Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1902-09-26
DR.. n. {. BOYER DEAD
Character Who Formerly Resided
Here Succunbs to Old
Age at Quincy
IN WANT IN HIS LAST DAYS
Refused Medical Attention-As TO
His Rela-
tives.

who was for several years a famil-
lar character on the streets of Rock
Island, is dead at Quincy. The ,.uin-
cy Herald tells this story:
Three weeks ago George Jost re-
ported to the police officers at the
station one night that a man was
lying in the northernmost stairway
of the Fisher building on Fourth
street between Hampshire and Yer
mont and that he was either asleep
or had fallen down stairs.
Officers Scharnhorst and Coleman
went over and found the man at the
foot of the stairway was DIR. Boyer
They aroused him and assisted him
to his room on the third floor front.
Since then DIR. Boyer has not been
down stairs. His dead body was
carried down yesterday afternoon in
a coffin and taken to an undertakers
to S. T. Messick's.
About the time he was taken sick
there came to Quincy young wo-
man of the name of Olive Nelson.
Miss Nelson came from Davenport and
was visiting one of the families in
the building when she heard of the
doctors sickness and went up 10 see
him. He liked her looks and askah
her to work for him, and not hRyittg
anything else to do at the time die
consented. She remained with him
to the last, sleeping on cot in one
corner of the room while he occupied
a single bed in another corner. The
room was the doctors office as well
as bedroom, and Miss Nelson did the
cooking for the two in an adjoining
smaller room.
In the Doctors Quarters.
There are pictures-cheap prints
and several calendars on the walls.
In the far corner as one enters is
long table filled with bottles of
various sizes, some of them empty
and some of them filed with various
liquids These all bear the label of
the Court House pharmacy, but are
not filled as prescriptions. They look
as though the doctor had got hold
of lot of labels and wrote the di-
rections upon them himself. Near
the long table with the bottles is
small stove and there are several
chairs. The room looks quite tidy
despite its lack of furniture and
Nelson is a clearly housekeeper-
There is a pile of newly washed and
ironed towels, shfnfss etc, on table.
by the side of the doctors bed and
also on the table are three tumblers.
one with a teaspoon in it. 1t stood
this forenoon partly tilted over
against the other two.
Miss Nelson stated that she was
awakened at daylight by hearing the
doctor stirring. She inquired if there
was anything she could do for him
and he replied in the negative. He
was then sitting on the side of the
bed and held the glass afterwards
found tilted on the table. Miss Mel
son fell asleep again and when she
awoke it was o o'clock. CHANGING
over to the bed she saw the doctor
was lying across it his legs falling
over the side and his feet almost
touching the floor. She went over
to him. His body was cold.
IIkened to Dickens Character.
DIR. Noah Elisha Boyer came to
Quincy about nine years ago. He had
the general appearance of one of
Dickens characters as drawn by
George Cruikshank, a very old and
brushed silk hat, very old
and much brushed Prince Albert
coat, and a somewhat soiled white
vest; a pair of black kid gloves with
the finger tips exposed for ventilation
and other sanitary reasons, and lit
tie rusty leather medicine case. n
small man, round-shOuldered with
long beard carefully BACKED until
not a single gray hair could be seen
hair, brushed carefully
back from behind the ears and reach
ing from either side to point on the
coat collar. The shoes generally had
the appearance of having been black
ed with stove polish, and in the latter
days the poor little old doctors silk
hat looked as though it had gone
through the same treatment.
DIR. Boyer was man of few words.
He liked his beer and bought ana
paid for it. That is, when he had the
money. When the cash was scarce
he went without his beer, and IT is
feared frequently craved something
to eat. OF himself he
never spoke and not much is known
of him except that at one time he
was resident of Augusta, Va, He is
said to have a sister, Mrs. MathIlda
Stewart. in Westfield, Clark county,
Ill A letter from Mrs. Stewart and
her husband are among the doctors
effects and bears date September,
1895. He has a son, w. Norris Boyer,
a druggist at Hamburg, Iowa, and
several letters from him are in the
package kept in box by the old man.
The latest bears date of June rs, last.
1t appears that the son had been here
on visit and reports his safe ar
rival home. Still another letter was
from 1. \. Boyer, of Niles, kans.,
presumably a relative, containing an