Many Scores to Settle

Posted on October 6, 2010 by SCblogger

Among our collections of genealogies and local histories, death records and newspaper abstracts hides a different kind of historical resource:  Musical scores.

In Special Collections, we have several catalogued scores, most of which have local connections, from Davenport by Alfred E. Petrow (1915) to piano arrangements for some of Bix Beiderbecke’s pieces.

The Davenport Centennial March, written by Herman Schmidt in 1936 and Albert Petersen’s the Mississippi Valley Fair Boosters March song (1924) were written for specific celebrations.   The Wild Rose of Iowa, by Erwin Swindell, and Bix’s Davenport Blues are sentimental commentary.  But they all use music to describe our area and our people during the time they were created.

Our uncatalogued ephemera files include many, many past and present Official Songs of Iowa, including Iowa, Beautiful Land by Horace Towner, who later, became the governor of Puerto Rico. 

Not all of our music was commercially published.  Kent Gannett  (1887-1967) taught vocal music at Davenport High School (now Central) from 1924 to his retirement  at the end of the 1952 school year.   He was an accomplished composer and musician and won awards for his work.

 Before his death, Mr. Gannett donated his compositions and arrangements—most of which were performed between 1940 and 1960—to the Davenport Public Library.  These scores run from original symphonies to whimsical pieces with names like At the Supermarket (With Squeaky Cart). 

So, if you’re interested in not only seeing history, but hearing it, why not visit the library and look over our musical selections?  Our materials don’t circulate, but you could make a photocopy of Wheatland’s own Whizz Bang Orchestra’s Harmony Waltz, as first herd in 1920, for only ten cents a page.

That’s a small price to pay for a piece of our musical history!

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Hispanic Genealogy Resources

Posted on September 30, 2010 by SCblogger

National Hispanic Heritage Month runs from September 15th – October 15th. This 30 day period covers the anniversaries of independence of Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua (all on 15 Sep 1821), Mexico (16 Sep 1810) and Chile (18 Sep 1810), as well as Puerto Rico’s “Grito de Lares” (23 Sep 1868) and Columbus Day or “Día de la Raza” (12 Oct 1492).

To celebrate, let’s explore some of the resources we have available for Hispanic genealogy.

Hispanics have a greater chance at being successful in their genealogical research than many other ethnic groups. Spanish church and civil records are the oldest and most complete in the world. Catholic Church records became mandatory after the Council of Trent in the 1560’s, but there are records in existence that are even older than that. Beginning in 1790, baptismal records in Spain and Latin America include the names of the child, both parents and all four grandparents, and in some cases lists where they were all born. The Civil Registration records for Spain and Latin America begin in the late 1800’s, and they also list all of the grandparents’ names and places of birth. With just one document, you can find enough information to fill in three generations in your ancestor chart!

Another advantage is the unique Hispanic naming system. Hispanics have two surnames; first is the father’s last name and second is the mother’s maiden name. Women never change their last names, even after they get married, so the name in their birth certificate is the same as the name is their death certificate. This makes it a lot easier to trace maternal lines and no need to do exhaustive research to find maiden names!

Also, working-class families in Spain usually stayed in the same region and practiced the same profession for many generations.  Most people didn’t move away unless their occupation required a lot of travel or they belonged to a higher social class. If you find a name in the civil registration or church records for one place, it’s more likely that the rest your ancestors will be there, too!

Are you ready to give your Hispanic genealogy a try? Here are some tips on how to get started:

Start with yourself. Write down everything you already know: names, dates and time periods, place names, etc. We have forms available in our beginning genealogy packets that you can photocopy and use.

Ask your family. They might have original documents, newspaper clippings, family bibles, yearbooks, photo albums or family letters with information and clues to help you figure out where to go.

Go to the library. Your local public library might have local history and genealogy information. We have microfilm of newspapers and vital records. We subscribe to online databases that the public can use. If we don’t have what you need, you can request items through ILL. Not all libraries have the same resources, but they should be able to direct you to genealogical societies, family history libraries, vital records and archives.

