Thriller Thursday - Wrapping Up the Villers Trial, Part 9

Mrs. Tromer and her children from The Jamestown
Weekly Alert, 20JAN1898, pg1

I wonder if I'll get up to "part 100" by the time this is all over? This is going to be a slightly longer post in an attempt to wrap up the first page of the newspaper.

I can't say that I feel better after transcribing the speculation presented here either. Even as this section of the newspaper wraps up we are told that feeling was so strong against Villers that they didn't think it was safe for him to be acquitted. Could he have even gotten a fair trial?

What was even curiouser was the belief that Mrs. Tromer changing her story multiple times somehow showed that she was telling the truth and that it is more suspicious that Villers did not change his story over the years, therefore it was rehearsed. You can't win, can you? Those, of course, were assertions of the defense so they're lines of argument that would be expected.

Living in a time of women's liberation I was particularly annoyed at Mrs. Tromer's constant melodrama and fainting. I was even more irked at the defense saying that if a woman had presented her story in a bold manner like a man that it would have been more questionable. Lucky for that attorney that I didn't live back then. Even as a child I wasn't meek.

The Jamestown
Weekly Alert, 20JAN1898, pg1

"Speaking of the motive of the crime he said it was not cupidity. It was a delicate subject and he did not like to speak of it but the jury understood. He pictured the prisoner stealing up to a window early in the evening just after the sun had gone to rest in the country where she thought her husband was; stealing there after the light had gone out of the heavens and while the wife was seated by the light of chips upon the stove listening to the children lifting their prayers and saying 'forgive us our trespasses and deliver us from evil' while he, with murder in his soul, looked on and then say he would not kill a man for $48 or any other sum.' Here the audience applauded and the judge had to rap sharply for order and state that no such demonstration would be allowed again. She had confessed and the weight had been lifted from her mind she went out of the court room singing psalms and for hours after was singing hymns. She believed herself to be in heaven beside her old husband to whom she held up her hand and swore never to divulge her secret. For the first time in three long years she was free from this oath. You say she didn't tell the truth? The truth was that before Villers ever entered into this scheme he made a criminal of this poor family.

The Jamestown
Weekly Alert, 20JAN1898, pg1

I know that Mrs. Tromer's story is not the best of most connected. It is strange that she was ever here to tell the story at all. But it required those inconsistencies to prove the truth of her utterances. She has testified differently at other times and said things which were contradictory. But because she did that we know she told the truth. I had rather believe one who would tell such a story than a woman who would bare her face to the audience and tell in a brazen and manly way a story so straight that you could not find a flaw in it anywhere. These are the kind of stories that bear on their face the impression of having been doctored. 'And that is the matter with your story, Joe,' said the attorney turning to the prisoner suddenly. 'Three long years in the pen, time enough to study over this matter and think it all out.' The turning to the jury: 'Who ever expected he would testify other than he did?

But Mrs. Tomer's story was different. Portions of it she had forgotten, but God Almighty saved her to tell what she did tell, as God Almighty put the badgers down to say where Tromer was buried. An all-wise providence and God saved to use Mrs. Tromer, and her little children, to tell the story.

The reason why the story she told is true is because she never left the direct point of issue.  No power on earth can ever remove from her the idea that she received three letters through the hands of this defendant.

Why would Villers be concerned about the disappearance of Tromer? He was concerned and worried about him. He talked to the neighbors and to other people. Told them he knew August Tromer was alive, he had received letters from him. He didn't because Tromer was dead. His object and motive was to conceal the fact that he had killed him. Then he would kill Mrs. Tromer to conceal the evidence that she would hold in her breast against him that would tend convict him of this crime.

The Jamestown
Weekly Alert, 20JAN1898, pg1

Why did Villers get Mrs. Tromer to write that placard that she had left the country? He had all their property and he could not accomplish anything with her alive. He wanted her out of the way also.

There is nothing perplexing about his case. There is no question in the world as to who killed this man. I know it is an awful thing for you to say by any act of yourselves that Joseph Villers should hang. A poor helpless individual whose wife I have not seen by his side during this trial. And I would not by act or word detract one thing from his daughter, who has been here, however. She could not have done otherwise and I do not see why she didn't make her story stronger; could as well as not.

