Adams County, Ritzville, WA ==================================================================== USGENWEB NOTICE: In keeping with our policy of providing free information on the Internet, data may be used by non-commercial entities, as long as this message remains on all copied material. These electronic pages may NOT be reproduced in any format for profit or for presentation by other persons or organizations. Persons or organizations desiring to use this material for purposes other than stated above must obtain the written consent of the file contributor. This file was contributed for use in the USGenWeb Archives by: Sue Gardner sueboo18@hotmail.com ==================================================================== The Journal-Times Thursday, January 13, 1921, issue Mr. P. J. McGrath Following an illness of several weeks, Mr. P. J. McGrath, proprietor of the Windsor Hotel, and one of the early settlers of Ritzville, passed away last Sunday at his home here. The sickness was described as ptomaine poison with complications. Owing to his age he failed to respond to medical treatment, but grew weaker so that his demise was not unexpected. The funeral was held Tuesday afternoon from Haight's undertaking parlor and was conducted by Rev. R. D. Snyder. Burial was made in the Ritzville cemetery. P. J. McGrath was born Nov. 8, 1852, in Timmerick County, Ireland. He came to America when he was 19 years of age. On April 6, 1885, he was united in marriage to Miss Matilda Holmquist. He is survived by the widow and five children who are Mrs. L. E. Ratcliff, Harrington; Mrs. A. W. Sickmann, Mrs. O. S. Buehler, Ritzville; R. E. McGrath of San Francisco; and J. G. McGrath, Sacramento. There are also six grandchildren In the spring of 1881 Mr. McGrath came to Ritzville, then a new town along the route of the Northern Pacific between Spokane and Pasco. Later he worked as a section foreman, giving up this work 20 years ago. He built the Star Hotel here, which he later sold, intending to move away. He found no other location that pleased him like the home town so he came back and built the Windsor Hotel. Mr. McGrath was an unobtrusive man, steady in his work, in his later years spending most of his time at his hotel. He saw and had a part of the development of this city in the past four decades. Robt. Hoefel Baby Dies The infant child of Mr. and Mrs. Robert Hoefel, which was taken to Sacred Heart hospital last week for treatment for pneumonia, died there Monday evening and was brought home for burial the following day. Funeral services were held at the Pilgrim Congregational church Wednesday afternoon, the Rev. J. G. V. Smith officiating, after which the remains were interred in the Odessa cemetery. Mr. and Mrs. Hoefel have the sympathy of the whole community in their bereavement -Odessa Record Brother Of Mrs. Harris Dies In Walla Walla Mrs. J. M. Harris received the sad word Monday of the death of her brother, Albert J. York, at Walla Walla. Mr. York had been for 38 years the janitor of the Baker school in Walla Walla. He went over to fix the fires Sunday night and his wife found him missing when she awoke the next morning. She went to the school house and found that he had expired in the basement of the building, his body lying upon the floor. Mr. York was 75 years old and was a native of Wisconsin. He was a member of the Wisconsin Light Artillery during the Civil war and a member of the G. A. R. He is survived by a widow and seven children. Mrs. Harris, her son, C. A. Harris, and daughter, Mrs. J. S. Edwards, drove down to Walla Walla Tuesday to attend the funeral. The Journal-Times Thursday, January 20, 1921, issue Mrs. Catherine Kiehn Death, which came about noon on Tuesday, ended the suffering and the life of Mrs. Catherine Kiehn, widow of the late Conrad Kiehn. Her ailment was gall stones, and at the advanced age of 77 she was unable to withstand the ravages of the disease. Her daughter, Mrs. Hugh Wicker, has been caring for her for some time. The funeral will be held tomorrow afternoon at two o'clock from the Philadelphia church, the pastor, Rev. Jacob Morach conducting the services. Burial will be in the Ritzville cemetery. Catherine Barth was born in Russia December 18, 1843, and was accordingly 77 years, 1 month old at the time of her death. She was married to Conrad Kiehn in Russia. They moved to America in 1877, settling first in Hitchcock County, Nebraska. From there they came to Walla Walla in 1880 residing there five years and