Our Special Collections Center has the following print resources:

Spanish Records Extraction, Published by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Salt Lake City, Utah, 1981. This is an instructional guide for transcribers of Spanish language civil and church records. It has examples of different handwriting styles, common phrases to look for, and practice exercises.

Tracing your Hispanic Heritage (1984)and  Finding your Hispanic roots (1997)  by George R. Ryskamp. Includes extensive information on how to do your research, what types of records are available and what information can be found on those records.

Census Records for Latin America and the Hispanic United States by Lyman D. Platt, 1998. What was the earliest Census taken in Mexico? Is it available on Microfilm? Find out here.

Hispanic Surnames and Family History by Lyman D. Platt, 1996. Alphabetical listing of surnames, including the most common names and a bibliography of names found in historical sketches and family histories.

Hispanic Confederates by John O’Donnell-Rosales. Alphabetical listing of Hispanics that fought in the Civil war.

Go online. There are subscription and free websites for genealogy research from home. Not all documents are available on in the internet, but you might be able to find indexes and catalogs you can search for genealogy information. When one can acquire an important document like Utah social security card online application, then why cannot they be able to find something about genealogy?

Subscription sites like Ancestry can be expensive, so why not “check it out” at your library? We have Ancestry library edition, Heritage Quest and Footnote available to use at all of our branches. Davenport Library cardholders can also access Heritage Quest and Footnote from home through the main library website.

The Social Security Death Index  , Family Search, and PARES are all free and available to anyone with an internet connection. The Social Security Death Index will give you death dates and last known residence. Family Search has vital records available for a number of countries, some are even searchable!

(posted by Cristina)

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The Weekly Outlook: H. H. Andresen and a Timely Announcement

Posted on September 23, 2010 by SCblogger

THE WEEKLY OUTLOOK  –  DEVOTED TO HOME & OUTING LIFE, LITERATURE, ART, MUSIC & THE DRAMA (Volume 1  Number 4 —August 1, 1896)

Featured in the portraits of notable Davenport men and women in this  issue is H. H. Andresen, President of the German Savings Bank. Born in Schleswig-Holstein in 1826 and reared and educated in Germany, this very successful financier came to America in 1851, located first in Milwaukee, then Chicago and ultimately in Davenport in 1855. Experiences as a merchant, manufacturer and founder of the German Savings Bank evidently provided Mr. Andresen with “the love of education, belief in healthful sports and a patronage of art, literature and song” according to Editor Banks. 

It probably didn’t hurt that Andresen’s  bank was directly below the offices of the Weekly Outlook in the McManus Building, either! Andresen resided at Sixth and Brown with his wife Mary A. Thompson  [whom he had returned to Europe to marry in 1854], and their two sons and three daughters.

POINTS OF VIEW also shares the news that the City Hall clock was officially set in motion at 6 o’clock on Wednesday July 29, 1896! The only complaint heard was that now wives would be able to check the time, and husbands wouldn’t be able to get away with setting their watches back to explain away their late arrivals home.

MUSIC AND THE DRAMA provided high praise for Miss Frances Carey, contralto, who “has the divine fire that is given to few; here is the flame that environment cannot smother…”  Well,  sorry Frances fans, but I couldn’t find much about her stellar operatic career.

OUTING LIFE shared that the Quoit Club had held successful games at the Outing Club. Quoits is a game, sort of like horseshoes, where rings are tossed toward a pin or “hob”. 

In other news, the ladies of the Cheiro Club were excited because Cheiro  himself was coming to the area and there was an opportunity to  see him in person! Evidently the gals studied Cheiro’s book on palmistry for an hour every other week – no small feat to pull off in the summer months in Davenport apparently. This was followed by several musical selections and of course, a charming luncheon.

[Posted by Karen]

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The Weekly Outlook: featuring Miss Susie Glaspell

Posted on September 13, 2010 by SCblogger

The July 25, 1896 issue begins to get more titillating as Banks’ POINTS OF VIEW segment berates the condition of the Scott County Jail, calling it an “abomination”, and stating it is “alive with vermin, many of these large enough to kick a stone out of the falling walls when they are irritated.”

