UC-NRLI VIRGINIA BAPTIST MINISTERS George Braxton Taylor FIFTH SERIES VIRGINIA BAPTIST MINISTERS FIFTH SERIES 1902 - 1914 WITH SUPPLEMENT BY GEORGE BRAXTON TAYLOR Professor and Resident Chaplain Hollins College, Pastor of the "Hollins Field," and author of 'Life and Letters of Rev. George Boardman Taylor, D. D. ;" "Virginia Baptist Ministers, Third Series ;" "Virginia Baptist Ministers, Fourth Series." WITH A FOREWORD BY REV. GEORGE W. McDANIEL, D. D. 1915 J. P. BELL COMPANY, INC. LYNCHBUHG. VA. COPYRIGHT, 1915 BY GEORGE BRAXTON TAYLOR LOAN STACK 73 To MY BROTHER JAMES SPOTSWOOD TAYLOR, M. D. SURGEON UNITED STATES NAVY 218 FOREWORD The history of any people is the biographies of its great men. This is preeminently true of Virginia Baptists. As the life of a state is seen best in the lives of its leading citizens, the history of Virginia Baptists is fully and faithfully delineated in the lives of its ministers. They are a noble succession. From the days of Semple, Rice, and Clopton, through all the intervening years, among the fairest names on the pages of history are the defenders of our Faith. The biography of the eminently pious may well be regarded with deep and living interest. In every herald of the Cross we behold a monument on which is in- scribed the triumph of the gospel. They reflect with no common luster the glory of their divine Redeemer. These "good ministers of Jesus Christ" have left their impress on the world. Where is the state, North, South, East, or West, that has not been made a debtor to the ministry of Virginia? The memorial of their deeds is recorded in this series of biography. Preceding volumes have been widely read, and preserve in permanent form the consecutive story of our people from the beginning in Virginia down to the present day. The forthcoming volume will be gladly welcomed, and will possess an entrancing interest for the reader of to-day, because it holds the portraiture of those of our own time. Many of these we have "seen in the flesh," and, having known, we love. They are among the faithful ministers who were pastors of the churches where we now worship, and who led many of us to Christ, and baptized us, and married us. They buried our dead and now they have 6 FOREWORD ceased from their labors, and we are reaping in the fields where they so richly sowed. Our historian has here a happy period to cover the men of this volume he has known in person, and his information comes to us first hand. Princely subjects has he too, for among these are the beloved Tupper, Hawthorne, Hatcher, and George Boardman Taylor, his own earthly father. There are countless others dear to many of us, and faithful in every relation of life, whose biographies adorn these pages. The work has been well done. It is fitting that the history so nobly begun and prosecuted through two volumes by the gifted Dr. James B. Taylor should be continued so worthily by his distinguished grandson, Dr. George Braxton Taylor. The Baptists of Virginia, the South, and, indeed, of all the world, are under a lasting obligation to Dr. George Braxton Taylor, the versatile and scholarly author of the forthcoming volume, the fifth of the series, and the third one to be edited by him. He has, gratuitously, rendered this beautiful serv- ice to the denomination. With him, as with his illustri- ous grandfather, it was a labor of love. His task has been pursued with patience, through careful research, in pains- taking application, and with a discriminating mastery of details. Who else among us has made so large a con- tribution of his time and his talent as has Dr. Taylor, in this splendid service so unselfishly rendered to the great Baptist Brotherhood? GEO. W. MCDANIEL. Pastor's Study, First Baptist Church, Richmond, Va. Oct. 4, 1915. PREFACE In 1837 Rev. James B. Taylor published the "First Series" of "Lives of Virginia Baptist Ministers." The "Second Series," written by the same hand, covered the period to 1860. Upon the request of the Baptist General Association of Virginia the "Third Series" and the "Fourth Series" were written and published. Details as to the origin and scope of these two "Series" will be found in the preface of each of these volumes. A Resolution, offered by Rev. Dr. E. W. Winfrey, at the meeting of the General Association at Lynchburg, in 1913, and adopted by the body, requested the author of the "Third" and "Fourth Series" to prepare a "Fifth Series." The Association appointed W. F. Fisher, W. W. Hamilton, and W. S. Royall, a committee to cooperate with the author in the matter of the publication of the "Fifth Series." This "Fifth Series" is now presented. It contains sketches of ministers who died between 1902 and 1914. (Some of the sketches in the Supplement be- long to an earlier period. ) The roll may not be complete, yet the effort has been to make record of all. Even where men have so recently passed away, in many cases it has been impossible to secure the facts necessary for satis- factory accounts of their lives. In one or two instances relatives were unwilling for sketches of their loved ones to be published. To help secure the five hundred advance subscriptions necessary to make the publication of an edition of a thousand volumes possible, each of the fol- lowing persons has subscribed for ten copies : Rev. Dr. E. W. Winfrey, Culpeper; Mr. F. W. Whitescarver Salem; Rev. W. A. Pearson, Keysville; Hon. Chas. A. Johnston, Christiansburg; Mr. Richard H. Edmonds, Baltimore ; Mr. A. J. Chewning, Richmond, Va. ; Mr. H. M. Riffe, Elliston; Mr. George A. Diuguid, Lynch- burg; Mr. E. E. Tompkins, Roanoke; Mr. E. R. Monroe, Brookneal ; Rev. Dr. James T. Dickinson, Brooklyn; Mr. E. L. Flippo, Roanoke; Mr. M. P. Gate- wood, Pleasant View (Amherst County) ; Rev. F. P. 8 PREFACE Berkley (Baptist Church), Covington; Judge W. W Moffett, Salem; Mrs. D. G. Whittinghill, Rome. It would be impossible to set down here the names of all who have helped to supply the data for these lives. Not a few of these kind friends are mentioned in various sketches. It is not perhaps invidious to say that Prof. W. A. Harris, of Richmond College, by his willing and patient assistance, has made possible more than one of the life records that follow. Dr. R. H. Hudnall, of the Virginia Polytechnic Institute, has read the "proof" and rendered other valuable help. This "Fifth Series" is presented with the sincere hope that it will do good, give pleasure, and, by perpetuating the story and showing the spirit of noble men of God, bring many young men to hear the call of God to the gospel ministry. While it has been the aim to secure accuracy, there are doubtless errors. Wherever it was possible original sources, such as Minutes of Associa- tions, family records, letters, and files of newspapers, have been consulted. If I could have spent a considerable time in the room of the Virginia Baptist Historical Society at Richmond College, this volume might have been made more interesting. In the midst of my twofold work as pastor and professor, among the blue mountains at Hollins, with now and then a day in the archives at Richmond, by more than two years of work, this volume has been prepared. While it has not seemed best to give the authority in a footnote for each statement, all of the sketches are based on presumably reliable information. To write this book has been a joy and a blessing to me, making me realize more fully what I had known before, that the Virginia Baptist Ministry is a consecrated band of brothers, who, with love that envieth not and that thinketh no evil, work together with a high degree of unselfishness, for the coming of the Kingdom of God in Virginia and the world. GEORGE BRAXTON TAYLOR. "The Hill" Hollins, Va., October 4, 1915. CONTENTS PAGE ABRAHAM, WYCLIFFE YANCEY 87 BALDWIN, NOAH CALTON 46 BAPTIST, EDWARD LANGSTON 424 BARNES. JAMES HENRY 229 BARRON. ALONZA CHURCH 141 BEALE, FRANK BROWN 207 BEALER, GEORGE B 479 BlLLINGSLEY, JOSEPH FRANCIS 403 BOATWRIGHT, REUBEN BAKER _ 369 BOSTON, FRANCIS RYLAND 311 BRAXTON, THOMAS CORBIN _ _ 500 BROWN, WADE BICKERS 154 BUCKLES, WILLIAM N 201 CARPENTER, J. C 497 CLAYBROOK, FREDERICK WILLIAM 437 CLOPTON, SAMUEL CORNELIUS 104 COLEMAN, JAMES D 452 COLLIER, CHARLES WELDON 435 COOPER, GEORGE 406 CRIDLIN, RANSELL WHITE 379 CURRY, JABEZ LAMAR MONROE _ 53 DAVIDSON, JUDSON CAREY 427 DAUGHTRY, WILLIAM BONNIE 411 DAVIS, JAMES ALLISON 83 DEANS, JOSEPH FRANKLIN 49 DICKINSON, ALFRED ELIJAH 166 DODGE, HENRY W _ 474 EATON, THOMAS TREADWELL 483 EDMONDS, RICHARD HENRY _ 449 EDMONDSON, THOMAS F 120 EDWARDS, RICHARD _ 179 ELLYSON, ONAN _ 251 EUBANK, ALEXANDER _ 67 FAULKNER, JOHN KERR 385 FLEET, ALEXANDER 362 FLIPPO, OSCAR PARISH _ 69 FUNK, BENJAMIN 239 FUNK, TIMOTHY 234 9 10 CONTENTS PAGE GARLICK, JOSEPH R _ 345 GATEWOOD, THOMAS BRECKENRIDGE 377 GILBERT, ROBERT BABBOR 364 GREGORY, ERNEST THOMAS 103 GRIMSLEY, SIMEON U ~ 177 GRIMSLEY, THOMAS F 365 GWALTNEY, JAMES LANCASTER 501 HART, JOSEPH WASHINGTON _ 433 HASH, ALBERT GRANT 326 HATCHER, HARVEY , 121 HATCHER, WILLIAM ELDRIDGE _ 348 HAWTHORNE, JAMES BOARDMAN 253 HAYMORE, ROBERT DANIEL _ 274 HEALY, NATHAN 503 HESS, JAMES 163 HUME, THOMAS, JR 337 HUNDLEY, JOHN WALKER _ 442 JAMES, BENJAMIN CARTER 164 JAMES, CHARLES FENTON 38 JONES, FRERRE HOUSTON 314 JONES, JAMES E 330 JONES, JOHN WILLIAM 218 KEELING, HENRY _ 504 KEMPER, JAMES FOLEY 287 KENDRICK, JOSEPH B _ 374 KERN, I. T 212 KINGSFORD, EDWARD 490 LAMB, JOHN MOODY 127 LANCASTER, JOHN FRAZIER 273 LEONARD, JOSEPH _ 281 LEWIS, THOMAS W _ 13Q LUCK, JAMES PASCHAL 392 LUKE, ISAAC V 482 LUNSFORD, ROBERT RHODAM _ 91 MAIDEN, JAMES FRANKLIN _ 94 MARTIN, JOHN W 298 MASON, SAMUEL GRIFFIN 241 MASSIE, SAMUEL P 441 MAY, ISAAC NEWTON 367 McCowN, JOHN W 244 MCDONALD, HENRY 99 MEADOR, CHASTAIN CLARK _ 114 MlLBOURNE. LODOWIC RALPH.... - 149 CONTENTS 11 PAGE MUNDEN, NATHAN M 89 MUNDAY, JAMES ALEXANDER 269 MURDOCH, JOSEPH RYLAND 147 NEWMAN, THERON WALLACE 97 NORRIS, CALVIN ROAH 431 OWEN, AUSTIN EVERETT 156 PARRISH, MADISON E 277 PEARSON, THOMAS P _ 286 PENICK, WILLIAM SYDNOR _ 181 PENNINGTON, BALLARD PRESTON _ 480 PERRY, JOHN MAJOR 1 10 PETTY, HENRY 108 POLLARD, JOHN 135 QUARLES, JOHN RHODES 242 RAGLAND, HUGH DAVIS 421 RANDOLPH, JOHN THOMPSON _ 144 READ, MASHALL W _ 79 REV NOLDS, ALBERT D _ 323 RHODES, WALTER 328 RICE, ARCHIBALD ALEXANDER 43 RYLAND, CHARLES HILL 455 RYLAND, JOHN WILLIAM 125 SALLADE, JACOB _ 279 SANFORD, ROBERT BAILEY 248 SCOTT, THOMAS D _ . . 268 SELFE, WILSON V 376 SETTLE, VINCENT THOMAS 477 SHAVER, DAVID _ 498 SHEPHERD, THOMAS BENTON 161 S.NKAD, GEORGE HOLM AN 306 SPEIGHT, JOHN ALEXANDER 389 STRATON, HENRY DUNDAS DOUGLAS _ _ 446 STUART, CHARLES EDWIN _ 284 TAYLOR, GEORGE BOARDMAN 187 TAYLOR, JAMES BARNETT, JR. _ _ 300 TAYLOR, JAMES IRA _ 296 THAMES, TRAVIS BUTHY ... 487 THOMAS, JAMES MAGRUDER 400 THOMAS, JOHN RICHARD _. 413 THOMPSON, S. H 317 TRIBBLE. HENRY WISE.... ... 319 12 CONTENTS PAGE TUCKER, R. ATWELL 65 TUPPER, HENRY ALLEN 13 TURPIN, JOHN BROADUS _ 213 WARD, JOHN WYATT _ 133 WARREN, PATRICK THOMAS 334 WEBB, W. R 237 WHARTON, MORTON BRYAN 203 WHITSITT, WILLIAM HETH 290 WILKINSON, JOHN ROBERT _ 332 WILLIAMS, GEORGE FRANKLIN 415 WILLIAMS, WILLIAM HARRISON 80 WILLIAMSON, ROBERT ...._ 282 WlLLINGHAM, ROBERT JoSIAH _ 462 WILLIS, JOHN MILTON _ 231 WILSON, M. A 112 WOODFIN, AUGUSTUS BEVERLY 395 WRENN, C E 289 VIRGINIA BAPTIST MINISTERS HENRY ALLEN TUPPER 1828-1902 Autobiography is probably the best biography. A request once came to Dr. Tupper from a magazine for a sketch of his life. In declining the request he said: "A man's true life can not go on paper, and one not true should not go." Yet a record of his life, which Dr. Tup- per wrote, probably with no idea of publication, ought to be published. Until that is done, the extracts which fol- low give interesting pictures of a noble and highly useful life. "I am impressed by the truth which is hinted in con- sciousness, made plain by reason, and clearly stated in the Word of God, that every man must give an account of himself unto God. . . . According to the family Bible, I was born in Charleston, S. C, on the 29th of February, 1828. Believing in a minute Providence, I presume that there was some reason why I should be born in Leap Year, but as I have never noticed anything in my life or character which seemed to have any relation to this odd period of time, not even the oddness for which many of my father's family were noted, I shall pass by my natal day, which, during my boyhood, was always specially celebrated, with the mere record of its date. "I do not believe in the transmission of grace, but in my anxious desire and hope with regard to myself, as a child of God, I can not but feel a lively satisfaction that the whole of my mother's family, so far as I know of them, were godly people. I knew my maternal grand- mother and can testify as to her pious living and hopeful 13 14 VIRGINIA BAPTIST MINISTERS dying. The journal of my grandfather, Jacob Yoer, breathes throughout the spirit of divine grace, which accords with the evidence of my noble mother, who never tires of her praises of her father's deep and devoted spir- itual character. He counseled his children to read the Bible on their knees. They were both Charlestonians by birth and members of the First Baptist Church of that city. Their remains are lying in the yard of that church. My great-grandmother, on my mother's side, I shall die believing that I recollect. For many years this notion was a subject of laughter in the family, but I could never be laughed out of the testimony of my memory, in which I have always had more confidence than in any other of my mental faculties. The Nullifica- tion of 1832 I remember perfectly the preparing of cockades and sticks, the smuggling in of boxes of arms, the drilling of the boys, the street fights, and the popular songs, one of which was : "*H is a gentleman, Who rides in a gig ; P is a blackguard That runs on a pig.' "The birth of my brother, Tristram, who is some three years my junior, I distinctly remember rather, I dis- tinctly remember that I cried for the baby and wished to lock him up in what was called 'my top drawer.' . . . In the Lutheran churchyard of Charleston the epitaphs of these pious great-grandparents, who were natives of Heidelberg, may be read. . . . If I can not hope for a godly life on the ground of the peculiar piety of my mother's family, may I not possibly trace the ardent sentiments of my heart as a Baptist with regard to religious liberty to my ancestry of 'obstinate Lutherans', and with regard to missions, to the fact that three or more successive generations of my father's HENRY ALLEN TUPPER 15 family were devoted to this work? The record of my father's family [is] a document over forty feet long and tracing the family through some 500 members to the year 1551, when they were driven by Charles V from Hesse Cassel to England, and . . . the Island of Guernsey. . . . The Records . . . show that Thomas Tupper, who was born in Sandwich, England, and who came to this country before 1637, was greatly interested in the welfare of the Indians. . . . Died March 28, 1676, aged upwards of 98 years. His wife died this same year, aged 90. ... [He] filled various offices, besides giving much of his time to the work of gospelizing the Indians. . . . Tupper appears in the original form as Toppfer . . . called Toutperd in France, and by corruption Toupard in the Netherlands, whilst in Germany and England and America the name assumed the form so familiar to the public as the designa- tion of the author of 'Proverbial Philosophy'. . . . The Family Records show ... the motto on the Coat of Arms of the family, 'L'espoir est me force.' . . . It is written of Thomas Tupper, Sr. : 'A town meeting 6 mo., 7, 1644, warned by order of the Select- men to take course for repairing the meeting-house; whereupon divers persons engaged freely to pay in goods and merchantable Indian corn the next April to Thomas Tupper for as many bolts as would shingle the old meeting-house. The church was composed of Mr. Tup- per and ten others. ... He officiated without ordination for a time . . . then he turned his atten- tion to the Indians. ... At this period, 1767, Mr. Elisha Tupper . . . was engaged in missionary efforts among the Indians. . . . Even in these early times these independent folk did not like to be taxed for the gospel. . . In 1745 Medod Tupper and twenty- four others attending a meeting in the meeting- 16 VIRGINIA BAPTIST MINISTERS house in the western part of the town were petitioners to be excused from paying for the support of Mr. Fessen- don. "My father, Tristram Tupper, settled in Charleston, S. C., in 1810, when he married my mother, Eliza Yoer (original name, Jover), in 1816, and died with the fall of the city of his love, to whose inter- ests he had been devoted for more than half a century, in 1865. For sixty years the Commission House of T. Tupper, and T. Tupper and Sons, which for many years sold most of the produce sent from Louisiana to Charleston, was the synonym of commercial honor and ability. My father was the author and finisher of the South Carolina Railroad from Charleston to Augusta, Ga., which, when completed, was the longest railroad in the world, and of which he was president for many years. Mainly through his influence the First Baptist Church edifice, one of the finest structures in the city, was built. . . . Excepting my eldest brother, born in 1817, all of my nine brothers and sisters, with myself, were born in the old home, No. 52 Tradd Street. And a happy home it was. My father was a wise man. His maxims of wisdom were strikingly original. . . . When I was going away from home he wrote on a sheet of paper : 'Virtue is happiness ; vice is misery.' When the children departed from wisdom's way they found a standing rebuke in the life and character of their father. . . . My mother . . . was one of the most beautiful and intellectual women I ever knew. . . . Her parents sent her from Charleston to be educated in Philadelphia, where she gave much attention to the Fine Arts and formed the acquaintance of some of the most distin- guished men of the times. My mother's journal, in several quarto volumes, which she kept for nearly two- thirds of a century, will be, and is, I presume, the com- HENRY ALLEN TUPPER 17 pletest history extant of Baptist affairs in Charleston. . . . The great longing of mother's heart was the intellectual and religious education of her children, while a breach of decorum was almost a crime in her eyes. Her own manners were loveliness itself, and she con- trolled more powerfully by her smiles than she could have done with a rod of iron. . . . Father seldom commended. . . . My father was a man of few, direct words. . . . Thomas Tupper 'ranted,' says the Annals, and was touched with fanaticism. My father was the antipode of this, but his children are not like their paternal parent. I know that naturally I arn given to hyperbole. . . . My father was the most accurate man, in all business, I ever knew. ... At table and in the family circle money was rarely or never men- tioned. To speak of the cost of things and the like was regarded a lack of good taste, rather it was never done because somehow it had never been done and we never thought of doing it. ... In my father's office the lessons of business order and carefulness were positive and vigorous. A clerk would have been instantly dis- missed for making the least deviation in the price of any commodity for sale. . . . My father made all of his boys keep petty cash books. ... In the midst of my college course he took me into his office, much to the dis- tress of mother and my own dissatisfaction, and kept me there for two years and until 1 became the bookkeeper. This I regard now as the most important two years of my education. . . . For thirty years I have kept a cash book and can tell at any time my income and expenditure at any period during that time. Last year I had occasion to inquire on a point of that kind, and in a few minutes I found that in twenty years I had expended some $250,000, of which amount some $110,000 had been given to the Lord. . . . The 18 VIRGINIA BAPTIST MINISTERS counsel which my father gave to all his sons was : 'Avoid, if possible, all money responsibilities for others.' Before he would take a son into business and five of them were first and last in the firm of T. Tupper and Sons he made him agree in writing that he would never endorse a note, out of the regular order of the business. He would never advise a son to go into a bank or any busi- ness of the kind. . . . Scarcely a week passed in my childhood and youth that company was not invited to the house. Mother's rule was that all children should be seen. No child was allowed to run when company called or came on invitation. If we did no more, we had to come in and bow and retire. . . . Most of us made several trips to the North in our youth, and all of the family have since, I believe, delighted in this recreation. I became too fond of company and the dance, and could in my younger days only check the love of society by the conviction that its excess is hurtful to better things. "At three years old I went to the infant class of the First Baptist Church, under the pastorate then of Rev. Basil Manly, Sr., in which school I remained until I went to Madison University to study theology. In this school I made the acquaintance of Jas. P. Boyce and of his sister, now my wife, and by whose influence I was led to take a class in the Sabbath school even before I had made a profession of Christ. I only remark here that the pointed questions of my pupils excited very solemn inquiries in my mind. . . . One of the prominent features of the school was the Mite Box to raise money for the heathen. My Sunday-school teacher was my first day-school instructor. Her method was peripatetic, as we learned our alphabet and our spelling walking around a circle and singing out the letters and the sylla- bles in more or less musical or unmusical accent. To HENRY ALLEN TUPPER 19 two other ladies I went to school before I was eight years old : Mrs. Hitchborn, a neighbor, who used to give me cracked sugar when I cried, and Mrs. Levy Yates, whose school was located on the edge of the water, which is now covered by the Park or South Battery, and from which water I was once rescued when drowning, although I begged my rescuer to save my hat first that mother might not know that I had been in to swim. A penalty of the school . . . was to stand up on a chair and read the Bible, which reading was not always done with the most seemly state of mind. Being laughed at when in that elevated position by two girls, I jumped down, and, holding their heads together, kissed them both, for which offense one of the young ladies, now Mrs. B. P., did not forgive me for many years. Another penalty was being locked up in the pantry. When thus incarcerated I forced an apple whole into my mouth, which forbidden fruit had to be cut out piece by piece. . . . In a copy of Goldsmith's Natural History, which I received as a prize, I see that I was at Rev. Dyer Ball's school in 1836, when I was eight years old. Dr. Ball, shortly after this, went to Asia, where he was a missionary for many years. As I was too young to recite with the boys, I 'said my lessons' downstairs to Mrs. Ball with her two little girls, Mary and Caroline. . . . While at this school I had a little moral experience which may not be out of place. On the inside of a drawer of an old washstand, which may be seen now in the attic of our old home in Charles- ton, are the figures 2068. That number indicates the marbles which I had won, and which the drawer con- tained. My sister asking me, 'What is the difference between winning marbles and gambling?' I took my spoils to school and divided them among the boys, and since that day have never offered or received a wager. . . At the High School my most intimate friend 20 VIRGINIA BAPTIST MINISTERS was Henry Hannibal Timrod, the Poet. His middle name he subsequently omitted. He was the most passionate, the most high spirited, the most eloquent boy I knew. . . . His lofty honor was a constant inspiration to my soul. His love of the beautiful and the true made my mother to admire him as the companion of her boy. At this time I excelled in sports, running, riding, dancing, swimming, pistol shooting, etc. I was more noted for them than as a student. . . . While I was at Charleston College there were three presidents : Colonel Finley, Judge Mitchell King, and Dr. Wm. T. Brantley. ... I have nothing to be proud of in my college course. Imbibing skeptical notions, I preached them to knots of students as I had opportunity. When I repented I tried to undo the mischief. About this time I took to public lecturing on Temperance, though but a boy. In this I received at least the benefit of being taken down by seeing my dear grandmother weeping while I was telling a funny story and by being told that the 'puff' in the next day's Courier was written before my address was delivered. "After our conversion, Boyce and I started for Madison University. In New York we heard from Dr. Conant that we must make up a quarter's Hebrew in three weeks, as the Senior Class had studied it the last term. Boyce's eyes being weak, he returned home and married. I hastened to Hamilton, engaged a private tutor, with whom I went through Gesenius' Hebrew Grammar, in the time allotted. In this study I believe I stood respectably, as Dr. Conant told me I made a mis- take in not accepting the chair of Hebrew in Furman University. My intercourse with Drs. Kendrick, Conant, Eaton, Maginnis, and others, and, above all, with the sainted Dr. Kendrick, Sr., though bedridden, was a good education in itself. ... At the University the spirit HENRY ALLEN TUPPER 21 of missions was ablaze. ... I was corresponding secretary of the Society of Inquiry, which tended to strengthen my resolve to give myself to the work of preaching Jesus to the nations. ... I received from the University the degrees of A. B., A. M., and D. D. "In 1837 Dr. Fuller preached in our church from the words: 'My son, give me thy heart/ I wept until I was ashamed. Until I became a professor of religion I was constantly afraid, on going to church, that I would be convicted and expose myself to the people. This fear often made me seek the gallery, though contrary to the rule of the family. ... Dr. Fuller, with Mr. Craw- ford, the pastor of the First Church, and Mr. Wyer, was conducting a protracted meeting. I went to the door, but was afraid to enter. Next morning before breakfast I went and took my seat by the door. Mr. Crawford came to me. The devil took possession of me and I began with my skeptical arguments. He sent Mr. Wyer to me. Though very tender and affectionate, he finally arose and said : 'Young man, your infidelity will damn you.' I was greatly offended. Instead of going home to breakfast, I walked out of town full of anger and with the words ringing in my heart 'Will damn you.' I concluded that 1 would be damned. ... I went again to the meet- ing. Dr. Fuller spoke to me. Sent Mr. Wyer to me, who said : 'You are not far from the Kingdom/ but I knew that I would be damned . . . talked wildly to mother about my sins and ruin. Went to father's office, paced up and down the back store praying for deliverance. Tut (my brother Tristram) came in dancing and singing. 