Obituary of Rev. John THORNTON, Hardin County, Illinois Contributed for use in the USGenWeb Archives Copyright 1999 Wanda Reed Name of Deceased: Rev. John THORNTON Name of Newspaper: Hardin County Independent Date of Newspaper: 15 June 1911 Rev. John Thornton, a brief sketch of whose life I here attempt to give, was born in Morgan County, Tennessee, August 11, 1839 and died at his home in Elizabethtown, Illinois June 7, 1911, after an illness of several months, at the somewhat advanced age of 71, years, 9 months and 26 days. Embraced within the parenthesis of these dates was a life of earnest endeavor and unsullied honor, of high integrity and uprightness as a citizen of unestimable worth and usefulness as a minister of the Gospel to his community and to the county, and who has been crowned with a large measure of appreciation by an extensive acquaintence. He was born of poor parentage and came to this county when but two years old and grew to manhood as the average poor boy of that early day did, without any of the educational and social advantages enjoyed by the boys of today, and knew well what it was to be hampered by the hard lines of poverty At the age of twenty years he wooed and won the hand and heart of Miss Mary Ann Ledbetter, and their marriage was consummated June 2, 1859. To this union 10 children were born - namely: Rebecca, wife of Richard Birch, of this place; Doctor E., of Abeline, Texas; Martha, wife of W. D. Aaron of Peters Creek; Sidney, wife of G. W. Patrick, of Redland, Calif.; John A. of Cave-in-Rock; Willie C., deceased; Ida, wife of Clarence Shearer, of St. Petersburg, FL; Phoebe, deceased; Lou, (deceased) wife of Bryant Mason of Cave-in-Rock and Henry of Peters Creek. At an early age deceased began life for himself with no resources except a strong mind, good health, an indomitable will and a firm conviction that without honesty no other excellence, religious or otherwise, is worth anything. The battle of life with him was not an easy one. The prospect at the beginning was not bright, but his courageous soul knew no such word as fail. To succeed he had to grapple with and overcome many obstacles, not the least of which was extreme poverty. This he did, and not withstanding the fact that he contributed to the cause of Christianity more gratuitous, time and money than any other Hardin County man, living or died, and raised a large family in a respectable manner, he still had and left an ample living for his widow which will eventually go to the children. His aged widow deserves her full share of praise for their success in life for she was indeed and in truth a helpmate. The deceased professed faith in Christ in August 1860, and joined the Christian Church and remained a member of that congregation until 1868, when he united with the General Baptist Church at Rock Creek, and was ordained to the full work of the ministry by the presbytery of the Ohio Association Oct. 11, 1871, and for more than a quarter of a century no member of that Association rendered more faithful and efficient service for that denomination than he, often pastoring three churches at a time, some of them far from home, often necessitating great exposure to inclement weather to reach them. He believed that the foremost force in the progress and civilization of the world is the Christian religion, and that morality and the uplift of society is due to the dominance of Christian sentiment, and of standards of judgement created by it. He was a man of profound reverence, of unfaltering faith in God and implicit trust in His divine promises, and a firm believer in the immortality of the soul. And his daily life was ever consistent with and continuously emphasized his religious faith. No blot nor blur stained his manhood. Purity of life, rectitude of conduct, rigid integrity unstinted devotion to principle adorned his long and illustrious career. Verily, he has left behind him a good name and a record without blemish. Knowing him as I did and prepared as I am to speak truly of him, I wish to record of him what, after all, is the highest possible tribute, the grandest epitaph that can mark the last resting place of any of our race, the very best that friend living can say of friend dead. He was an honest and truthful man. A brief but impressive funeral service was held at the residence, conducted by the Brother Powis, the M. E. pastor, before the corpse was taken to Peters Creek where it found a last resting place. After a touching and fervent prayer by the M.E. pastor, and while the church bell tolled the crowd at the residence lined up on the front porch and sang "Nearer My God to Thee" as the casket containing the remains of our deceased friend and brother went out never more to return. It was indeed a sad and solemn scene. The corpse was taken to Peters Creek where the funeral proper was had, conducted by Revs. Joseph Stone and Jonas Spivey, who used as text the 37th verse of the 37th. Psalm. "Mark the perfect man, and behold the upright; for the end of that man is at peace." They paid a glowing tribute to the deceased as exemplified in all walks of life, and after others who desired to, had been permitted to speak a word of praise of the deceased, surrounded by those who loved him and whom he loved, all that was mortal of this good man was consigned to its last resting place amid the sobs of relatives and sympathizing friends. John A. 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