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.

The Villers Saga - Guilty Verdict Article Found

The Bismarck Daily Tribune, 18JAN1898

So it didn't take too terribly long to find it once my internet stopped fighting me (it does that almost instantly when my husband gets on a plane to go on a business trip).  I imagine that it didn't come up in the Ancestry.com search because of the clarity of the article.  I knew from the other articles that he was sentenced during the January session so that narrowed my search down.  The last article I found before the sentencing was announced on him was on January 13th so I started on the 14th and found it on the 18th.

"Villers Guilty

Jury in the Trial of the Prisoner Villers at Jamestown Finds Him Guilty of Murder.

Punishment is Fixed by the Jury At Imprisonment in the Penitentiary for Life.

Stay of Proceedings is Granted Until February 1, When a New Trial Will be Asked.

Found Guilty.

The jury in the case of Martin J. Villers, on trial for the murder of August Tromer, today returned a verdict of guilty of murder in the first degree and fixed his punishment at imprisonment for life.  A stay of proceedings was granted to February 1, and a new trial will probably be asked.

The trial of the case was completed yesterday afternoon, and the jury went out this morning after having heard the arguments of counsel.  The verdict in the case was not unexpected, as the circumstantial evidence against the man was strong, and his record probably told against him.  The case has been one of the most peculiar in the history of the state in that the prisoner was serving a sentence of ten years in the pen when the evidence of the murder of the man whom the jury decides to have been his victim, was discovered and he was then removed from the pen to be tried for the greater crime.  It was peculiar also that Villers was serving a sentence for a murderous assault on the wife of his victim when the body of her husband was discovered and he was put on trial for murder.

The trial of the Villers murder case was concluded in court at Jamestown yesterday afternoon, and the attorneys made their addresses to the jury.  The case has been tried rapidly, and little time has been wasted.  The Jamestown Alert says on the demeanor of the prisoner on the witness stand:

On the cross-examination Villers made a fine witness.  His answers were ready, sharp and crisp and often times he had to wait for Attorney Guthrie to conclude his question before he could ejaculate a denial.  Questions requiring a simple yes or no for an answer, either one of which would have compromised the witness, were answered promptly, but evasively and in such a manner as to throw from him an imputation of wrong doing.  Throughout the five hours he was on the witness stand the prisoner sat quietly in his chair and only once did he show great excitement.

When Attorney Guthrie asked the witness if he remembered the burning of a hog pen in this city the night of Nov. 5th, when Mr. Villers was here, also that he was seen by Mrs. Cooper standing in front of the engine house when the fire alarm was turned in, the prisoner straightened in his seat, became greatly excited, the blood rushed to his face and he grasped the arms of the chair a little harder.  When charged with the death of Peter Sterling, who is supposed to have worked for Mr. Villers that fall and with having thrown the body into Josiah Pierson's pig pen after having robbed the body of a large roll of money which Sterling was seen to have late that night and then set fire to the structure burning to body with the hogs, the witness kept his head, and only raising his voice a little emphatically denied all knowledge of the affair.  He said he did not know of the fire until the next morning, he didn't "know the man" and bracing himself seemed to defy the state to prove him guilty of the crime.

When asked where he had been for the last three years the witness stated, "I was in Valley City, here, at LaMoure and Bismarck and back again."  This made the audience laugh and the judge rapped for order.  The witness said he had been thirty-two months in Bismarck when he was "working for the warden of the state penitentiary."

I've got to say that after transcribing this article I'm stunned.  I didn't read it before transcribing.  I didn't really think that there would be anything new, but to accuse him of another murder during cross-examination.  I've heard nothing about the murder of Peter Sterling, although you can bet I'll be looking into it.  Was the prosecution just trying to throw him off?  Most certainly.  What gets me though is the fire regarding the disposal of the body of Josiah Pierson.  It's a similar m.o. to what he was found guilty of doing with Mrs. Tromer...but she lived.

