Cook's Recipes: A Backward Glance (3)

Topic: Lobster Newburg, Boiled Huckleberry Pudding and Neapolitan Salad (1898)

Lobster Newburg

Plunge a two pound live lobster in a kettle of boiling water, add one tablespoonful salt, boil thirty-five minutes, remove and when cold extract all the meat from the shell, being careful to remove the vein from the tail and the lady from the head, cut the meat into inch sized pieces, place a saucepan with one ounce butter over the fire, add the lobster meat, season with half teaspoonful salt, a pinch of red pepper, two tablespoonfuls fine sliced truffles, stir gently and cook three minutes, then add four tablespoonfuls Madeira or sherry wine, cook six minutes, mix the yolks of two eggs with half cupful cream and add to the lobster, stirring a few minutes, not letting it boil again. Then serve.

Boiled Huckleberry Pudding

Sift two cups flour with one and a half teaspoonfuls baking powder, chop fine four ounces suet, mix suet and flour together, add half teaspoonful salt; add two tablespoonfuls sugar, mix two eggs with one cup milk, add it to the flour and mix all into a batter; dust two cups huckleberries with flour, add them to the batter, mix, and butter a pudding form: dust with bread crumbs, put in the pudding mixture, cover and boil two hours: serve with hard sauce or lemon sauce.

Neapolitan Salad

Put the yolks of two eggs in a bowl, add half teaspoonful salt, stir until the yolks thicken, then add slowly, drop by drop, three-quarters of a cup of salad oil, while stirring continually: as it thickens add a little vinegar, one teaspoonful in all; then add one tablespoonful very finely chopped white onion, one tablespoonful fine chopped capers, one tablespoonful tarragon vinegar, half teaspoonful English mustard, one-quarter teaspoonful white pepper and last one cupful whipped cream. Put half pint fine cut pickled beets in a salad bowl, cover them with the sauce, then put in half pint fine cut cold boiled potatoes; cover them also with the sauce; next add two fine cut hard boiled eggs and half cupful fine cut pickles; pour over some sauce; add half pint fine shredded cabbage; pour over the remaining sauce and garnish wish a border of finely shredded cabbage, hard boiled eggs, a little fine chopped pickles, beets and a few capers.

Gesine Lemoke

Source: The Brooklyn Daily Eagle March 13, 1898 Page: 20

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Kitchen Talk (1)

Advice: #1 Miscellaneous (1909)

Kitchen Economy

Cereals that have been left over from a breakfast need not be wasted.

They are excellent if fried like mush and served the next morning with syrup or honey.

Strain clear soup or consomme through a folded towel laid on a colander. Care should be taken not to squeeze it, for some of the small particles of egg used in clearing will be pushed through. Fresh fish, to be kept well over night, should be salted and laid on an earthen vessel, not placed on a board or shelf. When the fish is frying it is undesirable to cover the pan: this makes the flesh soft instead of firm but flakey. (1)

For the Luncheon

There is nothing that makes a luncheon so attractive as pretty table linen, and the centerpiece is the most important of all. It should be approximately 24 inches in diameter, plate doilies ten inches and the smaller size eight inches. The smaller ones are needed for the glasses and the bread and butter plates. Heavy, firm linen, worked with mercerized cotton not too fine, should be used. Great care should be exercised in embroidering it and especially in regard to the padded, scalloped edge: if it wears rough and shows a fringe of threads the beauty of the piece is spoiled. (1)

For the Cook

Always put a cauliflower in cold water, so as to draw out any insects. If salt is added to the water, it kills the insects and they are left in the vegetable. When buying nutmegs choose small ones in preference to large ones, as they have a nicer flavor. To test the quality, prick them with a needle. If they are good, the oil will instantly spread round the puncture.

To clean a porcelain kettle, fill it half full with hot water and put in a tablespoonful of powdered borax: let it boil. If this does not remove all the stains, scour with a cloth rubbed with soap and borax.

When making puddings, always beat the yolks and whites of eggs separately, and use the whites as the last ingredient. When tin moulds are used for boiling or steaming puddings, remember to grease the cover of the mould as well as the mould itself with butter. In order to get the pudding to come easily from the mould, plunge the latter in cold water for a moment. (2)

Source: (1) The Morning Examiner, (Ogden, Utah) January 10, 1909.
(2) The San Francisco Call (San Francisco, California) May 29, 1910.

Contact: miriammedina@earthlink.net

Feminine Fancies (2)

Topic: Things of Interest to Women #2 (1868)

Fashionable Shopping

Stewart's

The up-town or retail store of A. T. Stewart &Co., is located on Broadway, between Ninth and Tenth streets. It extends back to Fourth Avenue, and covers the entire block, with the exception of the corner of Broadway and Ninth street, which is occupied by the famous picture dealers, Groupil & Co. This break in the building of Mr. Stewart, gives the whole edifice, as seen from Broadway, an awkward appearance. It is said that the great merchant is anxious to buy the corner, but will not pay the price asked, as he regards it as extortionate. The building is a handsome iron structure, in the style of arcade upon arcade, and is painted white, which causes some persons to call it a "marble palace." It contains in its various departments everything pertaining to the dry goods trade. It has also a department for ready-made clothing for women and children, and persons can here purchase at a moment's warning a complete outfit in any style their means will allow. The articles range from simplicity to magnificence in style and quality. The rooms are always full of purchasers. The city trade proper is immense, and the majority of the strangers coming to the city do their shopping here. No one cares to come to New York without seeing Stewart's, and all go away satisfied that the immense establishment is one of the sights of the metropolis.

Lord & Taylor's
The store of this well-known firm is located at the corner of Broadway and Grand streets. It is one of the most beautiful in the city, is built of white marble, and is handsomely ornamented. Its ample windows contain the finest display of goods to be seen in America. The interior, though not so large as Stewart's, is quite as handsome, and the various departments are managed with as much skill and system. The ready-made department is a feature worth examining. The establishment has not so large a trade as Stewart's, but rivals it in the excellence of its goods, and in the taste displayed in selecting them. Many persons prefer this store to any in the city.

Arnold & Constable's

Arnold &Constable are now located at the corner of Canal and Mercer streets, but will soon move into their elegant marble store, now in process of erection at the corner of Broadway and Nineteenth street. This is one of the favorite houses of New York. Its trade is large and fashionable, and it divides the honors of the city with those already mentioned. (13)

Sources Utilized to Document Information

Contact: miriammedina@earthlink.net

Feminine Fancies (1)

Topic: Things of Interest to Women #1 (1909)

Soft Hands in Winter

Proper care of the hands in the winter time is necessary to keep them in good condition. If the circulation is at all sluggish, the cold makes the blood settle in the fingers, so that they are abnormally red, or prevents it from reaching them. In which latter event they become hard and dry.

The first step is to prevent the hands from becoming chilled. The hands are not always kept warm by a muff__even when kid gloves are worn. The warmth of the fur and the lack of air on the hands induces perspiration and the kid becomes damp. When the gloves are removed from the hands they become cold, the moisture holding the cold. When put on again, they are chilled and the hands become chapped. Gloves should be thoroughly dry when put o n.

