The Mysterious Lives of Freide, William and Henry, Part III

In posts 1 and 2, we saw the romantic tale of William and Freide Feige, and the fading of William Feige from the story, and the appearance of Henry Van Dalsem into it.

But the question still remains, what happened to William Feige?  His paper trail leaves some idea of the answer to that question, although some details are sketchy.

William Feige

In Iowa, in September of 1882, he applied for an invalid pension about the same time he filed for the homestead land in South Dakota, a rather curious combination of events. 

In 1885, the Dakota Territory census shows him living on his homestead and his occupation was "farmer." He also had a hired man to help out.  He and Freide still had five children at home.

In November of 1887, significant things began to happen.  This was almost exactly five years after filing on his homestead, having fulfilled the requirement to live on the land five years and to improve upon it.  With that time being just barely completed, he appears to have sold the land to his wife for $1,000, and a land transfer notification was printed in the local newspaper.  It was also about this time that his wife and children moved to Huron. The month after selling the land to Freide, he was admitted to the soldiers home in Leavenworth, Kansas.

Two years later (1887), the newspaper printed a notice that land patents were ready for pickup at the post office, and patent #1174 with William Feige’s name on it was among them.  

In June of 1894, he transferred from the soldiers home in Leavenworth to another soldiers home in Dayton, Ohio.   

1895 – I believe he was married to a woman named Sophia about this time, likely in Ohio.  This is based on future documents.

On June 26, 1897, he was discharged from the soldiers home “at request,”  presumably his.  I was unable to find him in the 1900 census, but I suspect he and Sophia (or just him) were still in Ohio.

In 1903, he moved back to South Dakota, according to information provided in the 1905 SD state census.

In 1905, William Feige appears in the South Dakota State Census, a resident of Campbell county, is 67 years old, and divorced.  He lists his occupation as “minister.”   He said he had been in the state for two years.

In 1907 he was granted a military pension of $12 per month, with a second pension date of May 1912, at $22.50 per month.

In 1910, he was an “inmate” at the State Soldiers Home in Hot Springs, South Dakota, was 71 years old and is married, and had been married for 15 years.   The marriage information is inconsistent with this status as “divorced” in 1905.

In 1915, he again appears in the South Dakota State Census, age 77, living in Fall River county at the Soldiers Home in Hot Springs.  No occupation is listed.  His Civil War service is referenced, and he is not “blind, deaf, insane or idiot.”  No  marital status is noted.

Later that year (October) he once again transferred back to the soldiers home at Leavenworth, Kansas, pictured below (photo from Library of Congress):

Two years later, on September 21, 1917 – William Feige passed away from colitis.  He is buried in Section 22, Row 5723, presumably in the veterans cemetery there.  Again, his service is referenced, and his status is as an “Army Invalid.” 

Leavenworth paperwork indicates that it was his daughter-in-law, Mrs. Carl Feige, who was notified of his death and who received his personal effects, in lieu of William’s son Carl, who was serving in the military.

William’s pension payment card notes the date of his death, and that money was payable to his widow, Sophia Feige, Willow Wood, Ohio.   The widow applied for a pension based on his service in September of 1925 and filed from Ohio.  

While these facts help paint some sort of a picture of William’s life after his divorce from Freide, the most interesting questions remain unanswered.   Why did William and Freide Feige divorce?  Did his medical status have something to do with it?  Was this common knowledge among the citizens of Huron, or did they really believe he had died?  Almost exactly five years after filing the homestead claim, the land was sold to Friede and William moved to the soldiers home in Kansas, almost as though he/she/they were waiting to have full rights to the land before making any moves.  Was this a plan involving both William and Friede?  Did William’s second wife Sophia ever accompany him to South Dakota or Kansas?  If not, why?  Why did William’s daughter-in-law get notification and his personal effects after his death, and not William’s widow?

Without a doubt there is much more to William’s story, and the most interesting parts of it may already be lost to history.

*********

SOURCES CONSULTED

“Pioneer Huron Woman Doctor Poses for Picture Showing 5 Generations.”   The Evening Huronite (Huron, South Dakota).  18 May 1936, pg. 9.

“Proceedings of the Board of Commissioners, Beadle County, South Dakota.”  The Daily Plainsman (Huron, South Dakota). 01 Aug 1907.

The Dakota Huronite (Huron, South Dakota).  22 Jul 1909, pg. 5.  Short local news items.

“Observes Ninetieth Birthday.”   The Evening Huronite (Huron, South Dakota).  06 June 1934, pg. 6.

“Do You Know.”  The Evening Huronite (Huron, South Dakota). 29 May 1928, pg. 6.

“Grow Old Along With Me.”  The Evening Huronite (Huron, South Dakota).  21 May 1929, pg. 6.

“Women’s Relief Corps Has Meeting Friday.”  The Daily Plainsman (Huron, South Dakota). 04 Sep 1937, pg. 6

Classified Ads.  The Daily Plainsman (Huron, South Dakota).  06 Sep 1893, pg. 4.  Lost Pocket Book.

Claims submitted to County.The Daily Plainsman (Huron, South Dakota).  14 Aug 1894, pg. 4.

Board Minutes.  The Daily Plainsman (Huron, South Dakota). 20 Sep. 1894, pg. 4

Van Dalsem & White printing equipment.  The Daily Plainsman (Huron, South Dakota).  07 Mar 1895, pg. 4.

“Without the Huronite!”  The Daily Plainsman (Huron, South Dakota).  23 Nov. 1894, pg. 4.

