Walter was unnamed at the time his birth was recorded. [1518]

Family tradition has it that Walter "disappeared" and was declared legally dead (legal proceedings not found) before Minnie married Isaac Allen in 1899. Originally it was thought that he may have simply died while seeking work away from home, but now we know he did not die until 1912. They were last known to be together in Otoe Co., Nebraska, as of 26 Dec 1888. [3] So it is thought he left Minnie while in Nebraska and Minnie & Grace eventually moved back to Webster, South Dakota. [169] Note, however, that Walter’s death certificate [3138] lists him as divorced, suggesting that the “disappearance” may have been a cover story, or simply a lost detail as the family story was handed down.

The 1910 census entry lists Walter as married for 18 years (though living as a boarder without a wife), which is the one detail in that record which seems most incongruous. [3139] The 1900 census has another very similar Walter HULL in Scott, Sharp Co., Arkansas, but born Jul 1870 and reportedly single, but also a zinc miner, so still a slight possibility he is the same person moving around a lot.

From Walter's death certificate, it appears that the informant, "W. L. Wilson" of 621 Wyandotte Street, was also the attending physician, "Dr. Walter L. Wilson" of 2212 Benton Blvd. It is remarkable that Dr. Wilson knew such detail about Walter's parents. It is those details that make proper identification of this Walter Hull possible. But obviously there is a curious discrepancy between the address given for the informant and the physician. The 1912 city directory [3143] for Kansas City lists a Walter L. Wilson with a residence at 2212 Benton Blvd. (p.1854), but states that he was a secretary at Baker & Lockwood Mnfg. Co. at 617 Wyandotte. But there is no listing for him in the Physicians section of the directory.

Walter Hull was reported to have died at 1920 Poplar Av. The 1912 directory has no listing for Walter Hull, but does list a Charles W. Eldridge, an upholsterer, living at 1920 Poplar Av. (p.541). The same person is listed at that address in the 1911 & 1913 editions of the directory.

Dr. Wilson's employer, Baker & Lockwood Mnfg. Co. (a maker of tents and awnings), has a listing in that directory (p.153), which placed the company offices at 617-621 Wyandotte Street, thus revealing that as the informant, W. L. Wilson gave his company's address, but when signing as the physician he gave his home address. The president of the company was C. J. Baker, and Walter L. Wilson is listed as the company secretary.

Looking for other persons who may have resided at 2212 Benton Blvd., p.1821 shows a "domestic" named Grace Whitehouse, and Caleb J. Baker, president of Baker & Lockwood Mnfg. Co. (p.149). According to the 1910 census of Kansas City, Missouri [3144], Caleb J. Baker was Walter Wilson's father-in-law (and head of the household), thus explaining the dual business and domestic relationships. However, in that year, they lived at 623 Euclid. And Walter Wilson's occupation was reported as a salesman of tents and awnings. But no mention of him being a physician. And finally, the undertaker listed on the certificate, Mrs. C. L. Forster, is shown on p.610 of the city directory to be Mary E. Forster, wife of C. Louis Forster, undertaker at 918 Brooklyn Av., with a similar listing in the business section under the Undertakers category (p.2210).

Ultimately, the mystery here is how Walter Wilson, the tent salesman, became Walter Hull's attending physician and confidant? And why did Walter Hull die at the home of Charles W. Eldridge?

Walter HULL *not* found in 1911 (p.800) or 1912 (p.849) city directory of Kansas City, Missouri (available on Fold3.com).

16-MAR-2016: Searched Ancestry.com. Missouri, Wills and Probate Records, 1766-1988. but did not find any probate records for Walter S HULL, in Jackson County, though there was one for Buchanan Co., but the date is not included in the index entries.

In the 1900 census report (Source [4]), he and Minnie reported that they had been married 14 years when in fact it was less than one. Not sure if they were trying to fool the census taker over the fact that his step-daughter Grace Hull was 13 years old at the time, or if the census taker got his information from somebody who didn’t know the real story.

According to Clinton James CHRISTOPHER (on 21-Aug-1977), Isaac worked as a grave digger at Hillside Cemetery and thus obtained a free burial plot.

Isaac is believed to be the namesake of Isaac W. THOMPSON (b.1826, PA - based on the 1880 census, or 9-SEP-1830 based on History Of Sauk Co., 1880), a neighbor of Thomas B. Allen (Isaac’s family is listed immediately before Thomas in the 1860 census). At Tuckertown Cemetery, to the immediate south of the Allen stone is a grave marked “Margaret wife of I.W. Thompson, died Oct. 7, 1865” and although there is no marker for Isaac Thompson, he is buried near his first wife [2596]. I.W. Thompson was one of the appraisers of Thomas Allen’s estate in 1879. [598] Current assumption is that I.W. Thompson was in fact Thomas’ brother-in-law.

Isaac & family moved from South Dakota to Minneapolis, MN, about 1901. [29]

While it could be a case of omission on the part of the Minneapolis City Directory, in the 1922 edition, Isaac’s listing did not specify an occupation, which it had in all previous years that he was listed. [2707]

Isaac’s official cause of death was “Illuminating gas poisoning, probably accidental.” [29]
For more information about Isaac’s unusual cause of death, visit this Web page: http://www.antiquusmorbus.com/English/Poison.htm
The 1925 death certificate example shown there was submitted by Bruce Christopher from Isaac’s death certificate (Source [29]).

Burial detail: There is a ground-level marker stone identifying Lot 349 in the south 1/3 of Section I. Isaac’s grave is the 3rd one south of that marker. It is about 25 paces east of the road on the west side of the section and about 30 paces north of the road on the south. The grave is shared with his wife, his wife’s oldest daughter, Grace and her husband, Augustus McKinney (based on in-person visit).

There was no listing for him in the 1923 Minneapolis City Directory.