Rensselaer Semi-Weekly Republican, Volume 36, Number 72, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 3 May 1904 — Page 1

THE RENSSELAER SEMI-WEEKLY REPUBLICAN.

VOL. XXXVI

Death of Charles E. Mills.

Sad indeed is Saturday’s sequel t > Friday’s news of the partial paralysis of our townsman, Charles E. Mills A little before noon, that day the left half of his body became involved, and total paralysis en-

sued, and he passed into a coma**tose condition, S 3 deep and deathlike as to preclude all hopes of a revival from it- He lingered until about 15 minutes before three o’clock, and then passed quiet'y away; and in his death Rensselaer loses one of her best and most highly respected citizens, in the prime of manhood.

Death of Mrs William Vedder.

Mrs. Josie Vedder, wife of Wil liam Vedder. died about 11 o’clock Friday night, at their home in th e John Rush tenant house, at the corner of Vine and Jefferson streets in the northwest part of town Her sickness has lasted nearly two years, and began with typhoid fever in Montana, followed by pneumonia, and leaving a condition that developed into consumption.

The funeral was held Sunday at the residence, at 2.30 p. m„ by Rev. H. L. Kindig. Interment in Weston cemetery.

Shooting Results in Murder.

Hammond Tribune: Henry Back the Wabash brakeman, who was shot down by an unknown ruffian near Hegewisch, Saturday night after the latter had broken the air and brought the train to a stand still, died at St. Margaret’s hospital last night about nine o’clock as a result of the gunshot would be received. His wife arrived Sunday morning from their home at Ashley and was with him when he passed away.

Terrible Accident at Goodland.

Goodlaud has had another fatal accident, and one much more terrible than the death of the little boy, a week or two ago. Thursday Mrs Frank Hefferline was pouring gasoline, which she probably thought was coal oil, on a smouldering fire in her stove, when the can exploded. She was blown about ten feet and hurt so badly that she lived but a few minutes. A two year old boy in the rear part of the room was so badly burned that he died about three hours later. Mr. Heferhne and a five year old child were away from the house when the acoident oooured

Death of Andrew Faris.

Uncle Andrew Faris died at his home in Medaryville last Friday April 29th, at the age of about 84 years. He was one of the members of the Faris family which settled near Rensselaer in 1844, and some years later all moved to Gillam township. He moved into Medaryville only a few years ago, after living in Jasper county nearly 60 years. His funeral was held Sunday and he was buried at Independence aemetery in Gilhm tp. Now is tha time to get a fine tailor made suit at greatly reduced prices $22 50 suits now $15.00 - $lB 50 “ “ sl2 50 $14.00 “ “ $9 75 $lO 00, sl2 00 and $13.50 suits at SB.OO. These are certainly great bargains. Call and see styles and samples, Phone 174. wdl GENFVieve Sprigg,

Strayed, from my place west of town, a red de-horned cow, with leather tag in one ear. Think she went away with a bunch of cattle driven towards town last Thursday. Henry Hor< eman. Lost Saturday April 23rd, purse containing money and rings, finder please return to thia office and receive reward. Thia belongs to a working girl and ahe can not afford the loss.

NO. 72.

An Assignee Appointed.

The question of an assignee for the failed McCoy bank, was finally settled Monday, when the McCoys made a new deed of assignment to James H. Chapman. Mr. Chapman agrees to accept the appointment, and to tak a up the work at once. The appointment seems universally satisfactory to the creditors

Still Another Old Building Gone

One by one the old time-before-the-war, hewn timber and split lath buildings of Rensselaer continue to fall before th a march of progress, until now there are scarcely any left, and what »rj, have mostly been removed from their original locations. These remarks are inspired by the disappearance of the old E, P. Hammaud residence, at the corner of Washington and Division streets This building, from its associations is one of the historic old residences of the town

This building, or the front part thereof, was erected about 1856. At that time, Geo. W. Spitler, one of the patriarchs of Rensselaer and Jasper county, was the owner of the entire block where the building stood, as well as of many other blocks and lots. He sold that lot to one Joseph St. Johns, a carpenter, who put up the original part of the bouse, a three room dwelling, two rooms down stairs and one up stairs. Before he moved into tbe bouse Mr. St. Johus concluded to move away, and he sold the building to Mr. Spitler, and before the litter had ever transfered the lots to St. Johns.

