Welcome to our blog, where we embark on a captivating journey through time, exploring the rich tapestry of history and genealogy.
In this edition, we'll delve into the treasure trove of historical news articles dated May 31, unearthing stories that resonate with genealogists and history enthusiasts alike.
From local happenings to global events, we'll uncover the stories that shaped the lives of our ancestors, providing valuable insights for those on a quest to discover their roots.
So, grab your magnifying glass and step into the past as we unravel the May 31 historical headlines that may hold the missing pieces of your family's history puzzle.
Carpets by Mail
The Russell Carpet Co.
Chicago, Ill.
The Ladies' Home Journal
March 1898
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Long Island City, New York, USA
Long Island City, May 30. - RICHARD LAVELLE, who, with JOHN O'DONNELL, conducts a Wild West show at North Beach, was thrown from the back of a fiery mustang pony last night and was almost instantly killed, the fall breaking his neck.
Late in the afternoon he rode to Flushing to buy some blankets and other articles for the troop of cowboys and Indians. His partner, O'DONNELL, and a friend accompanied him in a light wagon. Before he started his partner warned him that the mustang was frisky... Read MORE...
The New York Times - New York, New York - May 31, 1893
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1893 - RICHARD LAVELLE'S NECK BROKEN. THROWN FROM A MUSTANG PONY AND INSTANTLY KILLED.
Long Island City, May 30. - RICHARD LAVELLE, who, with JOHN O'DONNELL, conducts a Wild West show at North Beach, was thrown from the back of a fiery mustang pony last night and was almost instantly killed, the fall breaking his neck.
Late in the afternoon he rode to Flushing to buy some blankets and other articles for the troop of cowboys and Indians. His partner, O'DONNELL, and a friend accompanied him in a light wagon. Before he started his partner warned him that the mustang was frisky... Read MORE...
The New York Times - New York, New York - May 31, 1893
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London, England
May 31, 1859: The Great Clock (aka Big Ben) in London officially began keeping time. (On July 11, the Great Bell first struck the hour.) The 315-foot-high tower, part of the Houses of Parliament building, has no elevator; there are 334 steps to the belfry. The four quarter bells, or chimes, ring out every 15 minutes. The Great Bell tolls every hour. The minute hand measures almost 14 feet long. The clock mechanism weighs 5.6 tons, and is wound three times a week. The clock's time is adjusted by ... Read MORE...
The Old Farmer's Almanac www.almanac.com
May 31, 1859
Comments
1859 - Big Ben begins keeping time
May 31, 1859: The Great Clock (aka Big Ben) in London officially began keeping time. (On July 11, the Great Bell first struck the hour.) The 315-foot-high tower, part of the Houses of Parliament building, has no elevator; there are 334 steps to the belfry. The four quarter bells, or chimes, ring out every 15 minutes. The Great Bell tolls every hour. The minute hand measures almost 14 feet long. The clock mechanism weighs 5.6 tons, and is wound three times a week. The clock's time is adjusted by ... Read MORE...
The Old Farmer's Almanac www.almanac.com
May 31, 1859
Comments
1800s Cooking Tips and Recipes
To make a diet loaf
Bake six eggs yolks and whites put in 10 unces of well beaten sugar and cast all till they become very white then stir in 12 unces of flower do not cast it but stir it in and put in a little rose water it being in the oven...Read MORE...
Jean Brown’s Paistry Book 1724
Brooklyn, New York, USA (Flatlands) (Flatbush) (Coney Island)
AGONIZING !!!!!
Details of the Disaster on the Bridge.
Men and Women Crushed and Trampled to Death in the Blockade at New York Anchorage.
THE DEAD, THE INJURED AND THE MISSING.
How the Panic was Aided by a Gang of Ruffians - Scenes of Horror and Heartrending Cries for Help.
The Stairway That Led To Death
What is Said by Eye Witnesses and the Statements Made by Superintendent Martin, Mayor Low and Trustee Stranahan.
The Suffering in the Hospitals
Grief and Sorrow in Many Brooklyn ... Read MORE...
The Brooklyn Eagle - Brooklyn, New York - May 31, 1883
Comments
1883 - May 30 - Rumor that the Brooklyn Bridge is going to collapse caused a stampede that kills 12
AGONIZING !!!!!
Details of the Disaster on the Bridge.
