BARKER, Martha - Fountain County INGenWeb Project

Died On October 16 1893, at her father 's residence in Millcreek township, three miles west of Yeddo, Martha, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. William Barker, aged 19 years 5 months and 13 days. If we were to go out into the flower garden to pluck flowers for a nice bouquet, we certainly should select the nicest and brightest that we could find.  Just so it has seemed to us, that when death enters a happy family of grown children, he too, selects the brightest and most loved one in a hitherto happy home.  Mr. Barker's family at this time consisted of himself, wife and three grown daughters, Mattie, Laura and Artie.  Death selected Mattie as being the fairest and best, and at the same time in the freshness of her womanhood she was plucked from father, mother, brother and sisters as ruthlessly as we would a nice flower. She is dead and gone from us; but her many acts of kindness to father and mother, brother and sisters and neighbors as well are left behind for us to imitate.  She had never made what some people call a profession of confession of religion. But her short life was pure and full of genuine honesty of purpose in everything she said or done. God is good, and does his work in a manner mysterious to us. Awhile before she died, she sang parts of three songs, as follows:  "Rest in God,":   "Let us walk in the Light" But her last and ever to be remembered was:  "We will journey together to Zion." This was sung about two minutes before death claimed her as his own, in a clear sweet voice.  Her last words spoken on Death were,  "I can't be here long,"  and a gentle smile lit up her countenance while saying this.   Her disease was typhoid fever, complicated with hemorrhage from the bowels and nervous exhaustion. All that kind and loving hands could do was cheerfully done for her, but all was of no avail, for about 21 days of severe sickness she succumbed to the inevitable. Thus another pure sweet life is ended, the same as blowing out a burning taper.  But did not Mattie leave "footprints on the sands of time," whi ch we can see and all, who knew her, be the better for her having lived among us ?  Certainly, this is so.  Her body was deposited by the side of her ancestors in Wolf Creek cemetery, where it will await the resurrection of the dead.