BOOKS, WHAT WAS POPULAR

Post by Doris McCraw
writing as Angela Raines

I thought it might be fun to see what books were releasee and popular in the decades of the 1800s, from 1850-1890.  Do you recognize any of them? Have you read them? The below is just a sampling.

So here for your 'reading' pleasure is a selection of books from the past.

1850:
Fiction

Charles Dickens - "David Copperfield"
Nathanial Hawthorne - "The Scarlet Letter"
Caroline Lee Hentz - "Linda"
Susan Warner (as Susan Wetherwell) - "The Wide,Wide World"

Non-Fiction

Julia Kavanaugh - "Women in France During the Eighteenth Century"
Mary Anne Attwood - "A Suggestive Inquiry into the Hermetic Mystery"

1860

Fiction

R.M. Ballantyne - "The Dog Cursoe and his Master"
Mary Elizabeth Braddon - "Three Times Dead"
Charles Reade - "The Cloister and the Hearth"
Mary Howard Schoolcraft - "The Blacak Gauntlet: A Tale fo Plantation Life in South Carolina"

Non-Fiction

Ralph Waldo Emerson - "The Conduct of Life"
Gray's Anatomy (2nd edition)

1870

Fiction

Wilkie Collins - "Man and Wife"
Jules Verne - "Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea"
                       "Around the Moon"
Charlotte M. Yonge - "The Caged Lion"
Bret Harte - "The Heathen Chinee"

Non-Fiction

Henry Maudsley - "Body and Mind"
William Robinson - "The Wild Garden"

1880

Fiction

Amelia Edwards - "Lord Brackenbury"
Mark Twain - "A Tramp Abroad"
Lew Wallace - "Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ"
Rhoda Broughton - "Second Thoughts"

Non-Fiction

Henry Charlton Bastian - "The Brain as an Organ of the Mind"
Algernon Charles Swinburne - "A Study of Shakespeare"

1890

Fiction

Kate Chopin - "At Fault"
Molly Elliot Seawell - "Little Jarvis"
Arthur Conan Doyle - "The Firm of Griddlestone"
Mary Elizabeth Braddon - "One Life, One Love"

Non-Fiction

James McNeill Whistler - "The Gentle Art of Making Enemies"
Algred Thayer Mahan - "The Influence of Sea Power Upon History"

So there you have it, a spattering of books from the past. Of course there were many more. I've left out children and poetry books, although I admit, I enjoy reading them. I wonder if our stories and books will make list one hundred years from now? It's something to think about. I know, in my latest novel, "The Outlaw's Letter", my heroine has a passion for Homer. Below is a short excerpt.

     As she stretched out on the ground, she turned, catching a glimpse of Grant's profile. If she didn't know better, she would swear he was a stone statue. With a sigh, she pulled her blanket to her shoulders and turned her gaze to the night sky. "I always loved Homer's Odyssey," Hetty said, smiling at the memory of herself sitting under the tree, living the adventure in her mind. She wondered now what people would say about her relating to the hero instead of the long-suffering wife. She looked up, hoping Grant would say something. His silence was disturbing.

     "And how do you think he would be as an old man, confined by age, to living within his four walls?" Grant asked, casting his eyes toward Hetty.

     "Never thought about it," Hetty responded. "I imagine he would still be a vital person. I don't think he'd even be slowed down. It wasn't his nature. What about you?"

Amazon

Doris Gardner-McCraw -

Author, Speaker, Historian-specializing in
Colorado and Women's History

Angela Raines - author: Where Love & History Meet

For a list of Angela Raines Books: Here 

Angela Raines FaceBook: Click Here

How Horseshoes Became a Symbol for Good Luck

Horseshoes were not as rare as four-leaf clovers or rabbits' feet during the 19th Century, but were still considered good luck in times when horses were used for daily travel. But why was that?

Ancient Celtic folklore suggests that often the cause of infertility in both animals and human are due to curses from the fae folk. Fairy creatures were mischievous, cunning, jealous, and liked to play tricks on people who have the unfortunate fate to be chosen by them. However the fae folk have one weakness--iron. And horseshoes were made of iron. It was said that the sight of horseshoes on the front door of the family home would chase away the fae folk and retain the fertility of the household.

