Alice Margaret Mansfield

She wrote local Society news columns, as well as obituaries for the Bloomfield Newspapers - it is said she wrote her own obituary -

Bloomfield News (Weekly Newspaper), Thursday 28 Feb 1935. Alice Edington was born March 18, 1858 on a farm about a mile and a half northeast of Koleen in the State of Indiana, Greene county in Jackson Township. Died at her home in Bloomfield, Tuesday morning at 8:30 o'clock, February 19, 1935; aged 76 years, 11 months and one day. She was the fourth child of Thomas and Ursual Moore Edington and the first child born to her parents after they came to Indiana from their home in Ohio. She was one of a family of eight children: Leroy; Purlia; William, elder; Lige; Leonard; Alvadore and Samuel at Dresden, Indiana. She was three years old when the war of '61 began but at that tender age many incidents that four years of was (hell) made impressions on her young mind that time and changes could never obliterate. Chief among them was the hanging of Mrs. Suratt for her part in the plot against the life of President Lincoln. Alice was often heard crying in the night when persuaded to tell the cause she said "I don't want the men to take my mother off and hang her." Her father urged that there be no more war talk in her presence. The country was in a state of excitement and women would assemble in groups and the happenings in the war zone was the basis of their conversation; for fathers, husbands, brothers and lovers had marched away in the service of their country to the strains of "The Girl I Left Behind Me" many of them never to return; and women and children were left to do the best they could in a new country that was mostly forest land. Prices were high, food-stuffs scarce; few families could have biscuit (or wheatbread as they called it except on Sunday mornings and many could not have coffee, which was made from parched wheat and corn meal. Sorghum molasses was the sweeting for all purposes; but after four years of sore trials, the bloody war came to an end and the survivors were coming back home. "Keep the home fires Burning for the boys are returning, now the war is over and they're coming home; keep the dumplings stewing and the coffee, brewing; there'll be something doing when the boys come home." Yes, there was much to be doing in a new country deprived of its man-power for four years. There was much to do. Fields were cleared, logs piled and burned. Bigger and better crops were planted. People had better clothing and food and there was much joy through out the land mingled with sorrow for the one that never returned. But as time that wonderful healer, passed on and peace once more spread her wing over the land and conditions grew better people turned their attention toward improvements. Among the many things to be done was the building of new school houses "larger and better schools!" This was the delight of Alice's heart for she was never happier than when at school. Unless sickness prevented, she would attend an entire term without being absent ot late. On Sundays previous to the opening of a term of school on Monday she would pack her books with as much pride and joyful anticipation as a bride packs her trousseau for her wedding trip. She learned rapidly. At the age of ten she could spell all the words in common use. At that time many of the lessons in the old McGuffy speller she could go through without the words being pronounced. She was about twelve years old when one of her teachers was invited by a teacher in a neighboring district to bring his best spellers in a match with his. Alice was allowed to go and succeeded in turning down their champion - a lad about her age who was afterward known as Prf. J. W. Carrs, but the rivalry was a friednly one, not in the spirit of "I'm sorry that I spelled the word; I hate to go above you and so on," but in the spirit of a real true and lasting friendship that survived the years. When in her last year in the grades, an unsual thing happened. Her teacher that winter was the immortal J. F. George and he found the number of pupils in the school more than he could handle so he went to the trustee and got him to make an allowance for Alice to teach the first and second grades, which was by far the larger part of the school; and it is to be hoped that those two men are in heaven from the generous allowance of 25 cents a day to a poor orphan girl struggling for an education. She taught one hundred days and received twenty-five of the biggest dollars she had ever seen; and indeed they proved to be quite a factor in the purchase of muslin and ginghams so necessary to fit her our for the spring normal in Bloomfield, which she attended, and that fall she wrote for a teacher's license. It was a ruling at that time that an applicant for his first license could only receive six months, that it might be determined whether he could teach. It was realized in that day that it was one thing to know and another to be able to impart that knowledge to others. This she could do; whatever she knew, she could picture clearly; so she taught the following winter proving her ability and this was the beginning of a round of educational experiences of teaching through the winter months, attending normal through the summer, that covered a period of ten years, and in which she taught thirteen terms. She taught a spring term at Strawn, Ill. and ___ selects. She closed her last erm of school at Koleen, Indiana on the 8th of February, 1884, and was married the following 8th of March to William H. Mansfield, her childhood friend and lover. At the time of their marriage he was engaged in the Mercantile business at Koleen, Indiana and she entered into the business with him. They soon added a furniture store, and undertaking establishment and thay had charge of the railroad station, and during Cleveland's administration Alice took care of the post office and a milliner shop combined, besided giving many hours in other places. In fact, she could do any of the work except running thr grist mill, which was operated many years by a life-long friend Bud Allen. After ten years of hard work and careful management they found themselves on easy street - - out of debt and discounting their bills, when the town was fired and all their earnings swept away. Their insurance they had carried all the years had recently expired and the fire was a total loss to them. Discouraged and broken in spirit they felt like giving up but the kind travelling man with whom they were dealing urged them to try again so they began at the bottom and in debt, but the good people of the community gave them their entire patronage and they were soon on their feet again. In the meantime, three boys had come to bless their home, Lester, Vactor, and Vero. The last two dying in infancy. When Lester was in the eight year in school, she brought him to Bloomfield that he might have better advantage. He came out of the high school and entered into business and has closely applied himself ever sice; is now in the automobile business in Indianapolis, has home there and is the father of three boys - - Wayne, Dale and Max. One of her first acts on moving to Bloomfield was to attend services at the Christain Church, thereby becoming associated with some of the finest and best christain people of the town. She with her husband placed their membership in the church and was active in tis service as longs a health would permit. She engaged in the social activities of the town, just enough to break the shell but did not let it consume her. She didn't play cards, dance, smoke, or drink and if she had in her young days she would never have been granted a teacher's license for a good moral character was required; and the fathers and mothers of those days did not want their children under the influence of an idolater and they had a voice in who was to teach their children. She was a member of the Twentieth Century Club until it was discontinued. She then placed her membership in the Wednesday Reading Club, was county chairman in the federation and organised the Greene county Federation of Clubs and was president two years. During the World War she was appointed one of the fourteen minute women, made a number of addresses and under her management a great number of women in the county were registered. Politically she was a republican, not because her father an all her brothers were, but she was a life-long student of history and especially the administrations and she knew why she was, but she was a quiet person; believing everyone had a right to his opinion, with due respect for the oponion of others. She was oppesed to womans suffrage; she thought it would be the means of alienating women from their homes and she lived to see that very thing come to pass and no ____ can hope to raise above its homes and no woman can aspire to a nobler postion than that ordained by God - - homemaking and motherhood. She had the joy of knowing that her pupils are filling various positions all over the country and hoped that her teachings and influences had some part at least in shaping their lives into the good citizens and fine christain men and women many of them have made. She served five years in Parent-teacher association work as county chairman. That work was dear to her heart. It savored of her teaching days when she used to spend at least one night in each home seeking the co-operation of the parents. She never could get away from the teaching habit. Her home was a welcome place for any school child to come for help. She taught private reading lessons in her home. She was a good reader. She was somewhat gifted in writing both in prose and in verse. She was the author of a number of poems and likely wrote more obituaries than any person in the county, often reading them herself at which time she would add appropriate poems - - her favorite ebing "There is no death" and Tennyson's "Crossing the Bar" Now she is in the twilgiht of her life, the evening bells are ringing and she is waiting for that clear call from afar and hopes to meet her pilot face to face when she has crossed the bar.....

