STEUBEN REPUBLICAN, WEDNESDAY, JULY 15, 1914, p.1, c.1,2 HORACE NEWELL VanAUKEN, 23 Oct 1839 - 06 Jul 1914 Horace N. VanAuken---A Worthy Citizen Gone to his Final Rest. HORACE NEWELL VAN AUKEN, Third son of Jacob H. and Nancy VanAuken, grandson ofAbsalom and Magdalene VanAuken; the grand-sire being a soldier of the Revolution, was born October 23, 1839, at Chagrin Falls, Ohio; died July 6, 1914, the span of his life thus reaching nearly seventy-five years. October, 1860, Horace came with the father's family of nine sons and three daughters to the Indiana home. The change from the hills of northeastern Ohio to the beautiful and fertile Steuben township, was a suggestion of Paradise, for then, as now, it was a land of plenty---opulent with fruit and forest, rich meadows and golden grain. In December, 1861, he returned to Ohio, and claimed his bride, Miss Philena Brewer, who had been the friend and scholar in the same "little red schoolhouse upon the hill." She died in April, 1865, leaving one son, Ernest, a babe of ten days, who through all the intervening years has been his father's constant and loyal helper and companion. In December, 1865, he was again married to Mary Elizabeth McMillan, and to them were born five daughters and three sons- --two of the daughters and one son, Carl, dying in early childhood. Gladly would we linger here for a few moments did time permit to speak of the rearing of such a family, an honor to father and mother, but alas, death follows life with such sure and stealthy tread, that his messenger breaks in upon every happy scene. In 1906, the kind, faithful and indulgent mother, despite the love and kindness and tender care of her family, was called away. Yet even death has some compensation. We would not call our brother back to again wrestle with weaknesa and hopeless malady. It is some compensation, also that in the course of nature we do not have to lose our children, in whose lives we have achieved the only earthly immortality. Thus the premature death of this kind mother saved her from a deep grief, reserved for the father, when in March, 1912, the eldest of the daughters, Mary Rinehart, was siezed by the ruthless Knight of Death, and with hardly time to bid adieu to the interesting family, was borne to the shadow land. Ah well does the writer know of the joy and pride of this father and mother in seeing the children well settled and prosperous about them, making possible the weekly reunions. From this last grief the father, now bearing his three score and ten years hardly recovered. But this is Earth, not Paradise, else we could not possibly reconcile such providence with the goodness of the Almighty. Of our brother's children there remain two sons, Ernest and Horace junior, and two daughters, Amy, now Mrs. John Fifer, and Etta, now Mrs. Mort Hanselman, and six much loved grandchildren---Mark and Mabel Rinehart, Horace Fifer, and Donald, Basil, and Baby Aileen Elizabeth, sons and daughter of Horace junior. Of the father's family, there also remain three sisters---Maria, now Mrs. W. P. Luce, of Greeley, Neb., Elizabeth, now Mrs. E. Ross, of Auburn Junction, and Jennie, now Mrs. Oberlin, of Los Angeles, Calif. Two brothers, Frank B., of Angola, and William E., of Fremont, still live. For many years our brother had been active member of the Masonic fraternity. "The funeral bell tolls for the living, not the dead, whose mortal woes are o'er." His industrious and faithful hands are folded in the last peaceful sleep. No human power can help or harm. Not even the sting of reproach could rouse him. Neither praise nor flattery can soothe the dull, cold ear of death. Be patient, therefore, ere we consign this mortal tenement to the silence of the tomb, and let the living heed some lessons from the example of his strong and resolute life. He was more successful than most men. He was proud of his calling, for has not husbandry been the most kingly art since the first husbandman was slain through the jealousy of his brother? And his work seemed to respond with pride to his efforts. His commodious, well filled buildings, clean fields, ample crops, and happy live stock, all carefully planned, attest that in his home peace and plenty reigned; and prove, also, that after all, an orderly mind is the greatest force in the world. He was seldom or never in a hurry, but with quiet resolution, proceeded to carry out his thought without haste and without waste, the word failure not being in his vocabulary. His life was an illustration of the proverb, "The wise man goeth forth joyfully to his task, but the foolish man muttereth on the way." He went forth indeed with confident joy, met his task with a smile, and seemed never to be overwhelmsd thereby. The great trees of the far away time, surrounding the little cabin where now stands this princely farm side, have yielded, one by one, to the resounding ax of the sturdy woodman, or to the angry elements, and soon the autumn winds will sing a requiem over the last fallen monarch of the forest. With the passing of our brother, almost the last living memory of our pioneer time, fifty-four years ago, will be lost forever. We exalt ourselves by exalting the memory of