Iowa Old Press
Sutherland Courier
Sutherland, O'Brien co. Iowa
April 2, 1897
p 4
Clerk Marton issued license to wed last Sunday to Henry S.
Schneckloth and Dora Reimers; John Jussel and Emma Schneckloth.
At a meeting of the county insane commission Monday, Wm. Bethel
of Paullina was adjudged insane and sent to Independence. His
affliction is of a mild type and it is thought that a few month's
treatment will effect a cure.
p 5 col 1
Mrs. Truman received the sad news Saturday of the death of her
youngest brother of pneumonia. She left Sunday to go to her
father's home at Arlington to attend the funeral. Her brother
died at Dubuque.
Mrs. Reager returned Friday from near Sioux Rapids where she has
been for some time. She was accompanied by her sister, Mrs. Rich,
from Tennessee, who has her two little children with her. The
mother of the two ladies died recently in Buena Vista county.
p 5 col 3
A Terrible Tragedy
The Odebolt Chronicle last week contained a long and
well written account of the terrible murders and suicide that
took place at that town on March 18th. A widower named David
Pennington shot and wounded a Mrs. Johnson, then killed Luther
Traver and Mrs. Frank Stolt. Constable C. T. Flathers went to
arrest the murderer. Pennington exchanged a few words with
Flathers as the latter drew near then blew the top of his own
head off with the shot gun he had used on his victims. Pennington
was doubtless insane when he committed the murders.
Mr. Traver was 65 years old and was the father of thirteen
children, all of whom are still living. Mrs. Traver also survives
him. Mrs. John Spicer of Highland township is one of the
children. Others living near here are William, Luther and Frank
and Mrs. Clark of Paullina and Mrs. Theodore Schroeder of
Primghar.
p 5 col 4
J. P. Nicholson will start a bakery here before long in A. D.
Lynd's restaurant.
[transcribed by A.N., Feb. 2012]
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Sutherland Courier
Sutherland, O'Brien co. Iowa
April 16, 1897
p 4
A marriage license was issued Monday to E. A. Jones and Mary
Anderson.
There is nothing particularly new in the Streeter deal from Grant
and thee is nothing to show but what is one of the smoothest
swindling schemes ever worked in this county. Last fall a woman
giving her name as Elizabeth Streeter came to Grant township from
Dakota with her husband, who was several years younger than his
spouse. Mrs. Streeter proved herself quite a business woman and
acted in most of the affairs in place of her husband. She claimed
to own large interested in Dakota property but claimed to be
temporarily short of money until she could dispose of her
property there. Her first deal was the purchase of the Colby
ranch, covering some 400 acres of land on section 15 in Grant
township. This was purchased on time and Mrs. Streeter then set
about to stock it up and stated it as her intention of farming on
a large scale this year. With this explanation she purchased
several hundred dollars worth of farm machinery of E. O. Woodbury
of Sutherland. She was a liberal patron of the Sutherland and
Peterson stores and bought large numbers of cattle, horses and
hogs of her farmer neighbors, generally giving her notes in
payment. She borrowed some money of the Everly Bank and has told
some parties that she borrowed $1,600. The bank denies this and
says it was but $250. Some two weeks ago she attempted to secure
money at Peterson. She had already borrowed $540 of the First
National Bank of Peterson, and her last request was of C. W.
Fillmore of the Bank of Peterson. Fillmore was cautious however
and he wrote to bankers at Eldora with whom she claimed to have
money and word was received back that Mrs. Streeter was unknown.
About the time he got this word back Mrs. Streeter drew on him
for $500 through one of the Sanborn banks and the latter bank
wired Fillmore inquiring as to the validity of the check.
Fillmore wrote a message that the check would not be paid, but
before the operator had sent it Mrs. Streeter appeared on the
scene, having driven from Sanborn that morning. He told her of
his refusal and at her request he held the message until she
explained. She then told him a plausible story of the Eldora bank
by saying that her money was deposited there in her former name,
before she had married her present husband, saying that she had
married the second time in Dakota and had not informed her Eldora
friends of her new matrimonial experiences. With this and other
plausible stories she succeeded in convincing Mr. Fillmore of her
good faith and he changed the telegram and told the Sanborn bank
he would pay the check. A few days later he paid the check and
has been trying to get his money every since. Last week he came
to Primghar and got out an attachment to secure his claim and
Mrs. Streeter disappeared the same day and has not since been
seen. The Primghar Savings Bank, the First National Bank of
Peterson and E. O. Woodbury of Sutherland have each gotten out
attachments. Mrs. Colby of Hartley also claims all the property
by virtue of a landlord's lien on the same for the 1897 rent. It
seems that Mrs. Streeter defaulted on her payments on the land
and took a lease of the land last February agreeing to pay $1,000
cash rent. Several store keepers at Sutherland and Peterson
besides the neighboring farmers who sold her livestock and feed
are mourning her departure and as no suits have been commenced on
these many small claims it is impossible at present to tell the
exact amount of her indebtedness. The personal property levied on
by the sheriff will aggregate some $1,500 in value and was nearly
all purchased on time. It is not unlikely that the total amount
of her indebtedness will easily figure up to $5,000.
p 5 col 2
W. M. Bunce's father was buried in the Sutherland cemetery
yesterday. A large number of Calumet people attended the burial.
p 5 col 3
Mrs. Streeter Vanishes
Out Primghar correspondent gives the main facts of the strange
case now being discussed so much. Mrs. Streeter was in such dead
earnest and so thoroughly interested in any business she had on
hand that people generally thought her hones, and her statements
as to her wealth were generally credited.
