To continue the sad story of Harry and Martha Paine Cook, we have to focus, and to place the blame on Harry coming down with “sleeping sickness” while on a business trip to New York City.
When Harry Cook was first diagnosed with “sleeping sickness” in late January 1920, I am sure that there was a sense of panic in the Cook household. For those first days he was confined to a hospital in New York, slowly improving. By the end of February he had improved enough that he could be moved to Florida, where they hoped that the warm weather and sunshine would make all the difference.
They remained in Florida the winter, sending home small notices stating that he was “improving.” But the illness was still taking its toll, and he was not really making any steady improvement, just small glimmers, and hope. On April 20, 1920, The Daily Times=Tribune reported that Harry had “recovered sufficiently to be able to leave Miami” and that the couple were “now northbound and it is expected that they will arrive in Alexandria about June 1.” [1] But I am not certain that they did return. My “chair research” into the newspaper, does not share the joyous news of their return, and the month of June is well covered.
Martha Paine Cook sent the next report, which was received August 24, 1920, from her parents home in Oshkosh, Winnebago, Wisconsin. She reported that Harry was presently in the mountains of Vermont, where he was “getting along nicely.” [2] In September, Harry moved to New Jersey, where his cousin Edwin W. Yule paid him a visit. Edwin reported that “Mr. Cook is very thin from his long illness, but that he is now on the road to recovery although his improvement is going very slowly. Mr. Cook was very glad to see Mr. Yule and expressed himself as very eager to come home.” [3] As winter approached he made his way to Florida to spend the winter with his sister, Maud, and her husband Charles F. Lancaster. Thus starting a pattern that would go on for the next eleven years, wintering in Florida, and spending the summer living at a resort in Atlantic City, New Jersey.
We may never know exactly what happened, and most certainly not know the full details from my “chair research,” but I have done my best to piece together the story.
“Sleeping sickness” not only affects the physical body, but can have adverse effect on a patient’s mental health. The months in Florida must have been trying for Martha as she worked to keep her husband’s spirits high, and help him recover physically. She was also the mother of a 1 1/2 year old, as Hosford would celebrate his second birthday on July 13th. I am sure that there was help in the home; nurses, housekeepers, possibly even a nanny for Hosford, but I would like to think that Martha was personally engaged and involved in the care of both of her “men.” In May, instead of being “northbound” to Alexandria, Martha took little Hosford, and traveled to Oshkosh, while Harry began to wander the country, looking for that elusive place that would cure him, moving from Vermont to New Jersey, to Florida.
As the months passed, Harry became more and more dependent on his sister, Maud, her husband, Charles F. Lancaster and his cousin, Edwin W. Yule for support and guidance in running the Alexandria Paper Co., of which he was president. In October 1922, Harry was well enough to return to Alexandria, accompanied by Edwin Yule, [4] A short month later, in November, Martha filed a petition in the Madison County Circuit Court for a guardian to be appointed for her husband. She stated that “certain persons ha[d] exerted influence on her husband and have caused him to become indifferent toward her.” She went on to state that “she has been unable to communicate with him,” and wished to know why “certain persons” have worked to turn Harry against her. [5] An article published in The Indianapolis Star, states the same situation a bit more bluntly: “The application charges that Cook is under the control of certain parties, whose names are not revealed, and that being of alleged unsound mind he is influenced by them so that he refuses to have anything to do with his wife.” The article goes on to say that she had “spent several months trying to nurse her husband, and that when her health broke down she went to the home of her parents in Oshkosh, Wis. It is alleged that her husband developed a violent aversion to her in the meantime, and that she has repeatedly been denied the privilege of seeing him.” In a later court document, Martha claimed that he “deserted them” on July 12, 1920, just days before their son’s second birthday. [6]
