"Christmas and New Years in 1868" Carroll County Times article for 31 December 1995 By Jay A. Graybeal One of the earliest descriptions of a Carroll County Christmas can be found in an 1868 letter written by Miss Mary B. Shellman (1849-1938) of Westminster to her brother James. Miss Shellman copied her letter in a school [...]
"Christmas Eve 1886" Carroll County Times article for 24 December 1995 by Jay A. Graybeal Throughout the nineteenth century, writing, reading and reciting poetry were popular pastimes. As an indication of how popular poetry was, our local newspaper editors included a poetry column in each weekly edition of their papers. Each holiday season saw the publication [...]
"Christmas at the Alms House in 1895" Carroll County Times article for 17 December 1995 By Jay A. Graybeal When Carroll County was formed in 1837, the new county was required to erect several public buildings including a court house, jail and an alms house. The latter structure was completed in 1852 and served as the [...]
"Preparations of Christmases Past" Carroll County Times Article for 10 December 1995 By Jay A. Graybeal This time of year has traditionally been reserved for making Christmas preparations. One tradition which has remained unchanged for more than a century is the custom of writing to Santa Clause. Perhaps the earliest surviving letter by a local child [...]
"Westminster Fire Department Building" Carroll County Times Article for 3 December 1995 By Jay A. Graybeal I recently wrote about the how the Westminster Fire Department planned to move to new quarters in 1895. Plans for their new fire hall were announced in the November 30, 1895 issue of the Westminster American Sentinel newspaper. The Westminster Fire Department [...]
"A Thanksgiving Day History Quiz" Carroll County Times Article for 26 November 1995 By Jay A. Graybeal Have you ever wondered about the origin of Thanksgiving Day or want to know when the first Thanksgiving was celebrated in Maryland? You will find the answers to these questions and 48 others in a quiz that appeared in [...]
"Carroll County Women and the Election of 1920" Carroll County Times article for 19 November 1995 by Jay A. Graybeal Three quarters of a century ago, American women voted for the first time in a national election. The 1920 election pitted Democrat James M. Cox against Republican Warren G. Harding. The extension of women's suffrage provided [...]
"Historical Society Objects on Loan" Carroll County Times Article for 12 November 1995 By Jay A. Graybeal Several objects from the Historical Society's collection are now on temporary loan to area museums. The Maryland Historical Society in Baltimore has borrowed two objects, a doll and an earthenware bowl, for their exhibition "SANKOFA: A Celebration of African-American [...]
"GeneSys Family Search" Carroll County Times article for 5 November 1995 by Jay A. Graybeal Historical Society Library patrons will soon have a new resource for searching family history. The Board has accepted an invitation from the Carroll County Genealogical Society to become a cosponsor to purchase and maintain the GeneSys Family Search System. This system [...]
"History of the Forest and Stream Club, Part II" Carroll County Times article for 29 October 1995 By Jay A. Graybeal Part I of this history of the Forest and Steam Club of Westminster appeared in last week's column. On July 11th 1896 the Club went into camp at the same place, Pinesburg, opposite the Club [...]