Rural newspapers are known for publishing gossip items that make them seem li
ke the social media of the 19th and early 20th centuries. And in a way they were.
The Macon Chroncile, published in Macon, Missouri noted in November of 1913 that Granville Lake and his family moved from the Matlock property to the Albert Teters’ farm. No further details are given because most people reading the paper who would have known Granville Lake probably knew exactly what was meant by the Matlock property and the Albert Teters’ farm. Those who did not know and saw the item in their paper could easily ask their neighbors if they were so inclined, discuss it after church on Sunday, ask about it at the local feed store, etc.
The newspaper was not concerned about leaving enough details for someone looking at the reference over 100 years later.
There are some clues here:
- Granville lived in the “College Mound” area. References to geographic areas in these “gossip columns” may refer to actual towns, villages, post offices, or general “neck of the wood” areas that have no specific boundaries.
- Granville was probably not a property owner. The reference to him moving without mentioning a purchase suggests that. This may explain why Granville cannot be located in real property records in the area.
- Local plat books may help me to determine where the Matlock and Albert Teters’ properties are located.
- References of this type may be the only way to determine where a farmer who rented his property lived. There usually are not records of leases or rental agreements.
This reference was located on Newspapers.com.
2 Responses
I do wish today’s newspapers carried such information! They say they can’t find any one to do that (probably haven’t tried). My county newspaper used to print columns from local correspondents from the tiny villages. My mother, her sister, and I were once correspondents for my home locality. They were full of good genealogical information (although I wasn’t into genealogy at the time). My favorite pastime now is reading from those old microfilmed papers at my state archives.
Agreed! My mother, always willing to talk, was called at least every other week, so she could tell them all the news in the family. (She was one of 8 kids so there was quite a lot.) I have clippings of a number of her “news items”.