In this issue of Newport History, Gary Scharnhorst examines Bret Harte, an elusive literary figure who made a brief but lasting impact on Newport society and letters. Harte established his reputation as a writer in California with western tales like The Luck of Roaring Camp and The Heathen Chinee. He moved to Newport in 1871 in an attempt to remake himself into a respectable author and poet on the East Coast. One notable, though criticized, poem emerged from his tenure here: A Newport Romance. In On the Carbon-14 Analyses of Mortar from the Newport Tower: Theoretical Considerations, Andre J. De Bethune claims that the process of dating mortar through carbon-14 testing has inherent flaws. Until these questions can be resolved, according to Bethune, a pre-Columbian origin for the Newport Tower cannot be excluded. Finally, From the Collections examines the use of family history newsletters in genealogical research
