The month of January and a health emergency declared in the northwestern U. S. because of a measles outbreak had me thinking about an uncle I never knew.
This is a continuing series about my uncle Wilbur Thomas Hoskins, who died at five years of age due to complications following measles. You can catch up here:
A Tow-Headed Boy
Measles
Who was with the family?
On Monday, January 20, 1930, Tom Hoskins made a payment toward the funeral expenses for his young son, Wilbur. The $78 bill included embalming, a casket, and hearse. Tom paid $42, leaving a balance of $36.
The funeral service was held the same day at the residence of Tom, Eveline, and Wilbur at 406 S. Church St. in Rockford, Illinois. The only information about the funeral is found in a Memorial Record book provided to the family.
My grandmother used a pencil to add information to the record.
Name Wilbur Thomas Hoskins
Born April 3, 1924
Mystic, Iowa
Passed Away Jan 18-1930
Rockford, Illinois
Age 5 Years 9 Months 15 Days
I do not know who Harry Cobble was. Perhaps the family was living in a boarding house, or rented rooms from Harry Cobble.
Services
At Harry Cobble
406 S. Church St.
Officiating Clergy
Salvation Army Captain
Music
S. Army Lassies
By
Cemetery
Wilwood
The rest of the Funeral Record is blank.
My grandmother did not record any “floral tributes,” but there are a couple of cards that look like they might have come with flowers.
Parents of Tom Hoskins
Tom and Eveline Hoskins
Mr. and Mrs. J. O. Hitchcock Mr. and Mrs. Joe Hitchcock
I don’t know who the Hitchcocks are, but I found entries that seem to match in the 1930 Rockford city directory.
Although the funeral record does not list attendees, I can assume that those present were Tom’s sister Ethel and her husband Mark Bland; Eveline’s sister Marjorie Coates; and Tom’s brother Warren Hoskins. Perhaps the Hitchcocks were there. If my grandparents rented a room from Harry Cobble, maybe he was also in attendance.
Albert Hoskins
Eveline was in the first trimester of pregnancy with my mother, who would be born the first week of July. Missing from the family group was Tom’s and Eveline’s other son, Albert, who had remained in Mystic, Iowa with his grandparents and had not come with his parents to Rockford.
It is especially heartbreaking to realize that my grandparents buried Wilbur on the day of younger son Albert’s fourth birthday. How they must have longed to hold both boys in their arms that day.
Grandma noted in the funeral record that the Salvation Army Captain was the officiating clergy and the Salvation Army Lassies provided music. I wanted to know more about what the funeral service might have been like and found The Salvation Army Central Territory Historical Museum. We have been in contact through email and I was told to expect an answer to my questions on Monday.
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Yes, those definitely look like cards inserted with floral tributes. I didn’t think this story could get any sadder until you mentioned Albert’s birthday. Were your grandparents associated with the Salvation Army?
I didn’t know about the birthday until I started writing these. I don’t think my grandparents had any connection to the Salvation Army. I’m guessing they were poor and away from home and this was a service offered to them.
That’s such sad story. I’ll add my own ‘with deepest sympathy’ here.
I always knew it would be a sad story to write, but I’ve learned a few details that made it more so.
My mother-in-law lost a darling 18 month old daughter when someone left a gate open and she wandered into the street, and I remember thinking how horrible when I learned of it. To lose a young child – the grief must have been awful. Years later I came very close to losing a 31 year old child of my own and realized the child’s age has nothing to do with it. The loss of a child is awful no matter how long or short a time they’ve lived.
My paternal grandparents also lost a child as a toddler – a door left unlocked and he fell into a well. Yes – awful to lose a child at any age.
Such a moving post. With the measles vaccine having been around for decades, it’s painful to recall how dangerous the illness could be. We never thought about it as children — my brother and I relishing the time off school in a room darkened to protect our eyes. But this post brings home how stressful it must have been for our parents, waiting out the illness to be sure we were ok.
I remember my mother being very worried when I got the measles and also the darkened room.
Such a moving post. With the measles vaccine around for decades, it’s painful to remember how dangerous measles could be. My brother and I relished the time off school in a darkened room to protect our eyes — but this post brings home how worried our parents must have been until we recovered.
The loss of a child is a painful sorrow shared by all people and across all time. I suppose in the past when death from accident or illness like measles was more common that parenting was more.stressful. But then again the expectations from doctors and medicine were much lower then.
Of course I spotted the music by the Salvation Army Lassies in the memorial program. I suspect it was a young women’s choir, maybe a vocal quartet, but it could have been a string ensemble which would provide suitable soft music. They might turn up in a search of newspaper archives.
I thought about you and what you might have to say about the Lassies. I heard back from the museum and will share her thoughts in my next post.