OBITUARY.

Otago Witness, Issue 2206, 11 June 1896, Page 26

OBITUARY.

ERIC SINCLAIR; iETAT 57.

There died ab Titri, near Waihola, on May 28, another of the pioneer settlers, another of that little band which will be before long remembered in niune only. The Sinclair family, several of the original members of which are still living, came from the Orkney Islands, and, true to the traditions of the stock from which they sprang, they were a race of hardy men. Eric Sinclair, the subject of this notice, left Kirkwall, Orkney, in company with his parents and the younger members of the family iv December 1856, arriving at Dunedin in the ship Maori in April 1857. The family took up land near Taieri Ferry, where they settled, .and the parents lived there till death claimed them, and Nature took them back to her bosom, and in doing so she never claimed a pair of truer and more loyal hearts. A worthy sou of. such worthy parents was young Eric Sinclair, when in my boyhood's days I flist ku-'.w him. 'He was then the very ideal of a man, existing all the more icbust qualities that go to make up a manly man. ,Tall and strong, with a well-knit frame and an iron constitution, he hardly knew his own strength, and but for tha dread disease that laid hold upon him while still in the prime of his strong mature manhood, he might have enjoyed SO years more of vigorous active life. Eric Sinclair mariied early, and settled on a small farm of his own at Titri, and to augment the proceeds of his limited area of land he ÜBed to take contracts of various kinds in . both Bruce and Taieri counties, and at one time' he was partner with a contractor for part of the woodwork in connection with the mole at Otago Heads. He was a clever-handed man, who could turn his hand to almost anything, and had built bridges, boat 1 ), and houses, as well as having done all kinds of country load works. He had the mental qualities that make for civil engineering, and had his oppo' t unities lain tbat way, he had \all the netuntl gifts. In consequence of the workman- ' ship-like manner iv which he carried out his contracts, his tender was generally accepted, eveu in the face of lower tenders, when the job was one requiring skill. His extensive connection with country works made him widely kuowo, and wherever he was known he was much thought of. Up to quite a short time ago he was in the possession of robust health, and the flist sign of approaching trouble made its appearance a couple of years ago, when he hud his hip operated upon, and a small hard lump cut out by the doctors. After that his health remained" unimpaired, and it was not until towards the cloae of the past year that certain lumps and giowths in the neighbourhood of the lower jaw began to give him trouble. At the time of the Dunedin Medical Congress he consulted a Melbourne kpccialist and_ learned his fat* 1 , which he accepted as cue might expect a descendant of the hardy Norsemen to do. Thesame courage which enabled hia ancestors to brave the dangers of the deep and face with calmness the deadliest foes, enabled him to accept his fate, when told that he had been seized with malignant cancer, and that medical science could do nothing for him— with a fortitude that was as unassuming as it was real. It was not long till the hard lamps began to ulcerate, and for weeks the deadly work went on, the cancec eating out the strong life and Blowly but surely undermining the iron constitution, till at last nothing but the wellbuilt frame was left. Throughout all the weary weeks of inmeasing suffering he never murmured, and although at last he could not take food, but only «ip water, still for fire weeks the strong life within bid defiance to death, and at last the .wrestle with death was a painful one "to his friends who ssw him struggling through the weariness of a 1 long night. But for him death had no terrors, beyood such as our poor weak phj sical . frames are subjsut to,« for he had fixed 'his hope on high and longed for the time when he would be free from pain and suffering. He leaves behind him a sorrowing wicow and four sons and four daughters, most of whom are grown up. He was laid to rest in the Otakia Cemetery on May 31, and followed to the grave by the largest corttne that ever went along that road, showing hijw well and bow widely he was respocted. Jleqni«se<},t in pace.— [Communicated.] MRS rTe. TUBMAN : AGED 22. Hast Monday's express brought to Hillgrove the sad and unexpected news of the death of Mrs Bessie Tubman, the_ beloved young wife of Mr R. G. Tnbmau, Dunedin, and third daughter of Mrs Culling, Hillgrove (who died at her residence, Leith Walk, North-East Valley, on Sunday morning, May 31. The newa caused a wave of widespread sympathy for the bereaved family, only intensified on Tuesday by the arrival of the 12 o'clock -train at Moeraki, bearing the remains of the deceased lady |to her late homr. A number of old time-honoured ; friends were in attendance to receive Mrs Culling. At half-past 2 of the same day the funiral cortdge, the largest seen here for many year*, left the house for Hampden. On arriving at that place the pro.ceKsion went first to the pretty little Roman Catholic Church (St. Msry's, Star of the Sea), where a most impressive buiial service was conducted by the Rev. Father Murphy, assisted by the two clergymen of this and the Oainaiu district. A.% the coffin, bhek, silver mounted, and crown»d with, a profusion of beautiful white flowers, was borne down the aisle by deceased's four brothers, scarcdy an eye was dry amongst those acsetubled to pay the list respects to that dear one so suddenly cut off in the midst of the bloom of her sweet young life, when they reflected that only some five months before they had been so ga'hered to see her brought in a beautiful bride' on tha brink of what seemed a happy and useful life. But it was' not to be, and to use her own I dying words, " God's will be done." Service beiDg i over, the cortege again moved on to the cemetery. The stillness which prevailed over the township as the sad procession wended its way was almost oppressive, and few exchanged words save to express from time to time their sorrow for the bereaved family. The body was laid to rest by the grave of the decsased'a father, in a beautiful spot facing the sea, and one upon which the morning sun's first rays will ever shine. Of the great sympathy felt for the bereaved mother and husband, tbe many wreaths are | evidence enough —notably one of waxen a t rs, sent by the officers of the George street School, of which staff Mr Tubman .is a much-respected i member. It is a curious coincidence in connection with this sad event, and one typical of Longfellow's beautiful poem "The Two Angles" (the one of life and one of death), that on the day of Mrs Tubman's death was proclaimed the birth of a son to a very near relative of the family. In conclusion, I may say that a gloom which the great healer time alone will soothe away has been cast over the whole place. But with this dear young lady's name shall ever rise the memory of one win sweetened the lives of so many others by her presence. The suddenness of the sad event brings very forcibly before us the oft repeated lesson "Watch, and Pjay." It is worthy of note that Mrs Tubman's was the fii'3t marriage and subsequently the first funersl from the little church at mrnpden,.St. Mary's Star of the Sea.— [Communicated.]