THE REV. ROBERT KING LANSDEN, son of the Rev. Abner Lansden, was born in Tennessee Oct. 23, 1829. He professed religion at the age of sixteen, and joined the Cumberland Presbyterian Church. He was married to Mrs. Elizabeth J. Hutchison, daughter of the Rev. Daniel Traughber, in the year 1861. He joined the Kansas Presbytery in the year 1879, and was licensed to preach the gospel in 1880. He moved to Greenfield, Dade County, Mo., in February, 1884, for the purpose of educating his children in Ozark College, located at that place. He died June 27, 1884. After moving out of the bounds of the Kansas Presbytery he called for a letter with the expectation of uniting with the Ozark Presbytery, into whose bounds he had moved, but died before attending the Presbytery. He was conscious for some time before he died that his time was short, and the thoughts that bore upon his mind most were a desire for the success of Ozark College and that his children should continue in college until thoroughly educated. His main strength in the ministry was as a revivalist. He was one of the finest leaders of congregational singing the writer ever saw. He understood music, and could lead any thing after a few times singing it over, and his memory was such as to enable him to sing almost any thing he had ever heard. He never for a moment was at a loss as to what to sing, or how to sing it. His selections, especially in revival meetings, were always appropriate and suitable to the occasion. The last song he sung was, "We shall meet beyond the river." He passed away without a struggle or an emotion to his "home beyond the river." He leaves a wife and three children--one son and two daughters.
[Source: The Cumberland Presbyterian, October 9, 1884, page 1]