Displaying items by tag: Rummies

From 1842 to 1859, the Olive Branch was published in both Doylestown (Bucks County) and in Norristown. It was a newspaper that considered itself a information source on "moral and political reform" while representing views on things such as abolition, temperance, and the women's rights movements. According to the staff at the Olive Branch, many of their subscribers would purchase copies of the newspaper on behalf of those with suspect morals, specifically "Rummies" (persons who habitually drink alcohol and are frequently intoxicated). While the Rummies would respond with rude letters to the editors on having forced their word upon them, the staff claims that Rummies would willing buy the paper for themselves in order to change their unmoral habits.

The temperance movement was all throughout Pennsylvania leading up to the Civil War. From 1846-1860 a number of laws were passed "forbidding the sale of intoxicating liquor in quantities of less than thirty gallons to any individual within three miles of certain iron and coal mines" (Martin, pp. 213-214). While this law impacted more of the western and central counties, there were a number of temperance societies in and around Philadelphia. We even have the records books of some.

Still people attempted to skirt around or outright break these laws. In 1856, Mary Martin of Upper Merion was arrested for selling liquor. It was then discovered that while she was imprisoned, she still had agents selling liquor on her behalf.

The best part about these articles from the Olive Branch is that they are free to access. We have partnered with Villanova University to digitize some of our newspapers. You can find that information on our web page here: Digital Newspapers

Martin, Asa Earl. (1925) "The Temperance Movement in Pennsylvania Prior to the Civil War." The Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography. Volume 49, Number 3. pp. 195-230