Elgin
Dundee Pioneer Charles Blow A Hero at 94 Years Old
The Rock Island Argus
July 18, 1913
Page 9
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HUSBAND, 94, SAVES WIFE FROM FLAMES
Stairway Crashes as Aged Man Bears Helpmate Away from Burning House.
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Muscatine, Iowa, July 18
Heroism which parallels that of genuine fiction was exhibited by Charles Blow, 94 years old, from possible death in a fire which totally destroyed the residence of Mr. and Mrs. J. A. Contriman at Fruitland yesterday.
The aged people were in the home alone at the time of the fire. They have been guests at the Contriman home for the past several weeks, coming here from their home at Elgin, Ill. Their daughter, Mrs. Contriman was out in the pasture while Mr. Contriman was in the field.
The fire was discovered by Mr. Blow just as he had descended to the kitchen preparatory toward securing his breakfast. Considerable headway has already been made by the fire, a gust of flame enveloping him as he opened the kitchen door. Staggering from the noxious fumes he pluckily made his way upstairs where his wife was dressing. The aged woman was almost prostrated by the smoke which filled the upstairs portion of the dwelling and her husband practically carried her down the flight of the stairs. The passageway was dense with smoke and the two old people were compelled to fight their way to safety blindly. Flames singed the hair of both although neither was otherwise injured.
Barely a minute after they reached fresh air, the stairway crashed in.
The home was burned to the ground in its entirety. Nothing was saved. The loss to the furniture is estimated at about $1,500, while to the dwelling about $1,2000. The house was owned by Theodore Drake, a well known Muscatine Island resident. But a small amount of insurance was carried. The dwelling had recently been remodeled but since the improvements the insurance had not been increased.
Mr. and Mrs. Contriman had made their home in Fruitland since last February coming here from Chicago.
daughter of Charles BLOW
son of Maria Elizabeth BLOW
daughter of Frederick Judson “Fred” HOAGLAND
son of Helen Marie HOAGLAND
Me, the daughter of Frank Hunt BOSWORTH
Mr. Charles Blow and his wife, Lucy Flude Knott, are my 3x great grandparents.
Submitted by Tenderly Rose-Robin Melissa Bosworth Reininger
Susan (Gilbert) Sears Lester 1800–1873
Susan GILBERT
Susan Gilbert
1800–1873
My fourth great grandmother
daughter of Susan GILBERT
son of Celia Mary SEARS
son of Samuel Campbell HOAGLAND
daughter of Frederick Judson “Fred” HOAGLAND
son of Helen Marie HOAGLAND
the daughter of Capt. Frank Hunt BOSWORTH II
Susan was buried in Elgin first in Channing Cemetery, then her remains were transferred after the historical closing of that cemetery, to Bluff City Cemetery, where her daughter, Celia Mary (Sears) Hoagland is buried. She is buried in one mass grave with other family members as noted on the interment document from Bluff City Cemetery. I was able to obtain the interment list from a genealogy angel in Elgin, Illinois. She was my fourth great grandmother.
Susan’s second husband, Edward Lester, is buried with his first wife in DuPage, Illinois. Both Susan and Edward were residents of Elgin, Illinois at the times of their deaths. It is noted in his will that five dollars be left for Susan and the remainder of his estate involving property in DuPage and finances was to be left to his children from the first marriage. His son was executor of the will.
Susan (Gilbert) Sears Lester is the grandmother of Richard Warren Sears, the founder of Sears Roebuck and Company.
- Susan (Gilbert) Sears with picture of her husband, Richard Sears Jr.
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My paternal grandmother, Helen Marie Hoagland (1907 – 1965)
When Helen Marie HOAGLAND was born on June 22, 1907, in Elgin, Illinois, her father, Frederick Judson “Fred” HOAGLAND, was 27 and her mother, Mabel Gladys HAWLEY, was 26.
She was married three times and had four sons.
Helen Marie HOAGLAND married William Benjamin Shales, Jr. on March 22, 1924, in Elgin, Illinois, when she was 16 years old. They had one son, William David “Bill” Shales on March 17, 1925, in Elgin, Illinois. Helen and William Benjamin Shales, Jr., were divorced on June 27, 1927, in Elgin, Illinois, after 3 years of marriage. She was 20 years old.
Helen Marie HOAGLAND married Dr. Wilder Morris BOSWORTH on February 7, 1931, in Elgin, Illinois, when she was 23 years old. They had a son born September 21, 1931, in Chicago, Illinois. That son was placed for adoption, later to be adopted by the Mosiman family. His first name was John. Helen and Wilder had a son, Frank Hunt Bosworth was born on June 19, 1933, in Chicago, Illinois. Another son was born to the couple, Wilder Morris Bosworth II, on September 7, 1935, in Chicago, Illinois. His nickname was “Tuffy”.
