Ottumwa semi-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1899-1903, 1899-12-19
A CHRISTMAS STORY
One That Concerns Ottumwa and
is True, Though Romantic.
WIDOW FINDS WEALTHY RELATIVES
Mrs. Stokes, Who Has Lived lin Poverty
in Ottumwa. is Found by Her HALF
brother. Postmnster Charles u.
Gordon, OF Chicago, HI

IFrom Saturdays Daily.l
There is one family in Ottunlwa, or,
more properly speaking, one family
which did reside in Ottumwa up to a
few days ago to which the coming
Christmas will bring more happiness,
and more OF the good things of the
World, than any Iuletide for many
Years. y Widow who has shivered in
hunger and want through many u
Christmas day, will spend next Mon
day in warmth and comfort, and her
little children, who have never known
what it was to wake up and find that
Santa Claus had filled to overlooking
be introduced for the first time to the
good old patron saint of Christmas
tide Behind this is a story full of the
kind of romance that people of this
world only expect to find in novels. 1t
is the story of Il proud woman who,
marrying against the wishes of her
wealthy relatives, has withstood pow
erty, privation, hunger and want rath-
er than bow her naughty spirit to APP
ply for aid of brothers who were will
ing to forgive her and help her
The woman is Mrs. Belle Stokes, who
since 1895 has lived with her four chill
dren in Ottumwa. Her wealthy rela-
tives live in Chicago, and are half
brothers. One of them is Postmaster
c. U. Gordon, of Chicago. A short time
ago, through the kindly intervention
of outside parties, Postmaster Gordon
heard of his half-sister's presence in
this city and of her distressful pow
erty. One of the postmaster's broth
ers Immediately visited Ottumwa, and
last Thursday Mrs. Stokes and her
children left for Chicago, where 4
pretty home on Grove avenue awaited
their arrival.
Mrs. Stokes story is sad one. She
was born in Peoria, ILL.,, her mother,
Mrs. Absalom Butler, dying when Mrs.
Stokes was but eighteen months DID,.
Mrs. Butler had been formerly Mrs.
Gordon, and was the mother of c.. U.
Gordon, now postmaster of Chicago;
John Gordon, of Chicago, and Will,
Frank and Jake Gordon, now of Len
noN, Eng. she was also the mother of
Mrs. Minnie Woods. now of Edgerton,
Ill. After her first husbands death,
Mrs. Gordon married Absalom Butler,
with whom she lived unhappily until
4 her early death.
When her mother died. Mrs. Stokes
or Belle Butler, as her name was then
was brought by her father to Jefferson,
Iowa, where she spent five or six years.
Afterwards she went with her
i father to Chicago, and the two lived
| there for several years. Absalom But
Her then returned to Jefferson, while
| the girl remained in Chicago. After al
while he went to live in Boone, and his
daughter, much against the wishes OF
her half-brothers, who believed her
fathers ipnuence to be bad, went 10
Boone. to live with him.
Here in 1855 she married John Stokes,
railway brakeman. In the spring of
that year she was in Chicago visiting
her half-brother, G. U. Gordon, whom
she told of her intended marriage. He
was much opposed to it,, as. was also
his brother, John Gordon. They did
all in their power to break off the
match, but the girl would not listen.
After eight years of welded life,
during which the family experienced
various vicissitudes, John Stokes was
killed while going from Cleveland
to Liverpool, Ohio, in 1892. His wife
still lived in Boone, and was now left
very poor with four children TO care
for. Her father had died in Boone in
1892. Determined not to apply in an9
way to her wealthy brothers for help,
Mrs. Stokes came, in 1895, to Ottumwa,
in search of work. She had heard that
she could secure employment in the
Johnston Ruff1er factory, but as that
institution was running only part of the
time she could get no work there. Her
efforts in other fields were equally
fruitless, and too proud to report her
restitution to the authorities or ask
aid of charitable people, she struggled
along for three years, living III a hovel
and supporting herself and her chill
i dren by washing clothes and scrubbing
offices.
Thus she lived until last winter, when
the Courier in looking up the poor Of
the city, and searching out those who
We're most needy, found her living very
poorly in the basement of the house
at the northwest corner of Green and
Fourth. Learning of Mrs. Stokes desti-
tute circumstances through the Courier
several kind hearted women of the city
gave her material help through last
winter. When spring came Mrs. Stokes
moved to another part of the city, and
the charitable women lost track of her
for few months. In the meantime
she borrowed small sum of money
some six or seven dollars-from loan
agency in the city. Upon this small sum
the agency charged her 81 a month in
terest. Hearing of this outrage, gen
tleman in this city became interested
in her case, and learning that she had
brothers in Chicago, without her CON
sent, wrote to her half-brother, Post
master Charles U. Gordon. As result,
John Gordon, a brother of the post
master, came Immediately to Ottumwa
and investigated the case OF his half
sister. After another trip to Ottumwa
later in the fall, arrangements We're
made for Mrs. Stokes and her children
to move. to Chicago, and a comfortable
home was fitted up on Grove avenue.
Mrs. Stokes and her family left yes
terday to take possession of their new
home.
Instantly Killed