Benjamin F Anderson
Cincinnati Enquirer, Thursday, 29 May 1913, page 3
KINDNESS
Grateful because a little girl had befriended him at the end of the Civil War, when he was in want. B F Anderson, old Civil War veteran, whose death occurred at the Soldier's Home in Dayton and who was well known in Newport, where he left an estate valued at $6000, has made the little girl, now Mrs. William Strutt, 45, of Pittsburg, Penn. his sole heir.
When the war ended, Anderson, with nothing but an honorable discharge, wandered into Pittsburg. He was homeless, penniless and thought himself friendless. Out of employment and without funds, he applied to the little girl for aid. She honored him as a hero who had fought for his country and she forthwith took him to her home and with her hands prepared and served to him a beautiful mean. Anderson left her with gratitude in his heart.
The years passed. The little girl was married and settled down in Pittsburg, where the soldier, now an old veteran, accumulated real estate in Newport by hard work. Age left its mark and the ravages of time caused him to see the protection of the Soldiers' home but he never forgot the one who aided him when he needed aid.
His dying request was that his executor, Lawrence Riedinger, of Newport, give him a suitable burial, providing carriages for as many of his comrades in arms as desired to accompany his remains to their last resting place, and then see that Mrs. Strutt, gets the remainder of his estate, according to the terms of a will that said he had deposited in a safety deposit box, which will be opened today by Mr. Riedinger.
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Cincinnati Enquirer, Friday, 30 May 1913, page 3
FUNERAL OF BEN ANDERSON
The funeral of Benjamin F Anderson took place yesterday, the
remains being placed in the vault at Evergreen Cemetery. Later the body will be
shipped to Pittsburg. Mrs. William Strutt, who was bequeathed property to
the value of $7000 by the decedent, attended the funeral. In making the
arrangements for his funeral with Undertaker Charles A Smith & Son, Anderson
expressed a desire that his body lie in state at the mortuary chapel in a couch
lined with silk and also expressed the hope that every old soldier in Campbell
County would attend the obsequies.
Comrades attended the funeral to the number of about 30 and veterans officiated as pallbearers. Among the mourners were Mr. and Mrs. William Strutt, the latter the beneficiary of his will, because she fed him when he was hungry some time after the war.
Rev G A Wahl, pastor of the United Brethren Church officiated. Anderson, in his youth, was one of the "Forty-niners" who crossed the continent in search of gold. He came to Newport about 10 years ago and invested in real estate. He also had property in Pittsburg.