W. H. Ridgeway
opened Clarke County's first funeral home on the northwest corner of the
square. W. H. Ridgeway
opened Clarke County's first funeral home on the northwest corner of the
square.
"Mr. Ridgeway has ordered a $200 Hearse to satisfy his already large business, and accommodate the public. A need of this has been felt here for a long time, and hereafter we shall not be compelled to follow our deceased friends to the cemetery in a lumber wagon. It is being built by I. Q. Dague, and will be ready for use by the middle of next week." - Clarke County Sentinel, May 7, 1869.
Theodore B. Webster,
son-in-law of W. H. Ridgeway, took over the funeral service in 1889. He
moved the establishment to the south side of the square. Theodore is recorded
as the first male baby born in Clarke County. He was the son of Dickinson
& Louisa Jane Perry Taylor Webster and was born in Madison township
on October 5, 1853.
Source: Osceola Centennial Issue...1851 to 1951, Osceola Sentinel, August 2, 1951, Osceola ; Osceola Sentinel, Thurs. 17 Jun 1915; reprint of "Clarke County Historical and Biographical Record" by Lewis Publishing, 1886.
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Last Revised August 31, 2010