The Fall

Eliza Laurie Roberts, back left, with her son, Walter, and her granddaughters, Susan (front, left) and Sandra. This picture was taken about 1950, at the Montana State Hospital for the Insane at Warm Springs.

Additional developments and discoveries have completely renovated everything I thought I knew about Eliza and her journey. I’ve verified what I now know through at least three sources per fact.

This legacy, while heartbreaking, is the account of Eliza Laurie Roberts.

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Then He said to them, “Beware, and be on your guard against every form of greed….”    KJV, Luke 12:15

Eliza Laurie Roberts…. Here is what you know thus far: Eliza Laurie, born in Scotland in 1879, touched American soil in 1905. She lived at 107 N. C Street in Livingston, Montana, where she met Robert Roberts, brother of the duplex’s additional tenant, Edward. They married on January 16, 1907, and in September of that same year, she gave birth to their first son, Edward. In 1910, they welcomed another addition, Walter. On March 23, 1919, Nancy Roberts was born in Spokane, Washington. This brings us to our current post, titled “The Fall.” In the Livingston/Big Timber, MT City Directory for 1916, Robert Roberts is listed in the Farmer’s Index with 320 acres of land. At that time, it was valued at $4,324. Adjusted for inflation, his land would be approximately $91,212. William J. Hannah, his brother-in-law, was also listed in the index as a sheep rancher. His property acreage totaled 3,289 acres. His operation as assessed at a value of $18,556 (adj. for current value: $391,426). Hannah, however much he was worth, it appears he still had a lot to accomplish regarding the favor in the eyes of his peers. The Big Timber Pioneer newspaper rarely, if ever, says anything negative about it’s hometown boy. In fact, for decades on end, if one were to go by the Pioneer alone, all you would see would be excerpts singing his praises as a veteran or senator. Not all newspapers were quite so nice. Just a few years before the directory was taken, The Big Timber Express called Hannah a “jackass” and said that “when he dies, he will have left a trail of slime from the cradle to the grave.” Fans of Hannah were few, it seems. I’m generally a fan of giving any character a chance at redemption. And if someone comes to me today with new facts about Hannah that disproves what I have, I will gladly take it into consideration. But as it stands, the “worthless nincompoop” made his mark on the Roberts family. Eliza came back to Big Timber, that is a certainty: she became pregnant with Nancy in about July of 1918. In the City Directory for 1918, Robert Roberts is, again, found in the Farmer’s Index. He still has 320 acres of land, only now, the value has increased substantially. His farm has more than doubled in worth, coming in at $9,274. Today’s figure? $195,629. This hardly seems like the ‘failing crops’ tale that has been rehearsed for decades regarding Robert’s farm. During the winter months, however, not much will grow with inches of snow on it. Eliza and the boys headed off to Spokane as planned, her being pregnant, and the Spanish Influenza creeping up their doorstep. Robert fell ill and died on November 20, 1918. Enter W. J. Hannah. Roberts’ death was tragic – after all, he was only 37 years old, and had family – a wife with two young sons and a baby on the way. But his dear wife was 459 miles away. The moral thing to do would be to contact Eliza and tell her, immediately, of her husband’s tragic death. Eliza, being the surviving spouse, would have rights to the homestead since her husband had already secured a patent on the land. However…. Hannah, being the politician he was, apparently did not notify Eliza of her husband’s death. Spokane’s City Directories collected information for publication in November and December the year prior to publication. The 1919 directory would have information from November and December, year 1918. The 1919 directory, in the township and block Eliza can be found at, was collected at the end of December, around the 23rd. At the time, she listed the head of household as Robert J. Roberts; his occupation, farmer. The address was 114 E. Everett Avenue, Spokane – the same address her father and step-mother can be found at. Eliza did not yet know Robert had died, more than a month after his passing. This detail profoundly verifies Hannah’s angle – since that same month, December 1918, Hannah applied for Administration Privileges over Robert Roberts’ estate – one worth thousands. Neither Hannah’s farm, nor the value of it, could be found in the 1918 Farmer’s Index. He was listed as a renter, whereas Robert was a homeowner. Hannah’s authority was granted quickly, since he was quite a friend of the judge. The required public notice, meant to allow other family members the opportunity to petition the request, was ran the Pioneer the same day as the court’s declaration. Handy, huh? Robert died on November 20; Eliza, living in Spokane, and unaware of her husband’s death, and waiting on her husband to join their growing family in a new city. Imagine checking the mail as often as possible, trying to send word one way or another to your spouse, your husband of only 11 years, and having no way to do so. Eliza was pregnant, and unemployed in Spokane, living with her parents. One wonders if this was the angle Hannah used to acquire administrative rights to his brother-in-law’s estate…. Hannah took the 320 acres of Roberts’ farm, and everything on it, and either sold it or auctioned it off. While Eliza and her sons were still in Spokane, Hannah filed for legal guardianship of both of her sons. It was granted without complication. When she returned to Big Timber in April 1920 to bury her infant daughter, her sons were handed to Hannah. And Hannah handed Eliza to the Montana State Hospital for the Insane at Warm Springs. And there she would stay, locked away by money and greed, for decades. There is a photo I have framed next to my chair in the living room. In it, a woman about my height, with my nose, stands next to a handsome gentleman and two young girls. The oldest, standing in front of her father, is my grandmother, Sandra; the youngest, my great aunt, Susan. The woman of similar stature, Miss Eliza. The photo was taken during her time at Warm Springs. In the background, you can see a distinct building, somewhat resembling an apartment or dorm. It was a horrid place, full of the worst stories you could dream up – sterilizations meant to prevent the procreation of “feeble-minded, insane, and epileptics” were commonplace. I am in the process of requesting Eliza’s medical records from her time there to assess whether she was, indeed, one of those suscepted to such an act. In that photo, though, she is smiling. She appears as if she’s dressed for a Sunday morning church service, dainty and detailed. I assume the measure was for the benefit of the two young girls who joined their father for a visit. It could not have been the ideal location for a family outing. Edward (the younger) and his brother, Walter, Eliza’s sons, worked tirelessly to save the money for a lawyer and have Eliza declared ‘mentally fit’ for reentrance to society. They succeeded only a few years before she died, at age 64. Hannah went on to have four children, the youngest of whom was born in 1918. In 1921, Hannah was listed in the Pioneer’s Delinquent Tax List for a substantial amount. He died in 1947 in Denver, Colorado. The Big Timber Pioneer ran a front page obituary for Hannah, highlighting his service in the Spanish American War, his terms in the state legislature, his family and their contributions to the community. In 1963, Walter – Eliza’s youngest, and my great grandfather, died in Stuttgart, Arkansas. He is buried there at Lone Tree Cemetery. A year later, Eliza joined him. She was interred at Mountain View Cemetery in Big Timber, where her daughter was buried, and one can assume, her husband. There are no headstones for any of them. None of their deaths made the front page.

