Waterloo's Columbian Club

The Columbian Club was formed in Waterloo to represent Monroe County in the 1893 Columbian Exposition. The exposition was held in Chicago from May 1, 1893 through October 30, 1893 to commemorate the 400th anniversary of Christopher Columbus's arrival in the New World in 1492. It covered more than 600 acres and featured approximately 200 buildings (many were temporary), canals, and lagoons.

According to an article from the Metro-East Journal from October 31, 1968 the group "decided on a work of art with an agricultural motif as a device to symbolize the county, in which agriculture was - as it still is - the predominant occupation. From materials gathered by the members of the Sisters of St. Joseph created a design of a crescent and star, with a sunflower center, composed of grains, seeds and grasses, all grown in Monroe County. It was an elaborate piece of work. Doves and swallows fashioned of melon seeds, a millet seed grasshopper perching on a stalk of timothy, flowers made of grains, and wax fruits surrounded the centerpiece. On the crescent the words "Monroe County" were spelled out in gilded wheat. The device was mounted against a background of velvet in a five-foot-long glass case."

The group continued to meet monthly; their purpose was to help charitable causes. One was furnishing Thanksgiving Dinner for the County Alms House. The members prepared the food and delivered it via horse and buggy. Later the food was sent to the Alms House and the custodian's wife prepared the meal. The boy scouts and the Tuberculosis Association also benefited from the contributions of the Columbian Club.

The charter members pictured above included many of our ancestors.

Front Row (left to right):
Mrs. James Sennott (Mary Ann Newsham Starkey Sennott)
Mrs. William DeMint (Caroline Durfee DeMint)
Mrs. William Erd
Mrs. Marie Hoener
Mrs. George Ziebold (Wilhelmina Hoffmeister Ziebold)
Mrs. Joseph W. Rickert (Wilhelmina Ziebold Rickert)
Miss Owen (not shown)
Middle Row:
Mrs. Livingston
Mrs. Bode
Mrs. Sam DeMint
Mrs. Thomas Payne
Mrs. Fike (Cora Alice Starkey Fike)
Mrs. Frank Durfee
Miss Elizabeth Rainey
Back Row:
Mrs. Louis Adelsberger
Mrs. Matthew Crowe
Mrs. Alphonse Wetmore
Mrs Paul Brey (Sophia Durfee Brey)
Mrs. Hugh Murphy
Mrs. Fred Jobusch
Mrs. William R. Morrison

I am lucky to have a quilt made by the group in 1901 that was given to me by a descendant of Mrs. George Ziebold.

The quilt is pink and white and the square in the center says Columbian Club 1901. All around the quilt the names of the members are stitched into the quilt. They include Mrs. P.C. Brey (pictured above) Mrs. M.A. Sennott, Mrs. G.W. Ziebold, Mrs. S.C. DeMint, Mrs. F. Jobusch, Mrs. M.T. Crowe, Mrs. M. Talbot, Mrs. H. Murphy, Mrs. L. Adelsburger, Mrs. M. Bode, Mrs. L. Voris, Mrs. M. Payne, Mrs. C. Wetmore, E.A. Rainey, Mrs. Wm. Winkelmann, Mrs. J.M. Drury, Mrs. W.T. DeMint, Mrs. J.W. Rickert, Mrs. Frank Durfee, Mrs. Bainum, and Mrs. G.P. Livingstone.

One thing that stood out when I first got the quilt was the fact that except for Elizabeth Rainey who wasn't married and Mary Ann Sennott, who had been widowed for almost 40 years all of the women sewed their husbands initials into the quilt instead of their own.

The group celebrated their 50th anniversary in 1943, the only charter member that was still living was Minnie Ziebold (Mrs G. W. Ziebold). The club disbanded eight years later in 1951.

Sources
1. Article clipped from the Metro-East Journal. The date Oct. 31, '68 was written on it by Mina Sennott.
2. Picture of the Columbian Club given to the author by Mina Sennott, grandaughter of Mrs. George Ziebold and great-grandaughter of Mrs. Mary Ann Sennott.
3. Quilt made by the Columbian Club in 1901 given to the author by Jane Sennott Coakley, grandaughter of Mrs. George Ziebold and great-grandaughter of Mrs. Mary Ann Sennott.
4. The Newberry Digital Collections for the Classroom - 1893: Chicago and the World's Columbian Exposition website http://dcc.newberry.org/collections/chicago-and-the-worlds-columbian-exposition
5. The World's Columbian Exposition: Idea, Experience, Aftermath website http://xroads.virginia.edu/~ma96/WCE/title.html

Delia Brey's Tragic Ending

Tombstone of Delia Brey

Maria Delia Brey is buried at Bellefountaine Cemetery in St. Louis. Delia's older brother, Paul, selected a column broken off at the top with ivy wrapped around it which symbolizes a life cut short.