1 burst into tears and told him: 'I will be damned, but you must not!' I made him kneel down and prayed for him. Then 1 hid myself in the hayloft and poured out my distressed spirit to God. Going home, I found that Dr. Fuller had left for me James' Anxious Inquirer. 22 VIRGINIA BAPTIST MINISTERS The devil again entered me. I vowed I would not go again to hear Dr. Fuller and I would resist salvation even if it were forced upon me. Mother chided me kindly but wisely. My conscience pricked me. My sins seemed like a mountain crushing me to perdition. I read The Anxious Inquirer almost all night. I was relieved and alarmed. The idea of a false hope terrified me. In the morning I went to the Inquiry Meeting. In reply to my fears Dr. Fuller said : 'If you go to hell I will go with you and we shall preach Jesus there until they turn us out, and then where will we go?' For several weeks I was bowed down because I could not feel my sins. On Sunday night I went to hear Mr. Francis Johnson. He preached on 'The Law of God.' I was overwhelmed and fell down on my knees in the pew and burst into tears. . . . Next morning I went to see Mr. John- son. He said I was converted as much as he. I pro- tested. He bade me go to my closet and plead before God the fulfilment of his promise in the 9th verse of Romans X. I did so. I believed and rejoiced in the word : 'Thou shalt be saved.' The whole world was changed. It was a delight to live. I could have encom- passed the universe in my love. ... At the church door next day I saw . I offered him my hand. In an hour or so he rode up and handed me a note, asking if my hand was offered as a retraction of the insult of cutting his acquaintance. I drew him upstairs and implored him to repent and believe. I carried him to see Dr. Fuller. We prayed together and were baptized together by Dr. Fuller on the evening of the 17th of April, 1846. . . . The night I was baptized Dr. Ful- ler said to the congregation : 'This young man wants to go to Africa, but we need him at home.' . . . Dr. Fuller preached nightly for six weeks. Some 500 con- verts. Two hundred joined Baptist churches. Our daily HENRY ALLEN TUPPER 23 sunrise prayer-meetings continued for two years, until all of us who led went away to study for the ministry. n After his conversion Mr. Tupper passed through a period of doubt and anguish. He questioned his con- version and refused to hear a voice that called him to the gospel ministry. At last, however, he came out into a large place where there was peace and joy. His journal continues : "When I was a little boy I used to play 'preaching' in the attic story, the children being the congregation and I the preacher. I often told my friends that I intended being a lawyer until I was thirty years old and then I would enter the ministry, as Dr. Fuller did. Long before I had any notions of religion I used to prac- tice my gifts as a preacher in my room. ... I was deeply interested in the saving of souls, and felt no stronger desire than to see the world brought to Jesus. I thought seriously on the matter and determined to give myself to the work. . . . Finally, through the influ- ence of Brother Kendrick, it was concluded that Boyce and I go to Madison University, Hamilton, New York. . . . Of all the preachers who made deep impressions at Hamilton, Dr. Fuller was the greatest. I doubt if there was his equal in the pulpit since the days of the Apostle Paul. But my head is swallowed up by my heart whenever I think or speak of this, my father in the Lord. My course was in the midst of the fierce struggle which resulted in the founding of Rochester University. . . God overruled the storm and Hamilton was saved while Rochester was gained. . . . "On November 1, 1849, I was married at Kalmia, S. C, the summer residence of Hon. Kerr Boyce, to his pious and intelligent daughter, Nannie Johnstone. I had known her from early childhood. We were reared in the 24 VIRGINIA BAPTIST MINISTERS same Sabbath school. Our parents' pews in the church were almost opposite to each other. . . . Fre- quently she dressed in white. I often thought that the garb was a fit and beautiful emblem of her simple and pure character. The plainness of her dressing was always to be noted in view of the fact that she was literally doted on by her father, who was probably the wealthiest man in the city, and known by all to be devoted to his children. . . . She was really 'the pious, con- sistent little member of the church.' She visited the poor, sought children for the Sabbath school, and was ready for every good word and work. ... I was called to the pastorate of the Baptist Church at Graniteville, S. C. . Was ordained pastor of the church, by Rev. Wm. Hard and Rev. Mr. Brooks, on the first Sabbath of the year 1850. . . . My work at Graniteville was partly missionary and entirely gratuitous and this greatly delighted me. ... It was a first love indeed. Fresh from the University, my habits of study were continued and I gave much time to the study of the Scriptures. In the afternoon I usually preached an expository sermon, and in this way took the church through most of the epistles of the New Testament. On Saturday night I met with as many as would attend and examined them on the Scripture expounded the Sabbath before. My health seemed to fail. ... I had to spend the winter of 1852 in Florida. Dr. Geddings, of Charleston, said I must never preach again. "Entered upon the pastorate of the Baptist Church at Washington, Ga., in the spring of 1853. . . . There we had the loveliest of homes. . . . There a devoted church, in which I never noticed a ripple of discontent, loved us, and a whole town called me Bishop. Washington is one of the oldest towns in Georgia. It was named when Washington was a colonel. The streets HENRY ALLEN TUPPKk 25 were made narrower to give better defence against the Indians. . . . Between the denominations the ut- most cordiality prevailed. . . . The whole com- munity became a spiritual family. ... No man c mid be more perfectly identified with a place than 1 was with 'dear old Washington.' For many years I preached three times on the Sabbath. . . . For some fourteen years I preached on Sunday afternoon to the children. Phi Upsilon became an institution of Washing- ton. It was, as the mystic name signifies, a Literary Temperance Society. The meetings were held in a cot- tage in my grove. Grove extensive . . . some three hundred cedars that I had planted . . . garden . . . flowers. . . . 'Labyrinth' modeled after that of ancient Crete. . . . Grounds thrown open to the public. . . . Before the War I preached every Sunday and Tuesday night to the colored people and had appointments on the plantations in the vicinity. This was service in which my heart rejoiced. ... I had a large colored membership and many of them devoted Christians. . . . My morning sermons were pre- pared with care. Friend B , an elder in the Pres- byterian Church, would criticize them as too abstract. But I could not or did not reform. . . . Revivals of the most blessed kind were enjoyed. . . . The monthly Concert of Prayer for the salvation of the world was regularly kept up. ... The church was thoroughly indoctrinated on the subject of missions, as their large contributions indicated. But frankness re- quires me to say that in the report of those donations were included my support of a missionary among the Indians and another in Africa, or amounts equivalent to such support. ... I felt myself greatly indebted for a criticism on my early preaching at W , viz. : that / talked to sinners as if I were mad. . . . Our 26 VIRGINIA BAPTIST MINISTERS house, an imposing building, was a square edifice on a very high foundation approached by winding steps in front and surrounded by a colonnade on all four sides that reached from the lower floor to the balustrade which rose above the roof of the house. . . . Grounds extensive, some fifteen acres in pleasure grounds and use- ful meadow. . . . Children trained at home or in private schools. ... A trip to Europe made a momentary break in our Washington life. . . . My library was of good quality, some 1,500 volumes; the children fond of reading. There were few things that we cared for or coveted beyond our constant reach, save more knowledge of Jesus, more experience of his love, and more perfect assurance of our election and calling. But, happy as I was, I felt that I might be more usefully employed. . . . The subject of missions haunted me. As chairman of the Executive Committee on Mis- sions, formed by the Georgia Association, I had some- thing to do to supply missionaries and sustain them, but I wanted more. . . . Finally I formed the plan of a self-sustaining colony to Japan. I paid two visits to Dr. Taylor (Cor. Sec. F. M. Bd.) at Richmond, Va. I corresponded with the United States Ministers in the East. . . . Some $250,000 would be invested for the benefit of the mission. But the way was not clear; the War came on, and the cherished plan, like my others for missionary work, was unrealized. "In the principles on which the War was fought I was a South Carolinian thoroughly imbued. I went down to Sullivan's Island in the boat which bore the orders of General Beaureguard to open fire on Fort Sumter and stayed behind the battery and along the beach until Major Anderson's garrison, who fought like heroes, mounted the battlement and threw up their hands in surrender. I received from President Davis a com- HENRY ALLEN TUPPER 27 mission as chaplain of the North Georgia Regiment, but declined any compensation. "To breakfast at ten o'clock is not very usual in camp, yet the 9th Georgia has been so fashionable to-day. As ordered, we left late encampment yesterday morning and pitched tents here between Centerville and Fairfax. Rain on way, but pleasant meditation on Psalm XXXIV, 7. Great comfort and sublimity in the things of Almighty power and love stretched over the universe, and under whose shadow the children of men are allowed to trust. After wet time in getting up tent, I had just got snugly ensconced between my blankets when horse- men rode rapidly up to staff tents, and soon I heard from guard : 'We are ordered off.' About nine, the regiment started with rapid march. Whither, none knew; but enough for the soldier, 'A fight on hand.' No water, no provisions taken, in excessive haste. Chap- lain stopped at door and filled canteen and brought a partly eaten pone of stale corn bread. The night black and stormy. Rain came down in a flood. Couldn't see 'hand before the face.' Separated from regiment, let horse pilot way, though started and jumped and whirled round ever and anon, at what I knew not, and she prob- ably as wise. Road to Fairfax C. H. the left, to Fairfax Junction right, at intersection; but which the regiment would take I had no idea, and had no idea that would see road when got to crossing. Fortunately halted there by picket, who directed to the right. Soon ran into rear of column and all together we tumbled along. I know no more expressive word. The road like slime. The rain unabated, the darkness above, the same because it could not be blacker. Men tumble down and walked upon ; shoes drawn off by mud ; several pistols and one sword lost. Still the line crowds on to Fairfax Junction, where arrive about 1 A. M. after such a march as even 28 VIRGINIA BAPTIST MINISTERS the severely taxed 'Ninth' has never had and will prob- ably never have again. No one has ever experienced the like seen such a night, had such a march, and, on the whole, been in such a press of circumstances. And when we arrived the announcement is issued from head- quarters: 'No need of regiments. . . . Fight over and enemy repulsed/ Next order: 'Take the woods and return in morning to camp.' With great difficulty fires are kindled. And there we stood all night in rain drenched and searching and looking for the day. Never did the light look so beautiful, but the most beautiful of sights was our 'camp' again after the remarch, which was made in quick time, and the half dry and hungry 9th made first for their mess chests, at which they got about 10 A. M. . . . My thoughts, in that horrible dark- ness and storm, were above this world, I hope. The glorious wings seemed stretched over me. No thought of evil to myself entered my mind. . . . Applica- tion to War Department for release from Commission and permit to preach to the Confederate Troops in South Carolina and Georgia. . . . Answer next day. Another start for old Charleston, where arrived the 15th. Began work at Trapman Hospital. Sick at home those weeks. . . . Hearing that the Morris Street Baptist Church sold for a silver factory think of it ! . . . I purchased it from the purchaser in the name of my Master . . . and opened the 'Soldiers' Chapel.' . . . Had the happiness of preaching to my old regiment, the 9th Georgia. Sta- tioned at James Island. The meeting with those war- worn men was delightful. Their religious condition is most gratifying. Fifty have been converted. Some waiting now for baptism. ''In January, 1872, the news came to me like a flash in a cloudless sky that I had been elected Corresponding HENRY ALLKN TUPPER 2*) Secretary of the Board of Foreign Missions of the Southern Baptist Convention. My mind seemed fixed that I would never quit my church for any other or for any professorship or even any secretaryship. Surely I had been well tested in the near twenty years of my pastorate. But here was something different ; here was perhaps the realizing of all my missionary hopes and preparations. . . . But, per contra, the breaking up of our home, the quitting of the church, the tearing away from the delightful associations. . . The thought was appalling. But I resolved that I would do God's will and rejoice in the sacrifice. ... I preached to the united churches from Phil. 4:1. . . . Then the Lord's Supper was celebrated, then the heart-rending scene. I was made ill. The doctor said I must go to bed, but instead I took the train for Richmond as the only hope of redeeming my promised acceptance. "I went to Richmond in February (1872). The family did not come on until June. Two things I always thought were needed by a family a house of their own for the living and a 'long home' for the dead. I secured a beautiful lot at Hollywood, and not long after the purchase we laid to rest there our little Kate. I asked God to give me the house on Capitol Street (1002) which I frequently passed. It seemed so sub- stantial, so quiet, so respectable, so homelike. It was bought. . . . Before the family arrived it was thoroughly renovated and furnished. . . . Nannie and the children were delighted. . . . The people were abundantly kind, and now Richmond seems truly 'our home.' . . . The 'Old First' is a grand church. I love my work there, lecturing weekly on the Sabbath - school lesson. ... I feel much interest in our Edu- cational affairs as a trustee of Hollins Institute, Rich- mond College, and the Richmond Female Institute. The 30 VIRGINIA BAPTIST MINISTERS University of Virginia has been a standard and a stimu- lant which should immortalize Jefferson in the grateful memory of the state and country. . . . On the four Boards to which I belong there are not a few fine spirits. In quitting Charleston and Washington I could have found no more delightful and profitable home for my family than the beautiful city of seven hills on the bank of the romantic and historic James. . . . All, beyond necessary and comfortable living, I have given away. ... I believe the money accounts of the Mission Rooms are kept with absolute precision. My rule and direction is that, should death overtake me any day, there would be nothing in my affairs as Correspond- ing Secretary which would require the least explanation. . . . First meeting of the Board. In reply to the president's address I merely said : 'I have come because you called me, and I shall do all I can for the cause of missions.' At the public 'designation,' at the Second Church, I presented my views more fully. . . . Dr. Jeter had said : 'We have called you to think for us.' . . . Office in back rooms of the First Baptist Church. Later No. 1112 Main Street. . . . Scarcely had I entered upon my work before some $6,000 had to be raised to get off to China a missionary company of eleven or twelve persons. . . . Appeals were made and money came, which made me bless God. . . . On the heels of this another extra work had to be done. The Rome Church must have a chapel. At the Convention at Raleigh, N. C., the $20,000 asked for was readily secured. ... In my position many things must come and die in my breast. I feel called of God to con- duct some things between a second part and Him alone. Women's Missionary Societies have been organized over the country. The Mite Box impressed me when I was a little child in the Sabbath school. Dr. Burrows HENRY ALLEN TUPPER 31 said to me when I took charge of this work : 'How can every member of every Baptist Church of the South be induced to give something regularly to the cause of Foreign Missions?' This I have kept constantly in mind. . The editing of the Journal saves expense and gives me a better opportunity of communicating directly with the churches. . . . My sketches of missionaries and their work I hoped would quicken the interest of the churches, as they did, I believe. . . . My tours among the churches are delightful in some respects but great crosses in others. The long absence from my family and the Mission Rooms is a serious trial. I try to make the missionaries feel that I am one of them. They certainly seem like my family my family in the Lord. Their sorrows are my sorrows. Their joys are my joys. . . . When I retire from my desk I do not retire from my thoughts and longings in reference to this great enterprise. "Last night two nights' sleep seem to have packed themselves into one so sound and sweet it was. It was not dead sleep, but deep slumber full of pleasant visions. . . I told the girls that a complete drama passed through my mind during the night which was so vivid that I could repeat it. They said playfully: That was naughty, papa, for Sunday night.' I retorted : 'Perhaps the scene opened at five minutes after twelve.' . . . To amuse the children I have written out my dramatic dream in five scenes of some 650 lines. . . . Several attacks of hay fever. Severer the fever, more active the brain. Ordinarily I could not have written the drama in one day. . . . Laws of society: (1) Courtesy to men; (2) Chivalry to women; (3) Tenderness to chil- dren; (4) Truth 'to all. . . . This afternoon and evening were seasons of rare enjoyment. About 3 o'clock we went on Cecilian Hill [near Mountain Lake], and 32 VIRGINIA BAPTIST MINISTERS while we were enveloped in mist the valleys below were flooded with light. This view was soon changed into a landscape of most exquisite beauty, as mountains and val- leys were painted with the most varied azure hues. Bowing the head to the ground the prospect was almost heavenly; we were bound to it as if by enchantment, and wished the whole world could witness it. About sunset we ascended Bald Knob. On the west we had the rare view of the valley filled with sun-white mist, which seemed a picture of the Arctic regions, in the midst of which and far below us was a distinct and perfect rainbow. When we reached the Knob a dark cloud, fringed with gold, covered the sun. Gradually the splendid light poured through until suddenly the barrier gave way and the God of Day in superlative grandeur burst upon our vision and glorified all around with ineffable magnificence. There was dead silence. Tears flowed down our cheeks. Instinctively we knelt upon this sublime altar, and our overflowing hearts were poured out to the Lord of the heavens and the earth. . . . Attended Sabbath school and spoke to the children. ... I tried to preach the sermon to the children to my own soul. It is impossible to record my experience of the last twenty- four hours coldness in prayer, indifference in reading God's word, deceptions of the devil. Yet I cling to Jesus. Away from Him, lost forever. My last play day at Mountain Lake. I thank God for what Mountain Lake has done for me. "Resumed my study of Italian. . . . Resolved that by God's grace I shall pursue a more thorough and more systematic study of the Scriptures. . . . Janu- ary 6. Motto for the year: 'Looking Unto Jesus.' . . . Left home on 4th of February and returned the 12th of April. I presume I traveled some 4,000 miles HENRY ALLEN TUPPER 33 and preached some 50 times. . . . Tuesday I go to the S. B. C. I know not the future, which seems some- times quite shadowy. I go 'looking unto Jesus.' . . . Over $10,000 returned. April 30. Some $4,000 during my absence. The amount I labored and prayed for was $14,000. Bless God. ... I told Treasurer to tell Convention that I had put down my salary to $2,000. . . . Received check for $10,000 from a friend for missions as a loan with only my name as security. My book is finished the result of the hay-fever seasons. . . . Sent to Publication Society 'Truth in Romance.' Before I die I hope to give a very different kind of book to the world. It is boiling in my heart. I have begun to work with carpenters' tools with my little boy, and am reading the New Testament through every 26 days, 10 chapters a day. ... I shall not begin to write until I can see the whole book- through at a glance. The remaining days of the month, viz. : the Sundays, I propose to read the Old Testament 17 chapters each Sunday. ... In looking over my books I find that from 1854 to 1883 I received of the Lord on account of income $279,500.98 and donated in the time 124,541.39 and used for other purposes $154,959.59 After two months of delight [at Marquette, Lake Superior] we turn our faces homeward. . . . Have done little study. Have read several works: Agassiz's two series of Geological Sketches, St. Giles' Lecture on The Faiths of the World, Mathews on Use and Abuse of Words, Alcott's Emerson, Thomas a Kempis' Imitation, etc., and prepared address for 200th anniversary of the First Church, Charleston, S. C. 34 VIRGINIA BAPTIST MINISTERS "The Board has appointed me their Commissioner to go to Mexico to investigate the propositions in regard to the $150,000 for school purposes. . . . After our long and severe struggle we close our books to-day out of debt and $144.61 on hand Laus Deo. . . . Have preached four times to the hotel company. Hope that good has been done. I thank God for the tears I saw last Sunday. ... I begin to-morrow my Spanish studies with more energy. . . . Have written ap- peals for 14 papers. . . . Heavy obligations press the Board. . . . It is well not to have committed to paper the bitter experiences of the past six months. ... On Monday the 5th, T. P. Bell, of South Caro- lina, was appointed my assistant. His coming promises broader work for the Board. ... In seventy days have visited thirty-five cities and done what I could by day and by night in the states belonging to the S. B. Con- vention. . . . To-day I finished The Carpenter's Son,' the fourth book I have prepared for the press in my vacations. . . . After writing 'Finis' to the book, I ascended Mt. Agassiz, the second time this season, by way of recreation. The view there as a thing of beauty is a joy forever. . . . Came here [New York] by request, as member of a committee representing some 70 Foreign Missionary Boards and Societies in England and America, to prepare programme for a World's Mission- ary Meeting to be held next June in London. . . . L - has given me a copy of Thomas a Kempis. Oh, that I had continued to read this sacred wis- dom since the days I first became acquainted with the work in the childhood of my religious life. February 29, 1888. Fifteenth birthday and beautiful presents. Shall I see sweet sixteen? ... I have started a 'Decade of Missions from 1880 to 1890' as a supplement to my 'History of Foreign Missions.' HENRY ALLEN TUPPER 35 How changed all of life! October 12th, at 2 A. M., the noblest woman of earth went into sleep. ... A world with the world's best treasure gone. My earthly light alas, alas ! . My earthly joy is to honor the memory of this noblest of women, truest of wives, most devoted of mothers, and most consecrated of Chris- tians. . . . Alas, alas ! my dear friend and brother, James Boyce, is gone. A prince has fallen in Israel. . . . The present state of our finances would be alarming but for two things the Commission and the Divine Promises. . . . Attended the Maryland Union. . . . The address at Baltimore was almost extemporaneous after roaming for an hour over streets in agony of prayer. I committed myself entirely to the will of the Spirit, and could no more report what I said than I could fly. ... Unveiling of Lee's statue. A day never to be forgotten. One hundred thousand do honor to the great chieftain. . . . Met a bevy of children and tried to teach them what the wisest might say every night : "Now I lay me down to sleep, . . . "September 26, 1893. . . . With the close of the last fiscal year of the Foreign Mission Board, the un- precedented sum of $150,000 having been raised in com- memoration of the Centenary of the Revival of Foreign Missions, I felt it my duty to retire from the Secretary- ship of the Board. The action of the Board was most liberal and fraternal and the separation most loving. . I recalled that I had given away about one-half of the monetary income of my life. . . . Elected President of the Board of Trustees of the Woman's Col- lege. ... I am giving myself to the work of languages: Latin. Greek, Hebrew. French, Spanish. 36 VIRGINIA BAPTIST MINISTERS German, Italian. In order to revise my Hebrew I am preparing a primer in that language. . . . About. 