the brave men who cleft the forest down and planted in the wilderness the hamlet, farm and the town. Let us continue to pay tribute to the old, and bid them peace, hope and farewell. FRANK B. VAN AUKEN Funeral services for the late H. N. VanAuken were conducted at his late farm home in Steuben township on Thursday afternoon, July 9, Elder J. R. Golden officiating. Mark Ransburg, of Pleasant Lake, sang three solos. The interment was in the Pleasant Lake cemetery. (Picture included with obituary) ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: Horace Newell VanAuken Sr., 23 Oct 1839 - 06 Jul 1914, married 1st, on 10 Dec 1861, in Cuyahoga, Ohio, Philena (Brewer) VanAuken, 1841 - 12 Apr 1865. Philena died soon after their son, Earnest VanAuken, Apr 1865 - 1948, was born. On 29 Dec 1865, Horace married Mary Elizabeth (McMillan) VanAuken, 22 Aug 1838 - 06 Feb 1906, daughter of Wooster McMillan, 02 Sep 1804 - 05 Feb 1881, and Mary (Bullard) McMillan, born 1814, no date of death. Horace was the son of Jacob Hornbeck VanAuken, 13 Aug 1810 - 10 Oct 1882, and his 1st wife whom he married on 03 Mar 1831, Nancy (Straway) VanAuken, 22 Nov 1814 - 19 Jul 1878. They are all buried at Pleasant Lake Cemetery, Steuben County, Indiana. Jacob married 2nd, Elizabeth (Straway) Haloway VanAuken, a sister of his 1st wife. No dates or burial place. CHILDREN OF HORACE'S MARRIAGE TO MARY ELIZABETH: Infant, born and died in 1866, buried at Pleasant Lake Cemetery. Mary Nancy (VanAuken) Rinehart, 1867 - Mar 1912, on 10 Sep 1886, married George J. Rinehart, 1859 - 1943. They are buried at Circle Hill Cemetery, Angola, Steuben County, Indiana. Amy C. (VanAuken) Fifer, 1868 -1949, married John A. Fifer, 22 Nov 1869 - 31 Jul 1930. They are buried at Pleasant Lake Cemetery. Infant, 28 Aug 1870 - 18 Sep 1870, buried at Pleasant Lake Cemetery. Carl W. VanAuken, 18 Jan 1873 - 19 Feb 1874, buried at Pleasant Lake Cemetery with the infant who died in 1866. Etta (VanAuken) Hanselman, 1875 - 24 Dec 1954, married Morton Hanselman, 29 Jan 1871 - 12 May 1935. They are buried at Circle Hill Cemetery. Horace Newell VanAuken Jr., 1879 - 01 Jul 1951, married Catherine Gertrude (Kratzer) VanAuken, 1877, no date of death. She was the daughter of Joseph Kratzer, 06 May 1845 - 05 Nov 1920, and Margaret (Zabst) Kratzer, 1849 - 1913. They are all buried at Circle Hill Cemetery. SIBLINGS OF HORACE NEWELL VanAUKEN SR.: Sarah Jane VanAuken, 11 Aug 1832 - 14 Jan 1834, died at Deerfield, Ohio. Calvin Everett VanAuken, 29 Jul 1835 - 19 Jul 1910, married Mary M. (Pixley) VanAuken, 27 Oct 1851 - 18 Dec 1893. They are buried at Pleasant Lake Cemetery. James Hanabel VanAuken, 02 Oct 1837 - 19 Oct 1906, married Ida M. (____) VanAuken, 1853 - 1928. They are buried at Pleasant Lake Cemetery. Maria VanAuken, born 09 Aug 1841 and died in Greely, Greely County, Nebraska, 07 Oct 1918. Nancy VanAuken, 20 Sep 1842 - 30 Aug 1845, died at Orange, Ohio. Phebe Elizabeth VanAuken, born 08 Dec 1843. Mary Jane VanAuken, born 09 Mar 1845. Amos B. VanAuken, born 19 Jul 1847, killed by lightning at Red Oak, Iowa, 04 Aug 1874. David Elton VanAuken, 17 Sep 1848 - 09 Aug 1888, marriede S. J. (___) VanAuken, no other information. He is buried at Pleasant Lake Cemetery. Frank B. VanAuken, 13 Nov 1850 - 01 Dec 1915, married Rheumina/Mina (Sanders) VanAuken, 06 Jul 1852 - 12 May 1931. They are buried at Pleasant Lake Cemetery. Rheumina was the daughter of Henry and Jane (Jackman) Sanders. Jacob J. VanAuken, 08 Feb 1852 - 27 Nov 1905. Nannie VanAuken, born 27 Jun 1854, died 04 Sep 1856 at Chagrin Falls, Ohio. Leah Katherine VanAuken, 25 Feb 1856 - 28 Aug 1856. William Ellis VanAuken, 23 Dec 1858 - 30 Jul 1919, married 1st, Louise M. (Hurtt) VanAuken, 1864 - 18 Mar 1914. They are buried at Fremont Cemetery, Steuben County, Indiana. Married 2nd, Theodoria Henning VanAuken, 1860 - 1955, who is buried with her daughter, Florence E. (Henning) Day, 1881 - 1951, at O-HUD Cemetery, Steuben County, Indiana. Perry D. VanAuken, 28 Feb 1861 - 16 Nov 1865, died at Pleasant Lake, Steuben County, Indiana. Buried at Pleasant Lake Cemetery. "Marriage Records, Steuben County, Indiana, 1837-1899." "History of Steuben County, Indiana, 1885," pages 794, 795, 796, biography of brother, Frank B. VanAuken; pages 796, 797, 798, 799, 800, biography of father, Jacob H. VanAuken; pages 800, 801, 802, 803, biography of mother, Nancy (Straway) VanAuken. "History of Northeast Indiana, 1920," page 411, biography of brother,William E. VanAuken. Steuben Republican, 16 Aug 1893, "City of the Dead," Nancy Straway VanAuaken, Jacob H. VanAuken, Carl W. VanAuken, Infant son of H. N. and M. E. VanAuken - 1870, Infant son of H. N. and M. E. VanAuken - 1866, Philena VanAuken. "Cemeteries of Steuben County, Indiana, 1990," by Audree Seibel Lewis, Vol. 1, pages 175, 176; Vol. 2, pages 1072, 1073, 1232, 1856, 1859, 1860, 1861, 1862, 1863. www.familysearch.org: 1880 United States Census, Horace VanAuken, Steuben, Steuben County, Indiana, Family History Library Film #1254312, NA Film #T9-0312, page #305C. Individual Records for Horace N. VanAuken, Jacob Hornbeck VanAuken, Nancy Straway. Submitted by Mona Hilden-Beckwith e-mail: hilbeck123@att.net