Men and Women Crushed and Trampled to Death in the Blockade at New York Anchorage.
THE DEAD, THE INJURED AND THE MISSING.
How the Panic was Aided by a Gang of Ruffians - Scenes of Horror and Heartrending Cries for Help.
The Stairway That Led To Death
What is Said by Eye Witnesses and the Statements Made by Superintendent Martin, Mayor Low and Trustee Stranahan.
The Suffering in the Hospitals
Grief and Sorrow in Many Brooklyn ... Read MORE...
The Brooklyn Eagle - Brooklyn, New York - May 31, 1883
Comments
Hardwood Floors
Smooth as Glass
"Old English" Floor Wax
Barron, Boyle & Co., Cincinnati, O.
The Ladies' Home Journal
January 1898
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Allentown, Pennsylvania, USA
Allentown, (INS) - The great stone walls were all that remained today of the 43-year-old administration building of Muhlenberg College which was destroyed by a general alarm fire of undetermined origin.
The fire, discovered last night about 10:30, brought virtually all Allentown equipment to the scene, but raged out of control until early this morning. Two students were overcome by smoke as they sought to salvage college records.
One of the, LESLIE WARGER, was taken to Allentown Hospital, ... Read MORE...
Chester Times - Chester, Pennsylvania - May 31, 1947
Comments
1947 - MAIN BUILDING AT MUHLENBERG COLLEGE BURNED.
Allentown, (INS) - The great stone walls were all that remained today of the 43-year-old administration building of Muhlenberg College which was destroyed by a general alarm fire of undetermined origin.
The fire, discovered last night about 10:30, brought virtually all Allentown equipment to the scene, but raged out of control until early this morning. Two students were overcome by smoke as they sought to salvage college records.
One of the, LESLIE WARGER, was taken to Allentown Hospital, ... Read MORE...
Chester Times - Chester, Pennsylvania - May 31, 1947
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Atlanta, Georgia, USA
Atlanta, Ga. (AP) - Four firemen were killed when an explosion ripped through a burning downtown restaurant, trapping them in a basement inferno as the floor was blown from under them.
"There were guys in there screaming for help," said a fireman, his face flecked with blood, who was standing at the front of the building when the blast occurred. "We scrambled down in there and got some of them. Some we just couldn't get to."
The four they couldn't rescue were:
CAPT. L. B. GRADY, 30.
V.... Read MORE...
The Daily Times-News - Burlington, North Carolina - May 31, 1971
Comments
1971 - FOUR FIREMEN ARE KILLED IN BLAST.
Atlanta, Ga. (AP) - Four firemen were killed when an explosion ripped through a burning downtown restaurant, trapping them in a basement inferno as the floor was blown from under them.
"There were guys in there screaming for help," said a fireman, his face flecked with blood, who was standing at the front of the building when the blast occurred. "We scrambled down in there and got some of them. Some we just couldn't get to."
The four they couldn't rescue were:
CAPT. L. B. GRADY, 30.
V.... Read MORE...
The Daily Times-News - Burlington, North Carolina - May 31, 1971
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1800s Advice and Etiquette for Men
Arguments should never be maintained with heat and clamour, though we believe or know ourselves
to be in the right: we should give our opinions modestly and coolly; and, if that will not do, endeavour to change the conversation by saying, 'We shall ...Read MORE...
Practical Morality, Or, A Guide to Men and Manners... (1813). United Kingdom: J. Walker.
Dallas, Texas, USA
IMMENSE CROWD MADE IT IMPOSSIBLE FOR AID TO REACH INJURED AT ONCE.
Dallas, May 30. - Four persons were killed, two of them instantly, when a wooden awning, suspended by chains in front of a store in the heart of the business district, collapsed late this afternoon while an immense crowd was witnessing a demonstration in favor of preparedness.
The dead:
ALBERT CANNON, aged about 40.
MRS. F. E. ALLEN, aged 70.
A. E. LOTT, aged 60.
MILDRED BUTLER, aged 12.
A score of others were... Read MORE...
Tulsa Daily World - Tulsa, Oklahoma - May 31, 1916
Comments
1916 - FOUR KILLED WHEN AWNING COLLAPSES. WERE WATCHING PREPAREDNESS PARADE WHEN HEAVY SHADE GIVES WAY. MANY OTHERS HURT.
