BX 7795 .R6 W3 1878 
 Waring, William, 18077-1884 
 Memoirs of Henry Robberman, 
 late of Chesterfield, Ohio 
 
Digitized by 
 
 the Internet Archive 
 
 
 in 2015 
 
 
 
 https://archive.org/details/memoirsofhenryroOOwari 
 
OF 
 
 HENRY ROBBERMAN, 
 
 LATE OF CUEsTERFI1:LD, OHIO, 
 AXD 
 
 THOMAS AVARING, 
 
 OF WEST XOTTIXGHAM, MD. 
 
 BY 
 
 WILLIAM WARING, 
 
 OF COLOKA, CECIL CO., MARYLAND. 
 
 PHILADELPHIA 
 18 78. 
 
MEMOIR 
 
 OF 
 
 HENRY ROBBERMAN, 
 
 LATE OF CHESTERFIELD, OHIO. 
 
 Hi:xRY RoBBEUMAX was born near the city 
 of Minden, in Prussia, on the 11th day of 
 Eleventh Month, 1774. 
 
 His parents, Henry and Elizabeth Robber- 
 man, were members of the Lutheran profession, 
 and he was brought up in that way. 
 
 He has been heard to relate various inci- 
 dents of his life, education, religious exercises, 
 convincement, etc. ; recounting, with meekness 
 and humility, many of the mercies and preser- 
 vations vouchsafed to him from his youth up. 
 
 " Many are the afflictions of the righteous, 
 but the Lord delivereth him out of them all.'^ 
 This testimony of King David was signally 
 
4 
 
 MEMOIR OF 
 
 verified in the life of Henry Robber man, who 
 was brought through notable deliverances to 
 })raise the Lord for his goodness" — to tell of 
 his "wonders in the deep" — to realize, in 
 quietness and in confidence, an inward sup- 
 port and renewal of strength, and to know, as 
 the Psalmist did, the eye of the Lord to be 
 u})on them that fear him, upon them that hope 
 in his mercy ; to deliver their soul from death, 
 and to keep them alive in famine." 
 
 In our acquaintance with him, say his friends, 
 embracing a period of more than seventeen 
 years, he evinced so much of a loving, patient. 
 Christian spirit, as greatly to enlarge our love 
 and esteem for him. He sometimes had a few 
 words by way of testimony in our meetings, 
 to the satisfaction of Friends; and in our 
 families his conversation and religious com- 
 munications were both instructive and edifying. 
 He was a man of intelligence, and endued with 
 an enlarged spiritual understanding in divine 
 things ; was firmly settled in the ancient doc- 
 trines and testimonies of Friends, and much 
 opposed to any unsoundness or innovation 
 either in faith or practice. 
 
 A Friend well acquainted with him has thus 
 written, " I have often thought, and increas- 
 
HENRY ROBBERMAN. 
 
 5 
 
 ingly of late, that something was due to tlie 
 memory of our dear friend, H. Robberman, 
 and might be valuable to us who are left be- 
 hind, and an encouragement to press forward, 
 as he did, to obtain the crown immortal ; to sell 
 all that we have, and buy the pearl of great 
 price; for this we believe was the chief con- 
 cern of our dear departed friend. He was 
 truly a man fearing God, and hating covetous- 
 ness — of a deep and weighty spirit — cheerful 
 in conversation, and courteous to all; yet his 
 words were seasoned with grace, and reached 
 the witness for truth in those with whom he 
 conversed, in a remarkable manner. 
 
 " His knowledge of the Holy Scriptures was 
 very thorough, and he was often enabled by Him 
 who openeth, and no man shutteth, to explain 
 passages therein with great clearness and unc- 
 tion. It was our privilege to have much of 
 his company during the few last years of his 
 life, often several days at a time, and the sea- 
 sons of refreshment we at times had are lively 
 in our remembrance, for he was a heavenly- 
 minded man. 
 
 During the latter period of his life he was 
 much afflicted, but bore it with Christian forti- 
 tude, and was often lively and fresh in his 
 
6 
 
 MEMOIR OF 
 
 spirit, and dropped many weighty expressions ; 
 and we humbly trust and believe he is gathered 
 into the Heavenly Garner as a shock of corn 
 fully ripe, and that in him is verified the 
 declaration of Holy Scripture, ^Blessed are 
 the dead which die in the Lord from hence- 
 forth, yea, saith the Spirit, that they- may rest 
 from their labors, and their works do follow 
 them/ 
 
 Another Friend also writes, " My heart was 
 stirred within me in remembrance of the times 
 when it was our privilege and comfort to have 
 the company of this meek and humble disciple 
 of a lowly Redeemer; how precious was his 
 company, ever fraught with instruction, clearly 
 unfolding the mysteries of the Heavenly King- 
 dom, and bringing forth from the rich treas- 
 ures of a heart deeply versed in the school of 
 Christ, things new and old. My pen is notable 
 to set forth the excellency of that grace that 
 was so eminently manifested in this humble 
 servant of the living God. How strongly it 
 inclines the heart to follow on, to know, as he 
 did, an overcoming, and, as it were, all things 
 transitory put under our feet ; that in the wind- 
 ing up of time we may have, as he had, a well- 
 grounded hope of a happy immortality." 
 
HENRY ROBBERMAN. 
 
 7 
 
 From some of his manuscripts, is extracted 
 the following: ''In the year 1792, being then 
 in the eighteenth year of my age, I was taken 
 by force into the [Prussian] army, and was in 
 that army [several] years, and during that 
 time passed through many and great dangers ; 
 and marvellous was the love of my Heavenly 
 Father to my soul, in keeping and preserving 
 
 me, in that great company, for it 
 
 pleased him to place his fear in my heart, and 
 I was careful not to offend him in anything, 
 according to the knowledge I then had. 
 
 "I can well remember many things and oc- 
 casions wherein the hand of the Lord is plainly 
 seen in preservations and deliverances ; praised 
 be his name forever and ever ; for I was not 
 worthy of all his mercies and his grace that 
 he has bestowed upon me ; yea, I am not able 
 to describe it, for the cruel adversary was ever 
 willing to draw me away, but the Lord Al- 
 mighty was on my side, and has preserved me 
 until this day, and I hope and believe he will 
 not forsake me, for I put my trust in him. 
 