It would be two years before she was able to appoint a trust company as guardian, as Harry kept sending it back to the court on appeal. It was announced in The [Oshkosh] Daily Northwestern on March 24, 1924, that she had prevailed, and secured their wealth of nearly a million dollars in assets, mostly stock in the Alexandria Paper Company. Harry had been traveling most of the year accompanied by nurses and attendants. At the time of the final court decision, he was in Florida for the winter. [7]
It appears as though Martha was correct in her concerns, and her wish to have a guardian named for Harry, as less than a year later, on January 29, 1925, he was back in court, his guardian, the Citizen’s State Bank of Newcastle, filing in Federal Court, a “suit charging fraud and duress in connection with the transfer of $250,000, in the Alexandria Papar [sic] Company” against “Mrs. Maud Lancaster, her husband Charles P. [sic] Lancaster both of New York, and the Alexandria Paper Company.” “The complaint alleged that the defendants…had fraudulently induced Cook to transfer to them the 500 shares of stock. The complaint also alleges that the defendants and expended between $75,000 and $100,000 of Cook’s money each year since his illness in chartering houseboats, employing and discharging physicians, hiring servants, nurses, leasing houses and apartments and for other expenses.” They were also “voting the shares and receiving large amounts of money in dividends.” The article goes on to put it in perspective: “Cook is said to have received from his father 1, 750 shares of stock in the Alexandria Paper Company, a controlling interest. Cook’s sister is said to have become the owner of 950 shares of stock in the company at the death of her father” in April 1918. It goes on to state that the defendants “took charge of Cook during his illness and concealed his whereabouts from his wife and child.” [8]
Sadly, my “chair research” has not revealed any indication of how this suit was settled. More work to be done here!
In February 1927, the couple buried their son, Henry Hosford Cook. His story was told in the blog post titled:A Child Lost. I believe it is at this point that Martha gives up. She must have realized that her husband was not going to get well enough to return home, and they will never again have a normal, loving married life. On April 4, 1927, she filed for divorce on the grounds of abandonment. She was asking for alimony. [9] Coming to an agreement would not be an easy task, nor a quick one. In December their attorneys met in superior court in Indianapolis, hopeful that an agreement could finally be reached, they “conferred” till 3:00 on that Friday afternoon of December 16, 1927. At that time, agreement was reached on a proposal which was to be sent to Harry in Atlantic City, for his “consideration” and “specifies that a divorce shall be granted and deals with property rights and the question of alimony.” The judge “continued the case until February 20, 1928, to give attorneys time to consult Cook. Witnesses subpoenaed for the trial and who were held in superior court all day, were instructed to return on that date.” [10]
On February 17, 1928, the long wait was over. Harry had agreed to terms for the divorce, which were that Martha would be granted her request for a divorce, and receive $100,000 in alimony, a “$25,000 insurance policy on the life of Mr. Cook, subject to the unpaid premium.” And “a portion of the furnishings of the Cook home just south of the city.” “A total of 18 attorneys were connected with the case, ten representing Mrs. Cook and eight representing the defense. The alimony award was the largest award in the Madison county courts.” [11] The terms were agreed to out of court, Martha was in the courtroom, but Harry did not return to Indiana for the hearing. [12]
To be continued…
SOURCES:
“Harry Cook Is Better,” The Alexandria Daily Times=Tribune, 24 Apr 1920, p 1, col 1; digital images, Newspapers.com (www.newspapers.com : accessed 27 May 2016).
“Harry Cook In Vermont,” The Alexandria Daily Times=Tribune, 24 Aug 1920, p 1, col 3; digital image Newspapers.com (www.newspapers.com : accessed 27 May 2016).
“Sees Harry Cook,” The Alexandria Daily Times=Tribune, 14 Sep 1920, p. 1, col 4; digital images, Newspapers.com (www.newspapers.com : accessed 27 May 2016).
“Harry Cook Arrives In City This Morning,” The Alexandria Times=Tribune, 12 Oct 1922, p 1, col 2; digital images, Newspapers.com (www.newspapers.com : accessed 27 May 2016).
“Seeks Appointment of Guardian for Husband,” The Indianapolis News, 13 Nov 1922, p 17, col 1; digital images, Newspapers.com (www.newspapers.com : accessed 27 May 2016).
“Mrs. Cook Asks Court For Divorce Decree,” The Alexandria Daily Times=Tribune, 5 Apr 1927, p 1, col 3; digital images, Newspapers.com (www.newspapers.com : accessed 10 Jun 2016).
