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a lively paper. He sided with the people rather than the politicians in the low salary fight, for example. In his own words: "What I did there was, according to my judgment and intentions, for the benefit of the people.
Had I consulted my own good I would have taken to office and more easily tided over the calamity period.
In all my political or public life I have nothing whatever to be ashamed of, nothing that I shall fear to have held up to public gaze.
For my own personal well being I would have done much better to have remained on the fence or taken the side opposite to that which I did take." Mr. Gowdy's partner, V. C. Beckett, was born in Michigan in 1853; educated in the common schools and learned the printer's trade in Elkhart, Indiana. He was married to Dora Dryden in 1886 and died in Springdale, Missouri, in April, 1893. Beckett had been in ill health for some time, consumption, and in his despondency leaped from a window to the pavement below, dying instantly. He held several good newspaper situations, the Burlington Hawk Eve, with "Bob" Burdetre, Peoria Transcript, Denver News and Colorado Springs Republic. He was a clever writer in both prose and poetry, (a sample of his poetry will appear later. He came to Norton county in the summer of 1879, leaving in the spring of 1881. 
Henry Joint was born April 1, 1852, in Will county, Illinois. He was raised on a farm.
He was married February 22, 1877, to Mary Duff, who was born in born in Canada, August 21, 1857.
Five children have been born to them, four of them still living. The names of the
children are: Estella, born April 18, 1878, died April 14, 1880; Archie E., born October 23, 1879; Jesse S., May 12, 1882; Silva A., April 3, 1884, and Leslie, born January 11, 1887. Mr. Joint came to Norton county March 1, 1879, and settled in Lincoln township, where he remained until 1889 when he moved to Norton where he resides at this time. He was elected trustee in 1880 and served as justice of the peace for two terms. He was elected sheriff of this county as a democrat in 1889 and was re-elected in 1891. He was the nominee of the democratic party for probate judge in 1884, but was defeated by Judge Adams. Henry Joint is one of the most popular and genial of men, has full sway in the friendship and confidence of all his acquaintances, a man who seems to have a desire to hasten to help a friend. John Duff, Mrs. Joint's father, was born in Scotland about 80 years ago, came to this county in 1879 and homesteaded in Grant township where he still resides, himself and wife, with his son John R. They had four children, the other two being Mrs. G. H. Graham and James A., who died here in 1892. Clark F. Shimeall was born September 18, 1843, on a farm three miles from |
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