Anecdote (Noun) – A short story about an interesting or funny event or occurrence

Source : http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/anecdotes

“Amid the news, anecdotes, and political and cultural observations that Lucy somehow managed to pack into these daily missives, I learned the basics of her : she and Alfred were Jewish.”

Because of these story stories that Egan were able to read from Lucy & Alfred , she was able to piece together that Alfred & Lucy were indeed Jewish.