The Howes Travel to Middlesboro for the Christian Endeavor Convention of 1892

The Howe Family went to many church- and faith-related meetings and conventions. In today's post, Sarah describes their trip from Carrollton to Middlesboro, Kentucky. The trip involved travel by boat and train, and it didn't go smoothly. Still, it was pure adventure to 9-year-old Sarah Eva Howe. She wrote this memoir in the mid-1940s.

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Undated Postcard, Middlesboro, Kentucky

I am not sure now which year we went to Middlesborough (as it was spelled then) and which to Louisville, to the Christian Endeavor Conventions; but I believe the Middlesboro trip was in June of ’92. Papa loved to go to these conventions in those days before he went to New York;¹ they were such a break in the monotony of his life. He was never intended to be a businessman, tho he was a good one! He wanted to follow a profession and to have been a professor in a college. That would have been ideal for him. He was devoted to church work, too, and had many forward-looking ideas that were far ahead of his contemporaries.

So here I will put the trip to Middlesboro, even if I have it wrong by a year or two one way or the other. The main thing I remember about the trip was that it took all day to get started!

We must have gone to Louisville on the boat to take the train out of there for Middlesboro, but there had been a wreck on the line, and our train — which should have started at 8 a.m. — didn’t go till 5 p.m. ... We waited around all day. It certainly was tedious, and there was really no place to buy things to eat except a small country store; Papa bought bananas and such, and I remember his taking me for walks up and down the track and around. They didn’t get the wreck cleared away for seven or eight hours. When we finally started, the train went so fast it really must have gone a mile a minute, considered almost the limit at that time. How I remember the dark falling and the black landscape rushing by with the speed of the wind, it seemed to me. 

Finally I fell asleep and hardly knew when we got off and went to register at the big fine Cumberland Hotel, I believe it was called. This was a real boom town put up by coal

Postcard, Cumberland Hotel, Middlesboro, early 1920s

operators and speculators who hoped to make a city of the size of Covington at least, perhaps Louisville. Harrogate too, over in Tennessee, was built up. English money built a lot of the property, and much of it was lost when the bubble burst not so long before the time we went there. There had been a big fire, too, that swept much of the town and burned the shiny but un-outstanding frame buildings and also many of the little ones. Mr. Jim Fisher and his wife lived there, also Uncle Will and Aunt Sue Salyers² and their family (tho Ida Ruth and Charles were all that were living by that time, perhaps not even Charles). There were several more fires after we left, and finally I think the beautiful hotel, then rather in disrepair, has burned too. But it was certainly pretty when we were there, tho not too full of guests until the “convention” came. 

I wore a jacket of Roman striped French flannel “pinked” on the edges and my favorite little dark red velvet round hat; my hair was in plaits but looked short from the front, so the hotel man said “Mr. Howe,³ the room is so-and-so, meals included, but we don’t charge for your boy.” That amused Papa, I know.

Characteristically, the thing that remains with me of the trip is the “outside” rather than anything about the convention. The trip up the pinnacle, Mama⁴ holding my hand firmly, oh so firmly, as I looked at the city of Harrogate so far below like a toy village from the overhanging rock, of the place where you could stand in two states at once “and spit in the other,” as someone said — Tennessee, Virginia, and Kentucky.

Modern-day Middlesboro viewed from the Pinnacle

But the most vivid memory is of Solomon’s Cave — my first “underground” experience. The formations are said to be more beautiful than many of those in Mammoth Cave, and there is a long narrow way where you have to crawl along, worse than the “fat man’s misery” at Mammoth Cave. There was very cold water dripping and flowing through it, which has caused the cave to be closed to visitors in later years, as the water supply of Lincoln Memorial College comes from these cold springs. There were wooden staircases that we went up and down, rocks we clambered over, and altogether it was very strenuous exercise. Going up the Pinnacle was easy, for it was not done on foot but in a big carriage with, I believe, four horses pulling about eight people in the carriage.

We came out into Cumberland Gap, the only time I ever set foot there, tho many times I’ve thought I’d visit there! — and the only thing I remember was a large white rat in a cage, which interested me, for it was the first white one I ever saw, and I did wish to have it! 

We took the train back home; on the way we met many friends. (I’ve heard Mama tell of them but don’t personally remember them.) I believe Uncle John Smith was aboard the train — perhaps he went down with us. There was a very tall slim young preacher with heavy black hair whose name was U.V.W. Darlington, who talked to us part of the time.

For days after our return, Mama was so stiff and sore from the unaccustomed climbing that she could hardly go up and down stairs and had to take the steps sideways, but I don’t remember it affected my short stocky legs in any way.

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¹ Robert James Howe and his brother Joseph Brown Howe traveled to New York City (and other large cities) to buy fashions to sell at the family's Howe Brothers Department Store in Carrollton, Kentucky.
² William Levi Salyers (1860-1922), uncle of Sarah's husband of the same name; and his wife Susie Giltner Salyers
³ Sarah's "Papa," Robert James Howe (1855-1910) 
⁴ Sarah's "Mama," Alice Ada Cost Howe (1859-1939)
 

Sarah Visits The White City: Chicago World's Fair 1893

In the loose pages I discovered Sarah's description of her trip to the World's Fair, the Columbian Exposition in Chicago in 1893. Sarah had just turned 10 years old and was as full of adventure and curiosity as ever.

Typical of Sarah, her mind wanders from her topic to the subject of books, so we learn more about her reading material than about the fair. Still, it's fun to know that she went there. I'm sure she wrote more about the Howe family's visit to "The White City," but this is all I've found so far. As you read, you can "visit" the buildings and exhibits Sarah saw in an online virtual tour of the Chicago World's Fair.

As before, ellipses indicate lost or omitted words (these pages are badly torn), and brackets enclose my own comments or clarifications.

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Now the last day of school, in the 3rd grade, drew near, and I was certainly glad of it! We had passed all the exams and had also gotten display papers ready to be sent to the Kentucky display of the Educational Exhibit at the World’s Fair (in the Liberal Arts building, I think). I had one in Geography and in Grammar — diagramming sentences — also one in arithmetic! We also had papers in Kentucky history, tho I believe the book was not studied that year but in the 4th grade; we were just given questions to answer about Boone, Harrod, the date of settlement, names, date of statehood, products of Kentucky, first governor and so forth.

Now I come to the crowning event, the unforgettable one of 1893 for us, our two weeks at the World’s Fair in September. I know it must have been, because the fair was nearing its close and the nights on the lake were getting quite cool. (I remember us sitting in “the Peristyle” restaurant and of my wanting to order “chilled watermelon” because I saw it on the menu! And how Mama shuddered at the thought, with those cold breezes blowing, through I think we probably went up there about the last of August. Papa¹ was already there — he had to go ahead, as he had to combine a business trip for buying millinery, I imagine (he always did that for the store).  

