River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1896-02-27
DEATH OF "BUI,v NYF.

%-h III VI flIh ~
Edgar w. Nye died at his home near
Asheville, North Carolina, Saturday
afternoon, the 22d instant. All the
members of his family were pres
ent at the time of his peaceful
demise. He suffered from a stroke
of paralysis on the 18th of February,
from which he never rallied. Many
people all over this broad land mourn
the untimely death of this gifted man,
but the people of this locality among
whom he spent his childhood and
youth, where he went to school, and
where most of his relatives still live,
feel his death to be a personal loss.
The funeral was held in the Episco-
pal church of which he was a member
near his home, Tuesday afternoon.
His family consists of the wife, two
sons and two daughters.
Edgar Wilson Nye was born in Shir-
ley, Maine, Aug. 25, 1850. but when he
was two years old his parents moved
to Wisconsin, and settled on a farm
up on the Kinnickinnic, five miles
above River Falls. He attended the
district school until he had mastered
the studies taught there, afterwards
studying at the Academy in River
Falls, and later attending the Military
Institute here, under the direction of
j. r. Hinckley.
In 1876 he WEI to Wyoming Terri
tory, where he stadied law and was
admitted to the bar. His law practice,
however, was a matter of secondary
consideration, as he had commenced
writing for the newspapers, from
which he received so much encourage
ment that he determined to devote
his time TO literary pursuits. He was
appointed on the staff of the Denver
Tribune and moved to that place. He
was at the same time correspondent
of The Salt Lake Tribune. He did not
remain in Denver but short time, as
he was invited by a stock conn any
to take charge of paper started
in Laramie, Wyoming, called the
Boomerang. From his writings in the
Boomerang, which were quoted all
over the United States, Nye began to
get his reputation as hulnorist. The
Boomerang was not a financial sue
cess, but the reputation which the
editor acquired as humorist in its
columns laid the foundation for his
fortune.
Mr.. Nye wrote story for the New
York World, which pleased the man
aging editor, Mr.. Pulitzer, and he
offered the writer position on the
editorial staff of the World. Instead
of accepting the offer in the form it
was offered, Nye proposed to write for
the paper over his own name, at his
| convenience, what he chose to, at
salary of $4,000 year. This arrange
ment was satisfactorily consummated,
and Nye doubled his earnings by syn
| dicating his letters.
Besides his letters to periodicals,
Bill Nye has published several books
of his humorous writings; among
these are: Bill Nye and the Boom
erang; The Forty Liars; Baled Hay;
Bill Nye's Blossom Book; and Re-
marks, by Bill Nye. He has also lee
tured all over the United States. At
one time Nye and James Whitcomb
Riley we're associated in the lecture
| field.
Mr.. Nye was married in 1877 to
Miss Fannie Smith, of Chicago. He
moved to North Carolina, seven or
eight years ago, believing the climate
would be more congenial to his failing
health. He had bought farm, built
him a home there, and lived there
ever since except when he was on his
lecture tours.
He had often expressed the feel
ing that he was not entirely salts
fed with his profession as mere
jester, and conveyed the impression
that he followed the line Of writing
as matter of business rather than as
a satisfying ambition. Yet his humor
was spontaneous, and his amiability
of disposition perennial. The death
of Edgar Wilson Nye is universally
regretted.