DYING WORDS: The Faith and Hope of Victorian Era Death Bed Statements./ By Marilyn A. Hudson, MLIS
People of faith were expected to utter encouraging words of hope and faith.
April 7, 1852 in a letter from William Terry (1765-1869) of Madison County, Arkansas, to his son in Red River County, Texas, John Terry (Lucinda Reed Terry).
William’s daughter Mary Elizabeth “Betty” Terry had married one John Bohannon and in this letter William shares the news of the death of John and one of his daughters.
“He died 25 March 1852 at night half past one and on that night week and about the same time of the night his child died.
“He died of the measles and the child had the measles and hooping [whooping] cough and the balance of the children is laboring under the same disease…”
“Out of that interesting little family of seven three is deposited in the graveyard on my place. While four is left to mourn their loss but we sorrow not as those that have no hope for he died in his senses leaving perhaps as satisfactory evidence as mortals can leave that he was going to a better place.”
“On the night before he died he called all present to his bedside and bode them an affectionate farewell and exhorted them by all the love a dying friend to meet him heaven.
“I was there the next day and although he had lost the use of himself I found him calm and serene waiting his change. I left him not knowing his end was so near and was not there to witness his dying scene but I was there when it was obvious to all that death had struck him he reached his feeble hand to his wife and exclaimed Betty a long, long farewell and after his speech left him his father told him if all was well to raise his hand and he raised his dying hand and pointed upward as if pointing to his home on high and made one effort to clap his hands as to let them know he was in sight of the promised land but death had deprived him of the power to preform and he let his hands down and sweetly breathed his last.
“These are some of the advantages the Christian has that a cold unfeeling world can’t deprive him of but although we have such testimony that our loss is his eternal gain yet we see him die in the prime of life and see with what intensity his fond doting wife and loving parents and friends clung to him was one of the sorest trials I have had but I must drop the heartbreaking subject..”
Note:
John Barnabus Bohannan (1824, TN – 1852 Huntsville, Madison, Ark) was son of Henderson Bohannon and Winnie Harp Bohannan.
Martin Terry Letter
From a letter dated 3 April 1862, near Rolla, Missouri from Martin Terry to his son John King Terry. Martin, his wife Mary Ann and children had fled advancing armies in July 1861 and finally found some sanctuary on a farm owned by Thomas Shockly on Third Creek there. In a rather derelict farm house, his terribly ill sons William Terry and Henderson Terry, lying beds of straw, the rest of the family ill the final scenes were played out...
"We left home July 23 and stopt in Gasconde County 40 miles from here the 10th of September. There we was nearly all sick and William and Henderson died. William on the 9th of October and Henderson on the 16th of November and the fever settled in your mother's rite eye and it went out. Our disease was considered to be low typhus We had the best medical help the county could afford, but no human help could avail. William said tell all friends I die in view of a blissful immortality and that is worth all the world to me and Henderson said he trusted the savior and was not afraid to die and he expected to get to Heaven and we have a sweet hope that they both are forever at rest..."
Note:
William Terry was born 11 January 1840 and died 9 October 1861. He was 21 years of age.
Henderson Lafferty Terry was born12 March 1844 and died 16 November 1861.He was 17 years of age. Later in life, Martin would become even more active in local church work and possibly became a lay minister.
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