The Sunshine Store
Astoria, Illinois
Stories set here
- From the Sunshine Store to a New NameManny and Harvey owned a successful hardware and grocery business in Astoria. According to an account Ethel reported long after his death, Manny discovered his young bride with another man, beat the man, allegedly burned the house, and fled after withdrawing half the store cash and bank savings. In Newburg he worked on a wheat farm, then managed a lumberyard with an attached restaurant and dance hall, subsequently becoming its accountant and prospering. Between 1905 and 1910 he adopted the name Edward Williams. The passage offers speculative explanations involving prosecution or bigamy when he married Agnes Tomitum, while stating that secret correspondence with Harvey revealed that the assaulted man had survived.
- From the Sunshine Store to a New NameManny and Harvey owned the successful Sunshine Store in Astoria. According to a later report by his daughter Ethel, Manny discovered his first bride with another man about six months after they were betrothed, beat the man, and allegedly burned the house after ordering his wife outside. He took half the store cash and bank savings and fled by train to Newburg. There he worked as a wheat farmhand, then managed a lumberyard with an attached restaurant and dance hall, and subsequently became its accountant. He changed his name to Edward Williams between 1905 and 1910. The family speculates about avoiding prosecution or a bigamy charge when marrying Agnes Tomitum, while stating that secret correspondence with Harvey revealed the other man had survived and the first wife had disappeared.
Family corrections
Notes sent in by the family and approved on review. They sit alongside the original record — the book's wording is never changed.
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