8 or 10 hours a day I devote to these languages. . . . The prime object I have in view is a more perfect knowl- edge of the Scriptures. . . . The trustees want me to work for the college as I have done in years gone by. . . . To-day have closed my appeals before the churches in behalf of the Woman's College . . . having spoken on a single Sunday to as many as five churches between 9 A. M. and 9 p. M. . . . Notes to 133 persons. ... I agree to go to Baltimore Octo- ber 1st. In addition to my teaching I shall have oppor- tunity of preaching. . . . Received telegram: 'You are invited to accept Bible Chair in Richmond College.' . . . If the Lord will make his servant meet for this service, one of the greatest hopes of his life will be real- ized. ... It seems but yesterday I began my Bible work in Richmond College, and now it is done for the session. There remains, however, the examinations. I shall put up six blocks with sixty questions. . . . Since February 8th I have lectured,, I believe, 150 times. This has been one of the most delightful duties of my life. . . Richmond, September 25, 1899. Began work to-day . . . with satisfaction of hav- ing 1,473 pages of lectures prepared during the vacation at Casco Bay for my college classes this session. September 17, 1900, The Knob, Casco Bay. Alas, how time flies! We have had varied and delightful experi- ences. The season has been seasoned by a great storm. The only stay to mind and heart is clinging to a personal God. . . . The loftiest wisdom is John's concluding words of Revelation: 'Come, Lord Jesus.' Afton, Va., July 11, 1901. . . . Another session in my Bible work at Richmond College. . . . The duty has been delightful to the teacher. . . . This HENRY ALLEN TUPPER 37 Afton is one of the most picturesque spots on our Conti- nent; has the purest air and dryest climate I know. . . . September 21, 1901. At home again. Happy as the 'outing' of 99 days was, it is good to be at home once more, grateful to God for all of his favors in the past and trusting him to the end for grace." This is the last entry in the diary and record of his life. On March 27, 1902, the spirit of Henry Allen Tupper passed from earth to be with God. CHARLES FENTON JAMES 1844-1902 In October, 1859, John Brown made his famous attack of Harper's Ferry. Hon. J. Taylor Ellyson writes that in the "John Brown Raid" there was a young man serv- ing in a volunteer cavalry company whose name was Charles Fenton James. He was fifteen years old, having been born in August, 1844. His parents were Robert and Winifred James, and Loudoun County, Virginia, was his birthplace. In 1861 he helped to organize one of the companies that formed the 8th Virginia Regiment. This regiment was commanded by Colonel Eppa Hunton, and young James, starting as one of the noncommissioned officers of his company, before the War was over, after successive promotions, had become the captain of his command. In 'the winter of 1864, while in the trenches near Petersburg, he made profession of his faith in Christ, and was baptized by Rev. R. W. Cridlin. Before the War he was a student at an academy near Alexan- dria, and in September, 1865, he entered Columbian Col- lege, Washington. The next year he entered Richmond College, being the first student on the ground after the War. He is said to have been the originator of the "mess-hall" system that has been a blessing so many years to so many. In 1870 he took his Bachelor of Arts degree. He next studied at the Southern Baptist Theo- logical Seminary at Greenville, S. C. Rev. C. A. Wood- son, who was a student at Greenville with James, says of him: "I was struck, at our first meeting, with his fine face, manly form, and his quiet dignity. He was dis- tinguished for his painstaking investigation of anything 38 CHARLES FENTON JAMES 39 that claimed his attention; had a wonderful power of analysis and a rare faculty of weighing testimony." His first pastorate, which began in 1873, was at Buchanan, Va. While he was their pastor the Buchanan Church built the substantial brick meeting-house in which they are still worshiping. Besides his work in the town of Buchanan, he had, during these ten years, as part of his field, these churches: Jennings Creek, Natural Bridge, North Prospect (Bedford County). In 1883 he left Buchanan to become pastor of the church at Cul- peper. The Baptist Church in Culpeper is on the spot where the old jail stood in which James Ireland was imprisoned. So it was not strange that Mr. James, with his capacity for patient investigation, and with the spirit of a general, should have been led into a discussion as to the part of Virginia Baptists in the struggle for religious liberty. The articles which he wrote in this debate led to his writing his "Documentary History of the Struggle for Religious Liberty in Virginia." It is probable that this discussion in the Herald and this book will perpetu- ate his name longer than anything else he did. This discussion came about on this wise. In March, 1886, he preached to his church three sermons on "The Mission of the Baptists." In one of these sermons he said that "at the date of the Revolution the Baptists were the only denomination of Christians which, as such, held to the idea of religious liberty, and that, of the political leaders of that day, James Madison and Thomas Jeffer- son were chiefly instrumental in establishing that princi- ple in the laws of our land." On May 29, 1886, he repeated this sermon at Flint Hill at a Ministers' and Deacons' Meeting. In the Herald, of June 24, 1886, there appeared a report of an address delivered by the Hon. Wm. Wirt Henry before the American Historical Asso- ciation. In this address Mr. Henry told of Virginia's 40 VIRGINIA BAPTIST MINISTERS leadership in bringing in religious liberty, but made no allusion to the Baptists, and said it was "under the leadership of Patrick Henry that religious liberty has been established as a part of the fundamental law of our land." As no one else took issue with this address, and as its statements were just the opposite of those made in his sermons, Mr. James decided to challenge Mr. Henry's assertions. A lengthy discussion in the columns of the Herald, between Mr. James and Mr. Henry, followed. In the course of this discussion Mr. James searched for and examined for himself "all available sources of information concerning the struggle for religious liberty in Virginia." He went "back of Howell's 'Early Bap- tists of Virginia' to the sources from which he and others had drawn their information to the Journal of the Vir- ginia House of Burgesses, or General Assembly, and to the writings of those who participated in the struggle." The discussion in the Herald might have continued longer than it did, but the editors decided that it must close. The investigations begun by Dr. James (he re- ceived the degree of D. D. while he was in Culpeper) in this controversy were continued by him during his whole residence in Culpeper, his proximity to the Congressional Library and the State Library in Richmond making these researches the more easy. He copied all that he could find bearing on the question in hand, setting down the book and the page. After more than ten years the documentary evidence as to this struggle for religious liberty and the share of the Baptists in it was presented to the world by Dr. James in the book already mentioned. In Dr. James' opinion this book was "not a history in the usual sense of the word, but rather a compilation a grouping together of evidence and authorities, so that the reader may see and judge for himself." The book is intended to furnish "the careful and painstaking student CHARLES FENTON JAMES 41 of history a reliable text-book for the study of one of the most important of the great battles that have been fought for human rights and have marked the progress of the human race." From Culpeper Dr. James moved to Roanoke to become the principal of Alleghany Institute, an academy for boys. The session of 1888-89 was his first in Roan- oke, and that of 1891-92 marked the beginning of his work as the president of Roanoke Institute, Danville. Here he remained till death called him hence. In the face of great difficulties he set the school on its feet as an institution of high grade. With his college work he linked his service for country churches in reach of Dan- ville. He loved the country churches and to work with and for them. During these years he preached to Mill Creek, Ringgold, and Mt. Zion Churches, all in the Roan- oke Association. In this Association he exerted a most blessed influence, being the moderator of the body at the time of his death. He was a man of unflinching moral and physical courage. "What a great soldier he would have made! He would not have been the tactician, but the strategist, who plans his movements on a large scale. He belonged to the same general type as Lee, Grant, Von Moltke. He did his thinking in blocks. His life moved upon straight lines of candor, openness, and courage. He had genuine and thorough culture. His friendship was stalwart and loyal. His powers of debate, his able contributions to the papers, his works as author and educator, made his a commanding figure in our Baptist ranks." He was married on October 28, 1873, to Miss Mary Alice Chamblin, of Loudoun County, Virginia. She sur- vived him, living until September 8, 1912. Their chil- dren are: Mayo C. James, Mrs. Julian Jordan, Charles Edward James, Mrs. N. A. Lavender, John W. James, 42 VIRGINIA BAPTIST MINISTERS and Robert L. James. His death was sudden. Prof. Geo. Swann was called in to see him Wednesday afternoon, December 3 ; he complained of having a strange sensa- tion. He never rallied, dying about three o'clock on the morning of the 5th of December, 1902. The funeral was conducted by Dr. T. B. Thames, assisted by Dr. W. E. Hatcher and Rev. Wm. Hedley. On June 8, 1903, a tablet in his honor was unveiled in the Roanoke Institute chapel. The inscription contained these words : "Ardent patriot, brave soldier, loyal friend, devout Christian, diligent student, able minister, skilful educator, true in all the relations of life." ARCHIBALD ALEXANDER RICE 1824-1902 Archibald Alexander Rice was born in Petersburg, Va., July 7, 1824. His father was Rev. Dr. Benjamin Holt Rice, a distinguished Presbyterian clergyman. His mother was Martha Alexander, a daughter of Wm. Alexander and a sister of Dr. Archibald Alexander (who was president of Hampden-Sidney College and professor at Princeton), and an aunt of James Waddel Alexander and Joseph Addison Alexander (both professors at Princeton). His father being for many years the pastor of the Presbyterian Church at Princeton, he spent his boyhood and student days in the classic shades of this venerable seat of learning, graduating first in the college, on August 14, 1842, and four years later in the Theo- logical Seminary. Here also he was licensed to the ministry, but after some eight years of missionary work in Southampton County, Virginia, becoming convinced that he was not called to preach, the study of medicine was taken up and pursued until a diploma from the Jef- ferson Medical College, Philadelphia, was won. He became professor in the Kentucky School of Medicine, which position he held until 1861. While Dr. Rice preached more or less up to the very end of his life, he was never a pastor of any church, and his life work was that of the physician. During the War, as a surgeon in the Confederate Army, he held various positions of trust and had many exciting and not a few amusing experiences. Once he made a very nar- row escape from arrest by Federal officers in a hospital in Kentucky ; once he was virtually in control of the 43 44 VIRGINIA BAPTIST MINISTERS whole city of Chattanooga for something like twenty- four hours. This experience in Chattanooga was in the spring of 1862. Johnson's army was retreating through Tennessee ; affairs in Chattanooga were in a demoralized state; Dr. Rice, acting on his own responsibility, took charge; he went to work in an improvised hospital, issued orders for food to be cooked by private citizens, took wood and other necessary things, and gave orders on the government for the pay. After the War, he was connected with a medical school in Kentucky, and then settled in the Bruington neighborhood, King and Queen County, where he practiced his profession for a long series of years. About 1880 he moved to Appomattox County and settled near the Hebron Baptist Church. Here he came to be the "beloved physician," because the people counted him a past master in his profession, because they believed in the man, and because, notwith- standing his age, calls from far and near, whatever the weather might be, were answered. One horse, an excel- lent animal, served him these last twelve years and was led, with the empty buggy, just behind the corpse in the funeral procession. "And after him lead his masterless steed." A young physician, now in the United States Navy, having met Dr. Rice and talked with him about profes- sional matters, remarked to a friend: "I would let that man do anything to me." During the early months of 1897, the Hebron pastor being in Europe, Dr. Rice filled the pulpit, greatly delighting the people by his sermons, some of which were talked about in the neighborhood for months. He was kind to brother preachers, and they and others were warmly welcomed and entertained in his home, which was one of the most hospitable. ARCHIBALD ALEXANDER RICE 45 Dr. Rice was a Presbyterian until after he went to live in King and Queen County. Once when Rev. Dr. A. E. Dickinson urged him to take the Herald and said : "Some day you will be a Baptist/' Dr. Rice replied : "No, sir, every bone in me would cry out against me." When, however, his daughter Nellie was born, there being no Presbyterian Church near at hand where he could have her sprinkled, he was led to examine the Scriptures on the question of baptism, with the result that he became a Baptist. He was baptized in 1872 by Rev. Dr. Chas. H. Ryland, becoming a member of the Bruington Church, and on November 18, 1877, was ordained at this church. Dr. Rice was married twice, his first wife being Miss Eleanor W. Nash, and his second, who, with one daughter, Lizzie, survived him, Miss Mary C. Haynes. He died December 19, 1902, and was buried in the Hebron Church graveyard. NOAH CALTON BALDWIN 1817-1903 For nearly six decades this man of God preached the gospel, as pastor and evangelist, throughout the counties of Washington and Smyth, reaching at times into Wythe. Originally this was the territory of the old Washington Association that was anti-missionary heart and soul. Finally, in 1845, some of the churches of this body withdrew, as they no longer held these narrow missionary views, and organized the Lebanon Associa- tion; in this movement Mr. Baldwin was the leader. When this separation took place the anti-missionary sec- tion numbered 1,100 and the seceders 500; to-day the old Washington Association has fewer churches with a much smaller membership than at the time of the division, while the Lebanon Association has 43 churches with about 4,000 members, and after its organization it dis- missed about half its churches to form the New Lebanon Association. His leadership cost him no little persecu- tion. Concerning this period of his life he says in his diary : "I considered it my duty to disseminate all the information I could on the subject of missions, and to urge the churches, and the association to which they belonged, to united action in regard to those benevolent enterprises which have distinguished the Baptists throughout the world. For doing this I was much perse- cuted, called a money hunter and divider of churches. Finally I was dismissed, rather withdrew, from the pastorate of St. Glair's Bottoms Church on account of its hostility to the missionary cause." He was born September 30, 1817, in Piney Creek Valley, then in Ashe County (but now in Alleghany County), North Carolina. His father was Enoch Baldwin, the son of Rev. Elisha Baldwin, and his mother 46 NOAH CALTON BALDWIN 47 Esther Baker, whose uncle, Rev. Andrew Baker, was a preacher of considerable notoriety in North Carolina. Although Enoch Baldwin and his wife were not able to give their children large educational advantages, three months a year being about all the schooling they received, the religious impressions they made upon their children were good, and two of the sons became ministers. After having "turned a deaf ear to the requisitions of the gospel," in May, 1838, young Baldwin's "sleepy soul was awakened in a most powerful manner to a sense of its danger." It was not, however, until he had decided to preach that he really rejoiced in Jesus. On his twenty- first birthday, at Mt. Zion, Ashe County, he preached his first sermon. Not long after his ministry began he left the Methodist Church and became a Baptist, since he could not bring himself to sprinkle or pour water and .call it baptism, nor could he administer the ordinance to infants. On December 25, 1838, he was married to Miss Nancy McMillen, daughter of John and Narcessey McMillen, of Ashe County, North Carolina. On the first Saturday in October, 1840, he was ordained, the presbytery being composed of Elders D. Senter and N. M. Senter. The same fall he moved to Smyth County. Virginia. In this section he spent the rest of his life. After his trouble with the anti-missionary brethren, he became a missionary of the State Mission Board of Vir- ginia, working in the general section covered to-day by the Lebanon and New Lebanon Associations. In 1852 his report to the General Association of his work in Washington, Smyth, and Wythe Counties showed that he had baptized 51 during the year, and that the churches he had served had become sufficiently strong to need no longer the help of the Board. In the course of his long ministry he was pastor of the following churches : Middle Fork, Friendship, Marion, Sugar Grove, South Fork, Greenfield, Glade Spring. Mountain View, Maiden's 48 VIRGINIA BAPTIST MINISTERS Spring, Abingdon, St. Glair's Bottoms, his service for the first-named church extending over almost thirty-three years. Four of these churches, namely, Marion, Glade Spring, Friendship, and Greenfield, were largely the result of his work, and were organized by him. In many ways he was a leader ; for example, with Rev. J. T. Kin- cannon, in 1867, he consummated plans for the publica- tion of a paper known as The Landmark Banner. In evangelistic work he was successful, going far and wide, and leading many to Christ. As a debater he was logical and fair, being willing to examine fully and frankly the position of his opponent. His mind was vigorous. In the presentation of his views he was clear and convinc- ing. His address was frank and impressive. His presence was commanding, his physique being very fine. He was seldom sick. His devotion to his calling as a minister of the gospel knew no bounds. As a pastor of churches he rarely ever missed an appointment. Frank- ness and candor marked his intercourse with the people he served. He was of the stuff of which martyrs are made; he would have gone down under persecution rather than yield one inch in his contention for the "faith once delivered to the saints." One gets quite a picture of the man and of the days of his great activity upon hearing that in 1846 he rode on horseback from Marion to Richmond, a distance of three hundred miles, to attend the General Association and the second meeting of the Southern Baptist Convention. He was married four times, but no one of these unions was blessed with chil- dren. He died, on January 14, 1903, from a tumor on his lip, and his body was buried, by his request, beside his second wife, in the Anderson Cemetery, Adwolfe, Smyth County, Virginia. Some time after his burial, on August 16, his funeral sermon was preached, accord- ing to his wish, by Rev. J. T. Kincannon, at Friendship Church, Washington County, from the text, II Tim. 4:7-8. JOSEPH FRANKLIN DEANS 1839-1903 The counties of Norfolk, Nansemond, Isle of Wight, and Southampton, all in Tidewater Virginia, formed the arena where Joseph Franklin Deans passed his life and did his work. Near Churchland, in the first-named county, he was born, of "respectable and well-to-do parents," March 20, 1839. During the days of his youth at Churchland he attended school, Mr. Josiah Ryland being his teacher, went to Sunday school and church, was converted, and baptized. When he set out for college he was making his first journey away from home and out into the world. Columbian College gave him, in 1859, his Bachelor of Arts diploma, and seven years later the Master of Arts degree. Richmond Col- lege gave him the honorary degree of Doctor of Divinity. While a student at Columbian he was licensed to preach, and in 1862 he became a chaplain in the Confederate Army. After his ordination, in 1865, the War being over, he was pastor, for a brief season, at Weldon, N. C. In 1866 he became pastor of Northwest, Norfolk County, and at the meeting of the Portsmouth Association that year, at Beaver Dam, he preached the introductory sermon. Later he was clerk of this body, and for five sessions its moderator. In 1869 his three years' pastor- ate of the Bainbridge Street Church, Manchester, began. On October 3, 1872, he was married to Miss Bettie Lightfoot Poindexter, and the following spring he went as a supply to the Staunton Church while the pastor. Dr. Geo. Boardman Taylor, was engaged in the "Memo- rial Year" work. Dr. Taylor alluded to this event in his Jubilee sermon at Staunton, in 1903, saving: "The Rev. 49 50 VIRGINIA BAPTIST MINISTERS J. F. Deans, a brother combining in a rare degree sweet- ness with dignity and force of character, bringing his young bride, came here as my supply." After Manchester and Staunton he returned to the section which was, as already suggested, the field of his life work. During the thirty years that followed he was pastor, first and last, of the following churches : Berkley Avenue, Smithfield, South Quay, Great Fork, Western Branch, Black Creek. Whitehead's Grove, Tucker Swamp, Windsor, Ivor. One of these churches, White- head's Grove, he served for twenty-seven years, and at the end of the twenty-fifth year the church did honor to their pastor by a day of fellowship and of congratula- tions, ministers of other denominations and from a dis- tance being among the speakers. In 1878 Mr. A. H. Ashburn invited Mr. Deans to open an academy at Windsor, a village on the Norfolk and Western Railway between Petersburg and Norfolk. This invitation, which was accepted, led to a new sphere of influence and power. The academy, for young men and young women, was established, Mr. Ashburn fur- nishing the necessary financial support. When Thomas Arnold was a candidate for the head-mastership of Rugby, one testimonial to the trustees said that if he were elected "he would change the face of education all through the public schools of England." It is, perhaps, not going too far to say that the influence for good of Windsor Academy and its head was felt all through that section of the State. The words of Rev. J. Theodore Bowden, a Windsor Academy "boy," show, in part, the work of the school and the spirit of its principal. In a tribute to Dr. Deans, in the Religious Herald of March 5, 1903, Mr. Bowden wrote: "I want to speak a few words about Dr. J. F. Deans as the young man's friend. There was nothing that gave him greater JOSEPH FRANKLIN DEANS 51 pleasure than to help poor, struggling boys. He sought more ways and found more opportunities to bless humanity in this way than any man I ever knew. There are ministers, physicians, lawyers, merchants, and almost every class of business men, who can rise up and call him blessed. 