While researching Nashville Penitentiary convicts, I noted the prisoner Lacy Witcher (and many other prisoners) was “Pardoned under the Act of 1836” (see image 1). What was this act? Was it simply for good behavior or was there another reason, such as prison over-crowding or perhaps an outbreak of a …
I spent the last week in Salt Lake City at the FamilySearch Library. It was a good trip with great people and several very interesting finds, lots of documented negative search results (sometimes those are the best ones), and confirmation that some of my previous finds were on the right …
Old records are no match to vermin. Apparently the English government let their records sit in dank basements for years while the rats and mice feasted on the decaying documents. The story of the rats in the archives is told in the 22 October 2021 episode of Gone Medieval podcast. …
