To begin at the beginning of this story, click here to go to Part 1.

Part 2: The Introduction and Courtship

William T. Niemann, Jr. was described in news stories as a “wealthy Chicago young man known to many in Belvedere [Illinois] through association at Delavan Lake, where he always spent his summers.”  Young William seems to have been a bon vivant, not unusual at the time for young men of means.

Delevan Lake is just over the Illinois border in Wisconsin; it is a 1,904 acres lake that was formed during the last glacial period.  For the wealthy of Chicago and Belvedere, Delavan Lake was an escape from the summer heat and the stresses of work-life. The Park, a common name for the vacation resort, had a collection of small cottages near the Lake for easy access to the amenities offered on the water.  A large pavilion was centrally located for entertainment.

During one of his retreats to Delavan Lake in 1903, William Niemann, Jr. met a young  girl at The Park, one Lucille McLeod. He was 29 years old when he first encountered  Lucille; both were unmarried and unbetrothed. William immediately became smitten by  Lucille and for two years the couple was inseparable — “constantly together,” according to The Daily Republican newspaper of December 19, 1905.

Lucille was described in one news report as “a raven-haired, dark eyed brunette, in whose veins ran some of the best blood of the Hidalgos of Spain.” It further claimed, “William made hot love to Lucile [sic] and she responded.”

When William Niemann, Jr. met Lucille McLeod at Delavan Park, she was, according to the media, a chorus girl.  Another paper identified Lucille as “the handsome chorus girl who appeared as one of the ladies of the harem in ‘His Highness the Bey’ at the Derrick Opera House some time ago.” The term chorus girl has a sense of being used as a pejorative description.

The public was told the two started a relationship despite their 10 year difference in age; Lucille was 17 years old at the time. William asked Mrs. McLeod for permission to court Lucille, which at first brought parental disapproval. Nevertheless, Lucille’s mother eventually acquiesced and gave her consent.

The romance developed to such an extent, according to one newspaper, that “William made hot love to Lucille and she responded to the point that Niemann contemplated marrying his favorite woman.” The marriage plans were so firm that William “. . . gave her a written contract to that purpose. . .”

The contract was written on July 17, 1904 and   simply stated:

I herewith promise to marry Lucille McLeod.

Jan. 1, 1905 ––– William Neiman

It is necessary to note that William’s surname of Niemann was misspelled in many newspaper stories, primarily by news agencies outside of Chicago; two were the San Antonio Daily Light and The San Francisco Call. Some papers even reported his given name as Walter rather than William.

All was well between Lucille and William (who Lucille called “Will”) until William met and fell in love with Meta Fiedler, before fulfilling his commitment to Lucille.

One can surmise that Lucille met William’s criteria for being his inamorata but fell short of meeting his criteria for being his spouse and the mother of his children.  It became public knowledge that William and Meta were “calculating on getting married and spending their honeymoon during the holidays.”

Go to Part 3!