Sample Manuscript

Title:   Legacy and Lineage: D.D. Palmer’s Daughters and Their Descendants                         

 

Authors:     Roger J.R. Hynes, D.C.
                     Alana Callender, Ed.D.

               

 

ABSTRACT:

  This manuscript investigates the lives and lineage of two of D.D. Palmer’s daughters, May Elizabeth and Jessie Catherine. The First Family of Chiropractic is undeniably D.D. Palmer succeeded by B.J. and Mabel Palmer and their son, Daniel David Palmer II. If matrilineal succession had been more common and B.J. less ambitious, the lineage might have followed the Brownell line. By examining a wide range of archival sources, including personal letters, newspaper excerpts, census documents, and published historical accounts of events, we aim to shed light on the lives of the families of two of D.D.’s daughters and draw attention to their contributions.

 

THE YOUNG PALMER FAMILY

 

            In November 1871, D.D. Palmer and his wife, Abba Lord Palmer, purchased 10 acres from Elisha Essley in Eliza Township, Illinois (north of New Boston). They divorced and in July 1873, Abba sold her half of the 10 acres to George Holton of Minnesota for $150 (Gielow, 1981, p. 27), leaving D.D. with a small landholding of five acres just east of the Mississippi River. It is a hilly and rocky untillable property with a beautiful vista. Daniel was a successful beekeeper and horticulturist on the farm they called Sweet Home.  D.D. was active in the Western Illinois Beekeepers’ Society serving as president in 1878. He also contributed a regular column to the  American Bee Journal. [Figure 1]

            D.D. married his second wife, Louvanna[1] Landers on 11 October1874 in Mercer County, Illinois (ancestry.com). Louvenia was a widow, eligible to draw a pension because her husband was a veteran of the Civil War (National, 2024).

Louvenia has a son, Frank, born c. 1873 In a letter dated February 24, 1907, to Barbara Robinson, Louvenia’s sister, D.D. stated that Frank “was not my son, although I raised him.” Whether Frank was the same child as the “blue-eyed boy of 21 months old” described September 9, 1874, in volume 10(9) of the American Bee Journal remains a historiographical debate among chiropractic history scholars. We believe he was, but that is a question for a different time.  Proponents of the biological child theory point to census records that list Frank’s father as Canadian; ergo, he must be D.D.’s son. Another option is also plausible. Although the North American non-federated nations of Canada and Newfoundland were officially neutral during the American Civil War dutifully echoing Britain’s position, an estimated 33,000 to 55,000 Canadians fought in the conflict. Most joined the Union forces due to proximity, contempt for slavery, and economic ties; some did join with the Confederate forces (Boyko, 2014; Stanley, 1970; Taylor,1946). It is conceivable that Frank’s biological father was Canadian as shown in the census, but not D.D. Palmer.

            A daughter, May Elizabeth, was born to D.D. and Louvenia on May 30, 1876, joining Frank. [Figure 2]

            In September 1878, a second daughter, referred to by her father as Chip in his column in the American Beekeeper’s Journal, died five months after her birth. She was buried at Sweet Home.

            A third daughter, Jessie Catherine, was born to the Palmers either in What Cheer, IA, or in New Boston, IL, on September 1, 1880. What should be definitive records of Jessie’s place of birth disagree, flipping between What Cheer, IA, and New Boston, IL. Our hypothesis is that the family was living in New Boston but, having lost the previous child soon after her birth, traveled to the Palmer family enclave for additional support during Louvenia’s lying-in. The D.D. Palmer family could have made the majority of the trip on the new “Iowa Route” of the Burlington, Cedar Rapids & Northern with daily rail service between Muscatine and What Cheer, IA. What Cheer, 93 miles west of Eliza Township, IL, was the home to D.D.’s brothers Thomas and Bartlett, and to his parents, Thomas and Catherine. Brother Thomas was editor of the town newspaper, the What Cheer Patriot. His sisters, Jennie and Catherine, may have still lived close by.

During the “Big Snow of ’81,” all the Sweet Home bees perished. Daniel sold out and moved his family to the bustling coal mining town of What Cheer, becoming a merchant in “. . . that thriving little village [which] seems to be booming just now and is filling up rapidly with businessmen and enterprising people from other places” (Chatter, 1881). When the senior Palmers, Thomas and Catherine, had moved to What Cheer, Iowa, before their sons D.D. and T.J., it wasn’t really there. There was a crossing over Coal Creek in Sections 9 and 10 of Washington Township, Keokuk County, which was known locally as Petersburg until 1879. A conflict with another Petersburg, Iowa, forced a name change for the post office and What Cheer, an Eastern greeting, was chosen for the community. What Cheer began its heyday after the younger Palmers arrived as one of the major coal-producing towns of Iowa. In 1880, the population of What Cheer was 200. By 1900, it was over 5,000 (Houlgrave, 2024).

In 1882, Joshua Bartlett was born in Keokuk County, continuing the pattern of a child every two years. In 1883, Daniel had secured a teaching post in Letts, Iowa, 70 miles east of What Cheer. On November 20, 1884, Louvenia, age 31, died at their home in What Cheer of consumption (Died, 1884).

            Daniel and his four children moved in with his brother Bartlett and sister-in-law Elizabeth Luverna (Verne). The Bartlett Palmer household is enumerated in the census taken in 1884 (1885 Census): Bartlett D. (30) Married, furniture clerk; Verne Palmer (30) Keeping house, from Virginia; D.D. Palmer (40), Grocer; Frank Palmer (12); May Palmer (8); Jessie Palmer (5); and Bartlett Palmer (2).

            In 1885, Daniel married widow Martha A. Quinn Henning (age 26). She had a six-year-old son, George Oliver, and so their household would have included five young children. Within a few months of their marriage, Daniel placed ads in the newspaper saying that Martha had left the marriage and he was no longer responsible for her debts. They were officially divorced within another two years.

            In 1886, the now self-proclaimed Dr. D.D. Palmer and his four children move to 508 1/2 Jefferson Street, Burlington, IA, presumably without Martha. He set up a magnetic healing practice in Professional Rooms 2,3, and 4 with living quarters in the rear of the deep building [Figure 3] The next year, he relocated his practice to Davenport.

            Fourteen-year old Frank died on September 24, 1888, of typhus fever. The Democrat-Gazette, one of the three Davenport papers that noted his passing, made mention of a Mrs. D.D. Palmer (Items in brief, 1888). Sometimes, a historian has to accept the fallibility of the local press. Frank was buried in Oakdale cemetery, his grave marked only with a metal plate and his death date. When Frank’s life and death came to our awareness around 2013 through the research of Dr. Stephen Zins, the overgrown grave marker was unearthed by a member of the staff of Oakdale Memorial Gardens.

            Perhaps the Democrat-Gazette reporter could not conceive of a single man raising three children alone. And perhaps neither could D.D., because on November 6, 1888, he married Villa Amanda Thomas (age 39), a spinster dressmaker from Rock Island and a member of the Latter Day Saints. May was 14; Jessie, 9; and Bart, 7. Rev. HC. Leland of Rock Island officiated [Figure 4. DD and Family].

