McCord, Mary (Reed) 1848-1921

REED, MCCORD, JASPER, SCOTT

Posted By: Barbara Hug (email)
Date: 10/27/2004 at 21:43:20

Mrs. M’Cord Taken By Death
Dies Suddenly This Morning – Ill Ten Minutes.

The people of this community were shocked and their hearts saddened Friday morning when they learned that Mrs. M. A. McCord had died suddenly at the McCord home on First Avenue West. She died about 3 o’clock in the morning after an illness of only ten minutes.

For seven months of the past fall and winter Mrs. McCord had been ill, suffering from double pneumonia and influenza but in the spring she began to improve in health and since the first of May she has been able to be up and around the home. There was not the slightest indication that death was near until about ten minutes before 3 o’clock Friday morning. She was asked at midnight how she felt and she replied that she felt fine with the exception of rheumatism in her shoulder, but this was not taken as any indication of serious illness. A little before 3 o’clock Mrs. McCord’s sister, Miss Kate Reed, heard her moaning and went to the room. Miss Reed went downstairs to heat some water and Mrs. McCord asked that the bedroom door be closed so Miss Stella McCord would not be disturbed in her sleep. Miss McCord was awake, however, and went to the room of her mother. When she saw how her mother was suffering she went to the telephone and called a physician but Mrs. McCord had passed away before his arrival. It is thought that heart trouble, brought on by influenza, was the immediate cause of her death.

Born in Indiana.
Mary Gertrude Reed was born in Newcastle, Ind., September 13, 1848, and came with her parents, Mr. and Mrs. John A. Reed, to Jasper county, Iowa, in 1856. They were among the first immigrants coming to Iowa to go down the Ohio river to where it empties into the Mississippi and then taking the boat to Davenport. From Davenport they went by train as far as Iowa City and the remainder of the journey to Jasper county was made by stage coach. The Reed family embarked at Cincinnati when starting their trip.

Mr. Reed owned and operated the first mill in this section of the country west of the Mississippi river

Married in 1868.
The deceased was married to M.A. McCord, November 26, 1868, at the home of her parents, four miles west of Newton. Mr. and Mrs. McCord have lived in Newton ever since their marriage.

Mrs. McCord was for many years a faithful and consistent member of the Presbyterian church of this city and it was always a great delight to her to be able to help in any way she could in the work of the church. Her death means the loss of a helpful member to the church, in which circles she will be greatly missed.

Mrs. McCord was also a very active member of the Monday History club, of this city, and during the time of the existence of that organization she devoted much time to the work of the club. It was a great regret to her when the organization ceased to exist.

While the death of Mrs. McCord comes as a great shock to the members of her family and her large host of friends, one of the features of her passing which is particularly sad is the fact that Mr. McCord was not at home at the time, he having left for Bulyea, Saskatchewan, Canada, last week, arriving only last Saturday. He had some business matters demanding his attention there and the health of Mrs. McCord had improved to such an extent that he felt that it would be perfectly all right to make the trip. He had postponed the trip a number of weeks on account of his wife’s health.

Mrs. McCord is survived by her husband, two daughters, Mrs. Fred Jasper and Miss Stella McCord, both of this city; one sister, Miss Kate Reed, of Newton; two nephews, Carl Scott, of Ottumwa and Walter Scott, of Mitchellville; and four grand daughters, Miss Madge McCord, of Minneapolis, and Miss Kathryn McCord, of Bulyea, Canada, daughters of Percy McCord, and Miss Edith and Madeline Jasper, daughters of Mr. and Mrs. Fred Jasper, of this city.

Percy McCord, a son of Mr. and Mrs. McCord, died in August, 1913, at the age of forty-two years. Mrs. McCord, widow of Percy McCord, resides in Bulyea, Canada. Another son, Charles died in 1873, at the age of two years.

No funeral arrangements have as yet been announced and probably will not be until word has been received from Mr. McCord who is in Canada.

The death of Mrs. McCord takes from this community a woman who always stood for the higher things of life. She was a good wife and an ideal mother. She always took an especial interest in her home and was continually planning things for the welfare and comfort of the members of her family. While it is but natural that the members of her immediate family should feel her passing the most keenly, the entire community feels the loss of a dear friend and a good woman. She always stood for those things which tend to uplift and ennoble. ~ The Newton Daily News, Newton Iowa, July 21, 1921, page 1