Addie Hoyt Did *Not* Die of Diphtheria, Part II

Comments on the Addie Hoyt Fargo blog dated 4/19/2012

Some overarching thoughts about this particular blog: 

This seems to be an effort to regain lost credibility and reputation that has been put at risk. 

This appears to be ‘new’ but it’s really a different slant on the same old stuff, with the addition of the Jefferson Banner.

The Jefferson Banner and the LM Leader were competitors, collaborators and sometimes they poked at each other.  See the article printed in the Addie blog related to the baseball game fiasco.

The following is from a reporter acquaintance:

Why errors or misleading information? Pressure on deadline, assumptions, carelessness, the need to fill up space in the newspaper, and the need to take out words to fit the space. Lack of knowledge by the reporter and lack of attention to details.  Newpapers were/are a business. And love thy neighbor did not apply to papers in the same coverage area, (such as the Lake Mills Leader and the Jefferson Banner) they were competing for readership. And If they could get their licks in to the reader, they might do it. Believe me, editors and publishers could act just as juvenile as little kids. 

Anyone familiar with reading a 100+ year old publications knows that the prose was flowery, the superlatives were over the top.  Descriptions such as “ one of the most popular young couples will be wed,” were common. Young women were talented and beautiful. Men were successful in their career and had promising futures. And everyone was happy to have them in the community.  Newpapers are published on deadline, written, edited, by humans and in those days, type was set by hand. Editors have blank space to fill, hopefully with something that will attract readership. (Though it still had to be long enough to fill up the space.)

Newspapers are in the business to make money, not to be sworn testimony. Not to be picked apart and analyzed, not to be taken as gospel out of context – historical and otherwise. Read it, put it aside, line the canary cage, and go on to spend your time in more productive means rather than clinging to bits as though they were gospel. Old newspapers are fun to read and will provide information.

I think that old newspapers do provide information and are frequently the only artifacts of historical events.  I also agree with the rest of the context from my acquaintance.

On to the blog post….

Is Addie obit really a complete fabrication?  I don’t think so.  Rosemary used this article to support her murder conspiracy in her earlier blogs.  It was absolute factual proof that Addie was murdered when Rosemary needed to exploit it for that purpose.  The issue is that the obit doesn’t support Rosemary fabrication of murder.  Talk about complete fabrications……….

I would like to see the plethora of information that proves Addie did not die of diphtheria and/or that she was murdered.  Other than Rosemary’s manufacturing of fiction there isn’t any proof.  And the obituary clearly states death by diphtheria.  In one of the Addie blogs Rosemary says that documents more than 20 years old are observed as factual by courts.  Whether or not I believe that is not relevant.  The idea that the obituary is more than 20 years old fits the criteria Rosemary outlined.  Therefor, it’s factual proof that Addie died of diphtheria.

Looking at the two obituaries I agree one is longer than the other…..the Jeff Banner likely edited for space.  And I didn’t see the date of publication for the Jeff Banner obit but am guessing it was after the LM Leader obit and was not the product of someone working at the Jeff Banner.  The choice of words and phrasing and the omission of parts is solely up to the discretion of the editor.  No smoking gun.  It’s just another over the top reach for Rosemary.

The printing presses were powered by the equipment at the F B Fargo company.  No big deal….  Today there are is almost no printing being done by major newspapers.  That doesn’t mean the writing about Addie and E J was any more slanted than the writing about anybody else that operated in the same social group.  The idea that the press was under E J’s thumb makes for dramatic reading but means nothing.

Then Rosemary goes on to hammer about the difference in the description of Addie getting out of bed and falling back.  Editing for space?  Jeff Banner removed it for some reason?  Who knows….it was more than 110 years ago.  Rosemary doesn’t know why they are different but wants to exploit it if possible.  If Rosemary wants to pick apart each word and phrase to make a case she is looking for fly poop in pepper. 

So in 1901 the editor of the LM Leader chose a few words he that more dramatically described Addie’s struggle to stay alive, or maybe this is accurately reported based on the information provided to him.  Even if you are unable to ‘catch your breath’ you might be able to declare that you are choking.  Go with the Jeff Banner description.  That will suit the EMT reader that has an issue with choking. 

“Second or moments” makes little difference unless there is some context to work with.  When I tell someone I will ‘be there in a minute’ I certainly wouldn’t expect them to take that seriously.  I would say that by the time any professional help arrived it was way past time to save Addie’s life.  The rest is either editing by Hubbs for dramatic purposes (Rosemary knows all about editing for drama) or Addie’s caretaker described the scene in these terms.

