In his
last letters to Belle and Frank, Benjamin Franklin Tisdale was very
critical of his boss, Bill Pike. They had a long history together
dating back to their time in Baton Rouge in the 1840s. B. F.
Tisdale's marriage to his first wife, Maria Pike, took place at
William Pike's home on August 25, 1846. Maria is referred to in a
Baton Rouge Gazette wedding announcement as “the youngest daughter
of the late James M. Pike of Lexington, Ky.” William Pike named his
oldest son James Pike, leading me to believe that William may have
been Maria's older brother. B. F. Tisdale and William Pike were also
members of the same Masonic Lodge in Baton Rouge. Maria died in
September 1849 so they would have had three years of family contact.
Just a
few months after B. F.'s letter to Belle in October 1874, William
Pike suffered a stroke. On January 6, 1875 The New Orleans Times
reported:
Serious Illness of Mr.
W. S. Pike.
While in attendance upon his business on Monday, Mr. W. S. Pike, the
well known banker, was suddenly stricken with paralysis, and rendered
so helpless that he was at once conveyed by carriage to his
residence. Medical assistance was called and although the unfortunate
gentleman continued to be the object of watchful care and experienced
treatment, he grew no better. During the night of Monday his
situation was regarded as extremely critical, and on Tuesday morning
his physicians were unable to report any improved change.
A
representative of the TIMES called late last evening at the residence
of Mr. Pike. His attending physicians, Drs. Staile and Choppin were
absent at the time, but Dr. J. H. Pike stated that he considered the
condition of his father much improved, and that the physicians above
referred to were of the same opinion. Mr. Pike was sensible and
cognizant of all that was going on around him, articulated more
readily and swallowed with less difficulty than in the morning and
night previous. One half of Mr. Pike's body (the right side) is
paralyzed.
[New
Orleans Times (New Orleans, La.) Wednesday, January 6, 1875, Volume
XII, Issue 6524, Page 6. Source GenealogyBank.com]
On
January 8, 1875 The New Orleans Times reported that Bill Pike had
died and published a long biographical sketch:
THE LATE W. S. PIKE
A Good Man Gone –
Universal Regret.
Biographical Sketch.
When
it was known yesterday forenoon that, after not three days of
illness, Wm. S. Pike had breathed his last, there went forth
everywhere, in social as well as in business circles, instantaneous
expression of the sincerest regret. So sudden and unexpected a
termination of a life, so full of activity and of good works, and
promising so many years of usefulness, was a severe shock to the
entire community.
Mr.
Pike was a native of Lexington, Ky., was born in 1821, and on
Tuesday, the 5th of January, the day after he was so
suddenly stricken down at his post, he was fifty-three years of age.
His
father was a large real estate agent in Lexington; served several
sessions in the Kentucky Legislature, and was a prominent, respected
and influential citizen.
After his death his son, the subject of our notice, then about ten
years old, left the paternal home and came to New Orleans determined,
though so young and inexperienced, to earn his own livelihood.
Comes South.
He
soon found employment here; and for several years served as a clerk
with the late John Watt, and other merchants of high standing and
extensive business. He then entered upon the active life of the
steamboatmen of those early days, filling the responsible duties, now
of clerk and now of pilot, and always with credit and success. Should
any of our old time citizens remember the steamboat Daniel Webster,
it will interest them also to know that Mr. Pike was one of her
officers.
At Baton Rouge.
In
1839, Mr. Pike settled down in Baton Rouge, with which town and its
vicinity he was ever after so intimately connected, that his death
will be the cause of grief in every household. For fourteen years he
successfully managed an extensive and remunerative grocery and
produce business in Baton Rouge, and was, besides, prominently
connected with every public enterprise calculated to benefit the
community.
In
1853 he accepted the appointment of cashier of the Baton Rouge branch
of the Louisiana State Bank, and fulfilled its duties until the war.
Meantime, for several years, he was one of the lessees of the State
Penitentiary in conjunction with that well known gentleman, Mr.
McHatton.
If
we mistake not, Mr. Pike remained in or near Baton Rouge during the
war. He was at one time imprisoned by Gen. Butler, but was released
after awhile, as even that hero of many victories could not bend the
prisoner to his purposes.
Comes to New Orleans.
In
1864, just before the close of the war, Mr. Pike removed to New
Orleans, where, in partnership with the late Messrs. J. M. Lapeyre
and Alexander Brother, he established the private banking house whose
standing and usefulness are so prominently and honorable linked with
the history of our city during the last ten years.
Mr.
Lapeyre, one of our oldest and most influential financiers, retired a
few years ago from active business, full of years and honors, and
died soon after. Mr. Brother, a gentleman of equal honorable repute
and long experience in our business circles, was lost to the firm by
death. Mr. Geo. A. Pike, formerly proprietor and editor of the Baton
Rouge Gazette, and of late years a banker in Shreveport, thus
remained the sole partner of his brother here.
Howard Association.
