No. 219
Crime, Eccentricity, and the Sporting Life in 19th Century America.
September 09, 2014

Take a Chance?

Many a one, who otherwise would not contribute a dime, will take a chance in a lottery.
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September 9, 2014
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Tag: Missouri

The Scandal Which Agitates St. Louis.

Astounding Revelations of a Low Cunning and Vile Curiosity in One of the Proprietors of the Grand Opera House.

7/23/2024

His Wife Danced the Coochee-Coochee.

She and her friends had been drinking wine, and they gave the sedate hubby an unexpected treat when he arrived at his home in St. Louis Mo.

2/14/2023

Kidnapped in Broad Daylight.

Miss Alice Jackson, of St. Louis, seized by three men who hurry her into a coach and drive away.

10/16/2017

A Bride’s Toggery.

An inquisitive male sees the contents of a bride

8/27/2013

Dan Creedon in Training.

6/4/2013
EDWARD DINKELMAN
alias: BOWMAN, EDDIE MILLER� HUNTER
PICKPOCKET, SHOPLIFTER, , HOTEL THIEF

June 14, 1893 Big Day In Court

Be sure to stop by our Facebook page tomorrow for a Prosecution Marathon of witnesses. Here are the witnesses for Wednesday, June 14th, Day 9 Rufus Hilliard, City Marshal, Mayor John Coughlin, Mrs. Hannah Gifford (seamstress and dressmaker), Anna Borden ( wealthy socialite who was on Lizzie’s grand tour of Europe, distantly related to Lizzie), Lucy Collett (watching the office of Dr. Chagnon day of the murder), Thomas Bowles ( handyman who once rented a room from Addie Churchill and was wa
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Lizzie Borden: Warps and Wefts - 6/13/2026

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
Amen.

Weekend Link Dump

 Welcome to this week's Link Dump, where the Strange Company staff is off on an early summer road trip!Daniel Webster prosecutes an "extraordinary case."Is there a planet hidden behind Neptune?A woman's unsolved disappearance.A medieval domestic violence case."London characters" of the early 20th century.Exploring some fairy caves.The actor and the crisis apparition.A bride returns from the
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Strange Company - 6/12/2026

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

Hannah and Stephen.

 Stephen Pettus gave Hannah Southworth a glass of drugged champagne and had his way with her while she was unconscious. Hannah became pregnant and for years after, she badgered Pettus to acknowledge that he had ruined her. When all legal means were exhausted, she avenged her honor by shooting him in the back on a Brooklyn street.Read the full story here: Avenging Her Honor.
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Murder By Gaslight - 6/13/2026
On the Russians.

The story of the 19th century factory building hidden within modern Bronx high-rise towers

You can see it peeking out from the Harlem River Drive or through the chain-link fence of the Third Avenue Bridge: a five-story red brick building almost buried behind glass and steel apartment towers. The towers are newish luxury rental residences built on the Bronx side of the Harlem River. Shiny and modern, they bring […]
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Ephemeral New York - 6/8/2026

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
Killed and Eaten by Hogs. | The Drama of Life,

Take a Chance?

Take a chance?

Take a Chance? 


Whatever may be said in general terms, against the morality of lotteries, this easy method of raising money has become a part of the regular machinery of charitable fairs, and every objection is met with the undeniable statement that it is both popular and successful. Many a one, who otherwise would not contribute a dime, will take a chance in a lottery, especially when assailed, liked the nice young man in the accompanying sketch, with the pleasant cajoleries of charming young ladies. It is a singular and not very creditable fact that mere misery is less potent than many other influences to unlock a cash-box.

Reprinted from "Take a Chance?" Harper's Weekly. 19 Nov 1870

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