            Villa took over the running of his offices in Rooms 7, 11, 12, 13 of the Ryan block [1888-1889 City Directory] and the running of his household. She appears to have been an excellent helpmeet and business partner, but slightly lacking in maternal instincts.

 

 

MAY’S STORY

            May, a young lady of 14 who had been “the lady of the house” since Martha’s exit probably pushed back against the new stepmother. Her flight from home three years later was covered in three local newspapers.

            “May Palmer, a daughter of Dr. Palmer of the Ryan block, a girl almost eighteen years of age, drew some $80 from the savings bank on Monday and Tuesday morning was missing. It is said that she had not gotten along with her stepmother for some time” (Items, 1894).

            “May Palmer, the eighteen-year-old daughter of Dr. Palmer, has left the parental home without the formality of saying good-by. Her unceremonious departure caused a flutter of gossip in the Ryan building, in which the family reside, some of the tenants asserting that her home had not been a congenial one, which caused her to take the step she did. . . To a reporter Dr. Palmer stoutly denied that May’s home relations had not been pleasant and characterized the assertions to the contrary “a pack of lies.” While he was not aware of where she had gone, he said she was of age and entirely capable of taking care of herself. She had gone of her own accord, he said, and as she was of legal age it would be useless to attempt to cause her return, because she could not be compelled to remain if she did not so desire” (Flees, 1894).

            “May Palmer . . . left her home Monday night, and her parents are ignorant of her whereabouts. Her father called her as usual in the morning, but received no answer. Investigation showed the girls’ room was vacant. . . . The young lady lacks but a little of becoming of age. Her parents are not worried about her, but think that she will return in a short time, convinced of the folly of her course” (Left, 1894).

            Pomeroy, IA, is a town just off Route 20, northwest of Des Moines. The railroad was instrumental in the success of Pomeroy and took passengers to Fort Dodge and Davenport and hauled cattle to Chicago. Nearly wiped off the map in July 1893 by a devastating tornado, the spirit of the people prevailed, and Pomeroy renewed itself as an agricultural community. . . At one time, two doctors practiced medicine in town. The business district included a hotel, women's and men's clothing stores, butcher shop, drugstore, blacksmith, and several grocery stores. Pomeroy also had two lumber stores and a stock yard (City, 2024).

            In 1894, Pomeranian 40-year-old Niles Brownell formed a partnership in the land, loan and insurance business with E.J. Masterson (Jottings, 1894). Their advertisements describe Niles as a Justice of the Peace. A year later, the partnership was dissolved (Dissolution, 1895).

Subsequently  , “N.L. Brownell left [Pomeroy] last evening on a business mission to Davenport. He will be absent four or five days” (Personal, 1895). Three months after that, on October 16, 1895, “a very quiet but pretty home wedding took place Tuesday afternoon at the home of Dr. and Mrs. Dr. Palmer in Ryan Block where their daughter Miss May Palmer (age 19) and Mr. Niles Brownell (age 41) of Pomeroy, Ia., were united in marriage. Rev. S.H. Weed of Colona, Ill., performed the ceremony in the presence of only immediate relatives and friends. Mr. and Mrs. Brownell will make their home in Pomeroy (Items, 1895).

            May’s marriage seems to have enabled a rapprochement with her father and stepmother. The Pomeroy Herald reported that Mrs. N.L. Brownell returned in late February 1896 “from a pleasant two weeks’ visit with her parents at Davenport” (In abbreviated, 1896).  

              “An exciting runaway occurred Sunday forenoon. Niles Brownell and wife were about to drive to Manson. Mrs. Brownell had gotten into the buggy and her husband was putting the halters, when the team started to run. Mr. Brownell held to the lines until they broke, and the team started down the sidewalk, running the full length of the Stewart lot. As they turned north, Mrs. Brownell jumped out. The rear wheel passed over her, but she escaped without serious injury. . . . Mrs. Brownell was fortunate in escaping with only a few bruises” (An exciting, 1896).

            Their first child, William Palmer Brownell, was born August 10, 1896, followed closely by his brother, Donald Morrelle Brownell, born on October 26, 1897 (California, 2024). Niles was advertising as the local Justice of the Peace and an agent for several lending insurance companies, with collections a specialty (Brownell, 1897). He was also an elder in the Presbyterian church and a member of the Christian Endeavor, a national church youth organization (Presbyterian, 1897). In May 1898, Niles was one of four delegates of the Fort Dodge presbytery to attend a meeting of the General Assembly in Eagle Lake, IN (Presbyterian, 1898). May and the children stayed in Davenport with her father and stepmother (Item, 1898) for a month. They returned for a visit the following summer. “Mrs. N.L. Brownell returned from Davenport Tuesday, her husband accompanying her from Des Moines, where they witnessed the state fair” (Short local, 1899).

              In addition to acting as justice of the peace, Niles was appointed postmaster of Pomeroy in December 1898, an office he held through 1902 (Iowa notes, 1902). In 1899, Postmaster Brownell’s salary was raised to $1,400 . . . “and is evidence of the rapid growth of the town” (Short, 1899).  

            Home Forum no. 1934 was organized in Pomeroy on January 11, 1899, with “about 29 charter members, and bids fair to rapid growth. . . on account of the social and beneficiary features of the order.” Officers of the Pomeroy Forum included Niles as chaplain and Mrs. Brownell, orator (Home, 1899). Niles was also elected as the chaplain of the newly established Modern Brotherhood of America lodge in June 1899 (Modern, 1899), and he dabbled in animal husbandry (Niles, 1899).

            The young mother was finding time to become a part of the Pomeroy community. In November 1899, she hosted the Presbyterian Ladies’ Aid Society (Presbyterian, 1899).

            D.D. Palmer’s listing in the 1900 U.S. Federal Census included wife Villa and son B.J. Also listed are a servant, cook and porter; a student, Henry Reiring[1]; and 17 patients, among whom is his daughter May. May’s two children, Willie (3) and Don (2), are listed as roomers. Her movements a casualty of the vagaries of census-taking, May is also listed in the 1900 U.S. Federal Census in Pomeroy, where Niles is listed as postmaster. Bertha Schulz, servant, is living with them.

            May made a summer visit from Pomeroy to Davenport in the summer of 1902, this time staying with B.J and Mabel in the South Putnam (Ryan) Building, as D.D. had moved to California (Palmer, 1902).

            Mentions of the Brownells were not found in newspapers.com for the next four year; the 1905 Iowa, U.S. State Census Collection confirms they were still living in Pomeroy.

            May, Niles, and sons moved to Medford, OK, in 1906, where D.D.’s older brother and May’s uncle T. J. Palmer was the editor of the Patriot newspaper (The star, 1906) and active in local politics. They visited D.D. and Villa in March 1907, during the brief period that the Palmers were living near St. Paul, MN (News item, 1907a). 

            Three months after their return, Niles opened a second-hand store: “We are pleased to notice that N.L Brownell has opened a much needed store where 2nd hand goods of all kinds will be bought and sold. He will repair or clean your furniture, gasoline, oil or cook stove. He will be found an all around handyman. Pianos, organs and sewing machines will receive needed attention. Tell him your troubles, instead of the policeman” (Second, 1907).

