William H. "Pap" Carey

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Image courtesy of the Hobart Historical Society and Tom Rainford.

This is William H. Carey, known to his Rossow stepchildren as "Pap," photographed circa 1910 by August Haase.

We do not have a photograph of his first wife — only her obituary:

Mrs. Mary A. Carey, wife of Wm. H. Carey near Wheeler, died at her home last Sunday night at 11:30, Feb. 22d, 1903, after a prolonged illness, of paralysis, aged 63 years 3 months and 7 days. She was the daughter of Harry Davis and born in Maryland, but has been a resident of Porter county and this vicinity since 1879.

The funeral services were held at 10:30 on Tuesday forenoon at Wheeler M.E. church but the interment occurred at the Hobart cemetery. Besides a husband, the deceased is mourned by five children, four sons and one daughter.

Mary had borne a total of eight children, three of whom had died before 1900.

Less than two months after Mary's death, William found solace for his broken heart:

Wm. H. Carey and Mrs. H. Rossow were united in marriage at the groom's home on the farm near Wheeler at 3 p.m. on Wednesday, April 15th, 1903. The ages of the couple are 63 and 46 respectively. The bride formerly lived in Hobart. A large circle of relatives and friends were present at the tying of the nuptial knot and to assist in the proper celebration of the event. The groom is a pioneer in this section and possesses many warm friends to wish him and his estimable bride a long and pleasant married life.

They had 14 years, and let's hope it was pleasant.

William Henry Carey, who had been in failing health for several weeks this spring, died at his home in the south part of town on Thursday, April 27, 1916, at the age of 76 years, 1 month and 18 days. He had always enjoyed good health until taken down with the grippe, followed by pneumonia.

Mr. Carey was born March 8, 1840, in Gunborough, Sussex Co., Delaware, being the youngest of thirteen children born to Stephen and Sophia Carey. His mother died two hours after his birth.

He was raised on a farm, and when 18 years of age, on March 18, 1858, he was married to Mary Ann Davis, and to their union were born eight children, five sons and three daughters. Those surviving are Thomas J. and Harvey F. of Wheeler, Lorenzo A. of New London, Wis., and Everett M. of New Philadelphia.

Mr. Carey served in the Union army the last year of the Civil War, being a member of Company K, 6th Regiment, Delaware Volunteer Infantry. He was detailed by the government to buy provisions for the army … and was not active in battles.

He came to Plymouth, Ind., July 4, 1870, and engaged in farming, which vocation he followed in Porter and Lake counties until about ten years ago, when he came to Hobart to reside.

On April 15, 1903, he was married to Mrs. Augusta Rossow ….

In the fall of 1911 Mr. Carey was elected a member of the town board as trustee and served until January of this year. During his term as trustee he took an active part in the affairs of the town, as well as the annexation and dis-annexation propositions.

The funeral was held on Sunday afternoon, April 30, at 2 o'clock, at the Christian church, the Rev. W.A. Howard officiating. The burial was made at the Hobart cemetery, where the Grand Army Post conducted the last rites to their departed comrade.

Another obituary, while less precise about his history, gave a little more information about his personality:


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His grave is marked with the simplest of stones …


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… but that's more than his first wife got. Although her obituary stated that she was buried in Hobart Cemetery, the NWIGS's reading of all the grave markers there recorded no Mary Carey.



As you can see, there is room enough near William for his first wife to rest there, but nothing to indicate that she does.

It's likely that his daughter, Sarah Jane, also lies nearby in an unmarked grave. We will get to her story next.


Sources:
♦ 1880 Census.
♦ 1900 Census.
♦ "Local Drifts." Hobart Gazette 17 Apr. 1903.
♦ "Mortuary Record." Hobart Gazette 27 Feb. 1903.
♦ "Obituary." Hobart Gazette 5 May 1916.
♦ "W.H. Carey Passes Away at Home in Hobart." Porter County Vidette (Valparaiso, Ind.) 3 May 1916 (newspaperarchive.com).