IMMENSE CROWD MADE IT IMPOSSIBLE FOR AID TO REACH INJURED AT ONCE.
Dallas, May 30. - Four persons were killed, two of them instantly, when a wooden awning, suspended by chains in front of a store in the heart of the business district, collapsed late this afternoon while an immense crowd was witnessing a demonstration in favor of preparedness.
The dead:
ALBERT CANNON, aged about 40.
MRS. F. E. ALLEN, aged 70.
A. E. LOTT, aged 60.
MILDRED BUTLER, aged 12.
A score of others were... Read MORE...
Tulsa Daily World - Tulsa, Oklahoma - May 31, 1916
Comments
Bennington, Vermont, USA (North Bennington)
Rainstorm Dbscures[sic] Driver's View - One Killed and Two Injured.
BENNINGTON, Vt., May 30. - A driving rainstorm that obscured the view of an automobile driver and an electric car motorman to-day caused a collision, in which Henry L. Knapp, 40 years of age, a local saloon keeper, who was in the automobile, was killed, and his companion, Miss Kate McGuire, 38 years old, a cousin of Knapp, and William Newton, a local garage keeper, and owner and driver of the machine, were seriously injured... Read MORE...
The New York Times - New York, New York - May 31, 1910
Comments
1910 - AUTO AND TROLLEY COLLIDE
Rainstorm Dbscures[sic] Driver's View - One Killed and Two Injured.
BENNINGTON, Vt., May 30. - A driving rainstorm that obscured the view of an automobile driver and an electric car motorman to-day caused a collision, in which Henry L. Knapp, 40 years of age, a local saloon keeper, who was in the automobile, was killed, and his companion, Miss Kate McGuire, 38 years old, a cousin of Knapp, and William Newton, a local garage keeper, and owner and driver of the machine, were seriously injured... Read MORE...
The New York Times - New York, New York - May 31, 1910
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Flint, Michigan, USA
Four Killed In Crossing Crash
By The Associated Press
Flint, Mich., May 30. – A Pere Marquette passenger train struck an automobile carrying seven persons on a memorial day trip to a cemetery here today, killing four of the occupants and injuring three others so seriously they are not expected to live.
The dead: Assad RIZIK, 55; his daughter, Josephine, 20; Ronnie GEORGE, 6. All were of Flint.
The injured: Joseph GEORGE, 50; Flint, driver of the car, skull fracture and internal... Read MORE...
Abilene Morning News - Abilene, Texas - May 31, 1934
Comments
Flint, Mich., Train – Automobile Crash, May 1934
Four Killed In Crossing Crash
By The Associated Press
Flint, Mich., May 30. – A Pere Marquette passenger train struck an automobile carrying seven persons on a memorial day trip to a cemetery here today, killing four of the occupants and injuring three others so seriously they are not expected to live.
The dead: Assad RIZIK, 55; his daughter, Josephine, 20; Ronnie GEORGE, 6. All were of Flint.
The injured: Joseph GEORGE, 50; Flint, driver of the car, skull fracture and internal... Read MORE...
Abilene Morning News - Abilene, Texas - May 31, 1934
Comments
Wallingford, Connecticut, USA
MERIDEN, Conn., May 30. - The large three-story frame factory of the Wallingford Wheel Company in Wallingford, Conn., was struck by lightning during a heavy thunderstorm at 3 o'clock this morning and totally destroyed by fire. The entire Fire Department was promptly on hand, but owing to the breaking of a hose its work availed but little. The company was turning out about 100 sets of wheels per day, as this is the busy season and had a large amount of stock on hand. The loss will reach $60,000, ... Read MORE...
The New York Times - New York, New York - May 31, 1858
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1858 - STRUCK BY LIGHTNING.
MERIDEN, Conn., May 30. - The large three-story frame factory of the Wallingford Wheel Company in Wallingford, Conn., was struck by lightning during a heavy thunderstorm at 3 o'clock this morning and totally destroyed by fire. The entire Fire Department was promptly on hand, but owing to the breaking of a hose its work availed but little. The company was turning out about 100 sets of wheels per day, as this is the busy season and had a large amount of stock on hand. The loss will reach $60,000, ... Read MORE...
