Adeline

These lines are a sketch of the life and work and passing of Samuel H Worcester, son of, Martin & Ann Childs Worcester, Coventry, England. Worcestershire.

Samuel H Worcester born April 15, 1828 Wednesbury, England. passed on October 14th, 1898; Des Moines, Iowa. Buried, Ottumwa, Iowa.

see image hyperlink above; 1_4SamuelWorcester.pdf

In the beginning, these reminisces of my father, I think will be of more interest to begin when he left England. As several of the married brothers and sisters had moved to America and were living in Cincinnati, Ohio and just over the river in Newport, all doing well, Samuel wished to join them; he was aged twenty years. He came in the vessel Britannia, sailing from Liverpool to New York; he remained in New York city a short time, but being lonesome he went to Cincinnati and joined his sisters and brother Henry.

He lived in his sister Elizabeth's home a fine gentle little woman, always dear to her brother as long as he lived, she never forgot a sweet birthday letter to him. Samuel had learned the plumbing trade, fine carriage and sign painting, also lead glass window making. All but the plumbing he engaged in until his death, woning his own business from 1858.

In 1848 his father and mother longing for the companionship of the older children in America, set sail from Liverpool, with the younger children, in October, leaving a most joyful reunion on Christmas 1848.

All were in the states except for Mary who had married the Rev John J Blower, son of a noted English divine. She was living in Brighton, England, a watering place. Rev Blower died about 1866, she also wisht to go to America, the older brothers did not send her money, so she wrote to her brother Samuel, she would like to join the others. He sent her five hundred dollars and with her children Fanny Barnett, aged 18 yrs., Anne Elizabeth, and John J Jr., sailed to America, reaching Ottumwa in June 1867. They remained in our home many years. Fanny married a contractor about 1869. Anne married in Topeka, Kan., Aunt Mary died in Topeka in 1880. John became an expert in railroad office and was with the CB & G road, later going to South America with a large English syndicate to build a trans-continental road but after a years work, they failed and the rail-road was not finished.

In June 1849 came the cholera epidemic, which raged in a frightful manner for many weeks., taking a heavy toll over the States. Three of the family succumbed, the father was stricken, dying in a few hours, on June 21st, 1849, his wife's birthday. The mother followed him in five or six weeks, of a broken heart.

My father often talked of his sweet and lovely mother and he seemed to miss her more as the years passed on by. She and her sisters were beautiful fair women, golden hair, very blue eyes and faultless skin. Father loved to dwell on the life in England and what a fine father he had upright in all his dealing and ever ready to help the oppressed and needy. . . . . . .