Adam Schleismann, 1895

SCHLEISMANN

Posted By: David Reineke (email)
Date: 7/29/2004 at 22:48:46

I translated the following obituary from Der Carroll Demokrat, a German-language newspaper published in Carroll, Iowa, between about 1874 and 1920. The obituary was originally published on Friday, 19 July 1895. I have not changed the name or place spellings, and have added some notes at the end. It reads as follows:

Adam Schleismann

“Today me, tomorrow you!” Death recognizes no difference. Today, he knocks on the door of a palace, tomorrow, on the door of a beggar; today, he takes the child and tomorrow, the old man. Sunday evening Death knocked on the door of our fellow-citizen Adam Schleismann, and led him from our midst.

The deceased was an old settler of Carroll County and had lived for many years in Sheridan Township, where he had been a very successful farmer. Because he felt that his health was going downhill, he retired in the spring and moved to Carroll in order to obtain medical help for his condition. It became apparent that he suffered from stomach cancer, and that mortal help was of no avail. Nonetheless, the best doctors from here and other places were consulted, and all possible means were employed to provide comfort and, when possible, to extend his life. But he had not been able to eat for some time, and the approaching summer heat sapped the last reserves of his strength, and so all the doctors’ skills were exhausted. Surrounded by his family, and a few family friends, he passed away peacefully and quietly into the better hereafter.

The funeral proceeded Wednesday morning at 9:00 from the home of the deceased in the 3rd Ward. A large number of mourners had gathered to pay their last respects to the deceased. The large funeral procession set itself slowly in motion and at 9:30 reached the Catholic Saints Peter and Paul Church, where the Rev. Father Nacke celebrated a solemn funeral mass and read the funeral sermon. After completion of the funeral of our fellow-citizen Adam Schleismann, and after several “Our Fathers” were prayed over the open grave for the peace of his soul, the grave was closed amidst the tears of the next of kin. The deceased is survived by a grieving widow and five sons who mourn the death of their father.

NOTES: Cemetery records for Carroll show Adam Schleismann, born 20 August 1831, died 14 July 1895, and Catherine Schleismann, born 10 January 1831, and died 23 January 1915.