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Category Archives: Local History
Pop Quiz! Can you name these Davenporters?
How many well-known Davenporters can you name? Most native Quad-Citizens can name a few local celebrities off the tops of their heads—Annie Wittenmyer? Rascal the River Bandit?–and many of us can recognize the names of historical Davenporters of note—Phebe Sudlow? … Continue reading
Posted in Local History
Tagged Davenport (Iowa), Davenporters of Note, Hostetler Studios, Local History, Photographs, Quiz!
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A “Brilliant Home Function”: the Modest Wedding of James Lane and Sophia Shuler
Sophia Caroline Shuler was the daughter of Charles Shuler, the president of the First National Bank of Davenport and the owner of several mines. Miss Shuler was a graduate of St. Katherine’s and the National Park Seminary in Washington, D.C., … Continue reading
Posted in Local History
Tagged Davenport Democrat, Hostetler Studios, James Reed Lane, Photographs, Sophia Shuler Land, Weddings
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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
Posted in Local History
Tagged buildings, churches, city directories, Davenport (Iowa), Maps
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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
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
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
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
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
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
