IowaJones/Obits/Jennie Tourtellot


		Jennie Tourtellot *May 5, 1853–April 15, 1940*
		Funeral services for Miss Jennie Tourtellot, 86, who died Monday at the Elgin, Ill., Old People's home following a brief illness, were held from the Wolff funeral home at Elgin, Tuesday, and from the Presbyterian church in Wyoming Wednesday, with the pastor, Dr. W. P. Nicholas, in charge. Miss Tourtellot, member of a pioneer Kane county, Illinois, family and a granddaughter of Gen. George McClure, who saw service with the American Army in the war of 1812, was born at the old Tourtellot homestead on the east side of the Elgin-Dundee highway on May 5, 1852. Her parents, Stephen K. and Eleanor McClure Tourtellot, moved to Wyoming while Miss Jennie was still a small girl. When ten years of age she united with the Presbyterian church. She loved her church and devoted her time and talents to it, playing the organ for it for more than fifty years and also directing the choir. She was also a member of the Hawthorne club. During her residence in Elgin she was listed as an honorary member on the club roll. For more than fifty years she gave piano lessons in Wyoming. As an instructor she ranked high, her pupils receiving favorable commendation for their technique when taking examinations for collage entrance. For a time Miss Tourtellot was an instructor in music at Lenox College, Hopkinton. In addition to her teaching, she cared for her parents, an uncle, and also helped in her brothers home. As the only surviving member of her family, besides nieces and nephews, in 1928, she moved to the Old Peoples Home at Elgin. While there she played on the piano for her friends until the last few days before her death. One of her former pupils, Leota Wherry, played the organ for her funeral service. William A. Duton of Dundee and the Rev. H. J. Duton of Wheaton, Ill., Mrs. Grace Tourtellot Lumberton of Wichita, Kansas, and her son of Enid, Okla., nephews and nieces, attended the services here. Submitted by: Gene Steyne Source: The Monticello Express, Monticello, Jones Co, IA, 25 April 1940, Pg. 2 Notes:There are errors in this obituary which was printed in several Jones county newspapers: "died Monday": The Monday referred to is the Monday of the previous week—15 April 1940. The Anamosa Journal printed a brief announcement of the death in their 18 April 1940 edition. They printed the full obituary in their 25 April 1940 edition, changing "died Monday" to "died last week Monday." Miss Tourtellot's death record lists 15 Apr 1940 as her death date and 17 Apr 1940 as her burial date at Wyoming Cemetery. "born ... on May 5, 1852": The Anamosa Journal changed the birth date to 15 May 1853. Miss Tourtellot's death record lists 5 May 1853 as her birth date. Birth date from the 1920 U. S. Census is "May, 1853."

		© Copyright 1997-2013, The Art Department, © Copyright 2014-2020, Richard Harrison. Last updated on Friday, 16-Apr-2021 16:55:55 MST