Memoir of Rev. John S. Gorsuch

The Rev. John Stansbury Gorsuch, of the Baltimore Conference, departed this life on Tuesday evening, March 16th, 1852, in Cumberland, Md. Before he left his home in Baltimore County, to attend the conference in Cumberland, he had been somewhat afflicted by disease; but, after taking medical advice and using such remedies as were prescribed, he joined his brethren in their annual meeting on the 3d of March, and found a pleasant and comfortable home in the hospitable family of Major Maguire. Until the following Sabbath he seemed to be in ordinary health; but on that day, while in church, he was seized with a violent chill, and was forced to retire to his lodgings and to his bed. His illness daily increased, until it was evident that typhoid fever had fastened upon him. Excellent medical aid was procured, but all in vain. In two weeks after his arrival in Cumberland his sufferings and his labours were ended.

Mr. Gorsuch was the eldest son of the late Edward Gorsuch, and was born December 17, 1820. He embraced religion in the thirteenth year of his age, and immediately connected himself with the M.E. Church, in whose communion he remained until the close of his life. He had the advantage of a liberal education, being a graduate of Dickinson College. In 1844 he received license as an exhorter, and as a local preacher in 1845. In March, 1846, he was received on trail by the Baltimore Conference, and appointed to Montgomery circuit; in 1847 to Westminster; in 1848 ordained deacon, and appointed to West Harford, where he remained in 1849; in 1850 he was ordained elder, and during that year and the next he was stationed at Rylaud chapel, in Washington City. In all these charges he gave entire satisfaction as a Christian, a minister, and a man. He was possessed of more than ordinary talent, and bade fair to arrive at a high eminence as a Christian minister.

In February, 1849, he was married to the only daughter of Dr. J. L. Warfield, of Westminster, Md. She had the mournful satisfaction of watching by his bedside during his last hours, having arrived in Cumberland on the Monday morning before his death; and now, with her infant daughter, mourns the irreparable loss they have sustained.

During his illness he was frequently delirious; but, in his lucid moments, he often spoke of his firm confidence in the merits of Christ, and his strong hopes through the mercy of God. Those who were acquainted with the uprightness of his life cannot doubt that he now rests with God.