USA > New York > Kings County > Brooklyn > History of the Wesley M.E. Church of Brooklyn, L.I. > Part 16
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" How sweet the hour of closing day, When all is peaceful and serene ; And when the sun, with cloudless ray, Sheds mellow luster o'er the scene. A beam from heaven is sent to cheer The pilgrim on his gloomy road ; And angels are attending near, To bear him to his bright abode."
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IN MEMORIAM.
JOHN GRANGER, died Oct. 2, 1870 :- He early identi- fied himself with the Tompkins Avenue M. E. Church, and became subsequently a Steward and member of the Board of Trustees, and a faithful supporter of the cause and kingdom of our Redeemer. He suffered for a long time from a complication of diseases, but chiefly of a pulmonary character, which he bore with exemplary patience and Christian resignation. During his pro- tracted sickness he was frequently visited by the pastor and other religious friends, to whom he repeatedly ex- pressed his hopes and prospects of one day outriding the storms of this unfriendly world, and landing his bark safely in the haven of eternal rest. He felt he was a sinner saved by grace ; a brand plucked from the burning. Toward the close of his illness, and within a short time of his death, he was wonderfully sustained and comforted by the exercise of a simple faith and trustful confidence in the blood and merits of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. His respiration becoming more and more difficult, he could speak but little, and gradually began to sink, and finally departed this life in the triumphs of the gospel. His happy spirit winged its flight to mansions in the skies, October 2, 1870, leaving behind him a sorrowing and afflicted widow, with three interesting daughters and one son, to mourn the loss of a devoted husband and kind, indul- gent father.
CORNELIA ABERLE, died August 10, 1870 :- She was the daughter of J. G. and Matilda Aberle, and a young, suffering, patient victim of a long, lingering, and incu- rable disease, culminating in a severe dropsical disorder, which finally resulted in her death. Miss Aberle was
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HISTORY WESLEY M. E. CHURCH.
an affectionate and dutiful daughter and a warm-hearted friend, who had a smiling face to cheer, and an open hand to extend to every one who needed her sympathy or assistance. In many respects she resembled very much her deceased mother, whose obituary has already been recorded ; ever ready to do what was in her power to promote the cause of Christ and the prosperity of his Church. As a Sunday school scholar, teacher, and missionary collector, she was diligent, persevering, and successful ; always cheerful and happy at her work and labor of love. Having chosen the Lord as her portion, he was with her in the furnace, and did not: forsake her in the hour and article of death, which took place Aug. 10, 1870, in the twenty-fourth year of her age.
LETITIA MCCORMACK, died June 27, 1871 :- The beloved wife of Bro. Richard McCormack. She was remarkable for her quiet, unobtrusive, retiring disposition of mind, and her sincere and consistent attachment to the cause and kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Although never very demonstrative in her expression or profession of religious attainments, yet she was a truly Christian woman ; a devoted wife, a judicious mother, and a kind-hearted and obliging neighbor, who was ever ready and willing to discharge her duty in the fear of God, with a single eye to his glory. Her religion showed itself more conspicuously in the family circle then any- where else. There her influence and example were ex. erted, and were productive of the most salutary effects. In middle life, and amid the toils, cares, and anxieties of family and domestic duties, she was laid upon a linger- ing bed of sickness, which she bore with fortitude and
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IN MEMORIAM.
resignation. When all hope of recovery was given over, she assured her family and friends, that she was perfectly resigned, and felt ready and prepared to go home whenever it was the will of her Heavenly Father to call her. As she was nearing the margin of the river,-" the narrow stream of death,"-she re- quested her husband and two daughters, with other relatives, to come around her bed. Before bidding them adieu, she commended them to God, and desired that they would all prove faithful, and be sure to meet her in heaven. Thus she sweetly passed away to the better land.
