Washington County Tidbits 1900-09

Tidbits are newspaper articles, etc. which mention names, places, and other information useful to the researcher.


E-mail your Washington County, MO Tidbit to Larry Flesher,


Submitted by Christine Lembeck

January 1900, Weekly Independent

Obituary
Mrs. Adelia Thompson (nee Barron) was born in Potosi, Missouri, November 1, 1826; died at her home near Hopewell, January 16, 1900; was married to Elbert Thompson, December 22, 1848; joined the M.E. Church South, 1847; a husband, three sons, and two daughters survive her. She was an earnest Christian, a devoted wife, a kind mother, commanding the respect and esteem of the entire neighborhood. During her entire sickness her life was marked by Christian patience and resignation to the will of "Him who doeth all things well" "But we sorrow not as those who have no hope", for we are encouraged by the strong and abiding Christian faith that the parting is but for a season....

Submitted by Christine Lembeck

Potosi Weekly Journal, February 15, 1900

Shirley News
Miss Ella Nephew of near Cadet is visiting her sister, Mrs. Court Compton.

The music and surprise party given by Mrs. Hill's children in honor of her 61st birthday was quite a success; there was a large crowd present, all of whom took part in the vocal and instrumental music and enjoyed themselves very much, after which refreshments were served to the visited guests. Those present were Mrs. Burt Compton, Mr. and Mrs. F. C. Hill, G. W. Compton, Jr., H and Ed Grooms, G. W. Compton, Sr., Michael McAvinney, Patrick and Michael O'Hanlon, Emmet and John Powell, Mr. Campbell and Miss Ella Nephew.

Submitted by Christine Lembeck

Fort Wayne Sentinel, Fort Wayne, Indiana, November 14, 1900
Baltimore, MD - Nov 14


The Baltimore Trust and Guarantee Company has practically completed arrangements for financing a deal involving upward of $11,000,000.00 of stocks and bonds. A company has been formed, it is said, which will shortly be incorporated under the name of the American Lead and Baryta Company. This company will purchase 33,100 acres of land in Washington County, Missouri, about sixty-five miles south of St. Louis, said to contain valuable mineral deposits, including baryta, zinc, lead and iron besides extensive timber tracks. The most valuable mineral deposit on the property is probably baryta which is largely used in the manufacture of paint. A new town will be laid out and the company expects to reap rich returns from the sale of building lots. Experts employed by the Baltimore Trust and Guarantee Company made an examination of the property and have submitted a report showing that the present net revenue is $125,000.00 a year, and it is believed these earnings can be largely increased by the introduction of labor-saving machinery. It is said that about two-thirds of the underwriting has been place with Baltimore and Western financial institutions and capitalists.

Submitted by Christine Lembeck

November 22, 1900, Weekly Independent

Obituary
John Barron, an aged and respected miner, residing two miles east of Potosi, was found dead in his yard on Friday last. Coroner Charles William held an inquest and the jury returned a verdict that he died of heart disease. Mr. Barron was consided one of the best miners in this section.
Submitted by Christine Lembeck

Potosi Journal, Potosi, Mo. November 28, 1900

County Court Proceedings
The court orders that the following persons be and are exempt from payment of road poll tax on account of physical disabilities:

E. H. George, John Coleman, James W. Steel, William Nephua, George McAtee, Lucian Boyer, J. W. Adams, Pryor Harvey, J. N. Harned and Richard Jackson.

