Obits: The Ouachita Telegraph 1872 Obits, Ouachita Parish La These older obituaries are being typed in by Ms. Lora Peppers at the Ouachita Parish Library. We are once again fortunate to have someone interested in helping us find our ancestors. Thank you Lora! Date: May 2000 Submitted by: Lora Peppers ********************************************** Copyright. All rights reserved. http://usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://usgwarchives.net/la/lafiles.htm ********************************************** If your obituary is not found here and you would like a special look up, you may send $5.00 and an self-addressed stamped envelope to: Lora Peppers - Phone (318) 327-1490 Reference Department Fax (318) 327-1373 Ouachita Parish Public Library 1800 Stubbs Ave. Monroe, LA 71201 These newspapers are on microfilm at NLU. The Ouachita Telegraph January 6, 1872 Page 3, Column 2 DIED, December 22, 1871, infant daughter of J.M. and Lavonia M. Bennett, aged seven weeks and three days. Yes, one more little blossom sent to cheer and gladden its parents' hearts for a time, has gone from earth to heaven. This sweet little flower bloomed only for a day, when the pale archer, attracted by its loveliness, plucked and transported it to fair Eden's bowers. Yet not in cruelty, not in wrath, The reaper came that day; An angel visited the green earth, And took their flower away. Weep not, mother, for your little pearl now gently rests on the bosom of Him who gave it. Mrs. D.I. GOODRUM, widow of Lieut. Jas. Goodrum of the U.S. navy, born in Greensville county, Virginia, on the 15th of February, 1802, departed this life on the 15th of September, 1871, in Richland parish, near Girard Station. For more than thirty years she had been a consistent, devout and zealous member of the Methodist Episcopal Church. Every virtue that could adorn the neighbor, the friend, the wife, the mother, the follower of Christ, clustered around this good Samaritan. None knew her but to love her. As a friend of many years, we deeply sympathize with her affectionate children. But why should they grieve? She had nearly reached her three score years and ten and then with her lamp trimmed and brightly burning, passed through "the valley of the shadow of death," looking to the cross of Christ, and rejoicing in a blessed future, "for so he giveth his beloved sleep." "Tis sweet to die with Jesus near, The spirit to invite, To soar away from earthly cares, To realms of endless light — To dwell with God in Heaven above, Beyond the distant sky, And feast upon celestial love, And never, never die. The Ouachita Telegraph January 13, 1872 Page 3, Column 1 George W. Oliver, Esq., a prominent attorney before the war at Homer and residing since the war in this parish, died at his residence in this city on the 10th. Mr. Oliver was in his 41st year, and leaves an interesting family to mourn his death. The Ouachita Telegraph January 20, 1872 Page 3, Column 1 Mr. John Stevens, a worthy young man borned (sic) and reared in this city, died in the Island very suddenly, on Tuesday. He had been from infancy subject to heart disease and hemorrhage of the lungs, and the day he died had a chill. The Ouachita Telegraph January 27, 1872 Page 3, Column 2 Mrs. Jane Delery, daughter of the late Judge Bry, one of the pioneers in the Ouachita valley, sister of our esteemed friend Maj. Henry M. Bry and mother of Chas. Delery, Esq., died on the 22nd., in the Island, in her 67th year. Mrs. Delery was a lady of uncommon claims to love and esteem, and enjoyed both wherever she was known. Quiet and unassuming in her manner, soft-spoken and matronly in her tones, cheerful in her disposition, exemplary as a member of society and as a mother, her worth was impressed upon all who knew her. She died, as all such matrons die, sincerely and deeply lamented. Mr. P.Z. Ranson, Mrs. Delery's grandson and a worthy young man, followed her the succeeding day to the unseen world, expiring at the threshold of young man hood. Mr. Ranson had won a good name for himself and bright prospects were before him. He died of pneumonia, in his 26th year. The Ouachita Telegraph March 23, 1872 Page 3, Column 2 OBITUARY. DIED, at his residence in Columbia, Caldwell parish, La., on the night of the 4th