Missing headstone’s journey ends
Published 12:05 pm Friday, July 15, 2011
This newer, granite headstone now sits atop Clara Houg’s grave in St. Ansgar, Iowa. The old headstone was recently found in an Austin backyard. -- Photo provided
The story behind a 118-year-old tombstone found in the backyard of an Austin man has been unearthed.
Tyrone Joblinske, of Austin, uncovered the headstone of Clara Maria Houg from a pile of brush in his backyard on Monday. After turning the headstone over to police, Captain Dave McKichan discovered Houg, who died at age 7, is buried at First Lutheran Cemetery in St. Ansgar, Iowa.
This grave stone for Clara Houg was found in Austin recently. The marker had been replaced at a cemetary St. Ansgar. -- Photo provided
Church officials were unsure how or when the tombstone went missing, especially because Houg’s stone had been replaced already.
The case cracked open in the middle of the week when McKichan got a phone call from Renee Anderson of Anderson Memorials. Anderson said she used to live in the house where the tombstone was found.
When the Houg family commissioned Anderson Memorials to replace little Clara’s headstone, the Andersons kept the old one, which is something they occasionally do so they can showcase the old ones in their office or practice carving on them.
“I don’t recall exactly, but I’m guessing (my husband) brought it home because he was going to test out tools or try some different carvings,” Anderson said. “It’s possible that the monument has been there for 27 years, because we lived there for 15 years and we moved 12 years ago.”
Barb Meitner, secretary at First Lutheran Church in St. Ansgar, said the fate of the headstone has yet to be determined. Since Houg’s old stone was replaced long ago, the church trustees and cemetery sextons will likely decide what to do with the recent discovery, Meitner said.
According to her obituary, Houg died at age 7 after a bout with pneumonia and “brain fever,” which is now known as meningitis or encephalitis. Her father, Halsten Houg, went on to be the Mitchell County Auditor in 1898, five years after his daughter’s death.
“You just wonder, did this little girl need to be remembered again?” Anderson said. “And now the whole city of Austin is remembering her. I think it’s neat.”
More about the Houg family
– Clara was born May 17, 1886.
– She died May 1, 1893, of pneumonia and “brain fever.”
– Clara’s parents had five children — three died in early childhood.
– Monrad Houg and Agnes Houg both died in infancy.
– Selma Amanda Houg lived to the age of 42; she died in 1931.
– A second son, also named Monrad, lived until 1992.
Source: www.findagrave.com
