Trapped ini Italy at outbreak of World War I: Marie Marguerite Oliver

Marie Marguerite Oliver was born in Jackson on Dec. 18, 1890, the youngest child and only daughter of six children born to Robert Burett Oliver Sr. and Marie Watkins Oliver of Cape Girardeau. A bright child, she graduated from the State Teachers College in 1907 before continuing her studies at Randolph Macon Woman's College in Lynchburg, Virginia, and National Park Seminary in Forest Glen, Maryland, where she graduated in 1910.

Four years after graduation, she, along with three other women -- Juliet Bowling, Mittie V. Robnett and Catherine Jones, all of Columbia, Missouri -- along with their chaperone, Mrs. J.C. Jones, arrived in Naples, Italy, to begin a several months' long tour of Europe on July 27, 1914. Unfortunately, World War I broke out the following day, which necessitated them to return to the United States. The problem was, with war having broken out, they had little way to communicate with their families back home.

Imagine how scared the women must have felt! Imagine their parents' reaction knowing they were in a conflict region and not able to contact them! In August 1914, Marguerite's father, Robert, wrote frantically to several individuals, including Senator William J. Stone, to see if they could locate the women and bring them home. He corresponded frequently with Burton Thompson of New York about his daughter's whereabouts. Thompson stated that his contact in Switzerland let him know that "American tourists in Italy and in Switzerland...will be able to secure passage back to New York, sailing under the flag of some non-combatant nation." Thompson sent another letter to Oliver on Aug. 10 assuring them that Marguerite and the other women were fine and that there was no cause for concern. He further reassured Oliver that the party should be able to board a steamer to New York in the coming days via ports in Italy. The State Department attempted to locate the women but without success. It wasn't until a Sept. 1 letter between Oliver and Thompson that Dr. Elwing let them know that Marguerite was on her way home.

According to the Evening Missourian (Columbia), she and the others in her party arrived in Boston on Oct. 9 and immediately headed back to Cape Girardeau. Two years after her return, she married Russell Lee Dearmont on April 12, 1916. The couple had three daughters: Julia, Marguerite and Sarah. During her life, she was an active member of the Daughters of the American Revolution, Colonial Dames of America, Young Women's Auxiliary Club, United Daughters of the Confederacy, and First Presbyterian Church.

Sadly, she died unexpectantly of heart failure due to an embolism Nov. 28, 1924. She is buried in the mausoleum in New Lorimier Cemetery.