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ADDENDUM/ADMENDMENTS of
Stilson/Stilson A Family History

, by Christie Stilson

   

Welcome to a 4th Generation Admendment, this one also done by Christie Stilson for the Book, and brought to you on line by Margaret Lee. Within this section you will find a revised of Melvin Marion Stillson and his wife Goldie M. Benser; with their children: Leola Jean Stillson; Leota Jane Stillson; Melfred Benser Stillson; and Goldie Marie Stillson;AND also on this same page, you will find the Family update for Arnold franklin Stillson and his wife Wilhelmina Dennstedt; and their children: Bessie Pearl Stillson; Boyd James Stillson; Geraldine Stillson; Warren E. Stillson; Darrell Lane Stillson; Arnold franklin III; Linda Gail Stillson; Sharon Rae Stillson; and Mildred Rose Stillson; We hope that this helps you find you lines and helps in your research. Thankyou for stopping by.

FOURTH GENERATION --STILSON/STILLSON

(Jacob 1; Simon 2; John F. 3; Melvin 4)

IV. MELVIN MARION STILLSON b. February 6, 1905, the son of John Fremont Stillson and Mary Caroline (Stroh) Stillson. He m. July 5, 1928 to Goldie M. Benser b. June 13, 1909 in Volin, South Dakota, the daughter of Reinhardt Frederick "Fred" Benser and Clara Josephine (Hanson) Benser. See the Family Photo Album section of this family history for photographs of Melvin and Goldie.

Melvin Marion "Ole" or "Red" Stillson attended High School in Madison, South Dakota from 1920-1924. He participated all four years in football, basketball and track. Two of these years they were State Champions in basketball and Melvin and his team-mates were entertained while at the Nationals in Chicago at the Stillson's Restaurant-Cabaret. He also participated all four years in these same sports in college. At the University of S.D. in Vermillion, S.D. he was a member of the Phi Delta Theta Fraternity. Because of the death of his father, he --finished college at Eastern State Teacher College in his hometown. This is where he met his future wife, Goldie Benser.

The write up of the marriage of Melvin and Goldie in the local paper reads, "Mr & Mrs. R. F. Benser were greatly surprised Sunday evening when their daughter, Goldie, came home from Madison with a husband. She had gone to Madison to spend the Fourth with friends, and she had not breathed a word to anybody about her intentions to embark on the sea ofmatrimony. The lucky young man is Melvin M. Stillson of Madison. The marriage took place on the fifth of July at Marshall, Minnesota, where the ceremony was performed by Rev. E. C. Reineke, Methodist pastor of that city .After the ceremony the young couple made a honeymoon trip to points in northern Minnesota and on their way back stopped at Lake Kampeska, near Watertown. They had planned to keep the marriage a secret for some time, but the news leaked out at the groom's home town, after which they decided to announce the event. The bride was born and raised in Volin, and is a popular young lady. She graduated from Volin High School in 1927 and during the past year was a student at th~ Eastern State Normal Teachers College at Madison where she met Mr. Stillson. Her husband graduated from the Madison Normal this year and has been elected to a position as manual arts instructor and assistant coach at the Watertown high school. His home is at Madison where he was born and raised and where he is known as a young man with sterling qualities and a promising future. Mr. and Mrs. Stillson will make their home in Madison until next fall when they move to Watertown. The contracting parties have been receiving the congratulations of Volin people and best wishes for happiness and prosperity in an abundant measure throughout their married life. "

Both Melvin and Goldie continued advancing their education. Melvin received the equivalent of two masters degrees in Industrial Arts and has taken many other courses in his field. Goldie has a Bachelor of Science in Education with a minor in Child Psychology .She specialized in Elementary Reading. She went back to college twenty-five years after obtaining her first grade teaching certificate and graduated with honors in 1964. Melvin is a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows in which he held a Deputy Commission of the Grand Lodge of IL. He was elected to the National Geographical Society on January 1, 1954 and he belonged to the "Knights of the Round Table " for years. This is an Industrial Arts organization. He was Chairman of the Industrial Arts Department and supervised the building of the large addition onto the High School.

