James Coursey obituary

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Obituary for
James William (De)Coursey
(1827 - 1905)

James W. DeCoursey is the earliest member of this DeCoursey line that we have any solid information on. His parents' names were James and Hannah. James Sr. disappears at some point between 1835 and 1850, no records regarding him have yet been found. The details of James W.'s early life are a bit sketchy. He was born in Canada, probably Nova Scotia, in 1827. It appears he had a previously unknown sister named Johanna who was also born in Canada in 1832. By 1835 the family had moved to Bangor, Maine, where his sister Elizabeth (who married George Becker) was born. A biography written while he was still alive maintains that the family moved from Maine to New Orleans, Louisiana and then to Chicago, Illinois in 1838. To date no records have been found supporting this, I have not been able to locate them in the 1840 census. After Chicago they moved to Stephenson and and then neighboring Jo Daviess County in northern Illinois. In the 1850 census his mother Hannah and sisters Johanna and Elizabeth are enumerated living in Jo Daviess County. James Sr. is no longer in the picture, Hannah has remarried to a George Harris. James W. is in Calveras County, California, having gone west for the 1949 Gold Rush, not returning to Illinois until 1857. His sister Johanna dies in 1854 and is buried in Stephenson County in the same cemetery as his future wife Mary Murphy's relatives. James marries a young widow named Mary (Murphy) Moulton in Stephenson County on 9 Sept. 1857. Shortly thereafter they move to Johnson County, Kansas where their first child is born a year after their marriage. James' sister Elizabeth and mother Hannah go with them, Hannah apparently leaving behind her second husband who is found still living in Jo Daviess County in the 1860 census. After a few years of living in Johnson County James and his family moved their home to land he owned just outside the Leavenworth city limits. There they operated a fruit, dairy and stock farm called Stone Hinge. James had a dairy small business, delivering milk by horse and wagon. Some of his sons became involved in the business as they grew older and it evolved into a creamery company. In 1906, a year after his death, James' grandson James H. started a dairy business in Kansas City that would become one of the largest in the Kansas area.

James and Mary had seven children, all born in Kansas: Edwin E. (married Mary McCormick of PA), Mary R. (married Charles Barrett of IL), James W. II (married 1st Kate DeSanno of Leavenworth County, 2d Anna Thompson, also of Leavenworth), Emma J. (died at the age of 30, did not marry), Thomas H. "Harry" (married Elizabeth Ryan of Leavenworth), Ann E. (died at the age of 3) and Charles F. (did not marry).
Related Items
Marriage license for his marriage to Mary (Murphy) Moulton.
Picture of James from ca 1875.
Pictures of his son Edwin E. and his family and daughter Mary R. (DeCoursey) Barrett.
Census record table for James and his family.
1885 Kansas Agricultural Census entry.
Listings in Leavenworth, KS city directories
Biography from 1899, mentions in biographies of his grandson James H. from 1918 and 1952.
Obituary for his son Harry.
More information on his descendants in The DeCoursey Family

Leavenworth Times (Leavenworth, Kansas)
Sunday, 25 June 1905, p. 4

JAS. DECOURSEY DIED SATURDAY
CAME TO LEAVENWORTH IN 1857.
A CALIFORNIA FORTY-NINER
DROVE FROM ILLINOIS TO PACIFIC COAST DURING GOLD EXCITEMENT.
Died After Three Days' Illness From Cerebral Apoplexy--Funeral to Be Tomorrow Morning.
James DeCoursey, one of Leavenworth's early settlers, who came to this city in the fall of 1857, died yesterday morning at St. John's hospital of cerebral apoplexy ¹ after an illness of three days.
Services will be held tomorrow morning from Stonehenge farm, his old home, at 8 o'clock. Services will then be held at the Cathedral, an hour later. Internment will be at Mount Calvary.
James DeCoursey was 78 years old at the time of his death. He was born in Nova Scotia, but spent his early life at Bangor, Maine. He received his education in New Orleans.
When gold was discovered in California in 1849, Mr. DeCoursey was in Illinois, and outfitting a wagon train, he drove to the new gold fields, and there he engaged in mining and farming, being successful in both pursuits. There he remained until 1857, in the meantime having taken out his first naturalization papers, and then moved to Leavenworth, ² marrying in the same year Mary Murphy, of Illinois.
Mr. DeCoursey engaged in the grocer business after his arrival here, and also bought Stonehenge farm, where he specialized in fruit growing and dairying.
In October, 1897, he started the Leavenworth Dairy & Creamery company, but soon turned the active management of the same over to his sons, James, Harry, and Charles. Besides these three sons Mr. DeCoursey leaves to mourn his loss a daughter, Mary, wife of Charles Barrett, of Lena, Illinois, and another son, Edward ³ DeCoursey.
Mr. DeCoursey was one of Leavenworth's best known and most highly esteemed business men, and his loss will be equally as much regretted by his business associates as it is by his relatives.

¹ "Cerebral apoplexy" is another name for stroke.
² Census and land records indicate he lived in Johnson County, Kansas for about 4 years before coming to Leavenworth.
³ Should be Edwin. (It is possible he was called Edward.)

The Kansas City Star (Kansas City, Missouri)
Sunday, 25 June 1905, Sect. 2, p. 2

A Leavenworth Pioneer Dead. LEAVENWORTH, KAS., June 24--James Decoursey, 78 years old, died here of cerebral apoplexy this evening. He was a native of Nova Scotia and crossed the plains in a wagon train from Illinois to the Pacific in 1859.¹ Mr Decoursey came here in 1857 among the first pioneers and had lived here since. He was in the grocery and dairy business most of the time until a few years ago.

¹ Should be 1849, not 1859.

