Francis Marion “Frank” Livingston (1853-1940)

LIVINGSTON, RINGHEIM, BARTLETT, SHELDAHL

Posted By: Dorian Myhre (email)
Date: 5/17/2021 at 16:53:14

From Nevada Evening Journal April 15, 1940 (page 1)

F. M. Livingston Dies Suddenly at His Home Here

F. M. Livingston, 86, died at his home at 303 J avenue, Nevada Saturday at 3:50 p.m. of gall bladder infection and heart trouble, after having been ill only since Thursday.

He will be buried in the Nevada cemetery this afternoon, following funeral services at the Morfoot Funeral home at 3 o'clock, with Dr. J. O. Simon of Memorial Lutheran church in charge.

While Mr. Livingston had spent a quarter of a century of his life at Perry, he was really one of the very early pioneers here and his life was closely identified with Story county.

Born in Linn county May 26, 1853, one of the eleven children of Mr. and Mrs. Michael D. Livingston, Francis Marion Livingston came to Story county when a small child with the family in the spring of 1854 when they settle on a farm a mile and a half west of Cambridge.

There he lived until a young man of twenty years. He attended school at Iowa State college during the summer of 1873 and afterwards when to Des Moines where he attended business college.

In the fall of 1874 he came to Nevada where he first clerked in a hardware store operated by E. Dwight Fenn where he worked until 1879. At that time he and M. G. Rhodermal formed a partnership in the hardware business and continued until 1881 when they moved to Cambridge where the business continued until 1891.

In the meantime in 1881, he had married Miss Bessie Ringheim of Nevada.

From Cambridge they moved to Perry where Mr. Livingston engaged in the hardware business until 1892 when he and Mrs. Livingston became joint managers of the H. & E. Ringheim drygoods store which had been established by the sisters Hannah and Emily Ringheim. Later they purchased the business but operated it under the same name for 25 years.

Disposing of their business in Perry they returned to Nevada in 1918 and finally purchased the home at the corner of Third and J avenue, and that had since been their home.

Two children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Livingston, Adah Livingston, who had always remained at home and has cared for her parents during their declining years, and one son Barton Livingston, who died in 1931.

During their 25 years residence at Perry they had been members of the Congregational church, but became members of the Memorial Lutheran church.

Of the eleven brothers and sisters in the pioneer Livingston family, but four survive. They are Miss Martha Livingston and Mrs. Blanche Bartlett of Long Beach, California, M. E. Livingston of Orange, Calif., and Mrs. E. E. Sheldahl of Des Moines.

In the home he is survived by Mrs. Livingston who had been an invalid for five years and the daughter Miss Adah.

Until very recently the health of Mr. Livingston had been remarkably good and his death came as a surprise to the family and friends.

With this remarkable record the life sketch of Francis Livingston reads like a history of Story county, the family being one of the very earliest settlers.

Less than a year ago, accompanied by his daughter Miss Adah, Mr. Livingston attended a celebration and homecoming held at the old Livingston school west of Cambridge and he was one the very interesting figures there.

In the passing of Mr. Livingston the county loses one of its oldest and most substantial citizens and the family will received most profound sympathy of all.