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Excerpts from Francis C. Waid's Third Souvenir Submitted by David M. Waid |
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1890.
Wednesday, January 1, 1890.--Another year has glided into the realms of the Past! Another drop of time has fallen into the infinite ocean of Eternity! Another year has been born, in its turn to ceaselessly throb out its life, moment by moment, to the end of its appointed course, till it, too, shall have irrevocably vanished. Yesterday was the to-morrow of Monday, to-day is the to morrow of yesterday; and so will run the record till time shall be no more. "To-morrow, and to-morrow and to-morrow Creeps in this petty pace from day to day, To the last syllable of recorded time." As I review the several events of the past year in which I was called to play an humble part I feel myself deeply grateful to my merciful Creator for the many blessings He has vouchsafed me, and for having brought me safely to the shore of a new year, endued with renewed health and strength. And as I think of the changeable condition of health I experienced, I am forcibly reminded of this saying of Emerson, the sage: "What a searching preacher of self-command is the varying phenomenon of health!" My diary for the year 1890 commences in Jamestown, N. Y., for yesterday, the last day of the old year, I betook myself by rail to that beautiful town, arriving at half past seven in the evening. My object was to visit my aunt Mary Ann Simmons, who is living with her son-in law and daughter, Mr. and Mrs. Frank Colt. My aunt is in her eighty-seventh year and in fast-failing health [Since above was written, my aunt Mary Ann Simmons departed this life April 4, 1890, in her eighty-eighth year, and I regret that I did not get home from the west at least a day sooner, so I could have attended her funeral]. I enjoyed my New Year's dinner at the home of Frank Simmons, in company with the Williams Family, twelve people sitting down to the first table, and fourteen children, besides a few adults, to the second. All was bright and cheerful within the house, a pleasant contrast to the gloomy, wet and uninviting condition of things in the outer world. "Kindness by secret sympathy is tied; For noble souls in nature are allied." On the following day, after making several calls among my friends, and transacting some business with Mr. F. Bush, I took the stage for Frewsburg, in order to call on Mr. E. T. Burns and family, whom I found in good health, although Mrs. Burns had been ill during the fall. On my return to Jamestown Mr. Burns accompanied me, having some business to transact there. I called on Mr. Bowen, and bade my aunt "good-bye," which meeting proved to be our last on earth, as I have already intimated. From Jamestown I came to Union City, Erie Co., Penn., to see my niece, Mrs. Blanche Underholt, and family, but I found her rather unwell; her two children, Eva and Fred, however, had a grand romp with their "Uncle Francis." On Saturday morning I took train to Saegertown, specially, I may say, to call on my old friend, Lorenzo Wheeler, whom I had not met for a long time, and who was living with his son in Saegertown. He lost his wife last March, I think, and had been very ill himself, at which time he was living at Little Cooley, Crawford Co., Penn. After a brief visit at the new residence of Hon. Salvedor Slocum, and a business call at the bank in Saegertown, I returned to Meadville. Sunday, January 5.--This is the birthday of my eldest son, Franklin, who is now thirty-five years old. At church I enjoyed listening to an excellent sermon by Presiding Elder J. A. Kummer, from the text Isaiah lii: 1: Awake, awake: put on thy strength, 0 Zion; put on thy beautiful garments, 0 Jerusalem, the holy city. I contributed toward the dues for the presiding elder, not forgetting that money is useful, and that to it the Lord has a prior claim, in our recognition of which He blesses us. On Tuesday I proceeded to Meadville on business, and while there attended the Teachers' Institute meetings being held there during the week in the courthouse, and also the lectures delivered in the Academy of Music, all of which I found of much interest and profit. On Saturday I was present at the quarterly meeting held at the M. E. Church, and heard another interesting sermon from the lips of Elder J. A. Kummer. For some days after this I was not in very good health, but through God's blessing recovered. Thursday, January 15.--Mr. G. W. Cutshall was here with his daughter, Mrs. Sadie Russell, and her children Leon and Lynn [They were on their way to Cleveland, Ohio, to their new home, where Mr. Russell was waiting their arrival, and I have since visited them there, at the time of the dedication of the Garfield Monument, May 30, 1890], they having stayed at our house over night; and thinking it might improve my health, I accompanied him to his home, where I remained till Saturday, when I returned to my own home. January 21 to April 8, 1890.