Sunday, June 23, 2013

TIME MACHINE ... 1953, 1939, 1894, 1876, 1891


(Reader-friendly viewing of newspaper archives material)
 
June, 1953
(Daily News Record- Harrisonburg, Va.)

2 Eastern Shore Men Discover Treasure of Considerable Sum

HALLWOOD, Va., June 18 (AP)- Two Eastern Shore men disclosed today they had unearthed a canvas bag containing "a considerable sum" in old American and foreign coins near this Accomack County community.

They said they found the bag of coins- it took both men to lift the load- partly uncovered in a ditch beside a road construction project on State Road 779, between Hallwood and Bloxom.

Linwood Poulson, 35, of Hallwood, and Wilson Bundick, 37, of Accomac, said the discovery was made after they went to the area seeking souvenirs as a result of reports that a large number of old coins had been found scattered in the area on June 7.

The bag was showing through fresh earth hauled to the road construction site from nearby farms and presumably had been in one of the truck loads of dirt dumped on a new roadbed. Rains over the weekend apparently had washed away some of the earth, leaving a portion of the bag showing.

"Actually, we don't know how much the money's worth, because we're not sure of their value to collectors," Bundick told a reporter today.

He displayed one of the coins found in the bag, an American silver dollar dated 1803, and said it was valued at $5 in collector's catalogues.

"One year later, when the government minted only 750 of the coins, it would be worth $2,500."

"We may have some 1804 silver dollars; we haven't checked them all yet."

The coins were dated from 1739 to 1842.

The name of a sea captain was embroidered on the canvas bag but Bundick and Poulson declined to reveal the identity "for fear of a long legal battle," with persons who might claim to be descendants of the captain.

Bundick and Poulson did say it was a foreign name, however.

Some of the coins were held out by the two men for show pieces, but both said the bulk of the money was placed in a bank for safekeeping. They declined to identify the bank.

The two men admitted they were unable to sleep Sunday night after finding the money, and Poulson said he was under such a strain the next day he had to be treated by a physician.

Poulson and Bundick haven't decided what they'll do with the money, but they'll probably take their families- each is married and has two children- on a vacation trip.

Their decision to make a search of souvenirs was prompted by the luck of residents of the area in finding old coins near the road project June 7, after word got out that gold and silver coins had been found along the road.

On that occasion one individual reportedly picked up something like $25 in 10, 25, and 50 cent pieces dating from 1835 to 1900.

But Poulson and Bundick figure their find of American, French, Italian, English, Spanish, Mexican, Peruvian and Bolivian coins will run at least into five figures.

 
 
November, 1939
(The Salisbury Times)

NEW SPEED SIGNS ERECTED IN STATE

Baltimore, Nov. 15-(AP)- One third of the 6,000 signs that will apprise Maryland motorists of the new speed limits that went into effect last June have been erected on the highways, Robert M. Reindollar, assistant chief engineer of the State Roads Commission said today.

Reindollar said all the black and white signs would be posted by the end of the month. The markers are placed at one-mile intervals on the Washington boulevard and the Philadelphia Road and will be augmented by warning signs.

The new law raised the speed limit on dual highways from 45 to 55 miles an hour and set it at 50 M.P.H. for ordinary roads.

 
 
November, 1894.

The Whipping Act for wife beaters which had been recently adopted by Worcester County was to be put into use for the first time. The man convicted was sentenced to six months in jail plus 25 lashes upon his naked back.


 
July, 1876 (Eastern Virginian- Onancock)
 
Even to those who visit Chincoteague often the spirit of progress and improvement is astonishing, buildings are going up in every part of it. Mr. J. J. English will soon occupy his new hotel; this is indeed a gem of its kind; large, airy, convenient; beautifully situated in front of the bay, it cannot fail to attract a large number of visitors: already parties from the West, have spoken for rooms, and we predict that at no very distant day, Chincoteague will be one of the most favorite and fashionable watering places on our coast.
OBSERVER. 


 
June, 1891
(Oelwein Register- Oelwein, Iowa)

A SHERIFF'S WOE

Tangled in the Meshes of a Case of Mistaken Identity

Sheriff Uriah F. Shockley, of Snow Hill, Md., is in trouble over a peculiar case of mistaken identity. During his term of office, a suit for $2.12 had been levied to pay James Trader for services rendered to the county. There are three James Traders in Worcester, but the sheriff didn't know it and he paid the amount to another James Trader who accepted it. When the real James Trader called for his money the sheriff paid it again to avoid trouble, but he brought suit against the first Trader for obtaining money under false pretenses. Unfortunately the warrant was served on James Trader No.3, who had not been known in the case and was put in prison. The sheriff had this man released as soon as he discovered it and made an apology, but the angry man brought suit for malicious prosecution. The best lawyers in the county were engaged. The defense claimed that the imprisonment was an error of the head and not of heart, but the jury came to conclusion that Trader No. 3 was entitled to redress and brought in a verdict for $405. 


 
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2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Delaware was the last state to abolish public whipping as a punishment. A Delaware resident was flogged in 1952 for wife beating and the law allowing flogging wasn't repealed until 1972!

I remember the last whipping post standing in the downtown square in Georgetown a few years ago and am not sure it it's still there.

Your friend,
Slim

jmmb said...

I can remember over hearing conversations about the whipping post from my older relatives when I was a little girl.