Obituary for S. J. Copher (1864-1915)
Uncited clippings from the "Mattie Davis Martin Collection" of Doris Martin Jablonski, 1998.

The following obituary was taken from the Christian Evangelist of Sept 9th, 1915. Stonewall Jackson COPHER, by the grace of God, a minister of the Word passed away to the better land, Friday, August 27, 1915 at 7:30 PM. He was holding a meeting for the Hickory Grove Church in Boone County, Missouri and was a guest in the home of Brother CRAIG. They were preparing to start to church, he was smitten with apoplexy and died within fifteen minutes.

Brother COPHER was born at Hawk Point, Lincoln county, May 6, 1864, being the youngest of four brothers and three sisters. He united with the church at Hawk Point under the preaching of Timothy FORD when sixteen years of age.

He attended high school at Troy Missouri and worked thru the summer. It was told of him that he was so anxious to get his education that he took his books to the field and studied while he worked. He was graduated from Bible College, Lexington KY, under McGARVEY in the class of 1886.

He first preached for the church at High Bridge, Kentucky and while there married Miss Sallie BARR November 27, 1887. In December 1887 he returned to Lincoln County Missouri and was fond of saying that he had preached during all the years within a radius of one hundred miles of his old home church in Hawk Point and in all the twenty eight years he had never had a Lord’s Day without an appointment to preach and had missed only two Sundays, those on account of sickness. He baptized more than 1,000 people into the church of Christ and married more than 600 couples; he held twenty six protracted meetings for the church at Davis Mo., returning every year to do that work.

Brother and Sister COPHER had no children of their own but 22 needy children were cared for in their home for longer or shorter periods, as the need was.

For twelve years, Brother and sister COPHER have lived in Moberly, and he has gone about preaching the Word. We carried his body to Troy, and there he sleeps with relatives. "Until the day break and the shadows flee away".

Moberly Mo., Benj. L. SMITH    

Note regarding clippings from the "Mattie Davis Martin Collection":   Mattie Davis Martin (1875-1943) lived all of her life in Lincoln County, MO.   She collected a large file of clippings of Lincoln County residents.  The majority of the clippings were without citation, and kept stored in an old purse. Doris Martin Jablonski, beneficiary of the collection, has transcribed them for inclusion on our Lincoln County Heritage/Records Page.

File submitted to HERITAGE PAGES of LINCOLN COUNTY, MISSOURI by Doris Martin Jablonski, 1 November 1998.

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