Bird's-eye view of the World's Columbian Exposition, Chicago, 1893 | Library of Congress

Grandpa Cost,² being rather influential in the city and "in charge” as a commission merchant and broker at the Chamber of Commerce building in Cincinnati, was able to get passes on the railroad quite often as there was no rule against them at that time. He therefore got a round trip pass for Mama³ and myself, and we went to Cincinnati and left from there; Grandma⁴ put us up a good lunch. I’ve heard Mama often speak of how delicious the cold beef steak sandwiches were — sliced thin on French bread — as we ate them on the train on that long trip, of which I remember little except the never ending fields of ripe corn. 

Papa met us at Evanston and took us to the place he had rented for us, at a Mrs. Baker’s, such a nice lady and a nice home. Like many other Chicago ladies, she had opened her home to “paying guests” for the duration of the Fair. Several other friends of ours stayed there, both before and afterwards.

The main thing I remember about this room was the change in what I had to read — magazines on the table, provided for Mama and Papa but giving me a taste of these adult publications I would not otherwise have had. I imagine they were Harpers and Atlantic.    ... the artist [Rudolph Dirks] who drew [starting in 1897] the Katzenjammer Kids, in fact. I imagine he may have been the inspiration for those gentlemen(?). The end of the rhyme stays with me — the bad boys had fallen into the sausage grinder at the close of one of their worst pranks and were ground out in small pieces which fell on the ground in the outline (shown vividly) of themselves. Said the rhyme, “Chickens, leaving other seed, gobble up the coarse grained feed,” a truly German “finis.”

Midway, Columbian Exposition

Now to the real business, that of describing the Fair. Mama that year was not yet 34, Papa was about 38 1/2 when we were in Chicago, and I of course was 10. The Fair came back to me so much more vividly when, this spring, I visited at Bob’s⁵ home and Loretta⁶ took me to the site of the Fair, Jackson Park, which with Hyde Park was the center of activities. The University of Chicago now stands where the great midway was, first and largest of carnival Fair sites, imitated at other fairs but I imagine hardly surpassed. 

... I loved them all. I remember the lady modeling in butter,⁷ I remember of course — she was making busts of Columbus and Isabella — and there was a butter replica of the "Vanderbilt family" which was

also there in marble — it was only about 3 feet high but was said to be one of the best pieces there. What I loved best, though, was “Jesus and the Child,” the face of Christ so calm and lovely, the

Butter sculptor with bas-relief of Christopher Columbus

child with his pretty hands and feet, his curls, the dimple in his elbow. It was life-size, in white marble. 

Mama kept looking for two “portrait heads” made by her cousin Al White (Aunt Milly’s son) but we couldn’t find them — they were there, tho. I may come back to this building as I think of more things, forgotten so long — one picture comes back, whether here or in another building, a ruby-throated hummingbird poised on a flower.
 
... The Iowa building was fascinating — its pictures and decorations were done in corn mosaics, red, yellow, black and white, the effect was beautiful in the extreme.

The New Mexico building I liked so much (it was still a territory, you know, and so was Arizona) (or maybe just made into a state, I know Oklahoma was quite new — we still had “Indian Territory” on our maps in the little geography). One exhibit of opals; Mama was so interested in the Indian relics, beadwork and all, I liked it very much. Grandma Cost had bought me a beaded show (an ornament to hang up) from Columbus when I was a little girl; it was red cambric with red & white beadwork. ... 

 [The beginning of the next paragraph is missing. Sarah apparently refers here to books she read at the house in Chicago where they were the paying guests of Mrs. Baker. Huckleberry Finn had been published in the U.S. only eight years before.]  ... but it was that part of Huckleberry Finn where he describes the  ... killing of his friends. I never forgot the vivid scene, but it was many years later when I found its place in literature. From another (as yet unidentified) serial, which I’m sure was much too advanced for me, all I retained was a new way to eat an orange, which I therewith adopted and kept up for years. We had always peeled off the skin and eaten them by sections, but in this story it described the sultry heroine as “sinking her white teeth into the skin and then sucking the juice as tho she were a tiger sucking the blood of her prey.” Now our hostess, not knowing what the solemn child was gleaning from these choice bits, brought her some children’s books! One of them had nursery (!) rhymes, one of which was so harrowing and unpleasant that I have never forgotten it. It was about two “characters” named Max and Maurice [Moritz], and by its brutal and violent nature so reminiscent of the Brothers Grimm, I am pretty sure it was translated from the German.

ENDNOTES
¹1 Robert James Howe (1855-1910).
² Richard Henry Cost of Cincinnati (1831-1910)
³ Alice Ada Cost Howe (1859-1939)
⁴ Sarah Evaline Arnet (1836-1917)
⁵ Sarah's son Robert King Salyers (1907-1977)
⁶ Loretta Smith Salyers, wife of Robert King Salyers
⁷ Caroline Shawk Brooks, whose talent in butter sculpting made her a favorite attraction at many fairs and expositions. Also see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Butter_sculpture.

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So ends the only writing I have found about Sarah's trip to the World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago. Here are some links to websites that offer details that help us imagine more about the Howe family's time there. The first link goes to a beautiful, full-color, 31-page "program" or portfolio, digitized from an original. I'm surprised not to find one in Sarah's scrapbooks.

• https://library.si.edu/digital-library/book/authenticportfo00
• http://xroads.virginia.edu/~ma96/wce/tour.html
• https://chicago.suntimes.com/entertainment/1893-worlds-fair-what-remains-125th-anniversary/ 
• http://www.encyclopedia.chicagohistory.org/pages/11421.html
• https://dcc.newberry.org/collections/chicago-and-the-worlds-columbian-exposition
• http://www.friendsofthewhitecity.org/architecture/buildings/the-midway-plaisance

  

A New Chapter: The Howe-Salyers Family Moves from Hometown Carrollton to College Town Richmond

In the spring of 1927, Mary Alice and Jim, twins of Will and Sarah Eva Howe Salyers of Carrollton, completed their junior year at Carrollton High. Not many parents would consider uprooting a family and relocating to another town with two children entering that all-important senior year of high school, but that's what Will and Sarah did.

The scrapbooks don't offer a reason for their decision, but consider this possibility: Eldest child Bob had been attending the University of Kentucky in Lexington and decided (for reasons I haven't discovered) to transfer to Eastern Kentucky State Teachers College in Richmond. Three of the four Salyers children would be in Richmond, which was even farther away from home. Will traveled regionally in his job, so he could continue without missing a beat, no matter where in Kentucky he lived. The youngest child, David, would be entering his first year of junior high, so he was at a natural transition point in his schooling. I theorize it was just easier (and more economical during those economically depressed times) for this family – including Sarah's mother and sister – to live in Richmond than in Carrollton. Besides, this family was a living example of "close-knit." Whatever their reasons, off they went! A newspaper story in the Carrollton paper (likely the Democrat) covered the story. You can read at right Carrollton's farewell to the family and appreciation of their value to the community.

