USA > Indiana > Lake County > Report of the historical secretary of the Old settler and historical association of Lake County, Indiana, and papers. Crown Point 1911 > Part 1
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GENEALOGY COLLECTION
ALLEN COUNTY PUBLIC LIBRARY 3 1833 02300 1636
Report of the
OLD SETTLER AND HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION
Lake County Indiana
Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2013
http://archive.org/details/reportsofhistori00olds 0
REPORT
of the
HISTORICAL SECRETARY
of the
OLD SETTLER AND HISTORICAL
ASSOCIATION
OF LAKE COUNTY, INDIANA,
AND PAPERS.
Crown Point, 1911.
THE REGISTER PRINT, CROWN POINT, IND.
.THO 1351
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REPORT OF HISTORICAL SECRETARY FOR 1911.
Wednesday, August 30, 1911.
After pleasant exercises at the Library assembly room last evening (August 29th) we this morning meet again, in 'view of the sparkling waters of this noted little lake, did grateful we surely should be to the Lord of the Universe that so many of us, residents for many years in "this county, and so many of us who are descendants of "early settlers, are permitted to meet together and enjoy another anniversary day. Many who enjoyed life one year ago are not living in this world now. The names of some of them will be found in this report. Sometimes a death is but slightly noticed, and sometimes it will stir a whole community.
Died, in Crown Point, September 7, 1910, Mrs. Jean- mette K. Morton, daughter of Stephen J. Smith, wife of Charles N. Morton, grandmother of Oakley K. Morton and Louise J. Morton, in the seventy-third year of her age. She had lived in Crown Point for many years.
Dropped dead in Hammond on Wednesday, Septem- ber 28, 1910, Rev. Zumbuelte, pastor for many years of the Roman Catholic church at Hanover Center; 71 years of age. Burial services at Hanover Center on Monday, October 3d. The attendance was very large. Says the Lowell Tribune: "It was estimated that there was over
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a thousand people there. The Bishop of Fort Wayne and forty-two priests were in attendance." He was a worthy man.
. Augustus Wood of Hobart, a true pioneer boy, whose home for many years has been at Hobart, died at Val- paraiso on Monday, October 24, 1910, from injuries re- ceived in an automobile wreck. He was a son of John Wood, a settler of 1836, and was about 82 years of age.
Died, at her home on East Joliet street in Crown Point, November 8, Mrs. John Mangold, 81 years old.
Died, in East Chicago, Thursday, December 22, Syl- vester Taylor, a son of Horace Taylor, who was a settler at Cedar Lake as early as 1836. This son was 85 years old last May.
William Smith, born in 1830, taken by his parents, James and Mary Smith in 1835, to a home near Sher- burnville, nine years ago becoming a citizen of Lowell, died there November 16, 1910, in the eighty-first year of his age. He left nineteen grandchildren and nineteen great-grandchildren.
That dread disease, the scarlet fever, has again visited Crown Point and has taken away Virginia Salisbury, a great-grandchild of the Brass pioneers. She died Novem- ber 19, at ten o'clock in the evening. She was a lovely child, very helpful at the flower missions of the W. C.T.U.
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Died, at her 'home in Crown Point, about mid-day, November 21, 1910, Mrs. Josephine Strait, the elder daughter of Solon Robinson, 77 years of age. She was born November 20, 1833, and was brought by her parents to the central wild of Lake county October 31, 1834.
Died, at Logansport, January 4, 1911, Mrs. Kinney, the widow of John Kinney, both of whom were for many years citizens of Crown Point and active church workers iin their day. The body was brought to Crown Point for burial. She was 87 years of age. She was the mother ·of twelve children. One of her sons was conductor for many years on the Logansport train.
ANOTHER BOY LIFE ENDED.
Paul Swanson, son of Mr. and Mrs. Aaron Swanson of South East Grove, 13 years of age, was shot and in- stantly killed by his brother, 9 years of age, on Saturday, February 4, 1911, at 2:30 in the afternoon. Exactly how it happened no one knew. A few days before the acci- dent the father and an older son had been hunting and on their return left their guns in the barn, the father instructing the son to draw the loads from the guns. That all the loads were not drawn out is evident. Loaded guns and revolvers left within reach of children are dan- gerous. "Experience teaches," but too often it is true the experience of others does not benefit us.
