OBIT: Esther B. (STIFFLER) SELL, 1941, Martinsburg, Blair County, PA Contributed for use in the USGenWeb Archives by Michael S. Caldwell Copyright 2006. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://www.usgwarchives.net/pa/blair/ _______________________________________________ ANSWERS SUMMONS [photograph of subject MRS. ESTHER B. SELL DEATH SUMMONS ONE OF COUNTY'S OLDEST CITIZENS Mrs. Esther B. Sell, wife of Rev. James A. Sell, one of Blair county's oldest residents, died at 10.30 o'clock this morning at the Morrisons Cove home at Martinsburg, where she and her husband had made their home during the past two years. She had been in impaired health for several years, but nevertheless the final summons came suddenly. A native of Blair county, Mrs. Sell was born in the Loop, in Frankstown township, on April 3, 1847, and was thus nearing her 94th birthday anniversary. Her husband is almost two years her senior and they probably were the oldest wedded couple in the state, they having been married seventy-three years ago last autumn. Mrs. Sell was a daughter of Joseph and Mary Stiffler and she was a descendant of one of the county's pioneer families. She received her education in the public schools of her native district and before she had grown up the family moved to Canoe Creek and was living there when she was married to Mr. Sell on Oct. 19, 1867. The couple first went to housekeeping at McAlevys Fort in Huntingdon county, and they lived there for about two years, then they established a home at Leamersville, in Freedom township, and they lived there for fifty- two years. In 1922 they located in Hollidaysburg, where they lived for over sixteen years until the infirmities of age necessitated breaking up their home. Mrs. Sell was a member of the Church of the Brethren, of which her husband has been a minister since before their marriage. Throughout her life she was an indefatigable church and Sunday school worker, taking an active part in the work of the church, not only where she lived, but in its general activities. She was the mother of four sons. The youngest, the late Howard M. Sell, died on Feb. 13, 1938. The surviving sons are Matthew W. Sell of Roaring Spring, deputy prothonotary of Blair county, and Jesse C. and D. Elmer Sell, both of Altoona and member of the editorial staff of the Altoona Mirror. She is survived also by twenty-three grandchildren and a number of great- grandchildren. Mrs. Sell was one of eleven children of her parents and she is survived by one sister, Mrs. Sarah E. Metzker of Martinsburg, and two brothers, George R. Stiffler of Geeseytown and Abraham L. Stiffler of Canoe Creek, all of whom are past 80 years of age, the sister being past 90. Three of her brothers, William W., Harrison T. and Sylvanus L. Stiffler, served as soldiers in the Union army during the Civil war. In her later years Mrs. Sell's sight and hearing as well as her memory were greatly impaired, but she nevertheless enjoyed the companionship of her friends, retaining until the end of her life the bonds of friendship with innumerable persons with whom she was associated during the long and eventful life. Her marriage to a minister was a dedication of her life to religious work and she was a real helpmate to him throughout all the years of his active life. Her husband, despite his great age, is in very good health and his declining years have been devoted to tenderly caring for his invalid wife. hand-dated 2/11 SELL - Funeral services for Mrs. Esther B. (Stiffler) Sell will be conducted Friday afternoon at 2.30 o'clock in the Memorial Church of the Brethren in Martinsburg in charge of Rev. W. S. Long of Altoona, assisted by Rev. Tobias F. Henry of Roaring Spring and Rev. A.R. Coffman of Martinsburg. The body may be viewed at the Miller funeral parlors in Martinsburg any time before 10 o'clock Thursday morning, then in the chapel at the Morrisons Cove Home until Friday noon when the body will be taken to the church where it may be viewed until time of funeral. Friends are kindly asked to omit flowers. Interment will be in the Riverview cemetery at Leamersville. hand-dated 2/14 Blair County Genealogical Society, Archie Claar Collection of Obituaries, volume 24, p. 23-24, 1941 volume [Altoona Mirror, February 11, 1941]