The Enigmatic Sweitzers, Chapter 5

On 1 Jul 1873, in Grand Rapids, Michigan, where she had been living, Malinda Jane Robinson, daughter of L. D. Robinson, probably Clark County’s wealthiest farmer, married Frederick K. Shipley, a recent British immigrant. What Malinda was doing in Grand Rapids is anybody’s guess. Perhaps she was searching for her own fortune. Her father certainly had money to fund such adventures.

Portion of 1892 Plat Map, York Twp.

For a while, Malinda and Fred lived in Michigan, but then Malinda returned to Clark County with Fred in tow. There, by 1892, they acquired 80 acres (N ½ SE ¼ Sec 5) in York Twp northeast of Walnut Prairie. And there, on 11 Mar 1897, Fred died. But living in York Twp at the time was John W. Sweitzer, a widower with three children—Everett John, Ethel Mae, and the youngest, Charles L.  Malinda and John, who was fifteen years younger (though the marriage record knocked nine years off her age), were married 20 Oct 1898 and settled on the Shipley farm.

The marriage was very brief. Sometime during the winter of 1898/1899 Malinda is said to have “become tired of him [John] and drove him away,” keeping the youngest child, Charles. Then Harry Shipley, brother of Malinda’s first husband, arrived on the scene. Harry saw a treasure trove, for not only did Malinda have the farm, she was a beneficiary of her wealthy father, L. D., who died 13 Jul 1899. Malinda had received personal and real property valued at about $7500 ($215,000 in 2017 dollars). Harry ingratiated himself, effectively becoming Malinda’s business manager and generally running the household. All of this greatly upset John, who wanted his rightful place again as head of the family and, presumably, the economic opportunities the position entailed.

When all efforts to reverse things failed, John W. resorted to force. The night of 14 Nov 1899, near the Shipley farm, John stopped a buggy containing Harry, Malinda, and Charles and fired three shots at Harry. All three missed their intended target, but one struck 4-year-old Charles in the forehead. This mishap further incensed John, who pistol whipped Harry savagely.

York Twp was accustomed to violence. The first murder in Clark County is said to have been committed there around 1842 when a person by the name of Lacy was killed by Joseph Evans. In 1869 or 1870, William H. Ayers was shot by Jack Dixon in the town of York. Ayers, a scoundrel, survived. And in 1896 David McDonald and John Clements murdered Charles L. Bell as he tried to escape by leaping from a buggy in York Twp.

And John seemed to be intrigued with his revolver. In the 14 Jul 1889 edition of the Clark County Herald is the following story:

Last Thursday, John Sweitzer and Butler Miles started to go to a house near the Grand Turn to do some work. they stopped at Ernst Rohl's, where they drank a lot of sour wine, which made them drunk, and then proceeded to their destination. When they got there, Sweitzer said he was going back for more wine. On the way he came to the house of one Lloyd, which he entered and ransacked, \searching for whisky, he says. He fire several shots from his revolver in a random way, scaring the family considerably. As soon as he left, word was send to town and Farr and Harlan went down and arrested him. He was examined before Martin and was jailed in default of $200 bail.

Butler Miles was a rascally character who had served time in the penitentiary for stealing wheat.

The child, Charles Sweitzer, survived, as did Harry. John, who pleaded guilty to carrying a concealed weapon and to assault with a deadly weapon, was fined $250 in March 1900, the same month Malinda was granted a divorce. Deemed "A Generous Wife," by the Clark County Democrat, Malinda paid the fines, court costs, and attorney's fees for her ex-husband. 

Fearful of John or of publicity, Malinda, Harry, and Charles appear to have hid out for a while. They are nowhere to be found in the 1900 census. It is, however, possible that they missed the census enumerator since following the divorce, Malinda sold her farm just north of Walnut Prairie and moved to Casey.

John, on the other hand, does appear in York Twp with his 9-year old son, Everett (for some reason listed as "Benj. E.," though the first name "Benjamin" is found no where else). John's 7-year old daughter, Ethel, is found boarding with Charles and Maude Phillips, a Clark County family with no known ties to any of the protagonists in this portion of our tale, which we will wrap up next time. (Oops! Spoke too soon.)

The Enigmatic Sweitzers, Chapter 4

Levin Dixon Robinson (Ancestry.com).