1 well remember twelve years ago when he took me from my father's home on the farm and put me in his academy. I had no money, but because of my willingness to do what I could in looking after the school buildings and going on errands about his home he per- mitted me to stay in his school three years. During all this time never did he permit me to want for one needed thing. When the time came for me to enter Richmond College he opened the way and took a father's interest in my welfare. More than once did I have him to come into my room, while on his visits to the city, and take from his pocket his book and write me a check sufficient to settle all of my indebtedness." Windsor Academy sent, as the years came and went, a large number of young men, and well prepared, too, to Richmond College. The hour for his departure came suddenly. His wife was away from home, at the bedside of her sister, who was extremely ill. On Tuesday he was very busy and apparently perfectly well. Before retiring he complained of some pain, but was relieved by a physician. At two o'clock the next morning, February 4, 1903, he called his son, and in a little while he was dead. A special car attached to the train known as the "cannon ball" carried the body and a great company of friends to Bruce Sta- tion, on the Atlantic Coast Line, from which place Churchland was reached by private conveyances. Here the funeral and burial took place, the following ministers having part in the service : W. V. Savage, J. K. Goode, C. W. Duke, J. J. Taylor, A. B. Dunaway, W. F. Fisher, L. E. Barton, J. M. Pilcher, A. E. Owen, W. P. Hines, 52 VIRGINIA BAPTIST MINISTERS E. E. Dudley, and W. A. Snyder. He was survived by his wife, a daughter, Ethel, and a son, Parke. Rev. Dr. J. M. Pilcher, who was for twenty years a close friend of Dr. Deans, says of him: "As pastor, teacher, and citizen he was preeminent, not only in church and school and community, but also in all the region around. When the people of Isle of Wight County offered him a seat in the Constitutional Conven- tion he was gratified by their high estimate of him and courteously declined. When they demanded the service of him he was embarrassed and came to my home to con- sult me. We took time to look at every phase of the question, and he left me with a firm purpose not to accept the honor, and publicly declared his decision. On another occasion we consulted in regard to his giving up the academy in order to devote more time to his churches. I insisted that the work already done in the education, elevation, refinement, and culture of the young people of the adjoining counties, to say nothing of the conversion to Christ of so many of them while they were in his school, . . . demanded that he should not throw 7 away this great part of his ministerial work." JABEZ LAMAR MONROE CURRY* 1825-1903 The State of Alabama has placed in one of the two niches assigned to her in the Statuary Hall of the Capitol at Washington, a marble statue of Jabez Lamar Monroe Curry. Yet not in Alabama, but in Georgia, did he first see the light. As the name suggests, "Dark Corner," that part of Lincoln County where he was born, on Sun- day, June 5, 1825, was rather famous for its lawlessness. His parents, who were Wm. Curry and Susan Winn, of Scotch and Welsh extraction respectively, gave their second child a name which oppressed him as he grew older and which he eventually modified, for at first his second name was Lafayette and not Lamar. His mother died when he was quite young, but his stepmother seems to have done a good part by him. The importance of education was fully realized by the father, for his chil- dren were started to school at a very tender age, and later he wanted Lamar to go to Germany to complete his preparation for life's work. At the age of four Lamar entered a school whose teacher, Mr. Josh Fleming, was respected by his pupils, even if they did duck him once in order to secure a desired holiday; in this function Lamar, though young and small, bore his part. His next teacher, named Vaughan, was from Maine, it being quite common in those days for pedagogues to come to the South from the New England States. In 1833 the stars fell, and young Curry left home to attend school at *Much of the information used in this sketch is derived from "J. L. M. Curry: A Biography," by Edwin Anderson Alderman and Armistead Churchill Gordon. The Macmillan Co., New York, 1911. Price, $2.00. Grateful acknowledgment is made to this book to which the reader is referred for a fuller and charming record of Dr. Curry's interesting and inspiring life. 53 54 VIRGINIA BAPTIST MINISTERS Lincolnton, the county-seat, where he lived with his grandmother. His teacher at this place was Rev. Mr. McKerley, a Presbyterian minister. Here, at the wed- ding of a Miss Lamar, the iced cakes set in a row to dry made a great impression on the boy from "Dark Corner," and at this wedding, while sitting on the fence with some other boys and peeling a turnip, he cut his hand so severely that he carried the scar through life. The next year he was sent over to Willington, S. C, to a school conducted for many years, first by Rev. Moses Waddell and then by his sons. Here many famous men, among the number Jno. C. Calhoun, Augustus Baldwin Long- street (author of "Georgia Scenes"), James Bowie (inventor of the deadly knife that bears his name), George McDuffie, and James Lewis Petigru, received their early training. At sunrise the master blew a horn, the boys in the neighboring homes answering on their horns. After prayers the scholars dispersed to the woods to study, seeking shade if the weather was warm, building fires of faggots if it was cold. Next, young Curry and his brother were kept at home and sent to school at Double Branches not far away, the teacher, one Daniel W. Finn, being an Irishman and a Catholic. At Double Branches he heard his first "missionary" sermon, the preacher being Rev. Dr. C. D. Mallory, a distinguished Baptist minister. His parents were not Christians; he never went to a Sunday school until he was married, and he seems to have had no deep early religious convictions. His father was a prosperous farmer and merchant, and, after the manner of country boys, Lamar, with negroes of his own age, spent many an hour at night hunting coons and 'possums. In 1838 his father moved to Kelly Springs, Talladega County, Alabama. This journey of some two hundred miles by private conveyance was a great event in the life JABEZ LAMAR MONROE CUR in 55 of the growing boy. He never forgot his first sight of the mountains which this trip gave him, or the howling of the wolves around the camp from night to night. In his new home he helped his father in the post-office attached to the store, and sometimes went with the wagons to Wetumpka, a trip that took many days. Again the boy was at school, and from his own early edu- cational experiences two convictions that went with him through life seem to have arisen. He felt that in his own training the classics had been emphasized to the neglect of English branches. Years afterwards he inaugurated at Richmond College one of the first, if not the first, courses of English offered at any American college. In these early days boys and girls were together in school, and he was through life a strong advocate of coeduca- tion. In 1839 he entered Franklin College (now the Uni- versity of Georgia) at Athens. He occupied Room No. 23. He was an enthusiastic member of the Phi Kappa Debating Society, where his training in public speaking was invaluable. During his life at Athens he began to visit young ladies. His first experience in this line, he afterwards declared, was a more severe ordeal than going into a battle. The blessing to him of such companionship was so great that when in later years he was a teacher of young men at Richmond College he urged them to visit the young ladies, and would even excuse a student who was "not prepared" if he had been to see one of the fair sex. His last years at college were characterized by very hard work. He feared that his trouble with mathematics would prevent his graduation, but deter- mined effort won the day. He next turned his steps toward Harvard, though afterward he was sorry that he had not followed his father's wishes and gone to Germanv. In his law studies at Harvard he sat at the 56 VIRGINIA BAPTIST MINISTERS feet of Judge Story (then of the Supreme Court) and Simon Greenleaf, who was scarcely less famous. What intellectual stimulus young Curry found in Cambridge and Boston, since Longfellow was one of the professors, Lowell an editor, Webster to be heard at Faneuil Hall, Theodore Parker at his church, and Charlotte Cushman and other great actors at the theater ! One of his fellow- students at Harvard was Rutherford B. Hayes, who, in 1876, became President of the United States/ Mr. Curry received his B. L. in February, 1845. Upon his return home, he began to read law in the office of Mr. Samuel W. Rice, in Talladega, at the same time writing editorials for the Watchtower, visiting the ladies, attending a debating society, and going every Saturday night to his home only six miles away. But the sound of war gave pause to the study of the law, and Mr. Curry, with several others, set out for the scene of the war with Mexico, on their own account, in the Duane, a vessel so unsea worthy that shortly after they disembarked it sank in the harbor. In 1850 Mr. Curry undertook the management of a plantation, but soon found that he liked books better than directing farm labor. He was admitted to the bar, and so began an important period of his life. Political life, however, rather than the practice of law, appealed to Mr. Curry. He was popular as a speaker, his youthful appearance and slight figure adding to this popularity. The burning question of the day was whether slavery should be allowed in the territories and its area extended. Mr. Curry took no uncertain stand. Perhaps his political convictions may be epitomized by saying that he was a disciple of John C. Calhoun. So deep were his convictions on the great doctrines of States' rights and local self-government that to the end of life they remained practically unchanged. In 1847 he was elected to the Alabama legislature. Again in 1853 and JABEZ LAMAR MONROE CURRY 57 in 1855 this honor was conferred upon him. His farm- ing, alluded to above, seems to have filled in one of the intervals in his public career. In the legislature he always voted for measures that favored education, and he introduced a bill that led to a geological survey of the state. In 1855 he opposed with success the Know- Nothing Party, carrying his county by 255 votes. In 1857 he was a Presidential elector on the Buchanan ticket, and in 1857 and 1859 was elected to Congress. It is interesting to look upon this young man as he appeared in Congress for the first time. "He was of splendid physique, with a cast of features and an expression of countenance so marked by manly ingenuousness and honor, yet indicative of conscious strength and self- reliance, that even his political enemies were conciliated and disposed to hear him with favor." Nor was he unknown as an orator and statesman. He had u a voice full, clear, and of wonderful compass. Quick in percep- tion and accurate in discrimination ; fluent, choice, and classic in his language ; in manner, deliberate and self- possessed, yet fervid and impassioned in his feelings and impulses, trained in the severe methods of the schools and especially equipped for the great duties that lay before him ; loving the whole country, but his State and section with a warmth not far short of Eastern idolatry, he was full ready, we may easily believe, to spring at a bound into the very front rank as a champion of the S>nth." He delivered his first speech February 23, 1858. The New York Tribune recognized him as "a powerful addition to the proslavery side of the House." He made a speech in which he opposed the granting of pensions, as involving a dangerous principle. Years afterward he wrote for the Religious Herald an article in which he showed the danger of creating a pauper class by careless charity, and the evil of giving public money to religious 58 VIRGINIA BAPTIST MINISTERS denominations, but contended that the support of public schools was no violation of this law. In another speech he opposed the publication of the Congressional Globe as a wrong use of public money. He never lost an oppor- tunity "to impress his convictions concerning political or moral righteousness and truth upon the minds of those with whom he came in contact." While in Congress he was faithful in his life as a Christian and a Baptist. At the age of 21 he had been baptized into the fellowship of the Lebanon Baptist Church, Coosa River Association, by Rev. Dr. Samuel Henderson. In Washington he was a regular attendant of the E Street Baptist Church ; in Congress "he was punctual in attendance and alert and painstaking in his attention to the public matters which came before the House." His correspondence was heavy, and in those days Congressmen had no clerks. When, in 1861, the Southern States seceded, Mr. Curry promptly withdrew from Congress and cast his lot with his State and his section of the country. On Janu- ary 7, 1861, when the Alabama Convention met in Mont- gomery, he was on the platform. On January 11 the Convention adopted the ordinance of secession, and on January 21 he sent to the speaker of the House of Representatives the announcement of his withdrawal. He was a member of the provisional Confederate Con- gress that met in Montgomery, and of the first permanent Congress meeting in Richmond. His deep conviction that the War should go on led to his defeat at a subse- quent election, when his opponent, in still-hunt, advo- cated peace. His loyalty to his State never faltered, and now, although military life did not appeal to him, he entered the armv. Here he displayed courage and under- went hardship for his country. Once he left his wife, who was sick, to go to the battlefield ; he never saw her again; the rumor that he had been killed is said to have JABEZ LAMAR MONROE CURRY 59 hastened her death. In various capacities, as cavalry officer, as aide to several leading generals, as commis- sioner under the Habeas Corpus Act, he served his country. He was brought into especially close touch with Gen. Joseph E. Johnston, whom, as a disciplinarian and tactician, he believed was without a superior in the Confederate Army. With the close of the War a distinctly new period began in Curry's life. In November, 1865, he was elected President of Howard College. The following January he was ordained to the gospel ministry, and in June, 1867, he was married to Miss Mary Wortham Thomas, of Richmond, Virginia, a daughter of James Thomas, Jr. After a struggle for several years to set Howard Col- lege well on its feet, a struggle carried on in the face of all of the horrors of the Reconstruction Period in the far South, Mr. Curry decided, for the sake of his family, consisting of his wife and Sue and Manly (children of his first wife), to leave Alabama and move to Richmond, Va. A little before his ordination he had preached what he called his first regular sermon, and later had helped Dr. J. J. D. Ren f roe, who was his pastor and his bosom friend, in a protracted meeting. He loved to preach at times, he declared, but did not feel impelled to become a regular pastor, though by 1877 he had been invited to pastorates in Selma, Montgomery, Mobile, Atlanta, Augusta, Wilmington, Raleigh, New Orleans, Memphis, St. Louis, San Francisco, Louisville, Norfolk, Richmond, Baltimore, New York, Boston, and Brooklyn. Upon the reorganization of Richmond College, in 1866, Mr. Curry was invited to become its president. This position he declined, but in 1868 he accepted the Chair of English in that institution. Before his connection with Richmond College ceased he had filled, for a season, and in con- nection with his other work, the Chair of Philosophy and 60 VIRGINIA BAPTIST MINISTERS that of Constitutional and International Law. It would be hard to speak too highly of Dr. Curry's work at Rich- mond College. He was most popular among the stu- dents, and his influence upon them as regards their study, their ideals, their lives, was inspirational, enlarging and uplifting in a most wonderful way. His college duties by no means completed the sphere of his service to his denomination, the State, and the country. He was a leader among Virginia Baptists, taking an active part in the Memorial Campaign for the endowment of Rich- mond College, in 1873, and proving himself the champion of the great causes of education and foreign missions by his eloquent addresses at district associations and other gatherings all over the State. Before a great throng of people, on the campus of Richmond College, in June, 1873, he delivered a memorable address on the struggles of Virginia Baptists for religious liberty. The same year an address on much the same subject before the Evangelical Alliance of the World offended many, but was clear evidence of his willingness to proclaim and advocate the truth anywhere. Work awaited him in every direction, and it is scarcely possible to chronicle here all the varied forms of his energetic and versatile service. He was the admirable moderator of the Vir- ginia Baptist General Association for five years, and for twelve years the President of the Foreign Mission Board of the Southern Baptist Convention. Upon all manner of public occasions he was in demand for sermons, addresses, and speeches, his matchless oratory always thrilling the crowds. During the "Readjusted' fight in the seventies he strongly championed the payment of the debt, and in defense of this proposition delivered, upon the request of many leading citizens of Richmond, an address at Mozart Hall entitled "Law and Morals," and later discussed the issue of the day in various parts JABEZ LAMAR MONROE CURRY hi of the State. Dr. Curry regarded this address at Mozart Hall as one of the best efforts of his life. In 1881 Dr. Curry was elected Agent of the Peabody Fund. In 1866 Mr. George Peabody gave $3,000,000 to be used to promote education in the South. The administration of this Fund was committed to a self- perpetuating Board of sixteen. To read the names of the sixteen men originally composing the Board, and to remember that first and last four presidents of tin- United States were members of this Board, gives undoubted evidence of the dignity and ability of this body. The original sixteen members were : Hon. Robert C. Winthrop, Hon. Hamilton Fish, Bishop Chas. P. Mcllwaine, General U. S. Grant, Admiral D. G. Farra- gut, Hon. John H. Clifford, Hon. William L. Evarts, Hon. Wm. C. Rives, Gen. William Aiken, Hon. William A. Graham, Charles Macalester, Esq., Geo. W. Riggs, Esq., Edward A. Bradford, Esq., George N. Eaton, Esq., George Peabody Russell, Samuel Witmore, Esq. Rev. Dr. Barnes Sears was the first agent of this Fund. Be- fore his death, which took place July 6, 1880, he had suggested Dr. Curry as the man of all others to take up the work. Dr. Sears had so stimulated State aid to public education that before his death "all of the eleven States composing the Confederate States had established public- school systems, at least on paper." Yet the work to be done was only fairly begun. Under Dr. Curry the plans of the work were somewhat modified and a large part of the appropriations made went for normal schools. Dr. Curry spent much of his time and energy traveling all over the South, seeking to quicken interest in education by his addresses and personal work. He addressed the legislature of every Southern State, appearing before some of these bodies again and again. He championed the cause of the negro as well as that of the white child. 62 VIRGINIA BAPTIST MINISTERS showing that to limit the funds for the negro to the reve- nue from their taxes would be most unwise. What has been already said about Dr. Curry must in a measure suggest how admirably qualified he was for this great work. As the years passed, the Board realized more and more how valuable his services were. A most warm friendship grew up between Mr. Winthrop and Dr. Curry; they were devoted to the work they had in hand and to each other. Greatly to his surprise, in 1885 Dr. Curry received, through Thomas F. Bayard, Secre- tary of State, the announcement that President Cleveland offered him the mission to Spain. With no small degree of reluctance did Dr. Curry resign a work which appealed to the noblest emotions of his being and called into exercise his best powers. As for the Board, they so thoroughly believed that the mis- sion to Spain would prove a mere interlude in Dr. Curry's career, that they appointed one pro tempore to carry on the work. The sojourn of Dr. Curry and his wife at the court of Madrid was at once most delightful to them and of most valuable service to the United States. They established a new record for America in the brilliancy and charm of their social functions, and came to have a real and lasting friendship with the royal family; but this was not all. Dr. Curry was able to overcome the exasperating procrastination for which the Spanish Government is famous and to carry through measures of importance touching the commercial relations of the two countries that had hung fire for years. So acceptable was Dr. Curry both to Spain and the United States in the position of ambassador that years later, after his return to America, special request came to Washington that Dr. Curry should represent our country at the cere- monies connected with the coming of age of the Spanish King, and Spain's request was granted. JABEZ LAMAR MONROE CURRY 63 After four years in Madrid, Dr. Curry, appointed a second time as its agent, took up once more the work of the Peabody Fund. This work he prosecuted, with won- derful enthusiasm and zeal, practically up to the time of his death. On October 30, 1890, Dr. Curry was called to be the executive officer of the Slater Fund. The pur- pose of the giver of this Fund was much the same as that which prompted Mr. Peabody 's great gift, save that it was exclusively for the education of the negro race. For many reasons it was highly fitting that one man should represent both of these great benefactions. Space does not permit the detailed story of Dr. Curry's rela- tion to the General Education Board and to the Southern Education Board, bodies which perhaps had scarcely more than fairly entered upon their career of usefulness when his life closed, and yet it is very remarkable that one man should have been associated, as he was, with four such organizations. In 1905, after Dr. Curry's death, upon the gift by Mr. Rockefeller of $100,000, the Curry Memorial School of Education was established at the University of Virginia. In 1902 Dr. Curry's health began to fail. Yet he went on with his work. His physical vigor and endurance had been wonderful all through his manhood years and one element in his success and far-reaching and varied service and usefulness. He was so full of vigor and so preserved his youthful spring and hope fulness, that it was hard to realize when the end came that he had almost reached the Psalmist's extreme limit of fourscore years. He passed away on Thursday, February 12, 1903, at the residence of his brother-in-law, Col. John A. Connally, near Asheville, N. C. The funeral took place in Rich- mond, Sunday, February 15, and, in accordance with Dr. Curry's wishes, was in the Richmond College Chapel. The funeral services were conducted by Rev. Dr. W. C. Bitting, of Xe\v York, assisted by Drs. C. H. Ryland. 64 VIRGINIA BAPTIST MINISTERS George Cooper, and Wm. E. Hatcher. The burial was in Hollywood. The grave is near that of Jefferson Davis, and not far away are the graves of J. B. Jeter and H. H. Harris. Mrs. Curry, who was ill at the time of his death, was laid beside him in Hollywood in the brief space of three months. Dr. Curry, in addition to all his other activities, was an author. Not to speak of his contributions to maga- zines and papers, the list of his books is as follows: "Constitutional Government in Spain," "Life of William E. Gladstone," "The Southern States of the American Union," "Sketch of George Peabody and a History of the Peabody Education Fund Through Thirty Years," "Civil History of the Government of the Confederate States, With Some Personal Reminiscences." Dr. Curry was an orator and a statesman, a man of strong convictions, a courteous gentleman, an humble Christian, an indefatigable worker, the enthusiastic champion of education, a citizen of the world, an ardent Southerner, and a most patriotic American. His sympa- thies were broad, his spirit at once humble yet ambitious. The range of his life his friendships and his activities- was wide. In his day he undertook with great success work in many different fields of human endeavor, and came into personal touch with a very large number of the distinguished men in America and Europe. While accustomed to have, during a large part of his life, many comforts and even luxuries, still high thinking rather than high living always appealed to him. Though it was his lot to hold converse with kings and others high in authority and place, yet he was approachable, and made the youngest and humblest at ease in his presence. He was the friend and inspiration of young men, the pro- moter of education in all of its phases, the earnest, humble follower of Jesus. When shall we look upon his like again ? R. ATWELL TUCKER 1857-1903 On Sunday, July 21, 1901, at Lawrenceville, Bruns- wick County, Virginia, a new meeting-house was dedi- cated, Rev. Dr. W. E. Hatcher preaching the sermon. The next issue of the Religious Herald presented pic- tures of the new church, a building seating 250 persons and costing about $3,000, and of the pastor, Rev. R. Atwell Tucker. Less than two years later the little Brunswick town and church took part in a service con- ducted by Rev. Mr. Boggs, of the Methodist Church ; it was the funeral of Mr. Tucker, who died on May 13, 1903, from an attack of pneumonia. In his forty-sixth year, and probably in his most successful pastorate, he was called to his eternal reward. Besides Lawrenceville. the field (which was helped by the State Mission Board ) included the James' Square and Reedy Creek Churches. In the early part of the year Mr. Tucker had been absent from his work for some six weeks ministering to his father and mother, who were both dangerously ill. In Amherst County, where he was born September 24, 1857, Mr. Tucker labored in his early ministry, being pastor of Prospect Church. After his conversion, in 1875, and his baptism, Rev. S. P. Massie administering the ordinance, he attended Richmond College, and, after he had commenced his work as a minister, he went for a session to the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. He was warm hearted and genial, enjoying greatly the companionship of his brethren in the ministry. While pastor at Clifton Forge and Sharon Churches (Augusta Association), in a letter to the Herald, just after he had 65 66 VIRGINIA BAPTIST MINISTERS a visit from his college mate, Rev. W. C. Tyree, and Rev. Mr. Chapman, he wrote: "I often meet with ministers of other denominations, but rarely ever see a Baptist preacher." In the summer of 1891, at his Natural Bridge Church, he was assisted by Rev. P. G. Elson in a meeting which resulted in the addition, by baptism, of 20 to the church. During the meeting Rev. A. E. Dickinson, Rev. J. T. Carpenter, Rev. J. H. Harris, and Prof. F. A. Byerly were present at one or more of the services, and Col. E. G. Peyton hospitably entertained without charge, some two weeks, the preachers at the Natural Bridge Hotel during the progress of the meeting. Besides the churches already named, the fol- lowing should be set down as among those to which Mr. Tucker ministered: Springwood (Valley Associa- tion), Flint Hill, Washington, and Sperryville (Shiloh Association). "As a man he was modest, unassuming and chaste. . . . As a Christian his daily task was to walk with God. ... As a pastor he was atten- tive, sympathetic, and vigilant." ALEXANDER EUBANK 1826-1903 In Scotland preachers have always held high rank as scholars, and not unfrequently the records show how they took in hand the training of ambitious youths. Likewise in Virginia many a preacher has been a teacher ; this has been true of the Baptist ministers. Preaching and teaching have gone together. This was the case in the career of Rev. Alexander Eubank. While he has a long record as pastor and preacher, perhaps he will be best remembered for his work in the Sunnyside Academy, a boarding-school for boys, that he established and carried on for some forty years at his own home in Bedford County. As a teacher he worked also for two years at Big Island, and for four at Charlottesville. Thus he trained "for high and useful pursuits hundreds of youths and young men." In many cases he helped students financially, sometimes being afterwards re- couped and sometimes not. For this work of the school- room he had been excellently prepared. He studied at Richmond College the five sessions from 1847 to 1852, in this last year taking his Bachelor of Arts degree. He spent the session of 1853 to 1854 at the University of Virginia, taking the classes of Natural Philosophy and Moral Philosophy. Sunnyside Academy was organized about 1867, and had from twenty to forty pupils through- out its career. For a part of the time Mr. Eubank's son was associated with him in this school. Mr. Eubank was an excellent teacher and won the affection and esteem of his students. When still quite a young man he was ordained to the ministry, his first church, which he served from 1855 for 67 68 VIRGINIA BAPTIST MINISTERS eight years, being Liberty, at Bedford. Among the other churches of the Strawberry Association of which he was pastor were these: Mt. Olivet, Hunting Creek, Suck Spring, Quakers, Pleasant View, Burton's Creek, Halesford, Flint Hill, Diamond Hill, Morgan's, Wolf Hill, Bethlehem, and Difficult Creek. He was pastor for a time of Hebron, Appomattox Association. He was a leader in the Strawberry Association, and his appoint- ment to read an essay at the Ministers' and Deacons' Meeting in November, 1884, on the Bible Teaching as to Man's Total Depravity, was doubtless only one of many such duties that fell to his hands. He was born in King and Queen County, Virginia, in 1826, and his death took place at his home, "Sunnyside," near Bedford City, on Saturday, July 18, 1903 ; he had been ill about a month. He was married in early life to Miss Emma Dickinson, of Charlottesville, Va. ; she and five children survived him. OSCAR PARISH FLIPPO 1835-1903 That interesting section of Virginia, known as the Northern Neck, which has given birth to so many of the State's greatest men, was where Oscar Parish Flippo first saw the light. He was born at Lebanon, Lancaster County, January 1, 1835. His parents, James P. and Frances Carter Flippo, were both members of the Morattico Baptist Church. Unfortunately he had small opportunity to know his mother, for when he was not yet three years old she died of a cancer, after having been for many months a great sufferer. From her early life she was a professor of religion, and during her many days and months of intense pain her resignation to the will of God was a lesson and example to all. Her cheerful and affectionate disposition seems to have de- scended to her son, whom this sketch describes. Little is known of his youth, and this is the more to be regretted, as the energy and enthusiasm which marked his manhood years suggest that his earlier days were not devoid of adventure and thrilling incidents. Save that he was educated at Kilmarnock Academy a veil is over his life until we find him, in 1855, teaching at Quantico, Wicomico County, Maryland. Here he met and was charmed by Miss Roxie Collier, a young lady, almost two years his junior, of an Episcopal family, and herself a member of that church from her early childhood. She was gentle, modest, unobtrusive, "beautiful of form, of face, and mien," of pure heart and sweet temper. He sought her acquaintance, loved her because he "could not help it," and on January 3, 1856, she became his bride. Their first-born child lived only some ten months. 