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 October 16, 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 October 16 historical headlines that may hold the missing pieces of your family's history puzzle.
Westfield, Massachusetts, USA (Wyben)
We are informed by the Springfield Republican and Boston Transcript, of the details of a terrible accident which occurred on Tuesday, on the Western Railroad, near Westfield, Mass. The Eastern and Western trains came in contact, from the fact that the train from the West was behind its time, and the other train went on, the conductor hoping to arrive at the next turn-out before meeting the other train. The baggage-cars of each train were behind, of course, bringing the passenger cars directly... Read MORE...
Sunbury American and Shamokin Journal - Pennsylvania - October 16, 1841
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1841 - Horrible Accident on the Western Railroad
We are informed by the Springfield Republican and Boston Transcript, of the details of a terrible accident which occurred on Tuesday, on the Western Railroad, near Westfield, Mass. The Eastern and Western trains came in contact, from the fact that the train from the West was behind its time, and the other train went on, the conductor hoping to arrive at the next turn-out before meeting the other train. The baggage-cars of each train were behind, of course, bringing the passenger cars directly... Read MORE...
Sunbury American and Shamokin Journal - Pennsylvania - October 16, 1841
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1923 - October 16 - Roy and Walt Disney found The Walt Disney Company.
On October 16, 1923, brothers Roy O. Disney and Walt Disney founded The Walt Disney Company, initially known as the Disney Brothers Cartoon Studio. The company was founded in Los Angeles, California, and started as a small animation studio. Walt Disney, a talented animator and storyteller, was the creative force behind the company, while Roy Disney handled the business aspects.
The Walt Disney Company started by producing a series of short films, most notably the "Alice Comedies," which... Read MORE...
October 16, 1923
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1800s Cooking Tips and Recipes
Potato Cakes for Breakfast - Save from dinner a soup-plate of mashed potatoes, add to it a half a saltspoonful of pepper, the same of nutmeg, a little salt and the yolk of an egg; form into small cakes, put in a buttered baking pan, brush the ...Read MORE...
The Willimantic Chronicle, Willimantic, Conn., April 27, 1881
1859 - October 16 – John Brown raids the Harpers Ferry Armory in Harper's Ferry, Virginia, in an unsuccessful bid to spark a general slave rebellion.
Late on the night of October 16, 1859, John Brown and 21 armed followers stole into the town of Harpers Ferry, Virginia, as most of its residents slept. They took 60 prominent locals hostage and seized the town's United States arsenal and its rifle works. The men - among them three free blacks, one freed slave, and one fugitive slave - hoped to spark a rebellion of freed slaves and to lead an "army of emancipation." They wanted to overturn the institution of slavery by force.
With the... Read MORE...
www.americaslibrary.gov
October 16, 1859
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The Genuine Dr. C. McLane's Liver Pills
for sale by
W. R. Peck
Chemist & Druggist
203 S. Madison St.
Peoria, Ill.
Visit Peoria, Illinois, USA!
Boston, Massachusetts, USA
On October 16, 1829, the Tremont Hotel opened its doors in Boston, marking a significant moment in American hospitality history as the first modern hotel in the United States. Located at the corner of Tremont and Beacon Streets, the hotel quickly became a symbol of luxury and sophistication in the bustling city. The Tremont Hotel was a grand establishment, boasting 170 rooms, each furnished elegantly with luxurious amenities that were unprecedented at the time.
The opening of the Tremont... Read MORE...
historyorb.com
October 16, 1829
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1829 - October 16 - Tremont Hotel, 1st US modern hotel opens (Boston)
On October 16, 1829, the Tremont Hotel opened its doors in Boston, marking a significant moment in American hospitality history as the first modern hotel in the United States. Located at the corner of Tremont and Beacon Streets, the hotel quickly became a symbol of luxury and sophistication in the bustling city. The Tremont Hotel was a grand establishment, boasting 170 rooms, each furnished elegantly with luxurious amenities that were unprecedented at the time.
The opening of the Tremont... Read MORE...
historyorb.com
October 16, 1829
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Fort Worth, Texas, USA
Of a dozen wedding guests injured by the collapse of the vestibule ceiling at the Broadway Baptist Church Tuesday night, just after the wedding of Miss Edna Mae Potts and Robert W. Wilson, one victim alone was running around, laughing and playing Wednesday.
She is Miss Elizabeth Darrah, 5-year-old daughter of R. R. Darrah, 2125 Edwin avenue, Mistletoe Heights. Elizabeth was buried alive by the tumbling plaster and she said Wednesday that she enjoyed it after it was all over.
Elizabeth... Read MORE...
Fort Worth Star-Telegram - Fort Worth, Texas - October 16, 1912
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1912 - Tot, 5, Buried When Church Ceiling Falls, Is Unhurt - Other Wedding Guests Injured in Accident Resting Well.
Of a dozen wedding guests injured by the collapse of the vestibule ceiling at the Broadway Baptist Church Tuesday night, just after the wedding of Miss Edna Mae Potts and Robert W. Wilson, one victim alone was running around, laughing and playing Wednesday.
She is Miss Elizabeth Darrah, 5-year-old daughter of R. R. Darrah, 2125 Edwin avenue, Mistletoe Heights. Elizabeth was buried alive by the tumbling plaster and she said Wednesday that she enjoyed it after it was all over.
