Edward Mortimer Harrington (1860-1930)

HARRINGTON, FEGTLY

Posted By: Dorian Myhre (email)
Date: 6/30/2014 at 18:31:16

From Nevada Evening Journal February 20, 1930

E. M. HARRINGTON DIED LAST NIGHT; FUNERAL SATURDAY

HAD BEEN NORTHWESTERN AGENT IN NEVADA FOR OVER 25 YEARS

E. M. Harrington, 69, for over 25 years local agent for the Chicago & Northwestern Railway company, died Wednesday night at 9:00 at St. Luke's hospital Chicago, where he had been since December 11, when he submitted to a major surgical operation, which developed a cancerous condition that finally caused his death.

The body accompanied by the son D. L. Harrington and family will arrive here this evening over the Northwestern, no No. 13, due at 6:13.

The body will be taken to the Morfoot Funeral home, Eighth and J avenue directly from the station, upon its arrival here this evening.

Definite funeral arrangements await the arrival of the body and the funeral party from Chicago, but it is very probable that the service will be held Saturday afternoon, after which interment will be in the Nevada cemetery, under the auspices of the Masonic lodge.

The hour and lace of the funeral will be arranged immediately upon the arrival of the son D. L. Harrington, as will the matter of the body being held in state for the view of the friends.

Mr. Harrington leaves his wife whose maiden name was Princess Fegtly, to whom he was married in Story City; and the two sons David L. Harrington of 8022 Paxton avenue, Chicago and Phillip, who but recently returned with his family to Nevada, from Canada and is now located in the old family home at 718 Seventh street.

The two older of the four sons born to Mr. and Mrs. Harrington while living at Story City, Edward and John, died within a year of each other, when about 4 and 5 years of age.

Mrs. Harrington has been an invalid for many years, her condition being attributed largely to grief and worry over this tragedy in their home.

Edward M. Harrington was born at St. Joe, Mo., December 13, 1860. There he lived with his parents and attended the public schools until the death of his parents and it was when about 14 years of age that was left alone and started out on his own account.

He wen first out into Arizona, where he worked with a contracting teamster. He continued in this work for about two years, when he drifted over into Colorado and soon connected himself with a contractor who was engaged in construction work on the Denver & Rio Grande railroad, then in the course of construction.

When a lad of barely over years he held the position of foreman over a gang of men engaged in the dynamiting through the rocks of the mountains. Following an accident occurring in his seventh year at this work, in which six men in his gang were killed, Mr. Harrington gave up this work and with a companion went on in to Denver. There they separated and Mr. Harrington returned to St. Joe.

Shortly afterwards he was joined there by his Colorado friend and the two young men followed the harvest work up through Iowa and it was at harvest time in 1883 that he reached the neighborhood of Colo, where he went to work for John Fitzgerald, where he continued to work and make his home for some time.

During the years that he was employed by Mr. Fitzgerald he spent some of his time as a student of telegraphy under John Sellers, in the Northwestern depot at Colo.

It was in February 1885 that his long and faithful career with the Northwestern began. He was sent first to LeGrand where he worked as a telegrapher from February until August. He was then transferred to the bridge department for a few months and worked as a bridgeman until April 1886, when he was made agent at Randall.

He worked at Randall from April 1886, until March 1887, when he was transferred to Kelley, where he remained until February 1888, when he went to Story City. There he remained continuously for 15 years serving as agent, until 1903, with the exception of a few months that he was out of the service. His reinstatement, however, was at the urgent solicitation of the company and lost none of his rights.

During the fifteen years the he worked at Stroy City he not only served the town as station agent but also was for a period mayor of the town and served a term as postmaster.

The first of 1903 he left Story City and went to Lowden as relief agent until October of the same year, when he was transferred to Clarence, where he remained until May of 1904. It was then that he was made agent at Nevada attained the goal that he had been striving for.

During the 25 years that he served the company as agent here, he had many offers of promotion in the service, but always declined them, preferring to continue his home here among his family and large circle of warm personal friends.

Mr. Harrington during his long service here and very intimately contact with the people of the community, formed a wide circle of very close friends.

Always genial and courteous in his contact with the public, thorough and accomodating in his work, ever loyal to the company he was serving, yet he kept well in mind the interest of the public and the community in which he had his home and lived his long and useful life.

Public spirited, kindly and charitable in his disposition, Mr. Harrington was a recognized factor in any community in which he became identified.

He was a member of the Masonic, Knights of Pythias and Modern Woodman lodges and had been active in all of them. He was also a member of Za-Ga-Zig Temple of the Mystic Shrine of Des Moines and other of the advanced degrees of Masonry.