Searching for Ida: Tying Up a Few Loose Ends

Often on web sites, such as Find A Grave, and Ancestry, I find the most amazing and helpful volunteers—people who obsess as much as I do over things like obituaries and grave locations. On Find A Grave, I have a buddy who calls himself “Barry L. Seitz.” Barry not only has a great sense of humor but also loves to tramp through cemeteries. He lives in Glade Spring, Virginia, and he has helped me many times to find “burial sites” of Waggoner family members. He found and photographed graves of seven half-siblings of our great-grandfather Eli P. Waggoner, and I was able to link them on findagrave.com to their parents, Jacob and Fannie Waggoner.

Then I thought, what about Eli’s full brothers and sisters, the children of Jacob and Anna, the wife from whom Grandma Mary was descended? Since all of Anna’s sons left Virginia, I thought they were probably buried in Missouri. With the help of a Find A Grave volunteer there and one in Nebraska, I found graves of Eli’s five brothers. Finding the three sisters has been a bust, though. Even knowing their married names, I can’t find them, but I’m fairly certain they’re in Smyth County, Virginia. This link will take you to Jacob’s memorial, where you can click on the names to see the family members’ grave sites, if you’d like.

Once again in searching for information on Ida Waggoner Mitchell, I have encountered helpful people. One person on Find A Grave photographed grave markers for me, and a man on BillionGraves.com gave me permission to use his photographs and located obituaries for me. Now I can fill in a little more information on Ida’s husband, two of her sons, a grandson and granddaughter.

Ida’s husband Roscoe Mitchell’s obituary was published in the Seattle Times on Monday, January 29, 1967. He is described as “beloved husband of Ida.” His living children are named: “Mrs. Mona Schultz, Pipestem, Minn.; Mrs. Erma Wendorf; Melvin D., Leo C, Roscoe R, Herald H., Virgil W., Dallas C., all Seattle.” He is also survived by a sister in Battle Creek, Michigan: Mrs. Helen Spears plus 17 grandchildren and 2 great-grandchildren. He was a member of several Msonic organizations: “University Lodge no. 141, F & A.M.; University R. A. M. No. 32; Adoniram Council No. 17; R. and S.M.; University Commondery No. 23 K. T.; Wallingford Chapter No. 204 O. E. S.” Masonic services were held for Roscoe on January 30, 1967 at 2:00 p.m. at Floral Hills Funeral Home, Alderwood Mansion. I don’t know much about Masonic groups, so for anyone like me who wants to know more, I’ve linked a couple of them to explanations online.

Son Melvin is buried next to his father in Floral Hills Cemetery. Thanks to findagrave contributor jnwinget for this photo and permission to publish it:

Photo courtesy of jnwinget, Find A Grave contributor.

An obituary for Leo C Mitchell was published in The Star, Grand Coulee, Washington, on Wednesday, July 7, 2004, page 4. It says that he moved to Washington State in 1958, where he lived in the Seattle area and the Grand Coulee Dam area: “He spent winters in Mesa, Ariz. for 18 years. He was a member of the Freemasons, Shrine, Scottish Rite, and othe associated organizations. In Coulee Dam he was a past president of the Rotary Club, past member of the Chamber of Commerce, and a charter member of the Banks Lake Golf & Country Club. . . . He is survived y his son Jim Mitchell, daughters Pam Ozanne and Debbie Imus, one sister and four brothes, and seven grandchildren.” His services were held at Ronald United Methodist Church, 17839 Aurora Ave. North, Shoreline, Washington. Mourners were requested to donate to Shriner’s Crippled Children’s Hospital, Spokane, Washington.

My most exciting find since my last post is that I’ve learned that Erma and Alfred Wendorf had a second child, a daughter named Alice Carol. She was born in Lyon County, Minnesota on 31 October 1940.[1] Sad to say, she and her brother Ernest both died at young ages. I'd like to know why. A death notice for Alice appeared in The Seattle Times on Thursday, July 4, 1968: “Wendorf, Alice C.—27, 1640 128^th Ave. S. E., Bellevue, June 26.” She is buried in Floral Hills Cemetery next to her brother.

Photo courtesy of Mike Morrissey, billiongraves.com contributor.

