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The Pricetown preacher is laid to rest

Lead Summary
By
Steve Roush-
Ladies and gentlemen, it seems only fitting and appropriate that the Rev. William Franklin “Frank” Foust was born on a Sunday. God only knows how many sermons that man preached over the years. I’m sure He kept count.

The longtime reverend was born Sunday, Sept. 14, 1862. If you’re curious like I am, as I type this on the next-to-last day of January in the year of our Lord 2018, Frank Foust was born precisely 56,752 days ago – or 155 years, four months and 17 days ago.

On Oct. 26, 1893, which was more than 124 years ago, Foust was united in holy matrimony to Addie Gossett, the daughter of my great-great-grandparents, Worth and Sarah Gossett. The ceremony took place at the old Gossett home across from Fort Salem near Pricetown.

The two-story brick home off Certier Road is a beauty, and last time I checked, it’s still for sale. In the home my great-great-grandparents built, Frank and Addie were married by another longtime Pricetown preacher, John Washington “J.W.” Ruble.

The Rev. J.W. Ruble was born March 20, 1832, when Andrew Jackson was president of the United States. His wife, Mariah Martin Ruble, was born Oct. 5, 1836. After many years as a pastor, Ruble passed away at his home in Pricetown on Oct. 27, 1905 at the age of 73. It was written in the local newspaper that “Mr. Ruble was of a noble character, and it can truthfully be said of him, ‘That none knew him but to love him.’ Rev. Murch, of East Danville, delivered the funeral services to about 1,200 people, after which his body was laid to rest in the Ruble Cemetery near his old home.”

On J.W. Ruble’s gravestone in the Ruble Cemetery, it is written, “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.” There is no death date etched on the stone for Mariah Ruble, but it has been said she passed away May 11, 1919. After her husband’s death, it was published in the newspaper that “Mrs. J.W. Ruble sold her personal property at public auction, Saturday, Nov. 3, (1905) and has gone to make her home with her niece, Mrs. Albert Sanders, of Kokomo, Indiana.”

After spending a few years as a teacher as a young man, Frank Foust took some coursework at Hiram College in northern Ohio and became a reverend.

Except for a year or so when Foust was pastor at a church in Cincinnati, he spent most of his life preaching in or nearby Highland County.

Foust once said, “Could you conceive of any grander and nobler work in which we could be engaged, than that of the molding of souls for eternal life? Nay, there is none more grand.”

More than 130 years ago, Foust said that with renewed courage, inspired zeal and earnest determination, people should have an earnest determination to contribute more toward the propagation of the gospel and to sow seeds that will ripen into eternal life.

“Let us be very careful then, to not neglect those who are negligent of themselves,” Foust said. “Let us learn a valuable lesson from the farmer, who is not satisfied with simply cleaning a few heavy sheaves here and there, but labors diligently to bring about substantial returns from every foot of the soil. The most of his attention you will find given to the weaker plants, while the hardy, vigorous plant will thrive of itself.”

After many years of sowing seeds for the Lord, Frank Foust passed away March 8, 1945 at the age of 82 years, five months and 23 days. His wife, Addie Gossett Foust, died nearly three years earlier on April 1, 1942 at the age of 72. Both are buried in the Ruble Cemetery in Pricetown.

As we conclude our chapter on the Rev. Frank Foust, let’s hear the words spoken by the Pricetown preacher so very long ago:

“I shall close by invoking the blessings of God to rest with and upon all who are engaged in the furtherance of the upbuilding and promotion of the cause of Christianity. Brethren, let us prove faithful in this work, ever entreating those who are outside the fold to lay claim to an interest in the precious blood that was shed for them, to look to Christ as the only hope of their salvation, and thus lay up for themselves treasures in heaven, by making their actions such as will go to make up the sentence of ‘Well done, thou good and faithful servant, enter into the joys prepared for you from the foundation of the world.’ When we have served out the few short years allotted us here and God shall have said, ‘’Tis enough, come up higher,’ that the gladsome sound of this glorious sentence shall greet the ears of each and every individual in divine presence today is the prayer of your friend and brother.”

Let’s pause for now, and we’ll continue next week.

Steve Roush is a vice president of an international media company and a columnist and contributing writer for The Highland County Press. He can be reached by email at roush_steve@msn.com.

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