BROWNTOWN - As Browntown celebrates its 125th anniversary this weekend, a letter written by a woman from Santa Clara, California, serves as a reminder of the treasures the village museum holds.
Without the museum, Beth Stannard may never have found a missing link to her past.
In a letter written to the Browntown village board last fall, Stannard explained she began researching her family tree "to understand a mysterious surname change that had occurred generations ago."
Stannard's father, Doug, heard rumors of an intriguing story of murder, adoption and name changes, but he never knew the whole story. Through research on the genealogical website Ancestry.com, she was able to piece together that her father's family was descended from the Stovers and Trickles of Browntown.
In September 2013, Stannard traveled with her father, who lives in Rockford, to Browntown. Helen Johnson of the Browntown museum organized a visit for them. Stannard wrote "the incredible discoveries" the museum helped her make allowed her to piece together the story of her ancestors.
The story begins with Stannard's great-great grandmother, Emma Trickle. She was the daughter of Robert Wesley Trickle, owner of the Trickle House Hotel. In the late 1800s, Emma married Ellis Stover and had two boys, Thomas and Edward. They separated after about 14 years of marriage, and some years later, Emma married James Bedford, "a young farmer in the town of Cadiz," according to a vivid 1898 account in The Daily Journal in Freeport that's reprinted on the museum's website.
The second marriage fared no better, also ending in divorce. Shortly after, the newspaper reported, local farmhand Robert Watson began giving Emma a bit too much attention. "They were together a great deal of late and their intimacy was well known. Watson was of a jealous turn of mind and when under the influence of liquor, to which he was addicted, he frequently quarreled with her. In these quarrels, she was not a passive victim," the Journal reported.
One Friday, Emma drove her team (of horses) to Monroe, while Watson came to town on the train. They had quarreled the night before and did not speak to each other while in the city. Emma returned home, as did Watson "after filling up on whisky." He went to her home and another fight ensued. Watson threatened her, saying he would kill her if she did not "adjure all acquaintance with a certain other man." Emma called for police, who arrived and tried to calm Watson.
The situation went from bad to worse.
"At about 2:45 p.m. on Saturday last, the village of Browntown was thrown into a state of excitement which amounted to consternation, by the report, which was verified almost immediately, that Mrs. Emma Tricke (sic) Bedford, the divorced wife of James Bedford, had been shot and killed by one Robert Watson, who was infatuated with the woman, and became suspicious of her, and, fired by the green-eyed monster, he killed without mercy the one he loved, not wisely, but too passionately.
"Realizing what he had done, or premeditating the second act of the tragedy which will never be known here Watson shot and killed himself in the presence of the dying woman," the newspaper opined.
The murder had especially tragic consequences for Emma's two boys.
Stannard wrote, "Emma's young children were given up for adoption to different families, as she had by then divorced the children's father, Ellis Stover. My great-grandfather, Edward Stover, was adopted by the Meighan family, and as such his surname was legally changed to Edward Meighan. Another surname change occurred when he and his wife divorced; she remarried and her children took her new husband's name, Stannard.
"Stannard is my and my father's birth name, but now I now that we are biologically Trickle-Stover."
Emma was buried in Kelly Cemetery. When Stannard visited Browntown, she was able to visit her grave, as well as the burial spots of her other relatives.
She credits Johnson and the Browntown museum with making this happen.
"Without the help of Helen, the Browntown Museum and all of the history stored there, and the Green County Genealogical Society, I would have never uncovered why my name was Stannard, and who I really descended from. Emma's story would have never been known. No one would have visited her grave and known who she was."
On Saturday, Browntown is hosting a full day of activities, complete with food, drinks and games, to celebrate the village's 125th anniversary. (See listing of activities on Page A3 in today's edition.) The museum is working on getting nonprofit status, and proceeds from the event will help with that effort.
Johnson reached out to William Stover, 85, the son of Thomas, Emma's oldest son, who lives in Cape Girardeau, Missouri. While his health prevents William Stover from attending, Johnson is hoping his children will make it. Stannard and her father are also planning to attend.
Johnson has a special surprise in store for the clan: She's pulled together about 60 members of the Trickle and Stover families for a surprise family reunion. The U.S. Postal Service is donating the original cast-iron postal cancellation stamp to the village museum in a special dedication at 11 a.m.; the reunion will begin immediately after.
Johnson invites any descendants of the families to attend. And in a small village like Browntown, just about everyone is related, Johnson joked. She's been busy preparing food and Minhas Craft Brewery is donating barrels of root beer for the event.
