OBITUARIES, AMERICAN. (KRAMER LATHROP.) 



553 



rania College, Gettysburg, in 1842, studied theol- 

 ogy there, and was ordained in 1844. He was pas- 

 tor at Williamsport, Pa., 1845-'49 : New Holland, 

 1850-'64 ; Trappe, 1864-73 ; Stroudsburg, 1873-'82 ; 

 principal of the academic department of Muhlen- 

 berg College, Allentown, 1882-'84 ; pastor at Me- 

 chanicsburg, 1884-'85, and at Leacock, 1885-'93. 

 He was form any years a director of the Theological 

 Seminary at Philadelphia, and a trustee of Muhlen- 

 berg College, Allentown. He held many offices in 

 the ministerium of Pennsylvania, and was a regu- 

 lar contributor to the periodicals of the Church. 

 His most important articles, especially those on the 

 subject of the episcopacy in the Lutheran Church, 

 were also published in pamphlet form. 



Kramer, John Wesley, an Episcopal clergy- 

 man, born in Baltimore, Md.. Jan. 5, 1882: died, 

 Dec. 22, 1898. He was graduated at the Baltimore 

 Medical College in 1850, subsequently became a 

 Methodist clergyman, and was chaplain of the 1st 

 Maryland Regiment during the civil war. He en- 

 tered the Episcopal ministry in 1865, and for the 

 last ten years of his life was rector of the Church 

 of the Holy Spirit, Bath Beach, Brooklyn, N. Y. 

 He was for several years general secretary of the 

 Church Congress, was actively interested in social 

 reforms, and was a coworker with Henry George in 

 several directions. He published " Mindful of 

 Him," " Manual for visiting the Poor," " Commen- 

 tary on the Church Catechism," " The Right Road," 

 and " Comfortable Thoughts." 



Labaree, Elizabeth, missionary, died in New 

 York city, April 15, 1898. In 1800 she went with 

 her husband. Rev. Benjamin Labaree, as a mission- 

 ary of the Presbyterian Church to Persia, and she 

 remained there till her health failed in 1892. She 

 was stationed at Oroomia, and worked among the 

 Nestorians of western Persia and eastern Turkey. 

 When Sheikh Obdullah, a Kurdish chief, besieged 

 Oroomia, fifteen years ago, Mrs. Labaree, with other 

 missionaries, saved the city from destruction. They 

 had been kind to Obdullah, and easily prevailed 

 upon him to postpone his attack till after the place 

 had been put in condition to resist. She spent some 

 time in Constantinople assisting her husband in 

 translating the Bible into Syriac. 



Labberton, Robert Van Hinderlopen, author 

 and lecturer, born in Marseilles. France, April 6, 

 1813 ; died in New York city, Oct. 12, 1898. He was 

 the son of Derrick Labberton, an educator, of Hol- 

 land. In 1838 the late Commodore Conner, of the 

 United States navy, having made the acquaintance 

 of the Labberton family at their home in Gonda, 

 Holland, induced Robert to come with him to 

 Philadelphia and assume the tutorship of his chil- 

 dren. Labberton had just been graduated at the 

 University of Groningen, and was devotedly at- 

 tached to classical and historical studies. He fol- 

 lowed for many years in Philadelphia the occupation 

 of tutor, and prepared many youth for college. 

