Pettis County, Mo., Obituary

George E. Hollenbeck, president of the Farmers and Merchants bank at Green Ridge, died Tuesday morning (Dec 10), after a very brief illness of pneumonia.

Mr. Hollenbeck was a native of Ohio, born in 1850, but since his eighth year he has resided in Pettis County. During that time he has, by application, by economy, by right living, amassed a considerable fortune. And at the same time he has earned, and for many years enjoyed the respect and confidence of the people of his town and of the county.

Speaking of Mr. Hollenbeck Tuesday, after the news of his death had reached Sedalia, a public man said: "There is no man in Pettis County who has been more worthy of the respect of the people, no man who has more deserved the voluntary testimonials of good fellowship than George Hollenbeck."

A little more than a year ago The Capital published the following concerning Mr. Hollenbeck in connection with the Farmers and Merchants bank at Green Ridge: "President Hollenbeck came from Ohio in 1858. He had few opportunities; the civil war found him uneducated in a country that was almost a wilderness, and with very little of this world's goods. He remained at home until a year before attaining his majority, when he began farming on his own account. In this venture he prospered from the first. His good business sense, tireless energy and undaunted courage brought its reward. He soon became the owner of a good farm and some fine stock. And during the past quarter of a century no citizen of Pettis County has enjoyed a more deserved success than he. He has been a large shipper of stock and has made his business profitable. His financial stability and his worth as a citizen make him an ideal head for the Farmers and Merchants bank at Green Ridge, and he gives this business the same conservative attention that has characterized his other successes. Mr. Hollenbeck is a broadminded public-spirited gentleman, an able and astute financier and a citizen of great worth to the community in which he lives."

Mr. Hollenbeck leaves a wife and eight children. They are inconsolable, and can not understand that Death reaches out and seizes the strongest among us. His sickness was brief, his death unexpected.

The funeral will be held today at 11 o'clock from the family residence in Green Ridge, and a number of Sedalians will attend.

There is no tribute this paper could pay to Mr. Hollenbeck more than to say that he was one of the best men in the county, so regarded by all.