Mary Emily Houston
MARY EMILY HOUSTON, daughter of MARIA STURGES and JOHN HOUSTON JR., was born January 25, 1859 in Iowa,40 and died in 1955.3451 She is buried in Denmark Cemetery, Lee County, Iowa.3451
Newspaper Articles
Morning Register, September 11, 19247172
Miss Huston Takes Departure
(Register Lan County Special)
PLEASANT HILL, Ore., Sept 9.—Miss Mary Huston, who came here a year ago to care for her sister, the late Mrs. C. A. Swift, left Saturday for Portland enrout to her home in Iowa. Miss Huston has won a place in the hearts of the people here by her efficient and untiring labor in Christian work, especially in the Sunday school and choir. Her many friends hope she may some day return.
Burlington Hawk-Eye Gazette, March 22, 19383454
Miss Mary Houston who has spent the past three years in West Medway, Mass., with her sister Mrs. Hattie Hitchcock, a returned missionary to Ceylon, India has returned here to the home of her brother Asa Houston for an extended visit.
Burlington Hawk-Eye Gazette, January 27, 19473458
Mary Houston, Denmark, 88
Denmark—Mary Emily Houston, oldest woman member of the Denmark Congregational church, was 88 years old last Saturday, and while she has a lot of first-hand information on the early history of this area, she's as modern as the 1947 streamlined automobiles in her ideas of today's world.
While of a deeply spritual nature, she takes a philosophic view of the changes in the habits of young people in Denmark.
Asked if the stern deacons of nearly a century ago would turn over in their graves if they knew girls were playing basketball in scanty attire, Miss Houston promptly replied, Yes and they would probably be revolving, too."
She will celebrate the 75th anniversary of her membership in the church March 31. She teaches the young married woman's class, gives the monthly missionary story and fills in as substitute pianist. She also takes an active part in the missionary and welfare clubs and has had the state traveling library in her home for several years.
Daughter of Pioneers
Her father, John Houston, was one of the early settlers of Denmark, coming from Lowell, Mass., with his parents to this part of the country. He was an early teacher in the Denmark area, a deacon of the church, and a leading citizen until his death 50 years ago.
Miss Houston's mother came from Granville, Ohio, to teach in the grade school in 1845, while her brother, Albert Sturges, was the first principal of the Denmark academy. The couple had 7 children.
Albert Sturges Houston, Miss Houston's brother, assisted his uncle, Rev. Albert Sturges, in his mission station at Ponape, Carolina Islands. He later entered the ministry, served in Honolulu and in Iowa.
Henderson Houston, a teacher and later a Congregational minister, and Harriet Houston Hitchcock, a lifetime missionary in India and on the island of Ceylon, 2 other children of the pioneer couple, had distinguished careers.
Mary Houston also was a teacher in this vicinity for many years. For several years she held a position at the missionary home at Auburndale, Mass.
Death of Lincoln
She has a keen memory, and recalls vividly the shock when the people of Denmark learned of the assassination of Abraham Lincoln. She told of a public meeting held that day and of watching the carriages as they made their way to the church.
The thought came to her, she said, that "These people look as if they had heard that God was dead."
She told of walking to Denmark academy with Connie Arnold, "the finest boy, I ever knew." He later became known as Constantine P. Arnold, president and founder of the Wyoming bar association, and father of Thurman Arnold, the "trust-buster" of the Roosevelt administration. Six former classmates of the 1870s kept a round-robin letter going for many years, but with the death of Arnold, Miss Houston alone remains of the group.
Census Records
| Date | Location | Enumerated Names |
|---|---|---|
| June 13, 18604 | Denmark, Lee, Iowa | |
| June 11, 18803408 | Denmark, Lee, Iowa | |
| June 15, 19003416 | Denmark, Lee, Iowa |
|
| May 5, 19103415 | Denmark, Lee, Iowa | |
| February 5, 19203413 | Denmark, Lee, Iowa |
