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THOMAS, Arscott 1828-1911

THOMAS

Posted By: Pat Schiebel (email)
Date: 11/10/2002 at 17:26:39

Ascott Thomas died at his home in this city Sunday (Feb. 12) afternoon at four o'clock. He had been sick the better part of a year and for the past six months the family had given up hopes that he would ever get well. Funeral services conducted by Rev. Dye were held at the home yesterday afternoon. Interment was made in the cemetery at Morrison.

Mr. Thomas was 83 years and five months old at the time of his death. He was born in England and came to this country when he was 24 years old. He located at Cleveland, Ohio and three years later he removed to Freeport, Ill. where he resided until he came to this county thirty-six years ago. He located on a farm near Morrison and made that and the town of Morrison his home until he moved to this city six years ago.

Mr. Thomas was three times married. He is survived by the third wife and two sons and two daughters. The sons were Oscar from Andover, S.D. and Otis from Kansas City. The daughters are Mrs. Jessie Litzkow from Andover, S.D. and Mrs. Libbie Stivers of Dugdale, Minn. All the children were present at the funeral.

Others from out of town present at the funeral were John Thompson and family from Morrison, Mrs. Lou Stivers, Des Moines, Mr. & Mrs. Nate Jaspers, Comfrey, Minn., Oscar and Ray Stees, Polo, Ill. and Mr. and Mrs. W. O. Thomas from Kansas City.

Card of Thanks
We wish to thank our kind friends and neighbors, who so kindly assisted us during the sickness and death of our husband and father, also for the beautiful flowers and for the quartet music so beautifully rendered. Mrs. A. Thomas and family.

--Grundy Republican (Grundy Center, Iowa), 16 February 1911

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Arscott Thomas

was born July 14, 1828, in Dovenshire, England, he came to the United States in 1952. Mr. Thomas united with the Methodist church thirty years ago being the first person to unite with the M.E. church of Morrison. Mr. Thomas passed away at his home Sunday, February 12th, making him 83 years, 5 months and two days old. He leaves a wife, two sons, Oscar of Andover, S.D., and Otis of Kansas City, Mo., and two daughters, Mrs. Libbie Stivers of Dug Dale, Minn., Mrs. Hattie Stus of Polo, Ill., and Jessie Litzkow of Andover, S.D.

In reminiscences of Mr. Thomas, we find prominent among his traits of character the virtue of industry and frugality. In his young manhood he made his own way, not by short cuts and get-rich-quick methods such as resort to pool rooms and games of chance in order to get money without giving an equilevent for it, or in other words, to fill his pockets with money taken from the pockets of other men without value received.

Mr. Thomas came to this county at the age of 24, and went to work on a farm in Illinois at ten dollars per month, a common wage at that time. So saving and frugal was he that at the end of the first year he had one hundred dollars, this he put at interest to help him in earning more. At the end of the second year he had saved another hundred dollars. He now, with the interest on the first had two hundred and ten dollars to go at interest while he earned and saved his third hundred, and so on. The result was that in his mature manhood by industry and economy he was the honest owner of a fine farm and home and a comfortable competence.

A homely proverb says, "A fool may make money but it takes a wise man to save it." Mr. Thomas was the kind of a man both to make money and to save it. In his sober, industrious and frugal habits of life he affords other men a safe and profitable example.

Above all Mr. Thomas was a christian. "The blessing of the it maketh rich and he addeth no sorrow." It is true bad men may become rich, but no wealth is equal to that which has been gained and held through the application of godly principles. In James 5:3 rich men are told "Your gold and silver are cankered," not because of anything inherent in material wealth, but because of misuse of it.

Mr. Thomas was a just man, if I were to divide men into classes and write their names in columns I would place over one column, unjust-Godless, and over another just-good and in this second column I would write Arscott Thomas.

Mr. Thomas is one of the men of whom I never heard an ill word spoken. He was strongly attached to his friends and was a good illustration of the proverb, "If a man would have friends he must show himself friendly." For a good many years he had been the victim of a complication of chronic diseases which he bore as a christian. Though on account of an enfeebled old age he has been retired from business and active life and has been limited to his room much of the time yet he will be missed. But we must not forget that on this account he does not cease to exist, for as the stars that go down in the west, do not go out but shine on another hemisphere, so the redeemed shall live and shine as the stars of the firmament forever.

The funeral services were held on Wednesday, February 15, at one thirty p.m. at the family residence in Grundy Center, conducted by the pastor of the M.E. church, Rev. W. C. Keeler, assisted by Rev. H. B. Dye. Interment was in the Morrison cemetery.

Those attending the funeral from out of town were: Mrs. Libbie Stivers, Dug Dale, Minn.; Mrs. Jessie Litzkow, Andover, S.D.; Miss Lue Stiver, Des Moines; Mr. and Mrs. Nate Jaspers, Comfrey, Minn.; Oscar and Ray Stus, Polo, Ill.; Oscar Thomas, Andover, S.D.; Mr. and Mrs. W. O. Thomas, Kansas City, Mo.; John Thompson and family of Morrison.

We miss thee from thy home, dear husband
We miss thee from thy place
A shadow o're our life is cast
We miss thy smiling face
We miss thy kind and willing hands
Thy fond and evrnest care
Our home is dark without thee
We miss thee everywhere
Dearest father, we have laid thee
In thy peaceful graves embrace
But thy memory will be cherished
Till we see thy heavenly face

Card of Thanks
We wish to thank our kind friends and neighbors who so kindly assisted us during the sickness and death of our husband and father. Also for the beautiful flowers and the quartet music so delightfully rendered.
Mrs. A. Thomas and Family

--The Grundy Republican (Grundy Center, Iowa), 23 February 1911, pg 1


 

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