Daughter of Henry and Anna Sevier Hoss
The lines of heredity that converged in Sophia Hoss French are worthy of note. On the maternal side she belonged to the lineage of the Seviers. Mari a Sevier Hoss, John Sevier the third, and John Sevier the second are the links leading back to the John Sevier whose name is fixed in the annals of Tennessee's origin and America's independence. Michael Boone, an ancestor of Daniel Boone, was also an ancestor of her father, Henry Hoss. There were ties, of blood, therefore, that connected her with this picturesque figure in pioneer history.
Not less noteworthy is the line of spiritual heredity. The unique and irresistible John A. Granade numbered among 'his many converts the family of John Sevier and put that name for the first time on the class-book o f a Methodist church. Johnson City, the seat of this Conference, happens to be the very center of the activities of these never-to-be-forgotten forebears.
Those who knew Sister French intimately could discover without difficulty the endowments of mind and heart suggestive of such an inheritance and legacy. Her interest in the larger issues of both Church and State was always apparent, her acceptance of the verities of the higher revelation was wholehearted, her outlook on life was that o f a mind that thought and a heart that knew.
Born near Jonesboro, Tenn., March 3, 1851; reared in a cultured Christian home along with her distinguished brother, Bishop Hoss; converted and joined the church in girlhood; united in marriage to Rev. George D. French August 20, 1874; mother of seven children, four of whom survive her; passed to her reward December 22, 1925, and laid to rest in the cemetery at Morristown, Tenn. These are items of the record that have their place in this brief memoir. And between them moves a developing and ripening character that found its culmination in a serene and triumphant end.
The responsibilities that fell to the lot of her married life were unusual. Her husband's duties as presiding elder of large districts, and again as Bible Society Agent, necessitated frequent and protracted absences in his fields of labor. Home administration, therefore, was largely hers—the rearing of the children, the ordering of domestic affairs, and even the disposing of matters of his office that could not await his return. These she managed with rare and courage. Dr. French was accustomed to say that he carried no anxieties with him on his rounds, knowing that the home would be run better in his absence than with his presence; and the four daughters grown to womanhood, all active in the affairs of the Christian faith, attest the careful training she gave them. Rev. J. W. Moore, D. D., of the Virgini a Conference, lived in her home for a school term during his boyhood, and tenderly speaks of his conversion as religion was discussed about the fireside.
A stranger, even, could not fail to be impressed with her modest bearing and unobtrusive attitude. Showy elements did not predominate with her, nor did she express her qualities in loud tones. She cared little for profession, much for possession; nothing at all for the tawdry and the bizarre whether in social relationships or in religion, but much for the testimony of a good conscience and the love that rejoices in the truth. Seeing her often among the flowers that bloomed along the borders of the yard, I have often thought how little she resembled in her moods the sun-flower liftin g its colors and spreading its petals above the levels of the landscape, and how very like the arbutus blooming among the leaves and announcing in notes of fragrance the resurrections of the Springtime.
" Do not let my Conference memoir be long, " she once said to the writer, and this modest wish will be regarded, but not indeed until it is written down that she translated the moods o f a noble spirit into a life of beneficence and blessing. And its passing brings the touch of sadness, but with a l the memory of its radiance which is sufficient.
Written By: E. E. Wiley – Holston Conference Journal – PP: 95-96
The lines of heredity that converged in Sophia Hoss French are worthy of note. On the maternal side she belonged to the lineage of the Seviers. Mari a Sevier Hoss, John Sevier the third, and John Sevier the second are the links leading back to the John Sevier whose name is fixed in the annals of Tennessee's origin and America's independence. Michael Boone, an ancestor of Daniel Boone, was also an ancestor of her father, Henry Hoss. There were ties, of blood, therefore, that connected her with this picturesque figure in pioneer history.
Not less noteworthy is the line of spiritual heredity. The unique and irresistible John A. Granade numbered among 'his many converts the family of John Sevier and put that name for the first time on the class-book o f a Methodist church. Johnson City, the seat of this Conference, happens to be the very center of the activities of these never-to-be-forgotten forebears.
Those who knew Sister French intimately could discover without difficulty the endowments of mind and heart suggestive of such an inheritance and legacy. Her interest in the larger issues of both Church and State was always apparent, her acceptance of the verities of the higher revelation was wholehearted, her outlook on life was that o f a mind that thought and a heart that knew.
