Anna C. Wilson

Gazette & Bulletin Mar 5 1940:

Eldred Township's Oldest citizen, Mrs. Ann Willson, 101, former teacher and oldest graduate of Dickinson Seminary, died on Monday afternoon at the home of her daughter, Mrs. Eugene Pettee at Warrensville after a short illness. An unusually well informed woman she read a great deal and took much interest in current events. She liked newspapers because she maintained an anxious interest in world events. She was interested in politics and believed that women should vote and was an earnest exponent of the temperance cause, having been active in many crusades against alcohol as var back as 1888. Recently she stated that "When the 18th amendment was repealed it was a step backward." She had been a Republican since 1856 and never missed voting . She could recall many incidents of the Civil War. She recalled attending school 95 years ago at the Union School and had seen all but two of the houses constructed in Warrensville. She remembered when Polk ran for office in 1844 and the repeal of the Missouri Compromise. For more than a year she was afflicted by blindness but was operated upon for a cataract at age 89 which restored her sight. For years she knitted mittens for school children in all parts of Lycoming County.

Surviving are Mrs. Pettee, a son William Willson, four grandchildren and seven great grandchildren.

Better known as Grandmother Willson she was born in a little log house which stood on a lot adjacent to her home. After attending Dickinson Seminary in 1858 she was a teacher in Eldred township eight years before her marriage. She taught at Quaker Hill, Warrensville, Excelsior and Christion Hill Schools. Her husband Andrew was a farmer and butcher. She was the mother of one daughter and three sons, the two oldest died 40 years ago. The one was Dr. H G Willson, a physician of Laporte and the other was John Willson a farmer.

• Reference: Find A Grave Memorial - SmartCopy: Apr 12 2018, 23:33:05 UTC