            May was settling into their new location and was elected secretary of the Order of the Eastern Star (News item, 1907b). Niles may have been settling in a little too much as he won a “handsome two bladed knife: winning the spirited voting for the “laziest man in town” (Additional, 1908) and Willie’s and Donald’s names start showing up in newspaper coverage of school activities.

            On June 2, 1910, “N.L. and wife went to Wichita to spend the day. They are considering establishing a branch Second Hand store in that city” (Personal, 1910). Niles returned to Wichita in July with R.F. McFerren “looking over the ground for establishing a branch Second Hand store” (Local, 1910a).

            A small ad published on October 27, 1910, in the Medford Star (p.7) announced that Brownell Furniture was “Closing out at cost. . . as we have decided to move from Medford.” How two events contributed to that final decision or even if they did is lost. Two weeks earlier, Niles suffered a severe wound “caused by ramming a ramrod through it” while “trying to drive a load out of a gun barrel” (Hurt, 1910). In the Medford Patriot Star (p. 8) on November 17, under “Cases filed in County Court” is found “State vs. N.L. Brownell, assault and battery continued.” A week later, on page 1, “With the Courts,” notice was made that the case of the State vs. N.L. Brownell was continued for a jury trial at the January term.

            Niles visited Coffeyville, KS, on November 3 (Pavement, 1910) and two weeks later, the Brownell family decided to move to Coffeyville “this week, if they can complete all arrangements” (Local, 1910b). Advertisements were carried in the Coffeyville Daily Herald for Brownell Trading Co’s store at 1212 S. Walnut St. from January to June 1911. The store dealt in used goods, furniture, bicycles, buggies, wagons, lumber and repairs of guns. On May 8, 1911, May “and son” traveled to nearby Bartlesville, OK, on business (Personal, 1911) followed by a day trip to the same location by William Brownell and Walter Branson on the 23rd (News, 1911a).

            On May 19, Mrs. M.E. Brownell and Donald headed for Davenport, IA, “for a visit with relatives and friends for a short time. (News, 1911b).

            The Brownell Trading Co. advertisements take on a different tenor in June. “. . . must be closed out at once regardless of cost” (Closing, 1911). In September, the business was offered for sale at a bargain (Business, 1911). The Coffeyville adventure was over.

            May first enrolled at the Palmer school on 1 September 1911. Niles enrolled in November 1911. Niles is 57 and Billy and Don are 15 and 16, respectively. The 1912 Davenport City Directory (p. 135) lists “Brownell, Miles [sic] L., student bds 1222 Rock Island [now Pershing Street] (Mary) [sic]. 

            Niles left the PSC on January 12, 1913. It appears they both moved to Yankton, SD. When D.D. Palmer died in October 1913, he was survived by Mrs. May Brownell of Yankton, SD, and Mrs. Jessie Woll of Bellingham, WA (Gielow, 1981, p. 123). She is listed as being in Yankton among the South Dakota in the 1914 Universal Chiropractors Association directory (n.p.).

            May returned to the PSC on 30 October 1914 and completed the course on 8 January 1915. The matriculation records at the PSC do not specify that Niles completed the course, although he does appear in future UCA directories. [Figure 5] It was not unusual for chiropractors to open practices without having completed a full chiropractic course, especially in states that had no licensing laws. As late as 1973. “unlettered” chiropractors were grandfathered under the Mississippi licensing act (T. Morgan, personal correspondence, September 7, 2024).

            The 1915 South Dakota State Census includes May and Niles as a married couple, but in 1916, she strikes out on her own in Bellingham. “Dr. May E. Palmer Brownell of Davenport, Ia., [was] the over-Sunday guest at the home of Mr. and Mrs. J.P. Woll, on Girard Street. Dr. Brownell is a sister of Mrs. Woll and will remain here indefinitely” (Slater, 1916). May leased property in Bellingham in October 1916 (Miscellaneous, 1916) and, adopting a new spelling for her first name as she entered the workforce, Mae E. Palmer Brownell advertised her practice in Rooms 206-7 of the Mason Building in the Bellingham Herald (p. 8) on October 30, 1916. [Figure 6] The last advertisement found for Mae in Bellingham was on December 30, 1916. She moved back to Yankton and rejoined her family.

            Donald (and probably William) attended Yankton (SD) College Academy, a church-affiliated preparatory program of Yankton College (Dr. Brownell, 1959). Niles is listed along with Mae in Yankton, S.D., in the 1917 Universal Chiropractic Association Directory (p. 15).

            Mae relocated to Aberdeen, 236 miles north of Yankton and bought the practice of George Baumann, D.C. “Mae, our city’s pioneer chiropractor [has] offices in the Citizen Bank Building. . . Dr. Brownell has been established here in the northwest for seven years,” (Dr. Brownell, 1917), a slight exaggeration as in 1910 she was still in Medford. At the same time, Niles is practicing in Lead, SD (Stop!, 1917), 398 miles to the west. The United States had entered World War I and Billy (now William) was serving in the military [Figure 7]. Donald’s draft registration card lists his address as 808 Brady Street in Davenport, IA.

            On July 30, 1919, divorcee Mae (age 43) married widower J. H. Johnson in Spink, South Dakota (age 54) (Marriage, 1919). J.H. was a credit man for the Aberdeen Tire and Repair Company. Spink is 250 miles from Aberdeen and only 40 miles from Yankton, so it is probable that Mae knew J.H. before leaving Niles. In August, Baumann is back at the chiropractic practice in Aberdeen.

            After his divorce from Mae, Niles moved to Taylor, TX, where he opened a chiropractic office, and is mentioned in the October 10, 1919 Daily Press (p. 1): “Brownell & Brownell have opened chiropractic offices in the Bohl’s Building. While chiropractic is new to this particular section of the country, Dr. Brownell states it is known in practically every other part of the United States. It has only been very recently that chiropractors have located in Texas, although chiropractors have been located in San Antonio for several years. Dr. Brownell states that he intends to make this his permanent home and will bring his family here in the near future.”

            William appears to have practiced with his father for a brief period in 1919. A Brownell and Brownell advertisement in the Taylor Daily Press (August 14, 1920, p. 3) touts practices in Taylor and Georgetown, Texas, with a lady attendant, but as we will see later, both William’s and Donald’s careers take them elsewhere.

            Mae Johnson also moved to Texas, as reflected in social news items in Iowa and Washington. Mr. Johnson is not to be found. “Dr May Palmer Johnson, formerly of Davenport, who is here from Texas for a month’s visit with her brother and sister-in-law” (Social, 1927).  Mrs. May Johnson of Corsicana, TX, visited Jessie in Bellingham when Jessie’s daughter Jean was there with her new baby. (Social, 1935).

            Niles died October 11, 1935, and was buried next to his second wife, Bertha, in San Diego, CA (Ancestry.com).      

            Mae/May moved to Washington, DC, where son William was practicing, sometime between 1935 and 1937. Beth Quigley of Pittsburgh and Mae Johnson, respectively sister and sister-in-law of Mabel were Lyceum houseguests at the Palmer home in Davenport in July 1937 (PSC, 1937). Weeks later, on October 11, 1937, Mae E. Johnson (61) married her third husband, Walter M. Thurston (61). He was from Littlefork, MN, a fork in the road just south of International Falls, and she was a resident of Washington, D.C. (Marriage, 1937). In August 1939, Walter, at least, is still in Littlefork (Everybody’s, 1939).