The wrinkled appearance of the hands after dish-washing or scrubbing can be alleviated by dipping them in vinegar. If strong alkall soaps are used in the housework the hands should be treated liberally with cold cream. Mustard water is said to remove all odors noticeable on the hands after dish-washing. Vegetable stains may be removed by holding the hands, partly closed, over a burning sulphur match.Pumace stone or lemon juice will remove the average stain. A teaspoonful of glycerine to every pint of water used in washing is beneficial.

Dress Hints

Among the latest wrinkles in fashion's realm may be found: Boots of suede to match the gown. Black patent leather slippers with pink, blue, lilac or white suede, a quarter of an inch deep outlining the top.

Automobile veils, dull grays, browns and yellows of chiffon cloth, with two inch borders, the latter spangled with gold or silver pallettes. Net veils, white mesh with black spots, gathered under the chin into black satin ruche, which holds it about the throat. Cloth of gold strips, embroidered in Persian colors, for trimmings. Neck chains, ropes of pearl, jade, coral and turquoise beads in graduated sizes, finished with loop tassels of tiny beads. Embroidered robes, panelled effects, finished with fringe. Handbags, tooled and embossed leather, with Egyptian colorings and designs, made into long, narrow bags on gold frames.

Source: The Morning Examiner (Ogden, Utah) January 10, 1909

Contact: miriammedina@earthlink.net

Cook's Recipes: A Backward Glance (2)

Topic: Creamed Chicken with Oysters, Chow-Chow and Chocolate Caramels 1897

Creamed Chicken With Oysters

Remove the meat from cold roasted chicken: cut it into one inch pieces: crack the bones and put them in a saucepan over the fire; add the gravy if there is any: barely cover with cold water: as soon as it boils add one onion and a small bouquet, cover and boil one hour: then strain the broth. Put one pint oysters, with their liquor, in a saucepan over the fire: let come to a boil, then instantly remove the oysters with a skimmer and set aside. Melt one large tablespoonful butter, add two tablespoonfuls fine chopped onions, one bay leaf, twelve whole peppers and half teaspoonful salt; stir and cook five minutes without stirring; add one tablespoonful flour; stir and cook two minutes; add one pint of the chicken broth mentioned above and cook five minutes; remove the bay leaf and continue the cooking five minutes; then add one and half pint of the chicken meat; cook five minutes: mix the yolk of two eggs with half cupful cream, add it to the chicken, add the oysters without their broth and one tablespoonful lemon juice; serve on a hot dish and garnish with six pieces of buttered toast. In place of chicken, cold roasted veal may be taken, and iin place of cream milk may be taken, and if there are no bones to make broth of, take boiling water and little beef extract. In place of toast the creamed chicken may be served in patle cases or with crescents of puff paste.

Chow-Chow

One pint fine cut celery, twenty small cucumbers, one quart small white onions, two large heads of cauliflower, six green peppers and two quarts green tomatoes. Wash and cut the vegetables into small pieces, place them in a vessel and to four quarts of water add half pound of salt. Pour the salted water over the vegetables and let stand over night. Next morning place the vegetables with the brine over the fire and let them come to a boil, then remove and drain the vegetables. Put three quarts vinegar with one pound vinegar over the fire, mix one cupful flour (or four ounces) half pound English mustard, half ounce of tumeric, with one pint of cold vinegar, stir this into the boiling vinegar, cook two minutes, then pour it bottling hot over the vegetables: when cold fill it into pint jars, close and keep in a cool place.

Chocolate Caramels

Half pound un-sweetened chocolate, melted in a pan over slow fire: two and a half pounds sugar, three-quarters pound glucose, one pint rich cream. Put the sugar, half of the cream and the glucose over the fire in a saucepan: stir and cook over slow fire, adding by degrees the remaining cream; cook to a hard ball; all the melted chocolate; again stir and cook to a hard ball: pour into buttered pan. When cold cut into squares; wrap in wax paper.

GESINE LEMCKE

Source: Brooklyn Daily Eagle September 26, 1897 Page: 17

Contact: miriammedina@earthlink.net

Cook 's Recipes: A Backward Glance (1)

Topic: Okra with Rice, Fried Eggplant and Kidney Soup 1912

Making Kidney Soup

Bring two quarts of stock or water to the boil, add two stalks of celery, two onions, one carrot, and one turnip cut into small pieces, add one blade of mace and cook very slowly for two and a half hours, when it must be strained. Wash and dry a fresh ox kidney. Remove all the fat from the middle and cut up the kidney into half-inch pieces. Put one heaping tablespoonful of butter into a saucepan: when brown fry the kidney in it. Stir in one tablespoonful of flour and mix well, add one teaspoonful of salt, half a teaspoonful of mustard, half a teaspoonful of pepper and one teaspoonful of sugar. Now add three cupfuls of water, stir over the fire till they boil. Cook very slowly for two hours, stirring frequently. Return the strained stock to the pot and add the kidney to it. Moisten two tablespoonfuls of cornstarch with three tablespoonfuls of cold water, pour it into the soup, stirring till it boils. When the soup is ready, if not brown enough, add a few drops of kitchen bouquet.

Fried Eggplant

Peel a good-sized eggplant: cut it into slices of a quarter of an inch. Dust with salt and pepper: dip in beaten egg: roll in bread crumbs and saute in very hot fat. When they are brown on one side, turn and brown on the other. Dry on brown paper. Eggplant may be fried in deep fat, providing the slices are cut thin, then into halves, and well covered with egg and bread crumbs.

Okra with Rice

Wash and cut one quart of okra into thin slices, peel five tomatoes and cut into halves, or use one can of tomatoes. Put the tomatoes with the okra into a saucepan, add two cupfuls of boiling water, one level teaspoonful of salt, seasoning of pepper, and one sliced onion; cover the saucepan and simmer very gently for one hour. Wash and boil one cupful of rice, then drain and dry it well. When ready to serve, arrange the rice in a pyramid on a hot platter, pour round the okra.

