Th e Rural Republican, published in Lawrenceville, Illinois on Friday, February 11th, 1881     The editor said that while the new bell on the Christian Church rang in soft tones, the weather was still bad.  “The Groundhog did it--saw his shadow and now we have cold weather for six more weeks.” Having had three months of regular old- style winter, the streets were muddy, and there were about a dozen cases of measles in town that had already resulted in one death.   Will M Garr

Friday, February 4th, 1881 Both Vincennes and Lawrenceville newspapers The editor announced that there were six more weeks of winter so don't trade off your overcoat yet and he cautioned not to forget to send her a valentine. The previous Sunday was like a spring day, warm and the sun shone brightly, the snow disappearing rapidly under the warm rays. However, the previous extremely cold weather had affected the health of the county; in many places, measles, pneumonia, rheuma

January 28, 1881:  Still the winter held on with snow and ice, and the sleigh bells sounded merrily in the county’s villages. The weather was disagreeable, the roads were slippery, but health was good. While A W Leech of Sand Barrens was out sleighing, his sleigh turned over and threw him and his lady fiend out.  The editor admonished him to drive with both hands next time.   Mart Drake received an increase in his war pension of $12.00 per month, and the reporter noted that

Friday, January 14th, 1881 The weather was thawing, and the fine sleighing of the past month was almost over. Wanted : A good lively undertaker to bury deadbeats. The editor appeared to being having a problem with ‘leeches’ reading the newspaper as long as they wanted and then leaving it at the post office to be returned with “refused” marked on it.  Wanted: to trade or sell one- horse light open buggy. Will trade for a good milk cow. Harness goes with the buggy. Notice: The

George W Glover held the record for being in the same line of business longer than anyone in Lawrenceville at the time of his death. He opened his confectionery on the West side of the square on a Sunday morning in March 1942 to begin the second half of a century in business. He had completed 50 years when he closed the store Saturday night. Fifty years in one city is a long time when one considers that he worked seven days a week, including the holidays. Arriving at noon M

Benjamin Sumner, a native of North Carolina (or possibly South Carolina, researchers differ), was one of the first permanent settlers in Christy township, Lawrence County, Illinois. He came to this area in 1817 and built a small round-log cabin. He was married three times. According to family legend when the Sumner family left the Carolinas, The first Mrs. Sumner placed a setting of eggs inside a slab of bacon and covered them over with a pillow to keep them warm. The eggs ha

January 7 1881 ‘Ye tax gatherer is abroad in the land with his big book; Don't sic the dog on him.’  The tax collector counted 1,430 dogs in the county and hopefully was not bitten by any of them. The 17 th  snowstorm of the year occurred the day before the paper was published. Notwithstanding the extreme cold weather, a little Seed came to the surface in Lawrenceville last week. (The researchers haven’t learned who the parents were yet.) Reverend John Hennessy delivered qui

There was no on-line copy of the January 1, 1881, Rural Republican so Lawrence County news printed in the Western Sun  was used for this blog.    News: The previous Tuesday Matt Harvey had four horses killed and one crippled by the O&M railroad between Lawrenceville and Vincennes. A baby boy of Sheriff Ed Ryan died Friday and was buried on Christmas Day. Unfortunately, the only other ‘news’ item published was by a special correspondent to the Western Sun  who criticized La

The Research Library and History Center will be closed the week of December 21-27. December 24 1880 Mr. Day, the editor, advised people to save their loose dimes for the big oyster supper for the benefit of a City Hall to be given in the old Presbyterian Church December 30, 1880.  Lawrenceville schools would have a one-week vacation during the holidays. The post office would be closed from 4:00 PM to 7:00 PM on Christmas Day. ( implying that they would be open earlier?) There

December 17 1880 The new editor Sam B Day noted that the Rural Republican had the largest circulation of any paper in the county. “Lawrenceville”, he said, “was located one mile north of the crossing of the Ohio and Mississippi and Danville and Southwestern railroads. It was a beautiful little village of about 1000 inhabitants surrounded by some of the finest farms and farming land in the state. It was a strong temperance town and was inhabited by a thrifty and enterprising