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   Eaton -- Obituary.-- The death of another of the pioneers of Eaton occurred at three o’clock on the morning of March 26th. 
Mrs. Bethiah [Root] Hatch, aged 97 years, 9 months and 13 days. Mrs. Hatch was born in Hillsdale, Columbia County, N.Y., 
June 13th, 1772, [the daughter of Joshua and Bethiah [Dewey] Root]. She had a distinct recollection of the Revolutionary 
War, in which her father participated. In the War of 1812 with Great Britain her husband was an officer in the regiment of 
riflemen who for two successive years were ordered out to defend our Northern frontier. She also entered with deep 
solicitude in the recent struggle to sustain the government. 
 
  She came with her parents to the valley of Chenango, and settled in the town of Oxford in the year 1794. She was married 
to Mr. Daniel Hatch on January 31st, 1797, and the next week moved to Eaton, then a part of Hamilton, where as soon as the 
house that was to have been ready was completed, she with her husband commenced house keeping on the farm where she has 
ever since lived, and from whence she was carried to her grave. At the time of their settlement there was no direct road to 
Hamilton village, and those who crossed the hill had to go by marked trees, and so dense was the forest, that no one 
attempted to make the journey after dark. 
 
  She was the mother of eight children, seven daughters and one son, all except the first born, who died in infancy, 
survive her; three of whom are located in this county [Lovissa (Hatch) Fuller, b. April 12, 1800, wife of Daniel Fuller of 
Eaton; Mary (Hatch) Smitzer, b. Febr. 7, 1802, wife of Rev. John Smitzer of Eaton; Naomi (Hatch) Everts, b. Nov., 1810,  
wife of Lyman Everts] and four at the West [Sally (Hatch) Fitch, b. 1803, wife of Lemuel Fitch of Black Hawk County, Iowa; 
Laura (Hatch) Leach, b. Jan. 19, 1806, wife of Clement Leach of Galesburg, Illinois; Daniel Hatch, Jr., b. 1807, of 
California; and Lucinda (Hatch) Clark, b. July 7, 1805, wife of Thomas L. Clark of Galesburg, Illinois]. 
 
  She experienced religion in 1806 and united with the First Baptist Church of Hamilton, receiving the ordinance of Baptism 
at the hands of Rev. A. Hosmer. Ten years later the Baptist Church, of Eaton village, was organized, of which she was a 
constituent member. It was her privilege to see her six daughters baptized into the fellowship of the same church. Her 
husband professed religion some years previous to her, and united with the church, and as he kept a team and a large lumber 
wagon, the only kind of carriages used in those days, the neighbors who belonged to the same church and had no means of  
conveyance of their own would convene at their residence, and a large load would generally start from there for Hamilton on 
Sunday to attend religious worship. Her house was extensively known as the home for ministers, and for the students of the 
Hamilton Literary and Theological Seminary. She ever took great pleasure in ministering to the saints, and was universally 
esteemed by all who knew her. During the last few years of her life, she was unable to endure the fatigue of attending 
public worship, still she took great interest in the prosperity of Zion, and often enjoyed muchg communion with God, while 
at home. During the recent revival of religion in the church she was often heard pleading with God for the salvation of 
sinners, especially for her only son and her grandchildren. On one occasion, when one of her family returned from meeting, 
she inquired about the interest of the meeting, and on being informed how many had been baptized, and how many new converts 
there were, she said she knew the meeting would be a good one, as she had been able to pray for it all day. For some time 
she longed and prayed that she might be absent from the body and be present with the Lord; and still she prayed for 
patience to wait all the days of her appointed time upon the earth.  
 
  Her funeral services were attended in the Baptist Church on Sunday afternoon, when after an appropriate sermon by the 
pastor on the doctrine of the Resurrection, she was carried to our beautiful cemetery and laid by the side of the companion 
of her youth, to await the Archangel’s trumpet that will summon them, and the countless multitude of the saints, to meet 
their Lord in the air, and so be forever with the Lord.