How Mrs. Tromer Received the News

Shortly after the verdict had been announced the news was carried to the Farmers' Home where Mrs. Tromer is staying. She either misunderstood the verdict or the news was too much for her enfeebled condition for upon its announcement she made some exclamation, I, or he, is not known, is free, and fell a swoon. Her heart stopped beating and her condition for a time was extremely serious.

It was feared that she would not survive but after extreme exertions she revived and asked what the finding of the jury was. She was completely prostrated and unnerved and unable to leave for La Moure today as she expected.

The Jamestown
Weekly Alert, 20JAN1898, pg1

Mrs. Tromer is still very weak. Her nerves are completely shattered and it is by an effort that she is up and about. Her children are her greatest anxiety. The little boy, Hedo, has been adopted by Mr. and Mrs. J. J. Peterson of Barnes county, near Clark City, and Mr. and Mrs. Bonnet of Sunburn have taken little Rosa with a view of adoption. The necessary papers will be made out shortly. Little Hilda, who says she is 'going to be eleven years old', will probably remain in the city several families being desirous of caring for and educating her.

Mrs. Tromer reluctantly gives them up, she knows she is unable to provide an education and care for them as she would and it is a great effort for her to see them go. They were the pride of her husband.

The son Edward, returned today to Dickey and Mr. Orderer's where he is staying this winter. The two oldest boys are now young men.

While little has been said about it in the press, it has been known that so strong was the feeling against Villers with many, that an acquittal might have been risky for his personal safety. The conviction of his guilt is too strong in this and LaMoure counties, where the details of the case are known, to make a second trial of the case in either county a probable event - if a new trial should be granted by the court.

The Jamestown
Weekly Alert, 20JAN1898, pg1

The trial of the case was a rapid one and without any unnecessary expense. The only delays were from sickness of the chief witness.

In terest in the proceeedings (sic), both in and outside of Jamestown, was great. The Alert sold out its extra issues here each night, and booked new subscribers from every town in this county and from several towns in LaMoure, Barnes and Foster counties, knowing they could get the full reports in the Alert.

The photograph of Mrs. Tromer and her three little children, from which the picture published in this issue is engraved, was taken after her arrival here as a witness in the trial."

Well that was certainly more excitement and dramatic than in previous editions of this series. We've finally gotten past most of the boring stuff and seem to be getting into the information presented...or at least the information the newspaper and courts shared with the public. Next week we hit page two and I can promise you that it doesn't get boring again. At least not at first glance. This next page appears to have testimony given on behalf of the defense by the accused's children. For me that will be of great genealogical importance. I look forward to jumping into it and I hope you are enjoying the posts as they get more exciting!

The Jamestown
Weekly Alert, 20JAN1898, pg8

Amanuensis Monday - The Death of Martin Joseph Villers

Bismarck Daily Tribune, April 4, 1904, pg 1

Martin Joseph Villers was is of those people in a family tree that adds interest to genealogy research, while at the same time you wish he wasn't there. No one wants a murderer in their family tree, but sometimes those people are there and you can't change it. Martin Joseph was convicted of doing some horrible things (see below for links to other posts), but I'm not sorry he existed. The way his wife was written of in her obituary shows that she was well-liked/respected, and they had five children together that (to my knowledge) were respectable members of society. Without this man in our family tree there would be no family tree for my husband or my children. They would never have been born.

I am fascinated by this man's story because I want to know why he did what he did. Unfortunately, the newspaper articles on both of his trials (yes there were two for two different crimes) don't do much to explain the whys. Did he do it for land the man he killed owned? Why not just buy some then? Could he not afford it? Was there a falling out between Villers and the man he killed from whom, I believe, he was renting the land? Was he just a wicked man? That last one I just don't want to believe, but it's possible. In the 1880 US Federal Census Villers' occupation was a policeman. I know that doesn't make him a good man. There have always been people that sought out positions of trust and power to abuse them. Was that why or did he used to be good and something inside him snapped? I want to believe that there was a catalyst.