Submitted by Christine Lembeck

The St. Louis Republic, May 28, 1901


Potosi, Mo. – Mrs. Sallie B. Castleman (nee McIlvane) wife of Captain Thomas D. Castleman, died at her home in Potosi today in her fifty- ninth year.
Submitted by Christine Lembeck

The St. Louis Republic - August 18, 1901


"Uncle" Charley Loomis of Belgrade, who is now in his ninetieth year, is one of the best known pioneers of Washington County. In early manhood he was a musician of reputation, and his fondness of the violin is a ruling characteristic to this day. He spent twenty-five years as a leader and instructor in church choir singing and has sung with Lowell, Mason, Bradbury and many other old school composers. In 1861 he moved to Missouri from Massachusetts his home state. He is a believer in strenuous exercise and often cuts his own firewood. "The Daily Republic is my business of information," he says, when discussing political and international questions.
Submitted by Christine Lembeck

The St. Louis Republic, September 20, 1901


Deaths – FLYNN – September 19, John Flynn a well known citizen here, died this evening at 7:50 o'clock, aged 78 years. The funeral mass will be Saturday morning
Submitted by Christine Lembeck

The St. Louis Republic, November 26, 1901


Potosi, Mo. Nov. 25 – James Nash, a farmer, aged about 35 years, residing near Hopewell, this county, committed suicide on Sunday afternoon by blowing the top of his head off with a shotgun loaded with buck shot. Failing health was the cause. He leaves a widow and five small children.
Submitted by Christine Lembeck

The St. Louis Republic, September 20, 1902


Potosi, Mo. - Monday will be the fiftieth anniversary of the marriage of Mr. and Mrs. W. A. Ryan. They were married at the home of the Misses Breens, at the corner of Seventh and Olive streets, St. Louis, now occupied by The St. Louis Republic, by the Reverend Charles J. Jones, pastor of the First Boatman's Church. Mr. and Mrs. Ryan have four children living but as none of them can be present on the occasion of their golden wedding, there will be no celebration of the event.
Submitted by Christine Lembeck

The St. Louis Republic, October 6, 1902


Deaths – BOYER – on Sunday, October 5, 1902, at 2:30 p.m. after a lingering illness, Mrs. Lucy Boyer, wife of County Treasurer J. B. Boyer, aged 24 year 7 months and 4 days. Funeral from the family residence, at Potosi, Mo, at 9:30 a.m. Tuesday.
Submitted by Christine Lembeck

The Washington Bee, Washington D.C. November 8, 1902


The Biggest Radish on Record . . . Was raised this season by W. M. Matlock of Liberty, Washington County, Missouri. It weighed five pounds and was eleven and half inches in circumference, and 21 inches in length. The seed was sent to him by the agricultural department.
Submitted by Christine Lembeck

St. Louis Post Dispatch, December 15, 1903


George Beal (?) of Mineral Point, Mo [married] to Blanche Hetzell, of Mineral Point, Mo.
Submitted by Christine Lembeck

The St. Louis Republic, February 7, 1904


Potosi, Mo. - Burglars looted a drug store and three saloons here last night. In J. R. Funk's pharmacy they stole a lot of cutlery. At William Gorman's saloon they procured $4.25 from the till. Ten dollars worth of liquor was stolen from Coleman & Grossman's. And $6 and whiskey and cigars were carried away from Campbell & Thomure's place. A watchdog drove the burglars from E. L. Griffin's saloon.
Submitted by Christine Lembeck

Scott County Kicker, April 30, 1904


Judge Louis F. Dinning of Potosi committed suicide at his home March 27th.
Submitted by Christine Lembeck

The St. Louis Republic - May 4, 1904


George F. Recar applied to the Circuit Court yesterday for a writ of habeas corpus to obtain possession of his children, Christopher, 15 years old, Carrie, 12 years old, and Nellie, 9 years old. The writ is directed against Eda M. Recar and Edward Long who took the children by force from Recar May 7 last, it is alleged. Recar avers that he was appointed guardian of the children by the Probate Court of Washington County Missouri, October 21, 1899. Judge Foster issued an order citing the defendants to show cause next Saturday why the children should not be turned over to their father.
Submitted by Christine Lembeck

Scott County Kicker, May 14, 1904


Garner Parmelee of Potosi, died of alcoholism on the 4th inst. was found lying dead behind the town calaboose.
Submitted by Christine Lembeck

