Gadgets of the 19th Century and the Strange History Behind Them by Kimberly Grist

Hibbard vs Hibbard
Susan Hibbard, who invented the feather duster in 1876, disputed her husband’s claim to the patent in court. While details of the case are vague, it was reported that Mr. Hibbard could not define certain novel features of the invention. Mrs. Hibbard was granted the patent, opening the doors for future women inventors to apply for patents in their own names.

Too Much Muscle
The first “calculating machine,” invented in 1885 by William S. Burroughs, gave wildly different answers depending upon how hard you pulled the handle to make the calculation. Burroughs patented an improved calculator in 1893.

Jail Time Inspiration

When William Addis of Whitechapel, England, was jailed in 1770 for inciting riots, he still wanted to keep himself presentable. Not fond of using the common method of rubbing a rag with soot and salt on his teeth, he carved a small handle from a bone and inserted boar bristles held in place by wire. After leaving prison, Addis successfully mass-produced his invention in 1780.

He died a wealthy man in 1808, leaving the business to his son, William. By 1840, toothbrushes were mass-produced in England, France, Germany, and Japan. Pig bristle was used for cheaper toothbrushes and badger hair for the more expensive ones.

Addis' son began exporting products abroad to the US in the 1880s. The company retained its family ownership until 1996 under the name Wisdom Toothbrushes. The company now manufactures 70 million toothbrushes per year in the UK.

The first US Patent for a toothbrush was filed in 1857 by H.N. Wadsworth (US Patent No. 18,653) Mass production of toothbrushes (These brushes still used animal hair) began in the United States thirty years later.

The First Can Opener-A Hammer and Chisel
Tin cans for food preservation were invented in 1810. However, the can opener wasn’t patented until almost fifty years later in 1858.

The first cans could be as thick as 3/16 of an inch and were too thick to be opened with anything but a hammer and chisel. The first can opener was patented by an American inventor Ezra J. Warner on January 5, 1858, when iron cans were starting to be replaced by thinner steel cans.

Who Needs a Sewing Machine When You Have A Safety Pin

American mechanic Walter Hunt invented the safety pin in 1849. He also built America’s first sewing machine in 1834. However, he didn’t pursue a patent at the time because he thought the device would put hand-sewers out of work.


The Reason I Type So Slowly

And my favorite, typewriters, were invented in 1868, and the QWERTY keyboard layout was designed in 1878 to slow down typists to keep typewriter keys from jamming together. (Now I know the reason why I type so slowly.)

In my upcoming release, Audie's Audacious Bride, both my hero and heroine's life is influenced by a strange event causing a mix-up of an extraordinary nature. Can this mismatched couple blaze a trail to form a partnership of the romantic kind?

LET THEM EAT GRASS! by Marisa Masterson

You probably recognize the saying, "Let them eat cake." It's attributed to Marie Antoinette, something she may or may not have said. Regardless, the idea behind it launched a uprising.

A similarly cold reaction to people's suffering started another rebellion, and also in the 1800s. This time, starving people were told, "Let them eat grass."

Native Sioux--a people group also called the Dakota--had been moved off 24 million acres of land. Sent to live on reservations, the people were expected to farm. That was something they'd never done. Still, they could have learned except that a terrible drought made feeding themselves impossible.

1904 painting depicting Dakota
attack on Indian Agency, 1862.

Surely the government would help. After all, the native people had a treaty with the US government that promised food. When the Indians asked that they receive what was promised, the Indian agent in charge was quoted as saying, "Let them eat grass." As if they were animals!

In response, Dakota men attacked the agency. The agent, Andrew Myrick, was found dead after the attack, his mouth stuffed with grass. Unfortunately, this man's inhumanity led to many other deaths besides his own.

From Regina's Replacement:

