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Juke 24, 1909. 



The Weekly Florists^ Review* 



i3 



OBITUARY. 



Abram V. Jackson. 



Abram V. Jackson, at one time one of 

 the largest rose growers for the Chicago 

 market and at the time of his death the 

 oldest native-born citizen, passed away 

 last week and was laid at rest in Rose- 

 hill June 18. 



Ten years ago, and for a considerable 

 period before that, Mr. Jackson was 

 widely known in the trade, being one of 

 the principal consignors of the Kennicott 

 Bros. Co. and one of the most successful 

 of local pioneer growers. Bride and Maid 

 were his specialties. 



Abram V. Jackson was born July 7, 

 1834, and two years ago received the gold 

 medal at the Old Settlers' picnic as the 

 oldest person then living who was born 

 in the city. Speaking of him recently, 

 his sister, Lydia Abigail Gear, 84 years 

 old, said: 



"Our father, Samuel T. Jackson, was 

 sent from Washington by the Govern- 

 ment to open the Chicago harbor. Abram 

 was born in a government building oppo- 

 site Tort Dearborn, on the north side 

 of the Chicago river. At that time the 

 Chicago river had no docks or bridges, 

 and had sloping, grass-grown banks down 

 to the water. The mouth of the river at 

 that time, instead of flowing straight 

 into the lake, made a turn to the south 

 and emptied into the lake about where 

 Van Buren street is at present. 



"The first work done on the harbor 

 by S. T. Jackson was to open a straight 

 channel through to the lake, making the 

 entrance much the same as it is at the 

 present time. Surrounding the fort and 

 government buildings were thousands of 

 tents occupied by Indians, many of whom 

 had congregated to receive their portion 

 of the money paid them by the govern- 

 ment for the present site of Chicago. 



"Abram V. Jackson grew up with the 

 city, being the first, and until his death 

 the oldest citizen born in Chicago. He 

 was fond of telling stories of swimming 

 in the Chicago river during the summer 

 and skating on it in the winter. He 

 had an opportunity of seeing Chicago 

 grow practically out of a wilderness to a 

 city, from the old Fort Dearborn and the 

 few government buildings which sur- 

 rounded it, to the second largest city in 

 America. Where State street now is, 

 with its magnificent buildings, during his 

 youth was nothing but a mud-hole, which 

 could hardly be traveled, with signs stuck 

 up in the center : * No bottom here. ' 

 Homes were built on State street much 

 like those now seen in country towns, 

 with yards surrounded with picket fences. 

 At that time a great deal of what is 

 now the south side would flood over at 

 times. Owing to the lay of the land, the 

 north side was considered by far the best 

 property because it was so much higher 

 than the south side. Later, Abram V. 

 Jackson, as he became older, was elected 

 captain of the Volunteer Fire Depart- 

 ment, the first fire protection Chicago 

 had. 



"Abram V. Jackson accumulated con- 

 siderable property in Chicago and owned 

 a number of buildings, but at the time 

 of the great Chicago fire, like many oth- 

 ers, he lost all his holdings. He then 

 went to the north side, where he pur- 

 chased property at 3267 North Western 

 avenue, and took up the business of 

 growing cut flowers. After a few years 

 in this business he decided to take up 

 mushrooms, and these gradually displaced 

 flowers. In the last dozen years, with 



Abram V. Jackson. 



his son, Archie V., he built up what is 

 said to be the largest mushroom and 

 mushroom spawn business in this coun- 

 try. Mr. Jackson retired from active 

 participation in the trade in 1906. ' ' 

 Death came peacefully June 15. 



Mr. Jackson is survived by his widow, 

 one son and one daughter, Mrs. John 

 Hatch. The funeral was largely at- 

 tended, for practically every resident of 

 the Bowmanville district knew him and 

 liked him. There were many flowers. 



Eug«ne W. Stark. 



Eugene W. Stark, of Stark Bros. Nur- 

 sery and Orchard Co., Louisiana, Mo., one 

 of the leading citizens of Pike county, 

 died unexpectedly of heart disease June 

 15 at the Jewish Hospital, St. Louis, fol- 

 lowing an operation for the removal of 

 gall stones. 



Mr. Stark had apparently recovered 

 from the shock of the operation and was 

 believed to be in a condition favorable 

 to early recovery. He awoke a few min- 

 utes before 4 o'clock and asked his nurse 

 for a drink of water. As she turned, he 

 raised himself in bed to a sitting posture. 

 The effort proved too great an exertion 

 and he expired from heart seizure in a 

 few minutes. 



Eugene W. Stark was born in Pike 

 county. Mo., August 8, 1865. He was a 

 son of Thomas Stark, and grew up on 

 his father's farm. He received his early 

 education in the schools of Louisiana and 

 attended college at La Grange, Mo. He 

 married Miss Ann Withrow, daughter of 

 Thomas and Abrah Withrow, of Troy, 

 Mo. At an early age he acquired an in- 

 terest in the Stark Nursery and Orchard 



Co., of Louisiana, Mo., a $1,000,000 cor- 

 poration, one of the largest of it§ kind. 

 He was elected judge of the County 

 Court of Pike county at the age of 27. 

 In 1908 he was elected to the State Sen- 

 ate from the district which includes Pike, 

 Lincoln and Audrain counties. Senator 

 Stark was known as a hard worker in the 

 Legislature and served on several impor- 

 tant committees. He was the author of 

 the new state primary law. 



He is survived by a widow and three 

 sons, 18, 16 and 10 years old, and by his 

 mother and two brothers. 



The funeral was held June 17 and was 

 the largest ever held in the county, for 

 Senator Stark was called the most pop- 

 ular citizen of the district. He was sec- 

 retary of the Stark Bros. Nursery and 

 Orchard Co. and held one-tenth of its mil- 

 lion-dollar capital stock. 



W. H. De Camp. 



Walter H. De Camp, for many years 

 in the nursery business in Cincinnati, O., 

 died at his home in that city June 10, 

 after an illness of several months. He 

 is survived by his wife. 



Point Marion, Pa. — Mrs. Fannie 

 Kussart is building two greenhouses, 

 one 23x43 and the other 17x43, in addi- 

 tion to the two small houses she already 

 owns. She also has a new store on Main 

 street and her business is increasing 

 steadily. The town, she says, is growing 

 fast and now contains six factories. A 

 bridge which has just been built across 

 the Cheat river will also be helpful to 

 the town. 



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