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 box of cartoon drawings and cels. Host Tukufu Zuberi doesn't recognize most of the characters in these drawings, but the condition of the art leads him to believe they're old. What role did these drawings play in the history of animation? This investigation takes us through the early years of animation and introduces us to some of the unsung heroes behind the art.

Our contributor has a document from 1779 signed by the Governor of Spanish colonial Louisiana that emancipated Agnes Mathieu from slavery. What was so special about Agnes? Most freedom papers from the time bear only the notarization of a local clerk. Elyse Luray discovers Galvez's pivotal role in America's fight for freedom and in a romantic story of our contributor's past.

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 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.

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 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 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.