by Kristin Holt | Mar 12, 2016 | Articles
* One Chicago Matrimonial Bureau circulated the photograph of one miss to cowboys in the West, inferring an abundance of brides…
* Matrimonial Bureau run by a man named Chinn, accused of having purchased pictures of Actors and Actresses and passing them off as candidates for marriage.
* 40,000 Love Letters: Manager of a Matrimonial Bureau Slides Down a Rope From a Third Story Window (leaving wife and desperately ill baby behind in a closet)
* The Salvation Army, in the Cupid Business? (A delightful spot of humor!)
by Kristin Holt | Feb 26, 2016 | Articles
Detective Clifton R. Wooldridge made a difference on the streets of wicked Chicago at the turn of the 20th century. Some of the 100 fraudulent matrimonial agencies he shut down are captured in newspaper articles from the era. A significant scam involving Mail-Order Brides, mentioning Detective C.R. Wooldridge is featured in this article.
by Kristin Holt | Feb 14, 2016 | Articles
The Victorian Era was a time of Romanticism: flowery language, love letters as a part of courtship; and Valentine’s Day! Expectations and societal norms during the latter 19th century was filled with some traditions we recognize today, and some we might not.
by Kristin Holt | Feb 5, 2016 | Articles
The term “Mail-Order Bride” is a 20th century development, though current popular fiction suggests it was common as early as the Civil War.
Matrimonial advertisements were published in newspapers far more often than a “catalog” of sorts. In fact more than one Matrimonial-type newspaper started up in the late 19th Century. The Matrimonial News did quite well in London, Germany, and the United States.
by Kristin Holt | Jul 1, 2015 | Articles
Fans of Mail Order Bride historical romances know that many of these marriages of convenience involved letter-writing for a couple to become acquainted and perhaps eventually marry. The curious thing is that writing and love letters between a courting couple wasn’t a phenomenon for those separated by distance. Couples in the Victorian-Era United States often sent love letters to one another as part of their courtship, even when the other party resided nearby.