Additionally, according to Christian tradition, St. Dunstan was a 10th Century blacksmith. He was working in his shop when the devil appeared before him and demanded that Dunstan shoe his cloven hooves. Dunstan did as he was told, but required that the devil be shackled for the job. Once the devil was in chains, he proceeded to hot-shoe the devil and nail the shoes on in the most painful manner possible. When the devil begged to be released from the shackles and the pain, Dunstan agreed to do so only if the devil agreed to avoid any home where a horseshoe was nailed to the door. Once released, the devil ripped off the shoes and swore to never come near one again.

No doubt, anyone who worked with horses frequently during the 1800's would have considered it good luck if their horse kept all their shoes on their feet for the full shoeing cycle of six-eight weeks. And would have considered it bad luck of their horse lost a shoe--as that often meant lameness at least until they could make it down to the blacksmith shop again.

The thought of horseshoes as good luck could be practical, religious, or superstitious, depending on the person you asked!

Check out her latest book:

The Evolution of Women’s Swimwear

 By Barbara Goss

As the summer heat hits full blast, people everywhere are flocking to the water. While the tendency to hit the waves when the going gets hot is not unique to a given time period or people, but what we wear (or don’t) certainly is. From full-on dresses to itsy-bitsy bikinis, plus weird contraptions called bathing machines, you’ll love this history of women’s swimwear.

1858 Bathing Outfit

In the 19^thcentury, the times called for swimsuits that more closely resembled a belted dress over long bloomers.  While they weren’t aesthetically appealing, the swimwear fulfilled the primary purpose to conceal the woman’s body. For that reason, the top portion of the swimsuit hung low like a dress to hide the woman’s figure. These suits were made from heavy flannel fabric that was both opaque and sturdy enough to not rise with the water. 

19^thcentury women also had the luxury of using a bathing machine. These small, wheeled structures were dragged into the shallow waters so a Victorian lady could prance around the ocean in complete privacy.

My genre is the West in the 19^thcentury and I found this fascinating, and used it in The Marshall’s Mission (WIP).  In my book the improvised and used flannel nightgowns with lead sewed in the hems.

In the West, in the 19^thcentury women wore a bathing gown in the water. These were loose ankle-length full-sleeve chemise-type gown made of wool or flannel, so that modesty or decency wasn’t threatened.  They were long dresses of fabrics that would not become transparent when wet, with weights sewn into the hems so that they would not rise up in the water.  

1940's Beach Police

Swimming wear has come a L O N G way to today.

A Town in Two States

by Shanna Hatfield

The unexpected paths I traverse in the name of research for my books never ceases to amaze me.

Recently, I was digging out a stack of books to begin diving into details for my next sweet historical romance when I unearthed an old book I purchased a few years ago at a used book fundraiser.

As I flipped through it, a photo caught my eye.

TOWN OF DENIO

What you see in the image is a very tiny town in Nevada (current population less than 100) named Denio. The saloon in the photo shared the building with the town's post office, which happened to be in Oregon.

The town straddles the Nevada-Oregon line on what is now Highway 292. The post office still exists, along with a small library, a community center, and a bar.

Back in the late 1800s and early 1900s, many towns popped up in boom-or-bust pursuits, such as mining. Denio was one such town.

Aaron Denio moved to the area in 1885. He was born in 1824 in Illinois and traveled to California in 1860. He worked in milling, farming, and mining. After spending time in Nevada and Idaho at places like Humboldt and Silver City, he realized the need for beef and bread to keep the miners alive and going.

He brought his family to what would become Denio and settled them into a little sod and mud hut he built then began to farm and mine. He opened a station for travels to stop. The post office was established on the Oregon side of the town in 1888 and Denio was the postmaster.

