Rebecca
(Minerd)
Behme Kearns
(1850-1915)
Rebecca (Minerd)
Behme Kearns was born
on June 24, 1850 near Tontogany, Wood County, OH, the youngest daughter of Samuel
and Susanna (Hueston) Minerd. She was romantically linked with Thomas Ward Custer -- two-time Medal of Honor
recipient for his Civil War bravery who later was tragically slain with his
famous brother George at Little Big
Horn. Together, Rebecca and Thomas produced a son,
Thomas C. Custer, and the relationship is discussed in a book by Carl F. Day
entitled Tom Custer: Ride to Glory, available on Amazon.com.
It also was the theme of our 2002 national family
reunion. She later married and had a family of three more children.
The purpose of this
webpage is to record
Rebecca’s known life, through the best and highest quality documentation available. The goal is
not to in any way tarnish the reputation of an honored American military hero.
Rather, our objective is to share information widely, invite input from diverse
sources and ultimately to gain knowledge and broaden
understanding of the past. Unfortunately, the full truth is not likely to be
completely found.
Little is recorded of Rebecca’s early life, except that she grew up in Ohio near Tontogany, Wood County. Her birth year is confirmed by the 1850 census, when she was enumerated as an infant in her parents' household.
Before Rebecca was born, her parents had resided near Scio, Harrison County, OH. Among the Minerds’ neighbors there in the 1830s and ‘40s was the family of Emanuel H. and Maria (Kirkpatrick) Custer and young children. Emanuel was the local justice of the peace. Two of the Custers’ sons would go on to great fame in American military history -- General George Armstrong Custer (1839-1876) and Thomas Ward Custer (1845-1876), a highly decorated Union soldier in the Civil War. Both brothers -- along with three other family members, including brother Boston Custer -- lost their lives in the Battle of Little Big Horn.
In
fact, a statue of the general, seen here, stands on the site of the Custer
birthplace memorial in New Rumley, OH. The statue is just a few hundred yards from
several churches where our cousins are buried. Several booklets document
Custer's growing-up years in Ohio, including a 1978 booklet, General Custer and New
Rumley, Ohio, by John M. Carroll, and a 1993 booklet, Custer's Ohio
Boyhood, by Charles B. Wallace. Much excellent published material is on file at
the Puskarich Public Library in
Cadiz, the seat of Harrison County.
The
house where the Custer brothers were born is seen here -- the building is now gone, but a memorial display stands in its place, near the statue, along
Route 646 in New Rumley. Custer biographer Jeffry
D. Wert has written that the brothers, who grew up there, "shared a bond of deep, abiding
affection for each other." Best-selling author Stephen E. Ambrose devoted
an entire chapter of his book Comrades to the Custers, saying that Tom
"idolized his older brother in all things, ... most especially in risk
taking."
In 1846, about five years before Rebecca Minerd was born, her parents left Harrison County and migrated to Wood County. They settled north of the town of Tontogany, in Washington Twp., in Section 29, Township 6, Range 10. They were enumerated there in the 1850 census, and today they are acknowledged as one of Wood County's "First Families."
As with the Minerds, the Custers also moved from Harrison County to Wood County. They came in April 1860, when Tom Custer was about 15. Emanuel Custer and his son Nevin J. Custer purchased a farm adjacent to the Minerds' and thus were next door neighbors for many years. However, Tom Custer only lived on his parents' Tontogany farm for less than 2 years, until his enlistment in the Army in September 1861.
Rebecca and the Custer children (Boston, Thomas and Maggie) would have attended school "in a little school house just north of Tontogany," said the Wood County Sentinel, taught by "Capt. L. Black."
A
map of Wood County published in 1871, seen here, shows the side by side
Custer and Minerd farms, just east of Tontogany Creek. (The 40-acre farm marked
"N.J. Custer" was owned by Nevin Custer; the farm marked "S.
Miner" belonged to Samuel Minerd; and the 40-acre tract marked "Miner
& Burdett" was co-owned by Samuel's son Jacob.) The primary Custer farm
was south and west of the Minerd farm.
During the Civil War, Tom Custer served in the 21st Ohio Volunteer Infantry. He distinguished himself for bravery, and was the first US soldier to win two medals of honor -- for capturing enemy flags in two battles in Virginia in April 1865, at Namozine Church and Sailor’s Creek. During this action, while charging an enemy position, he was wounded in the neck. After the war’s end, Tom continued serving in the Army with the 1st US Infantry and the 7th US Cavalry, primarily in Kansas during the Indian Wars. The General wrote of their western experiences in the book, My Life on the Plains.
