Selle, Marie Dorothea 1834-1903

SELLE, GANSWIG, JAHNKE, BRENIMAN

Posted By: Marilyn Holmes (email)
Date: 4/14/2013 at 21:34:11

The Grinnell (IA) Herald
May 15, 1903

MRS. HENRY SELLE

Marie Dorothea Ganswig was born in Germany near Pritzwalk, state of Brandenburg, June 17th, 1834. She was christened in infancy in the Reformed Lutheran church and confirmed at the age of fourteen.

In 1857 she was united in marriage to Henry Selle and came with him to America the same year and resided in Illinois near Chicago for seven years. Mr. and Mrs. Selle next moved to Iowa in 1867.

To this union were born ten children, Fred E., who died at the age of thirteen, Emma M., now Mrs. Emma Jahnke, of Chicago, Henry F., who died at the age of seven, Herman, a resident of Grinnell, Louis, who lives near Grinnell, William, a resident near Grinnell, Earnest, who died during childhood, Anna of Marengo, Illinois, Minnie, now Mrs. Breniman, of Fort Collins, Colorado, and Marie who lived with her mother.

In 1880 a great shadow came over the family in the form of an affliction of the mind of the husband and father, caused by a sunstroke, who is now at Mt. Pleasant.

It was a great comfort to the bereaved ones that all the children could be with each other when the last rites were performed for the departed one so well beloved.

Mrs. Selle died Wednesday morning, May 6th, of heart failure after an illness lasting but two hours. The funeral was conducted from the house at one o'clock Sunday afternoon and from the Westfield Union Church at 3 o'clock in the afternoon by the Rev. Mr. Altman. This was the first service in this church. At the services a song which the mother dearly loved was sung, "God be with you till we meet again." The body of the loved one was laid to rest with tender hands in its last resting place in the Westfield Cemetery.