Charles Stevens Mickelson

Charles and Mary Mickelson

My Great Grandfather Charles Mickelson is the one we know the least about. He is the biological father of my grandpa Clark.

He was born 26 March 1880 in Egan, South Dakota. He was a rodeo rider most of his short life. He married Mary Ellen Bate on 22 December 1902, in Evanston, Wyoming and they made their home in Hilliard a small settlement South of Evanston. They were the parents of two boys and one girl. in 1907 Mary took ill, after the birth of their third child and died suddenly. The next spring Charles left his children with family and went to work the rodeo circuit.  At one point he sent a letter to family asking about the children and making sure they were doing well. He then was never heard from again.

For many years the family assumed that Charles had just moved on with his life and abandoned his children. However in 1997 my cousin, while doing research to do the temple work for my grandpa's biological family found the following newspaper story that brought to light the truth about what really happened to great grandpa. The story appeared in the Hays Free Press newspaper.

A Suicide

Our town was startled Monday noon by a full fledged, dramatic suicide. A young man named Charlie Michaelson, having been disappointed in love affairs, decided there was nothing in the world worth living for. He had had a quarrel with his best girl, a month had elapsed, they happened to meet on North Chestnut street and talked the matter over, but it was too late to forgive and forget as she had found another and been married an hour before. Then the disappointed one hied himself to a drug store, procured a few grains of poison, and while the young lady and her husband and friends were enjoying their dinner at Howie's a cry that startled the quiet town, was heard and the young man lay writhing in the street. Dr. Marty arrived and an injection for sunstroke was given, but it did no good as the poison taken from a bottle found in his pocket had done its work and death claimed another for a long, long sleep that know no pain, love affairs or awakening. A coroner's jury very wisely pronounced the man dead from poison, not a broken heart.
As the man was over thirty-two years old, had been married and had two children, he was old enough not to get love sick over another girl and the sympathy of our community is with the family and not the unfortunate who wanted to try and unknown world.

I have searched burial records for Hays, Kansas but have been unable to find where Charlie is buried.
He died 25 July 1910

The three children that Charles and Mary had were eventually adopted. The two boys Charles and Fred were adopted by George and Mary Hartley, the baby girl was adopted by Thomas and Mary Hills.