He was a model prisoner when he was in jail, but he was also sick. Either way he behaved himself once he got there and that gave me hope that he might not have been all bad. It doesn't excuse the bad and being sick and well-behaved behind bars certainly didn't garner any sympathy from the public. In fact, as far as being ill went, the public thought he was faking. He proved them wrong. On April 4th, 1904 he died in prison:

"A Life Prisoner is Dead

Death of M. J. Villers, Life Prisoner at the Penitentiary, with a Gruesome Record of Crime

M. J. Villers, a life prisoner in the penitentiary from LaMoure county, died Sunday of cystitis. He has been ill for several years, in fact having come to the institution seven or eight years ago in such poor health that he was at once put under medical care.  The case of Villers was one of the most interesting from a criminal standpoint of any in the institution. He was first brought to the penitentiary in 1895 for an assault upon Mrs. August Tromner. The history of the case briefly is as Follows: In the year 1895 or thereabouts August Tromner, a farmer living in LaMoure county disappeared. No one knew of his whereabouts, although the last seen of him he was with Villers. Some time after he disappeared, Villers went to the Tromner place, assaulted Mrs. Tromner and threw her in an old well, at the same time firing the barn. He thought no doubt he had killed the woman but she managed to crawl out of the well and crawled to the neighbors stating what had been done. Villers was arrested and sentenced to nine and a half years in the penitentiary. After he had been in the institution for a year or so, a farmer, plowing in the field, saw some bones that had evidently been thrown up by a badger. Further investigation disclosed the remains of a man who had been buried in the field, but in such a state of decay that identification was impossible except for some articles which had been buried with him and which were identified by Mrs. Tromner as having belonged to her husband. Suspicion was at once directed to Villers as having killed Tromner and buried his body there and an order was obtained from the district court of that district for the return of Villers from the state penitentiary for trial. He was tried for the murder of Tromner, found guilty and sentenced to imprisonment for life, being at the time of his death serving the life sentence. Villers was in his 62d year at the time of his death. A coroner's inquest will be held, as provided by law in the case of prisoners dying at the penitentiary. Villers is the second lifer to die in the past few months, the other having been Thomas Swidensky, who was convicted for the murder of Mrs. Kent at Mandan."

I can't call it an obituary. It isn't one and I had, perhaps unrealistically, hoped to find one. Even though some of his children who lived in North Dakota had visited him in jail for Thanksgiving (Bismarck Daily Tribune, 29NOV1897, pg 2) it would appear that he was brushed off eventually...or perhaps they just didn't want to draw attention to the events after he passed.

The wonderful people at the North Dakota Historical Society have helped me with information on MJ Villers previously. I contacted them recently to see if they knew if there was a cemetery on the penitentiary grounds and if not where would he have been buried. I was told that the Burleigh County, ND, Remembrance Book has him buried in St. Mary's Cemetery. I created a FindAGrave memorial for him when I got the information. They also sent me a copy of the article transcribed above (aren't they absolutely the best?!?) 

After creating that memorial I requested a photo. I wasn't overly hopeful. His wife, Octavia Villers nee Wagner (various spellings exist and I believe this was Americanized) is buried in Calvary Cemetery in Stutsman County and not with him. I found out in early June that there is no tombstone for him. A wonderful FindAGrave volunteer, Brian Backes, contacted the cemetery office and discovered it was unmarked. No tombstone for him. I lean more to thinking that was a family decision. He wasn't mentioned in his wife's obituary either.

No doubt he did terrible things, and I wish I had some good stories for him to be remembered by. I don't, but he will be remembered for the wonderful family that he fathered. Rest in peace, Martin.

Tombstone Tuesday - Mary LaJoie nee Villers

LaJoie surname tombstone in Calvary Cemetery, Jamestown, North Dakota*

Mary D, 1872 - 1958*

I'm breaking away for a day from tracing my husband's Melzers, but there's more on them in the works!

Mary LaJoie nee Villers is my husband's 2nd great aunt and sister to Florence. I'm always delighted when I find new information on Florence's siblings. Much of the family research on my husband's family doesn't go laterally, but I always enjoyed discovering where those lines went. Where new cousins can be found. Sometimes that's the best way to break brick walls. Perhaps that cousin knows something that I don't. Lateral lines are too often ignored, but can be oh so important.

In my discovery for Mary's FindAGrave memorial and subsequent photo I also discovered her obituary transcribed in it. Now a good genealogist isn't going to just cut that and paste it into their own work. I'll be looking for the Jamestown Sun for July 3, 1958 and grab a copy for my records. I'll verify that nothing was transcribed wrong, but I'll have the record. I'll also keep in mind that while obituaries aren't primary sources of information they are valuable. The people submitting them are mourning and errors are possible even if the newspaper printed everything exactly as they were told. The information in there will help me with dates to get a death certificate as well as know who survives Mary and who predeceased her.