A detailed review of a recent Watch Tower Opera Company performance of Gilbert and Sullivan’s Mikado includes a backhanded compliment to tenor Harry Davis who was described as “a clever actor when he is singing, but his speeches were delivered in a listless way that should be corrected at once”.  Ouch.  So much for MUSIC AND THE DRAMA this week!

WHEEL LIFE includes a poem by Charles Eugene Banks entitled “A Morning Spin” and more talk of a cycling club but concerns regarding keeping men and women separated.  The opinion expressed in the  Outlook appears to lean toward a unisex club;  “The man who is afraid to have a woman peep into his club life must be doing things there that are against morality and good breeding.”

SOCIAL LIFE has now grown to include “Socialettes” about a variety of lovely lawn fetes as well as the Denkmann family entertaining 160 people for lunch and dancing on their steamer last Wednesday and the “In and Out of Town” section which keeps us apprised of who is where and with whom. This segment of the newspaper is the responsibility of Miss Susie Glaspell.

Susan Keating Glaspell  graduated from Davenport High School just two years prior to obtaining her position as society editor of the Weekly Outlook. Her social “news” morphs from somewhat pithy stories regarding prominent locals to Glaspell essays that use the space to stretch her literary wings, sometimes faltering but other times with success. She still included the “Socialettes“ and ”In and Out of Town” sections, but they became less the focus as she began to try tongue-in-cheek approaches to her columns, at one point editorialized that “being in society was all very nice, but it had its penalties, and mighty severe penalties they were”.

No doubt the elite of Davenport relished each issue of this magazine, wondering if they would be included in some manner and how their activities would be related by Miss Glaspell. Would they receive one line? A brief paragraph? Would their Club get a thumbs up or down on their decorations and choice of refreshment?

Glaspell left the Weekly Outlook to enter Drake University in Des Moines in the fall of 1897, quite unusual for a young woman in the 1890’s. Ironically her future husband, George Cram Cook was co-authoring a drama with her Outlook boss, Charles Eugene Banks, called In Hampton Roads at this same point in time. Did Banks ever introduce them? Probably, but their relationship would not become the subject of the society page for some time yet.

(posted by Karen)

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Scott County Genealogical Society Meeting – Monday, September 13, 2010

Posted on September 7, 2010 by SCblogger

What a wonderful time of year for a little adventure!

The Scott County Iowa Genealogical Society (SCIGS) invites members and non-members to their September monthly meeting which will be a tour the Family History Center on Monday, September 13, 2010 at 7:00 p.m.

Maybe the LDS library has been on a list of places you wanted to visit?  Maybe you have used the facility before, but would like to find out what is new?  Maybe you just want to spend an interesting evening with friendly people?  If so, this is the event for you!

The library is located at 4929 Wisconsin Avenue, Davenport.  Please contact scigscorsec@yahoo.com for more information.

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The Weekly Outlook: Charles Eugene Banks

Posted on August 30, 2010 by SCblogger

The second issue of The Weekly Outlook newspaper, dated Saturday July 18, 1896, highlighted a large bird’s-eye view of Davenport’s Tri-city Packing and Provision Company’s plant and grounds along with information on the company’s growth since its inception in 1893.

POINTS OF VIEW states that a seawall along Front Street from the foot of Iowa to Brown Street would improve the appearance of the city of Davenport one hundred percent.

WHEEL LIFE asks why not organize a local Bicycle Club? Tips regarding proper attire for men and women included wearing cashmere woolen stockings to save feet from blistering and assurance that since skirts reach nearly to the ankle, if properly shaped, lined and finished at the bottom there is no danger of catching said skirt in the bicycle. Folks are encouraged to buy quality – avoid a shoddy wheel!

MUSIC AND THE DRAMA reports the subscription concert series at Schuetzen Park by Strasser’s Second Regiment Band was gaining steadily in popularity and note the music pavilion erected last year “throws music into the park” and the colored lights which illuminate it “quite completes the charm”.

