AT REST
FUNERAL OBSEQUIES OF MRS. EDMUND BOOTH
Thursday the 27th, at 2 P.M.
The mystery of death,
The stopping of the palpitating breath,
The deep, strange silence that doth more prolong
The slumber! ah! what questions throng!
“Where? Where?” we say,
Doth the fled spirit stay?”
Nor understand the living nor the dying.
And yet, while time endureth
‘Tis death alone that cureth,
And bringeth to its end life’s day of sighing –
The soul a little longer slumbereth
And when its rest is taken,
To stronger life immortal shall awaken!
Brief announcement was given last week of the death of Mrs. Edmund Booth, wife of the senior editor of the [Anamosa, Iowa] Eureka, which occurred at 11:30 Tuesday night, the 25th [25 January 1898]. Her age was 80 years, 11 months, and 2 days. A long and active life naturally brought a gradual decline of her physical powers in these latter years, and during the past ten or twelve months she has been entirely helpless. She came from a long-lived family, possessed a vigorous constitution and much energy, and her inability to perform her household duties and their assumption by others, as well as the thought that she herself had become so dependent, brought natural regret to what was otherwise a serene condition of mind. But this all ended and we love to reflect upon the happy thought of some author, that the first day in Heaven brings full compen-sation for all the toils, disappointments, pains and infirmities of this earthly life.
A letter from Frank [Frank Booth, Mary Ann’s son] to his father contains this heartfelt expression: “Mother is gone. I can hardly realize it. I can with difficulty think of you and the home without her. But I do feel thankful her sufferings and weariness are at an end, for she wanted so much to go and longed only for release. She wanted rest and now she has it with all the joy and happiness that may be hers. I know now what it is to have someone on the other side, waiting for us, perhaps watching over us. And there is joy in it; more of joy than sorrow. My sorrow is for you, left alone. And you have been so patient and loving – you may be sure your children appreciate your gentleness and kindness to mother. I hope you do not miss her so much, and yet you must miss her greatly. Companionship for nearly fifty-eight years, almost uninterrupted, means dependence upon it as a part of our nature, and loss of it is loss of part of life itself.”
The daughter also writes: “Why could have I not have known that the end would be so soon. How I wish I could have been with her to the last. Dear mother, her spirit is free and she is with the loved ones who have gone before. But we must not – we can-not wish her back, she so longed to go. She could not “understand” why the Lord let her linger so long. Now she understands and rejoices in His goodness and love.”
Mrs. E. Gustafson, of Sycamore, Ill., who was in the family for a time some years since, writes a letter full of thoughtful sympathy, from which we quote these sentences: “I know she wanted to go, for she told me it would be better. I know it is far better, but so lonely for those left behind. But Mother Booth was a noble spirited woman. I some-times think, what would she have been if she could have had her hearing and speech. I cannot help thinking of the good she might have accomplished. I could not live with her without being the better for it. As it was, Mother Booth was a wise woman who built her house upon the Rock. The last sign she ever made to me was: ‘Meet me in Heaven.’”
The funeral services, preceded by a brief prayer at the house, were held in the Congregational church Thursday afternoon at two o’clock, opening with an instrumental voluntary—“Traumerei.”
Rev. S. F. Millikan, pastor of the church, then read the following sketch:
Mary Ann Walworth was born at Canaan, New Hampshire, Feb. 28, 1817. At the age of four she lost her hearing and power of speech in consequence of sickness. She was educated in the institution for the Deaf and Dumb at Hartford, Conn., where she spent five years. It was there, and while in the classes taught by Mr. Edmund Booth, a graduate and afterwards a teacher in the same institution for seven years, that the friendship was formed which ripened into an affectionate attachment. Later her family removed to Illinois and afterward to Iowa and located on the Buffalo [Creek] one mile west of Anamosa, where her father and brothers erected saw and flouring mills. Mr. Booth soon followed, and on the 26th of July, 1840, their marriage was solemnized by Justice of the Peace John G. Joslin, there being no clergyman nearer than Dubuque, so far as they knew. This is the first marriage on the records of the county, though there was one which preceded it. Four children were born of this union—Thomas E., Harriet, who died in infancy, Harriet E., now Mrs. Rev. G. F. Leclere, of Chillicothe, Texas, and Frank W. Booth, teacher in the Pennsylvania institution for the Deaf at Philadelphia.
Life in the earlier years of this new country involved hard struggles and many privations, and with a view of a betterment of conditions, Mr. Booth joined the great companies of gold seekers in the spring of 1849 and made the then perilous six months journey overland to California in safety. He was separated from a fond wife and two children nearly five years, but she husbanded his earnings in the mines with wise, constant and judicious care and made investment that gave homes not only to the two families and this church but to all others residing in this block. Her clear discernment in all business matters and her industry and executive force were very marked for one measurably isolated by infirmity; and she sought by example and training to prepare her children well for their work in life, remembering steadily and lovingly the supreme fact that integrity of character, purity and steadfast faith in God constitute the strongest and safest foundations.