Ernest got a paid notice, which was a bit more detailed: “Ernest A. Wendorf. Age 38 of Seattle. Beloved son of Erma Hult of Seattle and grandson of Ida Mitchell of Seattle.” Services were held at the Floral Hills Funeral Home and interment at Heather Garden, Floral Hills Memorial Park.[2] Note that this obituary contains a clue as to Erma’s whereabouts and marital status in 1977!  Remember? I said earlier that I couldn’t find anything about her. Yes, these little clues give me a thrill! The problem is that the copy of the newspaper page makes it very difficult to determine whether her last name is Hult, Hull, or Huff. I picked Hult because the last two letters do not look the same. Now, who was her second husband? The search continues.

NOTE added May 28, 2014: My cousin Lee found Erma's name in his mother's address book. The correct last name is HUFF.

Photo courtesy of Mike Morrissey, billiongraves.com contributor.

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[1] Minnesota Birth Index, 1935-2002, Alice Carol Wendorf (1940); database Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 20 January 2014).

[2] “Deaths and Funerals,” Ernest A. Wendorf, The Seattle Times, 6 September 1977, C19, col. 6; digital image Genealogy Bank (http://www.genealogybank.com : accessed 20 January 2014).

Grandma Mary's Siblings: Baby of the Family--Ida, Part 2

Interestingly, my grandmother's sister Ida (Waggoner) and her husband Roscoe Mitchell’s third child, Erma Lucile, was also married in South Dakota, but this time in Brookings, which is directly west of the state line from Lyon County, Minnesota, where both bride and groom resided. She married Alfred Frederick Wendorf, son of George and Bessie Wendorf, on 2 May 1939.[1]

Marriage Certificate, Erma Lucil Mitchell and Alfred Frederick Wendorf, 2 May 1939,

They had one son, whom they named Alfred Ernest, born in Lincoln County, Minnesota, on 5 August 1939,[2] which as you can see, is only three months after they married. In the 1940 census, Erma and her eight-month-old  son are living with her parents in the town of Marshall, Lyon County, Minnesota.[3]  Erma’s marital status is recorded as M, but the M is crossed out and another indiscernible letter has been written above it. Is it D (divorced)? Where is Alfred Frederick Wendorf? So far, I can’t find him in the 1940 census.

Excerpt from 1940 census, Marshall, Lyon County, Minnesota, Roscoe Mitchell family includes Irma Windorf.

Another interesting bit of information of note in this census is that Roscoe Mitchell’s occupation is recorded as “Skilled Laborer” in the “WPA Carpenter” industry. Recently, I’ve been in numerous state parks and have seen plaques to recognize the WPA for its work in those places. So hats off to Roscoe for whatever carpentry work he did for the WPA in Minnesota! Additionally, 15-year-old Reeby is doing “Janitor Work” for a “Student Aid Project.”

There must have been problems with the marriage between Erma and Alfred Wendorf, as suggested by their separation in the 1940 census. On 24 October 1952, Alfred died at the young age of 40 in Anoka County, Minnesota.[4] He is buried in the Anoka State Hospital Cemetery,[5] which suggests that he may have suffered from mental illness. 

Photo courtesy of Gregory Aananson, Find A Grave contributor.

Erma must have gone on to Washington with her parents, but I cannot find any other information about her. However, her son, whose name on his tombstone is recorded as Ernest A. Wendorf, is buried in the same cemetery, Floral Hills, in Lynnwood, Washington where his grandparents, Ida and Roscoe Mitchell, are buried.[6]

 As for Ida and Roscoe's children, all but Mona followed their parents to Washington at some point. Their fourth child Melvin lived for many years in the Seattle area and died there on 30 January 1991.[7] Fifth child, Leo enlisted in the army in Seattle, Washington, on 22 March 1943 at age 20 and served the duration of the war. Enlistment records disagree on his level of education. One record says he had attained a grammar school education and had worked as a farm hand.[8] The other record says he had attained three years of college and had been a salesman.[9] Name, dates, places and other information on the two records match. The 1940 census agrees with the former record; at that time Leo was working as a hired hand on a farm in Minnesota, and his highest level of education was 8^th grade.[10]

Leo Mitchell, hired hand, in 1940 census, Lyon County, Minnesota. 9th column  from left indicated level of education.

