Tag Archives: 1880’s

A (Leap) Day in the Life: February 29

Posted on February 29, 2016 by kgmatheny | Posted in: Civil War, Diaries and Journals, Everyday Life, Letters, Newspapers, UA History | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

It’s been a while since we did a survey of Acumen‘s contents by taking a look at just one day. There have been fewer February 29ths than other days of the year, but, as with any other snapshot view, items from that date reveal a … Continue reading →

A Day in the Life: June 1

Posted on June 1, 2015 by kgmatheny | Posted in: Civil War, Diaries and Journals, Everyday Life, Letters, Photographs, World War I, World War II | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Here’s a slice of life from June 1st over the last 170 some-odd years, representing a cross-section of materials from the digital archive — from the serious to the silly, the magical to the mundane.

A Day in the Life: August 25

Posted on August 25, 2014 by kgmatheny | Posted in: African-American History, Civil War, Everyday Life, Letters, Southern History | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Archives give us a chance to look at the world in a lot of different ways, through lenses big and small. Today, we take a cross section of life on this date, August 25, across the decades. From 1840 to … Continue reading →

Family Connections

Posted on April 29, 2014 by kgmatheny | Posted in: Civil War, Cool Collections, Genealogy, Letters, Newly Online, Photographs, Southern History | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments

With a collection as regional as the one at the W. S. Hoole Special Collections Library, it’s not surprising to find some occasional overlap. The Wynne Family Papers and the Meriwether Family Papers come together with the Coleman family, as you can see … Continue reading →

Papers of H. D. Clayton Sr., General, statesman, and UA President

Posted on February 4, 2014 by kgmatheny | Posted in: Civil War, Everyday Life, Genealogy, Letters, Newly Online, Southern History | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Over the last few months, we’ve been digitizing the papers of Henry De Lamar Clayton, Sr. As our student worker Ellyn and I see the final box of materials in sight, it seems like a good time to give an … Continue reading →

Modern Pocket Hoyle game rulebook

Posted on September 4, 2013 by kgmatheny | Posted in: Cool Collections, Everyday Life | Tagged | 1 Comment

Ever heard the phrase “according to Hoyle”? It means that something complies with a strict set of rules, and it’s a reference to the gaming rulebooks of Edmond Hoyle and all the later versions building on his format. The Modern … Continue reading →

Temperance to Prohibition

Posted on May 28, 2013 by kgmatheny | Posted in: Sheet music | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

From 1920 to 1933, the United States was officially a “dry” nation. The 18th Amendment made the sale, production, and transportation of alcohol illegal. But the first steps toward ridding the U.S. of alcohol began in the century before, with … Continue reading →