Here's an interesting story from The Weekly Journal (Lafayette, Indiana) dated June 28, 1872.  It features prominent citizens and the tale of ghosts of a large white wolf, an immense green-eyed frog and an over-grown Indian chief, in full fighting paint and costume frequently seen near the area of Peter's Mill Bridge. Tall tales have been told over the years about ghosts of Native Americans from that area seeking revenge. Could it have originated from this story? The Weekly Journal (Lafayette, Indiana) - Fri, June 28, 1872 A Night in the Haunted House     Tecumseh For several days past there has been considerable excitement kicked up in the reported discovery of a ghost or two in an unoccupied house not far from the residence of Thomas Coleman, Esq., just north-east of the city.  Rumor hath it that the ghosts of a large white wolf, an immense green-eyed frog and an over-grown Indian chief, in full fighting paint and costume, have frequently been seen, which ...

Intense Excitement in the East End of the City Over an Alleged Apparition Supposed to be the Disembodied Spirit of Jacob Archibald    From the  Journal and Courier  (Lafayette, Indiana) - Monday June 7, 1886   There is no little excitement in the vicinity of Sixteenth and Hartford Street crossing, and large crowds congregate there nightly to gaze at the "Haunted House," from 9 o'clock until midnight, which is the time his Ghostship is supposed to walk and to listen with blanched faces and hair standing on end to the blood curdling stories told by those who claim the honor of seeing the ghost and whose veracity is undoubted by the terrified listeners.       The reporter joined the throng last night to get the share of the horror and took his place among the awed bystanders. After several preliminary alarms occasioned by the small boy's circus son, "Here he Comes," a light was seen in one of the windows. At first it was dim and rather uncertain...

  The last words of Jennie L. Dugan were poignantly expressed in recently discovered poetry written by  Rebecca Gordon Ball in the form of historic sheet music.   The poetry was put to music by Composer Chandler Robbins and published by Oliver Ditson & Company after the death of Jennie Dugan in 1860.   A copy of the sheet music was found among the Ball artifacts in the historic Lafayette home that was built in 1869 for Cyrus and Rebecca Ball.   The iconic house has remained in the family since that time and is currently occupied by a direct descendant and member of the General de Lafayette Chapter, Daughters of the American Revolution.   Jennie Dugan, a 22-year-old woman from Delphi, Indiana, was tragically killed in 1860 when her dress caught fire as she was carrying a lampstand while bidding her parents good night.   Her father was severely burned in attempting to rescue his only child.   It was a devastating blow to Joseph and Miranda ...

  An old, but controversial tombstone sits just  southwest of the old Sexton’s office within the Spring Vale cemetery in Lafayette, Indiana.  The story behind the Martin P. Jenners’ tombstone controversy has been written about by historians over the years with limited information extracted from minute books and a December 23, 1919 obituary that was printed in the local newspaper.  Additional details have been unearthed by the discovery of a June 22, 1907 newspaper article from The Star Press (Muncie, Indiana), which has shed new light on an old story.   Martin P. Jenners was interviewed by a reporter when he was 76 years old, twelve years before he died in 1919.   The details have been long forgotten, but here is the rest of the story story told in some of Jenners’ very own words:    From The Star Press …(Muncie, Indiana) June 22, 1907 Arraigns Religion in Unique Manner “When you are dead, that’s the end of you.   Then it’s oblivion—...

  Lafayette Weekly Call (Lafayette, Indiana) 11 Sep 1897  LAFAYETTE  VIEWED AS SON OF FRANCE   Lafayette Described in His Relations to His Native Land.   Preface:  The following 1897 article from the Lafayette Weekly Call recalls long forgotten history of our city's namesake, the Marquis de Lafayette and the role he played in our nation's history.  Much of the article focuses on the teachings of M adame Pauline Mariotte-Davies, a popular Purdue University Professor of her time.  Dr. Mariotte-Davies gave many speeches in the Greater Lafayette area during her tenure at Purdue. About Dr. Pauline Mariotte-Davies (1849-1930) - Madame Marlotte-Davies, Ph.D., long a much-loved figure at Purdue University and community circles, died at Petoskey Michigan in 1930 at the age of 81. Madame Davies was born in the Madelene Quarter in Paris and received her primary education in a private school from which, after a competitive examination, received a schol...