Mary was a tricky bit in my research. Her name seemed to vary in records and I had her down as a very long "Mary Ann Mina Octavia Villers" in my family tree. I had known that she married Felix LaJoie, but this memorial and obituary on FindAGrave helped to firm that up a bit. I look forward to seeing what new information I might find from what was posted on this memorial!

*Images posted with kind permission from FindAGrave contributor BJ Brewer. Thank you!

Tombstone Tuesday - Octavia Villers

Oh blog, how I've missed you!  Life was taking over and you've grown so neglected.  I will do my best to not let life take over, but to take over my life.  Now on to what I love doing....

I've posted Octavia Villers obituaries before, but I was never able to post her tombstone picture.  She's buried up in North Dakota and I've never been out there (and don't really see a trip in my near future).  Thank goodness for Find A Grave and their volunteers!  My request for a picture was filled about a month ago, and it is truly amazing that it was filled at all.

You see Octavia's obituary stated that she was buried in Saint James Church's cemetery.  I incorrectly assumed that this meant that she was buried in Saint James Cemetery.  Find A Grave does have a Saint James cemetery in Stutsman county, North Dakota.  The one (and only one) interment should have been an indicator that something was wrong, but noooooooo.  I just drove on and entered Octavia's information and created a memorial for her.  Then I submitted a request and waited....and waited...and waited.

My Find A Grave angel must have checked for memorials because for all intents and purposes if he was just photographing the tombstones in Calvary Cemetery in Jamestown (Stutsman county) and uploading them to Find A Grave he shouldn't have come across my memorial.  Someone was watching over me and he did and I got a correction submitted to me.  He had uploaded the picture and I was able to transfer the memorial over to the correct cemetery!

Looking at the tombstone it appears to be the funeral home's marker embedded in cement.  I don't know why she didn't have a more traditional tombstone.  Was this commonplace back in 1940?  I will be contacting the cemetery to find out and to seek answers for others questions.  Was her husband, Martin Joseph, buried in that cemetery?  He died in prison so perhaps not.  If they are buried together, does he have a marker?  Either way, I would like to see a more traditional marker put in place one day.  A genealogist can dream, right?

So why choose today to post Octavia's tombstone?  Well, this week is National Fire Prevention Week.  It takes place this week because the week of October 8th is when the Chicago Fire occurred...more importantly (and as stated in my previous post) the Peshtigo Fire occurred, which was much more destructive in the acreage burned and lives taken...and Octavia and her family managed to survive.  Not only did Octavia survive, but she lived for 69 years after the Peshtigo Fire!  Good for you, Octavia!

It's a great story, so if you haven't taken a peek just check out yesterday's post.  It's a repeat, but it'll be a post I always share on it's anniversary.  Had Octavia and her family not survived life for me would be completely different.  I would not have my wonderful husband and two beautiful boys.

A very special thanks to Mr BJ Brewer for not only taking the picture and emailing me the correction, but for kindly giving permission for me to use the photo in my blog.

Sunday's Obituary - Octavia Villers nee Wagner

I've actually got 2 wonderful obituaries for Octavia.  One was sent to me from a cousin that I met through the absolutely wonderful world of message boards (I love those darned boards so very much!).  The other I found during Scanfest last Sunday.

Yes, can you believe that I had the obituary published in Wisconsin for years and didn't know it.  That's why I'm forever grateful that I finally remembered to tune in and do a scan fest.  I knew I had lots to scan, but never seemed to get to it.  This find has certainly motivated me to get down to it and get it done!

So for you long-time readers of my blog (there are one or two of you out there)...you may recall the murder trial of Martin Joseph Villers that I posted on back at the end of 2010.  Well, Octavia was his wife.  She is my husband's great-great grandmother.  I'm posting both obituaries, because they are a bit different and they therefore give slightly different genealogical information.  It also makes for a pretty good comparison.