Following WWII, a number of businesses relocated south of the state line to take advantage of Nevada's lack of income tax and more liberal laws in regard to questionable enterprises such as liquor, gambling, and brothels. Eventually, the post office followed, moving to the Nevada side of the line in 1950.

Today, visitors to the area who enjoy a variety of outdoor recreation opportunities like camping, hunting, fishing, hiking, visiting a wildlife refuge, or soaking in the hot springs. It's also a great playground for rock hounds.

The geology of the area was produced by fault uplift, volcanic magma movements, and an ancient inland sea. It's been said the hills are full of opals.

The black fire opal, the official gemstone of Nevada, is found here, too.

The Royal Peacock Opal Mine, owned and operated by the Wilson family since 1944 just south of Denio, is open to the public for pay-to-dig exploration and gem hunting.

What about you? Do you know of any little towns that straddle a state line? 

USA Today bestselling author Shanna Hatfield is a farm girl who loves to write. Her sweet historical and contemporary romances are filled with sarcasm, humor, hope, and hunky heroes. When Shanna isn’t dreaming up unforgettable characters, twisting plots, or covertly seeking dark, decadent chocolate, she hangs out with her beloved husband, Captain Cavedweller.

Shanna loves to hear from readers. Follow her online at:

ShannaHatfield | Facebook | Newsletter | BookBub | Pinterest

Find Shanna’s books at:

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Smashwords | Apple | Audible

The Early American Handyman or Handywoman by Kimberly Grist

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07SM9HKWP

According to the book, A Museum of Early American Tools by
Eric Sloane, a Blacksmith, was the Early American handyman. The word ”Smith” derived from ‘smite; ‘black’ from ‘black metal
(A silversmith would be considered brightwork). 
In the middle 1800’s he began taking over the farrier’s job of horseshoeing and made nails, hinges, cooking utensils and every kind of tool. Using little more than fire, water, a hammer, and anvil the resourceful village blacksmith provided a vital service converting raw iron into anything imaginable.

Almost everything the pioneers used from the kitchen skillet to farming tools were made from at least partially from iron and, made from hand.

Link by link, chains had to be hammered into shape in the fiery forge. The blacksmith would hammer the parts into shape with one hand while holding the iron in the other. As a result, their right arm was more massive than the other.

Although most blacksmiths were males, in my new release Maggie’s Strength, our heroine learns the trade from her father whose character was born out of my fondness for a poem by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. 

The Village Blacksmith was first published in 1840 and describes the daily life of a local tradesman who balances his family life work and family beautifully. Just like the spreading chestnut tree, the smithy’s physical strength is secondary to his character. 

The Village Blacksmith

By Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Under a spreading chestnut tree

The village smithy stands;

The smith, a mighty man is he,

With large and sinewy hands;

And the muscles of his brawny arms

Are strong as iron bands. 

His hair is crisp, and black, and long.

His face is like the tan;

His brow is wet with honest sweat, 

He earns whate'er he can,

And looks the whole world in the face,

For he owes not any man 

Week in, week out, from morn till night,

You can hear his bellows blow; 

You can hear him swing his heavy sledge, 

With measured beat and slow,

Like a sexton ringing the village bell, 

When the evening sun is low 

And children coming home from school

Look in at the open door; 

They love to see the flaming forge,

And near the bellows roar,

And catch the burning sparks that fly

Like chaff from a threshing floor.

He goes on Sunday to the church, 

And sits among his boys; 

He hears the parson pray and preach, 

He hears his daughter's voice,

Singing in the village choir, 

And it makes his heart rejoice. 

It sounds like to him like her mother's voice,

Singing in Paradise! 

He needs must think of her once more, 

How in the grave she lies;

And with his haul, rough hand he wipes

A tear out of his eyes.

Although most blacksmiths were men, in my new release, Maggie's Strength, I introduce a pint-sized young woman who enjoys working alongside her father and brothers in the forge.

Maggie enjoys adding a bit of whimsy to the practical and useful pieces.

Leaving the heavy ironwork to her father, she sketches the designs and pounds out the more intricate pieces, adding swirls and heart shapes.