Then the paragraph on diphtheria….again.  This is contradicted by the NIH documents (see my previous blogs on this subject).  In these documents the disease results in death within 4 – 6 days without care…..and  Addie did not seek or receive care for diphtheria because it wasn’t recognized.  That could be because there weren’t any cases currently active in Lake Mills .  Perhaps Addie contracted the disease in portage at a meeting of others that had traveled from around the state or while she was in transit.  The meeting attendees were predominantly women.  Think there were children there.....or on the train?

There’s a few more sentences about the treatment that Addie received.  I suggest Oatway did everything he knew how to do.  Whether that was enough may be questionable but he still did what he could based on his training.  One could argue he was a neophyte (as Rosemary pointed out previously) and that might be true.  Records indicate he did not become a eye, ear, nose and throat specialist until 2013.

As for the tracheotomy….Oatway probably didn’t know how to perform one and he likely wasn’t at her bedside.  The obit says the membrane was quite small when first examined.  Further he did not expect the disease to get that severe as quickly as it did.  Again, you can chalk that up to inexperience or carelessness……nothing intentional.

Once more, I read the obituaries and it looks like the same copy except the Jeff Banner edited it…..get it?  When carefully and thoughtfully read the only real conclusion shows the Jeff Banner took the obit from the LM Leader and changed some words and phrasing and shortened it for their own purpose.   If Rosemary had included the dates on the two obits then we would know how many days later the Jeff Banner published.

Then Rosemary tries, once again, to fictionalized Addie's death even further by suggesting Addie died prior to 2:00 AM.  I’ll write about this in a later blog.  Suffice to say there is absolutely no historical reference of any kind to support that assertion…..none whatsoever.  To even pursue that logic will further compromise Rosemary's credibility.

I think that’s about it for this version of the Addie blog…..on to part 3 later. 

Addie Hoyt Did *Not* Die of Diphtheria

Refutation of the Addie Hoyt Fargo blog dated April 18, 2012

This, once again, is dragging up supposition that has been refuted previously.

Take a look at Addie's obituary I posted on 2/10/12 titles 'Addie Hoyt Fargo Obituary'.  In this historical document it states that Addie was feeling better that day and was up and around.  From that it is reasonable to assume that she tired and laid down with whatever she had on.....including shoes.   She died with her shoes on for this reason.  Rosemary has failed to confirm anything else and has failed to provide any evidence that there was a rift in the Fargo marriage.  The idea that she was dressed to leave at 2:00 AM is ludicrous.   For what reason?  Addie wasn't going anywhere....she was happy with her lot in life.

See my blog on 2/4/12 'No Funeral Directory was Involved' where I refute a lot of the goofy assertions.  Of course there was a funeral director involved, where did the casket come from?  I think Rosemary finally backed off on a lot of this stuff

See my blog on 2/12/12 and 2/13/12 'Every Funeral Tradition.....' where I comment on Rosemary blogs by the same name.

And see the NIH reports in my blog on 3/2/12 title 'Addie Hoyt Fargo died of Diphtheria - NIH reports' to confirm that the practices of the day were not consisten BUT that Addie was buried consistent with the National Institute of Health guide for diphtheria deaths.  It's really unconscionable to second guess the actions of a rural community in 1901.

The facts are:
Addie was feeling better and was up and around the day prior to death - documented in obit.
There was a funeral director that was involved - evidenced by the casket
The body was not embalmed - in keeping with practices for victims of communicable disease that needed to be buried quickly
The people involved in Addie's burial did the best they could with the current practices as they interpreted them
Rosemary has the boot artifacts in direct violation of the court order for disinterment of Addie.  Same with the nails she pictured in her blog.

I fail to see anywhere in this Addie blog, or any other Addie blog, where Rosemary has proven that Addie did not die of disease......  To assert she was shot in the same blog is ridiculous.  All it shows is that Rosemary has failed in two areas at one time......
1.  Failed to prove Addie was murdered
2.  Failed to prove that Addie did not die of disease.

Now, for the EMT who writes that people cannot speak when they are choking.  This is literally correct.  Once the throat is clogged the person cannot speak.
However,  Addie could feel her throat closing up and could speak a few words before she suffered from complete blockage of her throat.  It would be incorrect to suggest a person choking on a piece of food is the same as a person whose throat is being blocked over a period of time - no matter how short that time period might be.

