OBITUARY for Appleton Esler 1859 - 1938

While wandering around Ancestry I noticed I had a leaf hint for my step great grandfather Appleton Esler.  He raised my grandmother since she was a baby and was considered her father.

I found his obituary that was shared by a member.  What it tells me is who his first wife was, the mother of his first two children.

This is the Obituary as written in the Kanabec County Times
Mora , Kanabec County , Minnesota Thursday December 15.1938

PIONEER MORA RESIDENT PASSES AWAY TUESDAY

Death of A N Esler follows illness of several months duration

     On Tuesday morning, December 13, A N Esler , pioneer resident of the village of Mora, passed away at his home after a lingering illness of several months duration.
     Appleton Nashua Esler was born on February 25, 1859 and passed away on December 13, at the advanced age of seventy nine years ,nine months and eighteen days.  He was the eldest child of Jesse w and Maria Keeler Esler being born on a farm near Chaseburg, Wisconsin , where he lived with his parents until he was united in marriage to Minnie Schnik in September 1883.  They moved to Jackson, Minnesota from Wisconsin and resided there for several years.  It was while they made their home at Jackson that Mrs. Esler passed away.
     He was united in marriage to Catherine Gallagher on December 12, 1893 at La Crosse Wisconsin and they later moved to Big Lake, Minnesota where they resided for a short time before they moved to Mora in the year 1898, where the family has since resided.
     He is resided by his widow Mrs Catherine Esler and five children, namely Mrs H M Halvorson of McGrath, R G Esler of Mora, Mrs A J Kramer and J Wayne Esler of Flint Michigan and Mrs W H Day of Ogilvie, besides one brother D M Esler of Motley, Minnesota , two daughter in laws, three son in laws, sixteen grandchildren and one great grandson besides numerous other relatives and a host of friends.
     Funeral services will be held at the M E Church in Mora on Sunday afternoon December 18, at 2 o clock, the Rev John Blackhurst officiating assisted y the Rev Homer I Munson pastor of the church.
     The vocal selections will be rendered by a quartet composed of Alyre, Ellen and Walter Swanson and Wesley Grimm , accompanied at the piano by Mrs A W Jackson.
     The pallbearers will be the following C E Williams, William Currie , L L Safford, walter Edgar, J B Gerham and A L Johnston.
     Mrs Kramer and Wayne Esler who visited with their father at their parents home here last week returned to their homes in Flint Michigan Thursday and will be unable to attend the funeral.

I am happy to be able to find the information for Appleton's first wife the mother of my great great aunt and uncle but I have not been able to find further information on Minnie Schnik.  Ancestry hints go towards some one else. I have a message out to the ancestry member who shared the obituary maybe she has more information.

Thanks for stopping by

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks Week 2 Facing Challenges My Mama Faced

 Week 2

My mother faced her challenges every day. She was the strongest sweetest woman you could meet.

She showed us her strength and courage from the day she was diagnosed with polio until her death February 28 1998.

 A day does not go by that I do not think of her and remember her with so much love. My mom came out of this horrible disease alive, many did not. She was handicapped, wearing a brace and using crutches her whole life.  This never stopped my mama. 

She could of sat home and felt sorry for herself but she did not.
She raised my sister and me and had two more children. Arthur Jr who passed away shortly after birth and my brother David. She was involved in the church and my school. She is my inspiration.

She loved her family and loved God. She was sweet, kind and generous. Even if money was tight for us as a family if she knew a friend of ours needed a winter coat that person would get a winter coat. She loved cookies, playing Yahtzee with family and people watching.. Most of all she loved her family.

On her death bed a minister visited. He asked her if she was ready?  Her answer was yes but I will miss my family.  I feel she is near me at all times , as I write this I feel her presence near me.

She is always reminding me to be good and not " naughty. 

Miss you mama.  