OUTING LIFE highlighted some favorite camp sites including Horse Island and the Rocks. There was also an advertisement for Manhattan Beach – boats leaving the foot of Brady Street at a cost of ten cents round trip.

Unusual in the newspaper were obituaries, but four appear in this issue on page eight:   Helen Clapp Jennings, wife of Samuel; Lillian Zimmerman, wife of William; Louise J. Lawson and Isador Lahman each receive a brief memorial paragraph.

Who were the confident, outspoken literary devotees that began this weekly publication of the late 1890’s?  The Outlook Publishing Company was under the management of Charles Eugene Banks, a native of Clinton County, Iowa. Born in 1852 and raised on a farm, Banks claimed New England pioneer ancestry. He began newspaper work in Wheatland, IA with a small weekly paper, and then was editor and proprietor of the American Commercial Traveler in Chicago 1885-1887. He spent several years as a reporter for the “Herald” in Chicago and was a founding member of the Chicago Press Club. Banks was married in 1892 to Carrie Wyatt Lounsbury and published his first volumes of poetry in 1893 and 1895.

The next two years found him overseeing production of the Weekly Outlook in Davenport and acting as city editor of the Davenport Daily Republican.  His first novel, “In Hampton Roads”, was published in 1898 after debuting as a play at the Burtis Opera House in December of 1897. Advertised in the final issue of the Weekly Outlook  as a new drama by Charles Eugene Banks and George Cram Cook, this “thrilling story of war, love and intrigue” was to have music provided by Professor Ernst Otto. The cast included both Banks and his actress wife, Carrie Wyatt Banks.

Further career opportunities took Banks to Seattle, Washington and ultimately Hawaii where he met his fate at the age of 80. He was struck and killed by an automobile in Honolulu on April 29, 1932; a tragic ending to a long and colorful life.

[submitted by Karen]

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The Weekly Outlook: Davenport’s Gilded Newspaper

Posted on August 23, 2010 by SCblogger

Once upon a gilded age in Davenport there were so many clubs and such an abundance of cultural activities and interests that a team of optimistic young writers chose to start their own publishing company, creating a twelve page weekly paper “devoted to home and outing life, literature, art, music, and the drama”. For nearly two years beginning in July of 1896, The Weekly Outlook may have been the guilty pleasure of many Davenporters.

The news team was made up of editor and general manager Charles Eugene Banks; his wife Carrie Wyatt Banks acting as associate editor; Miss Susie Glaspell reporting as society editor; and assistant manager William E. Warren. An item in the Davenport Daily Leader prior to the first publication boasted “The Weekly Outlook will chronicle the better side of life in the three cities.”

After their first issue had been released, the Davenport Weekly Leader reported that “an additional ray of sunshine” had entered many a local home, describing the new paper as having “literary merit and pages filled with truths, put in simple, sparkling words that cause the reader to like himself and all the world better.”

Volume 1, Number 1 came out Saturday July 11, 1896 and the front page included a “half-tone cut of Central Park in Davenport” described as giving the issue the “appearance of the great metropolitan weeklies”. The POINTS OF VIEW section offered editorial opinions on the local parks and invited aspiring young bards an opportunity to share their works in the Outlook.

The new subdivision of Henry Wiese is noted as having been recently platted, The Woman’s Shakespeare Society had their last meeting of the season, Scott County teachers were attending an Institute on Civics and Economics at Davenport High School and the oppressive heat was discouraging social activity with the exception of a supper party followed by dancing at Schuetzen Park where the “girls all looked captivatingly dainty and pretty flitting to and fro in their airy garden costumes.”

Rev. Hamilton Schuyler’s installation ceremony as the new Dean of Davenport Cathedral was covered as was Miss Alice French’s return from Clover Bend, Arkansas. Davenport’s young Harriet Grace Mitchell was touted as a “poet of rare taste and excellent judgment”. One of her pieces called “Slumber Song” was printed on page five.