“Indiana Supreme Court Sustains Ruling In The Cook Guardianship Case,” The Daily Northwestern, 24 Mar 1924, p 1, col 3; digital images, NewspaperARCHIVE (www.newspaperarchive.com : 10 May 2016).
“Sick Man Made Victim of Fraud,” The Elwood Cal Leader, 31 Jan 1925, p 8, col 5; digital images, Newspapers.com (www.newspapers.com : accessed 23 May 2016).
Mrs. Cook Asks Court For Divorce Decree,” The Alexandria Times=Tribune, 5 Apr 1927, p 1, col 3; digital images, Newspapers.com (www.newspapers.com : accessed 10 Jun 2016).
“Cook Divorce Case May End By Agreement,” The Alexandria Daily Times=Tribune, 17 Dec 1927, p 1, col 6; digital images, Newspapers.com (www.newspapers.com : accessed 27 May 2016).
“Life Insurance Policy $25,000 to Mrs. Cook,” The Alexandria Daily Times=Tribune, 21 Feb 1928, p 1, col 2; digital images, Newspapers.com (www.newspapers.com : accessed 24 May 2016).
“Mrs. Cook Divorced; Gets $100,000 Alimony,” The Alexandria Daily Times=Tribune, 20 Feb 1928, p 4, col. 1; digital images, Newspapers.com (www.newspapers.com : accessed 27 May 2016).
Samuel A. Cook, who up to this point we have been calling S. A., as that is how he most often appears in print, plus over the armory, and most places we look, it is S. A. But I would have to bet that his wife, his siblings, his mother and father, didn’t call him that, they called him Samuel. Or Sam. As I continue to study him, and get to know him, I think I will call him Samuel.
Samuel’s son Harry (Henry Harold), married Martha Wheeler Paine, in a small private ceremony which took place in her family home in Oshkosh, Winnebago Co., Wisconsin, on June 30, 1917. Martha is the daughter of Edward Wheeler Paine, and Elizabeth Bonney Hosford Paine. The Paines were a prominent lumber family in Oshkosh, Edward, along with his brother, Nathan, owned and operated the Paine Lumber Company. (It is Nathan Paine and his wife, Jessie Kimberly, who built, and then donated, what we now know as the Paine Art Center and Gardens).
After an extended honeymoon, the couple settled in Alexandria, Madison Co., Indiana, where Harry had been living and working for the past 16 years or so. He was vice president, and general manager of his father’s paper mill, the Alexandria Paper Co. Life was good for the newlyweds, and soon they were excited to let their family know that they would be expecting a baby in July 1918. Sadly, Samuel would not live to meet his grandchild, as he suffered a “stroke of paralysis” in December 1917, and never fully recovered. He passed away at his home in Neenah, Winnebago Co., Wisconsin, on April 4, 1918.
It was with joyous hearts that Harry and Martha welcomedtheir son, Henry Hosford Cook, into the world at 12:50 a.m. the morning of July 13, 1918. Martha had made the decision to give birth in Chicago, Cook Co., Illinois, checking into Presbyterian Hospital. [1] Later that day, Harry traveled back to Alexandria to attend to some pressing business matters, and to take a moment to share the joy with the paper mill employees. He and Martha had printed a small card announcing the birth of their son, and to which they had attached a $10 bill. The card reads:
An employee at the time, Robert W. Gaither, when interviewed in 1970, had this to say about that day: “‘I remember so well,’ he said, ‘when Harry sat on the steps of the old office building and gave everyone who came through a ten-dollar bill.'” [2] In 1918 there were approximately 160 employees in the company, so Harry handed out $1600.00, or $25,352.16 in 2016 money! Each employee receiving approximately $158.45. [3]
Over the next few years, Harry spent many days and weeks traveling on business for the mill. During his extended time away, Martha would pack up baby Hosford, and head to Oshkosh to spend time with her parents, and when Harry was scheduled to return, the couple would meet up in Chicago, and travel back to Alexandria together.