            No traces have been found of Walter and Mae together after their wedding. In June 1943, a Walter M. Thurston of Towanda township was divorced from a May E. Thurston. Whether or not this is our May and Walter . . . Walter M. Thurston (b 6 Aug 1876, in Farmington, Minnesota; claimed SS, 17 Aug 1951).

            Mae (age 78) died in 1953, at a nursing home in Middletown, DE, 95 miles northeast of Washington, DC. She was survived by her sons, William in Sarasota and Donald in San Diego, and her brother B.J. in Davenport (Mrs., 1953). No mention is made of a husband surviving or predeceasing her. Her obituary on December 28, 1953, in the Wilmington, DE, News Journal describes her as “the mother of two doctors and the sister of another doctor,” but fails to make notice of her own groundbreaking achievements.

 

William Palmer Brownell’s Story

            William Palmer Brownlee first matriculated in May 1912 at the PSC and started working on the correspondence course when he was 16. William lived with B.J. and Mabel off and on “for a number of years” (Palmer, 1920). Although a stately home, the Palmer residence would be best described as a four bedroom/two bath. It has a master bedroom/sitting room suite, two bedrooms, and a nursery on the second floor. The third floor has a bedroom designated as Billy and Don’s room, a library, and a large storeroom. Most of Mabel’s and B.J.’s nephews lived with them and/or worked for the school at one time or another: the Quigleys, Dick (J.R.) and Nip (W.H.), and the Brownells, Billy (W.P.) and Don.

            During W.W. 1, William saw military service as a lieutenant in the 147th Field Artillery in France and also along the Mexican border. At the end of the war, Lieutenant Brownell was the first Aberdeen officer to come back from France, and “is visiting his mother, well-known chiropractor of this city” (Lieut., 1918).

            Both Brownell brothers followed their mother, father, and grandfather into the chiropractic profession. William Brownell re-enrolled on December 30, 1918, and graduated February 24, 1920; Donald Brownell also entered the PSC on December 30, 1918, and graduated September 23, 1920. While they were students, they joined nine other Palmer students on a trip to Buenos Aires, Brazil, to introduce chiropractic to South America. William Brownell and Don Brownell of Yankton, SD, were among the contingent that helped Kenneth Guy open his practice (Chiros, 1919).

             William appears to have begun practicing before his official graduation; certainly not the first Palmer to do so. “William P. Brownell, junior member of the firm of Brownell and Brownell, chiropractors of this city, leaves tomorrow for Davenport, where he will take a post graduate and X-ray course of four months given by the Palmer School of Chiropractic to all chiropractor soldiers and sailors. During his absence, his father, Dr. N.L. Brownell, will be in charge of the local office in the Bohl’s building, East Second Street” (Dr. Brownell, 1919).

            William met Frances Gates, a student (Palmer home, 1920), and they married in March 1921 in Flushing, NY (Bridal, 1921). After their honeymoon, William returned to Texas to practice with Niles and brother Don in the Georgetown practice (Unveiling, 1921).

            William and Frances soon relocated to Washington, DC, and opened a practice in the Continental Trust Building at 14th and H Streets NW. [Figure 8] Frances returned to her parents’ home for her confinement, and William P. Brownell, Jr., born in Flushing, N.Y. on August 28, 1923 (Ancestry.com).

            William kept in touch with his Davenport relatives:  

Washington, D.C. Nov 20, 1923

Dear B.J.: I meant to write you yesterday but was so busy couldn’t get around to it. Was up to Newark Sunday and saw and heard Mabel give one of the best talks I have ever heard. B.J., she was a wonder. The outline of anatomy of course was splendid, but it was the talk in the afternoon that she gave to the chiropractors that took them off their feet. It was a masterpiece. I sat right at the back with Ruth Eble, and not a soul left the room the whole two hours. It was the most attentive audience I have ever seen. You could have heard a pin drop any minute during the whole time.

            What I wanted to write you mainly about was that I think both of you will make a big mistake unless she repeats that lecture in other places. Every chiropractor, regardless of his position on matters, loves and respects Mabel. I hope to goodness she will repeat it many times, for if ever I heard a lecture that took hold of me and held me, that was it. More power to her.

            It surely seemed awfully good to see her.  I was hoping she could come back this way, but she says some other time.

            Lots of love, Billy (Dear, dear, 1923)

 

On of those “other times” had come in May when Mabel and B.J. were at the beginning of a tour of southern states. B.J. reported: “We never stop at the homes of chiropractors or their friends – it’s the hotel for us. Being public characters, we have no private rights. But Billy Brownell is my nephew, my oldest sister’s son. I love that boy and like him for the many fine qualities he has” (Another jaunt, 1923). The Palmers were greeted with sweet peas for Mabel and a box of 100 Corona cigars for B.J.

            In 1924, William lobbied for chiropractic, working with Frank Elliott (his Aunt Mabel’s cousin and a member of the Iowa House of Representatives) on legislation to license District chiropractors, a battle begun in 1903 by pioneer chiropractor Alma Arnold. The bill, based on the Iowa law and framed by Brownell, was introduced by Representative Hull of Iowa (Dougherty, 1924).  

            The Doctors Brownell were active in the Washington social scene, normalizing chiropractors in very influential circles. William was a member of Optimists’ Club (Martin, 1925) and a Shriner. When he transferred his membership in the Shriners to the Almas Temple in Washington, DC. prominent special guests at the ceremony included the First and Third Assistant Postmaster Generals (1,500 Shriners, 1929). Willam and Frances were patrons for a program by the Frances Gutelius Young Pianists, along with other D.C. luminaries including the Minister of Panama (Piano, 1935). They were among those “D.C. social forces” giving “emphatic opposition to a pending House bill to legalize horse racing and betting in the District of Columbia (Race, 1937). 

            Dr. Frances G. Brownell became a member of the Washington, DC, Quota Club chapter (News, 1927) and of a new chapter of the National T.T.T. Society, a group formed in Iowa in 1912 that promoted camping for girls (Mrs. Hess, 1931). She remained active in the latter group at least through 1943 (TriT, 1943).

             Their practice was successful enough that in 1930, William leased a suite of rooms on the 8th floor of 1415 G Street (Mme. Eugenie, 1930). In 1940, William and Frances had a new home built at 1716 Holly Street NW. It was a two-story brick and cinder block dwelling expected to cost $18,000 [$404,000 in 2024$] (D.C. private, 1940).

The 1938 Virginia Chiropractic Society’s annual meeting was held in Alexandria and William was on the program, along with the public relations director of the NCA, Cash Asher, and X-ray expert Ernest Thompson (Chiropractors, 1938). [Figure 9]. He was also a speaker at the 48th annual convention of the National Chiropractic Association in 1941, when J. Edgar Hoover was the keynote speaker (Hoover, 1941). He again took the podium in 1941 at the NCA convention, addressing 1500 “chiropractors and their wives.” In this instance, William was described as “grandson of D.D. Palmer, founder of chiropractic” (Washingtonian, 1941).