Oh, well, all that's left is to transcribe the court documents.  They are (for the most part) more difficult to read, but you can be sure I'll be setting on them in the near future.  I was hoping to find something to tell me why Villers would have done something like this, if he did at all, but it just seems like the more I look, the more I find additional questions.  Gotta love family history...even if you don't love some of the things the people in it did!

Amanuensis Monday - The Villers Saga, The Final Newspaper Chapter

Bismarck Daily Tribune, 19FEB1898

Under "State News"

"The Jamestown Alert says the prisoner Villers is reported growing weaker but it is possible that he is shamming to gain sympathy.  He has constant services of a physician."
 

Under "State News"

Bismarck Daily Tribune, 23FEB1898

"Judge Fisk at Jamestown today hears the motion for a new trial in the case of M.J. Villers convicted of murder and sentenced to life imprisonment in the penitentiary.  If the motion is denied, Villers will probably be brought at once to the pen, where he will remain unless the supreme court should grant him a new trial.  It is stated that Villers health is poor and that his life sentence will be no more of a punishment than the ten years sentence under which he was formerly held, as he is not likely to live that out."

I noticed that this article already says that he has been found guilty.  I don't have the article with that "breaking news" so maybe the search engine missed it and I'll need to go back and manually search.  So the above "shamming" (gotta love seeing that phrase in an old newspaper) was to gain sympathy for the sentencing portion.

Bismarck Daily Tribune, 25FEB1898

"Villers Sentenced.

No New Trial is Asked in the Villers Case and He is Sentenced for Life.

Prisoner Declares He is Innocent of the Crime for Which He Has Been Convicted.

Various Items of Local News Gathered in and Around the City of Bismarck (doesn't pertain to Villers so will not be transcribed).

Villers Sentenced.

Martin J. Villers, convicted at the January term of court in Stutsman county of the murder of August Tromer, was Thursday sentenced to confinement in the state penitentiary at hard labor for life.  Sentence was pronounced by Judge Fisk of Grand Forks who tried the case, because of inteligibility of Judge Glaspell.  The prisoner heard the announcement unmoved.  No application for a new trial was made.  Since his confinement and trial the prisoner has grown visibly weaker.  He is an old man of 60 or more, and it is thought by his friends that he will not live out the year.  But it is believed the regular habits and work at the penitentiary will bring the old man back to his former health.  The absence of employment in the county jail was a serious disappointment to him.

This is the first and only "lifer" Stutsman county has ever sent to the state penitentiary.

A peculiarity of the Villers case is that all of the precautions that were taken by the murderer to conceal the body of his victim, were set at naught by the burrowing of a badger.  One of the little animals dug its hole just over the place where the body of Tromer had been buried, and its burrowing threw out pieces of bone, and shreds of clothing, which attracted the attention of a farmer who was plowing in the field, and who made an investigation which led to the discovery of the body.  Had it not been for this little animal, the body might never have been discovered and the disappearance of Tromer have always remained a mystery.

When Villers was arrigned for sentence, Judge Fisk asked the prisoner if he had anything to say or had legal cause to show why judgment should not be pronounced against him and it was with an effort that Villers controlled himself.  His face grew white and his mouth twitched as he rose and replied "No." He stated the jury had found him guilty.  He said he was innocent of the crime charged against him but supposed he would have to suffer for it.

Attorney Ellsworth made a merely formal motion for an arrest of judgment which was denied and then asked that the time in which to prepare a statement of the case, to be used in a motion for a new trial, also the time for making such motion, be extended to June 1.  This the judge granted.  An appeal of the case, it may be stated, may be taken with within one year after sentence, according to law.

The court directed, in view of the weakened condition of the prisoner stated by his attorney, that the prisoner be kept at Jamestown until the sheriff considered his condition proper for removal to Bismarck."

Gotta love the mentality that hard labor would make him healthy again.  Martin Villers did manage to live until 1904.  Whether he was ill at the time he was sentenced isn't known.  I guess putting his death certificate on my "To Do List" is next!  I also find it interesting that even though they acknowledge that this case was special, it didn't make the front page.  It was on page 3 of a 4 page paper!

