Mrs. F. M. Stafford 1845-1911

RIX, STAFFORD, STEELE, SCRUTCHIN

Posted By: County Coordinator (email)
Date: 3/5/2023 at 17:24:09

The Daily Gate City
Keokuk, Iowa
23 Aug 1911

WAS FIRST TO
WED IN CHURCH

~~~~

Mrs. F. M. Stafford, Sister of Geo. E.
Rix, of This City, Married
In Westminster Presbyterian
Church Here.

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DEATH LAST EVENING

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Mr. Rix had Recently Returned From
Tennessee, Condition of Mrs.
Stafford Having Improved.

~~~~

Mrs. M. F. Stafford, Formerly Miss Alice Rix of this city, and sister of Geo. E. Rix, vice-president of the State Central Savings Bank, died at her home in Chattanooga, Tenn., at 4:30 o'clock Tuesday afternoon, a message being received in this city last evening.

Twenty-two years ago, Mrs. Stafford
was a resident of Keokuk, and had made this city her home for a period of twenty-five years. A member of a prominent family, Mrs. Stafford is well remembered here and her death is the cause of deep regret among friends in Keokuk.

Alice Rix was born in Sumpterville, Ala., June 6, 1845, and came here twenty years later to make her home.

First to Marry.
The marriage ceremony of Miss Alice Rix to F. M. Stafford, was the first to be solemnized in the Westminster Presbyterian church, the nuptials occurring in June of 1871. In recognition of this event, the members of the church presented Mr. and Mrs. Stafford with a very handsome Bible, which book still remains in the Stafford family as a valued token.

In 1890 Mr. and Mrs. Stafford moved to Tennessee and the family has since made their home there. Mrs. Stafford was the daughter of the late George Rix, at one time a well known resident and business man of this city, being a member of the firm of Rix & Stafford.

Mrs. Stafford was a member of the First Westminster church of Keokuk, and a woman whose generous, christian traits of character will cause her memory to remain a sacred thing.

Aside from the husband, the children surviving are: Mrs. Daniel Steele of San Francisco, Cal., Geo. Rix Stafford and Mrs. Thos. Scrutchin of Atlanta, Ga., Miss Alice and Fred D. Stafford of Chattanooga, Tenn.

Funeral services are to be held at Chattanooga tomorrow morning at 10 o'clock.

George E. Rix, brother of Mrs. Stafford, recently returned from Chattanooga, where he had been called by the illness of his sister. Mrs. Stafford's condition was improving nicely and it was thought that she would recover. The sad message last evening was naturally surprising, considering the fact that the lady was improving when last seen by Mr. Rix.