The Bismarck Tribune

The following is from the Bismarck Tribune, July 1940:

"OCTAVIA VILLERS, AGED CO. PIONEER, PASSED AWAY TODAY

Funeral Services Will Be Held At St. James Church Monday

Mrs. Octavia Villers, aged pioneer resident of Jamestown and Stutsman county, died at the home of her daughter, Mrs. Mary LaJoie, at 6:30 o'clock this morning.

Mrs. Villers came with her parents to the United States 84 years ago from her native land, Belgium, where she was born December 18, 1842.  The trip was made in a sailboat and took six weeks.  The family went to Rosiere, Wisconsin, near Green Bay.  It was 54 years ago when Mrs. Villers came to Stutsman county to Montpelier.  She came to Jamestown over 30 years ago and for nearly 20 years lived with her daughter, Mrs. Ella Naze and since that time has lived with Mrs. LaJoie.

Mrs. Villers was active until about two years ago.  She was a member of St. James Catholic church.  Surviving are three daughters, Mrs. LaJoie; Mrs. Eli Cayemberg, Pulaski, Wis.; Mrs. Agnes Tardiff, Duluth, Minn.; and a son, Louis Villers, Green Bay, Wisc.; 24 grandchildren; 36 great grandchildren and four great great grandchildren.  Mrs. Naze, a daughter, died several years ago.

Funeral services will be held at St. James Catholic church Monday morning at 9:00 o'clock.  The body is at the Daly Funeral Home.  The family requests that no flowers be sent.  The rosary will be said Sunday night at 8:00 o'clock at the funeral home."

The date is hand-written in as July 5th.  No year is given.  Octavia died in 1940 at the age of 97.  She missed her 98th birthday by 6 months. You can also note that her husband is not mentioned in her obituary at all. Not surprising I guess considering his crimes in the region. He is mentioned in the Wisconsin obituary below.

This obituary was taken from a local Wisconsin newspaper.  It's a clipping, so I'm not sure which one, but I'd be willing to bet it wasn't the Green Bay newspaper.  Perhaps Algoma's newspaper:

"Former Rosiere Woman Dies in North Dakota

Word has been received here of the death of Mrs. Octavia Mary Villers, 98, which occurred Friday morning at the home of her daughters, Mrs. Felix Lajoye, Jamestown, N.D.  She was a former resident of Rosiere.  

Unknown Wisconsin newspaper

Mrs. Eli Cayemberg and Walter Cayemberg, Pulaski; Henry and Wilfred Cayemberg, Manitowoc; Mrs. Russell Anderson, Green Bay, and Hubert Guillette, Anston, attended the services which were held this morning at St. James Catholic church with burial in the church cemetery at Jamestown. 

The deceased was born in Belgium Dec. 22, 1842, and came to America in 1854 with her parents Mr. and Mrs. J. B. Wagner, settling in Rosiere.  She married M. J. Villers in 1864 and lived in Algoma for 10 years before coming to North Dakota 54 years ago. 

Survivors are four children, (Florence) Mrs. Eli Cayemberg, Pulaski; (Mary) Mrs. Felix Lajoye, Jamestown; (Agnes) Mrs. Joseph Tardiff, Duluth, Minn.; and Louis Villers, Green Bay; 46 grandchildren and several great grandchildren.  A daughter, Mrs. Prosper Naze, died four years ago." 

No date on this one, but again, I know when she died.  I this obituary they state that she's 98 years old even though they listed her birth date.  Ah well...math!  It's a small point either way.

This last one is the one that I "found" last weekend, and I'm glad that I did.  I've been scanning obituaries that my husband's paternal grandmother collected and have been wondering how they are going to fit into our family tree, if they will at all.  This last obituary gives some pretty great information on her children.  And you know what?  I recognize some of the names.  Scoreboard!  Naturally, the search isn't over with just this obituary.  They are prone to errors.  After all, they aren't submitted by the deceased.  All second-hand information, which may or may not be accurate.  I mean look at the birth dates.  They were off.  Either by the person submitting the information or the person writing the story.   It does give me a great starting point to continue that research though!

The Villers Saga, Part IV

The next in the series of articles would have been one published on November 20th, 1897 titled, "They Want Villers".  I transcribed this article for Carnival of Genealogy's "There's One in Every Family".  So if you'd like to see it, it was my November 20th post...Wow...that was NOT planned!

So moving on to the next in the series...

