The Rock Island Argus and daily union. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1920-1923, 1921-09-05
OLDEST WOMAN
IN ROCK ISLAND
COUNTY PASSES
Mrs. Maria Hubbard Dimock. Aged
100, Resident Of Moline IS
Years, Dies.


I Mrs. Maria Hubbard Dimock. a
resident of Moline rs years. died
Saturday light in the home of her
daughter. Mrs. Florence Sleight,
/ SIS Seventeenth street.
/ Mrs. Dimock, who was over 100
years old was the oldest inhabitant
! of Rock Island county and the only
survivor of the earliest pioneer
| days of Moline. She was the wild
| ow OF Dewitt c. Dimock. founder
| of Dimock, Gould & Co., propria-
| tors of the first lumber mill in Mo-
! line.
| Funeral services will be held in
! the Sleight home at o'clock to-
| morrow afternoon. Rev. P. c. Ladd.
pastor Of the First Congregational
/ church, of which Mrs. Dimock was
| a charter member, will officiate.
Mrs. Dimock will be laid to rest in
the family burial lot in Riverside
cemetery.
The story Of Mrs. Dimock's life
is the story of Moline. Arriving
when il was a mere river settle
ment she watched it grow into the
/ largest pillow manufacturing district
| in the world. In the three-Quarters
of century she had resided in Mo
! line her life has been linked in ev-
cry way with its development.
! AS late as November 1920 Mrs.
| Dimock went to the polls and voted.
1t was necessary to convey her to
. the polling place in a carriage, but
she was able to cast her ballot.
Her interest in the church was
manifested by her insistance on at
tending the cornerstone ceremonies
| of the First congregational church.
She went in an automobile, but was
able to stay during all of the serv-
! ice.
Active to Last.
Mrs. Dimock was a strong wom-
an. physically and mentally. Age
did not weaken her. and as late as
three months ago she took an ac-
tive interest in the life of the
Sleight home. But early in June
she began to decline and had not
left her room since that time.
| Death came at O'Clock Saturday
evening.
/ Her early life was full of the
thrilling experiences of a pioneer.
! including a slow and d ngerous
wagon trip from New York to Illi-
nois. Maria Hubbard was born
Dec. II, 1920, in Bergen, Geneseo
county. New York She was the
daughter of Mr.. and Mrs. Rufus
Hubbard
The Hubbard family started on
the big migration for the west on
June,7. 1886. An older brother and
her father built a conveyance re
sembling a stage coach. 1t was
longer than a stage coach in order
to accommodate a bed for the COM
fort of Mrs. Hubbard, who was an
invalid
To this vehicle were attached
four horses The travelling party
consisted of Maria Hubbard, her
parents, two older brothers and
two younger children, twins.
The trip took So days. The piou-
GERS stopped for a few days at
Wood, Ohio, where they visited a
brother of Mrs. Hubbard. They
arrived in Adams county, Illinois,
On July 81. The KubbardS encoun-
tered terrible roads but escaped at
tack by hostile Indians. While in
Adams county Mrs. Hubbard died
and the responsibility of the home
was taken up by the eldest daugh-
ter.
The first home in Illinois was a
log cabin. The following year the
family moved on again, this time
to Geneseo, in Henry county.
miss Hubbard lived with her FAM
lily at Geneseo until 1S43, when IN
June she was married to Dewitt
c. Dimock. Shortly after their
marriage Mr.. and Mrs. Dimock
came to Moline.
| Mr.. Dimock and John Gould
founded the Dimock, Gould & Co
The first saw mill was established
On Rock Island about 65 years ago
and when the government took over
the island the plant was moved 10
the present location at Third ave-
nue. and Twenty-second' street.
Surviving Family.
Mrs. Dimock was left widow
in 1886, but she kept up the home
she and her husband had establish
! ed until 1910. when she moved 10
The residence of her daughter, Mrs
Florence SIeight The old Dimoch
property at Third avenue AMI
Twenty-third street now forms part
! of the Burlington railroad yards.
!; Surviving Mrs Dimock are d
daughter, Mrs Sleight, sister
Miss Cornelia Hubbard, who was
one of the twins to make the triE
and who lives with Mrs. Sleigh:
two granddaughters, Mrs. Jay {
= Barnard and Mrs. c. Z. Dietz, tive
| great grandsons, Jay Barnards, Jr.
and Hunter Dletz, and one grea'
= granddaughter, Barbara Barnard.