Lena Kirchner French, 1848-1925

FRENCH, KIRCHNER, BUTLER

Posted By: Clay County IAGenWeb Coordinator (email)
Date: 3/9/2014 at 13:24:20

MRS. LENA FRENCH PASSES AWAY

Well Known Pioneer, Daughter of First Settler Here, Passes Away at Home in California

Sorrowing relatives reached Peterson Tuesday evening, bearing the body of Mrs. Lena Kirchner French, who passed away at her home in Long Beach, California, Tuesday, April 21st. The body was taken to the Charlotte Butler home from which place the funeral services were held Wednesday afternoon. The body was laid to rest in the Oakland cemetery beside that of the departed husband.

Lena Kirchner was born near Rensselaerville, N.Y., May 28, 1848, the ninth child of Christian and Magdalena Kirchner. In 1856 the family moved west and settled on the Little Sioux river, where the town of Peterson now stands. Inkpaduta and his band of Indian outlaws looted their cabin on the way north on that raid which culminated in the Spirit Lake massacre but did not injure any member of the family.

She attended Cornell college and the State University of Iowa. Her first teaching was done when she was only sixteen years of age, and from that time it was her chosen profession. She taught first at Peterson and Cherokee and later, with unusual success, in the public schools of Fort Dodge, Sioux City and Minneapolis. In 1895 she married Walter Lee French, a clothing merchant; they lived in Chicago, in Dayton, Ohio, and in 1907 moved to Sioux City, where they built a home and resided for twelve years. In 1919 they sold that home and from that time, spent the summer with Mrs. French's sister, Mrs. Charlotte K. Butler in Peterson and the winters in Long Beach, California. Mr. French died at Long Beach, December 28, 1922.

Mrs. French was always active in club work, during her residence in Sioux City she was a member of the Sioux City Women's Club and of the Mystic Club. She retained her interest in educational matters to the end of her life. Her will leaves her valuable farm north of Peterson to the town for the building of a library.

She is survived by her sister, Mrs. Butler and her brother, Wm. Kirchner, both residents of Peterson, and by many nieces and nephews.

Source: The Peterson Patriot, Peterson, Clay County, Iowa; April 30, 1925.

Interment in Oakland cemetery
 

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