Sunday, September 23, 2012

A Political Fracas 1806

Disputes during election years were as common long ago as they are today. The following news item about Matthew Lyon of Kentucky appeared in a Hudson, New York newspaper on 9 December 1806. 

"A serious fracas took place at Eddyville, Kentucky, on the night of the late election, between Matthew Lyon and a Mr. Cofield, who, it seems, had refused to vote for Lyon. Cofield attempted to gouge - but his thumb was caught in Lyon's mouth, and bitten off at the first joint - so that Matthew is not only a spitting, but a biting Lyon."

Published 23 September 2012, Western Kentucky Genealogy Blog,  http://wkygenealogy.blogspot.com/

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