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Tag Archives: Resources
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
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
What’s in a Map? : Post Office Department reports of site locations, 1837-1950
Our maps have proven to be popular resources with our patrons. Whether you’re looking for visual information on your Davenport home, a glimpse of the city in 1857, your ancestral farm, the land that appears in your great-grandfather’s estate, the … Continue reading
National History Day: A Learning Experience for All!
Every year, our Special Collections Center is pleased to assist middle and high school students who are researching projects for National History Day. These projects require primary resources and a thorough understanding of the annual theme as it relates to … Continue reading
Posted in Library
Tagged National History Day, North Scott High School, Research, Resources
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Chronicling America: The Bystander
It’s no secret that newspapers can be a wonderful resource for history and genealogy, but many early newspapers—ones from smaller communities or with shorter or less frequent publishing runs— have remained secrets, or at least inaccessible, to the average researcher. … Continue reading
Save the Date! October Offerings: Intro to Electronic Subscription Databases for Genealogy
The Davenport Public Library subscribes to several electronic genealogy databases for our patrons’ research needs, including: Ancestry HeritageQuest Fold 3 Origins Genealogy Bank and Access Newspaper Archive You don’t even have to come down to our Special Collections Center to … Continue reading
Posted in Genealogy, Library, Local History
Tagged Databases, Genealogy, library, Local History, Programs, Resources
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Platting the Past
Maps are fascinating glimpses into the past—but not always for the obvious reasons. Take this 1940s era plat book for example, which shows us what a modern and attractive home looked like at the time: This set of plat maps … Continue reading
Posted in Local History
Tagged 1940 Plat Map, Davenport (Iowa), Local History, Maps, Plat Maps, Resources
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The Colorful Wedding Announcement of Miss Helen Watts
Included in our Hostetler Photograph Collections is a set of glass negatives showing the former Miss Helen Kelsey Watts in her wedding gown, in which she married Mr. Homer Brown Payne. While researching these images, we located a wedding announcement, … Continue reading
Posted in Local History
Tagged Genealogy, Helen Kelsey Watts, Homer Brown Payne, Local History, Newspaper Index, newspapers, Photographs, Research, Resources, Weddings
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Marshal-ing our Resources
Recently, we explained how we uncovered that the man we—and everyone else—had thought was the first City Marshal of Davenport . . . wasn’t. But this had us researching what the City Marshal—a position that no longer exists—originally did, and when he stopped … Continue reading
Found it in the Archives!
Imagine….. A donor brings historic documents, written in French, to the Richardson-Sloane Special Collections Center at the Davenport Public Library that were passed down through the family. Having no sentimental ties to the brittle, fragile papers, they bring them to … Continue reading
