EARHART, William Newton 1847-1933

EARHART, COWAN

Posted By: County Coordinator
Date: 4/9/2010 at 23:35:30

Earhart, William Newton January 24, 1933

WM. N. EARHART DIES FOLLOWING SHORT ILLNESS --

Was One of Osage's Oldest Business Men and Civil War Veteran -- William Newton Earhart, a Civil war veteran, and one of Osage's oldest business men, died at his home Tuesday evening, after a few weeks illness from cancer.

Mr. Earhart was an unusually healthy, active man for his years, and was up and about until just two days before his death. He had suffered no pain up to that time.

William Newton Earhart, the son of John and Mary Elizabeth Earhart, was born at Circleville, Ohio, May 15, 1847. He grew to manhood in the state of Ohio.

He was one of the few living Civil war veterans in this county. As a young lad he enlisted in Company C, 98th Ohio volunteers, in the spring of 1865. He was the youngest of seven sons, all of whom enlisted in that war.

His father was a miller and apprenticed him at the age of 14 to a baker. He served a seven year apprenticeship.

He married in Toledo, Ohio, July 4, 1869, to Margaret Cowan. In 1870 they came to Charles City and brought with them the first cracker making machine used in the state of Iowa.

He worked at his trade in Charles City, Mason City, Algona and Waverly; then moved to Osage August, 1882, where he was employed in the John Lower bakery, the site of the present Osage Hardware store.

Later Mr. Earhart started . . . and established a bakery in a building just east of the Cleveland hotel. This was destroyed by fire during the great loss Osage suffered in March 1886, when a number of business places were burned. He started in business again, however, and in all spent sixty years at the baker's trade.

His last bakery on Main street was at the est end, on the north side of the street, and when he decided to partially retire, he built a small building just north of his residence property, where he continued to bake and sell products to those in that part of town. He continued there until a few years ago.

Mr. and Mrs. Earhart were parents of nine children. Two sons died in infancy, and two daugheres, Mrs. Mary Schoonover and Mrs. Anna Douglas, have passed away. The daughters who survive are Mrs. Austin Laughlin, Mrs. E. O. Charlesworth, Mrs. Fred Moss, all of Osage; Mrs. Charles Cherney, of Shenandoah, and Mrs. Ray Roberts of Britt. There are eighteen grandchildren, thirty-four great-grandchildren, and one great-great-grandchild.

Mrs. Earhart died Dec. 8, 1931.

Funeral services will be held at the Champion funeral home Friday at 2 o'clock pm, in chare of the Rev. J.D. Kern and burial will be made in the Osage cemetery. The American Legion will have charge of the srvices at the grave.

[Mitchell County Press, Jan. 26, 1933]

File contributed to IAGENWEB by:
Dale Flanenry
Note: I am a great-great-grandson.