Pounding hoofbeats brought Eli only a few feet from his nephew when he yanked back on his gelding’s reigns. The horse’s head went backward, and its body stiffened to make the sudden stop after their race from Excelsior. The smell of dirt and grass filled the air as shod hooves dug into the lawn Josh had mowed that day.
“Bad news, boy. The Dakotas are on the move.” Eli all but shouted the words as he vaulted from the saddle.
“Dakotas? They’re on Indian land up by the Minnesota River.”
Eli ran an agitated hand through his hair, dislodging his bowler. It fell to the ground at Josh’s feet. Both men stared at it, obviously unsure of how such an ordinary thing could interrupt this important conversation. Then Josh reached for it, handing the hat to his uncle.
Eli grabbed it and slapped at his leg with hit. “Been a heap of trouble over that way. All because the year’s been sort of odd.”
“What’d you mean, Uncle Eli?”
“Well, those Dakotas aren’t really farmers. They’ve always sort of traveled after animals and hunted to feed their people. But now, they have to stay put.”
“Yeah, that’s not new this year. What’s happened?”
“That really wet, cold spring we had and now this dry summer’s left them hungry. I heard that the Indian agent, Myrick’s, refused to give them any of the stored grain he’s got at the Lower Sioux Agency.”
Josh put a hand to his brow and rubbed backward over his hair. “Thought the government sent the food out for the Indians? Why’s the man not doin’ his job and gettin’ it to ‘em?”
Eli shrugged and began to wring his hands. “He just isn’t. Heard tell that he told them to ‘eat grass’. Someone found his body after the Dakotas attacked the agency. His mouth was stuffed with grass.”
“The Dakotas attacked?”
“That’s why I’m here. They’ve killed hundreds of settlers, too.” He pointed to the house. “You have to get Regina and her daughter. We almost have the stockade finished around the schoolhouse.”

Communities in the Dakota Territory and Minnesota gathered together. They hid in churches or schools. I decided to use this fact in my own novel. The hero refused to leave his farm. At least, he had until his wife and stepdaughter were in danger by the uprising. 

People escaping Indian Outbreak, 1862 (quoted from source, http://collections.mnhs.org/cms/display.php?irn=10680765) 

I set my novel in the real town of Excelsior, Minnesota on Lake Minnetonka. The people who settled there did leave their farms to gather in the school. They even built a stockade around it. When a shot sounded, everyone was sure the Dakota had arrived. Instead, one of the men had accidentally fired his gun while cleaning it. Later, someone saw an "Indian" in the woods. It was an old woman picking berries. I used these facts and embellished on them in my story to keep it historically appropriate and as accurate as I could make it. (https://lakeminnetonkamag.com/how-dakota-war-1862-impacted-lake-area)

And in case you are curious, the Dakota never arrived at Excelsior. Many of the women did end up frightened and in danger on a steamer stuck out on the lake. Poor ladies never reached the island that was to be their safe haven. More of the comedy of misadventures that surrounded Excelsior in 1862. Poor people! Truly, it made for fun writing!

Available now! Free in Kindle Unlimited.

Visit a time when Minnesota was land still being claimed and settled...

Joshua Gibson had enough courage to save his uncle. He’s not brave enough to show his face in town after being badly burned in the rescue.

Regina Richardson decided marriage to a stranger was better than living through a war that had nothing to do with her. After Union troops brought a battle near to her farm, she grabs at the chance to marry a man in Minnesota. Only, she discovers the man has never lived in the town where she’s told to go.

A desperate aunt and uncle see this as a God sent opportunity for their hermit nephew. Will Regina find the love of her life or will she end up with one more burden to bear?

And what about the man killed at Joshua’s farm the night that he was burned? How will the couple protect themselves when Joshua and Regina have no idea that revenge stalks them?

Generations of Characters ...

 

Hi, Kit Morgan here and for today's blog I had to really think about what to write. With as much writing as I do, one would think I could come up with something! Then it occurred to me, wow, I DO do a lot of writing, don't I? After creating 128 books, I can say that. But when you have that many books, something happens. You have characters that are getting older, they have children, then grandchildren, and readers want more!

This is what happens when you've created a family or group of people that readers fall in love with. They know these characters almost as well as I do. They've seen them fall in love, get married, have babies. They've watched those babies grow up into young adults and eventually reach marriageable age. (I write a lot of historical westerns) and then they want to see what happens to them.

But what happens when the characters you started out with get old? I mean, really old? I have one character whose been around since the beginning of my writing adventure. Grandma Waller from Clear Creek. She's 100 years old now in her current timeline (and brags about it too) has appeared in multiple series, and is still kicking. Readers would be devastated if something happened to her. Thankfully I found a solution to keeping Grandma around, but not every author can do what I did. You can find out how in The Tales of Tom Turner: Clear Creek. And it's not just Grandma that's getting up there. I have all the original settlers of my fictional town of Clear Creek with lots of candles on their birthday cakes too.