All errors are intentionally left in the transcription.

The Villers Saga, Part VII

This clipping was published under the column "State News" without any subheading and was published in "The Bismarck Daily Tribune" on January 13, 1898.

"In the trial of the Villers murder case at Jamestown the evidence of Mrs. Tromer was continued, she being still ill and weak, and being forced to give her testimony from a reclining invalid chair.  She told of the disappearance of Tromer, her husband, and of the fact that after his disspearance Villers had come to her with letters that he said were written by Tromer, stating that he was east being treated for his eyesight.  Testimony was also given of the statements of Villers after the disappearance when he was asked if he knew anything of the whereabouts of Tromer, and stated that he did - that Tromer had gone west.  The most sensational testimony of the day was that given by one Alex Frazier, who testified to having a conversation with Villers, the latter stating that Tromer had run away.  Villers also stated to him that he had heard Tromer and his wife having an altercation one time, when she had asked him to kill her, Villers stated to the witness at the time that he would not be surprised if Tromer returned at any time and killed her and threw her body in an old well.  This testimony is significant from the fact that Mrs. Tromer was assaulted afterward and thrown in the well, but Villers and not Tromer was the man who did it."

MJ Villers was convicted of attempted murder of Mrs. Tromer several years prior to this murder trial, and it certainly looks like he's guilty, but what pops into my mind when I read this is that we've already established he's guilty of trying to kill her and throwing her in the well.  Is this new evidence?  Seriously?  It has to do with the other trial.  Not that it isn't dramatic and I'm sure it sold papers, but it's old news.

The trial of attempted murder just seemed to have had much more substantial evidence as opposed to circumstantial evidence.  Ah, history!

One more mini post and then the long article concluding the trial!

The Villers Saga, Part VI

Another episode in the epic saga of Martin Joseph Villers.  Two articles again, since the first is rather short.

This first article ran with no title and was just one of many paragraphs under the heading "The City"

The Bismarck Daily Herald, December 31, 1897

"It is said that a change of venue may be asked for in the Villers case when it is called in district court at Jamestown next week, if any difficulty is experienced in securing a jury.  Villers' counsel would naturally prefer a trial in some other county of the district more remote from the scene of the crime with which he is charge, and where less pronounced opinions have been formed, but if it appears that a fair trial can be obtained it is said that Attorney Ellsworth will not seek to unnecessarily delay a verdict being reached"

Well, of COURSE he would want the trial in a different venue where less pronounced opinions have been formed!  Who wouldn't!?!  OK...I'm done...

"The Villers Trial

The Bismarck Daily Herald, January 12, 1898

The taking of evidence in the trial of Martin J. Villers the prisoner from the penitentiary who is on trial at Jamestown, for the murder of August Ttromer, began in that city yesterday morning.  The first witness called by the state was the coroner, Dr. Baldwin, who testified to the inquiry which had been held over the remains of Tromer discoverd in a field, and who stated that in his opinion death had been caused by a blow on the head from a blunt instrument, dealt with a great deal of violence.  The different exhibits in the case were identified by the coroner, they being a portion of the scalp with a little of the hair attached, a portion of the skull, to which the scalp was sttached, the latter being still bloody and discolored, pieces of the clothing of the murdered man, and the pipe, knife, and other articles found with the body.  Another exhibit in the case is the pocket handkerchief, knotted about the neck of the dead man by his wife before he left home, the knot having been identified by her.  The second witness in the case was Mrs. Tromer, the wife of the murdered man, who testified that she last saw her husband on the 14th of September, 1894, the time he left home with Villers.  She told how he was dressed.  An objection was made to her testimony by the defense, and during its argument, she fainted away, and upon her recovery went into violent hysterics, and the feeling in the court room was intense.  In the afternoon Mrs. Tromer had to be carried into court in an invalid chair and identified the handkercheif, clothing and some of the articles worn by the dead man."