then coming to Adams county. They lived on a ranch near Ritzville til 1900 when they moved to town. Mr. Kiehn died on December 9, 1919. The surviving children are Henry, Fred, Mrs. Katie Amen and Mrs. Hugh Wicker of Ritzville, and J. J. of Spokane, John of Mt. Vernon, Oregon, and Conrad of Harrington. All of the children will be present for the funeral. The Journal-Times Thursday, January 27, 1921, issue Brother Dies In Dakota J. L. Cross received word Sunday of the death of his brother John R. Cross at Minot, N. D. He left the next day to attend the funeral being joined at Spokane by his father and mother, Mr. and Mrs. George Cross. Mr. John Cross was an engineer in the passenger service of the Great Northern. The particulars of his death were not learned. He leaves a wife and two children. Father Dies In California George Olsen left Monday morning for southern California in response to a telegram that his father had passed away at his home in Alhambra, near Los Angeles. The father died Sunday, but George was in Spokane and did not get the word till his arrival home that night. Solomon I. Bartges Taps sounded for an aged veteran of the Civil War early Sunday morning and Solomon I. Bartges was mustered out of life's batallion. His death occurred at 12:50 a.m. and was the result of a paralytic stroke from which he did not rally. An unusual coincidence was the fact that his wife died just thirty years before on the same day of the year and nearly the same hour. Mr. Bartges was born July 17, 1844, at North Georgetown, Ohio. He served throughout the war with the exception of a few weeks when he was out suffering from wounds or between enlistments. He was in Co. G, 46th Pennsylvania Infantry; 158th Ohio Infantry and 107th Ohio Infantry. He was wounded twice. He took part in many engagements, among them, Fort Donelson, Lookout Mountain, Chatahoochie, Chicamaugua and Gettysburg. After his discharge in 1865 he emigrated to Missouri where he resided for a time, being united in marriage to Louisa J. Palmer of that state. He again responded to the call to move westward and came to Washington Territory in 1886, settling for a year at Dayton. Learning of the possibilities up in this section he came to Adams County and located on a farm out in the Carico Hills. He continued to engage in wheat raising until advancing years forced him to retire and he moved to Ritzville. He is survived by three children, another son, Charles Franklin, having died Jan. 18, 1891. The surviving children are Ira A. Bartges, Ritzville; Mrs. Olive Butler, Napavine; and Mrs. Irene Pruitt of Ritzville. There are five grandchildren. The funeral services were held Tuesday afternoon at Haight's undertaking parlors and were conducted by Rev. R. D. Snyder. The few surviving members of the G. A. R. were present to pay tribute to their departed comrade and the W. R. C. attended in a body. Six overseas veterans of the late war acted as pallbearers. Taps were sounded at the conclusion of the service. The burial was in the Ritzville cemetery. The Journal-Times Thursday, February 3, 1921, issue Rescues Child; Loses His Life Mrs. J. L. Cross received word from her husband who was called to Minot, N. D., by the death of his brother, John Cross, that the death was a result of an accident. When coming down town one day Mr. John Cross saw a child about to be struck by an automobile. He rushed to the child's rescue and saved it, but was himself struck by the car and hurled some distance. He was taken to the hospital but did not regain consciousness. While in the east, Mr. Cross and his parents, who went with him, will go on to Minnesota to visit relatives there before returning. The Journal-Times Thursday, February 10, 1921, issue Mother Dies In Ohio P. R. Clark received a message from his wife who is at Upper Sandusky, Ohio, stating that her mother had passed away. Mrs. Clark was called east about the first of the year by word that her mother was helpless. The community extends its deep sympathy to her in her bereavement. Mrs. W. L. Sutton Dies Mrs. Helen Sutton, wife of Senator Sutton of Cheney, died Tuesday of gall stone trouble in a Spokane hospital. Mrs. Sutton was a native of New York. Funeral services were held Thursday from the Congregational church at Cheney. Senator Sutton has many friends in this county who extend their deep sympathy to him in his bereavement. Infants Body Found Buried In Stone Jar The body of an infant was found last Thursday by Clarence Linville of