The family packed up their belongings at 716 5th Street in Carrollton and hired a moving company to haul the furniture and heavy boxes. Will and sons Jim and David drove to Richmond in the family car. Bob rode in the moving van.

Jim (behind the wheel), David, and Will (barely visible in the front passenger seat) drove from Carrollton to Richmond in the family car, known as the "Gray Job" and the "Topless Wonder."

Sarah and Mary Alice took a bus, carrying with them some of the smaller last-minute items. The trip was not without mishap. As Mary Alice said in a letter to friend Grace Supplee: "Such a trip! Characteristic of the Salyers family, it couldn’t pass uneventfully." The best way to share their adventure is through excerpts from that letter:

We reached Shelbyville without any trouble – the bus was so comfortable, the day so perfect, the driver so courteous, and everything so nice that it couldn’t have been better. At Shelbyville we changed busses [sic] and started "on to Lexington" in a more comfortable, almost luxurious bus and everything seemed more perfect than before. Now here’s where The Box comes in. (The reason for capitalizing it will soon be very plain.) 

You remember the box . . . into which Mother had dumped everything that had been found at the last minute? The big one on which you so carefully wrote our address? And remember how Mother and I carried it down from your house by the string, thus loosening aforesaid string? Well, at Shelbyville the bus driver had swung it up on the top of the bus, along with the basket of flowers, which was already a standing joke between us and the new bus driver (he was Irish!).

We were traveling quietly along somewhere between Frankfort and Versailles when an automobile went by, whose driver called back “Hey, you’re losing something off the top of your bus!” The bus stopped, and our driver got out to see what was wrong. The bus driver [returned] and said “The top of your box has come off, so I put it inside.” Just as the bus was about to start, Mother said to me “Do you reckon anything was lost out? Your new slicker and new hat were in the top of that box.” She went back and looked, and sure enough, they were gone! She rushed up to the front of the bus and told the driver that we had lost about $20 worth of stuff out of that box, and she would have to go back. [That $20 would equal almost $290 today!] The driver was distressed to death, for of course he couldn’t take time to go back with the bus, and still he didn’t want her to go back by herself. When he saw that she was determined to go, he hailed a car going by, which took her in, leaving me to go on to Lexington by myself (and with The Box, which was worse). She had said as she left that she would catch a ride into Lexington and meet me there, so, since I knew that there were cars passing (almost one a minute) to Lexington all the time, I felt a little easier.

The scrapbooks include no photo of the bus. This image from Northern Kentucky Views shows a vintage interurban bus – complete with rooftop luggage rack – that served Carrollton back in the day. Maybe it is similar to the one Sarah and Mary Alice took from Carrollton to Shelbyville. The bus from Shelbyville to Lexington may have been larger.

When we got to Lexington, I got out and stood a few minutes on the sidewalk to see about my baggage (as is customary). As I stood near the end of the bus, I happened to glance in where The Box was, and my heart sank “clear to my toenails.” Grace, you never saw such a mess! As you may remember, the box had two separate lids, one on top and the other on the bottom –– that is, just alike on both ends. Well, the four sides, having lost one lid, had linked together and, in the jolting of the bus, separated from the other one, thus spilling most of the contents of The Box out onto the seat! I nearly expired at the thought of getting it back together and getting it inside, especially as my arms were full to overflowing with the mandolin, the smaller box (the other one you addressed), a book that we had forgotten to pack, two small packages, Mother’s coat, and the pocketbook. So you see how much room I had for a basket of flowers and that terrible Box – even if I could put it together. Just as I was standing there wondering what would be the quickest and quietest way to commit suicide, the bus driver (the angel!) came hurrying up and said, “We’ll try to put your box together for you, lady. ... I could have hugged him where he stood! (He was good-looking anyway, but alas! middle-aged and probably married – he had that married look!) I hadn’t been there very long when that “Angel Disguised as a Bus Driver” came in to inform me that while putting The Box together, he had found a slicker and wondered if that was the one we had thought was lost. I went out to the bus with him, and there, sure enough, was the slicker! (It was my alligator-skin-looking one that Uncle Joe gave me.) A further search at the bottom of The Box disclosed my new hat, and then I realized what had happened. In being put on the bus at Shelbyville, it had been turned upside down and instead of the top it was the bottom which had come off! Of course, Mother never thought of that, and knowing that the slicker and hat had been at the top, naturally supposed them to be lost.

Mr. McGaughey [the bus driver], after giving me some fatherly advice and reassuring me again and again that he was sure Mother would get there all right and for me not to worry, etc., etc. . . . had to leave and go back to his bus (not until, however, he had received my most heartfelt, earnest thanks and appreciation! I sat down to wait, keeping my "eye peeled” for Mother, and hadn’t long to wait before she appeared. She had gone back about a mile in the car we hailed, finding papers strewn all along the way (magazine stories we had saved) but no slicker or hat. The two ladies in the car were so interested in her search and stopped at several filling stations for her to inquire if anything had been brought in that might be from The Box. Then just after they had to turn in a lane leading to their house, leaving her “by the side of the road,” an opulent-looking car came along, which she hailed to ask if they had seen anything of the lost articles. The driver was an awfully nice-looking man who said that he hadn’t seen them, but that he was going on to Lexington –– hearing which, Mother asked him if she might ride in with him (you see, Lexington wasn’t very far away). A few minutes after they started she found out that he was Mr. Netz, the man who, as representative of the company, bought the bridge down at Carrollton. We had heard so much about him and had taken so many telephone messages from him to Mr. Newman, that Mother felt like she knew him well, although she had never seen him before. He remembers hearing about us, and of course, calling up at our house so much, so they had a fine time going into Lexington that when they got to the bus station, he asked if he might wait a minute and see if, by chance, they had been turned in, or I had found them or anything. So as soon as Mother got in the station she took me back out to tell him about finding them. And thus I got to meet the great Mr. Netz, of whom I had heard so much.

We reached Richmond and the Goodloe Apartments –- which, as I prophesied, were in the awfullest mess imaginable. Everything had to be changed from where it was, so we worked like horses all the rest of the day. Grandma and Aunt Leonora came that night, so I went over to Loraine’s to stay all night, giving them my room. When we told Grandma all about The Box, etc., she said “What a shame it had to happen that way,” but I said “Shame my eye! We wouldn’t have had it different for anything. I never had so much fun in my life!” 

