‘The Day They Gave Babies Away’
(Robert “Robbie” Eunson, former Clark County Sheriff from 1908 to
1910, at the age of 12 was designated the task of finding homes for five
younger siblings, after the death of first his father and then his
mother. In later years, Eunson’s son, Dale wrote the story as it had
been told to him by his father, entitled, “The Day They Gave Babies
Away.”
Dale Eunson was well known for his work as a fiction editor of the
Cosmopolitan magazine as well as writer of some of the stories on TV
shows such as ‘Little House on the Prairie, The Walton’s and Leave it
to Beaver.’)
Robert String Eunson and wife, Mamie, married in 1855, left their
homeland of Scotland a year later, in 1856. After crossing the Atlantic
Ocean, they traveled to Chicago, America’s heartland city.
Having spent most of their savings for passage, Eunson had little time
to waste in finding work as their first child was to arrive in three
months. While in Scotland, he had worked as a sailor and ship builder,
so he looked for a position in his trade. He soon found employment in
a little town along the Fox River in eastern Wisconsin. The village
had a construction yard where small boats were built along the river
bank; when finished the boats were launched in the Fox River, floated
to Lake Winnebago and onto Green Bay and Lake Michigan as the
Fox River flows south to north, unlike nearby rivers.
The couple moved into a four-room log house near the river, only a
short distance from Eunson’s work in the boatyard. Their first child,
Robert, named after his father, was born at the newly acquired home.
At two-year intervals, two brothers and three sisters joined Robert, Jr.
(Robbie), making a family of six children. There was Jimmie, Kirk,
Annabelle, Elizabeth and Jane; the girls were named after their
mother’s sisters who were living in Scotland.
As soon as the father could, he went into the boatbuilding business for
himself. He began to contract for small river-lake boats, hiring men to
assist him with the work.
The growing town pushed the forest back from its site. Wisconsin’s
vast timberland started being invaded by the big loggers who realized
the fortunes to be made on felling the virgin growth of towering pine,
spruce and maples. New saw mills mushroomed along rivers and
lakes. As winter’s ice thawed in the waterways, rivers became clogged
with floating logs, rushing over rapids, piling up at the dam sluice
gates, herded through the final process of being sawed into siding,
flooring, beams, supports, furniture or other related products made of
wood.
The Eunson family witnessed the Fox River logging activities from
their front yard. In the summer, the river served as their avenue to the
rest of the world. Mail arrived from Scotland, an occasional
newspaper from Chicago, and needed supplies came by boats.
Eunson’s newly made boats were launched and sent off all via the
river.
The family worked steadily to make ends meet in providing for their
needs.
In the summer of 1868, son Kirk came down with Diphtheria. A
family conference was held and the decision made to send the other
five children off to live in a vacant cabin in the woods. Robbie, age 12
and the eldest would care for his siblings. He walked to the edge of
the woods, near town, daily. There a family friend brought food and
news of the sick brother.
After the fifth day, the children’s father came to tell them that their
brother, Kirk had passed the crisis in his illness and would live. A few
days later, they were able to return to their parents and home along the
river.
Three days after their return home, Robert Eunson, the father, who had
lost 15 pounds during the illness of his son, was stricken with the
dreaded disease. Mrs. Pugmeyer, a family friend, took the children to
her home. They never saw their father again; he died on the fourth
night of his illness.
Neighbors and friends were kind and helpful, but that goes only so far
when there is a family to provide for. Mamie Eunson “took in” sewing
as a means of income. When some sewing jobs required her temporary
absence, the older children cared for the younger ones.
Robbie wanted to quit school and find employment, but his mother,
knowing the importance of education, wanted him to continue his
schooling. After the river froze over in late November, Robbie would
put on his ice skates and travel up and down the river for miles to visit
logging camps. The camps were in full operation seven days of the
week, providing him time to pick up a few pennies by acting as a
helper in the cook shanty. Sometimes he would carry hot soup to the
men at noon. He would sling a strap holding 30 tin cups over his
shoulder and carry a bucket of soup to feed the lumber-jacks.