 " The liord gave me a tender heart, even 
 from a child, and a just principle was in me 
 that I was not willing to wrong any one, no 
 matter how hungry or needy I was, and I was 
 
8 
 
 MEMOIR OF 
 
 ever willing to do a kindness to any, and this 
 gave me favor, and many friends the Lord gave 
 me ; praised be his name, for He alone is 
 worthy/' 
 
 He appears to have been convinced, while 
 in the army, of the iniquity of taking the life 
 of a fellow-being. On the morning of the day 
 when the army was defeated by the French 
 under Napoleon Bonaparte, he awoke with a 
 prayer in his mind, "Oh tliat I may not kill 
 a man !" And this continued to be his breath- 
 ing desire as the day advanced, not then seeing 
 but that he would have to use his weapon if 
 brought into the conflict. But the company 
 he was in was placed in reserve. They stood 
 for hours where they could hear, but could not 
 see, the terrible conflict that was going on. 
 About the middle of the afternoon an officer 
 came riding to the top of the hill that over- 
 looked the valley in which the reserve company 
 were stationed, and called out to them (accord- 
 ing to Henry's rendering into English), " Go 
 back, my children, go back, my children, all is 
 lost ! all is lost !" They speedily retreated, but 
 were pursued. In passing up the opposite hill, 
 balls fell near them, but none were hurt. The 
 
HENRY ROBBERMAN. 
 
 9 
 
 army was then broken nj), and he returned 
 home. 
 
 It is spoken of as having been impressive 
 and even affecting to hear his narration of this 
 circumstance, accompanied by expressions of 
 heartfelt thankfuhiess for this marked inter- 
 position in his behalf, counting it among the 
 many remarkable deliverances he had received 
 at the Divine Hand. 
 
 His convincement of the truth as professed 
 by Friends may be best given in his own words, 
 thus: "I have often thought my convincement 
 remarkable. 1 had a great esteem for the pro- 
 fession of religion in which I was brouglit up, 
 and a o^reat reo^ard and esteem for their minis- 
 ters, and in my blindness and darkness I looked 
 upon them as angels from heaven ; but praised 
 be the name of niy God, he looked upon me, 
 and in great mercy brought me out of that 
 land of Egypt into a better country, for he 
 saw this was a land of darkness, and he would 
 bring me into a region of light. 
 
 " It had pleased him to raise up a little flock 
 in onr country who were regarded with little 
 favor by the people. They called them de- 
 ceivers. I heard of them, but was afraid of 
 them, and was not willing to go into their com- 
 
10 
 
 MEMOIR OF 
 
 pany, thinking they held dangerous doctrines. 
 Being at a neighboring house, I was called 
 upon to read in one of their books. It was 
 William Penn's ^Summons or Call to Chris- 
 tendom.' While reading this book my under- 
 standing was opened, and I was fully con- 
 vinced that the doctrine therein contained was 
 the truth." 
 
 After this he passed through many exercises 
 of mind, to the trying of his faith and patience, 
 but appears to have adhered closely to his con- 
 victions of duty. In the year 1814 he became 
 a member of the Two Months Meeting of the 
 people called Quakers, held alternately at 
 Minden, in Prussia, and Pyrmont, in Germany ; 
 and cheerfully walked forty-two miles to at- 
 tend it, when held at the latter place, in com- 
 pany with another Friend, often leaving his 
 home the evening before, and walking all night 
 in order to accomplish it in time. 
 
 In the period that elapsed from his convince- 
 ment to the time at which he joined the Society, 
 among the close trials and deep provings which 
 he passed through, may be mentioned, that his 
 wife was then much opposed to him ; he was 
 quite poor in his outward circumstances, and 
 met with successive losses from the little he 
 
HENRY ROBBERMAN. 
 
 11 
 
 then had, wliich was attributed by her and 
 others to his having embraced, in their esti- 
 mation, a new and wronor; religion. For several 
 years their one pig died when nearly fattened ; 
 then a young cow died ; so that he was closely 
 proved, it being no small trial to them to lose 
 what was so necessary for their support. " I 
 was enabled (said he) to bow meekly under these 
 trials. I still had a hope the Lord would be 
 merciful to me, and deliver me in his own time.'^ 
 He was late one fall in sowing his rye, having 
 to wait for a team until his neighbors had fin- 
 ished. The following spring his wife went to 
 see their field. The ground was bare, the rye 
 had not come up, while that of their neigh- 
 bors was green and flourishing. ^' She came 
 home,^' said he, "weeping, saying we should 
 have nothing for bread. I could not say any- 
 thing; I did not know what the Lord would 
 do for me. In about two weeks / went to see 
 our field. [He had a few acres, three or four 
 miles from their dwelling.] When I reached 
 there the rye was two or three inches high. 
 Oh ! my heart was filled with gladness, and I 
 praised the name of my God. I came home, 
 but did not say anything; was very silent. 
 When the time of harvest came ray wife and 
 
12 
 
 MEMOIR OF 
 
 I went to cut it; I cut it and slie bound it 
 after me. We worked until weary, and sat 
 down to rest. She arose first and went to the 
 neighbor's shocks to examine the heads, but 
 found very little grain in them. Slie then ex- 
 amined ours, and found them uncommonly well 
 filled. Our neighbor's being sown early was 
 smitten with rust, while ours had escaped. 
 She came back and sat down by me and wept ; 
 said she was sorry slie had said what she had, 
 and desired me to forgive her. This I could 
 freely do, and was thankful to my Heavenly 
 Father for his mercy and his compassion 
 towards us." 
 
 After his reception into membership he was 
 engaged in teaching a school for Friends' chil- 
 dren, and continued in that employment about 
 seventeen years, and had a comfortable evi- 
 dence that a blessing rested upon his labors. 
 Some of the children under his care were re- 
 moved by death in early life, and he had the 
 consoling belief they were gathered to everlast- 
 ing rest. During this time his outward cir- 
 cumstances much improved. He took part in 
 meetings for discipline, and was instrumental 
 for the help of delinquents. 
 
 The following circumstance is given as he re- 
 
HENRY ROBBERMAN. 
 
 13 
 
 lated it : ''One First Day, as I sat in our little 
 meeting in Germany, a voice said to me : 'Lo! 
 I have given thee all that go in the ship with 
 thee, and they shall be saved.' I did not 
 know the meaning of this. After meeting I 
 told it to John Rache, a Friend, who said it 
 might be I would want to go to England or 
 America some time; but of this I had no 
 knowledge, not having at that time even 
 thonght of ever leaving my native land. 
 
 " In the course of time this was fulfilled. I 
 removed [after his wife's decease] with my son 
 and his family to America. 
 
