The Pascagoula democrat-star. (Pascagoula, Miss.) 1878-1920, 1891-12-11
IN MEMORIAM.
FERNANpo UPTON oAUTIrR.

u ~
at his home at West Pascageula, Miss
# FERNANDO UPToS GAUTIER, In the 70t
year of his age
In the spring of 1922 the good ship, o
: which Henry Upton was master, left New
York, bound for FraEcc. On her way sh'
s was to touch at some Brazilian port, ther,
D to complete her cargo with hides. Befor'
! reaching her Sonth American destination
she encountered Il gale, from which sh,
suffered so severely that the captain, W he
I had lost his bearings, was forced to lei
J his vessel drift aimlessly in mid-ocean
, On board the ship thus iinpelled by wind
and current, and lost-as it were-at sea,
Fernando Gautier, whose parents were
passengers on their way to France, was
born on the 9Th of April, 1922. A few
days after land was sighted. which proved
to be the island of San Juan Fernando,
off the coast of South America. The
child, whose advent into life had been
attended with so much danger from wind
and wave, received the name of Fernando
from this island, hear which be first saw
the light, and Upton after the captain of
the vessel. The voyage to France and
subsequent return to America were at
tended without incident.
His parents settled in New Orleans,
where the subject of this sketch passed
his young days. At the age of sixteen he
found employment in the cotton Office of
Meggett d Co., with whom he remained
for several years. Arrived at mans
estate young Gantier removed to Biloxi,
and thence to Tchoutica Buffa, where he
met Miss Therese Fayard, to whom he
WAS married on the 10th of February,
1874. He was then in the twenty-secoud
year of his age. Poor, as to worldly
goods, but rich in courage, foititnde and
strength of body aud mind with an
innate love of truth and integrity, the
young couple, full of affection for each
other-an affection, which, during the
fOrty-seven years of married life, never
lost the fervor and tenderness of youth
began life with a confidence and self
reliance that never failed them, that con-
quered all difficulties, and that finally
rewarded them with a generous compc-
tence.
An ardent lover of nature in all its
phases, it is not surprising that, aban
doning the city. with its hustle and strife, |
with its conventionalities and shams,
Fernando Gautier sought for happiness in
the peace and quiet of Il country life. He
loved to see things grow, and from the
bosom of Mother Earth he drew subsist-
ence for himself and family. For him no
toll was too arduous, in honest manual
labor he could find nothing degrading,
Whether he held the plough, and, with
his own hands, gathered and marketed
the crops of field aud orchard ; whether
he used the mechanics tools-and he used
them well and skillfully-or turned the
resinous pine into coal ; whether he raft
cd logs to his mill on the Biloxi river, or
behind the saw no matter what
he undertook TO do, he strove to do it
well. In him and his work was personi-
fed and exempli6ed the true dignity of
true nobility of manhood that
prefers justice and honesty. with rough
and soiled hands, to the tender and deli.
skin, which so often belongs to de-
ccit aud cunning. If one thing in his
shone with greater brilliancy,
it was his ardent love Tor truth it there
was another, which his otherwise gentle
nature abhorred and severely condemned,
it was a falsehood. His cardinal theory,
to which he persisteutly and rigidly adj
bered in practice, 'lyirg is tho meauest
Of all vices" he was wont to frequently
repeat, so much so, that, with his family.
It soon took and held the force of an
iphorism. Stern aud inflexible where
right and wrong were concerned, he was. A.,
all other matters, as gentle and yield
ng as a child. His heart was full to
'verfowing with the milk of human
kindness. The suffcrIngs, physical or
mental, of his fellow-beings ever excited
lis sympathy and compassion, which ,
took an active and tangible form ; =
rom his own store, whether scauty or :
I~bundant, he relieved whatever distress
hat appealed to his generous nature
'fIen without solicitation, never with
In the hos ON Of his family, TO the mem !
of which be was equally and tender
y attached, and between whom there
xists a union of feeling and sentiment as
trong as it is rare, he was seen at his
'est. The comfort and happiness of his
wife and children were ever his first
for them he lived and for their I
axes he deemed no sacrifice too great. no
'urden too onerous. Ihdulgent to a /.
ault, his parental authority and influence
Fere never relaxed ; reproof, when nee :
ssary, was given without a trace of anger
passion ; but, so just were his COM =
hands, so geutle his sway, that eager end
acquiescence in his wishes was ,
Invariably yielded without murmur or '
avil. OF each il can be truly said
ever had children a better father, never
Fas a ia Their blessed with better childrea /,
The war came, and, what with profit of |
nil and farm. Fern ando Gautier was, IL |
OF rich, comfortable and beyond the
each of want. His first intention was
D go to the front, but, seeing that he l
ould be of more service as a provider
han as a soldier, he yielded to his neigh :
ors, who entreated him to remain at =
ONE and look after their families. How A
.ithfnllv he performed the obligations