When writing these articles about people of long ago, I usually leave the details about their funerals and burials until the end of the story. This time, however, I will begin the story with the description of the funeral and burial of W. B. Daniels as reported by the Chicago Inter Ocean Newspaper of January 3, 1891:
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| William Bradley Daniels |
AN UNUSUAL BURIAL SERVICE.
A funeral service of a very unusual character took place at Rosehill Cemetery New Year's Morning. It was the burial of the cremated remains of W. B. Daniels, the millionaire dry goods merchant of Denver, Col., whose death occurred a few days ago.
A year or so before his death, Mr. Daniels wrote over his duly attested signature minute instructions for the disposition of his body. It was addressed to three well-known and trusted friends, one of whom was Judge Benedict, of the law firm of Benedict & Phelps, of Denver, and another one was the deceased gentleman's partner in the firm of Daniels & Fisher.
It was directed that after his death his body should be placed in a coffin and carried by expressly named pall-bearers to a depot, and thence to a crematory to be approved and chosen by these three friends, and there, under their personal observation, cremated. After cremation, the ashes were to be placed in an urn and taken to Chicago, there to be deposited by the side of his wife, in Rosehill Cemetery. All these directions the three friends faithfully and minutely followed. The body was cremated at Detroit under their personal inspection, and the ashes were brought to Chicago for burial.
Under a pitiless downpour of rain New Year's morning, these three gentlemen, with some of the relatives of the deceased millionaire, stood around the family vault, while in the arm of one man was held a vase about the size of a silk hat, about half full of what looked like chalk in tiny bits, some very porous, others close and stony, and none of them larger than a green pea. The service was that of the Episcopal Church, conducted by the Rev. H. Digby Johnston, late of Denver, but now of this city, and despite the solemnity of the occasion it was impossible to repress some of the grotesque as the reverend gentleman endeavored to adapt the familiar service to the particular case.
The urn, being placed in the vault, was covered by a marble lid, which was cemented in its place.
It is said that the deceased gentleman has left an only child, a delicate son now in Japan, and that in the event of his decease under thirty years of age the bulk of the great fortune, estimated at $3,000,000, ($103.4 million in today's funds) is to go to Dean Hart, of St. John's Cathedral, Denver, or his successor, for the benefit of the Episcopal Church.
Before we re-examine the last wishes of W. B. Daniels, let's see what we can "dig up" about him.
Many sources say that William Bradley Daniels was born in Fabius, Onondaga County, New York. However, when he applied for a United States Passport in 1872 he said that he had been born on the 6th of January, 1825 in the Town of Franklin, New York. Franklin, New York is in Delaware County. His parents were William Daniels, sometimes reported as Isaac Daniels (1799-????) and Cornelia "Ella" Bradley (1800-1881). William Daniels had one sister: Sarah Matilda Daniels/Mrs. George Kenyon (1830-1929).
Daniels makes his first "official" appearance in the 1850 US Census when he was twenty-six years old. He is living in Friendship, Alleghany County, New York with merchant William Collwell. He is also working as a Clerk for Collwell who owned a general merchandise store. William B. Daniels reported that he owned personalty worth $100.00 ($4,198.00 in today's money).
By 1856 Daniels had moved to Iowa City, Iowa. Henry Potwin, the prominent Chicago merchant took him in as a partner in his Iowa City commercial operations. Daniels ended up managing the business for eighteen years maintaining homes in Iowa, New York and Chicago. In the 1856 Iowa Census he was thirty-one years old but reported that he was only twenty-six. He listed his trade as "Merchant."
The 1860 US Census shows Daniels as still living in Iowa City, Iowa. He reported that he was thirty-five years old, was a Merchant, and had real property valued at $100.00 and also personalty valued at $100.00 ($3,770.00 in today's money).
Wedding bells rang for W.B. Daniels when he was married on February 27, 1861 in Cook County, Illinois. The bride was named Elizabeth Phrosenis "Libby" Coon (1836-1881) and was the daughter of D.L. Cook of Chicago. Some sources spell her last name "Cooke." The groom was thirty-six; the bride was twenty-five.
