Forgotten Tales of Pennsylvania

Forgotten Tales

by Thomas White

William Penn, the might of Pittsburgh steel and the Revolutionary figures of Philadelphia dominate the scene of Pennsylvania history. Thomas White brings together a collection of tales that have been cast in the shadows by these giants of the Keystone State. From the 1869 storm that pelted Chester County with snails to the bloody end of the Cooley gang, White selects events with an eye for the humorous and strange. Mostly true accounts of cannibalistic feasts, goat-rescuing lawmen, heroic goldfish, the funeral of a gypsy queen and a Pittsburgh canine whose obituary was featured in the New York Times all leap from the lost pages of history.

Genres: History

160 pages, Kindle Edition

First published October 1, 2009

About the author

Thomas White is the university archivist and curator of special collections in the Gumberg Library at Duquesne University. He is also an adjunct lecturer in Duquesne's History Department and an adjunct professor of history at La Roche College. White received a master's degree in public history from Duquesne University. Besides the folklore and history of Pennsylvania, his areas of interest include public history and American cultural history. He is the author of Legends and Lore of Western Pennsylvania, Forgotten Tales of Pennsylvania, Ghosts of Southwestern Pennsylvania, Forgotten Tales of Pittsburgh and Forgotten Tales of Philadelphia (co-authored with Edward White), all published by The History Press.

Reviews

[Wendy's Wanderings · Rating 3 out of 5]

A nice little book with stories and anecdotes that may have been forgotten about Pennsylvania. From heat waves, fires, and a Goat man in Lancaster this book has it all. Who knew we had so many werewolves running around, and escaped circus animals and reptiles? Events take place between the 1700's and the 1950's.

In some of the stories I would have like to find out more details about what happened to some of the people. But I was left hanging guess that's where I have to do my on research.

[Nancy H · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is an interesting look at legends and myths, as well as some factual stories, from all around Pennsylvania. It is for those readers who like the odd, strange, and curious tales about life.

[PennsyLady (Bev) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Small snippets of Pennsy folklore, legend.

A pleasant read.

[Megan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed reading this series of short stories about oddities in Pennsylvania. I think everyone should at least be familiar with some of the local legends of their state. Some of these I had heard before, but many were new to me. I now have a desire to go searching through the newspaper archives to find more interesting tales.

[Robert · Rating 1 out of 5]

Some tales are forgotten for a reason. Others were never even tales to begin with. With no credited sources and a bland style of writing, hopefully this book is forgotten soon as well.

[Mandy Helfer · Rating 2 out of 5]

Very morbid.

[TJ · Rating 2 out of 5]

I bought this book on a recent trip to PA. My husband is from PA and our drive home takes about 6 hours. I bought this book thinking I could read some of these PA tales out loud and see if he heard of these or had any other info. Unfortunately the majority of the stories weren't very interesting. Many were little snip-its from a news story that happened hundreds of years ago, but no follow up to the stories. The concept is interesting, unfortunately the content didn't match up.

[Vanessa · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an excellent book to carry around in your purse. It's full of funny and interesting stories about Pennsylvania. I was familiar with only a handful of them, but I still enjoyed those sections.