Gang, Well, with a little more research, I have found the answer to our "mysterious" Palmertree murder article. The Batesville Blade was a weekly newspaper published at Batesville, Mississippi from 1876 - 1885 by H. W. Thatten. It ceased with the May 29, 1885 issue. Microfilm of the paper can be found from 1880 - 1885 at (1) First Regional Library, Hernando, Desoto County, MS; and (2) Mississippi Department of Archives and History, Jackson, Hinds Co., MS. The article was also published March 13 & 14, 1879 in "the Southern States News" in The Times-Picayune, New Orleans, LA and on March 19, 1879 in The Cincinnati Ohio Daily Gazette. I guess it was published in those papers as an article of interest with no ties to Illinois, Ohio or Louisiana. So therefore, it had to be a descendant of Wiley Palmertree, or himself, since he had relocated to Panola County, MS prior to 1880 and died before the 1880 Federal Census, or at least he wasn't enumerated in that one. I was quoting the date from memory when I first posted that article. Sorry, the murder wasn't 1885 as I claimed, but actually 1879. Well, it was worth the research to resolve this. Many clues references to Illinois, though... Ken PS - anyone who doesn't live in Mississippi and wants to send a research request to the Mississippi Archives for anything - use someone's Mississippi address and let them forward the research to you. The archives charges a research fee for anyone not having a Mississippi address. They only charge Mississippi residents the cost of copying something, plus postage.