No. 629
Crime, Eccentricity, and the Sporting Life in 19th Century America.
May 10, 2022

Wanted to Sit by the Widow.

A ruffianly brawl at Haman's Hotel, Greensburg, Ind.
May 10, 2022
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Via Newspapers.comThis is for all of us who tend to think most small children are a bit demonic.  The “New York Herald,” December 2, 1888:To the north and west of this city, about fifteen miles away, dividing this county from Cumberland and Franklin counties, is a ridge of mountains. In some of the mountain valleys the people are in a state of deep ignorance, seeing little of the outer world
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Strange Company - 11/4/2026
  [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
"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
(The National Police Gazette, October 2, 1886.)A little before 3 o’clock, on the afternoon of September 9, 1886, Henry H. Meyer rushed into the police station in Memphis, Tennessee, and said, “I have just killed a man, and I want to give myself up.”Captain Hackett took down the information and had the man locked up, then hurried to the address he had given to see for himself what had happened. In
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Murder By Gaslight - 10/31/2026
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
Snares for the Unwary. | Demi-Monde Excursion.

Wanted to Sit by the Widow.

sit-by-the-widow At the breakfast table at Haman's Hotel, Greensburg, Ind., C. C. Edwards, a dry goods merchant, occupied the seat or honor next to a fascinating and beautiful widow boarder. Dr. H Lee Millican, who is in love with the widow, wanted Mr. Edwards to exchange seats. This Mr. Edwards refused to do. Some hot words followed as to each gentleman's respective rights to a seat next to the lady, and It ended by the doctor flooring the merchant by a blow between the eyes. The case was then appealed to a justice's court, where it was settled to the satisfaction of all concerned.


Illustrated Police Gazette, October 23, 1886.