Local news of the 1800s

Conversations change with the years. Some of the subject matter discussed in this day and age would never have been accepted in the olden days.

You would have been considered “fresh” if you discussed personal hygiene or underclothing. There was an article in the Webb City Sentinel on female education in the fall of 1882, which listed items that all females should learn, such as: self reliance and independence; how to make bread and cook well; how to make shirts and their own dresses; to wash and iron clothes; to wear thick, warm shoes; to remember that a dollar is only a hundred cents.

And then there was the list of what not to do: not to wear false hair; not to powder or paint your face; not to run up store bills; to have nothing to do with intemperate and dissolute young men. And to remember that the further one gets beyond one’s income, the nearer one gets to the poor house.

In 1882, if you could not pay your bills, you were put in a poor house, where you had to work for your keep.

Young men and women who attended the Webb City College were among the first to attend a co-ed college. It seemed a bit wild in those days until you discover that the boys were only allowed on the first floor. They weren’t allowed to go up the staircase. The second floor was for the girls. Young women were to wear gloves when in the presence of a young man – and no looking into each other’s eyes.

Have you heard of the gazing balls that were in the gardens of those old homes? It seems the young man and young woman could each gaze into the shiny ball to see each other instead of brazenly looking straight into each other’s eyes.

There was scandal in 1882, as it was reported that a farmhand had eloped with the farmer’s wife. He left the following note: “I have tooked your woman, but you are welcome to my last week’s wages which I didn’t draw and I hope that squares things.”

It had always been reported by early county history that Carterville had been built on a cornfield, and it came to light in 1882. It seems the old log section of the Star Grocery, built in 1868, was being removed from the newer addition and beneath the floor boards they found cornstalks with roots still embedded in the earth.

That brings to mind when A.D. Hatten was having the foundation dug for his home on Ball Street. They uncovered some petrified corn still on the cob. He kept that corn in his office for a long time.

The 1882 newspaper also stated that on Oct. 15, E.T. Webb’s residence, at Liberty and Joplin (Broadway) streets, was receiving the final coat of paint. It also stated that “Mr. E.T. Webb has one of the neatest residences in the city.”

The newspaper also noted in October 1882 that excitement was high because Mr. Tucker had just erected a 52 foot x 80 foot building (did not mention where) to house the city’s first skating rink. It was said that the young people would have “high times this winter on roller skates.”

I was told at one time that the first skating rink was built in the 200 block of Allen Street (later called Main Street), where the Humphrey building would be built in 1889.

There was an interesting article about Sarah Carter, buried in the Carter-Laxton Cemetery north of Carterville. She was born in 1789, and it was speculated that hers might be the earliest birth date for anyone buried in Jasper County. Not so. In Cave Spring Cemetery at the far eastern edge of Jasper County lies the body of Moses Duncan, “Pvt. Continental Line Revolutionary War” (1789 age 15) He was born in 1764 and died in 1845. He also served in the War of 1812 from September 20, 1814, to May 4, 1815. His grave has several markers including one from the Daughters of the American Revolution. The Jasper County Historical Society has records indicating that Mr. Duncan was paid 67 pounds, 2 shillings and 10 pence and a farthing for his service in the Revolutionary War.

Webb City was considered quite a railroad center as the Frisco Depot was built in 1879 in the West End of town and the Missouri Pacific Railroad was extended to Webb City in 1881 to the depot on the east edge of town.

Let’s step up a few years to 1891. Did you know that Broadway Street (then called Main Street) was the only road from Webb City to Carterville. Daugherty Street ended at Elliott Street.

In 1897, it was reported that Mrs. H. Martin had hens that lay for religious purposes. She donated the eggs laid on Sunday to her church. On Sundays during January and February of 1897, she gathered 488 eggs, many more than any other day of the week. The contribution basket always grew heavy as it passed Mrs. Martin’s pew!”

In 1899, a man by the name of Willard Duncan (wonder if he was related to Moses Duncan mentioned above) said during a speech that, “I’m from a state that raises corn, cotton, and cockleburs. And Democrats and frothy eloquence neither convinces nor satisfies me. I’m from Missouri. You’ve got to show me.” That statement became the state slogan and Missouri came to be known as the Show Me state.

Yes, times and conversations have changed since the late 1800s, but it is fun to visit those quaint days of old. Thanks to reporters who searched for news, we have records of daily activities. Don’t forget to write your memories for future generations!