Delia died tragically in the prime of her life at the young age of 34. I found the tombstone on a visit to Bellefountaine looking for another Brey ancestor. She is buried there in a single grave. It intrigued me so I set out to discover more about her. She was a successful young woman with a career as a teacher who indeed came to a tragic end.

On 8 May 1877, Delia died of an overdose of chloroform. The circumstances were debated in the newspapers and the Coroner's Inquest that was held on 9 May 1877. The Coroner's report found that "the deceased was found dead on 8th day of May 1877 in the 3rd story of the above mentioned place [2702 Olive St.] in her bed at or about 6 o'clock pm. It was elicited that the deceased came to her death between the hours of 3 and 6 o'clock pm from the effects of an overdose of chloroform, which the deceased had been using to allay the pains of a facial neuralgia from which she was suffering at the time."

Facial neuralgia causes extreme pain and spasms of the muscles of the face and is caused by disorders of the cranial nerves. In the 1870's chloroform, a colorless, sweet smelling liquid, was used to relieve the pain. It was very volatile, the same dose taken one day could be fatal the next. This is why it is no longer used as an anesthetic.

A series of articles published in the St. Louis Globe Democrat provide details of the story of Delia's death and give us some insight to how she lived. On the previous Thursday, Delia attended the oratorio of Elijah at the Merchants' Exchange and caught cold. The next day what began as a headache morphed into neuralgia. She stayed home from teaching at the Central High School on Tuesday because she was still not feeling well. Delia occupied rooms with a fellow teacher, Mrs Mary B. Cushman, on the third floor of Nelson's boarding house at 2702 Olive.

About 10:00am Harry Nelson, the son of Delia's landlord, purchased a four ounce vial of camphor for .15 cents at J.C. Kirkbride's drug store at the southwest corner of Jefferson Avenue near Olive Street for Delia. He took it home and his father, William Nelson, saw him show it to his three year old nephew. William smelled it and it was definitely camphor.  At noon, Mrs. Cushman returned home so see how Delia was. She said she felt better and they chatted and laughed pleasantly. Mrs. Cushman left to return to school at 12:30 pm. The maid changed the bed linens about 2:00 pm and Delia returned to bed.

At 3:00 pm  one of Delia's students stopped by but when the maid went to her room to delivery the note the student left, the door was locked and there was no answer so she assumed that Delia was sleeping. Delia had not stirred by 6:00 pm when the bell rang for tea. When Mrs. Cushman could not rouse her, a passkey was used and they found Delia laying on her left side in bed with a little bag of hops and a towel on her face. There was an uncorked bottle under her pillow labeled camphor, however the bottle contained chloroform. They called for help and Dr. Briggs came to the house and determined that Delia had been dead for several hours.

Mrs. Cushman was sure that they did not have any chloroform in their rooms because she needed some to remove a greasy spot from a dress a few days before and they didn't have any. She believed that the druggist had mistakenly filled the bottle with chloroform instead of camphor since no other bottle was found in the room. The coroner's inquest cleared the druggist, they did not believe that he had filled the bottle with the incorrect liquid. Unfortunately the only paper that survives is the finding of the inquest so we don't know what testimony was given.

The newspaper article mentions that the friends interviewed did not believe that she had committed suicide. She was "pleasantly and comfortably situated with numerous kind and loving friends. In addition to this she had laid her plans for a visit to California during the coming summer, and began, last Saturday, to make her arrangements with this object in view."

Delia's funeral was held at First Presbyterian Church. She had been a member of the Second Baptist Church but her friends thought First Presbyterian was larger and more centrally located so that is where the funeral was held. The pall bearers were from the faculty of Central High School. The church was filled with her students, relative and friends. "Floral decorations and designs had been liberally supplied by the High School and by individual friends."  The services were conducted by Rev. J. V. Schofield of the Fourth Baptist Church. "The music, as always at this Church, was suitable and beautiful. The choir for this occasion consisted of Messrs. Cooper and Steins, the regular tenor and bass of the Church choir, and Misses Branson and Clegg, formerly composing with the gentlemen named, the choir of the Church."