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| Elizabeth Coon Daniels |
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| Chicago Tribune - 27 Feb 1861 |
Was Libbie's last name "Coon" or "Cook"? The Tribune referred to her as "Mrs. Libbie Coon" implying that she had been married previously. They also said the bride's father was "D.G. Cook". I was not able to find any evidence that Libbie had been married before she married W.B. Daniels. When she and Daniels had a son, they named him "William Cooke Daniels." My educated guess is that her name was Libbie Cooke and that Daniels was her first husband. Newspapers have been known to make mistakes. If anyone has information to the contrary, please pass it along.
In 1862, Daniels branched out on his own. William B. Daniels & Company was founded in Iowa City, Iowa, moving into a former stove store in the Powell Block. The company was listed as offering wholesale and retail dry goods and groceries. It was said that Daniels did an extensive business with merchants from towns as far as 40 or 50 miles from Iowa City. They would be lined up outside his store with their teams and wagons when he opened for business in the mornings to purchase merchandise for their stores. 1862 was in the middle of the Civil War, and business in the North was booming.
Speaking of the Civil War, W.B. Daniels registered for the Draft in July of 1863. He was listed as: Daniels, William B., 38 years old, White, from Iowa City Township, and a Merchant who had been born in New York. There is no record of Daniels actually serving in the military.
Even though his business in Iowa City was doing very well, Daniels must have determined that there was even more money to be made by going further west.
First he moved to Fort Leavenworth, Kansas establishing the mercantile firm of Daniels, Millington & Co. Fort Leavenworth was on the direct stagecoach and wagon road to the Pikes Peak gold diggings in Denver. Daniels shipped many a wagonload of merchandise to Denver, finally making the decision to relocate to Denver permanently.
In 1864 Daniels moved his enterprise to Denver, Colorado, at that time considered in the middle of nowhere. At the beginning, W. B. Daniels & Company was comprised only of W. B. Daniels, and his brother-in-law W. R. Kenyon as manager in charge. At its founding, it was housed in a little store near Fifteenth and Blake Streets. The business quickly grew and soon new quarters were established on Larimer Street near Fifteenth and in 1869 still larger quarters at 390 Larimer Street became necessary.
By 1865 in addition to Denver, W. B. Daniels was the principal owner of the Daniels & Cohen clothing store in New York City, and stores in Iowa City and Leavenworth, Kansas.
In 1870 W.B. Daniels and his wife moved to New York City. Elizabeth Daniels was due to have a baby and perhaps she wanted to be near her husband when her time came due. At that time Daniels was spending six months of every year in New York.
William Cooke Daniels (1870-1918) was born in New York on March 29, 1870. He was to be their only offspring.
The Census Enumerator for the 1870 US Census visited the Daniels family on June 23, 1870. They were living in the 1st Election District of the 22nd Ward in New York City. The Daniels Family was living with Joseph Cutter, a lawyer. The family consisted of William Daniels (45 years old), Libbie (34) and their son William (2/12). They told the Census taker that William had been born in April, but he had actually been born in March. Also living with them were two servants: George Brown (23) and Annie Emory (50). W. B. Daniels did not report any occupation to the Census Taker.
By 1872, Daniels had returned to Denver. He now partnered with William Garrett Fisher (1844-1897) to form Daniels, Fisher & Company. By doing this, he transformed his business from a dry goods store to a prestigious department store. From the time the doors first opened, the store was said to have "an unmatched reputation for excellence in fashion and fabric, in ware and utensil, in stock and garment."
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| Daniels, Fisher & Co. |
The 1880 US Census finds the Daniels family living in 1/2 of a double house in Denver, Colorado, at 354 Champa Street. That number no longer exists on Champa Street today. The family consisted of William B. Daniels (55 years old), wife Libbie E. (43) and son William C. (10). William listed his occupation as "Dry Goods - Wholesale and Retail." Libbie was "Keeping House" and young William was "At School." They also have a Servant/Housekeeper living with them: Mary E. Palmer (24).
Although he spent six months of every year in New York, it was said that Daniels made his headquarters in Denver to accommodate his wife who suffered from lung trouble, and his son who was said to be "none too robust." Apparently the dry sunshiny atmosphere of Denver was more conducive to their health than other areas of the US.
