Vanatta, Margaret McElroy – 1855-1937

ANDERSON, DONIAN, MCELROY, MCLEAN, VANATTA, WINSTEAD

Posted By: Diana Wagner
Date: 7/13/2021 at 21:35:40

Mrs. Vanatta, 82, Pioneer Resident Dies in Newton
Funeral Services Will be Conducted in Newton Tuesday Afternoon
Was Member of Prominent McElroy Family; Lived in Same House 52 years
Mrs. Margaret Vanatta, 82, member of a prominent pioneer family, died Saturday at 4:00 p.m. at her home, 514 North Second Avenue East, where she had lived for the last 52 years.
Mrs. Vanatta had been in failing health for some time and had suffered from a fall about a week ago.
Funeral Rites
Funeral services will be conducted from the Morgan funeral home Tuesday at 1:30 p.m. by Dr. Harry J. Findlay, pastor of the First Presbyterian church. Interment will be in Wittemburg cemetery.
A member of the well-known McElroy family, Mrs. Vanatta was born at Greenfield, Highland county, Ohio, in September 1855, and came with her parents to Jasper county in February, 1869
Lived Near Newton
Mr. and Mrs. McElroy, with their eight children, located on a farm five miles north of Newton. The mother died in 1880, and the father’s death occurred Dec. 6, 1903.
Mrs. Vanatta was also preceded in death by two brothers, Attorney W. O. McElroy, prominent former Newton resident, and J. K. McElroy, and by two sisters, Mattie, who died as a young girl, Mrs. Lizzie E. Winstead, and Mrs. Agnes McLean.
After their mother’s death, Mrs. McLean’s three children, Carl H. McLean, Lansing, Mich., and Anna and Mattie, (both deceased), were cared for by Mrs. Vanatta until the latter’s marriage to Joseph Vanatta, Dec. 18, 1879.
In Hastings, Nebr.
Soon after their marriage, Mr. and Mrs. Vanatta moved to Hastings, Neb., where Mr. Vanatta practiced law. They returned to Jasper county two and one-half years later because Mr. Vanatta’s health began to fail and located on a farm in the Wittemburg neighborhood so as to give him outdoor employment.
When Mr. Vanatta’s health improved three years later, they returned to Nebraska, where he was employed by the McCormick Manufacturing company. His health failed again and they came back to Newton in September of that same year and he died a short time later on Dec. 14, 1885.
After her husband’s death, Mrs. Vanatta spent the remainder of her life in Newton, her death occurring here Saturday on what would have been her fifty-eighth wedding anniversary.
Daughter’s Death
A daughter, Maude, was born to this union, Sept. 26, 1880, but she preceded her mother in death in 1908. She was a graduate of Iowa State college at Ames and a postgraduate student of the University of Chicago.
Mrs. Vanatta was a member of the First Presbyterian church and was devoted to her religious life.
Surviving relatives include two brothers, Charles McElroy of Newton, and Hugh E. McElroy of Boise, Idaho, and a number of nephews and nieces.
A niece, Mrs. Patrick T. Donian of Chicago, has arrived for the rites and another niece, Mrs. George Anderson of Bondurant, and a nephew, Harold McElroy of Des Moines, are expected.
Source: Newton Daily News; Monday, December 20, 1937

Hold Vanatta Funeral Rites
Services Are Conducted in Newton Tuesday; Burial at Wittemberg
Funeral services for Mrs. Margaret Vanatta, 82, Jasper county pioneer, were conducted from the Morgan funeral home Tuesday at 1:30 p.m. by Dr. Harry J. Findlay, pastor of the First Presbyterian church.
Music was furnished by A. Eugene Burton, who sang, “Crossing the Bar” and “The Last Sleep.” Lois Hundling played the accompaniment.
Interment was in Wittemberg cemetery, with the following serving as pall bearers: R. C. Kreager, Morris Kreager, Ross Kreager, R. I. Jackson, J. S. Lambert and Floyd Fuller.
The flowers were arranged by Mrs. G. B. Higdon and Mrs. J. S. Lambert.
Mrs. Vanatta died Saturday afternoon at her home, 514 North Fourth Avenue East, where she had lived for over 50 years.
Mrs. Vanatta was a member of the McElroy family, prominent in the early history of Jasper county.
Source: Newton Daily News; Thursday, December 23, 1937

Vanatta, Margaret H.; born: 21 Sept. 1855; in Ohio; died: 18 Dec. 1937; Mother’s maiden name: Kerr; Death Cert # C50-0113