Johnson is ready for a crowd.
"I've got 27 gallons of barbecue," she said.
Without the museum, Beth Stannard may never have found a missing link to her past.
In a letter written to the Browntown village board last fall, Stannard explained she began researching her family tree "to understand a mysterious surname change that had occurred generations ago."
Stannard's father, Doug, heard rumors of an intriguing story of murder, adoption and name changes, but he never knew the whole story. Through research on the genealogical website Ancestry.com, she was able to piece together that her father's family was descended from the Stovers and Trickles of Browntown.
In September 2013, Stannard traveled with her father, who lives in Rockford, to Browntown. Helen Johnson of the Browntown museum organized a visit for them. Stannard wrote "the incredible discoveries" the museum helped her make allowed her to piece together the story of her ancestors.
The story begins with Stannard's great-great grandmother, Emma Trickle. She was the daughter of Robert Wesley Trickle, owner of the Trickle House Hotel. In the late 1800s, Emma married Ellis Stover and had two boys, Thomas and Edward. They separated after about 14 years of marriage, and some years later, Emma married James Bedford, "a young farmer in the town of Cadiz," according to a vivid 1898 account in The Daily Journal in Freeport that's reprinted on the museum's website.
The second marriage fared no better, also ending in divorce. Shortly after, the newspaper reported, local farmhand Robert Watson began giving Emma a bit too much attention. "They were together a great deal of late and their intimacy was well known. Watson was of a jealous turn of mind and when under the influence of liquor, to which he was addicted, he frequently quarreled with her. In these quarrels, she was not a passive victim," the Journal reported.
One Friday, Emma drove her team (of horses) to Monroe, while Watson came to town on the train. They had quarreled the night before and did not speak to each other while in the city. Emma returned home, as did Watson "after filling up on whisky." He went to her home and another fight ensued. Watson threatened her, saying he would kill her if she did not "adjure all acquaintance with a certain other man." Emma called for police, who arrived and tried to calm Watson.
The situation went from bad to worse.
"At about 2:45 p.m. on Saturday last, the village of Browntown was thrown into a state of excitement which amounted to consternation, by the report, which was verified almost immediately, that Mrs. Emma Tricke (sic) Bedford, the divorced wife of James Bedford, had been shot and killed by one Robert Watson, who was infatuated with the woman, and became suspicious of her, and, fired by the green-eyed monster, he killed without mercy the one he loved, not wisely, but too passionately.
"Realizing what he had done, or premeditating the second act of the tragedy which will never be known here Watson shot and killed himself in the presence of the dying woman," the newspaper opined.
The murder had especially tragic consequences for Emma's two boys.
Stannard wrote, "Emma's young children were given up for adoption to different families, as she had by then divorced the children's father, Ellis Stover. My great-grandfather, Edward Stover, was adopted by the Meighan family, and as such his surname was legally changed to Edward Meighan. Another surname change occurred when he and his wife divorced; she remarried and her children took her new husband's name, Stannard.
"Stannard is my and my father's birth name, but now I now that we are biologically Trickle-Stover."
Emma was buried in Kelly Cemetery. When Stannard visited Browntown, she was able to visit her grave, as well as the burial spots of her other relatives.
She credits Johnson and the Browntown museum with making this happen.
"Without the help of Helen, the Browntown Museum and all of the history stored there, and the Green County Genealogical Society, I would have never uncovered why my name was Stannard, and who I really descended from. Emma's story would have never been known. No one would have visited her grave and known who she was."
On Saturday, Browntown is hosting a full day of activities, complete with food, drinks and games, to celebrate the village's 125th anniversary. (See listing of activities on Page A3 in today's edition.) The museum is working on getting nonprofit status, and proceeds from the event will help with that effort.
Johnson reached out to William Stover, 85, the son of Thomas, Emma's oldest son, who lives in Cape Girardeau, Missouri. While his health prevents William Stover from attending, Johnson is hoping his children will make it. Stannard and her father are also planning to attend.
Johnson has a special surprise in store for the clan: She's pulled together about 60 members of the Trickle and Stover families for a surprise family reunion. The U.S. Postal Service is donating the original cast-iron postal cancellation stamp to the village museum in a special dedication at 11 a.m.; the reunion will begin immediately after.
Johnson invites any descendants of the families to attend. And in a small village like Browntown, just about everyone is related, Johnson joked. She's been busy preparing food and Minhas Craft Brewery is donating barrels of root beer for the event.
Johnson is ready for a crowd.
"I've got 27 gallons of barbecue," she said.