Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1911-12-21
chapter OF the Corinthians followed.
after which Rev. w. H. HORNED offered

chapter OF the Corinthians followed
after which Rev. w. II. HORNED offered
prayer P.}'I25 '&S.5s
The eulogy of THE life of Captain
Harper as an old friend and comrade
was then delivered by Major Samuel
Mahon, who was Immediately follow
ed by the pastor Rev: r.. Ames Mont.
gomery in theSs funeral sermon that
was also eulogistic Of the departed
mayor from the standpoint of the
churchman and Christian. Lead,
Kindly Light" and Beautiful Isle Of
Somewhere" were sung effectively by
the quartet who closed the service
with the latter selection.
! AS the funeral party made its exit
from the church, the bier was brought
through the open ranks Of the Malta
Commandery Knights Templar and
Lodge No. Is A. F. e. A. M. who with
visiting Masons were present at the
funeral in large numbers. Headed by
the Fifty-fourth Regiment band and a
firing squad from Co. G, /. N. G. with
the city officials, fire and police de-
partments, employees of Harper-Mc-
Intire Co., and Masonic orders on foot,
the carriages followed and the cor.
tege wended it's way to the Ottumwa
cemetery where interment took place.
A large delegation of the G. A. r..
was present at the church and many
of these in carriages and by street car
went to the cemetery where the Ma.
sonic burial service was conducted.
Commander of the department Of Iowa
NJ hpo hov ,P MI
Pleasant, who succeeded the late
Captain Harper as department com.
rnander, was with Adjutant General
George A. Newman, present at the
funeral service and later went to the
cemetery. 1.. ,,-.. ...,. <.~ta..,5.r
Ottumwa generally observed the
hours of the funeral service in man
ner bespeaking the great respect Of
the city for it's departed mayor. This
was evidenced by the closing OF the
court house, banks, city Offices, a
of the business houses and the
tolling of the fire bell and the bell of
the Sacred Heart church. "
Major Mahon's EuIosy.
In eulogizing Captain Harper, Major
Mahon said:
We meet today under the shadow
of {. great sorrow and we can but bow
our heads in submission to this els
pensation of Almighty God. We won
der why our friend was taken from
us, when so many of US could be bet
ter spared; the mystery is for us
mortals, but behind the veil is divine
and beneficent providence of whom 1t
Ill HI all
Our whole community mourns with
his family the departure of our friend.
am not here today to sound his
praises in oratorical effort, but as a
near friend and neighbor to review the
life of good man, good citizen and
q patriot. =.
Samuel H. Harper came of sturdy
pioneer stock. His people were part
of the advance army of civilization
that conquered the west; with them
they brought the church and the
school, and an abiding faith. These
men were heroes in their way, seers
in their time; they had the vision of
the future like the prophets of old;
they endured privation; they over.
came great obstacles; they learned
in the primitive life economies and
thrift.
Our departed friend was educated in
this hard school of experience; it
fitted him for the battle of life as no
other education could have accom-
plfshed. He learned endurance, in.
dustry and in that simple life, un.
wavering integrity and high moral
rectitude. ~
When the tocsin Of war sounded
over the land in the great civil strug-
gle, young Harper, yet in his teens,
rallied to the colors in defense of the
against armed rebellion.
How we'll he served is illustrated by
the fact that he entered the service a
private soldier and at the close OF the
war had achieved a captains commits
sion. He served, with his command, in
the arduous campaigns west of the
Mississippi river.
My comrades of the Grand Army,
few except yourselves who partici-
pated in the campaigns of the west,
realize the hardship and privations
endured in the long marches, perhaps
hundreds of miles, fordlng rivers and
creeks in all weathers, often with
scanty rations and without shelter
from the elements, enduring fatigue
and exhaustion, mayhap wounded and
exposed on the battlefield and all in
a hostile country. Who shall measure
the sacrifice made by the soldiers of
the civil war in that four years of
strife? ...... a-:
Stood for Highest Type. r..
On his return home at the close OF
the war, our friend began his career
in business. We were in close proXim-