Hestwood, Rebecca J. 1824-1899

HESTWOOD, JONES, JOHNSON, AMOS, SMEAD, AUSTIN

Posted By: Volunteer Transcriber
Date: 5/1/2005 at 17:13:55

The Newton (IA) Record Thursday, November 16, 1899
Obituary of Mother Hestwood

Hestwood, Rebecca J.

From the Northwestern Christian Advocate of Nov. 22nd ­ we take the following obituary of the late Mrs. Samuel Hestwood, which will be of interest to a host of our older Methodist people, who knew and loved the good woman in years gone by:

Hestwood ­ Rebecca J. Hestwood died in Knoxville, Ia., Oct. 30, 1899. She was born in York County, Pa., in 1824, and married Rev. Samuel Hestwood, late of the Iowa Conference, Dec. 16, 1845, in Delaware County, Ohio. Her early home was in Ohio, with her parents moved when she was about ten years of age. Her early religious associations were those of the Presbyterian Church. Her grandfather, Rev. John Jones, was a Presbyterian minister of the old Calvinistic type, a chaplain in the Revolutionary War and a member of Congress. She became a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church in 1847, to which church she remained thoroughly loyal. With Brother Hestwood she moved to Illinois in 1850, then to Iowa in 1852, and the following year Brother Hestwood united with the Iowa Conference. He won an extensive reputation as a remarkably successful soul winner. Great revivals attended his efforts. But not by any means among the least of the factors making for success in these revivals was the labor of his wife. She was not only in sympathy with him but was an ardent aggressive force in evangelistic work and building up the Master’s kingdom. She was left a widow, June 22nd, 1892. For a number of years her home had been in Knoxville, where her intelligent, Christian labors helped greatly in the work of the church. The memory of her works will constantly urge to noble deeds and to the highest attainments in Christian life. Seven children were born to Brother and Sister Hestwood. One, a daughter, died in infancy. Of the two sons, Virgil E. passed on before his mother to his eternal home. The other surviving children are J. E. Hestwood, Mrs. T. N. Johnson, of Kansas City, Kan., Mrs. Emma Amos of Knoxville, Iowa, Mrs. C. C. Smead, of Newton, Ia., and Mrs. Sam Austin of Eldora, Kan. The funeral services were conducted in the church at Knoxville, by her pastor, W. G. Thorn, assisted by J. W. Lambert and F. W. Evans.

Originally submitted on Mon Nov 4 20:07:45 2002