If you’ve read my Untold Stories essay, you know that I had many questions that I needed answers to so I could finish telling the Skeen’s story. Over the years, I looked things up on the internet, just out of curiosity, and this last spring I made another trip to Plain City. I took pictures this time, and added them to my collection of information from Family Search, Ancestry.com, and the history archives of Plain City. I have pieced together a complete story, and I’m so excited to tell it!
Please be patient with me as I put the finishing touches on the story of the Skeen family. As I get the story ready, here are some teasers for you:
- William Skeen was among the founding fathers of Plain City, and played a vital and memorable role in the city’s success.
- William Skeen was a polygamist–he had two wives! (I would have noticed this in 2002 if I had not been so focused on the death dates on the tombstone.)
- I know exactly how the children died, and it is not a pretty story (be prepared to cry).
- In the aftermath of his children’s deaths, William felt that he lost every friend he ever had.
- The story’s ending has a very interesting twist–connected directly to William’s second wife.
- I have uncovered two new mysteries related to the original story–this requires another trip to Plain City, and some more pictures. I think I’ll be able to make another story when I solve one of the mysteries. At the very least, I’ll update you on both of them–I’m a naturally curious person, so I realllllly want to know!
From Untold Stories, 2002
STORIES FROM THE PAST 
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