Henry Hardy Sisson

Obituary published in the Palacios Beacon, December 31, 1915 In Memory of H. H. Sisson Mr. H. H. Sisson died at his home at 2 o'clock Saturday morning, the 25th inst., at the age of 69 years, 11 months and 13 days. Funeral services were held at the family residence on Moore avenue Wednesday morning at 10 o'clock, conducted by Rev. W. L. Shepherd, pastor of the Presbyterian church, followed by interment at the city cemetery. The services were attended by a large concourse of the neighbors and friends of the deceased and his family. Resident members of the Knights of Pythias, a fraternity of which Mr. Sisson was a member, but of which there is no lodge in the city, marched as an escort to the cemetery, and after the benediction by the minister, marched around the grave and deposited therein sprigs of evergreen, the Pythian significance of which is that the memory or the departed will be kept ever green in the hearts and minds of the brethren. The body was laid to rest in a water proof brick and concrete vault. The whole service was most impressive, and the floral offerings from friends an associates of the family were numerous and most beautiful. Three of the floral designs came from Houston; one from Mr. and Mrs. J. E. Regan, one from Dissen & Schneider, wholesale produce merchants and one from W. D. Cleveland & Son, wholesale grocers. At the home during the service and at the cemetery Miss Nora Hayes and Mrs. O. C. Arnold sang appropriate hymns with feeling expression. Mr. Sisson came to Palacios nearly five years ago on the advice of his Nebraska physicians who told him that nothing but a change of climate would prolong his life beyond a few months. The change added to his days a number of years; years that gave him a large measure of happiness and comfort. His genial nature and happy disposition made for Mr. Sisson friends of all with whom he came in contact, and he was held in highest esteem by all who knew him. In their loss the families have the sincere sympathy of all the people of the city. OBITUARY
 A good citizen has gone from among us. To say of a man that he was a good citizen is saying much. H. H. Sisson was a good citizen. In a world where kindness is the supreme need, he was kind. In a world where integrity is not so common, but that it distinguishes a man, he was distinguished. He held a place of honor in the community in which he lived for his kindness, his integrity, his dependableness and his generous civic spirit. He had faith in men, therefore, men had faith in him and were drawn to him in friendship. A public spirited man, always he worked for and encouraged that which made for civic beauty and civic good. Notwithstanding the fact that man has compared himself as an individual to a grain of sand on the seashore, and his life to a bubble on the fountain, when such a man goes he is missed and his place not easily filled. It might be said of Mr. Sisson that he had a genius for home making. He loved shrubs, trees, orchards, groves, the birds that nest and sing in them, and all the beautiful out doors. His love for birds and tress was almost a passion. "How few have time for hearing Above the clatter of their cares The thrush's song so cheering!" He had time for hearing. He loved to plant, nurture and watch a tree grow. "What does he plant who plants a tree?" He plants shade and shelter, comfort, foot it may be, and beauty and grace for those that come after. He saw all this in a tree and his love for it never grew less. This love of the tree was part of his genius for home making, with the help of Mrs. Clare Sisson whom he married in early manhood as Miss Clare Robinson whose immaculate housekeeping supplemented his work on the outside, adding the grace that woman's hand alone can give to the ideal home--it may be said that they made three homes. Their first home was made in Logan County, Illinois, near Lincoln, the county seat. Here on 240 acres of the finest farming land in the world, they planted shrubs, trees, orchard and grove, all of which flourished, making the beautiful setting that every home needs. It was here they passed their honeymoon, gathering about them a host of friends, and doing a generous part in dispensing the gaieties and good cheer of a prosperous farm home, where cream and butter, fruits and vegetables and meats seem so free and abundant as the water pumped from the wells by the windmill. This home was consecrated by the birth of their three children, two sons, F. A. and R. J. Sisson, now living in Palacios, and a daughter, Pauline, and also by the adoption of a daughter when a child whom they loved and roared as their own, and who is now Mrs. W. H. Wood, of Hebron, Nebraska. After sixteen years of life here, Mr. and Mrs. Sisson, on a visit to the west, fell in love with the rolling prairies of Nebraska, and seeing opportunities there that Illinois no longer afforded, in 1885 they moved to Thayer county, that state, and on a section of as fine farming land as is to be found anywhere, covered with grass and not a stump to uproot, they began the planting and building for another home. First the shade trees, orchard and grove and then a commodious farm house, that was long known far and near as a center of hospitality. Good dinners, good suppers, Christmas turkeys, Thanksgiving feasts and fun at this home made life a pleasure to many less fortunate pioneers, while friendships never to be broken off, were formed among their neighbors. It was while living in this house that their lives were saddened by the death of their lovely little daughter Pauline, at the age of four years. As time passed and they found themselves less vigorous, they left their eldest son F. A. Sisson on the farm and moved to Hebron, the county seat of Thayer county, but were not among strangers as they had already made many friends there. While in Hebron Mr. Sisson served three terms as county commissioner, making nine years in all. While he was in office the Thayer county court house, one of the finest in the state was built and the grounds around it beautified, the work giving entire satisfaction. Many bridges over streams and troublesome draws were also built and the work commended by the taxpayers as being carefully and economically done. As showing in what estimation Mr. Sisson was held as a man, we quote a portion of a letter from J. P. Baldwin, lawyer, and at one time county attorney of Thayer county, written Dec. 8, 1915 to Mr. Fletcher while visiting in Palacios. Mr. Baldwin says: "I am exceedingly sorry to hear of the bad health of H. H. Sisson. I served with him at the court house for such a long time, that I am certainly grieved for his bad luck. I have known lots of public officials, and been associated with a great many of them and but few have I found as honest, clear headed and upright in all their dealings both public and private as Harry Sisson. I wish that he might recover his health and live to a ripe old age." After a residence in Hebron of 15 years where he had endeared himself to the community by his manifestation of true civic pride, failing health caused Mr. Sisson to seek a home in the south. His friends regretted his departure and said and did what they could to keep him among them. But after visiting Palacios, Texas, so beautifully situated on Tres Palacios Bay and finding people eating strawberries and gathering roses at Christmas time and sitting on their porches taking sunbaths with deep breaths of fresh air while the people of Nebraska were contending with ice and snow, he was charmed into moving his family here where he built one of the beautiful homes of the city, making a rose garden of his lawn. Before his departure his friends would have given him a banquet, where speeches would have been made and a "God Speed!" spoken, but Mr. Sisson was not equal to the ordeal, and the silver "loving cup" that was to be presented at the close of the banquet was given to him quietly as a memento of their regard. H. H. Sisson was a civil war veteran, enlisting in Company C, of the 124th regiment in 1863, at the early age of 18 years, and serving till the close of the war in 1865. His judgment was never so clouded by prejudice as not to admit that the "boys in gray" fought nobly, fully equaling the "boys in blue" in skill and courage. Mr. Sisson's two sons F. A. and R. J., already mentioned, whose homes are in Palacios, were in close attendance at his bedside during his last illness, giving him every care and attention. The adopted daughter, Mrs. W. H. Wood, arrived from Hebron, Neb., Tuesday evening to attend the funeral. Palacios Beacon, December 31, 1915