George C. Duffield 1824-1908
DUFFIELD, STANARD, STIDGER, HARLAN, STONG
Posted By: Volunteer - Rich Lowe
Date: 7/14/2014 at 07:07:30
This community was greatly shocked and pained at the news Friday of the wholly unexpected and instantaneous death of George C. Duffield, who resided about two miles and a half from here near Pittsubrg. Mr. Duffield was one of the most prominent and most highly esteemed citizens of this community or of this part of the state.
The particulars of Mr. Duffield's death are about as follows. Mr. Duffield returned from the state fair at Des Moines Saturday and was in his usual health. About noon Friday Mr. Ed. Duffield, a nephew, drove up to get a few bushels of wheat. Mr. Duffield went to the granary with him and held the sacks while the wheat was being shoveled into them. When the sacks were filled, Mr. Duffield picked up a piece of paper and began to figure up what the week came to. A moment later he complained he couldn't see the figures, and passing the pencil and paper towards his nephew said "Ed, you figure this up." And at that instant he fell forward into his nephew's arms. That was the end. Death came before he could be laid down.
Mr. Duffield was born in Jefferson county, Pa., May 13, 1824. In 1833 the family moved to Fulton county, Ill., and in 1837 came to this county and settled on a claim about a mile above Pittsburgh on the Des Moines River which his father had pre-empted the previous year.
In 1849 Mr. Duffield went to California, returning in 1853. He went to California just after the discovery of gold there and made a considerable stake in mining. April 17, 1856, he was united in marriage to Miss Zervia Stanard, who died March 4, 1857. March 18, 1867, he was united in marriage to Miss Addie Stidger whose death occurred some 25 years ago. Mr. Duffield leaves three children, Glen S. of Denver, Minnie C., Wife of E. R. Harlan, curator of the state library at Des Moines, and Ada E., Wife of B. J. Stong, deputy county treasurer.
The Duffield family moved from Fulton county to Ft. Madison and from Ft. Madison to their future home near Pittsburg with ox teams and much of the way over a trackless wilderness. Their wagon track was the first west of the Des Moines River above Chequest Creek in Van Buren township. At that time Black-Hawk and Keokuk and the Sax and Fox Indians were located at Iowaville, and in the part of this county to the west of the Des Moines river there were more Indians than whites and no small part of Mr. Duffield's boyhood days was spent among the aborigines.
On Mr. Duffield's return from California he purchased the claim his father had entered in 1836, and continued to reside on the same up to the time of his death, a period of over 74 years. He increased his holdings to something like 500 acres probably now worth $30,000 to $40,000.
Mr. Duffield was a very public spirited man. He was always willing and ready to do his full part towards encouraging and helping along any and all undertaking for the public good. And his help meant more than a passive willingness for an undertaking to be successful; it meant an active, positive, forceful part in making it succeed. He and the writer secured the stock subscriptions to establish the creamery here. Except for his active help and influence it is doubtful whether we could have ever brought the railroad from Mt. Zion in here. He was one of the most effective supporters of our Ccounty fair and was either president of it or a director many years.
Mr. Duffield was one of the organizers and main supports of the old settlers association and had been its obituyarian [sic] for the past 17 years. He had written and read to the old settlers had their annual meetings the obituaries over 500 persons who had settled in the county while Iowa was a territory. He was the obituarian at the home-coming four weeks since and was unanimously reelected.
And Mr. Duffield will be missed at farmer's institutes. He never missed an institute, whether it was held here or elsewhere, and always took a leading part.
But Mr. Duffield's activities were not confined to local interests. He was at the first meeting of the Iowa state fair at Fairfield in 1853, and was president at every state fair up to and including the last one, except four. He was a director and superintendent of one or another of the stock divisions of the state fair for more than 20 years. He attended every international exposition from the Centennial in 187[6?]: including the Colombian Exposition at Chicago, the Trans-Mississippi at Omaha, the Pan-American at Buffalo, the Louisiana Purchase at St. Louis and the Lewis and Clark at Portland.
Mr. Duffield had contributed to a number of valuable articles on the early history of this part of the state to the Annals of Iowa, a magazine Department. Mr. Duffield's sustained interest in public affairs, both political and no-political, brought him into relations with many prominent men of the state of like interest, he enjoying the acquaintance and friendship of such men as Father Clarkson, Senator Allison, Secretary of Agriculture James Wilson, Col. John Scott, Charles Aldrich, Henry Wallace, etc., He having entertained many of them in his notably hospitable home.
One of the notable characteristics of Mr. Duffield was that despite his 84 years he retained possession of all of his faculties and maintained his interest in current events and seemed and looked like one little past middle life. His associations were with the young and middle aged as well as among the more aged. He was a member and a regular attendant at church. He touched life at many points in lived a full and most abundant life. It was a common remark with his friends that he was the youngest man of his years they had ever known. On account of his unusually active life, and his interests and activities in so many directions, and his consequent wide acquaintance, and his bright and vigorous mind and cheeriness and superb optimism, and his engaging social qualities, he will surely be greatly missed by all classes of the community where he had lived so long in was known so well and was so endeared to all.
The funeral at the late residence Sunday afternoon was one of the largest ever held in the county. The services were conducted by Rev. W. G. Thorn, assisted by Rev. J. W. Cheney. The honorary pall-bearers were Judge Robert Sloan, S. D. Fellows, Jas. A. Fowler, J. W. Cheney, Hon. E. C. Holland, A. C. Barker. The active pall-bearers were H. E. Duckworth, S. W. Manning, Henry Strickling, C. W. Funk, Dr. Craig, Emmitt Morrison. The interment was at Oak Lawn Cemetery.
Source: Entler Scrapbook Collection, vol 5, Iowa Historical Library, Iowa City, IA; also Van Buren Co. Genealogical Society Obituary Book F, Page 240, Keosauqua Public Library, Keosauqua, IA
Van Buren Obituaries maintained by Rich Lowe.
WebBBS 4.33 Genealogy Modification Package by WebJourneymen