Sarah's mother Alice Ada Cost Howe standing outside Goodloe Apartments, where the Howe-Salyers family lived from the summer of 1927 to the summer of 1929.

A segment of the letter from Mary Alice to her friend Grace. Mary Alice noted that she hand-copied the letter so she could include the story of The Box in the scrapbook.

Visiting the Homeland, 1876 – Part 3: Robert and John Say Goodbye to the Howes, the Browns, and Ireland

In their final four days in Ireland, Robert J. and John I. Howe make rounds to see each relative one last time and bid them farewell. Much of the talk is about America, it seems, as the Howes and Browns and their friends want to hear all about what life is like for their kin who live there.

On Feb. 17, Robert and John have said goodbye to their family and become tourists for a day. They visit Bush Mill, Giant's Causeway, and other sites popular with tourists today. I wish we had the rest of the diary. What a treat it would be to have stories from the rest of their nine-month Grand Tour.

Monday, Feb 14th, 1876

We were aroused this morning by the clock striking 8. Dressed quickly and while the women were preparing breakfast we cleaned and greased our boots and cleaned our pants (the best we could) which had been very badly used. We got breakfast and started off at 9-45 to meet Uncle Geo. Hetherington. Arriving in town we called at the Post Office, found that a letter had arrived for us and had been sent to Uncle Joseph’s. We called at several other places but could not hear of Uncle George. Went into the tailor shop to have a button sewed on John’s coat, while there we spied Uncle Joseph across the street. Hailed him and he came over with our overcoats which he had brought us thinking we would need them for the rough weather. Uncle Joseph then went with us and we called on Mr. Robert Armstrong, one of Pa’s warmest friends, was very glad to see us, went with us over to the church. Just as we had procured the Sexton, Grandpa [paternal grandfather Robert Howe] came up and accompanied us. This was a place of great interest to us and we gave it a thorough doing-up. It is the neatest arranged church that we have seen in the neighborhood. Part of the church is very old, but there has been an addition built on the east side within the last few years, increasing the seating capacity to nearly double. In the new part is a tablet erected by the Rev. Dr. Burnside to the memory of his parents. In the graveyard we saw the graves of our grandmother [Margaret Hetherinton] Howe and several others of the Howe and Hetherington family. Leaving the church and going into town we found Uncle George. Mr. Armstrong now left us, giving us a cordial adieu and wishing to be remembered to Ma and Pa. We pretty soon left town with Uncle Geo. promising to go to Grandpa’s tomorrow for dinner and  Uncle Joseph’s tomorrow night. We walked out the Finton road through a hilly rolling country nearly 2 miles and stopped at Uncle Geo.’s only son’s (John’s) house. Found his wife a very pleasant and agreeable woman with a large family of little girls and one boy, 16 years old. (She called them “Wains.”) They had a man there doing carpenter work who had been 21 years in America, through many parts of it, took a good deal of interest in “blowing the country” and seconded anything we would say in its praise. We were compelled here, as usual, to take tea and bread finishing up with punch, after which we started over with Uncle George accompanied by his son’s wife, on the way meeting her brother (Mr. Trimble), he says “It’s a rough evening” (which it was); Uncle George then says “These is me America friends.” M.T. says, “I suppose yes thinks this country audd.” The above is invariably with slight variations the style of introduction, salutation, and interrogation which we have met in this part of Ireland. On arriving at Uncle Geo.’s through the mud and snow we found a building of about the same architecture we have met throughout the neighborhood, with horse and pig stalls at one end, cow and fowl apartments

Cows and other stock lived in Uncle George's house.

at the other, all built of stone and thatched. Ireland has taught us wonderful lessons of economy having seen what scanty comforts people can put up with and yet thrive in health of body. We never see more than a single door to a house and entering into the kitchen, a single window to each room just about large enough to mount a 64-pound cannon, doors so low that we invariably have to stoop in entering them and are always in danger of bumping our heads against some of the braces of the roof. Find the beds also too short and are obliged to keep our legs in a bow shape There is no way of poking them through the foot of the bed as both ends are tightly boarded up.

Here at Uncle Geo.’s we got a number of bumps against doors and braces. The above is not an exaggerated description of the farmhouses. There are of course a few modern ones which are built in tolerably comfortable style, but anything like a desire to depart from old customs is very rare. We found Uncle George’s a very helpful household, his daughter Mrs. Jameson is lying in bed with rheumatism and White swelling [hydrarthrus, which affects the knee joint] and nearly all the work devolved on her husband, a stout uncouth fellow, but a very good and agreeable one. Their little boy (John) is 10 years old and the Old Man completes the household. John’s wife got dinner for us which we finished about 3-30 p.m. and she returned home but came back with her husband and got tea (8-30). Uncle G.’s grandson, Wm. McCauley also came in and we all chatted until 11 p.m. when John & wife and Willie M. went home and we retired into a bed in the family room (after the fashion of Uncle Joseph’s) right next to Mr. & Mrs. Jameson and only divided from the cattle by a wall which did not keep out the stench. I must not omit saying that we found Uncle George the jolliest old fellow we have come across in Ireland. He spins his jokes and anecdotes like some of our old Kentucky pioneers making the evening (which was exceeding blustery and disagreeable outside) very pleasant and agreeable indoors.

Tuesday, Feb. 15th

Arose about 6-30, cleaned our pants and greased our boots with melted hog fat. As [grandfather] John H[owe]’s wife had to come over and serve breakfast, we did not get it until near 9 o’clock. About 10 we bid the folks goodbye and started off with Uncle Geo. to Hugh Hetherington’s. On our way called at Mrs. Irvine’s where the class meets that Uncle G. attends and whose husband Pa was acquainted with. She called up her family, consisting of a grown girl and boy nearly grown to see the “live America boys” and wonder at our watches which Uncle Geo. is very proud of having us show. We only spent a few minutes here and arriving at Hugh H.’s found no one in the house but his daughter who called up the men in a short time. The old man had very little to say, but the boys, Christy and John, were quite agreeable and on leaving went a piece of the road with us. After Uncle Geo. had left his family on the main road to Fivemiletown, he bade us a very affectionate goodbye and we parted. Arriving at town 12-15, we stopped a few minutes to rest and refresh ourselves and then started for Grandpa’s, where we took dinner and spent a short time, Bob [traveler Robert J. Howe] being busily employed gathering items of family history. We bade the old folks goodbye and started off for Aunt Eliza’s about 3 p.m. arriving there 4-40. After a short rest we went over with Sarah to Mr. Taggart’s (the gamekeeper on Sir Victor Brooke’s demesne). Started out with Mr. T. to see the demesne and castle. Went through the Deer Park. Saw the conservatory, laboratory, study, some of the bedrooms, etc., but most of the house was locked up (it being so late in the evening) and the keeper was gone. We saw enough to convince us that Sir V. is handsomely fixed up and must live well. When we got back to the gamekeeper’s house it was quite dark and showering a little. He presented us with a head of deer horns and some other specimens of horns taken from deer killed on the premises. Sarah brought Mr. T. along with us and we arrived at Aunt Eliza’s 6-30 p.m. and found Uncle Joseph over looking for us. We all took supper and then we started over with Uncle Joseph well loaded with articles of different kinds. Bidding Aunt Eliza goodbye, Mr. Taggart accompanied us to the mouth of Uncle Joseph’s lane. Then at Mr. Benson’s Uncle Joseph gave us a lantern to show us light up to the house. Even with the lantern we had considerable difficulty feeling our way as the road was most terribly muddy and we had to climb sloughs and jump over ditches. Bob got one pretty ugly fall across a ditch. We arrived safely, though with wet and dirty Lower Extremities, at Uncle Joseph’s; received and read the letter from Willie [their older brother William] which came last Saturday. Took off our boots, bathed our feet, and put on our slippers. When we had gotten comfortable, Uncle Joseph put at us to sing some for him. We sang a few hymns and he and Aunt Margaret sang some in the old time long note style after which we went to bed (10 o’clock).

