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53Ie' DEATH OF JOSEPH E. SMITH-We Lrivfiy indited the d«ath of l£x-Kheriff Joseph. B. Smith in our last issue. The funeral as announced took. % Jplace on last Friday and was one of the largest ever witnessed in Indiana.In the death of Mr. Smith an old landmark is gone, and our town has lost one of its best citizens. He' had been a resident of Indianabecame a member of the Scceder elnireli. under ^ the ministrations ofRev. David Blair and retained his con-*section with that organization long after it was merged into the United Presbyterian and was a ruling elder for many years. * Some years ago he became a member of the Presbyteriancongregation of this place, and when well, his seat in the church and prayer meeting room was never vacant. He aimed to obey the mandates of thefor over forty years, and always took j Master and live the life of a Christian, an active part in, and was closely iden- | not only in form but in works. He tided with all measures that tended to j was active in • visiting the sick, im-the building up and improvement of porting the consolation of religion and—.■*our town. In the care and protect tion of the poor, and in all measures of an educational nature he had no superior. In short, his life was that of a Christian and in hte death his family have lost a kind husband and father, and the community a good citizen.when the ill one was needy he .never failed to accompany his religious advice with something for. the temporal•comfortBut he has been called away from his field of usefulness, as.a ^hock of corn fully ripe.” His prayer had con-The Indiana Messenger, tbe paper of j stonily been that be might be sparedwhich he was senior editor, in its issue of io-day, in speaking of bis death, will say:The subject of this sketch was bom in Centre township, ibis* county, on the farm now owned by Mr. Clawson, on November 22, IS1G- He was one of a family of fourteen children, but two of wham survive him, Mrs. N Nancy Hopkins and Miss HelenSmith, Jsoth now residing in this borough. In 1329 his father's family removed to a farm near Marion. He followed farming in the summer and school teaching in the winter. He married Mary Ann Henderson j of Centre township, who died in 18o£ In-ISGl he married Cynthia Beed. who survives him. After conducting a farm in Centre township for a few 3“ears he removed to tbe ftwn of Indiana.-in 1642, where he followed teaming and made many hundreds of trips to Blairsville, hauling grain to that place and returning with store goods for the merchants of Indiana. At that time he was one of the stout and active men of tbe day, but a fever sore in his right arm, which has troubled Iiira for years, became more troublesome and he was no longer able to follow his vocation and in 1S4S became a candidate for Constable and was elected and re-elected for nine successive terms. In 1854 he wasj;appointee! Deputy Sheriff under. John Montgomery, which office he held for two years, when he was elected Ser-geantrat-Arms of the Pennsylvania Senate, which position he held for one term. In 1857 he was elected Sheriff of the county and performed the duties of the responsible position with credit to himself and his constituents. In 1871 he was appointed Assessor of Internal Revenue for the district composed Eof the counties of Indiana, Westmoreland, and Fayette. Thiswas the largest revenue-paying district in the state and but few in* the state exceeded it in the amount of taxes assessed and collected. He assessed millions of dollars of revenue and when the duties of the Assessor were transferred to the collectors he received the highest commendation from the Department at Washington for the careful manner in which be had transacted the important' trust. After his retirement from the revenue service he took an interest in the Messenger newspaper and retained it till his death. He was also honored by his fellcw ciiizen$;witli numerous minor positions of trust; was a member of tbe Board of School Directors of the borough for several terras; served one term as Burgess of the borough and was an active member of the Board of Trustees of the Indiana State Normal school since its inception to the day of his death.His early years were years of hardship and many were the privations he endured in the rearing of a large family. His close acquaintance with poverty and trials gave him a sympathy for the struggling poor not felt by persons reared in the lap of luxury, and as a consequence bis hand was ever open to the appeals of the suffering and destitute. His sympatl^ for the distressed made of him an active member of the abolition party and his acquaintance with all the paths and roads in the country, gathered while performing the duties of Constable and Sheriff, made him peculiarly useful in conducting bands of runaway slaves through the country on their way to Canada. On several occasions the slave-catchers were close upon him and his charges, but in these emergencies his thorough knowledge of the country served him a good purpose, and 110 negro placed in his charge wasever captured while under his care.%While holding the office of Constablehe ferreted out and. broke up one of the most dangerous gangs of horse-thieves that ever infested this part of the country. They operated in the western part of this State and a portion of New York state and were a terror to every man who owned a good horse. He first arrested John Harper, the leader of the gang, who had eluded the officers of the law on more than a dozen different occasions, and lodged him in the jail of this county. Nor did he cease his efforts until he. had broken up the entire band and had more than a score of them serving time in the penitentiary. In after 3rears he delighted to talk of his adventures while an officer of the law and a conductor of the underground railroad and many were the narrow escapes he made while in the discharge of his duty. Perhaps his closest call was In making an arrest in the southern portiou of the county. Arriving at the home of the man for whom he had the warrant, lie was informed that the culprit^was not at home. A search of the lower portion, of the house appeared to bear out, the assertions of the inmates, but seeing a trapa long and lingering illness and a painful death, and it was answered, and in the eujoj’ment of robust health,v and while he slept, he was called to unjoy the fruits of a well spent life* ■with the redeemed- His most enduring monument win be in the hearts of bis fellow men and the expression so frequently made, by people in every walk of life, when his sudden death was announced, “The poor will miss him.” Best in peace.’ THE SALYATIOH WOMEEv. ■Two ladies belonging to the Salvation Army have been working here for sometime, assisted to some extent by other members of the r 1113', who have been here occasionally. Tlieir peculiar manner of laboring for the great Ma.sler and striving to win over io his service those who have either gone astra\r or who had never turned their faces in that direction, has not been withoutsome good results. While it may notbe truethattheirinverts belongto the class who are “clothed in fine linen and, fare sumptuously every day,” it may be just as true that these very ones have not become pi embers of some of our churches because they were unable to afford the dres,plumes ana feathers that is da this ua3” and age too much regarded as a pussort to the front pews of our fashionable churches. That dress, fash ion and the show of wealth, as manifested In the appearance of the worshipers attending many of the clinches of to-day has been a stumbling 'block in the way of poor people, although of equal decency and piety, cannot well be denied. These salvation women of whom we now speak, seek, to reach the lowly, and in fact, all classes; that they have demeaned themselves well and labored earnestly cannot be disputed. One of their peculiar ways is to march their converts along tbe streets, and we confess to being shocked at the behavior of a lot of half grown l03*s, some less and some larger as this procession passed the office the other evening. Each boy seemed to'be striving to outdo the others in hooting, yelling and mocking the small poeession. We wondered where the parents of these boys were; whether if the members of any of our churches had seen fit to march through the streets, that are public to all, these boys or hoodlums, as they appeared, would . have been permitted ' by either the authorities or their parents to act so: Piety and Christianity in any form is entitled to respect from all classes, but these youth had evidently never received their first lesson. If parents will allow their boys to be on the streets of evenings they should teach them to behave themselves and conduct themselves in such a manner towards others as becomes decency and good breeding. If these people' can do anything to advance Christianity in oar midst, they should have protection and be treated with respect, no matter what their form of worship mav be.wage ji peaceful war for God and Home and Kative Land.” - *“WeTemperance Column*EDITED BY THE-W. C. T. U.Objects of the organization: ‘‘The educa* tion of the young; the formation of a better sc-ntlment; the reformslion'of the drinking' classes; the transformation by Hie power of divine grace of those wlio are enslaved , by alcohol; and 1he removal of the dram shops fmnvoxir streets hy law,” This is the foundation of the TV. C. T. U. of America.Ail communications or iicms'for this column, from Unions throughout the county, or elsewhere, or irom friends of temperance, must he addressed to Mrs. Eva G. Thompson Indiana, Pa,OFFICERS OF THE COTTiSTS.President . ...... Mrs. c. J5. Earr.Secretary......Mis. 2’. M. 13 irk man.Treasurer.......Mrs. Jacob GnUIA Praise Service.‘•Sins ye to the Lord, for lie hath triumphed gloriously.”Our bill to amend the Constitution so as “to Prohibit the manufacture ox sale, or keeping for sale intoxicating liquors to be used as a beverage,” has passed both Houses of the Legislature by a very large majority. On its final passage in the Senate the vote stood, yeas, 20; nays, 12. In the House, 3Teast 120; nays, 00.We may well thank God and take courage. Every Woman’s Christian Temperance Union in the State is therefore requested to hold a Praise Meeting, March 6, or as soon after as possible, in commemoration of the victory we have won. And as this bill must be carried through the next Legislature, and be voted 011 by gthe£peo-ple, before it can become a part of our Constitution, and as a vast amount of work must be done, and funds needed, the Unions are uiged to take up a collection for this special work,_ and send the amount to Mrs. W. H. door in the “loft” and a ladder leading j Wood, State Treasurer, to be,added'to thereto he concluded to make a further j the Constitutional Amendment Fund.investigation. Heaseended the ladder and lifting the door stuck his head through and while peering into the darkness a rifie cracked and the ball passed uncomfortably close to his head. 1 In an instant he had the would-be murderer by the throat and placing a pair of handcuffs • upon him„ escorted him to the county jail.Onthe dissolution of the Abolition party he became identified with the Republican organization and wasal-This Praise service should be a very large jyid enthusiasticmcpting. Good speakers and music should be provided, and everything done to make il a fit opening of the next'year’s work.jyVe have other interests pending in the Legislature; An act. to prohibit the sale of intoxicating liquors on Me- \jl inorial day; and one for the belter pro- j 1 tee tion of woman and .young girls ; I c-while we fee utterly opposed to the J a proposal to lake the granting of license aways active iu the success of Its prin- j from the Courts We must pray thateipJes and never tired in,their advocacy. - .But while taking an active part m iheaetive affairs of life he did not forget the spiritual.- ' At an early age hethis shall not bo done. The-bill of Hon. J. B. Showalter, of Butler, forbidding tbe sale of cigarettes to boys ; a under eighteen, calls’fortbe hearty co | s Operation of every W. C. T. X.T. wo- j H
Newspaper Details
Indiana Weekly Progress
Indiana, Pennsylvania, US
Thu, Mar 03, 1887
Page 2
Full Page
Clipped by
Denise J.
USA 16 Dec 2022
Other Publications Near Indiana, Pennsylvania
Indiana Democrat
Indiana Weekly Progress
Indiana Progress
Indiana Messenger
Indiana Evening Gazette
