Wednesday Words

 
Wednesday Words - The History Of The Susquehanna Valley As Written By Those Who Lived It. (And also through the words of early historians)

Above photo is an early view from Northumberland Pa, looking towards Sunbury

Each Wednesday on the Valley Girl Views Facebook Page, I post "Wednesday Words" , a combination of first hand accounts of historical events in the valley, and  papers and speeches written by early historians in the Central Susquehanna Valley. 

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MEMOIRS
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Charles Bell The Escaped Slave Who Worked At Bucknell for 40 Years	Mrs Bucknell Sailed On The Titanic & Lived To Tell About it	Memories Of Ogontz Lodge
The Journal Of Marie LeRoy Held Captive By Indians 1755-1759	The Memoir Of Hugh Lindsay The Comedian with whom PT Barnum got his start	The Diary Of  Eber Culver

Sketch Of The Life Of Gen. John Burrows, Written by Himself.	J.A. Lumbards Account of Co. G 147th In The Civil War	Memories From The Life Of Sammy Ray,  Williamsport Pa
The Life & Civil  War Memories Of Edward Straub

This book can be difficult to find, but it is one of the most incredible memoirs of life in early Milton PA that you will ever find.  Each chapter is one year, 1925-1941,  starting with a brief overview of what is going on in the world, in the state, and then stories from his front porch in Milton, Pa.  It's an incredible read.

https://amzn.to/3y3d7u9

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REMINISCENCES

Shorter memoirs, typically about a single topic or event

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History, Stories & Anecdotes from J. P. Kohler's Early Years In Milton 1855-1870	The Early Days Of Bucknell by E.C. Wolf, 1914	E. Slifer's Account of his time on the Collins Expedition
By-Gone Days Early Recollections of Sunbury, 1899	Reminisces of Early Life In Columbia County  by James R. Cleaver	Memories of Apple Butter Making at Blooming Grove, 1880s & 1890s

The Pennsylvania Canal By Hazel Whitenight	Memories Of Ole Bull By Sanderson	Gibson Antes Personal Reminiscences of the Lumbering Era
Michael Cummings tells about Babe Ruth's visit to his grandfathers home, in Williamsport	Calvin Shipe's Memories Of Early  Sunbury Written in 1937	Jamison City As I Remember It 1900-1917 by Catherine Chapman

 

In this post about my sources, and why I can't give you permission to use copies of 100 year old postcard photos, I include a story from historian Jerry Gernerd, about his friend John Meginness. It's one of my favorite stories.

https://susquehannavalley.blogspot.com/2021/11/a-note-about-copyright-sources.html

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TRAVEL LOGS

Early descriptions of travels across central Pa

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Pilgrimage To Ole Bull Castle 1920	Story of A June's Day Travel Over The Rattling Rail, 1888	A Delightful Trip, 1897
	Williamsport As Viewed By A Stroller 1914

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LETTERS
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Letters From The Lions Local News for the soldiers from Watsontown, 1951	Letter home from Lt Ritter, of Muncy Pa	Letter Home From Camp Rapidan.  J.A. Lumbard in the Civil War
Milton Surgeon Writes Home of scenes in the Mexican War	Ira Milton Lewis writes of his stay at the Danville State Asylum

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HISTORICAL ADDRESSES

& printed Pamphlets
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Some Historical Facts  About Northern Columbia County By Edwin Barton, 1956	Watsontown Historically By Maj. Fred Knight	"Historical Address" given at the dedication of the Lenape Wigwam Memorial at McElhattan
The Early Settlers In The Pine Creek Region, by Walter Gilmore Esq	Snapshots Of The Muncy Valley By Gernerd	Fort Horn  By Capt Buckalew

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The Historical Addresses From

 The 1850 Lycoming Centennial

Charles M. Clement Esq Sunbury Pa

Charles Tubbs Tioga County

Cyrus Larue Munson Williamsport

Lycoming A Sonnet by  Katharine Purvis

Centennial Ode By Charles K. Geddes

Closing Address By Hon. Emerson Collins

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"Gossip By The Way"

Curiously fun articles, satire, and other Misc
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A Glimpse At  Williamsport "The State Of Herdic" 1879	Etta Krabel Queen Of The Senecas [When fact is stranger than fiction]	A Watsontown Editor Dreams Of The Future - 1932
A Folksburg Thanksgiving From The Miltonian, 1926

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Where To Find The Valley's History In Books
https://susquehannavalley.blogspot.com/2020/02/where-to-find-valleys-history-in-books.html