Born near Jonesboro, Tenn., March 3, 1851; reared in a cultured Christian home along with her distinguished brother, Bishop Hoss; converted and joined the church in girlhood; united in marriage to Rev. George D. French August 20, 1874; mother of seven children, four of whom survive her; passed to her reward December 22, 1925, and laid to rest in the cemetery at Morristown, Tenn. These are items of the record that have their place in this brief memoir. And between them moves a developing and ripening character that found its culmination in a serene and triumphant end.
The responsibilities that fell to the lot of her married life were unusual. Her husband's duties as presiding elder of large districts, and again as Bible Society Agent, necessitated frequent and protracted absences in his fields of labor. Home administration, therefore, was largely hers—the rearing of the children, the ordering of domestic affairs, and even the disposing of matters of his office that could not await his return. These she managed with rare and courage. Dr. French was accustomed to say that he carried no anxieties with him on his rounds, knowing that the home would be run better in his absence than with his presence; and the four daughters grown to womanhood, all active in the affairs of the Christian faith, attest the careful training she gave them. Rev. J. W. Moore, D. D., of the Virgini a Conference, lived in her home for a school term during his boyhood, and tenderly speaks of his conversion as religion was discussed about the fireside.
A stranger, even, could not fail to be impressed with her modest bearing and unobtrusive attitude. Showy elements did not predominate with her, nor did she express her qualities in loud tones. She cared little for profession, much for possession; nothing at all for the tawdry and the bizarre whether in social relationships or in religion, but much for the testimony of a good conscience and the love that rejoices in the truth. Seeing her often among the flowers that bloomed along the borders of the yard, I have often thought how little she resembled in her moods the sun-flower liftin g its colors and spreading its petals above the levels of the landscape, and how very like the arbutus blooming among the leaves and announcing in notes of fragrance the resurrections of the Springtime.
" Do not let my Conference memoir be long, " she once said to the writer, and this modest wish will be regarded, but not indeed until it is written down that she translated the moods o f a noble spirit into a life of beneficence and blessing. And its passing brings the touch of sadness, but with a l the memory of its radiance which is sufficient.
Written By: E. E. Wiley – Holston Conference Journal – PP: 95-96
Daughter of Henry and Anna Sevier Hoss
The lines of heredity that converged in Sophia Hoss French are worthy of note. On the maternal side she belonged to the lineage of the Seviers. Mari a Sevier Hoss, John Sevier the third, and John Sevier the second are the links leading back to the John Sevier whose name is fixed in the annals of Tennessee's origin and America's independence. Michael Boone, an ancestor of Daniel Boone, was also an ancestor of her father, Henry Hoss. There were ties, of blood, therefore, that connected her with this picturesque figure in pioneer history.
Not less noteworthy is the line of spiritual heredity. The unique and irresistible John A. Granade numbered among 'his many converts the family of John Sevier and put that name for the first time on the class-book o f a Methodist church. Johnson City, the seat of this Conference, happens to be the very center of the activities of these never-to-be-forgotten forebears.
Those who knew Sister French intimately could discover without difficulty the endowments of mind and heart suggestive of such an inheritance and legacy. Her interest in the larger issues of both Church and State was always apparent, her acceptance of the verities of the higher revelation was wholehearted, her outlook on life was that o f a mind that thought and a heart that knew.
Born near Jonesboro, Tenn., March 3, 1851; reared in a cultured Christian home along with her distinguished brother, Bishop Hoss; converted and joined the church in girlhood; united in marriage to Rev. George D. French August 20, 1874; mother of seven children, four of whom survive her; passed to her reward December 22, 1925, and laid to rest in the cemetery at Morristown, Tenn. These are items of the record that have their place in this brief memoir. And between them moves a developing and ripening character that found its culmination in a serene and triumphant end.
The responsibilities that fell to the lot of her married life were unusual. Her husband's duties as presiding elder of large districts, and again as Bible Society Agent, necessitated frequent and protracted absences in his fields of labor. Home administration, therefore, was largely hers—the rearing of the children, the ordering of domestic affairs, and even the disposing of matters of his office that could not await his return. These she managed with rare and courage. Dr. French was accustomed to say that he carried no anxieties with him on his rounds, knowing that the home would be run better in his absence than with his presence; and the four daughters grown to womanhood, all active in the affairs of the Christian faith, attest the careful training she gave them. Rev. J. W. Moore, D. D., of the Virgini a Conference, lived in her home for a school term during his boyhood, and tenderly speaks of his conversion as religion was discussed about the fireside.
