METZGAR, Anna 1849-1937

METZGAR, BAILEY

Posted By: Tammy (email)
Date: 11/10/2016 at 17:07:31

Mrs. Anna Metzgar Dead; Resided In Iowa 84 Years

Mrs. Anna Metzgar, who had been a resident of central Iowa for 84 years and who was one of the few remaining Civil War widows of Grundy county, died at her home in Grundy Center last Saturday. She would have been 88 years old had she lived until today. Death was the result of a general decline due to old age.

Funeral services were held in the Methodist church in Grundy Center Monday afternoon. The services were conducted by the local pastor, Rev. J. B. Bird. Burial was in the family lot in the Grundy cemetery.

At the services Mrs. L. B. Canfield sang three selections. The Pythian Sisters and the Woman's Relief Corps attended in a body.

Pallbearers were John Clark, L. B. Canfield, George Canfield, R. F. Bockes, J. F. Stevens.

Obituary
The following history of Mrs. Metzgar's life was prepared by the family and read at the funeral service:
It was on Nov. 18, 1849, that the life of Mrs. Anna Metzgar began, in the home of Elisha and Susan Bailey at Middletown, Conn.

In her passing from this life on the morning of Nov. 13, one more of the valiant pioneers of the 19th century has left our midst. When only four years old she came to Iowa with her parents in a covered wagon, and from these days of her earliest childhood she knew the rugged meaning of self-denial, industry and thrift.

In those early days it was not easy for a young person to obtain even a meager education. There were few school supplies of any kind available. To be the possessor of a good slate and pencil and a book or two was to be fortunate. In talking of girlhood days, as Mrs. Metzgar loved to do, she would often say, "I literally ate up my books," a statement easy to understand by those who best knew the handicaps under which she struggled to make the best use of her talents. It was her privilege to attend for a time Bradford Academy at Nashua, and thus qualify herself as a teacher in the rural schools.

Later she attended Upper Iowa University at Fayette, and it was during that time that she met Albert E. Metzgar, whom she married in 1871. To their home six children were born. The energy and resourcefulness of her life were now invested unsparingly within the home circle. Sorrow came as a heavy cloud when, one by one, three of her children, Ward, Dale and Bell, were removed by death.

Through the struggle and grief of those early years she was sustained and strengthened by her faith in God. "Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord delivereth him out of them all."

The death of her husband in 1914 left her more lonely--but she continued to fill her life with every possible useful and benevolent activity. Besides her deep interest and concern for the work of her church which she ardently loved, she was untiring--while strength remained--in her zeal and labors for the Relief Corps and King's Daughters, serving as president of each organization for four years. She was also a member of the Pythian Sisters and Past Chiefs Council.

Her sympathy was deep and tender for all who were in need, and her chief regret was that she could not do more to help.

It was only a fragile thread by which she was held to this earthly life during the last few years.

Again and again, when breath was almost too short for speaking, she would say, "I'm just trusting in the Lord." "He's so good to me." "Everybody is good to me." "I have my children right around me so they can come at any time I need them." She loved to meditate upon the daily readings in the "Upper Room," pondering each one over and over. She was a member of the Methodist Church all through her life.

And so it is that in passing, Susan Anna Bailey Metzgar leaves to her two sons, Ralph and Lyle of this city, to her daughter, Mrs. Maude Pinney of Marshalltown, to her grandchildren, great-grandchildren, nephews and nieces, a noble heritage; not in material wealth but in those riches that shall far outlast this physical universe with all its wonders. She leaves also one sister, Mrs. Mary Rawlins of Lincoln, Neb.

"It is not death to die,
To leave this weary road,
And midst the brotherhood on high
To be at home--with God.
It is not death--to fling
Aside this sinful dust,
And rise on strong exultant wing
To live among the just--
Jesus, thou Prince of Life,
Thy chosen cannot die!
Like thee--they conquer in the strife
To reign with thee on high.

Out-of-town people present at the funeral were, Chas. Pinney, Marshalltown; Mr. and Mrs. Robert E. Metzgar, Chicago; Chas. H. Bailey, Montour; Mr. and Mrs. Harry Hasbrouck, Goldfield, Iowa; Mrs. Earl Hasbrouck, Eagle Grove, Iowa; Mr. and Mrs. John Maas, Garwin; Mr. and Mrs. Chas. Foote and daughter Delight, and Mrs. Carrie Foote, Waterloo; Mr. and Mrs. Lee N. Derby and Mrs. Merle Stewart, Cedar Rapids; Mrs. C. B. Price, Des Moines.

--The Grundy Register (Grundy Center, Iowa), 18 November 1937, sec 2, pg 1