Two new books on the market

There are two new books available regarding the "seedier" side of life. This information was found on today's posting of Dick Eastman's column. This free newsletter can be viewed at eogn.com (Eastman's Online Genealogy News) The full URL for this article is: http://blog.eogn.com/eastmans_online_genealogy/2008/04/hookers-crooks.html

It sounds like two fun books!
Aunt Merle
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April 06, 2008

Hookers, Crooks, and Kooks - the Books

Jana Sloan Broglin is a Certified Genealogist with an interesting way of looking at history. One of her specialties is focusing on those "other people" in the family tree. You know the ones: those who were not fine, upstanding pillars of the community. We all have such people in our family trees although perhaps our older relatives didn't mention them when we were growing up. Jana suggests that these scoundrels also deserve to be remembered, and I think she is right.

Jana has now published two books, entitled "Hookers, Crooks, and Kooks," Parts 1 and 2. These are the first two of what is promised to be a series of books. Here are the announcements of these new books:

Hookers, Crooks, and Kooks
Part 1: Hookers
By Jana Sloan Broglin, CG

What had been a story passed down about the author’s great-great aunt, Gertrude Mearl Cabisher Eagle Boring, being a “madame” of a brothel, piqued her interest in finding prostitutes, madams, ladies of the evening, soiled doves, etc. Would they appear in the census? The answer was a resounding, “YES!”

Research using the online entries for the 1880 United States Federal Census at Ancestry.com led to the amazing fact that 4,723 individuals were listed. When other words (maybe they could be called “sin-onyms”) were also checked such as “whore,” “sporting woman,” “concubine,” and others, an amazing total of 6,210 were listed with this occupation. At first, the number seemed high, but there may be many hundreds, possibly thousands of women not listed as a prostitute in the census as the occupation may be identified as “boarder” or “seamstress” within a household. Many of these women truly were boarding at a home while others plied the prostitution trade.

The first in a series of books regarding Hookers, Crooks, and Kooks, tackles the listings of prostitutes in the 1880 United States Federal Census. The second volume will cover some of the crooks and kooks found, while the third volume will be a listing of those persons involved in jails and prisons, including the sheriffs, marshals, deputies, and employees, as well as the prisoners themselves.

[Cost $22.00 plus $5.00 shipping and handling]

Hookers Crooks, and Kooks
Part 2: Crooks and Kooks
By Jana Sloan Broglin, CG

In this volume of Hookers, Crooks, and Kooks, occupations from the old Cher song, “Gypsies, Tramps, and Thieves” were located in the 1880 United States Federal Census, along with quack doctors, phrenologists, chicken thieves, circus performers, ballet dancers (as well as the more notorious “Hurdy Dancers”), clairvoyants, bummers, and drunks. Baseball players are also included, although they don’t really fit the criteria of a crook or kook, but as the sport was so new, these occupations were rarities. People who had died by the census date may also be listed in the census with “dead” as the occupation. Research using the online entries for the 1880 United States Federal Census at Ancestry.com led to the amazing fact that gambling was the most prominent occupation with 1,313 men and women listed

[Cost $21.00 plus $5.00 shipping and handling]

Save $5.00 shipping and handling by buying both books in one order!
Order from Jana Sloan Broglin, CG, 2780 County Road E, Swanton, OH 43558. Checks or money orders – no credit cards.