Obituary of Catherine Funk RICE (1900), Washington Co., MD
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http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.html
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The following interesting sketch of her life, published on the occasion of
her death, is taken from one of the newspapers published in the vicinity of Mt.
Morris, Illinois.
Catherine Funk was born at Beaver Creek, Washington County, Md., the 24th
day of August, 1797, and died on Wednesday, December 26, 1900, aged 103 years, 4
months and 2 days. Her ancestral line was noted for longevity, although none of
her ancestors, so far as known, can match her own in that respect. Her father,
Samuel Funk, lived to the ripe old age of 91 years. Her mother Susanna Houser
Funk lived to be 75. Her grandfather lived to be about 86 years of age, and her
grandmother was an octogenarian when she died. Very nearly half her own life
was spent in the home of her childhood, and she did not come west until 1845, or
55 years ago. While still bearing her maiden name, Catherine Funk, she left her
Maryland home, in company with John Bovey and family, who were moving to this
vicinity, and started to make her home with her brother, Samuel Funk, who had
moved west some time before, locating in Pine Creek township. She was married
to Jacob Rice, who was a native of the same section as herself and his first
wife Mary Rowland, having passed away three years after they had made their home
in the new settlement.
The marriage of Catherine Funk to Mr. Rice was the begining of a busy
household life of her own. Aunt Kitty , the name by which she has been
familiarly known throughout the region around, had no children of her own, but
she became a devoted and thoughtful mother to the children of her husband. They
made their home three miles north of Mt. Morris, Ill, which continued to be
their abode until his death in 1870, at the age of 85. She remained on the old
homestead 20 years longer, but for the last 10 years resided in Mt. Morris with
her step-son, the late Hon. Isaac Rice, whose name is honored throughout this
part of the country.
"Aunt Kitty" often told her friends of the interesting incidents of her
first trip west. On leaving her native state, this trip was made by stage as
far as Wheeling, Va. (now West Virginia), thence down the Ohio River and up The
Mississippi and Illinois rivers as far as Peru, near Peoria; thence she traveled
overland to Oregon, the county seat of Ogle County. This now beautiful and
thriving city then had only a handful of people, scarcely more than 200 souls,
and the widely famous college town of Mt. Morris was then a hamlet numbering
perhaps 50 persons. Among the incidents of life here in that early time were
the occasional rides to Chicago by ox-cart, a trip she repeatedly made; her
errand being to conclude the purchases for the year. On one occasion when the
oxen were turned out to grass in the evening, one of the two teams strayed away,
and in the morning could not be found, far or near. They were compelled to
hitch one rig behind the other and make their journey drawn by a single team.
The runaways were subsequently found to have made their way home, swimming the
Rock River on their return.
At the period of Aunt Kitty's early visits, there was no danger of being
lost in Chicago. The town was too small for that. Her annual visits there were
for the purpose of laying in a supply of clothing for the severe western
winters. Chicago was a very unattractive place in those times, the business
district towards the court house being in the swamp, and the Michigan avenue
lake front, over toward the present Illinois Central depot a line of sandy
knolls. She remembered distinctly wandering along the Lake Michigan beach,
picking up shells and pebbles.
The fact that the home of Mrs. Rice was in and near the college town of Mt.
Morris for more than half a century, presiding over the home of a prominant
member of the community, gave her the personal acquaintance of many young people
who afterward came to fame and high station. Her roof always sheltered a
generous hospitality. Among those who have sat at her table may be mentioned
Gen. W. H. L. Wallace, Martin P. Sweet, Thomas J. Turner, E. B. Washburne,
Shelby M. Cullom, Gen. John A. Rawlins and many others, some of whom were
students of Rock River Seminary. Mrs. Rice was always industrious and frugal,
but the needy were never denied food or care. She was almost as widly known in
portions of Maryland around her old home, as in this vicinity.
Aunt Kitty's memory of events of her early years was remarkably clear to
the last. Many stirring events transpired near her home at that time. The
excitement caused by the war of 1812, the burning of the national capitol, the
Bladensburg race, etc., were as fresh in her memory as though a recent
occurance. She could trace the family connections of all who lived in the
vicinity of her home, many of the families being represented in the older
settlers of the region about Mt. Morris. She credited to her cheerfulness, her
never-flagging industry and abstemious habits, the marked flavor extended to her
in her long life. For many years of her life she was fond of smoking, indulging
moderately, but for the last fifteen years or longer she strictly refrained.
She was not able to read her favorite book, the Bible, for a number of years
because of the impairment of her eyesight. She was able to distinguish general
form and color, but nothing more. Her hearing continued good. Like her father
and grandfather before her, she was a devout member of the Mennonite faith, but
since coming where there are so few of that persuasion, she worshiped with other
denominations with which she was most in sympathy. Although having her own
views as to religious form etc., the spirit of the gospel was always the main
thing with her.
Aunt Kitty was the contemporary of every great event in our national
history since the Revolutionary War. Her life spanned all American presidents
from Washington to McKinley. She lived during the three wars of our nation
under the constitution, including the last war with Great Britain, the war with
Mexico, and the great Civil War. She and her husband held to a faith that
eschewed war, and excited of its following everything in act or conduct that
could aid to basic war; but they gave their active sympathy and great cheer to
the soldiers who fought to preserve the union.
