Peter Hinrichsen 1886-1916

HINRICHSEN, OLDSEN

Posted By: Sharon Elijah (email)
Date: 5/23/2021 at 17:43:30

23 August 1916 - The Clinton Advertiser
page 1

BATTERY A OFFICER DIES ON WAY HOME
JUNIOR SECOND LIEUT. PETER HINRICHSEN IS DEAD
MESSAGE BRINGS NO DETAILS
Except the News of the Tragedy and to Say the Body is on the Way Home
A message received in Clinton this morning from Brownsville, Texas, where Battery A is in the service of the government, brings the news of the death of Second Lieutenant Peter Hinrichsen of this city.

No details were received except that the officer had died suddenly while on the way home of heart trouble, and that his brother, Emil Hinrichsen, who is sergeant of the sixth section of the first Iowa division, is on his way home with the body.

According to the message the Clinton boy had started home, and it is presumed that he had been appointed recruiting officer at the Clinton station. His death came suddenly near Brownsville while he was on the train, and the body was removed and taken to Brownsville. The telegram was from Major R. S. Whitley, and was sent to George L. Curtis. It said the brother would leave today with the body.

Peter Hinrichsen is the son of Mrs. Thomas Hinrichsen, 110 North Sixth street. He was born on a farm near Almont thirty years ago. He had been in the employ of the Curtis Brothers since 1905.

Last year Mr. Hinrichsen was married to Miss Alma Oldsen of this city, who survives him. His mother and three brothers are also left. They are Emil and Thomas, both employes of the Curtis Brothers company, and Alvin of Green River, Utah.

Peter Hinrichsen joined Battery A at the time of its organization three years ago, and had been promoted to the rank of junior second lieutenant. He was a young man popular in military and church circles, and was a member of the German Lutheran church.

24 August 1916 - The Clinton Advertiser
page 6

CLINTON BOY WAS HELD IN HIGH ESTEEM
PETER HINRICHSEN ON WAY HOME AS RECRUITING OFFICER
EMPLOYER'S APPRECIATION
Beloved by Everyone and With a Bright Future Ahead, Clinton Boy Goes to His Reward.
Peter Hinrichsen, junior second lieutenant of Battery A, who died suddenly on the train near Brownsville, Tex., yesterday, was on his way home to become recruiting officer at the Clinton station, according to a later message received in the city Wednesday.

The body is expected to reach Clinton Saturday morning, and funeral services will be held at the German Lutheran church at 3 o'clock Saturday afternoon. Burial will be made in Springdale cemetery.

Voicing the feelings of hundreds of young people of Clinton, with whom Mr. Hinrichsen had business and social relations, his employer, G. L. Curtis, has written the following appreciation. Mr. Hinrichsen has been associated with Mr. Curtis since he first entered the business world as a graduate of the Clinton Business college.

"The brief announcement from Brownsville that Peter had died was so incredible that we hoped all day yesterday for word that some mistake had occurred in transmitting the message. We know now that all which is mortal of our friend is on the way home in care of his brother Emil, who expects to arrive here Saturday morning. So are we made certain that God in His infinite wisdom, inscrutable to our mortal understanding, has taken to His final home our dearly loved Peter. Always cheerfully unselfish, he has laid down his life to protect his own honor and the honor of his country. To us who so greatly depended upon him as friend and business associate, the sacrifice seems too great. To his wife of but little more than a year, and to his mother whose mainstay he has been for years, and to his brothers and sister, to whom he has been almost a father, the loss is well nigh overwhelming.

"Peter A. Hinrichsen was born on a farm a few miles from Bryant, Jan. 12, 1886. His father died when he was 10 years old and from that time he did a man's work, caring for his mother, his sisters and brothers until the latter were old enough to support themselves. He was practically self-educated, but very well educated. The family moved to Clinton in 1904 and Peter took a course at business college, upon completion of which, in 1905, I employed him at a small salary in the office of Curtis Bros & Co. In the three years following he filled various clerical positions in the office and made himself valuable in each--so much so that he attracted our interest particularly. In 1908 he was threatened with a serious physical ailment and was given the job of shipping clerk in order that he might be outdoors. The regular shipping clerk was visiting his old home in Europe that summer, and when he returned in the fall, Peter had filled his job creditably and had regained his health. At that time he became my stenographer and secretary and has been very close to me ever since.

"The organization in 1911 of the Curtis Lumber & Millwork Company and the establishment by that company of a general office at Clinton for the various Curtis operating companies brought enlarged responsibilities to Peter and he handled them, as he did the smaller work, with ability, judgment and tact. In the last two years he has been assistant to the president, and has played a part fully equal to the title. His growth in the business brought with it chances for investment and a few years more would have been sufficient to bring him material success and financial ease.

