# Spoon River Anthology — Character guide

> Key figures in Spoon River Anthology by Edgar Lee Masters.

- [Thomas Rhodes](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/spoon_river_anthology_se/characters/thomas_rhodes.md): A wealthy and influential attorney who dominates Spoon River's politics and economy.
- [John Allen](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/spoon_river_anthology_se/characters/john_allen.md): A rough, hog-eyed man known for his violent temper and criminal dealings.
- [Judge Somers](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/spoon_river_anthology_se/characters/judge_somers.md): A local judge who presides over Spoon River's legal affairs with a stern hand.
- [Kinsey Keene](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/spoon_river_anthology_se/characters/kinsey_keene.md): A lawyer and politician whose ambitions lead to scandal and ruin.
- [Benjamin Pantier](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/spoon_river_anthology_se/characters/benjamin_pantier.md): A lawyer whose marriage to a cold wife drives him to despair and drink.
- [Emily Sparks](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/spoon_river_anthology_se/characters/emily_sparks.md): A schoolteacher who cares deeply for her students, especially Reuben Pantier.
- [Daisy Fraser](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/spoon_river_anthology_se/characters/daisy_fraser.md): A prostitute who is shunned by the town but speaks with bitter honesty.
- [Minerva Jones](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/spoon_river_anthology_se/characters/minerva_jones.md): A young woman who becomes pregnant out of wedlock and dies in shame.
- [Doctor Meyers](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/spoon_river_anthology_se/characters/doctor_meyers.md): A physician who performs abortions and is haunted by his actions.
- [Butch Weldy](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/spoon_river_anthology_se/characters/butch_weldy.md): A violent man who dies in a fight over a woman.
- [Knowlt Hoheimer](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/spoon_river_anthology_se/characters/knowlt_hoheimer.md): A young man who dies in the Civil War, disillusioned with patriotism.
- [Flossie Cabanis](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/spoon_river_anthology_se/characters/flossie_cabanis.md): A flirtatious girl who dies young, leaving behind a legacy of gossip.
- [Charlie French](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/spoon_river_anthology_se/characters/charlie_french.md): A soldier who dies in the war, remembered for his courage.
- [Jack McGuire](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/spoon_river_anthology_se/characters/jack_mcguire.md): A gambler and drinker who dies in a bar fight.
- [Nicholas Bindle](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/spoon_river_anthology_se/characters/nicholas_bindle.md): A miserly old man who hoards money and dies alone.
- [George Trimble](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/spoon_river_anthology_se/characters/george_trimble.md): A farmer who dies from a stroke while working his land.
- [Lucius Atherton](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/spoon_river_anthology_se/characters/lucius_atherton.md): A dandy and womanizer who dies of a broken heart.
- [Homer Clapp](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/spoon_river_anthology_se/characters/homer_clapp.md): A young man who dies in a train accident, leaving behind a pregnant lover.
- [Rutherford McDowell](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/spoon_river_anthology_se/characters/rutherford_mcdowell.md): A photographer who captures the souls of Spoon River's dead.
- [Lucinda Matlock](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/spoon_river_anthology_se/characters/lucinda_matlock.md): A long-lived woman who reflects on her full life and many children.
- [Davis Matlock](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/spoon_river_anthology_se/characters/davis_matlock.md): Lucinda's husband, a hardworking farmer who dies before her.
- [Willie Metcalf](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/spoon_river_anthology_se/characters/willie_metcalf.md): A simple-minded boy who drowns in the river.
- [Aaron Hatfield](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/spoon_river_anthology_se/characters/aaron_hatfield.md): A feuding mountaineer who dies in a gunfight.
- [Henry Phipps](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/spoon_river_anthology_se/characters/henry_phipps.md): A soldier who dies in the war, remembered for his letters home.
- [Harry Wilmans](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/spoon_river_anthology_se/characters/harry_wilmans.md): A soldier who dies in the war, disillusioned with glory.
- [Rebecca Wasson](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/spoon_river_anthology_se/characters/rebecca_wasson.md): A woman who dies in childbirth, leaving a grieving husband.
- [Hannah Armstrong](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/spoon_river_anthology_se/characters/hannah_armstrong.md): A woman who dies of a broken heart after her lover leaves her.
- [Herman Altman](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/spoon_river_anthology_se/characters/herman_altman.md): A Jewish peddler who dies in a fire, scorned by the town.
