Mary Olsdatter (Finnestad) Bell: Witness for the Prosecution

Mary Olsdatter Skåreflådå (Finnestad) Bell appeared as a witness in a murder trial that took place in Dixon, Lee county, Illinois from April 26, 1898 through May 5, 1898.

The December 27, 1898 issue of the Dixon Evening Telegraph reported the initial details of the December 24th murder of Fred Tolsted on their front page.   

From page 2 of the Wood County Reporter (Grand Rapids, Wisconsin) in their December 30, 1897 issue, the 'suspect' alleged the victim connected him 'unpleasantly' with the housekeeper (Mary Finnestad Bell).

The local newspaper in the adjoining county, published a brief article on the murder on January 12, 1898 on the front page of The True Republican in Sycamore, DeKalb county, Illinois.    

The Sterling Standard published the names of the law firm, prosecuting attorney and judge in the upcoming murder trial on page 12 of their January 13, 1898 issue.

The trial began on April 26, 1898 as reported in the April 27, 1898 issue of the Dixon Evening Telegraph on the front page.   One of the motives presented by the prosecuting attorney is prescient of In Cold Blood.

The specific mention of Mary (Finnestad) Bell in the above article included her daughter, not named.   Her daughter was May Bell; both were living at the residence.

The following day the Dixon Evening Telegraph provided an update on the progress of the trial on the front page of their April 28, 1898 issue.

The testimony of Mary (Finnestad) Bell was summarized on the first page of the above article:

Testimony was provided by Joseph Benjamin Govig regarding his sister Martha (Govig) Cody, another woman dispareged by the 'suspect'.       Joseph's memorial can be found here.   Martha's memorial can be found here.

The Sterling Daily Standard also published an update on the trial on page 4 of their April 28, 1898 issue.  The advertising/placement department at the Sterling Daily Standard apparently had a pretty macabre sense of humor.

Another update on the murder trial was published on the front page of the Dixon Evening Telegraph in their April 30, 1898 issue.

The Dixon Evening Telegraph published the verdict on the front page of their May 5, 1898 issue.

The plat map below for Dement township, Ogle county, Illinois shows the proximity of the village of Creston in Section 23 of the plat map to the scene of the murder at Fred Tolsted's property in Section 1 of the Alto township, Lee county, Illinois plat map below.     

I originally posted this plat map in 2010.     Following the murder of her employer, Mary moved in with her parents, Mari (Iversdatter Nord-Skaar) and Ole (Olson) Finnestad Sr.    The Tolsted property was next door to the home where the Finnestad family was living at the time, property owned by R. Thorson.

Following the trial and the resolution of the Fred Tolsted estate, Mary Olsdatter (Finnestad) Bell received $134.83.   Based upon inflation, that amount would equate to $4,229.89 today.     I initially thought the $134.83 represented back pay as a housekeeper but the value doesn't seem representative of a housekeepers pay in 1898.

Some additional information about Judge R.S. Farrand, the prosecuting attorney Edward H Brewster,  defense attorneys, Solomon Hicks Bethea and Charles B. Morrison can be found here.

The memorial for the murder victim, Fred Tolsted can be found here.

If anyone has any information on the first name of Mary's husband, please contact me.   Mary's memorial can be found here.   The memorial for her daughter, May Bell can be found here.