NameElias DePuy GUMAER, 2C4R
Birth27 Mar 1815, Manlius, Onondaga, New York
Death24 Dec 1877, Shawano, Shawano, Wisconsin
Misc. Notes
Obituary: Died, in this city Dec. 24, 1877, of heart disease, Elias D. Gumaer, aged 62 years. Mr. Gumaer was born in the town of Manlius, Onondaga County, N.Y. 1815. In 1828 he went south with his father, who was a large contractor on the Chesepeake and Ohio canal and other public works. He attended school in Washington awhile and then returned to New York state and took charge of his father’s farm, but the humdrum of a farmer’s life did not suit his ambitious taste and he returned to Washington, and secured a prominent position in the Government Document room, which he held for 16 years. While thus engaged he conceived the idea of an envelope in which to enclose letters and was the first man to make one in America, and each envelope was made separately. The House Committee of Ways and means afterwards provided him with a small sum of money to make a machine with which he could cut a ream of paper at a time. He owned a large plantation 4 miles from Washington, and after resigning his clerkship, conducted this and was a claim agent for several years. Becoming tired of southern life, he sold out and came west in 1849, settling at Winneconne, which at that time was only an Indian trading post. Here he laid out the first village plat of Winneconne. He lived there until 1859, when he moved to this county. The “Deacon,” as he was familiarly called by everybody, was a good neighbor, a kind husband and father. He was liberal to a fault, both to his family and friends. While in Winneconne he gave the ground for two churches and their parsonages besides materially aiding in in building them. Last spring he had a paralytic stroke, from which he never recovered, and no doubt brought on the disease which finally closed his early career. His funeral was largely attended by our citizens who wished to pay their last respects to an old settler.
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Spouses
Birth6 Jul 1819, Philadelphia, Philadelphia (formerly Montgomery), Pennsylvania
Death30 May 1897, Shawano, Shawano, Wisconsin
Misc. Notes
Obituary: Death of Mrs. Gumaer. Shawano loses one of it’s oldest and most respected citizens. Mrs. Mary F. Gumaer, one of Shawano’s oldest residents, died Sunday evening after a long illness. Mrs. Gumaer was the widow of Elias D. Gumaer who died some 20 years ago. She was born 78 years ago in Philadelphia and received an excellent education in that city and later in Washington, D.C. There is but little need to recite or enumerate the beautiful qualities and characteristics of Mrs. Gumaer’s life. There can be but few if any in Shawano who have not been helped at some time by her kindnesses. She was always solicitous concerning every party that started out on the Lake and she was always more than ready to aid the unfortunate. There was always a warm fire and a change of dry clothes for the person who capsized and in attending to the wants of such a one, the interest shown by Mrs. Gumaer was nothingly less than motherly. Perhaps one of the best illustrations of her kindness was the fact that each night while parties were sailing on the lake, she would place a light in the window and all night long this beacon could be seen shining out across the water. There are few who have been out on the lake at night, and who do not remember the many times they have been guided safely home by the thoughtfulness of the motherly woman who will not always surround the memory of her name with a host of tender associations within the personal experience of each and every one. Mrs. Gumaer was a woman wonderfully well posted and a careful and thoughtful reader. In questions of the day she was always able to present strong arguments in defense of her position whether the discussion was of a political, theological or historical nature. She had a memory that was nothing short of marvelous and she could remember the most minute details of events which had occurred in her long life of helpfulness. In her reading she showed a wonderful retentive mind and up to the last was able to correct any mistakes in dates or events in history. Mrs. Gumaer came to Shawano in 1854 at which time her husband started a saw mill. From the time of her first arrival until her death, Mrs. Gumaer has been a great influence for good. She was a member of the Presbyterian church and was always a conscientious Christian in a life at all times consistent and in perfect harmony with the noble principles and high ideals of her faith. With the death of Mrs. Gumaer, Shawano loses one of its oldest and most respected residents. All those who go to the lake area are sure to miss the smiling face and welcome greeting of one who has for so many years been so constant in helping others. Mrs. Gumaer leaves 3 sons, William, Howard and R. B. Gumaer and one daughter, Mrs. Fred Dodge. She also leaves a large number of grandchildren who will mourn her loss. Funeral services were celebrated Tuesday afternoon, Rev. Mr. Bethel officiating. The pall bearers were: Dewey George, G. C. Dickinson, F. W. Humphrey, Thomas McNichol, Orlin Andrews and Marion Wescott. There was an unusually large number of friends at the funeral services including many of Shawano’s oldest settlers and young members of the present generation. The interment was in the family lot in the Shawano cemetery. A quartet composed of Mr. and Mrs. Dayn Wescott, Mrs. C. M. Upham and E. J. Sprague furnished appropriate music.
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Marriage1844, Washington, DC