Haunting Danielle 27 The Ghost and the Mountain Man by Bobbi Holmes (great novels to read TXT) 📕

Recently, I read about how Alex Marlow and his wife, Anna, died in a house fire, along with the wife of one of Bud’s other friends. He’s also in that picture.” Ginny turned back to the photograph and pointed to Teddy’s picture.

“His name was Ted Newsome. Actually, I suppose he’s sort of a shirttail relative. It was his house that burned down. So tragic, poor little Walt Marlow was just five when it happened. Left orphaned,” Ginny said.

“What do you mean, a shirttail relative?” Walt asked.

“I learned all this when working on our family tree and going through these old photos. My great-great-grandfather founded the livery stable in Frederickport back in 1871,” Ginny explained.

“A year after Frederick Marlow founded the town,” Danielle noted. “And the same year he built Marlow House.”

“Yes.” Ginny nodded. “I’m still working on the Becker family line, but I’m fairly certain August Becker Senior and his wife, that’s my great-great-grandfather’s parents, had ten children. Only two of them settled in Frederickport. One was my ancestor who started the livery here, Wesley Senior, and another was his brother, August Becker Junior.”

“August Becker?” Walt muttered.

“You’ve heard that name?” Ginny asked.

“It sounds familiar,” Walt said.

“From what I’ve learned, he was, like, twenty years older than his brother, Wesley. When August was a young man, he was the first in his family to head west, landed in California during the gold rush. In fact, that’s what brought him there. It’s where he made his fortune, and eventually he left California and settled in Frederickport. He and his wife had no children. His wife’s sister settled in Frederickport with her husband. He worked for the Marlow Shipping line, and they had one son. That’s the other man in the photograph, Ted Newsome.”

“I see what you mean by shirttail relative,” Danielle muttered as she looked at the photograph.

“Oh, and something interesting about August Becker’s wife,” Ginny said. “From what I learned, she was into the temperance movement. In fact, she might have been involved in what’s known as the Temperance War of 1874. But I’m still researching that.”

“Temperance War?” Danielle frowned.

“Really more of a riot, in Portland, from what I understand,” Ginny said.

“You also mentioned the other man in the photo disappeared,” Walt said. “Do you know when?”

Ginny smiled at Walt. “I’m surprised you’re so curious about him. I would think you’d be more interested in learning about Alex Marlow.”

“It just sounded intriguing,” Walt said.

“It’s that writer in you. Always looking for a new story, I bet.” Ginny said. She looked back at the photograph. “He went missing in 1904. According to family lore, he was an adventurer. A dreamer. He couldn’t seem to settle down in a job. His sister tried to get him to work at the livery, but of course, that was not exciting enough—according to the stories told.” Ginny nodded at the photograph. “Those three were close friends. Alex Marlow worked for his father, and Ted worked for the Marlow line too, like his father. That was until he married into money. And according to the stories, he quit and tried one failed business venture after another—even after his wife became ill and disabled.”

When Ginny noticed the couple she had been helping look her way, she excused herself and left Walt and Danielle alone at the exhibit.

“Did you hear what she said?” Walt asked Danielle when Ginny was out of earshot. “Bud went missing in 1904.”

“The same year your parents died.”

Thirteen

Still standing next to Walt, looking at the photograph, Danielle said, “I wonder what happened to Bud. Going missing sounds so ominous.”

“And the same year my parents died,” Walt added.

“Although it doesn’t mean it was ominous. It’s possible he moved and was lousy at keeping in touch with family.”

“That’s true; they didn’t have your Facebook,” Walt teased.

Danielle turned to Walt. “When Ginny mentioned that August guy, the one whose wife was involved with the temperance movement, you sounded like you recognized him.”

“I did. But I never knew he was Ted’s uncle,” Walt said.

“Did you know him well?” Danielle asked.

“No. But I knew who he was,” Walt said. “And that he had money, but I wasn’t aware of where it came from. And I will confess, I’m having a problem imagining it’s true.”

“Why?”

Walt shrugged. “I can’t envision him as someone who left the convenience of the city to prospect for gold. That was a rugged way of life. But I suppose he was much younger then. When I knew him—although I never actually knew him—he didn’t seem like someone who would be comfortable camping. Plus, his wife was not the only one in the temperance movement; they both were. My grandfather couldn’t stand the man.”

“Why? Because they supported the movement? I remember you weren’t too keen on it yourself.”

Walt chuckled. “True. Yet that wasn’t the only reason my grandfather disliked the man. Zealous piety irritated Grandfather.”

Danielle arched her brows. “Piety? And zealous at that?”

“Yes. August Becker considered himself quite the man of God. The rest of us were going straight to hell. As I recall, Becker even had issues with the minister of his church. Supposedly, he once called the man a heathen.” Walt chuckled.

“How did he get along with his brother, the one who started the livery stable?” Danielle asked.

“Supposedly, he loaned his brother the money to start the business. I’m not sure if that’s true, and frankly I find it hard to believe.”

“Why is that?” Danielle asked.

“Growing up, I understood they had some sort of falling-out and had nothing to do with each other.”

“Maybe it was over the business loan,” Danielle suggested. “Loaning money can ruin relationships.”

“Perhaps. One thing I recall, it seemed the man was always about to die any minute. Supposedly he was sickly; the doctor was constantly at his house.”

“That’s kind of sad,” Danielle said.

“The old coot outlived me,” Walt said with a snort. “He was well into his nineties when I—well, you know. I have no idea when he finally passed.”

“Do you remember his wife, the temperance lady?”