             A testimonial by William was included when the Ellis Research Laboratories in Chicago published a 1949 pamphlet by Lyle Albert D.C. entitled “Simplified Chiropractic”: “What Successful Users Say of the Micro-Dynameter” (pp. 19-20): “I have ironed out many of the problems and now use the Micro-Dynameter on every case. We are literally swamped here and I never have a minute to myself. Wm. Palmer Brownell, D.C.” Frank W. Elliott, now of Denver, CO, added a footnote to the testimonial: “Dr. Brownell is the grandson of Dr. D.D. Palmer and enjoys one of the largest practices in the U.S., numbering among his patients Congressmen and other prominent people.  After using a Model ‘S’ precision Micro-Dynameter for over one year, Dr. Brownell purchased a second one for the use of Dr. Frances Brownell who practices with him.”

The receiving of an “Membership Emeritus” award from the International Chiropractors Association in July 1952 by Dr. Wm. Palmer Brownell of Washington, D.C., famous grandson of the Discoverer of Chiropractic (Brownell, 1952). He and Frances bought a home in Sarasota, FL,  for their golden years.

While working on his manuscript that would become The Last Witness, Mabel’s nephew, W.H. Quigley, told author Callender that sometime after Mabel’s death in 1949, “Billy” Brownell found B.J. depressed and ill, boarding in a single room in Florida. Billy insisted that B.J. could and should do better and took him house-hunting. Together they found the home on St. Armand’s Key that would infuse new life into B.J.

Although Quigley’s book must be considered as a work of fiction, it was based on his first-person recollections as a member of the extended Palmer family and is given credence as such, as any other correspondence would be. Quigley described Brownell’s involvement with B.J. in B.J.’s voice: “My sister May’s son, Billy Brownell, had retired from chiropractic practice and had also moved to Sarasota several years after I bought my home. Fortunately for me, Billy found a home just a few doors removed from mine and he became a major pillar of support for me during the fall, winter and spring of 1960-1961. . . . Billy also became a gatekeeper of sorts, screening my visitors and watching me closely for signs of excessive fatigue. He was firm and effective in dismissing company who lingered beyond their prescribed time” (Quigley, 2010).  

 

William Brownell, Jr.

            Albeit not germane to the chiropractic story, the authors found it interesting that William and Frances’ son, William Jr., was among the Washington area boys who made the honor roll at Randolph-Macon Military Academy in Front Royal, VA. (28 D.C. boys, 1938). He was an aviation student during World War II and attended flight school towards the end of the war (William P., 1943). He became a mechanical engineer and a jet pilot sharpshooter of Flight C, White House Squadron, Air National Guard (Air units, 1950). In 1951, Capt. Brownell flew to Madison, WI, on a routine training flight. He was returning to Sioux City when a fuel leak developed. The plane caught fire and he brought it safely to ground, but while the Truax Field firemen were attempting to extinguish the fire, all three machine guns on the plane’s right wing began to fire. Two people were injured when bullets struck 16 buildings two miles away (2 are wounded, 1951).

           

Donald Brownell

            After practicing with his father in Texas, Donald set up his practice in San Diego, CA, in a state where the chiropractic battle for licensure was in full force. He was elected president of the San Diego area chiropractors’ association in 1922 (Tab, 1922), succeeding A.G. Eckols who would become noteworthy as one of the first California chiropractors to serve jail time (Clark, 1921).  

            In 1920, Niles was practicing in Texas. By 1924, he in practice with Donald in San Diego (Doctor, 1924). What had been Brownell and Brownell in Texas became D.M. & N. Brownell in California (We wish, 1925). [Figure 10]. In a letter to B.J. and Mabel, he describes himself: “There were so many thing that I would liked to have told you when I left you, but as you probably know I am no hand express myself a-tall. So what I can’t say, I will do and make up for it in action” (Brownell, 1921).

Don was a member of the 2000 member Texan diaspora in San Diego, which met monthly for “old time Texas entertainments.” He served the Texas State Society as vice president in 1926. (Shearer, 1926). He was also treasurer for the Better America Federation, whose purpose was to promote patriotic education (Better, 1933).

            Don married West Virginian Marie (var. Mari) Mae Smith in 1927 (ancestry.com).

            The 1940 U.S. Census records reveal that they had a daughter, Joy; Marie worked as his receptionist; and they were successful enough to employ a live-in maid. The 1950 census records their son-in-law, Richard A. Hills, a member of the Armed Forces was living with them.

            Marie became president of the San Diego ladies’ auxiliary of the California Chiropractic Association (Report, 1931). Don was a speaker when the San Diego chiropractors honored his grandfather at a dinner at the Elks’ Club. Also on the program was a whistling solo (Chiropractors, 1932).

            A Los Angeles-based committee was organized to obtain $5 million of the $300 million appropriated by Congress in the Depression-era 1935 Emergency Relief Appropriations Act to provide work for “needy attorneys and allied professional groups” (S.D. men, 1935). Don was one of two men on the committee representing medicine.

            The main touchstone for the extended chiropractic family was during Lyceum when Don and William joined chiropractors from around the globe in Davenport. William and Don were featured with cousin Dave and Uncle B.J. in a 1947 newspaper article entitled “Founder’s son and grandsons meet at Lyceum.” [Figure 11] In December 1950, the Brownells again reunited when Don and Marie visited William and Frances in D.C. (Palomar, 1950).

            For many years, the ICA Review featured an “office of the month.” Don Brownell’s San Diego office was selected for July 1953. The article on page 11 shows a newly remodeled large old redwood house at the corner of Fourth Avenue and Grape Streets. His previous office had been downtown. [Figure 12] Don is described in the article as “active in chiropractic activities, both state and national, but always as the seldom praised but highly important behind-the-scenes worker.” In 1958, he was inducted as a Fellow of the International Chiropractors Association (Distinguished, 1958). He received mention again in the May 1959 ICA Review when his patient Earl Clark received the title of Mr. Universe, beating out entrants from 80 countries. In 1959, Don was appointed to the State Board of Chiropractic Examiners by Governor Pat Brown (San Diegans, 1959).

            Don practiced in San Diego for more than 30 years, retiring in 1962. He served two three-year terms on the state Board of Chiropractic Examiners board and was a past president. He was active in the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite of Freemasonry as a Shriner. Upon his passing in 1969, he was survived by his wife, daughter, “and a brother” (Services, 1969).

 

Jessie’s Story

            Our story picks up with Jessie on her 9th grade graduation from Davenport School No. 8. at the corner of W. 4th and Ripley on June 24, 1894 (Commencement, 1897). The ceremony was held at the Burtis Opera house and one of her classmates was her brother Bartlett J. Palmer. Jessie was almost 17; B.J., two years younger.

            She attended high school for two years (Miss Palmer, 1903) and worked as a clerk in a local department store (Wood, 2005). When she was 19, she was taken to St. Luke’s Hospital and upon her release, Jessie entered the Good Shepherd Home, run by nuns in Omaha, NE, where she stayed there for almost two years (Wood, 2005).

            On February 2, 1903, Jessie married John P. Woll, an optician, at May’s home in Pomeroy (Davenport dots, 1903). Woll’s Roman Catholic parents, Michael and Jeanette Woll, had emigrated to the United States from Luxembourg when John was a child, and settled in Chicago, Illinois. (Matthew Woll, 2024). In 1922, he recalled that he had always wanted to be an optometrist. While still very young, he started working in a jewelry shop. “At the age of 18 or 19, he returned to school for a couple of years” (First, 1922).  

