Collin Co., TX - Obituary - William Solomon Wester
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Uncle Sollie Wester Died Monday Morning  By Charles B. Andrews
(My Great-Great Grandad)
(From the Celina Record Newspaper, 1936)

The grim reaper thrust in his sickle and cut down one of the pioneer
citizens
of this community Monday morning in the person of William Solomon Wester,
known to everyone in the community as “Uncle Sollie.”

He passed peacefully away at his home northeast of Celina about 8 o’clock
Monday morning, after an illness of some weeks, having reached the
ninety-first
milepost on life’s journey only two days before he closed his eyes on
earthly scenes.

Funeral services for this pioneer were held at Cottage Hill Church at 2
p.m. Tuesday
by the Revs. W. J. Epting, O. M. Turner and L. T. Grumbles.  Burial was in
Cottage
Hill Cemetery.

Uncle Sollie, who had resided in this community for forty-six years was
born in Asheville,
NC, February 14, 1845.  At the age of one year he moved with his parents to
Tennessee.
Here he grew to manhood and served in the Union army in the war between the

states for a short time.  After the war he was married to Josephine
Merritt.  To this marriage
ten children were born, seven of whom survived.  Their mother died in 1887.

In 1887 Mr. Wester came to Texas and was married to Mrs. Mattie Gifford in
1893.  To
this union two children were born, death taking one at the age of ten
years.  This, the second
wife, passed away in 1906.

Four years later, Mr. Wester was again married, this time to Mrs. Lizzie
Edwards.  Two
children were born to this marriage, Ben and Paul.

At his passing, Mr. Wester left his widow and the following children to
mourn his death.

Mrs. Jim Manes, Mrs. H. E. Thomason, Mrs. Minnie Douglas, V. E. Wester, all
of Celina.
Mrs. G. W. Tillerson, Tioga;  J. T. Wester of Sherman, and F. H. Wester of
Belmont, California.

In addition, he left forty-six grandchildren and 102 great-grandchildren.

The deceased was converted and became a member of the Christian Church
about thirty-six
years ago, being converted under the preaching of and baptized by Elder R.
C. Horne, pioneer
of McKinney, in a meeting at the McWhirter schoolhouse.

Mr. Wester had been in declining health for some years and about one year
ago suffered a
severe illness, but later recovered to the extent that he was up and about
and came to Celina
a number of times.

He had the characteristic of many of the early settlers in that he never
repudiated an honest debt,
and seldom, if ever, failed to meet his financial obligations at the time
promised.

F H Wester of Belmont, California, was ill and did not get to visit his
father during his last illness
or to attend his funeral.