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks Week 1 Thanking My Aunt Alice

Getting to know my ancestors better week after week


I am going to cheat a little and start with sharing my first post back in March 2009.  It was in honor of my aunt Alice Zion Moore who is the one who got me interested in my family history. It is her fault that I am drowning in papers, binders and photos. 
Many times I will share with my family something and I sense them thinking of something else, but later I will say something and they will comment " I remember that." Or they will bring up a piece of family history, rumor or secret. I feel a sense of happiness that maybe they were listening to me. 

I love my ancestors and know they are always near me. Sometimes I think of them as my guardian angels. 

Grandma Alta right hand side at graduation

One time I heard my grandma Alta Hall Zion's voice in my head.  She had passed before I was born.  I was expressing I wish I had known her as I gazed at her picture.  This voice within said you have.  I felt a feeling of comfort sensing her within me. 

So here is a copy of my first post.. my tribute to my aunt Alice 

My Aunt Alice Lives On In Me

 Aunt Alice and Uncle Houston on their wedding day

My interest in family history started many years ago. My father had a twin sister who had the genealogy bug. Aunt Alice was her name. She would come to visit from California with her husband in their motor home. I loved when she came. Into the house she would walk with her arms full of pictures, charts and graphs and tons of information of what she had found. They would travel the US visiting towns where our family had lived. She met many distant relatives. She love to visit with them. She would share family stories and search family bibles for information. She was very big on family reunions. Being that I lived in Minnesota and the reunions were in Washington I only made it once, but I remember how great it was. I have memories of my father's brothers playing horseshoes. Every one is gone now but I have the memories and the photos of that day.
She passed away several years ago but I feel she lives in on me. I have been working on my family history for over 10 years. My aunt Alice never knew all that we can find on the Internet today. Oh how I wish she was here to see it. One thing she did was pass on what she had in paper form with us and the Mormons genealogy center. She shared her pictures with several cousins so they are out there somewhere.
I love family research, the pictures, the family stories and visiting cemeteries. My favorite cemetery visit was in Boston. They have 2 or 3 old cemeteries. Somewhere buried there is a distant great grandmother that lived about 300 years ago. I have in my papers her name. I know I will come across it as I work at getting my papers, pictures and stories together.
I have started to put my information on Ancestry.com From there I have heard from distant family. Because of the Internet and Ancestry.com I have seen pictures of great great grandfathers I would of never seen if not for the Internet. This is the beginning of my genealogy blog. Hope that you will find it interesting as I share my stories and ideas I am using in my search.
My goals are to get organized and put together family books to show my children and grandchildren. By doing this I hope I can pass on the genealogy bug to one or more of them and maybe even one of you.
I have read many articles over the years on different aspects of family search. I plan to share with you in the next days what I am doing now and what I will be doing in the future to get my genealogy information organized so can move on with my treasure hunt of family roots.

So that is my first posting of 2019 52 Ancestors 52 Weeks.  I am still as unorganized but maybe this will be the year I  finish this challenge, get a little more organized and break down some brick walls.  I have broken a really BIG one for me and I will share that SECRET BRICK WALL I KNOW I HAVE BROKEN with you soon but you have to promise to keep my secret. 

By for now.. if by chance you think we are related please comment and get a hold  of me. I would love to hear from you.. Even if we are not related I would love to hear from you.

THIS WEEK IN MY FAMILY HISTORY CALENDAR

FEBRUARY 17th  - FEBRUARY 23th

SUNDAY   MONDAY TUESDAY WEDNESDAY  THURSDAY  FRIDAY  SATURDAY 

      17                18               19                   20                   21                  22                 23             

                                                           Lucy Hildreth   William Day               Muriel Day


                                                                                      Alta L Hall  




February 20th


                                                                                

                                                        
                                                                 Brandon Cemetery
                                                           Brandon, Knox County Ohio

     Lucy (Hildreth) Coleman ( 1787 - 1853) my paternal 4th great grandmother died 166 years ago in Mount Vernon, Knox, Ohio






February 21st   

                                                                         

                              Perry Glenn (1886-1958) and Alta L ( Hall) Zion (1892-1944)


  Alta Louisa (Hall) Zion (1892 - 1944) my paternal grandmother died 75 years ago in Winlock, Washington