Credit: New York Times May 19, 1912

To be continued: Cook's Recipes: Backward Glances (2)

Contact: miriammedina@earthlink.net

Historical Facts on England & United States (4)

Topic: The years 1632-1635

1632: (N. America) The first of the line to come to the New World was William De Kay, a director of the Dutch East India and the Dutch West India Co, which established the colony of New Amsterdam. After several trips of inspection he settled at Nieuw Amsterdam about 1632 and became the first Fiscal of the colony. (35)

1632: (England) First coffee shop opens in London. (34)

1633: (N. America) On April 16, 1633 the ancestors of the Van Twiller family landed from the ship "De Zoutburg," the first vessel of war that ever entered this harbor of New York City. (35)

1633: (N. America) The REFORMED DUTCH CHURCH was the first organized in New-Amsterdam. This year, 1633, the first church edifice was erected on this island. It was built in what is called Broad-street. It was a small, frail, wooden building. The name of the first dominie is preserved, the Rev. EVERARDUS BOGARDUS. He came over from Holland with the celebrated WOUTER VAN TWILLER. The Dutch and the Huguenot, as well as the Pilgrims, brought the Church, the schoolmaster, and their Bibles with them. They erected a dwelling for the Rev. Mr. Bogardus to reside in. This was the first parsonage built on the island, if not in America. (35)

1634: (N. America) The far eastern portion of the present Borough of the Bronx skirting Long island sound and including Pelham Neck was settled by Anne Hutchinson and her husband, William, English stock, who came from Boston in 1634. Eight years later Throggs neck was settled by John Throckmorton and thirty-five families who came from new England to escape the cruelty of the Puritans. The north of what is now Westchester County was purchased directly from the Indians by Stephanus van Cortlandt, who thus became one of the first patroons of New Amsterdam. These were the chief pioneers of Westchester and their sturdy stock still hold sway in the territory acquired from the Indians. (35)

1634: (England) Covent Garden Market London, opened. (34)

1635: (England) Speed limit on hackney coaches in London: 3 m.p.h. (34)

1635: (England) First inland postal service in Britain between London and Edinburgh. (34)

1635: (N. America) In 1635 the first purchase of Long island land from the Indians was made, and the earliest deed of land to individuals was a patent from Governor Van Twiller to Andries Hedden and Wolphert Garritsen for a tract of land in Amersfort, or Flatlands. The deed bears date of June 6, 1636. (35)

1635: (N. America) In 1635, the governor erected a substantial fort, and in 1643 a house of worship was built in the south-east corner of the fort. In 1644, a city hall or stadt house was erected, which was on the corner of Pearl-street and Coenties Slip. In 1653, a wall of earth and stones was built from Hudson River to East River, designed as a defense against the Indians, immediately north of Wall-street, which from that circumstance received its name. The first public wharf was built in 1658, where Whitehall-street now is. (35)

Sources Utilized to Document Information

Contact: miriammedina@earthlink.net

Chit-Chat Over Coffee Swirls (28)

Topic: History, Is My Passion

History, in all its manifestations is my passion and I love nothing more than sharing what I learn with you.

As a native New Yawker from East Harlem, I have become totally fascinated by the early history of New York City. Many of us seem to focus sometimes only on the negative aspects of the Big Apple, that we tend to overlook its impressive greatness.

The history of New York City deserves to be studied or known as one of the most magnificent cities, for its wonderful steady and rapid growth, splendid material prosperity, having a population of such a cosmopolitan character, represented by the diversity of its ethnic groups and religions. New York City has lived through a Revolution and centuries of overwhelming critical issues, withstanding to a certain degree, its destructive effects.

New York City has unmatched theaters and museums and architecture. It is the financial center of the United States-- some say the world--, as well as the hub of American advertising, fashion, publishing, and radio Television broadcasting. New York is definitely not one of the natural wonders of the world: Millions visit the city each year to see what humans, not nature, can achieve.
New York City has always had its share of growing pains, complete with political, social and economic upheavals galore. What are some of the recurring issues? Crime; accommodating masses of impoverished immigrants and migrants; the deterioration of neighborhoods; intolerable housing and extortionate rents; high taxes; unemployment; political and racial riots; police brutality and political corruption: and that's just the beginning.

Yet, in spite of all the discomforts and miseries, miraculously, most of those who crowd the city streets choose to stay. New York, New York. It's a helluva town!

The history of the State of New York illustrates the history of the Nation in all of its stages. In some aspects the history of the State is coextensive with that of the Nation. The mingling of the peoples of the world; development from wilderness to metropolis; conflicts of politics; growth of corporations and the multiplication of new industries; achievement of cultural and self-expression. In addition we must also include, the internal improvements and revolutions in transportation and communication; the domination of finance and the spread of foreign commerce. In summary it is the Nation's greatest financial, mercantile and cultural center fully
justified by its title: The Empire State.

The United States as a whole is a place where every man may enjoy the fruits of his industry, every mind is free to publish his convictions, where invention quickens the freedom of competition, where the freedom of religion is sustained by the earnestness of its believers, where our wealth is giving us a first rank among nations, where masses of emigrants of different lineages perpetually crowd our shores seeking a better future, where asylum is granted to the virtuous, the unfortunate and the oppressed of every nation.

There is every reason to believe our great country will continue its gift to the world, and that the story of immigration is always one "to be continued."

Miriam Medina
Thehistorybox.com

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New York: The Empire State (4)

Topic: Albany Pre 1940 (continue) #4

Capture of Albany was the objective of the British campaign of 1777. Mrs. Schuyler rode north in her carriage nd burned the grain on the family estate at Old Saratoga (Schuylerville) to prevent its falling into the hands of the British. After the surrender of his army at Old Saratoga, Burgoyne became a prisoner-guest in her home in Albany, Lafayette spent part of 1778 in the city, preparing to lead an expedition against Canada. St. Peter's and the Dutch Reformed Church were turned into hospitals. Second to General P hilip Schuyler as the city's hero was Colonel Peter Gansevoort, who commanded Fort Stanwix (now Rome), the western outpost, and with the aid of General herkimer blocked St. Leger's advance down the Mohawk Valley. In 1779 local residents of the Second New York Continentals, under Colonel Goose Van Schaick, cut into the central wilderness to destroy the villages of the Onondaga. George Washington was made a freeman (i.e. voter) of the city during a visit in 1782; the following year, with Governor Clinton, he made a second visit.

The war at an end and the Indian treaties voided, Albany found itself at the crossroad of a free Nation in the making. Lands in the central and western parts of the State were opened to settlement; and the principal route from the new England States lay down the Hoosick Valley to the Hudson, south to Albany, and across the pine plains to Schenectady and the Mohawk Valley. The main stream of emigration poured westward through Albany, in 1795, five hundred vehicles a day pushed up State Street hill.

In 1785 Captain Stewart Dean, sailing from Albany to Canton, China, was the second Yankee skipper to reach that port. A stagecoach line between Albany and New York was chartered in 1785. From 1783 to 1790 Duncan Phyfe, who later won fame as a furniture craftsman in New York City, served his apprenticeship with a local coachmaker. Sailmakers and chandlers opened shops along the city's three quays. Clothing, hat, and glass factories were established. Within a few years glass manufacturers developed an annual business of $380,000 in black bottles for the 'rum-to-slaves-to-sugar-to-rum' trade of New England shippers. Lumberyards at the northern end of the city absorbed the output of Adirondack forests. After wandering from New York City to White Plains, Kingston, and Poughkeepsie, the State legislature moved to Albany in 1797 and rented a home for Governor John Jay. (10)

Sources Utilized to Document Information

Contact: miriammedina@earthlink.net

Jewish Knowledge (8)

Topic: Rabbis and Cantors Officiating in the U.S.

Aaron, Israel.

