An old Sabbath School book, a photo of a young boy, and a handwritten poem about a frozen girl with a cryptic signature all led to a girl named Phoebe V. Lory and someone with the last name Leer. If you are just joining me on this history detective adventure, start at part 1 to learn what I discovered so far. With the assumption that the last name of the individual Phoebe wrote the poem for was "Leer," I researched all of the Leer families living in and around Latimore, Ada

Discovered between the pages of The Child's Scripture Question Book (1836, American Sunday School Union, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania), was a carte de visite (CDV) of a young boy and a folded paper with a handwritten poem. The poem included a curious coded citation at the end. The book was full of engravings (illustrations) and wonderfully worn. I love old books that have been used and handled. All Pictures in this post by Jamanix Books, used with permission. Was the boy in th

Found in an old children's sunday school book, a popular poem and ballad was handwritten on a folded piece of paper. The transcriber? A mystery. They chose to sign their name in code. Photo by Jamanix Books. Used with permission. Since I had researched the poem, "Young Charlotte," I knew that the original author was Elizabeth Oaks Smith. The letters of her name did not fit the characters in the code. Therefore, it is my theory that the coded name is the name of the person who

In the pages of an antique book, The Child's Scripture Question-Book , a picture of a young boy and a handwritten poem were discovered. Photo by Jamanix Books. Used with permission. Since the back of the CDV (carte de visite) photograph had nothing that identified the individual in the picture, a closer look at the folded pages was warranted. the paper was 17" x 11" and creased or torn where folded. Written on the front and back was a poem. The poem was written in pencil and

My husband began selling used books a few years ago. My favorite part of his business is when he acquires rare and antique volumes. I love the look of them, and the feel of the old pages. When you hold 18th and 19th century volumes, you are holding history. Often items are tucked in the pages of a book. Found items hold as much mystery and wonder as the books themselves. Who placed them there? Who owned the book? Was the item a book mark or slipped in between pages for safe k

As 2025 crawls slowly to an end, I find I am holding my breath. For many reasons, this has been the hardest year. Fall of 2019 through most of 2020 was a gut punch. But 2025... 2025 was a year of gasping for breath. Personal struggles, health challenges, among other things. But it is the loss and grief that were penned onto the pages of my life in 2025 that defined this year for me. A year of hard goodbyes and soldiering through. I will not describe here all that myself or my

One of the mysteries within the Wilkes-Barre glass negative collection owned by Paul Holbrook of Camera Americana was a series of images...

She was the sweet face that often greeted us at Paul Holbrook's Camera Americana page on Facebook. Many wondered who she was, including...

The Wilkes-Barre glass negatives had many clues in the images to help me solve the identity of some of the places and people within them....

The major break in the case of the Wilkes-Barre Glass negatives came from the man who first purchased them. Whenever I have sought to...

Before I closed up my research on the lake pictures that were part of the Wilkes-Barre glass negatives, I wanted to look into a picture...

Knowing that the glass negatives in Paul Holbrook's collection were mostly from Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, was a significant help in...

Paul Holbrook and I go back many years and his images have captured not only my heart and mind, but the attention of thousands of people...

As soon as Paul Holbrook's glass negative collection from the Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania area hit his Facebook page, I knew they were...

A large glass negative collection was put up for sale on eBay. My friend Paul Holbrook purchased many of them and has been busy restoring...

Paul Holbrook has done it again! He's sucked me in with his beautifully restored images from his amazing glass negative collection. If...

by Julie Jeffery Manwarren, November 29, 2021 This post is dedicated to Paul Holbrook, who overcame so much in the past year and whose...

This post is part of a series. To read from the beginning, go here. I was thrilled to be able to construct a small family tree for Freda...

If you are just joining me on my latest history detective adventure, be sure to read part 1 of this series here. I loved having something...

I was in a slump. I had come down from the high of having a book published and finally getting back to Springwater, NY in the western...