Boots - Pearl
Source: Waveland Independent newspaper, Waveland, Montgomery County, Indiana 18 Jan 1901
Miss Pearl Boots, of Darlington, died at Danville of paralysis of the heart, Monday. -- typed by kbz
Source: Crawfordsville Weekly Journal Friday, 18 January 1901
Darlington, Jan. 15—Pearl, second daughter of George Boots, died Monday morning, aged almost 19 years. While the grim messenger of death at all times brings sadness, Pearl’s death is peculiarly sad. A young girl in the bloom of youth, to all appearances in the best of health and promise of long life, just budding into womanhood, her life full of promise, the joy of her family, the pride of the community, loved and respected for her many virtues, to be cut down without a moment’s warning with that dread disease diphtheria, a disease contagious in its character so that the subject can only be cared for as the laws of the land direct; feared by friends and neighbors, so that the scriptural injunction that the dead bury their dead is almost literally true. What can be more cruel, more heart rending, than to die away from home among strangers, but adds fuel to the flame. Yet such was the case of poor Pearl. Kind friends at home all unconscious of her sickness until the wires flash the news, Pearl is seriously sick; come father and sister. Hasten to start, they are gone. Again the wires flash, Pearl is dead, long before father and sister reach her. Pearl was attending school at Danville, Ind., and was stricken with diphtheria and in a few hours all was over. She was well cared for by those in attendance and all was done that could be, but God had called her; her work only begun, was done.
Pearl’s mother died when she was a mere child, leaving one sister older and one younger under the care of a father. The two older girls had been attending school at Danville for some years. Last winter both were out of school and taught near home. This winter, although Pearl held a twelve months’ license to teach, she determined to attend school and thus better prepare herself for the duties of the school room. Noble thought brave girl, then to die in the attempt.
The funeral took place Tuesday. The remains were buried at the Bowers Cemetery beside her mother after being conveyed across the country, as the railroads refused to handle the remains. This family has the sympathy of us all, yet oh how vain the attempt to console a father and sister under such trying ordeals. We can only commend you to that God that doeth all things well.
- thanks to "S" for all her great obit work on this page