In Memoriam.
Lines on the Death of Mr. A. G. B. Vandivere.

I ask space to write briefly of the life and character of A. G. B. Vandivere.  Such a life record as his deserves recognition.

Born in Greene county, Georgia. August 2, 1822, died in Atlanta, Georgia, December 28, 1906; age 84 years, 4 months and 26 days.

He was the fourth son of Rev. Matthew Vandivere, who was a Baptist preacher of prominence and power in the pioneer days of Georgia.  At the age of twenty-one he joined the Charles Creek Baptist church and was baptized by his father.  In 1849 he married Miss Margaret Crawford and settled in Gordon county.  After four years he moved to Dalton and resided there until 1871, when he came to Cartersville.  He resided here continuously until about a year before his death, when he went to Atlanta to be with his son, Sanford L. Vandivere, in whose home he died.

Eleven children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Vandivere.  The wife and seven of these children preceded him to the grave. Four survive him.  They are: Sanford L. Vandivere, Mrs. Ophelia Vandivere Montgomery, of Atlanta; Mrs. J. W. Hill, of Cartersville, and Will J. Vandivere, of Waynesboro.

Mr. Vandivere united with the Cartersville Baptist church, March 27, 1871, and worshipped there regularly for 35 years. He was a faithful member.  He took a keen interest and an active part in the Sunday school, in the prayer meeting and in all departments of church work.  A short while before his death, he wrote a memorandum giving briefly the leading incidents in his long life.  The concluding paragraph of that memorandum is in the following words:

“I have passed through many troubles and trials, having buried a wife and seven children.  If I have an enemy in the world I do not know it.  I am not the enemy of any person.  I know I will be called from earth very soon and I feel that the merits of Jesus Christ are sufficient to save all who will come to God by him.  So I trust to be ready.”

And he was ready.  His was a simple faith and a childlike trust.  He took God at his word, the bible was to him God’s revelation to man and God’s word was the end of all argument.  For 64 years he was a member of the church.  His interest never failed.  Even down to his old age he was loyal and faithful.  His life was a light that shined brighter and brighter until it grew into the perfect day.

Mr. Vandivere gave, in his life, a fine illustration of that grand old hymn, “How Firm a Foundation,” which was one of his favorites; and especially of that verse which declares:
“Even down to old age my people shall prove,
My sovereign, eternal, unchangeable love
And when hoary hairs shall their temples adorn
Like lambs they shall still in my bosom be borne.”
And so it was with this quiet, faithful old soldier of the cross.  His end was peaceful and his death serene.  Like a lamb he was borne in the arms of the Lord.
W. J. N.