69 70 VIRGINIA BAPTIST MINISTERS He was licensed to preach in 1857 and ordained to the gospel ministry at Salisbury, Md., his first pastorate, July 26, 1859. The "charge" delivered upon this occa- sion by Rev. John Berg, of Baltimore, was printed. Mr. Berg based his remarks upon Paul's exhortation to Timothy : "Preach the word," and called upon the young preacher to consider: "What you are to preach; how you are to preach; and what must be observed by you in order to succeed." Maryland has seemed to be not a very favorable soil for Baptists, and in his two years at Salisbury Mr. Flippo had many trials, but his fraternal spirit and tact helped him toward success. Sermons were preached in all the other churches against immer- sion. The other pastors did the preaching on this subject while he did the baptizing. He encountered opposition from the old-school Baptists. Subsequently, however, the pastor of this church was converted, and wrote to Mr. Flippo that "God had delivered him from bigotry and Bebeeism." It seems strange that any one could object to a preacher's passing through his field in order to baptize, yet such a man lived at Salisbury, though his name is withheld, as the following gives evidence : "Received of Rev. O. F. Flippo the balance in full of Five Dollars due me for the privilege of passing through my lot three times to the water to baptize. "Teste: J. D. Johnson. While he was in Salisbury the Baptists bought the old frame Presbyterian Church and moved it to Division Street. With the other pastors of the town, Mr. Waite (Presbyterian), Mr. Wallace and Mr. Morgan (Metho- dist), and Mr. Augustus White (Episcopalian), Mr. Flippo sustained pleasant relations. When the Episcopal Church was burned this congregation was offered and accepted the use of the Baptist meeting-house. OSCAR PARISH FLIPPO 71 One cold Christmas Eve in Salisbury Mr. Flippo found on the streets two boys whose poverty and rags put them in painful contrast to other boys, who had bright visions of the good things and many presents of the next day. The preacher invited them to come to his house the following morning. They came, and received toys, candy, nuts, and some articles of clothes for them- selves and their little sister. Comment is unnecessary. From 1861, for some seven years, Mr. Flippo was pastor of Newton, Pitts Creek, Rehoboth and Chinco- teague Churches. During this period he baptized two hundred persons. In 1863 he and his wife passed through a most trying ordeal. Their home was attacked by the dreaded disease, smallpox. One night, when these parents were nursing their daughter Sallie, looking for her death and thinking how, by themselves, they would have to shroud and bury her, Mrs. Flippo announced to her husband her purpose to be baptized and unite with his church. In the eight years of their married life he had never urged her to take this step; she had come to this decision by herself. Years before her marriage, while on a visit to Baltimore, she had seen Dr. Richard Fuller baptize at the Seventh Church, and the deep impression made then had never been effaced. Her bap- tism took place on a cold day, but she chose the river rather than the baptistery, and was buried with Christ in baptism at Cedar Hall, in the Pocomoke River, when 4 'the wind was high and the waves were beating on the shore with furious rage." On one occasion, in Newtown, the colored Methodist pastor asked Mr. Flippo to preach to his people on baptism. He did so, and, as a result of the sermon, he baptized the pastor and ten of the members; the pastor himself baptized the rest. Echoes of various threats made to keep Mr. Flippo from preach- ing, as, for example, that his horse would be killed, come VIRGINIA BAPTIST MINISTERS down to us, but none of these things moved him, and kindness suffered long and conquered. In March, 1868, Mr. Flippo became pastor of the Bap- tist Church at Dover, Del. Upon his arrival things were in a deplorable condition. The church doors had been closed and no baptisms had taken place for almost two years. During his pastorate of over two years nearly one hundred persons were baptized. On November 8, 1869, he began a campaign for funds with which to pur- chase the Wyoming Institute, his pulpit during his absence being filled by Rev. George Bradford. The cam- paign was successful, and not only was the Institute pur- chased, but a Baptist Church, in the village of Wyoming (three miles south of Dover), was established several years later, largely the result of a meeting Mr. Flippo had held. While pastor at Dover Mr. Flippo was chap- lain for one session of the State Legislature. On Sep- tember 15, 1870, Mr. Flippo resigned at Dover to become General Missionary in Delaware of the American Baptist Home Missionary Society. During his years in Dela- ware, both as pastor and as missionary, he did much to quicken the life of the Baptist cause in the State. He declared: "It pays to cultivate Delaware." As editor and publisher of The Baptist Visitor, he accomplished great good and did much to bring the history, work, and principles of the Baptists before the people. While working as General Missionary he was invited, by a congregation of Methodist Protestants at Vernon, Kent County, to preach for them. In December, 1870, he complied with this request. He was asked to come back and hold a protracted meeting. This he did. In the midst of the meeting the people requested him to preach a series of sermons on the "Principles and Practices of Baptists." This he agreed to do provided they would follow him through "with the New Testament in hand OSCAR PARISH FLIPPO 73 and not get mad." Before he completed this series of sermons the pastor, Rev. Richard H. Merrikin, and all the members asked to be baptized. They were baptized on a stormy day, March 12, 1871, and on the last Lord's I )ay of the following month a Baptist Church, known as Zion, was organized and Mr. Merrikin ordained as a Baptist minister and pastor of the church. The follow- ing November the church dedicated a beautiful Gothic meeting-house, Mr. Flippo preaching the sermon. In a somewhat similar manner the preaching of Baptist principles by Mr. Flippo at the village of Magnolia led to the establishment of a Baptist Church there and the erection of a meeting-house. Mr. Flippo became pastor of the Waverly Baptist Church, Baltimore, Md., in 1873. One of the objects of his removal from Delaware to Maryland was not obtained. It had been hoped that "the higher land and purer air of this beautiful village overlooking Baltimore" would restrain disease and lengthen out the life of Mrs. Flippo. It was not to be so. After months of pain and weariness she departed this life May 1, 1874. Mr. Klippo was pastor in Waverly some five years, and during this time was elected Moderator of the Maryland 'aptist Union Association. On November 25, 1877, he f > rame a Virginia pastor, taking charge of the field com- posed of the Suffolk, Great Fork, and Boykins Churches. ( )n this field he worked as the missionary of the State Mission Board of the Virginia Baptist General Associa- tion. The Suffolk Church to-day has 460 members; then it had only 53, while the number at Boykins was 67, and at Great Fork 209. On January 1, 1878, Mr. Flippo was married to Miss Mollie E. Emmert, of Washington County, Maryland, Rev. A. E. Rogers officiating. Mr. Klippo left the Suffolk field to become pastor in Alex- andria in 1881. His pastorate here was a prosperous 74 VIRGINIA BAPTIST MINISTERS one, and there was general regret on the part of his church and the community when he resigned to become pastor in Roanoke, Va. His pastorate in Roanoke began October 6, 1886. According to the plan agreed upon, every fourth Sunday morning he preached for Hebron Church at the village of Bonsacks, some seven miles from Roanoke. These services were held in the Metho- dist Church until, through his leadership, a Baptist meeting-house at Bonsacks was dedicated in the spring of 1889. During that same spring steps were taken for the erection of a new and handsome church house in Roan- oke. On April 21st a subscription of $8,000 toward the new house was taken. On July 26, 1891, the spacious brick structure standing alongside the old frame meeting-house was dedicated. To-day a marble tablet in memory of O. F. Flippo adorns the walls of the main audience room. The Sunday school, as well as the church, grew rapidly under his administration. Take, for example, these figures: January 1, 1891, the Sunday school numbered 245, and on January 1, 1892, the figures were 394. In 1886 the church had 116 members, and in 1893, the year when Mr. Flippo resigned, the figures were 559. Nor was his work confined to his own church. During his pastorate the church at Vinton, a suburb of Roanoke, was established, and also a mission Sunday school in East Roanoke, which has since developed into the Belmont Church. That Mr. Flippo was popular with those outside his own church, as well as with his own members, is proved by the fact that one day he was the recipient of a handsome buggy, the gift of Mr. N. T. Nininger. The whip and lap robe that accompanied the buggy were a present from Mr. M. H. Eurman. Neither of these gentlemen was a member of his church. This fortunate pastor had no need to own a horse for his new OSCAR PARISH FLIPPO 75 buggy, as, at the stable of Horton & Roberts, one was always at his disposal free of cost. Mr. Flippo was regular in his attendance on the meet- ings of the Southern Baptist Convention. When the Convention met in Louisville, in 1899, an amusing inci- dent took place. The city was crowded with visitors, as, besides the Convention, the races, and a tent meeting conducted by Sam Jones, were going on. One day, as Mr. Flippo was talking to a circle of friends in the gentlemen's room of the Gait House, a handsome, well- dressed stranger walked up and asked them to take a "\\ iniwee" with him. Mr. Flippo said : "You will have to level yourself; we don't know what that means." "Well," answered the stranger, "come and take a 'nipper' with me." Mr. Flippo replied: "I don't know what you mean." The stranger then became very emphatic and profane, and said : "You need not put up a case of inno- cence. Come and take a drink with me." Mr. Flippo was disposed to chaff the man a bit farther, but another one in the circle said: "You do not know us. We are here attending the Southern Baptist Convention, and several of this crowd are clergymen." This information called forth an apology and the statement that he was a Catholic and in Louisville with a string of horses for the races. After further conversation he pulled out a roll of money and, notwithstanding earnest protest, was not satisfied until he had persuaded Mr. Flippo to accept a five-dollar bill, to be used for "some of your charities." In July, 1893, Dr. Flippo resigned the church in Roan- oke to accept the position of District Secretary of the American Baptist Publication Society, and went to Philadelphia to live, he and his wife becoming members of the Fifth Baptist Church of that city. To this work Dr. Flippo gave twelve years. More than once before the Publication Society had sought to secure his services, 76 VIRGINIA BAPTIST MINISTERS realizing how well adapted he was for this kind of work. To present the claims of the Society and to take collec- tions, to dedicate churches and pay debts on them, were some of the forms his varied service for the Society took. With great energy, enthusiasm, and hard work he sought to do good in this wide and important field. Take some illustrations of his busy, active life. On the first Sunday of the century he was with the saints at Turtle Creek, preaching the dedication sermon of their new meeting- house, and at its close raising $2,400 to pay the debt. The next night he delivered one of his popular lectures and went home with a neat sum for the Society. At another time we see him at Flatwoods, in the Monongahela Asso- ciation, for Saturday and Sunday. A storm was raging and the mud was deep, but, nevertheless, on Saturday night the lecture went well, and Sunday, though rain and wind and mud still held sway, the people heard about the work of the Society and made a liberal contribution. Dr. Flippo's ability as a popular lecturer stood him in good stead in his service for the Society. The incidents just given explain how this was done. For many years he had been in great demand as a lecturer, not only for churches, but at "Chautauquas" and other similar gather- ings. His repertoire comprised the following lectures : "Tongue and Temper," " Difficulties," "The Defeat of Old Fogyism and the Onward March of Mind," "Anger, or the Folly of Getting Mad," "Keys to Unlock Hearts," "Ice in the Pulpit." Of all these lectures, one especially gave Dr. Flippo far-reaching reputation, was doubtless the means of much good, and will contribute no little to perpetuating his name for years to come. The title of this lecture, "Ice in the Pulpit and Who Put it There," had much to do with its popularity. With impartiality he laid the cause of coldness in the pulpit on the pastor and people alike. In this, as in his other platform OSCAR PARISH FLIPPO addresses, there was not only humor and an effort to make people laugh, but thought and sober purpose to uplift and do good. With a blending of humor, pathos, satire, and homely truth, he sought to accomplish his pur- pose. Doubtless the man's personality, his robust figure, his voice, with its wide range and soft modulations, helped him to delight and help audience after audience all over the East and South. In this connection reference should be made to what might be called the by-products of his ministry. He was always fond of poetry, and loved to quote from the poets in his sermons, addresses, and articles for the newspapers. He would not have made claim that he was a poet, yet verses came easily to his tongue, and upon anniversary and other such occa- sions he often wrote lines to do honor or give pleasure to friends or comrades. On February 28, 1903, his second wife, to whom he had been married some twenty-five years, and who was greatly beloved by a wide circle of friends, passed away. About a year later failing health caused him to resign his position with the Society, though as Secretary Emeritus his connection with this organization continued up to his death. Even on his sick bed he wrote, by dictation, articles for the papers, and when so feeble that he needed assistance in dressing he got up and went to a neighboring church, where he preached, on the text "Who loved me and gave himself for me/' what proved to be his last sermon. Not long before the end he gave evidence at once of his liberality and of his faith in the work to which his closing years were dedicated by con- tributing enough money to provide for a colporteur wagon for the State of Delaware, to bear his name and to carry on work that was dear to his heart amidst scenes where he had labored. On August 3, 1903, at 1006 Washington Street, Wilmington, Del., in the home of 78 VIRGINIA BAPTIST MINISTERS his daughter, Mrs. D. J. Beauchamp, he passed to his reward. Funeral services were held at Wilmington and also at Martinsburg, W. Va., where, in Greenmount Cemetery, his body was laid to rest beside that of his wife. He left five children : Messrs. E. L. and J. P. Flippo, of Roanoke City ; Mrs. George Gravatt, of Hol- lins; Mrs. D. J. Beauchamp, of Wilmington, Del, and Mr. O. F. Flippo, Jr., of Mount Vernon, Ohio. MARSHALL W. READ 1813(?)-1903 As a builder of meeting-houses and as a faithful minister of the gospel Rev. Marshall W. Read is remem- bered in the Roanoke Association. Here he labored for forty years. He built the meeting-houses at Chatham, Hollywood, Prospect, and Sharon. Possibly other houses of God were erected through his efforts ; the table of work in the report of the State Mission Board year by year has more than once, opposite to his name, such a record as this: "Organized one church, in construction two, completed one." In 1873, when he was pastor to four State Mission points, he preached 149 sermons and baptized 29 persons. Mr. J. H. Hargrave, a member of the Roanoke Association, says of Read : "He organized and built more churches than any other man who ever labored in our Association." In the course of his ministry he served these churches in the Roanoke: Hollywood, Mt. Vernon, Liberty, Galveston, Shiloh, New Prospect. He was the true friend of the Roanoke Female College, having much to do with the beginning of this seat of learning. In his missionary work "he would overcome obstacles that would dampen and chill the ardor of other men. Nothing but success and victory would satisfy him in whatever he might undertake." The date of his birth has not been ascertained ; his death occurred August 22, 1903, in Bedford County. 79 WILLIAM HARRISON WILLIAMS* 1840-1893 On Friday, August 25, 1893, a group of Baptists were returning to their homes, by way of Alexandria, Mo., from a District Association. As they waited for the train, one of the company suggested that they should sing some hymns, and when one song was over he told of a baptism he had performed years before (of which occa- sion the hymn reminded him), when the ice had to be broken for him to perform the ceremony. In a moment his head had fallen on his breast and he was dead. Dur- ing the earlier part of the day, at the Association, he had preached and spoken, and later on in the day had written a number of letters and done other clerical work. This man, to whom death came so suddenly, was Rev. Dr. William Harrison Williams, who, from July 10, 1882, to the end, was editor of the Central Baptist, the organ of Missouri Baptists. While the last years of his life were given to Missouri, Dr. Williams w;as a native of Virginia, where he was educated and where he held several pastorates. He was born in Richmond, July 18, 1840. In March, 1854, he was baptized by Rev. Dr. Basil Manly into the fellowship of the First Baptist Church of Richmond, and on April 25, 1858, while still a student at Richmond Col- lege, was licensed to preach. In July, 1861, he was graduated from Richmond College with the degree of M. A. While he had many qualifications for a business career and excellent opportunities in this direction, he persisted in his purpose to preach. During the Civil War, which interrupted his course at the Southern Baptist *This sketch (since it belongs to a former period) should have been in the "Supplement," rather than in the body of the book. 80 WILLIAM HARRISON WILLIAMS HI Theological Seminary, then at Greenville, S. C, he was useful in the army as chaplain, in the field, and at Camp Winder, Richmond. His first pastorate was at Freder- icksburg, where he remained, from July, 1865, some fourteen months. He now resumed his studies at Green- ville, and after two sessions, in May, 1868, received his diploma as "full graduate." Tn October, 1868, he became pastor of the First Baptist Church, Charleston, S. C.. and after eleven months left Charleston to take charge of the Baptist Church in Staunton, Va. During the two years of his pastorate in Staunton there was established in that town, under the presidency of Prof. John Hart, a dis- tinguished educator, a school for young women. In Tusralonsa, also, where Dr. Williams became pastor in January, 1872, there was a school for young women, known as the Alabama Central Female College. During the larger part of his residence in Tuscaloosa, besides his church work he was instructor at the college in Moral Philosophy and English Literature. In November, 1877, he took charge of the church at Charlottesville, Va. From Charlottesville he moved to Missouri, becoming an editor. The list of churches of which Dr. Williams was pastor gives evidence of his high rank as a preacher, and makes an estimate of his pulpit work unnecessary. His bearing was courteous and gracious, his manner winsome. At associational and Sunday-school gatherings he was always a welcome speaker, and his addresses to children gave them much delight. The zeal and earnestness of the man is put into clear light by an incident which came to the knowledge of Rev. N. O. Sowers. Young Wil- liams, at the age of eighteen, undertook colporteur work in Frederick County, Virginia. In his first visit he encountered an infidel, who told him that two-thirds of the preachers were going to hell. This rebuff led the 82 VIRGINIA BAPTIST MINISTERS young colporteur to return to the home of Mrs. S. S. Gore, his headquarters, with the conviction that he needed more grace for his work. This good woman found him on his knees wrestling in prayer for the needed strength. When he started out again he came to a home where the parents were away at work; here he taught the children about God and Jesus in so excellent a way that the parents were led to conversion and church mem- bership. A conversation with a man in the field at his work made such an impression for good that ten years afterward when the man presented himself for church membership he said that the words of the young col- porteur had led him to Christ. Dr. Williams was survived by his wife and six chil- dren, one of whom is now a minister of the gospel, namely, Rev. Wm. Harrison Williams, and another, Mrs. Everette Gill, missionary to Italy. JAMES ALLISON DAVIS 1827-1903 James Allison Davis was born in Washington County. Virginia, February 22, 1827. While his early educa- tional opportunities were not good, he made excellent use of the chances he had, and at the age of twenty -two was himself a school-teacher. It was in Caldwell County, Kentucky, that he wielded the pedagogue's rod, and it was at this period and place that he was born again. Although he had been reared under Presbyterian influ- ences, his own study of the Scriptures led him to adopt Baptist views, and he was baptized by Rev. J. W. Mans- field (who was a native of Albemarle County, Virginia) into the fellowship of the Little River Church. In 1850, at Blountville, Tenn., he was licensed and ordained, Rev. Noah Cate being the moderator of the presbytery. His first pastorate was of the Blountville and Holston Churches. In connection with this pastorate he did some evangelistic work. In 1857 he settled at Marion, Va., organizing, or reorganizing, the church there, with 19 members. A meeting-house was erected and the work firmly estab- lished. In March, 1861, he became pastor of Enon Bap- tist Church, Hollins, where he remained until November, 1864. His next pastorate was at what is now known as Bedford City; then it was called Liberty. His going to the county-seat of Bedford was an epoch for him, for in this county the rest of his life, some thirty years, was to be spent, and here he died and was buried. He was pastor of the Liberty Church some eight years, and then began his work as a country pastor. The churches which 83 84 VIRGINIA BAPTIST MINISTERS he served were Mt. Olivet, Flint Hill, Diamond Hill, Beaver Dam, Shady Grove, Mt. Zion, Walnut Grove, New Prospect, Suck Spring, Mt. Hermon, Hunting Creek, Pleasant View, Beulah, Flat Creek, and Quakers. The reader, remembering that usually the Virginia Bap- tist country pastor has four churches, will understand the better this long list of names; he will also see with the mind's eye this man of God going long distances to his appointments over the red Bedford roads, which are often muddy in winter and dusty in summer. Mr. Davis was fond of a horse, aimed to have a good one, and then believed in going at a good speed. When he and J. R. Harrison were associated as fellow-pastors they named their horses respectively "John Bunyan" and "John the Baptist." During a part of his life in Bed- ford, when he was missionary of the State Mission Board, his field was wide and his labors abundant. The State Mission Report for 1872 shows that he had that year more conversions in meetings held with pastors than any other missionary. The report says : "Brother Jas. A. Davis has been laboriously and successfully employed in the Strawberry Association. He baptized 80 converts and held meetings with pastors in which there were over 200 conversions." The following year the State Mission Report showed that he baptized 42 converts and aided pastors in meetings in which there were 97 conversions. On one occasion he was urged to hold a meeting in a union Sunday school which was rather out of his terri- tory. He consented to go provided that the two brethren urging him to come should make three lists of the uncon- verted people in the neighborhood and covenant with him to pray three times every day, until the meeting began, for each of these persons. This was done, and a great meeting followed, resulting in the organization of a church and finally the formation of a new field and the building of a parsonage. JAMES ALLISON DAVIS 85 Mr. Davis exerted a strong influence for good in the Strawberry Association. He was a man of piety and great missionary zeal. Once he was driving along not far from the towering Flat Top Mountain. His com- panion was the young pastor he was helping in a meeting. The meeting had not been successful. He proposed that they should tie the horse and enter the woods for a season of secret prayer for the meeting, each one going in a different direction. He brought the new leaven of mis- sions and benevolence into practical effect in the Straw- berry. Prof. H. H. Harris attributed mainly to him the transformation in those vital matters that came to pass at this period in this Association. Dr. C. A. Board, for years the clerk of the body, gave the same testimony. "His great personality, gentleness, zeal, and persistent effort, with tact and power of organization, qualified him to lead/' Rev. W. S. Royall, who was for many years pastor of the Bedford City Church, says: "Brother Davis was an efficient leader. ... In the pulpit he was strong, and his sermons were thoroughly studied and well pre- pared. His handsome face, commanding figure, incor- ruptible life, and earnest delivery added great influence and force to his words. ... As pastor he loved his people, visited them faithfully, and manifested deepest sympathy and gentleness. . . . The people believed in him, followed him, and loved him." Not only was he successful in evangelistic preaching himself, but he called to his aid for protracted-meeting work in his own churches, strong and zealous men. In a letter written to the Herald, November 8, 1888, he tells how R. D. Hay- more helped him in a meeting at Mt. Olivet, C. G. Jones in one at Mt. Zion, and that meetings were planned for Walnut Grove and New Prospect, J. R. Harrison being the preacher at the former and J. M. Luck at the latter church. 