Iowa
Old Press
Maquoketa Sentinel
Maquoketa, Jackson County, Iowa
January 11, 1855
REMARKABLE LONGEVITY
Mr. Roger Bagley, an old Revolutionary soldier, who resides some
two miles south of Maquoketa, called into our office on Monday
last and gave us his age as one hundred and seven years. Mr.
Bagley is quite active, and recounts with a vividness of
recollection truly surprising, the many stirring scenes of the
ever memorable days of ’76, in which he took an active part,
and for which Government has not rewarded him. This is truly a
lamentable state of things, when we take into consideration the
valuable services thus rendered, and whose only inducement was
liberty, equal rights and freedom of speech. It appears that the
certificate of Mr. Bagley was lost, and a pension has been paid
to an individual who represented himself as Roger Bagley;
consequently Mr. Bagley has been defrauded out of what was justly
and honestly his own.
[transcribed by K.W., April 2009]
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Maquoketa Sentinel
Maquoketa, Jackson County, Iowa
January 18, 1855
INFORMATION WANTED
MR. VALENTINE HOUPT left Maquoketa, Jackson county, Iowa, on the
9th day of October last, for Meadville, Crawford county, Pa-Was
last heard from at Rock Island on the 10th, where he purchased
his ticket. Since that time all efforts to ascertain his
whereabouts have failed. Mr. Houpt was 82 years old, in height
about five feet 3 inches; had on a black dress coat some worn,
black fur hat, was quite active for one of his age; some deaf,
and was partially blind. It is feared that he is not living or
that he has been foully dealt with.
Editors of Newspaper along the different lines of Railroad will
confer a special favor and liberally rewarded by giving this
notice an insertion and forwarding any information by which he
can be found.
JOHN PETERS
Maquoketa, Jackson county, Iowa
--
DIED-In Bloomfield township, Clinton county,
Iowa, January 11, 1855, ALMA JANE, daughter of AARON and ELIZA
TRUAX, age 18 years and three months.
DIED-On the 5th inst., in Maquoketa, MR. EDWIN
HALL, of typhoid fever, aged 19 years.
[transcribed by K.W., April 2009]
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Maquoketa Sentinel
Maquoketa, Jackson County, Iowa
January 25, 1855
Most Horrible and Distressing Tragedy
A most thrilling and awful tragedy occurred in the vicinity of
Cascade on Friday night. Robert McGinty residing some two miles
this side of Cascade went to the house of his father-in-law, Mr.
Clark, residing a short distance beyond Cascade and commenced an
assault upon his wife, who had gone there to escape his ill
treatment, when the father, Mr. Clark, interfered by drawing a
pistol from his pocket and informing McGinty that he would shoot
him if he did not desist. McGinty seized a flat iron and knocked
the old man down and took the pistol from and shot him. During
the time that this encounter was going on between McGinty and
Clark, the wife escaped to a neighbor’s house, but fearing
pursuit from her demon husband, she left the house and went into
the woods and there secreted herself. McGinty followed to the
house where her wife had retreated and not finding her there
swore he would shoot the woman of this house if she did not
inform him the place of concealment of the wife. The woman,
alarmed for her safety informed McGinty the direction the wife
had taken. Bent on blood her pursued and found her concealed in
the bushes and horrible to relate, cut her head nearly off. He
then went to his own house and placing the muzzle of his pistol
under his chin discharged it, the ball passing out of his right
cheek. Finding this effort to destroy life ineffectual, he
discharged three balls into his abdomen and then attempted to
severe his wind pipe by drawing a knife across his throat. He was
found some time during Friday night at his own house in bed and
still alive, by some men from Cascade, in pursuit of him. As they
entered the house he pulled the clothes over his head. They
placed him in a wagon and started for Cascade, but before they
reached there, life had left the carcass of this desperate
wretch. McGinty and his wife are both dead, and it is doubtful
whether Clark will survive. McGinty is the same desperado who a
short time since bit a man’s nose off in the lower part of
the City and was bound over to appear at the next term of the
District Court.
We have never been called upon before to record such a horrible
tragedy in this vicinity, and we trust we shall not have it to
repeat while Iowa is a state.-Express and Herald, 15th
inst.
MARRIED
On the 17th ult., at the residence of the bride’s father, in
Bloomfield, Iowa, by the Rev. H. Taylor, Mr. ROYAL N. GOODENOW to
Miss SARAH D. SHERWOOD, all of Clinton county.
[transcribed by K.W., April 2009]