The Black Hills union and western stock review. [volume] (Rapid City, S.D.) 1904-19??, 1905-07-07
S%CANDALlZES FAMILY,
Chicago Professor Speaks of the Mar.
raise of Young Girl to Old Man
as Dauohter's Perfidy.

SellltI lSIll IL I'd uSllttl , PEI AdS, hio
developed out of the marriage of Ma
than w. Stowell. a Los Angeles mil
lionaire, to Miss Evelyn A. Wilkinson
of Chicago.
MIR. Stowell, who divorced his wife
of years in order to be free to marry
Miss Wilkinson. is So years old. Miss
Wilkinson. the ~'pertidious daughter"
is %, n is the daughter of William
Cleaver Wilkinson, professor of litera-
ture and criticism in the University of
Chicago. Prof. Wilkinson is known the
country owe as the author of the
"Chautauqua" series of literary text
books. He and his wife live at $500
WoOdlawn avenue.
Married in Plymouth Church.
The wedding of Miss Wilkinson to
Mr.. Stowell. which took place in the
Plymouth Congregational church on
Tuesday. June -, did not carry the
approval of the brides parents. but
until yesterday Ge depth of their
shame and suffering was not known to
the world. This was expressed in a
letter written by Prof. Wilkinson,
signed by himself and Mrs. Wilkinson.
and stained with their tears. The let
ter was sent to the lawyer for the for
mer Mrs. Stowell. who resides in Los
Angeles. and at the end Of it says:
You cannot imagine the depth Of
the darkness under which we are COM
PEELED to live the remainder of our life
Of sadness. We would infinitely have
preferred laying her in the grave. If
wide publicity in the papers will con-
tribute to the vindication of the injured
wife we are willing to suffer it all"
Letter by Professor Wilkinson.
AT greater length, in a letter to Mrs.
Stowell, Professor Wilkinson gave eX-
preston to his grief over the proposed
wedding. 1t was written four weeks
before the wedding n on the second
day after the announcement that it
was to take place. The letter follows:
university of Chicago, May IA, 1905.
Dear Mrs. Stowell: Out of the depth
Of my own sorrow II shame l must be
permitted to tell you how deeply l SYM
pathize with you in your present eX-
perience. l almost ond if you can
see without a Shudder of recoil 50 much
as the handwriting of anyone that
bears the name of WILKINSON But,
dear Mrs. Stowell, not ever you can
more heavily %reprobate the pertidy OF
my daughter than does her father. The
cruelty. the cruelty, the infalny of il.
Il sought with all my power to avert
the catastrophe. and | thought for a
Wv NScho Nllal L III ou1SSCuSi. u
alas. l was deceived. Would l could do
something to heal the dreadful wound.
| can only covenant you to God, as l do
most earnestly in my rayer l am
so thankful that you have such friends.
May your heavenly father bring you
some great good out of this great evil.
VIII o tell you dear mother how pro-
foundly l sympathiZe with her n with
you. Give her my love. n may l
sign myself
"Affectionately, # sorrowfully. yours,
William C. Wilkinson"
Beginning os the "Romance."
The romance out of which grew a
broken home, Il Texas divorce, u mar
ciage against parents consent, n the
breaking of hearts began fourteen
months ago when Professor and Mrs.
Wilkinson accompanied by their daugh-
ter arrived in LoS Angeles from Mex
GO where they had been travelling. Mr..
and Mrs. Wilkinson went to visit
friends in Los Angeles and Evelyn went
to Il residence in South Flower street,
In the same city, to be the guest Of a
girl friend.
While there Evelyn was stricken with
smallpox. contracted in some way dur
ing her travels in Mexico, and she was
luarantined, along with the whole
household, by the city health officers.
Before she had entirely recovered. but
was convalescent and waiting for the
raising Of the quarantine, pressing pro-
fessional engagements demanded the
return of DR.. Wilkinson to Chicago.
Mrs. StoweII Befriends Girl.
In the distress of the father, mother
and daughter, a friend came to the
:escue-a woman II had passed
through the smallpox ordeal when she
was Il girl. hat friend was the wife
If Nathan w. Stowell. with whom he
had lived in apparent happiness for
twenty years. She said to the distracted
PARENTS:
Let your daughter come to me as
soon as she is released from her cap
.ivity and l will keep her until she has
had time to recover completely and
The marks have disappeared from her
comely face"
Young Woman Meets StowelI.
So Professor and Mrs. Wilkinson
came on to Chicago joyfully, and in
a few days their daughter entered the
beautiful StOwell residence and for the
first time met the head of the house.
So far as the u~nsuspeCting Mrs. Stow
ell could see that was all there was
10 it. The actions of Miss Wilkinson
and MIR. Stowell were such as. neve" to
attract her attention., and so innocent
was the wife of all suspicion concerning
ler young guest that ever when her
husbands attorney served notice a year
alter of an application for divorce, she
lever for a suspected there
was any intrigue with Miss Wilkinson
in the matter. She could not under
stand it at all, and said to her attor-
ney. after thinking it over:
We'll, if he wants to get rid of me.
,et him go" SO it was that a property
settlement was made by which Mrs.
Stowell received about 100000.
Clandestine Correspondence.
Miss Wilkinson meanwhile had re-
manned at the StoWell residence for
several weeks, subsequently, returning
to her fathers house in Chicago. Dur
ing the year. that followed. it now de-
velOps, she kept up a ~clandeStine cor
r~espondenCe with StOwell.
In this. it appears that plans for
the divorce and marriage We're ma
: tured.
HI divorce was secured by Stowel,
in Texas. He claimed a residence there
and was there temporarily on busi-
ness.
HIS AiRSHiP A SUCCESS