FLAWED GENIUS -3

My Time With A Creative Father

Chapter 3 (first draft)
Cowling Family in Mt. Carmel

Understanding my father begins with knowing our family.

Text of article, Ruined By Villainy, is below the newspaper clipping:

BUFFALO EVENING NEWS
NOVEMBER 19, 1890

RUINED BY VILLAINY

A Bank Gutted, the President and Cashier Disappear and Hundreds of Depositors Ruined

(Note: the President did not "disappear." He died, likely murdered.)

St, Louis, Nov. 18 –– The little town of Mt. Carmel, Ill. and all the country round about is terribly excited over the collapse of the private banking establishment of Cowling, Gowenlock & Co. and the subsequent developments which are of the most sensational character. Mr. Cowling, President of the bank, died Nov. 5. Depositors expected the bank to remain closed for a few days, but after waiting a week they became impatient and wanted their money. Last Tuesday the cashier, Dave Gowenlock, formerly of Mt. Vernon, left to raise the funds to meet the rush on opening day. As he didn't return telegrams were sent out in all directions for him, but no clue to his whereabouts has been discovered. The excitement and dismay over the affair increased hourly. The death of Mr. Cowling was very sudden and entirely unexpected and appears to be shrouded in mystery, a peculiar feature of which is that just before his death a very heavy insurance was placed on his life. Young Gowenlock, who was cashier of the concern, announced that the bank would remain closed. An administrator was appointed to act for the dead man, but he subsequently announced that he feared there would be a run when the bank opened and to meet it he must have more money. In pursuance of this plan he went to Mt. Vernon, where his father resides, from whom he borrowed $3000, since which time he has not been seen or heard from. The depositors secured the appointment of a receiver, who made the discovery that the institution had been gutted, only $133 in silver and some papers having been left in the vault. The matter has created the upmost consternation in the community and there are a large number of depositors who have been left with all their savings for years swept away. The failure of this institution carries ruin and desolation into hundreds of homes, as everyone had the utmost confidence in the bank and the town is in no condition to shoulder such a loss as it is just recovering from the recent tornado.

My father told me about his grandfather's death as we drove to Evansville during a winter day when I was twelve. I had started the conversation with an innocent yet ignorant comment. "So, what was the deal with Great-grandmother and Grandaddy? She lived to be almost a hundred, and he died a few months after her."

Dad gave me a sideways glance as he drove. "Your grandfather died of a broken heart. He was that close to his mother. He was her baby, born a year before his father, your great-grandfather, died."

"Grandaddy took me up to see Great-grandma a few times. She was really old and in bed all the time. She wanted to touch my face and tell me what a fine young man I was. It was kinda weird."

"I understand that. When I was a young, she ran the farm, even though she was in her sixties. By that time, the store was doing well. Her sons, Frank, Roy, and Robert, your grandfather, were all devoted to her."

"What was the story about Great-grandfather and how he died. I forget."

"Came to me second hand. Remember, Grandfather Francis died thirty-one years before I was born."

"That was his name, Francis? Thought that was a woman's name."

"Right. Spelled with an "i" near the end. If the "i" is changed to an "e," it becomes a woman's name. Great-grandmother's name was Elmira. They had five kids."

"Okay. What about Great-grandfather Francis?"

"He was a successful businessman and ran a bank. One day, when he was at home not feeling well, his partner in the bank came to see him. Grandmother said the partner went straight upstairs, which was not unusual. The partner left soon after. A little while later, she went up to check on her husband and found him dead."

"Wow. That's awful."

"What's worse is that this guy cleaned out the bank and left town. Never found him."

"So he killed his partner and ripped off the bank. What a scum bag."

"Tell you what kind of woman your great-grandmother was. Her husband was killed. Many people in town lost their money in the bank. She had four young children at that point to care for and a farm to run. There was a big hullabaloo in the town. Eventually, she sold her husband's business interests to pay back the bank depositors. But she came up $5,000 short, which was a hell of a lot of money back in 1890."

"What did she do?"

"She worked her butt off, caring for her kids, ran the farm, and paid every penny back to the remaining depositors. Then, on top of that, when her oldest son, Frank, wanted to open the Cowling Company in Mt. Carmel, she helped him finance the construction of the three story 35,000 square foot building. It opened in 1907."

"Wow."

"Yeah, she was quite a woman."

The text of Francis Cowling's Obit is below the newspaper clipping:

SUDDEN DEATH

Ex-Sheriff Cowling's Unexpected Taking Off

Nothing could have been more startling to the people of Mt. Carmel than the announcement of Mr. F. M. Cowling's death. Not a dozen people knew of his illness, and those few did not deem him dangerously ill. His sickness commenced Monday evening, and terminated fatally at 1:30 o'clock Wednesday afternoon. His wife thought he was dropping into a quiet sleep, but it was the sleep of death.

Mr. Cowling was prominent in the business affairs of Mt. Carmel and Wabash county. For many years he was engaged in the live stock business. In 1882 he was elected Sheriff of Wabash county and removed to Mt. Carmel. He engaged in the grain trade, and the firm of Cowling & Wilkinson, of which he was the senior member, was one of the largest grain dealers in the state.

He was also interested in banking and was President of Cowling, Gowenlock & Co's bank of this city. He held a large interest in the Mt. Carmel Machine and Pulley Works and was one of the Board of Directors of that corporation. He was a member of the Business Men's Association, having been a member of the Executive Committee.