 " While crossing the ocean we had a great 
 storm, which lasted three days and two nights; 
 the captain thought we were in great danger of 
 being driven upon certain rocks. So great was 
 the violence of the storm that the hatches had 
 to be closed, and we had no light but that of a 
 lam[) hung to the ceiling. There was much 
 noise and confusion, there being many passen- 
 gers on board ; but I lay me down in peace, 
 having no fear, for I was truly resigned and 
 content. The captain, apprehending danger, 
 came down and told tiie people to be still, for 
 he knew not but we might be swallowed up in 
 a short time in the great deep. This greatly 
 
14 
 
 MEMOIR OF 
 
 alarmed them, and [many of them] fell down 
 upon their knees, each one praying after his 
 manner; some to the Virgin Mary, some to 
 St. Joseph, and to other saints as they called 
 them ; but these things did not move me, for I 
 was favored with a sure confidence that we 
 would not ha swallowed up by the ocean, and 
 that not a soul would be lost. About eleven 
 o'clock at night the storm suddenly abated, 
 the winds were rebuked and were still. The 
 captain came down and said, ^ Be of good cheer, 
 we are safe!' I tell this to the praise of my 
 Heavenly Father, because he fulfilled his word 
 to me. I wish all would put their trust in 
 him, for he will fulfil his word to all that do, 
 in true humility, put their trust in him.'' 
 
 He was not in the way of speaking of him- 
 self, or of the things he had seen in the visions 
 of light, otherwise than in humility; for they 
 who follow Christ in the regeneration and live 
 under the government of his Spirit, know in 
 whom their strength lieth, and all their springs 
 to be in him. Weeping may endure for a 
 night, but joy cometh in the morning, as was 
 verified in the following incident of his life, 
 given in his own words, viz. : ^' After I came 
 to this country and was living on a little place, 
 
HENRY ROBBERMAN. 
 
 15 
 
 while it was yet in the woods, I was very 
 loDely ; no one living with me but a young 
 man who had been one of my scholars in Ger- 
 many. It was a time of trial to me, being a 
 stranger in a strange land. One evening I 
 went into my little chamber and lay me down 
 on my bed, and falling asleep I had a dream 
 or vision; I saw a bright light wdiich filled 
 my chamber, and I saw the appearance of a 
 man clothed in a long white robe. I believed 
 it was the Lord Jesus Christ. He came to 
 me and said, ^ What shall I do for thee?' and 
 I said, ' Lord, that I may cleave unto thee.' 
 He then said, ' Xo man shall pluck thee out 
 of my hand.' And I believed he would do as 
 he said, and not suffer anything to pluck me 
 out of his hand, but would keep me in hum- 
 bleness and resignation, blessed be his worthy 
 name forever." 
 
 A dream he once had was written down at 
 his relation of it, as follows : " I dreamed I was 
 standing in a great wide field, and I saw^ in my 
 dream a great building in the midst of the 
 field ; the building was four square, as wide as 
 it was long, and the height Avas the same as 
 the breadth ; the length, and breadth, and 
 height were the same. The building was as 
 
16 
 
 MEMOIR OF 
 
 it were of stone, very smooth and beautiful to 
 * look upon. A great multitude I saw standing 
 round about, and looking upon this building 
 with great admiration. I saw in it an open 
 door, and when I saw I went in to see what 
 was inside. There I saw another building of 
 the same shape as the outward building, but 
 smaller. On the four corners I saw four trees, 
 one on each corner, very green and beautiful, 
 and the branches reached one to the other, 
 round about. On the inside of the outer wall 
 were benches or seats, and on these sat a few 
 persons, some three or four women and two or 
 three men, although there were so many on the 
 outside. On this inner building I saw the 
 likeness of a man clothed with a long white 
 robe, who walked round about on the top of 
 the building. I could not see his face, for the 
 branches of the trees hid it from my view ; but 
 I heard him proclaim in a voice so sweet and 
 melodious as I never in my life heard before ; 1 
 cannot describe it. The voice proclaimed, ' My 
 sheep hear my voice and they follow me.' I 
 have many times remembered this dream and 
 the great building, which so fitly represents an 
 outward profession, in which people come not 
 into the inner temple. And when I came into 
 
HENRY ROBBERMAN. 
 
 17 
 
 it I found so few; so true it is, many are called 
 but few are chosen. Oh, I much desire that 
 all my dear friends may make their calling 
 and election sure." 
 
 He was greatly desirous that Friends might 
 be preserved, as he expressed it, in the clean 
 doctrine of Jesus Christ, and not look after the 
 wisdom and prudence of men, but to the true 
 Teacher. " This is life eternal, to know thee, 
 the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom 
 thou hast sent for it is not enough to have 
 a mere belief of God and of Jesus Christ by 
 the letter, but we must know him by his 
 Spirit. " I am very sorrowful,'^ said he, " that 
 we are so divided ; we came together as the 
 people of God; but our hearts are divided. 
 There is too much of the world, and not 
 enough of the love of God amongst us. I want 
 my dear Friends to know the difference be- 
 tween the love of God and the love of this world. 
 The love of God is sweet, and overcomes the 
 love of the icorld ; it teaches us to love our 
 neighbors as ourselves; by it we will do good 
 to our neighbor. When this love is in us we 
 cannot speak evil of our neighbor, our brother 
 or sister, or do them any harm in any way. 
 The love of the world is not so, for the world 
 2 
 
18 
 
 MEMOIR OP 
 
 loveth its own ; it loveth according to its inter- 
 ests, but when contrary to its interests it 
 changeth. Oh! my dear friends, I wish we 
 might remember what the Lord Jesus has done, 
 and what he has commanded. He went about 
 doing good, and said: new commandment 
 I give unto you, that ye love one another; 
 even as I have loved you, that ye also love 
 one another. By this shall all men know that 
 ye are my disciples, if ye have love one unto 
 another.^ When the penitent prodigal son 
 was returning to his father's house, how did his 
 father do? Did he upbraid him, and tell him 
 he had done very wrong; that he had wasted 
 all his living? Oh! no; but when he was a 
 great way olf his father saw him, and had com- 
 passion on him, and ran and fell on his neck 
 and kissed him. He did not upbraid him, but 
 said to the servants. Bring hither the best robe 
 and put it on him, and put a ring on his finger 
 and shoes on his feet, and bring hither the 
 fatted calf and kill it, and let us rejoice, for 
 this my son was dead, and is alive again, was 
 lost, and is found. So here we see, in this para- 
 ble, the great love and compassion of our 
 Heavenly Father towards poor fallen man, 
 how compassionate towards the returning peni- 
 tent sinner.'' 
 
HENRY ROBBERMAN. 
 
