Tom, I think these places were geared more to the single man than married men, but am sure none were turned away - or very few were turned away - The reason behind my thoughts are due to stories that have been told to me by great aunts - My gg grandmother happened to earn her living in this profession in Iowa - I wondered why my great grandfather changed his last name - but after finding some letters from my great aunt Myrtle to my grandfather and being told stories by my great aunt Helen - I kind of gathered that he didn't want anyone to know who his mother was. Side story on the same subject: i was helping a lady in the library on Monday hunt for an obituary from the 1800's. While I was paging through 1897 microfilm i found an article about a 26 year old man who was charged and convicted of moral depravity. it seems he convinced a young woman from a local brothel to come home and live with him and he was sentenced to a year in jail. It did not say if she was charged with anything but indicated that she was of questionable moral background. Dianne In a message dated 3/30/2011 11:55:54 P.M. Pacific Daylight Time, [email protected] writes: Hello - Its doubtful that any Polish men would know anything about such a subject. A 14 hour workday on the farm leaves little time indeed for anything else. What with daily Mass in the AM and Bible Study in the PM, there's barely enough time to spend an hour or two with the wife over dinner. Private prayer has to be allotted time of course along with their visiting the hospital sick. Daily rosaries are said when they can squeeze a few minutes here and there. It was a tough life. Tom On Mar 29, 2011, at 3:48 PM, "Sherri Brakenhoff" <[email protected]> wrote: > Very interesting! No, I'd never heard of "Old Hats". I'll be on the lookout > for it now, though ;>) > > Sherri Brakenhoff - [email protected] > NEGenWeb, Platte Co Coordinator - > http://www.usgennet.org/usa/ne/county/platte/ > NEGenWeb, Colfax Co Coordinator - > http://www.usgennet.org/usa/ne/county/colfax/ > Sherri's Family Findings - > http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~sherri/ > > > -----Original Message----- > From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] > On Behalf Of [email protected] > Sent: Tuesday, March 15, 2011 9:21 PM > To: [email protected] > Subject: Re: [NEPLATTE] Columbus Journal link > > Sherri - Am wondering if you have run across a business named "Old Hat's" > in your quest to find business names and locations. This business was > operating in Columbus in the 1880's - I am sure it was not advertised in any > > paper, nor would it have appeared in any business listing for the time, nor > was it probably discussed in polite society. It was established to take > care of men's immediate physical needs while searching for a > wife/homemaker. ------------------------------- To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to [email protected] with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message

Yes - Moral depravity - sighhh, well, the truth be known, I suppose the "End Results" are more widespread than one would ordinarily think - kept so by the stoic adherence to the social and religious norms + values of the times. Then again, the subject has always been "hiding" right out in the open for all to see, if they wished to see - kinda like missing the tree because they were looking at the forest. Personally, I have read from many sources over the years, that for one reason or the other, many females gravitated towards providing such services - a matter of supply and demand I would guess, and from this pool of femininity then, pioneer wives would be "found". I suppose that if I were a female during this time period, I would have done the same - of course I wouldn't have made much since I would undoubtedly have carried the title of "ugliest female in Columbus" [smile] and the tighty whities would have baffled them. I think that probably, today, in our ardor associated with genealogy, we tend to romanticize the pioneer times, when in reality, most lived right on the edge, where the difference of a penny may well determine whether one eats that day or not. I suppose at times like this, the immigrant Family would have questioned their sanity in leaving the old country, but then again, their pioneer lives in Nebraska may still have been preferable. What a strange world we live in. Tom On Mar 31, 2011, at 3:35 AM, [email protected] wrote: > Tom, I think these places were geared more to the single man than married > men, but am sure none were turned away - or very few were turned away - > > The reason behind my thoughts are due to stories that have been told to me > by great aunts - My gg grandmother happened to earn her living in this > profession in Iowa - I wondered why my great grandfather changed his last name > - but after finding some letters from my great aunt Myrtle to my > grandfather and being told stories by my great aunt Helen - I kind of gathered that > he didn't want anyone to know who his mother was. > > Side story on the same subject: i was helping a lady in the library on > Monday hunt for an obituary from the 1800's. While I was paging through 1897 > microfilm i found an article about a 26 year old man who was charged and > convicted of moral depravity. it seems he convinced a young woman from a > local brothel to come home and live with him and he was sentenced to a year in > jail. It did not say if she was charged with anything but indicated that > she was of questionable moral background. > > Dianne > > > In a message dated 3/30/2011 11:55:54 P.M. Pacific Daylight Time, > [email protected] writes: > > > Hello - > > Its doubtful that any Polish men would know anything about such a subject. > A 14 hour workday on the farm leaves little time indeed for anything else. > What with daily Mass in the AM and Bible Study in the PM, there's barely > enough time to spend an hour or two with the wife over dinner. > > Private prayer has to be allotted time of course along with their visiting > the hospital sick. Daily rosaries are said when they can squeeze a few > minutes here and there. It was a tough life. > > Tom > > > On Mar 29, 2011, at 3:48 PM, "Sherri Brakenhoff" <[email protected]> > wrote: > >> Very interesting! No, I'd never heard of "Old Hats". I'll be on the > lookout >> for it now, though ;>) >> >> Sherri Brakenhoff - [email protected] >> NEGenWeb, Platte Co Coordinator - >> http://www.usgennet.org/usa/ne/county/platte/ >> NEGenWeb, Colfax Co Coordinator - >> http://www.usgennet.org/usa/ne/county/colfax/ >> Sherri's Family Findings - >> http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~sherri/ >> >> >> -----Original Message----- >> From: [email protected] > [mailto:[email protected]] >> On Behalf Of [email protected] >> Sent: Tuesday, March 15, 2011 9:21 PM >> To: [email protected] >> Subject: Re: [NEPLATTE] Columbus Journal link >> >> Sherri - Am wondering if you have run across a business named "Old > Hat's" >> in your quest to find business names and locations. This business was >> operating in Columbus in the 1880's - I am sure it was not advertised in > any >> >> paper, nor would it have appeared in any business listing for the time, > nor >> was it probably discussed in polite society. It was established to > take >> care of men's immediate physical needs while searching for a >> wife/homemaker. > > > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to > [email protected] with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and > the body of the message > > > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to [email protected] with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message