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Showing posts with label Marie Higgins. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Marie Higgins. Show all posts

Wednesday, November 14, 2018

Who are the U.S. Marshals?

I absolutely LOVE research!!  But sometimes it's a little discouraging. So like today I decided to research the history of the U.S. Marshals. I'm writing a story in a multi-author series "The Lawkeepers" and our theme is about U.S. Marshals. I realized I didn't know that much about them, although I have stars in my eyes when I think about making my hero one of them.

Hollywood movies like to add glamor... like:
U.S. Marshals (Tommy Lee Jones)
The Fugitive (Harrison Ford)
Tombstone (Kurt Russell)
Hang 'Em High (Clint Eastwood)
... to name a few.

But did you know that the early days of being a U.S. Marshal wasn't all glamor or heroic? In fact, the U.S. Marshals were more like... secretaries??

The U.S. Marshals were created by the first Congress in the Judiciary Act of 1789 which was the same legislation that established the Federal judicial system. It was the main purpose of the U.S. Marshals to support the federal courts and to carry out the lawful orders issued by the judges, Congress, or the president of the United States.

Here are the duties they were assigned in the beginning:
* Served subpoenas / summons / writs (whatever that is) / warrants and other process issued by the courts
* Made arrests & handled all the prisoners
* Disbursed money
* Paid fees and expenses of the court clerks, U.S. attorneys, jurors and witnesses
* Rented courtrooms & jail space
* Hired bailiffs, criers (really? what is this?), and janitors
* Filled water pitchers
* Brought prisoners to the court house
* Made sure witnesses were on time and that jurors were at the court house

You know, I rather like the idea that Hollywood had of making the Marshals' jobs more glamorous. Thankfully, though, over time, the U.S. Marshals were given more duties and they actually become the heroes we want them to be.

And speaking of U.S. Marshal heroes.... I'm writing a romance right now that is scheduled to be released 4/23/19. Introducing... Lawfully Won! If you'd like to join their Facebook group, here is the link - https://www.facebook.com/groups/430422374043418/


When wealthy widow, Hannah Hamilton, leaves home to care for her aunt in Big Springs, Texas, she's robbed and injured. However, that wasn't the worst of her woes. She also can't remember anything about her life. Accepting what the hotel owners have told her, she proceeds to work for them as a waitress in the hotel's restaurant, believing her name is Anna Cartwright. But when a man enters the hotel, she feels she knows him. But most importantly, she feels she's loved him before.

Colt Montgomery is a broken man. After confessing his love to Hannah Hamilton eight months ago and being rejected, he quit his position as the Sheriff and moved out of town. Now he's a U.S. Marshal looking for an outlaw that keeps going into hiding. When Colt sees Hannah working at a hotel far from her home, he's shocked. But when he realizes she doesn't remember who she is, he feels hopeful. If he can get her to fall in love with him as Anna, perhaps when her memory finally returns, he'll finally win the woman he's always loved. Or will he?



Marie Higgins is a best-selling author of Christian and sweet romance novels; from refined bad-boy heroes who make your heart melt to the feisty heroines who somehow manage to love them regardless of their faults. She has over 50 heartwarming on-the-edge-of-your-seat stories, and broadened her readership by writing mystery/suspense, humor, time-travel, paranormal, along with her love for historical romances. Her readers have dubbed her "Queen of Tease", because of all her twists and unexpected endings.

Bookbub - https://www.bookbub.com/authors/marie-higgins 


**Reference link - https://www.usmarshals.gov/history/broad_range.htm

Tuesday, September 11, 2018

Men's fashions in the 1800's

There have been several blogs that talk about how to dress Regency women or Victorian women, but there aren't many blogs about how to dress a man in the 1800's, so I decided to give it a try from the research I've done over the years.

Last month my blog was about writing a Pinkerton Detective Agency story, and I'd mentioned how this story was about a woman agent. During my research, I also found how my hero is supposed to look in America, 1871. I've always enjoyed historical movies - mainly to see the clothes the men and women wear - but I'll admit, I enjoy seeing a sharply-dressed man just as much as a beautiful ball gown worn by a woman.

The late 1800's had the men changing their appearance from top hats and cravats and breeches, which was what they wore in the early 1800's.  So let's do a little comparison to see how the years changed the fashion.


Hats
Early 1800's - the tall, elegant style of hats expressed a look of wealth and decorum.

Late 1800's - the top hat shrunk a little, and they became rounder and more square. Wool caps were even making their grand appearance, and a lot of men thought this was a great fashion trend. Men were rarely seen without a hat, because - just as in the early 1800's - wearing a hat somehow turned them into a true gentleman.


YUM-ME, right? Regency guy
Coats vs Suits
Early 1800's - men's coats were tailored to fit the gentleman. They were mostly solid colors and had padded shoulders to help make the man's waist slimmer. (can you believe it??)

Late 1800's - the suits were a big fashion hit with the men in those days. There were many different styles, which were worn during different times of that day (pretty much like a woman's gown). These suits added a variety of colored fabrics, fancy stitching, and the fashion even dared to use stripes or plaid. The suits were more colorful, as well, which of course made them more appealing. Combined with the standing collared white shirt and necktie (instead of a cravat), and decorative sewn vests, women found that men were more attractive and confident in their new fancy duds.


Hubba-Hubba - Regency man
Trousers
From what I could tell, there weren't a lot of differences in the way trousers had changed throughout the years. Some had button flaps on the front, some only had one button to fasten the flaps together to keep the family jewels discreetly hidden. But from the pictures I'd found, trousers seemed to become more relaxed in the later 1800's. Men didn't wear them so tight that they could be confused for the French acrobatic leotard (created in the late 1830's). Pinstriped trousers became more popular, as well.