            J.P. established his practice at 209 W. Holly in Bellingham, WA, in October 1903 (Bellingham briefs. (1903, October 5). Bellingham Herald, p. 5), the same year the city was incorporated. Bellingham is a coastal city, 90 miles north of Seattle, and 21 miles south of the Canadian border. John was a respected member of the community, and it appears that he and Jessie were a congenial match. Quigley (2006) described Jessie as having had a sweet disposition.

            J.P.’s brother, Matthew Woll, was president of the International Photo-Engravers Union of North America from 1906 to 1929; American Federation of Labor (AFL) vice president from 1919 to 1955; and an AFL-CIO vice president from 1955 to 1956, and many of the news reports of the Woll family in Bellingham reiterate this distinction.

            In 1908, Mr. and Mrs. D.J. [sic] Palmer of Davenport, IA., visited Mr. and Mrs. J.P. Woll of 2015 Young Street (Late local, 1908). The Palmers were on their way to tour Portland at the invitation of a group of 15 students (Ritter,1991). The Wolls’ new home on Young Street was pictured in the Bellingham Herald on July 3, 1909 (p. 16).

            The Wolls adopted two children. Jeanette M. was born on March 11, 1909 (News, 1910). Son John Paul Jr. (Jack) was born October 11, 1912 (ancestry.com). [Figure 13] At the time of the 1910 U.S. Census, their household also included a 15-year old lodger, Jola M. Strauch, who may have been helping out as a hired girl.

            Mae, B.J. and Jessie reunited in Davenport on the lawn of the Palmer residence some time after 1912 [Figure 14]. This is the only photograph we found of Jessie as an adult.

            Between 1909 and 1922, J.P. advertised earphones, binoculars, artificial eyes, automobile goggles, barometers, pedometers, automatic eyeglass holders, lorgnettes, aviation and field glasses, China paints, drawing sets, gadgets, and scientific and drawing instruments, along with eyeglasses. By 1910, his ads in the Bellingham Herald describe him as an optometrist and an optician. The thermograph on the front of Woll’s business establishment appears regularly in the news as the town’s standard for hot and cold weather extremes. He regularly donated items to be used as prizes at various fundraisers and community events.

            J.P. was a member of the Bellingham Boosters, the Young Men’s Commercial club and the Chamber of Commerce. He was appointed to a three-year term on the state board of examiners for opticians by the governor (Woll, 1909) and his travels to board meetings were regularly noted. He was reappointed to the board in 1912 (J.P. Woll, 1912a). When Jessie traveled with him to the board meetings, it was noted in the local social column. He served as Secretary-treasurer of the Washington State Board of Examiners in Optometry (Woll, 1914), resigning from the board to focus on his business in 1915 (Brief, 1915).

            Jessie’s name appeared in the social column as a guest at ladies’ afternoon party (Social, 1909). She entertained with a neighborhood tea for the benefit of the YWCA (Social, 1910). From all the accounts in the newspaper, they were good people doing good works.

            “Mrs. J.P. Woll and daughter have returned to their home in this city after a six weeks’ visit with relatives in Davenport and Chicago” (Social, 1912).  

            The Wolls began to invest in property in the Bellingham area: a farm eight miles from the city and a number of business and residential rental properties in downtown Bellingham. The town properties were all located within a four-square block of the optical business. Now all part of Bellingham, in the early 1900s Whatcom and Marietta were separate villages.

            “The Charles Manson farm located eight miles from the city on the Northeast Diagonal road at the far end of the concrete paving has been traded to J.P. Woll… [in exchange for the] home at 2015 Young Street and $6,000 cash for the farm, valued at $16,000. Mr. Manson … has cleared practically all of the sixty acres, built a good house and barn and planted a fine orchard.” Livestock was included in the deal. (Traded, 1914). Lot 1, Block 196, in Whatcom, WA, is included in the deal (Deeds, 1914). Over the next 20 years, the farm is listed for rent in the Bellingham Herald in different acreage configurations and including some stock and machinery, an orchard, a large building, silo, and electric lights. 

In October 1912, J.P. purchased "thirty-two acres of land lying between the Marietta road and the waterfront, about two miles west of the city limits" with the intention of subdividing the property with five lots to the acre. “He will clear up the beach in front of the land, build bath houses there and endeavor to interest the people in making it a sort of pleasure resort in the summer months” (J.P. Woll, 1912b). Today, this property is Smith Gardens (Julie Basart, personal communication, September 7, 2024).

            They also purchased a truck farm on Marietta Road and offered it for rent in 1916 (For rent, 1916a). It had a house and 10 acres of good garden soil.

            The asking rental for a five-room modern house at 2105 A Street - “8 minutes’ walk from the post office” was $14. (For rent. 1916b, March – October.  Bellingham Herald).

Having traded their house on Young Street in on the 100-acre farm, Mrs. J.P. Woll entertained the Central Whatcom Sewing circle of the Church of the Assumption Wednesday afternoon at her home at 414 Girard Street (Church notes, 1914). The house was large enough that she was able to host a 14-table card game for the church in September 1915 (Church news, 1915). The Girard Street house backed up on the Young Street property.

             Jeanette appeared in the local news when she took part in a children’s play for the benefit of the YMCA (Tom Thumb, 1915). [Figure 15]

            Mrs. J.P. Woll was a “delightful hostess,” entertaining members of the D.I.K. club for a game of 500 (Social & personal, 1917a) and the Daughters of Isabella, who stitched their way through a Tuesday afternoon (Social & personal. (1917b).

Repeated attempts were made in the Bellingham Herald in 1918 to rent the truck farm. With no success, Jessie began planting trees and vegetables and flowers. “Home-grown small white Washington beans” were added to the already diverse offerings at Woll’s Optical in 1920 (For sale, 1920).

            At the time of the 1920 U.S. Census, the Wolls were still living in “the city” along with J.P.’s sister Emma and her three children: Albert, Jeanette, and Irene. Soon after, the Wolls moved to the truck farm at 107 Marine Drive, which was also known as Marietta Road as it led to Marietta. [Figure 16] The property was “about a mile west of the city limits.” One of its challenges was that “upland birds inhabit the district in considerable numbers.” Hunters in pursuit of them regularly shot out windows in the Woll house. “Mrs. Woll spent all of yesterday trying to guard her property and trying to keep hunters away from her house (Woman, 1923).

            Before D.D. Palmer became a teacher or a healer, he was a nurturer of plants and bees. While Mae inherited his pisiform, Jessie inherited his green thumb. Jessie entered a display in the 1922 Bellingham Fall Flower show (Flower, 1922). In 1923, she shared first prizes for the best six La Tulip Noire, Picotee, yellow tulips, Painted Lady, and tulips of colors not specified at the spring show. She also won for the best vases of red and of pink perennials (Awards, 1923) and took first prize for gladioli in the fall (Prize, 1923). From 1923 to 1928, she regularly advertised cut flowers for sale on Marietta road.

