Jackson County OR Archives Obituaries.....Goddard, Blin C August 9, 1893 ********************************************************************************* USGENWEB ARCHIVES(tm) NOTICE: ************************************************ Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://www.usgwarchives.net/or/orfiles.htm ********************************************************************************* File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by: Elizabeth C jaxsearch@hotmail.com November 5, 2007, 11:18 pm Talent (Oregon) News, 15 Aug 1893 B. C. Goddard, who was living alone at his place on Wagner creek, was suddenly stricken down with paralysis while milking early in the morning of the 3rd inst. He crawled to the house, a distance of a few yards, where, about four hours later he was found lying on the porch by a sewing machine agent who at once went for assistance. Dr. Geary was summoned but he had little hope from the first. For about two days he suffered greatly, then sank gradually into a comatose condition from which it was difficult to rouse him, and died at 9 p. m. on the following Wednesday. The burial took place at the Wagner creek cemetery last Friday, attended by a large number of relatives and friends. The following brief address was read by W. J. Dean at the grave.:–Again the fell destroyer, Death, has taken from us a valued citizen. Again we are brought face to face with “the great mystery that shrouds this world.” Death, terrible death, with mystery is rife, / But is it not equalled by the mystery of life? / The whence and the whither, the why and the how / Have been mysteries ever and are mysteries now. / Ask the wise or the simple, the king or the slave, / The proud or the lowly, the saint or the knave, / But the mystery of death, of life and of birth / Will ever remain the problem of earth. We are gathered here to pay the last tributes of respect to one who has ever been held in highest esteem by all who knew him. I need not dwell at length upon the worth and virtues of the departed. He was known too well to render this necessary. As a kind husband and father, as a generous and obliging neighbor and exemplary citizen he will long be remembered. He was a man of great rectitude of character. Strictly honest in all his dealing, it was difficult for him to imagine from whence arises the impulse to pursue a uniform opposite course. While he could forget and forgive an occasional deviation from the rule of right, he had little patience with persistent evil doers–those who make no effort to reform. Although born of Christian parents, the deceased has ever been an ultra-unbeliever in the Christian or any other religion, but has been from his youth a materialist. He was a full believer in evolution–that, however, slow the process may be, the world is not only growing wiser but better. He believed that religion–which to him was synonymous with superstition–has ever been a drawback to human progress and that by the decadence of religion–for he looked upon it as declining–may be largely measured the advancement of the race. He could hardly be called an agnostic of the Huxley type for he was a radical unbeliever in another state of existence. To him there was ample evidence against, and little in favor of, a conscious existence beyond this life. He has often been heard to remark, in substance, that all there is of us–moral, mental and physical–begins and ends in this world. To many, such views would seem cold and cheerless, but with those who hold them they form the basis of the highest ideals of humanity. Possessed of a remarkably retentive memory and being a great reader, the deceased was a man of unusual intelligence. His accurate knowledge of history, ancient and modern, has often been a surprise to me. Having had also a varied experience in many lines of business and being a great observer of men and things and, withal, a careful and logical reasoner, the judgement of “Squire Goddard”, as he was often called, in matters of interest to individuals or to the community, was often sought after and generally considered as unassailable. Blin C. Goddard, the subject of this memoir, was born in Chenango county, New York, May 25th 1822, having therefore, passed the three-score-and-ten milestone of life. His father, James Goddard, was a soldier and quartermaster in the war of 1812. It is worthy of note that the steelyards that he used in weighing out rations to the soldiers isn that war have descended as an heirloom to the deceased and have ever since been kept as an interesting relic in his family. The deceased left his paternal home at the age of sixteen and made his way to the then “out west” state of Missouri. He was married to Demaris McClain in 1844 and twenty years after crossed the plains with his family, to Jackson County, Oregon, and located near Phoenix. In 1866 he purchased the farm on Wagner creek where he resided the remainder of his life. Being an excellent carpenter he followed that trade for the most part until about 15 years ago. In Missouri he was justice of the peace for several years where he acquired the sobriquet of “Squire”, and was for four years assessor in this county, in which official capacity he gave the highest satisfaction. Two sons, Hendrick and Reno, and two daughters, Mrs. M. H. Coleman and Mrs. W. J. Dean, survive him, and who, together with all who knew him, will ever cherish his memory. 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