Faith, Folklore, and Friends

Continued from yesterday's blog: 1810 January : *Wanted, dry hides.  William Stewart & Company. *My wife Molly has absented herself from my bed without just cause.  I will not pay her debts.  William Fitzgerald. March : *For sale, dry goods and groceries.  Edward Foster *I wish to forwarn the public against trading or taking assignments against two notes of hand held by Eprhaim Thomas dated August, 1808. I will not pay said notes unless compelled by law.  John Tell *A runaway negro by the name of Jack was committed to the jail of Smith County.  He says he is 22 years old and is the property of Mathew Johnston who lives on Little Harpeth Williamson County.  John Harmon, jailor. In addition to this snippets, there was lots of news about lost and found horses, public sales of land, applying to the government for free land, and the announcements from the post office of letters  that had not been picked up.  I tried to copy the...

Continued from yesterday's blog: July : Died in New York, Thomas Paine. September:  *I was married on the 4th of December to Jemina Burgess, the daughter of Thomas Burgess of Warren County, Tennessee.  After eight months of marriage, I have has [sic] nothing but trouble, distress and uneasiness of mind. I am no longer responsible for debts of her contracting.  Thomas Stuart.  (Have you ever heard such whining?  I'm thinking it wasn't a bed of roses for Jemina, either.) *After a short illness, Thomas Dardis died on Thursday. *Daniel Lambert died in London at the age of 40.  He weighed 739 pounds. *Dr. Charles F. Mabius cured a negro boy who was blind in 1807.  Josiah Howell. December : The copartnership of the blacksmith business is dissolved by mutual consent.  Samuel Evetts and William Williams.  Will all those indebted please come forward. I hope that worked out for Samuel and William.  We will look at 1810 tomorrow. ...

Last Tuesday night was the meeting of our reading group at the library.  It was good, as usual, but the best thing is I was able to come early and poke around in the genealogical section. Y'all know how I love old newspapers, and I found a book called Genealogical Abstracts from Tennessee   Newspapers compiled by Sherida K. Eddlemon in 1989. It contained abstracts from several Tennessee newspapers from 1803-1812, over 200 years ago, or way back yonder, as some would say. From the Carthage Gazette and Friend of the People (don't you love that?) in 1809: January : Mrs Sally Anderson died in the town of Liberty on the 21st. She was the consort of Mathias Anderson of that town. February : *For sale, salt petre. T. Dickson, Miller &Co., Glasgow, Barren County, Kentucky. *Young Celah will stand this season at my plantation on Goose Creek.  James Ware. *For sale, Mann's Lick salt.  Basil Shaw. March:  My wife Susannah Waggoner has eloped from my bed...