I'll Take a Frisky One

News of Lawrence County February 20-29 1880 Gleaned from Lawrenceville and Vincennes newspapers.

Some of the young folks evidently thought that spring had come, for they were out pitching horseshoes. The editor thought she heard that the streetlamps were to be lighted again.

Superintendent Cox decided that schoolteachers were entitled to full pay for time lost by the prevailing epidemics. The freight train commenced running through from Danville to St Francisville. Terre Haute College was advertising for students. The newspaper editor suggested that a museum of Indian relics should be gathered from our citizens to be preserved by the Agricultural board. The donor’s names would be recorded and articles labeled for inspection. (What an innovative idea! Oh, but if it had only happened!) 

The employees of the D & S W RR were rusticating for a time at St Francisville. The reporter for the Lawrenceville paper thought it was proper to say that the road was lucky in retaining so efficient a corps of train men.  Their deportment had been gentlemanly under all circumstances and Lawrenceville extended a cordial greeting for their return.

A singular case was heard before the judge when the County sought to compel Owen Pinkstaff and his brothers and sisters to support another brother, F M Pinkstaff better known as “Sam”.  Sam had been the unlucky one of the family and was now dependent upon the county for his maintenance whilst his brothers and sisters were owners of fifty thousand dollars.  It appears that Owen has always been willing to do his share whilst others were not. 

The following marriage licenses were issued:  Henry Valpert got the necessary papers to enable him to build fires and do the chores for Miss Effie Morgan till Gabriel blew his horn, unless sooner discharged.  Miss Odea I Lackey had also taken a lifelong contract of mending Benjamin F Hills socks, cooking his meals, and otherwise looking after Benjamin.

John Wright’s school near Allendale showed an average attendance of 33 out of 37 enrolled during the last months. School report for Lawrenceville (elementary) school for February 1880.

Grammar Dept: Males 28, females 19, total 47 enrolled; average daily attendance 40

Primary Dept: Males 32, females 20, total 52 enrolled; average daily attendance 31.

The following were primary scholars who had not been absent for the month:

Charley and Tommy Watts were the children of James A and Mary J Watts, a dry goods clerk. Pearl McGaffy was 8, her mother Rachel McGaffy was widowed. James Lewis, 8, was the son of Neriah and Nancy Lewis, a laborer.

Frank Barnes was the son of Moses and Jane Barnes, a dry goods merchant. Owen O’Rourke, 9, was the son of Michael and Anne O’Rourke. Milton Norris, 9, was the son of James and Wimona Norris.  No occupation was listed for the O’Rourke’s or the Norris’.

Clinton Struble, 9, was the son of Justus and Harriet Struble, owner of the livery stable.  Tressie Pierce, 9, was the daughter of Frederick and Martha Pierce the town blacksmith. Arthur Musgrave, 10, was the son of Robert and Louisa Musgrave, a railroad employee.  Harley/Harlan Stinger,8, was the son of Benjamin and Amanda Stinger. The father had no job because he had consumption.  

Willie Tracy, 8, was the son of Edward and Jacqueline Tracy, the grocer. Oliver Crews, 8, was the nephew of James and Martha Crews, a bookkeeper. Ida Swinehart, 12, was the daughter of Daniel and Sarah Swinehart, a carpenter.

Also, Frank Hauffman, Harley Stinger, Rosa (or Ross) Roberts, Nannie Hardacre, and Eddie Theralds had perfect attendance but no information was found about them.

C L Thompson and Emma J Thompson were administrators for the Estate of James N Thompson of Allison Twp. The Albert Updike Estate was administrated by Jennie A Updike. Wm T Buchanan was the administrator for the James Patton Estate and the William King estate.  He was also the conservator of O A Lovejoy and gave notice to Jane Lovejoy and Preston Martin that he was selling the real estate.

