It is believed that Zeruiah was the daughter of Ephraim Blunt and Zerviah Abbot.

OBITUARY

The Caledonian, St. Johnsbury, Vt. 2-3-1860:
Death of a Centennarian.

Under our obituary head will be found the announcement of the recent death in Calais, Vt., of Mrs. Zeruah Hartshorn, at the advanced age of one hundred and one years.--Mrs. Hartshorn was born January 1759, in the town then called Suncook, Mass., where she resided during her childhood and youth, and some years after she was married to Mr. Aaran Hartshorn. About the year 1787 the family moved to Danville, and located but a few rods west of where the court house building now stands. At the time the "Green" (so called) and in fact, the present limits of the village, was nothing but a forest, with one or two log tenements, and lines of spotted trees as a guide from one point to another, and we have heard it stated that then there was only one frame building in Danville, and but few families. Soon, however, settlers began to flock in, and the town, and especially the village settled pretty fast--the forest was rapidly subdued, and in a few years many substantial frame dwellings took the place of the log houses.

But Mr. Hartshorn was not permitted long to enjoy the fruits of his toils and privations. In some eight or ten years after his location here, he was taken ill and died, aged only 40. He left a family of ten children, several of them quite young. To the care of Mrs. Hartshorn this numerous family was left, and some of them are yet living at the age of 80 years.--She remained a widow sixty-one years, retaining, till within a short time of her death, her mental and physical faculties, if not in their full vigor, at least to an unusual extent. Her husband was one year in the Revolutionary war, and for several years past she has received a widow's pension from government.

For forty years prior to her decease, she had been a member of the Free Will Baptist denomination. She died at the residence of her son, Rev. Abram Hartshorn, and at her request her remains were brought to Danville for interment. Her funeral took place last Sabbath at the Congregational church, Rev. Mr. Eastman preaching an appropriate discourse from Isaiah, chap. 65, and a clause of the 20th verse, viz: "For the child shall die an hundred years old," applying the words to the prophetic Millenium, when the earth will be so renovated and the habits of men so changed for the better, that they will live as long as the patriarchs. At the funeral, there were present as mourners, children of the fifth generation.

A hundred years! What changes have occurred ruing that period!--changes in all the social, religious and secular relations of life! Without dwelling upon the theme, we leave it to the reader's own thoughts and reflections.--North Star.

Contributor:
John Stoutimore - [email protected]