John Nestel, Funeral Description, 1895

NESTEL, AUSTIN

Posted By: David Reineke (email)
Date: 7/7/2005 at 23:35:42

I translated the following article from Der Carroll Demokrat, a German-language newspaper published in Carroll, Iowa, between about 1874 and 1920. It was originally published on 15 March 1895. Any information in brackets or notes at the end are my own explanations. It reads as follows:

The funeral of our deceased fellow-citizen John Nestel, which took place Sunday afternoon at 2:00 from the home of the deceased, was the largest which had occurred in Carroll for some time. The Germania Verein [German Club] with 80 members, the entire fire department, the Freemason Lodge, the Knights of Pythias, and the Odd Fellows all assembled in their respective club houses, joined up on the corner of Main and Fifth Street, and marched to the home of the deceased, from which the body was transported to the Germania Hall, preceded by the Union Band and accompanied by an uncountable procession of coaches. The main entrance was closed until the arrival of the funeral procession, otherwise the hall would have been full before it got there. Two-thirds of the seats were filled by the various clubs, and the other seats and the gallery were quickly occupied by other mourners. Rev. D. Austin, Pastor of the M. E. Church of Jefferson, gave the funeral sermon, which was followed attentively by all those present. Following the funeral ceremony, the remains were accompanied to the municipal cemetery, where the deceased was buried according to the ritual of the Lodge.

NOTES: The obituary of John Nestel was published in the Demokrat the week before this article, and is already posted on line.