Although a work of fiction, I was inspired by this hand-forged heart shaped bench, trivet and hall tree created in the 19th century.

Just Released:

Twenty-year-old Maggie Montgomery is a petite young woman ahead of her time. She's had a wonderful childhood and enjoyed spending time with her father and five brothers and is happiest working in the smithy with them. A competent cook and housekeeper, as a favor to the local doctor, she moves in to assist his wife who is struggling to recuperate from a bout of pneumonia.

A tomboy at heart she ignores her mother's plea to dress more appropriately. Until the son returns. A recent graduate of medical school, although handsome, the young doctor is stoic and obviously put out that his father has hired her to help his mother recuperate. Sparks fly and suddenly for the first time, Maggie is concerned more about how she is perceived by others, especially the young doctor. The question is, why? 

Can they get past their first impressions?

Fortunately, she draws on unrelenting strength where iron sharpens iron-forging an unexpected result of the romantic kind.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07SM9HKWP

Connect with Kimberly:

Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/FaithFunandFriends/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/GristKimberly

Amazon Author Page: https://www.amazon.com/Kimberly-Grist/e/B07H2NTJ71
Website: https://kimberlygrist.com/

Transcontinental Railroad & Family History by Zina Abbott

Today I am telling the story I have about my great-grandfather, Edwin Brown, regarding his time working on the Transcontinental Railroad.

To set the stage a little, Brigham Young, the leader of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, had been advocating for a railroad to cross the nation from the time he first started to lead the members of the church to the Great Salt Lake Valley and points beyond. For more details, read the section about him in last month’s post by CLICKING HERE.

When the Union Pacific finally reached Utah, the company began looking for more railroad workers. They still had the daunting task of cutting a rail bed through Echo and Weber Canyons. This would require grading and laying track on steep terrain and blasting three tunnels through the surrounding mountains. 

Covered wagon route through Echo Canyon-Ctsy roadside rest stop display by

 the National Society of the Sons of the Utah Pioneers

The region had just gone through another round of having many of their crops destroyed by a grasshopper plague. Both money and work were scarce. Many Utah men welcomed the opportunity to work and earn wages to support their families.

In spite of its large Chinese workforce, the Central Pacific Railroad also needed more men as they crossed northern Nevada and approached the Promontory Mountains. Once they learned that Brigham Young was negotiating with the Union Pacific Railroad, they also sought “Mormon” laborers. (More details will be in a future post.)

I do not know which railroad hired my great-grandfather. Sometimes I get frustrated with my ancestors because the family histories they left behind are a little skimpy on details regarding this period in Edwin’s life. My grandmother, especially, as she became one of the few descendents of those who lived with and knew people who crossed the plains in covered wagons, did not share these details when she offered historical information to various publications. All I know is, Edwin Brown was married to my great-grandmother by 1868 when the two railroad companies were hiring. They had two small daughters. He lived in a house on a lot that was part of the farm his older brother, Henry, inherited. Since Henry needed to stay on the farm to support his widowed mother, underage siblings, as well as his own wife and children, Edwin left to work for the railroad. 

While most of the men from Utah started for home on May 8, 1869 when the two rail lines were complete and ready to be joined—they had crops to plant and families to see to—Edwin was among those rail workers who stayed to witness the Golden Spike ceremony.

What Grandmother Goldie left me was a folksy, human interest story that does not tell much about the railroad work her father did. However, it does shine a bit of light on the physical and social conditions under which these men worked. Here it is:

Edwin Brown in his early 60's

“When he left, he had beautiful black curly hair.  And his little old grandmother lived with him.  And she made him promise that he would bring those beautiful black curls home to her….And, so, when the men got to working on the railroad, they all neglected themselves and got head lice and body lice and anything else. 

“But my dad didn’t.  Every time, as they went along working and they came to a ditch or a creek, my dad went out and took a bath and washed his head.  He didn’t have body lice and head lice.  And he wouldn’t allow anyone who did to stay in his tent.  And, the other men were jealous and kept after him.  They shaved their heads….But, my dad, he had his pretty long black hair…curled...he was going to bring them back to his grandmother. 