                                                                   

                                                           William and Grace ( Esler) Day (1893- 1972)
      
    William Henry Day (1889 - 1964)  my maternal grandfather died  55 years ago in Duluth Minnesota



February 23 


                                                        

                                                               Muriel (Day) Zion 1922-1998


     Muriel Joyce (Day) Zion my mother would be celebrating her 97th birthday. She was born in Mora, Minnesota to William H Day (1889-1964)  and Grace C Esler ( Gallaher) (1893- 1972)



Who would you be celebrating this week
Thanks for stopping by Grace at My Family Roots Run Deep

   

NOT SO WORDLESS WEDNESDAY FINDING A MARRIAGE RECORD

Last night while wandering the internet I was able to find a record for my great great uncle George E Day when he married Selena Johnson.

From the comfort of my chair I was able to request a copy.

Certificate Information

Certificate Number BOOK B, PAGE 94

Date of Marriage 07/17/1892

Applicant 1 (Groom Prior to 8/1/2013) GEORGE E DAY

Applicant 2 (Bride Prior to 8/1/2013) SELINA JOHNSON

Name is spelling is different. than what we have in family records. 

I will wait patiently for this historical treasure.

Sepia Saturday Hats Of To The Man In A Hat

 Sepia Saturday this week is Hats Of To Men In A Hat 

This week I am featuring my 2nd great grandfather on my father paternal side.

When John Henderson Zion was born November 28th, 1831 in Rush Indiana, his father McCormic was 36 and his mother Mary was 35.
John was only 3 years old when his mother passed away .  His father had been married once before John's mother and again after John's mother died so he had a number of siblings.

He married Mary M Cassell on September 8th 1853.  They would have four children in 14 years.
Mary , William, Jonathan Adam who is my great grand father and his younger sister Etta.

John was a farmer and lived most of his life in Iowa.  I know little about him but I see a strong man in those eyes.

At he end of his life he was living with daughter Mary and her husband in Missouri.  He would die there but then be buried in Iowa

 He died on April 22, 1920 in Foster Missouri at the age of 88 years old and is buried in Lamoni, Iowa

Take  a moment and check out some other posts on Sepia Saturday

Murder or Suicide the 1928 Duluth Minnesota Cold Case Featuring George E Day

     For years I have pondered about my great great uncle George E Day.  My interest began when reading a Family History written by a distant cousin in 1994 revealed that my uncle had been shot and killed while a night watchman at the Duluth Ore docks. His death was never solved.
     The memory of this uncle never left me and when I returned to Duluth in 2010 and began to look newspaper articles on his death.
     Uncle George died over 99 years ago in the early hours of  October 26, 1928.  First newspaper articles talked about murder than a few day later hinted at possible suicide.  The more I read and thought about him I realized I had been tracing some of his steps.  Several times a week I would eat at Mike's diner which happened to be on the first floor of the Western Hotel.  Uncle George lived upstairs of where I ate my biscuits and gravy or my patty melt.   Uncle George died roughly two blocks where I attend my Thursday night auctions.
   Uncle George has been haunting my thoughts never far away.   Why and how did this sweet man die.  I look at his pictures and wish I had known him. Wish I had sat and listened to his stories.  How I wish I my grandpa Bill had stories to tell me of his father and uncles. No family stories but now is the time to start sharing those stories.  After years of looking for clues and stories of my ancestors it is time to start writing.  I am 70 years old, my children and grandchildren probably do not want my note books of charts , I hope they will read the stories I will attempt to write while I can. . I will start with Uncle George's last day.  How did this man end up dead down by the water front all alone.  Was his death murder or did he finally decide he had enough and wanted to leave his family with all he had which was a few insurance policies.


