Needham, Olive A.

NEEDHAM, HADLEY, KNOWLTON, AXMEAR, WHITEHILL, BECK, MINTEER, WILLIAMS

Posted By: Marilyn Holmes (email)
Date: 4/27/2010 at 10:54:07

Grinnell Herald-Register (Grinnell, Iowa) March 25, 1940

RITES FOR MRS. NEEDHAM HELD TODAY

Mother of Chas. K. Needham Succumbs At Age of Ninety-Three.

Death came Saturday to Mrs. Olive A. Knowlton Needham, 93, at the home of her daughter, Mrs. John W. Axmear, Jr., near Keswick. The funeral services were held Monday afternoon at the Sigourney Methodist Episcopal church, with the Rev. W.J. Fowler in charge. Burial was in the Needham family lot, beside her husband, in Forest cemetery, Oskaloosa.

Mrs. Needham, who was the mother of Chas. K. Needham, had been ill for several weeks and death came quietly as she gradually slept herself into unconsciousness and to a peaceful end.

She was the senior member of Iowa's most famous newspaper family--the Needhams. For more than fifty years she was a tremendous aid to her husband, W.H. Needham, who was one of Iowa's pioneer publishers and it was she who insisted that her four sons follow in their father's footsteps.

TO THIRD GENERATION.

Today, the Needham newspaper dynasty extends into the third generation, with her grandsons publishing the Oceanside Daily Blade, Oceanside, Calif.

Olive Ann Knowlton was the daughter of Samuel and Julia Hadley Knowlton and was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, Oct. 31, 1846, the eldest of a family of twelve children.

Her father and his brother, Hiram, opened a tallow candle and soap factory in Cincinnati, and it became one of the leading business establishments of that town, but the lure of Iowa land was strong for Mr. Knowlton and he sold his business to Proctor & Gamble, the now famed soap manufacturers, to make the trek to Iowa.

It was in Oskaloosa that she met Lieutenant William H. Needham, who had just returned from the Civil War, and on December 20, 1866, they were married. Mr. Needham had worked as a printer on the Oskaloosa Herald, which his brother, John R. Needham, had established in 1850. In 1866, however, he became a partner of Henry C. Leighton in the business. He also served two terms as Oskaloosa postmaster, being appointed by Pres. U.S. Grant.

In 1878 they moved to Sigourney, where Mr. Needham purchased the Keokuk County News, and that newspaper still remains in the family, being published by Will H. Needham, Jr.

AN ACTIVE WOMAN.

Mrs. Needham was exceptionally active in church work and was a member of the D.A.R., W.R.C. and other organizations. But her biggest source of pride was her family. That all of her sons and daughters became successful people was a fact in which she took her greatest satisfaction.

When she was a girl in Ohio, attending boarding school at Xenia, Abraham Lincoln was elected president and she recalled seeing him as his train passed through that town. He came to the rear platform, in a dark suit with long tail coat and tall silk hat, to speak to the people assembled. "I hate to leave my old friends," he told them, "But I feel it is my duty to go and serve my country."

PERILOUS JOURNEY.

The Knowltons were adventurous spirits, ever keeping in the forefront of advancing civilization. About the time the Civil War was closing, they left for Iowa, going part way by train, experiencing a wreck in Illinois and being rescued from a burning car. They crossed the Mississippi on the ice and were the last to cross before the ice went out. Women and children were hauled across on handsleds by the men. They went from Burlington to Mahaska county where they lived on a farm north of Oskaloosa.

GOLDEN WEDDING.

In 1916, Mr. and Mrs. Needham celebrated their golden wedding and it was an event which will live long in the memory of the children. In 1924, Mr. Needham was named state commander of the Iowa G.A.R., a post he had long desired. Unfortunately, the heavy work was too strenuous for him, and on Oct. 15, 1924, he died, after returning from the national encampment at Boston.

After the death of her husband, Mrs. Needham lived in the family home at Sigourney for some time. Later she was with her daughter in California, and in Centerville at times, although she spent most of her time with her daughter, Mrs. Axmear.

While Mrs. Needham was the oldest of twelve children, seven reaching maturity, she came near being the last to depart. Only her brother, Ed S. Knowlton, of Los Angeles and a sister, Mrs. Minnie Whitehill, of Marion, survive. The surviving children are: Charles K., Grinnell, John R., Centerville, Mrs. J.M. Beck, Centerville, Mrs. W.V. Minteer, Alhambra, Calif., Sherman W. Needham, Ames, Mrs. John W. Axmear, Jr., Keswick, and William H. Needham, Sigourney.

Besides the children, Mrs. Needham leaves five grandchildren and five great grandchildren. They are: Harold Beck and sons, Robert and William, Oceanside, Calif., Paul R. Beck and daughter, Jo Anna, also of Oceanside, Maurice Needham and son and daughter, Michael and Maureen, Washington, D.C., Robert Beck, Centerville, and Alice Needham Williams, San Diego, Calif.