Spoon River Anthology · Characters
Character guide
Key figures in Spoon River Anthology by Edgar Lee Masters.
Thomas Rhodes
major
Also known as Old Rhodes, Old Thomas Rhodes, attorney for Thomas Rhodes
A wealthy and influential attorney who dominates Spoon River's politics and economy.
John Allen
supporting
Also known as hog-eyed Allen, the hog-eyed Allen
A rough, hog-eyed man known for his violent temper and criminal dealings.
Judge Somers
supporting
Also known as Jonathan Somers, Jonathan Swift Somers
A local judge who presides over Spoon River's legal affairs with a stern hand.
Kinsey Keene
supporting
Also known as Harmon Whitney, lawyer Whitney
A lawyer and politician whose ambitions lead to scandal and ruin.
Benjamin Pantier
supporting
Also known as Ben Pantier, Mrs. Benjamin Pantier
A lawyer whose marriage to a cold wife drives him to despair and drink.
Emily Sparks
supporting
Also known as Dear Emily Sparks
A schoolteacher who cares deeply for her students, especially Reuben Pantier.
Daisy Fraser
supporting
Also known as old Daisy Fraser
A prostitute who is shunned by the town but speaks with bitter honesty.
Minerva Jones
supporting
A young woman who becomes pregnant out of wedlock and dies in shame.
Doctor Meyers
supporting
A physician who performs abortions and is haunted by his actions.
Butch Weldy
minor
A violent man who dies in a fight over a woman.
Knowlt Hoheimer
minor
Also known as Lydia Puckett
A young man who dies in the Civil War, disillusioned with patriotism.
Flossie Cabanis
minor
A flirtatious girl who dies young, leaving behind a legacy of gossip.
Charlie French
minor
Also known as Charley
A soldier who dies in the war, remembered for his courage.
Jack McGuire
minor
A gambler and drinker who dies in a bar fight.
Nicholas Bindle
minor
Also known as Bindle
A miserly old man who hoards money and dies alone.
George Trimble
minor
A farmer who dies from a stroke while working his land.
Lucius Atherton
minor
A dandy and womanizer who dies of a broken heart.
Homer Clapp
minor
Also known as Aner Clute
A young man who dies in a train accident, leaving behind a pregnant lover.
Rutherford McDowell
supporting
A photographer who captures the souls of Spoon River's dead.
Lucinda Matlock
supporting
A long-lived woman who reflects on her full life and many children.
Davis Matlock
minor
Lucinda's husband, a hardworking farmer who dies before her.
Willie Metcalf
minor
A simple-minded boy who drowns in the river.
Aaron Hatfield
minor
Also known as Byron
A feuding mountaineer who dies in a gunfight.
Henry Phipps
minor
A soldier who dies in the war, remembered for his letters home.
Harry Wilmans
minor
Also known as Godwin James
A soldier who dies in the war, disillusioned with glory.
Rebecca Wasson
minor
A woman who dies in childbirth, leaving a grieving husband.
Hannah Armstrong
minor
A woman who dies of a broken heart after her lover leaves her.
Herman Altman
minor
A Jewish peddler who dies in a fire, scorned by the town.
Jennie M. Grew
minor
A spinster who dies alone, her only companion a cat.
Columbus Cheney
minor
A farmer who dies from a fall, leaving a legacy of hard work.
Wallace Ferguson
minor
A blacksmith who dies from a stroke at his forge.
Marie Bateson
minor
A woman who dies of consumption, leaving a young daughter.
Tennessee Claflin Shope
minor
A spiritualist who claims to communicate with the dead.
Plymouth Rock Joe
minor
A black man who dies in a fire, a victim of racial prejudice.
Imanuel Ehrenhardt
minor
A German immigrant who dies in a farming accident.
Samuel Gardner
minor
A farmer who dies from a heart attack while plowing.
Dow Kritt
minor
Also known as Samuel
A man who dies in a bar fight over a card game.
William Jones
minor
A farmer who dies from a snakebite.
William Goode
minor
A schoolteacher who dies of a fever.
J. Milton Miles
minor
A poet who dies young, his work unappreciated.
Faith Matheny
minor
A woman who dies of a broken heart after her husband's death.
Scholfield Hurley
minor
A farmer who dies from a stroke while working.
Willie Pennington
minor
A boy who drowns in the river while fishing.
The Village Atheist
minor
A man who rejects religion and dies in despair.
John Ballard
minor
A farmer who dies from a fall from his barn.
Julian Scott
minor
A musician who dies of consumption.
Alfonso Churchill
minor
A painter who dies in poverty, his art unrecognized.
Zilpha Marsh
minor
A woman who dies in a fire, rumored to be a witch.
James Garber
minor
A farmer who dies from a heart attack in his field.
Lydia Humphrey
minor
A woman who dies of a broken heart after her son's death.
Le Roy Goldman
minor
A young man who dies in a train accident.
Gustav Richter
minor
A German immigrant who dies in a farming accident.
Arlo Will
minor
A farmer who dies from a stroke while working.
Captain Orlando Killion
minor
A Civil War veteran who dies in a bar fight.
Jeremy Carlisle
minor
A farmer who dies from a heart attack.
Joseph Dixon
minor
A blacksmith who dies from a stroke.
Judson Stoddard
minor
A farmer who dies from a fall from his horse.
Russell Kincaid
minor
A young man who dies in a hunting accident.
Isaiah Beethoven
minor
A musician who dies in poverty, his talent wasted.
Elijah Browning
minor
A farmer who dies from a stroke while plowing.
Webster Ford
minor
A poet who dies young, his work posthumously celebrated.
The Spooniad
minor
A mock-epic poem about Spoon River's history and characters.
Epilogue
minor
The final reflection on the lives and deaths in Spoon River.