Anyway, I'm going to be delving into a third generation of characters soon. If not this year, then the next. But what does that tell us about characters like these? Well, it's simple. We love them. They're family to we as authors and you as readers. I'm not the only author working with different generations of characters in their stories. Many of the authors belonging to Sweet Americana Sweethearts have two, three, even four generations of characters they work with. Those are some big family trees! And, of course, some of those characters pass on, and some are only spoken of in passing in a new series. Maybe said series takes place twenty years after the last time the character appeared. Still, we all get attached, but the beauty of it is, we wouldn't get that way unless the story is good and the characters too! 

So here's to the life of our favorite characters in all those wonderful books we love to read. May they live on in books and in our minds and for some, even in film and television! Dealing with generations of characters is one of the advantages of writing historical fiction, and one of the reasons I love writing it! 

Until next time,

Kit

AMAZON

Look what our authors published in February!

Our authors have been busy writing and publishing books this past month. Here is what we published in February:

 

A Match for Maggie: Marianne's Mail Order Bride Book #13

By Marisa Masterson

Please note--Maggie Jorgensen first appeared in Mail Order Lucy. This novella continues the conflict first introduced in that novel. (Approximately 20,000 words.)

Maggie Jorgensen knows an escaped criminal is stalking her. U.S. marshal Reg Parker has a solution--send her to Denver as a mail-order bride.
After his passionate kiss, Maggie is confused. Why would Reg send her to another man? And why is her Denver groom missing?

Released February 1., 2022

https://www.amazon.com/Match-Maggie-Mariannes-Order-Bride-ebook/dp/B09NC7T8QV/

 

His Saving Grace (Clear Creek Brides Book 5)

By Kit Morgan

One Lonely Spinster
A Reluctant Cowboy
What happens next is anyone's guess ...

Eleanora Adams watched her three best friends marry recently, and was now truly alone. What hope did she have of finding a husband? Her friends got lucky, that's all. Besides, there weren't many young gentlemen left in Clear Creek. Worse, she was related to half of them! At this rate, only by God's saving grace would she find a husband. But then something happens in Clear Creek that hasn't before, and the whole town is a buzz with the news! Could this be the answer to her prayers?
Find out in this sweet, clean, historical romance full of fun, hope and love!

Released on February 11, 2022

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B09SD6ZNCD

 

Abilene Gamble: Gamble on Judgment Book 1

by Zina Abbott

          Harry Bradford is a lawyer and sometimes detective. Some call him a bounty hunter. With half of his face torn to pieces toward the end of the Civil War, people turn away from him. He fled his native Indiana where people did not wish to hire anyone who reminded them of the war. He hoped to find among the drovers, stock yards, railroads, homesteaders and trouble-making drifters pouring into Abilene, Kansas, during the hey-day of the cattle drives enough work to provide a reason to keep living.

          Stella Schoenfeld, raised in the well-to-do merchant class of Indianapolis, tracks her runaway brother, Nathan, to Abilene. She is desperate to settle their father’s estate so she can move forward with her life. In spite of the warrant out for his arrest related to the incident that left her scarred visibly—and in other ways not visible—she comes to bring him home. 

          While Harry guides Stella around Abilene, he realizes they have a connection neither would have guessed. Driven by revenge, Harry agrees to find her brother but not for the reason she expects, even though he knows it will cost him the only woman he has ever dared to love.

Released February 18, 2022

http://mybook.to/AbileneGamble

 

Ruby's Choice: Courting Chaos - Book 6

Annee Jones

20-year-old Ruby Gale has a secret.

       She’s decided to use a little of the inheritance money she and her brother received following the death of their parents to start a card-making business, just like several of the other women she knows in the small community of Divine, CO. Valentine’ Day is just around the corner, so the timing couldn’t be better. Because some of the married ladies suspect their husbands may not exactly welcome the idea of their wives working, it’s decided that the card-marking activity will take place under the guise of tea parties (which no man would have any interest in attending, after all). 

       However, once the talk amongst the unwed members of the group - including Ruby - turns to prospective beaus and secret crushes, unsigned valentines begin showing up in the hands of the most eligible bachelors all over town. Rumors and speculations abound, and everyone thinks they know who’s sweet on who. Suddenly, Ruby not only has to sort out the real secret admirers, but also answer the question of which man to give her own heart.

