My Genealogy Hound

SAMUEL KUNKEL, whose death, March 23, 1892, at his late home in Shippensburg, Cumberland county, removed one of the oldest and most highly respected citizens of that place, had lived a long and useful life, and will ever be recalled with feelings of veneration and esteem.

Mr. Kunkel was born May 26, 1817, at Harrisburg, Pa., the youngest of a large family, whose only survivor at present is his elder sister, Mrs. Ross, of Middletown. After the death of his father, when he was still small, he left Harrisburg and went to Middletown, where he assisted an older brother in various business ways. In February, 1843, he became a resident of Shippensburg, which was his home for almost a half century. Here he at once entered upon an active business career. The energy which was so marked in him all his life was shown in the days of his early business career, but the sedentary life and close application rendered it necessary for him later to make business changes. He began business in the room on West Main street now occupied by the Shyrock grocery store, in 1849, and continued there for a few years, moving thence to a building of his own.

Mr. Kunkel was a most devoted husband and father and was repaid by the tender regard of a loving family. As a lifelong memher of the Evangelical Lutheran Church he was not only a devout communicant, but also a useful official, and for many years was superintendent of the Sunday-school. He contributed largely to the erection of two church edifices during his residence in Shippensburg — one built in 1847, and the present one, which was completed a few years prior to his decease. In borough affairs Mr. Kunkel, in his younger years, took a very active part, serving in the council and as a member of the school board, discharging his duties with a conscientious regard for the public weal, irrespective of self-seeking.

On May 26, 1842, Mr. Kunkel married Rachel Bomberger, who was born February 26, 1821, in Middletown, Pa., and whose lamented death took place at her residence on West Main street, June 14, 1898. For some months she had been in failing health, but the immediate cause of death was an affection of the heart. This admirable woman had been a resident of Shippensburg ever since her husband had embarked in mercantile business here, and few residents were better known or more sincerely beloved. For many years a devout member of the Memorial Lutheran Church, her religion was not confined within its bounds, but overflowed to all who came within her kindly presence. It made her devoted to the welfare of her family and kind and generous to all in need. She survived her husband but six years, and is survived by the following named children: George J. and Mrs. Anna E. Montgomery, of Shippensburg; Charles A., of Harrisburg; Samuel, who, with his brother Charles, owns the Mechanics Bank at Harrisburg; Mrs. Serena Motter, of Frederick, Md., and Mrs. Lily Anghinbaugh, of Pittsburg, Pennsylvania.

We are permitted to copy the testimonial of one who knew this most estimable woman well:

“A gentle life has just been ended, a consistent Christian, a loving mother, a true friend, a kind neighbor, passed quietly on to the beatific vision of her Lord. Mrs. Kunkel’s piety was unobtrusive. Through the years of childhood and maidenhood were planted seeds that bore rich and precious fruits. Her children can recall the songs she sang at their cradles. Her soul ever longed for the House of God. She was there from love and from principle. Endowed with more than ordinary mental gifts, she had stored her memory with the great and precious promises which, both in public and private prayer, she could plead effectually before God. Shrinking and distrustful of her own attainments in holiness, the prospect of death, at the first symptoms of illness, terrified her for the moment, but as the last enemy drew nearer and nearer, her lifelong faith asserted its supremacy, and with joyful breath she passed on, more than a conqueror through Him that loved her.”

The funeral services over the body of this righteous woman, like those above her late husband, were of a simple but impressive character. Her pastor, Rev. George C. Henry, spoke fittingly of her life and character, and her remains were laid beside those of her husband in the family lot in Spring Hill cemetery. Thus passed away two of Shippensburg’s old and honored residents. They had lived quiet, uneventful lives, content to do good unostentatiously, filling the places in which fortune had placed them, and leaving the world better than they found it. Their virtues rear for them a monument in influence more enduring than stone or marble.