Elizabeth... Read MORE...
Fort Worth Star-Telegram - Fort Worth, Texas - October 16, 1912
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Washington, DC, USA
WASHINGTON, Oct. 16. - The most violent earthquakes record ever made on the seismograph at the weather bureau started at 9:14 o'clock this morning. The vibrations of the needle were even greater that those caused by the San Francisco earthquake. Weather bureau officials are momennturily[sic] expecting news that somewhere in the world an unusually severe disturbance has occurred.
The following statement was given out at noon by Chief Willis L. Moore, of the Weather Bureau: "Just after the... Read MORE...
Wilkes-Barre Times - Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania - October 16, 1907
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1907 - VIOLENT EARTHQUAKE RECORDED AT CAPITAL Weather Bureau Officials Expect News That Somewhere in the World Unusually Severe Disturbance Has Occurred.
WASHINGTON, Oct. 16. - The most violent earthquakes record ever made on the seismograph at the weather bureau started at 9:14 o'clock this morning. The vibrations of the needle were even greater that those caused by the San Francisco earthquake. Weather bureau officials are momennturily[sic] expecting news that somewhere in the world an unusually severe disturbance has occurred.
The following statement was given out at noon by Chief Willis L. Moore, of the Weather Bureau: "Just after the... Read MORE...
Wilkes-Barre Times - Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania - October 16, 1907
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1800s Advice and Etiquette for Ladies
At a funeral, enter the church quietly, and, unless you belong to the mourners, wait until they leave the church before you rise from your seat. Never attempt to speak to any of the afflicted family. However heartfelt your sympathy, it will not be...Read MORE...
The Ladies' Book of Etiquette, and Manual of Politeness: A Complete Handbook for the Use of the Lady in Polite Society... by Florence Hartley, January 1, 1872
Windsor, Connecticut, USA (Poquonock)
A case illustrative of the power of drink to deaden the sensitiveness to pain occurred at Windsor, Conn., October 5th. An Englishman employed in one of the mills, while drunk and lying on the track, was run over by the train and lost a leg. The accident was not discovered until the next morning, when a man who was walking on the track found the leg encased in a boot, and soon traced the man a short distance from the spot, finding him still alive. The surgeon subsequently amputated the limb, and ... Read MORE...
genealogybank.com
San Francisco Bulletin - San Francisco, California - October 16, 1872
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1872 - Didn't Feel a Thing
A case illustrative of the power of drink to deaden the sensitiveness to pain occurred at Windsor, Conn., October 5th. An Englishman employed in one of the mills, while drunk and lying on the track, was run over by the train and lost a leg. The accident was not discovered until the next morning, when a man who was walking on the track found the leg encased in a boot, and soon traced the man a short distance from the spot, finding him still alive. The surgeon subsequently amputated the limb, and ... Read MORE...
genealogybank.com
San Francisco Bulletin - San Francisco, California - October 16, 1872
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1916 On October 16, 1916 Sanger opened a family planning and birth control clinic at 46 Amboy Street in the Brownsville neighborhood of Brooklyn, the first of its kind in the United States.
Margaret Sanger tests the validity of New York’s anti-contraception law by establishing a clinic in Brooklyn. The most well-known of birth control advocates, she is one of hundreds arrested over a 40-year period for working to establish women’s right to control their own bodies. Nine days after the clinic opened, Sanger was arrested.
nationalwomenshistoryalliance.org
October 16, 1916
Visit Brooklyn, New York, USA (Flatlands) (Flatbush) (Coney Island)!
1905 October 16 – Russian Revolution of 1905: The Russian army opens fire in a meeting on a street market in Tallinn, killing 94 and injuring over 200.
wikipedia.org
October 16, 1905
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1869 A Miss Cutler has been appointed superintendent of public instruction in Rochester, Minn.
St Joseph Herald
Saint Joseph, Michigan
October 16, 1869
Visit Rochester, Minnesota, USA!
Margaret Sanger tests the validity of New York’s anti-contraception law by establishing a clinic in Brooklyn. The most well-known of birth control advocates, she is one of hundreds arrested over a 40-year period for working to establish women’s right to control their own bodies. Nine days after the clinic opened, Sanger was arrested.
nationalwomenshistoryalliance.org
October 16, 1916
Visit Brooklyn, New York, USA (Flatlands) (Flatbush) (Coney Island)!
1905 October 16 – Russian Revolution of 1905: The Russian army opens fire in a meeting on a street market in Tallinn, killing 94 and injuring over 200.
wikipedia.org
October 16, 1905
Visit , Russia (Soviet Union) (U.S.S.R.)!
1869 A Miss Cutler has been appointed superintendent of public instruction in Rochester, Minn.
St Joseph Herald
Saint Joseph, Michigan
October 16, 1869
Visit Rochester, Minnesota, USA!

America - Did you know?
August 14, 1916 - U.S. agrees to purchase Danish West Indies (Virgin Islands) for $25 million.
Quebec - Did you know?
The life of the French-Canadians in Quebec was largely agrarian. It was a system where each household grew, produced or bartered for everything the family needed to survive. By the mid-1800s, as the population grew and family farms could no longer...Read MORE...French-Canadian Culture (www.woonsocket.org)

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