ORANGE SCOTT WIGHT (1828 - 1912)

WIGHT, SHOOK, DRAPER, OSBORN

Posted By: County Coordinator (email)
Date: 5/16/2020 at 06:55:46

ORANGE WIGHT DEAD
PILOT TOWNSHIP PIONEER DIED WEDNESDAY FROM OLD AGE
Our Old Settlers Are Leaving In Rapid Succession And We Note The Departure of One Almost Every Week

Orange Scott Wight for fifty-two years a resident of Cherokee county, passed away at the home of his daughter, Mrs. Sam Shook. Death was sudden and was hastened by a disease that had been troubling him for some time.

According to the Cherokee county history he was born September 16, 1828 in New Hampshire in the town of Milan. He moved when five years old to New York with his parents and in the fall of 1845 came to Keokuk County, Iowa. Here he married Miss Tillitha Osborn in 1854, two years later they moved to Crawford County, living there two years then moving to this county locating near Cherokee. After living here two years they moved south of town and in 1865 took up a homestead on section 28 in Pilot Township. This he sold in 1873 and bought the farm of 120 acres on which he died.

The most of his life was spent on the farm, he living there until too old to carry on the work when he moved to town to live. Here he resided until the death of his wife about nine years ago when he went to live with his daughter, Mrs. Sam Shook.

There is considerable interesting history connected with his life, as he was the first postmaster of Pilot Township and conducted it in his home. The mail was generally irregular and in the winter of 1856-57 they did not know who was elected president until the next spring as the winter was so severe no one could get out to get the mail or any news. Mr. Wight was a leader in the Methodist church and in 1857 was granted a license to preach and he preached the first Methodist sermon in the county. He was also one of the trustees in the church when it was organized in Pilot Township.

Funeral services were conducted by Rev. Holly this afternoon in the Pilot Rock, church and interment took place in the cemetery there.

He leaves to mourn him two daughters, Mrs. Samuel Shook and Mrs. M.S. Draper, besides a number of grandchildren. His life was full of years of usefulness and his influence has always been on the side of right and justice.

Source: The Cherokee Times, Cherokee, Iowa, Thursday, August 8, 1912, pg. 1

(Transcribers Note: The Cherokee Chief, published Thursday, November 12, 1925, reported Fort Cherokee was erected following the last Indian scare in Cherokee county, which occurred in 1862. It reported that during the winter of 1862-3, the only whites in the county (except soldiers at the Fort), were Carlton Corbett and wife, James Brown and wife and family, Orange Wight, of Pilot Rock, and Robert Perry of the same place.)