Iowa
Old Press
Waterloo Courier
Waterloo, Black Hawk co. Iowa
January 25, 1882
John Spencer, a soldier of the war of 1812, died last Wednesday
at Ogden, Boone county, this State. He was 85 years old, and left
three children, 20 grandchildren, 48 great-grandchildren, and 29
great-great-grandchildren.
A shooting scrape took place at Farley last Thursday. A man named
Burd, who a year or two ago, was sent to the insane asylum but
released after remaining a short time, created a disturbance at
the hotel, and threatened to shoot the boarders. The clerk, Henry
Jenkins, tried to get him out of the house, but he refused to go
and put his hand in his hip pocket as if to draw a revolver. At
this, Jenkins drew his revolver and shot Burd, inflicting a
severe wound.
At the railroad wreck on the C, M & St. P. Ry near New Albin,
which was mentioned last week, some strange incidents happened.
All the fat men on board the train came out without a scratch. A
Chicago drummer weighing 280 pounds struck on his cheek on a
railroad tie and was not injured, at least so says the veracious
chronicler of the Dubuque Times. A party of four traveling men
were playing euchre when the train went over. Two of them were
heavy weights and two were lean. The heavy ones came out sound as
a dollar, while the other two had to be bandaged and sewed up.
All the injured ones are doing well, and it is a marvel that the
accident did not result more disastrously than it did.
One of the last official acts of Gov. Gear was to pardon Wm.
Lunger who was sent up from Benton county to serve a life
sentence at Anamosa on a charge of incest. It was stated that
whle on their death beds two of the principal witnesses for the
State confessed that they had perjured themselves in order to get
control of Lunger's property. Now comes the Benton county papers
and claim that Lunger was convicted upon his own confession, and
that the only witneses for the prosecution were those who
appeared before the grand jury, and futher, that Lunger had no
property for the witnesses to obtain, either by perjury or
otherwise.
Thieves entered the house of J.C. Culver, at Mason City a few
nights since, and after brutally choking Mr. Culver, who is aged
and paralytic, robbed him of $50 which he had concealed under his
pillow.
A re-union of the survivors of the convention which formed the
Iowa constitution at Iowa City in 1857, was held at Des Moines
beginning on Thursday last. Of the original thrity-six, eight are
dead and quite a number are in feeble health. There were nineteen
members present at the re-union, as follows:
Francis Springer, Louisa county
Timothy Day, Van Buren county
David Bunker, Washington county
D.P. Palmer, Davis county
Geo. W. Ellis, Scott county
W.A. Warren, Jackson county
Thos. Seeley, Guthrie county
R.L.B. Clarke, Washington City, D.C.
D.H. Soloman, Mills county
D.W. Price, Pottawattamie county
Edward Johnstone, Lee county
S.G. Winchester, Hardin county
J.C. Traer, Benton county
J.F. Wilson, Jefferson county
Amos Harris, Wichita, Kansas
H.J. Skiff, Jasper county
J.A. Parvin, Muscatine county
A.R. Cotton, Clinton county
H.W. Gray, Sutton, Nebraska
Lewis Todhunter, Warren county
The members of the original convention who were dead are as
follows: Squire Ayers, J.C. Hall, Geo. Gillaspy, James A. Young,
H.D. Gibson, Robt. Gower, J.H. Emerson, and Alpheus Scott. Hon.
M.W. Robinson of Polk county, who was one of the original
members, was very sick and died on Friday the second day of the
re-union. The exercises of the re-union consisted of speeches and
reminisceenses together with receptions and a general social
time.
Mr. R.R. Bailey, of Sheldon, Iowa, who served in the war in the
118th Infantry, and who is now in Des Moines, sends the Register
the following in regard to the late Judge McKenzie and the famous
event in the war of which he was the hero:
"I notice a slight error in your account of the death and
heroic services of Hon. Judge McKenzie, of Hampton, Iowa. You say
in your account of the battle of Altoona Pass that Judge McKenzie
waved the famous signal message of Gen. Sherman, "Hold the
fort for I am coming," which is a mistake in this: Sherman
was in Kenesaw mountain, nineteen miles distant from the battle
of Altoona Pass, when he sent the famous message, and it was the
heroic and patriotic McKenzie who, in the midst of the battle of
Altoona, when the signal corps had all been killed or wounded,
seized the signal flag, and at the command of Gen. Corse, mounted
the parapet of the fort, and in answer to Sherman's to "Hold
the fort for I am coming," sent Corse's reply, which was,
"Wave the answer back to Sherman. By the Gods we will"
and nobly they did. I was well acquainted with Judge McKenzie,
having practiced in his court, and can endorse every word the
Register has said in praise of the noble comrad, both as a
soldier and citizen. It would indeed be fitting for the General
Assembly of Iowa to pass some fitting resolutions of respect for
the distinguished and patriotic citizen, Judge McKenzie."
Waterloo Personals
Col. D.F. McCarthy, of St. Ansgar, proprietor of the Waterloo
Woolen Mills, was in the city last Monday.
Chas. C. Sedgwick, Esq., of Onargo, Ills., brother to J.E.
Sedgwick, arrived last Monday to go into the abstracting business
with his brother. The name of the firm will be Sedgwick Brothers.
David N. Kyrk and Lena J. Dobson were married by Squire Mosher on
Wednesday last.
Married, Jan. 18, at the Park House, by Rev. F.B. Cherington,
Henry Funk and Ida Kinton, all of Blackhawk Co.
Married, at the residence of the groom's parents, in Mt. Vernon
township, on Saturday, Jan'y 21st by Rev. J. Bussard, Mr. henry
Neuman and Miss Elizabeth Wymon, both of this county.
Frank Fisher, a former resident of this city, but at present
located at Neligh, Antelope county, Nebraska, has been in the
city for a few days past on a visit. He reports more snow in Iowa
than in Nebraska.
Lester Corson returned from Oregon last Wednesday night.
Chas. B. Dorr, of Dubuque, one of the publishers of the
Reporter's Journal, was in the city last Saturday.
Hon. and Mrs. Geo. Ordway have gone south to spend the remainder
of the winter. They will go to Texas, Kansas and the Indian
Territory. We wish them a pleasant journey.
Mrs. Tressa Ortner, wife of Jos. Ortner, of Mt. Carmel, Carroll
county, is visiting friends in this county. Mrs. Ortner is a
daughter of Mrs. Wingert of Barclay township.
O.S. McMahon, son of Thos. McMahon, of this county, has just
returned from Janesville, Wis., where he has taken a thorough and
practical course of instruction in telegraphy.
Henry Klinefelter, of Dane county, Wisconsin, a brother of Mrs.
E.G. Miller, who has been visiting friends and relatives in this
county for a few weeks past, left for home last Thursday night.
S.C. Gilbert leaves next Tuesday for Boston, where he will attend
the New England Conservatory of Music. This institution is one of
the most celebrated of its kind in America, and every advantage
is afforded for the attainment of a high degree of musical
culture.
D. Bamberger, fahter of Mrs. W.W. Forry, who has been quite sick
for some days past, is getting better.
Wm. Kirk, of Fox township, has a cow which recently gave birth to
three calves. They were probably all alive when born but two were
dead before they were found.
[transcribed by S.F., November 2012]