CORNELIA WALRAVEN, died July, 1871 :- Was among those who left DeKalb M. E. Church to join the new Society at Tompkins Avenue. Having for a number of years suffered from a cancerous affection in the face, she will be remembered by many, who had not a more intimate acquaintance with her, as the " veiled lady," whose voice was not unfrequently heard in the Wednes- day evening prayer-meetings, but whose countenance could not be recognized on account of the thick veil she usually wore when she went out to church. Mrs. Walraven's husband was not a professor of relig- ion, and seldom appeared in the house of God with her ; but she had a little daughter, who not only attended Sabbath school, but was happy in accom- panying her mother pretty regularly to the means of grace. Her experience as a Christian was simple, sincere, trusting, and cheerful. She was punctual in her attendance upon the class and prayer-meetings, and these always appeared to give her comfort and joy. During the summer of 1871, she determined, contrary
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HISTORY WESLEY M. E. CHURCH.
to the desire of her friends, to have a surgical opera- tion performed upon her face, and insisted upon going to a hospital in New York city to get it done, as she had heard of similar cases where it had been success- fully accomplished. She at length went to the hospital ; she had been there only a few days when it was found necessary to administer morphine or some other nar- cotic medicine ; the quantity proved either too large, or she too feeble to stand its effect ; she succumbed under it and died. The first intimation her daughter had of the fatal result of the treatment was on calling to see her the following morning, when she found her mother was dead, having expired during the night. Although we have no dying testimony in her case, yet we have the assurance derived from her Christian life and char- acter that her end was peace.
ROBERT CURRIE, died October 4, 1871 :- Was a younger brother of the President of the Board of Trustees. Al- though brought up under the watchful care of Christian parental solicitude, with all the privileges and advan- tages of religious training, and the benefit of Sabbath school instruction, as well as regular attendance upon the preached word, yet he failed to give his heart fully to Christ, although frequently the subject of seri- ous convictions, until he was brought into church rela- tionship through the instrumentality of the Rev. F. C. Hill. Being more than usually impressed with the conviction of sin, and his need of salvation, under the preaching of the word, he was induced by the Pastor to go forward to the altar during a season of protracted meetings. This he continued to do for several nights in succession, having resolved never to give up until
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IN MEMORIAM.
he was graciously blessed with a sense of forgiving love, and could experimentally say :-
" My God is reconciled, His pardoning voice I hear ; He owns me for his child, I can no longer fear. With confidence I now draw nigh, And 'Father, Aba Father,' cry."
His convictions and contrition for sin were deep and overwhelming, and his pleadings for mercy and pardon, sincere and urgent ; consequently when light broke in upon his mind, and he was able to cast him- self unreservedly upon Christ by an appropriating faith, his conversion immediately became clear and satisfactory. The change from darkness to light, from the bondage of sin and Satan into the liberty of the children of God, was in his case like life from the dead. While he believed and felt the Christian war- fare to be one of trial and conflict, constantly demand- ing the exercise of faithful prayer, self-denial, watchful- ness, and perseverance, he was not discouraged ; for having put his hand to the gospel plow, he resolved never to look back ; and, in fact, he had no desire to turn back, but press on to the mark and prize of his high calling in Christ Jesus. Immediately after his conversion the Bible and Methodist hymn-book became his daily companions. For some time previous to his death, in consequence of declining health, he was prevented from attending the public means of grace as frequently as he would otherwise have desired. This deprivation he bore with Christian resignation. Feeling his strength gradually failing, he resolved to take a sea voyage and visit his native land, which he
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HISTORY WESLEY M. E. CHURCH.
did for the benefit of his health. He had arrived in Scotland, and been there only a short time, when he was obliged to take to his bed, and in the course of a few days' illness, without a struggle or a groan, he breathed his last, surrounded by loving friends, with whom he left a dying testimony that he had gone to be with Christ, which was better.
THOMAS P. MOSES, died August 27, 1872 :- It was in the house of Bro. Moses that the few devoted friends of the late Rev. G. S. Gilbert met, in the spring of 1865, and were organized into a Society by the Rev. H. F. Pease, Presiding Elder of the District. Brother Moses cast in his lot with the infant cause, and labored faith- fully in helping to sustain it in its early struggle for existence. As soon as the tabernacle was erected and occupied, God heard the earnest prayers and pleading's of his people, and came down and blessed them, making the rude and humble place where his name was re- corded glorious by reason of his presence and power, so that they could say it was indeed " the house of God, and the gate of heaven" to their souls.
