It may not look like it has anything to do with railroad history, but this straightedge was one of many surveying tools used by Benjamin Provoost, who was a civil engineer and served as division engineer of the Illinois Central in the 1850s in and around Dubuque.

Provoost helped build the Illinois Central Railroad and oversaw the route that ran from Eldena, Ill. to Dubuque, Iowa. In 1954, he was promoted to chief engineer of Dubuque & Pacific railroad. Provoost later became the director of the Second National Bank in Dubuque.

This Collection Spotlight is a 19th-century case of surgical instruments. Different compartments hold various tools common to medicine in this period of history. The surgical kit is lined with red velvet, and was made by Evans and Company, London. Although it cannot be definitively proved, we believe this surgical kit belonged to Dr. John Finley, for whom Dubuque’s Finley Hospital is named.

Dubuque’s own Lillian Clark Cary was President of the Iowa Chapter of the National Order of the Ladies of the GAR (Grand Army of the Republic) when she attended the 1915 annual state convention in Sioux City. An auxiliary group of the GAR, this all-female association was open to “the loyal mothers, wives, sisters, daughters, granddaughters and blood kin nieces of soldiers, sailors and marines, who served honorably in aiding and maintaining the integrity and supremacy of the National Government during the Rebellion, and ex-army [n]urses, and all lineal female descendants.”[1]

This plate is a new acquisition to the Dubuque County Historical Society (DCHS). Its provenance, or history of ownership, links it to the De Griselles family (De Griselles being the family title), a prominent French aristocratic family who immigrated to America and eventually settled in Dubuque. In joining the DCHS collection, the plate is reunited with other artifacts from the De Griselles family, and together, they tell a more complete story of this family and the world in which they lived.

Quilts can be large or small, made of rich, expensive fabrics, or just serve as an economical way to repurpose otherwise unusable fabric scraps leftover from other projects. Whether log cabin, patchwork, or crazy, pieced, appliqued, or embroidered, quilts have a rich history in America steeped in tradition. Quilts are utilitarian but also carry great sentimental value. They commemorate major life events, connect families across generations, and are an art form in their own right.

"Shut the door not that it lets in the cold but that it lets out the coziness." - Mark Twain

This picturesque winter scene was painted by accomplished local artist Joseph Walter (1865-1946). One of the first professional artists in Dubuque, Walter made his livelihood painting in churches after first being trained in Munich and Vienna. Over the course of his career, he created original paintings for 185 Catholic churches across the Midwest. His work included St. Mary’s, St. Patrick’s, and Holy Ghost Catholic churches in Dubuque.

Bing Crosby perfectly captured the sentiments many service men and women felt during World War II when he crooned, “I’ll be home for Christmas, if only in my dreams” in 1943. It will come as no surprise that soldiers felt especially compelled to reach out to loved ones as the holidays approached. The U.S. Government responded by producing special Christmas V-Mail for them to send home with messages of seasons greetings.

Americans adopted some interesting customs surrounding death in the Victorian period (1837-1901). Mortality rates were much higher than we are accustomed to now, especially for infants and children. So death was a regular part of life, so to speak.

Spring floods seem to be an annual tradition along the Mississippi River. It has always been more a question of “how badly will it flood this year?” rather than “will it flood this year?”

For around 130 years, St. Mary’s School was an icon of downtown Dubuque. The lives of thousands of young Dubuquers were influenced by the Catholic Sisters, priests, and lay teachers who served the school over many decades.

The school had humble beginnings in the basement of St. Mary’s Church in 1851. By the late 1860s, some classes were even held in a nearby store. In 1872, a three-story brick school building was constructed at 15th and Jackson Streets, adjacent to St. Mary’s Church. The new building paved the way for significant growth in the 20th century.