The Bismarck Daily Tribune, November 23, 1897

"The Villers Case

The prisoner M. J. Villers was arraigned in justice court at Jamestown yesterday charged with murder of August Tromer.  The prisoner is said to have been unaffected by the reading of the charge against him and stated to the spectators in the court that he would be a free man after the trial of the case at the January term of court.  Villers had no attorney and the hearing was continued until Nov 29, when it will be again taken up.  In the meantime Villers is confined in the county jail in Stutsman county.

The removal of the man from the pen here was an extraordinary proceeding, and before Warden Boucher would consent to surrender the man he (wired) for the opinion of a majority of the board of trustees.  Three of them agreed to (allow) the man to go upon the authority of the governor's decision and the request of Judge (Glaspell).  The removal of the man may open up a legal controversy if Villers should be acquitted, or indeed even if he should be (convicted) the former attorneys who have considered the case (said) that there may be a question as to what authority there will be for his return to the penitentiary, after he has been released."

So he had no attorney?  He refused an attorney?  That just sounds awful (and odd).  Anyway, this case was a landmark case for the state of North Dakota in the sense that they were unsure of what to do with a man that was already incarcerated.  How could you release him to be tried for another crime?  I know.  Today we don't think of it as a big issue, but it apparently was a first in the state.  I've got court documents that I'll be posting once I get through the newspaper articles.  Some of those documents...WOW!  Hard to read!  But we'll get there.

Now I'm tired so it's off to bed!  I had wanted to do my Advent of Christmas Memories post on ornaments, but my brain is tired and my Christmas ornaments (for the tree) aren't out yet.  So I'll have to write that one later and find a way to fit it in!  Night all!

100th COG - There's One in Every Family - Martin Joseph Villers

The Bismarck Daily Tribune 20NOV1897

I'd love to get my husband more interested in genealogy and family history.  He is interested to an extent...how could he not be married to a genealogy nut, but there are certain aspects of it that he doesn't like.  He's not so big on the paperwork...I'm the meticulous one of the pair.  He's an analyst (seriously, that's what he does) so he could be great at busting through brick walls!  Unfortunately, there are some walls that he would like to rebuild and that's just not how this works.  You can't rebuild a wall and pretend that someone didn't exist.  You can't brush history aside...even the unsavory bits.  That's where Martin Joseph Villers comes into play.

I was farting around on Ancestry a couple years ago (yes, that's the technical term).  Just typing surnames into their search engine.  Trying to see if anything would come up in newspapers.  When I typed in Villers I got a bit of a surprise...I found several newspaper articles on one Martin Joseph Villers.  The father to Florence, Mary Ann, Louis, Alta Ellen, and Agnes.  Husband of Octavia Villers nee Waguener.  And murderer of August Tromer and attempted murderer of his wife, Pauline Tromer.

So who was Martin Joseph Villers to my husband?  He's my husband's great great grandfather.  I can understand how we don't want to find bad people in our family tree (particularly our direct line), but the truth is there's going to be bad people in there.  It doesn't reflect on who we are.

I've been fascinated by this discovery and sometimes I think that my husband would prefer it if I would stop digging.  I've received penitentiary records from North Dakota, copied all the newspaper articles I could find, etc.  I don't want to glorify what he did, but I want to know why he did it.  He had been a policeman in a previous census!  Part of me hoped to find something that would lead me to believe he was innocent.  The evidence was so circumstantial in the papers.  I had dreams of being able to request a pardon or reversal for MJ Villers.  Yeah...not going to happen unless something new comes to light.

The articles are fascinating.  The terminology involved and what they seem to consider "proof" is amazing.  If you read all the articles it's evident that he was considered guilty from the get go.  From a historical point of view the case was a first for the state of North Dakota.  They were unsure of how to try him for the murder of August Tromer when he was already serving time for the attempted murder of Pauline Tromer (not a problem today, but back then they weren't sure what to do!).  He was also the first person from Stutsman County sent to the state prison for a life term.  Now granted, these aren't goals we aspire to, but it's all very interesting.

I don't know if I'll ever know why he did what he did.  Was he desperate for land?  Money?  Did he have a falling out with the Tromers?  Why did the Villers family move from Wisconsin to North Dakota to begin with?  How did the Tromer family fare as time passed?  One thing I do know is that there will be more Martin Josephs as I continue researching.  It's a statistical...and genealogical fact.