No. 829
Crime, Eccentricity, and the Sporting Life in 19th Century America.
September 02, 2025

Female Wrestling Match in Nevada.

Two female athletes at Virginia city Nevada, indulge in a wrestling match for the championship.
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September 2, 2025
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Tag: Texas

What Led to a Divorce.

What a Husband Discovered, and How a couple were separated.

5/20/2013

The Diamond King.

J. I. Lighthall, better known as the Diamond King, was a charismatic showman and a master of marketing, but he was also a dedicated healer.

12/4/2012

Beauty as a Shield.

Beauty Conquers avarice and outlawry "We won't rob this house to-night."

7/24/2012

Crush Collision!

Crush, Texas, September 15, 1896

2/24/2011
WILLIAM FALE
alias: BROOKS
HOTEL THIEF, SLEEPING-CAR WORKER

Newspaper Clipping of the Day

Via Newspapers.comSit back and enjoy what is probably the weirdest "letter to the editor" in history.  “The Guardian,” November 30, 1976:Recent reports of peculiar events have reminded me of a mysterious experience I had in East Anglia a few years ago. I was teaching in a small village school and the caretaker's husband declared that he had seen strange orange lights in the school field as
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Strange Company - 9/30/2026

Convicts to Maryland, 1773 by Peter Dickson

  [Editor’s note: Guest writer, Peter Dickson, lives in West Sussex, England and has been working with microfilm copies of The Duncan Campbell Papers from the State Library of NSW, Sydney, Australia. The following are some of his analyses of what he has discovered from reading these papers. Dickson has contributed many transcriptions to the Jamaica […]
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Early American Crime - 2/7/2019
Amen.

Artifact #93: Soapy's son, hires attorney to stop the slurring of his father's name.

"As his son I am proud of hisefforts to succeed in life"Jefferson Randolph Smith IIIArtifact #93-2Jeff Smith collection(Click image to enlarge) oapy's son hires a legal firm to stop the defamation of his father's name. At age 30, Jefferson Randolph Smith III, Soapy and Mary's oldest son, was protecting his father's legacy and his mother's reputation from "libel" and scandal. He was also
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Soapy Smith's Soap Box - 10/13/2025

James Dougherty's Obsession.

Mary Anderson was an acclaimed international stage actress in the late 1800s. Among her many fans was a young Brooklyn man named James M. Dougherty.  He worked as a telegraph lineman and studied science in his spare time. He dabbled in a little of everything until, after watching one of her plays, he became obsessed with Miss Anderson. His love for Mary Anderson became his sole
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Murder By Gaslight - 9/26/2026
On the Russians.

1617: A miller of Manberna, the hangman’s last

Youth With Executioner by Nuremberg native Albrecht Dürer … although it’s dated to 1493, which was during a period of several years when Dürer worked abroad. November 13 [1617]. Burnt alive here a miller of Manberna, who however was lately … Continue reading →
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Executed Today - 11/13/2020
The Billiard Room of the Grand Union Hotel, | "Beaneries"

Female Wrestling Match in Nevada.

Female-wrestlers

The sports of Virginia City are a gay lot, and as money is plenty out there, they enjoy life hugely. They wile the heavy hours away with horse racing, cock fighting, bucking the tiger, and other amusements characteristic of their class. The latest novelty gotten up by them was a female Graeco-Roman wrestling match The contestants were Miss Lillie and Miss Maud, two of the most beautifully formed ballet girls known to the local stage. Their backers were two well-known gamblers of the city, each enamored of the charms and believing in the skill of his favorite beauty. Tickets were only issued to the insiders, but the lucky ones saw rare sport. The girls were both in excellent condition, having been training three weeks. The match was for $1000, best two in three falls. After a spirited struggle of forty-five minutes Miss Lillie was declared the victor, having won two straight falls. There was a good deal of excitement, and a large amount of money changed bands on the result.

Illustrated Police News, April 18, 1876

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