MRS. JOE PERSON DIES SUDDENLY
Succumbs to Stroke of Apoplexy in Santa Fe, New Mexico.
REMARKABLE WOMAN.
Had Left Charlotte Last Saturday for Two Months’ Visit to California and Alaska.
Mrs. Joe Person, inventor of “Mrs. Joe Person’s Remedy,” and one of North Carolina’s best-known and most respected women, died suddenly of apoplexy yesterday in Santa Fe, New Mexico, while en route for a visit to California and Alaska.
A telegram announcing this unexpected occurrence was received at 4 o’clock yesterday afternoon by Mrs. Person’s son, Mr. Rufus M. Person, who lives on his farm near this city.
Mrs. Person left Charlotte last Saturday for this Western trip and was joined at Hickory by her sister, Mrs. J. B. Beard, who was with her at the last and who sent the telegram announcing her death.
The news of her passing will come as a shock to Mrs. Person’s thousands of friends throughout the State. She would have been 73 years old on July 8 but had seemed to be in accustomed health, active, vigorous, interested in everything about her. Members of her family knew, however, that for three of four months her health had been somewhat precarious, and it was hoped that travel would prove beneficial. Evidently it proved, however, too great a tax on her strength.
Mrs. Person had made two previous tours of the West and was enthusiastic about its beauty and its climate. It was her custom from various points along the route to send postcards to The Observer, giving her impressions of the country. On her return each time she brought hundreds of souvenirs for her friends in this State. She was especially delighted by the petrified forests.
Mrs. Person was a native of Petersburg, Va. Her maiden name was Miss Alice Morgan, daughter of Samuel and Esther Morgan. She was married at the early age of 17 in 1857 to Joseph Arrington Person of Franklinton, Franklin County, this State. They went at once to Franklinton where they lived until the death of Mr. Person in 1883.
INVENTED FAMOUS REMEDY.
Forty-seven years ago Mrs. Person invented “Mrs. Joe Person’s Remedy” and from that time to this her name has been a household word in tens of thousands of families, her invention enjoying a greater popularity than any other proprietary medicine ever marketed in North Carolina. The business under the direct personal supervision of Mrs. Person, who represented it on the road, prospered marvelously and she accumulated a comfortable fortune. The plant was located in Charlotte 30 years ago and Col. Charles R. Jones was a partner. It was then moved to Tarboro where it remained three or four years, and then was moved to Kittrell. Ten years ago she returned to Charlotte and had since resided here. Three years ago the business was sold to outsiders under the name of the Mrs. Joe Person’s Remedy Company and the plant is now located at Kittrell.
Mrs. Person was a gifted pianist and once had the distinction of playing Southern airs for a phonograph company in the North. Years ago she published a volume entitled, “Old-Time Melodies.”
Mrs. Person is survived by her sister, Mrs. Beard, a brother, Mr. Albert Morgan of Murphy, and by the following children: Mrs. W. H. Harris of Wake Forest, Mr. Wiley M. Person of Louisburg, Miss Josie Person of Hickory, Mr. R. M. Person of this vicinity and Mr. Willie M. Person of Corey, Ala. All of these are expected to attend the funeral which will be held in this city. Several days will be required for the trip from New Mexico.
STRONG PERSONALITY.
Mrs. Person was an Episcopalian in faith, though not affiliated with any Church. She was in some respects one of the State’s most remarkable women. In executive ability, in energy, in courage, in buoyancy of spirit she had few equals. She was a woman of broad views and generous impulses and always a leader in good works. She was the first contributor in this State to the fund for the women’s monument to the Titanic dead, a characteristic act. She was a woman of unusual versatility and the passing of the years detracted no whit from her keen and lively interest in public affairs. She thought for herself and maintained her opinions and in any situation in which she was concerned, her personality was a factor to be reckoned with. For all these reasons, the death of Mrs. Joe Person removes from North Carolina a woman of peculiar force, whose like may not be seen again.
