Shoot’em with an Ax

We do not have digitized county newspapers for March 1879-August 1879, so the researchers had to look for local news in the Vincennes and Mt Carmel papers.

April 1879

The warm season had come when the decomposition of all vegetable and other matter contained in garbage pits became exceedingly offensive. Moreover, if allowed to remain till it began to breed foul air, the surroundings became more or less infected, and the dangerous effect lingered long after the cause was removed. The cause of disease was not always understood. There were twenty deaths in Lawrence County in the month of April 1879. Twelve of those involved babies and young children under five years of age.  Two died of scarlet fever; one baby died of malnutrition when its mother died. A set of twins were born premature and died. One mother and baby died in childbirth. One man who suffered from fits, fell in a well at the Poor Farm and drowned. And one man died of old age (he was 63!) and had venereal disease.

Edward Bierhaus of Vincennes shipped 18 railcars of bacon containing 500,000 pounds to Cincinnati and Baltimore. Some of those porkers came from Lawrence County.

The tramps who had infested Vincennes began making their headquarters on the opposite side of the Wabash River near the railroad track where they committed depredations of all kinds-- burning rail fences, stealing chickens, etc. The nearby farmers adopted a very unique plan known as the “Wabash plan” that only required a shot gun and a handful of salt, beans, old nails, or mustard seed shot.  A great many shots were fired over the tramp’s camp one Saturday night caused by a raid led by the neighborhood farmers. Soon, peace and quiet once again reigned supreme. The same tramp was seldom seen loafing around in that locality twice. 

St Francisville village trustees elected were H H Jones, Jules Mignet, Mike Quinn, Thomas Martin, Abe Jordan, and John Johnson; clerk, D H Swift; treasurer, Samuel Morgenstein; street commissioner, August Smith. In Russellville Thornton E Adams was elected Clerk; Alexander Tugow, Collector; James Mickey, Assessor, Thomas G Cecil, Supervisor; and A Bradbury, Commissioner of Highways.

The steamboat Prairie City passed by Russellville on its way down river. An infant cyclone whisked its way through the western part of Lawrence County and fence building was in order.

The temperance party in Sumner had controlled the city board the past two years attributing their failure to do so after the vote of 1879, to the readiness with which drug stores attempted to the take the place of the saloons since the abolishment of the latter. (Prescribed Medicine was often just liquor sold in medicine bottles.)

Sumner and Lawrenceville voted for licensing saloons. With the help of the clerk, a blind- folded boy and a cigar box, Bridgeport elected Mart Eshelman mayor and voted out the saloons in town making Bridgeport the only town in the county that did not allow saloons. St Francisville has two saloons.

The Widow Titus of Bridgeport, a former county charge, having received a pension from her paternal government and possessing lots of money (about $400) was now the sensation of the day. She invested $120 in purchasing real estate. Wheat looks good in the county. Green gingham dresses with big beau-catchers behind are fashionable.

The Democratic Herald was devoted to the Democratic party of Lawrence County. BD Reilly and Will M Garrard were the editors, and it cost $1.50 a year to subscribe.  The office was on the west side of the square. 

Fred Pierce was a blacksmith in Lawrenceville; he did horseshoeing for $1.25 for a set of four and wagon tire setting for 25 cents each.  WH Wendling and Co. owned a general goods store in St Francisville where country produce would be traded for goods or cash. Dalton and Lamport, the lumber men of Vincennes, opened a lumber yard next to the Paris and Danville RR depot in Lawrenceville.

WH Meadows sold tinware, graniteware, and stoves on the north side of the square as well as knives and forks. Ed Tracy sold groceries and provisions in Lawrenceville also. Flemin Cox was the County School superintendent.

 Lawrence County residents in 1879 were not limited in their ability to see the country. They could take a train almost everywhere. To travel to Chicago, Cleveland, Buffalo, Peoria, and all points north, northeast and northwest one had to take the Paris and Danville Train.  The O & M train ran to Cincinnati, Baltimore, Washington, and all points east and southeast such as Cairo and New Orleans. One could also travel to St Louis on that same train and many excursions were advertised.

A farmer purchased a revolver for his wife and insisted on target practice so that she could defend the house in his absence.  After the bullet had been dug out of his leg and the cow buried, he guessed that she’d better shoot’em with an ax.