“In Memoriam.”  The Daily Plainsman (Huron, South Dakota).  30 May 1928, pg. 12.

“A Valuable Book.”  The Daily Deadwood Pioneer-Times (Deadwood, South Dakota).  17 Nov 1916, pg. 2.

“Poems of Soul and Home.”  Lead Daily Call (Lead, South Dakota).  18 Nov. 1916, pg. 2.

“City Briefs.”  The Evening Huronite (Huron, South Dakota). 17 Jul 1929, pg. 6.

“Buy Liberty Loan Bonds, She Says.”  Aberdeen Daily News (Aberdeen, South Dakota). 4 Jun 1917, pg. 1.

“Huronitems.”  The Daily Plainsman (Huron, South Dakota). 10 May 1892, pg. 3.

Birth Announcement.  The Daily Plainsman (Huron, South Dakota).  29 Sep 1890, pg. 4.

“Real Estate Transfers.”  The Daily Huronite (Huron, South Dakota). 14 Nov 1887, pg. 3.

“Land Patents.”  The Daily Plainsman (Huron, South Dakota). 08 Aug 1889, pg. 2.

Child kicked by horse.  The Daily Plainsman (Huron, South Dakota). 20 Jul 1893, pg. 4.

Called to Highmore. The Daily Plainsman (Huron, South Dakota). 02 Aug 1889, pg. 4.

Lane family has diphtheria. The Daily Plainsman (Huron, South Dakota). 06 Jan 1893, pg. 4

“Birthday Dinner for Dr. Van Dalsem.”  The Daily Plainsman (Huron, South Dakota). 06 Jun 1930, pg. 6.

“Do You Know.”  The Evening Huronite (Huron, South Dakota). 25 May 1928, pg. 5.

“Dr. Van Dalsem Celebrates Birthday.”  The Daily Plainsman (Huron, South Dakota). 08 Jun 1933, pg. 5.

“Pioneer Days.”  The Daily Plainsman (Huron, South Dakota). 29 Jul 1960.

“Delinquent Tax List.”  The Evening Huronite (Huron, South Dakota). 10 Dec 1937, pg. 8.

“City Briefs.”  The Evening Huronite (Huron, South Dakota). 16 Apr 1934, pg. 7.

“Twenty Years Ago Today in Huron.” The Evening Huronite (Huron, South Dakota.) 20 Apr 1933, pg. 6.

“Celebrates Birthday Quietly Tuesday.”  The Evening Huronite (Huron, South Dakota). 9 June 1932, pg. 6.

“Celebrate 56^th Wedding Day Saturday.”  The Evening Huronite (Huron, South Dakota). 09 Mar 1931, pg. 5.

“Dr. Van Dalsem Has Guests.”  The Evening Huronite (Huron, South Dakota). 31 Mar 1931, pg. 6.

“City Briefs.”  The Evening Huronite (Huron, South Dakota).  08 Jul 1930, pg. 5.

“Twenty Years Ago Today in Huron.”  The Evening Huronite (Huron, South Dakota). 04 Dec 1929, p. 14.

“Entertains for Out-of-Town Guest.”  The Evening Huronite (Huron, South Dakota). 17 Jun 1930. Pg. 6.

1870 Federal Census, Sedalia, Pettis county, Missouri.

1880 Federal Census,  Eden twp., Sac county, Iowa.

1885 Dakota Census, Beadle county, Township 112 N. Range 61.

1890 Veterans Schedule, Wisconsin, Chippewa county, Village of Bloomer.

1895 South Dakota State Census, Beadle county, Huron, 2^nd Ward.

1900 Federal Census, South Dakota, Beadle county, City of Huron.

1905 South Dakota State Census, Beadle county, Huron.  Card for H. A. Van Dalsem. 

1905 South Dakota State Census, Campbell  county, PO Artas.  Card for Wm. Feige.

1910 Federal Census, South Dakota, Fall River county, Hot Springs.

1915 South Dakota State Census.

1920 Federal Census, South Dakota, Beadle county, City of Huron.

1925 South Dakota State Census.

1930 Federal Census, South Dakota, Beadle co., City of Huron.

1907 Huron City Directory, listing of Physicians, p. 135.  Home listing pg. 108.

1930 Huron City Directory, listing of Physicians.

John M. Comstock, “The Congregational Church of Vermont and Their Ministry,” pg. 87.

William Phipps Blake, “Centenary of Hamden, Connecticut,” pg. 197-198.

O. W. Coursey, “Literature of South Dakota,” pg. 186.

1906 Land Ownership Map, Iowa twp., Beadle co., South Dakota

Pension Card, William Feige.

United States Veterans Administration Pension Payment Cards, 1907 – 1933.  FamilySearch.org. Card for  William Feige.

U. S. National Homes for Disabled Volunteer Soldiers 1866 – 1938, Leavenworth, Kansas. FamilySearch.org.

U. S. National Homes for Disabled Volunteer Soldiers 1866 – 1938, Dayton, Ohio. FamilySearch.org

Military Enlistment record, Henry A. Van Dalsem.

Veterans Burial Records, William Feige.

Iowa, Deaths and Burials (Ancestry.com).  Death of Sarah L. Van Dalsem.

Cemetery Record Search.  https://apps.sd.gov/dt58cemetery/

Find-A-Grave gravestone photo for Henry and Freide Van Dalsem, courtesy of Brenda Behlke.