The Merserve Getchell Family

The youngest Getchell brother to travel to Silver City, Merserve, married Silver City native Idaho Maud Hays in December 1891. Maud, as she was more commonly referred to, was the eldest daughter of Silver City District Attorney and Mrs. C.M. Hays. The couple lost their only infant son at eight days old in 1893. He is buried here. Maud died four years later of peritonitis, in 1897 at the age of 27. Peritonitis is inflammation of the peritoneum — the tissue that lines the inner abdominal wall and covers the organs within the abdomen — and is usually cuased by a bacterial infection. Penicillin was discovered in 1928 and wasn’t widely distributed as antibiotics until the mid-40s when scientists were able to efficiently purify the antibiotic and scale-up production. Many deaths in this era would have been prevented with a simple round of antibiotics. Raw sewage, “modern” hygiene practices and food safety were factors in many deaths. Maud’s obituary said she had been ill but a few days and “the summons fell with crushing force upon the relatives and friends who could hardly realize that the young life had gave out forever.” In addition to her husband and parents, she was survived by a brother and five sisters. Merserve remarried Mary Elizabeth Hutchinson in 1899 in Silver and they had two daughters, Francis and Eleanor. The family relocated to Seattle where Merserve’s occupation was listed as a builder in the 1910 Census. His parents also lived with them at that time. He lived to be 55 years old and is buried in a Seattle cemetery along with his brother Asher who retired there as well.