(3) 1870s - Building the Foundation, The Unrelenting Work of the Farm and The Outside World Intrudes

The decade of the 1870s swept away the dust of the Civil War for Lee Roy Comer, replacing the chaos of the battlefield with the essential, grounding labor of family life. This era was less about national strife and more about staking a permanent claim to the soil of Johnson County.

Building the Foundation (1870-1871) 

The new chapter began on a warm spring day, May 15, 1870. At 26, Lee Roy was a seasoned man, even after the five years of post-war civilian adjustment. He married Mary Melissa "Aunt Lissie" Shires, a young woman of 16 who would quickly prove to be a tenacious partner. They settled on a parcel of the Comer land in the 13th township, literally building their future just a couple of doors down from Lee Roy’s parents. The 1870 census recorded them there, a modest beginning with a combined property value of $450.

Their quiet endeavor was tested immediately. The summer of 1871 began with joy: the birth of their first child, Eppy, in June. But as the season turned, a great chapter closed. In September, Lee Roy’s father, the patriarch Moses Epps Comer—the man who brought the family to Illinois—passed away. Lee Roy, now a husband and father, was called to step fully into the role of a generational head, responsible for his own household while mourning the man who had taught him every lesson about the land.

The Unrelenting Work of the Farm 


The daily life of the Comer household was a perfectly balanced, labor-intensive economy. Lee Roy and Lissie were defined by their roles, dictated by the sunrise and the seasons.

Lee Roy’s Domain (The Fields): Lee Roy’s days were spent in the fields, working his corn, wheat, and tobacco crops. He relied on his two working oxen and his horses for plowing and heavy hauling. His duties extended to managing the livestock, repairing the modest farm implements, and maintaining fences. The Illinois Central Railroad was his necessary connection to the outside world; he spent time hauling heavy loads to Vienna or the nearest depot, trading their bountiful harvest for supplies and cash.

Lissie’s Domain (The Home): Lissie’s work was equally tireless. She toiled over a wood fire, preparing three meals daily, and facing the monumental task of food preservation—canning, drying, and churning the family’s butter from their cows. Laundering was a grueling, all-day affair using scrub boards and lye soap, and she was responsible for mending and making all the family's clothes. As the family grew, she was the primary caregiver, nurse, and educator to their children.

The family expanded quickly, grounding them further in the soil. On August 17, 1873, their son, William Barney Comer, was born (with records suggesting a temporary stay in Massac County). Three years later, on August 28, 1876, their first daughter, Mary Elizabeth Comer, arrived. By the mid-decade, Lee Roy and Lissie were raising three children, a testament to the growth and renewal taking place on the land. 

The Outside World Intrudes 

While the Comers focused inward, regional and national events impacted their economic reality, sometimes for good, sometimes for ill.

In the 1870s, life in Johnson County, Illinois, moved at the pace of a horse and buggy. News wasn't streamed instantly—it was delivered by hand, wire, and word-of-mouth.

The Center of the World: The Newspaper

For a farmer living outside Vienna, the county seat, the most reliable link to the world was the local press. Every week, the Johnson County herald or the Johnson County journal would clatter off the printing press, a tangible link to both the local township and the distant capitals of the nation.

Imagine a Tuesday afternoon: the pages of the weekly paper were dense with information. A resident would first skim the front page for major national stories, likely reprinted via "patent insides"—pre-printed sheets of news purchased from a larger city that saved the local editor time and money. Here, one could read about Congress, foreign affairs, or the latest invention.

But the real treasure was the local column. This is where you found out who got married, which neighbors were ill, and the final price of grain at the Vienna market. The newspaper wasn't just news; it was the public record of their community's life.

The Town Hub: The Post Office and General Store

News from the greater world arrived in Johnson County primarily via the railroad. The iron horse carried the U.S. Mail, which contained not only letters from distant relatives but also copies of the great daily papers from Chicago or St. Louis.

When the mail arrived, the Post Office or the local General Store became the social epicenter. Men and women would gather, waiting for the clerk to sort the letters.

  • The Written Word: A letter was a precious thing, often read aloud to neighbors who might have missed the details.

  • The Commodity Price: Businessmen and farmers would eagerly seek out the latest telegraph report, often tacked up at the depot. The news of yesterday's wheat price in Chicago, arriving almost instantly via the telegraph that ran along the rail line, was critical to making a living.

The Human Network: Word-of-Mouth

The fastest news in the county was always the oldest method: simply talking.

At the feed store, the blacksmith shop, or after a Sunday service, community life was an ongoing exchange of information. This word-of-mouth network was the true daily bulletin of Johnson County. A farmer driving his wagon into Vienna might carry the news of a barn-raising in his township; the local pastor could share updates from a conference in Centralia.

In short, a resident's experience of news was layered: instantaneous (if brief, via telegraph), weekly (comprehensive, via the local paper), and daily (personal and immediate, via the conversation with a neighbor).

The Great Chicago Fire (1871): Hundreds of miles north, the disaster that devastated Chicago created an enormous demand for rebuilding materials and food. This demand, funneled south by the Illinois Central Railroad running straight through Johnson County, likely drove up the prices Lee Roy received for his wheat and corn, offering a much-needed economic boon for the struggling post-war agricultural economy.

Industrialization and Fear: Throughout the 1870s, the coal mining industry grew rapidly in nearby counties. While Johnson County remained mostly agricultural, this industrial expansion brought new markets, but also new social complexity and labor tensions that rippled through Southern Illinois.

The Yellow Fever Scare (1878): A devastating epidemic swept the Mississippi Valley, bringing widespread fear. Cairo, Illinois, the vital transportation hub at the state’s southern tip that Lee Roy relied on for trade connections, enacted strict quarantines. This crisis would have disrupted trade and instilled a deep fear in the community, reminding the Comers that their isolated farm was still connected to the dangers of the world. 

By the close of the 1870s, Lee Roy and Lissie were an established, mature family. The former Civil War private had become a respected patriarch, his legacy secured by his children, his identity rooted in the land, and his life intertwined with the boom-and-bust cycle of a rapidly modernizing Southern Illinois.

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