What happened to Thomas McKibben?
What Happened to Thomas McKibben?
Brown, Vinton County, Ohio
December 13, 1860-1871
Thomas stood outside the newspaper office, his nostrils flaring and blood boiling in his body. He scoured the streets looking for his blasted wife, wondering, 'Where did the dam woman go? She could not have gone far with her bags and two brats following in her wake. She was here, and when I find her, she will pay dearly for the embarrassment she is causing me. Maybe I will take her back and teach her a thing or two that her husband neglected to instill in his wife.'
He mused about all the terrible things he was going to do to her when he had his hands on her again.
While standing on the wooded walk, he could feel eyes on him. He glared up and down the dirty street, daring someone to look at him, his fists clutching as he stood there. The smell coming off him was unbearable. A mixture of whiskey and anger seeped out of his pores, making his shirt under his armpits wet to the point of dripping.
Finally, he decided to head over to the saloon across the street and grab a whisky to calm his nerves down and hopefully cool down his blood or add courage to chase Mary down and drag her back home.
He walked in and sauntered over to the bar, acting like nothing had happened and ordered a double whiskey. Sam, the own and bartender, looked at Tom and remarked, 'Kinda early to be startin' with a double Tom.'
Tom glared at the bartender and, through thin lips, replied, 'Mind your own dam business, Sam and pour me the whisky.'
Shaking his head Sam poured Tom the whiskey and turned to leave with the bottle. Tom downed his drink in one gulp, 'Sam, leave the bottle here.' Sam nodded, set the bottle beside Tom's glass, and walked away, muttering.
Time seemed to stand still as Tom continued to fill glass after glass of whiskey. They say misery loves company, and to Tom, the only company he wanted was his bottle of whiskey.
While all of this was happening in the saloon, the townsfolks had their tongues wagging faster than a freight train could travel. Thomas McKibben and his wife Mary's woes were spreading throughout the town like wildfire.
Soon, patrons were walking past the saloon. Wives were sneaking peeks through the double swing doors when their husbands went in to see for themselves. Tom McKibben was drunk and had passed out. He lay on the bar, clutching his nearly empty whisky bottle. No one dared touch him to wake him up, for everyone knew of Tom's temper when drunk. They all knew that it was better for his wife and her girls to get away with Tom passed out.
Hours later, Tom wakes up to find the saloon full of townsfolks sitting at tables, playing cards or sipping a drink. All eyes turned to watch him stagger out of the saloon, then stagger and trip on the wooden walkway, falling head-first into the horse water trough. Everyone clamoured to the doors and windows, waiting to see if he would lift his head out of the water or stay there and drown. No one moved to help him except Sam, the bartender.
Sam pushed everyone aside, reached down, grabbed Tom by the back of his coat, pulled his head out of the water trough, and then dropped him unceremoniously onto the edge of the walkway beside the water trough, where Tom could either get up or sleep it off.
Tom became the laughing stock of the town that day, and from that day forward, he was sneered at and laughed at behind his back. No one dared to do it to his face and suffer the wrath of Tom. All of the prowess that he possessed before he married Mary Hammond was gone along with his wife.
Tom lost his job in the livestock exchange as people refused to go to the local market he operated and would travel to other villages to sell their livestock. It was apparent that the wives in the community had a massive say with their husbands on where to sell their livestock and wares.
Thomas's reputation had caught up with him. The scandal of having his wife walk out on him kept tongues flapping in the community for years. People snickered behind his back; there was no escaping the rumours and whispers.
Within a few years, his daughters found husbands and moved far away from him, and many of his sons did the same. No one wanted to be known as Thomas McKibben's children. The taint of their father was reaching them also, so moving out of Brown was best for all of them.
Tom and his youngest son, Tim, found employment with the railroad. It was gruelling work but work, all the same. Tom never thought that at 52 years old, he would be doing manual labour. He had envisioned himself as a prominent member of society. Now, he and Tim were forced to live in a rundown shack on Samuel Coles' farm that Sam rented out to workers.
Samuel Cole worked on his farm with his wife and their five children and often hired extra help with the harvesting. When the harvesting was done, he rented out several hired hands' shacks to the workers for the railroad that was being built a short distance away from his farm. The extra money from the railway workers helped to pay for the education of his daughters.
For their rent, lodgers were given two meals daily, one in the morning and the other at night, delivered by Samuel. When the lodgers left for work, Samuel's eldest daughter would collect the dirty dishes and bring them back to the house for washing. If a lodger set out their laundry on Sundays, Samuel's wife would pick up the dirty sacks of clothes and wash and fold them.
Samuel returned the clean clothes back that evening. He charged a few pennies for the service.
Samuel was also very careful to keep his daughters away from the lodgers. He didn't want any unwanted births. His daughters were to remain pure, so they could attract a suitable man and get married.
Thomas died on August 7, 1871, in Brown; he was alone and most likely with a bottle of whiskey still clutched in his dead hand.
Tim never married and remained with his father until his father's death. From that point on, Tim moved on and was lost in the records of time.