Goldie writes, "During World War II and for about 10 more years, Mel raised thousands and thousands of broilers (chickens) all in chicken batteries (they never touched the ground). We dressed them for standing orders from restaurants in Chicago. Once a week, we dressed 500 in the wee hours of the morning and had them delivered 25 miles before 8 a.m. We bought baby chicks 1,000 at a time and when they were moved to bigger batteries, we had a thousand more to replace them. Mel did this, with help of course, while he was teaching and in the summers. He even worked at Great Lakes and Fort Sheridan to help the War Effort as he just missed, byage, of being in the war. Oh yes, we were also in the egg business!"

Melvin has devoted much of his time to the youth of Antioch Township High School. When he went to Antioch, IL in the fall of 1934 he was advisor to the junior class and then continued their senior year. The next fall he started as advisor to the freshman class and continued with them for four years. He continued this way with a new class every four years until 1970 when he retired. He and Goldie both "subbed" for a few years at nearby schools following retirement. His shop, in the evenings and on weekends, when he was repairing and sha1pening tools and machines was always open to the youth of the High School. He even had a TV for their use. His home was always open to them too.

Goldie has been a member of the Antioch Woman 's Club; Chapter Member of the Mother's Club and President and Secretary of that organization. Secretary and President of the St. 19natius Episcopal Church, Woman 's Guild, a member of the Rebekah Lakeside Lodge #82 and continued on to being District President.

Melvin taught Industrial Arts in Watertown, South Dakota from 1928 to 1934, then in Antioch, IL from 1934 to 1970. They built a house in Antioch, IL in 1936. Goldie taught in Watertown, S.D. for 6 years, Antioch, ILfor one year and Lake Villa, IL. for 19 years unti11975. Both have traveled extensively in Europe and the Middle East and have visited their daughter Dee in all countries where she taught. Goldie was "kicked out" of Singapore while visiting her daughter Dee. She had her visa renewed several times due to letters from Dee's doctor. They would not accept the last one and said no woman needed her mother's help that long after childbirth, so her visa was not renewed and she had only a few days to leave the country .Goldie has also visited relatives in Norway and Denmark, and has traveled to Hawaii, Japan, Taiwan, Turkey, Syria, the Greek Islands, Australia, New Zealand, Tahiti, Thailand and Mexico.

Leola Jean Stillson, b. Labor Day, 1930, lived through the night and died September 2, 1930.

Leota Jane (twin of Leola) Stillson, b. September 1, 1930 and d. September 2, 1930. The twins both looked like their mother's picture when she was three months old. Leola had black curly hair and big brown eyes like her mother. Leota had red curly hair and blue eyes like her father. They were buried in the same casket in the Stillson plot in Graceland Cemetery, Madison, S.D.

Melfred Benser Stillson b. July 6, 1932 m. June 2, 1951 to Dolores Gutowski b. October 15, 1933 in Wisconsin and had six children. See Generation V.

Goldie "Dee " Marie Stillson b. October 23, 1943 Waukegan, Il m. November 27, 1965 to Michael Hauser b. September 2, 1939 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. See Generation V.

1nformation provided by Goldie Benser Stillson.

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FOURTH GENERATION --STILSON/STILLSON

(Jacob 1; Simon 2; James Ambrose 3; Arnold Franklin 4)

IV. ARNOLD FRANKLIN STILLSON, I, b. October 11, 1889 in Jasper, Pipestone, MN. The son of James Ambrose and his first wife Wilhelmina Dennstedt. Arnold Franklin m. August 22, 1914 in Medora, Billings, N.D. to Nina HazelDavidson, who wasb. August 23, 1895 in Hope, Steele Co., N.D. and d. July 2, 1976 in Salem, Marion Co., OR. Arnold Franklin d. June 17, 1921 ncar Rider, Billings, N.D. and is buried at Belfield, N.D.

Bessie Pearl Stillson b. January 8, 1915 at Fryberg, N.D. m. Orville G. Gilbert March 4, 1977 at Tucson, AZ. No children.

Boyd James Stillson b. Apri130, 1917 at Fryberg, N.D. m. February 10, 1948 to Marian Phair. Marian d. October 29, 1983 in Colorado Springs, CO. Boyd and Marian had three children.

Geraldine Stillson b. June 13,1949, m. Richard Lovell December 18,1971. They had daughter Amanda b. July 15, 1982.

Warren E. Stillson b. January 22, 1952 m. Julie Simpson on Apri114, 1973. They have three children: Daniel b. September 24, 1974, Jason b. November 26, 1977 and Shelley b. December 12, 1981.

Darrell Lane Stillson b. February 14, 1955 m. 1) Kimberlee Kay Whalley on August 12, 1978. They divorced. He m. 2) Kimberly Ann Werdick on April 1, 1988.

