‘The call of the Grim Reaper has again been heard in our midst‘
The Lovely Lisa is lobbying this scribbler to compose his obituary. Was it something we said?
Our interest piqued, we plunged into the Sun Prairie Historical Society’s archive of obituaries, a great source of history. Struck by the attention paid to manner of death. Obituaries one hundred and more years ago were not paid but reported as legitimate news stories — especially so in a village of 938 people, the village’s head count in the year 1900. (Sun Prairie’s population today: 39,419!)
Cannot improve on this lede, written in 1907: “At one o’clock yesterday afternoon the breath of life fled from the emaciated form of Abram W. Blair.” Beats “Blair is dead.”
Weekly newspaper editors way back in the day did not spare the sentiment, which strikes this ear as heartfelt. Chances are, the editor knew the deceased as well as anyone else in the village. An account in the Sun Prairie Countryman of 1916 records that Johanna Mautz Schey left behind two children, Engelbert, 6 years old, and daughter Angela, 4.
Both are old enough to understand the death of their mother, yet are too young to realize the great loss of the love, protection, and sacrifice that is the priceless treasure bestowed upon children by all true mothers. Because of her youth and the need of her in the home of her children, her passing is extremely sad and the bereaved family, have the sincere sympathy of the whole community in the hour of their desolation.
Small town editors were nearer thy God to thee than today’s Doubting Thomases. When Evelyn Viola Petterle died in 1916 at the the age of 17 years, 1 month, and 5 days, “Her loved ones were brought to realize during the last days that relief from her sufferings was only through the call of her Savior and with fortitude they prepared for the parting.”
Died in a blacksmith shop accident
Spare no details
Reynold A. Schmitt lost his life while plowing his farm field in East Bristol.
When found by a passing motorist it was evident that Schmitt had fallen from the tractor to the ground in front of the plow. As the tractor was in gear and out of control it had kept moving and evidently had made a circuit of the field finally stalling when the tractor wheels began to slip in a furrow as it crossed a plowed section of the field. The body was extracted with some difficulty from beneath the plow.
An 1894 account of C. D. Burrington’s demise devoted 371 words itemizing his last sufferings dating from “when he was attacked while at Stoughton with diarrhea and severe pains in the bowels.” After an operation, which found much pus, “He rallied … and passed a quiet night but the following morning found him very weak and at nine o’clock he began vomiting and his circulation to fail.”
A news account from 1910 reinforces that deaths in the community were the talk of the town well before TikTok and Truth Social:
“Mr. Jones is gone” was the expression that was passed around this morning among our citizens and with it the relaxation of that sympathetic feeling or anxiety that has been felt among the friends for the afflicted man and his family during the three long years of his sufferings.
The old guy, age 83, had been confined to his chair for three years and two long months “being neither able to lie down nor stand up. During portions of this time he was quite comfortable and in warm weather was able to be placed in his carriage for a ride. At other times he suffered much. For 18 days before his death he tasted no food and as his strength failed death slowly crept in.”
Blaska’s Bottom Line: The account Carlos H. Jones (1/11/1827 – 2/24/1910) closes with this valedictory: “His was truly a remarkable case of fortitude and patience in a losing battle.”
Might use that.
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