Friday October 26th 1928 Duluth Minnesota News Tribune

George Day murdered in the early hours on the D.. M. & N Coal Dock

     George Day, aged 59, night watchman at the D. M. & N coal docks, Twenty Ninth ave west and the bay front , was killed early this morning by bandits, who attempted to rob the tool house in the pant transformer building.
     Day was either shot in left temple or clubbed to death with a large file in a desperate fight,  which resulted in the apparent wounding of one of the bandits, who left blood trails over the dock.  Two empty chambers in Day's gun gave evidence of his firing on the bandits in his attempt to drive them from the dock.
     Evidence collected by the police indicates that Day surprised the bandits after they had broken the lock to the transformer shed and had removed a number of tools.

     Blood trails over the dock indicate that the thugs made their escape in a boat, which evidently had been left by them at the end of the dock to be used in carrying away the tools.

Police Find Clues

Definite leads may result in arrests were announced by police with the finding of two caps evidently lost by the bandits during the fight with the watchman; part of the rope which was used to tie the getaway boat to the dock, a large heavy file and the right shoe of one of the bandits.  The shoe covered with blood, was further indication police believe that Day succeeded in wounding on eof his assailants.  The rope was cut, giving indication of a hasty getaway in the boat. 

     Authorities are combing the water front seeking a boat with blood stains and other indications that may assist in locating the killers. 

In Early Hours

The murder to the watchman occurred some time between 3:30 and 4: 30 o'clock this morning.  Day had pulled his Western Union patrol box at 3:30 o'clock,  When he failed the make the 4:30 pull, Ray Murry, round man for the Western went to the dock and found Day's dead body lying near the transformer house. 

     Joseph Kreisel , another watchman at the docks, whose post of duty was in the vicinity of the office buildings heard nothing of the fight or shots.  He was informed of the death of Day by Murry after the latter had investigated. 

     The murder and attempted robbery is believe by police to be the work of the same gang that robbed the tool house of the Elliott Packing company yesterday morning.   That the gang consisted of two or more was evidenced by the signs left following the killing of Day.

     Dr C F McComb county corner who investigated the murder this morning that he could not determine whether Day had been shot or clubbed to death.  The body was taken to the Crawford mortuary pending an investigation.  Dr McComb was of the opinion that an inquest would not be necessary. 

     The dead watchman had been employed on the coal docks as a watchman for ten years.   He is survived by his wife and two daughters who make their home in St Paul, and one son Curtis N Day,  employed as a crane man at the plant of the Minnesota Steel company in Morgan Park.  For several years he made his home at the Western hotel West End. 

     George Everett Day was born the 27th of January 1869 in Rome New York to Dwight Henry and Betsey Ann Anderson, the Seventh of Eight children.  George would out live five of his seven siblings. 1877 would bring extreme sadness and fear to the Day family.  George 's brother Abram age 10 and sisters Emma age 14 and Nellie 15 all would die with in 3 days of each other of Scarlet Fever.   The family would remain in Rome, New York until 1884 when the family would relocate in Malta , Minnesota in Big Stone County.
 The move to western Minnesota would be a new adventure for the family and would include Dwight, wife Betsy plus sons William, George and James. Dwight and family are living in Malta, Minnesota  In the 1885 Minnesota Territorial Census they are one of ? families.  Included in those families are the Lockwoods.

  George's older sister Anna and her husband Robert had left New York and settling in  Renville county Minnesota.  George's mother Betsey Anderson's family also made the move to Minnesota  in Wabasha County.  The Day family would live here in the state of Minnesota . The would live , love and die here in Minnesota and that is why my children we are in cold cold Minnesota to live love and probably die.  But now back to uncle George and his story.

     George is sixteen when they move to Malta, Big Stone county,  Minnesota.
When he is 21 years old Selma Johnson has caught his his eye and they are married July 17,1892.   By 1900 George has six children and is farming next to his older successful brother William Albert.  Shortly later that year George and his family move to Mora, Minnesota. They have bought a farm and settled in. Within  three years death comes to the family when daughter Edith passes away at the age of 9 of appendicitis.  The next year  brings some joy to the family.  George is appointed as Sheriff .

Mora, Kanabec County, Minnesota paper Friday June 3rd 1904.

