Iowa Old Press


Paullina Times
Paullina, O'Brien co. Iowa
August 1, 1895

Mike Callahan, a former saloon keeper here, died at Fonda, last Saturday.

A. H. Roden, a prominent hotel man and saloon keeper of Sanborn, has skipped out and his wife has brought suit against his property to secure his indebtedness to her. The business of the hotel is being continued, but the saloon is closed. Sheriff Carter was up Monday taking invoice of the property.

[transcribed by A.N., April 2015]

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Paullina Times
Paullina, O'Brien co. Iowa
August 8, 1895

Mrs. Montzheimer is enjoying a visit from her aunt, Mrs. H. C. Hillock, of Williams, Iowa.

The funeral of Mrs. Dunning, the mother of Mrs. G. W. Schee, was largely attended last Tuesday. Mrs. Dunning was 61 years old, and died quite suddenly from a ruptured blood vessel.

Joey, son of R. Culp, is suffering with a severe attack of spinal meningitis.

Mrs. Gotch, wife of Claus Gotch, in [?] township, died last Friday morning after an illness of several months. The funeral was held Saturday and the remains were placed in the Liberty township cemetery. Several small children are left without a mother's care.

Miss Mable Dagger of Alta, in company with her cousin, Jennie Thayer, is the guest of her brother, O. P. Dagger.

[transcribed by A.N., April 2015]

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Paullina Times
Paullina, O'Brien co. Iowa
August 15, 1895

Born - To Mr. and Mrs. Theo. Steen, [?]day, August 10th, a daughter.

Mrs. J. H. Monyhan of Des Moines is visiting her mother, Mrs. P. H. Andreson.

Mrs. B. F. Paul is here from Blairstown visiting her parents, Mr. and Mrs. Matt Temple.

One of the unwashed kids of Sam Boughman was captured here last Friday and our generous business men raised a purse and had the boy washed and clothed with a new suit of clothes including shoes, stockings, etc. The improvement was decidedly marked and if his parents had a proper sense of decency or the eternal fitness of things they would treat each of their children likewise. It is said that out of a large family of six or eight children, not one of them has received any schooling and is being brought up in ignorance while their parents own 240 acres of land worth $40 an acre.

[transcribed by A.N., April 2015]

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Paullina Times
Paullina, O'Brien co. Iowa
August 22, 1895

Dora Rohwer is spending the week with her sister, Mrs. Harrington.

Mrs. F. P. Baker returned home from Jefferson last week where she had been attending her mother who is quite ill.

The 11-months old baby of Mr. and Mrs. Jeff Lasher died Monday. The grief-stricken parents have the sympathy of all in their sad hour of sorrow.

Born - To Mr. and Mrs. Thomas [Duggem?] on Wednesday, August 21, a daughter.

Frankie Lasher, the little 11-months-old child of T. J. Lasher of [?] township, died Monday as was interred in Union cemetery Tuesday. The funeral was conducted by Rev. A. [?] at the family residence.

Justice Fell united in marriage last Saturday evening, Mr. John Cleghorn and Miss Sadie Heckert, both of [?], O'Brien county. The ceremony was performed at the home of C. C. Cleghorn, brother of the groom, in this city. - Everly News

G. W. Eveland and R. W. Harkins were granted permission to wed by Clerk Armstrong last Saturday.

[transcribed by A.N., August 2015]

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Paullina Times
Paullina, O'Brien co. Iowa
August 29, 1895

A marriage license was issued last week to H. E. Correll and Mary Barret.

Crow & Hillyard, of Paullina, have brought suit in the district court for Christene Thonssen asking for a divorce from Fred Thonssen.

A son was born to Mr. and Mrs. J. Manley on Monday, August 26th.

Richard Culp received a telegram last [?] that his son-in-law, Fred Burch [sic, Birch] was very near death. Mr. Burch had [?] in a well soon after the explosion of a dynamite cartridge and was overcome by gas. He lay unconscious [?] over a week, dying a short time before Mr. Culp and his brother, [?] arrived. Mr. Burch lived near [?], Iowa.

Suicide Near Calumet - Oscar Frankel, a German Farmer, Takes Morphine With Fatal Results
(Special Primghar Correspondence) - Another sad case of suicide has occurred in our county. This time the unhappy victim was Oscar Frankel, a young German some 25 years of age who has been working for Nick Steffen on his farm two miles east of Calumet.

Coroner Algyer was summoned by telegram Sunday morning and immediately went to the scene of the tragedy accompanied by Sheriff Carter. A coroner's jury consisting of Ernest Pape, D. B. Harrington and E. W. Macomber was impaneled and evidence as follows adduced:

Richard Branco: I was acquainted with deceased for the last fifteen years; we were boys together in Germany. He has been in America about three years, and was an exemplary young man, quiet and orderly in his habits. I last saw him Monday night when he was at my house and he was sad and cried some, telling me that he had received a letter from his mother and sister telling him not to return to Germany as he had proposed as they had trouble enough there without him increasing it. His brother-in-law in Germany had shot himself and his mother had lost a large sum of money in a bank failure. Oscar was a Jew in religion but never very strong minded.

Nic Steffens: Deceased has worked for me for about a month past. I went to Calumet yesterday returning at about eight o'clock. Frankel came out to help me unhitch, and he was staggering, but I attributed this to drunkenness, although I did not know where he could have obtained the liquor. He went to supper with us, but would not eat and I urged him to go to bed. He went upstairs and soon I heard him groaning, and going up myself I found him on the floor unconscious. I went for Dr. Seeley of Sutherland and we worked with him till he died Sunday morning at 6:30 o'clock.

Mrs. Paulina Steffens: I noticed something white on Oscar's lips at about six o'clock Saturday evening and after he had milked I noticed that he staggered and was getting blue.

Virge A. Barmore: I am a pharmacist and have a store at Sutherland. Deceased came to my store the first of last week and asked me to put up something that would make him sleep. He asked if I had morphine and said he wanted a bottle. I asked if he knew the dose, and he said he did. I sold him a bottle containing one-eighth ounce. The bottle I see here is the same bottle. The bottle was full when I sold it to him.

Dr. W. A. Seeley: Was called to see deceased Saturday night at about nine thirty o'clock and found him lying on floor and think he was unconscious. I was satisfied from his breathing that he had been poisoned. I administered restoratives. Looking for evidences of poison we found a bottle labeled morphine in the pants pocket. He must have taken a very large dose and I am sure the poison was morphine and the cause of his death was poison.

Verdict
State of Iowa, O'Brien County
An inquisition holden in Liberty township on the 25th day of August, A. D. 1895, before David Algyer, coroner of said county upon the body of Oscar Frankel there lying dead, by the jurors whose names are hereto subscribed. Said jurors on oath say that Oscar Frankel came to his death on the 25th day of August, 1895, in Liberty township, O'Brien county, Iowa, and the cause of his death was poison, to wit, morphine, and that the said poison was administered by his own hand and that no other person is in any way or manner responsible for his death, except himself. In testimony whereof the said jurors have hereunto set their hands the day and year above written.
Ernst Pape
D. B. Harrington
R. W. McComber, Jurors
Attest: David Algyer, Coroner

A search of the trunk of the deceased was made by the jury and they found two small memoranda books in which was closely written, in German, a statement of his intentions to commit suicide and disposing of his effects and making some requests as to writing to his relatives in Germany. Aside from a few personal effects and an interest in a town lot in Calumet, the deceased had nothing. Clerk Armstrong appointed R. Branco his administrator last Monday.

[transcribed by A.N., August 2015]

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