Elizabeth Rich
| Date of Interment or Death | 03/27/1919 |
|---|---|
| Location | Old Fairview |
| Section | D |
| Block-Lot-Grave | 1-8-2 |
Obituary
Elizabeth Rich-1919
Mrs. Elizabeth Rich Passed Away at 83 WIFE OF FIRST SETTLER OF WAHPETON DIES Funeral Service at Home Today Came to Wahpeton Before the Railroad arrived – Has Made Her Home Here Since 1871 – Well Known to All the Pioneers
Mrs. Elizabeth Rich, widow of M. T. Rich , the first settler in Wahpeton, passed away at the home of her daughter, Mrs. S. R. Falley, Tuesday morning about 4:30, following a long illness, the direct result of old age. Mrs. Rich has been confined to the house for a number of years, and for the past year had not left her room, although she was able to sit up in her chair a good part of the time each day until the past two or three weeks. She would have been eighty-three years of age had she lived until the 19th of next June. Elizabeth Friedrich was born in Germany June 19, 1836. Her mother died when Elizabeth was a little girl, and at the age of seventeen she accompanied her father and two brothers to America, joining one brother who had preceded them. The family settled on a farm in Goodhue County, Minnesota, about nine miles from Red Wing. Here the young woman made her home until married to M. T. Rich on June 4, 1857.
Three daughters were born to Mr. and Mrs. Rich, all of whom survive her. In 1869 Mr. Rich came up to the present location of Wahpeton, and homesteaded the farm within the limits of which the city of Wahpeton now stands. In the fall of 1871 he returned with an ox team as far as Morris, Minn., which was the end of the railroad, and brought back the wife and children to the home which he had prepared for them.
The history of Mrs. Rich since that day is well known. She has made her home here ever since 1871, an was loved by all who knew her. She was of the sturdy pioneer stock to which this country owes so much, modest, retiring, unassuming, and withal a splendid character. Of late years she has made her home with her daughter, Mrs. Falley.
Mrs. Rich is survived by her three daughters, Miss Carrie E. Rich of Wahpeton, Mrs. Helen J. Orcutt of Spokane and Mrs. S. R. Falley of Wahpeton; two grandchildren, Morgan R. Falley, in the service and now stationed at Ft. Moultrie, S. C., and Mrs. R. C. Michkils of Spokane. Two of her brothers are living, D. G. Rich and G. Rich of Altmar, N. Y.
Simple funeral services will be held at the Falley residence on 8th street this afternoon at 2:30, with burial following at Fairview cemetery. Mrs. Orcutt of Spokane is here for the funeral. The grandchildren will not be present.
Headstone photograph(s)
Location
Old Fairview is located on the southern half of the cemetery grounds.