- [Jennie M. Grew](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/spoon_river_anthology_se/characters/jennie_m_grew.md): A spinster who dies alone, her only companion a cat.
- [Columbus Cheney](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/spoon_river_anthology_se/characters/columbus_cheney.md): A farmer who dies from a fall, leaving a legacy of hard work.
- [Wallace Ferguson](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/spoon_river_anthology_se/characters/wallace_ferguson.md): A blacksmith who dies from a stroke at his forge.
- [Marie Bateson](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/spoon_river_anthology_se/characters/marie_bateson.md): A woman who dies of consumption, leaving a young daughter.
- [Tennessee Claflin Shope](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/spoon_river_anthology_se/characters/tennessee_claflin_shope.md): A spiritualist who claims to communicate with the dead.
- [Plymouth Rock Joe](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/spoon_river_anthology_se/characters/plymouth_rock_joe.md): A black man who dies in a fire, a victim of racial prejudice.
- [Imanuel Ehrenhardt](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/spoon_river_anthology_se/characters/imanuel_ehrenhardt.md): A German immigrant who dies in a farming accident.
- [Samuel Gardner](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/spoon_river_anthology_se/characters/samuel_gardner.md): A farmer who dies from a heart attack while plowing.
- [Dow Kritt](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/spoon_river_anthology_se/characters/dow_kritt.md): A man who dies in a bar fight over a card game.
- [J. Milton Miles](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/spoon_river_anthology_se/characters/j_milton_miles.md): A poet who dies young, his work unappreciated.
- [Faith Matheny](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/spoon_river_anthology_se/characters/faith_matheny.md): A woman who dies of a broken heart after her husband's death.
- [Scholfield Hurley](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/spoon_river_anthology_se/characters/scholfield_hurley.md): A farmer who dies from a stroke while working.
- [Willie Pennington](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/spoon_river_anthology_se/characters/willie_pennington.md): A boy who drowns in the river while fishing.
- [The Village Atheist](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/spoon_river_anthology_se/characters/the_village_atheist.md): A man who rejects religion and dies in despair.
- [John Ballard](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/spoon_river_anthology_se/characters/john_ballard.md): A farmer who dies from a fall from his barn.
- [Alfonso Churchill](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/spoon_river_anthology_se/characters/alfonso_churchill.md): A painter who dies in poverty, his art unrecognized.
- [Zilpha Marsh](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/spoon_river_anthology_se/characters/zilpha_marsh.md): A woman who dies in a fire, rumored to be a witch.
- [James Garber](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/spoon_river_anthology_se/characters/james_garber.md): A farmer who dies from a heart attack in his field.
- [Lydia Humphrey](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/spoon_river_anthology_se/characters/lydia_humphrey.md): A woman who dies of a broken heart after her son's death.
- [Le Roy Goldman](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/spoon_river_anthology_se/characters/le_roy_goldman.md): A young man who dies in a train accident.
- [Gustav Richter](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/spoon_river_anthology_se/characters/gustav_richter.md): A German immigrant who dies in a farming accident.
- [Arlo Will](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/spoon_river_anthology_se/characters/arlo_will.md): A farmer who dies from a stroke while working.
- [Captain Orlando Killion](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/spoon_river_anthology_se/characters/captain_orlando_killion.md): A Civil War veteran who dies in a bar fight.
- [Judson Stoddard](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/spoon_river_anthology_se/characters/judson_stoddard.md): A farmer who dies from a fall from his horse.
- [Russell Kincaid](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/spoon_river_anthology_se/characters/russell_kincaid.md): A young man who dies in a hunting accident.
- [Isaiah Beethoven](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/spoon_river_anthology_se/characters/isaiah_beethoven.md): A musician who dies in poverty, his talent wasted.
- [Elijah Browning](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/spoon_river_anthology_se/characters/elijah_browning.md): A farmer who dies from a stroke while plowing.
- [Webster Ford](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/spoon_river_anthology_se/characters/webster_ford.md): A poet who dies young, his work posthumously celebrated.
- [The Spooniad](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/spoon_river_anthology_se/characters/the_spooniad.md): A mock-epic poem about Spoon River's history and characters.
- [Epilogue](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/spoon_river_anthology_se/characters/epilogue.md): The final reflection on the lives and deaths in Spoon River.

HTML index: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/spoon_river_anthology_se/characters