Social media may be relatively new, but taking an interest in your neighbors’ lives is certainly not!

Before computers, notices were printed in the social pages of the newspapers, letting the whole community know who was in town, who was away visiting, who was getting married, and even who was having a private card party at their home that evening.

The Cockaynes appear frequently in the social pages of the Wheeling newspaper, attesting to their active social life and numerous acquaintances. In this notice from the Wheeling Daily Intelligencer, June 18, 1886, the Cockaynes hosted a reception at their home in honor of a visiting guest from Wheeling. Often such notices would list the entertainment, the food served, the guests present, and even what the guests were wearing!

The next time someone complains to you that young people today spend too much time on social media sharing what they had for breakfast with the whole world, just think of the Victorians, putting the social in social media back in the 1800s!

Want to check out more historic local newspapers? Visit https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/ to search newspapers digitized from all over West Virginia!