Daily Republican., 1886-03-15

prise, and after . moments hesitation |
1 I replied: cannot feel FREQ TO do this. |
II 10 out Of the line OF my profession,
and this work is the proper work Of q
Christian minister. He quickly re- |
piled, (grasping me more firmly by the |
hand and looking up intently and earn |
estly into my face). "You have known |
me for 40 years. No other man living |
on Gods green earth to day knows half
30 much OF my life and history as your !
i self, and whilst l expect that there viii
be religious services ut my burial, IL
also insist that you shall also speak
over my grave, and you must not refuse
me"
This firm and earnest request I then
felt hound TO accede to. and then said
II this is your earnest desire and unal-|
tersble decision II I am living ut that
time, by the help Of God Il will perform
the duty you have assigned to the. And
it In IN fulHllment Of this sacred pledge
that am now standing before this vast
audience TO address them. My acquaint.
ance with Eli Crozier, our departed
friend and comrade, commenced over
10 years ago, and for the past 3b years
1 have known him very intim ately In
deed. He was q man Of no ordinary
character, and those who knew him in.
ttmately will fully bear me out In this
asseI ton He was q man Of strong
mind. He was possessed Of indomit.
able will, perseverance, and energy, and
II there were two things in which he
! excelled those were patriotism and
energy.
Mr.. Crozier was great reader and q
, deep, earnest, logical thinker. He was
in himself q walking history. He pos
| aa1 elxya ha0 "A
as readily detail the names of the
, crowned heads of the Old World, in reg
, ular order, AZ we'll as the remarka BILE
events OF their several relgns for hun
. dreds of years, as readily as he could
|, the different rulers, and remarkable
events that have trauspired in this
, country during the past century. His
!. great object and aim In life was TO raise
! up the fallen, sustain the weak, cheer
! the disconsolate, and alleviate the suf-
4 ferings Of humanity. When the rebel.
. lion broke out In 1861 Mr.. Crozier, on
2 account of his age and extreme deaf
:. |. ness, conld not enter the army rs d SOL
tdier; but he devoted his entire time and
: attention 10 alleviate the wants of the
2 sick and wounded soldiers and provide
= for the wives Of the soldiers in the field
!, ! rs we'll rs the widows ard orphans ol
J, deceased soldiers.
He was constantly on the alert
i searching for widows and orphans who
were destitute Of the necessaries Of life
10 and when such cases were found by him
he would at once come to their relief
II And, although he had not within him
70 self the means to relieve their wants
y such was the unbounded confidence re-
= posed In him, by those who possessed
- ample OF this worlds goods, that all he
l. had TO do " as to call upon those humane
and patriotic citizens and receive from
, them such sums Of money as he required
! to relieve the wants of the distressed
b During and since the war he collected
q, and righteously eistributed, many hun
d dreds Of dollars in this manner, and
>, to-day hundreds OF widows and Orphan
~ whom he has in the past relieved In th'
u hours Of their distress rise up and bles
him. And at this hour they mourn Il
deep sadness the loss of this noble
great and good man, whose mortal re
-, mains we this day com sign to the narros
a. ! house finally appointed unto all men.
~ The greatest and crowning act in tn
y ~ life of this noble hero and patriot wa
~, ~, the saving OF the Soldiers and Sailors
sale, and Its Anal completion there
r after, which include the grading an
a. q. sodding Of the grounds, its enclosure
N the curbing and paving, and the planI
W ing Of shade trees around the same. T
j" pay off the claim In the hands Of th
+ Sheriff, with sundry other outstandin
- debts, and the amounts necessary
make the grounds pleasant and attra'
~ tive, was q work of very great magn
~ tude. Particularly 80 to o man WI
=" ~ had no financial resources of his ow
uo to plish this object, and no ma
=, ay in Delaware but Eli Crozier woul
aS have taken this herculean task upon h
7. shoulders. But Eli was equal to tn
~ ~ great emergency. 1 frst called h
a. attention In my office to the fact thi
~ this monument was advertised
70, Sheriff . ssle. On reading the adve
20 u heart swelled up within him, and
W uo exclaimed "This must not be % Ar
he Sa with still greater emphasis said: i"
'Ao shall never be |"
IVA "This monument, erected In memol
1 .aI of Delawsre's patriotic dead, tho'
20 noble men that died that this matte
.o might live shall never be sold at sheriff
>. sale whilst Eli Crozier lives"
ed. He at once asked me 10 prepare
Iti. paper with appropriate patriotic hea
ing appealing to our patriotic citizeI
red for contributions to save the monume
are from the sheriff's grasp. quick
b. complied with hts request, and he
c. once set forth on his noble misaio
fol- travelling from the rocky hill tops
BrandyWine Hundred on the north
, I the sparkling sands of Baltimore Hu
as. dred on the south, this patriotic O
ur- man, then over 10 years OF age, trudg
orv forth on foot and he In a very she
be. time collected sufficient sum of mon
,aat to pay off all the debts thereon, and
of enclose and beautify its surrounding
ere This herculean task he fully accol
be plished, single-handed and alone, ira
non cling hundreds of miles on foot al
inc raising and expending faithfully q
nse riphteously nearly 5000, and In Ma
zeal 1881, he turned over the deed for t
fvo monument and ground thereto belou
ing to the trustees of "The Monume
nst Association" entirely free from
oil. claims and demands against the san
and 1t was when this great work had be
ab. fully accomplished that he made
ont remarks to me have before REFER
aim to. to wit: 81 am now ready to dep
re- in peace, etc " To day we deposit
Mr.. mortal remains Of this noble patr
uly and philanthropic hero in the narr
thy and silent confines of the sepulch
,yes co-mingling earth to earth, ashes
reat ashes, dust to dust, to await its sprir
am ing forth into new life and beauty
ling the general resurrection Of the dead
, hy the last day. And whatever may hi
lid been the errors of Eli Crozier dur
.tis- his long pilgrimage on this earth, Il
I'd [ were the errors Of the head and not
,ru heart,