Portrait of Catherin Denslow Morgan. (Ira C. Perry (Photographer), Gift of Catherine G. Blosser, Sadie Milliken Blosser Collection)
April 12, 1925 – Cathrin Morgan died from pneumonia in Long Beach at the age of 72. Described by the Beacon as one of the community’s best beloved and finest characters, Cathrin, “as had been her custom for some five or six years past, was spending the winter with her son in the southern city,” when she came down with the flu, which didn’t respond to treatment. “She made a brave fight but her advanced years were against her.”
Born in Hartford, Connecticut, Cathrin was the daughter of Charles W. Denslow and his second wife, Martha Harmon. After Martha died, the Denslow family came to Mendocino in the 1860s, and Charles was employed for many years as the Mendocino Lumber Company’s bookkeeper.
In 1874, Cathrin married L. A. Morgan at the Mendocino Presbyterian Church. The couple had one son, Charles, born in 1876. Mr. Morgan died in 1899.
“Mrs. Morgan has been a resident of this place for that long period, coming here when a young girl, when this was very much of a pioneer town and the surrounding country largely wilderness. She early developed a talent for music and became a very fine musician and for over forty years she most faithfully acted as organist for the Presbyterian Church, of which she was a member. She was a devoted worker in the church and served for many years on its board of trustees and was a member of the several auxiliary societies, an active worker in the Women’s Christian Temperance Union and during her long residence had done much for the betterment and welfare of the community.”
Funeral services were held at the Presbyterian Church, and interment was in the family plot in Evergreen Cemetery. “Talented and giving freely to the public of her services, she was devoted to her home and family; a most loyal and abiding friend, she was known and loved by a very large circle who will greatly miss her and sincerely mourn her death.”
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