1889 Obituary of Samuel Fryman

Transcription of the 1889 obituary of Samuel Fryman, a member of the Home Guards in the border state of Missouri during the Civil War

 

Holt County Sentinel masthead 22 Nov 1889

An earlier post included the newspaper image of the obituary of Samuel Fryman, my 3rd great-grandfather (through his son, Frederick Fryman). I have posted the transcription here as well to aid other researchers. Please note that I have taken some liberties with the formatting to improve readability for this media platform, but all wording remains true to the original. Like many obituaries, it provides a neat capsule of his life, but is incomplete and contains incorrect information.

[Transcription follows]

Death Roll.

FRYMAN.

Samuel Fryman was born in Westmoreland County, Virginia, January 15, 1807, and died at the house in this place, November 13, 1889. His first wife was Mary Shepherd, to whom he was married February 9, 1832 in Belmont County, Ohio.

They came to this county in 1853 and located on a farm three miles east of the Court House. By this union there were 11 children, 7 sons and 4 daughters. Of these, 4 sons and 2 daughters are now living. George and James Fryman who live here and Mrs. Josiah Smith, at Forest City. Frank at Seneca, Kansas, Mrs. Jacob Baskins in Jewell County, Kansas, and Thomas in Custer County, Nebraska.

Mr. Fryman left 31 grand-children living. Of these, George has 7, James 2, Mrs. Smith 4, Thomas 3, Fred 6, Mrs. Baskins 9. There were also 18 great-grand-children—7 by George’s children and 11 by Mrs. Baskins. Mary Fryman died, August 9, 1879. After a year or so Mr. Fryman married Margaret Dunkelberger, who died a few years afterwards. October 22, 1885, he married Mary E. Crumb, who survives him. All of his children were by his first wife.

Mr. Fryman after the death of his first wife left the farm, and went to Minnesota Valley, where he lived awhile, when he came here, and remained ‘till his death.

His death was the result of kidney disease and the immediate cause of death overwork. He was a man of a vigorous constitution, but overestimated his strength. He was confined to his bed only a few days. The burial took place at the family burying ground at the old place east of town.

Mr. Fryman, though a Democrat before the war, early espoused the cause of the National Government against the states in rebellion. He served in the Home Guards at all times when their services were required and was ever a consistent, law-abiding citizen. He joined the M. E. Church in Ohio more than sixty years ago, and when he came to Holt County attached himself to the Richville congregation. When he removed to Minnesota Valley he dropped his membership in the church, and never renewed it although he remained consistent to the faith ‘till his death.

[Transcription ends.]


Source:

“Death Roll,” Holt County Sentinel (Oregon, Missouri), 22 Nov 1889, p. 4, col. 3, Samuel Fryman obituary; digital images, Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers, Library of Congress (http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn90061417/1889-11-22/ed-1/seq-4/ : accessed 12 Apr 2014).

“Happiest when surrounded by little children”

1944 newspaper obituary clipping for Anna Mary (Hopkins) Carson of New Jersey and Kansas

 

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[Transcription follows]

[M]ORRIS COUNTY, KANSAS, THURSD[AY]

OBITUARY–CARSON
_____

     Mrs. Andrew Carson, (Anna Mary Hopkins) was born December 25, 1857 in Trenton, N.J., and died at the home of her daughter, Mrs R. Knott in Abilene, Kansas, on Saturday, September 16, 1944, at the age of 86 years, 8 months and 19 days.

     On June 9, 1875 she was united in marriage to Andrew Carson of Trenton, N. J., in 1882 Mr. and Mrs. Carson moved to Skiddy, Kansas, later they moved to a farm near White City, where they lived until 1919 when they moved into town.

     She joined the Methodist church in White City on December 2nd, 1894, during the pastorate of Rev. J. S. Ford. She was a very faithful and active member until her health failed her. By such women of love and integrity are our churches and communities maintained. She was a good neighbor and loved by all who knew her. She was happiest when surrounded by little children.

     Mrs. Carson greatly loved her home and family, always kind and thoughtful as a wife and mother, she lived in her own gentle way.

     Her passing is a great loss, not only to her family but to all who knew her. A devout christian has gone to her God.

