BILLINGTON STORY COLLECTION: BABY
MARGARET, JEAN AND ESTELLA
"Margaret Billington was born
March 6, 1909 as the ninth child born to the DS Billington Family. With the joy
of her arrival, followed a sad week for the Billington Family. Estella was in
critical condition with infection. She had been suffering at home but it was
advised by Dr. Ainsworth she should go to the hospital. She wanted to say
good-bye to all the children first. All the children assembled except Jean. For
the first and last time, Dee had to lie to his wife. He just didn't have the
heart to tell her in her weaken condition that Jean had died just a few hours
earlier. He told her the neighbors were going to watch Jean while he was taking
her to the hospital in nearby Deadwood. It was a cold spring night. Two cars
left from Spearfish (one to help the other out) and two left Deadwood at the
same time and met half way. The steep winding gravel road was not dependable,
so they wanted to make sure they got her there safely.
Earlier that day after school
Estella had asked Cecil (aged 10) and Jean (aged 7) to go over the hill to the
West Side Store for some warm stockings for the children. When they returned
Jean laid down in her mother's room and said she didn't feel good. Dad came in
and said he thought she was just a little out of joint because of the new baby.
Cecil said she probably just didn't want to do the dishes. Later she grieved a
long time about saying that. She and Jean were very close. They played together
all the time.
Dee took Jean in the other
bedroom and laid her down because he thought she was a little pale. He went to
get the nurse who was tending mother. The nurse thought she would be all right.
Her father laid down next to her and held her and comforted her for a while.
Then he noticed she began to labor at breathing and he immediately called the
doctor. But before the doctor could arrive, she had passed away. No one could
give a good reason for her death. They guessed she might have some childhood
contagious disease such as scarlet fever. They recommended she be buried
immediately so as to not contaminate the others. (Since that time, family
members have concluded she may have had a heart defect. All the girls have had
one. Jean's was probably worse and doctors in those days didn't think of kids
having heart conditions.)
Dee insisted they have a funeral
for her. He said no one would have to come but he insisted on a funeral. It was
scheduled it for the next day. Mother Estella's surgery was also that next day.
Dee talked with her after the surgery and she seemed to feel better, so he left
to attend the funeral of his daughter. Many people came despite the fact they
were afraid of what she might have had.
After the funeral, Dee was about
rush back up the hill to see Estella, when a man came and told him that she had
died."
Because Dee owned the livery
stable, it was his own black horses, decked with large black plumes that had
the honor of pulling the beautiful black funeral coach carrying two of his
precious loved ones to their burial place at Rosehill Cemetery in Spearfish.
Even more townsfolk came to
Mother Estella's funeral. It was the largest funeral ever in Spearfish during
those days. It seemed like the whole town was there. She was such a revered
woman: respected, loved and admired. Dee gave her name to the baby and she was
then named Estelle Margaret, shortened to Stella.
Soon the whole town became
interested in the family. Many told Dee he was just not going to be able to
raise that baby girl and she should be adopted. A rich couple in the town
really wanted her. Some relatives from Canada wanted her. People would actually
get mad at him for insisting the family would stay together.
Dee moved his family to the house
next to the livery which he owned so he could be near his children. The same
nurse that had been with the mother, took baby Estella home with her. She lived
on a farm. She didn't take very good care of her. Binks (Hazel) and Sid went to
see her one day and found her dirty and covered with flies. The nurse was
working out in the fields. Binks went crying to Dad, "You've got to bring
her home! She is going to die there! She was sickly apparently because she
could not digest ordinary milk.
Dee went to get baby Estella and
the nurse said, "You might as well leave her here, she's going to die anyway."
Dee said, "Then she'll die
at home and she'll be clean!"
Dee took her around to one friend
after another begging someone to take care of her. They would take one look at
the sickly, skinny baby and shake their heads. "She's going to die, Dee,
and we don't want to be responsible."
Mrs. Curry, a black woman, heard
about the situation, and went to Dee. She said, "Mr. Billington, I will
take care of that baby and make her well."
Dee said, "Just take care of
her and keep her clean as long as she lives."
Mrs. Curry said, "She's
going to live, Mr. Billington, you'll see.”
Binks and Cecil tell us that Mrs. Curry boiled
oatmeal, barley, or rice and poured off the liquid and gave it to the baby,
instead of milk. From ·that day on she gained weight and grew.
One day Dee came home and was
horrified to find the baby outside in a box, stark naked. He took her in and
was about to scold Mrs. Curry, but she said, "You put her right back where
you found her, the sun is good for her!"
We have much to thank that dear
wise "uneducated" woman.
She took care of Stella until she
was about 4 years old, then she went to Denver. Stella's older sisters Cecil and
Binks, and her Dad devoted tender loving care of her for the rest of her younger years.
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| Hazel on the right of Baby Stella |
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| Stella at four years old |
Later in life, when a teacher in
Chicago began to call her Estelle, she liked that better than Stella, so it has
stuck since then.
When Estelle was in the second
grade, Mrs. Curry came back and took a job cooking for Johnson's restaurant.
Since she knew Estelle would be coming there for dinner, she waited until then,
scooped her up in her arms and shouted, "My baby, my baby!" She was
so excited to see her again. Estelle was happy to see her all right, but she
sure was embarrassed to be called a "baby!" Mrs. Curry spent a lot of
time telling Estelle over and over how her mother loved her: how she would hug
and kiss her and was so proud of her baby girl. Margaret,(now Estelle), was
only four days old when her mother died. Her mother was too ill and in the
hospital so she couldn't do much mothering, but Mrs. Curry knew that Estelle
needed to hear about her mother.
Estelle has always been happy
that she was not adopted by another family. She has been so grateful to be
raised by a wonderful father and family who loved her dearly. She is grateful
to Mrs. Curry for bringing her back to health and providing the years of
mothering she really needed.
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