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The Montana Memory Project has continued to update their previously deleted 1900s-1919 editions of The Big Timber Pioneer, which has allowed me to pinpoint dates, events, and places that ordinarily, I would never have been able to verify. I must first give them a big pat on the back for keeping the updating process running smoothly.

I Never Bought a Man who Wasn’t For Sale

File property of Montana Historical Research Center

He is as rotten a human being as can be found anywhere under the flag; he is a shame to the American nation, and no one has helped to send him to the Senate who did not know that his proper place was the penitentiary, with a ball and chain on his legs. To my mind he is the most disgusting creature that the republic has produced since Tweed’s time. – Mark Twain, on William A. Clark

Oh, the joys of the Gilded Age. Homes that cost more to build than Yankee Stadium… a general shallowness and disregard for anyone without the means to cover crown-moulded walls with the likes of Degas, Monet or Serat… It was a time of open worship of wealth. One man who became synonymous with such crude behavior was William A. Clark.

Clark’s history is easy enough to find – just google his name and you can look through his homes, his children’s homes, and read countless excerpts from books and newspapers that cover his pretentiousness. But what I’m sure you’re wondering is, “How does W. A. Clark connect to where we left off, with Eliza and her new neighbors?” Well, I am glad you asked.

In 1897, a young man named William James Hannah won a seat in the Montana State Legislature as the Democratic Senator from Sweet Grass County. Within a few weeks of election, he enlisted in the 1st Montana Volunteers, called up to fight in the Spanish-American War. Company I, of which he was a Private, was sent to Manila, Philippines. Now, here’s where Clark comes in.

