Ottumwa semi-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1899-1903, 1902-03-18
Short Tales Concerning People You
Know.
THE VICINITY OF OTTUMWA IN BRIEF
slrths, Deaths, Marriages, Movements
OF Your Acquaintance as Chronlcled
by courier's Staff Of Correspondents
Who Know Whereof They Speak.
Charlton.

vote at the school election of Monday
has produced much talk in regard TO
votes at previous elections. The
school vote of Monday was 551 or the
largest ever cast in a school election,
and is valuable for the purpose of COM
parison with the smallest vote ever
cast in Charlton, Lucas county. In
1902, the electors cast their ballots in
the assembly room of a $4,000 court
house with all the conveniences of
modern times surrounding them. The
smallest vote ever cast was at the first
election ever held in the county of Lu-
cas- which was attached to Monroe
county for election purposes and had
no separate organization of its own,
the election being to secure officers of
the public works. 1t was held in 1849,
one year before the division of the
county into townships and president,
secretary and treasurer of the board
OF public works were to be elected. In
place of the elegant court house in
which to cast their votes the election
was held in the rough log cabin of JOS
eph McDermitt, the first settler of the
county, which he called Ireland pre-
cinct from his native isle, about ten
miles east of the present city of Char
iton and the voters came as far as
twenty miles to cast their ballots.
There were not enough public men in
the county at the time to create a on
test for all the offices and there We're
just twenty-five votes cast in the en-
tire county. OF these VIM. Patterson
received fifteen for president of the
board of public works and Thos. ].
McKeon nine, while one vas cast for
Thos. Kean. These figures give an in
teresting comparison, twenty-five votes
to an entire county with 551 at a school
election in one independent district.
The election was held on August 6,
1849, and there are but few residents
of the county now living who can re-
member anything about it, none of
those on the poll books being o res
idents of this section.
The county officials are in receipt of
an inventory of the property of the
county farm which shows the entire
valuation of all property owned by the
county at the farm to be $16,999.47 as
compared with a value of $16,6S5.62
last year or an increase of $313:S5,
which is more than balanced by the
increase in the value of the land since
last year The valuation is divided as
follows: Land, $4,000, which accord
ing to the selling price of land in LII
cas- county today, is considered ridicu-
ously low. The farm house, S1,S0O; i'm
provements, $1,941; personal property,
$3,25S.47. F. d. Wisewender and wife
are in control of the farm and every
thing is kept up in the finest shape.
There is some talk of r%emodeling the
house on the farm or building a new
one, though it will probably not be
done yet for sometime as the old house
is yet in fairly good shape.
The matrimonial market in Lucas
county, is looking up as indicated by
the returns from the county clerks Of
flee, which shows five licenses to have
been issued already this week, three
being issued on Wednesday. which is
the highest record or years in any n
day. This maks a total of only forty
licenses issued during the entire year
the last of January and the entire
month of February not being very au-
spicious months for cupid. If the
present ratio keeps up for the entire
year, however, it will prove a record
breaker for marriages in the county.
Clay Allen, of Centerville, is spend
ing a few days in the city visiting his
wife and many Charlton friends.
Mrs. J. Wander Beak, of Humeston,
is spending a few days in the city, the
guest of her parents, Mr.. and Mrs.
Lott.
Elma Curtis has returned to her
home in Warren township after a
weeks visit with her grandparents in
Charlton.
Martin Erickson has returned to his
weeks visit with his uncle, John Carl.
son. of Charlton.
Perry A. Walker has sold his old
house in the east part of town to N.
B. Branner and will remove in a short
time to the Threldheld property on
East Court avenue, where he expects
to make his future home.
Hol Holcher, of Russell, was visiting
friends in Charlton on Wednesday.
Mrs. Eugene Aumick is suffering
with a very serious attack Of tonsilitis.
Mrs. John X. Householder was con.
fined to her bed on Tuesday with a
slight attack of the grip.
Lyman Whitebreast, an old resident
of Charlton but now located at Rus
Sell, was I~duSdCtluB BUSINESS ana
calling on old friends in town on Tues
day.
The section men employed on the
Burlington are rejoicing over the no
tice posted stating that after April 1
their wages will be raised to 12k
cents per hour for ten hours a day and
extra men will receive $1.40 a day and
the men on the branches will receive
IL cents per hour. The bridge men
and carpenters who have been work
ing eight hours a day during the win.
ter months will also be put on ten
hours again otter April 1. The hours
of daylight being long enough to al
low Of their working the full ten
hours.
Robert ]. Shular. of Des Moines. is
spending a few days visiting his
parents, Mr.. and Mrs. A. J.. Shular,
at this place. and renewing acquaint
ances in his boyhood home.
A quiet and impressive home wed.
ding was solemnized at the home OF
the brides parents in North Charlton
on Tuesday evening when Rev. Miller
of the NJ. e. church, pronounced the
words which united the lives and
hearts of Miss Minnie Schrech and FL