The Hastings Banner — Thursday, April 22, 2021 — Page 7to the call for what was announced as the ‘last
annual reunion’ of the Barry County Soldiers
and Sailors Association. James McDonald, of
Battle Creek, and T.O. Webber, of Hastings,
were the only ones of 16 living veterans who
could attend a dinner. McDonald is 94, and
Webber is 89.”
Webber’s name shows up in the Banner
periodically, especially in late May or early
June for Memorial Day events, and again in
November for Armistice Day activities.
The June 4, 1936, Banner recounted a
recent observance in Hastings, saying
“Decoration Day was fittingly honored in this
city.”
Members of the Legion and Spanish War
veterans, Veterans of Foreign Wars, and their
auxiliaries marched to Riverside and Mount
Calvary cemeteries to decorate the graves of
deceased soldiers, the paper noted.
A platform had been set up on the
courthouse lawn, and a large crowd gathered.
A hearty singing of “America the Beautiful,”
an invocation, the Pledge of Allegiance, music
by the high school band, and more preceded
comments from the speaker of the day, Rev.
Karl Keefer of Watervliet.
“He referenced in fitting words to the five
living representatives of the veterans of the
Civil War, one of whom, Truman Webber, was
on the platform, and was asked by Mr. Keefer
to say a few words,” the article read.
“[Webber] made an appropriate response
in expressing his pleasure in seeing so many
young people present, evidencing their interest
in their country,” listing the generations of
military service his own family members,
both older and younger.
“He was proud of that record. He offered
a fervent prayer which touched all of his
hearers – a prayer for his country, for his
community, for all his fellowmen.”
The Banner in early November 1940
announced Armistice Day plans in the city,
noting that several veterans, Women’s Relief
Corps, “and one Civil War veteran, T.O.
Webber,” would be participating. However, a
Nov. 11 storm curtailed events that day and
moved the ceremony to Central Auditorium.
The following spring, some were hoping
Webber, by then 93, would be able to attend
the annual ceremonies.
Following a schedule that again included
singing, bands and speakers, the May 29,
1941, Banner stated: “If T.O. Webber, the
only surviving Civil War veteran in Barry
County is able to attend the exercises, he will
be given a place of honor.”
He was not able to attend.
Webber died the following September at
Pennock Hospital where he had been a patient
for several days. He had been in failing health
for many months, according to the Sept. 11,
1941, Banner.
His wife Mary had died in 1928, and he
had been cared for by Mrs. Eunice Martin at
his home.
Webber’s obituary, death certificate and
funeral home record all listed Clawson as the
burial site. The Sept. 11, 1941, Banner tribute
said he was interred at Oak View Cemetery,
Royal Oak. However, neither he nor other
family members appear to be buried in either
city. His name is inscribed in a headstone at
Hastings Township aka, Sponable or Valley
Home, Cemetery. Again, however, the
township does not have record of his
internment there.
Wherever the old soldier had been laid to
rest, he’d left a legacy of a common man
who’d served eight years in the military by the
time he was 21, and who relished a good
story, adventure, and time spent with loved
ones.Sources: Hastings Public Library, Diane
Hawkins; Joachim Hawn; Familysearch.com,
Findagrave.com, Ancestry.com,
libraryofcongress.com, University of
Michigan library, Wisconsin Veterans
Museum; Hastings Township, Anita Mennell;
Allen County Public Library; Central
Michigan University Digital Michigan
Newspapers.County’s oldest Civil War
veteran also was one of
the youngest, conclusion
Kathy Maurer
Copy Editor
Last week’s column concluded with a
November 1898 clipping from a Wisconsin
newspaper telling how Truman O. Webber
had pulled an injured boy from the swiftly-
flowing Fox River.
Years later, after Webber had moved to
Michigan, the May 2, 1934, Hastings Banner
shared news of his son’s heroics in Illinois.
Defies demands of bank robbers“Our readers probably noticed the account
of how three robbers, gunning for bank money
Thursday of last week, entered the Round
Lake, Ill., bank. When the three robbers
entered at about 9:30 a.m. and declared “This
is a stick-up,” the cashier, E.C. Webber,
replied, “The hell it is.” He reached for his
shooting iron and let drive. Two bullets came
sailing at Webber from the bandit sentry at the
bank door, but he didn’t have to dodge, the
slugs merely cracked the bullet-proof glass
surrounding the cashier’s cage, and he escaped
unharmed.