"He was at the threshold of a useful and successful career. He had served his apprenticeship and joined the ranks of skilled workers. He did what he had to do cheerfully and well, thinking not all of having credit for it, but of the job itself. In all the years of my close association with him, I have never known him to do an unkind or ill-considered act. He had a sense of duty beautiful to behold, and it was that sense of duty to his city that led him into the Battery under persuasion, though he had no desire to become a militiaman.

"He was everything clean and bright and manly--straightforward, loyal and true. Earth needed him for what possibilities his future held. I needed him--my right arm could be much more easily spared. His wife needs him, God knows, and his mother--yet he is gone. The true reason for his taking we may not know, but in our gropings we find comfort in the thought that the lessons taught by such a life must be learned in a hard school; that those left behind the very force of the blow may bring an awakening to new ideals, a spurring to greater efforts, better lives.

"My heart goes out in sympathy to those who were near and dear to him, whose grief I cannot measure even by my own. I believe God loved him well, as I did, and that he has entered into the reward he so richly deserved."

25 August 1916 - The Clinton Advertiser
page 3

MILITARY FUNERAL AT IOWA CAMP
BATTERY A BOY GIVEN IMPRESSIVE FUNERAL IN TEXAS
FLAGS FLY AT HALF-MAST
Flags Are at Half-Mast in the Business District of Clinton Today for the Young Guardsman.
Lieutenant Peter Hinrichsen was given an impressive military funeral at the Iowa camp in Brownsville Wednesday, according to word received here today. The service was held at the Methodist church, and the sermon was preached by Major Johnson, chaplain of the Second Iowa infantry of Cedar Rapids.

The message received in Clinton telling of the sudden death of the soldier boy was sent over the wireless route which is the only connection with the outside world since the big flood of last week. It had to be repeated nine times.

Twenty-four men and officers were with Lieutenant Hinrichsen when he died. each one of them testified at the autopsy that the Clinton boy did not complain, he simply turned to the boys and said "I feel I am going to faint" and fell over dead.

It is said by his relatives that he had not been sick and had never had an attack of heart trouble.

The funeral will be held at the German Lutheran church Saturday afternoon at 3 o'clock. The body is expected to arrive in the city tomorrow morning in charge of Emil Hinrichsen, a brother of the guardsmen, who is also a member of the Iowa Battery. An auto procession will move from the house to the church, and all friends are asked to join.

The pall bearers have been chosen from among Mr. Hinrichsen's business associates in the Curtis office. They are H. H. Hobart, E. J. Berg, H. E. Jordan, A. W. Bockel, Chris Reivers, O. C. Beuch.

The plant of the Curtis company will close at noon tomorrow.

Flags are floating today at half-mast in respect to the memory of the Clinton boy, who gave his life for his country.

28 August 1916 - The Clinton Advertiser
page 3

ARTILLERY MEN MOURN DEATH OF LIEUTENANT
(Special to the ADVERTISER)
Brownsville, Texas, Aug. 23--Battery A mourns the death of Lieutenant Hinrichsen.

The atmosphere of the Battery A camp today lacked its usual cheerfulness and industry, instead sorrow was apparent in every tent, and each man knew he had lost the companionship of one who was admired by all as a soldier and a friend.

No regular battery formations were ordered today, so the men escorted the body of the late lieutenant to the Methodist church of Brownsville and then to the depot. Batteries B and C from Davenport and Muscatine paid their respects to the well known officer by joining the escort with all of their men. Major Johnson, chaplain of the First Iowa infantry, delivered the funeral sermon, which was very impressive bringing out vividly the characteristics of the deceased which made him so highly esteemed by the men. The body was transported to the train on one of the large caissons drawn by six horses. The First Iowa regimental band also accompanied the procession.

The pallbearers were Sergeants Kietschke, Ingwersen, Chatterton, Evers, Rasmussen and Niple.

The body is to be accompanied to Clinton by Sergeant Emil Hinrichsen, a brother of the deceased, also by several lieutenants from the Iowa infantry.

Lieutenant Hinrichsen enlisted in the battery when it was first organized in Feb. 1914 and made the trip to DeWitt that summer as a private, acting also as the battery treasurer in acknowledgment of his good work in the battery he was made lieutenant, in which capacity he served conscientiously and well.

Recently he had been in full charge of the canteen, which has been in operation about two weeks. His work in putting the canteen in running order brought him closer to the Iowa batteries, and all alike regret his untimely death.

Transcribers note: There is another article on page 7 of the Clinton Advertiser dated 8-28-16, but it is very long and was not transcribed at this time.