Fort Wayne Gleanings for July
Newspapers in the 1870s and beyond almost all had a column with a name like “Gleanings,” “Brevities” or “Town Topics” in which the editor commented on local happenings, seasonal changes, who was visiting in town and so on. I’ve compiled collections of these from the two places the Barbour branch of my family were living in during this era: Coffeyville, Kansas and Fort Wayne, Indiana. Almost all my earlier “Gleanings” articles were from Coffeyville, however. these are Fort Wayne items.
Compiled from July 1868
We were shown, by Councilman Kimball this morning, what he is doing…requiring him to institute such improvements in the “Calaboose” as would render it habitable to humanity; and were greatly pleased to see it. The old offense, which made not only the prison but the engine house and stables unfit to draw breath in – the vault, has been filled up, and pipes being laid from the prison-house to the Clinton street sewer, by which offensive matter may be carried away without detriment to the prisoners or engine men.
Needed: A good rain storm to help the growing crops and settle the dust in those streets of the city not visited by the sprinkler. [ Streets were too often muddy, even impassably muddy, or thick with dust when the dirt was dry. Cities had sprinkler machines to keep the dust down.]
Indiana University - The annual Report of this institution for the year 1867 and ‘68 , is on our table. The report indicates that the University is enjoying a high degree of prosperity. The summary of students is as follows: In the Law Department, 33; Under Graduates, 132; Preparatory Department, 108; Modern Languages, 192 – making a grand total of 355. In this number, however, 87 were counted twice, which leaves a net total of 268. This institution affords the finest opportunity for a youth to get a finished education. Tuition is free and the ablest Professors are there to give the most thorough instruction. We should be proud of our State University.
Compiled from July 1876
The marshal is doing his duty in reference to the dog question. He says he killed seventeen yesterday, exclusive of what his assistants may have dispatched.
Hot! At nine o’clock this A.M. [July 16] the mercury was “nigh to busting,” we should think, indicating 106 degrees.
Notwithstanding the intense heat of yesterday [July 15] afternoon, the ceremonies laying the cornerstone of the new “Emmanuel” church, corner of Jefferson and Union streets, were carried out most successfully…
…the children of several of the higher classes of several of the German Lutheran schools assembled at St. Paul’s church at Barr street, to the number of 400 and marched to the scene of the afternoon ceremonies. We were fearful that the march would be a dangerous one for the children; but on inquiry we find that none of them were seriously injured by the burning heat which poured down upon them at the march…a matter of thankfulness.
[After marching, the children stood listening to vocal and instrumental music by the church choir, sang themselves, then listened to sermons in German and English. The cornerstone was laid; there were prayers and more singing, and finally, at 5 p.m., after two hours in the heat the ceremony was over.]
We learn that Conrad Schmidt Jr., part proprietor of the File Works on Pearl street, was yesterday stricken down by the heat while walking a street in Cincinnati. His body is expected to arrive here for burial today.
We heard of two fatal cases of sunstroke in the southern suburbs of our city. We could not learn the names of the deceased.
Although it may seem cruel, dogs were a serious problem, especially with rabies or suspected rabies cases rising in summer. I have written about this in other Gleanings and how often newspaper editors urged that dogs be muzzled and killed to keep people safe. Of course, we kill thousands of dogs annually in the U.S. at pounds and shelters, though for different reasons. We rarely see frequent mentions of this in the media.
Cornerstone laying ceremonies were apparently a “big deal,” considered important and worthy of one’s time. Excursion trains would offer reduced prices to go to the cornerstone laying for churches and courthouses in other counties and would fill carloads of people attending.
Compiled from July 1888
Trains from all directions will bring in members of Patriarchal Circle by the hundreds tonight. The eighth annual national conclave of this order will open tomorrow. [The schedule called for members to march to their first gathering place where the Indiana lieutenant governor and the Fort Wayne mayor would address the crowd. Next, a second march to their meeting place. A dress parade was slated for 2:30. Fort Wayne citizens were invited to the speeches and were asked to decorate homes and businesses along the parade route, which was given in detail in the newspaper.
This the “Golden Age of Fraternal Societies.” They included groups like the I.O.O.F - International Order of Oddfellows - the Masons, the Elks, Knights of Pythias, Modern Woodmen of America, Knights of the Golden Circle and so on. They were also known as secret societies because of secret rites and rituals. Many started as a way to provide burial insurance for members, in an era in which a decent funeral was paramount. The motto of the Patriarchal Circle of America was “Honesty, Fraternity and Fidelity.”
Y.M.C.A. Notes - Remember the noon day prayer meeting. The gymnasium and bowling alley have been crowded the past few days, caused by the cool weather. The reading room is supplied with cozy chairs, and the tables are loaded with papers and magazines, free to all men.
There are nearly 200 saloons and half a dozen gambling houses in Fort Wayne. This is not an evidence of prosperity or an indication that the laws have been strictly enforced.
The huckleberry crop is maturing rapidly and the present indications are that it will be a large one.
From “Into Another Realm,” Fort Wayne Daily News 4 Aug 1888, p. 1.
[The coroner gave a weekly report on city deaths and causes. There were 23 deaths reported in the last week. Four were adults, only one of whom was over 40. To grow old was a privilege.]
Causes of deaths:
Exhaustion - four babies
Cholera Infantum - seven babies
Brain fever - three babies
Marasmus (malnutrition) - one baby
Suffocation - One baby
Hear disease - an eight-year old boy
Hip disease - a 12-year old and a 13-year old
Consumption and lung fever - two adults in their 30s
Suicide - one traveling salesman, by shooting
Bowel complaint - one 75-year old woman
Cholera infantum or “the disease of the season” was a diarrhea that spiked in summer. Its primary cause is contaminated food or water. Infant mortality spiked every summer during a study period from 1870 to the early 1900s. There was an 11 to 12 percent drop in infant mortality when city water filtration systems were built.
Sources:
“The Phenomenon of Summer Diarrhea and Its Waning, 1910-1930,” Exploring Econ History, Oct 2020, https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8112734/#:~:text=Summer%20diarrhea%20(also%20known%20as,by%20Benjamin%20Rush%20(1794).
Copyright by Andrea Auclair © 2024
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