Daring the war Co'. E. P. Hammond married Mias Jennie Spitler, and Uncle George gave her this property, ae a part of her marriage portion. When the Colonel came home at the close of his distinguished waraervice. they went to living in thia house, while he embarked upon hie still more guiehed legal and judicial career The houae was pretty small, and as often as there was an addition to the family, or good reason to anticipate such, there was a corresponding addition to the residence. This commendible process went on, hand in hand, until the originally small family had increased nearly to the Roosevelt standard, and the house co ered pretty nearly the whole end of the lot; by the time Colonel Hammond, then Judge Hammond, built his big brick residence, at the head of Washington street, and which, after he had served a term as Supreme Court judge, be sold to H. O. Harris, previous to removing to Lafayette, to embark on hie very successful and lucrative legal busi-

n3BB in that city. * The old house has been sold to •Joseph Neeius, of Jordan tp., who is tearing it down, very carefully saving intact every possible piece of timber, board or serviceable lath. It may seem a paradox, but the oldest part of the building is really now the newest, in point of present soundness. The upper timbers and some of the sills are as sound as the day they were hauled from the woods, nearly 50 years ago, and so also most of the lumber in that part of the house. And it is Mr. Nesius’s intention to keep all the lumber from the original old part separate, and to haul it eight miles to bis farm in Jordan and there rebuild it, just as it was before, in all essential particulars, and thus be fitted to stand for another 50 years, as a comfortable farm residence.

Have your framing done at Parker’s Studio. Job wanted for good boy, on a farm, is 15 years old and has bad experience. Enquire of H, O. Hoehaw, or at this office.

RENSSELAER, JASPER COUNTY, INDIANA, TUESDAY. MAY 3. 1904.

The Township Convention.

For Trustee George W. Goff. Far Assessor John F. Bruner. Marion township Republicans met in mass c invention Thursday afternoon, to nominate candidates for township trustee and assesor. There was a pretty large attendance tbe number of votes cast at one ballot being 211. S. C. Irwin was chairman of the convention and G. W. Williams acd J. W. Walker secretaries. The contest for the nomination for trustee was aright lively one. Three good and popular men were after the nomi nation/and starting in with remarkable eveatss, it took five ballots to make a choice The candidates were George W. Goff, James D. Bibcock and R. B. Harris. The ballots 1 were as follows :

1 2 3 4 5 Harris 66 60 45 25 12" Guff 69 73 81 97 105 Babcock 73 78 80 82 83 The fith ballot settled the matter in favor of Mr. Guff who was duly declared the nominee. For Assessor only two men were out as candidates, John F. Bruner and Nehemiah Hopkins. Both developed good running qualities, but of course, one ballot settled it the vote being 98 for Bruner to 79 for H ipkins. Mr. Bruner was declared tbe nominee and the convention adjourned.

M S. WM VEDDER. Miss J osie Grant Troxell youngest daughter of Jacob M. Troxell, was born Dec. 9 1869 in Jasper 00. Ind., west of this city. She was left without a mother at the age otsix years. She spent the early part of her life in Jasper Co. until her marriage to Wm. H. Vedder which took place March, 21, 1888 in Rensselaer. From this date she spent ten years in Streator, 111,, her husband being a R. R. Engineer. Their two children were born them at Streator. In May 1895 the family moved to Bozeman, Montana, where they lived almost five years.

lo Aug 1902. Mrs. Vedder was taken with a severe attack of typhoid fever followed by pneumonia. Tms left tne lungs' in a weakened condition from which she never reccvered. In Jan. 1903 the family came back to Rensselaer and have resided here ever since. The last few months her family and friends have realized that she was waging a hopeless warfare against disease and that soon she must give over the unequal struggle. Friday evening April, 29. she fell asleep in The Christian’s faith and passed out of the land of shadows to enter the realms of Eternal day. She confessed her faith in Christ and united with The Methodist Episcopal church at the age of ten years under the ministry of Rev. John Sebring. The opening clause of The 23 Psalm “The Lord is my Shepherd,” was selected and appropriately framed in ohilhood as a motto of her life and this she has kept with her to the end as the inspiration of her faithful Christian life. She leaves a true hueband and two worthy children Ada aged 14 and Harold aged 8, also a father Jacob M. Troxell, four sisters Mrs. I. N. Hemphill, Mrs. 0. J. Dean, all of Rensselaer, and Mrs 1 D. S. Alter and Mrs L. M. Benbow of Parr, also Mrs. E. F. Warren a stepsister and Mrs J aoob M. Troxell a step-mother, besides many other relatives and friends.

