Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1903-04-21
DIES IN HIS PULPIT
REV. FRANCIS A. HORTON VICTIM
OF PARALYSIS.
Philadelphia PASTOR Who Had Many
Friends in Wastinis ton-Sketch
of His Career.

The late Rev. Dr. Francis A. Horton. pas
tor of the Temple Presbyterian Church, In
Philadelphia, who died suddenly in his pull
pit Sunday night from a stroke of paraly-
sis, was we'll known in Washington among
the members of the Presbyterian faith.
For several years during the summer
months in the past he has occupied the
pulpit of the New York Avenue Presby-
terrain Church here while DR.. Radcliffe has
been absent on his annual vacation. DR..
Horton was regarded as an eloquent
preacher and was very popular with the
congregation of the New York Avenue
Church.
The incidents surrounding the death. as
reported in the Philadelphia press, are in
part as follows:
DIR. Horton had taken for his text
Prov xxi, 3, The prudent man seeth the
evil and hideth himself, but the simple
pass on and suffer for it The pastor
had reached the middle of his sermon,
when the electric lights went out. There
was some little excitement and hurry In
lighting the gas, during which the pastor
stood calmly waiting for quiet to permit
him to resume
when silence had been resumed he
began again to speak. and. referring to
point in the sermon, said: L am trying
to make it very plain to YOU
Stilled Forever.
His voice faltered and his utterance
became indistinct. He swayed for a sec
ond or two and fell, uttering no cry. The
eloquent voice was stilled forever.
THE closing words of his sermon, which
he had written but did not live to utter,
were: I will go in faith all my days.
His daughter. Miss Mile Horton, who
occupied the family pew, ran to her
fathers aid and pillowed his head on her
arm, while friends tried to restore con-
seriousness. Their efforts were fruitless,
and physicians were summoned The
stricken minister was placed upon
stretcher and borne by the officers of the
church to his home at 1908 North 7th
street. followed by weeping friends. 1t
was about $50 o'clock when the clergy
man was taken Ill, and a few minutes
after 10 o'clock he died
DIR. Horton has been working hard and
had just completed a successful revival
season of two weeks. AS a result Of that
work he expected in two weeks more to
admit twenty new members to the
church on profession of faith with
prospect of admitting also a class of young
girls now under instruction in the same
way.
THE physicians think that it was the
strain of this work in addition to his
other duties which brought on the fatal
attack, and that it did not have it's origin
in the accident which happened to the
pastor a year ago.
Native of New York.
DR.. Horton was about fifty-seven years
of age and was born in Columbia county,
N. Y. He was educated at Rutgers Col
lege and at the Theological Seminary in
New Brunswick, N. J. His first charge
was in Catskill, N. Y. From there he
went to Cleveland, Ohio, and thence to
Oakland. Cal. where he was pastor of
the First Presbyterian Church for seven
and half years. He served church in
Providence, r. L., for five years. and seven
years ago was called to Temple Presby
terrain Church in Philadelphia, where he
was pastor at the time of his death. DR..
Horton was quite prominent in Presbyte-
rian circles in Philadelphia, and at one
that city.