Gottlieb Erdman immigrated to Bloomington in 1884 from Germany and almost immediately married a German woman, Albertina Wolff. Albertina had children from a previous marriage and they all lived together in 1897, on a farm near Lytleville (I just love that name). Albertina and the hired man, Peter Sass, were being friendlier than Gotlieb thought they should be, and having tired of their behavior, he told Sass to pack his grip and move along.
Sass did not move along as ordered, but was joined by Albertina and her children in tying Gottlieb to a chair and then beating him with a poker and a rolling pin. He somehow escaped from them and preferred charges against the entire gang at the sheriff's office in Heyworth. The next day Peter Sass was charged with battery and released on bond by the magistrate.
Unfortunately, the quality of the copies of Pantagraph for this period are so bad that finding the conclusion of this story is not easy. Further, there were two men named Peter Sass in McLean County, both of which seemed a little old for tempting Albertine away, and both being married (not necessarily an impediment to romance . . .)
Sass's attraction for Albertina must not have been entirely irresistible, because Gottlieb and Albertina continued to live together until his death in 1931, when Gottlieb died of heart disease. The state of this marriage, after the hostilities of 1897 must have been extremely tense, not to say toxic! Albertina died in 1945 and was buried beside her husband at Park Hill Cemetery. Rest in peace!!