A March 10, 1925, article in the Alton Evening Telegraph titled “Dying Woman Gives Reward to Her Kind Friends” described the contents of the will of Minnie Wells Luly Walters. When she died, Walters willed her property “almost altogether to those who had been kind to her.” After bills were paid and accounts settled, her estate was worth about $3,500 ($64,500 in 2025). The will bequeathed $1,000 to H. William Bauer, $500 to Frank P. Bauer, $300 to William Fleming, and $100 each to Mrs. George Dietz, Miss Eda Faulstich and Mrs. Schindewolf. Walters also left $100 for the Alton Cemetery fund and a sum to provide a marker for her grave. Misses Lillian and Lorena Bauer (daughters of H. William Bauer) were the executrixes. “The reason [Minnie] remembered H.W. Bauer above all others was that at one time, to test out the sincerity of devotion of a man who wanted to marry her, she had deeded to Mr. Bauer all of her property and he had held it in his own name for years. She married the man, they did not get along, and he deserted, and she finally divorced him. Then she asked for her property back and Mr. Bauer turned it back. So grateful was she for his kind treatment of her in protecting her in what proved well grounded suspicions against the man to whom she was engaged, she made Mr. Bauer the chief beneficiary of her will.”
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Minnie Wells was born in March 1855 near Brighton, Illinois. She moved to Alton at the age of 16 and spent the rest of her life here. She married her first husband, Henry Luly, sometime before 1880, but he died in 1887.
On August 20, 1890, Minnie Wells Luly married Max C. Walters at the parsonage of the German Methodist Episcopal church. They separated on August 29, 1899. Minnie secured a divorce from Max on December 20, 1915, sixteen years later. The 1915 charge was desertion, but newspaper articles from 1900 describe a much worse situation than simply leaving. Apparently, Max did abandon his wife, but he returned four months later. When she refused to take him back, he threatened her and threatened to hurt himself. He was charged with assault and battery.
Minnie ran a successful candy store at 824/826 East Broadway (previously East Second Street) for a number of years. She died on January 25, 1925, and her obituary mentioned that her funeral would be held at the home of a cousin, Frank P. Bauer. H. William Bauer and Frank P. Bauer were brothers, and Minnie’s maiden name, Wells, was also the maiden name of H.W. and Frank P. Bauer’s mother. This familial bond helps explain why Minnie trusted H. William Bauer with legal ownership of her property. During this time period, despite most states having passed Married Women’s Property Acts, women did not have full control over their own finances after marriage. In fact, until the Equal Credit Opportunity Act was signed into law in October 1974, banks required women to have a male cosigner (usually a husband or male relative) on applications for credit cards, loans and mortgages.
Minnie Wells Luly Walters is buried in the Alton Cemetery. “Though of a retiring disposition, the deceased stood high in the regard of a wide circle of friends, and there is general regret that she has passed on.”
Sources
Burch, Tory. “The 50th Anniversary of the Equal Credit Opportunity Act Reminds Us There’s Still Work to Do for Women.” TIME. October 28, 2024.https://time.com/7097385/tory-burch-equal-credit-opportunity-act-essay/
“Dying Woman Gives Reward to Her Kind Friends.” Alton Evening Telegraph (Alton, IL), March 10, 1925.
“Home Burns While Family Were Visiting.” Alton Evening Telegraph (Alton, IL), December 1, 1922.
“Max Walter Arrested.” Alton Evening Telegraph (Alton, IL), December 10, 1900.
“Mrs. Minnie Walters Dies at Age of 69.” Alton Evening Telegraph (Alton, IL), January 26, 1925.
“New Circuit Court Cases.” Alton Evening Telegraph (Alton, IL), July 23, 1915.
“Operations at St. Joseph’s Hospital.” Alton Evening Telegraph (Alton, IL), October 9, 1924.
“Personals.” Alton Evening Telegraph (Alton, IL), June 29, 1922.
“Real Estate Transfers.” Alton Evening Telegraph (Alton, IL), April 7, 1916.
“This Was Divorce Day in the Circuit Court.” Alton Evening Telegraph (Alton, IL), December 20, 1915.
“Tried to Frighten His Wife.” Alton Evening Telegraph (Alton, IL), December 7, 1900.
“Walters-Luly.” Alton Daily Telegraph (Alton, IL), August 21, 1890.
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