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Departed this life, December 15, 1910, Mrs. Sassee, the widow of Henry Sassee, Sr., and mother of Herman E. Sassee. She had been feeble for some years. Her hus- band's and son's names are both well known in Lake county records. Herman E. Sassee has been for a year or more visiting different countries in Europe.
Died, at his home in Chicago, February 5, Peter G. Blayney, an early resident on the west side of West Creek near the state line. For some years he resided in Beecher and at last removed to Chicago. The funeral was held at Beecher, February 10. The Blayney family was one of quite a long line of worthy pioneer families settling on that narrow strip of land between West Creek, then a flowing stream, and the Illinois line. Some of these were Sassee, Rankin, Doascher, Burns, Farwell, Gordinier, Willey, Irish, Marvin, Graves, Blayney, Fuller, De Groff, and at length reaching the Hayden families. Peter Blayney was a sturdy boy in 1848. He leaves a wife, two children, one sister and one brother, Milton Blayney of the town of Wabash. Those twelve or more early families are well scattered now. The Pattee family was one.
Found dead in his home on River Ridge, Wednesday morning, March 8, 1911, Ebenezer Albright, one of three brothers who lived in Oak Grove for many years. He was born near Crete in Illinois about seventy years ago. The three brothers formed a peculiar family.
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Died, Friday night, March 17, at his home near Merrill- ville, Eli Boyd, 74 years of age. He had lived many years in Lake county. He was a very valuable citizen, a successful, energetic, prosperous farmer. He leaves a twin brother, Levi Boyd, a wife, three sons and one daughter. Industry and energy and success characterize the Boyd family.
Died, March 24, Mrs. Martha Binyon Sigler, wife of Charles Sigler, at the home of her sister, Mrs. Mee. She was well known to hundreds and even thousands, and her name is closely linked with Cedar Lake as a pleasure resort. With her much of its west side life has departed.
Mrs. Thomas Hayward, who came from England when fourteen years of age, the mother of George Hayward, living near Hobart, died at her son's home February 9, 88 years of age. She and her husband were early settlers in Lake county, and were excellent pioneer citizens. She leaves two sons, Oliver and George Hayward, and a daughter, Mrs. Amanda Sykes, now of Jackson, Missis- sippi.
Died, February 24, Friday morning, Frederick W. Mundernach, late trustee of Hanover township, 46 years of age. He was born at Hanover Center and there or near there spent most of his life. Three brothers are living and four sisters, and two sons and two daughters.
Mrs. Mary J. Hyde, a well known resident of Merrill-
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ville some years ago, a noted Sunday-school worker, died at her home in Formosa, Kansas, May 12, 1911, 72 years of age. Her obituary notice was written by your historian at her request, years ago.
Died, May 30, 1911, at the home of her daughter, Mrs. Hunter, near Logansport, Mrs. Martha E. Williams, in childhood known as Martha E. Barney; born in Sche- nectady county, New York, August 11, 1829, and there- fore in the eighty-second year of her age. The Barney family came to Lake county in early times and she and her sister, Miss Ruth Barney, and her brother David M. Barney, were teachers in our public schools. She was married to Henry M. Williams, March 12, 1863, then a widower with two sons, Oscar and William H. Her own children were four: Maggie E., now Mrs. C. H. Hunter; Clarinda F., Schuyler J. and Nettie M., who died July 17, 1906. The body of Mrs. Williams was brought to Crown Point for burial June 1, burial services being conducted by her aged friend, Rev. T. H. Ball. She leaves, in all, ten grandchildren and one great-grand- child.
