On this date in 1906, Wahpeton papers refuted reports that Reverend Edmands was alive and well with a woman who was not his wife. The sudden disappearance of Reverend Edmands had been the subject of much speculation and gossip. Some suspected foul play or suicide, and newspapers continued to offer various theories about the case.
Fargo and Grand Forks papers reported that a Wahpeton man claimed to have seen Edmands in Winnipeg with a woman. Mrs. Edmands and her daughter had gone back east, believing her husband was dead.
Edmands was last seen walking by the Red River on December 21st. He had long been outspoken about the moral state of Wahpeton, publishing newspaper editorials condemning saloons, bootleggers, and prostitution. His followers applauded him, while his critics mocked him, with one editor dismissing Edmands as a "temperance crank."
Wahpeton papers asserted that Edmands had simply fallen into the river and that his body would be recovered in the spring. The man who thought he saw Edmands alive was questioned and admitted his mistake.
It was later revealed that Edmands had resigned from the Congregational church and planned to leave Wahpeton in the spring. His followers were disheartened by both his departure and his apparent demise. Edmands had graduated from Dartmouth College and Andover Theological Seminary.
A special diving unit was called to Wahpeton to search for Edmands' body. A crowd gathered to watch, but after two weeks, the operation failed. The search resumed in the spring, and Edmands' body was found less than a mile downriver. It was theorized that he had fallen into a hole cut in the ice for watering stock, and his hat was found floating in the hole at the time of his disappearance.
Dakota Datebook by Lise Erdrich
Sources:
- EDMANDS RESIGNING. The Wahpeton Globe, published in Wahpeton, North Dakota on Thursday, October 26th, 1905. Page 5
- MYSTERIOUSLY DISAPPEARED. REV. T. MERRIL EDMANDS, A WAHPETON PASTOR, SUDDENLY DISAPPEARS. The Wahpeton Globe, published in Wahpeton, North Dakota on Thursday, December 28th, 1905. Page 1
- STILL SEARCHING. Search for Body of Rev. Edmands Still Continues. Divers at Work this Week.
- The Wahpeton Gazette, January 4, 1906. Page 1
- RIVER WILL NOT WIELD
- TWO WEEK SEARCH FOR BODY WITHOUT RESULTS
- The Search Has Been Abandoned – Time Will Develop If The Theory of Drowning Be True. Wahpeton Globe, January 4, 1906
- SEARCH ABANDONED. No Further Effort Will Be Made to Recover the Body of Rev. T.M. Edmands. The Wahpeton Gazette, published in Wahpeton, North Dakota on Thursday, January 11th, 1906. Page 4
- STILL GUESSING. Fargo Papers Still Trying to Solve the Edmands Case. The Wahpeton Gazette, published in Wahpeton, North Dakota on Thursday, February 1st, 1906. Page 8
- CREDITS OR BLAMES THE FARGO FORUM. The Wahpeton Times, published in Wahpeton, North Dakota on Thursday, February 1st, 1906. Page 1
- SEARCH FOR EDMANDS.
- The Wahpeton Gazette, published in Wahpeton, North Dakota on Thursday, April 5th, 1906. Page 1
- THE BODY FOUND.
- Wahpeton Globe, April 26, 1906. Page 1
