So I was interested when I came across the obituary of George W. Teas, who died and was buried at the home during March of 1931 at the age of 84.
Teas, who grew up in Albia, was a late-comer to Chariton, not arriving here semi-permanently until 1927, when he was was brought to the home of his niece, Nora Beagley, where he lived until 1931 under the care of Mrs. Beagley and her sister, Maude Teas, a nurse. Before that, he had worked until he was incapacitated by rheumatism and "heart trouble" as a carpenter at various places in Iowa, including Des Moines, and in Seattle. He had been a resident of soldiers homes in Kansas and Iowa since 1903.
George's parents were Maj. Joseph B. Teas, a veteran of the Black Hawk War who arrived in Iowa during the 1830s and served in both territorial and state legislatures, and Julia Ann, his wife. The family settled in Albia during 1852. Three of their children and their families were long-time residents of Chariton.
His military service was considerably longer than suggested by his obituary. George actually enlisted in Company H, 1st Iowa Volunteer Cavalry, during June of 1862, just after turning 17, in Albia. When his two-year enlistment was over, he re-enlisted in the same unit and served until the end of the war.
He seems to have first entered the U.S. National Home for Disabled Volunteer Soldiers at Leavenworth, Kansas. He transferred to the Iowa Soldiers' Home during the fall of 1907. Records of this institution are available online and they contain a description of George, who never married: Six-foot tall, fair complexion, blue eyes and brown hair.
Here's his obituary from The Chariton Leader of March 10, 1931:
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George W. Teas, Civil War veteran, died at the Soldiers' Home in Marshalltown on Thursday afternoon, March 5, at two o'clock, after an extended illness with prostatic disease. Funeral services were held at the Home chapel on Saturday afternoon at two o'clock, with interment in the Home cemetery.
Geo. W. Teas was born in Fairfield, Iowa, on June 12, 1846. He grew to manhood at Albia, Iowa, and enlisted in the service of his country at that place during the Civil War on June 19, 1864, and served as a member of Company H, First Iowa Cavalry, and was honorably discharged from the service on May 28, 1865, at Memphis, Tennessee. Mr. Teas was never married.
He was admitted to the Soldiers' Home on January 2, 1903, where he remained until November 15, 1927, when he came to Chariton and made his home with his niece, Mr. Nora Beagley, but he was taken back to the hospital on February 7, this year, where he gradually grew worse until death claimed him.
Three brothers and two sisters, Joseph B., Thomas C., and Mrs. E.L. Hickman, all of Chariton, Charles B. Teas, of Minneapolis, Minn., and Mrs. Pauline Hester, Lincoln, Nebraska, preceded him in death. The nearest surviving relatives are three sisters, Mrs. J. E. Clark of Modesto, California, Mrs. J. H. Berge, of Davenport, Washington; and Mrs. Olive Waugh, of Casper, Wyoming.
Mr. Teas was held in very high esteem by all who knew him and those who came in contact with him during his residence here admired him greatly for his many fine characteristics and genial disposition.
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