In the second half of the 1800s, Levin Dixon Robinson (who always went by "L. D." was the wealthiest man in Parker Township, Clark County, Illinois, and quite possibly the wealthiest in the county. Born in Dixon County, Tennessee, on 28 Jan 1819, Levin (“Leven” on his grave marker) at age 2 traveled with his parents, Richard and Sally (Dixon), to Edgar County, Illinois, and later to Clark County, where the family had 720 acres in Parker Twp. Following his father’s death in 1843, Levin really went to work to acquire land, possessions, and children. By 1860, the affluent farmer had built up $10,000 in land holdings, had obtained $4000 in personal property, and had fathered eleven children. At the time of his death in 1899, Levin had 1400 acres of good farmland with an estate (personal and real) valued at $90,000. In 2016 dollars that would be about $2.6 million.

Levin was married three times, to Elizabeth Connelly around 1837, Malinda Johnson on 18 May 1845, and Abrilla Jones on 8 Aug 1848. His first two wives died quite young, Elizabeth at age 24 after giving birth to six children (which may explain her early death) and Malinda, at age 21, with but a single child. His last wife, Abrilla (or “Abarillia,” “Abrila,” “Aborila,” “Abrella,” “Arabella,” “Aberillah,” depending on which record you believe), bore four children and lived to be 96. That the second wife, Malinda, died just a little over three weeks after giving birth on 24 Feb 1846 to her only offspring, probably led to that child being named “Malinda” to memorialize her, even though the family already had a Malinda, born 19 May 1841. Yes, that is correct, the family had two Malindas, an 1841 Malinda born to Elizabeth Connelly and an 1846 Malinda born to Melinda Johnson.

The presence of two Malindas caused no end of confusion when unravelling the 1899 shooting by John W. Sweitzer revealed in the last blog, for it was the 1846 Malinda, whose full name was “Malinda Jane,” who was involved in the 1899 misadventure. It helps that the two Malindas (and Levin Dixon’s other children, who often went by variable names) usually gave their correct ages in contemporary records. On the other hand, it hurts that the second Malinda often went by only her middle name, “Jane,” and in later years by “Jennie.” Nevertheless, the full story of John W. Sweitzer and the 1899 shooting has pretty much been uncovered. You will hear more about it in the next blog.

The Enigmatic Sweitzers, Chapter 3

The eldest of Elizabeth (Tapscott) Sweitzer’s six children was John W. Sweitzer, born 9 Sep 1861, and married in Clark County to Leora Savoree on 29 May 1890. Leora died in or near the village of Snyder (Hatton) in Darwin Twp, Clark Co, Illinois, on 17 Jun 1897. Two years later, on Thursday, 23 Nov 1899, an article appeared in the Clark County Herald:

SHOT HIS OWN CHILD.

John Switzer sends a Bullet, Intended for Harry Shipley, Into His Child's Temple.

Several years ago J. W. Shipley married a daughter of L. D. Robinson of Parker township, the wealthiest farmer in Clark county, who died but a short time ago. They settled on a farm close by Walnut Prairie and after a few years Shipley died. Some time after, the widow married John Switzer, a young fellow of the neighborhood. He was a widower with one child. This was about two years ago. They lived on the wife's farm for a few months, when she became tired of him and drove him off, but still kept his child. About that time Harry Shipley, a brother of her first husband, came home from the West, and he took charge of Mrs. Switzer's business, making his home on the farm. Switzer made several attempts to oust Shipley and resume marital relations with his wife, but failed. He became desperately jealous and angered and sought revenge. Last Thursday Shipley, Mrs. Switzer and the little boy came to Marshall. They started for home in the evening and along by the Daniel Prust farm Switzer waylaid them. He stepped out in the road, caught the horse by the bridle and, after cursing and denouncing Shipley fired three times at him. Two balls went wide, but the third struck the little boy in the foreheat, inflicting what was at first thought a fatal wound. Shipley sprang out of the buggy and attacked Switzer, but was knocked down and badly beaten over the head with the revolver by the latter. Switzer finally released him and went his way while Shipley and Mrs. Switzer hurried on with the little child, whom they feared was dying. The wound proved not to be serious, however, the ball glancing on the skull and inflicting merely a flesh wound. We heard directly from him yesterday noon and he was mending rapidly

Sheriff Hurst and States Attorney Scholfield went down to West Union the next day and Switzer was arrested. He waived examination and was committed to jail in default of $800 bail. The charge against him is assault with intent to commit murder.

John actually had three children, Everett, Ethel, and Charles. Moreover, John and Malinda were married only a little over a year earlier. And the person that married L. D. Robinson's daughter was F. K., not J. W., Shipley. But the remainder of the story appears to be correct. Four months later, on 15 Mar 1900, the Herald published a follow-up article:

John W. Sweitzer of West Union, who attempted, on the evening of Nov. 17th last, to kill Harry Shipley, Brother of wife's first husband, and shot his own child instead, was indicted by the grand jury last week on the charge of assault to murder, and also for carrying a concealed weapon. By agreement he plead guilty to the latter charge and was fined $50. he also plead guilty to the charge of assault with a deadly weapon and was fined $200, and was to stand committed to jail until the two fines and the costs were paid. And to make matters still harder for him his wife secured a divorce last week.