Sheriff Geo E Day
     The above portrait is that of our fellow citizen, Geo E Day who was appointed sheriff of Kanabec county by the board of county commissioners at their last session to fill the vacancy by the resignation of Sheriff P R Gray.
     Mr Day has been a resident of this county for a number of years during which time has proven himself to be an honest, industrious resident and a good citizen.   He has taken a hold of the duties of the sheriff's office with an ambition to perform such duties in an able competent and trustworthy manner. The he will prove a good officer goes without saying.   Mr Day will be a candidate for the republican nomination at the primary election this year.

      The joy of  being a temporary sheriff will not last long.  Sadness and death will visit George Day's family within 11 months when son George Grover Day dies in April 1905 age 11 years.  Within  a few months Lloyd 1906, son Marion 1908,  The year 1910 finds uncle George working in a hardware store as a salesman.

     Within about 7 years George will move to Duluth and become a watchman on the ore docks. His wife Selma will remain in Mora for awhile but will relocate to St Paul , Minnesota by the time George dies.  They will not divorce but will live apart maybe to much death and disappointment has visited this family.

     The year is 1918 and the city directory reports George is living in Duluth at the Adelphf Hotel and is Spl Police at the Missabi Ore docks .  Not sure what Spl police is but he is probably wearing a badge and not working behind a counter.  Within two years he has moved to the Western Hotel within a couple blocks of his work at the ore docks.  He will remain in this hotel for the next ten years until his death.

     George is 59 years 8 months and 29 days old.  He will walk out the door of the hotel and go to his  job for the last time.  He is carrying a gun and is in some form of law enforcement. I do not know what he is really feeling.  He and his wife have been separated for about ten years, maybe they see each other , maybe he sees his two daughters living with or near her.  His son Curtis is married with two sons Arthur and George . They are living in the Morgan Park area of Duluth.

Saturday October 27th 1928  Duluth News Tribune 

BULLET FROM OWN REVOLVER 

SIGNS INDICATE VICTIM FOUGHT

Three men thought to have attempted Robbery Police have clues.


George Day 59, night watchman of the D M & N coal docks, twenty ninth ave west and the bay front was found dead on the dock early yesterday morning, was killed by a bullet from his own revolver which was either wrenched from or discharged in his hand in a souffle with his his assailants, in the belief of Dr C F McComb , county corner who performed the autopsy on the body late Friday.  No arrests were made up to late last night.
     Resting against the inner wall of the right side of the skull was a battered bullet believed to be a .38 caliber, the same kind in the revolver carried by the watchman.  The bullet entered the left side of the head near the ear and passed through the brain.

Evidence Points to Fight 

The autopsy revealed several bruises about the head and face which led Coroner McComb to suspect that Day engaged in a fight with the assailants after they were discovered in the act of loading into a nearby boat a quantity of tools taken from the plant transformer building.  Day, who was a stocky build, is believed to have engaged in combat with the robbers but was overpowered by superior force and killed by a bullet from his own gun. 

     At least three men are believed to have attempted the robbery, There are several clues which police are investigating.  Robert E Donaldson , chief of detectives reported a find of two caps, one brown and the other gray and a large file near the scene of the murder.

     Robbery was the motive, according to investigators, who believe that there had been no intention of murder until the watchman discovered the men in making their getaway. 

Found by Rounds man

     The murder occurred sometime between 3:30 and 4:40 am police point out.  Day, in fulfilling his duties as a watchman , reported hourly to the Western Union up to and including the 3:30 report.  , When no report was received at 4:30 ,  Ray Murray, rounds man for the Western Union went to the dock and found Day's body near the transformer house. 

     The murder and attempted robbery is believed to be the work of the same gang that robbed the tool house of the Elliot Meat Packing Company early Wednesday morning.  Day was completing his tenth year of employ of the dock. 

     Survivors include a wife and two daughters living in St Paul and one son Curtis N Day, employed as a cranes man at the plant of Minnesota Steel company in Morgan park.  Day moved recently from the Western hotel and was due to check in at the Rex Hotel Thursday morning. 

