Sarah Katie, eldest daughter of Wm. T. and Margaret Hearne, born Dec. 20, 1854, died Feb. 9, 1881. [A picture of Katie is found on page 390.]

As I wrote so little of her sainted mother, aside from obituary, I do likewise now. She, too, was of an amiable disposition, loved by all who came in contact with her, proficient in school and in her home duties, and loyal to her parents, even to martyrdom, if need be. She was the picture of health till three years before her death, when she took a deep cold that culminated in lung trouble, which slowly but surely took away her life. In all my life I had never seen the beauty and joy of the Christian life more genuinely portrayed than during these last three years in the life of this dear girl; she was perfectly aware of her condition and no murmur ever escaped her lips, but during the whole time talked freely and composedly of her approaching dissolution, the comfort of religion, and the joys of the sweet beyond. In a room across the hall from her room lay her step-grandmother Barkley, one of the purest and best of earth, a cripple for life, and during the day they were most always together, and it was inspiring to see and hear them talk of the goodness of God and the joys of the Christian religion and bliss of the heavenly land. About a week before her death, her former pastor, T. C. Stackhouse, came to see her, and when bidding me good-bye as he left, said, with tears: "My brother, I drove twenty miles this morning to see and speak some words of comfort to your child, but instead she has greatly comforted me; I have never witnessed such a faith and Christ-like character in any one."

She was quite an artist, and gave to each of the family one of her paintings, specially suited to them, and after her death we found in her trunk many pages of her written admonitions to each member of the family and a distribution of her treasured little articles to her family and friends.

From Western Recorder, Feb., 1881:

"HEARNE--Miss Katie Hearne, eldest daughter of Bro. W. T. Hearne, died of consumption at the residence of her father in Fayette Co., Ky., Feb. 7, 1881, in the twenty-seventh year of her age. Mis Katie was a child of God, meet for the kingdom of God. She made a profession of religion in the fall of 1871, and was baptized by the writer (Dec. 3, 1871) into the fellowship of Southern Elkhorn Church, of which body she remained a consistent

[Continued on page 391]

Thanks to Catherine Bradford for transcribing this page.