Anamosa Penitentiary
Anamosa Penitentiary

Author: Richard Snavely

Publisher: Arcadia Publishing

Published: 2010

Total Pages: 132

ISBN-13: 9780738577791

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In 1868, with Iowa fast outgrowing its only prison in Fort Madison, state lawmakers began thinking about building a new penitentiary. Several cities around the state vied for the prestige and economic benefits the new prison would provide. Anamosa, a rapidly growing town of 2,000 in east-central Iowa, was ultimately awarded the prize, in no small measure because of its proximity to some of the largest and finest dolomite limestone deposits in the world, coveted as the perfect building material for the massive institution. From 1873 until major construction ended in 1943, inmate workers literally built walls around themselves, slowly erecting a structure from the Iowa prairie whose imposing and magnificent architecture would continue to command respect and awe even to the present day. From Wild West bad man Polk Wells and boy-murderer Wesley Elkins to heinous mass murderer John Wayne Gacy, many have passed through Anamosa's iron gates and, with the quietly dedicated men and women who managed them, have contributed to the rich tapestry of Anamosa prison history.

Does God Send Sickness?
Does God Send Sickness?

Author: Troy J. Edwards

Publisher: Troy Edwards

Published: 2020-08-26

Total Pages: 278

ISBN-13:

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“God is said in Scripture to send what he can (but doth not) hinder from being sent.” – Edward Bird (1726)God has been taking the blame for sickness and disease for centuries. We have been told that He sends sickness as an aid to spiritual growth and piety or as a punishment for sin. Vast amounts of Scripture have been cited to support this claim.This idea has contributed to the lack of faith prevalent in the church today for healing and deliverance. After all, if God gave a person sickness then His willingness to heal is questionable. Faith can only be present where the will of God is known. However, if sickness is seen as an enemy of God then faith in God’s willingness to heal is more likely to rise.Numerous apologetic books have been written in support of divine healing, but most have not dealt completely with the many Biblical passages that appear to make God the direct cause of sickness. This book is different in that it will look at these difficult Bible passages in light of the permissive idiom of the ancient Hebrew language, in which God is often said to do the things that He merely allowed or permitted to happen. Those passages in both the Old and New Testaments that make God appear to be a cold and cruel dispenser of sickness and disease will be seen in a new light. You will see God’s loving character vindicated, your Bible will be a fresh source of blessing, and your faith in God for health and healing will soar.

Skull in the Ashes
Skull in the Ashes

Author: Peter Kaufman

Publisher: University of Iowa Press

Published: 2013-09-15

Total Pages: 307

ISBN-13: 1609381882

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On a February night in 1897, the general store in Walford, Iowa, burned down. The next morning, townspeople discovered a charred corpse in the ashes. Everyone knew that the store’s owner, Frank Novak, had been sleeping in the store as a safeguard against burglars. Now all that remained were a few of his personal items scattered under the body. At first, it seemed to be a tragic accident mitigated just a bit by Novak’s foresight in buying generous life insurance policies to provide for his family. But soon an investigation by the ambitious new county attorney, M. J. Tobin, turned up evidence suggesting that the dead man might actually be Edward Murray, a hard-drinking local laborer. Relying upon newly developed forensic techniques, Tobin gradually built a case implicating Novak in Murray’s murder. But all he had was circumstantial evidence, and up to that time few murder convictions had been won on that basis in the United States. Others besides Tobin were interested in the case, including several companies that had sold Novak life insurance policies. One agency hired detectives to track down every clue regarding the suspect’s whereabouts. Newspapers across the country ran sensational headlines with melodramatic coverage of the manhunt. Veteran detective Red Perrin’s determined trek over icy mountain paths and dangerous river rapids to the raw Yukon Territory town of Dawson City, which was booming with prospectors as the Klondike gold rush began, made for especially good copy. Skull in the Ashes traces the actions of Novak, Tobin, and Perrin, showing how the Walford fire played a pivotal role in each man’s life. Along the way, author Peter Kaufman gives readers a fascinating glimpse into forensics, detective work, trial strategies, and prison life at the close of the nineteenth century. As much as it is a chilling tale of a cold-blooded murder and its aftermath, this is also the story of three ambitious young men and their struggle to succeed in a rapidly modernizing world.