Alexandria gazette. [volume] (Alexandria, D.C.) 1834-1974, 1892-06-07
,,rtr OF AN ESTEEMED CITIZEN.

DEATH OF An Id IT-aicD NiiAHE.N'
" John P. Agnew, one of the Oldest,
49, ,'..known and most esteemed citizens
" ,Icyandria, died at his summer resi-
o. 4anrc Mount Zephyr" in Fairfax
nm" 'snnty . short distance below this city,
CIV ,uI,, his morning As had been men
t .,@acl in the GAZETTE, the deceased
S t.oli been ill for several days, though
~ w. condition was not deemed critical,
u IN h,inr supposed he would recuperate
!; =. DIV or two. Yesterday afternoon,
Sawryer, grave symptoms developed,
Nh" he lapsed into a sinking condition,
s W." crew weaker and weaker, until
a this morning, when death closed
hi. eyes TO things terrestrial, MIR.
' S,rcw was born in Ebbinsburg, Cam
hri" county. Pennsylvania, in 1920, and
S S, active life in the iron mining
a,d manufacturing business, which for
n ..as-s he prosecuted in his native State
and MARYLAND, in both of which States,
az in this city, he enjoyed the respect
orj confidence of all with whom he
r in contact. He moved to Alex
endria in 1887, and engaged in the coal
thinning business Mt the terminus Of
,br 'texandria canal, and later located
a. the foot of Wolfe street, with u
branch shipping depot in Georgetown
and an office in Washington. Suisse
oncntly he purchased the new ship
rari Al the foot of Franklin street, and
IN TWO or three years built half a dozen
hrre schooners, giving employment to
bundrcds and putting considerable
money in circulation in his adopted
,.ty OF late he had been nominally
cncoecd in the business Of the shipyard
and in the coal and wood trade, though
thc affairs of these enterprises had been
mainly conducted by younger hands.
Ola meek and quiet spirit, Dir. Agnew
never sought prominence, but rather
sbrank from it, and on one occasion
only. if our memory serves us, did he
allow his name 10 be placed before the
public, and that was in 1870, when he
was elected a member of the Board Of
Aldermen from the Fourth ward. Dur
inc his term of service his conduct was
marked by the conservatism that was
Characteristic of his nature, and his
efforts in behalf the welfare of Alexan-
lria, which city, he believed, had a
glorious future before it, were earnest
though transformations. He had for
years been an elder in the Presbyterian
church and an active worker in the
cause of Christianity, and died as he
had lived, at peace with all, and with a
conscience void of offence toward God
and toward men. He enjoyed in an emf
ncnt degree the confidence and esteem
of his fellow citizens. His charities,
while partaling in large degree of the
quiet and transformations nature of his
character, were systematic and frequent.
The poor of this city will sadly miss the
abundant bounty of his ever open hand.
His Christian walk was exemplary,
consistent and earnest. 1t served him
in the last dread hour to meet the grim
messenger as kind friend sent to
transmit him to a purer, brighter and
more glorious life. Like the patriarchs
of old, he has been gathered to his
fathers an old man and full of years,
aud his sorrowing family, whose house
hold has been darkencd by the angel of
death have the sincere sympathy of the
entire community in the sad hours
through which they have been called
10 pass.