My great-grand uncle John Wesley Rucker is buried in Elk Run Cemetery in
Elkton, Rockingham County, Virginia.
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| from Findagrave photo by Jan Hensley |
John W. Rucker
July 20, 1854
May 29, 1899
The open book on the headstone is representative of the
Bible, an appropriate feature for a man who must have been deeply religious as
suggested in his obituary.
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| sent to me by Linda Pruett Morgan |
IN MEMORIAN
In loving memory of John W. Rucker, who died May 29,
1899. The subject of this notice was a
son of Frank and Sarah Rucker, born July 20, 1854, and at the time of his death
was forty-four years, ten months and nine days old.
He left his home and family on May 1st for
Newport News, VA, where he obtained work in the Navy yard. He worked only a week when he was taken down
on a sick bed from which he never rose, although brought home and everything
that loving hands and kind friends could do was done to relieve his
sufferings. He died in three days after
he arrived home. Death had marked its
victim and nature had to yield to a Power stronger than man’s. While we are almost crushed with grief at the
loss of our dear one, we know of the beautiful possibility of his soul’s
salvation. Just a few hours previous to
his death he said, “The Lord is gathering in his sheaves,” and that he did not
fear the dreadful hour of death.
His funeral was preached by Rev. Black, taking for his
text Amos, fourth chapter and a part of the twelfth verse, “Prepare to meet thy
God.”
We laid him to rest in the new cemetery at Elkton, close
to father and mother, to await the resurrection day when we hope to meet and
clasp the hand of our dear one in the New Jerusalem.
Dear husband, you have left us,
Here our loss we deeply feel,
‘Tis God who has bereft us,
He can all our sorrows heal.
By
His Wife [Matilda Stockdell Rucker]
Furnace,
June 5, 1899
Just as the obituary indicates, nearby is John Wesley's mother
Sarah A. Herndon Rucker. However, there
is no tombstone for his father Frank.
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| from Findagrave photo by Jan Hensley |
Sarah A. Rucker
Died Mar. 19, 1893
Aged 61 years
What a shame he died so young.
ReplyDeleteIt is.
DeleteI love how detailed obituaries used to be.
ReplyDeleteMe too -- our newspaper charges by the line, so you'd have to be wealthy to afford such an obituary today.
DeleteI am without words =)
ReplyDeleteThat's a first.
DeleteSo terrible! I wonder what the cause of his death was. And there was no mention of surviving children in the obituary. Do you know if he and his wife were parents? Also, I wonder why there is no tombstone for his father Frank.
ReplyDeleteJohn and Mattie had two children: a daughter and son. Ironically, the daughter died at age 44 too.
DeleteI am just guessing that Frank probably had a tombstone at one time that has since been destroyed. Or maybe it was just a rock, who knows. He died just 9 years before John Wesley.
I always like how they state the years, months and days a person was alive in the obituary...when I created the program for my father-in-laws funeral I did the same.
ReplyDeleteRucker...that name could be a target these days!