"The services opened with the sentence, "Cast they burden on the Lord," sung with marvelous delicacy and pathos. The place was filled with sweet melody floating out from voices as pure and musical as are ever heard in combination. The other selections were the familiar and tender hymn, "Come, ye disconsolate," and an exquisite chant, set to a fragment from Beethoven, "Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden. At the conclusion of the service, opportunity was given to see the face of the deceased, reposing in dreamless sleep. In slow procession the large audience passed the casket containing the mortal part of the teacher and friend universally beloved and widely honored in this city, which has been so largely benefited by her useful life and the remains were borne to their burial place."

A few days later, on 13 May 1877 a tribute to Delia written and signed by nine of her co-workers appeared in the St. Louis Globe Democrat.

They wanted to let everyone know that the idea of suicide was completely out of character as was taking chloroform.  The tribute talks about a woman with firm convictions. They go on to say that she did not use narcotics in any shape. She was especially afraid of chloroform. Not only was it dangerous but "to her, unworthy weakness of seeking refuge from pain in insensibility. Her contempt was of the same nature as that she felt for the inebriate drowning his woes in the brandy-bottle."

Delia's sense of smell was "defective" and since she was not familiar with the smell of chloroform, she might not have known what was in the bottle. Her ideas on suicide were firm, it was a sin and a "cowardly weakness that could shuffle off its burdens upon another's laden shoulders, instead of patiently bearing its share to the end." They describe Delia as "far-seeing, systematic and careful. She would never "have left things in such a state that even the slightest suspicion should fall upon another."

The article ends with a lament, "her early life was filled with many sorrows, but the days of her great trials were long since passed, and the future had begun to broaden and brighten for her as it only could for noble, useful woman, who had lived through and conquered her trials, and had at last no more to lose than gain." It is true that Delia was no stranger to loss. Her four younger siblings died when they were all less than two years old. Her mother was a victim of the typhoid epidemic in 1858; her brother Harman went south just before the Civil War and was never heard from again; and her brother Julius was shot at the battle of Shiloh (stay tuned for his story) and died following surgery to remove the shot from his leg in 1867.

The tribute's claim that she was conscientious, organized and was financially comfortable. The inventory of her possessions included rental property in the Carondelet neighborhood, certificate of deposits at Boatman's Savings Bank totaling $1478.00 and cash in the bank of $168.00. Her total estate was valued at $2500, a significant sum for a single lady in 1877.

Strong, successful women seem to run in our family and Delia is one of them. The tombstone in Bellefontaine Cemetery is a perfect monument to her tragic death. Thanks to the St. Louis Globe Democrat we have some details of the store of her untimely end.

Sources

1. St. Louis City, Missouri, Coroner's Records, Inquests, Box 11, File 166, "Delia Brey," filed 9 May 1877; St. Louis County Library film SLCR-3.
 2. City of St. Louis, Missouri, probate case files, no. 12739, 8 May 1877; Probate Court Clerk's Offfice, St. Louis.
3. Miss Brey Tribute to Her Memory from Those Connected with the Public Schools—The Idea of Suicide Indignantly Refuted … (News) Wm. T. Harris. St. Louis Globe-Democrat (St. Louis, MO) Sunday, May 13, 1877; pg. 3; Issue 358; col F.
4. Coroner’s Cases Inquest on Miss Brey—A German Blows His Brains Out—Sudden Death of a Work House Rat (News) St. Louis Globe-Democrat (St. Louis, MO) Thursday, May 10, 1877; pg. 4; Issue 355; col G.
5. Was It a Mistake? A Lady School-Teacher Found Dead in Bed (News) St. Louis Globe-Democrat (St. Louis, MO) Wednesday, May 09, 1877; pg. 3; Issue 354; col G.
6. Death’s Doings (News) St. Louis Globe-Democrat (St. Louis, MO) Friday, May 11, 1877; pg. 5; Issue 356; col F.
7. The Last Rites Funerals of Two Well-Known St. Louis Ladies Yesterday (News) St. Louis Globe-Democrat (St. Louis, MO) Friday, May 11, 1877; pg. 8; Issue 356; col B.
8. Obituary (Obituary) St. Louis Globe-Democrat (St. Louis, MO) Sunday, May 13, 1877; pg. 5; Issue 358; col A.
9. St. Louis in Splinters (News) St. Louis Globe-Democrat (St. Louis, MO) Tuesday, June 05, 1877; pg. 3; Issue 16; col B.

