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After the trial, Alice continued to live on the family farm with her five
children. Her oldest son, Oscar, took over the responsibilities of the farm
work. About a year later the family decided to sell the farm and move away.
Oscar, who was 19 years old, helped his mother and the rest of the family get
settled in Sioux City, Iowa. He then went his own way, starting a heating &
plumbing business. All three daughters eventually married ministers, and the
youngest son became a builder.
Not one of the 5 children of George & Alice ever really told their
descendants of the horrors they endured - neither about their father's abuse nor
any details about the shooting. Apparently they were adamant about insulating
their families from that part of their lives. All were very honest,
hard-working, conscientious people who raised their children with the same
attributes.
The only thing these 5 children ever told their own families was that Alice
had shot and killed George. Over time, two of the children related an
abbreviated story to their descendants: that George had come in to breakfast one
morning with muddy boots, and she shot him. Another son only told his family
that George "died of lead poisoning". A bit of humor.
The efforts of all 5 children to shield their families from this horrible
history were successful. The misery they endured died with them. None of George
& Alice's grandchildren or great-grandchildren were aware of any details until
the author of this website (a great-grandchild) discovered the newspaper
articles. And basically, all that is known is what's in the articles.
Alice seemed to recover from the ordeal fairly quickly, and did some
traveling later that year to visit family in Vermont. Over the years of her
life, she lived with each one of her children - in Oregon, Kansas, Iowa and
Minnesota. Her final home was the Veteran's Home at Fort Snelling in
Bloomington, Minnesota. Oscar had been in the Spanish American War so he
arranged for her to live there using his veteran status. She died there in 1948
and her body was shipped to Rock Valley, Iowa, to be buried next to George in
the family plot at Valley View Cemetery. She was 93 years old when she died.
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