The Traveler… the wanderer…

January 13, 2011 by · Leave a Comment 

Today’s journey has landed me in the Connecticut Mirror, dated January 14, 1811, with discussion on West-Florida and a bill before Congress pertaining to the welfare of seamen. The front page of the issue carries important documents between the United States and France, with a message to the House of Representatives signed in type: JAMES MADISON.

There is also an intriguing advertisement, “A Female Wanderer” (see below), which is of a young lady who came into a village about three months prior and was “of mental derangement”. She since has recalled her name (Mary Stevens) and those of her family and past information… but could not recall how she arrived at the village. This ad was being published in hopes “that her friends will lose no time in relieving those individuals, who are protecting and supporting her.”

~ The Traveler

Recommended reading…

June 26, 2010 by · Leave a Comment 

Jim Wheeler, one of our “rare newspaper” friends, recently sent us an e-mail with the following recommendation for our summer reading list:

The Constitutional Convention: A Narrative History from the Notes of James Madison, by Edward J. Larson & Michael P. Winship, ISBN 0-8129-7517

This book essentially condenses and annotates Madison’s notes taken throughout the Convention so that the language and the important concepts that were discussed can be understood today.  The book includes a list of those attending the convention and their respective states. When you keep a copy of this list handy while reading the notes, you can get a clear picture of the regional motives behind the discussion as the constitution was developed. This book, in conjunction with The Founding Brothers, John Ellis, were both extremely helpful in developing a working understanding of what I consider to be one of the most interesting 10 to 20 year time period in US history.

I thought that in addition to all of your other reading, these two items may be interesting and helpful.

Thanks for your suggestions Jim.  To the readers of this post:  “If you have a chance to read either of these (or have already done so), the community would love to hear your reactions as well.