HUME, Thomas Hall 1820-1896

HUME, YOUNG

Posted By: County Coordinator
Date: 10/8/2010 at 10:07:17

THOMAS HALL HUME, SR. 1820-1896

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Obituary

DIED - At his home in St. Ansgar, Iowa, at noon, August 24th, 1896, Mr. Thomas H. Hume. Another aged and venerable pioneer passes away, an honorable life is closed.

Thomas Hall Hume was born in Roxberryshire, Scotland, November 22nd, 1820. He was the survivor of a family of six children. His early days were spent at the place of his nativity. When 12 years of age his family came to America and settled in Otsego County, New York, where he grew to manhood.

As a young man he had come west and engaged in various successful enterprises through this section of country, at which time he laid the foundation of the competency which he leaves to his family; but it was not until the spring of 1867 and after his marriage with Miss Margaret Young, of St. Lawrence County, New York, which occurred February 8th, of the preceding year, that he made his permanent home here at St. Ansgar.

His widow and two sons, Thomas and James, constitute his surviving family.

A daughter, Margaret, and only other child, preceded her father nine years ago. The two sons reside here at St. Ansgar, James the younger with the widowed mother and Thomas in a home of his own adjoining the old homestead.

He leaves his family well provided for, and his memory is enshrined in the sanctuary of their love and devotion. He loved his family with an intense love, and the death of "Maggie," his only daughter and oldest child was an irreparable loss to him. How could it be otherwise with a native of the lands of Burns!

Religiously, the deceased was a Presbyterian, although he was not to the writer's knowledge affiliated with any church organization here. Reverend Gist, of the Congregational Church of Osage, conducted the funeral services and spoke on the text selected by the deceased: "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten son etc." One of the hymns selected had been sung at "Maggie's" funeral, and the organ which accompanied it had not been used since that time.

The deceased has been failing for some time and his demise was not unexpected. His sufferings were endured with characteristic fortitude. The funeral services were very largely attended by the people of St. Ansgar and vicinity, and the floral offerings and other tokens of respect were many and beautiful. St. Ansgar mourns his loss and reveres his memory. It is needless for the writer to say things that are usually said in tributes of this kind. The record of his life in this community is a grand eulogy.

Mr. Hume was a character. He was a somebody. Every feature of his individuality stood out strong, clear and distinct. He had a keen intellect, intense feelings and a strong will. He was austere, yet cheerful; just, yet generous; and those who knew him best knew him very kind at heart. He was sensitive and reserved and many thought him proud.

Honest and honorable himself, he demanded like integrity in others. He spurned and despised meanness and duplicity. Many a needy family has eaten bread with Mr. Hume without knowing it. If he did not love his enemies, he at least loved his friends; he, as it were "grappled them to his heart with hooks of steel", and his friends loved him. It was good to have known him. His passing away was like the setting of the sun at close of day. It was his time to rest.

"And I am glad that he has lived thus long,
And glad that he has gone to his reward;
Nor can I deem that nature did him wrong
Softly to disengage the vital cord;
For when his hand grew palsied, and his eye
Dark with the mist of age, it was his time to die."

[St. Ansgar Enterprise, Thursday, August 27, 1896]

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#2:

The St. Ansgar Cemetery listing on IaGenWeb shows:

HUME, Thomas H. November 22, 1820 -- August 24, 1896

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#3:

Photo of Thomas Hume from "St. Ansgar Centennial History, 1853-1953."

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