Mrs. O. P. Myers

Mrs. O. P. Myers was a member of the Newton Public Library board from 1913 to 1934.[1] Leah M. McFarland was born April 3, 1874, in Morenci, Michigan, the daughter of Samuel and Ellen (Stuart) McFarland, natives of Ireland and England, respectively.[2] She was married on May 1, 1897, to Oliver Perry Myers (1856-1933), a school teacher, in South Dakota, where the McFarlands had moved.[3] Mr. and Mrs. Myers were the parents of three children, Kenneth Myers (1898-2005), Ruth Lain (1900-1991), and Dorothy M. Sherk (1905-2007), all extremely long-lived.[4] The family returned to Newton, Iowa, in 1899, Mr. Myers’ former home, where he re-formed a law partnership with A. M. Harrah.[5] Mrs. Myers was a housewife.[6] She died August 29, 1936, in Ida Grove, Iowa.[7] Dr. E. S. Parker certified the cause of death as “Multiple sclerosis of the central nervous system,” with “Cystitis, chronic, of many years standing” as a contributory cause.[8] Burial was in Newton Union Cemetery.[9]

-Larry Ray Hurto

 

[1] 1896-1957 Library Trustees, Newton Public Library History. https://cdm16179.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/collection/p16179coll1/search/searchterm/library%20trustees/field/subjec/mode/exact/conn/and/order/title/ad/asc.

[2] Iowa, U.S., Death Records, 1880-1904, 1921-1952 for Leah M Myers.

[3] Gen. James B. Weaver, ed., Past and Present of Jasper County, Iowa, Vol. I (Indianapolis, IN: B. F. Bowen & Company, 1912), p. 642.

[4] Leah M Myers in the U.S., Find a Grave Index, 1600s-Current.

[5] J. M. Young, comp., Newton City Directory, 1899-1900 (Newton, IA: Journal Print., 1899), p. 65. This partnership lasted until 1905, when Mr. Harrah went to California. Thereafter, Mr. Myers practiced law alone. Past and Present of Jasper County, Iowa, p. 641.

[6] Iowa, U.S., Death Records, 1880-1904, 1921-1952 for Leah M Myers.

[7] Ibid.

[8] Ibid.

[9] Morgan Funeral Home Register, Newton, Iowa, Bk. 6, 1936-1941, p. 38. Jasper County Genealogical Society, Newton, Iowa.