This article details the haunted history of Oshawa, Ontario, sharing stories of paranormal encounters and historical crime. Alicia Bertrand invites submissions of spooky tales. The tales include ghostly encounters at the public library, a haunted market, and a museum with spirited apparitions. Legends of duels, tragic deaths, and macabre crimes are also retold.
Tag Archives: micro history
Featured on Murder Most Foul Podcast
November 28, 2023 By Alicia Bertrand, M.A. in collaboration with Jim Sulanowski If you remember the Ancestry by Alicia article “Rebecca Cornell’s Death: How Elder Abuse, Ghosts, Guilt, and Legal Testimonies Mattered in 1673”, you’ll recall details about the death of Rebecca Cornell and how her ghost led to the eventual hanging of her sonContinue reading “Featured on Murder Most Foul Podcast”
Getting Away with Murder: The Life of Charles W. Austin Jr.
By Alicia M. Bertrand, M.A. The following is a case study into the life of Charles William Austin Jr.[1] A boy who would be arrested, convicted, and acquitted along with his co-worker for the murder of their boss. Using newspaper accounts and government documentation, census, and death certificates, the murder case is explored. The lifeContinue reading “Getting Away with Murder: The Life of Charles W. Austin Jr.”
Long Distance Love in the 1940s: A Tale of Devotion from My Grandparents’ Love Letters
By Alicia Bertrand, M.A. Those of you who are in modern day long-distance relationship may have the technology to see and communicate with your partner from afar. Couples can use Zoom, Facetime, WhatsApp, etc. to chat at a moments notice and find their partner to be more responsive by these face-to-face remote communication applications.[1] ThoseContinue reading “Long Distance Love in the 1940s: A Tale of Devotion from My Grandparents’ Love Letters”
Two Families Under Lockdown (1918 vs. 2020): A Micro-History Case Study
Photos from Findagrave.com, it is of the Allen couple’s headstone. Originally published on LinkedIn: March 11, 2021 If you live in a home that is over 100 years old and you’re going stir-crazy from the COVID-19 lockdown/stay-at-home orders, imagine the person who sat in your house in 1918-1919 to avoid the Spanish Flu pandemic. AfterContinue reading “Two Families Under Lockdown (1918 vs. 2020): A Micro-History Case Study”
Marrying Up, an Estate Dispute in 1910 (Things Haven’t Changed Much in over a Century)
Photo credit: The Winnipeg Tribune, November 28, 1912, pg 1. Originally published on LinkedIn: January 16, 2021 In my personal time, I do a lot of historical research, both as a writer and as a genealogist. While combing through newspaper archives, I came across an estate dispute from 1910 that could be taken from theContinue reading “Marrying Up, an Estate Dispute in 1910 (Things Haven’t Changed Much in over a Century)”
Ancestry by Alicia 