Undergarments
Sadly enough, men kept the same undergarments throughout the 1800's, and into the early 1900's. They wore tight-fitting, knee-length flannel drawers, also called breeches and pantaloons. During the US Civil War, men wore union-suits - a one-piece, long undergarment that was long-sleeved and long-legged. Let's just hope they wore these during the cold winters because they'd cook to death during the summer!

Now that you know the difference, I bet you'll be watching those historical movies a little closer now, right? I remember when I first learned about everything a woman had to wear back in those days, but now... <groans>  Those poor men!

By the way... my favorite website to find these awesome historical clothing and very fine models is Period Images. Permission was given to use these watermarked pics.

Author’s Bio

Marie Higgins is an award-winning, best-selling author of clean romance novels; from refined bad-boy heroes who make your heart melt, to the feisty heroines who somehow manage to love them regardless of their faults. She has 51 heartwarming on-the-edge-of-your-seat stories and has broadened her readership by writing mystery/suspense, humor, time-travel, paranormal, along with her love for historical romance. Her readers have dubbed her "Queen of Tease" because of all her twists and unexpected endings.


Phone reading apps -   https://www.ficfun.com  AND  https://www.dreame.com



References:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Union_suit
https://www.historicalemporium.com/mens-late-victorian-clothing.php
https://www.historicalemporium.com/mens-regency-era-clothing.php

Wednesday, August 8, 2018

Pinkerton Agents - America 1800's


What does it take to be a Pinkerton Agent in the late 1800’s?  These agents need to be brave, strong, tender, and true. They were relentless, incorruptible, driven, persistent, dedicated, and trusted. They were responsible for catching many outlaws like Jesse James, the James-Younger Gang, the Dalton Brothers, Butch Cassidy & The Wild Bunch, to name a few. They were the ones who started detective agencies in the USA.


Kate Warne was the first female agent that Allan Pinkerton hired. In 1856, there was no such thing as a woman detective.  Allan Pinkerton almost didn’t hire her, but she argued her point, stating that women could be “most useful in worming out secrets in many places which would be impossible for a male detective.”  (quote from Wikipedia) Kate reasoned that women would be able to make friends with wives, daughters, girlfriends of suspected criminals and get information better than a man could.

This is NOT Kate Warne. Just another Pinkerton Agent.

Learning about Kate Warne has opened several plot ideas about women detectives in 1800's America, and my mind is spinning with excitement. If you’ve read some of my books, you’ll know how I love a good suspense / mystery. 


Just recently, I have joined with 11 other authors who have formed a group about Pinkerton Agents. The series is called, “The Pinkerton Matchmaker”. The stories in this series will be released starting in October 2018.  So far I have two stories in this series: An Agent for Cecily, and An Agent for Evelyn. The authors who are part of this series are awesome writers and fun to work with.  If you love reading a good historical suspense / mystery romance, you'll need to join our reader's group on Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/groups/207869190071542/ 

Author’s Bio
 Marie Higgins is a best-selling author of Christian and sweet romance novels; from refined bad-boy heroes who make your heart melt to the feisty heroines who somehow manage to love them regardless of their faults. She has 51 heartwarming on-the-edge-of-your-seat stories and has broadened her readership by writing mystery/suspense, humor, time-travel, paranormal, along with her love for historical romances. Her readers have dubbed her "Queen of Tease", because of all her twists and unexpected endings.
Visit her website to discover more about her – https://authormariehiggins.wixsite.com/romance
REFERENCES USED:

·        Wikipedia / Kate Warne - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kate_Warne

·        The History of Pinkerton - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A8FQoc0Bg0o&feature=youtu.be

Wednesday, June 13, 2018

Land Wars (England vs Ireland 1790-1880)

Hello! I’m a new blogger to Historical Hussies, and I’m excited to be here and share my research with you. During my writing career, I’ve published 34 historical romances from as early as England 1192, and as late as Chicago 1920’s. Needless to say, I’ve done a lot of research for every book I've written. Today I’m going to be talking about what I researched while writing my latest release, a historical western romance, 1885.

Several years ago, I had an idea for a story after watching the sequel to Gone with the Wind – Scarlett. If you’ve not seen the TV miniseries, she travels to Ireland to meet her relatives on her father’s side. While there, she sees the struggles between the English landlords and the way they treat the Irish rebels. This struggle was real and started back in 1760. Wealthy English men purchased land in Ireland and rented it out to the Irish tenant farmers. From the articles I’d read, the English treated their tenant farmers as poorly as the southern US states treated slaves during this era. For years, the Irish struggled to keep their lands, but the English landlords kept raising the rent, and eventually, the tenant farmers were thrown from their homes. Another movie that portrays this issue in Ireland is “Far and Away”.  

In 1880, a general election was held and a law was passed, but it seemed that this law brought more fighting between the Irish rebels and the English landlords. It still took a few more years, and more battles to bring this issue to a close. Finally, by 1885, The Ashborne Act started a limited process that allowed tenant farmers to buy portions of the land using government loans. 

My story, “Surrender Your Heart”, takes place in Savannah, Georgia. A portion of the plot focuses on the Irish rebels who were trying to punish the Englishmen for the battles that were happening across the sea in Ireland. 


AUTHOR BIO:

Marie Higgins is a best-selling author of 50 sweet romance novels that have you on the edge of your seat. Her readers have dubbed her "Queen of Tease", because of all her twists and unexpected endings. Visit her website to discover more about her – https://authormariehiggins.wixsite.com/romance 


Land War articles: