USA > West Virginia > Mineral County > Keyser > History of Keyser, West Virginia, 1737-1913 > Part 4
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ESTEL FRANKLIN ATHEY, 22 years, son of George F. Athey, died October 6 at 4:30 a.m.
MRS. ESTEL F. ATHEY, aged 20 years, died October 6, at 8:30 a.m.
HARRY H. LEWIS, aged 32 years, Machinist from Canton, Ohio. MRS. ANTHONY WHETZEL
MRS. CHARLES STUDENWALT
LEE REEDY, aged 41 years, B&O Conductor.
MISS EDNA RAVENSCRAFT, aged 10 years, daughter of Lynn Ravenscraft.
MRS. LULA LILLER, nee Shrout, widow of Edward Liller.
ENOCH SOUTHERLAND
MRS. IKE W. ISER, died October 7.
ALBINI. ROGERS, Post Office Clerk, father of John I. Rogers. MRS. L. D. FERTIG, nee Cheevers.
MISS ELIZABETH MEYERS, aged 5 years, daughter of the Episcopalian Rector.
R.S. COOPER, a stranger, died in the K of P Armory.
MRS. JOHN S. ROGERS
C.B. WELCH, aged 37 years, worked at the B&O Roundhouse.
THE REV. FRANCIS A. THEADO, aged 29 years, Pastor, Church of Assumption.
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MRS. DEMPSEY RICE
LOUIE "COOSTER" BOLIN, aged 5 years, grandson of H. P. Liller.
INFANT SON OF LLOYD TRENTON, aged 22 months.
CHILD OF THOMAS FOLK, aged 1 year.
ADAM HENDERSON, negro and butcher.
MARY BRYANT, negro.
CHARLES EDWARD BRIGHT, aged 34 years, Railway Postal Clerk.
MRS. TUCKER, nee Stonebreaker, aged 28 years.
RUSSEL VIRTS, aged 10 years, son of J.W. Virts.
MRS. RUSSELL (DELIA) LITTEN, housewife and mother.
CECIL LUTMAN, aged 17 years, killed in B&O yards, fixing an air hose.
LESTER CAVANAUGH, son of Frank and Bertha Cavanaugh.
AN ITALIAN INFANT, in the West End.
A BOYCE INFANT, on B St.
MRS. RUEY STEWART, nee Orris, wife of William V. Stewart.
VIRGINIA BANE, aged 23 months, daughter of Jessie S. ane.
MARY CATHERINE SHIPLEY, aged 19 months, daughter of C. W. Shipley.
EMORY RICE, B&O foreman.
WILBUR BENNETT, died in the K of P Armory.
MRS. CLAUDE MILLS, aged 23 years, nee Adams.
MRS. CLAUD DUNLAP, nee Berry.
HELEN LOUISE WRIGHTSMAN, aged 17 months, daughter of Don Wrightsman.
MRS. TED C. THOMPSON, aged 35 years.
MRS. J. C. GILPIN, Gilmore Street.
MRS. JEROME RIGGLEMAN
CARL R. RUEHLMIRE, husband of Bessie Kimmel.
BERTIE MAY HARTMAN, aged 8 months, daughter of R.A. Hartman, 88 B St.
MRS. BELLE BLAMER, wife of C. E. Blamer.
MISS FLORENCE GITHEN, aged 27 years, daughter of Jake Gilthen.
WADE HAMPTON JOHNSON, aged 2 years, son of Joseph Johnson.
CHARLES BUTLER, Armstrong Street.
JAMES RITCHIE, at Park's Orchard.
BENNETT SPURLING, aged 6 years, son of Albert Spurling.
RALPH FLEEK, aged 18 months, son of Albert Fleek.
MRS. WILLIAM REEVES, daughter of Patrick Dorsey.
HELEN HAMILTON, negro, aged 4 years, daughter of William S. and Emma Hamilton.
MRS. FRANK STRICKLER, nee Groves, aged 25 years.
MRS. BEULAH WOLFE, daughter of Pierce Bosley.
MISS MARGARET CECILIA HOOVER, aged 32 years.
MISS HANNAH ECK, aged 32 years, the priest's housekeeper. JOHN WASHINGTON, negro, aged 28 years, at Camp Grant.
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MRS. SARAH HIGH
MRS. WILLIAM MATHESON
MISS VIVIAN WRIGHT, aged 26 years, school teacher, daughter of Harry C. Wright.
RUBY BAKER, aged 9 years, daughter of J. R. Baker.
MRS. CHARLES STAGGS, nee Borror.
MRS. NANNIE E. THRASHER
MRS. ----- JOHNSON, aged 35 years.
SAM CUNNINGHAM
A DAVIS CHILD, on A Street.
JOSEPH JOHNSON, aged 42 years.
DR. ARZA FURBEE, druggist.
JOHN H. STEPHENSON, aged 32 years, telegrapher.
MRS. CLINTON DAWSON
MRS. MABEL RITZEL CATHER
JOSIE GRAPES, aged 21 years, daughter of James Grapes.
A CHILD OF ROY SUTHERLAND, aged 13 days.
The K of P Armory was used as an emergency hospital. World War I had not ended yet. It was a most depressing him.
CROS
BURCIN
N
Twin Mountain & Potomac Railroad from Keyser through Burlington & Rada to the Twin Mountain Orchards.
The McCarty Mansion built in 1915, used as a hospital and jail during the Civil War.
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CHAPTER 15 The Indians Come Back to Keyser
In 1904 there were only two buildings on the north side of West Piedmont Street, between the K of P Building and the B&O Reservoir at Gilmore Street. All the land there was one large open field called the B&O "Commons," which were often used as circus grounds.
In 1904 a very famous in its day, circus show called "The 101 Wild West Show," came to Keyser with horses, cowboys and Indians. The show was in financial difficulty and moved out without taking its Indians. They were stranded here for at least a month, perhaps more, and camped on the "Commons" between Spring and James Streets. There were a lot of Indians, not just a few - adult men and women, many children, ponies, and dogs. They had tepees in which they lived and cooked over campfires on the "Commons." They were very quiet and peaceful and did not mingle with the towns' people.
A favorite place for the men to stand was on the banked up ground around the base of the B&O reservoir at Gilmore and West Piedmont Streets. At all hours of the day, but especially at sun set, their tall, blanket wrapped figures could be seen, eyes shaded by a hand, gazing endlessly at the mountains surrounding Keyser.
Mr. Max A. Brown, 193 S. Main Street, relates how some years ago he was in the west and got into a conversation with a Sioux chief. The chief asked Max where his home was. When Max replied he was from Keyser, W. Va., the chief said he knew the town and that he had lived there for some weeks in 1904.
The chief was a grandson of the warrior "Sitting Bull."
Keyser, West Virginia 1904
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CHAPTER 16 The Hampshire County War Dead of the War of 1812, Some of Them from Keyser
The material here presented has never been made public before this. It is a list of fatalities taken from the Muster Rolls of the Hampshire County, Virginia "Company of Infantry in the service of the United States in the 7th Regiment under the command of Capt. Samuel Cockerell and commanded by Lieut. Col. David Saunders," from July 29, 1814, to February 22, 1815. This company was mustered out at Norfolk, Virginia.
Of those who died, only one died in action - Corporal Charles Ford died in action October 26, 1814. All the rest of the fatalities died from measles. They were:
Priv. John Dawson, died Dec. 6, 1814
Priv. Joseph W. Davis, died Dec. 26, 1814
Priv. James Hill, died Dec. 25, 1814
Priv. Miller Junkins, died Dec. 1, 1814
Priv. William Wilson, died Dec. 16, 1814
Priv. James Fitzgerald, died Jan. 15, 1815 Priv. William High, died Jan. 11, 1815
Priv. Philip Sandy, died Jan. 2, 1815 Priv. John Bowman, died Dec. 3, 1814
Priv. Job Musgrove, died Dec. 24, 1814
Priv. Peter Bever, died Nov. 28, 1814.
Many of these lived in what is now Mineral County. Some of them or their families traded here at Paddytown at the McCarty store, for example, the Junkins, Bevers, Wilsons, and Bowmans.
This fatal epidemic of measles occurred at Norfolk, Virginia. A private of one of the Virginia Militia Companies, Private Spencer Sharp, describes it thus:
"(I) was ordered with Capt. Steed's Company to Norfolk, Virginia. It was the coldest winter ever known. The river at Norfolk froze over and the snow fell to a depth of six inches. The company was engaged in putting up breastworks and they suffered intensely from cold. A worse foe than the English attacked them and great numbers died with the measles. As soon as a soldier was taken sick, he was marched through snow and sleet and mud to the hospital. Most of them took cold and died. I pulled through because the doctor took down just as I did, so I never peeped but just laid still in my hut and I got well. There wouldn't a been no John Sharp, if that doctor hadn't a took it."