Brown, Vinton County, Ohio
December 13, 1860-1871
Thomas stood outside the newspaper office, his nostrils flaring and blood boiling in his body. He scoured the streets looking for his blasted wife, wondering, 'Where did the dam woman go? She could not have gone far with her bags and two brats following in her wake. She was here, and when I find her, she will pay dearly for the embarrassment she is causing me. Maybe I will take her back and teach her a thing or two that her husband neglected to instill in his wife.'
He mused about all the terrible things he was going to do to her when he had his hands on her again.
While standing on the wooded walk, he could feel eyes on him. He glared up and down the dirty street, daring someone to look at him, his fists clutching as he stood there. The smell coming off him was unbearable. A mixture of whiskey and anger seeped out of his pores, making his shirt under his armpits wet to the point of dripping.
Finally, he decided to head over to the saloon across the street and grab a whisky to calm his nerves down and hopefully cool down his blood or add courage to chase Mary down and drag her back home.
He walked in and sauntered over to the bar, acting like nothing had happened and ordered a double whiskey. Sam, the own and bartender, looked at Tom and remarked, 'Kinda early to be startin' with a double Tom.'
Tom glared at the bartender and, through thin lips, replied, 'Mind your own dam business, Sam and pour me the whisky.'
Shaking his head Sam poured Tom the whiskey and turned to leave with the bottle. Tom downed his drink in one gulp, 'Sam, leave the bottle here.' Sam nodded, set the bottle beside Tom's glass, and walked away, muttering.
Time seemed to stand still as Tom continued to fill glass after glass of whiskey. They say misery loves company, and to Tom, the only company he wanted was his bottle of whiskey.
While all of this was happening in the saloon, the townsfolks had their tongues wagging faster than a freight train could travel. Thomas McKibben and his wife Mary's woes were spreading throughout the town like wildfire.
Soon, patrons were walking past the saloon. Wives were sneaking peeks through the double swing doors when their husbands went in to see for themselves. Tom McKibben was drunk and had passed out. He lay on the bar, clutching his nearly empty whisky bottle. No one dared touch him to wake him up, for everyone knew of Tom's temper when drunk. They all knew that it was better for his wife and her girls to get away with Tom passed out.
Hours later, Tom wakes up to find the saloon full of townsfolks sitting at tables, playing cards or sipping a drink. All eyes turned to watch him stagger out of the saloon, then stagger and trip on the wooden walkway, falling head-first into the horse water trough. Everyone clamoured to the doors and windows, waiting to see if he would lift his head out of the water or stay there and drown. No one moved to help him except Sam, the bartender.
Sam pushed everyone aside, reached down, grabbed Tom by the back of his coat, pulled his head out of the water trough, and then dropped him unceremoniously onto the edge of the walkway beside the water trough, where Tom could either get up or sleep it off.
Tom became the laughing stock of the town that day, and from that day forward, he was sneered at and laughed at behind his back. No one dared to do it to his face and suffer the wrath of Tom. All of the prowess that he possessed before he married Mary Hammond was gone along with his wife.
Tom lost his job in the livestock exchange as people refused to go to the local market he operated and would travel to other villages to sell their livestock. It was apparent that the wives in the community had a massive say with their husbands on where to sell their livestock and wares.
Thomas's reputation had caught up with him. The scandal of having his wife walk out on him kept tongues flapping in the community for years. People snickered behind his back; there was no escaping the rumours and whispers.
Within a few years, his daughters found husbands and moved far away from him, and many of his sons did the same. No one wanted to be known as Thomas McKibben's children. The taint of their father was reaching them also, so moving out of Brown was best for all of them.
Tom and his youngest son, Tim, found employment with the railroad. It was gruelling work but work, all the same. Tom never thought that at 52 years old, he would be doing manual labour. He had envisioned himself as a prominent member of society. Now, he and Tim were forced to live in a rundown shack on Samuel Coles' farm that Sam rented out to workers.
Samuel Cole worked on his farm with his wife and their five children and often hired extra help with the harvesting. When the harvesting was done, he rented out several hired hands' shacks to the workers for the railroad that was being built a short distance away from his farm. The extra money from the railway workers helped to pay for the education of his daughters.
For their rent, lodgers were given two meals daily, one in the morning and the other at night, delivered by Samuel. When the lodgers left for work, Samuel's eldest daughter would collect the dirty dishes and bring them back to the house for washing. If a lodger set out their laundry on Sundays, Samuel's wife would pick up the dirty sacks of clothes and wash and fold them.
Samuel returned the clean clothes back that evening. He charged a few pennies for the service.
Samuel was also very careful to keep his daughters away from the lodgers. He didn't want any unwanted births. His daughters were to remain pure, so they could attract a suitable man and get married.
Thomas died on August 7, 1871, in Brown; he was alone and most likely with a bottle of whiskey still clutched in his dead hand.
Tim never married and remained with his father until his father's death. From that point on, Tim moved on and was lost in the records of time.
