Relic on the Lethe

When last we left the Little Family in Clarke County, Clinton Little had been murdered, his mother had been wounded, Oscar and Lycurgus were in jail in Berryville awaiting their trial, and Columbus claimed it was all a giant accident of boyhood exuberance ( Staunton Vindicator , Shepherdstown Register ). The postmortem and coroner's inquest determined Clinton's death was a case of premeditated homicide.  Medical Updates Reports on the seriousness of the mother's injury varied, ranging from minor since no bone was broken and no artery was severed, though several sources reported that she developed erysipelas , or a bacterial infection in the skin, which was seen as potentially serious ( Shepherdstown Register , Staunton Vindicator , Virginia Herald ). It appears this was successfully resolved, however, and she came to no lasting harm. Columbus and Gilbert were allegedly hit on the head with a pistol during the struggle in the dining room but suffered no more than bruises fr...

While looking for mentions of the Ancient Order of Hibernians for the previous Saint Patrick's Day post, I saw mention of a murder trial for Oscar Little in Winchester. I had not come across a mention of this person or case before, and it turned out to be quite the deep and twisting rabbit hole.  While I will be quoting liberally from some primary source material, I know at least one of my readers is squeamish about medical content. Be advised that if you click the links to read the full articles, there will be possibly more details on the case than you might want to read. (A number of testimonies from the trial describing the wounds are covered in some detail, as you'd likely expect in a murder case.) This first entry in a multi-part story will set the stage for the trials to come. Let's get started. Setting the Stage The tragedy occurred in the Little family home, involving the parents Franklin and Mrs. (Margaret or Mary Jane) Little, their six adult sons and one daughter...

Despite Winchester having a fairly sizable proportion of Irish settlers, Saint Patrick's Day has generally been a low-key affair for the town. Before Celtic Fest became an annual downtown event, organized St. Patrick's Day celebrations were more informal affairs. The earliest mention I was able to find (so far) even mentioning the day in a local publication was in the Winchester Republican , March 29, 1834: At the celebration of St. Patrick’s day, in N. York, by the society of the “ Friendly Sons of St. Patrick ,” Mr. Power, the comedian, was toasted as "the Irish ambassador." In reply, he delivered a neat and pertinent speech, and offered the following sentiment, which was warmly applauded: “The Shamrock—to whatever soil transplanted— and may the hearts of Ireland’s sons continue as fresh as its leaf, and the union be as indissoluble.”  As you can see, it wasn't even for a local commemoration. That took until the early 1900s, with a (perhaps anticlimactic) mentio...

This short story, aimed at young readers, appeared in the West Virginia Argus on February 27, 1885 . The credit line attributes this tale to Frances B. Currie, and the story was reprinted from the N. Y. Examiner. She appears to have been a frequent contributor to Frank Leslie's publications , but unlike J. L. Harbour, no biography has been found yet to shed more light on her life and output.  Since this story should also be out of copyright in the US, we have reprinted the entire story for your enjoyment. A PEACE-OFFERING.  A Valentine Story with a Moral, for Young Readers.  Margery Wright was not a beauty. Even the most charitable person in the world could not admit that she had the smallest claim to such a title. The boys in the Delving Seminary said that Margery had a "squat” figure and a “pug" nose. They also alluded to her mouth in a way that brought angry tears into her eyes. They said it opened like a pair of oyster-tongs. These young gentlemen had lived for twelve...

This story appeared in the Charlotte Gazette, Feb. 28, 1895 after being picked up from the New York Ledger (at a time when comic valentines were common but beginning to wane). The author, J.L. Harbour, appears to be a prolific late 19th century to early 20th century writer. By one account , he had written over 600 short stories by 1902. A sketch of his life written the same year states, "He began to send original stories, such as brought to view and tended to correct life's inharmonies, lapses and weaknesses, to eastern journals, and among others to the Youth's Companion , whose editors recognized his gift even in its immaturity."  This short work appears to have been written before he became widely known for "Papa and the Boy" and "The Mourning Veil," but it provides a glimpse of his writing style and sensibilities in humor and character studies. Like many other authors we have investigated here, his work has generally been forgotten by today...