Category Archives: Animals

Dan Patch sets state fair race record (1906)

Posted on September 13, 2018 by editor

An estimated 40,000 people watched Dan Patch, the world’s most famous harness horse, set a new Illinois State Fair pacing record on Oct. 2, 1906. Dan Patch covered the one-mile fairgrounds track in 1:59¼, the first time a harness horse … Continue reading →

Posted in Amusements, Animals, Social life, Sports and recreation | Leave a comment

‘Waiting for Maud,’ Oak Hill Cemetery

Posted on March 6, 2017 by editor

A gravestone at Oak Hill Cemetery east of Springfield pays tribute to a dog that, according to folklore, never recovered from the death of its young owner. Maud Rodgers, who lived with her parents in the Riverton/Clear Lake area, died … Continue reading →

Posted in Animals | 10 Comments

The death of Fido, the Lincoln family dog

Posted on July 19, 2015 by editor

Fido, a yellow mongrel dog the Abraham Lincoln family adopted about 1855, stayed behind when the Lincolns moved to Washington, D.C., in 1861 and was stabbed to death sometime in 1866. The man who killed Fido has gone down in … Continue reading →

Posted in Animals, Crime and vice, Lincoln, Abraham | 12 Comments