 19 
 
 This dear friend often dwelt on the import- 
 ance of being brought under the influence of 
 Divine love, and in a letter to his friends in 
 Germany, thus wrote, "The love of God, the 
 Divine love which is shed abroad in ray heart, 
 constraineth me to do this, for by experience I 
 know it to be true what the Apostle saitli, 
 without this Divine love or charity all the 
 wisdom of man is vain, for this is the bond of 
 perfectness ; but when this love dwelLs in us, 
 we come to feel our hearts changed, and that 
 they have become soft and tender to all men, 
 and even to the beasts too. And we come to 
 feel it for all men as for ourselves ; the spirit 
 of usury is cast out, and the sweet love of God 
 fills us with gladness and joy, and we come to 
 sing psalms in our heart ; yes, in this situation 
 we will know God aright, for without this love 
 we cannot know him aright. Oh, how sweet 
 is this Divine love ! Whosoever has felt it 
 will desire more and more to feel it. It is true 
 what the Apostle John saith, ' God is love, and 
 whosoever abideth in love abideth in God, 
 and God in him.' Oh, my dear friends, how 
 happy is that man who has become the temple 
 of God (and is brouglit thus to experience) ; 
 for (in) this is the true knowledge of God, and 
 
20 
 
 MEiMOIR OF 
 
 of Jesus Christ ; and (in) this is eternal life; 
 (in) this is that new name which no man 
 knoweth, save he Avho receiveth it; (in) this 
 is that new birth which is not only a new con- 
 fession, but a new and clean heart. But oh, 
 the tongues of men and angels are not able to 
 utter or declare the glorious love of God. It 
 is my sincere wish that we may all become 
 partakers of this glorious love, that we may 
 come to deny ourselves, for without this denial 
 we cannot receive this love and this new 
 name; but if we are willing to deny ourselves, 
 then God is willing and gracious to help us.^^ 
 About ten years before his death, after 
 having been at a Quarterly Meeting, held at 
 Pennsville, Ohio, he said, Soon after taking 
 my seat, all within me was brought into great 
 stillness, such as I never before felt, when a 
 voice sounded in my inward ear as plainly as 
 I ever heard a voice with my outward ear, 
 ' My son, thy sins are forgiven thee.' This 
 made me tremble, and my whole frame was 
 shaken. After awhile I was gathered into 
 the same stillness as before, and the same voice 
 saluted my inward ear, ' My son, be comforted, 
 thy sins are forgiven thee.' Again my frame 
 was shaken, and all witiiin me was brought 
 
HENRY ROBBERMAN. 
 
 21 
 
 into silent admiration, when the same voice 
 repeated, ' My son, be comforted, thy sins are 
 forgiven thee, and no man shall be able to 
 pluck thee out of my hand.' " This he related 
 in humility, evidently realizing in simplicity 
 so great a mercy. After this the enemy pre- 
 vailed not with his temptations, and he ap- 
 peared to enjoy a foretaste of heaven while in 
 the body ; and his assurance of a blessed im- 
 mortality was so full that divers times he was 
 heard to say, " The enemy has no power to 
 take me from my Father's hand." 
 
 The apostle James, rich in faith, and a 
 scribe deeply instructed unto the kingdom 
 of heaven,'' in writing to the twelve tribes 
 then scattered abroad, uses this language, 
 " The prayer of faith shall save the sick, and 
 
 the Lord shall raise him up Confess 
 
 your faults one to another, and pray one for 
 another that ye may be healed. The effectual, 
 fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth 
 much." (Jas. 5: 15, 16.) A circumstance 
 worthy of mention in the life of Henry Rob- 
 berman is strikingly corroborative of the 
 apostle's faith as above set forth, and shows 
 moreover that it still remains a truth that the 
 Lord's hand is not shortened that it cannot 
 
22 
 
 MEMOIR OF 
 
 save, neither his ear grown heavy that it 
 cannot hear, although there be many whose 
 iniquities separate between them and their 
 God, and because of whose sins he may hide 
 his face from them. 
 
 The circumstance alluded to was substan- 
 tially as follows : A neighbor was suddenly 
 taken extremely ill, with the loss of his reason, 
 so as to require the assistance of several men 
 to restrain him, and he remained in a sad con- 
 dition for some time, insomuch that arrange- 
 ments were being made to take him to an 
 asylum; but belbrc they were carried into 
 effect he was suddenly restored to health and 
 to his usual state of mind, and so reuiained. 
 
 His restoration occurred one Sixth Day, 
 about the eleventh hour in the day. 
 
 Some months after this, Henry Robberman 
 being at a neighbor's house, the restored man 
 came in, but was not recognized by H. R., 
 whose sight was dim. When opportunity 
 offered in another room, he inquired of a 
 friend present, who it was that came. On 
 being told, he replied, " I did not know it was 
 he," and added, I will tell thee something. 
 Thou knowest he was deranged or crazy. Well 
 I was exceedingly sorry for this; I was sorry 
 
HENRY ROBBER xM AN. 
 
 23 
 
 for his wife and children, and I was sorry for 
 him too, and on a Sixth Day I was out in the 
 clearing, cutting w^ood, when my heart was 
 filled with compassion. I laid down my axe 
 and sat down upon a log, and prayed in my 
 heart that the Lord would heal him; and the 
 answer came so siceef, will heal him this 
 same hour;' and I believed the Lord would do 
 as he said." This was about the eleventh 
 hour, and that afternoon he heard of the res- 
 toration at the hour mentioned. Henry 
 further said, " I am thankful that I have lived 
 to this day, and that the Lord heard my 
 prayer.'^ Under a Christian feeling of humility 
 and gratitude, he did not wish it told, but 
 said, " Give the Lord all the praise." He Avas 
 truly one of those little ones unto whom the 
 Lord in condescension sees meet, at seasons, to 
 unfold his secrets, hid from the wise and pru- 
 dent of this world, but revealed unto babes in 
 Christ. 
 
 During the last few years of his life he 
 passed through much pain and exercise of 
 body and mind, yet it was evident that the 
 Lord's sustaining hand was near to strengthen 
 and support him. He often spoke of the 
 inward sweetness, peace, and comfort the 
 
24 MEMOIR OF HENRY ROBBERMAN. 
 
 Lord was pleased to afford him in his afflic- 
 tion, being renewedly favored with the consol- 
 ing assurance of the gracious promise, which 
 for some years had been sealed to him, '^Thou 
 art mine, I have redeemed thee, and no man 
 shall be able to pluck thee out of my hand/' 
 
 To some who visited him in his last illness 
 he imparted good counsel, desiring them, in a 
 lively and impressive manner, to keep to an 
 inward watchfulness, and mind the will of 
 God. At parting he expressed his love to 
 them, and signified his readiness to go at any 
 time the Lord might be pleased to take him. 
 
 The day he died, two Friends went to see 
 him, and found him, though evidently near 
 his end, bright and clear in his memory and 
 understanding. He uttered many comfortable 
 expressions, among which was, " I desire to 
 depart and be with Christ, which is far better, 
 but not my will, but the will of God be done." 
 
