Surnames: Stange, King, Fletcher, Oldham, Maurer, Marty, Esselman, Wright, Altemus, Walder, Ray

----Source: Clark County Press (Neillsville, Clark Co., WI.) March 25, 1948

Stange, Mrs. Carl (Elsie) (2 July 1869 - 13 March 1948)

Funeral services for Mrs. Elsie King Stange of Baldwin Park, Cal., were held on Wednesday afternoon, March 17, (1948), the Rev. Thomas A. Ray, pastor of the First Methodist Church of that city officiating. Shelby Walder, a close friend of Mrs. Stange played a violin solo. The final resting place will be the Mountain View Mausoleum at Pasadena, Cal. News of Mrs. Stange’s death which occurred on Saturday, March 13, reached Neillsville friends on Wednesday forenoon, the day of the funeral service. Mrs. Stange had been in failing health since November, 1947.

She is survived by her husband, Carl Stange, and by three sisters: Mrs. Florence Fletcher, who resides near Seattle, Wash.; Mrs. Myra Oldham of Clarkston, Wash.; and Mrs. Elizabeth (Bess) Maurer, Chicago. Two step-daughters by her first marriage also survive: Mrs. Casper (Emma) Marty of Neillsville, and Mrs. Joe (Phyllis) Esselman of Loyal.

Mrs. Stange was a member of a pioneer family which played an important part in the early history of this community. Soon after their marriage her parents emigrated from Ohio to Wisconsin and purchased a tract of land just east of the present fair grounds. Her father, John King, was a veteran of the Civil War, and after the war engaged in farming and carpentry in this community. Her mother, Rozella Wright King, taught school in Neillsville in a day when there was only one teacher in the school. The first school in which she taught stood on North Grand Avenue at the corner of West Eighth Street.

During the Civil War Mrs. King lived on the farm and made a living for her and two small sons by the sale of farm and dairy products produced by her own hands. The home was at that time made of logs and soon after his return from the war, Mr. King built the present house on that farm. He died in 1884, and the mother again took over the farm work. In 1900, she moved her family to Neillsville and died here in 1927 at the age of 92.

Elsie King was born on the home farm July 2, 1869, and was 78. She attended the Neillsville schools and later was graduated from the University of Wisconsin. She taught in Clark County schools and for a few years in a teacher training school in North Dakota. About 1912 she returned to Neillsville and for several years taught in the schools of this city.

She was a member of the Methodist Church and an active worker in the Sunday school, young people’s society and the church choir. She continued her church work after going to California. She has always been active in community affairs and keenly interested in any move for the betterment of those around her. Her mind was keen and alert and she took an active interest in changes going on around her, adapting her to the newer ideas as they presented themselves. Her alert mind kept her young in spirit, even though advancing in years.

In 1926, she was married to Charles S. Altemus, the ceremony taking place in Neillsville. In 1927 they moved to Baldwin Park, where Mr. Altemus died September 26, 1933. They were engaged in the mercantile business in Baldwin Park and she continued the business for a few years after his death. On April 4, 1937, she was married to Carl Stange, also a former resident of Neillsville. They have resided in Baldwin Park. Mr. and Mrs. Stange spent the summer of 1939 in this community renewing acquaintances and visiting old friends.