Mr. Cowling's age was 46 years old, and he was born and reared in Wabash County. He was a very extensive land owner, and his farms are among the finest in the county.

He was considered in excellent financial circumstances.

He leaves a wife and large family of children.

The hour for the funeral has been fixed for Friday, Nov. 7, at 2:35 p. m., from the family residence.

Pages below are from a 1925 promotional “Souvenir” about the store Frank Cowling and his mother built in Mt. Carmel, opening in 1907.

ABOVE CAPTION: View from front entrance showing Main Lobby, Elevator and Stairway. A glimpse of the Second Floor display room appears at the top of the stairs.

ABOVE CAPTION: Upper –– Lobby view including double Main Entrance,
Lower –– Partial view of Rug Department on Main Floor.

First Floor with office on left, furniture filling the large center show space, and display rooms on the right side.

ABOVE CAPTION: Upper –– Birdseye view of Second Floor showroom, taken from the Piano Department, with thirty-six of individual display rooms and a large center show space.
Lower –– A stairway perspective from the Second Floor down into the main lobby and up to the Third Floor displays –– a long climb makes the automatic passenger elevator a more popular upward route.

Text of article below image:

On March the thirteenth, Nineteen Hundred and Seven, The Frank J. Cowling Company (now The Cowling Company), a new Home Furnishing Establishment, was opened in the town of their birth by three brothers, who thus entered the field of commerce as Mt. Carmel's youngest businessmen both in point of years and experience.

From its very beginning, this new firm enjoyed an enviable patronage which has since made possible an ever increasing growth and expansion, until now it is serving a constantly enlarging clientele of patrons over an ever widening area. This service has not been confined alone to the furnishing of beautiful homes; but, in the past decade, also to the fully furnishing and equipping of many of the outstanding public buildings and institutions in this community and a large surrounding territory. The success of the Interior Contracting Department represents one notable phase of the advancement of this business enterprise, and may be partially seen by reference to the back cover of this Souvenir.

(Caption under top right photo:) Frank J. Cowling

Messrs. Frank J. Cowling, Roy J. Cowling and Robert H. Cowling, members of this firm, were originally supported in their venture by their mother, Mrs. E. F. Cowling, who remained a silent partner of the organization until the two younger brothers became of age after which she retired from the business leaving the sole ownership with her three sons.

The opening of this store marked the beginning of realization of the dream of Mr. F. J. Cowling, who as a youth of seventeen had become co-partner in a local second hand furniture where he achieved worthy success. But, because the opportunity afforded by this first business venture was so meager and limited, his ambition was for larger opportunity in this chosen field, to which he seemed so naturally adapted. This opportunity arose and definitely focused this ambition, when a beautiful building site within a stone's throw of his store door was about to be sold. The final result, after his enthusiasm had interested his mother and younger brothers in the proposition, was the purchasing of this site and the planning and erection of the present Cowling building. This substantial and capacious business block with its thirty-six thousand feet of floor area, its triple tier of effective display windows including a basement display that is exceedingly unique and effective, and its splendid appointments suited to the business it was to house, was completed under Mr. Cowling's personal supervision by the time he reached his majority.

(Caption under middle left photo:) Roy J. Cowling

Originally, the firm occupied the full basement and main floors and the front section of the second floor. The balance of the second floor was first planned as a fraternal hall but finally became the Cowling Theatre, which was sub-let and operated for six seasons. The third floor contained twenty-six large, modern office–rooms which for many years was the center of the city's professional life. However, after little more than five years had elapsed the firm's business had so grown that it demanded more display room. So the theatre was dismantled and the entire second floor beautifully remodeled, carpeted and dedicated as the first large expansion in the history of the enterprise. At an Opening, as the seventh anniversary of the firm's beginning, this new department was thrown open to public inspection, and as their expression of interest in the organization and this event nearly five thousand people visited the store on this occasion, April the Seventeenth, Nineteen Hundred and Thirteen.

However, within a comparative short time still more room was necessary and the third floor was partially occupied, which finally resulted in the taking over of the entire building and a complete remodeling of the whole store interior. This last enlargement was formally observed in another Grand Opening held October the First, Nineteen Hundred and Twenty-five, and which has been pronounced by many of wide travel and observation as the most beautiful and perfectly appointed home furnishing store in any small city in America today.

(Caption under lower right photo:) Robert H. Cowling

The members of this firm have gained a great deal of personal satisfaction from their contact with the buying public and have earnestly endeavored to serve the best interests of all with whom they have dealt. But this brief history of our establishment could not have been written but for the good interest and loyal support of thousands of our friends and patrons, who have decreed by their custom the measure of success the years have held for The Cowling Company. To all these and to any who may in the future choose to look with favor upon our concern, the sincere appreciation and thanks of the members of our firm are heartily expressed.

I knew Robert, my grandfather, as a very young boy, and remember his warmth and kindness. He seemed to be frazzled often and at the beck and call of Grandmother. I soaked up the emotions in the household, mixing with my own heartbreak at Mom being gone, but could not express my feelings or put into words what I felt in the house. As kids, most of us cruise through the high and low tides of our lives, focused on getting safely to the next sandbar. My childhood was like that. Dad passed through our lives, never staying for long during the first few years in Mt. Carmel. He brought his suntan and cool presents with him, then left.

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