Rabbi of Temple Beth Zion, Buffalo, N. Y. Born November 20, 1859, at Lancaster, Pa. Son of Moses Aaron. Educated at public schools of Lancaster; University of Cincinnati (B. A.); and Hebrew Union College (Rabbi and D. D.). Was Rabbi at Fort Wayne, Ind. Baccalaureate Orator Hebrew Union College and also Buffalo High Schools, 1902. Member of Council of University Club, Buffalo. Publications: Translation of Delitzsch's "Colors in the Talmud; " of Stern's "Woman in the Talmud;" and of portions of Bachya's " Choboth Haleboboth." Articles in the Jewish and the secular press. Address: 748 Auburn Av., Buffalo, N. Y.

Abelson, Alter.

Rabbi of Congregation Bnai Sholaum, Brooklyn, N. Y. Holds Rabbinical diploma of the Jewish Theological Seminary of America.

Abramowitz, Jacob.

Cantor of Congregation Sons of Halberstamm, Philadelphia, Pa. Born March 15, 1867, in Russia. Son of Jacob Baruch Abramowitz. Educated at Odessa, Russia. Held positions in Chicago, 111., and Buffalo, N. Y. Address: 958 North Marshall, Philadelphia, Pa.

Ag-at, Isaiah.

Rabbi (since 1890) of Congregation Moses Monte- flore, Chicago, 1ll. Born May 25, 1859, in Candau, Courland, Russia. Son of Moses Agat. Educated at Talmudical Colleges of Sager, Government Kovno, and Bielostok, Government Minsk, Russia; under Dr. I. Hildesheimer, Berlin; at Gymnasium in Libau, Courland; and Northwestern University, Evanston, 1ll. (B. Ph., 1898). Government teacher in Riga, Russia, 1879-1884; and Rabbi in New Haven, Conn., 1886-1888, and in San Francisco, Cal., 1888-1890. Address: 554 North Robey, Chicago, 1ll.

Alexander, David.

Rabbi of Temple Israel, Paducah, Ky. Born December 7, 1878, at Brooklyn, N. Y. Son of Harris Alexander. B. H. L. and Rabbi, Hebrew Union College; B. A., University of Cincinnati. Address: 810 Jefferson, Paducah, Ky. (37)

Sources Utilized to Document Information

Contact: miriammedina@earthlink.net

Communication: Hey! What's Doing? (3)

Consumer credit was also making it easy for the American population to buy on time, even when they did not have the money. Newer products were continually being produced flooding the buyers market with enticing advertisements that awakened an irresistible urge of "Ooooooh... this I must have." So by the end of the 1920s "nearly half of the American population had purchased automobiles, radios, and other consumer goods such as refrigerators and vacuum cleaners.

In 1925, the Radio Corporation of America (RCA) released statistics indicating that of the 26,000,000 homes in the United States, 5,000,000, or 19.2 percent, had radio receivers, though the number of broadcast listeners was estimated at 20,000,000. In his Historical Dictionary of the 1920s (1988), James S. Olson notes that sales of radio went from $60 million in 1922 to $843 million in 1929. It is estimated that by 1929, approximately 35 to 40 percent of American families owned radios, and the number ran considerably higher, in some cases up to 75 percent, in both wealthy suburban and larger metropolitan areas." (36)

For more information about Early Radio Broadcasting, visit the Communications Page of thehistorybox.com.

The radio had its high priority in just about every household as a form of recreation from early morning until far into the night . Since then television, computers, the internet , cell-phones and pod-casting, have been playing an integral form of communication in our lives as well as revolutionizing the use of leisure time.

Sources Utilized to Document Information

So everybody, Hey, what's doing? :-)

Contact: miriammedina@earthlink.net

Communication: Hey! What's Doing? (2)

Then came the Radio, which was a new electrical communications concept. Radio broadcasting began to spring full-blown upon America during the Roaring Twenties.The radio and the automobile were one of the major consumer products of the 1920s. For many families it was a luxury which they simply felt they could not afford. Without the radio those who lived in the rural areas namely farmers were isolated from all communication from each other and from other parts of the country. As a result of the economical boom, higher wages were paid, profits made and the items that were considered luxuries before the war were able to be purchased. At the end of the day families and friends , would gather around the radio to listen to the nation's most popular nightly comedy radio show, "Amos and Andy." which first aired in 1926. Radio stations began mushrooming all over America, the programs being paid for from advertising.

Now with the purchase of a radio, farm families from even the remotest corners of the country were brought into immediate and daily contact with the rest of the nation. With just a twist of the dial, entertainment, sports, religion, latest news and music could be heard.

To be continued: Communication: Hey! What's Doing? (3)

Photo Credit: National Archives: One Hundred Years of Photography; Farm family listening to their radio, By George W. Ackerman, probably Ingham County, Michigan, August 15, 1930 National Archives and Records Administration, Records of the Extension Service (33-SC-14524c) [VENDOR # 172]

Miriam Medina (author of this article)

Communication: Hey! What's Doing? (1)

Everywhere you look, you will find people talking into a mobile device (aka cell phone ). Even in places where they are not allowed, the individual will always manage to find a way to use it.Cell phones have become an essential communications tool. It is utilized by all age ranges, ethnic backgrounds, genders , as well as intellectual and financial levels. For someone who is being abused and stalked, where in a moment of danger they may not be able to find a pay phone, the cell phone can save his or her life. There are new challenges as well as problems that are associated with this creative mobile device. The cell phone has a multi-purpose use. Not only has it become so important to our communication needs through speaking, text messaging, but it can also capture a picture of the moment , as well as games can be played on it.

There are times when it becomes so irritating and embarrassing to hear cell users conducting their loud, laughing and annoying conversations in public places. Who cares what they are having for dinner, what outfit they are going to wear, whether their boss is a pain in the b___or not, if they are having a bad hair day, or whether Sue is unfaithful to Joe, and is pregnant. It places those within listening reach in an awkward position. Cell phones are very distracting, especially when driving. It is the primary cause of accidents. I just can't imagine how people are able to type text messages while driving. Statistics say its like having a few drinks before getting behind the wheel. People rely so much on their cell phones that they forget all about the minutes and expenses that are associated with its use. Yikes! They hit the roof when they see how much they have to pay on their monthly bill. Oh well, the joy of small sacrifices. There are many that are completely addicted to cell phone use, even for 30 minutes of having to shut it off, is sheer torture, inducing enormous stress and anxiety. These individuals are constantly checking their phones for voice mails and text messages and are devastated if there aren't any.

