The daily gazette., 1882-07-29
A M ENTORIAL.
Tribute of Respect to the Late Mrs. Eliza
beth j. Pennington of Middletown.

1t was Of woman our Saviour said, ''she
hath done what she could" and of u
woman's work he also spoke ''Verily /
say unto you wheresoever this Gospel shall
be preached in the whole world, there shall
| also this, that this woman hath done, be told
| for memorial of her"
What could have been more beautiful and
fitting, and what less could the blessed
Saviour have said of woman! He was born
| of a woman. lie was followed by deyout
women. They wept for Him as He bore
| His cross. They confessed Him at Calvary.
They assisted at His burial. They got the
earliest tidings of His resurrection and one
Of them first beheld Him alive again
| Woman was most degraded b the fall.
'But Christ has pitied her condition and re-
moved Her burden, and wherever His
| gospel is received she, most of all, is
blessed. Christ has made woman's soul us
| valuable and her services as useful lis those
| of the stronger sex. y
And the history of Christianity affords
| many illustrious examples OF women who
have labored i'll the gospel The church
has had, in every age, her rriscillas
Phpbes, and DorcasHes who have been
eminently useful in the Saviour'e cause
| Paul said of Priscilla, "My helper in Christ
Jesus" and of Phoebe, "A Stlrclrrr of
Many" and of the beloved P,r,is, which,
"labored in the Lord" jesus said Of the
| woman who showed her love by her sacri-
| flee in annointing him, ''She hath done what
| she could" Times change, modes of work
| ing in the church change, new fields of
labor have opened TO women, but prciudices
have been strong. A few, Notwithstanding
the GOODNESS, yea, even the complaints Of
those in authority have quietly pressed their
way into the new fields of usefulness, not
| needing the cold and cruel hear.e Phlrisrs
ba far
| but do good and gain the APPRECIATION of
| the Master. Among the lew VINO have
entered those new ami inviting fields was
| our departed sister AS the sLa II officer in
the field bearing his superior's message from
| post to post Is often made q mark for the
| enemy and caused to fall or return To
| the tent wounded, even So with
this devoted woman, who has often
| gone beyond the rank and file
of the church with the message of the King
that the battle might be saved and the
victory ON the Lords side. She has often
returned to her home, her closet and her
| king, with wounded spirit and Il bleeding
| heart, but again when she has been with her
| God "she has resolved to do what she
could" Elizabeth j. Pennington, the sub
| iect Of this memoir, was born IN Wyoming
| Valley, Pa, on the ground were Old Forty
Fort stood May 9TH, 1922. She was con
| verted and united with the church IN her
| eleventh year. The Wyoming Valley, a
beautiful district is situated ON the S;lsqIe-
| hanna river in LuZerne county, Pa. 1t is
about three miles in breadth and twcnty-one
| miles in width, enclosed by n range Of
| mountains 900 feet hight. AS the noun
| tains were round about Jerusalem, even SO
are they round about this fertile and beauti-
ful valley. Those persons who are born and
raised In this district or country never for
get its charms and look back To it often
having left with longing heart. Soour sis
ter last spring when | told her expected tG
visit the valley said, 80, that could gG
with you and see that beautiful place once
again" She has ever borne in memory the
place of her birth and shown her love for
it, not only by repeated visits, but by giving
to one of her daughters the name OF Wyoni-
ing, which will ever remind lerof a mother S
love for her early home
Sister Penlngton was converted and Joined
the church when she was but IL years old.
The church of her choice was tle old Nj. f..
Church Forty Fort So named from being
established on or near the sight of the fort
set up by the Forty Pioneers from Connecti-
cut, who entered the valley to take posses
sion. This old fort was also the scene of a
dreadful massacre on July 3d, 1878, when at
the hands of the British, 490 strong, with
about 700 Indians 800 or more Americans
perished in the most cruel way. When
Sister Pennington, in 1853, united with the
church, the temperance cause was in its
transition period. Temperance societies had
sprung up in almost every State, but they
failed to meet the demands of the times.
Their aims were not high enough. their OBJ
ieet was not q total abstinence +" but organ
izations to prevent the too frequent use OF
intoxicating spirits as a beverage. THESE
first reformers even built brewery to ac-
commodate their members. So il may be
readily seen that there was but little
difference between being Temperance man
and a drinking man. In 1927 Pennsylvania
adopted the first F." Total abstinence pledge.
In 1892 agitation arose against the license
system. During the same year the War
Department abolished grog rations and sub
stituted coffee and sugar. III lS.si u
Massachusetts society adopted II new con-
stitution with total abstinence pledge.
The first national convention assembled in
Philadelphia in 1888, composed ol 400 dele
gates from 21 States, embracing i,nja minor
societies. During this yelr--tlc transition
period-when the policy OF all temperance
reform was changing frann temperance TO
total abstinence, one sister who has always
kept abreast of the times, saw the higher
ground to he the safe ground, and at once
ON joining the church, pledged herself to
total abstinence, and for 50 years has always
retained her membership and has been a
worker in the cause of temperance reform,
refusing to take alcohol, even as a medicine,
except in cases of extreme necessity, and
then only after earnest solicitation of her
physician and friends. In the temperance
work cold shoulders, trowns aud reverscs
have never made her talter. She has ever
been ready to assist in every good word and
work. When gospel temperance was
doing, four years ago, such a
great work, her heart WAS fun oi
zeal-her hands full of tracts and desired a
word with everyone ON the subject She
was among the first to help organize the W.
G. T. u, of which she remained faithful
member until death, having been hanorei
with some of its highest aud most RESPONSE
bic offices in our town aud aleo in the State.
A sister member said TO me Il lew days ago.
She was given tohospialiiN. ! mean esprel-
ally in our temperance work Wien anyone
was to be entertained. Sifter Pennington,
although, not so able as some others was al
ways willing to do it. When ii did not suit
Others she made il suit her | am glad she
lived to see the total abstinence pledge
adopted everywhere, and that she was harf
in a transition period. God has reioiced her
heart by letting her live IL see thia year of
grace, 1882, which is trAly the second tram
siton period in the pa,ise o! temperance,
from total abstinence 10 total prohibition ;
aud nothing reloieed her more during her
sickness than to hear that Iowa had prohib7
tied forever by a constitutional amendment,
alcohol as a beverage. IN lStt she w2s
| tF.4tstn