Incidentally, according to family members, Leo’s middle initial C, like our cousin Stewart C Nelsen’s, did not represent a particular name. It stood alone as a single letter. Leo died 24 June 2004[11] and he and his wife Inez are also buried in the Floral Hills Cemetery in Lynnwood, Washington.

Photos courtesy of jnwinget, Find A Grave contributor.

Public records show that sixth child Roscoe Reeby lived in Seattle,[12] too, but I’ve not found his death record. Seventh child Harold’s wife, Jacquie, is the one who sent me several letters and photos with information about the family. They lived in the Seattle area also. I have not been able to confirm when they died or whether they are still living. If so, they are in their 90s. They had three children: Steve, Diane, and Larry. Jacquie wrote me about traveling back to the Midwest with their baby son in 1952 driving a 1952 Chevrolet and visiting their aunts, Mandy and Mary, and spending a night at the Verne Troutman place.[13] Jacquie sent me lots of information about ancestors, but not much about her own children except their first names.[14] Public records also place eighth child Virgil in Seattle in 1995,[15] and I’ve not found a death record for him. As for the youngest of the family, Dallas, public records place him in Seattle in 1992,[16] and his death record shows that he died fairly recently: 13 February 2013.[17]

Photos courtesy of jnwinget, Find A Grave contributor.

In one of her letters, Jacquie Mitchell related that her mother-in-law was very closed mouthed about the family’s history, even with her children. Spunky Ida said it was nobody’s business.[18] The Roscoe and Ida Mitchell family was large and, though not without their share of  sadness and troubles, seems to have been a close knit and happy family.

Mitchell Family portrait taken about 1950, Front Row: Harold, Virgil, Leo C; Center: Roscoe C. Mitchell, Dallas, Ida (Waggoner) Mitchell; Back row: Reeby, Erma, Mona, Melvin. (Missing: Martin who died in 1930)

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[1] South Dakota Marriages, 1905-1949, Erma Lucil Mitchell and Alfred Frederick Wendorf (1939); database Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 8 January 2014).

[2] Minnesota Birth Index, 1935-2002, Alfred Ernest Wendorf (1939); database Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 8 January 2014).

[3] 1940 U.S. census, Marshall, Lyon County, Minnesota, population schedule, enumeration district (ED) 42-18B, sheet 6A, visited 107, Irma Windorf [Erma Wendorf]; digital image Ancestry.com (http://ancestry.com, accessed 7 January 2014); NARA microfilm publication T626, roll 723.

[4] Minnesota, Death Index, 1908-2002, Alfred Wendorf (1952); database Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 8 January 2014).

[5] Minnesota, Find A Grave Index, 1800-2012, Alfred Wendorf (1952); database Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 16 January 2014).

[6] BillionGraves.com Burial Index, Ernest A. Wendorf (1977); database Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 16 January 2014).

[7] Washington Death Index, 1940-1996, Melvin D Mitchell (1991); database Ancestry.com (http://ancestry.com, accessed 16 January 2014).

[8] U.S. World War II Army Enlistment Records, 1938-1946, Leo C Mitchell; database Ancestry.com (http://ancestry.com, accessed 7 January 2014); NARA, record group 64.

[9] World War II Army Enlistment Records, Leo C Mitchell; database Fold3 (http://www.fold3.com : accessed 16 January 2014).

[10] 1940 U.S. census, Custer, Lyon County, Minnesota, population schedule, enumeration district (ED) 42-6, sheet 6B, visited 105, Leo Mitchell; digital image Ancestry.com (http://ancestry.com, accessed 16 January 2014); NARA microfilm publication T627, roll 1934.

[11] Social Security Death Index, 1935-Current, Leo C Mitchell (2004); database Ancestry.com (http://ancestry.com, accessed 7 January 2014).

[12] U.S. Public Records Index, Volume 1, Seattle, Washington, Roscoe R Mitchell (1981); database Ancestry.com (http://ancestry.com, accessed 16 January 2014).

[13] Mitchell, Jacquie, Bothell, Washington, to Zola Noble, letter, 10 January 1999; Waggoner, Eli & Rachel binder, Waggoner family; privately held by Zola Troutman Noble  [ADDRESS FOR PRIVATE USE] Anderson, Indiana.

[14] Mitchell, Jacquie, Bothell, Washington, to Zola Noble, letter, 7 December 1998.

[15] U.S. Public Records Index, Volume 1, Lynnwood, Washington, Virgil W Mitchell (1995).