In
1867, Emanuel and Nevin Custer sold
a 20-acre parcel of their farm to the Minerds, about the time that Emanuel
was preparing to move to
Michigan, to the town of Monroe. (A portion of the deed is seen here.) Nevin remained
in Tontogany on his 40-acre farm for several more years, and was the last Custer
to reside there. Tom Custer often visited his brother Nevin on this farm, and it was probably during these visits
that Tom and Rebecca Minerd became acquainted.
Famous, charming and sporting a battle scar, Tom never married, but
was popular with young women. (He is seen at right, wearing his two Medals of
Honor.) In the words of his famous
sister in law, Elizabeth "Libbie" (Bacon) Custer, he “honored and liked
women extremely.” She wrote this in her 1885 book, Boots and
Saddles or Life in Dakota with General Custer. The book goes on to
say:
Colonel Tom used to pay visits of an unconscionable length to ladies of the garrison, and no amount of teasing on his brother's part would induce him to shorten them. [Tom] never knew, when he started to go home from these visits, but that he would find on the young lady’s door-mat his trunk, portmanteau, and satchel – this as a little hint from the general that he was overtaxing the lady’s patience.
A chronology
of Tom’s life and military career is online, developed by nationally known
Civil War expert Brian Pohanka along with Tom Custer biographer Carl Day. This excellent work shows that
among other times, Tom was granted leaves of absence from December 1869 to March
1870; in February 1871; from January to May 1872; and from December 1872 to
January 1873.
In 1876, father Tom accompanied his famous brother George, along with their brother Boston Custer, brother in law James Calhoun and nephew Harry Armstrong "Autie" Reed, into skirmishes and battles with Native Americans in the Black Hills of the Montana Territory. (Note -- James Calhoun, who was married to Tom's sister Margaret, commanded Troop L, and is seen at left.
Sitting Bull, the great leader of the Lakota people, swore a vengeance upon the Army, and General George in particular. The nations of Sioux, Lakota and Cheyenne warriors, led by Crazy Horse, finally clashed with Custer's troops with brutal finality on a windswept Montana battlefield.
Artists' renditions of the Battle of Little Big Horn
On June 25, 1876, at the infamous Battle of Little Big Horn, Tom, George and the other Custers were slaughtered, among more than 220 other members of the 7th US Cavalry. Tom's body was badly mutilated by the Indians as a sign of great disrespect. In fact, his remains were only later identified through a tattoo of his initials on his forearm. The fact that five Custer family members were together at the end speaks volumes for their closeness as a family.
Though originally laid to rest at the battlefield, Thomas was later re-interred at Fort Leavenworth, KS, while George (who died at the rank of Lt. Colonel) was buried in a grand ceremony at the US Military Academy at West Point.
Click to see a page of more photo images of the Custers.
1881 monument at Little Big Horn marks the mass burial site of
slain troops
Many Lingering Questions
Many
lingering questions about the Custer-Minerd story will forever be unanswered.
How Rebecca Minerd, or her young son, reacted to the news of the Custers'
slaughter likely will never be
known.
In the years after the battle, General Custer's beautiful widow Elizabeth 'Libbie' (Bacon) Custer worked diligently to preserve the memory of her dead hero-husband and the wayward brother-in-law she adored. A well-known photograph of the General, Libbie and Tom is seen here, taken circa 1865.
One nagging
thought is whether the Custers knew or acknowledged young Tommy as their own. Given
the longtime friendship between the boy's grandfathers, and the proximity of
their farms, one would suspect the Custers were -- at very least -- aware of the
boy's existence. How would Emanuel
Custer, who is known to have been very religious, had strong political
ties, and realizing that his soldier-son was not going to take responsibility,
have reacted to the possibility that the news might spread to the national
press? Did he make a private arrangement with the Minerds to keep the issue out of the
limelight? And then, after five members of Emanuel's
family were
slaughtered at Little Big Horn, what would have been his and his wife's
emotional need to reach out and connect with young Tommy?
Libbie was a frequent public speaker in the United States and Europe, drawing large crowds wherever she went. She also authored several best-selling books, including Following the Guidon and Boots and Saddles (seen here). Among other aspects, her popular memoirs bring out a little of the personality of Thomas, who otherwise is a shadowy figure in history.
In the 20th century, many films and made-for-TV movies were made about General Custer and the fatal battle. Of the four more popular efforts, only one -- the 1991 Sun of the Morning Star -- included an actor with speaking lines portraying Tom (Tim Ransom). The others, including the 1941 classic, They Died with Their Boots On (starring Errol Flynn as the General), the 1968 Custer of the West (starring Robert Shaw) and 1970's Little Big Man (starring Dustin Hoffman and featuring Richard Mulligan as Custer) did not include Tom as a character.
