Frelinghuysen Named Secretary of State by President
The President sent to the Senate on Monday morning the name of ex-Senator Frelinghuysen as Secretary of State. Washington advices say the Postmaster General James will likely retire in January and Filley may succeed him. Dr. W. H. Taggart of this city, a leading dentist, was chosen by the State Dental Association as a demonstrator for the next annual session. Isaac Bassett, Senate doorkeeper, completed fifty years of public service, having been first employed in 1830 on the recommendation of Daniel Webster.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Senate
Frelinghuysen
Washington
James
Filley
W. H. Taggart
State Dental Association
Isaac Bassett
United States Senate
Daniel Webster
America
Arthur
Congress
White House
Luther Wackeau
Charles J. Guiteau
Stephenso County
Freeport
Luther W. Guiteau
Guiteau
Second National Bank of Freeport
Horace Tarbox
Mr. Scoville
Scoville
No faults found in president's lengthy message praised
The national press lauds the President's message as commendable though lengthy noting there was much to say and the only possible fault is its size. The report reflects broad nationwide approval and emphasizes the substantial content delivered.
Crank Acknowledges Role in Motion Debate
Guiteau proclaims himself a crank as a motion calls for using cranks for their legitimate purpose. The assembly votes by show of hands to twist the crank in support of the motion.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Guiteau
Opening session seating for representatives and dignitaries
At session start Major Slank the district member and Hon A H Stephens of Georgia, due to infirmities, were allowed to choose seats before the drawing began.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Major Slank
A. H. Stephens
Georgia
Fire at The Ring Theater in Vienna Kills Over 300
A blaze at The Ring Theater previously the Comic Opera House in Vienna engulfed the packed venue of about 2000 on Thursday evening just before showtime. The disaster left more than 300 crushed or burned to death, with many injured.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Ring Theater
Comic Opera House
Vienna
Grant visit to White House noted in January plans
The New York Tribune reports General and Mrs. Grant will visit the President early in January and stay a month at the White House. State dinners are expected, marking a high profile official society event. Separately, the Methodist Episcopal church’s Judicial Council at Terre Haute Indiana has refused an appeal, upholding the conference’s prior decision.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
The
New York Tribune
Grant
White House
Methodist Episcopal Church
Judicial Council of the Church
Terre Nante
Indiana
Witnesses in Guiteau trial visit White House party
Last Thursday several Freeport residents who testified in the Guiteau trial, led by Major Hawk, called at the White House to pay their respects to the President. The party included E. P. Barton J. S. Cochran G. W. Tandy Dr. B. T. Buckley Captain Wm. Polk and H. D. Atkins.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Washington
Guiteau
Major Hawk
White House
E.P. Barton
J.S. Cochran
G. W. Tandy
B. T. Buckley
Capt
Wm. Polk
D. Atkins
Senator Davis Testifies on Party Destruction Theory
Senator Davis, a nonpartisan witness in the Guiteanu trial, testified that the only way to destroy the Republican party at the time of Garfield’s assassination was through disrupting its opponent, the Democratic party. He stated he does not belong to either party.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Davis
Garfield
Rabbit bite leads to near-fatal case in California
A California man was bitten by a rabbit and nearly died. A physician, skeptical the bite caused the illness, examined upper jaws of several rabbits and found hollow teeth containing a deadly liquid. Two drops injected under the skin killed a lamb.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
California
British Field Marshal Hopes Americans And English Travel
Sir Garnet Wolseley writes that great deeds by their cousins across the Atlantic are a family achievement and expresses a wish that more Americans visit Britain and more Englishmen travel in the United States, believing cross‑ocean travel would benefit both nations.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Garnet Wolseley
Atlantic
United States
One Clan Hearted Alliance Unites Across Provinces
A reflection on unity argues that shared kinship binds English speaking provinces into a single clan beyond any imperial or royal power. The text envisions a federation so closely knit that external aggression would falter, stressing solidarity across borders.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Bismarck
King
Judge Cox criticized for Guiteau trial approach
The author argues Cox’s lenient conduct gave Guiteau too much freedom, suggesting harsher restraint might have denied a fair trial while noting Guiteau’s actions harmed his own case as the rope metaphor implies he will hang himself through his conduct.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Cox
Asssssin Guiteau
Scoville’s cross-exam of Guiteau sparks verdict doubts
The narrator chides Scoville for placing Guiteau on the stand saying the assassin’s act of insanity was exposed by Judge Porter’s cross-examination. If sane, Guiteau is a cold blooded murderer and his testimony carries no weight. if insane, it carries none either.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Scoville
Guitean
Porter
Guiteau
Noted Deaths and Kilpatrick Biography in Murky Dispatches
The piece recalls Ed Maxwell’s fatal fall at the Durand courthouse and questions the verdict, then reports Gen Judah Kilpatrick’s death in Santiago at 43. It highlights Maxwell’s unappreciated promise and Kilpatrick’s Civil War exploits, West Point cadet beginnings, and postwar political life as a Republican orator.