Clark was tied with Rockafeller for the richest man in America – and his sights were set on one thing, and one thing only: to be a U.S. Senator. He used his monetary influence to effectively buy favor in Helena, Montana, and his opposition, Marcus Daly, bought favor in Anaconda and Hamilton, Montana. Using the ChroniclingAmerica.loc.gov website, I have scoured through countless newspapers and it’s obvious that not only the political figures showed favor, but the supposedly ‘unbiased printed truths’ did as well. The Anaconda Standard printed words against Clark, while The Billings Gazette seems to find no fault in those who’s votes were for sale.

In late 1898, Clark and his associates were hitting hard with the transfer of money, buying out individuals left and right. He is reported to have once said, “I never bought a man who wasn’t for sale.”

If such is true, William J. Hannah was for sale to the highest bidder. Hannah was in the Philippines when Clark saw the need for his allegiance, and according to John S. M. Neill’s testimony during the Congressional Hearing by the Committee on Privileges and Elections regarding allegations against Clark, Hannah was given the luxury of escaping the Spanish-American War and brought back to Montana early, by way of Clark. He was said to have paid $2,000 by cable to pay for his expenses home, so Hannah could vote in Clark’s favor. The Spanish-American War was in full swing – Hannah was in Manila for a few months, and left his company for the shelter of the senate floor.

Clark would also pay a hefty sum – $25,000 – to the Ross Dyer Mercantile Company in Big Timber. That same outfit would close it’s doors and put the money into a newspaper (making small town Big Timber home to three publications), and making Hannah it’s editor.

But Hannah would have to answer for his participation. The Anaconda Standard reported the following on Jan. 28, 1899:

But every man who accepted such a bribe would live to regret it. His neighbors would know it and he would be shunned and despised as long as he lived. It was a pitiful spectacle to Mr. Toole to see the men whose votes had been purchased attempting to justify themselves in the eyes of the world. What was the matter with this man, who had preached the gospel of Christ? If he wanted to change his vote from Dr. Fox, why didn’t he pick out an honest man to vote for? Mr. Toole said he had the sincerest respect for the churches, he recognized the vast good they were accomplishing in the world. But it had been his observation that ministers were as weak and frail as other mortals. As to the first conversation between them that Senator  Hannah had referred to, Mr. Toole said he did tell the senator that he and his friends were willing ,to vote for any good, clean man. It seems now that Senator Hannah was not in that class (great laughter), and he apologized for making such a serious mistake. As to the other conversation, Mr. Toole declared: “I say to Hannah now, looking him in the eye, that I had no idea when I asked him to explain his vote on the floor of this house, that he intended to change his vote to W. A. Clark.” Toole went. on to describe the great good that Hannah could accomplish among the Filipinos, if he went back there with the Bible in his hand and $20,000 in his inside pocket, and as he elaborated the picture, the house sent into convulsions of laughter.
The two men were looking squarely at each other, Hannah nervously squirming in his chair, his face purple with rage and shame, while Toole was as cool as a cucumber, his face wreathed in sarcastic smiles.

William J. Hannah, the minister with a new job as editor, with a handful of fans and a trunk full of dismayed constituents, married Margaret Roberts in May 1900. Margaret was the sister of Edward J. Roberts, the same young man who lived across from Eliza Laurie… Margaret and Edward were siblings of Robert Roberts, a man who stole Eliza’s heart, and married her in January 1907.

Hannah’s documented trail of corruption dots various publications well into the 1900s, and one newspaper even commented on Hannah and Roberts’ union, hoping that the marriage would “take from his heart some of the bitterness and from his tongue some of it’s venom and blasphemy.”

Hannah joined the Roberts family, the same one Eliza was now a part of.

And in 1918, amidst failing crops, and the Spanish Influenza, we would see a cruel reminder of one powerful and affluent man’s ambition – and it would shred a family for decades.

Miss Eliza’s Neighbors

Or, “Miss Eliza, Part 2”

In 1906, The Great Northern Railway brought Eliza to Livingston, Montana. State historians whom I’ve spoken with claim that at the time, there was a big push for Yellowstone, since the railroad’s expansion to Montana made tourism a true money-maker. Posters dotted the train depots in New York City, attempting to sway uncertain destinations toward a home that was right along side the “pleasuring-ground for the benefit and enjoyment of the people.” 