Los Angeles Herald, July 24, 1904

Marriage Licenses - Russel E. Politte, 27, native of Missouri, and Anna L. Baker, 19, native of Nebraska, residents of Los Angeles.
Submitted by Christine Lembeck

St. Louis Post Dispatch, July 30, 1904


Deaths
Entered into rest on Friday, July 29, at 3 o'clock p.m. at St. Louis Mullanphy Hospital, Bridget Allen (nee Sloan), beloved wife of James Allen. Funeral will take place from the residence of her sister, Mrs. James Carroll, 3188 Brantner Place, on Sunday, July 31, at 7 o'clock a.m. to Union Station. Internment at Old Mines, Missouri. New York papers please copy.
Submitted by Christine Lembeck

St. Louis Post Dispatch, August 19, 1904

MAN ACCUSED OF EXTENSIVE SWINDLE

A deputy sheriff went to Irondale, Washington County, Friday, for the purpose of arresting B. F. McKinney, a merchant at that place against whom a warrant charging obtaining goods from St. Louis wholesale merchants under false pretenses as to his liabilities and assets was issued several days ago. McKinney is charged with buying goods on credit from St. Louis and other firms after submitting to them what purported to be a correct statement of his debts and resources. The warrant against him was issued at the instance of the Goddard Grocer Company at South Seventh Street, and the St. Louis Credit Men's Association. McKinney is said to owe $3,000.00 and to have assets not exceeding $350.00. It is alleged that in April of this year he sent an order for a bill of goods amount to less than $100.00 to the Goddard Grocer Company but because he had not credit rating with any commercial agency, the order was refused. Then, it is alleged, McKinney sent a signed statement representing his liabilities as $250.00 and his assets as $24.25. The goods were sent to him, according to the Goddard Company, but they failed to receive payment. A collection agency in whose hands the matter was placed reported that McKinney's assets were $300.00 and his liabilities $3,000.00. The following St. Louis firms are said to have lost sums reaching a total of $1500.00 (could be 1,300 due to bad print) as a result of similar operations by McKinney: Tennant Shoe Company, Fuchs & Neeman, Union Biscuit Company, James M. Houston Versteeg Shoe Company, Meyer Brothers Coffee and Spice Company, Jacobs Hat & Shoe Company, M. Scharff & Sons, Scudder-Gale Grocery Company, Friedmann Brothers Shoe Company... (the list goes on)

Submitted by Christine Lembeck

St. Louis Post Dispatch

(this article has been condensed)
August 3, 1907
Prosecuting Attorney Nipper of Potosi, Missouri, says he will order the arrest of another boy who has been under surveillance since Frank F. Dennis, a wealthy merchant in Belgrade, 75 miles from St Louis, was riddled with buckshot and seriously wounded from ambush while driving last Wednesday through dense woods, three miles out of Potosi. Attorney Nipper says he is satisfied that Joe Puckett, the 14 year old tow-headed boy, under $500 bail to appear for preliminary examination next Wednesday, did not fire the charge that broke Dennis' right arm and perforated his leg, but he believes he loaned his shotgun to a 17 year old neighbor boy, who was the intending assassin.
Dennis has told the Prosecuting Attorney that two weeks ago his refusal to allow the 17 year old boy to ride with him into Potosi was met with resentment and abuse. The father of this boy was haunted the (unreadable) streets of Potosi ever since the shooting. It was learned Friday that he consulted an attorney regarding the defense of the boy in the event of arrest.
Examination of the thicket from which the buckshot was fired and its vicinity with reference to the Puckett house has satisfied the Prosecuting Attorney that Joe Puckett could not have emptied his shotgun in Dennis, run to the house, hang the weapon and then appear a minute later after the shooting from a bend in the road in front of the wounded man. That the would be assassin fled through the undergrowth in the direction of the Puckett house, after firing the shot, has been established both by Dennis' own statement that after he was wounded he saw a boy running that way and by a fresh trail beaten through the thick grass and bushes from the roadside to within 100 feet of the Puckett house where the clearing begins.
Abe Puckett, 9 year old brother of Joe, told a Post Dispatch correspondent that after he heard shooting he saw someone with a gun running through the woods past his house. The boy says he could not recognize the runner, but he wore black clothing and a black hat. Vest Puckett, an older brother of Joe, says that Joe was not in the house when the shot was fired but that he was out in the thicket gathering wood. Vest was working in the mines at the time of the shooting.
Mrs. Sykes, the nearest neighbor of the Puckett's, said that she was in the Puckett house after Dennis had been taken there by Joe, and that she heard Dennis ask the boy where his shotgun was. She says Joe replied that he loaned it to a neighbor, giving the name of a man who has been in St. Louis for some time.
Dennis is resting easily at the Hotel Arlington in Potosi. He says that he will not undergo the amputation of his mingled arm unless blood poisoning makes the operation imperative.

