{"id":59821,"date":"2020-07-08T11:40:24","date_gmt":"2020-07-08T15:40:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.genealogybank.com\/?p=59821"},"modified":"2020-07-08T11:42:42","modified_gmt":"2020-07-08T15:42:42","slug":"quarantine-blues-longing-to-get-away-our-ancestors-travel-quotes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/quarantine-blues-longing-to-get-away-our-ancestors-travel-quotes.html","title":{"rendered":"Quarantine Blues? Longing to Get Away? Our Ancestors\u2019 Travel Quotes"},"content":{"rendered":"

Introduction:<\/em><\/strong> In this article, Mary Harrell-Sesniak searches old newspapers to find some of our ancestors\u2019 comments about traveling, hopefully to provide a humorous antidote to those feeling confined by the coronavirus quarantine. Mary is a genealogist, author and editor with a strong technology background.<\/em><\/p>\n

Are you tired of quarantining and longing for a trip?<\/p>\n

\"Photo:<\/a>
Photo: \u201cBristol\u201d locomotive of the Western Railroad Corporation of Massachusetts, c. 1870. Credit: Florida Memory, Image # RC18205, http:\/\/www.floridamemory.com\/items\/show\/39460<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

If the answer is a resounding \u201cyes,\u201d let me take you on a virtual tour of old-time travel quotes found in GenealogyBank\u2019s Historical Newspaper Archives<\/a>. Chances are you\u2019ll find them as hilarious as your ancestors did!<\/p>\n

How Old Is That Quote?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Most of these quotes were inserted into newspapers to fill empty space or to entertain, so authorship is impossible to identify. More often than not, when I make a follow-up query, a quote will pop up much earlier than first thought. For instance, I first found this love and canal boat quip in 1897 \u2013 but with more searching, I discovered it dates much earlier, to at least March of 1871.<\/p>\n

\"An<\/a>
Wheeling Daily Register (Wheeling, West Virginia), 16 March 1871, page 5<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

I first found this next travel quip being recycled in a 1919 newspaper. With the popularity of travel lectures, one perceives it was just as funny then, as it was in 1899!<\/p>\n

\"An<\/a>
Topeka State Journal (Topeka, Kansas), 19 May 1899, page 5<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The first date of publication is useful to debunk others\u2019 claims to modern-day authorship, which is why I\u2019ve chosen to transcribe the following travel quotes showing the first year I found them.<\/p>\n

Hope you enjoy them! There\u2019s much to think about from our ancestors\u2019 travel quotes.<\/p>\n

Canoes<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"Photo:<\/a>
Photo: a man and child canoeing on Santa Fe Lake, Melrose, Florida, c. 1905. Credit: Florida Memory, Image # RC19771, http:\/\/www.floridamemory.com\/items\/show\/40969<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n