Wednesday, Feb. 16th, 1876

Very early this morning we heard a stir about the house and presently Uncle Joseph came to us and asked the time, we told him “a few minutes past four.” He said (wanting to be up in time to let us away) they had thought about time to get up and he and the servant girl were dressed. Said he would not go to bed again but told us to go to sleep. We dozed until about 6 o’clock when he came back and told us it was time to get up. So we did so, putting on clean shirts and collars. By the time we were dressed Sarah Armstrong arrived with our washing. We then arranged everything in our trunk and valises and by the time we had finished packing up breakfast was ready. Sarah and a Mrs. McQuade ate with us. We got the cart ready and things all in and started right away after breakfast, bidding goodbye to Aunt Margaret. We walked down to the end of the land accompanied by Sarah, and Uncle Joseph rode and drove the cart. We changed carts at Mr. Benson’s, taking his in place of Uncle Joseph’s. At the mouth of the land we parted with Sarah; bidding her farewell we walked on into Fivemiletown. Stopped at Mr. Alexander’s but they were not yet in and we left our cards. We called at Mrs. Spence’s, bid her goodbye and took out Uncle Joseph’s Democrat which gave us news up to 29th Jan’y. Overtook Uncle Joseph waiting for us just outside of town. We got in and drove

Uncle Joseph's cart may have looked much like this one.

the cart and he walked. Almost two miles out we met John Hetherington (Uncle Geo.’s son). Leaving him we came to a mountainous country. Uncle Joseph now got in and we took turns walking for awhile until getting past the summit when we all rode. The day proved one of the prettiest we have met in Ireland, though we have had occasional showers during that day and going over the mountains we felt rather cold and uncomfortable.

We arrived at Fintona a little before 12, deposited our baggage at the station, and finding we would have 1 1/2 hours to wait for a train we set out to have our horse taken care of and hunt a place to eat a lunch that Sarah had brought us over in the morning. We got into a public house by a fire in the kitchen and there ate it, when we had finished washing it down with punch. We got our tickets to Londonderry (3d. class), bid Uncle Joseph goodbye and started off in a car. We were drawn up by horse to the junction and there were transferred (in a few minutes after arrival) to the train from Enniskillen. We made very good time and got a view of the towns of Omagh, Newtown, Steward, and Strahaine and the River and Loch Foyle on the route, arriving at Londonderry 3-30 p.m. We called up the bus driver and porter of the Northern Hotel, who took charge of us and our baggage, and were driven up one of the principal streets and through the wall to the house (a neat brick building just inside the wall) and were shown to a neat room on the 1st floor just overlooking the wall. When we had washed and brushed up we set out for a jaunt on foot to see the sights. Mounted the wall just at the hotel and walked up to see Walker’s monument then continuing along the wall to an old church, went in and examined the old tombs in the yard just on a level with the wall. From this side we had a fine view down the Foyle, but it would have been much better had the weather been clear, which it was not. We continued around past old cannon planted upon the walls which had been used at the siege of 1688. We hunted in vain for the monument and statue to Hugh Karin unless it should be the one in the Diamond to the “Apprentice Boys of Derry,” which has no inscription. We walked through most of the city west of the Foyle, passing through some fine wide streets and some narrow crooked ones lined with dirty hovels. After supper we wrote up some back time of the journal and Bob wrote a letter for the [Carrollton] Democrat, after which we paid our hotel bill which we must say is the only one on our travels with which we have found no fault and recommend the Northern Hotel, Londonderry, for its good accommodations and reasonable charges. J[ohn] retired at 11 pm. and Bob at 11-30 leaving orders to be called at 5-30.

Thursday, Feb 17th

Were called at 5-45, took breakfast, and started in the car (furnished by the hotel) for Port Rush depot, were driven across the fine iron bridge to the east side of the Foyle then along the principal street on that side down the Lough to the depot. The train started at 7 a.m., complimenting Derry as the 1st Irish city we had left without having had a dispute with Hotel waiter or car driver. We whizzed on down Lough Foyle for over 20 miles then inland up a stream, passing through 2 good size tunnels, changed cars at Coleraine where we had to wait 15 minutes and arrived at Port Rush a few minutes after 9, left our luggage with the station master and hired the Causeway Hotel car to take us out to the Causeway for 4 shillings and a fee to the driver. Were driven down to the Port Rush Hotel (which belongs to the same co. as the Causeway Hotel) in their bus and ordered lunch prepared for us on our return. We started off in the car well huffed up in rug and shawl as it was very chilly, hazy weather. We passed along the seashore getting a fine view of the town and Skerries and Harbor, stopped and looked at Napoleon’s Nose then Priest’s Hole, next Giant’s Head, then arches in the rock. The coast along the road the whole way is majestic and abounds in beautiful formations cut in the rock by the action of the sea. In a short time we passed Dunluce Castle and went through Bush Mills, admired its beautiful new market house built of black limestone (made blacker with a glossy black paint) and finished with white. We noticed a large number of buildings in this style in Derry and all parts of counties Derry and Antrim and we would further remark in speaking of buildings that there is no preference shown for large stone in the face of the walls, but the stone is placed in the wall seemingly just as they came handy, no care being taken to select them. This applies to buildings in all parts of Ireland we have visited. We also remarked today numerous fancy brick buildings made of beautiful red pressed brick set off in various designs with cream colored Blue and Black ones. Nearly all the stations we passed today are in that style, and the nearer we approached Belfast the more we have been reminded of America. With the exception of Dublin we have met with very few brick buildings until we came to Fintona [in County Tyrone]. From there on we have met them in large numbers — Londonderry abounds in brick buildings.