Submitted by Christine Lembeck

St Louis Post Dispatch

August 7, 1907
The preliminary hearing of Joseph Puckett ["Tuckett" in article] on a charge of shooting from ambush and seriously wounding Frank F. Dennis at Belgrade, Missouri, began in Potosi, Wednesday. It is being conducted by Prosecuting Attorney Nipper. Nipper said over the long distance telephone that he thought the evidence would not warrant holding Puckett ["Tuckett"]. He is 14 years old. "I think the mystery will not be solved unless the grand jury clears it up this fall" said Nipper. Nipper is a Belgrade merchant.
Submitted by Christine Lembeck

The Fair Play - August 1, 1908


Mrs. Mary A. Miltenberger, 80 years old, widow of the late Eugene Miltenberger, died at her home in St. Louis on Tuesday, July 28, Mrs. Miltenberger has lived in St. Louis over sixty years. She was born at Richwoods, Mo., was a daughter of Mr. and Mrs. John L. Bogy and a sister of the late John L. Bogy, Sr. She was married at Ste. Genevieve when 19 years of age. The funeral took place in St. Louis Thursday morning.
Submitted by Christine Lembeck

The Montgomery Tribune, August 14, 1908


Springfield Mo. – While on her way to the normal school Wednesday morning Miss Katherine Casey, a student whose home is at Potosi, Missouri, stepped in front of a work train of the Springfield Traction Co. Three cars passed over her body. She was 24 years old and a daughter of Andrew Casey, former marshal of St. Louis court of appeals. Miss Casey was on her way to take her examinations preparatory to securing a certificate to teach school when she was killed.

Submitted by Christine Lembeck

The Iowa City Citizen, Iowa City, February 8, 1909

Leadwood, MO
George Ketcherside and John Hughes fought a duel here over a woman. They are dead. The shooting was in front of the home of Mrs. Adams, widow, with whom Ketcherside had boarded. He saw Hughes talking to her and went after a revolver.

Both began firing at the same time and at so close a range that their bodies fell across each other. Each body received five bullets.

Submitted by Christine Lembeck

St. Louis Post Dispatch, July 4, 1909


Miss Louise M. Boyer of 4409 West Belle place will go to Ste. Genevieve to aid in celebrating jointly her father's 88th birthday and the Fourth of July. Jules Boyer, who was born on the nation's birthday, in 1821, is a grandson of Jacques Boyer, the first settler in Ste. Genevieve. Mr. Boyer resides with one of his sons in the old homestead in Ste. Genevieve County. He was born in Old Mines, Missouri. Eight sons and eight daughters were born to him, 14 of whom are living. Mr. Boyer is almost, but not quite, a teetotaler. He drinks a little sip of the best whisky or brandy just before sitting down to his meals. That is the extent of his imbibing. He never uses tobacco in any form. He has about 75 descendants, most of whom are expected to gather at the homestead and congratulate the patriarch.

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Larry Flesher, Washington County, MO

lflesher@yahoo.com