 In the evening, after taking some refresh- 
 ment, he said, "Now I shall soon be gone;" 
 and at half-past six (on the sixth of Sixth 
 Month, 1860) he passed quietly away, as one 
 going into a sweet sleep, in the eighty-seventh 
 year of his age; and was interred on the eighth, 
 in Friends' burying-ground at Chesterfield, in 
 Morgan County, Ohio. 
 
MEMOIR 
 
 OF 
 
 THOMAS WARING, 
 
 LATE OF WEST XOTTIXGHAM, CECIL CO., 
 MARYLA^^D. 
 
 WITH SOME REFERENCE TO HIS ANCESTRY. 
 
 IxASMLXH as the memory of the just is 
 blessed," I have believed it would be right to 
 place in a form for preservation some account 
 of my father's pilgrimage through time, with 
 reference to his concern to obtain a treasure 
 more lasting and surpassing in value gold 
 that perisheth ; peradventure it may prove an 
 incentive to some, especially of his descendants, 
 to walk by the same rule, and to be mindful 
 of the same things, that they like him may in 
 the end lay down their heads in peace. 
 
 Thomas AVaring was the son of Joseph and 
 3 
 
26 
 
 MEMOIR OF 
 
 Mary Waring, and was born in tlie county of 
 Wexforcl, Ireland, on tlie tenth day of Twelfth 
 Month, 1754. He was of the third generation 
 in lineal descent from Joseph Waring, of that 
 place, who was convinced of the truth as pro- 
 fessed by those then in derision called Quakers, 
 in or about the year 1690, received a gift in 
 the ministry, and was an example of meekness 
 and self-denial. He was careful for his chil- 
 dren and grandchildren, of whom he had many, 
 endeavoring by example and precept to bring 
 them up in the nurture and admonition of the 
 Lord. 
 
 He died in a good old age, about the year 
 1744 or 1745. One of his children was named 
 Joseph, of whom it is written by one of liis 
 descendants, ^'Though he had no gift in the 
 ministry, he was a h^ver of truth, and was 
 careful to inculcate it into the minds of his 
 offspring, of which I am a witness. 
 
 " The lively remembrance of some of his 
 many solemn opportunities with me in private, 
 even when very young, reduces my mind to a 
 state of humble reverence and contrition at the 
 writing hereof.^' 
 
 He was married to Elizabeth Grandy, 
 daughter of John Grandy, of the same county. 
 
THOMAS WARING. 
 
 27 
 
 about the year 1722, who appears to have been 
 a woman of acknowledged piety. 
 
 Among the records of the Monthly Meeting 
 of that county, of which she was a member, 
 was found the following account of her decease : 
 "Elizabeth Waring departed this life the sixth 
 day of Second Month, 1740. She was of an 
 innocent life and conversation, and bore testi- 
 mony several times in her sickness that the 
 Lord had often favored her with his Divine 
 presence, and that she then felt him near, to 
 her great comfort. And about two hours 
 before she drew her last breath, she sensibly 
 said to a Friend whom she loved dearly, that 
 the Lord was good unto her, and that the 
 peace and sweetness which she then enjoyed 
 was beyond what could be expressed in words. 
 And so she laid down her head in peace in the 
 Lord, and left a good savour behind her. She 
 was buried in Friends' burying-ground at 
 Raheen, aged just forty-two years. 
 
 Their son Josepli, my grandfather, was mar- 
 ried to Mary Oder, daughter of William and 
 Mary Oder, of Waterford, on the twenty -sev- 
 enth day of Tenth Month, 1747; and on the 
 twelfth day of Fifth Month, 1775, they sailed 
 for America with their family of five children, 
 
28 
 
 MEMOIR OF 
 
 and after a passage of seven weeks landed at 
 Baltimore on the first day of the Seventh 
 Month, and thence they reached Philadelphia 
 on the sixth of the same ; but removed to 
 Brick-Meeting-house, East [N'ottingham, in 
 Cecil County, Maryland, on the fourth of 
 Eleventh Month, in the same year, where he 
 continued his residence during life. 
 
 Although, like many others, too much of his 
 time may have been allowed to pass away 
 without due care in securing the pearl of great 
 price, yet he a[)pears to have been made some 
 use of in the Society ; and I find in my father's 
 handwriting the following account of his close: 
 
 " On the fifth day of the Ninth Month, 1789, 
 my dear father departed this life, after a short . 
 
 sickness Towards the latter part of his 
 
 time he was much altered for the better, being 
 often concerned with tenderness of heart to re- 
 deem the time; nearly the last he could be 
 understood to say was, that he felt easy in his 
 mind." 
 
 In his son William's handwriting is found a 
 more extended account, thus : " Because thine 
 heart was tender, and thou hast humbled thy- 
 self before the Lord, when thou heardst what 
 I spake against this place, and against the in- 
 
THOMAS WARING. 
 
 29 
 
 habitants thereof, that they should become a 
 desolation and a curse, and rent thy clothes, 
 and wept before me ; I also have heard thee, 
 saith the Lord. Behold, therefore, I will gather 
 thee unto thy fathers, and thou slialt be gath- 
 ered into thy grave in peace." (2d Kings, 22 : 
 19, 20.) ''Joseph Waring, of East Notting- 
 ham, who departed this life on the fifth of the 
 Ninth Month, 1789, in the 64th year of his 
 age, was the son of Joseph and Elizabeth 
 \Yaring, of Wexford County, Ireland. He was 
 religiously educated by his pious parents in 
 the profession of the truth as held by the peo- 
 ple called Quakers. Even in the days of his 
 youth he was made sensible that whatsoever 
 doth make manifest is light; by the secret il- 
 luminations of which he saw and approved the 
 things which are excellent. Yet, having ex- 
 perienced that although the spirit indeed was 
 willing, the flesh was weak, he was at times 
 humbly contrited, under a sense of his own 
 insufficiency, and had to sing not only of judg- 
 ment but also of mercy. 
 
 ''Towards the latter part of his life he 
 was more and more strengthened to keep 
 covenant from things which perish with the 
 using. SoQie solid Friends, who repeatedly 
 
30 
 
 MEMOIR OF 
 
 visited him during his last illness (which was 
 short), and were present at the solemn time of 
 his departure, as well as his nearest connec- 
 tions, have the satisfactory belief that he is gone 
 to rest in endless peace ; and it appeared by the 
 kind attention of his friends and neighbors in 
 general that they bore him a respectful regard." 
 
 My father, Thomas Waring, cherished a 
 grateful sense of his parents' care over him 
 while he was young; even when past the me- 
 ridian of life he referred to it, and to the ten- 
 derness which he was brought under at seasons 
 when they would have their family collected, 
 and read to them portions of the Scripture, 
 sometimes followed by tender and affectionate 
 counsel to their children. A mother's tears on 
 some of these occasions had a reachino^ effect 
 that remained with freshness in his remem- 
 brance. 
 
