Fisher, Mary Ellen 1837-1923

FISHER, DAVIS

Posted By: Marilyn Holmes (email)
Date: 4/19/2012 at 17:57:01

The Grinnell (IA) Herald; May 4, 1923

A USEFUL LIFE ENDED
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Mrs. Ellen Fisher Passes Away at Good Age of Eighty-Six Years.
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WAS CHARTER MEMBER OF CHESTER CENTER CHURCH
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A Real Pioneer of This Community and a Woman of Rare Good Taste and Fine Instincts.
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One of the Christian pioneers of this Community passed to her final reward Wednesday afternoon at 5:45 o'clock when Mrs. Ellen Fisher breathed her last. During the sixty years of her residence in Chester and Grinnell her life had been a most striking exemplification of the beauty of Christian living.

Mary Ellen Davis was born at Grafton, Vt., Jan. 31, 1837, and at the time of her death she had reached the age of 86 years, 2 months and 2 days. When a young child her parents moved to Chester, Vt., and here her maidenly years were spent. By instinct a teacher, she served many terms in this useful capacity until her marriage, Feb. 16, 1863, to Edward Fisher. Immediately after their marriage they came to Grinnell and moved to the farm in Chester where so many happy and useful years were passed.

Soon after, Edward Fisher enlisted in Company E, 4th Iowa Cavalry, and saw service in the South. He was taken with diphtheria and altho he recovered, he never regained his former strength. His death occurred April 30, 1875.

To the union five children were born, only one, Elizabeth, still living.

Mrs. Fisher was a charter member of the Chester Center Congregational church, organized June 25, 1865, and during all the years since she has retained that membership, in an unbroken period of nearly sixty years. Only one of the charter members of the church in now left, Mrs. H.T. Wheelock.

The funeral was held at the late home at two o'clock this afternoon, conducted by Rev. E.W. Cross. Stella Bartlett sang two songs, "Jesus, Lover of My Soul," and "Abide with Me."

Bearers were Porter Fuller, Ralph Sherman, W.G. Ray, I.S. Bailey, E. Henely and Clyde Foster. Burial was in the family lot in the Chester cemetery.

In the passing of Mrs. Fisher Grinnell loses one of its most notable Christian women. Quiet, modest, cultured, intellectual and yet ambitious she combined in an unusual degree the finer qualities of womanhood and exercised in her family and in her community an influence for good seldom equaled and never surpassed. Her home was one where good books were read, where the Bible was revered, and where the higher duty of man to man was taught and followed. Chester and Grinnell have had no sweeter or purer home, and in the years to come those who knew and loved Mrs. Ellen Fisher will remember the sweet, quiet woman whose voice was low, whose example was true and whose force of character reared to useful lives her family of children amid great obstacles, and inspired them with a love of education and of the true and the beautiful in Christian life.