October 27th 1928 

DAY MET DEATH FROM OWN GUN 

Corner and Police Come to the Same Conclusion in Dock Tragedy

     That George Day, night watchman for the Duluth, Mesabi & Northern coal dock, twenty ninth ave west and the bay front, was killed by river and bay pirates probably with his own gun is the conclusion of police corner C F McComb, after an autopsy, found that a battered bullet, believed to be of .38 caliber, probably from Day's own gun, was resting against the inner wall of the right side of the edge of the skull. 

   Evidence was brought out that Day had been struck about the head and face, giving every indication that he fought with his assailants.  It is thought possible that during the struggle Day's gun discharged while wrestling with him and the bullet intended for the bandits,  struck the watchman instead.  This could be possible if the bandit, seeing Day leveling his gun at him was quick enough to grab Day's arm or wrist and attempt to take the gun from him or defect the bullets course, authorities say. 

Systematic Robbery

     Through the killing, authorities have brought to light what may develop into a systematic looting of dock property and i, besides freight trains shunted onto docks by what is termed water front and bay pirates.   It developed yesterday that a watchman at one of the docks was shot at from the bay several nights ago when he surprised what authorities believe to be a similar attempt to rob a warehouse. 

   Yesterday afternoon police Chief E H Barber and an officer of the D, M, & N, accompanied by newspapermen, made a sixty - two mile tour of the bay and river front, in a speed boat piloted Jimmy Dalton, seeking possible leads as to the method of escape of the killers.  But the search proved fruitless. 

     Every agency for crime detection at the city's command is being used in efforts to run down the killers. 

COAST GUARDSMEN DRAG SLIP FOR PIRATE SLAYERS 

     Dragging of the slip waters around the D, M, & R docks began today in an effort to locate one of the band of river pirates who are believed the murderers of  (Charles wrong name ) George Everett Day, watchman, who was killed early Friday morning in a battle with wharf robbers. 

     United States coast guardsmen started dragging this morning when it was decided that possibly one of the bandits, wounded by the watchman before he was killed, according to blood stains found on the dock, might have fallen into the slip while attempting to gain the boat the bandits were using, and drowned. 

     If a body is found, it may give a lead to the possible murderer.  Police are convinced that Day wounded one of the bandits in his desperate fight to thwart their efforts to rob the dock house.  The bandit may have only been slightly wounded, or he may have been so seriously wounded that he fell into the bay slip while attempting to the boat they believe. 

     If such was the case, his body might be recovered through the dragging operations.  In the meantime police are also working on several other leads which seem to indicate who the bandits might be, they intimate. 

LAST MINUTE NEWS

" BLOODY SHOE" CLUE ELIMINATED 

     Finding of a mate to the show discarded on the D, M, & N coal dock in a West Superior Street second hand store today has eliminated the " bloody shoe" clue to the killing of George Day, watchman at the docks, who was found dead Friday morning, following what was believed to have been an attempt to rob the dock tool house.

     The shoe found on the dock, it was learned , had not been worn recently, a new shoe string in the shoe never having been tied. 

     Police are still following the clues left two caps found on the dock and the cut end of a rope believed to have been used to tie a boat, thought to have been used by thugs in carrying away loot from the dock.

     Coast guards dragging the bay near the dock today found nothing to indicate that a man had been shot by the watchman and fallen into the bay.

Duluth News Tribune Tuesday Morning October 30th 1928

CHIEF OF DETECTIVES PUT FORTH THEORY OF SUICIDE IN DAY DEATH

Clues hint at attempt to make killing look like murder
The discovery of additional has led Robert E Donaldson, chief of detectives to believe that George Day, watchman at the D. M & N coal dock, who was found dead last Friday morning made an elaborate attempt to effect the appearance of a murder and then committed suicide.
     Basing his conclusion on the finding of the mate of the shoe discarded on the dock in a West Superior Street second hand store.  Mr Donaldson declared late Monday that " it is not logical that any person intent upon burglary of the  transformer tool house wore but one shoe and lost it up there.  The shoe is no longer indicative of a murder theory.