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CHAPTER 17
Biographies of Keyser's Leading Citizens of 1893
These biographies were published in 1893 and based on information furnished by the subjects of the same.
HON. THOMAS R. CARSKADON
Born in Hampshire County, May 17, 1837, (died 1905) son of Thomas Carskadon of Carlisle, Pennvylania, and Mary Johnson, daughter of Okey Johnson of Patterson Creek. Brothers and sisters: James Carskadon, W.Va. State Senator; Catherine S. Carskadon, wife of Robert K. Sheetz of Keyser; Elizabeth J. Carskadon, wife of Henry Head; William J. Carskadon, farmer, of Lewis County, Missouri; Isaac H. Carskadon, a Methodist minister; John Robert Carskadon of Keyser, father of Johnny Carskadon.
He was a member of the West Virginia Constitutional Convention United States Assessor of 2nd West. Va. District, Presidential Elector for both Presidents Grant and Hayes. Member of Republican State Committee.
Owned the 512 acre "Radical Hill Farm" at Keyser.
Vice-Presidential candidate in 1892, on Prohibition ticket. President of Keyser School Board, member of Mineral County Court.
Married Sarah A. Babb, daughter of Peter Babb.
Children - Newton B. Carskadon, lawyer of Kansas City, Mo.
Luther T. Carskadon, graduate of Law Department of University of Boston.
Henry D. Carskadon, manager of his father's farm.
Jane Catherine Carskadon, a graduate of Keyser High School. (later wife of G. Hal Reynolds)
JOHN HUGHES
Born in Grant County, W. Va., March 5, 1834, son of John Hughes and Debbie Hood. Came to Keyser in 1861. Had a general store here, Post Master at Keyser, 1862 to 1868, appointed by President Abe Lincoln.
Democrat in Politics, Town councilman 1880.
Began a Glove and Mitten Factory here in 1885.
Married March 22, 1864, Eliza Catherine Fry. Children: Cora Lee Hughes, born 1865.
Nettie Gaines Hughes, wife of John E. Carrier of Washington, D.C.
Chalmers Hughes of Internal Revenue Dept., Washington, D.C.
John was a staunch Presbyterian and brother of Elkanah Hughes, of Hughes St., Keyser, and Mrs. Levi Siever, of Willow Avenue. JOHN W. KEYS
Born in Martinsburg, W.Va., February 20, 1829, son of John Keys and Anna M. Lashorn. Father died of cholera 1853. Came to Hampshire County and worked on a farm. Later returned to Martinsburg and learned the plasterer's trade. Came to Piedmont in 1852. Was plasterer there. Mineral County's delegate to state legislature in 1871. Erected the Keys House Hotel at Keyser, 1872.
Married Amanda M. Vickroy of Bedford County, Pa., on February 1,1855.
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Children:
Anna Mary Keys, wife of Allie P. Ritzell.
Lettie Lenora Keys, wife of William Spotts, of Hinton.
Philip H. Keys, Post Master at Keyser.
Charles Franklin Keys, M.D. at Keyser.
Thompson P. Keys, student at Morgantown, W. Va.
Richard H. Keys, assistant Post Master, Keyser.
Glendora Keys, "a young lady at home."
JAMES H. TROUT
Born near Keyser, July 3, 1838, son of Henry Trout, store keeper and Post Master at Ridgeville, and Susan A. Myers, daughter of Peter Myers. James Trout attended school in Front Royal, Va., Romney, W.Va., and Woodstock Academy. Spent two years as clerk on Chickasaw Nation Reservation, Oklahoma. Kept store at Ridgeville. Was delegate to Wheeling Convention which formed state of W.Va. Captured by Confederates; imprisoned for 6 months at "Castle Thunder," Richmond, Va. Sheriff of Hampshire Count 1865. First sheriff of Mineral County. Later was a farmer. Bought house at 152 S. Mineral Street in 1893. Owned all of western part of Fort Hill
Married August 2, 1865, to Miss Susan Jane Caldwell, daughter of Charles Caldwell. Children:
Mary M. Trout, wife of Rev. T. S. Long.
Lizzie Trout, school teacher.
Miss Willie Trout, student at Keyser High School.
Jennie C. Trout, died 1895, aged 25 years.
WILLIAM M. WELCH
Born at Frostburg, Md., January 11, 1841. Son of John Welch, farmer and Rebecca Greenwade, daughter of Moses Greenwade of Rawlings, Md.
Studied law with Judge George A. Pearre at Cumberland. Admitted to bar 1865. Came to Mineral County in June. 1866. Prosecuting attorney of Mineral County in 1873. Delegate to State Legislature 1870, one time speaker of W.Va. House of Delegates. School Commissioner of Keyser for 9 years. Married at Clarksburg, W.Va., October 5, 1865, to Jennie Adams, daughter of William Adams, cousin of Judge Nathan Goff. Children:
Carrie Welch, wife of T. P. Smith, Parkersburg, W.Va.
Lulu Welch, a student in Baltimore.
Ida.Welch, at school in Parkersburg.
William Welch, attending Keyser Public School.
Richard A. Welch, attending Keyser Public School.
Ralph Welch, attending Keyser Public School. REV. HENRY HOFFMAN
Born Luete Hachmann, in the village of Severin (pronounced Zay- fair-en) Holstein, Kingdon of Hannover, in the year 1814. Son of Heinrich Hachmann and his wife Gerthe Reichers. He lived in a nearby village named Molsomerwiede until 1831 when he came to Baltimore, Md., in the ship Draper, Captain Hillerd, arriving there
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July 7, 1831. He had a Reichers uncle in Baltimore with whom he lived for a while.
He found his German name hard for Americans to pronounce and assumed the name Henry Hoffman. He was converted at a meeting in the Williams Street Methodist Church in 1833, became a "Southern" Methodist preacher of the Baltimore Conference in 1841, and became a pastor of a circuit at Woodstock and Newmarket, Va. He married a Miss Elizabeth Huntly of New London, Conn., and spent his entire ministry in the Shenandoah Valley, much of it in Bath County, Va.
He had three sons:
Olin Hoffman, M.D.
Charles S. Hoffman, M.D., founder of the Keyser Hospital.
Richard Hoffman, drug store clerk at Keyser, who died in 1887.
Rev. Hoffman retired from the ministry and came to Keyser to live in 1869. He built the house on Armstrong Street, now Kemp's Beer Parlour, in that year, He died in 1893.
He was affectionately known as Father Hoffman and living so near the Court House, performed many marriages.
Potomac River and Bridges connecting Maryland and West Virginia
West Virginia Preparatory School, Keyser West Virginia. The Clock Tower was donated by Col. Thomas B. Davis. Fire destroyed this tower in 1919.
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CHAPTER 18 Interesting Wills of Two Sisters
Mrs. Henry Hoffman and her sister Emeline Huntly who was unmarried, both lived after 1869 in Keyser until their deaths.
They were of Old New England "Yankee' stock, coming from New London, Conn.
Each of their wills is interesting and revealing. I herewith give them both. First the will of Emeline Huntly -
"In the name of God, Amen. I, Emeline D. Huntly, Keyser, Mineral County, being sound in mind and memory, do make, publish and declare this to be my last will and testament in manner and form as follows.
Item 1st. I will and direct that all my debts and funeral expenses be paid by my executor.
Item 2nd. I will and direct that the house and lot (now 153 Center Street) in Keyser, West Virginia, where I now reside, shall go and be the property of my newphew, Charles S. Hoffman.
Item 3rd. Four hundred dollars of the money I now have on deposit in the Savings Bank, the Bank of Commerce and the Union Bank all of New London, Connecticut, I will and direct shall be paid to my nephew, Mr. H. Blydenburgh of New York.
Item 4th. I will and direct that one hundred dollars be paid to my nephew, Richard Hoffman, to buy him a gold watch.
Item 5th, I will and devise to my two nieces, Ada McAllister and Nettie Huntly, daughters of my brother, Erastus Huntly, my watch, two silk dresses and my cloak.
Item 6th. I will and devise that Susan (Johnson (Col.) (Note, this Susan Johnson was the Aunt of Clarence Washington), my present servant, shall have the kitchen furniture and the carpet on the floor of the kitchen and on my sitting room and the use of the kitchen until all the victuals laid in for the use of the family are eaten up by her. Also Susan Johnson is to have fifty dollars in money to be paid by my my executor, and also is to have all my common clothes.
Item 7th. My black dresses and best underclothing I will and devise to my sister, E. P. Hoffman. All the rest of my clothes not before disposed of to go to Susan Johnson aforesaid.
