Mate Scott (aka Mrs. A. D. Peck) was the older sister of my great grandfather Frank Scott. I’m posting her obituary here because when I found it inside a ca. 1895 bible, it added information to the story of Frank and Mate’s father, Horace L. Scott. In an earlier post on Horace Scott, I stated that he died in Alden, Illinois (where he’s buried), at some point between the 1870 census and the 1875 Minnesota census. That was about all I knew about his last years. Facts presented in his daughter’s obituary help fill in some of the blanks.
Deer Creek Pioneer Dies
Mrs. A. D. Peck, Beloved Resident, Called At Age Of 76 Years
DEER CREEK (Special)—Mrs. A. D. Peck, 76, prominent and beloved pioneer, who had lived here nearly all her live, died at 8:30 this morning at the home of her graddaughter, Mrs. George Neusbaum at Long Prairie. Death followed a week’s illness from bronchial trouble. She was seriously ill last winter and had been in frail health since then.
Mary Scott was born at Hebron, Ill., Jan. 29, 1867, and came with her parents the late Mr. and Mrs. Horace Scott to Ottertail county, settling in Buse township when she was five years old. At the age of nine she moved to Deer Creek and has lived here ever since with the exception of the last year or two which she has spent with her grand-daughter in Wadena and Long Prairie. The past summer she had visited here with many friends.
Dec. 2, 1882, she married A. B. [sic] Peck at Wadena, and they began housekeeping on their farm, now owned by John Coburn. Later they built a lovely home in the village and lived there for many years. Mr. Peck died eight years ago on August 29. They celebrated their golden wedding 11 years ago.
Their spacious home was always home to friends. Mrs. Peck was a wonderful home-maker and housekeeper and the more often friends called the happier she was. They were the parents of two daughters — Winnifred, who died in infancy; and Dolly, now Mrs. Milton McCrea of Dilworth. She is survived also by her grand-daughter, mentioned above and by one great granddaughter, Gayle Neusbaum. A niece, Cassie Scott, now Mrs. Aura Cook of Newton, Iowa, also mourns her passing, as Mrs. Cook was brought up by Mrs. Peck as her own daughter.
Funeral services and burial will be at Deer Creek, but the final arrangements have not been completed.
The obituary has no date, but it does state that she was born on January 29, 1867, and died at the age of 76 years. That places the date of the obituary around 1943. The obituary states that Mary died “this morning,” but does not give much information as to month and date other than it appears to have been a while since she “was seriously ill last winter,” and “the past summer she had visited here with many friends.” Given these hints, a date of Fall, 1943, seems most likely.
The reverse side of the clipping also lacks a date, but it has clues that allow for a firm placement on a specific month and date.
In the “On The Air” section, Randolph Scott is listed as performing “Vengeance of Torpedo 8” on NBC radio at 7:00. According to Art Chimes’ program log and the Audio Classics Archive, “The Vengeance of Torpedo 8” was program number 349 of the radio series “The Cavalcade of America,” and played only once, on September 20, 1943.
Furthermore, in the “Weather: Forecasts and Temperatures” section, the weather record for September is complete through September 19th, 1943. The section states that “readings are taken at 6:30 p.m.,” so the paper was published sometime after 8:30 a.m. (when Mate died) but before 6:30 p.m. on September 20, 1943.
From the information in the obituary, Horace clearly made the trip to Minnesota with his family, settling in Buse township, Otter Tail County, in 1872. So Horace died sometime between 1872 and the 1875 census, when his wife Caroline and their children were seen to be living with her parents in Aurdal, Otter Tail County. A new question is why was he buried in Alden, Illinois, if he had already migrated to Minnesota? Perhaps he was on a trip back to their old home town for some reason?