Monday 19th October 2009 - A Well-Worn Path

          I found this set of rules for teachers from back in 1870.  Men teachers (sic) could have one night off courting, two if they were regular church-goers.  I wonder how they balanced the economics of that.  The following were given as good reasons for suspecting his work, intention, integrity, and honesty: frequenting pool halls or public halls, or getting shaved in a barber's shop.  One can just imagine the local barber, brushing down the young teacher: "anything for your night off, sir?"

          These rules had probably been promulgated by the local minister, who was pictured with his "family".  The picture consisted of a stern-looking minister, a young girl, and, how can I put this delicately, two very-definitely big girls.  There was no explanation of this strange menage.  Perhaps it was quite normal for a regular church-goer..

 

          I am now toddling along a regular path from archive to courthouse to library.  Everyone is pleased to see me, and keen to help.  But they're really geared-up to help people looking for ancestors, not attaching people to particular places.  I manage to pick up an isolated fact here and there.  What I need is one of those big walls so popular in detective films, were I can stick my facts on post-its and move them about.  Instead of my tiny little pocket note book.

          All I really achieved today was eliminating several suspects.  But I also discovered that a stage line was established in 1833 running from Wellsville, just down the road on the Ohio River, north up to Lake Erie "carrying the mails and the occasional passenger".  It would have run along the road past were Glasgow Post Office appeared in 1839, so it would have generated a demand for a mail drop off.

 

          Speaking of mail, lots of the letters home to Scotland had addresses ending "N.B.".  I hadn't really registered it till I finally saw one which said "N. Britain", and I remembered that this was a period when there was an attempt to change Scotland to "North Britain" (There were "North British Hotels" at main railway stations) and Ireland to "West Britain".

          But since these people were so keen to put "Scotland" on their gravestones, it is strange they should replace it on letters home.  Perhaps they feared they wouldn't get delivered if they put "Scotland" on them.