Benge. It was contained in an earthen jar which had been sealed with sealing wax and buried in the yard near the residence. Alcohol had been poured into the jar to fill the void so that body was in nearly a perfect state of preservation. Its origin is a complete mystery. The body was interred in the potter's field at Lind. Young Baby Dies The infant son of Mr. and Mrs. E. R. Smith died Thursday night after a long sickness in spite of all medical science and human love could do. The little lad was nine months old. Funeral services were held on Saturday afternoon at the Methodist church, Rev. C. W. Geiszler comforting the sorrowing relatives with a few well chosen words. -Lind Leader Dr. R. Anna Schermerhorn Dr. R. Anna Schermerhorn is dead. This sad news shocked the people of Adams county when made public on Tuesday morning immediately after the passing of this brave, pioneer soul to a better land. The funeral services on Wednesday were attended by hundreds of people, several from great distances. The Rev. C. W. Geiszler, pastor of the Methodist Episcopal church, conducted the services, and the body was laid to rest in the beautiful cemetery on the hill after a short service at the residence. Mrs. Schermerhorn has been on a sick bed for several months past and with the handicap of the pressing of a life so courageously lived and so fittingly spent in helping others, she peacefully passed away on Tuesday morning. At her bedside to the last was her helpmate and husband, M. L. Schermerhorn. Mrs. Martin L. Schermerhorn was born in Horicon, Wis., the daughter of John and Hannah Brayman. In her youth she was a school teacher and later took a medical course in Haknemaun college, Chicago, became a graduate and practiced her profession for twenty-four years with great success in Nebraska and California. She was also a leading member of the Eastern Star and the Degree of Honor. Judge and Mrs. Schermerhorn came to Lind in 1900 and have been pioneers of this section and largely influential in the events transpiring in this section of the state. -Lind Leader The Journal-Times Thursday, February 17, 1921, issue Aged Pioneer Called By Death Joseph Jones, a resident of Ritzville since 1893, passed away at his home here last Sunday. He had been in failing health since November last suffering from dropsy, but it was hardly realized that his condition was so critical. The funeral services were conducted from Haight's undertaking parlors Tuesday afternoon, Rev. R. D. Snyder officiating. The remains were laid to rest in the local cemetery. Joseph Jones was born at Bunker Hill, Ill., March 19, 1838, and died at Ritzville, Wash., February 13, 1921. Had he lived thirty-four days longer he would have been 83 years of age. In 1866 he was married to Miss Elizabeth Hook of Carlinville, Macoupin County, Ill., and immediately began life on a farm near Butler, Ill., where they lived fifteen years. In 1881 they moved to Iowa where they made their home for twelve years. At this place both Mr. and Mrs. Jones united with the Congregational church. In 1893 they came to Ritzville, but then a small western town of a few hardy pioneers, many of whom have long since answered the final summons. Among those early settlers were the Bennetts, Greenes, Olsons, Barronetts, Newlands, Sages, Griffiths, and many others. The children born in the family are John Simeon, Elmer Clarence, Clara Nellie, wife of W. H. Landreth, Mary Annie, wife of George Sage, and Frank Milton, all now living except the oldest who died Jan. 28, 1872. These four children, his wife, now nearly 72 years of age, one brother and five grandchildren survive him. Mr. Jones was a hard worker, conscientious, and his influence in his family was for the Christian principles and ideals, and among the relatives this is evidenced as a strong factor in the fact that several are ministers of the gospel. He was a man respected and who endeavored to live out with his fellow men the golden rule. John Benward Funeral services for John Benward, an old Adams County resident, were held in Spokane Tuesday, following his death, which occurred at his home in Opportunity February 13, 1921. The Reno Post of the G. A. R. had charge of the services. Child Dies Of Sleeping Sickness Helen Heimbigner, the ten year old daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Conrad S. Heimbigner, farmers, residing south of Odessa, passed away last night after an operation for sleeping sickness at a Spokane hospital. Helen was taken ill