Mamie Eunson faced lonely times while trying to provide for her six
children. Often, she would be seen staring out the cabin window,
thinking of her family back home in Scotland.
Being a woman of small stature, just five feet tall, she had previously
been wiry and active. After her husband’s death, she had lost her
appetite and eventually couldn’t keep food down when she did eat. In
mid-December, she was struck with a fever, becoming bedridden.
Though Robbie had promised his mother he wouldn’t call Dr. Delbert,
because of no money to pay him, he broke his promise when she
became delirious. Dr. Delbert came when the young lad asked and
diagnosed her illness as typhoid fever. The doctor told the children he
would come to their home twice a day to check on their mother.
On the morning of Dec. 23, Mamie asked Robbie to listen carefully to
some instruction she was going to give him. She took his hand in hers
and told him she was going to die. She told him not to mourn for her,
as there wouldn’t be time. Then she told him what he was to do with
the children. There were all nice, good children, she said, and he could
get decent homes for them. Since the responsibility must be his, he
was to decide where they were to be offered. It would be better; she
thought if they were placed with families that had children of their
own. They wouldn’t be so lonesome for each other, that way.
Speechless, Robbie was asked to nod his head after each statement,
designating he understood the instructions. “You watch out for them,”
she said. “You go and see to it as often as you can that they are taken
care of.” He nodded his head.
She then said, “Robbie, you get a good place for yourself. Promise
me.” “I’ll get along all right, Mama. Don’t you worry about me.”
Those were the only words he could say to her.
Mamie Eunson passed away later that day, and the funeral was the
next day. The Delberts and Bradleys, family friends, discussed where
the children should go and what families could take a child or two into
their fold. Young Robbie announced that his mother had asked him to
decide where they were to go.
Robbie asked the two couples to allow the children to be left alone in
their home. The next day, Christmas, it would be their last chance to
be together.
There were no Christmas gifts or stories. Robbie put the younger
children to sleep; by telling them stories of Scotland, stories told to
him by his parents.
After the four younger children were asleep, Robbie and Jimmie
talked. They made a list, written on a paper bag, of family names in
town that they thought would like children, be good to them and bring
them up as if they were their own.
“We won’t wait until the day after tomorrow,” Robbie said. “But you
told Dr. Delbert you would wait,” said Jimmie.
“I know that. But Mama told me I was to decide. If I wait, they won’t
let me. And tomorrow being Christmas we ought to get just about
anybody we want to take any of us in,” said Robbie.
He was a little bit ashamed of himself for appealing to the sentiment of
the season, but he knew what he was about to do.
Howard Tyler was owner of the livery stable. He owned 12 horses,
had four teamsters and an assortment of rigs for whatever occasion.
Robbie had spent many hours at the stable as he liked horses. Tylers
had two boys. Mrs. Tyler was a leader in church doings and a great
organizer.
The Tylers were ready to sit down to enjoy their Christmas dinner
when there was a knock at the door. Mrs. Tyler went to the door and
two children greeted her, a boy of 12 and a girl of six. They
recognized them as the Eunsons.
The children were invited to eat dinner. Robbie said, “Begging your
pardon, Mrs. Tyler, but Jimmie and I was wondering if you would like
a sister for Howie and Bruce. Annabelle can wipe dishes, has been
learning to sew and knows her A-B-Cs.
Mrs. Tyler said, “Howard, it’s Christmas. We have to – we’ve wanted
a girl.” They both agreed and began making Annabelle feel at home as
Robbie left.
Jimmie hauled Elizabeth on his sled to the Potter home across the
river, but no one was home. As he returned, he met Robbie on Main
Street. They contemplated where to go next and saw a horse pulling a
cutter prancing toward them. The boys looked at each other and
nodded. They waved their arms, signaling the driver to stop.
Inside the cutter was a middle aged couple, the Stevens. Stevens told
the boys they were traveling to their house to see if they could help in
any way.
