Willett, Ernest died 1895

WILLETT

Posted By: Reid R. Johnson (email)
Date: 5/18/2013 at 08:27:26

Postville Review, Sat., 2 Mar. 1895.

Ernest Willett, the blind son of Judge Willett, of Decorah, died a short time ago in Germany, where he was taking instruction on the violin, having already attained great proficiency on this king of musical instruments.

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Submitter is not related.

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Added by Joy Moore March 3, 2021

Source: Decorah Republican Feb. 28, 1895 P 4 C 2

EARNEST WILLETT.
He Dies Suddenly and Unexpectedly in Berlin, Germany.
The startling and painful intelligence came by cable on Friday afternoon last that Earnest Willett, youngest son of Mr. and Mrs. G. R. Willett, had died in Berlin. The only preparation for such sad intelligence was in a cablegram the day previous which said he was seriously ill with influenza, a word that in Germany has a more serious and alarming meaning than we can give it. The information is very meager, and it can only be inferred that it was an attack of pneumonia or of Russian grip, with heart complications. Until letters can arrive full particulars cannot be known.
Earnest Willett was twenty-live years old last June. In his tenth year he was the victim of a gun shot accident by which, for a time, his life was in danger, and from which he recovered with eye sight permanently destroyed.
He was educated at the State Blind Assylum at Vinton, and at Oberlin, Ohio, where musical talent was developed. His predilection was towards the violin, and so decided was his ability that he was most strongly encouraged to attempt a course of instruction in the home of European musical art. His blindness was against him, for the best teachers were loth to accept the instruction of one who was handicapped by a physical infirmity which they thought was an insurmountable barrier to success. But by dogged persistence he conquered his way, and at the end of three years was thought by his instructor to be fitted for introduction to the public. He obtained a public hearing in England, winning fine plaudits, and then came home for a visit. After a year spent in this country he returned to Germany for a final year under one of the masters. He was succeeding most hopefully when, early last summer, a disease attacked him which compelled him to abandon his plans and give his sole attention to the recovery of his health. This was accomplished and his studies resumed, preparatory to a concert tour under one of the most distinguished managers in Europe. On Saturday last a letter was received from him, written on the 6th inst. It was full of courage and hope, as he was preparing for the deferred concert tour that was, alas, never to be taken.
The remains were directed to be buried, appropriately, in Berlin; and the grief-stricken parents and relatives await with saddened hearts intelligence that can bring consolation to the hopes and fond anticipations that are now utterly crushed.

Source: Decorah Republican Mar. 7, 1895 P 5 C 2

—Incidental to the death of Ernest Willett, we note that recent dispatches from Berlin report the “influenza,” or grip, which was the cause of Mr. Willett's death, as epidemic. There is a total of thirty to forty thousand cases, with a large increase in the death rate. The disease seemed to take the firmest of hold the well-to-do, and has grown from a comparatively mild form to one of extreme severity.

Source: Decorah Republican Mar. 21, 1895 P 4 C 2

Fuller Particulars of the Death of Ernest Willett.
Not until this week did the family oi G. R. Willett receive full particulars of the illness and death in Berlin of their son Ernest. The sickness was but of two days duration, and he was conscious of his condition at the last so that final messages were sent to relatives. He was surrounded by friends he had made in Berlin, and was a member of a family that for six years had treated him al-most as a son. He died on the 21st of February, and was buried in the old city cemetery of Berlin on the 26th, the funeral being attended by a number of Americans, his musical instructor, as well as by the family in which his home was, and numerous other German friends. The family is afforded the consolation that though he was a stranger in a foreign land he had all the care that the nearest of relatives could have given. At the time he was taken sick arrangements had been perfected for a concert tour beginning March 8th, in which he was to be presented to the music-loving citizens and the critics of fifteen of the larger cities of Germany under the auspices of a manager named Woelff whose endorsement was sufficient to secure him a favorable hearing. For this tour he was ready, and from it he had high hopes of a brilliant success as a fruition of his long years of study and expense. But neither was to be his.