“The State Convention passed an ordinance today, vacating all offices of Circuit Judges, Circuit Attorneys, Criminal Judges, Sheriffs, Probate Judges, and clerks, and All Courts of Record, from and after May 1’st, by a vote of forty-three to five. The offices are all to be filled by the Governor. By this ordinance, eight-hundred offices eight hundred offices are made vacant at one blow. Governor Fletcher promises to reappoint all the loyal men, elected by the people, the object being to get rid of the disloyal.”
Tag Archives: Bollinger County
More Murder in Bollinger County, Missouri
According to the paper, a man by the last name of Salisbury had went to another farmer’s residence and “cooly called him out”, informing him that he was going to kill him. Salisbury shot the farmer in the leg, demanded he stand back up and delivered a second fatal shot.
The Last of the Moonshiners
The July 13, 1878 St. Louis Globe-Democrat published an article entitled “The Last of the Moonshiners” about John Bollinger, a moonshiner who was over 70 years of age. Bollinger might have been in “advanced age” as the paper describes him, but he still had plenty of fight left in him.
More Post-War Lawlessness in Bollinger County, Missouri
In post-war Bollinger County, Missouri lawlessness prevailed. It seems with little opportunity many turned to distilling corn liquor or “moonshine”. Before the war it was not illegal to do so but after the war it was considered to be against the law due to the fact that the government did not get “its share” through taxation.
In Post-War Bollinger County, Republicans Weren’t Welcome
By 1872 land in Bollinger County could be found advertised in papers throughout the United States but as some would find out, the land was not much of a bargain.
Union Veterans Blamed for Robberies in Bollinger County
Lancaster Pennsylvania’s Journal Intelligencer newspaper carried news of a string of robberies being committed in Bollinger County, Missouri in its May 29, 1868 issue.
The paper stated that the perpetrators wore masks and Union overcoats and stated it was probably some of “Logan’s GAR’s
Sons of (Union) Veterans Arrested in Marble Hill.
The date was May 30, 1889 and both Union and Confederate veterans gathered in Marble Hill, Missouri to join in a memorial to those who had died in the Civil War. The July 11, 1889 edition of the Erie Sentinel reported that Sons of Confederate Veterans Camp #50 fired the salute (with blank cartridges). Afterwards the Union and Confederate veterans went to the Bollinger County courthouse to continue the service. It was at this time that the members who fired the salute, brought their rifles in the courthouse and were arrested because of it.
Deadly Storm Cost Lives, Injuries
The June 1, 1917 edition of the Natchez Democrat (Natchez, Mississippi) reported on the deadly storms that passed through Southeast Missouri and Southern Illinois. The paper reported that the storm did the most damage in Wayne and Bollinger Counties, with the heaviest loss in Zalma where 25 lives were lost and 200 injured. Deadly StormContinue reading “Deadly Storm Cost Lives, Injuries”
A Desperate Plea (And Warning) From A Friend
The August 31, 1861 issue of Louisville, Kentucky’s “Courier Journal” carried a story on the conditions of Bollinger & Madison counties in Missouri. It also contains a letter from I.R. Hidod, of Company G, Missouri State Guard to his friend, Francis Williams. The letter was a plea from Hidod to Williams to his position as a Union man and enlist in the ranks of the South. The letter was also a warning as to what would happen if he didn’t.
The Laflin Store
I took this photo of the Laflin Store in July, 2017. If one looks at it long enough they can see a hint of the once prosperous establishment that still remains. That being said, there’s also no denying that the structure is “on borrowed time”.
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