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Archive: April 2025 (2 Posts)

Close-up of an engraved powder horn with scenes from New York.

Keeping Your Powder Dry

Posted by: Neely Tucker

The elaborately engraved powder horn was the prized possession of any gunman in colonial America, the elegant solution for hunters and soldiers who (literally) needed to keep their powder dry. The Library preserves 10 of these relics of the era, with etchings depicting everything from military victories to cityscapes to elaborate personal motifs.

Sepia toned family photo from the 1850s, showing a stiffly posed mother, father and five children.

College Records Add New Depth to Women’s Genealogy

Posted by: Neely Tucker

-This is a guest post by Candice Buchanan and Wanda Whitney in the History and Genealogy Section. Buchanan wrote the first entry; Whitney, the second. Lucy Lazear, the valedictorian of her 1853 graduating class at Waynesburg Female Seminary in Pennsylvania, paused her commencement speech to thank Margaret Bell, a key member of the faculty. “That …