So nothing new here.  Dredging out the same old dreck to try and make the same old points.  If you repeat it often enough maybe people will believe it eventually.  I wrote a blog on how politicians lie and why they get away with it last month.  Take a look for this blog if you have time and see the comparisons..

The Story of Addie Hoyt: A Synopsis - Part 2

Comments on Addie Hoyt Fargo blog from April 13, 2012

To read a short piece on the exhumation (with lots of photos)

This is where Rosemary starts misrepresenting the depth of Addie’s grave.  This is the start of the slippery slope that eventually exposed her lack of accuracy and veracity.

See my blog dated 4/1/2012 – Videos Corroborate Addie’s Exhumation and get the links to various videos of what really happened.

To read a more in-depth blog on the exhumation.

I get a web 404 error when I click on this                                                                                                                         

My favorite blog is the one where I interviewed a funeral director, who told me all about Victorian burial customs.

See my blogs dated 2/9, 2/10 and 2/13 for my opinions on this.  I find it interesting that Rosemary gathers all this information with phone calls that cannot be corroborated.  Just makes me wonder since she had previously misrepresented the phone call with Dr. Peterson….and then deleted that part of the blog post.  The single act of not being truthful about the call with Peterson causes skepticism with any other reported information from ‘experts’.  

To learn what the medical examiner told me about Addie’s autopsy.

Again, I think I’ve responded to this bunch of uncorroborated conversation…another phone call…..more information.  However this is where Rosemary had claimed Peterson told her Addie didn’t die of diphtheria…..that claim has since been deleted from the blog post.  The LM Leader reporter called and checked with Peterson who made it clear he didn’t make any such statement about Addie’s death and that he stood by the forensic report.  Another step down the slippery slope….

If you’re interested in learning more about Addie’s husband, Enoch.

This is interesting if you can get past the comments that add nothing.  There really isn’t anything here except continued attack of E J’s behaviors.  The guy liked to live and could afford his life style….no crime in that.

To read about Enoch’s arrest and conviction for assault and battery.

See my blogs dated 3/5, 3/7 (2), and 3/19 to get a different perspective.  This is where Rosemary tries to make E J responsible for F B’s behavior.  It’s an interesting attempt at  transference of responsibility, but it fails to pass the sniff test.

Why didn’t the local paper do a little investigating into Addie’s death in 1901? Because Enoch owned the printing press - literally.

See my blog dated 3/25 to see my thoughts on this.  E J loaned or rented the power for the press.  He did not own the press….big difference

To read about the kit homes I found in Lake Mills.

Not my concern…….

Love old houses? Learn more about the Fargo Mansion Inn by clicking here.

Lovely home…..been there many times.

To see an amazing array of vintage pictures of the Fargo Mansion, click here.

Yep, been there, done that

Rent a room at the Fargo Mansion Inn by clicking here.

Why not…….likely they need the money

What was it like to be married to Enoch James Fargo?

This is the blog where Rosemary says Addie owned a home in Lake Mills and Chicago but doesn’t have any information to support that claim.  Could that be a fib?  The rest of this blog is a further unwarranted and unsupported attacks on E J.

See my blog dated 3/29

How do we know Addie did not die of diphtheria?

I started to respond to the 11 sign posts but only got a few done.  Maybe I’ll  get back to it sometime.  The idea is that there are serious leaps between alleged and fact and some very circular logic.  See my blogs on 2/3 and 2/4 (2) to see the start.    If you navigate to part I of the following web site on Addie you will find some interesting information.  Turns out 3 people were buried between permit 21 and permit 22.  Funny how this got misrepresented in the Addie blog.

http://www.aroundnorthernkentucky.com/genealogy/Addie-Hoyt-Fargo-1901-Murder-Mystery.html

And what about Addie’s falsified death certificate?.

This is just a rehash of information.  The idea is the reinforce Rosemary’s conspiracy theory.  Rosemary provides nothing to support the death certificate was falsified.

What did Mary Wilson say about Addie’s murder?
This is a complete nonsense.  I refuted most of this in the State Journal and rest is rubbish.  Read my blog of 1/24 for the entire context of Mary Wilson’s book passage.

How am I related to Addie?

Yawn..  Rosemary didn’t ask about her relatives all her life until she found photo albums after her poor neglected relative died.  I still wonder where he spent the holidays….alone at home would be about right.  Then when it looked like a chance to cash in by exploiting Addie there was a whole bunch of interest.

Addie was quite the writer..

But she couldn’t write her relatives to alert them she needed help even though she was on the road whenever she wanted to be.

To read about Martha Louise Harbeck Hoyt Fargo (Enoch’s third wife).