And so, Eliza, it seems, was swayed. There have been no new developments in trying to piece together just why she chose Livingston, and why her family continued to Spokane, Washington. It seems, though, that Livingston, while growing, wasn’t quite a boom-town like Spokane was at that time. The next stop on the Northern Flyer held more possibilities for older men who did not quite relish the idea of mining in Montana. I am led to believe those factors contributed to Walter Whitson Laurie, Eliza’s step-mother, Isabella, her half-sister and her brother, James, continuing onward. They likely stopped to say hello, as you’ll see later, they were quite close. But stay they did not. 

Eliza is 27, and starting over in a new country, alone. She was unemployed (Ancestry.com. U.S. City Directories, 1821-1989 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011), and listed as a “boarder” at 107 N. C Street, Livingston. 

The home was apparently made somewhat like a duplex, since there was another boarder listed as well: Mr. Edward Roberts. 

A tremendous shout-out to http://www.mtmemory.org website and their countless hours of digitizing archives. This site has made an astounding impact on my research.

Edward Roberts (1879) was the first son born to Edward and Caroline (Habel) Roberts. He had two older sisters, Margaret (1875) and Amelia (1876). Time would see more added to the union, in the order of Robert (1881), Caroline (1885) and Martha (1886). In 1904, Edward roomed at the same location. He was then a Fireman with the Northern Pacific Railway. In 1906, he is, as stated, at 107 N. C Street, but within the two years, he’s moved up to the position of Engineer. Now, Edward was the same age as Eliza, and lived in the same house. I wonder why those two didn’t quite hit it off? Edward’s brother, Robert, younger by three years, lived only three blocks away on 109 West Park Street. He worked as a porter, though I’ve yet to determine exactly where. When visiting his brother, he must’ve met Eliza and fallen in love with her. They married on January 14, 1907. 

I’m a graphic designer an Photographer and I’m bringing my ancestor’s photos back to life by colorizing them. This is the wedding picture for my great-great grandmother, Eliza (Laurie) Roberts.

Very soon after marrying, Robert and Eliza would welcome a baby boy, whom they named Edward – either after Robert’s father or after the man who introduced them. He was born in 1907 in Big Timber, Montana. Only three years later, they welcomed another baby boy, who was named after his maternal grandfather, Walter (my great grandfather).

Now, genealogy and history go hand-in-hand. In order to understand your ancestors, you must know what they were seeing, what they were enduring at the time, their living conditions, etc. Robert’s Dry Creek homestead was 180 acres outside of the incorporated city of Big Timber. In the summer of 1918, Robert fell ill. Violently ill. At the same time, Eliza became pregnant. Edward was 11, Walter was 8. Eliza and Robert may have known at that time what was making Robert so sick, but both would be powerless to stop it. Robert, somehow, had contracted the Spanish Influenza. One source describes the pandemic as follows: 

The victims of the 1918 Spanish flu suffered greatly. Within hours of feeling the first symptoms of extreme fatigue, fever, and headache, victims would start turning blue. Sometimes the blue color became so pronounced that it was difficult to determine a patient’s original skin color. The patients would cough with such force that some even tore their abdominal muscles. Foamy blood exited from their mouths and noses. A few bled from their ears. Some vomited; others became incontinent. The Spanish flu struck so suddenly and severely that many of its victims died within hours of coming down with their first symptom. Some died a day or two after realizing they were sick.

Fearing for the lives of her sons, herself and her unborn child, she said goodbye to Robert so he could heal – he was meant to join them in Spokane, where she fled to stay with her parents for a bit. They said goodbye at home so he would not have to be around people at the train depot, and he assured them he’d be well and join them in a few weeks (source: my grandmother). 

He did not survive. 

