Genealogy Trails

Apache County, Arizona
Obits



Prescott Morning Courier 1906-06-12
Jesse N. Smith for 25 years a prominent Mormon of Northern Arizona died at Snowflake a few days ago.

Arizona Weekly Journal Miner 1891-07-08
Joseph C. Kay of Taylor, In the western portion of this county, died in a very peculiar manner a week or ten days since. His bowels became constipated and refused to act for seven or eight days but seemed to give him no trouble, as he was as cheerful and lively as usual. But one afternoon, while in the co-op store at Snowflake he was taken with a severe pain in the chest, which rapidly grew worse in spite of every effort  to alleviate it. In a short time his body and one side of his face began to swell and continued to do so until he burst open along the back bone, fully eighteen inches. After death ensued he burst again clear across the stomach. Those who were present, describe his suffering as something terrible to witness. —St. Johns Herald.

Tucson Daily Citizen
Holbrook Aug. 30 William A Barnes of Springerville, Apache County, died in a hospital here as a result of a gunshot wound in one hip while in camp en route from Springerville to Snowflake.
Barnes was shot accidentally when a companion, Charles Shim, allowed a rifle to fall from their wagon white unloading effects in preparing to make camp.

Date: 1896-07-15; Paper: Arizona Weekly Journal Miner
Mrs. Marshall, a resident of the Verde Valley near Cottonwood, died recently, age 28 years.

Date: 1921-02-05; Paper: Tucson Daily Citizen
First Preacher in Arizona Dies
Rev. James C. Bristow, 87 said to have been the first ordained minister to conduct services for an English -speaking congregation in Arizona, died at his home near Middle Verde last Saturday morning. Mr. bristol, who came to America as as pioneer in the Baptist Church in 1875, held his first service under a clump of cottonwood trees near where his home was located. Sunday morning, October 3, 1875. Ever since that time it has been the custom of his congregation to have 'tree meetings' once a year at the place.
Living descendants of Rev. Bristow are said to number 93. Three hundred persons attended the funeral, coming from all points up and down the Verde River. All schools in the vicinity of Middle Verde were closed during the burial ceremonies which were conducted by Rev. Mr. Gordon, a Baptist minister from Nogales.

Date: 1898-07-28; Paper: Weekly Phoenix Herald
A   SUNDAY   SUICIDE.
Moritz  Rosenberger   Dies  by Own Hand.
Cause for the Act  not  Apparent Though Supposed To Have Been a Love Affair.
About 10 o'clock yesterday morning Moritz Rosenberger committed suicide by shooting himself in the forehead with a 38-caliber Smith & Wesson revolver. Though the young man had threatened the night before to take his own life it was thought to be an idle remark and little attention had been paid to It. He was very fond of the gambling table and for the most part was considered lucky in his operations. Lately he had been losing some, but was not In the condition of embarrassment and had he been he need not have suffered, as he had numerous friends to whom he could apply for assistance.
Yesterday morning about 9 o'clock he was seen In the Palace saloon and seemed to be In his usual spirits and asked a friend to take a drink with him. An hour or so later the stage driver on the Black Canyon road brought word to town that he had discovered the body of a dead man lying beside the ditch under a cottonwood tree near the road that runs east and west by the Christy ranch. The body lay about 200 yards west of the junction of this road with the Black Canyon road.
Coroner Johnstone was informed and empaneling the following jury went out to the place where the body lay. R. Grisby, Ernest Ford, S. J. Darby, W. A. Moeur, George Bellis and John Bassett
After viewing the remains they adjourned to meet this morning at 10 o'clock. The body when found was still limp, the dead man lying on his back, his feet close together and across which lay the weapon from which was fired the fatal shot The bullet entered but did not leave the head, thus making but one wound on the surface.
The face was somewhat powder burned and the right hand badly and the left hand slightly burned and he had tied a handkerchief over his eyes to hide the view of the weapon. He had evidently held the barrel of the weapon in his right hand and pulled the trigger with the left hand.
That the young man had fully made up his mind .to commit suicide is further evidenced by the fact that the evening previous he gave the address of his sister to Max, a clerk at the New York store. Max asked him why he gave it to him and if he was going away. He replied that he was going to leave the country. Little was thought about it as Moritz was quite; a traveler and but two or three weeks since had returned from a trip embracing nearly all the cities throughout the north. He had also been trying to secure a long bladed knife the evening before and a knife of that description was found on the body.
The verdict of the coroner's jury aside form the formal opening and closing was as follows:
"After hearing the evidence adduced upon our oath we find and say, that the dead body which we inspected on the Isaacs road one mile north of Phoenix was the body of one Moritz Rosenburg a native of Bavaria, aged about 31 years and that he died July 21th, 1898, about 10 o'clock a. m., and that he came to his death from the effects of a pistol shot having been fired by his own hands with suicidal intent There is still another story to the effect that he was greatly infatuated with a woman who sings in one of the Washington Street Saloons and that of late their relations had not been pleasant as formerly.
This story however is denied by some of his friends and there is  no evidence of it save idle gossip.
Mr. Rosenberger come here from New Orleans about six years ago and most of the time since then he has been employed in the Palace Cigar store where he has made many friends and was uniformally pleasant and agreeable. He was about 31 years of age and a native of Bavaria though he had lived a great part of his life in America. He leaves a mother, two brothers and a married sister, Mrs. Max Schneider, to whom a telegram was sent yesterday asking instructions. A reply was received last night requesting particulars and authorizing the embalming of the body which had been turned over to W. A. Davis. Further Telegraphic instructions are awaited from the relatives who are believed to be quite wealthy.