A. D. Palmer, well known over the central and south- ern parts of Lake county, died in Lowell June 4, 1911. He was born May 3, 1829, in Erie county, Pennsylvania, and so had entered upon his eighty-third year of life. For the records of the eightieth birthday anniversary
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and the death of Mrs. A. D. Palmer, see "Reports 1910," pages 85 and 90. Mr. Palmer was a postmaster' for thirty years. His seven sons and two daughters are still living. Besides the children the Lowell Tribune says: "He also leaves twenty-one grandchildren, twenty-three great- grandchildren and two great-great-grandchildren." In all, then, he leaves fifty-five descendants, and the Palmer. family were of eastern origin.
The body of Mrs. Harry Church of Brookfield, Illinois, was brought here for burial on Saturday, July 1. Mrs. Church was known in Crown Point as Mary Ellen Fan- cher, daughter of Richard Fancher, who was an early claimant of what became the Fair Ground, the northwest quarter of Section 17. Burial services were held in the cemetery, conducted by Rev. H. H. Dunlavy. She leaves one son and one daughter.
Died, July 4, at his home in Crown Point, Rev. George Heintz, nearly 78 years of age, having been *n in Germany August 14, 1833. He came to this country when 19 years of age. He studied theology at Columbus, Ohio, and commenced his ministerial life in 1860. He was a very active and useful Lutheran pastor for many years at Crown Point, and was also teacher as well as founder of the Crown Point prochial school. As a man and a minister, worthy of high honor.
Died, in the city of Savannah, Georgia, July 12, 1911, Mrs. Sarah E. Dittmer, a former resident at Cedar Lake,
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in Lake county, Indiana. She was the mother. of Mrs. Maggie Meyer of Cedar Lake."Her younger daughter, not now living, was married to Clark Farwell, and Mrs. Dittmer has left two grandsons bearing the name of Farwell, a son, Henry Dittmer of Chicago, a grandson, LeGrand T. Meyer, Esq., of Hammond, and some other kindred. The Dittmer residence in Lake county dates from 1859, and for many years the members of the family were well known and influential at Cedar Lake, Lowell and Crown Point, the two sons Henry and Charles, the two daughters Maggie and Jennie, active in society among the young people and living in what was then one of the best residences of the county. They are scat- tered now. Over 87 years of age, one of my aged friends, Mrs. Dittmer's body now rests in the Laurel Grove ceme- tery, beside the body of her husband, in the city of Savannah, in which city of late years she has spent her winters.
On Saturday, July 15, was brought for burial at Lowell the body of Mrs. George J. Schuster, who was in child- hood Emma M. Kelsey. She was born February 16, 1855, and in 1859 was a young girl at Cedar Lake. In 1874 she was married to Charles H. Miner, and in 1886 to George J. Schuster, and had one son, E. L. Miner, who came from Boston to attend the burial, and one daugh- ter, Theresa Victoria Schuster. Seven members of the Kelsey family came to attend the burial, the services being conducted by Rev. W. J. Hanmer.
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Found lying on the ground unconscious, in her garden, about 5 o'clock, Mrs. Fanny Abrams, widow of John Abrams, a member of the Vanhouten family, who were residents for many years in Lake county. She was borne into her house and a physician called. He said she would not live many hours. She died the afternoon of the next day. She was an active member of the group of Christians in Crown Point known as believers.
Lowell has lost one of its leading citizens. George M. Deathe, born in Henry county, January 17, 1841. He was a teacher in the school at Merrillville in 1860, be- coming a clerk at Lowell in 1863 and then a prosperous merchant ; died at his home in Lowell Wednesday night, July 19, 70 years of age. His wife, who was Emma Buchanan of Hebron, and all but. one of his nine chil- dren-six daughters and three sons-were present when he died. As an interesting incident it may be recorded that he was himself one of a family of nine children. Ten had been given to him, but one daughter had been called away.
Died, Wednesday evening, July 26, 1911, at about nine o'clock, Jeremiah N. Kenny of Orchard Grove. He was born November 10, 1823, in Kennebec county, Maine; became a pioneer boy in Lake county in 1838, was mar- ried (according to the Lowell Tribune) October 12, 1848, to Miss Phoebe Woodruff, still living at Orchard Grove,
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81 years of age; acquired an excellent farm of 500 acres, and leaves as his representatives in the world five chil- dren, twenty-three grandchildren and sixteen' great- grandchildren. For many years he was postmaster and merchant at Orchard Grove.