Then, to, in transactions when she paid cash - and she paid
considerable - she would often show a lot of money - sometimes
hundreds of dollars. She did not make any great ado over it but
just let the money be seen incidentally, as it were, and the next
moment would be talking about something else. In a similar style
she talked about her wealth.
She undoubtedly got at least $1,000 worth of goods in Sutherland,
and possibly half as much again. The amounts not paid for as we
hear them reported are about as follows: Charles Peaker, $260; E.
O. Woodbury, $230; A. J. Innes, $53; Hakeman & Aldred, $47;
Albert Schwerdtfeger, $25 or $30; A. Miller, $18; Miss Lulu
Speer, $15; L. Schwerdtfeger, $8.25; Kirchhof and Jens, $6.38; J.
C. Briggs, $5; The Courier, $3.50. And there may be others. The
only cash credits we hear of is $150 said to have been loaned by
Charles Peaker, and a similar amount loaned by the State Bank,
the latter being repaid.
Mr. Woodbury got back about $100 worth of farm machinery and has
attached goods that will fully cover the balance. But so far aw
wee have heard the others will likely lose their accounts. Mr.
and Mrs. Streeter drove south from town last week Thursday. On
Saturday and Sunday Mr. Streeter was seen in Grant township but
Mrs. Streeter has vanished.
We could fill a page with interesting facts, rumors and theories
concerning the doings of this woman and her husband, but as the
legal part of the case is not yet needed there may yet be
sufficient opportunity. There are many strange and mysterious
features about the case that may yet become clear.
p 5 col 5
Wm. Bunce received the sad news of his father's death Monday. The
remains will be sent here for burial.
p 8
The latest report of a wedding is that of Miss Kate Gaffney at
Spencer last Thursday.
O. W. Towner was at Primghar last Thursday, looking up the
records, trying to find out if Mrs. Streeter owned property in
O'Brien county or not.
[transcribed by A.N., Feb. 2012]
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Sheldon Mail
Sheldon, O'Brien co. Iowa
April 22, 1897
The members of the G.A.R. wish to announce that there will be a
candidate for the appointment of Postmaster at Sheldon from the
ranks of the G.A.R. and any and all persons desiring to support
such candidates will please reserve their endorsement. Signed
H.M. Waldsmith, E.P. Messer, H.C. Lane, H.M. Crocker, H.C.
Stephens, E. Riddell, W.M. Strong, C. Van Eppe, R.W. Allen, J.A.
Glenn, James Roberts, D. Heastand, A.S. Powers, M. Gillespie,
J.O. Lias, J.M. Hayes.
The firm of Logan & Sleeper, for nine years the operator of
the Prairie Queen Mill, has dissolved. Mr. Logan continues the
business.
[transcribed by S.F., April 2007]
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Sutherland Courier
Sutherland, O'Brien co. Iowa
April 23, 1897
p 5 col 5
Jake Kirchner of Ft. Dodge and Miss Lettie Bucknum of this place
were married at the bride's home last Thursday. They left the
same evening for Ft. Dodge.
[transcribed by A.N., Feb. 2012]
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Sutherland Courier
Sutherland, O'Brien co. Iowa
April 30, 1897
p 4
William Pooch has commenced suit in District court for a divorce
from his wife.
Sheriff Carter went to Independence Tuesday night with William W.
Watts, a young man from Dale township who has been adjudged
insane.
p 5 col 3
The Cherokee Democrat gives a long account of a sewer
caving in in that city Monday, whereby one man was killed and
another considerably hurt. The latter, John Morrisey, was nearly
smothered, had one wrist badly sprained and was bruised in
various places. John Cadden had his chest crushed in and received
a bad bruise back of one ear. He was dug out in about ten minutes
but was dead. The other men have struck, saying that they cannot
afford to risk their lives for the pay they get. The sewer is
being put in by the Dubuque Construction Co. At the inquest it
was shown that Cadden had asked to have a brace put in. The
contractor ordered a brace to be got but there was some delay.
Cadden was not working at the time the dirt caved in and could
have got out if he had thought there was danger. The coroner's
jury decided that there was no fault on the part of the company.
[transcribed by A.N., Feb. 2012]