Paul Brey Served His County by Proxy

Paul Cornelius Brey

In the History of Randolph, Monroe and Perry Counties, Illinois the biography of Paul C Brey ends with the following sentence. "In 1861 he was solicited by some of his young friends to raise a company for the Forty-ninth regiment Illinois volunteer infantry, (Col. Morrison's regiment), but being a newly married man he declined, but served the United States afterward by proxy." This sentence peaked my interest. What did it mean? I had already searched Civil War records and did not find any evidence of Paul serving in the Union Army, so I set out to find out what service by proxy meant.

During the Civil War there was a draft to raise soldiers for service in the Army. If a man was drafted they could provide a substitute to serve for them. This was known as service by proxy. During a visit to the National Archives in Washington DC I was able to locate the records of the 12th Congressional District of Illinois which included Monroe County where Paul lived. An enumeration was conducted in July 1863. This was a list of men between the ages of 20 and 35 and unmarried men eligible for service between the ages of 35 and 45. Paul was listed on line 6. He was a 28 year old merchant.

Quotas were set for each congressional district based on population. If a sufficient number of men from the district volunteered to serve, a draft was no necessary.  Draft cards were completed for each man listed on the Consolidated Lists. Cards were divided by sub district and were placed in a box. A man was blind folded  and he drew the predetermined number of cards from the box. Another man recorded the names that were pulled in the Descriptive Books of Drafted Men as they were drawn. The men whose names had been drawn were notified. They were required to report or provide a substitute who could serve in their place as long as they passed the physical examination. Men who were physically disqualified were given exemption certificates. Deserters and men who failed to appear were arrested.

The 12th Congressional District did not have enough volunteers so the draft was conducted beginning on Monday, 19 September 1864 with the sub districts in St. Clair County. On Friday, 14 October 1864, Paul Brey's name was pulled as number 352 of the 358 men selected for the draft in the sub district that included Burksville.

Paul hired Valentine Siger to serve as his substitute. Valentine was mustered in as a Private on 23 October 1864 and served as a substitute in Company B, 30th Infantry Regiment Illinois. The term of his service was one year. He was mustered out in Louisville, KY on 17 July 1865. Valentine was an 18 year old farmer who was 5 feet 4 inches tall with blue eyes, light hair, and a fair complexion.

In 1864 Paul had two small children and a store to run. He had the financial means to make a choice to hire a substitute. Paul served his community in other capacities through his lifetime. He was Postmaster in the town of Burksville from 1867 to 1874; County Clerk for Monroe County from 1873 to 1894; and County Judge for Monroe County from 1894 until his death in 1905.

Sources
Combined History of Perry, Monroe and Randolph Counties (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: J.L. McDonough & Co., 1883), 321.
Consolidated List Class I Illinois 12^th Congressional District, Volume 201, Page 68, Records of the Provost Marshal General’s Bureau (Civil War), Record Group 110, item 172, National Archives, Washington, D.C.
Proceedings of the Board of Enrollment Illinois 12^th Congressional District, May 1863-April 1865, unpaginated, arranged by date, Records of the Provost Marshal General’s Bureau (Civil War), Record Group 110, item 5803, National Archives, Washington.

Descriptive Books of Drafted Men, Illinois 12^th Congressional District, Volume 21, Page 90, Records of the Provost Marshal General’s Bureau (Civil War), Record Group 110, item 5805, National Archives, Washington.

Valentine Siger, compiled military record, (private, Company B, 30^th Infantry Illinois), Records of the Record and Pension Office of the War Department, Record Group 94, National Archives, Washington.
Record of Appointment of Postmasters 1832-September 30, 197; M841, (Washington: National Archives), Roll 30, vol. 32.
Internal Revenue Assessment Lists for the State of Illinois, 1862-1866, M764 (Washington: National Archives); Roll 57, Target 3 Annual Lists 1864, page 87. Paul Brey is listed twice, once for retail dealer and one for dealing in liquor. He was taxed a total of $30.00. Only businesses with more than $600 in annual revenue were taxed.
“Death Doings – Judge Brey Secumbs [sic] to Paralysis After Brief Illness,” Waterloo Republican, Waterloo, Illinois, 13 December 1905, Page 1, column 3.