WILLIAM THEDFORD, Obituary, 1877, Smith County, TX

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Submitted by Mary Love Berryman - marylove@tyler.net
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The obituary of William Thedford 1877 is a copy of an original paper 
pasted in the Bible of William's son Pierson Thedford and is now owned 
by the Richard Coke Thedford family. Richard "Coke" is a great-
grandson of this William and William is buried at Seven Leagues Cemetery 
west of Noonday, Tx. - Wilma Thedford - wthed@tucomm.net

Seven Leagues, Oct. 30, '77 Edits Democrat and Reporter: Our community 
was startled and horrified on the 25th inst at the announcement of the
sudden and violent death of our esteem and venerable neighbor, William 
Thedford. As stated in the Tyler paper of the week then current, he 
was killed by the stroke of the tusk of a large and vicious hog, that 
he was trying to drive home by the aid of a dog. He must have been 
struck while in the act of either rising or falling, this supposition 
being, from appearances, that he became entangled and fell in some 
vines. He was cut in the left breast the wound being about seven 
inches in length, reaching and exposing the heart and crushing the
intervening bones. The deceased was born in Pendleton District South
Carolina, Nov. 15th 1803. He afterwards lived in Habersham county, Ga.,
thence moving to Walker county; in North west GA, of which county I
believe, he was once sherif. After a residence there for a number of 
years, he moved to Texas in 1851, settling first in Cherokee county, 
but subsequently in 1853 settled on the Seven Leagues in this county, 
where he remained until his death. He was married in early life to Miss 
Jane Satterfield, and raised a family of fourteen children, 12 of which 
number being sons, 10 of which are now living, and are orderly and 
peaceful citizens He joined the Enon Baptist church in 1853, and was 
baptized by Rev. John S. Bledsoe, and was ordained as a deacon in 1855. 
Although rather small of stature, he was endowed with wonderful 
physical vigor and stamina, being strong and active and a hard worker 
to the day of his death. Like the rest of us he had his peculiar 
failings, which in some degree marred the consistency of his external 
Christian life, but none mourned them as deeply as he. He possessed 
many noble qualities. The struggles and disappointments of life had 
neither soured or hardened him. He was full of the "charity which 
suffereth long and is kind." Whoever appealed to his heart or 
affection  received a warm and generous response.  The doctrine of 
salvation by  grace alone found in him an enthusiastic believer, and 
upon it he rested all his hopes of Heaven. On the evening of the 27th 
instant after appropriate ceremonies we committed his body to mother 
earth  until it shall come forth incorruptable and immortal in the 
resurection of the just. Neighbor