“Webber fired three shots through the
little opening in his cage. The three robes took
to their heels. The town vigilantes heard this
call to battle and were soon swarming from
nearby shops. A bullet dropped one robber as
he raced for cover toward a lumber yard.
“Wm. Lubee, working in his garden
nearby, grabbed his rake and whacked the
wounded bandit on his head to keep him
down. The other two took to their car and
raced out of town.
“The plucky cashier, who refused to hand
over his money, who fired at the would-be
robbers and forced them to quit the bank, was
Edwin C. Webber, son of T.O. Webber of this
city. In recognition of the bravery of the
cashier, he was promoted to the presidency of
the institution, and his wife was made cashier.
“In the Banner office window, you will
find a picture of Mr. and Mrs. Webber.”
That window was at the Banner office on
West State and Church streets (now Seasonal
Grille), and the photo likely was on loan from
the proud father.
What brought Truman Webber to Barry
County is unknown. Born in New York State,
he grew up mostly in Wisconsin, perhaps
moving between the homes of his divorced
parents in southern Wisconsin and northern
Illinois. At 13, he joined the Union effort in
the U.S. Civil War and spent most of the next
eight years seeing the country through the
eyes of a soldier, the first four years with the
1 st Wisconsin Cavalry and the next four with
the 7th U.S. Infantry.
He may have been married, and soon
divorced, after returning to Wisconsin in
- Some records are not clear.
Other reliable documents show he married
Mary Juliane “Julia” Despins in 1871, and
they had four children, three of whom reached
adulthood before Julia died in 1899.
He married Mary (Zuver) Hewitt in
Chicago in 1900. He may have lived in
northeastern Indiana for a few years before
moving to Maple Grove Township around
1905.
The 1910 U.S. Census shows him living in
Maple Grove Township with his wife,
stepdaughter Mable (Hewitt) Doxey, her
husband, Leonard, and their two eldest
children. The 1913 Barry County atlas shows
a T. Webber owning 40 acres about a half mile
east of what was still known as Maple Grove
Center.
By 1920, he was living at 507 E. Madison
St. in Hastings, a home he would occupy the
remainder of his life.
At some point, Webber joined the Leonard
O. Fitzgerald Post of the Grand Army of the
Republic, based in Hastings. Eventually, he
became its commander of the post, perhaps of
a very short roster. He was the last surviving
member of the local GAR, which disbanded
in 1941 before his death.
Although he was not a longtime associate,
Webber was celebrated by the local Women’s
Relief Corps, the GAR auxiliary, when he
turned 86, according to the April 18, 1934,
Banner.Honored T.O. Webber on birthdayWRC Ladies had party for him at
GAR Hall
“Covers were laid for 25 at the birthday
dinner given by members of the Women’s
Relief Corps Saturday at the GAR hall
honoring T.O. Webber, who was celebrating
his 86th birthday. He is the only surviving
member of GAR Post 125.
“Mr. Webber’s daughters and their
husbands, Mr. and Mrs. Oliver Marko
[Marcoe] and Mrs. and Mrs. R.J. Dorris, and
family of Royal Oak came for the party, but
the latter family got stuck in the mud on
Mount Hope Avenue in Lansing, so didn’t
arrive in time for dinner.
“Mr. Webber enlisted in Co. F, 1st
Wisconsin Cavalry, serving three years and 11
months when he was honorably discharged,
having been with his regiment in 47 battles,
and a detachment of his regiment captured
Jefferson Davis. He came from a family that
did their part in the Civil War, his grandfather
[Ira Holden, father of his step-mother] being
in the 17th Wisconsin Infantry, his father in
the 42nd Infantry, and his brother in Battery
D., 1st Wisconsin Heavy Artillery ...
“In 1910, Mr. [Truman] Webber received
his first pension check form the government,
none of the others ever getting a cent for their
war services [the other three having died by
then].
“Mr. Webber’s many friends extend
birthday congratulations and best wishes and
wish for him many more such happy
anniversaries.”