86 VIRGINIA BAPTIST MINISTERS During the years after the War he was called on very often to marry colored couples. They did not hesitate to make him ride long distances for these functions, yet never paid him anything for his services. It became an imposition and a nuisance, from which he finally secured relief by demanding pay before he started. He was twice married, first, on March 4, 1861, to Miss Martha E. Hamilton, and, after having been a widower several years, the second time to Miss Susan A. Jeffries, of Cul- peper. His wife, four sons, and five daughters survived him. Two of his daughters married Baptist preachers, namely, Rev. J. W. Wildman, of Yancey Mills, Va., and Rev. J. M. Street, of Cumberland, Va. Robert Hamilton, Mary Alice (Mrs. Wildman), William Cute, and Laura A. were the children of the first wife. James Ambrose, Nannie Moore, Richard Tyree, and Sarah Judson (Mrs. Street) were the children of the second wife. During his last illness, which was a lingering one, his children came from long distances to bestow upon him the love and care of which he was so worthy. He faced death, which came to him in Bedford City, October 8, 1903, "with tranquil faith and the courage of a conqueror." His body rests in the Longwood Cemetery, Bedford City, not far from the grave of "Father" Wm. Harris. \\ VCLIFFE YANCEY ABRAHAM 1850-1903 About a mile from Goshen Bridge, Va., where a furnace village now stands, there was for many years a home whose hospitable doors swung open to scores, perhaps hundreds, of guests. This was the home of Mr. John W. Abraham. With his wife, he moved from Buckingham County to Rockbridge when his only child, Wycliffe, who was born June 8, 1850, was very young. So the boy grew up in the Goshen neighborhood, and when still quite a youth accepted Christ and was baptized by the pastor, Rev. J. Wm. Jones, into the fellowship of the Goshen Bridge Baptist Church. The sunny enthusi- asm of his mother and the sterling worth of his father were indeed precious assets for the son. From such gracious home influences he passed on his way toward his life work. His academy work was done in Stauntori, where he boarded for a season in the home of Rev. Geo. Boardman Taylor. He was at Richmond College during the sessions of 1869-70 and 1870-71, and then at the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. His ordination took place at the Goshen Bridge Church, March 30, 1879. He served, until a severe throat trouble and deafness made further public ministerial work impossible, these churches: Deerfield, Craigsville, Fincastle, New Bethel. Pleasant Hill, and Greenville. Upon retiring from the active ministry, he lived first in Columbia, S. C, and then in Richmond, Va. In both of these cities he was an earnest and effective Christian worker. In the former city he organized a Sunday school which grew into the Second Church ; he preached regularly for this flock, 87 88 VIRGINIA BAPTIST MINISTERS doing also pastoral work, until they were strong to call an undershepherd. In Richmond his membership was first at Grace Street and then at Immanuel. He was married twice. His first wife, who was Miss Annie H. Broadus, the daughter of Rev. Dr. John A. Broadus, died while he was living in Columbia, leaving a son and a daughter. His second wife, who was Miss Lelia Christian, daughter of Charles Christian, Esq., of Buck- ingham County, survived him. His death was sudden. He attended the session of the General Association of 1903 in Staunton, and on Mon- day, November 16th, before the body had adjourned, returned to Richmond. On the street car, as he was going from the station to his home, he was taken ill. The car was stopped and he was carried to a neighboring drug store, but in a few moments he was dead. Two days later, on November 18, 1903, his body was laid to rest in the cemetery in Staunton. Many will long remember his kindly spirit and great zeal for God's work. This sketch is based mainly on the obituary, in the Minutes of the General Association, prepared by Rev. Dr. W. J. Shipman. NATHAN M. MUNDEN 1833-1903 In Princess Anne County, Virginia, and the adjoining counties, the career of Nathan M. Munden was run. He was a prophet not without honor in his own country. In Princess Anne County, that lies beside the sounding sea, on August 13, 1833, he first saw the light, and at Oak Grove Baptist Church, in the same county, he was bap- tized in 1855, while two years later he became the clerk of this body. That those who were nearest to him, and so, doubtless, knew him best, had a high regard for his character and ability, is plain, since this same church, in May, 1859, licensed him to preach, and the following year, in November, had secured his services as their pastor. His ordination having taken place in January, 1861, the presbytery consisting of Elders J. P. Ewell, H. J. Chandler, H. S. Banks, and M. R. Watkinson, he was pastor, though on account of the War not without interruptions, of Oak Grove until 1866. Again in 1872 he became the shepherd of this flock, ministering to them regularly until 1884, when he resigned and moved to Norfolk County. Here he labored faithfully until fail- ing health made it necessary for him to give up preach- ing. More than one long pastorate is evidence of his sterling character and worth. He was pastor of Black Water for twenty-two and of Pleasant Grove for twenty- nine years. Lake Drummond was under his care for five years, and the First Church (Norfolk), St. John's, and Deep Creek for a shorter time. "His special fondness for souls, bright intellect, tenacious memory, gift of speech, genuine godliness, and genial disposition won for 89 90 VIRGINIA BAPTIST MINISTERS him at once a place in the hearts of all he met." He was never a strong man physically, and finally a long but patient sufferer. He grew old gracefully, becoming more tender as the end drew near. The night of Novem- ber 19, 1903, he fell on sleep, having reached his three- score years and ten. His wife, who, for forty-five years, had been his faithful companion and helpmeet, still sur- vives him. His pastor, whose obituary has furnished the facts for this sketch, conducted the funeral service, assisted by Rev. N. B. Foushee, of the Methodist Church. The body was laid to rest in the Oak Grove Cemetery. ROBERT RHODAM LUNSFORD 1828-1903 Rhodam Lunsford, who was of English descent, and whose ancestors settled in the Northern Neck of Vir- ginia, was a soldier in the Revolutionary War. His son, Merriman Lunsford, was a Baptist preacher and one of the pioneer Baptist preachers in Piedmont Virginia, to which section of the State he moved when he was a young man, settling in Bedford County. Here he was pastor, for forty years, of the Blue Ridge Church, and for many years of the Glade Creek Church. He married Miss Susan Mills, and of this union three children were born, the youngest child and the only son being Robert Rhodam Lunsford, who was born February 29, 1828. Since both the Mills and Lunsford families were remarkable for their strong piety and religious convictions, it is not surprising that young Luns ford's early training was under the best religious influences. His family was probably connected with that of Elder Lewis Lunsford, who was such a power in the early history of Virginia Baptists. When the boy was about four years old his father moved to the southern part of Botetourt County, where he purchased a farm on Goose Creek. Here father and son spent the remainder of their days. Since his father's means were limited and the opportunities for a college education rarer than to-day, the young man never saw the halls of a college, but he was a great student, having the faculty of master- ing whatever he undertook. So his education was by no means limited to the training of the common schools of his day. In after years he taught school, with many grown men as pupils; thus his income and his influence 91 92 VIRGINIA BAPTIST MINISTERS were enlarged. On December 17, 1849, he was married to Sarah Ann Lemon, and soon afterwards both husband and wife united with Glade Creek Baptist Church and were buried with Christ in baptism, the ceremony being performed by Elder A. B. Brown. For this distin- guished preacher Mr. Lunsford always had the highest esteem and affection, treasuring in his library the "Life and Writings of Dr. A. B. Brown," written by Dr. and Mrs. Wm. E. Hatcher. Soon after his union with the church he began to exercise his gifts, and, being encouraged by his brethren, was licensed to preach. Upon the death of his father, on June 17, 1862, the Glade Creek Church turned to him to be their pastor, and, on August 1, sent a request to the Strawberry Association, then in session at the Beaver Dam Church, Bedford County, asking for a pres- bytery to consider the propriety of ordaining him whom they had already licensed. The request was granted, and Elders William Harris, J. R. Harrison, G. W. Leftwich, D. Staley, Pleasant Brown, N. Leslie, Alexander Eubank, and F. N. Sanderson were appointed as the presbytery, with instructions to "visit the church, examine into the propriety of ordaining Brother Lunsford, and to ordain him to the gospel ministry if deemed expedient." A few weeks later the ordination took place, and in the fall of 1862 he became pastor of Glade Creek, in which relation- ship he continued until his death. During this long period he served various other churches in that general section of the country, Blue Ridge and Mountain View (in the Strawberry) and Cove Alum and Cave Rock (in the Valley) being among the number. Though he accepted such salaries as the churches gave him, such compensation was with him a secondary matter, and he depended upon his farm, which he worked with his own hands, for his livelihood. He was most hospitable in his ROBERT RHODAM LUNSFORD 93 nature, and the guest was always welcome in his home. Since his house was on one of the leading highways of the State, many a passing preacher of his own and of other denominations found rest and comfort beneath his roof. He believed in foot-washing as a church ordi- nance, and his Glade Creek Church kept up this practice to the end of his life, though every other church in his Association had given it up. He wrote a pamphlet on this subject which was widely circulated. About a year before his death his health failed, but, securing brethren as supplies, he continued as pastor of his Glade Creek flock to the end. Two weeks after a stroke of paralysis, on August 6, 1903, while the Straw- berry Association that he loved so well and had attended so regularly was in session and praying for him, he passed to his reward. His wife survived him, and, on July 12, 1907, followed him to rest. His children are Paulina Frances (Mrs. Mark A. Calhoun), Marshall Taylor Lunsford, Mary Alice (Mrs. Jacob A. Zimmer- man), Christley Merriman Lunsford, and Griffin Gabriel Lunsford. JAMES FRANKLIN MAIDEN 1823-1903 The story of a man, who, in one year, delivered 322 sermons, baptized 47 persons, had 3 meeting-houses in process of erection, and preached at 20 points, could but be of interest if fully known. Unfortunately, the life of James Franklin Maiden, who, in 1880, had the fore- going figures in his report to the State Mission Board, is not before us in detail. Evidently he was a man of energy and force. Augusta County, the county that gave Woodrow Wilson to the world, was, on February 21, 1823, Mr. Maiden's birthplace. The family moved (in just what year is not known) to Botetourt County, settling near Fincastle, the county-seat. It was at this time and place that he had his early religious impressions. "He determined to pray that he might become better, and to be a secret Christian. He grew worse instead of better/' The conversion of his brothers, John and Samuel, and their baptism, and his mother's, into the fellowship of the Zion's Hill Baptist Church, brought to him deep conviction, and he was certain that he was born to be lost. A conference between his mother and Pastor L. P. Fellers, which led to their making a covenant to pray for the youth's conversion, was overheard by him. He was persuaded that their prayers would be in vain, being sure that he was doomed. A certain summer day he went to a thicket of pines to pray and to die, but "he that loseth his life shall find it" he came out of the woods rejoicing in the Lord. At the time of his union with Zion's Hill Church he felt that it was his duty to preach, but his limited education was an obstacle, so 94 JAMES FRANKLIN MAIDEN 95 years elapsed before he finally entered the ministry. When his parents made a second move, this time to Washington County, he went with them, and soon after this, in 1845, he was married to Miss Mary Ann Button, of Cedarville. At the time of their marriage she was a Lutheran, but before long she became a Baptist. She was the mother of ten children, of whom six survived their parents. This home became a home for preachers, and their influence may have led their host to begin hold- ing, in his own home and elsewhere in the community, cottage prayer-meetings. He was no little disturbed that the other brethren had more freedom in prayer than he did, but he persevered until he was counted very able in prayer. In 1852 he moved to Smyth County, where, in 1855, he bought the house in which he afterwards died. He was evidently increasingly interested in religious work, for he was one of the constituent members of the South Fork Church (Lebanon Association), and on April 15, 1873, was licensed to preach. Just a week later, at Blankenbeckler's Schoolhouse, the people heard his first sermon, and, having supplied the following winter at Maiden's Spring (now Mountain View), in Washington County, at the request of this church he was ordained at South Fork, June 16, 1872. During the winter of 1873, in meetings that he held at Friendship, Middle Fork, Gollehon's Schoolhouse, and South Fork, 154 persons were converted, of whom 131 were baptized into the fellowship of churches. More than once he was a missionary of the State Mission Board, and when he filled this position in 1877 his salary was, from the Board, $75, and from the Association, $100. As a result of his work at Long Hollow (Smyth County), Beaver Creek (now Oak Grove) Church soon came into being. He bore an important part in the organization of four other churches, namely. Cedar Bluff and Riverside, 96 VIRGINIA BAPTIST MINISTERS both in the Lebanon, and State Line and Laurel in the New River Association. In the course of his ministry he was pastor of the following churches, besides those already named : Sugar Grove, Vision, South Side, Gren- field, in the Lebanon, and Liberty Hill, Galena, and Baptist Union, in the New River. He was married a second time, on October 8, 1888, the bride on this occa- sion being Miss Sarah Etta Slemp, who, with five sons and a daughter, survived him. His death, caused by pneumonia, occurred on South Fork, Smyth County, Virginia, November 24, 1903. His body was committed to the earth in the graveyard of Blankenbeckler's School- house, where his first sermon was preached. This sketch is based, in the main, on the obituary, in the Minutes of the General Association, by Rev. C. T. Tavlor. THERON WALLACE NEWMAN 1832-1903 While his father was a Methodist minister, Theron Wallace Newman, who was born July 25, 1832, became a Baptist and a Baptist minister. He was converted about the year 1853 and baptized by the Rev. Thaddeus Herndon into the fellowship of Antioch Church. Three years before this he had been married to Miss Eugenia E. Newman; this union was followed by fifty-three years of happy wedded life. After his ordination, in 1858, for some years he preached and traveled as an evangelist, his field of labor being mainly the Potomac Association. His life as pastor and preacher, for some forty-five years, was given to the Association. During this period he served the following churches for longer or shorter seasons : Liberty, Grove, Oakland, Zoar, Rock Hill, Falmouth, New Hope, Richland, Antioch, Mt. Carmel, Stafford's Store, Bealeton. His pastorate at the Grove extended from April, 1875, to 1891. During this time he baptized into the fellowship of this church 157 persons, and large congregations attended upon his preaching. This church, the Grove, has an interesting history. It was organized in 1811. Back in the eighteenth century there was a rich old bachelor, named Thomas Skinner, who turned his house into a meeting- house and built near it a smaller dwelling, where he lived ; he planted a row of sycamore trees and a grove of apple trees, and, at his death, though not a Baptist, willed this property to the Baptist Church that was yet to be born ; this is where the Grove Church now stands. Mr. Skinner's interest in the Baptists was from what he 97 98 VIRGINIA BAPTIST MINISTERS saw of a young husband and wife, who, in the face of bitter opposition, became Baptists. In his day books were scarce, so Mr. Skinner went to London and bought a library for the use of the pastor of the future Grove Church. Mr. Newman was "a most successful soul winner, and lie probably held more protracted meetings than any other pastor" in his association. "He was faithful and untiring in his efforts to build up the churches under his care. His salary was, for a man of his ability, always small, but he toiled on without complaining, content if God was pleased and souls saved." His death occurred at the home of his son-in-law, Mr. Theron Newman, in Washington, on Sunday, December 6, 1903. He had filled his appointment at the Herndon Church, Fairfax County, on the fifth Sunday in November, and was on his way home when he was smitten down at the home of his son-in-law. His wife and his son, Eddie, and his daughter, Lizzie, were with him at his death. This sketch is based, in the main, on the obituary, in the Minutes of the General Association, by Rev. C. W. Brooks, and on the sermon, also by Mr. Brooks, preached at the centennial of Grove Church. HENRY MCDONALD 1832-1904 County Antrim lies in the north of Ireland. It is in the province of Ulster, and is "one of the most decidedly Protestant counties in Ireland/' yet in 1871 over one- third of the population was Roman Catholic. This county is famous for its Giant's Causeway, and for Lough Neagh, which is the fourth largest lake in Europe. In this county, on January 3, 1832, Henry McDonald was born, his parents and ancestors all belonging to the Catholic Church. "He was educated in the national schools of Ireland, and afterwards passed through the regular course of the Normal School, Dublin." In 1848 Europe was moved by the revolutionary spirit and Ire- land felt this throb. In this year young McDonald "left his native country in consequence of the failure of the patriots to throw from them the yoke of British oppres- sion." He took passage on a vessel sailing for New Orleans. He reached this city without money and with- out friends, and for some days worked at the wharves helping to load ships. The young man attracted the attention of a Kentucky planter, and upon his invitation accompanied him to his home. It is interesting to notice that the next time McDonald saw New Orleans was in 1877 when he came to the Southern Baptist Convention to preach the introductory sermon before that body. Upon reaching Kentucky he taught school for some time in Green County and then studied law and was admitted to the bar. "During his residence in Green County he made a thorough examination of the doctrines of Roman Catholicism, the result of which, after a severe 99 100 VIRGINIA BAPTIST MINISTERS mental struggle, was the rejection of the whole system as unscriptural." He united with the Baptists and was baptized by the Rev. George Peck. He soon felt called to preach, and was ordained in May, 1854. He became pastor of the Greensburg Church and served it with marked success for nearly ten years. During this period he was pastor also of Friendship and Campbellsville Churches, in Taylor County, and of Mt. Gilead, in Greene County. He was pastor for one year of Waco Church, in Madison County, and for six years of the church in Danville. After this he was pastor, from 1870 to 1877, of the Georgetown Church, and professor of Theology in the Western Baptist Theological Institute. His next work was as Professor of Moral Philosophy in George- town College. Georgetown and Bethel Colleges gave him the degree of Doctor of Divinity, and the former college the degree of A. M. While in Kentucky he was married to Miss Harding, the daughter of Aaron Harding, who for several years represented Kentucky in Congress. From Georgetown he came to Virginia, becoming pastor of the Second Baptist Church, Richmond. Here he remained five years, taking a leading part in the work of Virginia Baptists and being greatly beloved and respected by them. While in Richmond he impressed for good many of the students at Richmond College. One testifies to the help Dr. McDonald gave him when he stood at a spiritual crisis in his life, and another declares that "Dr. McDonald's capacity for loving and being loved was wonderful." Dr. W. E. Hatcher, who was a fellow- pastor with him in Richmond, and a lifelong friend, says : "McDonald was made of the finest material, com- mon in nothing, noble in all. He had a genius for friend- ship, and was a friend never doubted, whose varying moods woke no suspicions, and whose soul clung with a love never changing." The blended humor and pathos HENRY MCDONALD 101 of his Irish nature helped to make him an interesting and magnetic figure, whether he was seen in the pulpit or in the social circle. Rev. J. E. Hutson, who helped him in a meeting at the Second Church, declared that it was dur- ing this meeting that he discovered the nobility of the man, and then said : "In him were blended the modera- tion of Melanchthon and the intensity of Luther. . . . No doubt his modesty sometimes barred him from that public recognition to which his qualities of head and heart alike entitled him. Not infrequently his humility deprived him of the honor which his private suggestion, in conference or convention, brought to him who articu- lated the hint and to whom, in consequence, the wisdom of the measure was attributed. He could weep over the grievances of a child without detracting from his man- hood, as he could rebuke the sins of a dignitary of the church or State without that assumption which oftener offends than leads to amendment. But it was as a preacher of the everlasting, old-fashioned gospel that he made his highest and most enduring record." In 1879 Dr. McDonald delivered before the Virginia Baptist Historical Society an address on "The Relation of the Anabaptists to the German Peasant War in the Sixteenth Century" ; at the same meeting he was made an honorary member of the Society. From 1882 to 1900 he was pastor of the Second Bap- tist Church, Atlanta, Ga. During this period he was President of the Home Mission Board of the Southern Baptist Convention. And among other offices of impor- tance that he held in the denomination was that of Trustee of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. He was greatly beloved far and wide, and was often referred to as the "beloved John" of the Southern Bap- tist ministry. 