A section called WHEEL LIFE noted some of the preferred bicycle routes and rides available in the area along with some warnings about a “black dog with yellow spots and an ungovernable temper”.

This issue’s MUSIC & DRAMA section listed ten Singing Societies along with their directors and rehearsal sites. The newsy IN AND OUT OF TOWN column reports that the Hills are at Nantasket Beach, Mrs. Cable and children are at Hot Springs, Virginia, the Williams are spending the summer in Tamaqua, PA and Major and Mrs. Marks are enjoying an outing at Lake Okoboji. The Lend-a-Hand Club was charmingly entertained at Hadlai Heights Wednesday afternoon and evening while “Mr. and Mrs. Waldo Becker are spending the summer in a truly ideal manner, flitting from place to place as fancy suggests. They do not expect to return until September or October.”

Advertisers included doctors and dentists, banks, pharmacies and Mrs. Lee B. Grabbe’s Hair Bazaar and Ladies’ Hair Dressing Parlor on West Second Street offering “a complete assortment of wigs, waves, switches, grease paints, tonics, powders, etc.” Meanwhile, Mr. Grabbe was advertising his Parlor Orchestra (with or without piano) furnishing music for receptions, dancing parties, lawn fetes and weddings. His Venetian Mandolin Orchestra was also available as were instrumental lessons on the side.

This newspaper is truly unique and is available for viewing on microfilm in the Richardson-Sloane Special Collections Center. Follow the Weekly Outlook in this blog as Davenport’s “gilded age” is revealed along with its dramatic players.

[posted by Karen]

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When Opportunity Knocks . . .

Posted on August 16, 2010 by SCblogger

It is August in the Midwest and we all know without a doubt that the weather around here can be brutal (Heat Wave: 1936).  There’s no need to dwell on the heat or the humidity.

So today’s post will avoid the topic of heat and focus instead on a little anecdote from Davenport’s past. 

In the fall of 1840, the town of Davenport was growing.  Important ordinances and resolutions were being created by a Mayor and several Trustees; it would be three more years before the term Alderman was used in council proceedings.  Men with names like Eldridge and LeClaire who are still remembered today fill the handwritten council books.  These men of longevity and health would greatly influence the development of Davenport and Scott County.  Other names are less known like Nichols, Whiting and Burnell.  These men (and their families) also  helped develop this area, but their time in Davenport was shortened by western movement or, sadly, death.

But empty Trustee seat could not be allowed to stall progress.  When the city lost a trustee, or even a  mayor, outside of election time, it appears the matter was resolved quickly and without much fuss.  One example is the passing of Trustee Captain William Nichols in September 1840. 

The September 26, 1840 entry from Council Proceedings April 14, 1839 – February 7, 1850 opens with the acknowledgement of Trustee Nichols’s death.  The council resolved to wear for 30 days a badge of mourning and to attend the funeral and burial that afternoon as a group.  Sympathy was to be extended to the widow and an announcement placed in a newspaper called the Iowa Sun stating the council sympathized with the family’s loss. 

By the next council meeting held on October 31, 1840 it was time to focus on town business once again.  Finding a replacement to fill Captain Nichols spot was at the top of the agenda.  An election was held immediately by those council members present – all four of them.  Trustee John Forrest nominated a gentleman named Strong Burnell.  Burnell was unanimously elected by Mayor Thorington, Recorder Frazer Wilson, and Trustees Seth Whiting and John Forrest – a landslide victory.

The next step was to send someone to fetch Mr. Burnell.  As recorded in the council proceeding recorded in now faded ink, “Mr. Burnell being sent for, appraised, and took the oath prescribed by law as Trustee of the town of Davenport and took his seat as such.”  (Pg. 28) Then the men passed an ordinance to prohibit shooting or discharging fire arms in the town of Davenport.  Near the end of the meeting a resolution was issued permitting Antoine LeClaire to rename the streets running East and West in town from the Native American names originally bestowed upon them (by Mr. LeClaire) to the numbered street system that still exists today.  Town business had resumed without missing a step.   

