John Anderson SPENCER

John Anderson SPENCER ws [was]born in Henry county, Virginia, October 8, 1855. He was the son of Pinckney and Mary SPENCER. He died October 1, 1919. He was sixty-three years, eleven months and twenty-three days old.

He grew to manhood in the country, where he qualified himself to teach school, which he did for three years. In preparation for the ministry he studied in one, if not two, of the best colleges of the Christian church.

On December 31, 1883, he was married to Miss Carrie Wade SMITH, and to them were born a son, Floyd, and a daughter, Catherine. These both became Christians in their tender years. Floyd preceded his father to the spirit world, dying of typhoid fever in his sixteenth years. Mrs. SPENCER and the daughter survive.

Brother SPENCER spent his early married life in evangelizing in Craig county, Virginia. Later he served Christian churches as pastor—at Summerville and Strausburg, Va.; Bristol and Harrison, Tenn, and then at Danville and Martinsville, Va. He particularly enjoyed being called to Martinsville, as it was his old home community. After this he turned westward and located at Bloomfield, Ind., where he served the church eight years. From there he went to Sandborn, and served there till his death; and from there he served also Plainville, Lyons and Wheatland, all nearby places.

After short services at the home in Sandborn, which were attended by a large company of sorrowing friends his remains were brought to Bloomfield, the scene of his longest pastorate and the center of his largest acquaintance. Here on Thursday afternoon, October 2, vast crowds of people assembled from all points of the compass, many coming from afar. At the hour of service the business houses were closed. The Christian church was packed to its utmost capacity and hundreds stood without.

The remains laid in state till Friday morning, and the throngs passed by to view for the lst time their beloved Bro. SPENCER.

W. H. BOOK, of Columbus, Ind., Bro. SPENCER's "Old Virginia" co-laborer, was sought to conduct the funeral service, but could not possibly come, so the service was conducted by T. A. COX, a long time Indiana co-laborer and acquaintance of the sorrowing family. He was assisted by O. R. KELLER, the new pastor for the Bloomfield Christian church, and J. D. SMITH, pastor of the Bloomfield M. D. church.

On Friday morning the daughter Catherine, accompanied by Mrs. Nora HILDEBRAND, of Sandborn, and Mr. M. B. McGINNIS, also of Sandborn, and T. A. COX, of Bloomfield departed with the remains over the I. C. railroad , east for Christiansburg, Va., where on Saturday afternoon, October 4, 1919, the body of Bro. SPENCER was laid to rest beside that of his son in a most beautiful little cemetery on the top of the Allegheny mountains, to wait till "The Lord Himself shall descend from heaven, with a shout, with the voice of the arch-angel, and with the trump of God, and the dead in Christ, shall rise first; then we that are alive, that are left, shall together with them be caught up in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so shall we ever be with the Lord."

As we cannot thank all our friends personally, we take this method of assuring them that we deeply appreciate their many tokens of love and sympathy as expressed in kindly words and deeds on the occasion of the home-going of our beloved husband and father.
MRS. J. A. SPENCER
CATHERINE SPENCER.

THE BLOOMFIELD NEWS, VOL. XLIII., NO. 47, Page 1, Columns 3 & 4, Bloomfield, Greene County, Indiana, Thursday, October 9, 1919, "DEATH'S HARVEST–J. A. SPENCER.

Last updated 8.12.2009