Tragically, in late January 1920, while visiting New York on business, Harry came down with flu-like symptoms, and then was hospitalized. Doctors later diagnosed his condition as “sleeping sickness,” a form of lethargic encephalitis. An article published in The Cambridge Sentinel states that the symptoms begin with fever, which can last two to five days, followed by a period of subnormal temperature, sore throat and chest cold. “In marked cases the lethargy was accompanied by heaviness of the eyelids, pain in the eyes and blurred vision. Headache was a common symptom, and rigidness was characteristic of the early symptoms.” This is just the first stage. What follows is the patient is often “unable to make any voluntary movement on account of great muscular weakness; the face is quite expressionless and mask like, and there may be double facial paralysis. The patient is in a condition of stupor, although true sleep is often not obtained.” There was no defined treatment, and the patient was “given to understand that his convalescence will last at least six months after the beginning of the illness.” [4] Cases of sleeping sickness were found in both New York, and Chicago in 1919, so it is only speculation where he could contracted this contagious disease.
When Harry was well enough to leave the hospital, and New York City, the family headed together to Florida to give him time to rest and to recover. Unfortunately, as is often the case, he never was able to fully recover, and the effect the disease had on him both physically, but most importantly, mentally, caused him to never be the same person again, and thus he is said to have abandoned his family on July 22, 1920. [5] This story deserves its own blog post, so let us move forward a few years in time.
Hoping that her husband would recover, but knowing at this point they could not live together and that she needed to take care of her small son, Martha took Hosford, and moved permanently to Oshkosh to live with her parents. The years passed, and a routine was set between mother and son, and part of the routine was to spend a portion of the winter in Florida. In February 1927, they were enjoying the warm weather of Naples, Florida, with friends and relatives. It was a Wednesday, spent at the beach off the Gulf of Mexico, and Hosford was wading and swimming with friends, when he went out a bit too far, and was pulled into the undertow. Despite all efforts to save him, he drowned. I can only imagine the grief in which Martha sent off the telegram to her parents. And the unbelief that Edward and Elizabeth felt upon opening the door to receive the telegram telling them of their grandsons death, and when to expect the train carrying their grandson’s body, accompanied by their daughter. [6]
I have not been able to find a newspaper article that states the details for his funeral. It could have been large and public, or small and private. We may never know, but if I were to bet, I would bet it was small and private. He was buried in the family plot in Riverside Cemetery, Oshkosh, Wisconsin.
As winter faded into spring, then summer, and children started to flock to the neighboring beaches to play and to swim. Hosford’s grandfather, Edward W. Paine, still wracked with grief, donated “three sets of life-saving apparatus” to the city of Oshkosh, and dedicated to his grandson. The three sets were installed at three city beaches, south side beach, Menominee Park, and Mary Jewel Park. “Each piece of apparatus consists of a large preserver to which is attached an iron ring to fasten around the arm. To the preserver is attached 400 feet of line, which winds on a large cylinder. In [case] of danger anyone may seize the preserver and carry or throw it out in the water. The stand is erected with a reel and handle, so that the preserver may be pulled in.” Edward Paine also sent a set to Sarasota, Fla. “On each of the racks is placed a bronze plate with the inscription, ‘In Memory of Henry Hosford Cook, Died Feb. 16, 1927.'” [7]
Hosford lived just a short 8 1/2 years, and this small, much loved little boy started his life with a gift to honor his birth, and he ended his life with a gift to remember his having lived. Both gifts were given in the hope that the gift would enrich the lives of the receiver. Make the world a better place.
Rest in peace, Henry Hosford Cook.
SOURCES:
FamilySearch, “Illinois, Cook County Birth Certificates, 1878-1922,” database and images, FamilySearch (www.familysearch.org : accessed 4 Jul 2012); Henry Hosford Cook; Reference ID: 25709, GS Film Number: 1308838, Digital Folder Number: 004403113, Image Number: 01020.
Sue Martson, “Old Paper Mill Will Again Have A Heart Beat,” The Alexandria Times-Tribune, 15 Apr 1970, Wednesday, p. 8; digital images, Newspapers.com (www.newspapers.com : accessed 19 May 2016).
www.usinflationcalculator.com : accessed 8 Jun 2016.