So how did man communicate his thoughts with others during the earlier days? The cave dwellers would shout their warnings to all the tribe within earshot. Others would use either hand signs or devices such as a horn, bells, a signal fire, flag of cloth or a hollow tree drum. Evidence of communication would be seen through paintings of animals and animal hunts found on cave walls possibly serving as a hunting lesson for the younger members of the tribe . Symbols representing pictures of people, places, animals and things were also part of this history of human evidence. The oral tradition of storytelling was the most positive form of communication to be passed from one generation to the other. Naturally distortions and embellishments would be added along the way. Human carriers either by foot or by horse were used to convey long and complicated messages . Cultures of the past were preserved by scholars painsstakingly reproducing information by hand. Then came the introduction of the relatively slow speed hand-operated printing press, followed by the motor-driven presses which were more practical and common. As a result books, literature and newspapers became available to many more people, stimulating literacy. As a result of the international commerce and domestic industrial and agricultural expansion, the need for improvement in mass communications for news and entertainment was in great demand. In the nineteenth century, the" first electrical communication devices (the telegraph and then the telephone) made great strides in technology with regard to communications covering distance and speed. In the United States, the first practical telegraph was invented by Samuel Finley Breese Morse. This form of communication was so efficient and successful that there was no longer a need for the pony express. The economic development of the United States benefited from the intertwining of the telegraph and the railroads.

On February 14, 1876, Alexander Graham Bell, a successful teacher of the deaf, filed for a patent for the telephone. This invention was demonstrated at the Philadelphia Centennial Exhibition of 1876, attracting considerable attention.

To be continued: Communication: Hey! What's Doing? (2)

Miriam Medina (author of this article) miriam@thehistorybox.com

Table Of Contents : Mimi Speaks Blog

There are many people who love to read blogs, but just don't have the time to waste, or are in the mood to go through it's entire contents trying to find something that may be of interest to them. Usually when people approach a blog, they like to go quickly from one thing to the next. As for actually reading the text, there is little evidence of that unless the subject matter should catch their eye, then it becomes worthwhile.

Since my blog was started in 2007, there have been postings of 201 tid-bits of information, which talk about history, life situations, goals and success. So my dear reader, for your benefit, I am making every attempt to improve the navigation to this treasure trove of information as quickly as possible. For this purpose I have created a table of contents divided by categories, for easy accessing. However if there is something that may catch your eye, I suggest you find yourself a comfortable chair, and while you're at it, grab a steaming hot cup of coffee and a bagel with cream cheese and you'll be all set to settle down for a while. So happy reading.

MAIN DIRECTORY

Table of Contents (2)

(A. ) Getting To Know Mimi (B.) N.Y.C. History (C.) East Harlem
(D.) Spanish Harlem (E.) Black Harlem (F.) New York State (G.) Urban/Suburban Living Issues

Table of Contents (3)
(H.) Chit-Chat Over Coffee Swirls

Table of Contents (4)
(I.) Jewish Knowledge (J.) Self-Improvement (K.) Historical Facts On England & United States

Table of Contents (5)
(L.) Miscellaneous (M.) Timetables (N.) Ethnic Groups (O.) Legal Talk
(P.) Entertainment: Backward Glances (Q.) Immigration

Table of Contents (6)
(R.) Women__Bio Sketches, Feminine Fancies, Recipes, Kitchen Talk.
(S.) Worship

Table of Contents (7)
(T.) A Little Taste of History, (U.) U.S. History-Transportation, (V) U.S. History-Panics, Economic Depressions

Table of Contents (8)
(W) ¿Habla Español?

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New York: The Empire State (3)

Topic: Albany Pre: 1940 (continue) #3

The Iroquois resented this trade with their commercial rivals, and their allegiance to the English cause was further weakened by French military successes. In 1754 the British Lords of Trade finally awoke to the danger and called a congress of all the colonies at Albany to make a treaty with the Indians and to consider colonial defense. The Indians were slow in arriving; their temper was expressed by King Hendrick, chief of the Mohawk, when he thundered, 'Look at the French; they are men, they are fortifying everywhere but, we are ashamed to say it, you are all like women....' Benjamin Franklin's plan of union was adopted by the congress but was rejected by the colonies because it unduly limited their independence and by Britain because it impaired the royal prerogative.

During the French and Indian War, Albany served as point of departure for Colonial and British forces under William Johnson, Abercrombie, Bradstreet, and Lord Amherst on their way north and west against the French. After the Anglo-French treaty of 1763 the city was ready for peace, but farmers were disgruntled by taxes, merchants and lawyers were gauging anew the possibilities of Franklin's 1754 proposal, and young men back from the wars were restive under British rule. The break cme with Stamp Act riots, the organization of the Sons of Liberty, and the burning of the city mail sleigh. Philip Schuyler proposed a censure of George III in the 1775 session of the Provincial Assembly, which carried 7 to 2 after the Loyalists had left the chamber.

Shortly before the Battle of Lexington a Committee of Safety was organized, which voted sums of money to Boston, patrolled the streets with its own militia, supervised defense operations, and erected gallows (near the present site of the State Capitol) to hang Tories who had tried to escape jail. (10)

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Historical Facts on England & United States (3)

Topic: The years 1626-1630

1626 (N. America) Peter Minuit buys Manhattan Island from chiefs of the Canarsie tribe for 60 guilders ($24) worth of gadgets and trinkets. Dutch settlers called their settlement New Amsterdam. (35)

1626 (N. America) New Amsterdam: Under Minuet in 1626, the Provincial Government was organized. It was liberal and republican. No one was ostracized in consequence of his religious belief. Hither came the persecuted of all crimes. The Quakers fled from Massachusetts and Puritan bigotry to find a happy home among the Dutch. The liberal spirit manifested and the wise rules and regulations adopted by the early settlers for the government of the New Netherlands were the germ from which the immortal Jefferson caught his idea and received the inspiration to draw up and present to a waiting people the grandest document ever penned y human hand, the glorious Declaration of Independence. (35)

1628 (N. America) New Amsterdam: The first minister arrived, Jonas Michaelius from Dieppe. Pierre Minnet arrived three years before, also a Huguenot from Wesel, in the Duchy of Cleves, on the Rhine. The two men coming from the same general background, exercised fine teamwork. A trading post was now to become an agricultural settlement. Manhattan island was purchased from the Indians for 24 dollars. Church services were held in a horse mill on Williams Street near Pearl. The millstones are still in the Collegiate Church of St. Nicholas, the mother church of old New York. Michaelius preached long sermons in Dutch, as difficult to digest as Krol's crullers. The first erected church building was at 39 Pearl Street, built of lumber, it was a barn-like structure. (35)

1629 (N.America) New Amsterdam: The first governor of this colony was Wouter Van Twiller, who entered on the duties of his office in June, 1629, and continued in office nine years. (35)

1629 (N.America) Colony of Massachusetts founded. (34)

1629 (England) Charles I dissolves Parliament (Mar.); it does not meet again till Apr. 1640. (34)

1629 (England) Royal charter granted to Guild of Spectacle Makers, London. (34)

1630 (England) John Winthrop. Eng. Puritan leader (1587-1649), sails with Plymouth Company's expedition (Apr.) arrives in Massachusetts with 1,000 settlers; founds Boston (Sept.) becomes first governor of the state: 16,000 more settlers follow (-1642). (34)

1630 (N.America) Staten Island was the favorite spot of the primitive Dutch settlers. It was first bought from the Indians for Micheal Pauw, a deed on record dated August 10, 1630. (35)

Sources Utilized to Document Information

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Jewish Knowledge (7)

Topic: Jewish Tid-Bits Brooklyn #2

According t o legend, Jews from Boro Hall and Williamsburg used to row across the river to New York on Friday afternoon for worship services and return on Sunday. Both groups seem to have tired of the weekend journey in the 1840's, for that is when they began to hold their own services in private homes. Another widely recorded tradition was that, until a minyan of Brooklyn residents could be mustered, arrangements were made for several worshippers to come over from Manhattan every weekend.

