October 25, 1905Residence of Nicholas Van SantSterling, Illinois I slept well after the three-day train trip to Sterling. Van Sant met me at the Sterling train station, brought me home right away; as it was late, the house was already quiet, but that was no matter — I was glad […]
March 26, 2015Chevy Chase, Maryland Back in the mid-1980’s, when I was a year or so out of journalism school with some experience writing for daily newspapers under my belt, I got the itch to move on to a bigger newspaper market, with a more interesting beat, and more exciting […]
I’ve always had a feeling new information might emerge just as I was putting the manuscript to bed, and sure enough, that’s what’s happened. I’m not upset or dismayed — quite the contrary. But it does make me anxious for the future as I get close to publication. I want […]
In early May, 1906, Nicholas Van Sant was worried. His law firm with Emmett was not doing as well as he’d hoped. Although they had won cases and were building a client base, there was a negative cash flow. Emmett seemed to be doing well enough; but Van Sant hadn’t […]
Emmett’s best legal education came not at Stetson University (where he was the valedictorian of the 1904 law class; it came not at the hands of his esteemed and experienced older brother, Cephas Love Wilson, Esquire. It came when he was, essentially, fired from his dream job in Sterling, Illinois […]
In one of the Wilson family genealogies, there’s a curious statement recorded by Emmett’s nephew. It says: “…my mother always said that Emmett fell in with some rich Northern lumberman who started him drinking, and he drank himself to death.” Hm. A rich Northern lumberman. Who could that be? Over […]
When Emmett lived in Sterling, Illinois from January to June, 1906, he boarded at the home of Mrs. Luella Snow Anning, widow, 802 West Third Street. Emmett’s best friend in Sterling was Nicholas Van Sant; a wealthy, prominent 50-something who considered Emmett the son he never had. Emmett’s closest-age friend […]
Readers, I have to say that I’ve been surprised not only at the amount of information I’ve been able to find about dear obscure Emmett, but where I’ve found it. Last week, I did a wild-card search on Ebay for anything about Emmett, or Emmett’s colleagues. Lo and behold, I […]
Emmett’s grand niece Elizabeth alerted me to another Cephas find the other day. One immediate takeaway from this piece was interesting — Ceph described as gossipy. Honestly, I don’t find that surprising. Cephas knew the value of the media in building one’s political career, as did Emmett. Both Ceph and […]
I have a lot of respect for people who will not let anything stand in the way of making a living, or chasing a dream. This week, while working on Emmett’s chapter about his sojourn in Sterling, Illinois in 1906, I came across someone who Emmett probably knew — or, […]
Tell my story. 