Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1886-09-16
IN OLD NEWSPAPERS.
What May Be Cleaned From Journals Publish
ed Many Years AgO-The Stories Contained
in Advertisements - Curious Announce
mpnfS.
Detroit Free Press.

mentS.
Detroit Free Press
1t is humiliating fact, that after a
news paper has chad its day''-which is
unusually rather less than twenty-four
hours in length-it is relegated forthwith
to the limbo of last years almanacs and
birds nests, and if it escapes the rag
picker it is only to fall into the hands of
the antiquarian after season who will
read-not the able editorials or the
'bright and spicy" departments, but
the advertisements.
They were the only part of the news
paper of century and a half ago and
that gave indication of what was 90
ing on IN the every day life of the peo-
pie.
Recognizing this fact, an eastern pub
fishing house is putting forth an Golden
Time Series" of little books, the same be-
ing ''gleanings chiefly from old news
papers of Boston and Salem in Massa-
chusetts." Many quaint and curious
things are in this way brought to light,
as for instance, the prevalence of lotter-
les in New England, and the favor in
which they were held by respectable peo-
pie. The Faneuil hall lottery, the Har-
ward college lottery, the Rhode Island
college, now Brown university, lottery,
the Dartmouth college lottery, and lot
teries for Episcopal and Congregational
churches, were all advertised. There
was a Washington monument battery
advertised in 1911, and lottery was pro-
posed for the purpose of finishing Bunk
er Hill monument, although the scheme
was not carried out. The venerable
Edward II. Payson of Salem, now for
sixty years cashier of one of the leading
banks there, sold tickets in former days,
and it was thought just as respectable to
sell lottery tickets as to sell bibles; in
fact the two articles of merchandise were
sometimes classed together in the same
advertisement. Thomas Cushing, Samuel
Hewes, John Scollay latter whom "Scol-
lay square" was named, Benz Aus
tin, Samuel Sewell, Samuel Phillips, Saw
age and Ezekiel Lewis, were as respect
able names as could be found in Boston,
and they were the managers appointed
to conduct the lottery for rebuilding
Faneuil hall after its destruction by fire
in 1851.
Ministers of the gospel certainly did
not offer much opposition to lotteries
even if they did not openly approve them.
The managers of the Leicester academy
lottery appealed to ''the reverend clergy
and all persons who had a taste for en-
couraging said seminary of learning to
aid them in their enterprise.
In 1880 prize of $1,000 in the state
lottery was drawn by upward of dozen
poor widows belonging to Marblehead,"
and thereupon some local poet wrote a
score or more of pious ''lines," which
were printed in the Columbian Sentinel.
In 1903 there was ''real and truly for
tunate lottery office" at No. 1 Summer
street, Boston, and as an additional in
ducement to purchase tickets the adver
tisement says:
'Prize tickets and Detroit bank bills
taken in payment
The days of the spinning wheel in New
England extend from the first settlement
of the country down to the time within
the memory of men now living, and
SPINNING bees" held their own as we'll as
''quiIting bees" The Columbian Cent?
mel, of June Z, 1871, announces the salts
factory result Of a spinning bee at the
house of Rev. Dana, of Ipswich, where
"a numerous band Of ladies in harmoni-
Gus concert have again laid their hands
to the spindle and held the distaff,' and
presented the fruit of their generous toll,
l18 run of good yarn, viz: SO linen, 80
cotton, the materials, provisions, and a
handsome attendance, all furnished by
themselves"
"The Salem Mercury of April %, 1887,
records similar donation party at the
parsonage in Newburyport, when "the
fair laborers presented Mrs Murray with
cotton and linen warn of the best quality,
amounting to 236 skeins."
The habit of snuff taking was very
common in New England in those days
with both sexes, and nearly every gentle
man carried a snuff box in the pocket,
which, if he could afford it, was either
of gold or silver. Maccaboy, rappee and
Scotch snuff were among the articles
most frequently advertised in the news
papers.
There was great strictness as every
body knows, about the Sabbath obser-
vances in New England, and the little
book which now appears is by no means
the first bit entertainment that the pur-
itan law has furnished to the present
generation. The Sentinel for December,
1888, gives this account of Washin gton's
adventure with the tithingman:
"The president, on his return to New
York from his late tour through Connecti-
cut was obliged to ride few miles on
Sunday morning in order to gain the
town at which he had previously propos-
ed to have attended divine service. Be
fore he arrived however, he wBs met by
tithingman, who commanded him to
stop, demanded the occasion of his rid
ing, and it was not until the president
had Informed him of every circumstance
and promised to go no further than the
town intended that the tithingman would
permit him to proceed on with his jour
ney."
The following notice appeared in a
Salem paper of 1875:
U'Whereas, the sober and thoughtful
people of this town are much displeased
by the great Noisesand Disturbance made
in the Streets on Saturday and Sabbath
Day Evening: 1t is earnestly desired
that all Heads of families would keep
their Children and Servants at Home on
those evenings, and thereby greatly con-
tribute to the Quiet of the Town and
Peace of the Inhabitants
Not to be a meeting goer" in those
days was to range ones self with thieves
and robbers and other outlaws, even