Among the many newspaper articles I found in early Porter County, Indiana, newspapers (on microfilm) last year was this one, from the Porter County Vidette, 17 January 1901.
It is an interesting article because it refers to a letter written by the former Anna Mae Casbon, now married to [John] Newton Kitchell and living in a remote part of Wisconsin. The letter gives some interesting details about this period of Anna’s life. One wonders to whom the letter was addressed and how it came to the attention of the newspaper. Did she intend it for publication?
Anna was the second daughter of Jesse and Emily (Price) Casbon. She has been featured in several earlier posts. Anna was born 22 December 1876 on the family farm outside of Valparaiso, Indiana.[1] Her mother died when Anna was 16 years old.
Anna married Newton Kitchell in Porter County on 9 July 1898.[2] They must have moved to Wisconsin soon after the wedding, since their first child, Jesse, was born there in December 1898. We find Newton, Anna, and Jesse living in the town of Cavour, Wisconsin, in the 1900 U.S. census.[3]
In the census, Newton’s occupation is listed as a “day laborer,” yet he owns his own home, and apparently a 100-acre farm as well. I wonder if he had help paying for these.
The Kitchell family had been in Porter County for decades. Why did Newton and Anna leave Indiana for Wisconsin? Were there family connections on the Kitchell side? Were there good job opportunities? Anna’s letter tells us the sawmills were running continuously, but she doesn’t say if Newton was working in one. Perhaps he was working in the sawmills in winter and intended to farm in the summer.
Forest County is in the northernmost part of Wisconsin, just below the Michigan upper peninsula. From the letter, it seems that the family was living in the town of Wabeno for the winter months. Wabeno is in the southern part of Forest County, and is about 15 miles south of Cavour, where the family was recorded in the 1900 census.
The article tells us that the family would move to Newton’s farm at Lilypad Lake in the spring. Was this to be a permanent move, or was the home only habitable in warmer months? This photo, taken about 1902 (based on estimated ages of the two boys), is labeled “Hunting Lodge Wisconsin” on the back.
The photo shows Newton, Anna and their two sons, Jesse and Steven, who was born in August 1900. Other than being in Wisconsin, the location of the hunting lodge is unknown, although it seems likely that it was taken in Forest County.
While the tone of Anna’s letter seems positive and the photo appears to show a happy family gathering, all was not well between Anna and her husband. Anna left Newton and moved to Minnesota in about 1904 (see “1905, Red Lake County, Minnesota”), and later, back to Indiana. At some point, Anna divorced Newton and had her name and that of her children changed back to Casbon. I haven’t been able to locate the divorce paperwork. However, thanks to the divorce and name change, her descendants live on today with the Casbon name.
[1] “Mrs. Anna Mae Fleming,” The (Valparaiso, Indiana) Vidette-Messenger, 21 Dec 1957, p. 2, col. 5 (Newspaper Archive).
[2]Porter County, Indiana, Marriage Record Book 11, Sept 1895–Jan 1899, p. 430; imaged as “Indiana Marriages, 1811-2007,” FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/search/collection/1410397 : accessed 18 June 2017) >Porter > 1895-1899 Volume 11 > image 254 of 286; citing Porter County Clerk, Valparaiso.
[3]1900 U.S. Census, Forest County, Wisconsin, Cavour, ED 39, sheet 5B; FamilySearch.
The newspaper article prompted so many intriguing questions!