Staunton spectator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1849-1896, 1892-08-17
A Wonderful Family With Gods
Blessing on 1t.
From the Christian Observer

saith the Lord Ny Spirit that is upon thee
and my words which have put in thy mouth
shall not depart out of thy mouth, nor out OF
the mouth of thy seed, nor out of the mouth
of thy seeds seed, saith the Lord, from hence
forth and forever.-Isaiah 50; 81.
(, A piece of family history presents striking
I! fulillment of this passage which may prove
| encouraging to some who read it.
| 1t is stated in Mr.. ]. A. Waddell's Annals OF
Augusta County, Virginia, that Robert Poage,
as one of the early settlers of that county, APP
peared in 1740 before the court of Orange
county, and claimed the Kings bounty, !. e.,
fifty acres of land for himself and each mem
Der of his family whom he had imported into
the country at his own expense. The family
then consisted Of his wife and nine children
A tenth was born subsequently.
A spirit of earnest piety seems to have per-
vaded the household, if we may judge from
an extract or two from the letters of one of
the children. Writing from Kentucky, July
%, 1892, she says:
Though at great distance, my children are
as near my heart as when they were all pres
ent with me. l would be glad to hear of old
things done away, and all things become new
with each of you. l would ask you, my dear
children, What think you of Christ? l hope
you have been particular, all of you, to ratify
your baptismal engagements by setting your
seals that it is truc-that you have received
Christ as head and you the members of the
mystical body. So as we have received Christ,
walk ye in him. could spend and be spent
upon the subject, my dear children, but
hope you will improve the talents put into
your hands, knowing that upon the Lords
return, which may be shortly, He will call
you to count the improvement you have
made l hope you will take a serious con-
sideration of this matter, as it is more than
probable may not meet you until that day,
that tremendous meeting, when we will
hear the final sentence passed, Of joyful bliss
or endless VICE.
The next year she writes:
''In this country you may behold the rise
and progress of religion in the young and
rising generation, and read our Savior
words, that these things are hid from the
wise and prudent, and revealed to babes and
stockings Our teachers here are lively and
persevering, and the people warm and atten-
tive; and would to God, my son, your souls
happiness were as deeply impressed on your
heart as it is on mine-all my children's hap
piness; all day my children walk before my
sight and in my dreams l see them every
night"
l wish to mention the names of ministers,
ministers wives, and missionaries, who have
sprung from this godly stock. My enumera-
ton is partial, as l can follow the lines of de-
scent-and that not exhaustively-in the case
of only three of the children.
The eldest son of Robert Poage was John,
son of whom was Rev. Thomas Poage, and
Elizabeth, the wife of DR.. Moses
Hoge their sons were Dr. James Hoge, of
Columbus, Ohio, Samuel Davies Hoge, and
John Blair Hoge; son of Dr. James is Rev.
Moses Hog e, of Ohio; daughter, Elizabeth,
married DIR. Robert Nall, of Alabama, and
their SONS are Rey. Drs. James and Robert
Nall, and another daughter, Susanna married
Rev. NJ. A. Sacketts; Samuel Davies Hoges
sons were Drs Moses D. and William Hoge,
and the latter's son is Rev. Peyton Hoge, of
North Carolina.
From Martha, daughter of Robert Poage,
Woods. an Episcopal minister of West Vir-
ginia through another son, Andrew, Rev.
Henry Woods of Washington, Pa, whose
daughter Margaret is about starting as a
missionary for China, and Rev. f. NJ. Woods;
through another son, Archibald, Rev. Alfred
PAUL, and his son. Rev George PAUL, of New
Jersey, Rev. Edgar Woods, and his sons,
Henry and Edgar missionaries in China, and
a third James preparing for the same field
through daughter, Elizabeth Cloyd, Rev.
Messrs. Alexander McEwen, and William and
NJ. H. Houston; and through another daugh-
ter, Rebecca Kelly, Rev. John Kelly of Ohio.
Another son of Robert Poage was Thomas,
whose daughter, Elizabeth, married Rev.
William Wilson. second pastor of the Stone
Church, Augusta county, Va, and whose
Mary, married Thomas Wilson, one
of whose sons was Rev. Norval Wilson, and
his son, Bishop A. w. Wilson, of the
Methodist Episcopal Church, South, and Rev.
F.. H. Havenner, grandson, of the NJ. E.
Church; one of Thos. Wilson's daughters,
Agnes, married Rev. Homer Clark, also of the
Methodist Church. and another, Louisa, mar
ried DIR. John e. Lowrie, missionary to India.
Another family of Poages, settled mainly in
Rockbridge county, Va, has nearly, if not
altogether as remarkable record. From
them were descended the wife of Rev. Samuel
Brown, her five ministerial sons, James,
Joseph, Henry, Samuel and William, and her
daughter, Mrs. Morrison, with her daughters
Mrs DIR. Ben. Smith, and Mrs. Dr.. r. L.
Dabney; Rev. Thomas L. and Rev. John
Preston; and Mrs. Lane widow of the
lamented Edward Lane, missionary to Brazil.
1t may be added that the wife of DR.. James
Hoge, of Columbus, was granddaughter of
Martha, daughter of Robert Poage.