“Yes, there is, that is – since you and Mrs. Stevens have no children
you might like to take Elizabeth. That’s her,” Robbie said pointing.
“We’ll take her,” Mrs. Stevens said. With a bound, she was out of the
cutter, lifted up Elizabeth, looking to her husband for approval.
Knowing Stevens was the school principal, Robbie explained that his
sister had a Scottish burr making her speech a little difficult to
understand, but assured them they would get used to it.
Stevens, said, “You bet we will and you boys come and see her any
time.”
After returning home, their brother Kirk came to meet them at the door
with a wild look on his face. “Old Mrs. Runyon is in there. Says she’s
going to take Jane,” he whispered.
Now here was a problem. Mrs. Runyon had been a widow for 20
years wore only black, carried a cane that she used to swipe things she
didn’t like. Various remarks about her actions had frightened the
children.
As Robbie walked into the house, he told Mrs. Runyon, that Jane was
already promised to someone. He convinced her it was no one she
knew and they lived in another town, though the boys weren’t certain
who would take Jane.
Robbie instructed Jimmie to take Kirk to the Cramers. The Cramers
had no children and Mrs. Cramer owned a cello, which she could play
very well. “Tell them Kirk likes music and can fiddle pretty good,”
Robbie said.
Kirk began to cry, he didn’t want to leave his brothers. Robbie was
afraid of that, because he knew Kirk was the soft one. Robbie thrust
Kirk’s fiddle in his arms and said, “Go, get a move on,” as Jimmie
would go with him.
Robbie hurried to get Jane dressed. Before he was finished, Jimmie
was back. Robbie asked, “Did they take Kirk?” Jimmie nodded, and
asked, “Where are you going with Jane?”
“I’m taking her up to Berlin,” said Robbie. “But that’s 12 miles
away,” said Jimmie. “I’ll take her up the river on our skates with Jane
on the sled. I’ll stay up there, too, and work at Round’s camp,” replied
Robbie.
Did you talk to the Raiden’s about staying with them, asked Robbie.
“No, I know they will because they don’t have any boys, just four
girls,” Jimmie said.
Seeing Jimmie leave was hard for Robbie. He put his sister Jane on
the sled, clamped on his ice skates and started up the Fox River ice to
Berlin. It would take him three hours, but the moon was coming up
bright in the clear sky so he could see the river ice ahead of him. Jane
slept part of the way, lulled by the moving sled. At last, there were
feeble lights in a group of houses along the river. They passed a saw
mill and skated through a group of skaters who barely noticed them. A
moment later Robbie saw a house with Christmas tree candles
twinkling in the front window. He stopped and gave the house a silent
inspection. If there was a Christmas tree, there must be children in the
home. The house was small, so the family probably didn’t have much
money but must love children to sacrifice for a Christmas tree.
Robbie removed his skates, picked up his sister, carrying her in his
arms. Climbing the steps to the porch, he then knocked on the door.
A lady, wearing a shawl, opened the door and soon three little ones
were peering around her skirts. Robbie heard her say, “Well for mercy
sakes.” He said, “Please, Ma’am, I wonder if you’d like to have a
baby.” Then Robbie fainted. When Jane was safe in the hands of the
Clareys, he said goodbye and walked up to the Rounds camp in the
woods where he became a helper, later a logger in his own right. He
always kept tabs on his brothers and sisters, visiting them whenever he
could, satisfied with their care.
The heart-warming story of a 12-year old boy, Robert (Robbie)
Eunson, demonstrates how he had listened closely to his dying
mother’s words and carried out her commands.
The father, having died previously, left Robbie the oldest member to
care for the younger children after their mother died. As the story
relates, young Robert refused to be turned aside by the neighbors’
suggestions. He placed the children in homes where he thought they
ought to be.
Robert always kept tabs on his brothers and sisters, who on the most
part, turned out remarkably well. They all looked very much alike,
and others who knew them recognized something poignant in their
love for each other, because they had nothing but that love in
common. As each child grew up, he or she took on the characteristics
and absorbed points of view of the foster parents.