From the organization of the Society up to the day of his death, Bro. Moses was a consistent, persevering, and zealous supporter of the Church in all its inter- ests, spiritual and temporal. The Church was not un- mindful of its obligation, as shown by the confidence it reposed in him, by appointing him to various posi- tions of honor and trust; such as Sunday school Teacher, Superintendent, Steward, Leader, and Trustee; in all these offices he proved himself true and faithful. While in the meridian of life, and enjoyment of health and strength, with an excellent physical constitution,
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IN MEMORIAM.
unimpaired by any previous sickness, and actively engaged in his secular calling', and useful in the Church, he was taken down with dysentery, which at first was not considered aggravated nor alarming in its char- acter ; but in the course of three or four days, without any premonition on his own part, or expectation of his friends, proved fatal. Thus suddenly and unexpectedly our much-respected and lately departed brother was called from time into eternity,-from the church mili- tant to the church triumphant,-there to hear the wel- come plaudit, "Well done, good and faithful servant, enter into the joy of thy Lord."
MARIA AULD, died Nov. 1, 1872 :- A widow, and by her late husband's former wife, mother-in-law of our much-respected friend and excellent Corresponding Secretary of the Missionary Society of the Methodist Episcopal Church, the Rev. Dr. David Terry. She was born and brought up in Nova Scotia with strictly pious parents, who were rigid Presbyterians ; but on coming of age, or to woman's estate, she selected the Metho- dist as the Church of her choice. Many years ago her husband, Mr. Auld, while bathing with another gentle- man at Coney Island, near New York, was drowned with his companion, and that, too, in sight of his horror-stricken wife, who on observing their dangerous condition and death-struggle with the under tow of the receding tide, franticly ran to and fro upon the beach calling aloud for some one to come and save them ; but . alas ! alas ! there were none to respond or come to rescue the drowning men, and thus they sank on that treacherous beach and were engulfed in the surging waves of the blue Atlantic to rise no more. Their life-
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HISTORY WESLEY M. E. CHURCH.
less bodies were afterward recovered and conveyed to their desolate homes, and buried by bereaved relatives and sorrowing friends. Mrs. Auld, ever after this sad and sorrowful calamity, continued a widow; and "a widow indeed " she proved herself to be. Shortly after her husband's demise she lost an only step-son, whom she loved and cherished as one dearer to her than life itself, and lamented his death as a fond and affectionate mother only can. In all her trials and bereavements she was supported and sustained by the "Husband of the Widow," and his grace was found to be sufficient in every trying hour, so that she could say in her deepest affliction, " the Lord gave and the Lord hath taken away, blessed be the name of the Lord." Her relig- ious experience was deeper than she would even vent- ure sometimes to express, being timid and distrust- ful and always ready to write bitter things against herself ; yet she maintained a cheerful child-like sim- plicity of character, an implicit reliance upon divine Providence, and a confiding faith in the merits of Jesus. Being stout in figure and somewhat predisposed to apoplexy, she frequently complained of pain and giddi- ness in her head. On returning in the evening to her son-in-law's house, in De Kalb Avenue, after visiting some friends, as soon as she got home, she was sudden- ly prostrated with an attack of apoplexy, and remained unconscious until she expired.
Sister Auld was a regular attendant upon the class- meeting, she enjoyed the privilege and delighted to listen to the experience related by others, and espe- cially of the young. However much she might feel at times depressed and cast down, when she entered the class-room she invariably left encouraged, comforted,
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IN MEMORIAM.
and blest. One of her favorite quotations, which she would sometimes repeat, in stating her experience, was the following emphatic declaration of confiding trust in the immutability of God .-
"This, this is the God we adore, Our faithful unchangeable friend, Whose love is as great as his power, And neither knows measure nor end. 'Tis Jesus, the first and the last, Whose spirit shall guide us safe home ;
We'll praise him for all that is past, And trust him for all that's to come."
