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In Memory of George E. Brooke.

At a recent meeting of the Farmers'
Club, in the Sandy Spring neighborhood,
Mr. Charles F. Kirk, of Olney,
paid the following tribute to the
memory of the late George E. Brooke:

The thoughts that are uppermost in
the minds of all of us this evening
are not those of the material and
social interests which this club of
farmers was organized to foster. For
thefirst time for nearly a century
guests beneath this hospitable roof
miss the genial presence and warm
welcome of one who has just passed
away. The memory of no living man
runs back to the time when George
E. Brooke was not the host at
"Brooke Grove." Whether friend
or stranger, his kindly greeting and
warm, manly handclasp, made all at
home under his roof tree.

The slemnity of his funeral on the
beautiful Sunday evening of October
8th, attended as it was by his many
friends from far and near, gave evidence
of the deep sense of personal
loss which each one felt. The lovely
autumn evening upon which all nature
seemed to pause in beauteous silence,
upon which any words of man, no
matter how well chosen, would have
jarred, seemed most appropriate for
the close of the earthly career of one
who had so well filled out the destiny
of man.

It is well for us who while still
busy with the many duties of our
active lives, have nevertheless traveled
further on life's journey than we
have yet to go, to pause and reflect
upon the life that a man has led,
who, after nearly ninety-three years,
still holds his place in the hearts and
minds and lives of his fellowmen. Old
age did not leave him stranded by the
Wayside. He held a place among us that
was all his own, and the time never
came when he could be spared. His
character was founded upon lines
that one knew that God had made; it
was grand in its simplicity. His life
seemed to link the present with the
elemental virtues of an earlier time.

"The truth, the whole truth, and
nothing but the truth" - pause a moment
and think what it means; think,
among the men you know, how many
fail to grasp its full significance.
Think how often weakness and hypocrcisy
make men fail to measure up to
what it includes, and then contrast
that with what you know of him. It
has seemed to me for many years that
his word had been the standard, the
unit, by which I measured integrity
and honor.

The strenuous excitement of modern
life was not required for his happiness;
the dawn of each bright morning,
the leaves of each new spring,
the flowers that blossomed, and the
grain that waved, each and all appealed,
to his bright, harmonious
nature, which, unsullied by morbid
thoughts, kept sweet and fresh through
all the years as when life began.

He loved his fellowmen, rejoiced in
their happiness and sympathized with
their sorrows, praised their good
deeds, and was lenient to their faults,
excepting only that a man who was
not honest in word and act was not for
him. His long experience and sound
judgment made his advice, which was
never given unless asked, invaluable
And his wonderful memory, extending
from what was the early youth of the
country down to the present time,
accurate alike in all things he ever
knew, was a marvel beyond ordinary
understanding. Facts and incidents
related by him were to be learned
nowhere else.

He has gone where the great Creator
has ordained that men shall go who
have lived true lives here. This
much we know; beyond that we trust.
We must believe that such lives go
on, that all that was so beautiful on
earth cannot be lost; that in some far
Valhalla those who loved on earth
must meet again, that he is with the
wife and children who have gone before,
the wife whose memory was so
sacred to him, and whom he mourned
for more than twenty years, and whose
gentle, gracious presence here endeared
her to all who knew her; the
son who passed away in early manhood,
and the little children years
before. All, all must be together now
where parting and grief can come no
more.

Edward C. Gilpin.

Mr. Edward C. Gilpin died early
Monday morning at his home, Walnut
Hill, near Sandy Spring. He was
in his 79th year. Mr. Gilpin was
born May 5, 1829, and at an early age
entered the drug business in Baltimore,
with Israel Graham, at Baltimore
and Eutaw streets, and afterwards
at Baltimore and Calhoun
streets. He married in 1854 Annie
Feast, the daughter of John Feast and
moved West, where he remained 10
years. In 1869 he brought the farm,
Walnut Hill, and had since lived
there. He was prominent in everything
that promoted the welfare of his
county, and was director and vice-president
of the Sandy Spring National
Bank, also member of the agricultural
clubs of the county and perhaps
the oldest member of one of
them. Mr. Gilpin was a nephew of
the late Bernard Gilpin, of the late
firm of Canby, Gilpin & Co. He
leaves a widow and four children -
Mrs. N. B. Hogg, of Pittsburg; Wm.
H. Gilpin, Mary A. Gilpin and
Clarence L. Gilpin. He was a member
of the Society of Friends.

The funeral took place from his late
residence "Walnut Hill" on Tuesday
afternoon, March 10th. The interment
was in Woodside Cemetery.

The love and esteem felt for him
was evidenced by the large attendance
of friends, neighbors and relatives,
many of the latter coming from Baltimore
and Washington.

Dr. O. Edward Janney from Baltimore,
conducted the services, according to the custom of Friends. The
pallbearers were: Alban G. Thomas,
Asa M. Stabler, Charles F. Kirk,
Josiah W. Jones, Allan Farquhar
and Dr. Francis Thomas, all officers
and directors of the First National
Bank of Sandy Spring.

Obituary

In Memory of Mr. Gilpin

At a meeting of the board of directors
of the First National Bank of
Sandy Spring, held March 18, 1908,
the president announced the death of
our late director, Edward C. Gilpin,
Allan Farquhar read the following
paper which was directed to be spread
upon the journal and a copy of same
sent to the family of the deceased,
also to the county papers.

"For the second time in the short
life of this bank we are called upon
to mourn the death of a vice-president
and valuable director: From the
very foundation of the First National
Bank of Sandy Spring, Mr. E. C.
Gilpin has been zealous, active and
faithful to its interests; he was one of
the most influential in getting it
started, and though of advanced
age and living a considerable distance
away, he hardly ever missed a
meeting in the seven and a half years
since it commenced business. Even
during his last illness, and within
two weeks of his death, he drove here
to attend the February meeting, and
though his face showed the suffering
he was passing through, he gave his
usual careful attention to everything
that went on. His judgment as to
credits was to be relied on, he was
well posted on all matters that came
up for consideration, and in short his
entire connection with the bank manifested
a devotion to the call of duty
that should serve as an example to
those of us who are left to carry on
the work.