Dunluce Castle, County Antrim, Ireland.  The photographer, Tina Mitchell Boutall of Ghent, Carroll County, Kentucky, was there in the first quarter of 2012 and saw the castle on a hazy day, probably much as the Howe brothers saw it.

We arrived at the [Giant's] Causeway 11 a.m. and hired Alex Lafferty guide who for five shillings agreed to show us all the signs of the Causeway to be seen on foot. We could not see it in a boat as the sea was rough. We saw first

the “Giant’s Well” but refused to drink from it, then the Small Causeway, Large Causeway, Giant’s Organ, etc. Climbing by a circuitous route to the top of the bank, we walked several hundred yards and saw the amphitheatre, which is a large semi-circular opening in the rocky cliffs and like all the rest of the causeway on the edge of the sea. The next sight was the Plaiskin [Plaiskin Head, pictured here on a clearer day; http://www.geograph.ie/photo/476079], three triangular cliffs composed of various formations of stone and red clay and partly covered with the green grass. This is said to be a magnificent sight but as it did not look that way to us, we supposed it was on account of the misty weather.

So ends the Howe brothers' time in the homeland of their parents. From Sarah Eva Howe's scrapbooks and family stories, we know the brothers toured several countries in Europe before heading back home to Carrollton, Kentucky, USA. If you happen across their travel diary – in your own family treasures or in a thrift shop – please let me know. Our branch of the family would love to read it.

Visiting the Homeland, 1876 – Part 2: Roast Duck With All the Trimmings

Robert J. and John I. Howe continue their visit with their grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, and family friends in Ireland. Rob and John had never met these relatives before. Still, they didn't consider them strangers. These American-born brothers had heard their immigrant parents tell stories about their Irish family, and the Howes in Ireland had received many letters from their emigrant son and knew much about his American-born family.

The Howe Brothers Who Traveled to Ireland

The photo of Robert (right) is from one of the scrapbooks compiled by his daughter, Sarah Eva Howe. The handwriting is hers. The photo of John comes from a Howe family album.

We pick up the brothers' travel diary as they rise and eat breakfast at Uncle Joseph Brown's cottage on a Friday market day.

Friday, Feb’y 11th

Got up just before 8 o’clock. Just at breakfast time Sarah A[rmstrong] arrived to get our washing, ate breakfast with us, when we started over to Aunt Eliza’s with her. John wrote a private letter to Ma, and Robert wrote to George [a younger brother]. After taking a lunch we and Sarah started to town on foot arriving there at 2 p.m. We found Uncle Joseph who had gone into town in the morning. As it was market day we found a large crowd of people, among them Grandpa’s wife, Hugh Robinson, Uncle Geor. Hetherington and daughter, and other friends. Called at the post office, saw Mrs. Spence, but found no letters for us. Called on the Misses Alexander, who were very glad to see us. After three hours very busily spent lunching and taking punch with our kinfolks, and shopping with Cousin Sarah, we started out home with Hugh Robinson. Arrived at his house (3 miles from 5-mile town) a little after 6 o’clock. After dinner and tea his brother-in-law Jas. West came in and we chatted about America, etc. until 1-30 when we retired in a very comfortable room to ourselves. We found here the same ground floors and furniture style of beds, tables, etc. as at other places but Mr. H. R. and wife appear to want no better and look fat and rosy as do the people everywhere we have been in the neighborhood.

Saturday, Feb’y 12th

Arose just a little before 8 o’clock, after breakfast John wrote up the Journal for yesterday and Bob read the [Carrollton] Democrat of 22nd ult. until 10-15, when we started out accompanied by Mr. Robinson, crossed over through his place to the Clabby and Tempo road, followed that out to Clabby. The front gates of the churchyard were closed but we entered by the minister’s gate, looked through the yard, saw the tombs and exterior of the church but could not get into the church until we went down into the village and got the custodian, Mrs. Morrow, who came and showed us through it. It is roughly arranged inside and poorly kept. We saw about a foot of rubbish in the Belfry, deposited by the jackdaws. At Clabby we met Francis Kirkpatrick, Andy Coulter, and other of Pa’s acquaintances. Leaving Clabby, struck out for Crieve Hill, which we ascended. The day was not clear and our view was obstructed; we spent a few minutes reflecting on the scenes of Pa’s, Cousin Irvine’s and the Hetheringtons’ schoolboy days, then descended on nearly a direct course for Mr. Robinson’s house. Arriving there 1-15 we found Grandpa awaiting us and in a short time Mrs. Robinson’s sister came in and we all started to partake of a good dinner consisting of roast duck, stewed potatoes and rice, finishing up with Punch. The duck tasted elegant, notwithstanding it was cooked on a bare turf fire, which is the manner of cooking everything here in Ireland. Each fireplace has an iron bar, or a chain, suspended from above upon the end of which there is a hook which can be lowered or heightened by means of holes in the iron bar or by the links in the chain. Pots, kettles, etc. are suspended form the hook. A very primitive and unhandy way of cooking, though the victuals can be cooked astonishingly well. When the balance of us were nearly through eating, Mrs. Robinson’s brother, James West, and his wife came in.

As soon as we could get away after dinner we started off with Grandpa about 6-30 p.m., found Grandma looking out for us. As soon as we got warm we had tea after which we sang some songs in the "Pure Gold" for the old folks, cleaned and polished our boots and brushed our clothes. When we retired about 10 p.m. into the best room and the only bed in the house, the old folks fixing a pallet in the kitchen. Going through the fields from Mr. Robinson’s, John had a fall, the only one he has had since leaving home. He dirtied his clothes some though does not feel much hurt.

While we like to think of Ireland's rolling green fields, the Ireland John and Robert saw in February 1876 looked more like this frost-covered landscape. (Image of winter Ireland courtesy Pixabay.com)

