Street Car Mysteries
The life stories of undistinguished Americans

as told by themselves

There isn't a single one of these articles that appeared in The Independent which isn't fascinating to read, so I've endeavored to make them more accessible.

I assembled this list from the appendix David Katzman and William Tuttle included in their volume, Plain Folk. The titles are linked directly to online editions for all but a few which I couldn't locate. Also, some of the authors are linked to biographical pages or searches.

At the bottom of the page I've assembled several lists on particular subjects. There is a post on the origin of these pieces at the Going Places blog.



1) “The Confessions of a Boss”
Apr. 10, 1902, LIV, 845-48.

2) “A Miner’s Story”
June 12, 1902, LIV, 1407-10.

3) “A Salesgirl’s Story”
July 31, 1902, LIV, 1818-21.

4) “The Sorrows and Joys of a College President” by Charles F. Thwing
Aug. 7, 1902, LIV, 1890-94.

5) “The Native Land of Tricks: The Confessions of a Former Railroad Claim Agent”
Sept. 11, 1902, LIV, 2173-78.

6) “The Negro Problem: How It Appears to a Southern Colored Woman”
Sept. 18, 1902, LIV, 2221-24.

7) “The Negro Problem: How it Appears to a Southern White Woman”
Sept. 18, 1902, LIV, 2224-28.

8) “The Experience of an Office Seeker”
Sept. 18, 1902, LIV, 2245-50.

9) “The Story of a Sweatshop Girl” by Sadie Frowne
Sept. 25, 1902, LIV, 2279-82.

10) “The Autobiography of a Labor Leader” by James H. Williams
Nov. 6, 1902, LIV, 2634-38.

11) “The Confessions of a Young Author”
Nov. 20, 1902, LIV, 2748-52.

12) “The Biography of a Bootblack” by Rocco Corresca
Dec. 4, 1902, LIV, 2863-67.

13) “A Swedish Emigrant’s Story” by Axel Jarlson
Jan. 8, 1903, LV, 88-93.

14) “From the Policeman’s Point of View” by a New York Patrolman
Jan. 15, 1903, LV, 146-50.

15) “The Biography of a Chinaman” by Lee Chew
Feb. 19, 1903, LV, 417-23.

16) “The Confessions of a Confessor” by a Parish Priest
Mar. 5, 1903, LV, 534-38.

17) “The Making of a Tramp” by Mariner J. Kent
Mar. 19, 1903, LV, 667-70.

18) “Experiences and Reflections of a Hackman” by “Cute” McG.
Apr. 2, 1903, LV, 771-75.

19) “The Confessions of a Woman Professor”
Apr. 23, 1903, LV, 954-58.

20) “The Story of a Young Syrian”
Apr. 30, 1903, LV, 1007-13.

21) “A Defense of the Political Boss” by Himself
Apr. 30, 1903, LV, 1013-17.

22) “Memories of an Early Girlhood”
May 7, 1903, LV, 1071-74.

23) “Memories of an Early Boyhood”
May 7, 1903, LV, 1074-80.

24) “One Day in the Life of an Amish Woman”
June 11, 1903, LV, 1393-98.

25) “The Story of Two Moonshiners”
July 16, 1903, LV, 1680-84.

26) “An Indian Boy’s Story” by Ah-nen-la-de-ni
July 30, 1903, LV, 1780-87.

27) “Experiences of a Street Car Conductor”
Aug. 13, 1903, LV, 1920-24.

28) “The Life of a Jack Tar” by C. J. Hicks
Aug. 20, 1903, LV, 1972-79.

29) “The True Life Story of a Nurse Girl” by Agnes M.
Sept. 24, 1903, LV, 2261-66.

30) “The Making of an Anarchist” by Voltairine de Cleyre
Sept. 24, 1903, LV, 2276-80.

31) “Autobiography of a Football Player”
Nov. 12, 1903, LV, 2683-87.

32) “Shanghaied” by James H. Williams
Dec. 31, 1903, LV, 3102-07.

33) “My Life in the Penitentiary”
Feb. 4, 1904, LVI, 255-60.

34) “The New Slavery in the South— An Autobiography” by a Georgia Negro Peon
Feb. 25, 1904, LVI, 409-14.

35) “The Race Problem— An Autobiography” by a Southern Colored Woman
Mar. 17, 1904, LVI, 586-89.

36) “Experiences of the Race Problem” by a Southern White Woman
Mar. 17, 1904, LVI, 590-94.

37) “Observations of the Southern Race Feeling” by a Northern Woman
Mar. 17, 1904, LVI, 594-99.

38) “Fifty Years of a Sponge Fisher’s Life” by Carlos Barker
Apr., 21, 1904, LVI, 884-91.

39) “The Dressmaker’s Life Story” by Amelia Des Moulins
Apr. 28, 1904, LVI, 939-46.

40) “A Negro Student’s Summer Vacation” by Clifford L. Miller
June 16, 1904, LVI, 1364-69.