Died, on Wednesday, August 23, at the county farm, Amelia Myen, 102 years of age. She has been numbered among the county poor since 1870-more than forty years-and the Lake County Star says: "The body not being claimed, the remains were taken to a Valparaiso medical institute." And so, having outlived her relatives and friends and acquaintances (it is to be supposed she had some once, even a hundred years ago, a father who cared for her and a mother who loved her), because she was poor and lived on in sad, heart-crushing poverty for forty years, her body worn out at last could not receive even a pauper's burial! And this is civilization in the prosperous county of Lake !
MARRIAGES AND ANNIVERSARY DAYS.
On Thursday evening, September 22, 1910, Miss Mary Eva Brown, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. W. B. Brown of Crown Point, and Mr. Otto Glenn Fifield of Hobart, were united in marriage by Bishop White of the Epis- copal church, a resident of Michigan City, at the home of Mr. Brown in Crown Point.
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Married, at the Methodist parsonage in Crown Point by Rev. H. H. Dunlavy, October 14, 1910, Mr. Raymond Lee Thompson of New Vienna, Ohio, and Miss May Green of Le Roy, daughter of Mrs. A. Z. Green, widow of the late prosperous merchant of Le Roy. Mr. Thomp- son is reputed wealthy and a college graduate.
On Friday, October 28, 1910, was quietly celebrated the fortieth anniversary of the marriage of the editor of the Lake County Star.
On Friday, November 18, was celebrated the fiftieth anniversary of Mr. and Mrs. Henry Bremer, now resid- ing on Grant street in Crown Point. The occasion was very thoroughly observed by children and friends.
Married, December 21, by Rev. H. H. Dunlavy, Mr. Bert Strickland and Miss Lucinda Hayden, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Grant Hayden, now of Lowell.
On December 25th Mrs. Eliza Pettibone, mother of Mrs. T. J. Wood, celebrated her ninetieth birthday.
On January 1, 1911, Mrs. T. C. Rockwell celebrated her eighty-fifth birthday anniversary.
On Friday, February 24, W. W. Ackerman reached his eighty-fourth birthday anniversary. "He received," says the Lowell Tribune, "162 beautiful postcards from friends in fifteen different states."
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On Tuesday, February 28 (born on the 29th), Elder John Bruce celebrated his eighty-seventh anniversary, and received many beautiful postcards.
A FAMILY GATHERING.
On Monday, December 26, 1910, was held at the home of Commissioner Matt. J. Brown in Eagle Creek town- ship, a reunion of the Brown and Crawford families of Lake county. Present: members of the two families thirty-five, and five guests. Four turkeys were served and they were not "cold storage" birds nor bought at the market.
On February 23 the governor appointed Johannes Kopelke Esq., judge of a Lake county superior court. On March 4 he qualified and entered upon the duties of his office.
Married, on Tuesday, January 10, 1911, at the St. Joseph's Catholic church in Hammond, Indiana, Rev. Father Plosler officiating, John F. Beckman, son of Mr. John N. Beckman of Hammond, and Miss Mary Gertrude Krost, daughter of Mr. John F. Krost, also of Hammond, both grandchildren of carly settlers of Lake county.
Married, at Evanston, Illinois, June 14, 1911, Clyde Foster, son of Mr. and Mrs. Albert Foster of Lowell, and Miss Ellen Harriette Bradley of Evanston. The Lowell Tribune reports "about two hundred invited
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guests at the marriage ceremony."
Married, at Michigan City, June 1, 1911, Earl Craw- ford, son of Mr. and Mrs. J. S. Crawford of Crown Point, and Miss Maude Pannenburg, daughter of the late Dr. Pannenburg of Hammond.
ANOTHER GOLDEN WEDDING.
On Tuesday, February 21, 1911, Mr. and Mrs. Fessen- den of Crown Point celebrated their golden wedding. Mrs. Fessenden was a member of the Green family of which three brothers were early settlers-real pioncers- near Cedar Lake. One of the brothers was at one time justice of the peace, another was constable, and the third was both doctor and deer hunter, and, as a frontiersman, quite successful in both lines.
