An obituary from the newspaper, THE PERU DERRICK, Peru Oil Gazette and Citizen, Peru, Chautauqua County, Kansas, Saturday, March 15, 1913, Vol. XIII, No. 31, pp. 1, 4
DR. J. D. STEVENS
Dr. Joseph Deweese Stevens, one of Peru's oldest residents and Chautauqua county's oldest physician, passed away Sunday after an illness of just nine days.
The funeral was conducted from the M. E. Church under the auspices of the I. O. O. F. lodge. Rev. J. D. McBrian, Christian minister, of Sedan, and Rev. Pittman, Baptist minister, of Havana had charge of the services and were assisted by Thos. Pore, of Cedar Vale. The pall-bearers were P. Looby, Joe Kimbrell, Dr. Lambdin, Dick Shobe, W. T. Williams and Ran Hartzell. The entire funeral arrangements were in accordance with instructions of the doctor, which he put in writing over a year ago.
The many floral offerings and the large crowd were mute testamonials of the respect and esteem in which he was held in a community where he had lived more than thirty-seven years. Few men have more friends than did Dr. Stevens.
Born at Corydon, Ind., July 13, 1836 and died at his home in Peru March 9, 1913. Was married to Margaret A. Johnson of Vincennes, Ind., a daughter of Dr. Wm. Johnson. Studied medicine at Cincinatti and located and practiced at and in the vicinity of Vincennes until 1876 when he located at Peru. Mrs. Margaret Johnson Stevens died at Peru, January 19, 1878. On January 19, 1879, he was married to Mary D. Jackson, of Topeka, Kans., who with seven children of the first union, survives him. The children are, Dr. T. A. Stevens, Caney, Dr. J. C. Stevens, Tulsa, E. M. Stevens, Mrs. R. I. Hillman and Mrs. Wm. Haberly, Peru, Mrs. J. H. Sams, Victor, Colo. and Mrs. O. D. Hicks, Los [sic] Vegas, Nev. One brother Chas. Stevens, Corydon, Ind. and two sisters, Mrs. Nancy LaHue, Edinburg, Ind. and Mrs. Lydia LaHue, Deep Water, Mo. and nineteen grand children and fourteen great grandchildren also survive him.
He was a life long Democrat. He thought the principles of that party the right principles and was proud of the fact that his political views had never changed.
Was a member of the I. O. O. F. for more than forty years and had received his Veteran's Jewell about three years ago.
Dr. J. D. Stevens was raised a Baptist and joined that church in his youth, later, in 1869, joined the Christian church. In spite of the meager opportunities for an education in his early life, he acquired a superior education. Always and up to his death a student. He was a student of the Great Problem "What will the future be?" Consequently realizing the diversity of opinion of intelligent men all over the world—two hundred forty-one different denominations of the Christian religion—he remained and contented himself with being only a student of religious questions, rather than to assume he knew the solution of the Great Problem. While others of less education and less investigation knew he was willing to continue the study. This characteristic was manifested throughout all his career. He never jumped at conclusions, always exhausted his resources for investigation before he made a decision.
A close study of his life will reveal the fact that he was indeed a Christian in its broadest sense he was always broad in his views on any subject, had he been narrower a few would have appreciated him more and many would have appreciated him less.
His life viewed from all standpoints reveals one of the best Christian lives the world ever knew.
The relatives from out of town who attended the funeral were Dr. T. A. Stevens, wife, daughter, Miss Maude and son, Tommy, O. V. Stevens, wife and son, Walter Conley and wife, and Chas. Gauze and wife of Caney, Dr. Joe Stevens and wife of Tulsa, W. C. Council and wife, of Cedar Vale, Mrs. Byrtle Maher, of Pawhuska, [Oklahoma] and Mrs. Dolly Flitch, of Ponca City, [Oklahoma].
[Others who attended the funeral from page 4 of this newspaper were:] Dr. F. C. Hansen and Dr. W. E. Coons of Caney, Kansas; Arnold Waters and his daughter Mrs. Tabler of Cedar Vale, Kansas; and "Elliott Moore of Cherryvale came Sunday night to attend the funeral of his life long friend, Dr. J. D. Stevens."
Genealogical notes: Mary Davis (Jackson) Stevens, second wife of Dr. Stevens, was a sister of my great-grandmother, Martha Jane (Jackson) Mehaffey Root. Mrs. "Dolly" (Margaret Isabel) Flitch was a daughter of my great-grandmother and niece of Mary D. Stevens. The wife of W. C. Council listed above was Amanda Lucretia (Jackson) Council, sister of Martha and Mary D. (Jackson) Stevens. Mrs. Byrtle (also spelled Bertle) (Council) Maher was the only daughter of Mr. and Mrs. William C. Council and was a niece of Mary D. (Jackson) Stevens.
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