inst., after a most painful illness, Dr. CICERO C. MEREDITH, in the 41st year of his age. Like many great minds whose brilliancy and strength are historical and the splendor of whose brightness commands involuntary admiration, he had from early youth a frail and delicate body. He manifested a decided preference for the profession of medicine while yet a boy, and in 1853 he entered the office of the writer as a student of medicine. In the winter of ‘53 and ‘54 he attended his first course of lectures, and in the summer of 1854 he did efficient service as an assistant of the writer in a laborious practice. In the spring of 1855 he graduated with distinguished honor in the medical department of the university of his own native Louisiana, and immediately thereafter entered upon the active duties of his profession. In this pursuit he has been assiduously engaged ever since with only occasional short interruptions caused by the urgent importunities of friends to enter the arena of political life. The peculiar eloquence of his language, and that nameless fascination of style which attaches only to the natural orator, endeared him greatly to his friends, and made him invincible on the hustings. Every time he would allow his name to be used, he was triumphantly elected by large majorities, and for several sessions he served with distinguished ability as a Representative in the State Legislature and Senate. In the winter of 1857, Dr. MEREDITH was married to a most amiable and accomplished lady — a daughter of Robt. A. Blanks, Esq., of Columbia. In a little more than two years of a married life of complete felicity, he was bereaved by death of his companion and two lovely babes. This terrible affliction caused so rude a shock to his delicate and sensitive organization as to shake it to its very centre, and he was prostrated by several fits of protracted and dangerous illness. Yet, with a devotion truly self-sacrificing, he pursued his profession with an energy and success seldom equaled — perhaps never surpassed. In an epidemic of yellow fever which threatened to decimate the little village of Columbia, in the autumn of 1855, he justly acquired a reputation for skill which many sexagenarian in the profession have failed to achieve; and in subsequent years his success in the treatment of the no less malignant toxemia called "swamp fever" has been unprecedented. In 1860, Dr. M. was initiated, passed and raised to the sublime degree of a Master Mason in Columbia Lodge; and the rapidity with which he attained proficiency in all the degrees, soon caused him to be chosen Master of the Lodge. In this capacity he served for several years, with honor to himself and profit to the fraternity. Only a short time before his death, he was again chosen Worshipful Master for the current year. As a man, Dr. MEREDITH was affible (sic) , genial and polite; as a friend, none were more constant and true; as a Mason, profoundly versed in all the teachings and principals of the order, ever ready to aid an unfortunate brother and whisper good council to the erring — he was a complete exemplification of a type of nobleness peculiar to that ancient order. As a physician, he was kind, attentive, faithful and skillful to a degree rarely equaled. In all the diversified relations of life, he dignified and adorned whatever position he assumed. — Cut down by the ruthless hand of death, in the prime of his manhood and usefulness, he is beyond the reach of panegyric and his ear is forever deaf to eulogy. A great void has been left in the circles where he was wont to labor, and many hearts send forth a wall of sorrow, and many eyes are bedewed with tears of anguish, because of the untimely death of one so fitted by nature for usefulness to his fellow beings and to embellish all the walks of life. In contemplating the end of such men we are forcibly reminded that "death ever loves a shining mark." While we mourn his irreparable loss to us, we devoutly hope ‘tis his eternal gain. RESOLUTIONS. WHEREAS, It has pleased the Divine Architect in his infinite wisdom to remove from our midst our beloved Master and Brother, Dr. CICERO C. MEREDITH, therefore, Be it resolved, That while we bow with sorrowing humility to the decree which has deprived us of a dear