McALLISTER, James A.
Date of death: 14 Feb 1896 – Providence, Johnson County, Indiana
The Franklin Democrat,Friday, February 21, 1896,
Volume XXXVI Number 32, page 3 column 4
––––––––––––––––
PROVIDENCE.
––––
Old Uncle James McAllister died last Friday morning about 1 o’clock, aged nearly eighty-five years. His funeral took place Saturday morning, the remains being interred in the Deer cemetery. He leaves a wife and many friends.
Jeffersonville Evening Journal, October 26, 1896
INDIANA NEWS.
–––––––––
Events of Interest, Hot From the Wires,
For Hoosier Readers.
––––
JAMES A. M’ALLISTER,
––––
Who Has Lived In Indiana for Seventy-
Nine Years, Dead.
Providence, Ind., Oct. 26. — James A. McAllister, who has resided on his farm two miles west of here since 1861, is dead, at the age of 84. He was born in Henry county, Ky., April 8, 1812, his father being of Scotch parentage, and in 1817 the family moved to Indiana, settling a few miles north of Madison. Here he became familiar with the Indians who afterwords gave the whites what is now called the Michigan Road, a strip 100 feet wide, extending from Madison to Lake Michigan, passing through Indianapolis, the stipulation being that the whites should clear the ground, the object of the reds being to obtain an outlet for their hunting and migratory expeditions. He picked up what education he could, always devoted to books, and finally became a teacher, and for many years, wherever he was, had to do all the letter writing for the many illiterate persons.
On April 19, 1840, he was married near Brooklyn, the home of the bride, to Miss Freelove Butterfield, a sister of the late Dr. S. A. Butterfield, of Indianapolis, and they celebrated their golden wedding in 1890 at their home in Johnson county. The widow is 81 years old, and will remain at the farm with her son George.
Note: The article from the Jeffersonville Evening Journal was transcribed from an image posted by Sue Butterfield Picard on James McAllister’s Find-A-Grave entry. The article appears to have been published on October 26, 1896 but does not mention James’ date of death in the body of the obituary. The picture of James McAllister’s stone on Find-A-Grave shows a death date of February 14, 1896 and is corroborated by the article in The Franklin Democrat.
Link to James A. McAllister’s grave
Submitted by Mark McCrady and Cathea Curry