last week, but her condition was not considered grave until Saturday when she fell asleep and could not be roused when it was pronounced sleeping sickness. She was taken to Spokane Wednesday morning where the diagnosis was verified and an operation followed from which she never rallied and this morning a message came reporting her death. This is the first case of the disease ever known in this section and is believed to be the first in Lincoln County. -Odessa Record The Journal-Times Thursday, February 24, 1921, issue John Thiel, Sr. Dies Suddenly John Thiel, sr., one of the group of early German settlers in this county, died of heart failure about seven o'clock last Monday morning. Following his usual custom he had arisen and was doing some chores about the house and had gone out to clear the snow from the walks. His son, William Thiel, noticed him leaning over against a post, but before he could reach him he had fallen over in death. For some years past his health had been failing and he had grown more feeble. The funeral services were held this afternoon at the Philadelphia church, conducted by his pastor, Rev. Jacob Morach, assisted by Rev. F. Eggerland. The burial was in the Ritzville cemetery. A large crowd attended the service. John Thiel was born in April, 1843, in Kolb, northern Russia. In 1861 he was united in marriage to Mary Elizabeth Meyer. In 1878 the family emigrated to the New World. They settled in Nebraska for several years and then came to Walla Walla, Washington Territory. In the spring of the next year, 1883, they came to this county, taking up a homestead west of Ritzville. Mr. Thiel was one of the pioneer settlers of the county and in common with others suffered many hardships in getting the soil into cultivation and production, contending against poverty and the hardships of a new country. In 1904 he removed to town with his wife. She preceded him in death by a little over seven years, dying in November, 1913. They were the parents of nine children, six sons and three daughters. One daughter, Mrs. Jacob Werttemberger, died a number of years ago. The others who survive their father are John A. Thiel, a farmer of Helmville, Montana; Rev. Peter Thiel, Hastings, Nebraska; Henry W. Thiel, vice president American State Bank; Jacob Thiel, a farmer residing west of town; William Thiel, assistant cashier American State Bank and secretary of the Commerical Club; Fred Thiel, druggist, Odessa; Mrs. Marie Eckhardt and Mrs. Earl Colwell of this city. Husband Dies OF Sleeping Sickness Thomas G. Bush of Spokane died last Friday following a week's illness of sleeping sickness. In the late summer Mr. Bush married as his second wife Mrs. Annette Bennington, a former resident of Ritzville. Mr. Bush was engaged in the roofing business in Spokane. Besides his wife, he leaves a son and a daughter by a former marriage; a brother and his mother at Minneapolis. George H. Tilden George H. Tilden, head of a financial house in Seattle, passed away Monday. Mr. Tilden married Miss Bessie Agatz, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Fred W. Agatz, formerly of Ritzville, now of Olympia. The wedding took place in Ritzville and was one of the noteworthy events in the social history of the city. The Journal-Times Thursday, March 3, 1921, issue John Connell According to word received here Tuesday John Connell of Benge died at his home near there of cancer of the stomach. The particulars of his funeral were not learned. Mrs. David Kuhn Ends Life Sunday By Hanging Self Mrs. David Kuhn, living 18 miles southwest of Ritzville, near Lind, committed suicide last Sunday by hanging herself. Temporary insanity is believed to have been the reason for the act. David Kuhn, the husband, died rather suddenly last fall from pneumonia, following an attack of the flu, and Mrs. Kuhn was also very sick at the time of his death. Since that time she has appeared very despondent and it is thought that the sickness, coupled with the worry from his death, had unbalanced her mind, as of late she had been acting rather strangley. Occupying the Kuhn ranch with Mrs. Kuhn were Mr. and Mrs. Ted Wahl and a young son of Mrs. Kuhn. Mrs. Wahl is the daughter and Mr. Wahl was working the place under a lease. On Sunday morning about 7:00 o'clock Mr. Wahl and the son arose and went to the barn to do the chores, Mrs. Kuhn got up at the same time, the daughter remaining in bed, and followed the men outdoors. Upon their return for breakfast about an hour later the