In any case, not until the 1850s was there any public worship by Jews anywhere in Brooklyn. In 1851, Kahal Kodesh Beth Elohim, the first Jewish congregation in Brooklyn and as a matter of fact, in all of Long island, was organized by a number of men led by Louis Reinhardt, Elias Adler, Isaac Mayer, Moses Kessel and Isaac Eiseman. The congregation's first reader and cantor was David Barnard, who is listed in Williamsburg's 1849 directory as "Hebrew teacher" and also as "fancy grocer." A rented hall on North 2nd street and what is now Marcy Ave. was Beth Elohim's first house of worship after the congregation outgrew Moses Beth Elohim's first synagogue__the Keap Street Building erected.

This was Brooklyn's second synagogue. The first was dedicated in 1862 at the corner of Boerum Place and State Street by Congregation Beth Israel, which had been formed by the Boro Hall group in 1854 under the leadership of Solomon Furth, Morris Ehrlich, Morris Hess and Marks Marks.

These two pioneer congregations fathered most of the other congregations founded in Brooklyn before the 1880s. In 1921, Williamsburg's Beth Elohim was consolidated with Temple Israel, established in 1869, to form Union Temple. Secessionists from Beth Israel created another congregation, called Beth Elohim, in 1861. Popularly known today as the Garfield Place Temple, this was Brooklyn's first Reform congregation. Other offshoots of Beth Israel were Congregation Ahavath Achim, founded in 1868, and Beth Jacob, organized in Williamsburg in 1867 and later merged with Anshe Sholom. (10)

Sources Utilized to Document Information

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New York: The Empire State (2)

Topic: Albany Pre: 1940 (continue) #2

When the English threatened New Amsterdam (now New York City) in August-September 1664, Stuyvesant called on Rensselaerswyck for aid, but was refused. Under the new English rule the Van Rensselaers still claimed Beverwyck as part of their manor, but relinquished their claim to the village in 1685. Governor Dongan converted their patroonship into an English manor.

The British permitted the Dutch to retain their own language, customs, religion, local courts, and institutions, and admitted them to the governor's council. Their leaders, represented by such names as Van Rensselaer, Schuyler, Hendrick, and Winne, were joined by British tradesmen and officials, led by the Clintons, Yateses, Livingstons, and other families prominent in the Nation's history. In 1686 Albany, chief fur trading center of the English Colonies, was given a charter by Governor Dongan. For a quitrent of one beaver skin a year the king granted the city control of the fur trade to 'the eastward, northward, and westward as far as His Majesty's dominion may extend.'

The fur trade made Albany traders wealthy and intensified friction with the French. Control by the English of the interior and of the fur trade of the Great Lakes area depended on their alliance with the Iroquois and the defense of the Colonial frontier, of which Albany was the key. In 1690 the Massachusetts Council, concerned for the safety of Albany after the Schenectady massacre, wrote: "Albany is the dam, which should it through neglect be broken down by the weight of the Enemy, we dread to think of the Inundation of Calamities that would quickly follow there-upon.'

The four Colonial wars kept the city in a state of anxiety from 1689 to 1763. During the early conflicts, when it bore the brunt of the defense, Albany protested the building of French forts to the west as a potential source of interference with the fur trade. In 1701, during a temporary cessation of hostilities, a substantial trade in Indian goods grew up between Albany and Montreal. To protect the trade, Albany agreed to remain neutral in case of another war, and the French agreed that Albany should not be attacked. Indians under French domination purchased arms in Albany to use against the New England colonies. (10)

Sources Utilized to Document Information

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New York : The Empire State (1)

Topic: Albany Pre: 1940 #1

Albany's population is a composite of Dutch, English, Scots, Irish, and Germans, with more recent immigrant elements including italians and Germans, Poles, and Russians. On September 19, 1609, Henry Hudson anchored the Half Moon in the shallows off the site of the present city, the farthest point north the ship reached and spent several days making friends with the Indians. In 1613 two vessels commanded by Captain Adrian Block and Hendrick Christiansen spent the winter near the head of navigation. In 1614, on Castle Island (Van Rensselaer island), now part of the Port of Albany, Christiansen built Fort Nassau, which was used as a trading post for four years; and sporadic trade was thereafter continued by individual merchants. The friendly relations maintained with the Indians during this early period had a lasting influence on Albany's Colonial history.

The first permanent settlers, who came in 1624, were 18 families, mostly Walloons from Holland. They built a second fort on the site of the present river steamer landing and called it Fort Orange in honor of the ruling house of Holland.

In 1630 Kiliaen Van Rensselaer, with two partners, purchased from the Indians land on both sides of the Hudson River with Fort orange the approximate center, and established the patroonship of Rensselaerswyck. The patroon, who never came to the Colony, sent Dutch, Norwegians, Danes, Germans and Scots to settle on the land; he built sawmills, grist-mills, homes, and barns for them; supplied foodstuffs and cattle; set up laws regulating trade, hunting, and fishing; and collected rentals.

Father Isaac Jogues, the Jesuit martyr, described the settlement in 1643 as 'composed of about one hundred persons who reside in some twenty-five or thirty houses built along the river as each found most convenient...All their houses are of boards and thatched, with no mason work except the chimneys.'

Friction developed early between the patroonship and the Dutch West India Company, each claiming jurisdiction over the land on which Fort India Company, each claiming jurisdiction over the land on which Fort orange was built. In 1652, Peter Stuyvesant, sent out by the West India Company as direcgtor general of New Netherland, set up a court and laid out space around Fort orange for a new village called Beverwyck (Dutch, town of the beaver), and forbade the patroon to erect buildings near the fort. The Van Rensselaer agent tore down the proclamation and posted another maintaining the rights of the patroon. (10)

Sources Utilized to Document Information

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Jewish Knowledge (6)

Topic: Jewish Tid-Bits-Brooklyn #1

The Jewish community of New York City was almost 180 years old when permanent Jewish settlement began in Brooklyn in the 1830s. There is evidence, however, that the history of Brooklyn Jewry goes back to the 17th century.

In the 1660s and 1670s, Asser Levy owned considerable property in the old Dutch settlement of Breucklen, as Brooklyn used to be called. Then, on August 15, 1683, the colonial courthouse at Flatbush recorded that "The worthy Abraham Franckfoort, a Jew, residing in N. Jorck (New York) and Peter Stryker, residing in Vlackebos (Flatbush)" had entered into a business arrangement. The original record is in the archives of Kings County (Brooklyn). Town records of New Lots, Gravesend, New Utrecht, Williamsburg and other villages that later became part of Brooklyn indicate that a number of Jews were property-owners there in the first decades of the eighteenth century. The Jacob Franks family owned a summer home in Flatbush.

