Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1914-11-18
Tribute to Memory of Mrs. Margaret
Blackburn.

L love old mothers with white hair
| And kindly eyes and lips grown softly sweet
! With murmured blessing over sleeping
! babes.
| There is a something in their quiet grace
! That SpeaL< Ks the calm of Sabbath afternoon.
| A knowledge in their deep unfaltering ewes
/ That far out reaches all philosophy.
Time. with caressing touch. about them
The silver threaded fairy shawl Of age
| While all the echoes of forgotten songs
Seem joined TO lend sweetness to their
| speech.
Old Mothers, AS they pass with slow-timed
| step
Theirtrembling hands cling gently to youths
sweet Mothers. AS they pass one sees again
| OLD garden waks-old roses and old loves"
Margaret. daughter of Thomas and
Abigail Hines Beadle was born
August 9, 1910. She came to Wis
consin in 1916 and was married at
Shullsburg, Lafayette County, in
| 1855 to George r. Blackburn.
Three years later they came to Grant
county and settled on the farm now
occupied by Clarence Hince near
Beetown. In 1868 the farm was
sold to Henry Henkle, and Mr.. and
Mrs. Blackburn returned to LaFay-
cite county and remained three years
| They then returned to Beetown, and
is now the well-known Blackburn
homestead. Twelve children were
born to them. Two died in infancy.
Ten were here reared to maturity and
all married except the youngest
Maude beautiful daughter, who
with her father, two brothers, Will
liam and Elmer and sisters, Sarah
(Mrs. Joseph Tebo), Ella, (Mrs. Her
bert Slaght) and Laura (Mrs. John
Anstey) also preceded the mother
to the Better Land. After long,
long weeks and months of painful
illness the beloved mother passed
"above the smoke and stir of this
dim spot which we call earth" into
"the palace of eternity September
80, 1914, revered by all who knew
her. For her there mourn Dr. Frank
Blackburn of Cassville, Everett and
Libbie, Mrs. Thomas Cook of Bee
town and Cora (Mrs. VIM. Birch, of
Mason City, Ia, tWenty-six grand
children, and eight great grand
children, many other relatives and
many friends.
Grandma" Blackburn as she was
familiarIy called, was really and truly
a good woman She was a Christian
in all her demeanor. Christ said eek
cept We become as little children We
cannot enter the kingdom, and so in
the purity of her character, and the
simplicity of her faith, she was sweet
and trustful and whosesome as a
child. In all her intercourse with
her family or her friends all who
knew her longest and loved her best
pay highest tribute to her virtues.
To the wives of her sons, and the
husbands of her daughters she was
always the same, sweet, gentle SYM
pathetic mother that she was to her
own flesh and blood. And their re-
verence and love for her with the
full to see. 1t kept happy light in
the dear old eyes and soothed her
many SORROWS. And of burdens she
had many. She had assumed very
early the sponsibilities of life.
Herself mother when hardly more
than a child in years, the sudden
passing of her husband and the death
of her grown children one by one
were crushing sorrows. And then the
sundering of ties when the old home
was reIinquished-how the tender
heart must have ached. But all even
the agonizing ordeal of the last weeks
of pain and of parting was borne with
the characteristic patience and sub
mission that had so endeared her to
her children. The great Friend of
lonely hearts was her strength and her
comfort. The last eight years of
her life were spent at her home in the
village of Beetown, lovingly cared for
by her daughter Lib and husband.
Surrounded by her remaining children
here she died, and they are bereft or
that treasure above price, good
mother.
An impressive service was held
and very largely attended in the
church just across the street from
her recent home, her pastor, Rev.
Meats preached from the text eff a
man die, shall he live again? He
was assisted by her friend the Rev.
Jamison who feelingly spoke of the
inspiration he had received from her
pure life in his early Christian ex-
perience. The choir sang "The
light of the world is Jesus" Shall
we gather at the river" and "We'll
never say goodbye in heaven"
hymns that in ner we'll days she
loved to sing. Many beautiful floral