Yep…..outlived him by 40+ years.  Got nearly everything when he died….including Addie’s jewelry and some stuffed alligator….

See my blog dated 2/9/12 to see a copy of the letter sent to the paper by Martha’s direct descendent confirming death by diphtheria

Love reading about the clothing styles of the time?

That’s nice…………..Can find this in any history book.  Check out ‘A History of Lake Mills’ by Mary Wilson

How did I get into this?

For the money….. See my blog dated 2/4

And a bonus for all the E J Fargo blog readers.  See my blog entries for 1/19/12 and 1/29/12 where I refute any and all claims of spousal abuse.

What The Medical Examiner Told Me About Addie…

Comments about the Addie Hoyt Fargo blog dated 12/3/2011

Now isn't this amazing.  In a separate phone conversation that is nothing but hearsay at any point Rosemary has gathered all this information.  I believe this is the blog where Rosemary origninally stated the amazing revelation that Dr. Peterson determined Addie had not died of diphtheria.  Subsequently Rosemary removed this amazing lie because....it was just too amazing..

The record is the forensic report,  I posted the entire document, and the video tapes from the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.  I posted links to the video on 4/1/2012.

Rosemary states in this blog that the forensic results are inconclusive.......pretty much this is true.  It does sound like Dr. Peterson provides an accurate explanation of how he and Professor Anapol determined Addie was not shot in the head.....see the video.  Peterson also states there wasn't any metal residue found on any of bones removed from the grave that would indicate a gun shot.  Very likely the notion of being shot in the head is out the window unless Rosemary wants to pursue the idea that ace marksman E J shot her upper jaw off - as suggested by one of the Addie blog responses.   That, of course, would probably not be a fatal wound and would be a far reach to explain why the jaw was not found in the grave.  It would be amazing. 

This is the blog where Rosemary contradicts the cenotaph claim...and I appreciate that.  She also continues to take words out of context from Mary Wilson's book.  I posted the complete passage from the book in a different blog.  Rosemary contends the grave was above the frost line.  She has no way of knowing the original depth of the grave.  There was so much movement of the artifacts (see the video links I posted on 4/1/2012) that to make any definitive claim is irresponsible.

Near the end Rosemary says the forensic report doesn't prove Addie was murdered.......and that is correct and nothing else Rosemary has posted has proven Addie was murdered.  Most of it is repetitious - the idea being if she repeats these amazing discoveries enough times they will finally have credibility and people will start repeating her blog as if it's factual.

After that part Rosemary writes about how people are fawning all over her because of lack of closure....  That's amazing since Rosemary didn't care about her heritage for all of her adult life.  Never asked her dead relative about her relatives.  It's simply amazing....

See my blog entry on 2/27/2012 titled 'How I Know It's About the Money' if you want to know what is really going on .

The Story of Addie Hoyt: A Synopsis

Random thoughts about the Addie Hoyt Fargo blog dated April 13, 2012

Intesting that Rosemary would choose Friday the 13th to publish this particular blog.


I've responded to most of these already but not sure I care to build a summary to refute the dreck emanating from Norfolk. I might comment over time.

This one is a link to other blog entries pre-selected to avoid the writings that contain the most egregious lies.....  The blog she wrote about Peterson telling her Addie didn't die of diphtheria didn't make this list.  I think that blog was deleted.  I didn't see the baseball game collection of misrepresentations either....but wasn't looking all that hard.

This looks like the outline of a book that might be forthcoming.  Publishing such a book would be a really bad idea. 

I find it intesting that Rosemary has flooded the internet with a lot of the Addie story that conflicts with the blog entries she's written. One might think she would go back and clean up the contradictions.  Guess her ego doesn't require consistency.

Once again Rosemary has created a summary of her writings that include some twisted factual information, omitted relevant information and fiction to create a jaundiced view of her obsession with Addie.

I guess when her complete misrepresentation of the exhumation was exposed by the videos I posted she needed to forge forward with a more aggressive approach to try, I guess, to recover some of her credibility and trashed reputation.  Too late for that....shouldn't have tried to deceive in the first place.

I guess the last 20 years of the LM Leader didn't contain anything Rosemary could misrepresent and exploit.  I'm still curious about that house Addie owned in Chicago and what she was doing for income while she was living there.  Then again, maybe the house part was a big a fib, much like many of the other writings.  The blog entry that mentions the house seems to be left off the list.

Stay tuned........I'll write something more as time permits.....

