Earlham College Professor, Dr. Thomas D. Hamm, kindly donated these to us to be used on our website. These are everyday stories that were published during 1870 - 1871. Very interesting. I would like to thank Mr. Tom Hamm for this submission. It is very much appreciated and 'm sure everyone will enjoy reading these abstracts.     The Republican began publication to represent the radical wing of the Republican party as led by Congressman George W. Julian, in opposition to the more conservative wing of the party in Indiana led by U.S. Senator and former Governor Oliver P. Morton. Its editors, Elwood and Maurice E. Pleas, were both Quakers and old abolitionists from Spiceland. It ceased publication in 1872 when Adolph Rogers, the new owner of the New Castle Weekly Courier, purchased it and merged it with the Courier.     These abstracts were taken from a microfilm at the Indiana State Library. Issues for the second half of 1871 are missing. I have included any vital statistics: births (few were published), marriages, and deaths, as well as anything that indicated the prior residence of someone in Henry County, or anything that showed the new residence of a former Henry County resident. As this was done primarily for my own use, it reflects my interests: Quakers, African Americans, scandals, education, religious controversy, and families with which my wife and are connected, such as Cook, Unthank, Bales, Griffin, Wrightsman, Duke, Kerr, Poarch, Bond, and Rinard. I won’t guarantee that I abstracted every item that might possibly be of interest to anyone.     Like many newspapers of the era, the Republican consisted mainly of political stories and advertisements. Some weeks I found only an item or two worth including. By 1872, however, it was carrying considerable local news, often in the form of humorous letters from neighborhoods like Rogersville, Goose Creek, or Hillsboro. Some of these are probably the work of John W. Shockley (1839-1907), the grandfather of the novelist Ross Lockridge and the model for John Wickliffe Shawnessy in Lockridge’s Raintree County. Since the Pleas brothers were from Spiceland, their local news emphasized Spiceland and the southern part of Henry County.