 With several of his charges he traveled extensively 

 in Europe and Asia Minor. During the time of his 

 private teaching he began giving occasional lectures 

 on historical and literary subjects before scholastic 

 and social assemblies in cities of the Eastern and 

 Middle States. He continued his work until he had 

 well passed his sixtieth year. About 1850 he was 

 tendered the position of Professor of Greek in the 

 University of Pennsylvania, lie finally accepted 

 this chair, and in great part gave up his private 

 work, devoting himself for more than twenty years 

 to the welfare of the university. While fulfilling the 

 duties of his place he projected and published, in 

 part, a work intended to be a universal history, 

 graphically illustrated with colored charts showing 

 the extent of each epoch of human empire upon tne 

 face of the globe. 'This system, perfected and en- 





largcd at a later date, is known as " Labberton's 

 Historical Atlas," and is a standard work of refer- 

 ence. While at the University of Pennsylvania 

 Prof. Labberton was employed by the Federal Gov- 

 ernment on a confidential mission to Russia in con- 

 nection with the effort to insure the neutrality of 

 European powers in the civil war. After the war 

 he was offered the office of United States consul 

 general in Japan, but declined it in favor of a pro- 

 fessorship in Columbia University. His publica- 

 tions included "Outlines of History" (Philadel- 

 phia, 1870); " Historical Atlas" (New York, 1884): 

 and " New Historical Atlas and General History " 

 (London, 1887). 



Lathrop, George Parsons, author; born near 

 Honolulu, Hawaii, Aug. 25, 1851 ; died in New 

 York city, April 19, 1898. He was the youngest 

 son of Dr. George A. Lathrop, United States consul* 

 at Honolulu, distinguished for courage in the care 

 of the natives during a severe epidemic of smallpox, 

 and he was great-grandson of Major-Gen. S. Hoi- 

 den Lathrop, of Revolutionary fame, who succeeded 

 Gen. Putnam in command. His father's mother 

 was a descendant of Gen. Parsons of the Revolution. 

 On his mother's side he was descended from an old 

 Massachusetts family. He was educated in private 

 schools in New York and in Dresden, Germany. At 

 the age of twenty he began to support himself by 

 writing, to which he applied himself with the energy 

 and thoroughness of genius, without intermission, 

 till the end of his life. His literary activity was 

 ever ready to exert itself for the good of others and 

 the highest objects of effort; his novels were begun 

 with noble motives and finished without a flaw in 

 tone or diction. His poetry is remarkable for lib- 

 erty in form, with great sensibility for poetic rich- 

 ness of perception and beauty. His critical articles, 

 on both art and literature, were always regarded as 

 authoritative and eagerly sought for"; his editorial 

 work in the journalistic field was of the strongest 

 quality, showing keen business acumen and a gift 

 for clear argument that in his youth had led to his 

 being placed in the law office of William M. Evarts. 

 His life and work are characterized by a mingling 

 of fervid gentleness, childlike reticence, and fearless 

 expression of the truth in any question requiring 

 championship. He published "A Study of Haw- 

 thorne"; "Afterglow"; "'In the Distance"; "Rose 

 and Roof-tree Poems"; "An Echo of Passion"; 

 " Newport " ; " Somebody Else " : " Spanish Vis- 

 tas "; "Would You Kill Him?"; "Dreams and 

 Days: Poems"; "Gold of Pleasure"; "Behind 

 Time," for children ; the " Libretto of the Scarlet 

 Letter," a poem ; " Columbus, the Christ Bearer, 

 speaks," a poem written for the Columbian Cele- 

 bration in New York; "A Story of Courage?' the 

 annals of the Visitation Order in America ; " A 

 Masque of Poets," an anonymous volume of poetry, 

 edited by him, from the pens of well-known authors 

 of the day ; and " Gettysburg," a poem written at the 

 request of the Grand Army of the Republic, to be 

 read at the celebration of the battle of Gettysburg. 

 He edited the standard edition of Nathaniel Haw- 

 thorne's works, with full introductory notes and a 

 biographical sketch. He lectured upon literature 

 in various parts of the country with eminent suc- 

 cess, his charm of refined earnestness, and the in- 

 tonations of a bell-like sweetness of voice, gaining 

 the enthusiastic attention of his audiences. He was 

 at different times assistant editor of the " Atlantic 

 Monthly," under William D. Howells, editor in 

 chief of the " Boston Courier." and editor of the 

 " Providence Visitor." He was one of the chief 

 workers in the establishment of the Catholic Sum- 

 mer School of Plattsburg, holding places among the 

 trustees, etc. ; a mover in the establishment of in- 

 ternational copyright, and one of the first support- 