[16] U.S. Public Records Index, Volume 1, Seattle, Washington, Dallas C. Mitchell (1992).

[17] U.S., Social Security Death Index, 1935-Current, Dallas C. Mitchell (2013); database Ancestry.com (http://ancestry.com, accessed 16 January 2014).

[18] Mitchell, Jacquie, Bothell, Washington, to Zola Noble, letter, 10 January 1999.

Grandma Mary's siblings: The Baby of the Family--Ida

Eli and Rachel Waggoner named the baby of their family Ida. Ten years younger than my grandmother Mary, Ida was born 20 April 1897.[1] Based on bits of information passed to me about Ida, I think she was a spunky little gal. Case in point: When her brother Emery’s wife died in Washington in September 1913 leaving him with two small children—two-year-old John and newborn Marie—Ida traveled all the way out there from Missouri to lend him a hand. At only 16 years of age, would she have traveled that far alone? It’s unlikely. Based on the fact that her brother Leo eventually went out to Washington, too, I’d guess that he accompanied her on this trip. Maybe she helped Emery bring his children back east. 

Ida's photo, extracted from the family portrait taken about 1909, which makes her about 12 years old here.

When Emery married Dewey Petty in Virginia in 1915 and moved to Minnesota, Rachel and Eli and certainly Ida either followed or were already there. Soon, Ida found a husband in Lyon County Minnesota where on 6 December 1916, she married Roscoe Conklin Mitchell,[2] son of  George Washington Mitchell and Isadora Ginn Mitchell.

Marriage certificate for Ida Wagner and Roscoe C. Mitchell.

All nine of Ida’s children were born in either Lyon County or Redwood County, Minnesota: Martin Marion (1918-1930); Mona Marjorie (1919-1983); Erma Lucille (1920-    ); Melvin Donald (1921-1991); Leo C (1922-2004); Roscoe Reeby (1924-    ); Harold Herman (1928-    ); Virgil Warner (1929-     ); and Dallas Cletus (1931-2013). It nearly takes my breath away just to see that she gave birth to the first five children within six years of her marriage. Thankfully, the next four were spaced a little farther apart. You have to have spunk to take care of that many children.

The Mitchell's lived in Minnesota until sometime after 1940. The call of the west must have been resounding Ida’s ear as it had three of her brothers. By February 1944, she and her family called Seattle their home. Their address was 9559 Wallingford Ave., Seattle, Washington. I found this address on a delayed birth certificate, which Ida obtained through the help of her sister, Mary Troutman. The birth certificate was notarized in Wayne, Nebraska. It shows our grandmother Mary’s signature and Ida’s signature with Ida’s address at that time.

Ida Waggoner's delayed birth certificate obtained with the help of her sister Mary Waggoner "Mrs. Clint" Troutman.

Several of Ida’s children followed them to Washington, but a few stayed behind in Minnesota. Sad to say, their firstborn, Martin, succumbed on 20 January 1930 at age 12 to complications from diabetes.[3]

On September 30, 1936, their eldest daughter Mona married George C. Schulze, son of Mr. and Mrs. August Schulze, in Gary, Duel County, South Dakota, which is right on the South Dakota/Minnesota line.[4] Mona must have looked lovely in autumn colors described in a news clipping: “The bride wore a dress of rust colored crepe with brown accessories and carried a bouquet of red roses.” Mona and George made their home in Pipestone in south-western Minnesota.[5] They had two children: George Junior (born 15 July 1937)[6] (Yes, Junior is his middle name, not a suffix) and Kay (born 27 March 1942). I’ve had the joy of meeting online George Junior’s youngest daughter, Kristine, a lovely person, who is also interested in family history. She helped supply me with some of this information.

I’ll finish the story of Ida and Roscoe Mitchell next week.

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[1] Richmond, Virginia, delayed certificate of birth before June 14, 1912 (issued 1944), Ida Waggoner; Virginia Department of Health, Bureau of Vital Statistics.

[2] Lyon County, Minnesota, certificate of marriage (1916), Wagner-Mitchell; County Clerk’s Office, Marshall.

[3] Jacquie Mitchell, Bothell, Washington, to Zola Noble, letter, 10 January 1999; personal correspondence, 1999; Waggoner family, Eli & Rachel Waggoner research binder; privately held by Zola Troutman Noble, [ADDRESS FOR PRIVATE USE] Anderson, Indiana.