 His opportunities for education were limited. 
 He had access to school perhaps less than three 
 months, and when there, was made a subject of 
 ridicule for using the plain language; but by 
 application at home he advanced himself suf- 
 ficiently for the ordinary business of life. 
 
 From his account, he was much exposed in 
 boyhood to rude and unprofitable company, 
 
THOMAS WARING. 
 
 31 
 
 in which the use of the plain language elicited 
 scoffs and sneers not easy for human nature to 
 endure ; yet even at this period he was led into 
 serious reflections on the subject, and brought 
 to believe that if he did not bear the cross and 
 be faithful to his impressions of duty in this 
 respect, he would not groW' in religious expe- 
 rience; and when he gave up thereto he felt 
 peace. 
 
 He has been heard to refer to the effect which 
 the counsel of his older brother had upon him 
 in these times of exposure. In a letter to his 
 brother's widow he refers to their boyhood 
 thus : ^' The many o})portunities he took with 
 me when we were boys together, and the ten- 
 derness of his spirit at such times, made a deep 
 impression on my mind, and was, I believe, 
 a great means of preserving me from running 
 into many hurtful things that I otherwise 
 might have done. His concern for me was 
 great, that I might not be content Avith a pro- 
 fession of the truth, or a plain appearance, 
 which I was brought up in ; but that it might 
 be my daily, frequent concern to feel after that 
 tenderness of mind, wherein living desires 
 might be raised in me for my own preserva- 
 tion." 
 
32 
 
 MEMOIR OF 
 
 He spent seven summers in the State of Del- 
 aware, farming on shares for Joseph Cham- 
 bers, on the east bank of Whiteclay Creek, 
 during which time, it is said, they differed but 
 once, and that was in dividing the last crop, 
 when each charged the other with not taking 
 enough. 
 
 During these seven years he spent the win- 
 ters with his parents at East Nottingham, 
 engaged at his trade of turning wooden ware, 
 a ware then in demand, and a business afford- 
 ing a profit. 
 
 It appears by the terms of the purchase of 
 his freehold estate at West Nottingham, that 
 he was to have possession of it on the first day 
 of Fourth Month, 1787; at which time it 
 seems most likely he took up his residence 
 upon it, and continued there the remainder of 
 his life, except a year or two on his first wife's 
 estate. 
 
 He was married, on the fifth of Ninth Month, 
 17i)8, to Jane Reynolds, widow of Levi Rey- 
 nolds, of AYest Nottingham, and daughter of 
 Thomas and Ann King, of Little Britain. 
 She was removed by death in less than a year 
 after their marriage. After her decease he 
 wrote a short testimony to her worth, to her 
 
THOMAS WARING. 
 
 33 
 
 example and counsel in life, and full resigna- 
 tion at the approach of death, which she ap- 
 peared to be looking for as near, " saying with 
 heartfelt sincerity, that she had no other con- 
 cern upon her mind but to be ready." 
 
 On the eleventh day of Eleventh Month, 
 1801, he was married to Rebecca Wilson, of 
 West Grove, Chester County, Pennsylvania, 
 daughter of Stephen and Martha Wilson, of 
 Bucks County. She survived him nearly twelve 
 years. In the decline of her life, as her bodily 
 strength abated, a mildness and serenity of 
 mind became more clearly conspicuous, inso- 
 much that under bodily sulFering and affliction 
 she was not heard to murmur, but evinced a 
 cheerfulness that fell as an evening sunshine 
 around her, and thus she passed quietly away 
 in her ninety-first year. 
 
 My father related a dream he had while a 
 resident at East Xottingham, wherein he saw 
 a cloud arise in the east, which, coming up and 
 spreading over, broke out into a storm and 
 swept away all the members from that meeting 
 but himself. And so it proved to be, that in 
 the threat commotion or storm that arose in the 
 east and spread over the Society, breaking out 
 into a division in 1827 and 1828, sweeping 
 
34 
 
 MEMOIR OF 
 
 many in its coursej none remained with him 
 in support of the testimonies of Friends on 
 primitive ground, who at the time of this 
 dream were members of that meeting. 
 
 He also related a dream he had, as I under- 
 stood him, in the early part of his residence at 
 West Nottingham, in wdiich he and another 
 Friend were in the meeting-house, and seeing 
 the Great Deceiver of men make his appear- 
 ance and attempt to enter, he said to the other 
 Friend, Now, Samuel, we are young and 
 strong, and if we cannot keep him out who 
 can ?" And to wrestling with him they went, 
 and after a time succeeded in getting him out 
 and shutting the door against him; but pres- 
 ently they saw him at the window effecting an 
 entrance there. With much exertion they pre- 
 vailed in keeping him back and fastening the 
 windows, thinking they now had him mastered 
 and were secure ; but soon they perceived him 
 entering at the door through the keyhole, and 
 here the dream ended — significant (shall we 
 not say ?) not only of our great need of wrest- 
 ling against him and striving for the mastery, 
 but also of being continually on the watch lest 
 he find entrance through some small and un- 
 looked-for opening, and take secretly a seat 
 
THOMAS WARING. 
 
 35 
 
 within. The more he finds place within, the 
 more power he sways there, and accordingly 
 the more our power weakens to resist him. 
 
 Probably about the year 1803, being en- 
 gaged as executor in settling an estate, h"fe be- 
 came defendant in a suit that required his 
 attendance at court; and not being free to com- 
 ply with the custom of taking off the hat in 
 honor to man, it was several times taken from 
 his head by an officer of the court. One day, 
 on entering the court-room, and remaining in 
 diffidence by the door, he saw the crier arise 
 from his seat and come directly towards him, 
 and supposed his hat was about to be taken ; 
 but instead of this the crier placed his hand 
 upon him and queried, " Are you a real 
 Quaker?'' T. W. replied, "I profess to be 
 one." Crier: "If you are a real Quaker, you 
 may keep on your hat." T. W. : " By what 
 authority dost thou give me that informa- 
 tion ?" Crier : The court has taken it into 
 consideration, and concluded that real Quakers 
 may keep on their hats." Then turning to a 
 member, not always true to our profession, he 
 added, ''But you shall take your hat off." 
 
 From this circumstance my father thought 
 himself the first person admitted to remain in 
 
86 
 
 MEMOIR OF 
 
 I 
 
 the Elkton court with his hat on, and felt a 
 secret satisfaction and reward in having stead- 
 fastly adhered to the testimony of truth, in- 
 stead of playing the coward in this respect, 
 and believed he did not lose the respect of the 
 court in this adherence. 
 
