Barton County democrat. [volume] (Great Bend, Kan.) 1885-1915, 1892-04-07
A STORY FROM REAL LIFE.

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was sad and countless thousands
n mourned for loved ones lost in the
j fearful carnage of cruel war, there
lived, at Fillmore, Minnesota, a man
then past the prime of life named David
!. Mosher. He had a comfortable
home, a wife and three chidren-two
sons and one daughter. The eldest
boy was, at that time, fighting for
Uncle Sam in the Union army; the r>xt
younger son, lad of about seventeen.
and the daughter, were at home with
the parents.
One day, while mending her hus-
bands coat, the wife found some letters
in the pockets thereof which sent a
pang of anguish to her heart, and which,
as will be seen, caused her soon to be
left alone to battle with the cruel world,
worse than a widow-a deserted wife.s
The letters were from a neighbor
woman, Mrs. GLADDEN., and were
addressed to Mosher in loving terms.
When he came home his wife asked
for an explanation of the letters, ,whereat
he grew into terrible passion and
threatened his wife with severe punish
ment for chiding him upon hiss indis-
cretions. The son, though but young
lad, interfered in behalf of his mother,
and swore to protect her to his death.
The husband and father, with a few
words, turned upon his heel, left the
house, went to the barn and hitching up
his team, drove away.
From that day on his wife and child
ren never saw him more.
About a week after his departure,
GLADDEN., the husband of the woman
whose letters Mrs. Mosber had found,
came to the Mosher place to see if his
wife was there on a visit, as she had
left home on the some day that Mosher
had driven away, and GLADDEN. supposed
she was visiting with Mrs. NJ. 1t was
then discovered that the two had left
the country together.
GLADDEN. never after saw his wife.
They had no children; and few years
later he procured a divorce, on the
grounds of desertion, and eventually
remarked. Mrs. Mosher, however,
never procured divorce, and died the
legal wife of her recreant husband.
About 1887 she removed to northern
Iowa, where she made her home with
her youngest son. The eldest son,
returning from the army, finally settled
in Montana, where he IS today a pros
porous and Industrious citizen.
Some time, about the last of the
sixties, couple, then pretty well ad-
vanced in years, located at Abba, Iowa.
They had with them baby boy, a
cripple, who lived but sghort time after
their arrival in Abba.
In 1875 or 6, this couple removed
from Iowa to Great BeIM, and opened
a grocery store on small scale.
This couple was Mr.. and Mrs. D.
Merton, well known and respected by
most of our oldest citizens. They had
a store on Forest avenue, just west of
Joe Troillet's. In 1873 they had the
misfortune to be burned out by the only
big FIRE our town has ever had. They
lost almost everything. With the aid
of our liberal minded citizens, they were
enabled to rebuild, and put up the store
building now occupied by H.A. Bishops
grocery.
Soon after the fire. however. Mr..
Merton suffered stroke of paralysis,
from which he never entirely recovered.
His wife cared for him night and day
with unselfish devotion, and he appeared
to have no other interest in life except
her happiness. Each of them, when
talking with their neighbors, stated
many times that they had no known
relatives living. The DEMOCRAT editor
has many times heard them talk of
their loneliness. No one here ever
doubted their statements in any re-
spect.
Some time in 1888 the wife, Maria
Merton, sickened and dice, and the man
was inconsolable. He had handsome
monument erected to her memory, and
placed at her grave; and had a place
reserved for his own name when he too
would be laid to rest by her side.
On the second of December, 1891,
he too was called away, and many
hearts were saddened to see him in his
loneliness, without kith or kin, carried
through the cold winter winds to his
coveted rest beside '.Maria."
AS the reader has doubtless surmised,
D. Merton and D. ]. eMosher were one
and the same person, and Maria was
the former Mrs. GLADDEN..
1t appears that, while Mrs. MosheI
had never been able to find any trace
of her husband, he had always KEEP
trace of her IN same manner. Wher