The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1899-12-10

was woman of remarkable mental
attachments, a deep and logical thinker
and one who formed her opinions only
| after carefully studying. weighing and
comparing. Had she been a man she
would have made splendid jurist.
As it was in her We'll stocked library
might be found more books than usu-
ally fell TO the lot of any save a min
lister or lawyer in those days nor
would any of them probably have pos
sessed the selection she did Her taste
ran 10 a study of the religions and
creeds of the world. and her constant
companions were the Bible, the Koran.
the Vedas and all that is known of
CONTIGUOUS. Zoroaster. Josephus, Sven
enborg, Hume, Humboldt, Volney, Vol
taire. Gibbon. Kant, Schopenhaur
Paine and others.
Became an Agnostic.
These shea had read until she could
quote many passages by heart ard
could handle their arguments with a
wit and celebrity all her own She ar
rived at that stage where she believed
only in the. revelations of science. To
her sons she taught her beliefs and
they followed in her footsteps, for to
them she vas ever an oracle and the
most wonderful of women, while the
bond of affection between them was
of that close and deep seated nature
which is characteristic of the inger-
soil ana. Parker families on both sides
for many generations back.
The Parker home naturally became q
central point of. meeting for all the
well known men Of the time. Three of
the best known and most welcome
were Abraham Lincoln of Springfield.
David A. Davis. afterward senator, of
Bloomington, and Leonard SWEET of
Chicago, and when this trio met under
the friendly roof OF. Sarah Parker and
the four engaged in discussion on the
leading topics of the day or perhaps on
the favoIite theme of religion, the
hostess was, by virtue of her brilliant
qualities, one of the leaders and was
frequently called upon to settle some
disputed point by a quotation from
one of her favorite authors.
The three men We're all intimate
friends and very fond of each others
society. but the fact that they lived at
widely different places and that travel
10 frequently agree on some place of
mu tual advantage. Wen meet at
Mrs. Parker's" was always satisfactory
to all. and so they did and more than
one western minister had the fortune
to do his bess measuring arguments
with the four, for Sarah Parker's roof
sheltered many "a one, to whom she
orthodox could have done, nor was any
minister ever seated at her table with
out being asked TO say grace.
A Harmony of Lives.
Into this already Intellectually bril-
liant circle Robert G.. Ingersoll entered
about 1858 and met Eva Parker, with
whom he at once fell in love, and from
the hour they met until the day of his
death the harmony in every respect
between them was as perfect as it is
possible for two human beings to have
here on this earth. Eva Parker, the |
daughter of Benjamin, was already an
agnostic. and Ingersoll. then on the |
threshold of his career. easily domin- |
ated the little group by his wonderful
This famous coterie continued un-
broken up to the time of Mrs. Parker's |
death. She departed this life at an !
advanced age. ripe with the honors of |
R well spent existence and undisturbed |
N her athetstic belief. From her had !
radiated an Influence which may be |
dearly traced at the present day. There !
ants who have reached mature age,
'ourteen, all of whom. are atheists or
lgnostics.c There is not one believer in
he Christian religion among them all.
Mr.. George Reno, the great grandson
If Mrs. Parker, who tells this story of
lis ancestor, says: One thing is GER
ain. and that is the deathbeds of
lgnostics. so far as my, family is con-
,erned, are far from being the fearful
hings usually pictured Both my /
and his brother. Mrs.
father. lived to be old men
ull of vigor and possessing all their