1899 Obit From Accident By My House

[Stephanie]

My mom had a request through her website to locate a person's gravesite. The person requesting it forwarded her the obituary. Needless to say, my mom was surprised that the accident that took this man's life happened right by my house, but in 1899. How coincidental is that? Especially since my mom owned this house before we did.

I wish we had pictures of Main/Otter Creek from that time period. Then it was known as Otter Street. The Obituary is pretty descriptive of how it looked then. There still is no sidewalk on the north side of Main as you approach Otter Creek except for the sidewalk in front of my house. My house is the only one that has a sidewalk in our block and the two blocks west of us. I hope you can read this obit. They certainly gave much more detail in news articles than they do now it seems like.

[Job]

A number of years ago, Joan Johnson sent me a copy of my great great great grandmother's 1866 obit.
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She came to this county from Fayette Co., Pa, 33 years ago, and settled on the Vermillion River, 12 miles south of Ottawa. Being a widow at that time, she has lived among her children ever since, loving and caring for them with a devotion seldom equaled by any mother. The country at that time was not clear of Indians, and often, when they were fishing along the river, the little Indian boys would call upon Mother M for bread and butter, which they never failed to get, going away saying “good woman.”
Mrs. M was extensively known by the first settlers of La Salle Co., who have all passed away, with probably only one or two exceptions. She has always been spoken of by those who know her as being a kind, benevolent and hospitable woman, and universally loved, and esteemed by all her acquaintances for her exemplary morals and Christian virtues. She leaves a large family connection to mourn her loss.