News: Gettysburg Compiler, Wednesday, February 1, 1905, Adams County, PA Contributed and transcribed for use in the USGenWeb Archives by Kathy Francis Copyright 2005. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://www.usgwarchives.net/pa/adams/ _______________________________________________ SUNDAY FIRE NEAR TOWNSHIP BARN ON FARM OF HENRY OSBORN DESTROYED. B. F. Kepner, Tenant, Loses One Horse and One Cow and all His Produce. Sunday afternoon the fire bell, though its sound was husky on account of the weather or by reason of a new rope that was not working quite right, announced a fire. Quite a crowd soon gathered and some of the apparatus was taken out but the fire was too far away, though it appeared near. The fire was in Straban township on the other side of Rock creek. The barn on the farm of Henry Osborn, tenanted by B. F. Kepner, was in a blaze when alarm was given. Mr. Kepner says he was at his barn a short time before the fire started and everything was all right. He went to the house picked up a book and started to read and had been reading but a short time when the odor of smoke reached him. He began to investigate to discover that the southern end of his barn where there was a straw stack had burst into flames. Mr. Kepner and the other members of the family at once began to save what they could. They opened the horse and cow stables and succeeded in saving all the animals but one horse and one cow. The fire completely destroyed the barn, rather an old structure, straw pile at one end and two hay stacks at the other end of the barn. A wagon shed was threatened at one time but was saved. Mr. Kepner lost all farm produce in barn and his farming implements. The fire attracted a great crowd of visitors from this place and surrounding country. The barn was insured by Henry Osborn, in the Mummasburg Mutual Fire Protection Society, for $500 with a small amount on his share of crops. B. F. Kepner had some insurance, exact amount has not been learned. _____ About one o’clock on last Wednesday night, at the wildest moment of the blizzard this town was nearly awakened by an alarm of fire. The chimney in the house of Dr. J. W. C. O’Neal, near the old reservoir on Stratton street, tenanted by Marcus Hamilton took fire and the flames shot many feet out of the chimney. Several neighbors gathered to give assistance if it should be needed. At one time the question of ringing the bell was considered, the roar of the fire was so great, but it went out with no more result than a somewhat frightened family. The Smallpox Cases. Dr. George L. Rice of McSherrystown the officer of the State Board of Health, visited Cumberland township a third time on Wednesday of last week. Upon examination he affirmed the diagnosis of the Howard Weikert case to be correct, being afflicted with small-pox in a mild form like the other cases. The house of Alex Hoffman where Mr. Weikert lives was quarantined. Dr. Rice visited other places where there was any suspicion of any further outbreak of small-pox and ordered all the places to be strictly quarantined. He told the Board of School Directors of what he had done. He advised a constant guard to see that the quarantine was effective. The School Board of Cumberland township have appointed David Tipton constable of that township their sanitary agent, and agreed to pay him for his services $12 a week. It becomes the duty of this agent to carry out all the orders of the Health officers and keep guard to prevent any break of quarantine regulations. A petition was presented to court on Saturday, asking the court to approve the appointment of constable Tipton and amount of his compensation as the law requires and the court in approving same remarked it gave the court pleasure to approve of the prompt and vigorous methods adopted to suppress the disease. Prisoners Sentenced. The four prisoners who plead guilty to the indictments against them were sentenced by the Court on Saturday afternoon. John Winters, who had plead guilty to an assault and battery on Sarah Ellen Slusser, who had escaped from Constable Keffer, of McSherrystown, followed by an exciting chase and recaptured a week later, was considered an all around bad man and the Court told him that he must be made an example of and severely punished. He was given eight months in jail and to pay the costs. Samuel B. Light, who had plead guilty to an assault and battery on Maggie Laughman, had been in jail for two months and a half. It was represented to court that defendant had been a peaceful citizen and that prosecutrix at times was known to say rather irrational things. The sympathy of the community in which parties lived was all with the defendant. The Court sentenced prisoner to ten days further in jail and to pay the costs. David M. Nary, who had plead guilty to adultery was next called. The Court inquired whether he was not the same party who had been charged with same offence with his mother-in-law a short time ago, but whom the Court had allowed to go rather than have a very young son of the woman testify against his mother. Being assured of identity of prisoner he remarked that the advice then given had fallen on ????? ground and he would give prisoner punishment to the full extent of the law. Sentence was one year in jail. Lizzie Sponseller, now Mrs. Darr was the next prisoner. The court told her she had been an anomaly to the court, that her career of a year or two had exceeded anything ever known in the memory of the court in this town. He warned her that now as Mrs. Darr she was in a different position than she had been as Lizzie Sponseller. That for the charge of fornication to which she had plead guilty he could give but a light sentence, but if she ever proved untrue to her husband and was brought to court, the charge would be more serious and she might expect a heavy sentence. She was sentenced to a fine of $10 and the costs.