mother was missed and a search of the premises revealed her hanging by the neck in the woodshed adjoining the house. She had evidently climbed upon the coal bin, fastened the rope to the rafters and jumped off. Death was instantaneous, the neck being broken by the fall. Dr. Bloch was summoned and upon arrival notified the sheriff's office in Ritzville. It being a plan case of suicide the coroner was not notified until later and the doctor was given authority to remove the body to the house. A very brief burial service was held Tuesday afternoon and the body interred at the cemetery by the church in the vicinity of their home. Rev. Keppler had charge. The Journal-Times Thursday, March 10, 1921, issue Mrs. Christ Burghard Last Thursday, Mrs. Christ Burghard passed away in a hospital in Spokane, following an operation. It was the second time she had been operated on and she failed to withstand the shock of the ordeal. The remains were brought to Ritzville and the funeral services held Sunday afternoon at 2 o'clock at the Lutheran church, being conducted by her pastor, Rev. O. T. Just. The burial was in the Lutheran cemetery. A large crowd was in attendance and the floral tributes were profuse. Mrs. Burghard's maiden name was Marie Miessner. She was born on March 25, 1867, at Mulsum, Hanover, Germany, and was thus at the time of her death aged 56 years, 11 months and 9 days. At the age of 17 years she came to America, settling first in Ohio, later removing to to Red Wing, Minnesota, where in 1883 she was united in marriage to Mr. Christ Burghard. Six years later they moved to Washington, locating on a farm northwest of Ritzville which remained the family home until they retired to Ritzville about 5 years ago. Besides the husband there are left to mourn her departure from this life, three children, Fred C. Burghard and Mrs. Fred Luiten of Ritzville and Mrs. Jacob Luiten of Rathdrum, Idaho. A brother, Henry Miessner of Packard, and a sister, Mrs. Lauer of Lauer, also survive. J. D. Connell J. D. Connell, a resident of Adams county since 1899, passed away at his home near Benge last Tuesday morning. He had a severe attack of the flu in March, 1920, from which he never fully recovered, later contracting that dread malady, cancer of the stomach, which caused his untimely death on March 1, 1921. He was buried under the auspices of the I.O.O.F. lodge of which he was a member. Funeral services were conducted from the Delight school house Thursday afernoon, Rev. Geissier officiating and his remains laid to rest in the Delight cemetery. A large number of relatives and friends attended the services. J. D. Connell was born in Texas in 1862, but later moved with his parents to Aurora, Missouri. He was united in marriage to Elizabeth A. Boucher in 1884. They resided in Missouri until 1890, when they moved to Percell, I. T. To this union were born eight children, two having died in infancy. On the 19th of March, 1899, they set out from Aurora for this state, coming by way of wagon road with two schooners. It took them six months to make the trip, landing here on the 17th of September of the same year. They settled on a farm twelve miles south of Lind where they resided about a year and a half. On January 10, 1902, his wife died and he then moved to his homestead near Connell where he lived until ten years ago when he moved to Benge, settling on a farm near that place. He was again united in marriage to Mrs. Elizabeth Moy in 1904. To them were born two children, one having died in infancy. He leaves to mourn his untimely death, his wife, one sister, Mrs. Matilda Pike of Oklahoma, four grandchildren and seven children: Thomas of Lind, Mrs. J. C. Hadlock and frank of Benge; William of Vernon, Utah; Ilee, Edna and Clarence at the home. Mrs. John Hoffman Mrs. John Hoffman died Tuesday morning as a result of pumonary tuberculosis at the family home southwest of Ralston. The funeral was held yesterday afternoon conducted by Rev. G. Keppler. Burial was made in the cemetery near the church. She was the daughter of John Hille and was born in Russia. At the time of her death she was 33 years, 10 months, 24 days old. Father Dies In Iowa Mrs. W. J. Norin received a telegram Tuesday saying her father, D. V. Brosbeck, had passed away at the old homestead at 4 a.m. March 7th. He was 78 years old, having lived at the same farm near Afton, Iowa, since 1868. His death was caused by irregular heart action. Mr. and Mrs. Norin spent two months with him in December.