friend and Brother, yet we deplore his untimely end, and feel that in his death we have suffered a loss which can never be replaced. As a citizen, a Brother and Master of our Lodge he had endeared himself by his kind yet firm and upright course; and like the sun which though it has disappeared beneath the horizon yet leaves for a time a beautiful glow on the heavens, so our Brother, though he has sunk into the gloom of the grave, yet the lustre of his life leaves a radiance behind which will ever keep bright his memory in the hearts of the brethren. Be it further resolved, That the members of this Lodge wear the usual badge of mourning for the space of thirty days, and this Lodge Hall be draped in mourning and a page of the minutes of this Lodge be dedicated to his memory with these resolutions copied thereon. Be it further resolved, That a copy of these resolutions be forwarded to his nearest relatives and to the Chapter of Royal Arch Masons at Monroe, Louisiana. J.E. WRIGHT P.R. SMITH Committee THOS. J. HOUGH, A.H. HARRIS, Attest: R.SMITH SLEMONS, Sec'y. Death of Dr. C.C. Meredith. It was not until a few days ago that we heard of the death of this estimable and talented gentleman, one of the leading men and ablest physicians of our State. We sincerely deplore his death and deeply sympathize with his bereaved relatives and family. An appropriate and feeling obituary, by one who knew and loved our deceased friend, and published in this issue, will supply the place of any poor words we might offer here in respect to the memory of him who is now no more. The Ouachita Telegraph March 30, 1872 Page 3, Column 1 Negroes Killed. Two negroes have been killed in this parish during the past ten days. One, an escaped prisoner, was killed on the Island, in the endeavor to escape an arrest; the other was killed on Dr. Sandel's place, under justifiable circumstances, by a negro whom he had assaulted. The first was shot; the second killed with a double tree of a wagon. The Ouachita Telegraph April 6, 1872 Page 3, Column 3 DIED, In Ouachita parish, Thursday, the 28th of March, 1872, of pneumonia, ROBERT EARNEST, infant son of John W. and Priscilla Butler; aged 12 months. The Ouachita Telegraph April 27, 1872 Page 2, Column 5 The Franklin Sun, of the 12th inst., says: Judge Van Thomas died at 1 * o'clock this morning. He was one of our most energetic, public-spirited and esteemed citizens. Arriving here in 1858, by his natural and acquired endowments, he soon gained a prominent stand in the community; entered upon the course of a journalist just before the war as our successor. During the war he served in the capacity of Adjutant in Major Wyche's Battalion of State troops. — After the war he engaged in farming, from which pursuit he was called by the people electing him Parish Judge, the position he held at his death. The Ouachita Telegraph June 15, 1872 Page 3, Column 1 DEATH OF MR. E. GROSS. — Mr. E. Gross, a merchant of this place for the past four years, died at his residence on the morning of the 13th, of cerebro spinal meningitis. Mr. Gross suffered heavily in the December fire, but at once began business again, and at his death was prosperously engaged. He leaves a wife and several children with whom we sincerely condole. The Ouachita Telegraph June 15, 1872 Page 3, Column 1 Little Maggie, one of the trio of little daughters of Frank P. Stubbs, Esq., was taken suddenly ill, last week, with vomiting, which was immediately succeded by congestion of the brain, and in two hours the bright little fairy had claimed her place beside the pearly gates of heaven. Out of a heart scarred by similar dispensations of Providence, springs involuntarily profound sympathy and sorrow for the parents of little Maggie; but and there lies the consolation — these little lambs of ours have slipped the tether that bound them to the barren fields, blistering suns and cruel shears of adult age, and gone on, with snowy fleece and innocent trust, to the evergreen pastures in the Land of the Leal, where we too, fighting against trials and temptations, not blessed as they have been, are still hoping and striving to go. The Ouachita Telegraph June 22, 1872 Page 2, Column 3 Gen. Dan W. Adams, one of the bravest general officers in the army of