Dazed and Transported

(Click on image to enlarge)
Charles Dewell, Jr. (undated; probably circa 1902-1912)
Image courtesy of the DeWell family archives.

As long as we're talking about Charles Maybaum and his family, let me tell you a story about a wandering son-in-law.

Charles' daughter Jennie had married Charles Dewell of Hobart around 1905. By 1910 they had two young daughters. Charles Dewell earned a living as a heavy-equipment operator, specializing in the steam shovel. No word of any particular trouble in their family ever reached the papers, although it appears they were in debt to some extent.

On March 20, 1912, Charles Dewell disappeared.

That morning he had left for Hammond to take care of some business, so it was not surprising that he was gone all day; but when evening came and Charles did not come home, Jennie got worried and started making inquiries. The last anyone reported seeing him was about 11:00 a.m. when he left an attorney's office after making an interest payment. Then he simply vanished from the face of the earth.

A week went by — no news of Charles, where he was or whether he was dead or alive. Some thought he'd just gone on a little spree and would turn up eventually; if Jennie believed that, it must have been cold comfort.

After that week of silence, she received a letter from Charles. He wrote that he had been "slugged and placed in a boxcar and was found in a dazed condition at Remington" — a small town about 60 miles south of Hobart. He asked Jennie to send money so he could come home.

Why are these guys always getting slugged or drugged and whisked off to faraway places?

At last report, Charles' brother-in-law, August Maybaum, had left for Remington "to investigate his condition."


(Click on image to enlarge)
August Maybaum in Ainsworth, date unknown. Image courtesy of the Hobart Historical Society.

Unfortunately, whatever August's "investigation" may have turned up, no further explanation appeared in the news. The lost sheep returned to the fold. They all probably rejoiced over him and pretended to believe his story for the sake of family harmony. Jennie and Charles were still together when the 1920 census came around.


Sources:
♦ 1910 Census.
♦ 1920 Census.
♦ "Lost Man Found." Hobart Gazette 29 Mar. 1912.