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Category Archives: Local History
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
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
Posted in Local History
Tagged backward glances, columnists, In memoriam, john willard, journalists, newspapers, Quad-City Times, reporters
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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
Posted in Local History
Tagged Cora West, Dr. Rudolph Alberti, Elizabeth Fritzfeldt, Friedrich W. Ehrig, Fritz W. Ehrig, James Alcott, Murder
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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
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
Posted in Local History
Tagged automobiles, Baseball, Bettendorf Company, Davenport Athletic Club, Davenport Democrat and Leader, Edwin T. Merideth, Football, Fredericka Kletty, Friday the 13th, J.W. Rice, James Hutcheson, John H. Shirley, M.F. Cronin, National Candy Day, Victor L. Littig, World Series
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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
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
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
Back to School: A Letter From Immaculate Conception Academy, 1873 – Part I
At this time of year, as many students return to school, we thought it appropriate to share one of the Richardson-Sloane Special Collections Center’s latest acquisitions: a March, 1873 letter from a student at the Immaculate Conception Academy in Davenport … Continue reading
