The Minor Family of Somerset

Lorenzo and Catherine lived in Hinckley, Ohio, and Springfield,D
ane,Wi. before moving to Crete,Will Co.,Il Lorenzo was a farme
r. He also operated a dray line. When the town of Crete was in
corporated in 1880, Lorenzo became itsfirst Police Constable
. Lorenzo was a Republican and Methodist. Some sources sugges
t he was a Seventh Day Adventis, but his wife Catherine's obitua
rysays they were both Episcopalians in their youth and attende
d the Methodist Church in Crete.
Lorenzo and Catherine celebrated their fiftieth wedding annivers
ary in 1902. The Crete paper reported on their anniversaary as f
ollows.
Married Fifty Years.
Lorenzo W. Tillotson and Catherine J. Burville were married at B
runswick, Medina County, Ohio, apri 21 1852. Last MonDay Mr. and M
rs.Tillotson celebrated their golden wedding jubilee in a way t
hey had not anticipated. They had been invited to the home of t
heir son, A. D. Tillotson, todinner and expected to spend the a
fternoon there. About three o'clock theirdaughter, Miss Gertie
, summoned them home on some pretext, and on their arrival the
y found to their complete surprise that the house was in full po
ssession of their neighbors and friends, who proceeded to give t
hem a joyful welcome and shoer upon them the heartiest congratul
ations. It was indeed a joyfulsurpirse to the worthy couple, w
ho were unaware that any movement of the kind on the part of the
ir friends had been thought of. Mr. and Mrs. Tillotson have liv
ed in Crete since 1856, with the exception of four years pent i
n Wisconsin, and the esteem in which they are held by their man
y friends here waspractically displayed on this occasion. Th
e ladies brought baskets heaped tothe covers with choice edible
s, and at 5 o'clock the commiette of arrangements served a delic
ious supper, after which many of the guests departed. But other
s kept coming, the younger folks like George Myrick, Irv Wood, R
ob Millar, and so on, deeming that the vening was the time to ce
lebrate. And so itcame to pass that the commiettee was calle
d upon to serve another supper about 10 o'clock and it was nearl
y midnight when the last guest bade Mr. and Mrs.Tillotson goo
d night.
Just before the first supper Mr. C. I. Read arose inthe midst o
f the company, and addressing Mr. and Mrs. Tillotson, said:
Mr. and Mrs. Tillotson,-- Your friends and neighbors have assemb
led here toDay onone of those rare occasions that occur as we m
oved along on the journey of life. God has bounteously lengthen
ed out your lives until you have been permitted to live togethe
r as husband and wife for fifty years, and we come toDay to cong
ratulate and rejoice with you on this your Golden Wedding Day
. As compared with the great number who start in married life
, the occasions are rare when both are permitted to live for hal
f a century, but you have been permitted to do so. In common wi
th mankind you have doubtless had your joys and sorrows, and hav
e shared them together. In the outset fifty years looked to yo
u a long way haed, but now as you look back, the time appers t
o you exceedingly short, and you have come down to the beginnin
g of a new century, olderin years, but still young in spirit
. Hoping that you may be permitted to live and enjoy each other
's society for many years to come, and on behalf of your many fr
iends and neighbors I extend hearty congratualtions and presen
t you with this slight token of their esteem and friendship. (T
he speaker handedthem an envelope containing $62.50 in gold coi
n).
Mr. and Mrs. Tillotson expressed their thanks in few but earnes
t words, and Mr. Read then read the following letter from a cous
in of Mr. Tillotson:
Oberlin, Ohio, april 20, 1902
To Mr. and Mrs. Lorenzo W. Tillotson, these lines are dedicated:

Had I the gift of an orator's art, or could I express with pen h
is elequence, I wouldoffer my simple congratualtory address t
o each