     Mr. Carson preceded her in death on April 18, 1937.

     She is survived by the following children: Mrs. Ralph Knott of Abilene, Mrs. George Tyson of Council Grove, Roy of White City, Elmer of Herington, Mrs. Amanda Carroll of Pittsburg, Frank and Raymond Carson and Mrs. Lillian Bailey of Wichita; thirty two grandchildren, eleven great grandchildren and one great, great, grandchild.

     Mrs. Carson had been an invalid for nearly three years, spending most of her time with her daughter Mrs. Knott, who employed Mrs. Cordelia Williams to care for her. About two years ago she fell and broke her hip, and spent some time in the hospital. When it had almost healed several months ago, she had another fall and the hip was rebroken.

     Funeral services were held at the Methodist church Wednesday at 2:30 with interment in White City cemetery. Frey funeral home had charge of arrangements; Rev. O. J. McCulloh preached the sermon.

     The pall bearers were: R. R. Adam, W. H. Ashe, Howard Shepherd, C. C. Miller, George Hauserman and F. F. Girtch.

     Music was furnished by Mrs. J. F. Bacon at the piano and C. C. Miller, Howard Shepherd, Mrs. E. G. Larson, and Mrs J E Bowert, who sang “The Old Rugged Cross,” “Sometime We’ll Understand,” and “Beautiful Isle of Somewhere.”

     Supper was served by the Eastern Star at the Full Plate Cafe to relatives from a distance attending the funeral.

[End of transcription.]


I am a descendant of one of the eleven great-grandchildren mentioned in the above obituary. My grandmother would have been one of the unnamed 32 grandchildren, and would probably have attended the funeral of her grandmother, although I do not have any recollection of her telling me that. Our branch of the family has no photographs, letters or ephemera from the New Jersey Hopkins side of the family, and I am still working to prove her ancestry.

The clipping transcribed above is, just that, a clipping, so full publication data for a proper citation is lacking. Two facts suggest publication information: 1) the newspaper was published on a Thursday following the death and funeral of Anna Mary (Hopkins) Carson and, 2) the newspaper was published in Morris County, Kansas.

Consulting a perpetual calendar for 1944, I was able to determine that the likeliest publication date would have been Thursday, 21 Sep 1944, the first Thursday following her death on Saturday, 16 Sep 1944.

I was then able to narrow down the newspaper to one of two possibilities using the U.S. Newspaper Directory, 1690-Present online as part of the Chronicling America project of the Library of Congress, which I have blogged about previously.

2-happiest-us-newspaper-directory
Search of the U.S. Newspaper Directory using state of Kansas, and county of Morris, plus decade from 1940-1950, as shown in yellow, above.

3-happiest-us-newspaper-directory-search-results

Only the Council Grove Republican and White City Register (indicated in red, above) are likely candidates for this newspaper clipping based on the publication information. My belief is this obituary appeared in the 21 Sep 1944 edition of the White City Register, page unknown. Determining whether this is, in fact, true has been added to my “to do” list.


Notes: The formatting shown in this post is not true to the original; it was a very long, narrow column in the original newspaper, which I have chosen not to replicate. In the original, each new section is indented, and there is no spacing between the paragraphs. I was unable to get it properly formatted in this blog post but felt that sharing the information was more important than formatting of same.

1. The children of Anna Mary (Hopkins) Carson all lived in towns and cities in Kansas, although that may not be clear to those unfamiliar with the area.

2. “Mrs. Lillian Bailey of Wichita” was actually Mrs. Lillian Barley, wife of Christian Arthur Barley. They lived in at 850 Faulkner in Wichita in 1943, per Polk’s Wichita City Directory (Kansas City, Missouri: R. L. Polk & Co., 1943), p. 57, entry for Christian A. and Lillian Barley; digital image, “U.S. City Directories, 1821-1989”, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 16 Mar 2014). The 1944 Wichita directory, if one exists, is not available on Ancestry currently.

Three Deaths in March 1881: A Dabler Family Tragedy

Perusing the Chronicling America historic newspaper database in preparation for my upcoming talk, I decided to do a search for my 3rd-great-grandfather, David Dabler. I received a grand total of 5 hits, all from The County Paper, a newspaper published in Holt County, Missouri.

