Mail-Order Bride Farces…for Entertainment?

Mail-Order Bride Farces…for Entertainment?

Victorian Americans loved live entertainment. In this era prior to motion pictures (or television)–theater performances, opera, musicals, orchestra performances–were all highly sought after. And not just in the settled cities of the east.

Did you know one specific type of entertainment were farces? And their sole purpose was to poke fun at the idea of mail-order brides? This article contains numerous newspaper accounts and advertisements.

Nineteenth Century Mail-Order Bride SCAMS, Part 6

Nineteenth Century Mail-Order Bride SCAMS, Part 6

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.