The sun., 1886-10-14
SIXTY YEARS AGO.


How Our Grandfathers Lived and
Acted.
There is a great deal that is odd and
curious about a newspaper of fifty or
sixty years ago. Several old copies OF
The NeaO Hampshire Spectator. publish
ed at Newport, N. H., The Farmers
Adcocatc and Political Adventurer, also
of Newport. N. H., and The Vermont
Chronicle, of Windsor, VT, were left at
this office yesterday and were found to
contain many things of interest to the
readers of to-day.
Under the head of marriages" in
The Spectator of March 25, 1885. ap-
pears the following:
'ln Kingston, Mr.. Jacob Quimby to
Miss Dolly Pollard, after couriship of
twenty years"
What does the blushing young maid
en- of II or 18 summers who is Ito be
married this fall" think of courtship
of that length?
In the same number is printed q let
ter written by Gen. Andrew Jackson to
Samuel Swartwout. It is dated at
Washington City. Feb. %, 1925, and is
of a strong political cast. being reply
to Mr.. Clay, who had referred to Mr..
jackson as a military chieftain" in q
depreciatory way, as the latter was at
the time candidate for the United
States senate. Mr.. Jackson reviewed
his war record with considerable pride,
and closing the letter said: "Dema-
gogues, am persuaded, have in times
past done more injury to the cause of
freedom than ever did military chief
tain"
The returns of state election are
published, showing the election of Hea-
ley to congress. Several political tricks
of the campaign were shown up in the
editorial column in italics and small
caps.
A later copy of The Spectator, dated
Dec. 1880 shows change of owner
ship and size, and a great improve
ment in appearance. In this issue. in
the funny column, several of the latest
circus and minstral gags are ':now pub
lished for the first time"
In this copy of The Spectator ap-
peared an editorial of considerable
length commenting upon the continued
success of the democratic party in
Maine, and asserting positively that
Andrew jackson would be elected to
the presidency at the election socn to
take place. In rehearsing list of the
states that would certainly give their
electoral vote to jackson the name of
Missouri is prominent. In this issue of
the paper appears a poem credited to the
The albany argus; the paper now un-
der the management of Secretary Dan
Manning's son. <~i
The Spectator of March 10, 1882,
gives an account of the drowning of
three boys in the canal at Newport two
of them being brothers of MIR. H. P.
Mitchell, of this city.
Among the patent-medicine adver-
tisements are published remedies for
cholora, catarrh. cosumption, and other
standard disea ses. .-"7.
The Vermont Chronicle of April Is.
1881. publishes a number of commune
cations from which it appears that the
prohibition racket was being worked at
that time, and with every promise of
ultimate success. ~
In another part of the paper, under
the he ad of Summary" is the follow
ing clipping from The Baltimore Amer
ican on railroads." which would break
the heart of the railroad editor of To-
day.
"Tho experiment of the transporta-
ton of two hundred barrels of -four
with single horse was made on the
railroad on Saturday with the most tri-
umphant success. The flour was depos-
tied in train of eight cars, and made,
together with the cars and passengers
who rode on them. an entire load of
thirty tons-viz., two hundred barrels
flour, twenty tons. eight cars, eight
tons; passengers, two tons. The train
was drawn by one horse from Ellicott's s
Mill to the Relay House, six and half
miles, in forty-six minutes. The horse
was then changed, and the train having
again set out, reached the depot on
Pratt street in sixty-nine minutes-thus
accomplishing the thirteen miles in one
hour and fifty-tive minutes, or at the
rate of six and three fourths of mile
an hour"
This is probably the same horse-road
that was the beginning of what is now
the Baltimore and Ohio railroad, as it
was first operated as a horse-railroad
until Peter Cooper brought his engine
down to try it on the road, when they
commenced using steam. The size OF
the cars mentioned may be imagined
when it is remembered that the aver
age freight-car Of to-day weighs over
ten tons.
1ne FARMERS AdCocdte, published at
Newport, N. H., March Is. 1882, bears
aloft the banner of Henry Clay for
president and John Sergeant of Penn
sylvania for vice president. 1t gives q
long editorial denouncing the action of
Andrew Jackson and the supreme
court in regard to the treaties with the
Cherokee Indians in Georgia. and also
speaks of memorial from New York,
containing 1hiGty-seven yards of sigma
turcs'' an the same subject. The fol-
lowing clipping from The Pennsylvania
Wing illustrates the manner in which q
presidential campaign was conducted in
those days:
ANDREW Jackson!!! President u. S. !!
Edward L:vingstonl!l Secretary Of
State! Samuel Smith!!s Senator u. s. /!
All voted against an address Of thanks
to George .Washington!!! And all re-
fused to celebrate his birthday!!! But