Members of the congregations of three churches – one Baptist, one Presbyterian and one Methodist – gathered in Raleigh, North Carolina, to pray for missionaries, the Raleigh Times reported June 25, 1900. The missionaries were serving in China and the Far East during the early days of the Boxer Rebellion. The service opened with a […]
Point Ellice Bridge Disaster: This Week in History
Many people celebrating Victoria Day “Plunged to Death,” the Victoria Daily Times said in a headline May 26, 1896. A tram car carrying more than 100 people to witness a mock battle fell when the Point Ellice Bridge in Victoria, British Columbia collapsed. People were eager to attend the event and cars were leaving their […]
California Columbian Club Prepares for the 1893 World’s Fair: This Week in History
California possibly would be the best represented state at the World’s Fair in Chicago, the Los Angeles Times declared April 9, 1893. The state’s building would be the largest structure on the fairgrounds that wasn’t built specifically for the exposition and was, in the opinion of the Times, “the most beautiful and attractive edifice within […]
Fathers of Confederation: Canada’s Humble Beginnings
The United States has the Founding Fathers. Canada has the Fathers of Confederation. Unlike the Founding Fathers, whose new nation gained independence thanks to war, the Fathers of Confederation took a quieter, more methodical approach. Fathers of Confederation refers to 36 men who represented their colonies at one or more conferences that were held to […]
What is Victoria Day and Why Do Canadians Celebrate It?
In my novel, Angel of Mercy, Hettie’s birthday and her marriage to Geoffrey Bartlette correspond with the celebration of Victoria Day. If you’re American, you may be unaware of this holiday or why Canadians celebrate it. The holiday commemorates the birthday of Queen Victoria who was born May 24, 1819. It did not become a […]
Chicago’s Ayer Building Fire: This Week in History
“Horror in a Fire,” the headline on the Chicago Tribune read March 17, 1898, in reference to the destruction of the Ayer Building that was located on Wabash Avenue. The fire started on the third floor of the business complex in the storehouse of wallpaper dealer Alfred Peats and within 10 minutes was a “furnace […]
Panama Statehood Considered: This Week in History
Republican senators eagerly agreed to a conference to discuss the Panama Canal Treaty, the Arizona Republic reported Feb. 18, 1903, bringing Sen. Matthew Quay’s dream of Panamanian statehood one step closer. Quay hoped to carry the statehood bill through an appropriations bill. “It is said tonight that the consent of the senators without committing themselves […]
Sir Wilfred Laurier: Canada’s First Modern Prime Minister
Hettie Bartlette, the main character in my novel Angel of Mercy, was born in Ontario in 1892. Despite being 27 at the end of the third novel in the series, Adjustment Year (estimated publication date 2021), she has memories of only two prime ministers. The longer serving of which was Sir Wilfrid Laurier. Laurier was […]
Happy Birthday to You: The History of Birthday Traditions
How did you celebrate your last birthday? Chances are you had a party that featured a cake decorated in candles. Did you ever take time to think where these traditions got their start? If you guessed in the late 19th or early 20th centuries, you’d be wrong. Most are much older. Let’s examine the origins […]
Christmas Shopping in a Bygone Era
The commercialization of Christmas began during the Victorian era. Retailers encouraged consumers to shop for the holidays instead of giving homemade gifts, and shop employees also decorated their shop windows with lavish displays to attract passersby. The tradition of Christmas shopping was born. So what were the popular gifts in this bygone era? Let’s find […]
Photography Book Examines 1893 Chicago Columbian Exposition
Michael Finney makes his book debut with 1893 Chicago’s Columbian Exposition: Arts and Culture on the Doorstep of the 20th Century, a collection of photographs taken during the fair. It also includes Finney’s commentary and modern photography. The inspiration for the collection was a book of official photographs published in 1893 that an antique book […]
5 Victorian Era Writers that Tell Us What the Gilded Age Was Really Like
Nonfiction can be used to inform as Jacob Riis did in How the Other Half Lives or Nelly Bly in Ten Days in a Mad-House, but literature has the unique ability of telling readers about the human condition without preaching. Often readers don’t even realize they are learning something about society or reading commentary. Here […]