The Rural Republican, published in Lawrenceville, Illinois on Friday, May 14th, 1880

The rain in the middle of May 1880 made the wheat crop beautiful and bountiful. Farmers were planting corn rapidly and a large area was under cultivation.

John Patton sued James Ward for the balance of his wages and won $10.10. Lawrence County furnished Chicago with 30 train carloads of hard lumber last week. “Who says the railroads are nuisances”, asked editor Mary Buntin. The administrator of the James A Russell estate was Oliver Russell.

The trial of the three boys who disturbed the congregation at Sand Ridge, Lee Jackson, John Cole and Perry Barnham resulted in a fine of $15.00 for the first two and $4.00 for the last.  Wallace was coming to Lawrenceville with his photography tent, prepared to take photographs, and enlarge old pictures. There were four weekly newspapers published in Lawrence County: Rural Republican, Lawrence County Press, Sumner Democrat and Democratic Herald.

 The Village Board of Lawrenceville had a formal well opening.  Mike O’Rourke was on hand with his peach stick; the test was made for water by A Rawlings and the peach limb began to blossom just thirty feet east of the north courthouse gate where the Board of Supervisors ordered it to be dug.  Ground was broken by “Buckskin”, the noted well-digger and soon all could take a drink from the public well. 

The intelligent lady who filled a professor’s chair in the Illinois Industrial University said in a lecture, that women were the world’s home makers. She insisted that reform in women’s education was the urgent need of the times, and emphasized the fact that intelligent cooks, educated housekeepers, and enlightened mothers were beginning to be appreciated.  Women were not instinctively good housekeepers any more than the men were good mechanics or good farmers. It was an error to suppose that in matters pertaining to the home, instruction was not needed.

The County Board was made up of the following men:  Thomas G Cecil of Russell twp., Wm A Rogan of Allison twp., Jacob Potts of Denison twp., N D Rawlings of Lawrence twp., R J Ford of Bond twp., Elijah George of Lukin twp., G A Abernathy of Bridgeport twp., George W Petty of Christy twp., and David Smith of Petty twp. Officers present at board meetings were  J K Dickirson, Clerk and John P Scott, Sheriff.  Thomas G Cecil was chosen chairman for the year 1880-1881. Rawlings and Abernathy were appointed to  the Committee on the Poor Farm.

 At the May Board meeting, $25 was donated to the public well project in Lawrenceville. Kelly & Slater was paid $13.50 for locks for the courthouse. Joseph Mickey was allowed $1.25 for boarding and taking care of Amanda M Myers, Pauper. Payments were made to the following for boarding other unnamed paupers: Ned Moore, J V Sumner, Jesse Landis, and Angline Smith. William Thompson asked for $15 for the doctor bill and coffin for a pauper, but he was only allowed $6.00 for the coffin. $1.75 was allowed for clothing for Chas. Shield of the Illinois Institute for Deaf and Dumb. Pickrell & Ryan were paid $3.00 for cleaning the court room; Will Morris for cleaning the courthouse yard; Poley Morris for hauling trash off the courtyard.  A. M. Maxwell was paid $10.71 salary at the Poor farm; Mary L Claycomb for making and mending clothing for paupers ($4.65); George M Claycomb for keeping paupers on Poor Farm ($60.84). George Abernathy was paid $1.05 for exporting paupers.  (No mention of where they were exported. . .)

Bridgeport: too much rain; two cases of measles in town; the roads needed work.  Bridgeport would celebrate the Fourth of July on the third as the fourth came on a Sunday.  It would be held at Lanterman Grove.

Grant School neighborhood: Miss Hattie Shafer was teaching summer school.

 Sand Ridge: A little child of Mat Harvey’s was buried at the Howell grave yard. A meeting was held to arrange for the building of another church by the Protestant Methodists located near the crossing.

At the raising of a barn for Mr. Henry Corrie who lives about four miles Southeast of town on Tuesday evening the 27th of April. Mr. Osborne was on the frame and by some means fell a distance of 20 feet striking a piece of timber, 2 by 8, breaking the timber and breaking his arm into places, also inflicting other severe internal injuries, which probably will terminate in death.

Birds Station: corn planting was the order of the day. The oat crop looked good. Wheat looked sickly. John Wampler, hog merchant, shipped a carload of porkers north over the D&SW RR last week.  

The 1880 census takers were to receive 2 1/4 cents per name and 12 1/2 cents per farm and for each death reported $0.05. These rates, of course, were subject to the provision of the law that no enumerator should receive an excess of $4.00 per day.

An unoccupied frame house on the farm of Esquire Robinson near Sumner was destroyed by fire. The place was valued at about $150.00 and was not insured. It is believed it was a result of arson. John Reinbold of Vincennes has purchased the Duesterberg store and had “fitted it up” with an excellent stock of goods in Saint Francisville.

The old building of the Presbyterian Church in Lawrenceville was purchased for the use of a denomination which was called the New Lights; the price paid was $300.   The building committee for the Lawrence Presbyterian Church gave the contract of erecting the brick walls to Mr. Orr who would proceed to burn a kiln of brick and then put up the walls.

The Dunkards of Alison vicinity baptized 11 persons in the Wabash at Russellville. Kelly & Slater had the contract for slate-roofing a handsome dwelling house belonging to Mr. W F Guess of Sumner.  The firm was doing an immense business in that line.

Silas Leatherby died in Lukin twp. on Saturday May 8, 1880 of measles. He was buried in the Olive Branch cemetery. 

A child of Enos Lacoste in Saint Francisville was scalded last week.  Reverend John A Piper died at his residence south of Sumner and was buried Sunday.  The reverend gentleman was in his 88th year and had been in the service of his maker as a United Brethren minister during the greater portion of his life.  He was a native of Pennsylvania but had been a resident of Lawrence County for 10 years.

Several readers will remember going to Vincennes and parking on Main Street and watching the people walk by. In 1880 things were no different. Main and 2nd St. were crowded with pedestrians with a decided disposition to promenade. At the intersection of these two thoroughfares was located A. Gimbel and Sons Dry Goods Palace. The usual number of gamins, bums, lamp post huggers, etcetera surrounded the corner and hovered around as thick as blue bottle flies about a horse's ear in July or August. Jake Gimbel, junior member of the firm, had grown tired of this blockade right in front of the door making it almost impossible for the ladies to pass; And, besides he hated seeing the white payment stained with tobacco juice freely dispensed by the mob. Jake set about devising some means of removing the motley crew. It didn't take him long to hit upon a plan. He hung out a sign illuminated by three tallow candles. On a little closer scrutiny it was discovered that the sign bore the following motto: “Wanted the 10 laziest men in town to loaf at this corner.” This seemed to take care of the problem.