102 VIRGINIA BAPTIST MINISTERS In the early part of 1904 he suffered a stroke oi paralysis, and on Tuesday, March 22d, at 11 :15 A. M., he passed away. The funeral service in Atlanta was con- ducted by Dr. John E. White, Dr. W. W. Landrum, and Dr. Carter Helm Jones, while the exercises at George- town, Ky., where the body was laid to rest, were in charge of Dr. E. B. Pollard and Rev. T. J. Stevenson. His children are Aaron and Robert and Mrs. M. M. Welch, Mrs. M. L. Brittain, and Mrs. B. T. Crump. ERNEST THOMAS GREGORY 1869-1904 Ernest Thomas Gregory was born, and did his life work, in Southside Virginia. He was born in Mecklen- burg County, March 20, 1869. He accepted Christ in early life, and, having decided to preach, prepared for this work, first at the Southside Academy, Chase City, then, during the sessions of 1890-91, 1891-92 and 1895- 96, at Richmond College, and finally at the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, Louisville, Ky. He was called to the pastorate of the New Hope Church, where he was a member, and his ordination took place Novem- ber 7, 1900. After New Hope (Concord Association) and Mt Tirzah (Appomattox Association), his churches were Halifax, Dan River, and Hunting Creek, all in the Dan River Association. In February, 1904, he was stricken with la grippe, brought on, probably, by his being exposed to the weather in going to his appointments. He came home on the fourth Sabbath in February quite ill. He made a brave fight for life, but died at Houston, April 9, 1904. He had never been strong physically, but his mind was vigorous, and his heart ever beat in sym- pathy with men. "As a preacher he was earnest, prac- tical, scriptural, and evangelistic. . . . His minis- try, though brief, was owned of God in the conversion of many and the upbuilding of active and spiritually influ- ential churches." His wife, who was Miss Mary Young, of Louisville, Ky., and to whom he was married July 3, 1901, survived him. The facts given here are from the obituary, written by Rev. F. W. Moore, in the Minutes of the General Association. 103 SAMUEL CORNELIUS CLOPTON 1847-1904 For four generations the name of Clopton has adorned the roll of the Baptist ministry of Virginia. There was, first, Elder William Clopton, described as "a faithful preacher of the gospel." Next there was Elder James Clopton, who was born in New Kent County, January 5, 1782, and "who principally labored in New Kent and Charles City Counties, but frequently made tours in the lower counties between York and James Rivers," and of whom we are told that "in all the region between Rich- mond and Williamsburg he left an enduring monument in the hearts of many, to the praise of God's grace." The third son of Elder James Clopton was Rev. Samuel Cornelius Clopton, who was also born in New Kent County, and who went out as the first missionary of the Southern Baptist Convention to China. He sailed, with his wife, who was Miss Keziah Turpin, a daughter of Rev. Miles Turpin, with Rev. George Pearcy and wife, on the Cahota, June 22, 1846. On July 7, 1847, he passed away, and his widow and only son returned to their native land. This son, born in China, was Samuel Cornelius Clopton, the subject of this sketch. He grew up, under the watchful care of his noble mother, "an earnest, self-reliant youth," whom "everybody knew could be trusted." In the ministry he is the son of Leigh Street Baptist Church, being licensed by this body to preach. By a hard struggle, "toiling at his books in the morning and at night, and working for the means to send himself to school in the afternoons and on Satur- days (when other boys less earnest were at play), he 104 SAMUEL CORNELIUS CLOPTON 105 made his way through college and to the seminary, and in due time came forth a graduate of whom they had just cause to be proud." On February 16, 1874, a few members of the Grace Street Baptist Church, Richmond, started a mission Sun- day school in a little storeroom on Clay Street west of Graham. The work prospered; in 1876 a chapel was erected, and on April 20, 1877, a church, known as the Clay Street Baptist Church, was organized with fifty-one members. To the pastorate of the young church Mr. Clopton was called. For some fifteen years, until July 31, 1892, he continued the shepherd of this flock. "Under his matchless leadership the little church grew apace, and soon became conspicuous for her zeal and liberality, for wisely and well had he laid the founda- tions, and to him more than to any other is the credit due for the beautiful superstructure, the Calvary Baptist Church of to-day." When the new meeting-house of the Calvary Church was dedicated, on December 17, 1893, Mr. Clopton preached the sermon. Before his Richmond pastorate closed he had taken rank among the Baptist pastors of the city and State by reason of his zeal, his sincerity, his piety, and his genial Christian spirit. Many incidents might be given to show how earnest, godly, and kind he was. Mrs. John Pollard, who was a member of his congregation, and deaf, described in the Herald, after his death, how it was his custom to hand her, every Sun- day morning, the notes of his sermon, that she might have her share in the service. "His influence with young men was remarkable, and from his church there went forth, inspired by his example and counsel, some of our brightest and best pastors of to-day." Nor did he forget, in his work in Richmond, the far-away land of his nativity, for "there was hardly a Chinaman in Richmond who did not know him well," and a vear or so after 106 VIRGINIA BAPTIST MINISTERS Mr. Clopton's pastorate closed the Chinese class of the Sunday school presented the church with a beautiful pul- pit chair, their presentation speech being made in English. He was a faithful helper in the work of the denomina- tion. For fifteen years he was a member of the Foreign Mission Board. One summer, at the suggestion of the Mission Board, he went to Bell Spring, in Pulaski County, and helped the pastor in a meeting that resulted in the addition, by baptism, of thirty-two persons to the church. He often wrote for the Herald, and certainly one of his articles, namely, that on the question whether women should speak in the churches, called forth many writers, some taking sides against and some for his views. While he will be best remembered for his labors at Clay Street (Calvary) Church, the three other pastor- ates that he held, after leaving Richmond, were not with- out fruit. From Richmond he went to the Parker Memorial Church,, Anniston, Ala., and from there to the Fuller Memorial Church, Baltimore. From Baltimore he came back to Virginia, taking charge of the church at Smithfield. As one of the results of his labors in this town a handsome meeting-house was erected and dedi- cated. The esteem in which he was held by all the denominations in Smithfield was proved by the memorial service that took place, after his death, in the Methodist Church (besides the one held in his own church), when the Methodist pastor, Rev. W. C. Green, presided, and when appropriate resolutions were passed. On Wednesday, May 10, 1904, he came to Richmond on his way to Rappahannock County, where he expected to seek rest and renewed health. His physicians, how- ever, found his condition more serious than he had sup- posed, and he went to the Retreat for the Sick, where, on May 19th, after a painful illness, he died. His body was buried in beautiful Hollywood, Richmond's city of SAMUEL CORNELIUS CLOPTON 107 the dead. About the time of his going to Alabama to live he received from Richmond College the degree of Doctor of Divinity, and was married to Miss Annie Jones, of Rappahannock County; she and two children survived him. The quotations in this sketch are from the obituary prepared for the Minutes of the General Association by Mr. R. R. Gwathmey; Mr. Gwathmey was a leader in the establishment of the Sunday school from which Clay Street and Calvary grew and one of the church's deacons. HENRY PETTY 1828-1904 To preach the gospel for forty- four years is no mean record. This, Rev. Henry Petty did. Besides, he added to the literature of his denomination, being the author of three stories which aimed to enforce the principles and doctrines of Baptists. The first of these stories, "Lena Landon," appeared in book form, while the others, "Helen Gray" and "The Lightfoots," came out as serials. The Accomac and Roanoke Associations claimed the larger part of his ministry, but immediately after his ordination, in 1859, he became pastor of the Greenville Church in North Carolina, and later he was pastor three other times in the Old North State, twice at Warrenton, and at Greensboro. Three different times he was pastor on the Eastern Shore of Virginia. Here he served Lower Northampton and Red Bank, organized the church at Drummondtown in 1871, and built the meeting-house at Cheriton. During the War he was pastor of the Second Church of Petersburg, and, in 1878, a State missionary at North Danville. For twelve years he served the church at Chatham, and among the other churches of the Roanoke Association to which he was pastor are these : Greenfield, Sharon, Chestnut Level, Shockoe. He was born in Princess Anne County, Virginia, November 14, 1828. When he was an infant his father died, and, at eight years of age, he lost his mother. She had made an impression on him that he never outgrew. On her deathbed she told him that she wanted him to be a Christian and a preacher. Then she prayed that her 108 HENRY PETTY 109 wish might be granted. In after years he was moved to follow her precepts. Thus left, at a tender age, an orphan, he developed independence of spirit, decision of character and economy. The kind home of his uncle, the Rev. H. H. Banks, now became his home, and here the influences that surrounded him were of the best. Early in life he came into touch with the Rev. Thomas Hume. Sr., who took great interest in him and later baptized him. His education cost him a struggle, but that he was more than victor in this struggle, a struggle that involved teaching school and perhaps other ways of turning an honest penny, is shown by the fact that he was an author as well as a preacher. Besides writing books, as already noted, he strayed, not infrequently, with his pen into the field of poetry. It would be interesting if we could know all that took place at two meetings at two country churches when Mr. Petty was the chief figure. Picture first the scene at St. John's Church at Princess Anne Court House when a presbytery composed of Elders H. J. Chandler, J. D. Elwell, and H. H. Banks, on February 27, 1859, examined and set apart the young man to the gospel ministry. And next go, in imagination, to Ebenezer Meeting-House, in the same county, and hear this young man preaching his first sermon from the words: 'The time is fulfilled and the Kingdom of God is at hand ; repent ye and believe in the gospel." From this day forward it is said that he never preached an indifferent sermon. On February 1, 1882, he was married to Mrs. Mary Carter Penick; she, with one daughter, survived him. Some two years before his departure he lost his hearing, and this affliction was followed by other bodily ailments, but he bore it all with exemplary patience. He passed away at Chatham, Va., July, 16, 1904, and in the ceme- tery of this town he sleeps his last sleep. JOHN MAJOR PERRY 1835-1904 While not a native of Virginia, Rev. John Major Perry spent some forty-one years of his life and of his ministry in this State. Frail health led him to Virginia, and the climate of his adopted State meant a long extension of his service in the Kingdom of God. His appearance sug- gested that he was not a strong man in body; his face was thin and his figure rather gaunt; he resembled Abraham Lincoln, and was mistaken for this famous man more than once. He was born in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, January 5, 1835. His student days were spent at Lewisburg University (now Bucknell University), and his diploma bears the date of July 27, 1858. The churches that he served in Pennsylvania were Parkers ford, Conshohocken, Philipsburg, and Greenville. He was married March 1, 1862, to Miss Lida Bush, a daughter of Dr. Andrew Bush, of Chester County, Pennsylvania, and of this union six children were born. It was in 1873 that he came to Virginia, for the reason named above, and settled on a small farm near Wylliesburg, Charlotte County. Since there was no Baptist Church in the neighborhood, he organized one in 1883 that took the name of Wylliesburg, having in 1878 organized Friendship Church in the same county. These two churches he served for over twenty-five years, and before his ministry closed he had been pastor of Antioch and Tabernacle Churches, both in the Concord Associa- tion, as was also Wylliesburg; Friendship is in the Appomattox. Rev. H. T. Williams says: "Brother Perry was an unusually able preacher. His mind was 110 JOHN MAJOR PERRY 111 thoroughly trained, he was well versed in the Scriptures, and he preached the great truths of the gospel in sim- plicity and with loving sympathy for all his hearers. He was so modest and retiring that he never became known to the brotherhood, of the State and never received on earth the recognition and honor that his character and work merited, but he was tenderly loved and highly honored by those who knew him and his service, and when the final records are unrolled he will be exalted in the presence of the King and the saints. . . . He readily adapted himself to the thought and customs of the South. He was one of us, loving us tenderly and was devotedly loved by us." Mrs. Perry died in 1899, and in 1901 he was married to Miss Lizzie Gregory, a daughter of Mr. J. B. Gregory, of Mecklenburg County. Of this union one child, a girl, was born. After being ill for three weeks with pneumonia, Brother Perry passed away July 22, 1904, and the funeral took place in the Wylliesburg Church and the burial in the cemetery of this church. Besides his wife and the daughter of the second marriage, the following children survived him : Mr. E. L. Perry, Rev. W. M. Perry, Mrs. A. C. Davis, and Mrs. A. H. Moss. M. A. WILSON 1839-1904 Many years ago there came to the home of a Virginia pastor a visiting preacher. On Sunday night the visitor filled the pulpit. When the time for retiring came, the pastor's little boy followed his father and the guest to the bedroom. Before the hosts left the room their guest had begun to undress. It then appeared that he had preached with his whole back a mass of sores. The boy never understood exactly what was the matter with the visitor, but that he could have preached when in such a physical condition deeply impressed the child. The preacher with the sore back was Rev. M. A. Wilson, for thirty-eight years a pioneer Baptist missionary and church builder in the Valley and southwest sections of Virginia. Mr. Wilson was not a man of strong physical make-up his face suggested this and once the State Mission report says that he was absent from his work on account of ill health. Yet doubtless he had what might be called a wiry constitution, and in his "journey ings oft" over mountain and valley his hard work brought the compensation of much life in the open air. He was born in Rockbridge County, Virginia, Febru- ary 6, 1839, being of Scotch-Irish ancestry. His early life on the farm offered few educational opportunities, nor did his later life give him much chance for study. He was baptized into the fellowship of the Neriah Bap- tist Church, Rockbridge County, by Elder J. C. Richard- son, in 1865. The next year, at Arnold's Valley Church, in the James River Valley, he was ordained and preached his first sermon. He married Miss Elizabeth J. Taylor, who, with five children (Dr. Frank L. Wilson, Joseph A. Wilson, Mrs. Emmons, Mrs. Ritz, and Mrs. Jones), sur- vived him. 112 M. A. WILSON 11. > Except for one brief period, Mr. Wilson, in all his career, never served a church that was fully self- supporting. As a missionary pastor and preacher he spent his life. During the many years of his ministry, besides eighteen months as pastor in Arkansas, he served the following churches in Virginia and West Virginia, though this list may not be complete: Kerr's Creek, Salem (Rockbridge County), Sharon, Cave Spring, Laurel Ridge, Berean, Sinking Creek, Pearisburg, New- port, Green Valley. Walker's Creek, Pocahontas, Prince- ton, Bluefield, East Roanoke, Big Stone Gap, Norton. On his mission fields he built sixteen meeting-houses, raising most of the money for these edifices at points in the State where the Baptists were stronger. More than once a notice like the following, from the issue of Octo- ber 1. 1903, appeared in the Religious Herald: "The veteran missionary and church builder, Rev. M. A. Wil- son, is among us once more and on his wonted mission. This time the house is at Norton, a growing town in Wise County. It is a worthy enterprise, and we trust Brother Wilson may meet with a generous response from our people." Yet his work was not simply that of begging and building. He had great evangelistic gifts, and hundreds, perhaps thousands, were led to Christ and baptized by him. It is easy to see how his ready mother- wit and his tact fulness would prove most valuable to him in his work among many kinds of folks. He passed away at Coeburn, Va., August 21, 1904, his last sermon having been preached at Graham, Va. The New Lebanon Association was in session in Bluefield at the time of his death, and so it came to pass that the funeral of this zealous man was attended by the delegates and ministers present at the meeting; this was highly fitting. The service, held in the First Baptist Church, was conducted by Rev. S. H. Thompson, and the burial took place in the cemetery of the city, Maple Grove. CHASTAIN CLARK MEADOR 1825-1904 The Baptist interests of Washington City have always been somewhat identified with those of Virginia Baptists, and so there is the more reason why a sketch of one whose whole ministry was given to the capital city should appear in this volume, since he was born in Virginia. Bedford County, the birthplace of so many Baptist preachers, was where, on July 11, 1825, Chastain Clark Meador first saw the light. In 1 844 he was baptized into the fellowship of New Hope Baptist Church, which was then under the care of the Rev. James Leftwich, but it seems that the ordinance was administered in this case by Rev. William Harris, familiarly known as "Father Harris." The young man, with business as his expected career, worked for a time on the farm and then as a miller, but it was about this time that he was a teacher in the Sunday school of Mt. Hermon Church. At the age of twenty-five he decided to become a preacher, and in order to fit himself for this career turned his face towards the Valley Union Seminary (now Hollins Col- lege) at Botetourt Springs, a school for boys and girls, presided over by Dr. Charles L. Cocke. Here he remained about two years. Before going off to school he had been licensed to preach by Mt. Hermon Church, and upon his return home he taught school for about a year, preaching frequently during the same period in destitute neighborhoods. In 1857 he entered Columbian College, Washington, where he graduated with the degree of Bachelor of Arts in 1857. In 1860 Columbian gave him the degree of Master of Arts, and many years later the 114 CHASTAIN CLARK MEADOR 115 honorary degree of Doctor of Divinity. During his vacation days he worked as an agent for the college, seek- ing students, and in the midst of the session's work started a mission Sunday school in what is now known as Southwest Washington. This section of the city was then known as "The Island." Notwithstanding many obstacles, he worked at this mission, without any com- pensation, during the remainder of his student days. Once he went to one of the leading bookstores of the city to purchase hymn books and other supplies for his mission. The proprietor, a canny Scotchman and a staunch Presbyterian, who was interested in a Presby- terian mission in the same section of the city as Mr. Meador's school, asked the young student for what pur- pose he was buying the books. When the student told him, he said : " The Island' is vera aboondantly supplied with releegious privileges already." There were indeed two Presbyterian missions in that section of the city, and they afterwards grew into churches, but now the church that came out of the little Baptist mission has twice as many members as both of these churches put together. Some of the "cold water" thrown on Mr. Meador's mis- sion came from the hands of his own denomination ; when he asked the church where he held his membership to endorse the work he was doing, such a resolution was passed, but not until a cautious brother had secured the adoption of this amendment : "Provided this action shall involve no financial responsibility upon the part of the church." In after years, in telling of this event, he would say : "My heart went down into my boots, but I kept on, and in time recovered hope." A certain week in 1857 had for Mr. Meador three most important events, namely, his graduation at Colum- bian, his marriage to Miss Ann Camp Shields ( formerly of Norfolk. Va. ), and the organization of his mission 116 VIRGINIA BAPTIST MINISTERS into a church, with him as the pastor. This union of church and pastor was to last for over forty-seven years, in many ways a unique and remarkable pastorate. The little afternoon Sunday school, started in what was then the least promising part of the city, using a rented hall and having only such equipment as its young leader could provide by his own efforts, came to be one of the most vigorous churches in Washington, but many obstacles had to be overcome. Just as the little church was setting out on its career the Civil War drove many of its mem- bers from the city and sowed seeds of discord among those who remained. All three of the deacons were Union men, and, taking exception to the Southern sym- pathies of their pastor, offered a resolution calling for his resignation. When the vote on the resolution came no one save the three deacons voted for it, the rest of the church rallying to the side of the pastor. Then the pastor suggested to the three deacons that if they could not abide in peace and harmony they had better take their letters; this they did. One of the three, after the War was over, came back to the fellowship of the church, became once more one of its deacons and continued, until his death, active in the church and devoted to the pastor ; his family, after more than half a century, are among the most devoted members of the church. A brother of Mrs. Meador, a hardware merchant, was one of the many who left Washington when the War broke out. The Lincoln Administration proceeded to confiscate the property of all such persons, but Mr. Meador, anticipat- ing such action in the case of his brother-in-law, promptly put up in place of the old sign one bearing these words : "C. C. Meador, Dealer in Hardware and Builders' Sup- plies." So great was his versatility and business ability that throughout the years of the War, when the church, disorganized and broken, was able to do little for his sup- port, he made the store the means of his livelihood. CHASTAIN CLARK MEADOR 117 Up to the end of the War the meeting-house of the church was an unattractive frame building, poorly adapted to the work. A great revival, a year or so after the War, the greatest season of grace known up to that time among the Baptists of Washington, brought over one hundred and fifty members into the church and led to the erection of a commodious meeting-house. But now a new difficulty was encountered. This episode in the life of the church and its pastor is described as fol- lows by Mr. J. J. Darlington, a leading lawyer to-day of Washington and a son-in-law of Dr. Meador: "The Baltimore & Potomac Railroad Company, then recently authorized to construct its line from Baltimore to Washington, being in effect an extension of the Pennsylvania Railroad system, selected the immediately adjoining premises as the site of its roundhouse and repair shops, running a spur track across the sidewalk within a few feet of the new church edifice, which the greater part of the children attending the Sunday school and of the congregation at the church services were com- pelled to cross, not infrequently at considerable risk of life and limb from the locomotives which shot in and out of the railroad yards at all hours of the day and night, often with little warning. In addition, the smokestacks from its engine sheds were parallel in height with the windows of the church auditorium, through which smoke, cinders, and dust were constantly blown, while the hissing of steam and the hammering and other noises incident to locomotive repairs frequently drowned the music, the songs, and the voices of the pastor and others engaged in worship. Several of the leading lawyers of the Washington Bar to whom the doctor applied for legal relief declined the case, being of opinion that the Act of Congress which authorized the Railroad Company to erect such works and left the selection x)f a site to its 118 VIRGINIA BAPTIST MINISTERS own judgment, 'legalized' the nuisance; but eventually the doctor succeeded in having an action brought to test the question, which resulted in the famous decision by the Supreme Court of the United States in the case of Fifth Baptist Church vs. Baltimore & Potomac Railroad Company, 108 U. S., 317 a case which has become a leading authority ever since for the proposition that invasion of the comfortable use and enjoyment of prop- erty is a 'taking,' in the sense of the Constitutional pro- hibition against the taking of property without compen- sation, and that, consequently, the legislative grant of power to establish the railroad repair shops was subject to the duty of compensating the adjoining property owners for any injury to the comfortable enjoyment of their property. The Railroad Company subsequently purchased the church property upon the terms at which it was offered to them before the litigation was con- cluded, namely, payment of its actual cost to the church this after having been compelled to pay about $20,000 in damages for the maintenance of the nuisance prior to the purchase, aided by which funds the present Fifth Bap- tist Church property, valued at about $80,000, was con- structed, and which constitutes one of the most attract- ive, commodious, and desirable church buildings of the capital city." In 1904 Dr. Meador, in view of his advancing years, resigned as pastor, whereupon the church elected him Pastor Emeritus for the rest of his life, without decreas- ing his salary, and chose, as Active Pastor, Rev. Dr. Weston Bruner. Dr. Meador now served as he was able, his presence being especially desired when members, who had known him through the years, passed away. Just after an address, on one of these funeral occasions, he fell unconscious on the floor of the pulpit and died a few hours later. Thus his desire that he might die in CHASTAIN CLARK MEADOR 119 the service of his church was realized. He passed away November 9, 1904. To-day the Fifth Street Church, which began as The Island Church, and which owes so much of its success, under God, to Dr. Meador, has the second largest Sunday school in Washington and main- tains eight laborers, namely, the pastor, the assistant, two missionaries in China, one in Africa, one in Persia, one in Kansas City, and one in Tampa, Fla. One of the China missionaries is pastor, at Wu Chow, of the Meador Memorial Baptist Church. THOMAS F. EDMONDSON 1872-1904 Within the bounds of the Lebanon and New River Associations the work of Thomas F. Edmondson was done. At the age of fifteen he made a profession of faith in Christ and was baptized into the fellowship of the White Top Baptist Church, Grayson County, Virginia. Two years later he was licensed to preach, and three years after his conversion he was ordained, the presbytery con- sisting of Rev. A. J. Hart, Rev. G. W. Pennington, and Rev. N. M. Blevins. He was the son of Dr. Isaac Edmondson, having been born August 7, 1872. After the public schools, the only educational preparation he had for his life work was a part of the session of 1896- 97 at the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, Louis- ville, Ky. On August 28, 1892, he was married to Miss Delilah H. Blevins ; she, with five children, survived him. For eight terms he taught in the public schools, and, as a minister of the gospel, was pastor of these churches : White Top, Laurel, Grosses Creek, State Line, Pleasant View, and Apple Grove. In his obituary, by Rev. C. T. Taylor, in the Minutes of the General Association, he is thus described : "He was considered an able preacher, gifted as a revivalist, and a good organizer. He was a firm believer in foreign missions. He preached missions with power and contributed of his own means. He was a pure man, a loving husband and father, a true friend. His chief aim in life was the moral and religious eleva- tion of the people with whom he had to do." He died December 6, 1904, being laid low by that insidious dis- ease, consumption. 