I am now closing out my entire stock of lumber, And will make some prices on lumber to be remembered, as long as the stock lasts. Come at once, as it is going

fast.

OBITUARY.

Hi Day Closing Out.

Hiram Day.

The Circuit Coart.

Lester Hawn, of Remington, or that vicinity, was granted from Seli-i Hawn, for abandonment. It was shown that the plaintiff was a laboring man, a ditcher, and that be met the woman he married through a matrimonial agency, and that after she had got hold of what little cash Lester had accumulated, she had got all she married him for, and left him at onop. Lestur will fight shy of the bargain counters ; of the matrimonial agencies, hereafter.

Judge Hanley, like other wise and just judges, is putting the screws down samewhit in the too prevalent divorce habit. The “Divorces itsued while you wait’’ sign will not be over our court door Oie very important ruling he has made along this line, is that hereafter, no divorces shall be granted on the unsupported evidence of the plaintiff alone. S irne corroborative testimony must go along with i’. The case of tbe Empire And American'Glycerine Company, vs The Pease Oil Company, was tried Friday, before Judge Hanley. The parties to the suit are not cf the J. P. Morgan magnitude, as their name might indicate. There were also about ten cross plaintiffs. The case was sent here from Newton county. It seems that the plaintiff sok nitro glycerine to the defendants wherewith to •‘shoot” their supposed oil wells up about Shelby and filed a lein against the defendant’s well drilling outfit for $430, the price of the explosive For it seems that the company had exploded as well as the wells, and the wherewith to pay bills was not in sight. The ten cross plantiffs were men who had worked for the Pease company, in hauling or operating their machinery, and had claims ranging from $7 to $lB4. They too wanted a lein on the drilling outfit. The judge gave the plaintiff company a judgment for $530 against the Pease Oil Company and to the cross-plaintiffs he gave judgments agiiast Wm. A Meyers, of Morocco and Jesse J. Fry, of Rose Lawn, members of the Pease company, individually. In the mean time other mortgage creditors have got away with the well drilling out-ffit and. persumably the Empire & American Glycerine Company, are wondering what they will levy upon, to collect their judgment. The bob s in tbe ground of the abandoned oil wells are there yet, but they are not very saleable property.

A divorce case was heard Saturday, and a decree granted the plaintiff, Joseph Fitzhugh, from Easie L. Fitzhugh. They were married at Williamsport, this state in September 1896. She left him the following February, but came baqk three months later. But in the next November, she shook him for good, taking their baby with her. She never returned and has kept her whereabouts concealed, nor does he know if his bahjjy is living or not. He alleges that she called him vile and profane and kept company with strange men. He has lived in Milroy, township for two years past, and is a farm laborer.

The ladies of the Barkley M. E. church will give a social at the home of Mr. and Mrs. Ed Randles at Pleasant Grove next Saturday evening. Everybody are welcome. Why pay $1 35 to $1.40 per sack for flour, when you can buv one equal'? as good, XXXX Minnesota, for $1.15 at John Eger’s. Plaques photo frames and moulding at Parkers stndio. To Rent, good 7 room house 2 lots, plenty of fruit, outbuildings. Wm. Warren.

These Men Deserve Your Votes.

.. Tomorrow Tuesday May Bid the voters of Ren-s.-laer will once more be called upon to seLct officers for the ensuing two jears. Tbe campaign now ul ; m-d, has been so clean and quiet, end other matters have been so distracting, that people hardly seem to know that an election is right on hand; but this entire absence of election excitement shoull not lead to a neglect of the duty of voting. To R'publicans especially the duty is one we would like to remind them of. The pa’ty, through conventions regulaily called, has placed a most excellent ticket in the field, made up of representative cit’zms, of well known and well tried personal and business ability and character and all nominated in the fairest possible manner: and hence des rving of the full and hearty support of every Republican voter,

Four of these candidates, all nominated without a dissenting vote are the present incumbents of the offices they are now candidates for.

