Memorials › John George DeFord
John George DeFord
22 Oct 1854 – 6 May 1927
| Birth | 22 Oct 1854 |
| Death | 6 May 1927 |
| Cemetery | Seneca City Cemetery Seneca , Nemaha County , Kansas , USA |
| Added by | Gloria Cathcart on 20 Aug 2016 |
| FaG | https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/142316798 |
Bio
Son of Alonzo Littell and Mary Adeline (Pennock) DeFord. Married to Elizabeth Ross at Creston, Iowa. Remarried to Celia Agnes Nowak on Aug. 1, 1904 in Ashton, NE. COURIER TRIBUNE, Seneca, Kansas, Thursday, May 12, 1927. Page 1. J. G. DeFord John George DeFord was born October 22, 1854 in Carrol county, Ohio and died at Tucson, Arizona Friday, May 6th. He had been in failing health for several years and had spent part of the last few years in the home of Mrs. DeFord's brother, V. Nowak near Seneca. Last September, accompanied by his wife and son, John, he went to Tucson for the benefit of his health. The son attended the university of Arizona. Mr. DeFord was the oldest son of Alonzo Littell DeFord and Mary Adeline Pennock DeFord. He came of a line of distinguished ancestors. He was a fifth cousin of George Washington and a second cousin of General Custer. HIs early life was spent in and around the region where he was born. He later attended school at Oberlin, Ohio where he learned his chosen profession, business training and telegraph operator when about eighteen years of age, his first work being at Ft. Wayne, Indiana. From thence he was transferred to Muskegon, Mich. and after a few years to a Missouri town, five miles from St. Louis on the Missouri Pacific. He at one time worked as special operator at Ft. Leavenworth and Atchison. In 1878 he entered the service of the Burlington at Pacific Junction, Iowa and worked continuously for that company until his health failing in 1912, a period nearly thirty-four years. He was an operator in the dispatcher's office at Lincoln for ten years, handling thousands of train orders for the company, never made an error in train orders, after saying that when his responsibilities were the greatest his mind was the clearest. He united with the First Presbyterian Church in Lincoln in 1888 and has been a loyal Christian man, never forgetting to pray even in the greatest trials to the end of life, never forgetting his Maker. He united later with the Congregational Church of Havelock, Nebr. where the family still holds its membership. He was twice married. He first married Elizabeth Ross in Creston, Iowa, who died about the year 1900. He was married in Ashton, Nebraska in August 1904 to Celia A. Nowak. He is survived by his wife and son of the home; three sisters,Mrs. Andie Pennock, Ohio; Mrs. Ida Shorter, Darlington, Va.; Mrs. Mary Wilkinson, Homer, Va.; Three brothers, Frank of Sherrardville, Ohio; Charles of Buckingham, Colo., and Wallace of Madisonville, Va. A brother, Benjamin W., preceded him in 1920 leaving his widow, Mrs. Ida DeFord of Lincoln, Nebr. The body, accompanied by the widow and son arriced in Seneca Monday night and was taken to the home of Mr. and Mrs. Harry Gudenkauf. Funeral services were held from the First Congregational Church Tuesday afternoon at 3 o'clock. The quartet, Mrs. Ned Mathews, Mrs. Charles M. Vorhees, C. E. Mathews and Earl F. Goodrich sang "Sometime We'll Understand," and "Abide With Me." The pallbearers were: George Firstenberger, J. H. D. Koehler, Ladoit Firkins, L. M. Ford, Charles Story and Thomas Gensler. Interment was made in the city cemetery. Relatives attended from Baileyville, St. Benedict and Sabetha.
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Family
Parents
Spouse
Siblings
- Angeline D. DeFord Pennock 1852–1938
- Alonzo Franklin DeFord 1856–1937
- Malinda Idelia "Ida" DeFord Shorter 1858–1939
- George DeFord 1859–1932
- Charles H. DeFord 1870–1961
- Benjamin W. DeFord 1874–1920
Children
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