A stranger, even, could not fail to be impressed with her modest bearing and unobtrusive attitude. Showy elements did not predominate with her, nor did she express her qualities in loud tones. She cared little for profession, much for possession; nothing at all for the tawdry and the bizarre whether in social relationships or in religion, but much for the testimony of a good conscience and the love that rejoices in the truth. Seeing her often among the flowers that bloomed along the borders of the yard, I have often thought how little she resembled in her moods the sun-flower liftin g its colors and spreading its petals above the levels of the landscape, and how very like the arbutus blooming among the leaves and announcing in notes of fragrance the resurrections of the Springtime.
" Do not let my Conference memoir be long, " she once said to the writer, and this modest wish will be regarded, but not indeed until it is written down that she translated the moods o f a noble spirit into a life of beneficence and blessing. And its passing brings the touch of sadness, but with a l the memory of its radiance which is sufficient.
Written By: E. E. Wiley – Holston Conference Journal – PP: 95-96
The lines of heredity that converged in Sophia Hoss French are worthy of note. On the maternal side she belonged to the lineage of the Seviers. Mari a Sevier Hoss, John Sevier the third, and John Sevier the second are the links leading back to the John Sevier whose name is fixed in the annals of Tennessee's origin and America's independence. Michael Boone, an ancestor of Daniel Boone, was also an ancestor of her father, Henry Hoss. There were ties, of blood, therefore, that connected her with this picturesque figure in pioneer history.
Not less noteworthy is the line of spiritual heredity. The unique and irresistible John A. Granade numbered among 'his many converts the family of John Sevier and put that name for the first time on the class-book o f a Methodist church. Johnson City, the seat of this Conference, happens to be the very center of the activities of these never-to-be-forgotten forebears.
Those who knew Sister French intimately could discover without difficulty the endowments of mind and heart suggestive of such an inheritance and legacy. Her interest in the larger issues of both Church and State was always apparent, her acceptance of the verities of the higher revelation was wholehearted, her outlook on life was that o f a mind that thought and a heart that knew.
Born near Jonesboro, Tenn., March 3, 1851; reared in a cultured Christian home along with her distinguished brother, Bishop Hoss; converted and joined the church in girlhood; united in marriage to Rev. George D. French August 20, 1874; mother of seven children, four of whom survive her; passed to her reward December 22, 1925, and laid to rest in the cemetery at Morristown, Tenn. These are items of the record that have their place in this brief memoir. And between them moves a developing and ripening character that found its culmination in a serene and triumphant end.
The responsibilities that fell to the lot of her married life were unusual. Her husband's duties as presiding elder of large districts, and again as Bible Society Agent, necessitated frequent and protracted absences in his fields of labor. Home administration, therefore, was largely hers—the rearing of the children, the ordering of domestic affairs, and even the disposing of matters of his office that could not await his return. These she managed with rare and courage. Dr. French was accustomed to say that he carried no anxieties with him on his rounds, knowing that the home would be run better in his absence than with his presence; and the four daughters grown to womanhood, all active in the affairs of the Christian faith, attest the careful training she gave them. Rev. J. W. Moore, D. D., of the Virgini a Conference, lived in her home for a school term during his boyhood, and tenderly speaks of his conversion as religion was discussed about the fireside.
A stranger, even, could not fail to be impressed with her modest bearing and unobtrusive attitude. Showy elements did not predominate with her, nor did she express her qualities in loud tones. She cared little for profession, much for possession; nothing at all for the tawdry and the bizarre whether in social relationships or in religion, but much for the testimony of a good conscience and the love that rejoices in the truth. Seeing her often among the flowers that bloomed along the borders of the yard, I have often thought how little she resembled in her moods the sun-flower liftin g its colors and spreading its petals above the levels of the landscape, and how very like the arbutus blooming among the leaves and announcing in notes of fragrance the resurrections of the Springtime.
" Do not let my Conference memoir be long, " she once said to the writer, and this modest wish will be regarded, but not indeed until it is written down that she translated the moods o f a noble spirit into a life of beneficence and blessing. And its passing brings the touch of sadness, but with a l the memory of its radiance which is sufficient.
Written By: E. E. Wiley – Holston Conference Journal – PP: 95-96
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