History Detectives

Our contributor has inherited a most unusual document. The yellow, three-page record dates 1791 and reads, "Act of Incorporation of the Universal Friends." The Universal Friends were an early, controversial religious group with a woman leader named Jemima Wilkinson, the first religion founded by an American born woman. Gwen Wright unravels the mysteries of this short-lived religious community.

Our contributor wonders if her family clock kept time for the entire Midwest during the 19th century. According to the story, the clock sat in the family jewelry store in Chicago and regulated time in other towns via telegraph signals. Elyse Luray takes on the case, and discovers how regulating time became critical as America moved into the industrial age.

Watch the original animation of Bosko "the Talk Ink Kid", the very first Looney Tune in 1930.

Our contributor has a scorecard for a game between two unusual teams: the Majors' All Stars and Robinson's All Stars. Jackie Robinson's team is made up of both black and white players, yet this game appears to have occurred before Robinson became the first black major league baseball player in 1947. Could this game have been a test to find out how America would react to integrated baseball?

Our contributor believes she has a basket woven by a woman who played a pivotal role in the Indian Wars that helped define the settlement of the West. The weaver worked the name "Toby" into the pattern of the basket. Could this be Toby Riddle, the woman who thrust her body into the line of fire to save the life of a peace negotiator? Wes Cowan investigates.

The intrigue on the brittle pages of this 1930s radio script reaches beyond the suspenseful plot line. From the text we gather that J. Edgar Hoover himself endorsed the creator to reveal the details of a true story. What does J. Edgar Hoover and the FBI have to do with this radio script? And how accurate are the events in the play? Gwen Wright finds out.

Our contributor has a startling piece of art - a ceramic jug with eyes, nose, ears and teeth bared in a grimace. She suspects African Americans made this face jug during the Civil War era and wonders if it came to Philadelphia on the Underground Railroad. Gwen Wright investigates the who, what, when and where of this curious jug.

The words and images on this poster draw battle lines. We see a photo of what looks like a stern police officer, a clenched fist, and the wording: "Hot Town - Pigs in the Streets... But the streets belong to the people! Dig it?" Who made this poster and why? Tukufu Zuberi brings all the pieces together.

Our contributor has long pondered an inscription on a rock wall. Written in Spanish it translates as: "Fray Marcos de Niza crowned all of New Mexico at his expense, 1539." If this date is accurate, then de Niza was the first European in the Phoenix area. Is the inscription authentic? Eduardo Pagan investigates.

Our contributor inherited a watercolor he believes was painted by a soldier, John F. Gisch, during the Civil War. He wants to know more about the artist, John Gisch, and about the painting itself. Wes Cowan learns more about the crucial battle over a strategic vantage point, Lookout Mountain and visits the Rock Island Arsenal Museum to find out more about the lives of soldiers imprisoned there.

Our contributor has a book published in 1939 titled Diana: A Strange Autobiography, which tells a sympathetic story of how one woman discovers that she is a lesbian. Experts call this book groundbreaking as one of the first works of gay literature with a happy ending. History Detectives sets out to find the author. Who is Diana Fredericks? And is this story true?

Our contributor needs help solving a mystery in a letter she found from the father she never met. Ron Bradley is among the soldiers declared Missing In Action during the Korean War. The letter tells of a firefight that nearly cost her father his life. Bradley names another soldier who saved his life by jumping on a live grenade. Eduardo Pagan helps find closure in the story of this mystery hero.