Olive Jane Pattison's
obituary appeared in the Pulaski County (IN) Journal on 6 Mar 1974.
"Mrs. Olive (Pattison)
McLaughlin, 85, 113 1/2 North Market Street, Winamac, died last Wednesday
morning at Pulaski Memorial Hospital. Dr. W.R. Thompson was the attending
physician.
The daughter of Dr. Harry and Eulee (Van Gorder) Pattison,
Mrs. McLaughlin was born May 5, 1888 in Winamac. Her marriage in 1909, to George G. McLaughlin, took place in Winamac. He died in
1927. Mrs. McLaughlin, a lifetime resident of Winamac, was a member of St.
Peter's Catholic Church of Winamac.
Survivors include a daughter, Mrs. Walter Zanger of Winamac; 13 grandchildren; and three
great-grandchildren.
Funeral services were held Friday at St. Peter's Catholic
Church with the Rev. Paul Wohlwend officiating. Burial was in St. Peter's
Cemetery in Winamac. The rosary was recited at the Kennedy-Payne Funeral
Home"
That does not tell the
interesting story of her early life, however. When she was just five years old,
she was orphaned when her father died in 1893. Her mother had died two years
earlier, in 1891, when little Olive was just three years old. And in 1892,
Olive's half-sister, Grace Van Gorder, died at the age of 10 years. She was the
daughter of Eulalee Huddleston Van Gorder Pattison from her first marriage. Apparently,
Grace Van Gorder had inherited some property from her father, George Van
Gorder, who had died before 1887. Then, when Grace died, the property was
inherited to Olive. According to her guardianship file in Pulaski County
Circuit Court, there were two pieces of property. One was worth $3,000
and had a rental value of $225 per year (in 1894). The other was worth $2,000
and had an annual rental value of $180.
Guardianship of little Olive was apparently awarded at some
point to her half-brother, William D. Pattison. However, she spent her childhood
in Catholic boarding schools or convents, including St. Mary's Academy in Notre
Dame, IN and St. Mary's Institute in Vigo Co., IN. She also attended schools in
Minister, OH, Glandorf, OH, and St. Louis, MO, and lived at one time with
another half-brother, Harry H. Pattison.When Olive turned 18, she returned
to Winamac and resided at the Frain Hotel until she was 21, in 1909, at which
point the guardianship file ends. Later that year, she married George McLaughlin. It is interesting that the
Pattisons sent her to Catholic institutions, as they were not Catholic
themselves. Her Catholic upbringing remained with Olive the rest of her life. She,
her husband, and all of their children are buried in the St. Peters Catholic
Cemetery in Winamac, IN.