LOGAN, Abigail Jane (Cummings) 1832-1900

LOGAN, CUMMINGS, SMOUSE, NOBLE

Posted By: S. Bell
Date: 2/21/2014 at 22:13:47

Note: The article below should have had a note saying it had been previously published.
The Courier Friday, Dec. 14, 1900 had a short notice: MRS. LOGIN IS DEAD Passes Away at Her Home at 3 O'clock Today, (From Thursday's Daily.)
This indicates she died on Thurs., December 13.

[Waterloo Semi Weekly Courier, Tuesday, December 18, 1900, Waterloo, Iowa]

Death of Mrs. J. W. Logan After Long Illness

After an illness of something like six years of rheumatism, the particular type of the disease being articulate rheumatic gout, and the past two or three years entirely helpless, Mrs. James W. Logan died at 3 o'clock yesterday afternoon at her home, corner of Washington and West Fourth Streets.

Mrs. Logan had never been robust in health, never strong nor vigorous, and her disease was induced no doubt by the constant care which she gave for seven years to an invalid father. Though suffering so long and so severely and for the past couple of years not being able to move scarcely a muscle, she clung tenaciously to life and desired to live on, only that, as she said, she might be able to help cheer her husband's life. She failed most rapidly the past few days and was unconscious from Wednesday evening to the time of her death yesterday afternoon. During the past few weeks her attendant has been Mrs. Burroughs of Cedar Falls, a lady with a tender and sympathetic heart, who stayed constantly by the side of her patient until the last, administering to her every need.

Mrs. Logan was a woman with a modest and retiring disposition, a true home body, who found her greatest joy in caring for and beautifying her home and making it a blessing to her family. Until her crippled condition forbade it she was also a great Christian worker and was tireless in building up her church, the Congregational, which she and her husband united with in 1866.

She was happiest and felt the best when out of doors in the sunshine during her illness, and it has been a common sight to see her in her wheelchair out of doors during the recent years of her illness when the Weather was fair and the temperature agreeable. At other times she has derived great comfort from the bow window on the Washington Street side of her residence, where the sunbeams brought joy and where she had a fine view of the streets.

Abigail Jane Cummings was born June 19, 1832, in Brookfield, Stark County, Ohio, near Masillon, but the family when she was a child moved to Masillon, where her father engaged in the milling business. Those were pioneer days. She attended the public schools of Masillon and also attended a private school near Canton, named Buckingham Academy, the principal of which was a relative of Mrs. Harrison, mother of H. J. Harrison. She afterwards attended school for a year at Brooklyn, N. Y.

On May 25, 1855, Miss Cummings was married to Mr. James W. Logan at Masillon, the couple leaving immediately and coming directly to Muscatine, Iowa. At this time railway facilities were rather crude and the time of the journey was much longer than would be required now. They went first to Cleveland, then to Chicago, to Rock Island, and by boat to Muscatine. They lived there two years where Mr. Logan was editor and publisher of the Muscatine Journal from 1855-1857. He was elected chief clerk of the Iowa house of representatives for the sessions of 1856 and 1857. Afterwards the family removed to Nebraska. They first went to St. Louis, there taking a boat and going up the Missouri River to a point almost directly opposite Vermillion, S. D., which was then only an Indian village and no white people resided there. With a number of relatives Mr. Logan settled in the wild western country hoping to make the establishment of saw mills among a finely wooded section in which most of the valuable hard wood species were found profitable, but the panic of 1857 came on and the venture was neither successful nor profitable.

Mr. and Mrs. Logan then moved to Iowa, settling at Fort Dodge where he purchased a plant of the Fort Dodge Sentinel, the only democratic paper in that section of the state. Mr. Logan changed the name of the publication to the Fort Dodge Republican, and ably advocated the principles of the newly organized republican party and fought the newspaper battles preliminary to the great struggle of 1860-5. Mr. Logan was elected from the Fort Dodge district to the Iowa legislature and while he was in the capital city with his wife, attending to his legislative duties, the only child, W. C. Logan, was born to them in 1864. From Des Moines the family moved to Waterloo, arriving here in November, 1804.

They first settled In the residence now occupied by Henry Brisbin, corner of Jefferson and West Eighth Streets. They afterwards, in a couple of years, moved to their present home at the corner of West Fourth and Washington Streets, first living in a small house which stood near the lot line next to Mr. Parkhurst's. This was moved away and the present home built in 1872.

The relatives left by Mrs. Logan are two sisters—Mrs. Dr. D. W. Smouse of Des Moines and Mrs. H. A. Noble Of Seattle, Washington; also one brother, C. A. Cummings of Seattle.

The funeral services will be held at 3 o'clock Sunday afternoon from the home, Rev. A. A. Tanner officiating. The remains will be sent to Des Moines for burial beside relatives in Woodland Cemetery, the remains leaving on the 7:50 passenger south next Monday morning. A short service will be held at the grave conducted by Rev. Dr. Frisbie.