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Ramsey Cemetery Jordan Family Plot Parents on the left Catherine on the right
All rights reserved by the author including the right to reproduce this book or portions of this book in any form whatsoever. For permission, contact the author. E-book copyright 2014 ŠMary Ann Stemper
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The tombstone of Catharine E. Jordan lying on its side at Ramsey Cemetery in Grant County
Send a Story of Prairie du Chien 43 Volume V #4 Š Mary Ann Stemper 2014
www.prairieduchienstories.com ISSN #1947-9402
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An Old Story Surrounded by Grant County farmland, Ramsey Cemetery turns off a rolling, crushed rock road. In the center of the graveyard is a weathered tombstone lying on its side. For a century and a half, it has declared the awful truth of a young woman’s death. A few newspaper articles can be found to flesh out the details of the shocking crime, but it is Catharine E Jordan’s marker that is unforgettable. We might not know about her senseless and brutal murder except for William Jordan, Katie’s, devastated and angry father. He had the name of her killer etched on her stone for all to read for as long as the stone would endure. No one would ever forget his daughter or the man who took her life before it could begin. This is an old story, the kind that you might think would not have happened in small town Wisconsin in 1868. Times change; technology advances in ways humans couldn’t imagine, but people themselves do not change that much. The time and the place are not as important to our stories as what is buried in our hearts, our bones, our DNA. We are driven, for good or ill, by our deepest emotions— love, jealousy, betrayal, rage and grief. Don’t be surprised if Katie Jordan’s tragedy lingers in your mind after you read her story. It has haunted me since I first visited the cemetery some years ago. So many questions left unanswered, so many details lost forever. Still this is a gripping story that begs to be retold— a tale so contemporary, it could lead the nightly news. If I were making it up, I’d give it a happier ending, but my gentler version wouldn’t be true to Katie’s most fateful mistake and the hard fate that would follow. Mary Ann
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Childhood Friends Catherine was born to William and Martha Jordan just as winter was losing its grip on March 9, 1847, a year before Wisconsin became a state. Her parents emigrated from England and settled in the Glen Haven area along with several other English families. Whether Katie was born in England or after her parents arrived is not certain; it’s been so long now that no one alive would know about the Jordan family. William Jordan had a tract of farmland but also kept a general store in Glen Haven. William Kidd’s family lived on land adjoining Jordan’s. Both men were highly respected in the farming community. Neighbors were often part of an extended support network in those early days; their children, Katie and William, grew up together. William was a year or two older, slight of build at 5 foot 6. He had a dark complexion and very dark hair. When they got to a certain age, he began asking her out. Reports of the murder say that he was warmly attached to her but his advances were always coolly received. It was clear to all that William was more interested than Katie, but she didn’t dislike him and some in her circle were encouraging her to take him more seriously. A girl in a small rural town didn’t have endless chances; William seemed like a natural and safe choice. No one wanted to see his feelings hurt. Three Glen Haven Kidd boys, Joseph S. Richard A. and William E., enlisted in Wisconsin 42 D Infantry unit on August 20, 1864 and mustered out less than a year later June 20, 1865. Because of its location on the Mississippi, Glen Haven became an important shipping point for livestock and farm produce in the years after the Civil War. William Jordan’s general store was doing very well during the boom. When William returned from service, he went to the Wisconsin pineries in the middle of the state
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He was slight of build 5 ft 6 with dark complexion and very dark hair‌
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