BLOOMINGTON - One of the hidden treasures of the McLean County Museum of History is a collection of newspaper-styled journals written more than 100 years ago. | From Our Past page

The author, Edward Mayne Wilson, was born Aug. 16, 1866, in Dale Township, about five miles southwest of Bloomington. He was the third of nine children to A. Judson Wilson, a successful farmer and local officeholder, and Ellen E. Cornell, one of the earliest schoolteachers in Dale Township.

In November 1881, Wilson, then 15 years old, began the first of a series of handwritten journals, a practice he maintained until the fall of 1902, some nine months before his untimely death. He called his first journal "The Times," and the other early ones "The Keystone Monthly" and "The News."

As the titles suggest, he composed his thoughts newspaper- or magazine-style, with "headlines" over "articles." These journals - the final five were called "The Daleite" - featured neighborhood and family news; personal reflections; wide-ranging sketches on a local history; travel pieces; short stories (some appearing in serial form) and poetry. Befitting the reportage feel of the journals, Wilson often referred to himself in the third person as "E.M. Wilson" or "Mr. Wilson."

The journals, though, represent more than historical artifacts. In this age of e-mails and utilitarian blogs, they are carefully crafted objects d'art. First-time readers, for instance, are struck by Wilson's superb penmanship, and in his later journals, he carefully measured out his words two columns per page. Most startling, though, are the exquisitely rendered pencil and ink sketches that appear throughout the journals, ranging from Illinois River valley landscapes to humorous vignettes of his college days at Illinois State Normal University.

He was born to put pencil and pen to paper. "While my comrades far excelled me in all things physical, so, I may safely say, I surpassed them in all things intellectual," Wilson once observed. "So, when I wanted a watermelon, I depended upon them to procure it, when they wanted a love letter, I wrote it for them, and the scales balanced perfectly."

Wilson attended ISNU, and "The Daleite" of September 1887 to September 1889 offers a fascinating window into college life of the day. He then taught school before starting a real-life journalism career with The Pantagraph, first serving as editor of The Weekly (which was sent primarily to rural subscribers), and then moving to the daily side to become telegraph editor.

In May 1894, Wilson, then 27, married Lettie B. Rutledge of Heyworth, who, like himself, had attended ISNU and taught school in the area. A year later they had a son, Lyndon. Yet their joy was short-lived when 24-year-old Lettie learned that she was suffering from late-stage tuberculosis, a communicable disease also known as consumption. She died one month after the birth of their son.

"Having passed into unconsciousness on the night of June 29, she did not rally or give any sign, but faded slowly away," Wilson recorded in "The Daleite" of July-August 1895. "Is it better then for her who is gone, better for those who are left, better for those who may read this in days to come, to leave unsaid what is in the heart?"

After his wife's death, Wilson moved to Chicago where, with the assistance of Pantagraph publisher W.O. Davis, he found an editing position with the Record-Herald newspaper. In Chicago, he bumped into Mary E. Lawrence of Belvidere, an old sweetheart from his ISNU days. The two married in September 1897, with Edward, Jr. born in early 1899.

Yet their happiness was not to last. Mary learned she had tuberculosis, and on the advice of her physician, moved to Denver, hoping the dry mountain air would improve her condition. Wilson remained in Chicago for a while before joining his wife out West. He too had tuberculosis, though their financial situation was such that he continued to work in the newspaper business, this time for the Denver Republican.

Meanwhile, the health of both continued to deteriorate. "Ed is in an awful state of mind and talks of going home to die," Mary wrote back to Belvidere on Nov. 20, 1902. Edward Wilson passed away in Denver, the end coming May 5, 1903. He was 36 years old. The Pantagraph called its late colleague "one of the most brilliant newspapermen of the West." Three months later, Mary followed Edward to the grave.

Brief selections from Wilson's journals can be viewed on the McLean County Museum of History's Web site. Go to www.mchistory.org and click on "Collections & Research" and then "Archive Collection." Finally, scroll down to the Edward M. Wilson Collection.

In January 1882, a 15-year-old Wilson brooded in his journal over the deeply entwined nature of writing, memory and mortality. He declared that when finished with his current journal, he would place it in an old trunk, where it would remain for many years "hidden and unused." Only in the "decline of life" would he revisit this "unpretentious" and "seemingly uninteresting" volume. He ended with this declaration: "And now, farewell. I place it in the hands of time until that day shall come."