Arnold Franklin Stillson, 11, "Frank" b. March 31, 1920 in Sully Springs, Billings, N.D. m. January 17, 1948 to Olive Eileen Brown. Olive is the daughter of Acel Carlos Brown and Edna Evelyn Hildegarde (Lindholm) Brown and was b. September 2, 1921 in Jackson, Michigan. Her parents were both from Wyoming and they returned to Wyoming when she was five years of age.

The Rapid City, S.D. newspaper carried the following story in 1932. "Shades of ye old days when the ox was the main manner of transportation and beast of burden, are abroad in Rapid City amid the rush and roar of modem traffic. A strange sight it is to see Arnold and Laverne and "John 11 selling vegetables from door to door, for Arnold and Laverne are two enterprising young businessmen and "John " is a yearling calf. They are the main ingredients of the vegetable distributing system, but not to be forgotten is their small spitz dog tagging along behind which is an appropriating sense we shall name "and company. " The yearling calf; which the boys trained about two months, pulls a small two-wheeled cart filled with vegetables from house to house and the combination never fails to attract an admiring group of youngsters and to command a second glance from old and young alike. Arnold Stilson, 12 years old, who resides west of the Indian school is the owner of the bovine equipment while his partner in peas and beans and corn is Laverne Napier of E. Main St. (Arnold later won a $50 prize when the bull calf was in a parade.)

Arnold Franklin 111, "Brick" b. August 10, 1948 in Bend, Deschutes Co., Oregon. m. Jolene Smith, daughter ofDonald and Marguerite (Pierce) Smith b. April 6, 1949 in Logan, Cache, Utah. m. in Salt Lake City November 4, 1978.

Cameron Acel Stillson, b. February 13, 1981 in Worland, Washakie, WY

Kimberly Jo Stillson b. June 11, 1982 in Worland, Washakie, WY

Linda Gail Stillson, b. December 5, 1949 in Prineville, Crook Co., Oregon. m. Jerry Dean Davis, son of Arlo and Grace (Johnson) Davis. Jerry was b. Apri117, 1948 in Los Angeles, CA. They m. September 6, 1969 in Reno, Washoe, Nevada. They divorced in 1992

Shawn Renee Davis b. November 30, 1968, Walnut Creek, Contra Costa, CA. m. Steven Osborn, Jr. Children: Scott Bradford Osborn b. February 6, 1987

Kerry Lin Davis, b. July 26, 1970, Walnut Creek, Contra Costa, CA. m. Daren McCall. Children: Chelsea Cierra McCall b. March 27, 1990 and Robert Kristopher McCall b. January 19, 1993.

Erin Deane Davis, b. December 18, 1973 in Vernal, Uintah, Utah

Cassie Eileen Davis, b. September 5, 1977 in Cody, Park Co., WY

Seth Arlo Davis, b. January 7, 1980 in Cody, Park Co., WY

Sharon Rae Stillson b. January 31, 1952 in Bend, Deschutes Co., Oregon. m. Larry VerI Stevens, b. August 12, 1949 in Utah, son of VerI and Olive Luanna (Caldwell) Stevens. They married June 9, 1973 in Keams, Salt Lake, Utah. Sharon divorced in 1985 and married 2) John Philip Maupin, b. August 26, 1951 in Illinois. Sharon and John married October 21, 1989 in Rock Springs, Sweetwater, WY.

Forrest Shane Stevens, b. June 21, 1971 in Cody, Park, WY

Tristan Heath Stevens, b. January 30, 1974 in Salt Lake City

Matthew 1)Iler Stevens, b. January 22, 1976 in Salt Lake City

Aliesje Nicole Stevens b. June 1, 1978 in Salt Lake City

Katrina Amber Stevens, b. March 31, 1981 in Rock Springs, WY

Mildred Rose Stillson b. November 29, 1921, about three months after the death of her father. She m. 1) Lloyd Shaw on June 7, 1956. They divorced. m 2) Lawrence Johnsen on June 5, 1982. Mildred and Lloyd had son William Shaw b. September 12, 1958 who m. Becky Butte on December 4, 1978. They had one daughter Mindy Shaw b. 1979 in Tuscon, AZ.

Research provided by Olive Stillson.

LAST UPDATED: Oct 19, 2000
Jan. 28, 2001  ©  by Margaret Lee