The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1904-05-20
Mankato's First School Teacher, Com
ing Here in Early Days.
Was One Of the Pioneer Women Of
This Section Of the State.
Her Death Not Unexpected, Was III
For Some Weeks.
A Believer in Christian Science and
Was Helped Greatly.
From Thursdays Daily.


Mrs. John Q. A. Marsh died last eve
ming at nine o'clock at the family resi-
dence, lis West Front street. The end
came not unexpectedly, as Mrs. Marsh
was in her seventy-first year and had
been sinking rapidly for some weeks.
Up to three months ago her health had
been fairly good for some years past.
Last February she was taken with an
illness that her friends believed to be
pneumonia Being a Christian Scientist,
she did not have the care of any regular
physician, but relied wholly upon what
, could be done for her by other believers
in the same faith. She seemed to rally
from this illness, but three weeks ago
! was taken with violent pains about the
chest and heart. A week later severe
, biliousness set in, an attack from which
she never seemed to rally.
{ Mrs. Marsh is survived by her hus-
band, John Q. A. Marsh and their grand
daughter, Margaret Marsh, fourteen
! years old, both living at the family home
on West Front street. This little girl
is the daughter of the son of the aged
couple, Charles NJ. Marsh, who is in the
employ of commission house at ST..
Louis. kilograms have been addressed
| thither to announce to him the death of
| HIS mother. Mrs. Marsh also leaves one
brother, Milton Hanna, the well-known
South Front street grocer; a sister-in-
law, Mrs. Emma j. Hanna, living on
West Front street; a niece, Mrs. Bell
/ Rooney, of West Front street; sister,
Mrs. Fred Griffith of Rapidan; three
grown nephews, sons of Mrs. Griffith,
Morris, Erwin and Clarence, all of Rapi-
dan; and another sister, Mrs. Lucinda
McMickle of Baxter Springs, Kas., who
| was called to the home of her dying sis
ter about week ago and is still visit
ing there.
Mrs. Marsh had indeed very large
| family connection, in which were sew
eral very prominent names. She was the
daughter of the we'll known James Han
ma, who brought large family to help
build up the settlement of Mankato in
1858, and who located claim in what is
now West Mankato, including Sibley
park. Her mother was the sister of
Mrs. George Maxfeld, who with her hus-
band and large family located in Manka-
to on the same day as did the Hanna
family, May 10, 1853. George Max
| field was pioneer worker of the stone
quarries and lime kilns, on which Man
kato's industrial life depends to so large
an extent; and he was also holder of
numerous offices of public trust, and a
prominent Royal Arch Mason. John @.
A. Marsh himself settled in Mankato in
1854 and his brother, the late George II.
Marsh, in the year before. These broth
ers had the first store of general mer-
chandise in Mankato, and they also had
the first regular mail route from st.
Paul through to Sioux City.
When the Hanna and Maxfeld families
were on their way to Mankato, they
bought up the only set or rather part
of set of dishes that could be pur-
chased in st. Paul. These dishes the
two families divided between them. On
coming to Mankato, they found about
eleven settlers here. These two were the
first regular families to settle the place.
These parents were the first people ito
bring white children Soon afterwards,
however, settlers came by the hun
dreds.
Mrs. Marsh, or rather Miss Sarah Jane
Hanna, was girl of nineteen when she
first came to Mankato. She was born
on Oct. Is, 1888, near Columbus, Ohio,
and was raised in that same neighbor
hood. Soon after coming to Mankato,
with the rest of the family, she opened
the first school. This was in a rough
warehouse, owned by her father, at the
end of Walnut street, on the south side
of where the city hall now stands. |
There were twenty three scholars and
she was paid by subscription. She con-
tinued to teach school several years.
Miss Hanna soon became a leader in
society. She was bright, intelligent,
attractive girl. and was highly popular
almost from the day the Hanna family |
settled here. Her schooling in Ohio had
been very good and her education was
far superior to that of most of the early
settlers.
On December 20, 1859, Miss Hanna J
was married to John @. A. Marsh, who
came to Mankato in 1854 from Chester !
field, New Hampshire The couple have
since always made Mankato their home. |
They have had two children, a son, |
Charles M. Marsh, above mentioned, and !
one daughter, Miss Mary E. Marsh, who
died in 1886, at the age of twenty.
Mrs. Marsh was one of the earliest |
members of the Presbyterian church.
This church she faithfully attended up
to the time of her conversion to Chris
tan Science, about ten years ago.
Mrs. Marsh had been in ill-health for
some years. She suffered greatly and
habitually took many different kinds
of medicine. At length she became con-
vinced that medicine would do her no