Newspapers of the time described Daniels as "a man of most vigorous temperament, in business affairs considered a peer of any man in the West. His manner is rather austere, not given to flattery or any form of deceit, yet generous, sympathetic and kind." Every month Daniels turned over $500.00 to his partner Fisher to distribute to "those who really need it," on the condition that no one ever know who the money came from.
William Daniels' mother Cornelia Bradley Daniels died March 16, 1881 in Iowa City, Iowa. She was 80 years old. I was unable to determine when or where Daniels' father died.
William Daniels' wife, Elizabeth Cooke Daniels had suffered on and off from lung trouble for years. She left Denver for New York in January of 1881. In May of that year as her health worsened she had sought treatment from a Cleveland doctor who specialized in lung-related illnesses. The treatment was unsuccessful and Mrs. Daniels died on June 22, 1881 at 401 Superior Street in Cleveland, Ohio from consumption (tuberculosis). Her husband was at her side when she died. She was forty-five years old. 401 Superior is now the Cleveland Arcade, built in 1890. She was buried in Rosehill Cemetery in Chicago. She was described as "a lady of culture and refinement and beautiful character." Her estate totalling $71,000.00 ($2.18 million in today's funds) was left to her husband and son.
This appeared in the Iowa City (IA) Morning Democrat of October 29, 1885:
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Apparently W.B. Daniels did not like being single. Less than one year after the death of his wife, he became enamored with his son's elocution teacher. She was known as "Lillian B. Abbott" and also by the more exotic name of "Donna Madixxa." Daniels was said to have been infatuated with her from the moment they met.
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| Lillian B. Abbott/Donna Madixxa |
Newspapers of the time described her as "gay and gorgeous." She had been married twice previously. Her first husband died, and she was divorced from her second husband. She then attained some prominence as an elocutionist and was said to be a tall, splendid looking lady when Mr. Daniels met her.
Daniels may have been infatuated but she said she was going to make him marry her, and she did. From then on, her life was a poem. Her dresses, all made in Paris, cost from $500 to $1500 each ($15,000 to $46,000 in today's funds). Her carriage and team of horses was the amazement of Denver. She was beautiful, witty, lively, fascinating. She was said to be a crack shot and a daring rider, a fairly good boxer and a splendid talker. She enjoyed all sorts of company and at all sorts of hours - but she was virtuous. At least they never succeeded in proving the contrary after the most exhaustive research.
On December 26, 1881 Daniels arranged to have the following letter published on Page 1 of the Denver News:
Mrs. Lillian B. Abbott:
Dear Madam - The reputation as an elocutionist which your efforts for the benefit of your classes here have gained for you, has impressed us with a desire that the public be afforded an opportunity to witness an exhibition of your accomplishments in that branch of literary exercises.
We therefore earnestly request you to give an evening entertainment of dramatic reading at the Grand Opera House in Denver at such time as will suit your convenience.
The letter was signed by fourteen of Colorado's foremost citizens, including Daniels.
William Bradley Daniels and Mrs. Lillian Abbott/Donna Madixxa were married in Old Lyme, Massachusetts on July 8, 1882.
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| The Second Mrs. W. B. Daniels |
By 1886 as far as his second wife was concerned, the bloom was off the rose and Daniels decided he wanted a divorce. He sent Mrs. Daniels to Europe to get her out of his hair (what little hair he had), and while there she spent $75,000 ($2.5 million today). In the divorce negotiations, the second Mrs. Daniels asked for $25,000 yearly alimony ($861,000 in today's funds).
The negotiations did not seem to be going very well because on March 8, 1885 Mrs. Daniels sent Mr. Daniels the following letter:
Windsor Hotel, Denver - February 28
To: Mr. Daniels -
I have this moment heard that you have contemplated, or already have made defamatory statements about me. You know, and I know that you know, that they are false, and are made for the sole purpose of shielding yourself from the consequences of the many wrongs I now suffer at your hands. If such statements have been or shall be made by you, or through your agency, as there is a God above, I will kill you the first time I meet you.
(Signed) "LILLIAN DANIELS"
The divorce was finalized in Denver on March 16, 1886. Not all of the terms of the divorce were made public but it is known that Daniels paid his former wife a lump sum payment of $50,000 plus he deeded several parcels of Denver real estate to her. In exchange he demanded in addition to an end to the marriage, that Lillian leave Denver, never to return.
