The weekly pioneer and Democrat. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn. Territory) 1855-1865, 1860-07-20
First Things.

The celebration of marriage in churches
was first ordained by Pope Innocent ILL.,,
1900; before which the only ceremony was
that of man publicly leading his bride
home to his own house.
Blankets took their name from Thomas
Blanket, who, in 1910, first set up looms for
weaving them, at Bristol
The first panorama exhibited 10 London
was painted by Barker, in 1898, and repre-
sented the objects about Portsmouth and
the Isle of Wight.
The first large ship-ofwar built in Eng
land was in the reign of Henry VII. She
was named the "Great Henry" and cost
914,OO0.
The first public subscription concert in
England was performed in Oxford, in 1865,
and was attended by great number of per.
sons of rank and talent from every part of
England. The first in London took place
in 1853. Concerts soon afterwards became
fashionable and frequent.
Ex-Gov. John II. Steele was the first man
who ever wove cotton cloth in New Hamp.
shire with a power loom. This he did in
1917.
The first coinage of Massachusetts, was
authorized by law passed in 1862, which
provided that shillings, sixpences and three
pences should be coined, I" for forme flatt,
and square on the sides, and stamped on the
side with N. E., and on the other side Kid
VId, and lid, according to the value of
each piece"
The ingenious Jacob Perkins and Jona-
than Ellis, of Massachusetts, erected the
first machinery for cutting and heading nails
at one operation. In 1892, cut nails were
first made in England by machinery, two
rollers with dies being employed for the
purpose. One-half the impress was made
in each roller where they came in contact,
the blanks were fed in at the top, and the
finished nails dropped out below as the steel
rollers revolved.
In England the first lottery was proposed
in the years 1867 and 1868, and it was held
at the west door of st. Paul's Cathedral
The drawing was continued daily from the
18th of January, 1869, to the 9th OF May
following The lottery contained 100000
tickets, at ten shillings each. The prizes
consisted partly of money and partly of sill
yer plate, and other valuables. The net
profit was appropriated to the improvement
OF English harbors.
The first mail route crossing the Allegha.
nv mountains was opened from Philadelphia
to Pittsburg, in 1888, and was extended
(semi-monthly) to Louisville in 1894, and
to VincenDes In 1900.
The first locomotives in the United States
were imported from England in the fall Of
1929 or spring OF 1880. The first Stephen
son locomotive ever imported was the
Robert Fulton" in 1881, for the Mohawk
and Hudson railroad. The first locomotive
built in this country was constructed at the
West Point boundary in 1880, for the South
Carolina railroad.
In 1890 the first edition of the catholic
version of the Bible was printed in the
United States by Matthew Carey in Phila-
delphia. Prior to this, only one complete
edition of the protestant version had been
issued in this country. In 1905 the first
edition of the catholic testament was printed,
also by Matthew Carey.
1t is fact little known, that for the first
five years of our government the United
States Senate always sat in secret. The
first time the doors were opened for public
discussion was on the contest as to the right
of Albert Gallatin to seat in the Senate.
This seat was contested on the ground that
Mr.. Gallatin had not been, as the constltu>
ton required, nine years citizen OF the
United States.