STIDGER, William C.: Died 1880

STIDGER, REDD, DUFFIELD, BONNEY

Posted By: Volunteer - Rich Lowe
Date: 7/8/2026 at 16:29:16

Keosauqua Republican
Thu, Jul 29, 1880 · Page 3

Obituary and resolutions adopted by Keosauqua Lodge No. 10 A. F. & A. M., on the death of Brother William C. Stidger, of Red Oak, Iowa.

William C. Stidger, of Red Oak, Iowa, died on the 21st day of July, 1880, of bilious colic.

His remains were brought to Keosauqua, to the residence of his father, Dr. George Stidger, and buried with masonic honors, by Keosauqua Lodge No. 10.

The deceased was the third son of Bro. George Stidger and Mary Stidger, and was born at Moundsville, Va., November 4, 1838, and lived there with his father, until the fall of 1855, when he came with him to Keosauqua, Iowa.

He received an excellent education, begun in Virginia, but completed under the excellent tutorship of the Rev. Daniel Lane, whose memory so many here and elsewhere cherish with gratitude for faithful and thorough teaching and wise christian council.

Although quite a young man, he became one of a party of emigrants under the leadership of L. J. Rose, who undertook to cross the plains by the Santa Fe Route in the summer of 1858, and participated in the skirmishes and conflicts which this party had with the Indians, near the Colorado river, at one time being surrounded by them, and cut off from the main body; but he charged through their ranks and came out alive, although exposed to a murderous fire from the yelling savages, saving his life by his dash and courage.

The party having lost their provisions in their battles with the Indians, it became necessary, not only to return, but also to procure help and supplies and he was chosen as one of six to go to the nearest military post for them, and was the second man to arrive, obtaining help and provisions, which were sent back to the suffering emigrants, under a military escort, and the party rescued from their double peril.

He returned to Keosauqua from Santa Fe in the spring of 1859, where he remained until October 11, 1861, when he enlisted as a private in Company E, 15th Iowa Inf. Vol., and remained with his regiment and mustered out by reason of the close of the war on the 24th day of July, 1865. The history of this regiment would be a history of the conflicts and triumphs, in which he participated, from its first baptism of fire at the battle of Shiloh to the great review of Sherman’s army at Washington when the war was over. He was also in the siege as well as the battle of Corinth, at the siege and surrender of Vicksburg; went with Sherman from Chattanooga to Atlanta, participating in the skirmishing and battles on the way, and that were fought at Atlanta, went down to the sea, up to Columbia, and on till the war was closed by the capitulation of Johnson’s army.

In a few days after he enlisted, he was selected as one of the company’s sergeants, subsequently as sergeant major of the regiment, and on the 26th of October 1864, he was commissioned as first lieutenant and adjutant of the regiment, which position he held until the close of the war.

Not only in the conflicts with the Indians on the plains, but all through the war, he proved to be a man of unshrinking courage and resolution, never turning aside from the path of danger, but rather courting it, and he proved himself an able and efficient officer, winning the confidence of his superiors, officers and the esteem and respect of his comrades.

He was severely wounded both at the battle of Shiloh and at Corinth, but these wounds did not deter him from continuing in the service. As soon as he was able to go he was again at the front with his regiment. Besides these he received two other slight wounds.

After the war closed, he returned to Keosauqua, where he engaged in the mercantile business, continuing therein at this place and Red Oak, where he removed early in the year 1871, until some time in the year 1877 when he closed out that business, and about two years ago started the Red Oak Democrat.

On the 20th day of November 1866, he married Mary J. Bonney, oldest daughter of Bro. Josiah Bonney, late Secretary of the State of Iowa.

He leaves surviving him his wife and three children, Josiah B., Ella and Otto, aged respectively, 12, 10 and 8 years.

His mother died Dec. 14th, 1864, but his aged father still lives to mourn his loss. This is the first break in a family of nine children, raised to manhood and womanhood; three daughters; Mrs. Samuel B. Redd, Mrs. George C. Duffield and Miss Beatrice Stidger, and six sons, Drs. Samuel B. & George Stidger, of Virginia; Capt. John S. Stidger, of the Red Oak Record; Judge Nathan Stidger, of Kansas, and Dr. Thornton Stidger, of Keosauqua, and the deceased.

He was made a mason, in this lodge, in the fall of 1866, and filled various important offices in the lodge, acting as master thereof, while Senior warden, in consequence of the removal of the W. M., and the duties of these positions he ably discharged with acceptability to the brethren. At the time of his death and for some time prior thereto he was a member of the lodge at Red Oak.

While Brother Stidger was not successful in accumulating a fortune as a merchant, yet he was an active, energetic and honorable business man. It was not until he became an editor and publisher, that he found his true vocation. It gave him a wider field for his energies and for his mental activity. He was naturally a good descriptive writer, but, realizing what the people most want, he quickly excelled as a paragraphist. But, as a political writer and leader, he was vigorous, forcible and fearless.

He had already won for his paper success financially, made it the organ of the Democratic party of his county, with a wide influence throughout the State, and given it high rank as a newspaper. Had he lived to devote himself to the profession chosen so late in life, he would undoubtedly have placed his paper among the leading organs of the state, and taken a front rank as a vigorous and able writer.

He had those good qualities of the head and heart, which made him a good citizen, patriotic and devoted to his country, a kind and an excellent neighbor, a generous and devoted friend, securing and retaining friends for the friendship he gave, and as a husband and father, kind, loving, and devoted.

His death was sudden. Only two days before, he was apparently in the vigor of health and manly strength, looking forward confidently to long life. He was taken severely at the first and quickly grew worse, and it soon became apparent that he could not recover, but must bid farewell to his family and friends and go the way of all the living.

Death is never a welcome messenger, when he touches with his wand a near and dear friend, and ever brings sorrow and suffering to the stricken family, but when suddenly, in the vigor of intellect and manly strength, the summons comes to the husband and father, the stay and support of a devoted, loving and loved wife and mother, leaving her alone and lonely, with her loved ones, his step, his voice, his loving words, to be heard again no more, but in the echoes that come up over the threshold of memory, then does the messenger come with a weight and suddenness of sorrow to the stricken hearts in the home, this bereavement that “filleth the cup till it runneth over.”

Such is the sorrow that entered this home, when the messenger came. We can but sympathize with them in their great sorrow.

He who chasteneth whom He loveth, can alone give comfort and consolation. He hath promised and His promises never fail.

The grief of the aged father hath an added burden, because of the stricken home of the son who has crossed the river before him.

The aged father and mother of the daughter who is thus early called to mourn the death of her husband, hath an added weight to the grief, because of a desolate home.

His brothers and sisters and the brothers and sisters of his wife must feel a deeper grief, when they see this sorrowing household and the little ones, who shall know no more a father’s care as they grow to manhood and womanhood.

We can but mourn with them and assure them all of our deep and heartfelt sympathy, commending them to our Heavenly Father for comfort and consolation, trusting that their loss is his gain, and that he now dwelleth where there is no death and no sorrow.

In commemorating further the life and character of our deceased brother, the high esteem and fraternal regard with which we cherished his memory, and our sympathy with his relations and friends, are expressed in the following obituary,—it is resolved by the lodge.

First, that we wear the usual badge of mourning for thirty days.

[Several lines are too badly damaged to transcribe reliably.]

…seal of the lodge, furnished to the widow of deceased and to his father, and that they be published in the Van Buren Democrat, Keosauqua Republican, and the Red Oak papers.