            Jessie was elected president of the Bellingham Fall Flower Show in 1924 (Brief, 1924). At the conclusion of end-of-the-year program at the Marietta school, Jessie presented a bouquet of flowers to each of the young ladies (School, 1924). The following year, nephew Niles from San Diego spent the week of the Fall Flower Show with his aunt and uncle (Marietta, 1925). “Mrs. Woll, who presided, declared that this is sure to prove the association’s greatest show” which included “plenty of tables” and was enhanced by “an orchestra to furnish music afternoons and evenings” (Plan, 1925).

“Mrs. J.P. Woll, of Bellingham. . . had another outstanding exhibit. This was an entire bank of several benches lavish with exquisite blooms of tulips and intermingling greenery, spring flowers, peonies and other blooms. Hundreds of blossoms occupied Mrs. Woll’s benches” (Blossoms lavish, 1928). In 1928, she took nine firsts and six seconds, placing her fourth in the overall competition (Carvasso, 1928).

While Jessie was busy with her flowers, J.P. was appointed to the committee to organize a Boy Scout troop. Jack transferred to the new group from a Bellingham troop (Marietta grange, 1925). In 1926, Jack attended his first semester of eighth grade at St Martin’s – Lacey, a boys’ boarding school run by monks of the Benedictine Order. (Marietta notes, 1926). He continued at St. Martin’s until his high school graduation in 1929 (St. Martin’s, 1929), and then attended the University of Washington for two years, becoming an optician. According to his draft card, Jack moved to Oakland, CA, and worked for Rhine Optical. He enlisted in the U.S. Army in July 1942, got married in 1944, was a first lieutenant by 1946 (First, 1946), and had a son in 1947 (ancestry.com).

Jean had also blossomed. She attended the local public schools (Cotton, 1935) and graduated from the Bellingham State Normal school (Announcement, 1932). “Mr. and Mrs. J.P. Woll are in Seattle until Thursday or Friday. They were accompanied by their daughter, Miss Jean Woll, who proceeded to Montana, where she has a teaching position (Social, 1928). Three years later, she was teaching in El Paso, Texas. “She will resume teaching in public schools of the South this fall” (Social, 1931). She married rancher William Mandell (Announcement, 1932) and they had a baby girl on March 2, 1935 (Social 1935a). “After a visit of more than six weeks with [her] parents, Dr. and Mrs. J.P. Woll of Marine Drive, Mrs. William Mandell has returned to LaUnion, NM, and Mrs. May Johnson to Corsicana, Texas” (Social, 1935b).

            Things were not all roses in the gardening community. In 1925, Jessie placed an explanation in the Herald, “in justice of myself and half a dozen other dahlia growers . . .why we did not join in the exhibit held in Wahl’s basement September 25 and 26,” an event not endorsed by the Fall Flower association (Explanation made, 1925).

            In the 1930 U.S. Census, Jessie’s occupation is listed as a nurseryman. “A nature lover, Mrs. Woll takes great pride in the some 200 trees at her home . . . Some of them she has ‘babied’ along since the sprig stage twenty-five years ago, sprayed them, pruned them, and cared for them to help them grow into lovely maturity. Fifteen of these have been cut down or ruined by vandals recently” (Mrs. Woll, 1940).

            Three parcels of land were declared needed by Whatcom county for a new crossing for the Great Northern railroad (Rail crossing, 1940). After a year-long court battle, Whatcom county paid J.P. Woll $550. . . for property acquired for right-of-way for the new Marietta overcrossing (Brief, 1940). It’s not clear how much of the truck farm was acquired in this act of eminent domain but many if not all of Jessie’s trees and flower gardens would become the victims of progress. By the time J.P. retired in 1945, he and Jessie had moved to 1362 Marine Drive, further out from the rapidly growing city of Bellingham.

            J.P. died in November 1949 (Death, 1949) and Jessie Palmer Woll passed soon after in February 1950. She was survived by her daughter, Jeannette Mandell of Canutillo, TX, and son, John P. Woll Jr., of Eugene, OR, plus six grandchildren. John and Jessie were buried at Greenacres Memorial Park in Ferndale, Washington. (Jessie, 1950). Jessie’s estate was worth over $80,000 – a million dollars plus in today’s dollars (Woll estate, 1950).

 

Conclusion:

The narrative of the first family of chiropractic continues to be reinterpreted and enriched as new sources come to light. The stories of D.D. Palmer’s daughters Mae and Jessie and their respective families have been overshadowed vis-à-vis the historical recording of the achievements and impact of their beloved brother B.J. In recognizing the roles that D.D.’s daughters and their families played through their own careers and contributions, we hope to have provided a fuller picture of the legacy of the first family of chiropractic.

 

Acknowledgments:

            The authors are especially grateful to librarians at Palmer College of Chiropractic and in What Cheer, IA and Bellingham, WA; to the staffs at the Keokuk county, and Washington and Iowa state historical societies; and to all others who provided information and interpretation.

   

Notes

 

2 are wounded. (1951, September 10). [Madison, WI] Capital Times, p. 1-2. 

3rd semi-annual meeting. (1878, May 7). American Beekeeper’s Journal, 14(6), 198-206.

28 D.C. boys honored at Randolph-Macon. (1938, April 10). Evening Star, p. 38.

1,500 Shriners see 23 enter Almas Temple. (1929, December 31). Washington Herald, p. 2.

1885 Census, What Cheer, Ia., Population for January 1, 1885.

Additional local. (1908, June 4). Medford Star, p. 4.

Air units of D.C. guard large eastern area. (1950 August 25). Evening Star, p. 24.

An exciting runaway. (1896, April 4). Pomeroy Herald, p. 4.

Announcement is made. (1932, December 30). Bellingham Herald, p. 2.

Another jaunt of country. (1923, June 2). Fountain Head News, 12(40), p. 1.

Awards are made. (1923, May 11). Bellingham Herald, p. 15.

‘Better America’ officers. (1933, July 1). San Diego Sun, p. 12.

Blossoms lavish. (1928, May 11). Bellingham Herald, p. 14.

Boyko, J. (2014). Blood and daring: How Canada fought the American Civil War and forged a nation. Vintage Canada.

Bridal couple are guests at the Palmer home. (1921, March 27). Davenport Democrat, p. 4.

Brief local news. (1915, May 25). Bellingham Herald, p. 6.

Brief local news. (1924, June 12). Bellingham Herald, p.14.

Brief local news. (1940, May 27). Bellingham Herald, p. 6.

Brownell and Davy. (1897, August 5). Pomeroy Herald, p. 5.

Brownell awarded life membership. 1952 (July): ICA international review 7(1), 16.

Brownell, D. (1921, October 13). Letter to Mabel, B.J. and Dave Palmer. Fountain Head News, 11(11-12), 2.

Business chance. (1911, September 26). The Morning News, p. 4.

California, U.S. Death Index, 1940-1997. (2024). Ancestry.com

Carvasso leads. (1928, May 11). Bellingham Herald, p. 1.

Chatter about What Cheer. (1881, May 6). Muscatine Daily Journal, p. 4.

Chiropractors give dinner. (1932, March 11). San Diego Sun, p. 10.

Chiropractors to hear Asher. (1938 June 10). Times Herald, p. 26.

Chiros off to S. America to open practice. (1919, March 25). [Davenport] Daily Times, p. 8.

Church news. (1915, September 7). Bellingham Herald, p. 8.