Sunday, Feb’y 13, 1876

After breakfast started up with Grandpa to a neighboring house (Mr. Emmerson’s) to Class meeting. The morning being very disagreeable the class was only attended by the Emmerson family, ourselves, grandpa, and the leader, Mr. James Shaw. We met in a very comfortable room, ground floor covered by a matting, very well furnished with cushioned chairs and sofas, windows curtained, walls hung with pictures, turf fire burning in a grate, the snuggest farmhouse we have been in since arriving in Ireland. The leader called the class to order and all kneeled in private prayer, after which a hymn was sung, then the leader led in prayer, when another verse of a hymn was sung, the leader spoke as is usual in beginning. He then addressed himself to one after the other hearing their experiences and giving each one good advice. We each spoke and were called on to pray, but declined; the leader then prayed and another hymn was sung and class dismissed. Were well pleased with Mr. Shaw, is a good religious man. Inquired about Pa, said he made clothes for him in Fivemiletown when living there. We came back home with Grandpa. Grandma made us eat another breakfast, after which we started off for Aunt Eliza’s in a very disagreeable snowstorm. Grandpa went across the fields with us to show us the road. We are amused at the custom here of calling every little stream a river. On leaving, grandpa picked up a pitchfork. We asked him what he intended to do with it. He said he was bringing it along to jump a river that ran through the fields. When we got to the stream we laughed at him and jumped across it. We arrived at Aunt Eliza’s (nearly wet through) about 11-45 a.m. We stopped a few minutes to warm ourselves, took some fruit, and then started off with Sarah Armstrong to Colebrooke Church. When we arrived the service had begun. We looked through the graveyard before going into the church, saw the tomb of Sir George Benghe[?] also saw the tablet in the church to Sir Arthur and also others to many members of the Brooke family who are buried in the vaults under the church. Rev. Wm. Burnside preached a sermon from the text, “Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.” We thought a poor effort. Owing to the wet, disagreeable weather, the congregation was light. After service we went back through the demesne of Sir Victor Brooke, stopped at the gamekeeper’s house, and warmed ourselves. Arrived at Aunt Eliza’s about 2 p.m. took dinner (the best we have had in the neighborhood) about 3 p.m. We had intended to go to town to church but being disgusted with the weather, and Aunt Eliza’s insisting on our staying all night with her and Sarah, we concluded to rest the balance of the evening. We spent the time very pleasantly chatting and reading (a neighbor boy coming in occasionally). Took tea at 6-30, after which we read and sung in the “Pure Gold” [song book], bathed our feet in warm water and went to bed at 10 o’clock.

In the third and final segment of the diary, the Howe Brothers say good-bye to their Ireland ancestors and cousins.

Visiting the Homeland, 1876 – Part 1: Robert and John Howe Arrive in Ireland

If you’ve ever dreamed of visiting the birthplace of your immigrant ancestors, this series of posts might encourage you to start packing.

In early 1876, brothers Robert James Howe and John Irvin Howe left America for a nine-month grand tour of Europe. Their first stop was Ireland, the homeland of their parents John Howe and Sarah Brown Howe. I think this was the first time any of the Howes had gone "home" since John and Sarah left Ireland for America almost 30 years earlier, in 1847.

While Robert (father of scrapbooker Sarah Eva Howe) and John (Sarah's uncle) saw many of the same tourist sites that are popular now, they spent the majority of their days in Fivemiletown (County Tyrone) and in adjacent County Fermanagh. Their father was christened at Fivemiletown and married Sarah Brown at nearby Cavanaleck Presbyterian Church. The couple lived in County Fermanagh, and their first child (William Ficklin Howe) was born there.

The young travelers (Robert was 21; John was 23) kept a diary throughout their trip. The location of the full diary is unknown to our branch of the family, but we have a transcription of the portion related to the visit to Ireland. The stories are as entertaining as they are informative. As one present-day Howe descendant describes it: “The diary gives a fascinating picture of life in Ireland in the late 19th century. The Howes were of humble origin, as evidenced by the thatched-roofed cottages in which they lived. [I think they must have looked like the one in the photo below.] Some of the families the brothers stayed with gave up their own beds so their guests could sleep in comfort. The brothers complain of the smell of cows coming from the barn that was attached to one of the houses. The Irish referred to the U.S. as ‘Amerikay’ and were excited to have guests from the place where so many of their friends and relatives had moved.”

Introduction

The transcription begins with a diary entry dated February 3, 1876, as the brothers arrive in the area of Blarney Castle in County Cork. They paid six pence to see the Blarney Stone, which they declared “a humbug.  ... We did not want to break our necks, so we did not attempt to kiss it.” They continued on to a hotel, arriving long after dark. “John wrote a letter home and Rob’t wrote one to the Democrat [a newspaper in their home town, Carrollton, Kentucky]. Retired at half-past eleven.”

On February 4, they went by Imperial stage to the Great Southern and Western Railway depot, taking second-class seats on the 6 o’clock train for Killarney. “On the way we passed many bogs and thatched roof houses and a few mountains and ruined castles. After a dinner at the Railway Hotel we engaged for 32 shillings a two-horse carriage, guide, driver, host, etc. for a five hours sight of the Lakes of Killarney.  ... Fortunately it was Fair day in town and as we drove through we saw crowds of real Irish people, men with knee breeches, and cattle and general merchandise for sale in the streets.” After touring abbeys and other sites, they spent the night before departing for Dublin.

Waiting for them at the Shelbourne Hotel in Dublin (fifth floor, Room 108) was a letter from Will (their older brother William Ficklin Howe). After supper in a “dining saloon” on Grafton Street, they went to Theatre Royal and saw “Dick Whittington and His Cat,” declaring “the scenery was the finest we ever saw, while the splendid pageantry of the drama could hardly be excelled.” The brothers wrote about dining and touring throughout Dublin on February 6 and 7.

What follows is the transcribed diary, with my occasional comments in brackets. Question marks in parentheses are those of the transcriber, likely either Robert’s daughter Sarah Eva Howe Salyers or Sarah’s daughter Mary Alice Salyers Hays. Names are in bold, with identities if I know them. I have added bits of punctuation for the sake of comprehension, but I kept editing at a minimum.

   The Diary

Tuesday, Feb’y 8th [the first day with their Irish relatives]
We took the [railroad] cars from Amiens Street station at 8-40 this morning for Maguire’s Bridge. The railroad runs along the sea as far as Dundalk, then out into the interior. Passed through Balbriggan, saw several hosiery mills. [Of course, the brothers would notice these mills. Their father learned tailoring in Ireland; in America, he worked as a tailor and owned a woolen mill and fashion retail store in Carrollton, Kentucky.] Changed tracks at Dundalk and Ballyboy, arrived at Maguire’s Bridge at 12-45. Found Uncle Joseph Brown and cousin Sarah Armstrong with a cart ready to receive us. Went up into the village, stopped at the inn, where after refreshments we started for Uncle Joseph’s, the luggage in cart and we walking. About two miles out the post car overtook us and John and cousin Sarah rode out to Aunt Eliza Braden’s house. Uncle Joseph and I walked . . . and stopped at Aunt Eliza’s. She had us take a lunch after which Sarah accompanied us across the fields and through a bog to Uncle Joseph’s house. Arrived at dark. Here we are at our own mother’s birthplace, a humble thatched roof cottage built of stone and plastered over as nearly all country houses are built in Ireland. Contains four rooms, two large and two small ones, all having cement floors. A turf fire was burning in three of the rooms and Aunt Margaret [likely the wife of Uncle Joseph Brown) met us with a blessing and words of welcome. Both ate six meals today including lunch and teas.

