Wednesday, February 13, 2019

Portsmouth Times Archives -- Delivering History




I love to find articles from the past in the local paper archive. I do not pay for a retrieval service; however, many old editions are available free online as a tempting “come on” for subscribing. The stories run the gamut from funny to regretful. They make history so personal with their dated factual representations of news, opinion, and advertisements. And, the print adds much insight into current affairs.

Allow me to share a few of the entries from the Portsmouth Times I found interesting and worthy of note. I hope you enjoy reading them.

Immigration

With all the recent flap about the Southern border and illegal immigration, one might assume the controversy is relatively new. It is not. Even during the European migration to America, public sentiments against immigration were raging. Discriminatory immigration policies aimed at southern and eastern Europeans figured into the quota-based policies of the 1920s.

From 1880 to 1924, more than 2 million Eastern Europeans, mainly Catholics, immigrated to the U.S. Of those, immigrants of Polish ancestry were the largest group. During the same period, roughly two million Jews came to the U.S., seeking opportunity and fleeing the political massacre taking place in Eastern Europe. Italian immigration to the U.S. reached its peak of over 2 million between 1910 and 1920. Immigration quotas passed in the 1920s tended to favor earlier generations of immigrants by giving preference to Northern Europeans.

With the passage of the Immigration Act of 1924, also known as the National Origins Act or Johnson-Reed Act, the U.S. used restrictive immigration policies in the 1920s based on the 1890 proportions of foreign-born European nationalities.

Such arguments such as those outlined in Madison Grant's 1916 book The Passing of a Great Race, held that older immigrants were skilled, thrifty, hardworking like native born Americans and recent immigrants from southern and eastern Europe were unskilled, ignorant, predominantly Catholic or Jewish and not easily assimilated into American culture.

Madison Grant and Charles Davenport, among other eugenicists, were called in as expert advisers on the threat of "inferior stock" from eastern and southern Europe, playing a critical role as Congress debated the Immigration Act of 1924. The act attempted to control the number of "unfit" individuals entering the country by lowering the number of immigrants allowed in to fifteen percent of what it had been previously. Existing laws prohibiting race mixing were strengthened as well. The adoption of incest laws and many anti-miscegenation laws were also influenced by the premises of eugenics.

From the Portsmouth Times, January 4, 1920...

“Immigrants Pouring In”

NEW YORK, Jan. 3 (dateline)

“With hundreds of aliens being shipped from all ports of the country to Ellis Island for deportation as dangerous radicals, it was reported today that 100,000 immigrants are expected on incoming vessels this month. Nearly 50,000 arrived last month and nearly 500 have been landed in the last 18 hours.

Automobiles

In 1900 wealthy people bought cars for pleasure, comfort, and status. Many doctors bought small, affordable cars because they were more dependable than horses and easier to keep ready. Rural Americans also liked cars because they could cover long distances without depending on trains.

People began to employ their cars to take produce to market, go to stores and movies in town, and even to plow fields. Families in towns and cities liked cars because they were handy for errands, going to the train station, visiting relatives, going to church, and going on drives in the country. A family’s house with a car in the driveway has been a common sight since about 1910. Who were among the first to drive their automobiles in Scioto County?

Wonder no more. There is an article in the Portsmouth Times on March 1, 1910 that sheds light upon just that question. I “cherry picked” some names from this book of registration. Many more names are available in the actual article.

From the Portsmouth Times, March 1, 1910 ...

“The state automobile book containing the registrations of every automobile in Ohio from January1 to February 1 came into the county clerk's office Tuesday morning. The registrations ran from 1 to 8150 inclusive. (Note: the entries include name, town, and make of auto.)

John W. Miles, Lucasville, Sears
M.O. Yeager, Rushtown, Olds
Frank Appel, Portsmouth, Maxwell
P.H. Harsha, Poetsmouth, Buick
Joseph B. Peebles, Portsmouth, Olds
Dr. Micklehwait, Portsmouth, Ford
Dr. L.D. Allard, Portsmouth, Regal
George D. Selby, Portsmouth, White

Live and Enjoy Life

Life expectancy and lifestyle of the 1920s? How about age 70 as very old? One posting I found informative was this little nugget of advice posted in the Portsmouth Times, January 11, 1923 ...

“Don't Worry How to live to age of three score and ten – Be moderate."

Teaching

The last entry I found was about an incident in a local classroom during 1910. I was able to take a photo of the actual article so you could read it for yourself. I think you will find it very descriptive and even a little amusing. It surprised me to see such a report would make the paper. And, the detailed account of incident reveals just how much times have changed.

I was unable to access the original article in “Saturday's Times” that elicited the reply from Rena M. Holmes, teacher at Hope School in South Webster. I do not mean to demean Oliver Stephens or Ms. Holmes in any way. Being a former teacher, I just found this view into a classroom of the past so interesting.

From the Portsmouth Times, January 4, 1910 ...






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