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A most remarkable life came to its close in the death of Dr. George A. Lofton in Nashville, Tenn., on December 11, 1914, after an illness of several weeks. Born in Panola County, Miss., December 25, 1839, he had nearly completed his seventy-fifth year.

Dr. Lofton enlisted in the Confederate army in 1861 as a private in the 1st Georgia Regiment and served to the close of the war. He was adjutant of the 9th Georgia Battalion in 1862-64 and commanded a battery in 1864-65. After the war he returned to Mercer University and graduated in 1872 with the degree of A. M. The degree of D. D. was conferred upon him by Baylor University in 1880, and the degree of L. L. D. by the University of Nashville, in 1910 and by Carson and Newman College in 1911. He was married to Miss Ella E. Martin, of Atlanta, Ga., in 1864. His wife, ever a true helpmate, survives him with one son.

Dr. Lofton first studied law and practiced for a year in Americus, Ga.; but, feeling called to preach, he entered the ministry and became a prominent minister of the Baptist Church. His pastorate at Central Baptist Church, Nashville, was continuous from 1881 until his death. During that time he accomplished a wonderful work. As a preacher Dr. Lofton was strong, intense, and eloquent; as a pastor he was wise, sympathetic, loving and beloved. But he was even more widely known and admired as a writer. Chief among his books was "Character Sketches," of which some three hundred thousand copies have been sold throughout the country.