Herald of Truth August 1865 - Vol. II, No.8 Page 64

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* On June the 5th, in Britain Township, Bucks Co., Pa., after protracted illness of over three months, Bro. Simeon Kratz, aged 58 years, 3 mo., and 11 days. During much of the time of his sickness, he endured intense suffering, and desired to depart, and prayed ardently for the hour of his deliverance, that he might be with those holy ones in the celestial mansions above. We have good hopes that through the furnace of affliction the Lord prepared his soul for the blissful enjoyments of the heavenly city, when the tears shall be wiped from every eye, and where all sorrow, and trouble, and sufferings cease. He was buried on the 7th at the Hilltown burying-ground. A large concourse of relatives and friends followed him to the grave. Funeral sermon was preached by Bro. Isaac Rickert at the house, and by Bro. Isaac Overholtzer at the meeting house. Text, Phil. 1: 23, "For I am in a strait betwixt two, having a desire to depart and be with Christ, which is far better."

*(transcriber's note: This obit is also found in Volume II, No. 7, July, 1865, page 56. These obituaries are the same except for the spelling of "Britain" in Aug, and "Britian" in July.)

July 11th, at the residence of her son, David Hoover, in St. Joseph Co., Ind., our aged sister Susanna Hoover, aged 75 years, 8 mo., and 26 days. She leaves a husband in his 88th year, sons and daughters and a large circle of friends and relatives to mourn their loss. She died evidently in the triumph of that living faith in which only God's believing children can, at their departure from this world, exultingly exclaim, "I have fought a good fight have finished my course, I have kept the faith; henceforth, there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord the righteous Judge, shall give, me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing" (2 Tim. 4: 6-8.) Her bodily remains were consigned to the tomb on the 13th, and addresses in English and German were delivered by the writer from the above quoted words of Paul to Timothy.

I am now ready to depart,
And be with Christ, which cheers my heart:
My earthly warfare now is o'er;
No conflicts shall oppress me more.

My earthly race, how soon 'twas run,
Methinks 'twas only just begun;
Yet gladly I shall quit the field,
T'enjoy the comforts Heaven doth yield.

Faith in my Jesus I have kept,
Though here below I oft have wept
From Christ the Lord I shall receive
The crown which "in that day" he'll give.

Yes, all who his appearing love,
Shall wear the crown with him above,
A glorious crown of righteousness
Vouchsafed to man alone through grace.

DANIEL BRENNEMAN.
Elkhart, Indiana.

On the 29th of June, at the residence of Jacob Beutler in Elkhart Co., Ind., Barbara, widow Pre. Peter Beutler deceased, aged 70 years, 1 month, and 24 days. Some 14 years ago they removed from Ashland Co., Ohio, to Mahaska Co., Iowa, where Bro. Beutler died. The aged sister recently came on a visit, from her home in Iowa, in company with her brother-in-law, Jacob Beutler, to visit her friends in Indiana. On the evening of the 28th she went to bed in usual good health, and the next morning was found a corpse. She was buried on the 30th, at Yellow Creek M. H. where a funeral discourse was delivered by Bro. Dan. Brenneman, from Mark 13th: 33, 34, and by Bro. Dan. Brundage, from 2 Cor. 5: 1. She was a beloved sister in the Church for many years, and we hope her spirit rests in peace in the Savior's bosom. Oh, what a comfort for her friends and her children! And if they will also live in accordance with the gospel, they will meet her there, where peace and joy reigns forever.
JOSEPH HOLDEMAN.

On the 12th of July, near Litiz, Lancaster Co., Pa., Elizabeth, wife of John Hess, aged 34 years, 1 mo., and 17 days. Funeral sermon was preached by the brethren John Risser, Christ. Bomberger, and John Landis from 2 Kings, 20, and last clause of the first verse, "Set thine house in order, for thou shalt die and not live."

She is gone! A weeping husband mourns,
And all around in tears I see;
But she's in bliss, yet oh! I grieve,
For she on earth is lost to me.

Dear husband. I am gone from thee,
Released from pain----weep not for me;
Dear husband and children I can't forget,
In heaven I hope to meet you yet.

Farewell, my husband and children dear,
I am not dead, but sleeping here;
Prepare for death, for die you must,
And with your partner sleep in dust.
JACOB K. NISSLEY

On the 22d of June, in Ashland Co., Ohio, John Hursh, aged 58 years, 3 months, and 26 days. He was buried on the 24th, and funeral sermon was preached from 2 Tim. 4: 7, 8, by the writer in German and by Pre. Weis in English. He was a firm support to the Church, and an esteemed and beloved neighbor. By his departure a light has been extinguished in this vale of sorrow, but only to shine more brightly in the heavenly mansion. In his death a pillar of the church has been broken down, the neighborhood deprived of a good friend, and the family bereaved of a kind father; but God's ways are not our ways; for men are earthly and by nature earthly-minded, and prone to evil from youth up. But "God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth on him, should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through him might he saved." Whoever therefore will receive him as their wisdom, sanctification, and redemption, to all these he will give power to become the sons of God.
JOHN HARTMANN

Transcribed by Ron Garber, Kansas

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