His daughter, Nancy, was born in Spokane, Washington in April 1919. With Robert living on the homestead alone, Eliza was likely unable to contact him for weeks – possibly months at a time – before she became concerned. The post wasn’t very fast during Montana winters, and she likely blamed that as the reason she didn’t hear from him. Edward wrote to her and broke the news, as he lived closest to Robert, and knew Eliza well. In a letter, he explained that Robert knew he was close to dying, and did not think he could bear waiting for a train. He ventured outside and tried to dig a tunnel through several feet of snow, desiring to walk to Spokane to say goodbye to his family. He developed pneumonia as a result of the Spanish Influenza, and died outside, with his children’s picture gripped in his hand. 

The 1920 Census – taken the 3rd – 5th of January – lists Eliza, Edward, Walter and Nancy living in Spokane, and her as unemployed. On May 27, 1919, Nancy Lee Roberts died. She was just over a year old. 

Heartbroken by the death of her husband and her infant daughter, Eliza brought Nancy’s remains to Big Timber for interment. What greeted her, however, would affect generations of her family to come.

Miss Eliza

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S.S. Columbus

Glasgow, Scotland to New York, USA

S.S. Columbia, in an undated photo.

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Eliza Laurie may or may not have been a nurse in Scotland, as the New York Passenger List indicated she was. We can tell that she had never been to the US before, that she was a second-class passenger, her ticket was bought by her father, and she had one location in mind: Livingston, Montana (though she had no ticket to get there). And she had $80 on hand. In 1906, her home was in the midst of a mass immigration – between 1841-1931, more than 2 million Scots left for “greener pastures,” either to the Commonwealth or to North America, the young adults taking their new, adaptable skills with them. 

Trying to determine why her father was so eager for her – and eventually her family – to go to North America, I did a bit of digging into what her life was like at that time. Of course, America was still licking it’s wounds from the Civil War – a horrible conflict of epic proportions that “ended” in 1865, and that Eliza would, eventually, be connected to. That war affected America, yes, but it’s long-lasting impact touched other countries, as well. Scotland had long been a frontrunner in the wool and textile industry. In 1861, America chopped off it’s supply of raw cotton to Scotland, and the textile industry never recovered. This would have touched her father’s business tremendously, obviously, in a negative way. When Eliza was born in 1879, Walter was likely struggling to provide for his family at all. He married her mother, Jane Cleghorn, in 1870 in Galashiels, Scotland, and after Eliza was born, they welcomed a boy, James, in 1881. Jane died before 1886. Eliza was now the ‘mother’ of the household, taking care of her father and her brother, in a poverty-stricken household, thanks to the after-effects of the American Civil War. A minority in his occupation (in the 1881 census, there were only 304 male wool weavers compared to 784 females), and witnessing the industrial revolution renovating the face of his country, it’s not surprising now to see why Walter Laurie decided to set out for America. 

Eliza was sent first – chances are, she was the oldest, in the best health, the most likely to find employment quickly, and the best educated among the family. When she was 6, Walter remarried to a woman named Isabella (last name unknown), and in 1890, they had a daughter, Annie. In the 1901 Scottish Census, Eliza is not living with them, and neither is James.

Walter and his family would have waved goodbye to Eliza at Glasgow, Scotland, and she boarded as a second-class passenger. When her father and his family arrived, they were steerage passengers. 

When Eliza reached Ellis Island, she had been aboard the Columbia for 10 days. She walked freely onto American soil, and with her $80, purchased a train ticket to Livingston, Montana. In 1905, Livingston saw a boom of immigrants arrive, courtesy of the Great Northern Pacific Railway. Mining and iron works were dangerous jobs, but women were needed, as well, and someone who was a ‘nurse’ would have had little problem finding a job there. The strong anti-Irish, anti-Scottish mentality of New York City combined with the hustle-and-bustle of the epicenter most likely shared the haggis out of Eliza, who was quite used to rocky mountains and green valleys. Livingston may have just been the one train that was leaving the soonest, and Eliza was ready to get going… anywhere but there. 

And so she did. She rented a room in an apartment building at 107 North C. Street following her arrival there in July 1906. This location is quite interesting – in the room right above her is another individual that will change her life forever. 

 

Until next time, my family tree-ologists. (Yes, I’m leaving you hanging. Isn’t it great?!)

 

The Island of Tears

 

#7 on the list is Eliza Laurie – my great-great grandmother. She married Bob Roberts in Montana, only a year after arriving on American soil and had my great-grandfather, Walter, in 1910.

 

“. . . Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, The wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed to me,  I lift my lamp beside the golden door!”