Helen Marie HOAGLAND married Millard Ayres “Boots” Mason on May 5, 1945, in Biloxi, Mississippi, when she was 37 years old.
She died on September 13, 1965, in her hometown, Elgin, Illinois, at the age of 58 of Leukemia at St. Joseph’s Hospital.
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paternal grandmother
son of Helen Marie HOAGLAND
the daughter of Capt. Frank Hunt BOSWORTH II
Helen Marie Hoagland’s family history was a lively part of the pioneer days of Elgin, Illinois.
Occupation: Interior Decorator, Proprietor of Mason Interiors in Biloxi, Mississippi with her husband, Millard Ayes “Boots” Mason. As my grandmother, I called her “Macy” from her last married name.
My Grandmother Helen was a gifted pianist and songstress. She especially loved to spend time with me. I recall her playing her piano and singing to entertain me. I remember her laughter and her smiles. I know she loved me with all her heart. She bought me beautiful dresses, hats and purses. Our relationship was very close after I was born and until she left for Elgin when I was still a little girl. After “Macy” left, my mother took me to visit her husband’s grave at Southern Memorial Cemetery in Biloxi several times- we called him “Boots”. I visited Grandmother Helen when she was in St. Joseph’s Hospital in Elgin when she suffered with leukemia and it was determined she would not live much longer. She died when I was nine years old.
My Grandmother Helen held an immense amount of family history notes, photos and newspaper collections for the Hoagland/Bosworths. When she died, my father, Frank Bosworth came into possession of these articles and charts and wrote his own family history with the information from this collection. According to my father’s family history account, my grandmother Helen worked with his grandmother Bertha Swan Bosworth (paternal) to compile a family history. They were the two true genealogists on that side of the tree. When my father passed that family history to me, I transcribed his handwritten family history into text form. I took the family history he’d given to me and have grown the collection on my paternal side of my family to what it is today. It was the basis for the “Wings of Angels” family tree on Ancestry.com today. I later added my mother’s family tree to the “Wings of Angels” family tree. I had little to work with on her side of the family, so I started from scratch about 30 years ago trying to piece that together. These days, as an adult, I call “Macy” by the name of Grandmother Helen when referring to her. She is my inspiration for all the Hoagland/Bosworth genealogy research I do today. I am proud to follow in my grandmother’s footsteps as I continue to follow my genealogy passion. I consider my Grandmother Helen and my Great Grandmother Bertha Swan Bosworth the “Wings of Angels” that started my family tree. — note by Helen Marie’s grandaughter Tenderly
My Grandmother Helen was a lifelong Methodist.
Helen Marie Hoagland married William Benjamin Shales, Jr. on March 22, 1924, in Elgin, Illinois, when she was 16 years old. Their son, William David “Bill” Shales was born on March 27, 1925. Helen and Bill were divorced on June 27, 1927, in Elgin, Illinois, after three years of marriage. She was 20 years old.
Helen Marie Hoagland married Wilder Morris Bosworth I on February 7, 1931, in Elgin, Illinois, when she was 23 years old. Wilder was attending dental school around the year of 1931 in Chicago when their first son was born and my mother told me the child was put up for adaption. The child’s adoptive name was John Mosiman. My father Frank Hunt Bosworth was born in 1933 and my uncle Wilder Morris “Tuffy” Bosworth II was born in 1935, in Chicago, Illinois. Wilder was still in dental school.
Helen and Wilder, along with sons Frank and “Tuffy” lived in Safety Harbor, Florida, where my grandfather established his first dental practice in 1935.
In 1936, Wilder established a dental practice in Biloxi, Mississippi.
Helen and Wilder Morris Bosworth were divorced on September 13, 1941, in Biloxi, Mississippi, after 10 years of marriage. She was 34 years old.
Helen married Millard Ayres “Boots” Mason on May 5, 1945, in Biloxi, Mississippi, when she was 37 years old.
Helen’s husband Millard Ayres “Boots” Mason passed away on October 24, 1960, in Biloxi, Mississippi, at the age of 59. They had been married 15 years.
Helen Marie Hoagland died on September 13, 1965, in Elgin, Illinois, when she was 58 years old. Helen’s remains were donated for research at Northwestern University where it was cremated. She has no known burial site or memorial that I could find.
The Tenderly Rose Collection 