From Melrose - 1885

11-AUG-1885  Giles Miller is hauling staves to West York.   John Fix is threshing over in Orange Township.   Miss Emma Page of Casey is visiting her uncle, C. M. Meeker.   Isaac Benight, of Streator, IL, is visiting his brother, William Benight.   Miss Alice Bartlett made brief calls on some of her friends this week.   David Murphy, of West Union, swooped down upon us one day last week.   A. G. Cowden was in the village last Tuesday, on one of his old time hand shaking tours.   Col. William Bailey intends to erect a carpenter shop, to protect him from pulverous weather.   Our merchants are waging warfare on the price of salt.   Several members of Thomas Handy Post were billed for York Thursday night, but the lowering clouds caused them to reconsider and stay at home.   We hear that J. R. Trump has been employed to teach the winter school here.   Levi B.Wells, of Martinsville, brought the advance agent of King Burk’s show into our burg last Thursday and now P. F. Dodd’s agricultural house is refulgent with circus pictures, to the great delight of the small boys.   Rowe Bros. mill is again in successful operation with improved machinery and facilities for making as good flour as can be found anywhere.     1-SEPT-1885   Jasper Meeker had a good horse to die this week.   A brother of Melvin Bemer, from north Missouri, is visiting here.   J. H. Edwards went down to Bellaire and Annapolis one day last week.   B. C. Hasten is taking in all the picnics, dispensing candy and ice cream.   Archie Fears and Daniel Hull, of West Union, were in the village Tuesday.   William Barton, Ed Sibley and their wives and Jim Sibley, came over from Terre Haute, on Friday of last week and returned on Tuesday of this week.   The gentlemen brought down several prairie chickens while here.   The harvesting of the prairie chicken crop on Dolson Prairie was begun on the mourning of the 15th.   Married on Thursday evening, August 20, by Rev. Thomas Bailiff, at his residence, Mr. Joseph Howerton and Miss Ella Thompson.   A number of the friends gathered at the house of James Thompson, the bride’s father.   15-SEPT-1885   A daughter of Ham Rowe is visiting friends here.   H. L. Baker has improved his premises by means of a new cistern and force pump.   F. G. Hasten has sold his farm to Rev. Bellnap and expects soon to start for Kansas.   A. J. Darnell bought fourteen yearling calves of David R. Ellington, for which he paid $350.   Daniel Brown is hauling saw logs to build more buildings.   Dr. J. W. Baker brought a well trained bird dog from William Rockwell for which he paid full value.   Another wedding to conical this week:   Mr. George Filloon to a Miss Perisho.   Frank Miller of Marshall was in our village.   Joseph Howerton is repairing Uncle Joe Well’s house south of town where he and his handsome young wife will soon begin life’s journey.   Nathan Medsker of South Carolina Democratic fame still keeps up the war cry against republicans.   HE SEEMS INSPIRED WITH EXTREME HOSTILITY TOWARD T. R. Cornwell, charging him with the use of whiskey, buying votes, bribing, and all the various crimes as which democrats have always been known to hold up their hands in holy horror.   Look out, Reck, for we all know that Nathan is a host in law.    We see in this week’s Planet, the correspondent from this place has a quite lengthily item in mitigation of the offence committed by G. H, Rowe in taking a piece of timber to strike a small boy.

Source: The Clark County Herald, submitted by Ron Cornwell If you have any other information about any of the persons or incidents in these articles, please send it to ortmank@yahoo.com.