“Call New Malady Epidemic Stupor,” The Cambridge Sentinel, 3 May 1919, p. 3, col. 1-3 : digital image, Cambridge Public Library (http://cambridge.dlconsulting.com : accessed 8 Jun 2016).
“Mrs. cook Asks Court For Divorce Decree,” The Times=Business, 5 Apr 1927, front page, col. 3; digital images, Newspapers.com (www.newspapers.com : accessed 10 Jun 2016).
“Boy Meets Death By Drowning At Florida Resort,” (Oshkosh) Oshkosh Daily Northwestern, 17 Feb 1927, p. 4, col. 3. Cit. Date: 26 Mar 2003.
“Makes Gift to City,” (Oshkosh) The Daily Northwestern, 2 Jul 1927, p. 2, col. 7. Cit. Date: 22 Jul 2003.
Last month I had the pleasure to connect with a Cook cousin. She had recently returned from a road trip that included a stop in Alexandria, Madison Co., Indiana, and a search for information about Samuel A. Cook, and the Alexandria Paper Company. She discovered that the information they had on file about the company, had been submitted by my mother. Not encouraging. As Alexandria is approximately a seven hour drive from my home, I set out to see what I could learn in my favorite way, in my chair. As this search will be chair driven, and not visit driven information, it is not a complete history, but an overview, and an enticement for more information. And another rabbit hole. The Cook family may not be top of mind for the city of Alexandria today in 2016, but in those early decades of the 20th Century they played a vital role in the development of this community, and had a lasting impact on their lives.
I have decided that I would like to tell this story in a series of vignettes, and as we are now just nine days from celebrating Flag Day here in the United States, I would like to share this story.
The United States officially entered World War I on April 6, 1917, and communities across the country held flag raising ceremonies to “show their patriotism and allegiance to the stars and stripes.” [1] A flag raising was held at the Children’s Home in Alexandria on April 16, 1917, and is documented here, along with an image of the event.
S. A. Cook, 1915 ca. Sternitzky Family Archives
Samuel A. Cook, owner and president of the Alexandria Paper Company, Civil War veteran, 1915 State Commander of the G. A. R. for Wisconsin, ex-congressman; was born in 1849 in Ontario, Canada, and became a citizen of his chosen country January 10, 1891. His love of county was great, and in the wake of the unrest surrounding the United States entry into World War I, he decided to hold a Flag Raising ceremony at the factory. The date was set for April 17th at 3:00 p.m. The program was carefully planned, and the Alexandria Business Men’s Association requested that all downtown businesses close from 2:30 till 4:00 p.m., so that as many as possible would be able to attend the ceremony. The program prepared for the event would include and address by S. A. Cook. [2]
The next day dawned “a faultless Indiana spring day, with a sun that shed his refulgent beams unstintingly and graciously over the land and a balmy breeze blowing.” Over 3000 people gathered to join in a “jubilee of patriotism” for “one country, one government, one president, ONE FLAG.” All of Alexandria’s schools had been dismissed for the afternoon so that the students could attend, and the mood was patriotic and cheerful, a local band set the tone as the crowds gathered.
S. A. Cook, 49th Annual G. A. R. Encampment, Wausau, Marathon Co., Wisconsin. June 14-16, 1915. Sternitzky Family Archives
To start the ceremony, an eloquent invocation was given by Rev. Dunn, a man whose “stentorian voice penetrated the most remote edges of the assemblage so that all could hear.” The invocation was followed by the crowd joining in singing “America” which “helped stir the emotions” and set the stage for S. A., who is reported to have been “in an amiable frame of mind,” entering “heartily into the spirit of the occasion.” His voice was “strong enough to be heard by all and he received the closest attention, even the young boys and girls…were still while the speaker appealed to them in the name of our great country to remember its traditions.”
“Mr. Cook’s address was not a set speech, but every word of it was the silver and gold of pure patriotism.” S. A. was a great orator, a great lover of words, and who had an eloquent command of the english language. His goal this day was to inspire the community to stand united with the United States, reminding them that “we cannot be citizens of two countries at one and the same time. We cannot serve two national masters. You must say, ‘this is my country, my flag, and none other will I recognize.’ Divided allegiance would bring ruin to the strongest government on earth and no country could long exist as an independent nation whose people were not united under one flag.”
