Photo: the InterContinental Mark Hopkins Hotel, San Francisco, California. Credit: Bobak Ha’Eri; Wikimedia Commons.

W. R. Moss’ Hoax: A Scam for the Hopkins Fortune

By Melissa Berry on February 4, 2020

In this article, Melissa Davenport Berry focuses on yet another scam to get some of the riches left by railroad magnate Mark Hopkins... (Read More)

Illustration: an 1870 print celebrating the passage of the Fifteenth Amendment in February 1870, and the post Civil War political empowerment of African Americans. Credit: Thomas Kelly; Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division.

On This Day, 15th Amendment Ratified: Voting Rights for ‘Men of Color’

By Tony Pettinato on February 3, 2020

On 3 February 1870, the 15th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution was ratified, guaranteeing voting rights to “men of color” citizens... (Read More)

Photo: spinach and artichoke dip with tortilla chips. Credit: Janine; Wikimedia Commons.

Ready for the Big Game? Super Bowl Food!

By Gena Philibert-Ortega on January 31, 2020

In this article, Gena Philibert-Ortega searches old newspapers to find dip recipes for your Super Bowl celebration... (Read More)

Photo: the Eiffel Tower and the La Défense district, Paris. Credit: David McSpadden; Wikimedia Commons.

French Wedding Traditions and Customs

By Sarah Stevens on January 30, 2020

Understand the history behind popular French wedding traditions and learn how they've changed throughout history!.. (Read More)

Masthead for the newspaper Publick Occurrences Both Forreign and Domestick (Boston, Massachusetts), 25 September 1690

Iconic First Editions of American Newspapers, Part I

By Mary Harrell-Sesniak on January 29, 2020

In this article, Mary Harrell-Sesniak begins a series examining our earliest newspapers by focusing on the first two newspapers in America... (Read More)

Photo: Society of the Congregational Church of Great Barrington, Massachusetts. Credit: Lionel Martinez; Society of the Congregational Church of Great Barrington.

America’s Richest Widow Restores Church and Cemetery of Great Barrington, MA

By Melissa Berry on January 28, 2020

Melissa Davenport Berry writes about Mary (Hopkins) Searles building the Congregational Church of Great Barrington, Massachusetts... (Read More)

Photo: gate to the German concentration camp, Auschwitz I (the main camp), Poland, with its Arbeit macht frei sign ("work sets you free"). Credit: xiquinhosilva; Wikimedia Commons.

75th Anniversary of the Liberation of Auschwitz

By Tony Pettinato on January 27, 2020

An article – in honor of today being International Holocaust Remembrance Day – about Soviet troops liberating Auschwitz on 27 January 1945... (Read More)

Illustration: “Breaking Up Camp at Sunrise,” by Alfred Jacob Miller, c. 1859. Credit: Walters Art Museum; Wikimedia Commons.

Westward Expansion Map: Part of Your Family’s History?

By Sarah Stevens on January 24, 2020

How much do you know about your family's westward migration? Learn how you can trace their trails on the Westward Expansion map and uncover their stories!.. (Read More)

Photo: title page from Helen Kincaid's book “The Hopkins Hoax”; Kellogg Research, Incorporated.

The Mysterious Death of Heiress Lydia Kellogg Hopkins, Part II

By Melissa Berry on January 23, 2020

In this article, Melissa Davenport Berry continues the story of the mysterious death of Lydia Hopkins, heir to railroad magnate Mark Hopkins’ fortune... (Read More)