Little Falls herald. [volume] (Little Falls, Morrison County, Minn.) 1889-1950, 1915-09-17
LONG LOST son IS found
MRS. BEN AsHBURN MEETS 25-
vEAR-O1D SON LOST SINCE
20 MONTHS OF AGE

Mrs. Benjamin Ashburn of this clty
is one Of the happiest persons on the
face of the universe. The source u
all her happiness is the recovery OF
lost son, one who disappeared "nen
but twenty months old, and VINO is no"
twentv-eight years OF age. ms son'
Edward, paid his mother visit mere
the past week, returning Wednesday
to his home in Chippewa Falis, WIS.,
Following is the story as told us ny
Mrs. AShburn:
Miss Anna Brack (Mrs. Ashburn),
came to this country from Germany at
the ace of eighteen years, locating at
Plattville, Wis. Here she met Joseph
Bernhoft, to whom she was marrleu III
1885. Two years later she was notlhed
that a relative had passed away IN
Germany and that she was entitled TO
a share Of the estate, so she, With ner
little son, ten months OF age, Went 10
Germany to get that share. IN uer-
many her little son died and she re.
turned and Joined her husband at
Plattvi!le. They lived there until the
summer Of 1888, when they were part
ed and Mrs Bernhoft went to M1l"au-
kee.
At Milwaukee she entered a prlVate
Institute where, about six weeks later'
or on October %, she gave birth to
son. A few days later a lady name:s
Mrs. Wilkomen came there and oHered
to take her child and care for 1t. when
the bov was nine days old Mrs. Bern.
hoft with her son went to the home OF
Mrs. Wilkomen, where they remained
two weeks. Then Mrs. Bernhcft secured
a position as nurse at the Adler Cloth
ing company store and she left the
child with Mrs. Wilkomen. She re-
mained there for seven months. or un-
til she was taken ill with the measles
She was i'll for two months and had TO
quit nursing. She then left Milwaukee
and went to Palmira, Wis, where she
secured employment on farm. here
she met George Proner. to Whom she
was married in June, 1890. They went
to Milwaukee shortly after their mar
riage to get the child. When she went
to Palmira she had intended to take
the child along but Mrs. Wilkomen
pleaded with her to leave the child
and this she agreed to upon Mrs. Viii.
kemen s promise to keep her informed
as to her whereabouts so that she
would be able to get the boy. The
woman wrote but few letters, however,
and when they came there to get the
child they were unable to locate the
family. They went there several times,
but without success and nothing more
was ever heard from them.
A son Charles and daughter Mabel
were born to Mr.. and Mrs. Proper.
They lived at Palmira for some time
and then moved to Waukesha. Here
her husband was taken from her by
1.-THE authucitie iess Anf@Sent to prison. She
was then asked by his relatives, who
lived near Ft. Ripley, to come and
live with them, which she did in 1892.
She secured divorce from him and
in Sept, 1899, was married to Benja-
min Ashburn.
One night about two years after her
son Charles, who had enlisted in the
army, had passed away, she had
dream in which Il stranger approached
her BEDSIDE and told her that IN some
manner she could find her son Edward.
She thought nothing Of the matter, as
it did not seem possible that she could
find him after so many years. But the
dream was repeated three nights in
succession and it worried her so that
in March, 1912, she told Elias Brown
of this city Of the dream and asked ii
there was any use Of trying TO find
him. Mr.. Brown told her that she
might try and she gave him the name
of the woman who took her child.
Mr.. Brown wrote to the chief Of po-
lice in Milwaukee and in April 1912,
Mrs. Ashburn received letter from
the chief stating that family. named
Wilkomen who had resided at Milwau-
kee had moved to Chippewa Falls,
Wis. She wrote to the chief Of police
there and asked if young man named
Edward; lived with this family and re.
ceived the answer that he did. At
last she was certain that she had To-
Gated her son. But the task was not
yet done.
Mrs. Ashburn expected to 90 to Au-
gusta, Wis, to visit her daughter, Mrs.
Henry Acker, puJ was unable to make
the trip and therefore wrote two let
ters, one to her son and one to Mrs.
Wilkomen. The letter to her son was
registered. Mrs. Wilkomen took the
boys letter, signed for it, placed the
letter and picture in an envelope to-
gether with short letter saying that
Mrs. Ashburn's 8 son Edward had gone
to Canada to look for a homestead,
and mailed the letter to Mrs. Ash
burn.
Mrs. Ashburn received the letter
and dropped the matter until the fall
of 1912, when she wrote another letter
to her son. She was ill at the time
with inAammatory rheumatism and was
unable to mail the letter and Elias
Brown sent it for her, by registered
mail, giving the postmaster particular
instructions to deliver the letter to
the person addressed. Her son receiv-
ed the letter personally and at the
time he opened it and read it Mrs.
Wilkomen was standing near by. She
then told him for the first time that
he was not her son and he informed
her that he had known it since he was
nine years of age, some neighbors in
Milwaukee having told him 50.
In February, 1913, he wrote to Mrs.
Ashburn, in which he stated that Mrs.
Wilkomen had left for Germany for
visit and that upon her return he
would come to visit his mother. The
letter was written the same day as she