Between 1904 and 1913, some 600,000 Scots, 13% of the population, emigrate for North America, the Commonwealth and elsewhere in the UK, taking with them a disproportionate share of Scotland’s skills and education. Between 1921-1931 a further 400,000 Scots leave the country (source http://www.undiscoveredscotland.co.uk/usfeatures/timeline/to1950.html).

Ellis Island was known as The Island of Hope, The Island of Tears, and with good reason. America was, indeed, the Land of Opportunity for some, and millions abandoned a life of mediocrity with hopes of landing on a shore filled with promise. In 1906, Walter Whitson Lowrie (Scottish spelling is Laurie) paid for his daughter, Eliza, to go to America. She was on the ship Columbia from June 31 to July 8, and arrived at Ellis Island with $80 in her pocket, and no ticket to her intended destination – Livingston, Montana. I’m still trying to find out why Livingston. Why not New York? She was there, she was homeless, she was a nurse, so why not try to make a life where you are? Perhaps she was told about Livingston during her journey to America. Maybe she read about it when she was planning her immigration, and decided it looked similar to home, so she started out bound for the mountains. As of today, 108 years later, I can’t tell you why she chose that location. I can tell you, however, that I’m incredibly glad she did.

A few months later, most likely after receiving money from Eliza, her father, Walter Whitson Laurie, boarded the ship “Caledonia” in Glasgow, Scotland. His previous address was 70 Moss Lane, Keith, Scotland (a building that still stands today). He was 50 years old, and had a rather well-off job. According to the 1901 Scotland Census, his occupation is listed as “Foreman Wool Wasper’s Winder.” His father before him was a shepherd and apparently, wool working was passed down to Walter. 

I’ve yet to determine the situations that pushed Walter to leave Scotland. Most of the time, you read about how life in their home country was so difficult and wrought with poverty, and those facets brought immigrants to America – and most of the time, that can be proven as such. However, in Walter’s case, I don’t exactly see that as a valid reason. He had a long career behind him in the wool industry there in Scotland. He was on his second marriage, had two children from his first and one daughter from his second. Eliza and James (b. 1881)  were from his first wife, Jane Cleghorn, who died in 1886. Annie “Nan” was born in 1890 from his second marriage to Isabella (last name unknown), whom he married in about 1886, presumably immediately following his first wife’s death. 

He was able to read and write, and had lived in or around that area most of his life to that point. He had three older sisters and a younger brother, and I’m currently trying to determine if any of them made the journey to America as well. 

As such, Walter comes to the United States, through Ellis Island, and his second wife, Isabella, and daughter join him a month later. They make their home on the opposite side of the nation: Spokane, Washington. 

Eliza is miles away in Livingston, Montana. Why did they bypass Montana? After supplying Eliza with the money to leave Scotland, after sending her on her own, across an ocean, to a new world, why not live there, instead of pushing on to Spokane? With Walter’s experience in the wool industry, Montana would have been spot-on with his prior occupation. 

Today, I will leave you here, wondering, “Why Spokane?”

Who was whom?

I’m often asked, “Who is your dad?” and it’s quickly followed by, “And his dad is…. who?” 

This chart, of my own design, shows the surnames and each maiden name in my tree, back five generations.

This is a brief look at my family tree, with my father (and his brothers) as it’s anchor.

Burgess, and Willhite, and Roberts, oh, my!

This is the very first blog in my genealogy research. It’s been a long time coming, since I’ve been asked more than once to keep people up to date on what I’ve found and how. 

I’ll give you a run-down here of who/what time frame I am studying. The following are surnames I am researching:

• Burgess
• Willhite
• Clark
• Eddleman
• Esquivel
• Jasso
• McGee
• Gassaway
• Roberts
• Lowrie/Laurie/Lourie
• Moore
• Ward
• Dorsey
• Whitson
• Cleghorn
• Hagel/Hagle
• Chew
• Macklefresh/Macklefish
• Ayers
• Bearden
• Clark
• Blalock/Blaylock
• Cavanaugh
• Nichols
• Stacks
• Marshall
• Bogy
• Cox
• Flatt
• Harris

Yes, this is a lot of names. Yes, this means I’m always learning. And yes, I like it that way.