When reading through the search results, I realized the deaths of two of his daughters and his first grandchild were reported in two successive issues of that newspaper in March 1881. I cannot imagine how devastating the loss for the family would have been. Eliza Josephine Dabler Dreher was only 21 years of age at death, and her sister, Julia E. Dabler Oliver was 23 when she passed away. They were younger sisters of my ancestor, Anna Maria Dabler Fryman.

County Paper mastheadThe ornate County Paper masthead, published in Oregon, Missouri

Newspaper: The County Paper (Oregon, Mo.), 18 Mar 1881, p. 1, col. 2

–Mrs. Eliza Dreher, wife of William Dreher and daughter of David and Margaret Dablers [sic] of Seneca, Kansas, died on Saturday morning, March 12th, 1881, at her home near Nickell’s Grove, aged 21 years and 13 days. Her infant babe died just three days before. Her funeral was preached on Sunday, 13th, inst., at the German church at Nickell’s Grove and her remains immediately afterwards interred in the adjacent cemetery. She had been married but little more than a year. Hers was a sweet and lovely disposition, and, as remarked by the Minister who preached her funeral, “she had not an enemy in the world.” Her afflicted husband and relatives have the heartfelt sympathy of all her acquaintances. Seneca, Kansas, papers please copy.

Newspaper: County Paper (Oregon, Mo.), 25 Mar 1881, p. 1, col 4

–Died: Mrs. Julia Oliver, wife of James Oliver deceased, died, at the residence of her father, Mr. David Dabler, in Seneca, Nemaha county, Kansas, Thursday morning March 17th, at the hour of 7 o’clock, of consumption. The deceased was buried, Friday, March 18th at the Seneca grave yard, Rev. William Stewart officiating. The deceased was the second daughter of David and Margaret Dabler. She was born March 8, 1858 in Shelby County, Indiana, whence she, with her parents, in the 11th year of her age, moved to Holt county, Mo., where, at the age of 17, she became the wife of James Oliver. The death of her husband 18 months afterward, made her a widow, in which state she lived until her death.

Excerpts From a Life: Samuel Fryman

Newspaper excerpts from the life of Samuel Fryman (1807-1889)

I will never know my 3rd-great-grandfather, Samuel Fryman. None of his letters came down through our branch of the family. We have no photographs, no diaries or journals, no artifacts. Nothing tangible remains, other than his headstone in the old family burying ground in rural northwest Missouri.

His grand-daughter, my great-grandmother Maude Fryman Bingaman, died in 1921, long before anyone now living in that line remembers. Even the name of my 3rd-great-grandfather had been lost to us, and was only revealed through diligent research.

And yet, we can catch glimpses of him through the local newspapers from his community, available at the Chronicling America historic newspaper website. Certainly this does not tell the whole story of his life, but it does get us closer to learning at least some things he experienced while living and farming in Holt County, Missouri in the latter part of the nineteenth century. His lengthy obituary, near the end of this post, provides a wonderful sketch of his life, including the time he spent in the Home Guard during the Civil War.

Newspaper: Holt County Sentinel (Oregon, Mo.), 01 Mar 1872, p. 2, cols. 7-8
Holt County Expenditures
Feb 6, 1871    Samuel Fryman  support of pauper   7.50
Aug 11, 1871  Samuel Fryman  support of pauper  48.00

Newspaper: Holt County Sentinel (Oregon, Mo.), 29 May 1874, p. 3, col. 3
—Sam Fryman, one of the well-to-do farmers of Holt county, started this week for Jewell and Graham counties, Kansas, where he intends to visit his sons.

Newspaper: Holt County Sentinel (Oregon, Mo.), 15 Jan 1875, p. 2, col. 4
Mr. and Mrs. Samuel Fryman, who spent the holidays among their relatives in Fulton county, Illinois, returned last Tuesday, having enjoyed their trip remarkably well. Listening to the story of these friends, one would suppose the people in Illinois were in favor of good living.