Wednesday, Feb’y 9th
Arose at eight and gave uncle Joseph and Aunt Margaret their presents after breakfast, and at ten started to see Grandpa [the older Robert Howe, father of the immigrant John]. On the way met Mrs. Hugh Robinson, and found Grandpa and his wife living in a small house by the roadside, at the foot of Grieve Hill. They were glad to see us. Uncle Joseph went with us. After dispensing their presents and taking a lunch we went to Fivemiletown. Started at half-past three and got to Fivemiletown at half-past four. Received three letters and the Democrat. Saw Mrs. Spence, W. & N. Gillespie, and the house where Pa and Ma first kept house and where William [first-born brother to travelers Robert and John] was born. After a long walk we got back to Uncle Joseph’s house about 7 o’clock. Mrs. John Cowan spent the evening with us until about 11 o’clock, when we retired.

Thursday, Feb’y 10th
Arose at an early hour and in company with Uncle Joseph and Cousin Sarah rode over to Maguire’s Bridge and went by [railroad or carriage] car to see Enniskillen and the fair. Weather sloppy and very disagreeable as we had a light snow yesterday. Arrived 11 o’clock. Went up to top Cole’s monument and got a view of the town and Lake Cerne. Walked through the town watching the crowds of people and seeing the sights until 12 o’clock, when we went to the Imperial Hotel for lunch. After that bought some papers and mailed them home, made other purchases. Took the train again at 4:25 and arrived at Aunt Eliza’s about 7 o’clock. After getting our feet warm, which had got very cold coming out from Maguire Bridge, we went over to Uncle Joseph’s. Ate a hearty supper and retired at half-past ten.

So ended the travelers' third day with their Howe ancestors. In the next post, we'll walk along with Robert and John as they visit more of their Howe-Brown kinfolks and family friends. The brothers wrote in their diary about the homes, the furnishings, the food they were served – and, most of all, the people, who, though of humble means, "appear to want no better and look fat and rosy as do the people everywhere we have been in the neighborhood."

Getting from Here to There in the 1890s

Sarah Eva Howe writes in her scrapbooks about various trips in the 1880s to the early 1900s. She traveled from Carrollton, Kentucky, to Cincinnati to visit relatives and to Louisville to visit friends. Her family went to events in nearby communities of Ghent, Vevay, Madison, and Worthville. Her father and uncles traveled to New York to select stock for the family's department store.

How did they get to those places? Clippings and comments in Sarah's scrapbooks tell the stories.

Montage from one of Sarah Eva Howe's scrapbooks

• Boats – from small rowboats and ferries to large steamships – carried people and goods across rivers, lakes, and oceans. 
• A railroad bridge crossing the Ohio River from Worthville, Kentucky, was completed before 1870, and train travel was apparently commonplace in the entire area before 1880.
• The omnibus (barely visible behind the trees near the lower right corner) was an enclosed, horse-drawn coach that could accommodate groups of people. The March 6, 1871 issue of Louisville's Courier-Journal  reported: “An omnibus line is to commence its daily trips this morning from Carrollton to Worthville.” That explains how Carrolltonians got to Worthville to catch the train! Stagecoaches were still in use as well. From a web site's clipping dated October 1872 (no newspaper named): “The Carrollton Station Stage is doing a thriving business, so is the Worthville Stage, and they are both well conducted. Travel from here, to the cities, is now almost entirely by the Short Line R R. The river is so low that there is no telling at what time the Mail-boats will be along. For instance: the Ben Franklin left Cincinnati, last Saturday evening, and did not reach here until Monday morning.”
• That contraption on the hillside at the top of the montage is an incline. There was at least one incline in Cincinnati, known as "The City of Seven Hills." Sarah commented about riding it when she traveled by riverboat and needed to get from the river up to Price Hill where her Cost grandparents lived. She saved this postcard in a scrapbook.

The horse and buggy was a popular mode of transportation for centuries and was still commonplace through the early 1900s. Sarah remembered cousins coming to visit by horse and buggy.

Aunt Sallie and Uncle Mack [Sarah Varena "Sallie" Howe and Herman M. "Mack" Froman] and their children made frequent trips to see us, and go shopping, from their farm home above Ghent. With their staid family horse it was an hour & a half time. I remember how in cold weather we used to heat bricks for their feet to put in the bottom of the buggy.

What did people do in those days when they needed to get a horse and buggy across the river? This ferry could do the job. Note the commentary above the drawing: "All the Hazards of an Ocean Voyage." I suppose the most important part for the ferryman was keeping the horse calm!

Sarah noted that this ferry operated between Carrollton and Prestonville (both in Kentucky), so these passengers were crossing the Kentucky River just south of where it meets the Ohio. Note their tense body language and apprehensive expressions on the woman's face.

A previous post includes a postcard image and Sarah's comments about Heath's Ferry, which took passengers across the Ohio from the foot of Carrollton's Main Street.

Bicycles became popular modes of short-distance transportation in Carrollton – and everywhere else – in the late 1890s. That was about the time the town's residents started hearing about the "horseless carriage." The first image of an automobile in the scrapbooks was this one, an 1898 Stanley Steamer. Sarah wrote no date or source of the newspaper clipping.

 Later in the scrapbook, Sarah pasted the next image and reminisced about the first time she saw a car.

I never saw a car till 1901, I believe, but of course we began to hear of them, talk of them and even to sing of them ("My Merry Oldsmobile") before that. But I remember the feather boa era like the one the girl is wearing at right.

The song "In My Merry Oldsmobile" was written and first recorded circa 1905, so Sarah's recollection of singing the song prior to 1901 may be a little off. It's fun to listen to the song recorded in 1906.

In 1910, cars were becoming popular enough that the state decided to tax them. Five people in or near Carrollton registered automobiles with the Commonwealth of Kentucky from June 14, 1910, through June 1911. As listed on the Northern Kentucky Views web site, those car owners were Oscar G. Kipping, E.A. Wood, Ida B. Fentress, someone named Schuerman, (probably Henry Berg Schuerman, husband of Sarah's cousin Ruth Louise Howe) and A.W. Shirley. The site lists what kind of car each person had, the horsepower of each car, and the amount of tax paid.
The same web site offers these and other Carrollton-related transportation tidbits:

• “The stage from Carrollton to Worthville, in connection with the Short-line railroad, now runs only when there are passengers.” Courier-Journal, April 17, 1871
• As reported in the New York Times, the first phone call ever made from a train occurred along the Carrollton and Worthville Railroad in 1906.
• Timetable for the L&N Railroad, 1879, listing Liberty (Sanders), Eagle, Worthville, and Carrollton.

The site is a treasure trove of information and images about transportation in north and north-central Kentucky during the late 1800s and early 1900s.