SUNDAY'S OBITUARY - Edward P. Horst (1858-1901)

Edward P. Horst is my 3rd great uncle, the younger brother of my 3rd great grandfather, Charles Frederick Horst (1856-1912). Their parents were Martin Horst (1830-1878) and Apollonia Weinschenk (1829-1908). Edward was born in Mobile, Alabama on November 3, 1858. He was the second of 8 children born to his immigrant parents.

Edward was educated at Spring Hill High School and College, where the sons of the city's established families - Catholic and non-Catholic - attended starting at the age of nine. After his education was complete he worked in the family's businesses. In 1869 he was a clerk at M Horst & Company, liquor dealers on the corner of Conti and Commerce. After his father's death in 1878, Edward became the proprietor of The City Exchange Saloon, originally owned by his mother's first husband before his death. He also managed Frascati Park, owned by his father; it was the city's premier amusement area, located off Old Shell Road.

Charles Horst, Proprietor, Palace Royal Saloon
(front of bar with moustache)

By 1890 Edward had joined older brother Charles and his young family when they settled in Birmingham. In the 1891 City Directory Edward was listed in the city directory as a barkeeper at the Palace Royal Saloon, owned by William Wigginton. By 1895 he was the saloon's "proprietor", located at 2100 2nd Avenue. Edward was listed in the 1900 Birmingham City Directory as "saloon keeper". He lived in the room above the bar, a common practice of the time.

On Saturday, May 18, 1901, The Birmingham News reported in the paper:

APOPLEXY

Struck Down Mr. Edwin Horst this Morning;

He is Now in Critical Condition - His Father Was at One Time Mayor of Mobile

"About 11:15 o'clock today Mr. Edwin (sic) Horst, proprietor of the Palace royal Saloon received a stroke of apoplexy. At the time he was behind the bar, serving a customer. He was removed to his rooms in the adjoining flat and Drs. Rosser and Brown were summoned. At this hour they are still at his bedside and hold out very few hopes for his recovery."

Edward died on the following day, May 19th. His obituary was published in The Birmingham News on May 20, 1901:



from The Birmingham News
March 20, 1901

 

EDWARD HORST DEAD.

Good Citizen Passes Away, Remains Taken to Mobile

"Yesterday morning at 6 o'clock, Edward P. Horst, proprietor of the Palais Royal Saloon, Twenty-first street and Second avenue, notice of whose being stricken with apoplexy on Saturday morning was given in the News of that afternoon, passed away. He never regained consciousness and died without pain.

His mother was summoned from Mobile, and arrived a little while before he passed away. The remains were taken to Mobile, his former home, for internment, last night and were accompanied thither by his mother and brother Charles Horst. The deceased was about 45 years of age. He was a genial, clever man, as straight as a shingle, honest in his dealings with the public and absolutely true to the men whom he accepted and classed as his friends. His saloon was noted for the quiet which prevailed there day in and day out, and for the absence of rowdyism, which was not tolerated either by the proprietor of his brother. Deceased was a strict observer of the law, and his saloon for that reason, was one of those never watched by the police.

Mr. Horst was a bachelor. He had never married, but was very fond of his nieces and nephews and his aged mother, who reside in Mobile. Every spring he visited his former home, spending several days there and showering gifts the while upon his young kinsmen. The rest of the time he spent either at his business or in his room on Second avenue. He led a quiet, unobtrusive, but a very manly life, and had many warm friends, who regret his departure.

Deceased was the son of the late Jacob Horst (sic), who was the first Democratic Mayor of Mobile after reconstruction. The elder Horst was a prosperous wholesale liquor merchant and a leading citizen. The deceased, after his father's death, was promoter of public amusements in Mobile, and spent a fortune entertaining the public at Frascati Gardens. He was known and loved by every one in that city, and his death will be sad news indeed to them, for he was a man of fine heart, of excellent sense and high character for integrity and faithfulness."

Edward was buried in Mobile's Catholic Cemetery, next to his parents.