At merrycoz.org,
a hurrah for years ending in 4
The Whiskey Rebellion comes to a dramatic climax in July.
An expansion of U.S. territory sends Meriwether Lewis, William Clark, and an expedition that includes a Lemhi Shoshone woman and an African-American man up the Missouri River and to the Pacific Ocean.
(They’re expected to keep an eye out for a
mastodon, the “great incognitum” thought to be still roaming the vast wilderness of western North America. They don’t see one.)
A French classic expands its range; the British invade Washington, DC (and lose the War, but who’s gloating?); and Francis Scott Key writes an inspiring poem.
- René, by Françoise-René Chateaubriand; translated and abridged by Samuel Goodrich
Lafayette tours the U. S.;
The Heart of Midlothian discombobulates a fictional family; and John Dunn Hunter’s memoirs of his life among the Osage appears in an expanded edition.
Technology expands human abilities as Charles Babbage creates the “analytical engine” (which will develop into what you’re using right now); a midwestern girl starts an ever-expanding scrapbook; and
Parley’s Magazine puzzles over a layer of fossil shells which seem to hint that France and the Andes have an unexpectedly close connection.
A great comet adds interest to the night sky; technology begins to pull us closer together as Samuel Morse sends the first telegraph message, written by Annie Ellsworth (cousin of Samuel Griswold Goodrich); Lydia Sigourney explores her native land; an unknown writer fictionalizes a weird incident in Arkansas history; and Samuel Griswold Goodrich expands the world of young readers with a bit of amusing regionalism, some glimpses of other nations, a guide to how to behave, and some early methods of weather prediction.
An annular solar eclipse semi-darkens much of North America; Fanny Fern sheds light on her family relationships; Anthony Burns escapes slavery, but is returned to enslavement by Judge Edward Greeley Loring (brother-in-law of Samuel Griswold Goodrich); the U.S. railroad expands to the Mississippi River; Free-Soilers seek to block the expansion of slavery;and California gets its first published woman poet (my condolences).
- Ruth Hall, by “Fanny Fern” (Sara Payson Willis)
- Buds, Blossoms, and Leaves, by “Eulalie” (Mary Eulalie Fee Shannon)
- “Early Training of Children”
- “Novels, Their Meaning and Mission”
- “Daguerreotypes of the Moon” (SMate; January)
- advertisement for Tuttle’s Emporium (Youth’s Cabinet, January)
- Two pieces about books (The Student, February)
- “Curious Rhymes” (Robert Merry’s Museum, March)
- “True Courage,” by “Aunt Kate” (Youth’s Companion, August)
- “Snake Fascination” (Youth’s Companion, August)
- “The Miser and His Dinner” (Youth’s Cabinet, September)
- “The Four Wills” (Youth’s Cabinet, September)
- “Indian Youth’s Newspaper” (Youth’s Companion, September)
The U.S. adds a state; dime novels get the kind of boost they won’t get later in the century; readers of
Youth’s Companion get an illustration of some of the ugliest aspects of slavery; and readers of
Student & Schoolmate get a story that originated 16 years earlier.
merrycoz.org celebrates 25 years of informing the internet. Hurrah!
Copyright 2024, Pat Pflieger