From "The DeCoursey Family", compiled by Aileen Colitti, 1995
Transcribed by Erica DeCoursey 2002

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James W. DeCoursey is the earliest member of this DeCoursey line that we have any solid information on. His parents' names were James and Hannah. James Sr. disappears at some point between 1835 and 1850, no records regarding him have yet been found. The details of James W.'s early life are a bit sketchy. He was born in Canada, probably Nova Scotia, in 1827. It appears he had a previously unknown sister named Johanna who was also born in Canada in 1832. By 1835 the family had moved to Bangor, Maine, where his sister Elizabeth (who married George Becker) was born. A biography written while he was still alive maintains that the family moved from Maine to New Orleans, Louisiana and then to Chicago, Illinois in 1838. To date no records have been found supporting this, I have not been able to locate them in the 1840 census. After Chicago they moved to Stephenson and and then neighboring Jo Daviess County in northern Illinois. In the 1850 census his mother Hannah and sisters Johanna and Elizabeth are enumerated living in Jo Daviess County. James Sr. is no longer in the picture, Hannah has remarried to a George Harris. James W. is in Calveras County, California, having gone west for the 1949 Gold Rush, not returning to Illinois until 1857. His sister Johanna dies in 1854 and is buried in Stephenson County in the same cemetery as his future wife Mary Murphy's relatives. James marries a young widow named Mary (Murphy) Moulton in Stephenson County on 9 Sept. 1857. Shortly thereafter they move to Johnson County, Kansas where their first child is born a year after their marriage. James' sister Elizabeth and mother Hannah go with them, Hannah apparently leaving behind her second husband who is found still living in Jo Daviess County in the 1860 census. After a few years of living in Johnson County James and his family moved their home to land he owned just outside the Leavenworth city limits. There they operated a fruit, dairy and stock farm called Stone Hinge. James had a dairy small business, delivering milk by horse and wagon. Some of his sons became involved in the business as they grew older and it evolved into a creamery company. In 1906, a year after his death, James' grandson James H. started a dairy business in Kansas City that would become one of the largest in the Kansas area. James and Mary had seven children, all born in Kansas: Edwin E. (married Mary McCormick of PA), Mary R. (married Charles Barrett of IL), James W. II (married 1st Kate DeSanno of Leavenworth County, 2d Anna Thompson, also of Leavenworth), Emma J. (died at the age of 30, did not marry), Thomas H. "Harry" (married Elizabeth Ryan of Leavenworth), Ann E. (died at the age of 3) and Charles F. (did not marry). Related Items Marriage license for his marriage to Mary (Murphy) Moulton. Picture of James from ca 1875. Pictures of his son Edwin E. and his family and daughter Mary R. (DeCoursey) Barrett. Census record table for James and his family. 1885 Kansas Agricultural Census entry. Listings in Leavenworth, KS city directories Biography from 1899, mentions in biographies of his grandson James H. from 1918 and 1952. Obituary for his son Harry. More information on his descendants in The DeCoursey Family
Leavenworth Times (Leavenworth, Kansas) Sunday, 25 June 1905, p. 4 JAS. DECOURSEY DIED SATURDAY CAME TO LEAVENWORTH IN 1857. A CALIFORNIA FORTY-NINER DROVE FROM ILLINOIS TO PACIFIC COAST DURING GOLD EXCITEMENT. Died After Three Days' Illness From Cerebral Apoplexy--Funeral to Be Tomorrow Morning. James DeCoursey, one of Leavenworth's early settlers, who came to this city in the fall of 1857, died yesterday morning at St. John's hospital of cerebral apoplexy ¹ after an illness of three days. Services will be held tomorrow morning from Stonehenge farm, his old home, at 8 o'clock. Services will then be held at the Cathedral, an hour later. Internment will be at Mount Calvary. James DeCoursey was 78 years old at the time of his death. He was born in Nova Scotia, but spent his early life at Bangor, Maine. He received his education in New Orleans. When gold was discovered in California in 1849, Mr. DeCoursey was in Illinois, and outfitting a wagon train, he drove to the new gold fields, and there he engaged in mining and farming, being successful in both pursuits. There he remained until 1857, in the meantime having taken out his first naturalization papers, and then moved to Leavenworth, ² marrying in the same year Mary Murphy, of Illinois. Mr. DeCoursey engaged in the grocer business after his arrival here, and also bought Stonehenge farm, where he specialized in fruit growing and dairying. In October, 1897, he started the Leavenworth Dairy & Creamery company, but soon turned the active management of the same over to his sons, James, Harry, and Charles. Besides these three sons Mr. DeCoursey leaves to mourn his loss a daughter, Mary, wife of Charles Barrett, of Lena, Illinois, and another son, Edward ³ DeCoursey. Mr. DeCoursey was one of Leavenworth's best known and most highly esteemed business men, and his loss will be equally as much regretted by his business associates as it is by his relatives. ¹ "Cerebral apoplexy" is another name for stroke. ² Census and land records indicate he lived in Johnson County, Kansas for about 4 years before coming to Leavenworth. ³ Should be Edwin. (It is possible he was called Edward.)

The Kansas City Star (Kansas City, Missouri) Sunday, 25 June 1905, Sect. 2, p. 2 A Leavenworth Pioneer Dead. LEAVENWORTH, KAS., June 24--James Decoursey, 78 years old, died here of cerebral apoplexy this evening. He was a native of Nova Scotia and crossed the plains in a wagon train from Illinois to the Pacific in 1859.¹ Mr Decoursey came here in 1857 among the first pioneers and had lived here since. He was in the grocery and dairy business most of the time until a few years ago. ¹ Should be 1849, not 1859.