Those Darned Horse Thieves!

I’ve heard rumors that there were horse thieves in my family, but in this case, my maternal 2^nd great-grandfather David Snider was the victim of the thieves! I will have to delve into Union County, Ohio, court records to see what more I can learn about the incident reported in this newspaper article.

“—George Cook and son Frank, the latter aged about thirteen years, of Odin, Ills., who had been visiting in this vicinity for a few days, were arrested near Zanesville, Ohio, and brought to Marysville, on Monday last, by Marshal Bonnett, for stealing a pair of horses from David Snider, a farmer living on Bokes Creek, southwest of town. The parties to whom Cook had sold the horses, near Zanesville, suspicioned that the horses had been stolen, from the small sum at which they were offered, and arrested Cook and son after an exciting race. The preliminary trial was held before Esquire Garrard in Marysville, on Monday, and both parties were bound over to court. This is not Cook's first offense, and it is likely that he will be dealt with to the full extent of the law. The boy will no doubt be sent to the Reform School.”

Source: "Local and Other Items," Richwood Gazette, 21 Oct 1880, p. 3, col. 2; digital images,
NewspaperARCHIVE (access.newspaperarchive.com : accessed 17 May 2012).

© 2012 Denise Spurlock