Now THIS Was a Man Who Really Loved His Guns…

Comments on Addie Hoyt Fargo blog dated April 2, 2012

At least he wasn't shot twice by someone in his hunting party......
As Rosemary continues to grasp at anything that might provide any level of credibility to her conspiracy theory she gets more and more ridiculous.  Could be E J didn't own the gun and that's why he was trying to save it.  Seems like he wasn't much of a hunter or he wouldn't have blown himself out of the boat.

I must have missed the deer hunting and turkey hunting blog.  Rosemary wouldn't just make these things up, would she?

For a change Rosemary gets the title of the Mary Wilson's  book right.  Frequently she can't seem to remember the title when she writes her blogs.

And Rosemary continues to state E J shot his wife although there isn't any proof and she has failed in her attempt to accumulate overwhelming circumstantial evidence to prove her point.  Might be a good time for Rosemary to cut her losses while she still and any reputation remaining.

Mandie Brewer, of course, is an ardent supporter of anything Rosemary writes.  Wonder what's in it for him/her.  We also know that Rosemary edits the comments sent to her blog to suit her own agenda.  Mandie maybe doesn't exist or doesn't care.  Too bad Rosemary doesn't open her blog to all the comments people would like to send.

In summary, not sure why Rosemary would even bother to write this blog other than to keep something on her blog periodically.  There isn't any real content to implicate anything regardless of who owned the guns or whether E J hunted or not.  Rosemary continues to write a history of E J and events surrounding his life.  Guess she has been unsuccessful in finding anything interesting about the Hoyts and Hawleys.

Also haven't seen anything confirming Addie owned a house in Lake Mills and Chicago or what her profession might have been in Chicago.  Maybe the house business was made up like a lot of the other blog writings, maybe it's just not true (like many of the other blog writings), or maybe it's better to let sleeping dogs lie.

Videos Corroborate Addies Exhumation

It's April Fools Day and it's been a good day for me.  An alert blog follower sent me a YouTube link that fully corroborates everything I've written about Addie's exhumation and exposes Rosemary's writings as incomplete, overly dramatic and just plain untrue.  How much better could it get today?

The videos show the workers digging deeper than the originally measured 34"; quite a bit deeper.  They show that all the artifacts were found in a relatively small portion of the grave; one corner.  And best of all, you can hear Rosemary's laugh and conversation that refutes the emotional dreck Rosemary wrote about her 'weak knees' and how exhausted she was from the emotional experience.

These videos are the property of Professor Anapol - he's the older man with the bald head.   Here's the link and I have some notes from my watching to share.  If you have questions or can't get to the video please let me know. You may have to cut and paste the link into your browser.

http://www.youtube.com/user/AnapolUWM/videos

In part 1 the skull is discovered with the post mortem hole.  More on this at the end from the Milwaukee ME site.  But you can see there is deeper digging going on.  There is some conversation about 'things got moved'.  There are other references and speculation to movement of artifacts in the other videos, as well.

In part 2 it's clear to see the grave digger is digging deeper in the hole.  Small fragments of bone and coffin material are found.  Beyond the 34" repeatedly claimed by Rosemary.

In part 3 Dr. peterson talks about the positioning of the body as being bent over since the artifacts are being found in such a small area.  I still contend that everything was pushed into the corner by natural activity since all the coffin parts were found in the same small area of the grave.

In part 4 there is substantially more digging going deeper into the hole.  You can hear Rosemary's voice laughing in the background and some light hearted banter.  Dr. Peterson talks about how stuff has moved in 110 years and the body position - such as finding the jaw with the thighbone.

Part 5 is more joking and laughing with Rosemary's voice in the background.  Clearly not as emotionally distraught as she claimed she was.

Then the same follower sent this link.  It's the Milwaukee County Medical Examiner report.  Under '2011' there is a link to the Journal Sentinel story that I've provided previously.  Click on this to be routed to the story.  There are two video links on the left side under Addie's picture that tell the story of the exhumation and the sebsequent call to Rosemary.

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Milwaukee-County-Medical-Examiner/122438347819253

The second video talks explicitly about lack of any evidence of gunshot wounds.  The discussion about the skull is particularly detailed.

Anapol and Peterson donated their time (and their staffs time) to help Rosemary out with her search and the thanks that Peterson got was Rosemary claiming, in a separate phone call, that Peterson had definitively stated that Addie had not died of diphtheria.  Very much not true according to Peterson.  The message to the Rosemary supporters is pretty clear.  Watch over your shoulder at all times....she will stab anyone in the back to further her agenda.

All in all it's been a good day..............