[4] South Dakota Marriages, 1905-1949, Mona M. Mitchell and George C. Schulze (1936): database Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 8 January 2014).

[5] “Nuptial Knots Tied in Dakota: Pipestone Young People Parties in Recent Interesting Matrimonial Events,” unknown newspaper, original article in possession of Jacquie Mitchell, copy sent to Zola Noble, Anderson, Indiana, October 2000; Waggoner family, Eli & Rachel Waggoner research binder, privately held by Zola Troutman Noble, [ADDRESS FOR PRIVATE USE] Anderson, Indiana.

[6] Pipestone, Minnesota, “Minnesota Birth Index, 1935-2002,” George Junior Schulze (1937); database Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 8 January 2014).

(c) Z.T. Noble, all rights reserved.

On Forgiveness and Remembrance

Can you even begin to imagine how you would feel if your son shot five innocent little girls and injured permanently five others, then shot himself? Recently, I read a newspaper article about the mother of the man who tied up ten little girls inside an Amish schoolhouse in Pennsylvania several years ago, shot to death five of them, and wounded five others. This woman goes once a week to the home of one of those girls to bathe her, feed her through a tube, sing to her, and read to her. Despite the agony, she has found a way to forgive her son. Along with members of the Amish community, she has moved beyond the horror and grief to a place of peace and forgiveness. Her other son is making a documentary film about her “journey from heartbroken mother in inspirational speaker.” He wants to make sure the subject does not become “one of those dark family secrets that nobody talks about.”[1]

Reading this story evoked thoughts of Aunt Mandy's daughter, Geneva, and her killer, James Lammers. What if I were James Lammers’ mother? Could I forgive him for murdering my grandchildren and my daughter-in-law? For hurting me so deeply? My hunch is that if his family forgave him, it didn’t happen very soon. One of the newspaper articles noted that the last time his parents and his brother visited him in prison was in May 1951, eight months before he was executed. Did his deed become a “dark family secret” that no one mentioned?

If I were Geneva’s mother, her siblings, her aunts, uncles, and cousins, could I forgive him? When it happened, I was too young to remember, and in later years, I never took the time to talk to my father or my aunts and uncles about it. My father showed me the magazine that told the story, but I don’t recall any malice from him toward James Lammers, only sadness.

When I began to investigate this story, my aim was to learn more about Geneva and her children and to memorialize them, but I didn’t know the names of the children. I created a memorial to Geneva on Find A Grave web site. Then a volunteer added a photo of Geneva’s tombstone, which did not name the children. What were their names? Fortunately, the newspaper articles named them, so I created memorials for them, too. Later while searching the Internet, I found the story of James Lammers’ execution. It included the name of the cemetery where James was buried, so I created a memorial for him, too, linked in my previous blog. Another volunteer added a photo of his tombstone showing bright red flowers on his grave. Who had placed the flowers?

Unfortunately, when someone is murdered, the killer gets all the media attention for months, even years afterward. His name becomes notorious while the names of the victims are nearly forgotten. Geneva, Laura, Melva, LaVerne and a little one unborn must be cherished in the family’s memory. Hopefully, forgiveness can be offered their killer.

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[1] Michael Rubinkam, “Amish School Shooter’s Family Seeks Healing,” The [Anderson, Indiana] Herald Bulletin, 10 December 2013, p. C2, col. 1-6.

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Murder of Aunt Mandy's Daughter, Part 4

The trial of James Lammers, accused of murdering his wife Geneva Orr Lammers and their three children, commenced on Monday, February 26, 1951, in Doniphan County, Kansas, district court. In a detailed account of the jury selection, one newspaper named not only the defendant, the judge, John C. Gernon, the prosecutor, Robert A. Reeder, and the defense attorney, A. O. Delaney, Jr., but also all the reporters and the newspapers they represented, along with every single person interviewed for jury duty, and whether they were seated or excused—mostly because they had “already formed an opinion.” At 11:30 a.m., the regular panel was exhausted and another 100 men—yes, all men—were called in. The interviews continued throughout the  afternoon, until twelve men were finally selected.[1] It must have been a grueling day.