     Other Hints Hinted

     Explaining that the probable motive of the suicide was to leave his wife and other relatives a volume of insurance totaling several thousands of dollars, Chief Donaldson intimated that police were in possession of other clues pointing to suicide theory.  The investigation will be continued, he said.
     The watchman was known to have been a frequent visitor at the second hand store and Chief Donaldson thinks he may have secured the shoe there with the intention of using it to befuddle police into believing a murder had been committed.  The shoe, it was said, had not been worn for some time previous to the time it was found.
     Detective Donaldson pointed out that the shoe found on the dock was laced with a new shoe string which showed no evidence of having been tied or knotted.  The shoe found in a second had store was without a lace.
     The shoe found on the dock was splattered with mud.  It is the opinion of police that the mud was placed there by a human hand because of the fact that suction holes in the rubber heel of the shoe did not contain any mud.
     Coast guardsmen dragged the bay in the vicinity of the bridge yesterday but found nothing to indicate that a man had been shot.

POLICE SLEUTHS STILL PROBING DAY MURDER CASE

     While believing that George Day watchman at the D. M & N coal dock, who was found dead there last Friday morning may have committed suicide after arranging details to make it appear he was murdered during a struggle with river pirates, police today continued their investigation of the affair on the murder basis.
     R E Donaldson detective chief gave the opinion that Day may have committed suicide to secure large insurance sums going to his wife, after arranging the scene to make it appear he was murdered.  Donaldson decision came after the locating of the mate to the bloody shoe found on the dock and believed lost by one of the bandits in the fight, and found in a West Superior street second hand store.   It had been there for many months.  The shoe found on the dock had been stolen recently from the second hand store, police were told by the proprietor.  The shoe found on the dock had a lace that had never been tied, evidence that the mud on it had been smeared on, and other indications that it had not been worn in many months, Donaldson says.
     Day, Donaldson says hung around the second hand store where the shoe was found.  It is believed by police that he stole the shoe to aid in his attempt to make his suicide appear a murder.

POLICE HOLD TO SUICIDE THEORY IN DAY DEATH

Having no longer an interest in living because his wife desired to reside with his two daughters in St Paul, is the motive advanced by Robert E Donaldson, chief of detectives, which might cause George ( once again he is called Charles by newspaper writer) Day 59, who was found dead one week ago this morning on the D. M. & N coal dock, to commit suicide.
     Strengthening his theory on the fact that Day, a watchman on the dock, took out $7,000 in insurance last April, Chief Donaldson concludes that Day desired to have his family benefit by his death.  The watchman also carried $2,000 life  and $7,000 employee liability insurance or a total of  $16,500 in insurance.
     It is very evident that a man making $1,500 a year could not keep up such a volume of insurance without additional income, which Day was not known to have,  Chief Donaldson points out.  " This is only minor evidence of suicide but we are in possession of other information which is almost conclusive that the watchman attempted to mislead police into believing the suicide was a murder he declared.
     Detective Donaldson plans to take the shoe found on the dock to Minneapolis this week for an analysis of the red spots found on the toe caps and side to determine if the spots are blood.  The mate of the shoe was found in a West End Second hand store Day was know to have frequented for years.
    When Day was found on the dock evidence of a struggle was noted by the police.  A pile of tools arranged on the dock gave the appearance that robbery had been attempted.  At the time it was believed that the watchman had surprised the robbers at their work and was attacked, overpowered and shot by his own gun, wrested from him by one of the robbers


Friday February 15th 2019

      Dear uncle George how did you end up dead down by the water?  Cold and dead what happened?
You are on my mind often and as I walk in or out the back door of the old Western Hotel building to have breakfast, I will touch the banister and feel your presence.

TO BE CONTINUED.  THIS IS JUST THE START OF A ROUGH DRAFT OF THE STORY OF MY GREAT GREAT UNCLE GEORGE... SO MUCH TO SEARCH AND LEARN ABOUT WHAT HAPPENED TO , HIM AND WHY.