John W Sweitzer! And, what is the whole story? The tale has proven to be incredibly complex and the research, time consuming. But the end result is absolutely fascinating. As you will see in future blogs.

The Enigmatic Sweitzers, Chapter 2

Our last post reported that the Darwin Twp neighbors Elizabeth (Tapscott) Sweitzer and Timothy A. Harmon traveled 200 miles to the tiny hamlet of Markle, Indiana, for their 8 Mar 1887 marriage and we asked “Why”? And how could two of Timothy’s daughters, who came along, meet their future mates and marry them in such short order?

But there is a much greater mystery. Just a little over four months after his second marriage, Timothy was married a third time, on 20 Jul 1887, in Sodus Twp, Berrien County, Michigan, 140 miles north of Markle. The bride was Mary E. (McGoldrick) Adair Sink, a widow who had outlived two previous husbands.

How in the world could Timothy have dissolved his marriage to Elizabeth, traveled to Berrien County, and met, wooed, and married Mary in just four months? And why would he have done so? Timothy’s father, George, had died in Tuscarawas County in 1836 and his widowed mother and at least four of her children had ended up in Berrien County. Moreover Mary McGoldrick’s second husband was Henry Sink, one of the Tuscarawas County Sinks. But these connections do not explain the rapid failure of Timothy and Elizabeth’s marriage and the rapid completion of Timothy’s following marriage.

You might ask, is there any possibility that we have somehow mixed different Timothys and Elizabeths? The answer is “No.” The evidence is irrefutable (see figure).

Part of the "irrefutable proof" is that the Huntington County marriage record correctly gives Timothy's parents as "Geo." and

"Elizabeth Thomas" and Elizabeth's parents as "Henry Tabscott" and "Susan Bass." Moreover, Elizabeth's name from her first

marriage is given as "Switzer."

By 1900 Elizabeth, still bearing the name “Sweitzer,” but listed as a widow, was back in Clark County living in York Twp with her 26-year-old son Lyman, and residing next door to her son John W. Sweitzer. We last see Elizabeth in the 1910 census, still living with Lyman, but now in the town of Marshall. Then Elizabeth disappears.

Many people claim that Elizabeth (Tapscott) Sweitzer Harmon died in Cook County, Illinois, on 23 Aug 1927, a date found in twenty-five trees on Ancestry. Wrong Elizabeth Sweitzer. That was Elizabeth born 9 May 1860 and wife of Gerhart Sweitzer as a little investigation shows. Our Elizabeth likely died in Clark Co between the dates of the 1910 and 1920 census.

But our story does not end there. On 4 May 1892, the Clark County Herald published a list of the proceedings of the April 1892 court. Among the cases in the Chancery court was the following:

Elizabeth Sweitzer vs. Geo. Sweitzer, divorce; defendant defaults d. Decree pro confesso. Divorce granted complainant, who pays costs.

Is this our Elizabeth and George Sweitzer? It would seem so. I can find no other couple with those names who could have been living in Clark County at the time. But that would mean that George was still living and he and Elizabeth were still married at the time of Elizabeth’s marriage to Timothy Harmon five years earlier. That would certainly explain why the marriage was so short. It was illegal.

The term “Decree pro confesso” in the newspaper report meant that the defendant, George, made no answer to the bill and its allegation was therefore taken "as confessed." Of course, were George deceased at the time, he would have been unable to answer the bill, but, in this case there would have been no divorce granted. And at the time he was not deceased, as it turns out. From the Clark County Herald, 22 Nov 1900 is George's death announcement:

Walnut Prairie

Geo. Switzer, an aged man living one mile north of this place, died very suddenly last Thursday night [15 Nov]. He had been quite poorly for several weeks, but his friends did not realize that the close of his days was so near. He left a wife, four sons and one daughter to mourn the death of a loving husband and father.

The announcement fits George to a t. About seventy years old, he was "aged." Just north of Walnut Prairie is Darwin Twp, where George resided most of his adult life. And he had four sons and one daughter (eliminating "Allice," who is believed to have died young).

But our Sweitzer story has more mysteries and intrigues, one involving Elizabeth (Tapscott) Sweitzer’s son John W., the subject of our next blog.