At the conclusion of his address, which included “humorous allusions,” and “witty remarks,” the crowd accompanied by the band, joined in singing the “Star Spangled Banner.” As the crowd sang, the flag was “hoisted” by the chief engineer of the plant, and as it was raised, a thirteen gun salute was fired. The closing benediction was delivered by Rev. Roadarmel, in a “clear resonant voice.” The mayor then led the crowd in three cheers for the flag now waving proudly over the paper mill, and the ceremony was over. [3]
To commemorate the event, a “moving picture ‘shootist’ snapped every detail of the patriotic meeting. Mr. Cook is shown in the picture delivering a patriotic address at the mill.” The movie was then shared with the people of Alexandria at the New Gossard theatre, on April 24, 1917. Sam Oh to find this piece of film. That would be amazing.
The April 18, 1917 Times-Tribune article begins with what they state is the “climax and peroration: of S. A.’s address, a tribute to our flag, and it is with this tribute, I will end my post.
“Old Glory is the emblem of peace and purity, protecting all our citizens in their religious beliefs, political affiliations and legitimate industries. Men and women, guard it in the fulness of meaning. It is not a painted rug, it is the constitution, it is the government. Forget not what it means and be true to our country’s Flag. Let us twine each thread of our country about our heart strings and catch the spirit that breathes upon us from the battlements of our fathers. Let us resolve, come weal or woe, that we will in life, now and forever, stand by the Stars and Stripes. They have been unfurled from the snows of Canada to the Gulf of Mexico, in the halls of Congress and in the solitude of every sea as the symbol of resistless power. It has led the wave to victory and glory. It has floated over our cradles. Let it be our prayer and our struggle that it may float over our graves. May God bless you all and your every earnest effort.”
SOURCES:
“Old Glory Will Float Tomorrow,” The Times=Tribune, 19 May 1917, p. front page, col. 7; digital images, Newspapers.com (www.newspapers.com : accessed 18 May 2016).
“Flag Raising at the Paper Mill,” The Times=Tribune, 16 Apr 1917, p. front page, col. 2; digital images, Newspapers.com (www.newspapers.com : accessed 18 May 2016).
“Raising of Flag is a Success,” The Times=Tribune, 18 Apr 1917, p. front page, col. 1-2; digital images, Newspapers.com (www.newspapers.com : accessed 5 Jun 2016).
“Head of Paper Co. Seen in the Movies,” The Times=Tribune, 24 Apr 1917, p. frontage, col. 6; digital images, Newspapers.com (www.newspapers.com : accessed 19 May 2016).
There were many in my family who were entrepreneurs. They started businesses and provided services and goods at such a rapid rate, that it sometimes makes it hard to keep track of it all. My solution? Make good use of the powerful tool of a Legacy Family Tree database.
Last week a cousin and I got together and were talking about a company started by one of our common ancestors, the Alexandria Paper Company. She had recently visited Alexandria, Madison Co., Indiana, and discovered that the information that they had regarding the company had been donated years ago by my mother. Wanting to know more about the company, I set out to see what I could find.
The first step was to create a new “Unlinked Male” in my database, and I was off and running. Companies, like people, leave a paper trail, and like all research I will need to head to Madison County, Indiana for full details on the history of the company, but for now, I have found enough information to satisfy my curiosity. Enough to write up what I have learned in a blog post.
The question might be asked, as to why I do not include this information with the founding ancestor? My answer is, when the ancestor could be labeled a business mogul, it makes his individual entry too large and cumbersome. The personal details get lost in details of his business dealings. By creating an “Unlinked Male” I can easily find and add detail to just the one company, or business dealing.
My husband’s family has been involved in the cheese industry here in Wisconsin since 1887, the first factory started by the patriarch Peter Fassbender, two of his sons continued the tradition. To keep them all in check, and to easily track the information about each factory, I have created a similar database to the above, only having the original factory named as the patriarch, and all others as children. Like any good family, these factories supported each other, working together so that each was a success. Their stories are entwined, and each factory story is needed to create timeline that shows the effect that these men had, and have, on the cheese manufacturing industry here in our state.
