Monadnock Moment No. 175

Era 6: Development of the Industrial United States -
           1870 to 1900

Court Cases of 1888

The October, 1888 session of Cheshire County Supreme Court was held in Keene during the week of October 15. The cases tried at that session illustrate just how much things have changed, and how much they have remained the same in New Hampshire more than 120 years later.

Several cases were for offenses which were common at the time, but which we seldom or never see today. One man, for example, was sentenced to one year in jail for injuring a horse by overworking it. Four people were convicted of adultery. Their sentences ranged from a suspended sentence to nine months in jail. Four others were fined for maliciously demolishing a stone wall, something we do not see too often today. A Rindge man was fined for selling liquor and one Miss Brown was fined $50.00 for keeping a disorderly house, or house of ill repute, in Keene.

In addition to these cases, there were others that sound as if they were reported in the court cases of 1988 rather than 1888. One man, for example, was sentenced to one year in jail for robbery and a case of attempted arson was postponed until the next session. The report ended on a familiar note with the statement that "the divorce mill ground out its usual grist."