WESLEY ADAIR (also referred to as John Wesley Adair) a private in Company C of the Mormon Battalion, was born Feb.  18,1820,  in  Pickens County, Alabama. Became a  member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints  about 1842. Gathered with the Saints at Nauvoo and acted as one of the minute men there, being driven out with the rest of  the Saints in the  spring of 1846. Arriving at the Missouri  River he responded to the call of the United States and became a member of  the famous Mormon Battalion and suffered the hardships incident to that notable march of infantry. He joined the Saints in Utah in 1848 and moved to Arizona in 1880, living for a  time at Showlow, Navajo County. His life was spent on the frontiers and he was a hard-working man, always full of faith in the Gospel and died May 5, 1903, 83 years old, at  Nutrioso, Apache Co. Arizona.

(Deseret News  May  27, 1903,  page 3.) 

Douglas,Deena Kaye  4-26-1958     3-7-2009    Cremated
A memorial service was held Saturday, March 14, in Springerville, Ariz., for Deena Kaye Douglas.
Douglas, 50, died Saturday, March 7, in Eager, Ariz.
She was born April 26, 1958, to Dean Davies Battishill and Ethel Estelle Hill in Silver City. She was a bank teller and proud to be a real estate agent for five years.
She raised two sons and was married to Ken Douglas for 32 years.
She was preceded in death by her father.
Douglas is survived by her husband of Eager; sons, Matthew Wayne Douglas of Florence, Ariz., and Allen Ray Douglas of Eager; her mother of Albuquerque; brother, Robert Battishill of Garland, Texas; and sisters, Margaret Provencio of Albuquerque and Vickie Dickerson of Artesia.
Donations may be made to any Alzheimer’s research foundation Arrangements were under direction of Burnham Mortuary, Eager.
(Submitted by Virginia Stanbrough)

Henry Randall a young man died at Snowflake last Sunday, of diptheria
Date: 1908-01-16;  Paper: Prescott Evening Courier

Saturday night the stage driver from Springerville to St. Johns  was instantly killed off into a wash. The night was very dark and the horse got off the road and came to the wash below the bridge and slopped. When the driver could make him go no farther he started to walk ahead to see what was the trouble and when a few feet in front of the horse he stepped off into space, falling about twenty feet or more. The fall broke his neck and both his legs. The horse returned to Springerville. The driver was a Mexican, but we were unable to learn his name.—Holbrook Argus. Nov. 34.
Date: 1900-11-27; Paper: Prescott Evening Courier

The Albuquerque Democrat says:
"Edwin Depew committed suicide on the 11th instant at the town of Springerville, Arizona. He set a pan on the floor between his feet and then cut his throat with a razor, letting the blood flow into the pan. He was discovered before death, and gave as the reason of his rash act that he was in poor health. He was 61 years old  and leaves a wife and several children. He was born in New York."
Date: 1889-10-23; Paper: Weekly Journal Miner

W.H. Wahl, one of the oldest settlers of Apache county, died at this home in Springerville last week. He left a large estate, and we are informed that there will be a contest over the same, -Winslow Mail
Date: 1905-04-11; Paper: Prescott Evening Courier

News has reached here from St. Johns that ex-Sheriff Beeler had shot and killed Montie Slaughter and wounded Clare Peary. The killing took place in Springerville last Saturday afternoon about 2 o'clock. Beeler and Slaughter have been at enmity for a long time and when they met in Springerville Saturday they engaged in a friendly (?) quarrel, which no one thought would have such a bitter ending. But Mr. slaughter seemed to tire of quarreling and departed saying "I'll be back in a few minutes and I'll fix you." Mr. Beeler fixed himself before Slaughter returned by procuring a shotgun. When Slaughter came back to Sam
Saffell's saloon, he came in at the door, raised his Winchester, and fired at Beeler, but missed; where upon Beeler seized his shotgun and called out to Mr. perry, who was standing near the door, "Get out of the way, Peary; I don't want to have to kill two men." Then he fired and slaughter, who was about to fire a second shot fell dead, and a stray shot from the charge took effect in Peary's side, making a painful but not dangerous wound; although had it not been for the shot striking his six-shooter handle, there would have been two dead men. Beeler gave himself up to the authorities at once and asked for a trial. As there was considerable excitement over the affair at Springerville, Beeler, was escorted to St. Johns, where he had a hearing Wednesday and was placed under $1,000 bonds. the second day after the killing it was thought that a pitched battle between the friends of the two parties was imminent, but the danger ceased when Beeler was taken to St. Johns - Holbrook Argus Jan 19
Date: 1901-01-22; Paper: Prescott Evening Courier

On Tuesday last Mr. Fred Hulsey, of Springerville, died in St. Johns. Mr. Hulsey was a well known citizen of the county, having lived at Nutrioso and Springerville for a number of years. - St. Johns Herald
Date: 1904-06-02; Paper: Prescott Evening Courier

Died at Nutrioso, Apache County of Scarlet Fever Feb 20th 1886 Marcus E. Lee son of E.T. and Annie Lee age 2 yrs 1 mon and 12 days
Date: Wednesday March 10, 1886 Location: Salt Lake City, Utah Paper: Deseret News

Died at Nutrioso, Apache County February 22, 1886 William Oscar Lee, son of E.F. and Annie Lee, aged 8 months and 8 days
Date: Wednesday March 10, 1886 Location: Salt Lake City, Utah Paper: Deseret News

Died at Nutrioso, Apache County of Scarlet Fever, Feb 15 1886 Don C. Adair son of George W., Jr. and Millie Adai; aged 1 yr 6 mons and 29 days
Date: Wednesday March 10, 1886 Location: Salt Lake City, Utah Paper: Deseret News



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