Soon
after he became a resident of our city Mr. Pike was admitted to the
Howard Association, and, every season of sickness and distress that
called for the services of that far-famed organization, he was one of
its most zealous, self-sacrificing and efficient members.
He
promptly took an active, intelligent and liberal share in all
enterprises, whether of a strictly business character or of a lighter
and more ephemeral description, that promised to benefit the city and
State. Thus, whilst foremost in well digested projects to develop our
railroad and steamship connections and open up new fields for
mercantile action, the Mystick Krewe of Comus, the King of the
Carnival, and other notable “merry men,” found in this quiet,
sedate and thorough business man not only a generous contributor to
the funds so largely drawn on to fit out their brilliant masquerades,
but even a genial and zealous participant in them, in his own person.
[William Pike was Rex, King of the Carnival, for Mardi Gras 1874.]
Railroads, etc.
One
of the important enterprises that owed its renewed vitality and
assured success to Mr. Pike's prudent management and clear-sighted
liberality, is the Baton Rouge and Grosse Tete Railroad, which may
yet be an important part of a trunk line between this city and
Shreveport. He was also the President of the new Metairie Cemetery
Association, and to that, and the proposed New Orleans and Western
Texas Railroad, he of late devoted much time and attention.
Last Hours.
For
all the long years that he led so busy and responsible a career, Mr.
Pike enjoyed uninterrupted good health. It was only of late that this
constant, trying mental toil commenced to tell on our old friend's
strong physique. A feeling of general debility should have warned him
that he was no longer young, and that he needed not to apply himself
so assiduously to the many avocations and trusts in his charge. But
such veterans, in business as in war, persistently stand to their
posts to the last; and so they die in harness.
It
was a striking evidence of the high esteem in which this quiet,
modest man was held by his brother merchants, that on the very
evening of the afternoon on which he was carried home from his
banking house, never to enter its familiar halls again, the Chamber
of Commerce by a unanimous vote, elected him for their President, to
succeed one of the ablest presiding officers that body has had for
many years.
The Survivors.
We
learn that the business of the bank will continue as usual under the
supervision of Mr. Geo. A. Pike and of Mr. John H. Pike, the eldest
son of the deceased, and cashier of the New Orleans National Bank. He
is a fine young man, and is evidently conscious of the great duty
devolving on him of sustaining the repute of a name so long and so
much honored.
Epitaph.
The
universal exclamation yesterday, when the news became general of Mr.
Pike's death, was: “What a loss to the community!” That best
exhibits his place in the public esteem, confidence and affection.
[New
Orleans Times (New Orleans, La.) Friday, January 8, 1875, Volume XII,
Issue 6526, Page 8. Source GenealogyBank.com]
The
Sunday, January 10, 1875 paper carried his obituary:
PIKE-
On Thursday morning, January 7, 1875, at 7:49 o'clock, William S.
Pike, aged 54 years, a native of Lexington, Ky., and a resident of
this state for forty years.
The
funeral will take place from his residence, No. 173 Camp street. His
friends are respectfully invited to attend at 10 o'clock Sunday
Morning, 10th inst.
Grand Secretary's Office, Grand
Lodge of the State of Louisiana, Free and Accepted Masons-Grand Lodge
Hall, New Orleans, Jan. 9, 1875-The officers and members of the M. W.
Grand Lodge of the State of Louisiana, F. and A. M., are notified to
meet in the Grand Lodge Hall. Sunday morning, the 10th
inst., at 9:30 o'clock, for the purpose of attending the obsequies of
our late R. W. Brother and Grand Treasurer, WILLIAM STEPHEN PIKE.
(Officers of Lodges will wear official regalia.) Masonic bodies of
which he was a member, are specially invited. Dark clothing
respectfully recommended. By order:
JAMES
C. BATCHELOR, M. D.
Grand
Secretary.
[New
Orleans Times (New Orleans, La.) Wednesday, January 10, 1875, Volume
XII, Issue 6528, Page 4. Source GenealogyBank.com. There were also
obituaries in the New York Herald and the Galveston Daily News.]
That
article was followed by similar invitations for members of other
Masonic and civic groups.
On
Monday, January 11, 1875 the New Orleans Times published a story on
the funeral:
HONORS
TO THE DEAD.
The
Funeral of the Late William S. Pike.
Yesterday dawned one of the most
disagreeable days that has been experienced in this city for years past; a cold rain set in, freezing as it fell, and by 10 o'clock New
Orleans was clothed in a mantle of ice. This did not have the effect
of preventing a large concourse of the friends of the late Wm. S.
Pike from assembling at his residence, No. 173 Camp street, to pay
their last sad tribute of respect to him, who in life was an
exemplary citizen, a firm friend, and an honest man.
Mr.
Pike breathed his last at twenty minutes to eight o'clock on the
morning of the 7th instant, and for the exceedingly long
time which his interment was deferred, his body was in an excellent
state of preservation.
