Author Archives: SCblogger

A Gold Star – or Badge: The Davenport Police Department’s 175th Anniversary

We were excited to see an article in the January 16, 2014 Quad City Times about the Davenport Police Department’s 175th Anniversary. What a monumental occasion. In celebration, current officers are sporting badges reminiscent of those worn by their predecessors in the … Continue reading

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Simple Beauty: The Wedding of Miss Blanche Boggess and Frank Edwin Gorman

On January 10, 1912, Blanche Elizabeth Boggess married Frank Edwin Gorman in a ceremony at the Rock Island home of her parents, 926 Seventeenth Street. Miss Boggess was an active member in the social circles of Rock Island, Illinois, while … Continue reading

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A New (Old) Look at the Iowa Soldiers’ Orphans’ Home

For many of us, when the name Iowa Soldiers’ Orphans’ Home or Annie Wittenmyer Home is mentioned we think of the beautiful two-story red brick cottages that exist today on the site. These were not the original buildings that the … Continue reading

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Our “Special” visitors for 2013

In 2013, genealogists and history researchers came from all over the country (and the world!) to the Richardson-Sloane Special Collections Center, to use our wonderful resources. They came from far away to fill in the blank branches of their Family … Continue reading

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A Very P.S.C. Christmas

Recently, as we were searching for an obituary in the Davenport Democrat  for December 17, 1922, we found an advertisement for the P.S.C Cafeteria at the “top of Brady Street Hill.” Naturally, we were curious. With a little further searching, … Continue reading

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Library Holiday Closings!

The Davenport Public Library, (and therefore our Special Collections Center) will be closed December 24th and 25th and December 31st and January 1st Otherwise, we will be open our regular hours throughout the holiday season.

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Flowers in December: the wedding of Minnie Elliot and James Morgan Reimers

Our Hostetler Studio Photograph Collections, which we are in the process of adding to the Upper Mississippi Valley Digital Image Archive, include negatives from many local weddings. When we can match these images with the wedding announcements in our local … Continue reading

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The Mystery of James T. Reeves, Confederate Prisoner

Our November post on the Rock Island Prison Barracks will tell you that on December 3, 1863, the first Confederate prisoners arrived by train to the Rock Island Prison Barracks. Many of these soldiers were captured in Chattanooga, Tennessee during … Continue reading

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Davenporters of Note: Julie Jensen McDonald

“I’ve set a lot of things in Iowa, and this is home.  I know it, and I think you should always try to write about what you know . . . And also, there are a certain set of values … Continue reading

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Library Closed for Thanksgiving Holiday!

The Davenport Public Library and our Special Collections Center will be closed Thursday and Friday, November 28th and 29th for Thanksgiving. We WILL be open our usual hours on Saturday, November 30th Enjoy your holiday!

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