Posts by Geri Walton
Peter Williamson aka “Indian Peter” of the 18th-Century
Peter Williamson, also known as “Indian Peter,” was a Scottish memoirist who was part showman, part entrepreneur and inventor. He was born to James Williamson in Hirnlay near Aboyne and he described his parents as “respectable” though not rich.
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Belvoir Castle Fire on 26 October 1816
The Belvoir Castle fire happened on 26 October 1816. This castle, which was really a manor, was first built after the Norman Conquest of 1066 and was in Leicestershire, England west of the town of Grantham and north-east of Melton Mowbray. It was situated at the extreme northerly corner of the county of Leicestershire and…
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Hyde Park: Interesting Incidents in the 1700s
Hyde Park was established by Henry VIII in 1536 and opened to the public in 1637 where it quickly became popular. Major improvements to the park happened in the early eighteenth century under the direction of Queen Caroline. It was also during the eighteenth century that several noteworthy things happened at the park, among which…
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Caps: Nightcaps, Monmouth Caps, Thinking Caps, Pudding Caps, and White Caps
There are all sorts of caps from history. For instance, there was the mythical fairy or ghost in English folklore known as the bluecap and the redcap was a type of malevolent, murderous goblin found in Border folklore. A type of cap you wore on your head was the Liberty cap. It came to represent…
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Sarah Forbes Bonetta: Queen Victoria’s Black Goddaughter
Sarah Forbes Bonetta was originally named Princess Aina and was an Egbado princess of the Yoruba people in West Africa. She was orphaned at the age of five during a war with the Kingdom of Dahomey and then became the slave of King Ghezo. Around 1850, Captain Frederick E. Forbes of the Royal Navy arrived…
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The Beecher-Tilton Scandal of 1875: A Shocking Event
The Beecher-Tilton scandal involved Henry Ward Beecher and Elizabeth Tilton. Henry was a well-known and popular New York clergyman and Elizabeth was the wife Theodore Tilton. In addition, both the Tiltons were members of Henry’s Brooklyn congregation and in fact, Theodore and Henry were good friends. Theodore had served as Henry’s assistant from 1860 to…
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Being a Jane Austen Sibling: Her Brothers and Sister
Being a Jane Austen sibling meant being one of eight children in a family whose father was George Austen and whose mother was Cassandra Leigh. George was an Anglican rector who descended from wool manufacturers and rose to the lower ranks of the landed gentry and Cassandra was a member of the aristocratic Leigh family…
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Tompkins Square Park Riot of 1874: The Workingmen’s Fight
The Tompkins Square Park riot of 1874 happened on 13 January when American working men gathered in protest over the loss of jobs. It all began with a depression that started in 1873 when railroad owner Jay Cooke issued millions of dollars of worthless stock, investors panicked, and banks closed resulting in an economic collapse.…
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Ferris Wheel: The 1800s Invention and Its Inventor
The Ferris wheel was invented because of the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition. Prior to the Exposition, meetings were held throughout the country and attended by engineers and architects. It was asserted at one of these gatherings that American architects had glorified themselves by the magnificent buildings they had built but that civil engineers had contributed…
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Children of Marie Antoinette: A Brief History of Each
The children of Marie Antoinette included two girls and two boys, the girls being the oldest and youngest. All four children were born in France, welcomed within an eight year period, and well-loved by their parents. However, despite their splendid start and their royal connections all the children of Marie Antoinette and King Louis would…
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