| William
Tell Wannall served the city of Washington, DC, as both a police
officer and as a fire fighter. His wife, Mamie Downey, collected
pensions from both agencies. In 1888 he and Mamie were living at
421 I Street NW, Washington, DC. Aside from the five children listed,
William and Mamie had several more children who died young or at birth
(see the genealagy page).
It has been reported William Tell suffered from sleeping sickness, a disease
normally transmitted by the African tse-tse fly (we cannot imagine how
he acquired it). Per his instructions, his body was held for about
two weeks after he died to insure he was actually dead and not merely in
a catatonic state. The above portrait of William Tell is a digital
reproduction of a hand-colored, black-and-white photograph taken when he
was about 40 years old.
Last
updated: July 2, 2000 |
