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Tag Archives: Local History
Happy 175th Birthday, Davenport!
The year 2011 marks the 175th anniversary of the founding of Sofa City – that’s right! In February of 1836 the official “Articles of Agreement” were drawn up, land was purchased from Antoine LeClaire, and a town was platted in … Continue reading
Posted in Local History
Tagged 175th Anniversary, Antoine LeClaire, Davenport, Local History, William F. Skiles
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Just Shelved: People, Places, Planes, and More!
We’ve added many new resources to our collections recently! Some of these were budgeted, some were donated, and some are courtesy of the Scott County Iowa Genealogy Society: People: Man of Deeds: Bishop Mathias Loras and the Iowa Frontier by … Continue reading
Posted in Genealogy, Library, Local History
Tagged Genealogy, Just Shelved, Local History, New Books, new resources
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Introducing America’s GenealogyBank
We are pleased to announce that we’ve subscribed to another terrific online genealogy resource: America’s GenealogyBank. This resource is user friendly—our staff enjoying experimenting with it!—and offers some keyword searching. Its five databases can help researchers find family members, verify … Continue reading
Posted in Genealogy, Library, Local History
Tagged America's GenealogyBank, Genealogy, library, Local History, new resources, Online Indexes
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New Feature: Have You Seen . . . ?
One of our ongoing projects is to scan and research each image in our photograph collections. Most of the time, this is relatively (no pun intended) easy. The majority of our Hostetler glass negatives, for example, came with an original … Continue reading
Early (Early) Education
The Kindergarten was developed by Friedrich Froebel (1782-1852) in Blankenburg, Germany, beginning in the 1830’s and 1840’s. Germans that immigrated to the United States brought with them Froeble’s concept. The first English-speaking Kindergarten was opened by Elizabeth Palmer Peabody in … Continue reading
Did somebody say “spring”?
Daylight Savings Time began yesterday, which means that spring is just around the corner! Are you ready for the warmer temperatures and blooming flowers? Here is an image from our photograph collection that we hope will get everyone excited about … Continue reading
Mapping History
The City of Davenport is justifiably proud of its historic districts, which number among the oldest in Iowa. Visitors often stop in at the library for information on the myriad houses and sites that the National Park Service has placed … Continue reading
Posted in Local History
Tagged Historic Houses and Sites, Historic Tour Guides, Local History, Resources
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What’s in a Name?
It’s really fun to find your ancestors in old newspaper columns, vital records and census listings. But what happens if you cannot recognize the name of the town they lived in? If it doesn’t exist now, how can you find … Continue reading
Many Scores to Settle
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 … Continue reading
Posted in Local History
Tagged Albert Petersen, Alfred E. Petrow, Bix Beiderbecke, Composers, Erwin Swindell, Herman Schmidt, Kent Gannett, Local History, Music, Musicians, Scores
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The Weekly Outlook: Charles Eugene Banks
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. … Continue reading
Posted in Local History
Tagged Carrie Wyatt Banks, Charles Eugene Banks, Local History, newspapers, Weekly Outlook
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