The Dustbin Historian

The Murder in Room 720

Part 1: What the Family Didn’t Know about Mary Grace Farley

Apr 9 • Bill Farley, PhD

1

What were they thinking?

I edit home movies from my relatives and post "B Roll" clips to relevant historical association sites. Here are a few head scratchers - as in "Why are…

Apr 6 • Bill Farley, PhD

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2:07

Aunt Fern's Tall Tales

One women invented three origin stories for our family. I spent a decade debunking those stories. She got the last laugh.

Apr 3 • Bill Farley, PhD

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March 2026

Fifty Thousand Dollars and a Long Shadow

My great-grandfather’s share of a Copper King’s fortune was enough to buy a restaurant. His cousin’s share was enough to buy a Senate seat.

Mar 25 • Bill Farley, PhD

1

The Man Who Wanted a Bigger Ship

He wrote his official biography for the Sacramento Medical Society in 1969. He wrote letters to my mother for years before that. They are not the same…

Mar 21 • Bill Farley, PhD

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2

Before It Ends Up in the Dustbin

Finding a Home for What Gets Left Behind

Mar 3 • Bill Farley, PhD

1

February 2026

Your Ancestor's Story Is Missing a Chapter

How Civil War Pension Files Can Transform Family Stories

Feb 24 • Bill Farley, PhD

Murray’s Ghosts: A Field Guide for the Aspiring Paranormal Investigator

Van Zandt was just the tip of the spectral iceberg

Feb 17 • Bill Farley, PhD

How I Helped a TV Ghost-Hunting Crew Find a Better Ghost

The story of how a historian got a call from a paranormal show—and gave a 19th-century villain his television debut.

Feb 10 • Bill Farley, PhD

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The Night Sacramento Kept Its NBA Team

29 years ago tonight, Sacramento voted 5-3 to save an NBA franchise. Five weeks later, I resigned.

Feb 5 • Bill Farley, PhD

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I have no information about them...

The story behind the story—and the full article that started it all

Feb 3 • Bill Farley, PhD

1

January 2026

The Longest Bike Trip: From NBC Sports to the Salvation Army

In 1964, my uncle was launching NBC's answer to Wide World of Sports. By 1967, he was in jail. This is the story the three-sentence obituary didn't…

Jan 27 • Bill Farley, PhD

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