--[Here comes my fourth trip to Kansas and the West, an account of which commences at page 9.] During my absence in the West, certain resolutions of thanks to me were adopted by Advent Church, of which I here give a copy: WHEREAS, We do fully appreciate the benevolence of our kind friend, Mr. F. C. Waid, who has so generously aided us, therefore, Resolved, That we, as a church, do extend to him our hearty thanks for his generosity in contributing fifty dollars to aid in erecting sheds for the benefit of the public attending our church. Resolved, That a copy of these resolutions be sent to Mr. Waid, also furnished the Pennsylvania Farmer for publication. Respectfully submitted, (Signed) W. G. ONGLEY, Secretary On my arrival home from the West, on the evening of April 8, I was informed at Meadville, by my cousin, S. Phillips, of the death of Aunt Mary Ann Simmons, her funeral having taken place on the day before my arrival. This is the first news I receive after setting my foot once again "on my native heath"--tidings of death; and but for the grace of God, instead of my aunt in her tottering years of fourscore and eight, it might have been Francis C. Waid in the prime of life! I feel that I cannot too often proclaim my thankfulness to the Lord, even in my disappointments and discouragements. I think it is well for us to remember Him and praise His name for what we have, and for our hope in Heaven. He who is thankful for a little is in a fair way to get more; he who in adversity remembers the Lord, will in prosperity praise him--thus we should always be faithful. I am thankful this morning, as I sit by the window in one of the rooms of my old home, the home of my birth, writing on the same desk I bought, when a young man, of David Finney; I say I am thankful for the Lord's unbounded goodness to me. I believe He heareth our I prayers and I know He does bless as when we call on Him. I am glad my mind and heart rest in His promises, and I delight to trust in Him, and, as far as possible do His will. How can I refrain from being sympathetic in feelings and reflective in my thoughts in this, to me, precious home, by this chamber window, through which I can see, in one direction, the same old pear trees in the door yard that stood there when I was a child; and, in another direction, fields wherein I had played in infancy, and worked in boyhood, youth and manhood! "How dear to this heart are the scenes of my childhood, When fond recollection presents them to view; The orchard, the meadow, the deep-tangled wild wood, And ev'ry loved spot which my infancy knew." Amid these old-time associations I cannot but think of my parents; of their family; of my dead wife and our children; of my children's children and last, not least, of my dear wife Anna, absent from me, in Kansas, because of her poor health, myself being also far from well; but "What fates impose, that man must needs abide It boots not to resist both wind and tide." I know I should not burden my remembrance with a heaviness that's gone, but rather bear in mind that sufficient for the day is the evil thereof, and consider the many thousands who in this transitory life are in sorrow, need, sickness and other adversity, and rest thankful that fate has not been more unfriendly toward me. In writing the record of my fourth trip to Kansas, which will be found in the earlier part of this work, I endeavored to portray in my own way the different phases of life--particularly its joys and sorrows. The real test of these comes through the experience of them, and I will here confess that in my latter writings I have not spoken as much of the sorrowful or dark side as I have of the brighter or more hopeful. It is better for each individual to bear his own burden than to ask his brother to bear it for him. Do thoughts live? Yes. Are our prayers heard? Yes, when offered in faith--but it may be a long time before they are answered. Parents have prayed for their children, and not till long after their death have their sons and daughters given their hearts to the Lord. I desire here to place on record some of the sincere wants of my soul, my earnest prayer, and I humbly trust it may be in keeping with the will of my Heavenly Father who hears when we pray. I wish to be a living witness for Christ as long as I live; and, while I desire the salvation of all men, I devoutly pray more especially for my own family, and every one endeared to me by the ties of nature, that they may be all brought into the fold of Christ under the divine Shepherd's care. And in order that this greatest desire of my life may be accomplished, I know that I must consecrate all to the Lord--life, friends, property, and everything I have from this day forth and for ever. It is good for us if we can keep all these on the altar. An every-day consecration is better than only one in a life time. We are liable to forget our obligations, and either remove something from off the altar of the Lord, or neglect to place thereon something we may have obtained since the consecretion. That the reader may understand more clearly what I mean, I add: let every dollar, as well as everything else we may possess, honor the Lord in doing good--if it is worth anything at all it should speak something for the Lord. Each individual has his own conscience in that respect, and happy is the man who seeketh no witness from without, for it shows that be has wholly committed himself unto God. But I must now continue my diary. April 11.