Civil War, U. S., 1861-1865; Correspondence; Fortune telling; Love-letters; American Civil War, letters and diaries; Military life
Ernest Schleicher, a soldier in Company I 38th Regiment Indiana Infantry, wrote letters home during the Civil War to Harriet Jackson of New Providence, Indiana. Ernest mustered in as a private in 1861 and was discharged in 1865 as a sergeant. These...
History; County government; Pioneers; Families; Farm life; Farming;
Mr. McCormick describes his work as an "An Authentic Narrative of the Past, with an Extended Survey of Modern Developments in the Reclamation of Lands and the Progress of Town and Country".
The "Belle of the Bends" was built in 1898 and in 1909 she sank and was raised for the first time. A year later she again went under and was raised. She ran as an excursion boat in New Orleans in 1910 and 1911. Soon after she was overhauled and...
Steamboats; Riverboats; Stern wheelers; Greene Line; Madison-Milton Bridge; Ohio River
Built in 1925, this was the second "Chris Greene" of the Greene Line. One can see the Madison-Milton Bridge in the background on the left hand side; it was built in 1928. The first "Chris Greene" was lost in the great fire at Cincinnati in...
Steamboats; Riverboats; "City of Madison"; Dikes (Engineering)
Built in Madison in 1882, the boat was the second "City of Madison," the first having been lost in a devastating explosion during the Civil War. On June 18, 1894, she was returning from a trip to Memphis, with a stop-over in Owensboro, Kentucky,...
Rivers; Waterfronts; Horses; Mules; Steamboats; Riverboats; Mail steamers; Passengers
This river scene depicts great activity along the levee in any typical river town. The "Columbia" is either loading or unloading her passengers. The horse-drawn carts near the gangplank were probably used to convey passengers to and from the boat....
Steamboats; Riverboats; Excursion boats; "Belle of Louisville"; "Avalon"; Ferries; USO clubs; Rose Island
Built in 1914 this boat went by the name Idlewild from that date to 1947. She then became the Avalon from 1947 to 1962 when she was dubbed "Belle of Louisville". She is a shallow draft boat which enables her to glide over water that would not be...
If the "Delta Queen" was the swan of the Ohio, then the "Kentucky" was the Little Mud Hen. According to Way's Packet Directory, "the cabin was shifted out of plumb and leaned in a uniform stagger creating an optical illusion seen nowhere else...
The locomotive "M.G. Bright" is shown here on the Madison incline. In the lower right hand corner you can see a boy. He is standing at the stone mile marker.
This scene is the Ohio River during the terrible winter of 1917-1918. You can see the "Princess" locked in the ice. That winter was exceptionally cold and the river and its tributaries froze "stem to stern". It caused much destruction along the...
The newly built "Reuben Wells" sits at the Jeffersonville yards where she was built for the J M & I Railroad under the supervision and to the specifications of Master Mechanic, Reuben Wells, for whom she was named. Her boiler was tilted forward to...
Built in 1902 in Dubuque, Iowa, she was the largest towboat ever built. Her early beginnings, however, were rocky. On her maiden voyage she collided with a showboat and only a year later had to have her engines replaced. It was difficult for...
Here the ferry boat "Trimble" lands at the Milton docks. You can see Madison in the background. The large building in the middle of the picture seen in the distance is the Eagle Cotton Mills.
Here you can see some of the devastation the ice caused during the harsh winter of 1917-1918. The ferryboat "Trimble" is caught and nearly buried in the thick ice. She did survive but was badly damaged. On February 20, 1918 the newspaper reported,...
The "Washington" is shown docked at Madison, Indiana, just above the Trow Flour Mill. On its sign you can see part of the word 'Perfection'. Perfection flour was shipped all over the country, and to other countries, by boat and rail. The mill...
Monroe County (Ind.) -- History ; Nichols Family -- Correspondence; Family -- Indiana -- Monroe County; United States -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865; United States. Army. Indiana Infantry Regiment, 14th (1861-1864). Company K; Indiana --...
Allen and Elizabeth Duncan write to Sarah Nichols of general correspondence.