Tennessee, died very suddenly in New Orleans a few days ago. He was preparing a brief, when suddenly his head fell forward, and he became insensible. He was partially restored, but still complained of great pain in the back of his head. The paroxyism returned in a few moments, and the brave old soldier, the hero of many hard fights, in a few short breaths passed away from earth. His remains were interred in Jackson, Miss. Gen. Adams was the brother of Gen. Wirt Adams, of Vicksburg, and law partner of Gen. Harry Hays previous to the war. He had since the war, until very recently, been living in New York. The Ouachita Telegraph June 29, 1872 Page 3, Column 2 The Madison Journal comes to us draped in mourning for the death of G.D. Towne, Esq., eldest son of the editor, Col. E.B. Towne. The young man died of wounds received in a fall against a circular saw. We tender to our afflicted brother our heart felt sympathy, and trust that his well-matured mind may furnish him with philosophy to withstand this rude and grievous shock. The Ouachita Telegraph, Supplement to the Ouachita Telegraph July 22, 1872 Page 1, Column 6 The death, at Baton Rouge, on the 13th, is reported of Mrs. Mary Dufrocq, widow of the late John R. Dufrocq, formerly editor and proprietor of the Baton Rouge Gazette, and for several years in succession Mayor of Baton Rouge. The Ouachita Telegraph, Supplement to the Ouachita Telegraph July 22, 1872 Page 1, Column 6 The Rev. Stephen W. Rogers, aged 33 years, formerly a resident of New Orleans, died at Lake Peigneur, in New Iberia parish, on the 8th inst., of bilious fever. The Ouachita Telegraph August 3, 1872 Page 3, Column 1 Mrs. Fannie A. Richardson, wife of Dr. T.P. Richardson, died at the family residence, of disease of the throat, on the 27th inst. The funeral services, at the Methodist church, were attended by a large concourse of sympathizing friends. Mrs. Richardson had been an invalid for several years but her trials and afflictions are happily at an end "Over There." Her widowed husband and motherless children have our deepest sympathies. The Ouachita Telegraph August 3, 1872 Page 3, Column 2 Eugene Latapie, a well-known steamboat clerk, for some time employed on the May Flower, died in New Orleans on the 25th. The Ouachita Telegraph August 10, 1872 Page 3, Column 1 Mrs. Kate Ferry, wife of Mr. W.H. Ferry, of this place, died at the family residence on the 2d inst., after a painful illness of several days. The Ouachita Telegraph August 3, 1872 Page 3, Column 1 The remains of Mr. A.B. Hardy, of this parish, who died at the Castor Sulphur Springs on the 5th inst., were brought up on the steamer Garry Owen Tuesday for interment in the Monroe Cemetery. The Ouachita Telegraph August 31, 1872 Page 2, Column 6 Death of Col. Grogan. We are pained to notice that death of another of our good citizens. Col. M.A. Grogan died in our town, on last Wednesday, at the home of his mother, after a long and protracted illness. The deceased was an Irishman by birth, but came here when a child. At the earliest stage of the late war he was one of the first to take up arms for his adopted South. He left here as Lieutenant of the Moore Guards, the first company from Rapides, and served in the Army of Virginia until Lee's surrender. He rose to be Colonel of his regiment, the 2d Louisiana, and was always well liked by his comrades in arms. He was buried on Thursday evening, his funeral cortege being followed by a large concourse of our population, the members of his old company acting as pall-bearers. — Louisiana Democrat. The Ouachita Telegraph September 21, 1872 Page 3, Column 1 OBITUARY. Remorseless death has again visited, with relentless and uncompromising demands, another one of our best and happiest families, and torn therefrom, with insatiable greed, the main pillar of the household. — The subject of this notice, Mr. ALLEN B. WOD, was born in the State of Mississippi on the 10th of January, 1826; emigrated to North Louisiana with his father, elbert Wood, in 1847; was married to Miss M.M. Butler; daughter of Moses ang Cynthia Butler, in 1848; entered the Confederate army under Capt. Moody in 1863, and went to Virginia, where he braved the dangers of a soldier's life in behalf of the Southern cause. Amid the