WB_080918

12 | August 9, 2018 | The wilmette beacon NEWS
wilmettebeacon.com
A Word From The (Former) President
The ‘murder’ of Wilmette’s Willie Meyers, Part 1
John Jacoby
Contributing Columnist
One of the ugliest
situations ever to
occur in Wilmette
involved Ernest Meyers
and his wife, Anna. They
were born in Germany and
came to the U.S. before
the Civil War. In 1880,
they were 59 and 48 years
old, respectively, living
at 603 Kline Street (now
Prairie Avenue) for the
past six years. Their Kline
Street property consisted
of a general merchandise
store, operated by Ernest,
with a house to the rear
and a barn and farmland
nearby. The Meyers were
“relatively well to do.”
The neighborhood included
several other German
immigrant families.
Unlike them, however, the
Meyers weren’t Catholic.
They were Adventists, a
faith whose members suffered
widespread intolerance
and discrimination.
Earlier in 1880, two of
these German neighbors
— Peter Hansen and John
Walz — had accused
Ernest of stealing some
wood, but the evidence
was ridiculously flimsy,
and Ernest was acquitted.
These circumstances,
perhaps combined with
the Meyers’ affluence
and aloofness, caused the
relationship between the
Meyers and their neighbors
to be frosty, at best.
One of the Meyers’ 10
kids was Willie. In May
1880, he was 6 years old
and described as “thick set,
having sandy hair, gray
eyes, full face, and dark
complexion.” On Friday,
May 21, he went missing.
A neighbor reported seeing
him at 6 p.m., playing with
other children behind the
Meyers’ house. No later
sightings were reported.
Ernest searched fruitlessly
into the night, all the
way to North Evanston.
On Saturday, villagers
set aside their negative
feelings about the Meyers
and joined the search, and
Ernest returned to North
Evanston and resumed
searching there. He also
reported the disappearance
to a German-language
newspaper in Chicago and
to the Evanston Police
Department. (There was no
Wilmette Police Department
at that time.) While
in North Evanston, he met
a man who worked at the
Central Street railroad
depot. The man claimed
to have information about
Willie’s whereabouts and
offered to help in exchange
for a pint of rye whiskey.
Ernest regarded this offer
skeptically and declined.
Two days later, he learned
that the man had also mysteriously
disappeared.
Days went by with no
word. On the night of
Wednesday, May 26, Anna
and Ernest, sleeping in
the second floor bedroom,
were awakened by noises.
Ernest went to investigate
and found one of his
horses inside the house and
a second horse loose in the
yard. He led them to the
barn and found the door
unlatched, although he
firmly believed that it had
been securely fastened that
evening. The Meyers were
convinced they had been
visited by an intruder.
Finally, on Saturday,
June 5, Willie’s body was
found on the Meyers’
property. The house had
an interior cistern that was
accessible from the kitchen
through a small opening
secured by a cap. It
hadn’t been used recently
because of a malfunction,
but it was now repaired
and reconnected. When
Anna accessed the cistern,
she saw a floating body
and screamed hysterically.
It was Willie.
You’d think that this
grisly discovery would
bring closure to a tragedy.
Willie had probably
fallen into the cistern and
drowned. But there was
no closure. At the inquest,
Ernest’s and Anna’s behavior
was “suspicious.”
During her questioning, he
interrupted and wouldn’t
let her answer. At one
point, she reportedly said
Please see JACOBY, 15
2605 GREENLEAF AVENUE
wilmette
Fantastic, newly updated, single level living on coveted Laurel/
Greenleaf Circle! Open concept home features: wood floors
throughout, tons of natural light, gorgeous Chef’s kitchen, first
floor laundry, master suite, finished lower level, attached 2-car
garage, &tons of storage. In awalk-to-all location!
3beds, 2baths |$619,000 | 2605GreenleafAvenue.info
CARMEL GLYNN
Broker Associate
773.562.6915
carmel@atproperties.com