Christoph Ludwig, 1898 Obituary

LUDWIG

Posted By: David Reineke (email)
Date: 12/4/2005 at 17:06:32

I translated the following obituary from Der Carroll Demokrat, a German-language newspaper published in Carroll, Iowa, between about 1874 and 1920. It was originally published on Friday, 11 March 1898. Any information in brackets or notes at the end are my own explanations. It reads as follows:

Christoph Ludwig

It is with the deepest sadness today that we bring the report that businessman Christ. Ludwig is no longer among the living. He died at Saint Bernard Hospital, which is run by the nuns in Council Bluffs, Iowa, where he went a few days ago for care.

The deceased had suffered for several years from a disease of the kidneys, and two years ago, when he visited a spa in Indiana for his illness, it was thought that his malady had totally disappeared. Apparently, his condition had improved, and he and his family were optimistic about the future. But soon the illness returned again with renewed force and it was feared that he might die. Therefore, on Tuesday last week, he decided to seek help at the hospital in Council Bluffs. Initially he felt that he was recovering well and wrote home to his family that he was getting better and would soon return. On Sunday morning, his brother Charles traveled to visit him there, but realized that all hope was gone as soon as he saw his ill brother. On that day he received the Last Rights of the Catholic Church, and that night, at about 1:45 a.m., surrounded by several nuns and his brother Charles, he gave up his spirit into the hands of his Creator.

The deceased was born in 1854 in Bickenriede, County of Mühlhausen, District of Erfurt, Germany. When he was eight years old, he came to America with his parents, who settled in Joe Davis [Jo Daviess] County, Illinois. They have lived in and around Carroll now for the last 30 years, and for the last 18 years, the deceased and his brother Charles have conducted a very successful mercantile business in Carroll. The deceased had been a stockholder of the “Carroll Demokrat” for many years and for about the last seven years he was treasurer of the Demokrat Publishing Company. This writer, as well as his co-workers at the “Demokrat,” have lost in the deceased a true and upright friend. He was always ready to do a good deed for anyone and so was highly respected and esteemed by all who knew him.

On Monday, the deceased’s remains were transported to Carroll where they were received and escorted to the deceased’s residence by the local branch of the Roman Catholic Mutual Protection Society. The funeral was Wednesday morning at nine o’clock. An endless row of wagons accompanied the remains from the home to the church, where Rev. Father Nacke performed a solemn funeral service, and afterwards gave a heart-rending sermon. Then the funeral procession formed and upon reaching the churchyard, the deceased was laid to his final rest amid the prayers of the priest and the devout.

At his grave mourn his deeply saddened widow, six children, his elderly mother, four brothers, and two sisters.

May he rest in peace.