Webber made the news later that year, in
another publication. The Suttons Bay Courier,
in its Sept. 6, 1934, edition, noted that “Only
two Civil War veterans were able to respondSocial News
Three wars, the Spanish-American, World and Civil wars are represented by the veterans pictured above, who took part in the
Decoration Day ceremonies. They are (from left) Adelbert Cortright, World War; Frank Reynolds, Spanish-American War; Truman
O. Webber, Civil War; Cornelius Manni, Spanish-American War; Roy G. Hubbard, World War. All are residents of Hastings. (Banner
June 9, 1938. Photo by Mason Studio)Perhaps the person who filled this funeral home form felt the weight as each of the
eight letters on the typewriter was tapped to spell “Civil War,” knowing it would be the
last time those two words filled the second line.Jeffrey A. Keessen
AIF®Karen Hayward
Administrative AssistantTaking care of what's important to you
so that you can focus on what matters most to youJeffrey A. Keessen, AIF®
(269) 948-
525 W. Apple St. Hastings, MI 49058
http://www.watersedgefinancial.comSecurities offered through LPL Financial, Member FINRA/SIPCWhat drew Truman O. Webber to Barry County around 1905 is unknown, but he
spent the later third of his life here, eventually becoming the county’s oldest Civil War
soldier before his death in 1941. His obituary, death certificate and funeral home
record all listed Clawson as his place of burial, but this headstone indicates he lies
beside his second wife at Hastings Township Cemetery.
Truman O. Webber, 86,
reports on World’s Fair
He may have been closer to 90 than to 80,
but that didn’t slow Truman O. Webber,
Barry County’s last surviving Civil War vet-
eran. Spending all of his teenage years as a
soldier, and traveling through many states
and the Western Territory may have given
him wanderlust.
Whatever the cause, the Banner staff was
happy to share his observations of the
World’s Fair in the Sept. 20, 1933, edition.
Not only did Webber convey his impressions
of the “Big Show,” he also provided glimps-
es of his energy, attitude and source of hap-
piness.
~~~~~
T.O. Webber of this city, aged 86 years,
recently was one of the interested visitors to
the Century of Progress in Chicago, and
thereby demonstrated that he still has more
enthusiasm and initiative than a great many
people much younger. Following are a few of
his comments about the Fair as he addressed
them to the Banner:
Well, here I am, an old veteran of the Civil
War, at the Century of Progress exposition at
Chicago. This is the third big fair I have
attended in Chicago, since I was a young
man. The first was in 1865. In 1893, I was a
conductor on a street car line in Chicago and
often attended the World’s Fair that year.
Now in 1933, I am again in Chicago to
attend a World’s Fair, this one being called a
‘Century of Progress.’
In these days, we hear quite a little talk
about hard times, but it surely doesn’t look
like it over here. One can hardly move on
any of the streets of this World’s Fair, but
what you will see are things from all over the
world, that you want to see, but I guess it
takes all sorts of things to make a complete
fair.
One of the sights interesting to watch is
the sky-riding – but none of that for me. I
much prefer to stand on good old Mother
Earth and let those who desire take this
chance hundreds of feet above the ground [in
a gondola].
The exhibits are certainly fine, in fact,
everything is fine, and produced on a large
scale befitting such a show. Especially did I
enjoy the Transportation building.
Transportation has been one feature that hasmarked the rapid development of our coun-
try, and here in this great building, one can
see at a glance all the agencies of rapid tran-
sit that have made for our growth. Here in
this building, you can see it at a glance,
although one could spend several days in
this one showroom and then not be able to
see it all.
Of course, great crowds are at the grounds
every day, and everything is hustle, hustle,
hustle. A man of my age has to take it slower,
and one can’t go anywhere but what there
are crowds. You can take a bus or a wheel
chair, but even then, you can’t see things as
you would like to. In short, it’s a pretty hot
place for a man of my age.
For several years now, we’ve heard people
talk about depression and hard times and the
like. To see the crowds over here, one could
hardly believe there has been any depres-
sion. The real fact is that people of today do
not know what hard times are. They ought to
have lived in the days of Franklin Pierce or
James Buchanan, when wheat was down to
25 cents a bushel, and there was no sale for
beef or pork. People lived through those
days just as we will live through the present
ones.
As I intimated above, this is a pretty lively
town for an old man. I haven’t been here so
very long, but it will be a real pleasure to get
back to that little old shack of mine in the
second ward. It isn’t worthy much, and there
isn’t much in it, but to me, it’s the sweetest
and most beautiful place on earth because it
is ‘home.’ One really doesn’t have to have so
much money in this old world to be happy.
It’s a condition of the mind more than it is of
the purse. We can all have it, if we will, and
after we attain it, it is the biggest blessing
life can bestow.
I am indeed thankful for the spirit of hap-
piness and contentment that I have cultivated
and for the degree of good health that has
been mine. If I keep on feeling as good as I
do right now, I am going to drive to Detroit
next week and see my girls. Not so bad for a
young man of 86 years.Very truly yours,T.O. WebberCall 269-945-9554 for Hastings Banner ads