Church notes. (1914, November 3). Bellingham Herald, p. 5.

City of Pomeroy (2024, August 24). History of Pomeroy.  https://www.pomeroyiowa.com/index.asp

Clark, S.H. (1921, June). Jailing ideas. JimJamJems, pp. 61-64.

Closing out sale. (1911, June 10). Coffeyville Daily Journal, p. 5.

Commencement day. (1897, June 24), Davenport Daily Republican, p. 7.

Cotton display of New Mexico is exhibited. (1935, October 29). Bellingham Herald, p. 8.

Davenport dots. (1903, February 20). Rock Island Argus, p. 2.

Dear, dear B.J. (1923). Fountain Head News, 13(8), 3.

Death summons Dr. John P. Woll. (1949, November 2). Bellingham Herald, p. 3

Deeds. (1914, July 1). Bellingham Herald, p. 9.

Died. (1884, November) Newspaper clipping. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/112082461/lavinia-palmer

Dissolution notice. (1895, September 5). Pomeroy Herald, p. 8.

Distinguished fellows. (1958). ICA Review, 13(4), 17.

D.C. private building in week. (1940, May 11). Evening Star, p. 27.

Dr. Brownell D.C. of prominent family. (1917, October 4). Aberdeen [SD] American, p. 10.

Dr. Brownell is his doctor. (1959, May). ICA review, 13(11), 7.

Dr. Brownell takes post graduate course. (1919, December 09). Taylor Daily Press, p. 1

Doctor hurt. (1924, September 2). San Diego Sun, p. 2.

Dougherty, E. (1924, April 1). Elliott pleads for chiro bill. Davenport Democrat, p. 15.

Everybody’s ideas. (1939, August 6). Minneapolis Star, p. 10.

Explanation made. (1925, September 29). Bellingham Herald, p. 13.

First Lieut. (1946, February 17). Bellingham Herald, p. 6.

Flees her home. (1894, February 13). Daily Times, p. 4.

Flower show opens. (1922, September 8). Bellingham Herald, p. 3.

First ambitions. (1922, September 1). Bellingham Herald, p. 6.

For rent. (1916 February 26 – March 30). Bellingham Herald.

For rent. (1916b, March – October). Bellingham Herald.

For sale. (1920, March 12). Bellingham Herald, p. 12

Founder’s son and grandsons meet at lyceum. (1947, August 25). Daily Times, p. 4.

Gielow, V. (1981). Old Dad Chiro: a biography of D.D. Palmer, founder of chiropractic. Bawden Brothers. 

Houlgrave, P. (2024). What’s in a name: What Cheer. Iowa PBA. https://www.iowapbs.org/article/11132/whats-name-what-cheer

Home Forum No. 1934. (1899, January 12). Pomeroy Herald, p. 4

Hoover to address Baltimore session. (1941, July 20). Evening Star, p. 8.

Hurt his hand. (1910, October 13). Medford Patriot-Star, p. 8.

In abbreviated form. (1896 Feb 20). Pomeroy Herald, p. 8.

Iowa notes. (1902, December 18). Evening Times-Republican, p. 8.

Item. (1898 Jun 16). Pomeroy Herald, p. 10.

Items in brief. (1888, September 25). Democrat-Gazette, p. 1.

Items in brief. (1894, February 14). Davenport Daily Leader, p. 5.

Items in brief. (1895, October 16). Davenport Democrat, p. 1.

J.P. Woll again honored. (1912a, May 14). Bellingham Herald, p. 3.

J.P. Woll to start bathing resort west of city. (1912b, October 10). Bellingham Herald, p. 1.

Jessie Palmer Woll passes here on Friday. (1950, February 19). Bellingham Herald, p. 10.

Jottings about town. (1894, December 6). Pomeroy Herald, p. 6.

Late local news. (1908, July 11). Bellingham Herald, p. 3.

Left her home. (1894, February 14). Morning Democrat, p. 4.

Lieut. Brownell, first Aberdeen officer home from ‘over the top.’ (1918, September 15). Aberdeen [SD] American, p. 1.

Local news. (1910a, July 21), Medford Patriot-Star. p. 5.

Local news. (1910b, November 24). Medford Patriot-Star, p. 5.

Mme. Eugenie located. (1930, April 5). Evening Star, p. 19.

Marietta. (1925, June 5). Bellingham Herald, p. 8.

Marietta grange plans scout troop. (1925, January 20). Bellingham Herald, p. 9.

Marietta notes. (1926, December 25). Bellingham Herald, p. 2.

Marriage certificate 70249. (1919, July 30). Ancestry.com.

Marriage license application.  (1937 Oct 12). Minneapolis Star, p. 12.

Martin Ohman sings for Optimists’ Club. (1925 January 15). Evening Star, p. 20

Matthew Woll. (2024, August 17). In Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matthew_Woll

(Miscellaneous. (1916, October 20). Pullman Herald, p. 2.

Miss Palmer. (1903 Feb 19). Daily Leader, p. 8.

Mrs. Hess entertained. (1931, August 23). Evening Star, p. 32

Mrs. Mae P. Thurston. (1953 Dec 28). [Wilmington, DE] Morning News, p. 4.

Mrs. Woll reports vandals active again. (1940, December 19). Bellingham Herald, p. 4.

Modern Brotherhood. (1899, June 15). Pomeroy Herald, p. 8.

National Archives Research Services. (2024, November 12). All’s fair in love and war: the Civil War widows’ pension files. https://www.archives.gov/files/calendar/genealogy-fair/2018/3-villaseran-handout.pdf

News in brief. (1911a, May 19). Coffeyville Daily Herald, p. 6.

News in brief. (1911b, May 23). Coffeyville Daily Journal, p. 5

News item. (1907a, March 21), Medford Star, p. 5.

News item. (1907b, December 19). Medford Star, p. 4

News item. (1910, March 11). Bellingham Herald, p. 7.

News of the clubs. (1927, May 29). Evening Star, p. 30.

Niles has one fine jersey cow for sale (1899, January 5). Pomeroy Herald, p. 5.

Office of the month. (1953, July). ICA Review, 13(1), 11.

Palmer home. (1920 Mar 27). Davenport Democrat, p. 4.

Palmer is entertaining his sister. (1902, June 29). Davenport Morning Star, p.8.

Palomar Mountain. (1950, December 15). [Escondido]Weekly Times Advocate, p. 5.

Pavement pick-ups. (1910, November 3). Medford Star, p. 5.

Personal. (1895, July 25). Pomeroy Herald, p. 4.

Personal. (1910, June 2). Medford Patriot-Star, p. 5.

Personal. (1911, May 8). Coffeyville Daily Herald, p. 4.

Piano students to give program. (1935, December 1). Evening Star, p. 65.

Plan flower show. (1925, July 18). Bellingham Herald, p. 2.

Presbyterian notes. (1897, August 5). Pomeroy Herald, p. 5.

Presbyterian notes. (1898, May 19). Pomeroy Herald, p. 5.

Presbyterian notes. (1899, November 16). Pomeroy Herald, p. 4.

(Prize winners. 1923, September 14). Bellingham Herald, p. 1.

PSC Lyceum opens. (1937, August 22). Democrat & Leader, p. 11.

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