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Tag Archives: Primary Sources
A Beautiful Place: A Letter about Davenport of July 1842
This newsy July 1842 letter addressed to “Aunt” Elizabeth B. Langdon from Ellen Harris describes her ten-day journey along the Ohio River, then to the mighty Mississippi River as Ellen, husband William, her mother, and perhaps other family made their … Continue reading
Myths vs. Facts: The Life and Death of Schuyler Peck
An obituary for Schuyler Peck was published in the Davenport Democrat and Leader on July 14, 1925. Mr. Peck was a well known character in Davenport, but he died alone at the Scott County Poor Farm, with no immediate family to … Continue reading
If At First You Don’t Know . . .
Sometimes all it takes is one misprint to throw our sense of history off for over 131 years. For at least that long, it was believed that George Colt was the first City Marshal of Davenport. This was reinforced by … Continue reading
Posted in Library, Local History
Tagged City Council, City Marshal, George Colt, Iowa Sun, Just Shelved, Primary Sources, Research, W. H. Patton
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The Importance of Primary Resources
One of our readers, former Davenporter Brendan Wolfe, wrote to share an interesting story about the only known newspaper interview with Bix Beiderbecke, which was published in the Davenport Democrat on February 10, 1929. Bix Beiderbecke is always interesting, at … Continue reading
Bridge Appreciation and the Diary of Benjamin F. Gue
While walking my dog along the Duck Creek Bike Path recently, I stopped on the little bridge that crosses the creek near our house and listened to the ice creaking and cracking as it was thawing. That brought to my … Continue reading
Posted in Local History
Tagged Benjamin F. Gue, Davenport, Diaries, Iowa, Local History, Mississippi River, Primary Sources
2 Comments
