June 16, 2016
Introduction: In this blog article, Mary Harrell-Sesniak searches old newspapers to find some quotes from and about historical figures that you never read in a text book. Mary is a genealogist, author and editor with a strong technology background.
Newspapers are a great place to find fun quotes about historical characters and celebrities. You can find many delightful quotes in a collection of old newspapers, such as GenealogyBank’s online Historical Newspaper Archives – and who knows, you might even find a quote or two about an ancestor!
I invite you to add to this collection of fun quotes, so let me know in the comments. Be sure to mention the newspapers in the GenealogyBank archives where others can find those same quotes.
John Quincy Adams
By 1845, few Revolutionary War soldiers were still living. This quote by President John Quincy Adams reflects on the sad sentiment of their passing:
“Like the leaves of the books of Sybil, they increase in value, as they diminish in number.”
Abraham Lincoln
One of our more beloved presidents was none other than Abraham Lincoln. Did you know that he jokingly called his wife, Mary (Todd) Lincoln, the “presidentess”?
“The presidentess walked in the grounds…”
Theodore Roosevelt
In September of 1903, President Roosevelt’s carriage was struck by a trolley in Pittsfield, Massachusetts. Although his left leg was injured, he continued his western tour until the injury became too painful and he needed surgery. Did you know that he refused anesthesia and joked before and after the procedure?
For example, when he saw the surgeons all scrubbed up with their antiseptic gloves on, he said:
“Gentlemen, you are formal; I see you have your gloves on.”
When shown his wheeled ambulance, he joked:
“Why, that’s a wheelbarrow.”
Franklin D. Roosevelt
Another president with a sense of humor was Franklin D. Roosevelt. After losing a tooth in 1937, he told visitors to the White House:
“[Losing a tooth] is easier than losing your scalp.”
Quotes about Others
What is said about others is often as interesting as what they said themselves.
In this 1804 newspaper article about Thomas Jefferson, you can read the following quotes about him and other founding fathers.
- Of Thomas Jefferson: “The President of the United States – Let history take care of his fame, and conscience of his recompence.”
- Of Rufus King: “An ornament to his country at home and abroad.”
- Of Charles Cotesworth Pinckney: “The gentleman, the statesman, the soldier; sound in his politics and correct in his views.”
- Of Fisher Ames: “His country will take charge of his fame, and conscience of his recompence.”
This is a quote by Thomas Jefferson about statesman and orator Henry Clay:
“His career thus far in life has been a career of glory; and he has achieved that for his country, whilst engaged in her cause, which would ornament the brightest place in the escutcheon of the most favored statesman of any age or nation.”
Retractions
Sometimes quotes are made in error, so before citing something definitively, see if a retraction was made. Some fun examples can be found in some of my earlier GenealogyBank Blog articles on Horace Greeley and Daniel Boone:
