Mary There might have been something in the Alton newspaper. I don't recall what the name of it in the 1870's - The Telegraph, The Alton Telegraph, The Alton Evening Telegraph, The Evening Telegraph or ?. I know that there was an article in 1871 regarding a murder in Neosho Co KS simply because the victim was a Pruitt girl who's grandfather was Solomon Preuitt of the Bethalto, Madison, IL area. Then the article was printed in the Jerseyville, Jersey, IL newspaper. If the incident occurred in Madison Co, Macoupin Co or Jersey Co, there may have been some mention about it. I would say because of the type of accident that it may have made at least one area newspaper. If someone else on this list has information that I'm not aware of, please post it. Debbi Geer __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around http://mail.yahoo.com