Both were natives of Abington-on-Thames, Oxfordshire, and had been married there during 1865. They had arrived in the United States during 1869, in part at least at the bidding of Elizabeth's brother, Edward, a Presbyterian minister. Why they moved to Chariton, I cannot say.
But sadly, Thomas died six months later --- on the 4th of May, 1873 --- of heart disease. The Patriot of May 7 reported his death as follows:
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Died --- We have to announce the sad death of our townsman, Mr. Thos. Pearn, which occurred on Sunday evening last, of heart disease. Mr. Pearn has been but a few months in our town, having come here in October last, from Adel in this State, and was engaged in tailoring in the room formerly occupied by Braden's dry goods store. He was 34 years old and an Englishman by birth, having been in this country four or five years, was in all respects much of a gentleman and during his short stay in Chariton he made many warm friends who mourn his loss and sympathize with his bereaved wife in her affliction. The remains were buried yesterday (Tuesday) P.M., in the cemetery at this place.
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The death notice then continued with an explicit description of the disorder that had ended his life so prematurely:
A post mortem examination was held by the leading physicians of the city, which most clearly demonstrated the fact that his death was caused by "disease of the heart" in one of its most extensive forms, hypertrophy, with dilation and extensive ossification of some of the valves and arteries. The heart was of remarkable size, weighing 32 1/2 ounces which is more than four times its normal weight --- occupying a part of the right and almost the entire left breast, obliterating almost completely the left lung. This is an interesting case, to the "Physiologist" and "Pathologist," and will doubtless afford useful lessons for future practice.
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Elizabeth's brother had arrived in Chariton to be by Elizabeth's side in the days that followed Thomas's death and about two weeks later, The Patriot of May 14 reported that, "Rev. Edward E. Bayless, pastor of the Presbyterian church at Fulton, Ill., brother of Mrs. Pearn, who has been here since the death of Mr. P., has taken the widow and children home with him.
The family did not return to Chariton after that, but settled eventually at DeSoto in Dallas County, just west of Des Moines, where she was working as a dressmaker with the 1880 federal census was taken.
She never remarried and seems always to have lived after that in DeSoto, where she passed at the age of 73 on Sept. 5, 1918, 45 years after Thomas had died. Her remains were brought to Chariton for burial beside him, and the following obituary was published in The Leader of Sept. 12, 1918:
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Elizabeth Bayliss was born in Abingdon, England, March 31, 1845, and died at her home in DeSoto, Sept. 5, 1918, aged 73 years, 5 months and 5 days. She was married to Thomas Pearn April 14, 1865. To this union were born four children --- Rose, who died in infancy; Mrs. Nellie McCombs, San Juan, Texas; Harry T. Pearn, of Van Meter; and Mrs. Katie Anderson, of DeSoto. She also had nine grandchildren and one great-grandchild, also one brother, Thos. Bayliss, and several uncles and nephews in England.
In early life she became a member of the Church of England, but after coming to America in October 1869, to join her brother, who had been sent to America from England as a missionary and who established a Presbyterian congregation, she united with that church until the organization at that place dissolved, after which she united with the Methodist church of which she lived a faithful and loyal member for the remainder of her life. She was a regular attendant at all church services and loved the missionary, Red Cross and Aid societies, to which she contributed liberally of her time and means.
Soon after coming to America her husband died, leaving her with the entire care of her family of small children. She provided for their needs and guided and guarded them as only a loving mother could. Only eternity can reveal what her life has meant to her family, to the church and to the community, and she will ever be held in loving remembrance by all who knew her.
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There's nothing too extraordinary here, I suppose, in the stories of Thomas and Elizabeth Pearn, two of more than 13,000 bookmarked by tombstones in the Chariton Cemetery. But I found it moving late yesterday, on a visit to photograph their graves, to consider how far from their place of origin they had come to rest and how much they had endured in getting here.
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