Item 8th. I will and devise to my nephew, Charles S. Hoffman, all of my furniture and other movable property not before disposed of as wellalso as the rest and residue of the money in the banks before named, including bonds and all other personal estate.
Item 9th. I hereby constitute and appoint by friend, J. C. Learned, of New London, Connecticut, my executor of this my last will and testament.
Item 10th. I request my nephew, C. S. Hoffman, to pay my funeral expenses and also request Rev. J. M. Clymer (Presbyterian) to minister at my funeral, and I request he shall be presented with a five dollar gold piece.
Item 11th. I give my servant, Susan Johnson, my articles of jewelry.
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Item 12th. I hereby revoke all former wills by me made. Given under the hand and seal this 5th day of January, A.D. 1877.
Emeline D. Huntly
Witnesses:
F.M. Reynolds
L.P. McNemar
Probated 16th day of January, 1877.
J.I. Barrick, Clerk."
This is where Dr. Hoffman got his start in Keyser.
Emeline Huntly's sister was Dr. C. S.Hoffman's mother. Her will is as follows:
"Feeling this is necessary, I make this request. For Charles S. to have pay for the cemetery lot he paid for and for all it has cost him for the burial of his brother, Richard, and for keeping up the lot since - then stone marked with C. S. Hoffman taken away and on each end of where it now stands, have a root of the boxwood here in yard be planted there, and Olin H. to have what he spent for his Father's burial and what he gave Mr. Smithson to come to the services. I wish for my funeral to be plain and simple and at home - now flowers. The remainder to be divided after giving Richard's two girls two hundred dollars each, between Charles S. and Olin H. in person. Charles S. has Clark's Commentary - The family Bible to olin H. Clark's that I have here Olin bought and loaned to me, therefore, they are his. The tablespoons and forks are Olin's. The teaspoons marked Huntly P. give to Elizabeth Huntly Hoffman (Bessie). The teaspoons marked E.P. H., I give to Edith, M. Hoffman. The knives go to Richard's girls. My watch I give to Elizabeth Huntly - His grandfather's chair I give to H. Huntly Hoffman. The teachers Bible is Charles W.'s. The table linen to each as is marked. The sheaf of wheat and flower pillows I wish to put on Pa's grave."
Elizabeth Perry Hoffman
You will recognize my writing.
Aug. 19, 1908."
"Probated Jan. 8, 1915.
Signature attested by oaths of F. M. Reynolds and Frank H. Babb. J.V. Bell, Clerk"
Grandma Hoffman was quite a character, of very strong will and strong opinions. She wore a black satin "poke" bonnet which she herself had made, wore full skirts, had never worn a coat nor jacket in her life but was enfolded in a "great" shawl which came down to the hem of her dress in the back. She walked not with a cane, but a staff of polished wood, 5 feet high. She was "sharp-eyed" nothing escaped her. That woman had a strong will! While living in Bath County, Va., during the Civil War, some Union soldiers were stealing her cow. She took her staff and beat them off, saying, "You rascals, leave my cow alone."
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CHAPTER 19 Some Keyser Anecdotes
Every community has some treasured and oft repeated local anecdotes, humorous occurrences and whimsical sayings, which are often both of questionable humor as well as questionable veracity. From the large number of Keyser anecdotes, some quite risque in nature, I have selected the following - some I know are true, some partly true, and some may be fictitious.
1. "Dew Drop" Mosley, Aunt Susan and Robert.
George Washington Mosley, born 1810, died 1897, and his wife, Susan Myers Mosley, born 1828, died 1896, ran the New Creek Hotel, now 208 Mozelle Street, before the Civil War. The B&O passenger train stopped at the hotel to let the passengers get off and eat. One summer day, the dining room was full, many had ordered some of Aunt Susan's famous pie. Suddenly Aunt Susan stuck her head through the dining room door and yelled, "Wash, them hogs has et up all them pies, they ain't no more!"
Uncle Wash was known locally as "Dew Drop." He had a very large and prominent nose. There was always a drop or two of moisture on its end, hanging there, ready to drop. In the 1880s he kept a store at 102 N. Main Street. (Now Clement's Jewelry Store). It was said that every time Uncle Wash stopped over the flour barrel or sugar barrel, a drop or two would fall in. Mischievous boys (and girls, too) would open mis store door, stick their head in and yell, "Dew Dropand Sonny and Papa's little honey," which would make Uncle Wash very angry indeed.
