Sadie Price: One-Third of the Mystery Solved

In Chester Cemetery, you will find an impressive stone marking the grave of Sadie Price.


(Click on images to enlarge)



I had been wondering who she was. There are no other Prices in that cemetery, and I hadn't encountered that name associated with Ross Township in my reading — until I got to 1911, that is. Then I found out who she was, in a superficial sense: Henry Chester's first cousin. She died in Chicago on January 21, 1911, at the age of 57, survived by a husband and stepson, a brother (in Nebraska), and a sister (in Iowa).

Someone shipped her body on a Grand Trunk train from Chicago to Ainsworth; then a Hobart undertaker, Alwin Wild, brought the remains to Mary Chester's house, where the funeral took place on the afternoon of Tuesday, January 24. And thence to the Chester Cemetery.

That's all very well, but it still leaves a few questions.

First, why did anyone think it proper to bury her in Ainsworth, rather than in Chicago where she had died and where her husband and stepson still lived? What was her tie to Ainsworth, beyond being Henry Chester's cousin — which isn't much of a tie considering he had died some ten months before? Someone evidently cared about her very much, to put that stone on her grave. It is as big as Henry Chester's own marker, and more ornate. Who was that someone — her husband in Chicago, who didn't want her buried near him?

And secondly, what does that "and mother" on her grave marker mean? For heaven's sake, is her mother buried there too with no other marker than that footnote? Or did Sadie's virtues include motherhood? If so, was she the mother of someone in Ainsworth? Then why didn't the Gazette see fit to mention that in its report of her funeral?

Maybe as I keep reading the microfilm — especially when I manage to tear myself away from the forward march of time in order to go back to the pre-1899 newspapers that I haven't gotten to yet (who says time is linear?) (well, I do, for one, but I don't know what I'm talking about) (and I wish I could remember why I started reading in 1899 in the first place) — … um, what was I saying? Oh, yes, maybe as I keep reading I'll solve the mystery of Sadie.

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1/1/2019 update: I've solved another third of the mystery, i.e., why Sadie Price was buried in Ainsworth rather than Chicago. It's explained by this untitled item from the Hobart News of January 26, 1911:

The remains of Mrs. Sadie Price, of Chicago, a cousin of the late Henry Chester, were brought from Chicago Tuesday and the funeral service was conducted by Rev. Series from Mrs. Chester's residence. Deceased was born in Ohio, but many years ago lived in this vicinity. She wished to be laid at rest here beside her mother who was buried here.

That means that, yes, her mother is buried in Chester Cemetery with no marker but that footnote.

There still remains the mystery of exactly who Sadie was. Even with the maiden name, Parkhurst, that Suzi uncovered (see comment below this post), I can't identify Sadie in any local census, or explain how she was related to Henry Chester. As for her mother, I can't confirm that her surname was Parkhurst, and I have no clue as to her first name; and I think whoever gave orders for the inscription of Sadie's grave marker was just as much in the dark, or they would have at least included something like "Mrs. Parkhurst" after "and Mother."