James H. S. Ellis, the candidate for Mayor, and than whom Rensselaer has no more popular and universally respected citizen, has most faithfully and efficiently managed his share of tbe city’s government during the past two years and years they were that brought questions of great difficulty and responsibility to deal with. Such as grappling with and promptly suppressing the great outbreak of smallpox last year, which promised for a time such disastrous consequenoies to the health and business of our people; and then meeting and settling in the only way it could be settled rightly and permanently, the unavoidable problem of new power and equipment for the city light and water system. For City Clerk, no one ceuld be mere fatthful, efficient and accommodating, nor better deserving of a re-election, than Charles Morlan. He is indeed a model officer as well as a model oitiz-m, and as such should receive the solid support of his party.

James H. Chapman, candidate for re-election for City .Treasurer, has managed the financial affairs of the city with such absolute ac curacy, carefulness and security, and so peculiarly well qualified is he fur work of that character, that it would be the heigbth of unwisdom not to continue him in the position.

In a degree equal to any of his associate candidates, Marshal Mel Abbott deserves the vote of every member of his party. He has always been prompt and vigilant in keeping the streets and sidewalks in good repair, and clean of dirt and snow, and equally prompt and efficient in maintaining peace, good order and good conduct in our city. He too, like M iyor Ellis made a record for firm, fearless and efficient work during our three weeks’ struggle with the smallpox epidemic that should entitle him to the lasting gratitude of all our citizens.

Our candidates for Oouncilmen, Charles J. Dean and Harry LBrown, in the Ist ward; Charles G. Spitler and James F Irwin, in the 2nd; and Henry Grow and J.' C. Carmichael in the 3rd, are all careful, conservative and public spirited citizens, several of them of much successful experience in public business, and all men of high character and business ability and deserving of the full and hearty support of their fellow Republicans.

Music Lessons.

Apply to Glenn Day, Rensselaer. Telephone 346.

New County Clerk.

Charles 0. Warner filed his bond and took the nath’of office as clerk of the Jasper Court last Saturday evening, April 30tb, and is now in full charge of the office. He starts in under easy circumstances, for he has bad plenty of previous experience with the work of the office, and becrme thoroughly familiar with it; and all he needs uow is to rub off a little rust that has accumulating on bis knowledge, during the past eight years, aud he will be right at homo with the whole business.

He will make en ideally capable careful and obliging clerk, and in those respects, be a fu 1 l and worthy successor to tie r tiring clerk, John F. Maj sr, who Las bjen a most excellent official, in every respect.

Mr. Warner start d a new innovation here in the matter of his official bond, by giving a surety company bond instead of a resident properly holders' bond. ,He had a perfectly secure bond, ready prepared and signed by about ten financially solid citizens, who were all willing to have it filed, but in view cf the large nnmberof bondsmen who are likely to lose on account of the bank failure. Mr. Warner decided he would rather go to theexpense of procuring a surety bondthan to ask his friends to act as his bandsmen. In many counties in this state most of the officials now give surety company bonds; and the practice is also extending to township trustees. Mr. Warner’s bond is for <10,000,. and it costs $35 per year. •

April Net Much Good.

April 1904, as shown by the local Weather Bureau records, was a cold, wet and backward month, and ended with farm work of alt kinds much behind what it usually is, practically nothing done in the gardening line, and foliage, bnds and blossoms but little in evidence.

There was 4| inches of rain, and which fell on 13 different days. This was a large amount of rain and rainy weather, but it came bunched together, to speak, so that there were three long rainy spells and three long dry spells during the month. The highest temperature was 78 degrees, the lowest 23, and the greatest daily range 35. There were 14 clear days, 8 partly clear and 8 wholly cloudy. The prevailing wind was northerly. As compared with April of last year, which was a bad one, also, if anyone remembers, this April was about 30 per cent drier, 12 per cent, cooler and 8 per cent- more sunshine.

Death of Wm. B. Scearcy.

Wm. B. Scearcy died Sunday, at 2 o’clock a m at bis home in the northwest part of town. He was in his 78th year, and died from a complication of Bright’s disease and heart trouble He had herefore lived with his son-in-law, John L. Smith, about two miles northeast but moved into town last November. Tne funeral will be held Tuesday, by Rev. JB. Bair, at the Ist Baptist church

Fill your May baskets. Carnations fresh and sweet and cheap, sweet scented Heliotrope, rare and radiant geraniums, settings of fresh and filmy ferns. All at Mrs. Clevelands. Parker does framing. 10,000 feet of the latest mouldings to choose from at Parker’s Studio. For sale, good, gentle driving mare, oanopy top carriage and single harness, W. A HuWr Tested seed corn for sale by Os Ritchey, 4 miles south of town, grows 96 kernels to the 100.