She faints during an objections?  I object!  Actually I would have wanted to slap her.  I've got little tolerance for silly, hysterical people.  Talk about melodrama!  Maybe that's why Villers tried to kill her years before.  OK that wasn't nice, and I'm biased...but if you were watching this in a nice little fictional world of CSI, wouldn't you say the same?

Soon we'll be onto the documents of this case.  They are more challenging for me to transcribe.  My wonderful, darling husband got me several early Christmas presents, to include a new all-in-one printer so I can now scan legal documents.  Can't wait!

The Villers Saga, Part V

You knew it was bound to happen!  Another installment of the trial of Martin Joseph Villers.  I really want to get through these articles and move on to some of the documents and articles from the other trial.  I would still love to find out why all this happened! 

The next article in the series is very short so I'll be doing two in this post.

The Bismarck Daily Tribune, November 29, 1897

"Staff News

The son and daughter of the prisoner Villers were at the Stutsman county jail Thanksgiving day to meet their father, who is waiting his trial for murder"

Just a side note...Martin Joseph and Octavia Villers nee Waguener had 5 children (that I am currently aware of):  Florence, Mary Ann Mina Octavia,  Louis, Alta  Ellen Ella, and Agnes.  So apparently only two of them visited (Louis being one as his only son).

The Bismarck Daily Tribune, December 29, 1897

"The Villers Trial

The Jamestown Alert says of the coming trial of the man Villers, who was taken from the state penitentiary here to be tried for murder:  The trial of M.J. Villers for the alleged murder of August Tromer, It is believed, will be the first murder trial ever to have been held in Stutsman county and for this reason, outside of the local interest in the case, will attract a great deal of attention.  Attorney S. E. Ellsworth has been designated by the prisoner and appointed by the court as counsel for the defendant and, it is understood, Judge Glaspell has called in Judge Fisk of Grand Forks to try the case because of his ineligibility, having assisted in the prosecution of Villers at his trial and conviction of assault with intent to kill upon Mrs. Tromer.  The state will be ably represented in the prosecution by County Attorney F. Baldwin.  The case will be the first on the calendar and it is expected will be taken up and the trial begun Thursday, January 6.  Both the prosecution and defense are expected to make a strong fight and the case will probably occupy the greater part of the term."

Well, I don't know how long a "term" was, but the trial didn't take too terribly long...I'm running out of articles!  One subtle thing I noticed in the 2nd article was how the prosecution is referred to as the "state will be ably represented"...as if the state's attorney is more important.  The law is (theoretically) the law and the defendant deserves to be ably represented as well.  I'm biased, I know, but still.  Gives an overall feeling of, "don't worry, we'll be winning this thing".  Just sayin'...

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!

The Villers Saga, Part II

The Bismarck Daily Tribune, November 11, 1897

"Finding of Tromer's Body"

(The first paragraph is pretty much impossible for me to read.  I can make out very little, but you can have a go if you like!  If you click on the image it will take you to a larger version!) 

The body lay in (a partial ??) grave three feet deep five feet seven inches long and just wide enough to contain the body.  The head was slightly bent to the south as though after placing it in the excavation it was discovered the grave was a little too short.  The lower limbs were extended, the right foot yet wearing a shoe.  The other shoe was thrown in upside down beside the body, evidently having been removed from the body in the death struggle or in carrying the body to the place of deposit.  On the lower part of the body was a few small field boulders that may have been laid upon it when it was interred or may have been thrown down the badger hols to get them out of the way of the plow. It has been suggested that they were placed in the grave to deflect and throw upward the plow share to prevent discovery of the body in the future.  Distant a hundred feet or more was a stone pile where the stones may have been obtained.

