Walter F. Horton ^{1 2 3}

  General Notes:

(Source: Milwaukee Journal, Milwaukee, WI, 16 Sep 1891)

HORTON WEDS MISS VAN WIE
A Quiet Marriage at Mauston Recalls a Sensational Trial.

MAUSTON, Wis., Sept. 16 - A marriage took place here yesterday that will cause much interest on account of the sensational circumstances surrounding it. It was that of Miss Mary Van Wie to Walter F. Horton of St. Paul, who, it will be remembered, was charged with drowning his wife and little child in the Mississippi river while out boating. His relations with Miss Van Wie were looked upon at the time as the motive for the alleged crime. At the trial, however, he was acquitted. Sometime ago it was rumored that he and Miss Van Wie had been married, but this was subsequently denied.

Horton was interviewed at Minneapolis before coming to Mauston and said: "I do not wish to move in this matter with the least secrecy, under the circumstances which are so familiar to the public. It is, of course, looked upon by Miss Van Wie and myself as a private matter, and it is embarrassing to us to parade it before the public in this way. But it is best, I think, to have it published without reserve. I fear we shall meet with considerable censure, in spite of all we can do. I have informed my employers and all my friends of my proposed step, and met no censure. But there are a good many who still believe that I murdered my wife in order to mary (sic) Miss Van Wie, notwithstanding the fact that the body of my little girl was found after my acquittal by the jury, and my marriage now will, most likely, serve to confirm the belief and bring forth bitter remarks from them. However, I shall try to live so that those around me will know that I am not a criminal, but a good citizen and an honest man."

The parents of the late Mrs. Van Vie (note: should read Mrs. Horton) reside at Trempealeau, where she was buried.
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groom's name: Walter T. Horton
groom's birthplace: Summer Center, Minn.
bride's name: Mary E. Vanwie
bride's birthplace: Marshall, Michigan
marriage date:1 5 Sep 1891
marriage place: Mauston, Juneau, Wisconsin
groom's father's name: William T. Horton
groom's mother's name: Mary Alten
bride's father's name: Andrew Vanwie
bride's mother's name: Eliza Cushman
groom's race: White
bride's race: White
indexing project (batch) number: M00352-5
system origin: Wisconsin-EASy
source film number: 1276049
reference number: 1592

Citing this Record
"Wisconsin, Marriages, 1836-1930," index, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/XRPW-4W9 : accessed 15 Sep 2012), Walter T. Horton and Mary E. Vanwie, 15 Sep 1891.
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HORTON'S HOME LIFE
His Mother-in-Law Tells a Tale of Domestic Infelicity. Mrs. S. Hanson, of Trempealeau, Wis., mother of the unfortunate wife of Walter F. Horton, writes the following to the GLOBE touching her son-in-law's married life:

To the Editor of the Globe. I have read W. F. Horton's statement, and found there were a few mistakes. He has not given a very good memorandum of his married life, which I will give as near as I can remember. In the year '79 Miss Nellie Hanson was employed as domestic for Mrs. Dr. Ballard in La Crosse, Wis., and W. F. Horton was working for his board and going to school. They were acquainted two months or more, when they came here to Trempealeau, Wis., and were married by Rev. James Squier, Baptist minister, July 31, 1879, and started the same evening to his parents' home in Hancock, Minn. They remained with them until the spring of '80. He took a claim near Waubay, Day county, Dak., and moved with his wife into a log house with a ground floor. In June a son was born to them, who is now living with his uncle, H. S. Hanson, Galesville, Wis., and has been for over a year. They lived there three years. In the fall of 1882 he made some kind of a bad trade, and to get out of that he deserted, and also deserted his wife and child and left them penniless and in poor health. She managed to get along through the winter by the kindness of the few neighbors that were scattered along the neighborhood two and three miles apart, and her sister, Mrs. B. H. Egeland, of Strand, Dak., was also a great help to her. In April, 1883, Mrs. Horton's brother, L. S . Hanson, went out to see what could be done. He saw no prospect of her living there, so she sold her right, and got enough money to bring her to her mother in Trempealeau, Wis. May 15 she gave birth to a girl baby, 'Little Mabel she had with her now.' In the fall her husband made his appearance, and he felt grieved and sorry for his bad conduct, but promised his wife he would be faithful. He went to Minneapolis and obtained work and soon after sent for his wife and children and started housekeeping anew. They lived there from fall until spring, '84, when he moved his family to Brainerd, two miles in the country, where they lived until July 6, '86, when he again sent his family to Trempealeau where her aged mother (a widow) lives, and afterwards he thought best to leave them here and send them money for support, which he did up to within one and a half years ago. Then all was ceased up to within the last three weeks, when he sent messages and wrote for her to meet him in Winona, Minn., and to bring her mother or brother (L. S. Hanson) with her. She went up, but he failed to appear. Afterwards he continued to write and send messages, and finally he came down one Sunday, but stopped a very short time without seeing his wife. He went back again, and then he changed his ways, wanting them to come up to St. Paul to live a new life again, which ended in this horrible crime. Mrs. Nellie Horton was a member of the M. E. church of this place and was highly esteemed by all who knew her, and her daughter Mabel was loved by everybody. Trempealeau, Wis., Aug. 16."

Source: St. Paul, Minnesota Daily Globe, St. Paul, MN, August 19, 1890 , Page 2
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  Noted events in his life were:

• He has alternate birth date of 1852 and a birth location of Minnesota.

• He appeared on the 1880 US Census in Waubay, Dakota Territory on 15 June 1880. ²

1880 US Census
Page 482A, District 84, Family 118, Roll 112
Waubay, Day County, Dakota Territory
Walter Horton..Head..22..MN..Farming

(Living with wife.)
.

• He appeared on the 1885 Minnesota State Census in Crow Wing Township, Crow Wing, MN in 9 May 1885. ³

1885 Minnesota State Census
Page 4, Family 34
Crow Wing Township, Crow Wing County, Minnesota
Walter Horton..26..MN

(Living with wife and 2 children.)
.

Walter married Gunnild Maria Hanson, daughter of Syver Hansen and Sigri Larsdatter, on 31 July 1879 in , Trempealeau County, WI.^{1 2} (Gunnild Maria Hanson was born on 12 September 1848 in Klanderudtangen, Eidskog, Hedmark, Norway ^{4 5}, baptized on 4 February 1849 in Vinger, Hedmark, Norway,⁴ died on 14 August 1890 in Trempealeau, WI ⁵ and was buried after 14 August 1890 in Trempealeau Cemetery, Trempealeau, WI ⁵.)

  Noted events in their marriage were:

• They appeared on the 1880 US Census in Waubay, Dakota Territory on 15 June 1880. ²

1880 US Census
Page 482A, District 84, Family 118, Roll 112
Waubay, Day County, Dakota Territory
Walter Horton..Head..22..MN..Farming
Ellen Horton..Wife..25..NOR..Keeps House
.

• They appeared on the 1885 Minnesota State Census in Crow Wing Township, Crow Wing, MN in 9 May 1885. ³

1885 Minnesota State Census
Page 4, Family 34
Crow Wing Township, Crow Wing County, Minnesota
Walter Horton..26..MN
Nellie Horton..30..NOR
C. W. Horton..5..DAKOTA
Mabel Horton..1..WI
.