MARIA ABERLE, died Nov. 2, 1872 :- Widow Aberle, mother of Mr. J. G. Aberle, whose wife and daughter Cornelia are both deceased, their obituaries appearing in the present chapter, was one of the original mem- bers of the Society, and a sincere and devoted follower of Jesus, and true friend to his cause at Tompkins Avenue. None could surpass her in her respect for the ministers of the word, in her punctual attendance upon the means of grace, or devout regard for the services and ordinances of God's house. Although well-stricken in years, and residing at a greater distance from the Church than any of the other members, yet she was seldom absent from the sanctuary, morning or even- ing, winter or summer. Unless detained by sickness, or some unavoidable cause, she was sure to be found in her accustomed seat near the altar. She was not only a regular attendant upon the means of grace, but was ever ready, to the extent of her ability, to con- tribute of her substance for the support of the gospel. A kind and gracious Providence had endowed her with an excellent constitution ; although small in stature, she was lithe, thin, and wiry. She enjoyed for up-
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HISTORY WESLEY M. E. CHURCH.
ward of three-score years and ten more than an or- dinary share of health and strength, so that she was able, to within a day or two of her death, to manage and superintend her domestic affairs. During the tem- porary absence of the family who had resided in the upper portion of her house for over ten years, and while she was attending to her domestic duties, clean- ing and polishing the stove, it not being as cool as she supposed, the composition she was using for this purpose instantly exploded, setting fire to her clothing, and there being no person present to come to her rescue, she rushed out of the house into the back yard; this intensified the flames, and she fell, overpowered, suffocated, and exhausted, and when found she was so terribly burnt and charred that she only lingered a few hours in great agony, but remained conscious to the last. Her pain and sufferings were soon terminated, and her happy spirit, freed from its earthly tenement, winged its triumphant flight to realms of endless day, in the seventy-seventh year of her age, there to join the loved relatives and friends who had gone before, and the multitudes of those who had come out of great tribulations and washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.
MARY JOHNSON, died Nov. 5, 1872 :- Was the beloved wife of Mr. Job Johnson, and one of the original mem- bers of the Society. She not only identified herself with the cause, but labored zealously to promote its interests and well-being. She was the first President of the Ladies' Union Aid Society, and by her personal efforts and example did much to encourge and inspire others with zeal for the object she was seeking to ad-
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IN MEMORIAM.
vance, viz., the collecting of funds toward furnishing the parsonage and erecting a suitable house of worship. Through her instrumentality her husband contributed liberally to the building fund. When there was no convenient place for holding week-day meetings, she granted the use of her parlors for the Pastor's class. Mrs. Johnson was an up and downright Methodist of che olden school. She was a woman of few words, but when she spoke it was plain, blunt, and to the point ; preferring always to be doing than saying, and performing than promising. She loved the Church of her choice, and respected and venerated its faithful and devoted ministers. Up to the time of her last sickness, which was somewhat protracted, she strove diligently to follow the example of her Master in " go- ing about doing good" to the bodies as well as the souls of men. A fall upon the ice some years ago, while returning from De Kalb Avenue M. E. Church, is said to have been the primary cause of the sickness which resulted in her death. During her protracted illness, a portion of the time she was almost deprived of her sight, but bore the affliction with patience and cheerful resignation, and could say at all times, " Not mine but the Lord's will be done." Retaining her consciousness to the last, she was able to leave to her bereaved husband and friends a blessed testimony that she had gone to be with the Lord. The funeral services were attended by a large concourse of friends, among whom we observed several ministers who had been her former pastors, viz .: Rev. Stephen Rushmore, Rev. Joseph Hen- son, Rev. F. C. Hill, and Rev. Alexander H. Mead. It may truly be said of her, that devout men carried her to burial, and made great lamentation over her.
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HISTORY WESLEY M. E. CHURCH.
CAROLINE CATHCART, died Nov. 8, 1872 :- Was much beloved by the members of the Church and congre- gation and all who knew her for her unobtrusive, quiet, dignified Christian demeanor and deportment. Sister Cathcart being of a retiring disposition, it was those only who had the privilege of her personal acquaintance who could form anything like an ad- equate estimate of her character and worth as a devoted wife, kind friend to the poor, and one who could sympathize with the distressed, and administer comfort and relief to the sick and suffering. Although her voice was seldom heard in the class or prayer-meeting, yet her Pastor, the Rev. F. C. Hill, who had every opportu- nity of forming a correct judgment respecting her principles, feelings, and religious state of mind, says that " he ever found her steadfast in the faith, nothing wavering or doubting, but maintaining her integrity and confidence in God, and trusting alone in Christ for a present and full salvation." From the time she was attacked by the disease which proved fatal, she became unconscious, and this insensibility continued up to the hour of her death. Although we have no dying testi- mony to record, yet we have a satisfactory assurance, deduced from her consistent life and godly deportment, upon which to predicate the assumption, that while her body sleeps the sleep of death, her redeemed and blood- washed spirit "rests in the arms of Jesus."