Released February 22, 2022

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B09NV7ZXQ7

 

A Match for the Cowboy (Pettigrew Matchmakers Book 2)

By Kit Morgan

An ancient butler 
A lonely cowboy
And one inquisitive heiress

When Mrs. Adelia Pettigrew started her matchmaking school, the least likely person to become a student was her 90 year old butler, Mr. Tugs. But here he was, tasked with bringing two young people together to find true love. Problem was, Mr. Tugs wasn't quick on his feet. In fact, he wasn't quick at all. It took him forever to get from one end of Mrs. Pettigrew's mansion to the other. How was he to keep up with two young people? The only ones he could think of to help were Mr. Gibbs and Mrs. Fraser, and they were questionable at best. He wasn't sure the younger butler liked him, and Mrs. Fraser, (Mrs. Pettigrew's cook) kept weapons in the breadbox. How was he going to pull this off?

 Released February 28, 2022

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B09RRQ7CJZ/

Not all of our authors put their books on pre-order. For those who do, advance sales help their sales ranking and are greatly appreciated.

Pre-orders for March:

 

Regina's Replacement: The Reclusive Man Series, Book 5

By Marisa Masterson

Joshua Gibson had enough courage to save his uncle. He’s not brave enough to show his face in town after being badly burned in the rescue.

Regina Richardson decided marriage to a stranger was better than living through a war that had nothing to do with her. After Union troops brought a battle near to her farm, she grabs at the chance to marry a man in Minnesota. Only, she discovers the man has never lived in the town where she’s told to go.
A desperate aunt and uncle see this as a God sent opportunity for their hermit nephew. Will Regina find the love of her life or will she end up with one more burden to bear?

And what about the man killed at Joshua’s farm the night that he was burned? How will the couple protect themselves when Joshua and Regina have no idea that revenge stalks them?

Releases March 2, 2022

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B09N9NPPDY

 

Audie's Audacious Bride: (Matchmaker's Mix-Up Book 17)

By Kimberly Grist

When disappointed hopes collide – Will a wilting mail-order bride muster enough resolve to soften a hardened rancher’s heart?

Faith Fairchild is destitute and has no other choice but to comply with her late father’s last wish—to find a husband through a matchmaking service. As a pastor’s daughter, she trusts his advice but believes hard work and commitment combined with a bit of romance will give her the desired goal of “happily ever after.”

Her application reads, “I’m at my best when surrounded by others. My ideal husband will live in town. Perhaps a tailor, shopkeeper, or someone running a diner. I am a hard worker, love to cook and sew, and would love the opportunity of working side by side as partners.”

Ranch owner Audie Harris has one single goal – to make the family ranch a success and secure it for future generations. He needs a wife who understands that the isolation and hard work of cattle farming are necessary to achieve his goal. With a young sister to raise and numerous ranch hands to feed, his application for a suitable wife reads, “a woman of robust stock, a good cook, and willing to produce a houseful of children.”

What does he get? “I asked for a practical woman with ranch experience, and they send me a Southern Belle who has more petticoats than she does sense.”

Can this mismatched couple blaze a trail to form a partnership of the romantic kind?

Relases on March 15, 2022

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B09S19MFYD

Twyla's Choice: Courting Chaos - Book 8

By Linda Carroll-Bradd

Socialite Twyla Wyndham travels west from Providence, Rhode Island, to help her ailing, widowed great-aunt in Lovington, CO. The trip is a welcome excuse to escape the mandated soirees and balls where Twyla is bored with the men within the family’s circle. At the train depot, Twyla sees men falling over themselves to help her. Only when Twyla gets there, she realizes Auntie Beverley is not ailing but serves as the gossipy postmistress for the town and wants to retire. She’s also a bit of a matchmaker. Within hours, eager suitors start lining up at the postal counter. The men pursue diverse occupations and have such different personalities. How can Twyla possibly choose?

Releases March 15, 2022

https://www.amazon.com/Twylas-Choice-Courting-Chaos-Book-ebook/dp/B09TG6HN2S

 

Indianapolis Justice: Gamble on Judgment Book 2

Zina Abbott

     Now that Stella Schoenfeld has been reunited with her brother, Nathan, she returns to their home city of Indianapolis. Much to her chagrin, Nathan is transported home as Harry Bradford’s prisoner. While still in Abilene, she felt drawn to the part-time lawyer, part-time detective—a man many called a bounty hunter. However, now she knows Harry’s purpose for finding Nathan was not so she could convince her brother to settle their father’s estate, but so Harry could collect the reward for Nathan’s return, can she trust him?