3. Claude M. Lynch, Koleen, My Home Town A Brief History (No Date), pg. 8. "...a milliiinery shop operated by ALice, Mansfield's wife...."

4. Biographical Memiors of Greene County Indiana, 3 Vols., 1908 B. F. Bowen & Co., Indianapolis, Ind., Vol. 2 pg 518-23. "William Henry Mansfield - - ALice Edington Mansfield wife of our subject was born March 18, 1853 on what is still known as the old Edington farmm near Koleen,,, Greene county, Indiana. She was a daughter of Thomas and Ursula Edington being one of eight children....she chose teaching as a profession and began at the tender age of fisteen years. She was the first lady teacher iin Jackson township and had to take a girl friend with her oor be the only woomman at the township institutes, which were usually held at Owensburg. She taught thirteen terms of school, the first as a helper to another teacher..."

5. Pleasant Ridge/Kentucky Ridge Church Membership Regular Baptist, Organized 16 Nov. 1843. Church split at one time and a large portion of the records were cut out! A minister in Williams has the orginals, it is said. "Allice Edington bap. Mar 4, 1882."

DEATH:

6. Greene County Health Departmenrt, Greene County Indiana Death Record Report [Index] 188? to 199?, Greene County Health Department, 217 East Main St. Suite # 1, Bloomfield, Indiana 47424-1417. "Bk. H-2 pg. 66."

• Updated from MyHeritage Family Trees via brother William W. Edington by SmartCopy: Sep 3 2015, 1:55:06 UTC

Mrs. William H. {Alice M.} MANSFIELD, aged seventy-seven, is dead after an illness of more than six years. She was a daughter of Thomas and Ursula {MOORE} EDINGTON, pioneer residents, and spent her entire life in this county.

She was active in education, club and church work and organized Parent-Teacher Associations in a number of schools of the county, and it was through her efforts that the clubs of Greene County became federated.

She wrote verse published in newspapers and was in demand as a reader. She and her husband, who has long been in business here, celebrated their golden wedding a years ago.

Surviving are the husband, a son Lester MANSFIELD, Indianapolis; three grandsons, also of Indianapolis; a brother, Leonard EDINGTON, Lyons, and a sister, Mrs. Pearl MCLAUGHLIN, Linton.

Funeral services will be held this afternoon at the Christian church, of which she had long been a member.* Reference: Find A Grave Memorial - SmartCopy: Dec 19 2019, 5:50:02 UTC