The New York Times - New York, New York - May 31, 1858
Comments
1896 Sullivan's Love Making
The Sunday Herald
Bridgeport, Connecticut
May 31, 1896
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1899 The Girl With Thin Arms
Thin arms should be carefully concealed. They have an impoverished look that robs their owner of some of her dignity. If the arms are unduly long, as they occasionly are, the effect may be neutralized by wearing wide bands of velvet fastened with pretty buttons or clasps or buckles. This reduces the apparent length of the arms. "Thin arms," says M. Charles Blanc, the great French authority on dress, "denote bad health and an enfeebled race." The best remedy is to wash the arms with a fine...
Read MORE...
The Daily News
Mount Carmel, Pennsylvania
Wed., May 31, 1899
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1899 May 31 – Launch of the Harriman Alaska Expedition.
The Harriman Alaska Expedition of 1899 was a significant scientific and exploratory endeavor led by railroad magnate Edward Harriman. Departing from Seattle on May 31, 1899, aboard the luxuriously appointed steamship SS George W. Elder, the expedition aimed to explore and document the largely uncharted coastline of Alaska and the Aleutian Islands. The expedition was notable for its impressive roster of scientists, artists, and experts, including naturalists John Muir and John Burroughs,...
Read MORE...
May 31, 1899
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The Sunday Herald
Bridgeport, Connecticut
May 31, 1896
Visit Waterbury, Connecticut, USA (Waterville)!
1899 The Girl With Thin Arms
Thin arms should be carefully concealed. They have an impoverished look that robs their owner of some of her dignity. If the arms are unduly long, as they occasionly are, the effect may be neutralized by wearing wide bands of velvet fastened with pretty buttons or clasps or buckles. This reduces the apparent length of the arms. "Thin arms," says M. Charles Blanc, the great French authority on dress, "denote bad health and an enfeebled race." The best remedy is to wash the arms with a fine...
Read MORE...
The Daily News
Mount Carmel, Pennsylvania
Wed., May 31, 1899
Visit , Pennsylvania, USA!
1899 May 31 – Launch of the Harriman Alaska Expedition.
The Harriman Alaska Expedition of 1899 was a significant scientific and exploratory endeavor led by railroad magnate Edward Harriman. Departing from Seattle on May 31, 1899, aboard the luxuriously appointed steamship SS George W. Elder, the expedition aimed to explore and document the largely uncharted coastline of Alaska and the Aleutian Islands. The expedition was notable for its impressive roster of scientists, artists, and experts, including naturalists John Muir and John Burroughs,...
Read MORE...
May 31, 1899
Visit , Alaska, USA!
1891 Man Killed While Lowering Flag
Janitor David Leonard Fatally Injured. David Leonard, janitor of the county building and a member of the G.A.R., was fatally injured last night while lowering the flag from the top of the building. He went to the fourth floor and then climbed a ladder reaching to the flagstaff. In descending the ladder he missed his footing and fell to the basement. His head struck the electric light wires strung about ten feet from the bottom and almost severed the top of his skull.
Chicago Herald
Chicago, Illinois
May 31, 1891
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1875 Measles
The measles keep eight hundred children out of the public schools of New Bedford, Massachusetts.
Harrisburg Telegraph
Harrisburg, Pennsylvania
May 31, 1875
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Janitor David Leonard Fatally Injured. David Leonard, janitor of the county building and a member of the G.A.R., was fatally injured last night while lowering the flag from the top of the building. He went to the fourth floor and then climbed a ladder reaching to the flagstaff. In descending the ladder he missed his footing and fell to the basement. His head struck the electric light wires strung about ten feet from the bottom and almost severed the top of his skull.
Chicago Herald
Chicago, Illinois
May 31, 1891
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1875 Measles
The measles keep eight hundred children out of the public schools of New Bedford, Massachusetts.
Harrisburg Telegraph
Harrisburg, Pennsylvania
May 31, 1875
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America - Did you know?
January 24, 1848 - Gold is discovered at Sutter's Mill in California.
Quebec - Did you know?
English and French are both official languages of business in Canada. However, virtually all international business is conducted in English.Most French Canadians speak and understand English, but prefer to use French. Check ahead of time to find...Read MORE...
ediplomat.com
Picture of the Day
Visit West New York, New Jersey, USA!
Discover the people who lived there, the places they visited and the stories they shared.
15th St., from Bergerline Ave., West New York, N.J.