After the divorce was final, Daniels continued running Daniels and Fisher and breeding champion trotters, and the former Mrs. Daniels joined a little theatre group - the Helen Blythe Creole Company - that traveled around the US and Canada. It was reported that Lillian Daniels/Donna Madixxa received $10.00 for each performance ($334.12 in today's funds).
In 1888 while driving his famed team of black stallions Daniels was thrown from the carriage and incurred serious injury when the horses ran away. He had suffered an apoplectic stroke but it was never determined whether the stroke caused the runaway or the runaway caused the stroke. The stroke left him partially paralyzed for several months.
An article from the Valley Falls (KS) New Era newspaper from November 15, 1890 talks about Daniels' continuing interest in the breeding and raising of trotters:
In November of 1890 Daniels suffered another stroke, which left his right side paralyzed. He was bedridden and confined to his home, where in mid-December he was victim of a severe attack from which he failed to rally. On Christmas Eve, December 24, 1890 W. B. Daniels died in Denver, Colorado of "paralysis." He was sixty-five years old.
At the time, his son Willie, now nineteen years old, was in Yokohama, Japan.
From the very beginning, as had been his request, the death and funeral arrangements of W. B. Daniels were shrouded in secrecy. There was no grand obituary on the front page of major newspapers, or anywhere else for that matter. Just a few minor mentions.
In Denver, his obituary was on Page 6 of the Rocky Mountain News under the title "Another Has Gone - The Men Who Built Up Denver's Greatness Are Very Rapidly Passing Away."
Here's a typical notice from the Scranton (PA) Republican from December 25, 1890:
Here is a mention from the Quad City Times of December 30, 1890:
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There is a mystery surrounding where Daniels was cremated. Why was Daniels, who died in Denver, cremated in Detroit? In 1890 Denver had no crematory. Forbes Parkhill in his book Donna Madixxa Goes West says that two of the three hand-picked trustees of the estate, Judge Mitchell Benedict and Daniels' former partner William G. Fisher were not satisfied with the Detroit crematory and proceeded to Chicago, where Daniels' body was cremated. That is not possible.
I asked my friend Jason Ryan Engler "The Cremation Historian" if one wanted to have a body cremated in Chicago in 1890, what crematoriums were available? He told me that Chicago did not have a crematory until 1893 when the one at Graceland was built. Daniels' cremains were ultimately buried at Rosehill but he was not cremated there. Rosehill did not have a crematory in 1890 and still does not have one today. Bodies slated to be interred at Rosehill were routinely cremated at Graceland Cemetery which did have a facility for cremations but not until 1893. History does not record where the actual cremation of Daniels' body took place, but it was not in Chicago.
So, as indicated at the beginning of this article, Daniels was cremated, then the cremains (were) placed in an urn. "In the arm of one man was held a vase about the size of a silk hat, about half full of what looked like chalk in tiny bits, some very porous, others close and stony, and none of them larger than a green pea." This is extremely unlikely. The urn would not have been uncovered, leaving it open to the elements, nor would mourners be able to see the cremains as described by the News Index account. The account continued that the "urn, being placed in the "family vault" in Chicago's Rosehill Cemetery, was covered by a marble lid, which was cemented in place."
This ends the story of the life of William Bradley Daniels - or does it?????
Come back next month for the rest of the story. You will notice that unlike most of my stories, I have not provided a photo of the final resting place of W.B. Daniels and his first wife. Why not a photo of the "family vault in Rosehill Cemetery?" Because there isn't one. Neither the Daniels nor the Cooke families had (or have) a vault in Rosehill Cemetery. There is a Daniels burial plot and a Cooke burial plot, but no family vault. Furthermore, the Community Mausoleum at Rosehill was not completed until 1914. Are Daniels and his first wife at Rosehill, and if so, where? Another issue to be examined is what happened to Daniels' considerable estate? Were his assets distributed as he had directed in his will? Was his divorce from his flamboyant second wife valid? If not, was she entitled to a 50% share of the considerable estate per Colorado law? Here's a taste from the Kansas City Times of December 29, 1890:
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