Mrs. Booth was a charter member of this church, which was organized in 1846, and has held uninterrupted connection with it for more than 51 years. Though shut out from hearing the gospel and from the voice of song, she, in the earlier years, did not forget her obligations, and later for a long period, until failing strength prevented, she was always present and participated with her brothers and sisters in the joy and comfort of each recurring communion season. Her interest in this church and its ministers all these years has been constant and loving, and many times has she told her children and grandchildren how much she longed to hear a sermon and to hear the music and singing. Though we parted with her at last with deep sorrow, and though the blow has fallen with crushing and peculiar force on her faithful companion of more than fifty-seven years, yet we thank God that the longings of these years of silence have been realized and that songs and praises and everlasting joy shall be her perpetual heritage.
The choir sang “Immanuel’s Land,” as follows:
The sands of time are sinking;
The dawn of heaven breaks;
The summer morn I’ve sighed for,
The fair, sweet morn awakes.
Dark, dark hath been the midnight;
But dayspring is at hand,
And glory – glory dwelleth
In Immanuel’s land.
Oh, Christ! He is the fountain,
The deep, sweet well of love;
The streams on earth I’ve tasted,
More deep I’ll drink above;
There to an ocean fullness
His mercy doth expand,
And glory – glory dwelleth
In Immanuel’s land.
With mercy and with judgment
My web of time he wove,
And aye the dews of sorrow
Were lustred by his love;
I’ll bless the hand that guided,
I’ll bless the heart that planned,
When throned where glory dwelleth –
In Immanuel’s land.
Rev. J. I. Corbyn, pastor of St. Mark’s Episcopal church, read part of the 15th chapter of 1st Corinthians and other appropriate scripture selections.
Prayer by Mr. Millikan.
Solo by Miss Jessie Niles – “He Giveth His Beloved Sleep,” as follows:
Sorrow and care may meet,
The tempest cloud may lower;
The surge of sin may beat
Upon life’s troubled shore.
God doth His own in safety keep,
He giveth his beloved sleep.
The din of war may roll,
With all its raging flight,
Grief may oppress the soul
Throughout the weary night;
God doth His own in safety keep,
He giveth his beloved sleep.
In childhood’s winsome page,
In manhood’s joyous bloom!
In feebleness and age,
In death’s dark gathering gloom.
God doth His own in safety keep,
He giveth his beloved sleep.
Mr. Corbyn having been a near-neighbor of Mother Booth for many years, and who had rendered her greatly appreciated kindnesses, made brief remarks indicating his high regard for her excellencies of character, and earnestly exhorting his hearers to live as those who go in peace on their journey to the shores of Paradise. This was fol-lowed by the sermon, from the first division of which we quote extracts and giving in full that portion bearing directly on the life of the deceased.
Mr. Millikan presented as his theme “The Heroic Life.” His texts were from Acts 26:10 – “Whereupon, O King Agrippa, I was not disobedient to the heavenly vision”; and Galatians 1:16 – “Immediately I conferred not with flesh and blood.”
These words are a finger-board pointing forever to the path in which from that time forth one of the world’s heroes walked. These words, with lightning flash, open but the sure way to glory through the gloom of a selfish, sensual age. These words reveal the character which, in all ages, makes man the only glorious creature of earth – the character which alone makes life sublime, the quality which forever will make sons and daughters of the Lord God Almighty “heirs with Christ and joint heirs to an eternal inheri-tance.”
These words therefore may well stand before us this hour as we meditate upon the heroic life, for they are the gateway to that life for many a man like Paul and many a woman like Mrs. Booth, and they wrap up the quality of character which wins life for all souls.
Submitted by: Wilma Spice
Source: Anamosa Eureka, 28 January 1898 & 3 February 1898
Note: You can read more about Edmund and Mary Ann Booth on our Biography page and in the book, Edmund Booth, Deaf Pioneer, by Harry G. Lang (Washington, DC, Gallaudet University Press, 2004). The book tells about Edmund as a Forty-Niner who went to California to strike it rich in the gold fields, and about Mary Ann's part back in Iowa. It also documents Edmund's life after his return, including his not inconsiderable influence as a newspaper editor and as a champion of education for the deaf.

Edmund Booth is also featured on the Library of Congress American Memories site, including his diary and letters chronicling his overland crossing; prospecting at Feather River, Hangtown, and Sonora; visits to Sacramento, Columa, Columbia, and Stockton; and return voyage via Nicaragua, 1854.