The Denison review. [volume] (Denison, Iowa) 1867-current, 1911-11-29
DEATH VISITED
UPON TH0S. RAE
Early Settler and Prominent Farmer
Answers Deaths Call Thursday,
November Is After Brief Illness
NEPHRITIs is CAUSE OF DEATH
Funeral Held Saturday Afternoon and
lnterment Made in Dow City Gem
etery-Many Attend Funeral.

Thomas Rae, an early settler and q
prominent farmer and business man OF
the county, died at his home near Dow
City on November 23rd, after an i'll.
ness 80 brief that many of his friends
did not know of his sickness until
notified of his death. It was but few
days ago that he was upon the streets
Of Denison looking as hale and hearty
as at any time within the last ten
years. The cause of his death is said
to have been nephritis. This disease
is of such an insidious character that
he had probably been afflicted uncon-
sciously for some time and the fatal
result came when but recently he was
attacked by severe cold and the dis
ease assumed an acute form.
The deceased was born at Kettle
Bridge, Kings Kettle, Fifeshire, Scot
q little past his seventieth birthday at
the time of his death. He came to this
country In 1863 when but little past
twenty-one years of age, and worked
for number of years in the cotton
mills at Biddleford, Maine.% He was
united in marriage to Miss Jennie
Allen on April 10, 1866, who has been,
during all these years, his faithful
companion and helpmeet, and still sur
wives him. To them were born six
children: Mary, now deceased;
Thomas, at home; Nettie, living IN Des
M0ines; Willie, deceased; Allen, liy-
ing in Chicago, and James, at Iowa
City. Mr.. and Mrs. Rae moved to
Crawford county and located on a 60
acre farm, which he had previously Sc
cured and which has continued to be
his home ever since. He had sue
cessful career and added largely to
his original purchase, until nov his
land holdings amount to several hun.
dred acres. Both he and his wife
we're charter members of the Metho
dist Episcopal church at Dow City and
have been consistent and devoted
members ever since its organization
Thomas Rae was man possessed
Of more than ordinary ability and it
was. but natural that his life should
have been impressed upon the com
munity in which he lived. He was
physically vigorous man and dis
played unusual energy. He was an
bilious to be leader among his fel-
lOwmen and to master problems affect
ing the welfare of the state. There
we're few, IL any, people in the county
who were better posted on all mat
ters pertaining to the welfare, not on
u of the farmers, but people general
b, than Mr.. Rae. He was the frs
man in the tenth congressional dis
trict to write his congressman urging
him to favor the passage of rate
law, which was afterwards passed dur
ing the Roosevelt administration. He
had firm convictions on public ques-'
tons and wherever a moral issue was
involved he sought to throw his inflr
ence on the side of right. While it
cannot be said that Mr.. Rae was
without faults, it must be sad tha'
his virtues far outweighed them and
when his character is analysed, one
discovers that his errors could be
largely charged to over-enthusiasm
for what he thought was right, and
perhaps for want OF diplomacy at
times in meeting and dealing with
people. No foreign-born citizen ever
took more interest in his adopted
country and was a better friend and
more devoted to it's interests than was
Mr.. Rae toward this country.
The funeral services were held on
Saturday afternoon at the, Methodist
Episcopal church at Dow City, the pas
tor of the church, Rev. Joseph Stephen
and J. M. Boyd, former pastor of
the church at Dow City, officiating. An
unusually large attendance was pres
ent, not only of his neighbors and i'm
mediate friends, but people from ev
cry part of the county attended the
services, after which the body was
taken to the Dow City cemetery for
burial.
City Water Collector M. ]. Burke
ia busy these days collecting water