 Several persons being one day together and 
 conversing, among other things, upon the hon- 
 esty of men, one of the company advanced a 
 doubt whether there were any strictly honest 
 men in the community; when a Presbyterian 
 spoke up and said, "There is one honest man 
 in the neighborhood. T. W. is an honest man; 
 he sold a farm for more than he gave, and 
 divided the surplus with the widow of the 
 man of whom the farm was obtained. 
 
 The same Presbyterian, on another occasion, 
 remarked that T. W. was the only Quaker 
 he ever knew ; all the rest dabbled in politics 
 a little, but T. W. never meddled.'^ He en- 
 deavored through life to keep out of the heats 
 and commotions attendant on political strife, 
 believing these to have a tendency to retard a 
 growth in best things ; that true Friends are 
 called with a better calling; and that it is in- 
 cumbent upon them to mind their calling, and 
 to endeavor to know their own election, through 
 
THOMAS WARING. 
 
 37 
 
 grace, to be made sure, Jerusalem to be a 
 quiet habitation, a tabernacle that shall not be 
 taken down, — a place of broad rivers and 
 streams, wherein shall go no galley with oars, 
 neither gallant ship pass thereby. 
 
 Having filled the position of overseer for 
 some years, he remarked after his release, that 
 in looking oyer his care and labors under that 
 appointment, he found but one thing to regret, 
 which was a failure to take an opportunity 
 with a member older than himself, whom he 
 overheard in the use of some hasty and un- 
 becoming expressions. 
 
 After his appointment to the station of 
 Elder, probably at the first select meeting 
 which he attended, in answering the query in 
 regard to the ministry, the sentiment was ad- 
 vanced that a minister on a certain occasion 
 had extended a communication too long. He 
 had been present on that occasion, and had 
 received the latter part of the commnnication 
 as a gospel message to himself, and therefore 
 could own it as in the truth. This led him to 
 be cautious, seeing the great need of being deep 
 and weighty in judging of the ministry. 
 
 After the separation which took place here 
 in 1828, a few Friends, in addition to himself 
 
38 
 
 MEMOIR OF 
 
 and family, essaying to adhere to the primitive 
 doctrines and testimonies of Friends, it seemed 
 befitting that these should meet together, aside 
 from counter influence, and in unity, for divine 
 worship. Accordingly the meeting was held 
 at his house from the 15th day of Eighth 
 Month, 1830, until the meeting-house was 
 built on the southern part of his land, near 
 the place now called Colora, to which the 
 meeting was moved in the fall of the year 
 1841. The last time he wrote his name was 
 in signing a deed of conveyance for the ground 
 on which the meeting-house stands. 
 
 His view^s and feelings in regard to this 
 meeting, and our meetings in general, appear 
 to be in measure set forth in a letter to a friend 
 under date of Eighth Month, 15th, 1830, 
 thus: *^For thy satisfaction I may inform thee, 
 the subject hinted at in thy letter, of sitting 
 in our own house in order for worship, has 
 been a subject of considerable thoughtfulness 
 to me, for fear we should not be able to hold 
 meetings to the honor of him whom we profess 
 to worship, and to the promotion of the good 
 cause. However, in much fear, for the first 
 time we have attended it to-day, with a pros- 
 pect of continuing to hold meetings for wor- 
 
THOMAS WARING. 
 
 39 
 
 ship on first and fifth days, if we may be 
 fiivored to get along to our OAvn and friends' 
 satisfaction My great concern for my- 
 self and for all who profess to adhere to and 
 siippvort the ancient principles of the Society 
 [is, that we] may be truly alive in the prin- 
 ciple.; that we might manifest it to be the case 
 by our exemplary lives, conduct, and conver- 
 sation ; but I fear there are too many, even of 
 those alluded to, that dwell too much in the 
 outward court ; that are too destitute of those 
 spiritual feelings and qualifications that would 
 suitably qualify to labor advantageously in 
 the promotion of the cause of truth and right- 
 eousness That thou and I may be so es- 
 tablished on that foundation that standeth 
 sure, that neither heights nor depths, princi- 
 palities nor powers, things present nor yet to 
 come, may ever be able to separate us from the 
 love of God shed abroad in our hearts by 
 Christ Jesus our Lord, is what I crave at this 
 time.'' 
 
 Abiding under a concern for the deepening 
 of the Society, and its preservation on the an- 
 cient foundation, he soon became uneasy with 
 "something he saw springing up, at first like 
 small innovations in doctrine, which lie could 
 
40 
 
 MEMOIR OF 
 
 not own or feel in the root of life ; something 
 which he feared was not duly restrained, and 
 must, therefore, like the letting out of waters, 
 run and spread, and carry the incautious on 
 its glittering surface ; and for this he saw no 
 remedy but in faithfulness and a return to first 
 principles. 
 
 He was a kind and tender parent, desirous 
 of restraining those under his care from hurt- 
 ful company, that might draw them away into 
 estrangement from a love for the truth. He 
 mostly collected his family, on first day after- 
 noons, reading or having read portions of 
 Scripture or other religious matter, closing 
 with a suitable pause and impressive quiet, 
 not unfrequently accompanied with tender and 
 reaching counsel like unto sowing good seed, 
 to spring up in due time if properly cherished; 
 and I trust his labor w^as not all bestowed in 
 vain. 
 
 His labors in the Church were sound and 
 instructive. He frequently, in meetings for 
 discipline, cautioned Friends to this effect, that 
 they dwell in the life, and that they guard 
 against getting along in too easy a manner, or 
 in an unconcerned way, living as it were with- 
 out God in the world ; but that they labor to 
 
THOMAS WARING. 
 
 41 
 
 keep open those avenues by which we may 
 approach the Almighty, breathing unto him 
 for mercy and for preservation. He also re- 
 minded Friends that each must do the work for 
 himself. No man can redeem his brother or 
 give to God a ransom for him, but each must 
 work out his own soul's salvation with fear 
 and trembling before the Lord. And he 
 further called upon the youth, with tender 
 entreaty, to come up in a living consistency 
 with the profession we are making ; giving it 
 as his belief that much growth in grace and 
 religious experience Avould not be witnessed by 
 them until those outward marks of disciple- 
 ship, which characterized our early Friends, 
 plainness of speech, behavior, and apparel, be 
 put on and kept to. He also appealed to pa- 
 rents on their behalf, saying that great respon- 
 sibility must rest upon them, to train up their 
 tender offspring in the way they should go, 
 that when they are old they may not depart 
 from it. He not unfrequently alluded to the 
 importance of becoming more and more alive 
 in the truth, especially the younger members, 
 that they might thereby be qualified to become 
 true and faithful standard-bearers, ready to 
 take the places of those who have borne the 
 4 
 
42 
 
 MEMOIR OF 
 
 burden and heat of the day, when these shall 
 be removed from works to rewards. 
 
