Smyrna times., 1931-02-18

TN looking over our files of the cor
responding date fifty years ago. we came
across communication of the late Col.
Edwin Wilmer. relative of the Tschudy
/ family, who described Smyrna and its lead
ing citizens of that time fifty years back
4 from that or 100 years from the present
time. These installments will appear in
rotation.
/ Continued from last week.
At the time of which l write,
Father Sharp" occupied the par
sonage referred to in my last let
ter. In former letter, instanc-
ed the seemingly miraculous an
swer to his remarkable prayer for
the restoration to health of a
widow lady of Smyrna. Since then
have read a sermon of the Rev.
j. S. Jones, D. D. of the Presby-
terian Church. He says: Faith is
genuine force and its capabilities
not yet guessed; and that if men
had more of it, they would not
need so much of other things" He
also, says, IAN age of operative
faith is no doubt, coming upon the
earth according to Jesus promises
that His disciples should excel
Him." He further says there
have been and even now for any,
thing we know, there may be Sol
itary Souls who have exceptional
power with God and to whom He
grants extraordinary favors." l
believe Solomon Sharp to have
been of those favored men of God
and had he lived in the olden
times, would have been a prophet.
/ Chancellor Howard Crosby says,
''the best divines agree that mi
racles belong to the beginning of
new eras, and makes their dura-
tion 70 years in the time Of Moses
and Joshua, 70 years in the time
of Elijah and Elisha and 20 years
in the time Of Jesus and his apos-
tie" History is full Of miraculous
events occurring after the Reforma-
tion Of Luther and the revival Of
Scriptural Holiness, by Wesley;
and who may say that the deliver
ance Of the woman, out Of whom
Mr.. Sharp seemed to have prayed,
and drove the Devil was not mi
racle. The Rev. Q. f. Deems, of
| the Church Of the Strangers, in N.
y, in his great work entitled Who
was Jesus, has deeply interest
ing chapter on miracles, to which
respectfully refer your readers.
Next to the parsonage lived a
widow Lambdin, she had sons and
daughters. From there to the store
house of DuHamel & Lambdin,
were the shops and shambles of
Jacob Pennington and Cooper
shop. I have previously referred
to DuHamel & Lambdin, l think
Mr.. DuHamel has a son who is a
p. E. Clergyman. Next to Du-
HameIs was the store of Blackis-
ton & Lockwood. This firm dis
solved and Richard Blackiston con-
I tinued in business at that stand.
think he was succeeded by James
L. Bewley, who afterwards remov-
ed to Philadelphia, and both in
\ Smyrna and Philadelphia was
greatly esteemed for his personal
worth and business capabilities.
Mr.. Blackiston kept the most
fancy stock of goods of any mer-
chant in the town. He was rather
a fancy man when / knew him :
his cloth was of the finest, his
| jewelry costly, his linen spotless
and the "cut Of his jib" of the lat
est fashion. He had a musical gold
watch that played several tunes,
and in which he once discovered a
horse hair and could not tell how
it got there. His sorrel mare was
a pretty picture of horse flesh and
his two-wheel buggy was elabor-
ately adorned with silver mount
1ngs. He had very sagacious
dog, white and tan, that was his
constant companion. He had a
joke on this dog that he was fond
of repeating. On suggestive occa-
sions he would call his dog and
say to him, "Your name sir, is
Mott, but your perfumery is not
Burgy Mott" Mr.. Blackiston was
something of an epicure and de-
lighted to entertain his particular
friends with turkey, wild duck or
oyster suppers, served up after
business hours in his store. Mid
night suppers in stores were quite
common then. 1t is to be hoped
that they have gone out of fashion
with the clerks of Smyrna. If Bill
Kenton and his wife Ann, who
were famous caterers, are now liv-
ing, they "could a tale unfold" on
this subject that might disturb the
virtuous slumbers of some of your
merchants of the present day.
Going back from Richard Black
iston to his sire, 1 am reminded of
description of a gentleman:
''He whose every thought and deed
BY rules of virtue moved;
Whole generous tongues disdained
to speak,