Wednesday, August 2, 2017

Those "Wild West Shows"-- Part 6: His Death in 1917

Details about his personal life are sparse.  He was apparently married, but his wife's name is unknown.  He had two daughters, at least one of them, Neva, was brought back to Antioch and cared for by friends when Wild Jim was on tour.

In his later years, in ill health with bladder cancer, he moved to the home of his daughter Neva in Copiaque, New York, where he died on February 13, 1917.  A funeral service was held at her home and his remains transported back to Antioch, Illinois, where he was buried at Hillside Cemetery.

His daughter, Neva French Imig, was born in Chicago in 1891 and spent her childhood in Antioch where she married Arthur Imig.  She died at age 35 of stomach cancer and was also returned to Antioch for burial

This information came from Ainsley Wonderling of the Lakes Region Historical Society in Antioch.  She has discovered that she is distantly related to the French family.

--DaCoot

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