The [Troy] Kansas Chief included the entire charge to the jury and a thorough paraphrase of the prosecutor's case, brought by the State of Kansas, against Lammers.[2]

The reporter noted that there was standing room only in the courtroom from the start. James Lammers’ parents, Mr. and Mrs. Fred W. Lammers, and his brother Francis, had come from Fordyce, Nebraska. On Tuesday, Geneva’s brother James and her mother Amanda Orr also came, along with James Orr’s father-in-law.  Several others from Nebraska were named.[3] My mother told me that she and my dad took Aunt Mandy to the trial, but in a letter to me several years ago, James Orr's wife corrected that James took her. Maybe Mom’s memory was faulty, or maybe they took Mandy another time. I don’t know. If my parents went that day, The Chief reporter did not include their names.

Thursday’s newspapers reported that the trial “came to a dramatic climax . . . when Miss Zada Spencer, 25 years old, of Manhattan, Kansas came to the stand and testified that the defendant was the father of a son born to her . . . on February 5, 1951.” She went on to testify that she had been seeing James Lammers off and on for about a year, whenever he was in Kansas working on construction. He never told her he was married, she said. After learning she was pregnant, he had told her that a friend of his, who had lost his wife, had offered him his trailer home if he would care for the man’s three children. Lammers asked Miss Spencer if she would marry him on those conditions, and she declined. Another witness, a friend of Miss Spencer with whom she had been living, corroborated her story.[4]

What an absurd story! Makes one wonder about Lammers’ mentality. Apparently, that’s exactly the case the defense tried to make. They brought five witnesses who tesified that James Lammers’ mental capacity was limited to a range from 9 to 15 years old.[5] The prosecutor then requested Lammers be examined by a team of doctors to determine “whether he is an insane person and unable to comprehend his position and make his defense.”[6] The doctors found Lammers competent and sane.[7]

On the final day of the trial, March 7, 1951, 275 people were in the courtroom. The state presented its rebuttal against the defense’s arguments that Lammers “did not fully realize the enormity of his act” and requested the death penalty.[8]  After deliberating for 1 hour and 47 minutes, the jury returned a guilty verdict on two murder counts and approved the death penalty.  When the judge asked Lammers if there was any “legal reason that sentence should not be pronounced,” Lammers said, “I don’t know what you mean.”[9]

The execution date was set for May 18. The defense attorney moved for a new trial;[10] a stay of execution was granted;[11] and an appeal from a death sentence was made[12] and refused by the Kansas supreme court.[13] On January 5, 1952, James Lammers was hanged by the State of Kansas. His parents declined to claim his body, and he was buried in Mt. Calvary Cemetery in Leavenworth, Kansas, a sad ending for a tragic tale. 

This link will take you to his memorial on findagrave.com.

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[1] “Selection of the Lammers Jury,” newspaper unknown (probably The [Troy] Kansas Chief], date unknown, p. 2, col. 1-6.

[2] “Lammers Murder Trial at Dramatic Climax in the Court,” The [Troy] Kansas Chief, 1 March 1951, p. 1, col. 1-3.

[3] Ibid.

[4] Ibid.  “Woman to Light in Troy Trial,” Atchison Daily Globe, 1 March 1951, p. 1, col. 1; digital archives of the Atchison Daily Globe (http://www.atchisondailyglobe.newspaperarchive.com : accessed 4 December 2013).

[5] “Check on Lammers Mentality,” Atchison [Kansas] Daily Globe, 2 March 1951, p. 1, col. 1 and p. 3, col. 1; digital archives.

[6] “Lammers Murder Trial at Dramatic Climax.”

[7] “Rules Lammers Not Insane,” Atchison Daily Globe, 4 March 1951, p. 1, col. 2; digital archives.

[8] “Make Final Pleas in Troy Trial,” Atchison Daily Globe, 7 March 1951, p. 1, col. 1; digital archives.

[9] “Lammers to Hang for Killings,” Atchison Daily Globe, 8 March 1951, p. 1, col. 1, digital archives.

[10] “In Move For New Trial,” Atchison Daily Globe, 9 March 1951, p. 1, col. 2, digital archives.

[11] “Stay of Execution Granted Lammers,” Atchison Daily Globe, 19 March 1951, p. 1, col. 1.

[12] “Hear Plea in Troy Slaying,” Atchison Daily Globe, 2 October 1951, p. 1, col. 2; digital archives.