The Sonny referred to was their son, Robert (Bob) Mosley. Aunt Susan was very careful for Sonny's health. She would bundle him up even in warm weather, fearing he would catch cold. He was not allowed to go to the store until nearly noon, when the sun was well up. Mrs. "Rich" Athey used to say that Aunt Susan gave Bob his bath until he was 17 years old.
These Mosleys lived at 50 N. Davis Street, where Cutters now live.
When Robert was about 20 years old they decided to let him go on an excursion train to Washington, D.C., all by himself. The train left Keyser Saturday night and would return Monday morning. Uncle Wash and Aunt Susan went down to the station to see Bob off. She had fixed fried chicken and homemade bread and butter sandwiches in a shoe box for his lunch.
Just before train time Uncle Wash said, "Bob I guess you'll need a little spending money to take along with you. How much you want?" Bob said, "Idon't know, Pa, how much you think I'll need?" Uncle Wash replied, "Well, Bob. here's a quarter. That ought to see you through."
On Monday morning, Bob, on his return home, gave his father back a dime, saying, "Here's what I had left over from that quarter you gave me. I didn't need it all."
2. Col. Thomas B. Davis.
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Col. Davis died in November, 1911. I think he was 88 years old. He had been very ill for some time. A few days before his death he said to his attendant, Mr. Harry Gull, "Harry, are you going to the funeral?" Harry asked, "Whose funeral, colonel?"
"My funeral, Harry, my funeral, damn it."
""Colonel, let's not talk about that."
"Don't you go to it, Harry. You stay here and watch the house to see that no one steals anything."
3. Hunter, Zan and the Pig
Two brothers, Hunter and Zan Redman, had raised a pig. When butching time came, they agreed that Zan was to go into the pigpen and drive the pig out through a hole in the side of the pen.
Hunter was to wait outside the hole with a hammer and hit the pig on the head to stun it as it came out the hole.
Zan went in, but the pig did not want to come out. In fact, the pig drove Zan out through the hole. As Zan's head emerged through the hole, Hunter hit him a right good blow right on the skull. If Zan had not been wearing a felt hat, he might have been killed. He did pass out for a while; when he came to he said, "Hunter, whoever saw a pig with a hat on?"
4. The Home Talent Show
One of the first "home talent" shows in Keyser was given in Johnson's Hall where the poolroom is now at the corner of Main and Center Streets, for the benefit of the Keyser Fire Company. In one of the acts, a villain was to be chased by four policemen with batons (police sticks) made out of stuffed black stockings. After catching him they were to take hold of him by each arm and leg, one police at each limb and swing him back and forth between them.
"One police was to shout "I have him." Another would shout, "What'll we do with him?" A third would answer, "Throw him out the window!" Then they were to heave him out the upstairs, back window into the alley, where some men were to be stationed under the window holding a blanket to catch him as he fell.
The night of the show all went well as scheduled until they shouted, "Throw him out the window." The villain, a young Keyser man, named Coffey Boucher, sailed through the air and out the window, but the men who were to hold the blanket were not there.
Coffee would have been killed, had not there been a huge pile of empty boxes used for packing, piled up to just below the second story window. As soon as Coffeey went through the window, he hit the wooden boxes - there was a mighty sound of wood snapping and breaking mingled with Coffey's yells and groans. He bounced from box to box until he hit the ground. It is an understatement to say he was bruised and battered.
About ten minutes later Coffey came limping and groaning and holding his back, up the stairs from Center Street and into the hall.
A man, who had had a considerable lot to drink, was sitting near the entrance door. When he saw Coffey come in, he slapped his thigh and yelled, "That was the damnedest, most realistic act, I ever seen!"
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5. Col. Thomas Carskadon at Mr. Charles Rolls' Funeral where Kenny's Korner Store now is and who was the father of Sarah Rolls who married Clarence Washington; Henry Rolls who married Beatrice Washington and Lizzie Rolls who married Mack Hamilton, mad been Col. Carskadon's "right hand man" on the farm.
Col. Carskadon's farm was called Radical Hill. He was a fluent, gifted orator and had one eye out, wearing in its place a glass eye. When the Colonel spoke the glass usually shifted to turn up toward the heaven. In his most impressive moments one eye was staring at the ceiling.
When Mr. Charlie Rolls died his funeral was held at Janes' Methodist Church. Of course Col. Carskadon attended. After the sermon, the minister invited the colonel to say a few words.
He arose impressively and said, one eye turned upward, -
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