A Good Man and Old Citizen Gone

 

As indicated in last week's Mirror Dr. J. Q. Egelston, an old and respected citizen of Olathe, died last Friday morning of a disease of the kidneys, in the 68th year of his age.

 

Dr. Egelston was born November 6, 1827, and commenced the study of medicine at Evansville, lnd., when he was 21 years of age, soon afterwards engaging in the practice at his new home in Lee county, Iowa, in which he continued for seven years, then attending a course of lectures at the State University of Iowa for several years in order to better qualify himself for his chosen profession. In the fall of 1858 he removed to Linn county, Mo., and again resumed practice which was continued until the breaking out of the war of the rebellion in 1861, when his loyalty to the cause of the Union caused him to tender his services to the govenment; they were at once accepted and he was assigned to the Twenty-Fifth Missouri Volunteer Infantry as assistant surgeon. His services proved so valuable that on the organization of the Forty-Third Missouri Volunteers he was promoted to be surgeon of that regiment and later to be Medical Director of the Central District of Missouri, in which position he served to the entire satisfaction of his superiors until the close of the war in 1865.

 

He then removed to Independence, Mo., re-engaged in the practice and the drug business, but the associations not proving pleasant on account of the strong Southern war feeling then existing at that place he made another change in 1870, this time coming to Olathe, where he continued to reside until the final summons came. He at once re-commenced the practice of medicine which was continued successfully up to the close of the year 1889. At this time his party called him to serve the people in the capacity of Register of Deeds, and being well advanced in years and unable to at tend to all classes of professional work the offer was accepted, and he continued to discharge his duties so acceptably that he was re-elected to the office for a second term, making four years service in charge of one of the most important of our county offices. Having finished his duties he again went back to the practice of medicine in January 1893, in a local way, his age necessarily circumscribing his field of usefulness, which was mostly confined to old patrons in Olathe.

 

Dr. Egelston was a progressive man and a student all his life -  one with whom it was a pleasure to converse on almost any subject though his characteristic modesty would not permit the intrusion of his views where they were not sought. An upright and able man has gone from us after along and useful life, and a disconsolate widow, three daughters and a son-  Mrs. Dr. Halley of Kansas City, Misses Maud and Mamie, and Dr. John Egelston of Topeka are left to mourn their great loss, in which universal sympathy is extended. The funeral services were held at the M. E. church on Saturday, January 12th, at 2 o'clock p. m., conducted by Rev. Jno. McQuoid, in an unusually able, appropriate and impressive discourse, after which the remains were deposited in their last resting place in Olathe cemetery.

 

Olathe Mirror

January 17, 1895

Page 7, col 2