Comment on Labadie Mansion by Chuck Reading
We have a booklet titled AMERICANISM and written by G.V. Labadie in 1943. The booklet also mentions a Lt. G.V. Labadie, Jr. stationed at Ft. Bliss, TX just prior to transferring overseas. Do you know if these Labadies are related to the Labadies of the mansion? If they are, do you know where we might learn more about them? Thank you for your consideration of our request.
Comment on Labadie Mansion by Kris Johnson
I upon reviewing the Cemeteries database, I found the record of "Enos Parsons" who was believed to be buried there. There is no positive proof that he is actually buried in this cemetery unless there is a marked headstone. It also lists his death in 1893, which was 42 years before Frank and Samantha died in 1935. This would make it very hard for Mr. Parsons to shoot and kill Frank and Samantha. Enos might have been Susan's slave. Susan Labadie was Frank's mother. This would have been more probable. My Grandfather lives on the border of Washington and Osage Counties and there is a Cherokee Indian Cemetery behind his barn. There are several sandstone headstones which are unmarked but are obviously headstones. I am a Copan resident and I have been to the Labadie Mansion on several accounts. Nothing strange has happened. They did however meet an untimely death. It was on April 1st, 1935 that they died. A friend of mine and myself took the liberty of going to the Bartlesville Library to look at the microphish to see if we could find any stories or obituaries on Frank and Samantha. Indeed, we found that no murder was involved. There was a whole article on the tragic deaths of Frank and Samantha. They had many fireplaces in the mansion (hence all the chimneys). It was reported in the newspaper that both died of asphyxiation due to improper ventilation in the house. The legend is a myth. I can do research on Enos Parsons, but it would be hard to find out if he actually was a resident or what happened. I have heard that when people meet an untimely death, their spirits often linger between here and the afterlife. Maybe that is true. The only thing that I have seen is an orange glow of what appeared to be a lantern of some sort when I was standing on the road below the hill that the house’s remains are perched on. As far as the shots go, the property used to be guarded by “range riders” who were looking to scare off rambunctious teens. The road leading into the property is now gated and padlocked. My friend and I were going to make a venture up to the house on Halloween 2008, but they had people sitting at the gate. Oh, and there are also surviving relatives of the Labadies living to this day…they do not like to talk about the history and feel bothered by it. This is the hard core facts I and my friend have gathered.
Downriver Dancing Under the Trees
Celina Raupp Rough and tumble pioneer dances called Bowery Dances grew up along with tiny Downriver villages like Ecorse, River Rouge and Trenton during the Nineteenth and early Twentieth Centuries. The Bowery Dances were held in four or five places … Continue reading