There is the old saying, “Opportunity Knocks.”  In Mr. Burnell’s case this might have been literal. 

One can imagine the different scenarios that could have played out that day.  We will leave it up to the reader to decide what Strong Burnell knew or didn’t know about the  “private election.”  What would the council have done if Mr. Burnell was out of town?  What was he doing when he was notified?

Feel free to sit awhile (in, we hope,  a cool setting) and ponder these questions.*   History can be a pleasant distraction.

(posted by Amy D.)

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*You might also ponder how large the firearms problem  might have been in Davenport at that time.  And why Antoine LeClaire wanted to rename the streets he had named only a few years before.     We hope to tackle the answers in later posts—we have very good air conditioning!

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Introducing Footnote!

Posted on August 9, 2010 by SCblogger

Have you tried our newest reference and genealogy database? 

Footnote is a rich resource of digitized historical documents gleaned from the collections of the Library of Congress, the National Archives, and other institutions.

Are you writing a paper on the Great Chicago Fire of October 8, 1871?  You’re in luck!  Footnote includes the Chicago Tribune from 1849 to 1923.  Other newspapers include the Atlantic Constitution and the Washington Post, as well as papers from San Francisco and London, England.

History Day students can get digital access to primary “Milestone Documents,” such as the Gettysburg Address, the 1868 treasury check that paid for the Alaska Purchase, and the 1963 March on Washington. 

Genealogists can locate naturalizations, census records, and hard to find information, like the records of the Bayland Orphan Home in Texas.

Interested in historical photographs?  You can browse Army and Marine photographs from the Vietnam War; Civil War photographs taken by the famous Matthew Brady; and even photographs taken of Calvin Coolidge, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Harry S. Truman, and Dwight D. Eisenhower.

War buffs can find World War I State Department Records and resources concerning the Supreme War Council.  Available Civil War information includes the Lincoln Assassination Papers, the Confederate Amnesty Papers, and Confederate Citizen Files.

Looking for city directories?  Footnote has them for about thirty large cities.

And for those who are interested in the unexplained, there’s a wealth of documents filed under “Project Blue Book–UFO Investigations.”

With over 67 million documents scanned to date, Footnote seems to have something for everyone.  So if you’re in town, we invite you to visit one of our three library locations and let us know what you think!

(posted by Pat)

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Mississippi Valley Fairground Fashions: Then and . . . then

Posted on August 2, 2010 by SCblogger

The Great Mississippi Valley Fair starts this week, running from Tuesday, August 3rd through Sunday, August 8th.

While looking through our photo collection, we found two shots taken at the Fairgrounds, about 50 years apart:

Mississippi Valley Fairgrounds [1920s]

This first photo was taken in the mid 1920s, soon after the Fairground opened.  As you can see, everyone is covered up from head to toe. The men are wearing dark suits and hats, the women have on long white dresses and children were wearing dark colored suits with while stockings and shoes.

Admission at the gate was 50 cents for adults, 25 cents for kids and 50 cents for vehicles. Bleachers were 50 cents and the grandstand was 75 cents and $1, with box seats going to $1.50. In this photo, the grandstand seems to be full, with more crowd standing around the track and some are sitting on the fences. There is a cafeteria towards the entrance, although there was probably no alcohol served if this was taken during prohibition.

Crowd at Styx concert during Great Mississippi Valley Fair [14 AUG 1978

This second photo was taken in 1978, and shows some of the 6,000 people that attended the Styx concert on Sunday, August 13th at 7:30 pm. Here, the men and women are wearing T-shirts and bellbottomed jeans or shorts and long hair (shirts were apparently optional).  

Admission was $8 for the Sunday night concert and appears to be festival seating, with a few people sitting on the grandstand. It’s not clear what they were drinking in those cups or what they were smoking.

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Sources:

75th Anniversary Mississippi Valley Fair. (1994). Davenport, Iowa.

Concert Buoys Fair. (1978, August 14). Quad-City Times , p. 3.

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