information and resources in our collections about and from the Department, and even cleared up … Continue reading

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The Scott County Unusual Sources Index

Back in the days of card catalogs, the Scott County Iowa Genealogical Society created a name index to a wide variety of items available in the Special Collections Center. Dubbed the Scott County Unusual Sources Index (SCUSI for short), it … Continue reading

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In Their Own Words: D-Day

In 2001, our Special Collections Center was privileged to conduct oral history interviews with several area World War II veterans and others who were personally connected to the War, both home and abroad. On this 70th anniversary of D-Day, we … Continue reading

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Feathered Hats and Juliet Caps: the Glaudel – Petrik Wedding

Eugenie M. Claudel married Francis Aloysious Petrik in Sacred Heart Cathedral at 8 o’clock on June 30, 1914. According to their Scott County marriage record, Miss Glaudel was 27 years old, and Mr. Petrik was 29. According to the wedding … Continue reading

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The Mystery of the Orphans’ Monument

Standing like a sentinel over the headstones in the Orphans’ Section in Oakdale Memorial Gardens Cemetery is a large granite monument, surrounded by mystery. Starting in November of 1865, Orphans from the Iowa Soldiers’ Orphans Home (later renamed the Annie … Continue reading

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Kids Who Love Books: Children’s Book Week 2014

May 12-18, 2014 is Children’s Book Week! Established in 1919, Children’s Book Week is the longest-running national literacy initiative in the country.   As children were among photographer J.B. Hostetler’s favorite subjects and books one of his favorite props, we thought we … Continue reading

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What’s in a Map? : Post Office Department reports of site locations, 1837-1950

Our maps have proven to be popular resources with our patrons. Whether you’re looking for visual information on your Davenport home, a glimpse of the city in 1857, your ancestral farm, the land that appears in your great-grandfather’s estate, the … Continue reading

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