The ninetieth anniversary of the birth of Mrs. Susanna Portz of St. John was duly celebrated March 23. Born in 1821, she came to this country in 1846 and was forty- five days on the ocean. She has forty-five grandchildren and fifteen great-grandchildren-sixty descendants of the two generations. So in some families population in- creases.
On Thursday, April 4, 1911, the eighty-fourth anniver- sary was celebrated of the birth of Mrs. Amos Brannon of Lowell. She received forty birthday cards.
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From the Crown Point Register of June 9, under the heading, "A Happy Reunion," the writer says: "After twenty years of separation the members of 'The Silent Ten' held a reunion at the home of Mr. and Mrs. Eugene Crowell last Saturday evening." What kind of an organ- ization this was does not appear, but the writer says "the most noticeable fact was that after twenty years the cir- cle had not been broken." Twenty-five persons are men- tioned as being present, mostly men and their wives who are now in middle age.
On Saturday, September 10, the H. H. Ragon Scholars' Association held another reunion. Former pupils in at- tendance, seventy-eight; present at dinner, about two hundred; present in the afternoon, "fully two hundred and fifty."
In September the two streets, North and East, were macadamized, making a large improvement in Crown Point.
LAYING OF CORNER STONE.
The East Chicago Globe of July 28, 1911, is authority for these statements: That on Sunday, July 23, in East Chicago, was laid the corner stone of St. Stanislaus' Po- lish Catholic church, designed to be a splendid edifice for a church and school; that sixteen Polish societies and nineteen priests took part in the exercises ; that these
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societies were from Hammond, Whiting, East Chicago, including Indiana Harbor, also from West Hammond, and three from South Chicago. Although the day was rainy many people were present. Polish inhabitants are numerous now in Lake county.
OUR PUBLICATIONS.
In answering some questions addressed to me by the Librarian of Congress, who wanted a full set of our publications, I found that they were not well numbered. The numbers as I finally sent them to him are as follows : No. 1 includes reports, inclusive, from 1885-1890; No. 2, 1891-1895; No. 3, 1896-1900; No. 4, 1901-1905; No. 5, Hanover papers, 1907; No. 6, papers of 1909; No. 7, 1906-1910, called Reports 1910. No. 8 is expected to con- tain one report and six papers, and to bear the date of 1912.
On Tuesday, June 6, 1911, the citizens of the town of Crown Point voted to adopt city government. On Wednesday, July 5, an election was held for city officers. The following were elected : Mayor, H. H. Wheeler (number of votes, 310) ; clerk, Howell Parry (number of votes, 294) ; treasurer, H. J. Lehman (number of votes, 302); alderman of First ward, J. A. Donnaha; Second ward, John Reitman; Third ward, L. A. Salisbury ; Fourth ward, E. A. Krost; aldermen at large, R. G. Biele-
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feld, D. W. Vincent. On Thursday, July 6, the board of aldermen was organized and the town board, retiring from office, turned over the following amounts to the city officials: Cemetery fund, $2,222.33; water fund, $2,023.88; road fund, $2,398.05; electric light fund, $2,- 562.87; library fund, $577.72; general fund, $4,499.23; total, $14,284.08.
March 30, at the Cedar Valley creamery, 3,000 pounds of butter are now made each week.
I find for May 3 this record: Dr. Harry Walsh is giving up the practice of medicine at Gary, where he commenced practice in 1906, forming then a partnership with Dr. T. B. Templin, the two being the first physi- cians in Gary.
Says the Lake County Times: "George Haluska of Berry Lake has purchased 100 angora goats, which he will keep on his farm." He expects to sell goats' milk.
CHAMPION SPELLERS OF LAKE COUNTY, 1911.
Martha Demmon of Ross, Jennie Chester of Ross, Blanch Riggle of Griffith, who are to go to Monticello to represent their county in the contest to be held there, the alternates being Mabelle Sirvis of Shelby and Esther Holmes of Lowell. In the county written test, eleven contestants stood one hundred. I have five names : Bertha Zackan, Kenneth Surprise, Cordelia Etherling,
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Nellie Hand, Bernard Beach. Number of teachers in Lake county this year, 433. A new school office started this year called "Supervisor of the Lake County Schools under the management of the County Superintendent." First supervisor, Miss Elizabeth Whitney of Iowa.
