The “Flub Dubs” Story Hit the Press In 1861
Here’s a random discovery that will only be of interest if you already know what I’m talking about. Fortunately, a lot of people do, because Benjamin Brown French’s diaries and correspondence have gotten a lot of coverage. One of the best known incidents it documents is the “flub dubs” one. A brief summary can be found here.
As far as I know, it has never been reported that this story ended up in a Lowell, MA newspaper mere days after its occurrence. French often wrote to relatives in the area, He also liked to write in general, and sometimes submitted pieces to the press.
On December 23, 1861, the Lowell Daily Citizen carried the following item among its unattributed miscellaneous news:
Lowell Daily Citizen and News (Lowell, MA) 23 December 1861, page 2 GenealogyBank https://www.genealogybank.com/doc/newspapers/image/v2%3A11E2E4FF9F47B680%40GB3NEWS-11EDE63FF9674830%402401133-11EDE64019AB8880%401 : accessed 3 October 2019
“It is said.”
I believe the actual incident happened December 16, 1861. A letter to his sister on the topic is often quoted, but it was written December 22, and could not have gotten there in time for her to pass it on. I don’t know who submitted it, or who decided to omit the term “flub dubs,” but it did not get much traction, as far as I can tell.