So it's been awhile since my last post. We were still in the middle of the longest winter of my life (or so it seemed) when my long hiatus began, and now that I've returned, summer is coming to a close (as much as that hurts my heart to say.) Between having to replace my computer, helping to plan a family wedding, working two jobs, and the World Cup, the habit of blogging (which had barely begun to be a habit) was disrupted. But now I'm back.
In our family lives, especially when travel took much longer, people, not just habits, sometimes go on hiatus. Things like war, opportunities, work, and leisure could take a member (or members) of a family away from the home for long periods of time. My 2nd great-grandfather, Jeremiah Monroe Deem, went on many such hiatuses. The one I want to explore today became permanent. (Nothing like returning on a happy note . . . )
In our family lives, especially when travel took much longer, people, not just habits, sometimes go on hiatus. Things like war, opportunities, work, and leisure could take a member (or members) of a family away from the home for long periods of time. My 2nd great-grandfather, Jeremiah Monroe Deem, went on many such hiatuses. The one I want to explore today became permanent. (Nothing like returning on a happy note . . . )
In June of 1926, at the age of 77, Jeremiah was on his way to Oregon (from East Liverpool, Ohio) with 3 of his adult children: Gilbert (my great-grandfather), Elizabeth, and Pearl. There he had planned to take over a government land grant. At the age of 77. You have to admire whatever it is that he had (ambition? confidence? naiveté?) that made him want to try his luck on the other side of the country in his twilight years. He would never make it to Oregon. He would die of acute general peritonitis at Methodist Hospital in Indianapolis, Indiana on June 18.
Peritonitis is when the peritoneum (tissue that lines the inner wall of the abdomen and covers most abdominal organs) becomes inflamed. Notables such as Ralph Waldo Emerson, Harry Houdini, and Rudolph Valentino succumbed to the same fate.
Jeremiah Monroe Deem
- Birth: 23 Aug 1848 in Ritchie, West Virginia
- Marriage #1: 30 Jul 1866 in Parkersburg, West Virginia
- Marriage #2: 20 Nov 1873 in Ritchie, West Virginia
- Marriage #3: 5 Oct 1898 in Washington County, Ohio
- Death: 18 Jun 1926 in Indianapolis, Indiana
Jeremiah Monroe Deem was born on August 23, 1848 to James G Deem and Mary Catherine Roberts in Ritchie, West Virginia. He married Sarah Ellen Easton on October 5, 1898 in Washington County, Ohio.
- Parents: James G Deem, Mary Catherine Roberts
- Spouse(s): Nancy Clarinda Lewis, Nancy Ann Jenkins, Sarah Ellen Easton
- Children: James Albert Deem, Peregrine Deem, Emily Virginia Deem, Mary Alice Deem, Homer Rufus Deem, William F Deem, Thomas H Deem, Leonard Arlington Deem, Pearl Mae Deem, Jeremiah Monroe Deem Jr., Gilbert Roy Deem, Clark Taggart Deem, Elizabeth Nell Deem, Lillian Mae Deem