The place of the grave is in a depression on a rise in the ground out of sight of Viller's house, but distant not more than a quarter of a mile.  No other house is in sight than Mr John Ford's three or four miles away.  Work could be carried on indefinitely without discovery.  In the fall of '94 a straw stack stood there and after the attempted murder of Mrs Tromer the ashes of the pile which had been burned were forked over thoroughly with the expectation of discovering some of the bones had the body been thrown in the straw pile with the intention of cremation.  Two crops of grain have been grown over the grave, twice has the land been plowed and it may possibly have been worked indefinitely without discovery of the body had not the wild badgers dug into the grave and thrown up pieces of the skull, some of the clothing and a pocket knife.  The hiding place was well planned and executed and the murder had confidently counted on everything except the excavations of the wild animals.  His devices had but the one defect, but that proved fatal to the preservation of the secret.  The work of interring the body may have occupied the greater part of a single might or it may have been the work of several nights, the body the meanwhile being hidden in the straw.

If the body is (??) as that of Tromer as now seems probable, Villers, the (person) in the pen may be taken thence and (??) to stand trial for murder.  Villers was sentenced to nine and one half years (it gets bad again here, but they are undoubtedly talking about his attempted murder conviction that he was serving in the state penitentiary and that he would have gotten out in 1902).

Sorry for the lack of posts recently everyone!  I've been trying to kick a nasty cold for the past 1-1/2 weeks and it's getting there.  Slowly but surely.  I'm going to be concentrating on transcribing some of my Martin Villers posts before ramping up to the Advent Calendar posts!  Sharing a part of my family's history that I find very interesting.  Always hoping for that bit that could possibly point to Martin being innocent!  I can always hope!

Amanuensis Monday - The Villers Saga, Part I

The Bismarck Daily Tribune, 10NOV1897

"Murder Revealed

Discovery of a Skeleton in Stutsman Supposed to Be That of August Tromer

Latter Disappeared Several Years Ago, and M. J. Villers, Now in the Pen, Suspected.

L. E. Booker Fails to Appear in United States Court to Answer the Charges Against Him.  (This is not a part of the Villers article and was just in the subheading.)

Found a Body

A murder mystery has been cleared up by the finding of a body in the southern part of Stutsman county supposed to be that of August Tromer.  This is the man whom it is believed M. J. Villers now serving a term in the state penitentiary at this place for the attempted murder of Mrs Tromer, killed some time previous to his attempted murder of the wife.  The body was plowed up in a field where it had been burried underneath a straw stack which later had been fired destroying all traces of excavations in the earth.

August Tromer, with his wife, were simple minded German folks living in LaMoure county.  several years ago Tromer disappeared and his whereabouts could not be discovered.  There were rumors of foul play and Villers, who had had dealings with Tromer was believed to have been connected with his disappearance but there was no proof.  Not long after this, Villers was arrested on a charge of murderously assaulting Mrs Tromer, the wife of the man who had disappeared, and was sentenced to ten years in the penitentiary where he now is.

At the time of the disappearance of Tromer, Villers occupied a thirty acre piece of land which he had rented from one Talley.  After Viller's incarceration in the pen, Talley took back the land, and "not long ago, while at work the plow suddenly dropped into soft ground near a badger hole and the plow, catching on something, was thrown out of the soil.  A piece of cloth was hanging from the share and as Mr Talley had lost a coat on the land the previous season he paid little attention to the matter except to think that he had discovered a portion of his old coat.  The next time around the field, however, in passing the same badger hole he discovered a (nub?) of preculiar shape, and near it pieces of a human skull.  It immediately suggested itself to him that he had discovered the long sought body of August Tromer.  Scraping away some of the soil he discovered that the body of a human being was interred there.  A pocket knife and a portion of a jacket were picked up together with a portion of the skull which showed evidences of being crushed in a some previous date.

It is believed that the body which has been thus discovered is that of Tromer, and there is also a belief and some evidence that Villers was the man responsible for his death.  Attorneys in Stutsman county and citizens interested are speculating whether if this can be shown to be the body of Tromer, Villers can be taken from the pen before the expuation of his present sentence tried for murder."

I find it interesting to say that "a murder mystery has been cleared up" when they found the body.  Perhaps the mystery of what happened to Mr. Tromer, but hardly the murder itself. Makes me wonder how fair the trial was! 


(Typographical errors are intentionally left in these transcriptions)

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.