ANCEL TITUS, died Feb. 26, 1874 :- Was long and familiarly known in the neighborhood of Kent Avenue, were he resided for so many years, as "Father " Titus. He was born in Huntington, L. I., Sept. 8, 1790, and died in Brooklyn, Feb. 26, 1874, in the eighty-fourth year of
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IN MEMORIAM.
his age. He moved to the city of Brooklyn when quite a youth, and associated himself with Sand Street M. E. Church as soon as it was formed. He was " not sloth- ful in business, but fervent in spirit serving the Lord." His experience illustrated and exemplified the truth of the exhortation of our blessed Savior, "Seck ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added unto you." Father Titus was a veteran in the literal sense of the word. When quite a young man he served for a short time as a soldier in the war of 1812, but did not participate in any actual engagement. He inherited a fine, vigorous, healthy constitution, which he studied to preserve by daily ex- ercise and temperate habits. He knew little or nothing of the aches and pains to which flesh is heir to, until his last sickness. He was remarkable for faithful and regular attendance upon the house of God, and all the week-night means of grace. He carried into practice the disciplinary rule, " Get all you can, save all you can, and give all you can." He was, according to his ability, a liberal contributor to the cause of Christ ; not un- frequently denying himself in order to help forward the interests of the Church. For over forty years he had been a teacher in the Sabbath school, and during part of this time he filled the office of Steward and Trustee. Father Titus loved the Sabbath school, and did every- thing within his power to promote its interests and the happiness and well-being of the children. He had a great regard and reverential respect for the minis- ters of the gospel ; he honored them for their work's sake, and was ready at all times to give them a help- ing hand. While he, with his aged and beloved wife and his step-daughter, Mrs. Maria Thorpe, was at-
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HISTORY WESLEY M. E. CHURCH.
tending the Merrick (L. I.) camp-meeting, he caught a severe cold. On returning home he felt sick, and was confined to the house ; by and by other and more alarming symptoms set in, accompanied with inflam- mation of the bladder. For a time the physician en- tertained hopes of his recovery ; but Father Titus him- self thought that this sickness would be unto death, and accordingly bowed with submission and resigna- tion to the will of his Heavenly Father. After long weary months of great suffering and pain, he began gradually to sink, and when able to speak, which he did very little, he would express his entire trust and reliance upon the blood and merits of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Not only did he reveal his feel- ings, and speak of his hopes and prospects regarding the future to Mrs. Titus, but to his Pastor, Rev. C. B. Ford, and other friends who called to see him. On Feb. 26th the aged pilgrim fell asleep in Jesus, and entered into rest, " the rest that remaineth for the people of God."
JANE MOWLEN, died July 23, 1874 :- An aged widow, who with her family transferred their membership to the Wesley M. E. Church about a year and a half prior to her last sickness and death. While in the enjoy- ment of ordinary health, her attendance upon the serv- ices of the sanctuary was remarkably regular for a lady . so far advanced in life, being over three-score years and ten. Sister Mowlen was a consistent member of the Methodist Church for upward of forty years, and had labored diligently and successfully to bring her children up in the "nurture and admonition of the Lord." Mrs. Taylor, her widowed daughter, with her
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IN MEMORIAM.
daughter and only child, also joined the Church at the same time. Miss Taylor, soon after uniting with the church, entered the choir, where by her regular attend- ance and excellent voice she does good service as the leading soprano. Mrs. Mowlen enjoyed and lived her religion, and was a happy Christian. Her increasing infirmities with her advanced age, and the distance she resided from the Church, prevented her from being as frequently at the stated means of grace as she would otherwise have desired. When at length she was prostrated by sickness, and after only a few days the summons came which called the weary exile home, she was waiting, ready to enter in to the marriage supper of the Lamb. She died July 23, 1874, in the seventy- seventh year of her age, with a blessed hope of a glo- rious immortality. "Let me die the death of the righteous, and my last end be like his."
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