It’s all about being able to tell the story – and to find the facts I need quickly and efficiently.
Some might say that this post is a day late, but I believe it is right on time. Yesterday my in-laws, Bernard (Butch) and Marie (Campbell) Fassbender would have celebrated 70 years of marriage. I had the privilege to help them to celebrate, party-style, their 40th and their 50th, plus many more quiet celebrations in between.
Why is this post right on time? Because tomorrow my husband and I will celebrate 29 years of marriage. And today is Mother’s Day. Many years we honored these events on one day or another. One particular anniversary stands out, and it just happens that it was our first, and B & M’s 42nd. We got all dressed up – as you did in those days – and we celebrated our anniversaries together with reservations at Remington’s in Neenah. I remember how relaxed we all were, how the conversation flowed, and how we all enjoyed the added “floor show” of young people all dressed up for prom, and a few giggles at their expense, as some were experiencing fine dining for the very first time.
Many years though, this day in between, was spent celebrating Mom. Mother’s Day.
Marie raised four boys, tragically lost one, and was the grandmother to nine. Her house was a revolving door for her grandchildren and their friends. The draw? A full sized pool table in the basement, and fresh baked cookies in the kitchen to grab as you headed downstairs. Not a cookie baking day? No problem. Everyone knew where the candy drawer was located. Or her hidden stash in the broom closet.
Butch and Marie set the bar high when it comes to setting an example of a good marriage. As their granddaughter posted on Facebook yesterday: “…Their marriage was filled with love, faith, joy, and strength. A beautiful model of what it means to spend life with another regardless of what the journey brings.”
They started their journey together seventy years ago, we started this same journey of life together 29 years ago. I can only hope that in 2057 (!!) we will be remembered as fondly, and our lives remembered as having made as big a difference.
It was an exciting and optimistic day 115 years ago, April 16, 1901, when Hubert Fassbender, Anna Schwamer, Peter Ellenbecker, Elizabeth Fassbender, family and friends, gathered at St. Joseph’s Catholic Church in Appleton, Outagamie Co., Wisconsin, to witness the marriages of the two couples. The newspaper marked the event as a “double marriage,” but the vital records tell us that they each had their own set of attendants. As with all newly married couples, I am sure they looked towards their future as being bright, happy, and long-lived. From my perspective 115 years later, I am glad they could enjoy the day, and not worry about the years ahead.
April 16, 1901. Appleton, Wisconsin. L-R: Maggie Ellenbecker, Peter Ellenbecker, Henry Fassbender, Elizabeth Fassbender, John Ellenbecker, Anna Fassbender. Arthur Ellenbecker Family Archives.
While Hubert and Anna’s lives were peppered with success and also great sadness, this post is about Peter and Elizabeth. Peter Ellenbecker and Elizabeth Fassbender chose as their attendants, Peter’s brother and sister; Maggie and John Ellenbecker, and Elizabeth’s sister Anna, and brother Henry.
Shortly after their wedding day, the couple settled into the Town of Bovina, Outagamie Co., Wisconsin, farming the land that Peter had purchased in November 1899. The homestead sat on 36.40 acres of land, with an additional 80 acres ready for cultivation.
On February 5, 1902, Peter and Elizabeth welcomed a healthy baby boy into their family, naming him Wilbert. Life was good. As the growing season was coming to an end in 1902, tragedy struck this small family. On October 15, 1902, Peter’s appendix burst, and he died eight days later on October 24th. [1]
I wonder how Elizabeth sent the news to her family? Or were her mother and father already there to help her during those long days and nights of Peter’s illness?
St. Mary’s Greenville Cemetery
Elizabeth’s father, Peter, helped to arrange and pay for the funeral, which was held on October 27th. The receipts entered for probate do not give a clue as to where the funeral was held, but I do know that he is buried in the cemetery at St. Mary’s in Greenville, Outagamie Co., Wisconsin. The receipt states that Peter paid $3.00 for the service of the pastor (neither church nor pastor were named), Heid & Groth, Dr. Livery and Boarding Stable provided the Hack and Hearse, which was $16.00, and the casket and box was purchased from Frank Schreiter, Furniture and Undertaking. Baby Carriages &c for $34.25. Miscellaneous other expenses brought the total for the funeral to $92.05.