 It would appear from a remark made in 
 conversation with a pious neighbor, that he 
 sometimes (we know not how often) retired to 
 some secluded place, with his mind turned in- 
 ward, and with breathings of spirit to the 
 Father of mercies for help and for preserva- 
 tion, and that he had found these to be seasons 
 of Divine favor. 
 
 He spoke on more occasions than one, in his 
 family, of the importance of being prepared 
 for our solemn change, when the pale messen- 
 ger shall be sent to our houses, saying : " You 
 will then be left without excuse. In health is 
 the time to prepare for death, and the sooner 
 we begin the easier will the work be; it is 
 dangerous to put it off; saying, ^Go thy way 
 for this time, when I have a more convenient 
 season I will call for thee.^ Such season may 
 never come. Oh that you may close in with 
 the offers of his mercy ! We know not that 
 another day may be ours. The Lord loves an 
 early sacrifice : ^ I love them that love me, and 
 those that seek me early shall find me.' " 
 
 In the latter part of his life a solicitude was 
 manifested for his grandchildren, that they 
 
THOMAS WARING. 
 
 43 
 
 might be broiiglit up in tlie fear of the Lord, 
 and be favored to overcome the many evils 
 that abound in the world. 
 
 As his outward man grew weaker, the staid- 
 ness of his mind and of his countenance indi- 
 cated that he had a staff to lean on, a rock to 
 stand upon, even that rock whence water has 
 issued in all ages for the refreshment of the 
 thirsty traveller Zionward, and of which the 
 righteous are given to partake and realize as 
 water springing up into everlasting life. 
 
 At this period his mind was much weaned 
 from the world and its fading enjoyments, he 
 having been careful to seek first the kingdom 
 of God and his righteousness as his most 
 highly prized treasure. He was heard to say 
 that his greatest concern was to live so as to 
 be prepared to die, and this being evinced by 
 the calmness and serenity of his countenance, 
 it was no doubt such an evidence that induced 
 a neighbor, of another religious persuasion, to 
 say that " he would not giv^e the peace of mind 
 which T. AV. felt for all the satisfaction and 
 comfort of a distinguished minister" who was 
 then attracting large crowds of hearers. 
 
 A few years before his decease he was re- 
 duced quite low with dysentery, insomuch that 
 
44 
 
 MEMOIR OP 
 
 his recovery was thought doubtful. One day 
 being asked how he was, he repb'ed^ I con- 
 sider it a great favor, when the body is labor- 
 ing under disease, that the mind is easy, per- 
 fectly easy; nothing in the way/' And on 
 several kinds of nourishment being proposed, 
 he declined any, saying " I believe patience is 
 best. I desire the Almighty may furnish me 
 with patience to hold out to the end.'' 
 
 At another time he said : The way the dis- 
 ease is working, I think it more likely that I 
 will not get well than that I will, and I sup- 
 pose will be spoken to to make my cof- 
 fin; I wish it to be plain — entirely plain." In 
 the evening, being asked by a neighbor if his 
 mind was composed, he replied, Entirely so ; 
 nothing in the way." 
 
 Sitting by him one morning, he said to the 
 writer : " I often feel desirous for thee, that 
 thou mayest not get along in too easy, uncon- 
 cerned a way; it is an easy matter to make a 
 plain appearance, attend meetings, and so; all 
 this is right and proper in its place; but I often 
 feel desirous for thee, that thou mayest not con- 
 tent thyself short of coming to an experimental 
 knowledge of the truth. What signifies all the 
 world, to peace of mind at such a time as this? 
 
THOMAS WARINa. 
 
 45 
 
 If I could have the whole world, I would not 
 take it for the peace of mind I now feel ; it is 
 inexpressible. I feel desirous that thou ma vest 
 not mingle in politics. If thou dost, I believe 
 it will tend to poverty. I remember years ago, 
 when I was called upon to attend court at Elkton 
 and other places, I was careful to do nothing 
 that would reflect upon the truth, and I be- 
 lieve I was more respected than any Friend that 
 departed from our testimonies/^ At one time 
 a friend expressed to him a desire that he 
 might get well, to which he replied, I do 
 not hope so." And again he referred to the 
 meeting then held at his house, manifesting a 
 desire that it should be held in the authority 
 of truth. Many other weighty expressions were 
 dropped by him during this illness, but not 
 being noted down at the time, are not now re- 
 membered with sufficient clearness to record. 
 
 Although in Inscrutable Wisdom he was 
 raised from this bed of sickness, yet another 
 affliction soon followed, which gradually in- 
 creased until his dissolution. Some years be- 
 fore, something like a cancer had made its 
 appearance on the under lip, which for a time 
 seemed to be cured, and continued so for sev- 
 eral years, but afterwards made its appearance 
 
46 
 
 MEMOIR OF 
 
 again, becoming very serious ; and although 
 not, in general, accompanied with acute pain, 
 yet there was a continual sensation of uneasi- 
 ness in the part affected, and in the latter part 
 of the time accompanied with oppression at the 
 breast, through which he was remarkably pa- 
 tient, calm, and serene, often saying he "con- 
 sidered himself wonderfully favored, not to 
 have more pain." 
 
 He now appeared as one whose work was 
 done, and who was quietly waiting to be gath- 
 ered, as a shock of corn fully ripe in its season, 
 to the garner of rest. He desired his friends 
 not to grieve for him, saying he had lived to a 
 greater age than many, and had had many 
 baptizing seasons to pass through, but in look- 
 ing back to his past life he saw no cause to re- 
 flect on himself, except for some instances of 
 unfaithfulness, but he " believed he was entirely 
 forgiven,'^ and said that death was no terror to 
 him. 
 
 On sitting by him a few weeks before his 
 decease, he spoke thus : " I desire that thou 
 mayest be faithful ; I have been thinking a 
 good deal about it lately, and I desire that 
 thou mayest be faithful to what thou may ap- 
 prehend to be thy duty.'' 
 
THOMAS WARING. 
 
 47 
 
 Towards the last of his time he appeared 
 sensible that his end was drawing near, and 
 seeing his sister weep, he said there was no 
 cause for grief, it would be a happy, change for 
 him. 
 
 On the morning of the day of his departure 
 he intimated that he would not see another 
 night. Towards noon it became evident that 
 his close was near, and he seemed to desire the 
 presence of his family, who, with a few others, 
 gathered around him. Xot seeing his wife he 
 asked for her, and finding she was near him, 
 he appeared satisfied. His mind was now 
 drawn into supplication, but except the w^ords, 
 ^'Oh, Gracious Goodness," his expressions were 
 too low to be gathered. And thus, having 
 kept the faith, he finished his course in peace, 
 at noon, on fourth day, the 26th of First 
 Month, 1842, in the 88th year of his age.