by Kristin Holt | Jun 16, 2017 | Articles
Scams involving fraudulent matrimonial companies abounded in the nineteenth century. Vintage newspapers often reported circumstances, chastised the foolish hearts who sent money to their correspondent, and insisted that no man or woman worth marrying needed to resort to the mail or an agency. This article, titled the same (as my post) was originally published in The New York Times, January 21, 1900, and details the circumstances of a purported “heiress”, gushing love letters on scented stationery, her two lovesick swains, the Manhattan matrimonial agency, and the judge’s decree.
by Kristin Holt | May 12, 2016 | Articles
Victorian-era Americans (both men and women) had ready access to commercially prepared human hair pieces. Women wore them to achieve the style of the day without cutting their hair or to achieve the fullness and length considered stylish and desirable when their own hair couldn’t grow to such amazing lengths. Mail-order catalogs of the period provided a wide variety of products, appealing to men and women alike, including products purported to restore gray hair to the color of youth.
by Kristin Holt | Mar 15, 2016 | Articles
A parade through historical newspapers taking a look at the wild and colorful history of one Charles H. Rowan, proprietor of a matrimonial agency in Milwaukee, Wisconsin in the late 1890’s. He was accused, arrested, tried, found not-guilty, allegedly bribed government officials, retried–and the story doesn’t end there.
by Kristin Holt | Mar 3, 2016 | Articles
- Scammers threw out baited hooks to entrap the unsuspecting…and “suckers” fell for it far too often. This article covers a few short newspaper reports of circumstances wherein the honest fell for scams and ultimately paid plenty.
- The Postoffice Department takes steps to Suppress a Matrimonial Bureau. [sic]
- Six young boys run a scam, presenting themselves as a wealthy widow seeking a husband.
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.