[13] “Lammers Loses Appeal to Escape Execution,” Atchison Daily Globe, 11 November 1951, p. 1, col. 2-3, digital archives.

Murder of Aunt Mandy's Daughter, Part 3

On Friday, December 15, four days after the fire that killed 23-year-old Geneva Orr Lammers and her children—Laura Mae, age 3; Melba Jean, age 2; LaVerne Francis, age 11 months, and an unborn baby—newspapers were still pondering the mystery surrounding the cause of the fire. Parts of the bodies had been sent to Washington, D. C. for analysis in FBI labs. No arrests nor warrants had been issued.[1]

Nonetheless, Sheriff Carter and his officers thought they knew who did it, but they wanted a confession. They insisted Lammers take them on the route he had traveled when he left Troy the previous Monday morning supposedly in search of work. He first took them to Independence, Missouri, then to Kansas City where he tried to provide an alibi by showing a receipt for gasoline purchased on December 12, but the actual date, December 13, was smudged and over it was written the number 12. Then he took them to Topeka, Kansas, where he had spent the night in a hotel and mailed a post card home to Geneva.[2]

            “Dec. 14, 1950

            Dear Gen:

            I made it do(wn) here O.K. . . . I didn’t get my work. I am goting to Topeka see if I can             get work there. I’e seeing you sune.

           

            I am goting now to Topeka.

                                                                        Yours,

                                                                                    Jim.”

Addressed to “Miss James Lammers, Tory, Kansas,” this card had arrived in Troy on Friday, December 15, 1950.[3] Spelling errors belong to Lammers.

He said he had overheard people in Topeka talking about a terrible trailer fire in Troy, so he hurried home. The group returned to Troy late Friday, and at 12:30 a.m. Saturday, the sheriff woke Lammers to announce that he was serving a first degree murder warrant on him.[4] “Does it have to be as bad as that?” Lammers said.[5]

Photo of James and Geneva Lammers found in ruins of trailer.

On Saturday, the story in The Hiawatha Daily World announced that Lammers had confessed! Showing no remorse, he admitted that he had returned to Troy after midnight on December 12 and set the blaze outside the trailer. Evidence had already convinced the fire marshal of this, and he had used his knowledge to pressure Lammers into confessing. Lammers claimed to have poured kerosene under the trailer while his family slept. He said he had walked to his truck and watched until he was sure the fire was blazing and then he drove to Missouri. Although tests showed that Geneva’s body had been drenched in kerosene, he denied entering the trailer. [6]

After his confession, Lammers was moved to an undisclosed location for his safety.[7] Anger in the community must have been raging.

A few days later, The Hiawatha Daily World reported that Lammers had changed his story. He claimed to have choked his wife to death and poured kerosene on her body before setting the fire. This new confession contradicted the coroner’s report that all the victims had died of carbon monoxide poisoning.[8] It also changed the charges against him to two counts of murder: one for killing his wife by choking and the other for killing his children by fire.

Meanwhile, Geneva's brother, James Orr, sadly took the responsibility of accompanying the bodies of his sister and her children home to Hartington, Nebraska, where their heartbroken mother, my dad's Aunt Mandy, waited. They were buried together in a single grave at St. John the Baptist Cemetery, Fordyce, Cedar County, Nebraska.

What possible reason could James Lammers have had for such a terrible deed? He claimed that his children drove him crazy, and he was dreading the arrival of a 4^th child.[9] He had taken his wife to St. Joseph, Missouri to a doctor where they thought she could get an abortion, but the doctor had refused.[10] Yet another motive would surface during his trial.

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[1] “Husband Returned to the Fire’s Scene As Probe Goes On,” The Hiawatha [Kansas] Daily World, 15 December 1950, p. 1, col. 3.

[2] “Lammers Confesses!” The Hiawatha [Kansas] Daily World, 16 December 1950, p. 1, col. 3. “Confesses to Trailer House Murder,” The [Troy] Kansas Chief, 21 December 1950, p. 1, col. 1-3. Note: The Chief was a weekly, so its story was a summary of the week’s findings.

[3] “Confesses to Trailer House Murder.”

[4] Ibid. “Troy Killer Shows No Regret Over a Slaughter of Five,” The Hiawatha [Kansas] Daily World, 18 December 1950, p. 1, col. 2.

