Historical Backstory

Former Owner: F.B.

F.B. was a farmer originally from the northeastern United States who owned an 80-acre parcel in rural Wisconsin. He built his residence in 1898, and his farm was classified as either a general or dairy farm. F.B. remained the owner until 1939, a total of 41 years — by far the longest tenure of any individual associated with the property. He never married and had no children.

Following his death, the house became transient in ownership — often abandoned or owned for only one to two years before being sold again. There were only a couple of notable longer-term owners after F.B., but none with confirmed ties to the paranormal events currently reported.

Family Connections:

• F.B. was the middle child in a family of four brothers and one sister:

• G.B. (eldest, d. 1920)

• E.F.B. (middle sister, b. 1852 – d. 1901, age 48–49)

• F.B. (middle brother, b. 1858 – d. Jan 1, 1939, age 80–81)

• E.C.B. (middle brother, b. 1861 – d. 1938, age 76–77)

• S.B. (youngest, d. 1915)

F.B.’s relationship with G.B. and S.B. appears to have been distant. Records suggest G.B. and S.B. were close, but F.B. was not part of that bond. There is evidence of E.C.B. and E.F.B. interacting with G.B. and S.B., but F.B. was less involved.

S.B. had two sons who became central figures in F.B.’s estate:

• L.W.B. (1894–1966) – A WWI and WWII veteran who later worked as a printing teacher and newspaper owner. Married, with one son and three daughters.

• H.G.B. (1895–1957) – Former sheriff, WWI and WWII veteran, with insider knowledge of law enforcement. Married, with one son and one daughter.

Estate and Property Transactions

• Upon F.B.’s death in 1939, his estate was left to nephews L.W.B. and H.G.B.

• L.W.B. immediately bought out H.G.B.’s share and sold the property in 1942.

• L.W.B. had worked as a printing teacher until 1940 but left shortly after F.B.’s death to purchase the local newspaper.

Suspicious Circumstances Around Death

• Date of death: January 1, 1939 (a holiday), reducing the likelihood of outside witnesses.

• Time of death: Listed as ~4:30 p.m. — not witnessed directly by the physician.

• Death certificate wording states “death is said to have occurred…,” implying secondhand reporting, most likely from L.W.B., who was the official informant.

• Cause: “Natural disease of the heart” with “senility” as a contributing factor. No autopsy was performed.

Given F.B.’s advanced age and cognitive decline, manipulation into a situation leading to vagal cardiac arrest — for example, slow partial hanging (as described by what activity has been seen from the current owners/clients) — could have gone unrecognized by the physician, especially without trauma or obvious signs.

Informant Control

L.W.B. reported the death and thus controlled what details reached the physician. No other witness was recorded as having seen F.B. alive or deceased that day.

The Doctor

The attending physician, A.J.G., was a respected, long-serving community leader who may have been less inclined to suspect wrongdoing among well-known locals. He had attended F.B. for only 2.5 months before death but listed “onset: many years” for the condition, suggesting assumptions rather than long-term observation.

Missing Details

• No specific location of death beyond “residence.”

• No autopsy, no independent witnesses, and no post-mortem examination.

• No verification of the time of death outside of the informant’s account.

E.C.B.’s Death (1938)

E.C.B. died 11 months earlier of heart disease with pneumonia as a contributing factor. The informant was again L.W.B., raising questions as to why F.B. was not listed instead. E.C.B. had lived with F.B. until his death, leaving F.B. alone in the house for less than a year before his own passing.

Historical & Social Context

In the 1930s, rural dementia care was poorly understood, stigmatized, and often managed privately. Elderly relatives who could not contribute to farm labor were sometimes seen as burdens. This could, in certain family dynamics, create conditions where neglect or active harm might go unnoticed.

Cemetery Placement

F.B., E.C.B., E.F.B., and their parents are buried together in the same cemetery plot, while L.W.B.’s grave is separate and distant — a deliberate choice, given he outlived the others.

Will & Probate

• F.B.’s 1935 will left each nephew $1 — a deliberate, symbolic exclusion — with the remainder of his estate going to E.C.B. (who predeceased him).

• After E.C.B.’s death, L.W.B. petitioned to become estate administrator, posting a $2,000 bond.

• Both nephews owed money to F.B. at the time of his death.

Discrepancies & Red Flags

• Death certificate age incorrect by four years — possibly to bolster the “senility” diagnosis.

• Physician listed as estate appraiser despite his role in declaring cause of death.

• Financial debts owed to the deceased by both inheritors.

• Symbolic $1 bequest paired with sudden inheritance after intended beneficiary’s death.

Conclusion

The circumstances surrounding F.B.’s death remain suspicious. While there is currently no direct evidence of foul play, the financial and career-related benefits gained by L.B. and H.B. — along with the burden of caring for a relative in cognitive decline — suggest potential ulterior motives. F.B.’s estranged relationship with his brothers and nephews, the sudden transfer of property, and the notable changes in L.B.’s professional life soon afterward all raise valid questions about whether his death was entirely natural.

The possibility of growing frustration in managing a dependent relative with dementia — particularly by family members who had no prior close relationship with him — cannot be easily dismissed. Whether through neglect, passive complicity, or a more active role, the narrative of convenience surrounding F.B.’s death is difficult to ignore. Additional historical records on E.C.B. may help further clarify the context.

Current Possible Outcomes:

• Natural death scenario: F.B. died of “natural disease of the heart” on the property and is unrelated to any visions of hanging reported in later years. In this version, the suspicious factors are purely coincidental, and his relationship with L.B. and H.B. only appears worse than it truly was.

• Asphyxiation scenario: F.B. died of vagal cardiac arrest caused by slow asphyxiation, staged by estranged and previously disinherited heirs L.B. and/or H.B. to appear as a natural death — ensuring they inherited the estate before F.B. could update his will following E.C.B.’s passing earlier that same year. The attending physician, A.J.G., had no reason to question the circumstances and accepted the nephews’ account.

• Collusion scenario: Same as above, but with the added possibility that A.J.G. was knowingly complicit in how the death was recorded and presented.