  Marriage Notes:

Name: Walter Horton
Birthplace: Hamilton, Minn.
Spouse's Name: Nellie Hanson
Event Date: 31 Jul 1879
Event Place: Trempealeau Co., Wisconsin
Father's Name: William Horton
Mother's Name: Mary Horton
Spouse's Father's Name: Sever Hanson
Spouse's Mother's Name: Sarah Hanson
Race: White
Spouse's Race: White
Indexing Project (Batch) Number: M00331-0
System Origin: Wisconsin-EASy
GS Film number: 1275576
Reference ID: Marr. 1878 - 1892

Citing this Record:
"Wisconsin, Marriages, 1836-1930," index, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XRKT-M88 : accessed 27 April 2015), Walter Horton and Nellie Hanson, 31 Jul 1879; citing reference Marr. 1878 - 1892; FHL microfilm 1,275,576.
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Marriage Record Details
Marriage Record ID: 2230833
Last Name: Horton
First Name: Walter
Day: 31
Month: July
Year: 1879
County: Trempealeau
Volume: 1
Page: 318
Marriage Record ID: 2394437
Last Name: Hanson
First Name: Nellie
Day: 31
Month: July
Year: 1879
County: Trempealeau
Volume: 1
Page: 318
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Gunnild "Nellie" Hanson married a traveling salesman, then called a "drummer", named W. F. Horton. One evening when their daughter, Mabel Horton, who was seven years old, her father insisted that they all go for a boat ride even though his wife, Nellie was afraid of water. Both the daughter and the wife drowned but there were no witnesses. A son, Walter, age 5, did not go along. W. F. Horton was tried for murder and set free due to a lack of evidence or witnesses.
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I don't know exactly what Walter Horton sold but his travels with his family were extensive. And if the 1880 census record shown below is accurate, Walter Horton was initially a farmer who may have tried his luck in the Dakota Territory and eventually moved back east to Minnesota and Wisconsin where he became a salesman. Using the information from the 1885 Minnesota State Census as the most accurate along with data from other sources, the following chart can be shown:

1879.............Walter and Nellie married in Trempealeau County, Wisconsin
1880.............son Walter born in Dakota Territory
1884.............daughter Mabel born in Wisconsin
May 1885.....CENSUS in Crow Wing County, Minnesota
Aug 1890......Nellie and daughter Mabel drown in Trempealeau, Wisconsin
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Nellie's sister, Marthe, who moved to Day County, Dakota Territory with her husband Bertinius Halvorson Egeland sometime around 1875 where he purchased a feed company in Fargo. Moving with them were Bertinius's parents. The family was so well known that Egeland Township of Day County was named in their honor. When the father of Bertinius Egeland died there in the Dakota Territory about 1878, Marthe and Bertinius Egeland moved back to Trempealeau, Wisconsin where they still owned their farm. When Marthe and Bertinius moved back to Wisconsin about 1878, they became close friends with Walter Horton and Nellie's sister, Marthe both of whom were still in the Trempealeau area. In 1879, Nellie Hanson and Walter Horton were married in Trempealeau, Wisconsin and within a year they were both living in the same exact area where Marthe and Bertinius Egeland had just vacated for their move back to Wisconsin.

I suspect that Nellie and Walter Horton may have been sent to the Dakota Territory to take over the feed company operations that Bertinius Egeland and his father had already established. Nellie and Walter Horton were enumerated in the 1880 census in Day County, Dakota Territory. That 1880 census shows only the husband and wife with no son yet born so it would have to be assumed that Nellie was pregnant with Walter who was born later in 1880.

In the meanwhile, Bertinius Egeland must have completed rebuilding his farmhouse and by 1882, he moved his entire family back to Day County, Dakota where they remained until his death in 1898. With Bertinius and Marthe back in Day County, it would appear that Walter and Nellie Horton had been "relieved" of their temporary assistance and they moved with their new son back eastward into Crow Wing County, Minnesota where they were enumerated in the 1885 Minnesota State Census. In the midst of their moves, their daughter, Mabel, was born in 1882, supposed in Trempealeau, Wisconsin but I have not seen any source citations for her birth location. Perhaps Nellie returned to her home town just for the purpose of giving birth to Mabel.

By 1890, Walter and Nellie Horton and their two children were living back in Trempealeau, Wisconsin when tragedy stuck with the drowning of Nellie and daughter Mabel in August. Within one year, Walter was remarried to Mary Van Wie.
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