Mexico Missouri message. (Mexico, Audrain County, Mo.) 1899-1918, 1915-06-17

| bNfNC hAht W. WIN ACAukNeAhNOs ITO
stay was too short. He was the first
and only installed pastor the church
has ever had.
1t fell to the lot of the writer of
this sketch to follow Bro. Byrns, and
one of the pleasant impressions
made on his mind during a stay of
four and a half years was the kind
mention frequently made of his
predecessors
After an interval of one year dur
ing which the pulpit was supplied
by students from Westminster Col
lege the church invited Rev. w. T.
Merrill from Rensselaer,, Rails Co. to
become pastor, and he is now giving
his services to Laddonia and Deer
Park May he remain until his work
in this important field is complete.
The pastorates mentioned above
do not cover all the years of the life
of this church. The intervals either
have been vacancies or the pulpit
has been supplied by transient min
listers or students from the College.
The session has been faithful to Sc
cure preaching. The vacancies have
been few and of short duration and
the preaching of the students has
been generally acceptable.
In MemOrium.
In 1905, August 29th, the church
was called upon to mourn the de-
cease of one of its valued members,
Mrs. Adelia vanDeventer. In the
resolutions of respect passed by the
Ladies' Aid Society on the 18th of
September she is described as "be-
loved co-worker;" "her life a long
and useful one" That "her greatest
interest was in her church." and that
her death caused sorrow and sense
of personal loss" Her memory is
fondly cherished and many tributes
of affectionate esteem are still offer
ed by those who knew her life and
character. Her remains were inter
red in the Mexico cemetery.
Another death that brought grief
to the church and community was
that of Miss Ola Brown, most prom
Using young Christian. Her member
ship in this congregation was not of
long duration, only a few months,
per and beautiful character endeared
her to a large circle of friends. Miss
Ola was the victim of that most fatal
disease, consumption. The latter
years of her life were spent in search
of health, but health-physical
health-she was destined never to
find and on Feb &c, 1910, she passed
away. Her body lies near other be-
loved dead in the Farber cemetery.
August l, 1911, Mrs. S. V. Wilder,
an aged member of this congrega-
ton, passed to her reward. Mrs.
Wilder was raised a Cumberland
Presbyterian, but seeing little pros
pect of holding membership in the
church of her choice she willingly
threw in her lot with this congrega-
ton, being one of the original 81.
Her name appears as one of the char
ter members of the Ladies' Aid So
ciety. She rests in Laddonia's beau
tiful city of the dead.
Mrs. Nancy Moomaw came to Lad
donia in 1909 and at once became
member of this church. In year
} or two she moved to the country to
live with her daughter where, May
2, 1912, she died. Her body lies in
the Moore family burying ground
several miles north of Wesley Chapel.
Another serious loss to the church
and Ladies' Aid Society was occasion
ed by the passing away of Mrs, Lizzie
McClintic, who died March 81, 1914.
Mrs. McClntitic was one of the char
ter members and from the first gave
her prayers and money to the cause
she loved. She was born and reared
J in the Presbyterian church and and
while she had broad charity for other