THOMAS GILBERT

Thomas Gilbert, who was buried in the Ft. Calhoun, Nebraska cemetery near his father, mother and one of his sisters March 8, 1909, was born in New York Sept. 3, 1849. His parents soon after moved to Illinois and left Macomb, Ill., where we first met them in 1854, for Iowa, and later came to Nebraska in time for Thomas to help Pioneer Nicholas Rix harvest his first wheat crop on the old Iverson place, Nicholas swinging the cradle over the ten acres and young Tom raking up the bundles with a wooden rake.

When about fifteen he drove team three trips to Denver for the late Pioneer W. B. Beales, and one day a sack of flour from a high load fell on his shoulder, causing a droop of the shoulder and a curvature of the spine, from which he suffered ever since.

About twenty eight years ago he was married to a niece of the late pioneer county judge, P.N. Stilts, where Hans Schwager now lives, and made a home for his bride very near where the funeral was conducted today.

When sick a couple of years ago, he took a strong liking the the then pastor of the Presbyterian church, Rev. William Primrose, who came up from Bellevue by request to preach the sermon, assisted by the young people’s choir. The pallbearers were Charles Rathjen, Louis Clasan, L. L. Wagers, William Hardy, James Vaughan and George Rohwer. The flowers were beautiful. Thomas was a great lover of flowers when alive, and in the whole thirty eight years we have known him here we never heard anyone who called him dishonest or indolent. His wife says he was always a good husband.

This had been his home for over fifty years, and he leaves one sister, Mrs. Baker of Denver, who came several weeks ago; Mrs. P. N. Stilts of Sheridan, Wyoming, and Mrs. W. F. Miller, Ft. Calhoun; an adopted daughter, Mrs. Sheridan Craig of Herman, and a young relative, Master Robert Powell, who has lived with them and gone to school for the past two years.

In spite of the cold and snow, there was a large attendance at the funeral and the family certainly wish to thank everyone for their kindness during the weeks of suffering and after the decease.

~~~Obituaries courtesy of the Nebraska Washington County Genealogical Society. Newspaper clippings on file in the Blair, Nebraska Public Library~~~

Find a Grave Memorial #18175501