The most popular topic of the day was mud. The roads were very bad from excessive rain and traveling was almost impossible. School at Zion had a vacation because teacher Charles H Martin was suffering from a severe attack of sore eyes. Thomas Cochran of Charlottsville gave a magnificent supper and ball on Christmas Eve. Miss Bell Flowers was expected to teach the summer school at Plank Road. A meeting was held at Sand Ridge to make arrangements for building a church. The Murphy movement (anti-alcoholic beverage drinking) was somewhat on the decline.  There was not the interest manifested that formerly had existed.  Miss Annie McClary arrived home from attending school for three months in Indianapolis.   Stephen Sumner was elected constable of Christy twp.

Lawrenceville:  John Armor was sentenced to two years in the penitentiary for stealing. Sheriff Scott took him to Chester Penitentiary. The indictment against Craig for forgery was quashed. William Combs was fined $10 for carrying concealed weapons. Ed Bowers was fined $25 on the charge of assault to kill. Alfred Baker was granted a divorce from Jennie N Clark Baker because Jennie ran away with Bill McKinney of Sand Ridge. Alfred had married her on June 6, 1875. Mrs. Nan Mathias was unsuccessful in her efforts to obtain a divorce from her husband Frank.

Prof. H A Clubb of the Lawrenceville Cornet Band was raising money for the purchase of a new set of instruments. Miss Ada Allender’s 16th birthday party was the event of the season. Isaac Hall purchased the restaurant of Dick Musgrave where Ellis had shot Hickman. (Apparently murder wasn’t good for business.)  John Sullivan, contractor of the Lawrenceville and St Francisville railroad, advertised for bids to build three miles of fence along the line commencing ½ mile south on both sides of the road.  The fence was to be four boards high with a cap.  Bidders were to say what kind of lumber they intended to use. 

St Francisville: The railroaders were on a high since payday. The new depot was completed. Since its completion at the junction of the two roads in St Francisville, the trains have quit stopping at the old depot. This change made it somewhat unhandy, as the junction was half a mile above town. The Constable at St Francisville was J L Kirkey.

Moses Stivers, proprietor of Stiver’s Springs, reported he had a good season last year and a good prospect for the coming year.  The Vincennes newspaper seemed to be running a “contest” as to who had the largest pig. It was noted that “Mr. A Lackey of Bird Station delivered a hog that weighed 851 pounds, clear of bottom mud.”

Bridgeport news: Valentines were sent. Peter Garing received new guns for sale and moved his stock into the brick building formerly occupied by W M Williamson. Garing wanted to sell his grocery business.  John Kennedy Jr purchased the storeroom belonging to Peter Farling and moved his stock of drugs into it. 

Denison news: School was closed at Grant for the winter term. Aleck Peck, after a short illness of pneumonia, died at his residence 2 miles northwest of St Francisville on Feb 16, 1880.  Mrs. Eliza Conover wife of Powell Conover and daughter of Wm Wells, died Saturday February 22, 1880 of pneumonia.  She was sick but for a few days. She and Powell had been married only since May 4, 1879. This was the second wife Mr. Conover had buried in the previous 12 months.  (He remarried a year later and that wife outlived him.) Ducks were quite numerous on Wolf Prairie and extensively hunted but few received serious injuries.

Humor in 1880

“Got something frisky?”, the man asked as he walked into a livery stable and called for a saddle horse; “something that will prance about lively and wake a fellow out of his lethargy?  I used to ride the trick mule in a circus, and I reckon I can back anything that wears hair.”  They brought him out a calico- colored beast with a vicious eye, and he mounted it and dashed off.   Before he had gone two blocks the animal bucked, crashed through a high board fence, and plunged into a cellar, tossing his rider over the top of an adjacent woodshed and landing him on the ragged edge of a lawn mower.  They bore him home, straightened him out and three surgeons came in and reduced his dislocations and plastered him up with raw beef.

 A few weeks later he called again at the stable and asked if they had a gentle sawhorse with an affectionate disposition, a bridle with a curb bit and martingales, and a saddle with two horns and a cupper to it.  He believed he would go up in the haymow and gallop around a little where it was soft, and it wouldn’t hurt him if he went to sleep and fell off as he did the other day.”

From Griggs Cunningham Collection