Newspaper: Holt County Sentinel (Oregon, Mo.), 23 Apr 1875, p. 2, cols. 3-4

1875 Holt County, Missouri taxpayers

http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn85034039/1875-04-23/ed-1/seq-2/

Newspaper: Holt County Sentinel (Oregon, Mo.), 25 Apr 1879, p. 3, col. 3
TOWN AND COUNTY.
–Who has Samuel Fryman’s colt? See advertisement.

Newspaper: Holt County Sentinel (Oregon, Mo.), 25 Apr 1879, p. 3, col. 8

Samuel Fryman's stray colt notice

http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn85034039/1879-04-25/ed-1/seq-3/

Newspaper: Holt County Sentinel (Oregon, Mo.), 15 Aug 1879, p. 1, col. 4Death of Mrs. Mary Fryman

http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn85034039/1879-08-15/ed-1/seq-1/

Newspaper: Holt County Sentinel (Oregon, Mo.), 03 Oct 1879, p. 4, col. 1
–Samuel Fryman intends having a large sale of personal property at his residence, 3 1-2 miles east of Oregon, on the 25th of this month.

Newspaper: The County Paper (Oregon, Mo.), 09 Jun 1882, p. 1, col. 2
–Samuel Fryman has purchased the residence of Samuel T. Huiatt, in the northwestern part of our city.

Newspaper: The County Paper (Oregon, Mo.), 09 Jun 1882, p. 1, col. 7
— Mr. Samuel Fryman and wife have been in our city several days, the guests of his daughter, Mrs. F. A. Smith. Mr. Fryman, will shortly remove to Oregon, and take up his permanent residence among us.

Newspaper: The County Paper (Oregon, Mo.), 11 Aug 1882, p. 1, col. 1
–Samuel Fryman and grand-son, of Mound City, were visiting the family of J. Smith last week.

Newspaper: Holt County Sentinel (Oregon, Mo.), 23 Nov 1883, p. 1, col. 4
–Mrs. Fryman, wife of our esteemed citizen, Samuel Fryman, left last Monday for Cincinnati, Ohio, where she will be under medical treatment for cancer. We hope that she will return entirely recovered.

Newspaper: Holt County Sentinel (Oregon, Mo.), 07 Mar 1884, p. 1, col. 5
–Who enjoyed Samuel Fryman’s peaches?

Newspaper: Holt County Sentinel (Oregon, Mo.), 02 Jan 1885, p. 1, col. 6
–Mrs. Samuel Fryman died at her home in this city on last Friday, of cancer.

Newspaper: Holt County Sentinel (Oregon, Mo.), 17 Apr 1885, p. 1, col. 6
Samuel Fryman is visiting relatives in Kansas.

Newspaper: Holt County Sentinel (Oregon, Mo.), 04 Dec 1885, p. 1, col. 5
Samuel Fryman and wife were visiting in the country Sunday.

Newspaper: Holt County Sentinel (Oregon, Mo.), 31 Dec 1886, p. 1, col. 4
–Samuel Fryman’s team ran away one day last week, throwing him out of his wagon, but fortunately he only received a few bruises that are not dangerous. His wagon was entirely demolished.

Newspaper: Holt County Sentinel (Oregon, Mo.), 08 Feb 1889, p. 1, col. 1
–Mrs. D. S. Alkire and youngest child, the children of E. L. Bonham and Uncle Sam Fryman are all on the sick list this week.

Newspaper: Holt County Sentinel (Oregon, Mo.), 15 Nov 1889, p. 1, col. 3
–Mr. Samuel Fryman and Mrs. Hannah Foster are lying very low, with but little hopes for their recovery.

Newspaper: Holt County Sentinel (Oregon, Mo.), 22 Nov 1889, p. 4, col. 3.
DEATH ROLL.
FRYMAN.

Death Roll. Fryman. 1889

http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn90061417/1889-11-22/ed-1/seq-4/

Newspaper: Holt County Sentinel (Oregon, Mo.), 08 Aug 1890, p. 1, col. 4
C. Hoblitzell has purchased the Samuel Fryman block on Anderson boulevarde [sic] and will probably erect four handsome residences.

Chronicling America is a partnership between the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) and the Library of Congress. Digital images of all news items were last accessed on the Chronicling America website 14 Feb 2013.

For an overview of basic search and navigation of the Chronicling America site, please see my prior post here.