Rebecca's Life as a Wife and Mother
Rebecca Minerd’s whereabouts during her son’s
early life are unknown, but will be researched more thoroughly. The
photo
seen here shows Rebecca in a playful cowgirl-type hat, at an unknown date.
By 1876, she had married Nathaniel Arthur Behme (or 'Beam') (1851-1914), the son of Julius H.D. and Mary Ann (Ketchum) Behme.
The Behmes had three children -- Frederick Arthur Behme, Clara Jensen Kiggins Young and Samuel H. Behme. In 1890, Rebecca and Nathaniel resided together in Bowling Green, Wood County.
In the 1890s, Rebecca
and Nathaniel migrated north to Minnesota, settling near Minneapolis. Many family portraits of the Behmes were taken there.
Later still, they moved directly south to Iowa. Seen here is a photo of
Rebecca with a man thought to be Nathaniel -- if so, the only known portrait of
them together -- produced at the Stahmann Studio in Wabasha, MN. It is not
dated, and his identity is not confirmed.
Heartache rocked the family in 1896, when Rebecca's son Tommy died in Tontogany. She was not with him at the time, and wrote later that she regretted that she had been unable to "come to see my dear boy when he was on his death bed."
Later in life, when she was several thousand miles away on the West Coast, she wrote: "My heart aches to come home & see you all & my dear old father & the graves of my dear boy & my mother." Three years after Tommy's death, she wrote to her sister, asking for the address of Tommy's widow, saying "I want to write to her in regards to Tomie. I have something I want to ask her. Please do not forget it & write soon."
Rebecca's Letters Home
Over the years, as she lived farther and farther apart from her aging parents and siblings, Rebecca wrote letters home. They are articulate and filled with feeling. One can sense her longing to be with her relatives again, and the quiet desperation of knowing such a gathering was impossible. She signed her letters various ways, including "Beck" as well as "Re. Kearnes" and "B. Kearnes."
In
one letter dated Nov. 18, 1907, Rebecca wrote: "We
are as poor as ever. I don't ever look to be able to have a home any more but if
I could only be able to come to see my old home once more I would be
satisfied.... I can tell you this much it has only been poverty that kept me
away from you folks but it takes money to travel. I could not come there &
back for less than a hundred."
Rebecca also complained about her own health. In an undated letter, she wrote: "I am much healthier here. I had heart trouble so bad & here I do not have them as often. I believe I should been dead long ago had I stayed back in Iowa."
By about 1898, Rebecca and Nathaniel had separated. The marriage had been rocky, and in her own words:
[Son] Fred could not get much work & the old man did not try. I had a good place in a Tailor shop & made from 12 to 15 a week & he did not even try to get me wood. I had to by coal to roast his shins. His brother Jule told him he could have his team & all the wood if he would haul it & cut it but that was too hard work to go about nine miles to get it but it was not too much for me to wade in the snow up to my knees to work in the winter. It seemed as if the devil got in him... I think it is the same old devil in him his mother had.
Their children remained with Nathaniel in Iowa, while Rebecca made the decision to push further west to Washington State. Once she arrived on the West Coast, she sent a letter home, saying:
I do not know if we will go to Seattle to live or live here. Will decide when Clara gets here. We are getting beautifull weather here. The grass is nice & green & it is so warm. We have a nice country, no cyclones & very hard storms here which makes it so nice.
At some point, whether in Iowa or in Washington, Rebecca married a man named Kearns. His first name is not known. At first the marriage was smooth - she wrote to a sister about her new married life, saying:
...mine is not what it was in my young days. I don't have a man that comes home & curses me. He is too nice for that. He has never give me a cross word in his life & I think sometimes I am not thankfull enough... My husband thinks the world of [Clara] & is so good to her he don't want her to work out.
The marriage later turned -- in a letter from Port Townsend, WA, Rebecca wrote: "My husband never tells me his business if he has money or not I never know." In a letter to her sister, she confided:
I am going to tell you the truth which I never told you before (I think). I have not made any better choice than before, in some ways worse, for Clara's father would give me money when he had it. This one never gives me a cent, & I don't know what he does with it or if he has any. He never tells me his business. Sometimes I think he sends his money to some one I don't know of. He has not spoke to Clara since last March & she is a good girl as ever lived ... I wish I had stayed single.
The
photo seen here shows Rebecca with sons Sam (left) and Fred and
daughter Clara. It was taken by Chicago Photo Co. at an unknown date and
location.