“So, he never took his gun off.  And when he went to bed, he put his gun right down by his knee.  And, the men kept whispering around and whispering around.  He knew there was something up.  All the other men made up between them that they would catch him in bed when he was asleep…and hold him down and cut his hair.  And sure enough, they come one night and thought he was asleep in bed.  He just got his gun (click) and told ‘em – 'You take one step forward and I’ll let you have it.'

“And he brought his pretty black curls home.”

According to Melvin Miner and June Kasteler, cousins who wrote some of the family histories available, it was his mother, not his grandmother, to whom Edwin returned with his curly hair.   However, Edwin’s paternal grandparents, Jonathan Brown and Frances Mary Green Brown, emigrated from England and both of them died in Salt Lake.  Frances Brown was still living at the time that Edwin worked for the railroad. So, I think my grandmother had it right.

Workmen at the Golden Spike, or "Last Spike," ceremony

All the family histories agree that Edwin was present at the Golden Spike ceremony.  He told his family that if they look in the pictures that were taken of the event, he is in there somewhere. Every time I come across a photograph of that event, I scan the faces looking for a man in the back of the crowd who could be my great-grandfather.

Author’s Note: May 10, 1869 is the sesquicentennial of the Golden Spike ceremony joining the Central Pacific Railroad and the Union Pacific Railroad to create the Transcontinental Railroad. For the next few months, across all the blogs for which I write, I will share pieces of this railroad’s history. It has special meaning for me since one of my ancestors worked on this railroad once it reached Utah. All of these blog posts will eventually be gathered on a page in my own Trails and Rails blog.

My most recent book, Virginia’s Vocation, is now available on Amazon. In 1859, when Virginia, escorted by her older brother, Jefferson, travel from Missouri to Ohio, the train that had almost reached St. Joseph, Missouri was the most westerly point served by a railroad east of the Missouri River. This was a mere decade before the east and west were joined by the Transcontinental Railroad. To read the book description and access the purchase link, please CLICK HERE.

Sources:
Family history written by Robyn Echols
Histories obtained from International Society of Daughters of Utah Pioneers, specifically, the history submitted by Melvin Miner and June Kasteler
Murray City Corporation, The History of Murray City, Utah, (Salt Lake City, Utah: Stanway/Wheelwright Printing Co.) 1976.
http://cprr.org/Museum/Stewart-Iron_Trail.html
http://www.tcrr.com/

Courtship is A Glimpse Into Paradise by Kristin Holt

by USA Today Bestselling Author Kristin Holt

Victorian Americans had a rather peculiar expectation about what marriage should (or perhaps, could) be. To the writer of this vintage newspaper article, Courtship was indeed "a glimpse into Paradise, where all is sunshine and love." The same writer, tongue-in-cheek, teases the young and foolishly in love.

This article so aptly fits with my current WIP (work in progress): The Silver-Strike Bride. I'm having a bit too much fun showing Caroline and Tom (newlyweds) that their glimpse into paradise was a bit of a lie. Their new marriage is in trouble, and neither quite knows how to correct matters.

Vintage Newspaper Article 

Part 1

 

Quote from within vintage newspaper article, The Meade Republican

Part 2

Part 3

Quote from within vintage newspaper article, The Meade Republican

Part 4

Part 5

Part 6

Part 7

Courting Couples Play Games

Quote from Vintage Newspaper Article, 1891.

Part 8

Part 9

Isn't it fun to catch a glimpse of Victorian-American life through their newspapers?

What thoughts do you have as you read this vintage article? 

Have you seen behaviors such as those illustrated in this 1891 article in today's dating couples? Have you read historical romances with similar experiences with courtship and proposals of marriage?

by Kristin Holt

visit Kristin Holt at KristinHolt.com

See other articles on Sweet Americana Sweethearts by Kristin Holt

Sweet Americana Sweethearts' Kristin Holt Page

Related Articles

Click on the image(s)

 

 

  

 

Copyright © 2019 Kristin Holt LC