The couple had only been married for a year and a half before Peter so tragically passed away, leaving her with a nine month old, and another baby on the way, as Arthur would be born January 10/11, 1903. Peter died intestate with a mortgage remaining on the property he purchased, debts to various merchants, and a small amount of personal estate.
Why is this story important for me to noodle through? Because it plays a very large role in the “Appleton” chapter of my revision for the Fassbender book. The Fassbender siblings were married April 16, 1901, Peter purchased the house on State Street the next day, April 17th. At age 63 he had plans to retire and “take life easy,” allowing time to become involved in his church, play cards with friends, and not be tied to the tasks of running a large farm, and cheese factories. Upon the death of his son-in-law, all of this would change.
Peter Fassbender, 1905 ca
While this is just speculation, I can feel fairly confident to say that Peter and Elizabeth packed up their daughter and grandson, and moved them into the house on State Street. Almost immediately they appeared in the county court in Appleton to start the probate process. By the first of November, the personal estate of the household in Bovina had been inventoried, totaling $246.35, with Elizabeth having the right to choose certain household goods to keep, such as beds, kitchen table etc. On November 5, 1902, Elizabeth appeared before the judge to request that her father be appointed administrator to the estate, and the next day the estate was entered into probate. The estate would not be closed for nine long years, during which time Peter and Elizabeth were in and out of court. To help me better understand the sequence of events, I needed to create a timeline spreadsheet using the 111 pages included in the probate file as the source.
It is heartbreaking to read the transcription of Elizabeth’s testimony on December 9, 1902, declaring that her husband had died at home intestate, leaving her with a nine month old, and $1,000 mortgage. She was again in court on January 16, 1903, stating that her husband was the father of a son born January 11, 1903, and asking for the money that had been received from the sale of the personal estate to be used for the “maintenance” of the family during the progress of the settlement. She begrudgingly received a single payment of $75.00, as total claims against the estate amounted to $1,075.23.
Through all of this time her family was there to help her out, both financially, and I am sure emotionally. Her brother Hubert paid the interest on her mortgage in 1910, and payment for one-year loans made by family members to Peter Ellenbecker in 1901, were put on hold for nine years. Throughout this time she continued to reside with her sons in her parents home, assisting her sister Anna in her dressmaking business.
What is puzzling to me, is that the land was not sold through this long period of probate. If other property could be sold to pay off the debt, why not the land? Peter as administrator continued to pay the property taxes each year, some of the land was leased out, but the estate was closed December 12, 1911 showing a deficit of $1,258.23.
There are 111 pages included in this probate file. The story that this file tells is a chapter of its own. Fascinating to see the farm inventory, and the inventory of animals they were raising. Great detail, but too much detail to continue to move the book chapter forward. Seeing the detail on spreadsheet helps pinpoint the major events over the nine years. Hopefully I can relay the tragedy, but not drown the reader in too much detail.
Elizabeth would marry again on September 23, 1913, to Peter C. Tatro Jr. She would have two children with Peter, Ann born in 1915, and Henry born in 1916. They lived together in a home on South Elm Street, not far from her parents home. The reason this is important? Her son Arthur, who was born in the house on State Street, was eleven years old when she remarried, and he was given the opportunity to choose to move with her to Elm Street, or remain with his grandparents on State. Arthur chose to remain with his grandparents, and he lived with them till they passed away, and he continued to live and own the house till his own death in 2003.
It takes a family. My husband likes the quote: “If you want to make God laugh, tell him your plans.” Peter and Elizabeth planned on retiring to Appleton, having sold the farm to their son Joseph, the cheese factories to their son Hubert, John and Anna were already living and working in Appleton, and Henry was working as a cheesemaker in Little Chute. The family was settled, it was time to “take it easy.” But God had other plans.
SOURCES:
Ancestry.com. Wisconsin, Wills and Probate Records, 1800-1987 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc, 2015. Original data: Wisconsin County, District and Probate Courts. Peter Ellenbecker; accessed 16 Apr 2016.
