Oscar D. Brewer was born on October 23, 1874 in Williamson County, Illinois.[1] Oscar was the fourth of nine children born to Marion Jasper Brewer and Amanda Jane Allen, though his three elder siblings would be buried in a nearby cemetery before his sixth birthday.[2] In the late nineteenth century in the United States, “nearly two out of every ten children died before reaching their fifth birthday.”[3] In contrast, by 2015, the under-five mortality rate in the U.S. had fallen to 6.53 deaths per thousand live births.[4] Gastrointestinal and respiratory maladies accounted for nearly half of all child deaths at the end of the 1800’s, and infectious diseases such as measles, whooping cough, and smallpox were responsible for another 12%.[5] While the state of Illinois passed legislation in 1877 mandating the recording of births and deaths by county clerks, before this, registration had been voluntary. Even after the 1877 mandate, the law was not enforced and many counties only kept records irregularly.[6] As such, we have no information as to the causes of death for Marion and Amanda’s young children, but we can presume their premature deaths were brought about by some of the all-too-common ailments listed above.
At the time of the 1880 federal census, Oscar lived on a farm in Marion, Illinois with his parents and three brothers – Marion Sherman, Edgar Allen, and Gilbert Roscoe.[7] Oscar would not live to be enumerated with his family in the 1890 census, however – he followed his older siblings to an early grave at the age of 13 years, 3 months, and 27 days on February 19, 1888.
An article in the March 1st edition of The Leader newspaper reported Oscar’s death:
“School was closed and a great concourse of people followed his remains to Coal Bank Cemetery. Sabbath School sang his favorite song “Angels Guide Me Home” and prayer was by Calvin Graves.”[8]
The song referenced in the article was likely the hymn by the Irish-American musician William Hunter, “I Long to Be There,” in which the line “angels guide me home” is repeated in the chorus. The lyrics, below, were set to the following tune.
Though I have little information on the life and death of Oscar Brewer, the boy’s favorite song resonated with me. My favorite songs at age 13 were NSYNC’s “Bye, Bye, Bye” and “All the Small Things” by punk rockers, blink-182. If I had had the misfortune of passing away at that age, I would certainly hope no one would have mentioned those songs in my obituary. I wonder, if Oscar had perished in the year 2000, would he have been a fan of Eminem? Britney Spears? Savage Garden? What was your favorite song at age 13?
How Are We Related?
[1] AZLITE, “Oscar D. Brewer,” Find A Grave, 9 Nov 2010 (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/61369712 : accessed 08 May 2018).
[2] AZLITE, “Marion Jasper Brewer,” Find A Grave, 9 Nov 2010 (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/61362963 : accessed 08 May 2018).
[3] Samuel H. Preston and Michael R. Haines, “The Social and Medical Context of Child Mortality in the Late Nineteenth Century,” Fatal Years: Child Mortality in Late Nineteenth-Century America (Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press, January 1991); National Bureau of Economic Research (http://www.nber.org/chapters/c11541.pdf : accessed 08 May 2018).
[4] “United States of America – Under-five mortality rate,” Knoema (https://knoema.com/atlas/United-States-of-America/topics/Demographics/Mortality/Under-5-mortality-rate : accessed 08 May 2018).
[5] Samuel H. Preston and Michael R. Haines, “The Social and Medical Context of Child Mortality in the Late Nineteenth Century,” Fatal Years: Child Mortality in Late Nineteenth-Century America (Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press, January 1991); National Bureau of Economic Research (http://www.nber.org/chapters/c11541.pdf : accessed 08 May 2018).
[6] Office of the Illinois Secretary of State, “Illinois Death Certificates, 1916-1950,” CyberDrive Illinois (http://www.cyberdriveillinois.com/departments/archives/databases/idphdeathindex.html : accessed 08 May 2018).
[7] 1880 U.S. census, Williamson County, Illinois, population schedule, Rock Creek Township, p. 31 (written), dwelling 332, family 365, M.J. Brewer family; digital image, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 08 May 2018); citing NARA microfilm publication T9, roll 259; AZLITE, “Marion Jasper Brewer,” Find A Grave, 9 Nov 2010 (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/61362963 : accessed 08 May 2018).
[8] “Oscar Brewer,” The Leader, 01 Mar 1888, transcribed excerpt, referenced online at Find A Grave (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/61369712 : accessed 08 May 2018).
[9] “I long to be there,” Hymnary.org (https://hymnary.org/text/my_heavenly_home_is_bright_and_fair_i_lo#Author : accessed 08 May 2018).
Rogers & Jones 
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