[5] “Troy Killer Shows No Regret Over a Slaughter of Five.”

[6] Ibid.

[7] “Lammers Confesses!” “Confesses to Trailer House Murder.” “Troy Killer Shows No Regret.”

[8] “Lammers Makes a New Confession In Troy Murder Case,” The Hiawatha [Kansas] Daily World, 28 December 1950, p. 1, col. 3.

[9] Raymond Harley, “Flames For Four,” Real Detective, April 1951, p. 31.

[10] “Confesses to Trailer House Murder.”

Murder of Aunt Mandy's Daughter, Part 2

Reading through the news reports about the murder of Aunt Mandy’s daughter, Geneva Orr Lammers and her children, I felt as though I were watching the events unfold. The Hiawatha (Kansas) Daily World headlines on Wednesday, December 13, 1950, read, “Four Die In a Trailer Blaze on Troy Night.” The mystery was the husband’s whereabouts.[1]

The [Troy] Kansas Chief, reported that “Troy was visited early Tuesday morning with one of its worst catastrophes when a mother and three small children . . . burned to death in a trailer house fire, the lot back of the Fred Worman home in west Troy.” A neighbor woman had been awakened by a “bright light shining through her window,” and peering out her window, she saw fire in the Lammers’ trailer. Trying to rescue Geneva and the children, the neighbor’s husband burned his hands and face when he opened the trailer door. Other neighbors were waking, too, and several called the police and fire department.[2]

By the time the blaze was extinguished, not much remained of the Lammers’ home. Authorities found Geneva’s charred body lying on her back on the floor near the rear door; the little girls, Lora Mae, age 3, and Melba, age 2, lying on their stomachs in their beds; the baby boy, LaVern, age 11 months, in his crib wrapped in blankets. According to reports, the Lammers family had moved to Troy from Manhattan, Kansas, in July. The husband, James Lammers, 26, “had gone in search of work sometime Monday.” He had been employed by Clarkson Construction Company as a bulldozer operator, but he had been laid off two weeks prior to the fire.[3]

A coroner’s jury was convened, and Coroner E. L. Karr reported that all four victims showed signs of carbon monoxide poisoning, indicating they were “alive when the fire started,” and that Mrs. Lammers was “an expectant mother.” The bodies were so badly burned, he said, that further tests were necessary.[4]

The Hiawatha [Kansas] Daily World reported similar events in the case on Thursday. In addition, this newspaper noted that a Dr. Lattimer from Topeka had come to Troy to make “exhaustive examinations of the bodies of the four victims.” He confirmed reports that the mother’s body was so badly burned that all that was left was the torso. The state fire marshall, Charles Reed, speculated that the cause of the fire may have been two butane tanks or a small oil stove in the trailer, and “it is obvious that the presence of this inflammable material contributed to the fierceness of the blaze.”[5]

Karr had telephoned the Lammers and Orr families in Fordyce and Hartington, Nebraska, respectively, and several family members had arrived in Troy: Geneva’s brother James Orr, James Lammers’ brother Frances [sic], and a Lammers cousin, Gene Wieseler.[6]

Police had broadcast a call for James on the radio, and state police were alerted to look for “a Ford 1947 pickup truck, color black with yellow trimming . . . with Kansas license T 58-66.”[7] About 12:30 p.m. Thursday, James arrived in Troy claiming someone in Topeka, Kansas, had recognized his truck and informed him about the fire, so he raced home. He was being questioned at press time.[8]

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[1] “Four Die in a Trailer Blaze on Troy Night,” The Hiawatha [Kansas] Daily World, 12 December 1950, p. 1, col. 1.

[2] “Trailer House Tragedy Kills 4,” The [Troy] Kansas Chief, 13 December 1950, p. 1, col. 1-2.

[3] Ibid.

[4] Ibid.

[5] “No Trace Found as Yet of Husband of Victim of Tragedy,” The Hiawatha [Kansas] Daily World,  14 December 1950, p. 1, col. 6.

[6] “Trailer House Tragedy Kills 4,” p. 1, col. 1-2.

[7] Ibid. “No Trace Found as Yet of Husband of Victim of Tragedy,” p. 1, col. 6.

[8] “Trailer House Tragedy Kills 4,” p. 1, col. 1-2.