Several Jews were with the American forces during the Battle of Long Island, which was fought on Brooklyn soil. Samuel Noah, a relative of Mordecai M. Noah and a graduate of the 1807 class at West Point, helped build the defenses of Brooklyn against an anticipated British attack during the War of 1812.

The first permanent Jewish settlers in Brooklyn are believed to have been Jewish businessmen, of Bavarian and Alsatian origina, who established themselves around lower Fulton Street in what is now the Boro Hall section. They arrived about 1834, the year Brooklyn received its municipal charter. The 1838 directory listed a Benjamin Levy as owner of a variety store; Daniel Levy, cartman; another Benjamin Levy, auctioneer, and a Moses family all with Fulton Street addresses.

Williamsburg, an independent town north of Brooklyn, developed a separate Jewish community. The earliest known Jewish resident was Adolph Baker, who settled in Williamsburg in 1837. Other Jews began crossing the East River in the 1840s and settling around Lower Grand Street. In 1855, Williamsburg and Brooklyn were amalgamated. (28)

Sources Utilized to Document Information

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A Little Taste Of History (29)

Topic: New York City's Theatres Pre: 1911 #2

The Brighton Theatre

The Brighton theatre at 1239 Broadway opened with a variety show on August 26, 1878; and after many changes of names, became the Bijou Theatre, December 1, 1883.

The Manhattan (or Eagle) Theatre

The Manhattan (or Eagle) Theatre stood on the west side of Broadway between Thirty-second and Thirty-third streets. It was opened with a variety show October 18, 1875; later, it became the Standard Theatre, becoming the Manhattan again August 30, 1897. It was the first house in New York to present Gilbert and Sullivan's H.M.S. Pinafore which became so popular that it was played at over half a dozen theatres at the same time; that was before the days of international copyright. Towards the end of its career, it was about the only theatre of prominence the city outside of the theatrical trust. At the last it became a moving-picture house, and was torn down in 1909 to make way for Gimbel Brothers' big department store.

The Herald Square Theatre

At the northwest corner of Thirty-fifth Street a building called the Coliseum was opened with a panorama in 1873 and was run until the following year, when it was taken down and removed to Philadelphia during the Centennial Exposition. October 11, 1876, the New York Aquarium took its place with a theatre, and later, a circus attached. The place was very popular until 1883, when it was torn down and the New Park Theatre was erected, opening on October fifteenth. Harrigan took possession and opened on August 31, 1885, after the destruction of his New Theatre Comique. It was called Harrigan's Theatre and was successful, but the rent ate up the profits and Harrigan was obliged to give it up. It then became the Herald Square Theatre on September 17, 1895, and has retained that name until the present.

The Knickerbocker

After the destruction of his Park Theatre at Twenty-second Street, Henry E. Abbey had no house that he could call his own until 1893, when he opened the theatre at the northeast corner of Thirty-eighth Street, where he introduced Irving, Bernhardt, and other foreign actors of high rank, opening with the first named on November 8, 1893. On September 14, 1897, the house was opened as the Knickerbocker, a name that it still retains.

Source: Thehistorybox.com

Contact: miriammedina@earthlink.net

Historical Facts on England & United States (2)

Topic: The years 1619-1625

1619: (N. America) First Negro Slaves in North America arrive in Virginia.

1619: (England) William Harvey announces at St. Bartholomew's Hospital, London, his discovery of the circulation of the blood.

1619: (N. America) First representative colonial assembly in America held at Jamestown, Va., under Governor Sir George Yeardley.

1620: (England) Pilgrim Fathers, leaving Plymouth, England, in "Mayflower" for N. America, and at New Plymouth, Mass., to found Plymouth Colony; Miles Standish is their most experienced leader.

1620: (England) Oliver Cromwell denounced because he participates in the "disreputable game of cricket."

1621: (N. America) Sir Francis Wyatt arrives as new governor in Virginia with new regulations for the colony (council of state, elected assembly).

1621: (N. America) Dutch West India Company chartered: later acquired N.American coast from Chesapeake Bay to Newfoundland.

1622: (N. America) Sir Ferdinando Gorges (1566-1647), Eng. naval commander, and John Mason (1586-1637) obtain grant of lands in Maine, N. America.

1622: (N. America) William Bradford (1589-1657) governor of Plymouth Colony thirty years.

1622: (England) James I dissolves English Parliament.

1622. (England) Weekeley Newes issued in London for first time on May 23.

1623: (England) Patents law in England, to protect inventors.

1623: (N. America) First Eng. settlement in New Hampshire, by David Thomas at Little Harbor, near Rye.

1624: (England) England declares war on Spain.

1624: (England) James I's last Parliament; monopolies declared illegal.

1624: (England) Lionel Cranfield, Lord Treasurer of England, impeached for bribery and neglect of duty, is suspended from office.

1624: (N. America) Virginia becomes crown colony; Virginia Company dissolved; Sir Francis Wyatt made governor again.

1624: (N.America) Dutch settle in New Amsterdam.

1625: (England) James I of England (James VI of Scotland) d.; succeeded by Charles I of England and Scotland (-1649).

1625: (England) First Parliament of Charles I meets; adjourned to Oxford, because of plague in London.

1625. (England) Colonial Office established in London.

1625. (England) First fire engines in England. Hackney coaches appear in streets of London. Tobacco tax and tobacco monopoly in England. (34)

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Historical Facts on England & United States (1)

Topic: The years 1612-1618

1612: (N. America) Dutch use Manhattan as fur-trading center for first time.

1612: (N. America) Tobacco planted in Virginia.

1613: (England) Thomas Bodley, Engl. diplomat and scholar, d. (b. 1545), leaving bulk of his fortune to Bodleian Library, Oxford.

1613: (England) Hugh Myddleton constructs "New River" cut, to bring water to London.

1614: (N. America) Adriaen Block explores Long island Sound.

1614: (England) James I's second Parliament- "The Addled Parliament"- meets and refuses to discuss finance; dissolved.

1614: (N. America) Cornelius Jacobsen Mey explores the Lower Delaware.

1614: (England) Founders' Company, London, Incorporated.

1614: (England) Development of glass industry in England.

1616: (England) Sir Walter Raleigh released from Tower to lead expedition to Guiana in search of El Dorado.

1617: (England) Sir Walter Raleigh leaves England on expedition to Guiana and reaches
mouth of Orinoco River.

1618: (England) Sir Walter Raleigh returns to England and is executed.

