A correct answer to this question consists of providing the name and
address of the newspaper which served the town of Flat River, in the
county of francois, in in the state of Missouri, during the year 1905.
 If the newspaper no longer exists, a right answer consists of the
name and address of the newspaper which has their news archives for
that year.

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Request for Question Clarification by justaskscott-ga on 20 May 2003 20:11 PDT

I have emailed someone who does genealogical research in St. Francois
County newspapers.  I will let you know if I receive a helpful reply.

Perhaps it will make it easier to find what you want if you tell us:
Is there a specific item from that newspaper that you are trying to
find?  Is there a specific time in 1905 when the item would have been
published?

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Clarification of Question by tibiaron-ga on 20 May 2003 20:29 PDT

Okay Scott,  I didn't want to complicate the question, but I will add
it because you requested it.  It would have made headlines in this
very small town in 1905.  A police officer named Joseph A. Cavin
killed a man in the line of duty.  He was convicted for it and
imprisoned.  Later he was pardoned by the governor of the state. We
don't know the date of the killing, but it was during 1905.

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Request for Question Clarification by justaskscott-ga on 21 May 2003 06:43 PDT

I received a response.  According to this researcher, this town's
newspaper did not start until 1915, and 1905 is kind of a blank spot
in the microfilm collection at the library in the current town. 
However, she does believe that another library in the county has the
newspaper for its town on microfilm for that year.   According to a
listing that she has from the State Historical Society of Missouri,
that newspaper is on microfilm from Dec. 1, 1898 to March 28, 1901 and
then from July 18, 1901 to Feb. 19, 1926.  The newspaper from yet
another town in the county is on microfilm from that time period too.

This researcher informs me that if you want to research these
newspapers from afar, you should be able to order the microfilms
through your local library.   She also gave me the name of a librarian
at one of the libraries in St. Francois country; she's been told that
this librarian is really good about doing lookups for out of town
folks.  If you've got a fairly definite date in 1905 which a certain
incident occurred, she would probably be willing to look it up and
mail you a copy.  The newspaper covered news for the entire county so
if it was a significant event, chances are good that there's an
article about it.

Would you like the specifics as an answer?

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Clarification of Question by tibiaron-ga on 21 May 2003 08:29 PDT

Enough info that I can order the needed microfich and microfilm you
mentioned from my local library, and the contact info for the
librarian who is known for being helpful, cetainly qualifies as a
correct answer.

Hello tibiaron-ga,

Here is the relevant text of the e-mail I received from Bettye Warner
at the St. Francois County Missouri MoGenWeb Project (
http://www.rootsweb.com/~mostfran/ ):

"I'm afraid that the Lead Belt News didn't start until 1915. 
Unfortunately, 1905 is kind of a blank spot in the microfilm
collection at the Park Hills Library where I normally go.  I do
believe that the Farmington Library has the Farmington Times Newspaper
on microfilm for that year.  According to a listing  I have from the
State Historical Society of Missouri, there are Farmington Times
newspapers on microfilm from Dec. 1, 1898 - March 28, 1901 and then
from July 18, 1901 to Feb. 19, 1926.  The Historical Society also has
the Bonne Terre Register on microfilm for that time period too.  If
you are wanting to research these papers from afar, they can be
ordered by going to your local library and asking the librarian to
order them for you through the inter- library loan program.  Just tell
her what period of time you need.  She should have a catalog on hand
to determine exactly what's available.  These films would be sent to
your local library and can be kept for up to 2 weeks before they have
to be sent back.  Of course, you'd have to look at them at the library
so that's not real convenient if you work like most of us do.  Another
possibility would be to call the Farmington Library and ask for Terri
Hall.  She's the librarian and I've been told that she's really good
about doing lookups for out of town folks.  If you've got a fairly
definite date in 1905 which a certain incident occurred, she would
probably be willing to look it up and mail you a copy.  The phone
number for the Farmington Library is 573-756-5779.  The Farmington
Times newspaper covered news for the entire county so if it was a
significant event, chances are good that there's an article about it."

Some context for this e-mail -

Park Hills was consolidated from Flat River and other cities in 1994.

City of Park Hills, Missouri [under heading "Vital Statistics"]
http://home.i1.net/~cityhall/

The Lead Belt News, Flat River's newspaper, actually did start in
1898.  What I assume that Ms. Warner means is that the archives do not
go back before 1915.

"The History and Development of the Lead Belt News", by Lynda W.
Casteel - December 1960
St. Francois County Missouri MoGenWeb Project
http://www.rootsweb.com/~mostfran/newspapers/leadbeltnews_history.html

You can find histories of other newspapers in St. Francois County,
including the Farmington News and Bonne Terre Register, here:

"History of Local Newspapers"
St. Francois County Missouri MoGenWeb Project
http://www.rootsweb.com/~mostfran/newspapers/history_of_local_newspapers.htm

You might potentially check with the libaries in Park Hills,
Farmington, and Bonne Terre, in addition to your local library.  If
one does not have the information you need, another might.  The
contact information is listed on these pages:

"Public Library"
City of Park Hills, Missouri
http://home.i1.net/~cityhall/library.htm

"Library"
City of Farmington, Missouri
http://www.ci.farmington.mo.us/library/library.htm

"Bonne Terre Memorial Library"
Association of St. Louis Area Archivists
http://library.wustl.edu/units/spec/archives/aslaa/directory/bonne-terre.html

I hope that this information is helpful.

- justaskscott-ga


I used the following search terms, individually and in combinations,
on Google:

"flat river"
missouri
mo
"park hills"
newspaper
genealogy
"lead belt news"
francois
farmington
"bonne terre"
library

Very good research, thanks.