Widow Remarries Quickly After Two Month's Death
A widow in Sullivan County New York sought marriage again two months after her husband died. The minister cautioned it looked ill, but she argued that her ten months of her late husband's illness should count. The couple wed on the spot.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Sullivan County
New York
Washington Letter 1881 Describes Congress and Guiteau Trial
Washington Letter from December 10, 1881 discusses the new Congress at the capital, Guiteau's trial and likely execution, President Arthur's administration, and changes to White House access. It notes the crowded scene, legislative tone, and calls for western expansion and public service by Americans, urging swift justice and dignified governance.
Scovilles and Guiteau's Reed Special Telegram
A Washington telegram says a St. Peter Minnesota woman who served in Guiteau's brother-in-law Scoville family heard plans of Garfield’s murder in May A Minnesota Congressman passed the message to the District Attorney The report ties the Scovilles to prior knowledge of Guiteau's intent and questions possible actions before the July 2 shooting
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Scovilles
Guiteau
Reed
Inter Ocean
Washington
Congressman Strait
Minnesota
St. Peter
Scoville
Garfield
Strait
Chicago
Patent Office
Imitation Wilkes Booth Motive Quoted in Garfield Assassin Case
A sworn statement in the Guiteau trial recalls a New York lawyer recounting a ten year old conversation with the Garfield assassin. The dialogue suggests a plan to imitate Wilkes Booth for notoriety, provoking a heated denial from Guiteau during testimony.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Wilkes Booth
James A. Garfield
Guiteau
D. McLean Shaw
New York City
Pennsylvania group plans deeper Allegheny river waterway
An organization in Pennsylvania envisions deepening the Allegheny river to six feet up to Olean to create a water route to Lake Erie. It notes two canals built for this aim are already completed and abandoned.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Pennsylvania
Allegheny River
Olean
Lake Erie
California Potatoes Exhibit Shows Fifteen Pound Specimen
A potato raised in the Mussel Slough region of California has been placed on display. Weighing fifteen pounds this exhibit highlights the remarkable size of the crop and the region's agricultural prominence.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
California
Keifer chosen Speaker after long Republican caucus
In a December caucus for the Forty-Seventh Congress, Joseph W. Keifer was the Republican nominee for Speaker after sixteen ballots. Elected with nineteen votes, he succeeds ex Speaker Randall. Keifer, a Ohio native born January 30, 1836, rose from farmer to lawyer and Union officer, earning scars and brevet ranks in the Civil War. He later served in Ohio politics and led Republican conventions.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Joseph W. Keifer
Congress
Keifer
Randall
House
Joseph Warren Keifer
Ohio
Bethel Township
Clark County
Antioch College
Springfield
Ohio Infantry
Rich Mountain
West Virginia
Cheat Mountain
Elkwater
Kentuckey
O. M. Mitchell
Huuntsville
Memphis and
Charlestown
Virginia
the Wilderness
Opequan
Winchester
Cedar Creek
Senate of Ohio
Grand Army of the Republic
Mr. Hayes
Testimony counters hereditary insanity claim in Guiteau case
Washington correspondent reports that Freeport witnesses debunk the idea of a family insanity taint in Guiteau. Ten Freeport citizens testified on civic leadership roles, undermining the prosecution’s hypothesis and suggesting insanity, if any, did not come from the prisoner’s father.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Washington
New York Tribune
Freeport
Guiteau
Scoville
Luther W. Guiteau
Logan Household in Washington
Washington correspondent for the St. Louis lobe-Democrat affectionately notes the Logan family, including Senator and Mrs. Logan, will continue occupying the same Twelfth Street boarding-house suite. The piece praises Mrs. Logan's changing appearance and describes the General as sturdy, maintaining a steady, traditional Washington presence amid shifting administrations.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Logan
Washington
St. Louis
lobe-Democrat
United States
Twelfth Street
Logans
Gen Sherman Raised Cotton At Atlanta Patch
A small man with a large mustache presented Gen Sherman with a question about growing cotton on the Exposition grounds cotton patch. The general replied “Humph” and said cotton could be raised there, noting he had raised the area himself seventeen years earlier.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Atlanta
William Tecumse
Population ages and death rates in Massac County 1880
The 1880 registration paper for Massac County notes a healthy school age from 6 to 20 years and a death rate of 6.1 per thousand. The year saw sixteen deaths, four of whom were married, with one over 100 years old. The elder-down trade is a major northern revenue source, as both sexes pluck it from the nest lining the birds are about to lay.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Massac
Also Mentioned on This Page
Ed Maxwell
Court House
Durand
Louisville Courier-Journal
Wisconsin
Maxwell
Kentucky
North
Judson Kilpatrick
Santiago
Chile
Kilpatrick
New Jersey
West Point
Big Bethel
Duryea
Harris Light Cavalry
Brandy Station
Lee
Maryland
Sherman
Tennessee
Savannah
Republican Party
Ephor
Treasury Department
Greeley
Arly
MEN OF the Hour
Shakespeare
J. W. Keifer
Gen.Sherman
This is just the beginning! Our collection holds over 300 years of history, including rare newspapers, obituaries, marriage records, birth records, and so much more—most of which you won’t find anywhere else!