Small, Jacob - 1881

Ninety And Five.
Some Particulars Of An Aged Pilgrim’s Life - Nearly A Century.
Wednesday, October 26th was the ninety-fifth birthday of Mrs. Elizabeth Miller, relict of the late Jacob Miller, residing on Front street, Warwick.  Mrs. Miller’s maiden name was Huber.  She was born and raised a short distance west of Lititz, where her parents then resided.

After her marriage to Jacob Miller, they moved to where her son Elias now resides, which place is in close proximity to where she was born and raised.  There they continued to reside for a number of years, when Mr. Miller felt inclined to a change and exchanged the farm and farmer’s life and employment for a quieter retreat.  Consequently, he purchased of Mr. Jacob Small, who is well-known to the older inhabitants of our village, but who some years ago moved from here to Reading, where he has since lived, the brick dwelling in which mother Miller has lived ever since.  It is upwards of forty years ago that this happened.

Jacob Miller has since departed this life, leaving mother Miller a widow whose life is fast approaching the centennial allotment of human existence.  Few - very few, are spared so long, spared to see and experience so much, and spared to realize the emotions, of nearly a century of life.  She is the mother of five or six children.  Five are still living and are ever exemplifying their devotion and affection to an aged mother.

Her daughter Eliza is living with her and is caring for her comforts.  Her son Elias is almost a daily visitant, and provides the things that her daughter could not so well attend to.  One of her sons is living at Hinkletown, another one near Ephrata and one in the State of Delaware.  She has one sister, Mrs. Anna Mary Hoover, living at Dayton, Ohio, whose age is eighty years.

Mother Miller’s parents were of the Moravian faith, and she early in life connected with that church, and has ripened for eternity in its bosom.  She is an aged pilgrim, but feels even to this day that it is wrong to idle away time.  She is given to reading, but having become tired, employs the time in performing such other work as her age and strength permit.

Since it has pleased the All-wise Maker to spare her thus long, we would gladly wish that the same kind God would grant the few remaining years to fill up the measure of one hundred years, that we might five years hence greet Mother Miller as a centenarian.
~ The Lititz Record, 28-Oct-1881, Page 3, Column 2