Captain Riley's Narrative

 Zahara. The word sounded familiar. It was contained in a title of a book donated to the library which I saw several months ago: Skeletons on the Zahara. It made me wonder if this was a retelling of a book in the library's vault, the story of which is summarized in its title:

An Authentic Narrative Of The Loss Of The American Brig Commerce, Wrecked On The Western Coast Of Africa, In The Month Of August, 1815. With An Account Of The Sufferings Of Her Surviving Officers And Crew, Who Were Enslaved By The Wandering Arabs On The Great African Desart, or Zahahra; And Observations Historical, Geographical, &c. Made During The Travels Of The Author, While A Slave To The Arabs, And In The Empire Of Morocco.  By James Riley

I placed the newer book in the vault next to the older book. At one point I took a few photographs and finally came to compare the two books. As I had guessed, the newer is an updated presentation of Captain James Riley's account of the 1815 wreck of the brig Commerce, and the remaining crews' subsequent sufferings as slaves of the Arabs.

 The updated version was put together by Dean King who stumbled across Riley's book in the library of the New York Yacht Club in Manhattan. King was intrigued  and re-traveled by camel and land rover Riley’s 800 mile trek.

 

 

Old Money: A Numismatic Mystery

We have here a numismatic (which means of or pertaining to coins) mystery,  a fascinating treasure trove of coins from the vault of the Hagaman Library.

The coins most likely belonged to Isaac Hagaman or his father. Some are so obscured by tarnish or patina, which in coins is called "toning," that the age and origin are a mystery.

Of particular interest are the two shown below:

East Haven Commemorative Tercentenary Coins

These commemorative coins were produced for a number of towns including East Haven, as seen above, for the Connecticut Tercentenary Celebration in 1935. 

Also issued were Tercentenary automobile plates, stamps, postcards of CT houses, and pamphlets on Connecticut history.

One Acre of Salt Meadow Situated in East Haven

A 1789 land deed signed by Jared and Sarah Bradley for an acre of Salt Meadow in East Haven. The wax seals are of particular interest.

Three Photographs of Trollies

Below are three photographs of trollies generously donated to the library by Catherine Satula.  My thought is that all views are of New Haven as one trolley has the header for streets as State and Ames. The photographs were taken by Edward D. Satula.

Hagaman Memorial Library Local History and Archives New Pinterest Account

See this and other archival and historical photos from the Hagaman Memorial Library at Pinterest.com

Melinda's Maps

More thanks to former East Haven resident, Melinda Tillie for another letter which included her hand drawn maps of  Main Street, East Haven. Melinda fondly recalls Holcombe's Drug Store and states in her letter:

'Holccombe's Drug Store was great and always a stop on the way home from Union School! They had a great old fashioned soda fountain...'

 She also commented on the Capitol Theatre and "The Farms" on N. High Street: 

'The Capitol Theater. You could go on Sat. and spend the afternoon, see at least two pictures plus the news etc - price? .25!'  

'You cannot believe the shock it was when "The Farms" up on N. High Street, Hine's Farm and Knudsen's Farm were sold. They were going to build houses there! If you drove up  N. High St. by The Farms, all you could see was the greenest grass and cows from N. High St. to over by the ridge.'

Thank you, Melinda.