Aunt Kitty's grandfather came to America about 1748, early in his married
life. He came from the wine districts on the Rhine, being impelled to leave
Germany on account of conscription and his religious compunction in regard to
war. On the way across the Atlantic they were nearly three months on the
passage and were near to a famine from running out of supplies. Her grandfather
settled near Hagerstown, then a wilderness. The settlement there was often in
peril from the Indians, the times being very alarming during the French and
Indian War and during the Revolution. On one occasion, nine families lived all
summer in a barn. At one time when the Indians came, they all fled to
Fredericktown, 20 miles away, leaving a dinner cooking. They never knew who got
that dinner.
Her grandfather gave her father a wild farm and her father and mother
prepared it for cultivation, working together in grubbing out undergrowth and
small trees. Later her father bought the mill. At one time it was so full of
grain that the gable burst. That presented a grave emergency. He called in all
the neighbors, with their teams, and moved the grain to the homes of the
vicinity. The condition of the mill was found too serious to remedy and it was
torn down, being completely rebuilt between April and October, a large force
being employed for that purpose. The millwrights were put to work in the forest
to prepare the timbers and the masons in the quarries to get out the stone.
They had to care for all the force at the house. Her mother was an invalid from
rheumatism at that time. The only help Aunt Kitty had was a girl of eleven
years. There was absolutely no domestic help to be had. She did all the work,
all the baking of the bread for the table consuming twenty barrels of flour
during the six months. There were twenty-eight hungry men to be fed. Breakfast
had to be ready at sun-rise, and the men from the quarries did not get in for
supper until sun-down. A friend who dropped in to see them during that time
period said he 'would not give much for Kitty when the mill was done',
thinking it a killing work; but she outlived them all.
The farmer of that time raised quite an amount of wheat and corn, some rye
and barley, and a little oats. He was also a stock raiser, keeping cattle, hogs
and sheep. He grew flax for making all the linen for family use, and out of the
flax and wool were prepared the fibres and the thread for weaving of the
garments for both men and women. Many beautiful white linen goods were made,
but it gave the women of the household a life of incessant labor. They were
never idle, not stopping from their day's work until nine o'clock in the
evening. The mere spinning was only a small part of the work of keeping the men
and women in clothes, providing the bedding, the table linen etc. The grain was
all cut by hand with the sickle. She had often seen twenty men in the field,
going through the standing wheat and laying it in bundles. They had some wagons
in those days but many more carts.
The young people were not without their enjoyments in her day, although
their life was well filled with hard labor. Most families made apple butter a
prominant thing of their diet. The young people used to get together in bees,
prepare the apples and make them up into the apple butter. They had no Sunday
schools in those days. When they came home from church the father would gather
the children together after dinner to see how much they could remember of the
sermon. After they had finished that catechizing they were allowed to play, this
being about the only respite of the week. She remembered her grandfather well,
who died in 1804, and her grandmother who died in 1807.
She recalled the first coffee they ever had. Her father brought it from
Fredericktown. "Here's something they call coffee," she heard him say. "I
don't know if they make soup of it or cook it with meat!" was his wandering
comment. An English lady who knew coffee, pronounced it good and showed them
how to prepare it. She browned the coffee in the skillet, and beat it in the
mortar as they did their spices. Her father tried a mouthful of it, but
immediately went to the door and spit it out, having a very poor idea of it.
The English woman made it into a beverage. They did not like it at first, but
later learned to be fond of it. Kitty's mother always made coffee Sunday
mornings, and when she was little she could always tell when Sunday came because
of the coffee-making.
The bitter feeling against the tories of the Revolution lingered to Kitty's
day, and she remembered the excitement attending the return of two of them to
that vicinity. One of them was saved by a reprieve from the president, which
arrived just a half hour before the time set for his execution. Another was
secreted and hustled off to New York by the 'underground railway.'
Mrs. Rice remembers experiences of going to the weekly market at Hagerstown
with butter, eggs, and other things, which were part of the regular duties of
her childhood days. She was the youngest of the family at home, and her father
and mother wanted her to care for them until they were gone. This filial duty
she was very glad to fulfill to them, with all the love of a faithful daughter,
placing their interests and comforts always before her own. It was not until
she had buried her father that she came west to join her youngest brother, whom
she survived twenty-eight years.
Aunt Kitty knew her share of the trials and afflictions of life,but instead
of yielding to them or being overcome, she was always thankful that they were
not worse. Her's was a beautiful spirit, and the trait just mentioned shines
through all her relations with fellow men, and in the kindly sentiments with
which no one could be with her any length of time without perceiving it to be
the ruling characteristic of her life. It was refreshing to receive the
influence of such an association, even though it was but for a chat of a few
moments.
Her funeral took place on Saturday, the 29th of December 1900. Services
were conducted by Rev. Ephraim Shellenberger, of the Mennonite church near
Freeport, the Rev. F. W. Nazarine, Mt. Morris. Her funeral was probably the
largest ever held at that place. She was laid to rest in Oakwood Cemetery
beside her husband.