--To-day I visited Lewis M. Slocum, and at his house met Mrs. David Roberts and Mrs. Armitage Roberts, so I was enabled to hand the former the portrait of her grandson, Wilber A. Hobbs, which had been entrusted to me by Emery F. Hobbs at Lawrence, Kas., when I was there. On the following day I rode to Meadville with my brother-in-law, Moses Masiker, and was pleasantly surprised to meet there Mr. Manrice McMullen, secretary of the Y. M. C. A. at Ottawa, Kas., who had been called to his old home through the serious illness of his mother. I also had the pleasure of handing to Dr. E. C. Hall, of the First M. E. Church of Meadville, the "photo" of the youngest child of Mr. and Mrs. Pillsbury, of Grand Island, Neb., with which commission I had been entrusted by Mrs. Pillsbury while I was visiting them. April 12.--Again at Saegertown, where I called on Mr. and Mrs. George Floyd, but regret to say found Mrs. Floyd quite unwell, as she was when I and my wife visited her last summer. On the following day, Sunday, Mr. Floyd and I attended the M. E. Church, where we heard an excellent sermon preached by their pastor, Rev. A. J. Parsons, from the text Matthew xvi: 19: And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. For the missionary cause in distant lands the sum of nearly one hundred dollars was collected, and I increased the pleasure I enjoyed in listening to the discourse by adding my mite of five dollars toward the spread of the Gospel among the heathen. In the afternoon I rode to Blooming Valley, from Saegertown in company with their pastor, and in the evening again heard him proclaim the good news of salvation, his text being Matthew xxviii: 6: He is not here: for he is risen, as he said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay. It seems to me that none but a true Christian can fully appreciate all the blessed benefits the resurrection our Lord assures. O how good it is for us to trust in the Saviour of mankind, and to know that He has robbed death of its sting and the grave of its victory! What great consolation it brings to our hearts to have a true knowledge and just conception of and faith in Jesus Christ! What comfort it brings to the soul of man! After the services I paid a visit to my cousin, Ralph Roudebush, and together we walked over to the cemetery where in peaceful rest my departed wife, Eliza, awaits the resurrection; and as I stood by her grave I thought of Jesus, the Light of the world who gives to us the hope of a reunion beyond. I am the resurrection and the life, saith the Lord; he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: and whosoever believeth in me shall never die. "Calm on the bosom of thy God, Fair spirit rest thee now! E'en while ours thy footsteps trod, His seal was on thy brow. Dust to its narrow house beneath, Soul to its place on high! They who saw thy look in death No more may fear to die." Wednesday, April 16.--My nephew, Grant Waid, and I left quite early in the morning in order to pay a visit to his brother-in-law, Walter Josling, who lives in Richmond Township, some five miles distant, and on our way I called on a sick neighbor, George Dewey, who has been ill a long time, owing to a stroke of paralysis he received several years ago. Eliza and I visited him at that time, and I have called on him frequently since, as opportunity presented. We were glad to meet, and he appeared to be much better than when I last saw him. Mr. Josling we did not find at home, as he had gone to my nephew's (Nick P. Waid), but Mrs. Josling and family we saw, and found in good health. On our return my nephew and I called on my uncle, Horace Waid, where we heard from my aunt news of my uncle, Gilbert Waid [I have before me an old letter written in 1847 to his friends in Crawford County, Penn., by Gilbert Waid, after his arrival in Washtenaw County, Mich. It is in substance as follows: WEBSTER, WASHTENAW CO., MICH., May 10, 1847. Mr. George Roudebush and Friends: We are all well, and hope you are the same. We took the boat Saturday morning at 2 o'clock at Erie; stopped at Cleveland, Sandusky and Detroit, and arrived all safe, none of us seasick. Traveled from Detroit across the country to Webster; sold the wooden bowels; traded horse and wagon for 25 acres of land. It is good land. I like it very well, and I have got three acres to put in with corn, and a piece for potatoes. I have a job to do for eighteen dollars, and am going to do it as soon as I get my corn and potatoes planted. Tell my brother, Samuel, I like the country very well, what little I have seen; there are good crops of wheat, and it looks well. Tell father we are all well and hearty. I am satisfied this is a good country, and we are not discouraged. ANDREW G. WAID], in Michigan. She had also heard by letter from my three cousins--daughters of Samuel Waid. Friday, April 18.--Proceeded to-day to Randolph Township, where I visited Mr. and Mrs. P. M. Cutshall; afterward Mrs. Cutshall and I called on Mrs. Mary Jane Seaman, who has been sick since last fall; then on my return home I paid Mr. and Mrs. Richardson, of Blooming Valley, the visit I had last February promised their son-in-law, Dr. Weter, of Grand Island, Neb. |
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