SCHOOL REPORT FOR 1911.
Towns: Crown Point, 640; Griffith, 137; Highland, 143; Lowell, 312; Munster, 185; Miller, 193. Cities: East Chicago, 4,379; Gary, including Tolleston, 3,984 ; Hammond, 5,892; Whiting, 1,478. Townships: Calumet, 194; Cedar Creek, 334; Center, 316; Eagle Creek, 255; Hanover, 330; Hobart, 797 (town and township) ; North, 253; Ross, 451; St. John, 584 (Dyer in) ; West Creek, 400; Winfield, 183. Total for the county, children of school age, 21,505 .- From Superintendent Heighway's report of official reutrns.
VISITORS IN EUROPE.
On Thursday, August 17, Mrs. A. A. Bibler, wife of the former editor of the Crown Point Register, and her daughter Thelma, who had been spending some six months in Norway, reached Chesterton in Porter county, having landed in New York August 7. They visited Krongsberg among other places, where, says the Regis- ter, Mrs. Bibler's uncle, Major C. Brunn of the Nor- wegian army, is stationed. Other citizens of Crown
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Point also visited Europe this summer. Mr. Milton Fisher and wife, and Messrs. Claude Allman and John E. Luther composed the small party. They left the shores of America early in June and in a few days reached the land of their forefathers. They returned early in this month of August. Claude Allman, a life member of our association, wrote an interesting account of their trip, which may be found in the Lake County Star of August. Herman E. Sassee, another of our life members, is now in Europe, which is not his first visit to that "Old World" home of art, of literature, of science, of great men.
The Lake County Fair has just held one more anni- versary. Thursday was quite a wet day. Not many in attendance. Friday, August 25th was sunny and pleas- ant.
Number of single tickets sold, 4,737. The largest num- ber ever yet sold in one day. Counting family tickets and children and officers and helpers, the full attendance was estimated at 9,000.
Crown Point has this year erected a large school build- ing, not yet, August 29th, quite completed. Length of building 80 feet; cost about forty thousand dollars. It is on the same ground where the old school building stood for so many years. The bell of which, its sound having fallen on the ears of many hundreds of children, is now laid away in our Relic room, its duties all performed.
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Figures from the census of 1910. Authority, East Chi- cago Globe: Indiana, 2,700,876. Lake County, 82,864. Hammond, 20,828; East Chicago, 19,028; Gary, 16,802; Whiting, 6,587. In these four cities 63,315, leaving for the rest of the county 19,549.
It is said that in Indiana there are fifty-one cities, with a population of more than 5,000 each. Of these cities Lake county has four.
PASSED AWAY.
A few years ago it was said in regard to the pioneers of this county "passing away." Now, with one excep- tion, so far as I know, it may fittingly be said, "passed away."
Of 232 names of pioneers recorded in "Lake County, 1872," I find not one name left as among the living. The last to pass of those 232 was Hon. Bartlett Woods.
It is true, however, that one real pioneer is yet living among us, Wellington A. Clark, confined now for years quite closely at his home, but his name is not on that list. I think I may safely call him the last of the pio- neer men. Of pioneer boys a few yet remain. Two have quite lately gone-Augustus Wood and Jeremiah Ken- ney. One of 1836, the other of 1837.
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QUEEN LOUISE OF PRUSSIA. BY MISS KOPELKE
The nineteenth of July was the hundredth anniversary of the death of Queen Louise of Prussia. She is distin- guished among the women of history for her devotion to her family, her people and her country; her personal beauty, and the goodness of her soul, and by reason of her sufferings as a patriot, and her untimely death (she lived only to the age of 32 years), she has received the homage and appreciation of most nations, besides her own, and for these reasons it is not unfitting that, at this time in a society, like ours, devoted to historical study, we should give our consideration to her life and memory.
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