uncertainties of war, he vowed to God that if he was permitted to return home he would lead a different life, in compliance with which, on his return home, he united with the Palestine Baptist Church; was baptized by Eld. L.A. Markham in August, 1865, and did live a different life, adorning the profession he had made, until his death, which took place on the 25thof June, 1872, after a short but severe illness. He was also a member of the Masonic fraternity at Castor Lodge, No. 109, and also of the Masonic Life Insurance Company of Louisiana. He leaves an invalid wife, with two daughter and two grandchildren, to mourn, who have lost a noble, faithful and kind father, and all of us a true, faithful and tried friend and citizen. But we mourn not as those who have no hope, for we feel sure that our loss is his eternal gain. He braved death without fear or dread — remarking a short time before his departure, "that he was astonished at himself to find that death had no terror." So fades a summer cloud away; So sinks the (newspaper is smudged) So gently shuts the eye of day; So dies a loved one on the shore. Farewell, conflicting hopes and fears, Where sorrowning wife and daughters dwell, How bright the unchanging now appears! Farewell, inconstant world, farewell! W.M. RAYMOND. NOTE: Just below the above obituary is a Resolution of Respect from the Castor Lodge, No. 109 Masons. The Ouachita Telegraph September 21, 1872 Page 3, Column 2 DIED, At her husband's residence, in Ouachita parish, on Tuesday, Sept. 10, 1872, Mrs. MARY ANN CANN, wife of Frederick H. Cann. She was the only sister of Lt. Col. Sidney H. Griffin, of Union parish, who was equalled in ability, gallantry and faithfulness by few of that host of gallant officers, his comrades in the Lost Cause, and whose death, in battle at Vicksburg, carried sorrow to the hearts of a large circle of admiring and loving friends. And now the sudden and unexpected death of Mrs. Cann filles with sorrow and mourning the hearts of a large circle of loving friends, in Union, Ouachita and other parishes and falls, an immeasurable bereavement, upon the grief-stricken hearts of her children and husband. "What shadows we are, what shadows we pursue." (Union Record copy.) * * * The Ouachita Telegraph October 12, 1872 Page 3, Column 3 Resolutions of Respect McENERY AND PENN, CLUB ROOMS, Ouachita Parish, Sept. 27, 1872. Whereas, it has pleased almighty God to remove from our midst our worthy President, friend and fellow-citizen, D.B. HERRON; therefore, be it Resolved, That in his death the Club has been deprived of a faithful and efficient officer, society an esteemed and valuable member, and the country of a true and zealous patriot. Resolved, That we tender to the bereaved family and relations in their affliction our sincere and heart-felt condolence. Resolved, That the TELEGRAPH be requested to publish these resolutions. A.H. SCRIBER, President. J.H. WALKER, Secretary. The Ouachita Telegraph October 26, 1872 Page 3, Column 1 The last week witnessed the departure from this world of two bright luminaries who have shed lustre on the American name — each one conspicuous in his or her own particular sphere. The death of W.H. Seward and Fannie Fern have created blanks not easily to be filled. The latter was sister to N.P. Willis, the poet of Idlewild, and cousin (we understand) to our esteemed fellow citizen, Judge R.W. Richardson. NOTE: The same issue of the paper has an article about the life of Fanny Fern on page 2, Column 2 The Ouachita Telegraph November 16, 1872 Page 3, Column 2 OBITUARY. Died on the 31st of October, 1872, at the residence of T.G. Williams, Esq., in Caldwell parish, CARLOS BARRY, infant son of Mr. Thomas G. and Mrs. Louisa S. Williams,; aged six months and two weeks. Mourn not for the child from thy tenderness liven, Ere a stain on its purity fell; To thy questioning hearts, Lo! The answer from heaven — "Is it well with the child?" "It is well." The Ouachita Telegraph December 21, 1872 Page 1, Column 6 Dr. Warren Stone, who, for forty years, had been an eminent physician and surgeon in New Orleans, died at his residence, on Friday, the 13th, at the age of sixty-five years. He was a native of Vermont, where his mother, aged ninety years, still lives. # # #