     Because of the gruesome scars he bears on half his face as a result of being on the steamboat Sultana when the boilers exploded, Harry Bradford has resigned himself to having no connection with women other than to represent them on legal matters. As much as he longs to grow closer to Stella, it is his own grudge against the man who attacked and disfigured her that motivates him to take the biggest gamble of his life. He knows the murder charges against Nathan, who only sought to protect his sister, are false.

     During the trial, a startling secret is revealed. After the gossips and newspaper accounts sensationalize her situation, dare Stella ever again show her face in Indianapolis?

     While Harry, Stella, and Nathan face the judgment of public opinion, Harry must set aside his own resentments to fight for justice. Can he clear Nathan of the false murder charges? Can Harry gain freedom for his client without losing his heart to Stella?

Releases March 15, 2022

http://mybook.to/IndJustice

 

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Pre-Orders for April:

 

Pearl: Prairie Roses Collection - Book 16

By Zina Abbott

Man goes to mountaintops to pray. Woman, caring for hearth and home, stays too busy to climb, so God comes to her.

Because Pearl has no acceptable marriage prospects she considers acceptable, when her father decides to sell out and join her brothers in Oregon Territory, she must go, too. Her discontent increases when, not far from South Pass, a middle-aged widower and self-subscribed preacher with four children—whose wife recently drowned during a river crossing--walks down from a nearby mountain and informs Pearl that God decreed she is to marry him.

Pearl has no desire to marry the sanctimonious and overbearing widower. She reads her Holy Bible. She prays. She diligently strives to honor her father and bear her burdens with patience, but enough is enough. If God wants to tell someone whom she should marry, He can tell her. She has no time to climb mountains. Will God answer the prayers she offers as she performs the tasks of everyday life?

Michael Stanwyck has no room in his life for marriage and family. After the death of his father, Michael takes his portion of the inheritance and buys his own dry goods—enough to fill three freight wagons he’ll accompany to the gold fields of California. He comes across one brown-haired beauty more than once. Although curious why she remains unmarried, it is none of his business. Then he finds her alone on the trail several days past Fort Hall with her family wagon and a lame ox. He learns her father recently died, and, because she refused to marry in order for a man take charge of her and her wagon, for the peace and security of the wagon train, she was ordered to leave.

Can Michael, in good conscience, continue on to California and leave Pearl to return alone to Fort Hall, where only an uncertain future awaits?

Releases April 26, 2022

http://mybook.to/Pearl-PRC

 

Glory: Prairie Roses Collection-Book 17

By Marisa Masterson

Pikes Peak Or Bust! Glory’s father catches a fever—gold fever.

While it’s late in the season to start out, a wagon train forms to head to Colorado. She has no choice but to go with her father, leaving in late July.

The trip will be only 6oo miles. Easily done before snow falls. What could go wrong?

Glory will learn the answer to that on the trail. An answer that leads to a rushed marriage at the wrong time with a man who's simply Heaven sent.

Releases April 27, 2022

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B09RCV3HLB

 

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Pre-orders for May:

 

Amity: Prairie Roses Collection - Book 21

By Linda Carroll-Bradd

Amity Grenville is set on reaching Oregon’s Sweet Home Valley, where her aunt and uncle have a farm. They were part of the Great Migration of 1843, and Amity saved every letter Aunt Beitris wrote, complete with advice on the journey preparations. Amity is eager for a fresh start, in the hopes that her husband, Garvey, will find a new vocation in farming and leave behind his drinking and gambling ways.

Newly finished with his apprenticeship, blacksmith Shawe Creighton can ply his trade just about anywhere so he agrees to throw in with his best friend’s family on the trek to Oregon. With no family ties, he heads west, thinking Oregon is as good as any place to establish a shop. Fun loving by nature, he’s also looking forward to what the adventure will bring.

In St Joseph doing last-minute preparations for the journey, Amity receives the bad news that Garvey was caught cheating and killed over a poker game. Now men are seeking to claim the wagon and team as their recompense. She barely removes her belongings in time but is faced with either marrying a stranger to comply with the wagon train’s rules or remain behind. Taking pity on her plight, Shawe offers marriage and is immediately faced with her two demands--no drinking or gambling. Intrigued by the outspoken woman, he figures the trip won’t be boring. Will a decision made in haste bring disaster, or will the journey forge bonds neither Amity nor Shawe can imagine?

Releases May 1, 2022

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B09SKL95DQ