1618: (England) Royal College of Physicians, London, issues "Pharmacopoeia Londinensis." (34)

Sources Utilized to Document Information

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Legal Talk (6)

Topic: Legal Responses to Questions Of General Public Interest in the Year 1898 (2)

(1) "J.R.H." makes the following statement: "In 1896 I rented a house for a certain sum per month from May to May. In 1897 I advanced the rent, on account of improvements made. My tenant undertook to build, expecting to have his house ready by April 1, but failed. I tried to rent, expecting to have the house vacant by May 1. On April 28, I sent a note, of which I hold a copy, notifying him that we requested possession by May 1, and a failure on his part to comply would be regarded by me as leased for another year. His house is not yet ready. On May 3 I sent for rent, which was promptly paid. Is the house mine or my tenant's for one more year from May 1?"

Payment under the new contract as set forth in your note would bind both parties for the year. A lease is good even though not signed, and not in formal terms, if the minds of the parties have met.

(2) "G.I.M." asks: "When does a debt become outlawed? How long after contraction may a suit be brought to collect? I have a check signed by a person who had an account in bank. Some days passed between the date of the check and the time I used it. In the meantime, the party closed his account in the bank. Can I collect the amount of the check?"

The statute runs for different as to different classes of debts. The check can be used as an evidence of the indebtedness, but the original claim must be sued upon, the check not being a negotiable instrument.

(3) "J.M.J." asks as follows: "A leases a store to B and C. B and C are brothers. B's name only appears in the lease. After a time B sells his interest to C. A accepts rents from C and gives him a receipt. When C defaults in rent, can A hold B for the rent?"

If the landlord knew of the transfer, and then accepted rent from C and receipted to C individually, he thereby accepted C as the sole tenant, and cannot have recourse to B on C's failure to pay.

Source: Thehistorybox.com

Contact: miriammedina@earthlink.net

Legal Talk (5)

Topic: Legal Responses to Questions Of General Public Interest in the Year 1898 (1)

Is a bicycle a vehicle in contemplation of law?

It depends upon the purpose for which the bicycle is being considered. Under a tax law imposing a rate of duty upon vehicles a bicycle has been held to be a vehicle, but under the turnpike laws it is not a vehicle because propelled by human agency. Probably no article that has ever been so generally used as a motive power or means of transportation has ever figured in the courts less than the bicycle. it has been held under a statute against fast riding that damages can be collected form bicycle riders who ride more rapidly than the law allows, and the laws of the road compelling drivers to keep to the right apply to bicycles without any special statutes. With these exceptions the laws relating to bicycles are rather vague and uncertain. The Supreme Court of Michigan held in the recent case of Murfin vs. the Detroit and Erie Plank Road Company that a statute providing that toll road companies may exact toll from "persons traveling on their road and for any vehicle, sled, sleigh or carriage drawn by one or two animals" does not authorize such company to charge toll for use of its road by persons riding bicycles. The court said: "There is nothing in this act that gives the right to charge toll against pedestrians, and we have never heard it claimed that such charges were made. Nor have we known of toll being charged for wheelbarrows or hand sleds or baby carriages propelled by human agency, though a good road is as essential to these as to bicycles."

"T.H.A."__Where a lease is silent as to improvements to be made by a landlord during a tenancy he is bound to keep the place in habitable repair and you will have a perfect right to replace dangerous steps with safe ones in case the landlord after reasonable notice refuses to do so, and deduct the cost of the same from the amount due from you under your lease.

"W.P.K." had what he believed to be a valid claim to certain real estate. He placed his claim in the hands of an attorney who agreed to push it through the courts without any fee in case he was unsuccessful and for one-half the land in case he was successful. Through the negligence of the attorney the case was not filed until the statute of limitations had barred the claim. The correspondent asks if he has a cause of action against the attorney upon the contract, it being in writing. As far as the contract is concerned, it is void. An agreement by an attorney at law to prosecute at his own expense a suit to recover land in which he personally has and claims no title or interest, in consideration of receiving a certain portion of what he may recover, is contrary to public policy, unlawful and void. If the attorney had brought the suit and won the case he could not have recovered any interest in the land. Independently of the contract, however, the correspondent can sue the attorney for negligence in failing to file the suit or return the papers, this being a matter of tort and not of contract.

"Subscriber," says: "I am a widow with two children. I own my own home, having bought and paid for it with money that was received from my husband's life insurance. Can I keep complete control of my property while I live and will it to my children (so they alone will have it after my death) if I marry again? Will my second husband have any control over my property, and if so, what must I do to settle my property on myself alone, so I alone will have control over it."

An ante-nuptial contract setting forth the property to be placed upon record is the best course to pursue.

Source: Thehistorybox.com

Contact: miriammedina@earthlink.net

Legal Talk (4)

Topic: Understanding Legal Terms Pre: 1901 #4

PLEA

In common-law pleading, the defendant's answer or defense, consisting either of a denial of the facts alleged in the declaration, or a confession that they are true and a statement of new facts by which their legal effect is avoided, or of facts tending to defeat the action itself. A PLEA is distinguished from a demurrer in that the latter admits the facts alleged in the declaration, but denies their sufficiency in law to constitute a cause of action; whereas a plea raises only a question of fact in the manner indicated in the above definition.

Pleas are usually classed as 'peremptory' and 'dilatory,' according to their purposes and nature. A peremptory plea is one which brings in issue the merits of the controversy, either by denying absolutely the facts alleged in the declaration, when it is known as a 'plea in bar,' or by confessing that the facts alleged by the plaintiff are true, and setting forth new facts, which, if true, will defeat the alleged cause of action. The latter is known as a plea in confession and avoidance. A dilatory plea is one which attacks the action itself because of some defect in pleading or practice, and therefore does not involve the merits.

In criminal cases only pleas of 'guilty' or 'not guilty' are allowed. In equity pleading a special answer of the defendant attacking the particular action is also called a plea. It differs from a demurrer in equity in that it attacks something not apparent on the face of the
bill, and it does not put in issue the merits of the action.

In England, where common-law pleading has been abolished, the Judicature Acts provide that the defendant's answer shall be known as the 'statement of defense,' and this is analogous to a plea. The term 'Pleas of the Crown' was formerly used to designate criminal prosecutions in the name of the sovereign. In the United States wherever code pleading prevails the term plea is no
longer employed, a defense of fact being presented by an answer. However, the divisions of pleas are often referred to by courts and attorneys as descriptive of the nature of a defense set, forth by an answer. See PLEADING.

PLAINTIFF

Under the common law system of pleading and modern codes, a person who institutes or maintains a civil action or proceeding against another, who is called the defendant. Where a proceeding is commenced by petition, as in a surrogate's court, the moving party is usually called the 'petitioner.' In many jurisdictions a party commencing an action in equity is called the complainant, but under most systems of reformed procedure no distinction of this sort is made. A plaintiff may be one who prosecutes an action on his own behalf, or who does so as a representative for the benefit of another, in which case he adds to his name a description of
his official or representative capacity, as "A, guardian ad litem of B, an infant, etc."

A person who brings an action in a representative capacity is sometimes called a plaintiff ad litem. A person who maintains a proceeding or action in an admiralty court is called a libellant. Consult the authorities referred to under Pleading. (14)

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