Moving frequently, Rebecca resided in Spokane (1899), Seattle and Port Townsend (1906), Everett (1907) and Blaine, Whatcom County (1914-1915). Whatcom is the most northwest county in Washington State, near the Canadian border. She once sent her sister some "fine ore" obtained at "the mines in British Columbia."
Rebecca worked in Seattle as a "tailoress." In 1906, they resided at 2307 North 63rd Street in the Green Lake section of Seattle. Though claiming to be "poor," she took out a $1,000 'Yeomen' life insurance policy for her daughter Clara, a $500 policy "in the Wood Craft" for her own burial, as well as a $1,000 policy "in the Maccabees" for her sons. It cost her $4.00 a month in premiums.
Seen
at right is a vintage old postcard view of the bustling Seattle harbor of the era, filled
with the timber headed to local mills that helped fuel the local economy.
Final Years in the 'Wooly West'
In 1914 and 1915, Rebecca lived with daughter Clara in Blaine. In one letter home Rebecca wrote: "Kiss my father for me + tell him I said for you to do so + that I would work my nails off to help to take care of him if I could only do so." Another time, she wrote: "I wish I was where I could do something to make his old days a little pleasant. I would do all I could for him but here I am away out in this wooly west, many thousand miles away…"
Rebecca's ex-husband Nathaniel Behme died on Sept. 4, 1914 at Custer, Whatcom County, at the age of 63.
During that time, Rebecca suffered from cancer of the uterus, and the disease spread quickly to her bladder and bowels. On Aug. 15, 1915, at the age of 64, she passed away in Blaine. She was laid to rest at the Enterprise Cemetery in Custer, WA, beside her first husband, Nathaniel Behme. Their red granite marker, still very legible, graciously was found and photographed in November 2005 by local Custer buff Phil Dyer.
Rebecca's grave, as photographed in November 2005,
and soonafter cleaned by Custer history buff Phil Dyer
Daughter Clara must have only known a little of her grandparents back in Ohio, because on her mother's death certificate, she correctly named her Rebecca's father as "Samuel Minerd" but somehow mis-identified the maiden name of Rebecca's mother as "Van Austin." (It's possible she may have been confused with the name of her mother's cousin, Austin VanHorn.)
For more on the Behme family, see Matthew Aamot's webpages on RootsWeb.
The Story of Rebecca and Tommy in Books and Magazines
Tom's story re-emerged to the public in 1990. That year, the August-September edition of the Timeline magazine of the Ohio Historical Society published Frank R. Levstik's article, "Our Brother Tom," which outlined his wartime heroics. An original copy is in our archives.
Carl Day's
book was published in 2002 by Arthur H. Clark Publishing Co. of Spokane, WA.
One reviewer has written that "Many years of research
have gone into this book, so we can be certain that it's going to be an essential
volume." It is expected to generate additional public interest in the
unusually close relationship between the Custers and our family. If you'd like your very own copy,
you can order it online from Amazon.com. If you do so, please click
here and be sure to place your order within 24 hours.
If you follow these instructions, Amazon.com will ship the book to you directly,
and give us a small rebate as a finder's fee, which
we will use to offset our website costs.
On Oct. 25, 2003, cousin Beverly (Hansen) Miner and website founder Mark A. Miner led a tour of the Custer-Minerd homeplaces for the Great Lakes Conference of the Little Big Horn Associates.
In
2005, the Research Review Magazine of the Little
Big Horn Associates published an article, "Tontogany's Deep Secret: The
Unknown Son of Thomas Ward Custer." Authored by Minerd.com
founder Mark A. Miner, and seen at right, the 11-page article is illustrated with more than 20 rare
photographs and images. It tells the story of Rebecca and Tommy, and how the community of
Tontogany harbored the deep Custer family secret "which everyone knew but no one
publicly discussed." In the preface, the magazine editor writes that the
article reveals "documents, photos, newspaper articles and more in
examining the only recently discovered evidence regarding Tom Custer's son... It
presents an interesting insight into nineteenth century handling of illegitimate
children." Click here to order
a copy.
Click to see a page of photo images of the Custers. For more information on the Custer brothers and the famed Montana battle at which they died, visit the website of the Little Big Horn Associates. For further information on the Custer-Minerd connection, contact the Wood County (OH) Chapter of the Ohio Genealogical Society.
Copyright © 2001-2005 Mark A. Miner. Portrait of Thomas W. Custer courtesy of the Denver Public Library. Portrait of George, Elizabeth and Thomas Custer courtesy of the Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument/National Park Service. Book jacket courtesy of Arthur H. Clark Co. Pen and ink sketches of James Calhoun and the Battle of Little Big Horn published by The Century Magazine, January 1892. Rebecca Behme's grave photos courtesy of Phil Dyer.