In
the parlor his body lay, encased in a metallic coffin, beautifully
chased with silver; the highest skill of art being brought to bear
in the construction of the metallic shell.
Through a thick glass Mr. Pike's
body could be seen, and as each friend would for the last time gaze
upon his form lyng before them stark and cold in the embrance [sic]
of death, through the tears which unbidden came, they would murmur
“that death had no terrors for him, but as if in quiet repose,
contented and happy, Mr. Pike's spirit had flown; the mortal has
assumed the immortal.” Floral offerings were thickly strewn around
the coffin, their delicate perfume like sweet incense impregnating
the atmosphere.
At
about nine o'clock the Reverend Father Hubert, of the Jesuits'
Church, arrived at the residence, and in the solemn and impressive
ceremonies of the Catholic faith, performed the last rites.
After the Reverend Father's
departure the officers of the Grand Lodge of Louisiana, of which Mr.
Pike was Grand Treasurer, Jacques deMolay No. 2, K. T., and of Marion
Lodge No. 68, took charge of the remains.
The
rain continued unceasingly to fall, but nevertheless the members of
the following organizations came to their deceased friend and
brother's residence to participate in the funeral cortege; Grand
Lodge of Louisiana, Free and Accepted Masons; Grand Chapter of
Louisiana, Royal Arch Masons; Marion Lodge No. 68 F. and A. M.;
Knights Templar--Indivisible Friends Commandary No. 1, Jacques
deMolay No. 2, Orleans Commandary No. 3; Steam Fire Engine Company
No. 2 and delegations from the Fire Department, members of the
Chamber of Commerce and the ladies of the Crescent City Relief
Association.
The
entire funeral was under the control and charge of Mr. Jos. H.
DeGrange, Grand Marshal, the whole line of escort being under the
immediate command of Sir Jos. P. Hornor, P. E. G. Commander of the
State.
At
11 o'clock the escort of the three Commanderies Knights Templar,
under command of Sir Knight Berry Russell, E. C., Indivisible
Friends; Sir Knight Harvy Cree, E. C. , Jacques deMolay No. 2, and
Sir Knight John W. Madden, E. C., Orleans Commandery No. 3, headed by
a band of music, marched to their deceased brother's late home. A
short time after their arrival, the mortal remains of their late
brother was tenderly conveyed to the hearse by the following pall
bearers:
Banking interests--S. H. Kennedy.
Insurance interests--Harmon
Doane.
Chamber of Commerce--Joseph
Bowling.
Cotton Exchange--John Phelps.
Knights Commandery--Joseph P.
Hornor.
Fire Department--Fred'k Camerden.
Mechanics' and Agricultural Fair
Association--I. N. Marks.
Howard Association--E. F.
Schmidt.
Allen Monumental
Association--Col. John M. Sandidge.
Lee Monumental
Association--Amilear Fortier.
Pickwick Club--Lafayette Folger.
Boston Club--John H. New.
Metairie Cemetery Association and
Louisiana Jockey Club--Colonel
Gus A.Breux.
King's Own--J. J. Mellon.
Citizens at large--C. A. Whitney.
Steamboat interests--Capt. John
J. Brown.
St. John's Rowing Club--E. B.
Musgrove.
Masonic pall bearers--Samuel M.
Todd, P.G.M.; J.Q.A. Fellows, P.G.M.
Grand Chapter--T. F. Hedges,
Harmon Doane.
Jacques deMolay
Commandry[sic]--Sir D. W. C. Peck, Sir E. A. Yorke.
Marion Lodge--H. M. Buckley, P.
M.; John Chaffe, P. M.
The Sir Knights standing with
uncovered heads 'neath the sleet and hail that fell, preserving the
strictest military discipline.
The
procession then took the line of march, and to the solemn strains of
music walked opposite the deceased's bank on Camp street, where they
entered the carriages provided for them and proceeded to the new
Metairie Cemetary. [sic]
At
the Cemetary [sic]
the
solemn procession proceeded to the temporary vaults, where the
deceased gentleman was interred, pending the completion of his family
tomb. At the grave the funeral ceremonies were conducted by Sir
Knight John G. Fleming, D. Y. G. M. Thus has ended the life of one
whose career on earth has been characterized by honesty and
integrity, who was esteemed as a friend, fond parent and husband, and
as one possessed of all those attributes of character which endear
the friendships of earth.
[New
Orleans Times (New Orleans, La.) Wednesday, January 11, 1875, Volume
XII, Issue 6529, Page 2. Source GenealogyBank.com]
I
wonder if B. F. Tisdale attended the funeral.
None
of the newspaper accounts mention Pike's widow, Mariana Huguet Pike.
William and Mariana married 21 Oct 1843 in Baton Rouge, Louisiana and
had five children, James, John, William, Emma and Gertrude. Mariana
died December 13,1904 and is buried in the Pike family tomb at
Metairie Cemetery.
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| Pike Family Tomb, Metairie Cemetery, New Orleans, Louisiana |
