Moses B. Hitsman, 1834-1926

HITSMAN, KNIGHT

Posted By: Linda Linn (email)
Date: 8/8/2010 at 22:31:39

HITSMAN FUNERAL SERVICES FRIDAY

Civil War Veteran and Clay county Pioneer Died in Missouri at Age 92

Funeral services for the late Moses B. Hitsman, Clay county pioneer, 92 years of age and a veteran of the Civil war, were held last Friday afternoon at two O"clock at the Cobb Funeral Home. The services were conducted by Dr. Herbert Clegg, pastor of Grace Methodist Episcopal church, of which Mr. Hitsman was a member , internment was made in Riverside cemetery.
Mr. Hitsman passed away at the home of his daughter, Mrs. Della Leverick at Dederick, Missouri, on Tuesday of last week, February 23. For several years he had been afflicted with heart trouble and this was given as the cause of his death. He had been a resident of Clay county since 1881 and was on of the oldest residents of the county. His death marked the passing of another of those aged pioneers and Civil war veterans who have been claimed by the Grim Reaper within the past few weeks. His body was brought to Spencer from Missouri and was accompanied by his daughter, Mrs. Leverick, and his son R. J. Hitsman, who had been in Missouri assisting in caring for him.

92 Years and 23 Days old
Moses Benjamin Hitsman was born in St. Lawrence county, New York, on January 30, 1834 and was 92 years and 23 days old at the time of his death. He spent his youth in New York and was married to Miss Maria S. Knight on March 16, 1859. That same year they went to California and when the Civil war broke out, Mr. Hitsman enlisted in the coast guard of the Union Army.

After the term of his enlistment ended, Mr. Hitsman returned to New York. Later he moved to Kempville, Ontario, Canada and in 1860 he came out to Illinois farming near Rockford until the spring of 1881. That year he came to Clay county and lived on a farm south of Spencer until he retired from farming in 1901. He then moved to Spencer and had been residing here since.
Mr. and Mrs. Hitsman were the parents of eight children, five of whom preceded them in death. Mrs. Hitsman passed away December 27, 1914 and was buried at Riverside cemetery. Surviving him are a son R. J. Hitsman of Spencer, and two daughters, Mrs. Della Leverich of Dedrick, Missouri, and Mrs. Nina Chase of Spencer. Ten grandchildren and five great grandchildren also survive. He also leaves a brother and many other relatives in New York and Canada.

Mr. Hitsman was well known among the older residents of the city and he was among that band of sturdy pioneers who developed this section and saw it progress from a wilderness to a prosperous community. He had made his home in south Spencer and he was a friend of all who knew him.

Source: News-Herald, Spencer, Iowa; March 4, 1926.