IV
IV.
PETER ROYER 209
"At his death bed
all of the family were present except Amos and the
writer's wife, who was ill with the same malady as her
father and brother.
When it became apparent to the doctor - his son Levi
- that the end on earth
was near at hand, the family was called. To them the
dying husband and
parent addressed tender words and bid an affectionate
farewell. His brother-
in-law, John Weybright, of whom he was particularly fond,
was present, as
were also his friends John Roop and David Reese. After
the interview with
the family, he threw his arms around Weybright's neck
and with tears run-
ning down his cheeks, spoke in endearing terms of the
close companionship
that had always existed between them. John Roop and David
Reese, at the
request of the dying man, then came to the bedside. The
interviews with
both these friends were equally touching, especially
with Roop. Shortly
thereafter, with the exclamation: "I didn't think
heaven was so near!" he
passed out into that indiscovered country from which
no one has ever returned.
"His death occurred
on Sunday. On Tuesday, followed to the grave by
an immense relationship and an equally large concourse
of freinds, his remains
were deposited in the Meadow Branch grave yard.
"Few communities have
been able to point to a family more noted for
its religious and moral excellence, its sterling industry
and economy, and its
unassuming benevolence, than were the sons and daughters
of Peter Royer.
The subject of the sketch was a typical representative
of the family. From his
earliest manhood up to his death, he was one of the county's
most exemplary
citizens, and to this day, in and out of the church of
which he was a devoted
member, his acts of charity and kindness are the source
of grateful remark
and remembrance by those who were its beneficiaries.
No unfortunate tramp
or way-farer who sought shelter at John Royer's door
was ever compelled
to seek quarters in even a comfortable barn; for such
special provision was
made. They always found a good bed in a room set apart
for them in the dwell-
ing. The resident poor of the neighborhood mourned his
loss as though it
was one of their own household, while the church parted
with a member whose
place it seemed impossible to fill.
"Mr. Royer was a great
reader and fond of conservation. He was an
intelligent man, and socially entertaining and agreeable.
His disposition was
of a lively, but not of a frivilous character. He had
some fondness for music
and in the early years of his married life indulged considerably
on the flute.
The writer now recalls with a sad pleasure the frequent
reference made by his
wife to the enjoyment she sustained in hearing her father
play on that instru-
ment. She never forgot it.
"Like all his family
he was a sterling Republican, but like them he took
no part in politics; in fact he seldom voted. He was
a warm supporter of the
government in its struggle with the South, and gave one
son cheerfully to
the cause of his country. During those trying hours the
writer remembers,
with a vividness never to be forgotten, the anxious waiting
of his father-in-law
for the evening paper that was expected to contain some
stirring news from the
boys at the front; and when the paper came, with it in
one hand and a lighted
candle in the other he would seat himself in his accustomed
chair and eagerly
devour the reports and bulletins from the army."
He later regretted his
so great interest in the war.
Section
1.
VI. AMOS M. ROYER, p. 208,
was married to VI. Catharine Roop,
daughter of V. David Roop, pp. 185, and 190. He had four
child-
ren, viz.:
VII. Ida M.
Royer b. Dec. 22, 1860, d. Apr. 2, 1882
VII. Martha M.
" b. Mar. 6, 1862.
VII. David E. "
b. July 29, 1863.
VII. John W. "
b. _ _, 1865.
VII. IDA M. ROYER, afore,
m. Apr. 2, 1879, to N. E. Franklin, a farmer
in Carroll Co.; after death of wife, m. a dau. of Eld.
Jesse Roop, now resides
in Cali. Ida had one child that died at birth.
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