41) “Spike Riley’s Revenge” by James H. Williams
June 23, 1904, LVI, 1427-32.

42) “A Northern Negro’s Autobiography” by Fannie Barrier Williams
July 14, 1904, LVII, 91-96.

43) “From Lithuania to the Chicago Stockyards—An Autobiography” by Antanas Kaztauskis
Aug. 4, 1904, LVII, 241-48.

44) “The Story of a Cripple Creek Miner” by Ross B. Moudy
Aug. 18, 1904, LVII, 380-82.

45) “A Washerwoman”
Nov. 10, 1904, LVII, 1073-76.

46) “The Story of a Fall River Mill Girl” by Gertrude Barnum
Feb. 2, 1905, LVIII, 241-43.

47) “One Farmer’s Wife”
Feb. 9, 1905, LVIII, 294-99.

48) “The Life of a Mormon Girl”
Feb. 23, 1905, LVIII, 423-30.

49) “From the Crosstrees to the Stokehold” by James H. Williams
Mar. 2, 1905, LVIII, 486-95.

50) “Women on the Farm”
Mar. 9, 1905, LVIII, 549-54.

51) “Why I have No Family” by a Childless Wife
Mar. 23, 1905, LVIII, 654-59.

52) “My Large Family” by an American Mother
Mar. 23, 1905, LVIII, 659-60.

53) “The Story of an Irish Cook”
Mar. 30, 1905, LVIII, 715-17.

54) “A Cap Maker’s Story” by Rose Schneiderman
Apr. 27, 1905, LVIII, 935-38.

55) “A Woman Minister’s Autobiography”
May 18, 1905, LVIII, 1122-26.

56) “The Story of a Summer Hotel Waitress”
June 15,1905, LVIII, 1337-43.

57) “The Chicago Strike” by a Teamster
July 6, 1905, LIX, 15-20.

58) “A Theatrical Press Agent’s Confession and Apology”
July 27, 1905, LIX, 191-96.

59) “A Collar Starcher’s Story”
Aug. 10, 1905, LIX, 305-10.

60) “The Engineer’s Side of It” by an Old Timer
Aug. 24, 1905, LIX, 443-46.

61) “The Confessions of a Japanese Servant”
Sept. 21, 1905, LIX, 661-68.

62) “The Emotions of an Anonymous Writer”
Sept. 28, 1905, LIX, 727-30.

63) “Being a Mormon” by a Mormon
Oct. 19, 1905, LIX, 908-11.

64) “The Life Story Of An Itinerant Minister” aka “The Story of a Handicapped Life”
Nov. 9, 1905, LIX, 1104-08.

65) “The Smart Set in Winter” by One of the Four Hundred
Nov. 16, 1905, LIX, 1146-50.

66) “A College Professor’s Wife”
Nov. 30, 1905, LIX, 1279-83.

67) “The Retort of an Average Woman”
Dec. 14, 1905, LIX, 1411-12.

68) “Shall the Professor ‘Stay Put’” by Another College Professor’s Wife
Jan. 18, 1906, LX, 161-62.

69) “Life Story of a Pushcart Peddler”
Feb. 1, 1906, LX, 274-79.

70) “Inside an Old Ladies’ Home”
Feb. 8, 1906, LX, 329-31.

71) “The Story of One Woman’s Life”
Feb. 15, 1906, LX, 374-77.

72) “Confessions of a Dramatic Critic”
Mar. 1, 1906, LX, 492-97.

73) “Why I Gave Up My Practice” by a Lawyer
June 28, 1906, LX, 1534-38.

74) “The Experiences of a Chorus Girl”
July 12, 1906, LXI, 80-85.

75) “The Autobiography of a Country Spinster” by Aunt Jane
Sept. 13, 1906, LXI, 621-27.

76) “The Confessions of a Stockbroker”
Dec. 20, 1906, LXI, 1465-69.

77) “Confessions of an Undistinguished Heretic”
Jan. 10, 1907, LXII, 67-71.

78) “What It Means to Be Colored in the Capital of the United States” by Mary Church Terrell
Jan. 24, 1907, LXII, 181-86.

79) “The Confessions of a Stock Speculator” by a Wall Street ‘Piker’
Mar. 21, 1907, LXII, 669-72.

80) “The Life Story of a Hungarian Peon”
Sept 5, 1907, LXIII, 557-64.

81) “Life in the Kentucky Mountains” by a Mountaineer
July 9, 1908, LXV, 72-82.

82) “A Butler’s Life Story”
July 14, 1910, LXIX, 77-82.

83) “More Slavery at the South” by a Negro Nurse
Jan. 25, 1912, LXXII, 196-200.

Subjects Covered

Afircan-Americans
6, 7, 34, 35, 36, 37, 40, 42, 78 & 83.

Farmers
47 & 50.

Found in Plain Folk
2, 6, 9, 10, 12, 13, 15, 27, 34, 43, 50, 54, 57, 59, 66, 68 & 83.

Miners
2 & 44.

Religious Life
24, 48 & 63.

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