120 HARVEY HATCH KK 1834-1905 Harvey Hatcher, the son of Henry Hatcher and the grandson of Rev. Jeremiah Hatcher, was born in Bed- ford County, Virginia, July 16, 1834. He was in almost every respect different from his younger brother, William Eldridge, of whom a sketch is found in this volume. Harvey was three inches taller than William, and while William was like the Lathams, Harvey was ''a Hatcher from back in the primitive days of Careby in England." Harvey was "a sport; his temperament, his physical make-up, and his habits sent him afield. A horse was his glory, a dog was his companion, a gun was the triumph of all mechanism in his sight; game, from the deer to the quail, commanded his tireless pursuit. . The chase set him wild ; the cry of the pack, no matter whose it was, broke him from everything else, and he would follow the dogs through the day and far into the dead of night." One day he was in the midst of dressing, not having put on his shoes, when a fox came into sight, hard followed by the dogs. When he came to himself he was "four miles from home, in the midst of the most fashionable and aristocratic part" of the community in which he lived. He was without vest or collar, and nothing was on his feet save the cuts and scratches, the blood and the dirt that his cross-country run had brought him. In 1854 the two brothers entered Richmond College. While the younger brother was gifted as a speaker, Harvey was "great on mathematics." Yet Harvey had aspirations to be a speaker, and after many trying experi- 121 122 VIRGINIA BAPTIST MINISTERS ences "became an exceedingly fluent, ready, self- possessed and humorous public speaker." Both brothers graduated in 1858, W. S. Penick being one of their fellow-graduates. (In the sketch of Mr. Penick, in this volume, the list of the whole class is given.) After teaching for a season, Mr. Hatcher began his pastoral career at the Four Mile Creek Church, Henrico County, having in this field "marked success." During the War he was pastor to a very strong negro church and "had much joy in his work." When the War was over he was assistant to Dr. J. B. Jeter, pastor of the Grace Street Baptist Church, Richmond, and then for a year a State evangelist in Maryland, and then he became pastor of the Court Street Church, Portsmouth. He always had "an intense yearning for western life, and for a number of years was exceedingly happy in the pastorate of the churches of Keyesville and Moberly, Mo. He was later on called to Richmond, and served for several years what is now the Grove Avenue Church," known in that day as the Sidney Church. "It is due to Mr. Hatcher to say that he never felt himself quite adapted to the pastor- ate. He had a certain rugged candor which made him impatient under the restraints and confinement of the pastoral relation, and for the last half of his public life he resisted all efforts to bring him back to pastoral work." Through the suggestion and request of Dr. A. E. Dickinson, Mr. Hatcher was led to take up "pencil driv- ing," as he called it, for the press. He succeeded far beyond his hopes, but he reached his success by hard work, writing his pieces from three to five times. This work was first undertaken for the Religious Herald, but later he crossed over into North Carolina and wrote for the Biblical Recorder, and in 1882 went to Missouri and for two years helped Dr. William Harrison Williams, HARVEY HATCHER 123 editor of the Central Baptist. In the fall of 1884 he moved to Georgia and bought an interest in the Christian Inde^. One morning in Atlanta he had a call from Dr. Benjamin Griffith, of the American Baptist Publica- tion Society. This visit led to Dr. Hatcher's beginning his work with the Philadelphia Society that was to last seventeen years. A branch was established in Atlanta, and Mr. Hatcher was connected for a time with this branch house and for a season with the branch in St. Louis. "In this special work he was exceedingly happy. His duties took him through many of the Southern States. He had a heart for fellowship and made friends wherever he went. He did not forget his work, for wherever he went his pleas were heard in favor of Baptist literature and Baptist principles. He was well known, and there always awaited him a joyous welcome, go where he might." Once, when invited by the South Carolina Baptist Convention to tell in thirty minutes about the work of his Society, he said : "Brethren, I can not tell you of all the glorious work of the Society in thirty minutes, nor in thirty hours, nor in thirty years, nor in thirty decades, nor thirty centuries." Dr. Hatcher was a man of great physical vigor. He was tall and had a finely proportioned figure. And he kept much of his splendid bodily strength to the end. His love for field sports never waned. When he was seventy-two he wrote: "Last season I was often in the fields and frequently brought down one with each barrel on the flush. My sight was so far preserved that I needed no glasses to aid me, and I could locate a flying quail as I did when I was fifty." His death was sudden and on Sunday ; he had preached at eleven o'clock in the Beaufort (South Carolina) Church; at four, in the Sea Island Hotel, without pain or struggle, the end came. Two days before, in a party of nine, down on Caliboga 124 VIRGINIA BAPTIST MINISTERS Sound, the eighteen dogs had started a deer that came towards Dr. Hatcher. When the deer was within twenty-five feet of the venerable hunter there was a "keen crack of his gun" and the game was his. Among the party were Rev. C. C. Brown and Deacon Danner, of the Beaufort Church. His death was on January 15, 1905. Dr. Hatcher was married twice. Two sons, Harvey Hatcher and Hally Hatcher, a daughter, Miss Frances B. Hatcher, and his second wife survived him. JOHN WILLIAM RYLAND 1836-1905 The oldest of the thirteen children of Joseph Ryland and his wife, Priscilla Courtney Bagby, was John Wil- liam Ryland. From the old home, "Marlboro," in King and Queen County, where he was born October 19, 1836, he went forth to Richmond College, from which institu- tion he graduated with the degree of Bachelor of Arts in 1858. His ordination to the gospel ministry took place at Bruington, his mother church. After two years of colporteur work in the mountains of Virginia he was, for the four years of the War, in the army, Rev. W. E. Wiatt being one of his comrades. On July 24, 1866, he was married by Elder John Pollard to Mrs. Lucy K. Roane (who was Miss Lucy F. Bagby), and in January of the following year he was called to the pastorate of Goshen Bridge (Rockbridge County) and Deerfield (Augusta County) Churches. On this field he remained for some five years, being for part of the time pastor also of the Craigsville and Williamsville Churches, and preaching at other places throughout the counties of Rockbridge, Bath, and Alleghany. In his report to the State Mission Board, in 1872, he wrote: 'There is not a week in which I am not called upon to go to destitute neighborhoods to preach. The people seem to be hungry for the bread of life." In October, 1873, he was called to Hermitage and Zoar Churches in Middlesex County. After two years he gave up the Zoar Church and suc- ceeded Elder Thomas B. Evans in the pastorate of Olivet Church, King and Queen County. He served these churches, Hermitage and Olivet, until his death on 125 126 VIRGINIA BAPTIST MINISTERS March 26, 1905. He had wished to die the pastor of these flocks, and so it was. A painful and insidious dis- ease that baffled the skill of physicians in his own county, Richmond, and Baltimore, kept him from active service for a year before the end came. On the very Sunday when his last appointment was to be met at Hermitage Church he departed this life. A few months after his death, Olivet Church, on the thirteenth anniversary of his pastorate, had a memorial service in his honor. A crayon portrait of the dead pastor was presented by Judge A. B. Evans, unveiled by Lucile (a granddaughter of Elder Ryland), and accepted on behalf of the church by Rev. W. W. Sisk. The church also placed a marble tablet in his honor on her walls. He was survived by his wife and his two sons, Walter H. and Willie Mason Ryland. One who knew him best of all says of Elder Ryland: "He was quiet, pure, unselfish, and true to his God and work. His aim was God's glory and the salvation of souls." In a notice of his death the Religious Herald said that he was "one of the most faithful, useful, trans- parent and lovable men we have ever known. He had no vaulting ambitions. His tastes were simple and his life was that of the quiet country pastor, who led his flock, under divine guidance and in constant dependence on divine power, into green pastures and beside the still waters. ... In all his sufferings he was brave, meek, cheerful, and uncomplaining." JOHN MOODY LAMB 1821-1905 The Religious Herald for April 20, 1905, gave its readers, in an article by Dr. J. W. Mitchell, the picture of a face wonderfully attractive by reason of its beautiful blend of intelligence and gentleness. This was the like- ness of Rev. John Moody Lamb, who, twelve days before the issue of the paper, on April 8, had passed away. He was born on June 5, 1821, in Charles City County, his father, John Lamb, being of English extraction and one of a large family of children. The mother, who was as frail and delicate as she was beloved, went to an early grave, leaving three children. Two of these children being otherwise cared for, the father and John were left alone in the home. This parent, a man of strong affec- tions and mind, gave the time, that his farm and books did not take, to the instruction of his son. He was a great reader and the owner of a fine library, but does not seem to have known child nature, and so the retiring boy grew up ignorant of the common events of life and apart from the world. At the age of seven he heard the servants talking of a marriage in the neighborhood, and ran to his father, asking: "What is marriage? Is it a high bridge or a deep ditch?" His father's answer must have puzzled the child : "It is often both, my son." Upon his elder brother's return home as a graduate of Hampden-Sidney College, he became the boy's teacher. So great was the pupil's admiration for the character of his instructor that in after-life he said: "I always regarded him with such love and reverence that I felt that I was unworthy to untie the latchet of his shoe." 127 128 VIRGINIA BAPTIST MINISTERS When this teacher died, at the age of forty-two, it was said by one of his fellow-county men that any one in the community could have been better spared. At the age of seventeen John was converted, and baptized by Elder James Clopton in the Chickahominy River at Potter's Field near Mt. Pleasant Church. The presbytery that set him apart for the gospel ministry had as its members Drs. R. B. C. Howell and J. B. Jeter. About this time he was married to Miss Mary Christian, who is described as "one of the most godly and saintly of women." The churches that he served were Manoah, Mt. Pleasant, and Samaria, all in the Dover Association. After more than twenty -five years of this work he was obliged, because of ill health, to give up the pastorate. He continued, how- ever, to preach as long as he was able, and was active in the Sunday school until he could no more attend the services of the sanctuary. Rev. Dr. J. W. Mitchell, who knew him well, says of him : "As a scholar he was far superior to his day and generation. . . . He was not only a diligent student of the Scriptures, but also of the classics, and he became well versed in the best litera- ture. . . . As a preacher he was mighty in the Scrip- tures. . . . His sermons were well prepared, and were gems of exegesis, logic, and rhetoric. ... As a pastor he was instant in season and out of season." During the Civil War his comfortable home and his library were destroyed, his belongings "scattered to the winds and he carried off to a Northern prison." He knew not who would care for his wife, and when he returned home he had almost to begin life again, having no tools, no books, and no money, and his abode being a cabin, yet he never uttered a word about his disasters nor against his enemies. Although childless himself, he greatly loved children, being deeply interested in his brother's children and in the orphans whom he brought JOHN MOODY LAMB 129 into his own home. One of those for whom he thus cared, to-day Judge Edmund Waddill, Jr., United States District Judge, was as his own son, giving him love, com- fort, and reverence. After the death of the wife of his youth he married Mrs. Susan B. Harwood, "a woman of rare beauty and spirit and piety, blended with inimitable merriment." One who knew him well writes thus of Mr. Lamb : "An American officer, describing the second inaugura- tion of Washington, said : 'In the pure serenity of moral integrity and grandeur he seemed to stand outside of physical self, and when he began: "I, George Washing- ton," my blood seemed to run cold, and every one around to start.' So I have seen a congregation move when this man of God, with his ringing, wonderful voice, read at the burial of the dead those immortal, inspiring words of Paul: 'If after the manner of men'; he seemed to stand, pure soul, untrammeled by flesh, exalted by faith, in the presence of God, declaring his lordship over lift- and death. ... I lived close to his life, yet my perspective was good, and it is a perfect test of character that a man seems a heroic figure to those who shared his daily life; so he seemed to my husband and to me." Mr. John O. Otey, who was the lifelong friend of Mr. Lamb, and whom Mr. Lamb baptized in the Chicka- hominy River, probably at the spot where John Smith was captured, has given valuable help towards the preparation of this sketch. THOMAS W. LEWIS 1822-1905 Northern Piedmont Virginia was where Thomas W. Lewis was born, spent most of his life, and died. Madison Court House, that lies close to the Blue Ridge Mountains and perhaps twenty miles from a railroad, was his birthplace and the last earthly scene on which his eyes rested. From January 11, 1822, to May 16, 1905, a stretch of eighty-three years and four months, the path of this servant of God scarcely passed beyond the bounds of Madison and Culpeper Counties. Thomas B. Lewis and Catharine P. Gaines were his parents. When he was about ten years of age they, with their children, went to Ohio. What must such a trip, in the first quarter of the nineteenth century, have meant to a boy! Scarcely had two years passed when the family was retracing its steps to Virginia, but now they lacked the help of the father, for he had fallen on sleep in Ohio. The mother went with her children to her parents' home in Culpeper, and here Thomas attended school for several sessions. When he was about sixteen years old the family settled once more at Madison Court House, where, for one year, he had the advantages of an academy course. In 1839 he made a profession of religion and united with the Beth- car Baptist Church. After he had taught school and been a clerk for several years he decided to study medi- cine, and began to make his plans to carry out this resolve. His pastor and church, however, were con- vinced that he ought to preach. "He entered into their views, abandoned the store, turned away from the con- templated profession, and gave himself to teaching and 130 THOMAS W. LEWIS 131 to preparing himself for the work of the ministry." His first pastorate, which was to last forty-five years, began, with Bethcar Church, in 1847. His ministry at Rapidan covered some thirty-five years, while his service at Good Hope and Thornton's Gap was not so protracted. In this day of short pastorates, what thoughts does such a record of long years of service awaken? His wife, who was Miss Mary Stark, and to whom he was married in 1851, bore him eight children, all of them living to be grown. The necessity of caring for his own family and that of his mother kept him in the store and schoolroom so closely that he did not attend the general denomina- tional gatherings as much as doubtless otherwise he would have done. "He was especially successful as a builder of churches a number now standing as memo- rials of his tact, zeal, and perseverance/' For a short season he was a missionary of the State Board, doing good work. "Though not a practiced platform debater, he delighted to contend for his views around his own fireside," and his home was open in generous hospitality to his friends. Close to the beautiful "blue wall," and far from the hurry of the busy world, what seasons of fellowship were surely enjoyed around this preacher's hearthstone. "He was a man of fine intellect, read much, was a Baptist of the old, regular type, loved the great doctrines well, preached them forcibly, and left his congregation in good condition." The obituary of this good man, in the General Asso- ciation Minutes, which is unsigned, and from which the foregoing part of this sketch is almost wholly taken, closes thus : "His end came gradually, and though it was not viewed with rapture, there were no enslaving and humiliating desires to remain in the flesh ; yielding him- self in all things to Christ, his Redeemer, he fell on sleep. 132 VIRGINIA BAPTIST MINISTERS . . . Sunday, June 11, was set apart by Bethcar and Rapidan Churches to celebrate his memory; at this service Psalm 37 was read, D. M. Pattie offered prayer, and Rev. Charles A. Hall preached the sermon, his text being I Samuel 2:9 "He will keep the feet of his saints." JOHN VVYATT WARD 1827-1905 Even when the snows of many winters had given to Rev. John Wyatt Ward the hoary head, which is a crown of honor, there shone forth from his eyes a daunt- less courage and the flash of a perpetual youth. It is not hard to see, while looking on such a face, how he could be a good soldier, an inspiring teacher, and a devoted pastor, and he was all three. He was born in Nansemond County, Virginia, January 22, 1827. He was baptized by Rev. J. G. Councill, and united with the Sycamore Church. He graduated at Georgetown Col- lege, Kentucky, in 1856, taking the degree of A. B., Dr. D. R. Campbell being president ; and at Madison, now Colgate University, in 1858. His ordination took place in August, 1858, at Portsmouth, and the first Sunday of the following month he preached his first sermon as the pastor of Mill Swamp Church (Portsmouth Associa- tion). He purchased a farm in the Isle of Wight County and made it beautiful with trees, rare shrubs, and a wealth of flowers. Yet from this lovely home he went forth, at the call of his country, and became chaplain of the 3d Virginia Regiment of Infantry, Kemper's Brigade, Pickett's Division. Upon his return from the War he was married to Miss Cassie Jones, "one of the most beautiful ladies in Southeastern Virginia," whose smile was to be the "light of his home" and her voice "the music of his pathway." Although frail physically, he worked as a pastor for a long series of years, and during a part of this time taught in his home a large school. The churches that he served as pastor were 133 134 VIRGINIA BAPTIST MINISTERS Antioch, Smithfield, Mill Swamp, Moore's Swamp, Surry Court House, and Central Hill, in the Portsmouth Association, and Atlantic, Broadway, Modest Town, and Chincoteague, in the Accomac Association. "He was a preacher of ability, clearness, and faithfulness. He possessed evangelistic gifts which he used with great effectiveness. . . . He exhibited the gospel which he preached by a long life of devout living and sincere piety. . . . By his wide culture and happy facility for imparting knowledge he was a blessing to his com- munity." On the afternoon of May 31, 1905, he preached the funeral of one of the pupils in his school, the text being II Corinthians 5:10. The next morning he was found asleep in death. His widow, two sons, and a daughter survived him. JOHN POLLARD 1839-1905 John Pollard was born near Stevensville, King and Queen County, Virginia, November 17, 1839. His father was Colonel John Pollard, a distinguished citizen and attorney of that county, and his mother was Miss Juliet Jeffries, sister of Judge James Jeffries, who for many years presided upon the Circuit Court Bench in Tidewater. His ancestry included many men and women of prominence and worth in the history of the colony and State. Their home has always been within a radius of fifty miles of Richmond, Va., and their names have always been identified with the progress of this part of the commonwealth. He loved his State with the same patriotic ardor of his forefathers, for there was no move- ment for public good which did not receive his hearty and active support. His father was a man of superlative force in public affairs no less than in home relations. His judgment, intelligence, and unswerving integrity were invaluable in all matters of public and private concern. The same sagacity which distinguished his ancestors in the making of the republic was manifested in Colonel John Pollard, whose mother, Katherine Robinson, belonged to the dis- tinguished Robinson family which produced Christopher Robinson, President of the King's Council, and John Robinson, Speaker of the House of Burgesses. There were five sons and three daughters, who went out from the home well equipped by parental instruction and edu- cation in the best schools. Thomas, the eldest son, chose the ministry, but, after graduation at Columbian College, 135 136 VIRGINIA BAPTIST MINISTERS died at Aiken, S. C, while on a trip in search of restored health. John, the second son, took up his older brother's chosen profession at an early age. His gentle- ness, genial spirit, and studious habits suggested that the step was a wise one. He received his early education at Stevensville Academy, and entered Columbian College, Washington, at the age of eighteen. Here he was gradu- ated before the age of twenty-one with the first honors of his class. Among his classmates were Hon. William L. Wilson, Postmaster-General under President Cleve- land, who was a native of the same county and a lifelong friend ; Otis Mason, of the National Museum ; T. Edwin Brown, of the Northern ministry, and James Nelson, of the Southern pulpit. While in Washington, during the stirring times from 1857 to 1861, he took great interest in the debates in Congress. His reminiscences of the great men of that day have been a source of pleasure and information to those around him. He was present when Charles Sumner delivered his famous speech on the ''Barbarism of Slavery." He also heard Lincoln's inaugural address and saw the oath of office administered by Chief Justice Taney. Upon his graduation he was elected, in 1860, to a tutorship in Columbian College, where he taught and, at the same time, studied theology under the direction of Dr, George W. Samson, president of the college. In the spring of 1861, Virginia having seceded and war having been declared, the young teacher decided to cast his lot with his native State, so he resigned and returned to Virginia. Hermitage and Clarke's Neck Churches, Middlesex County, having called him, he accepted the call and settled near Saluda. During the Civil War, while not a soldier, Mr. Pollard was frequently at the front, carrying clothing and provisions to the soldier boys of his congregation and community. JOHN POLLARD 137 In the summer of 1861 he married Miss Virginia Bagby, daughter of John Bagby, of Stevensville, and sister of Richard Hugh Bagby, George Franklin and Alfred Bagby. Through the fifty years of their wedded life she was a true helpmeet, presiding over his home with firmness and judgment. She survives him. In 1870 Dr. Pollard moved to Baltimore to become pastor of the Lee Street Baptist Church of that city. At the installation services the distinguished Dr. Richard Fuller, a Baltimore pastor, delivered the charge to the young pastor, and was his colleague for many years. Here he labored with marked success for a decade, and left a church, which had been weak and torn with troubles, strong and vigorous. His successors at this church were Dr. H. M. Wharton, Dr. E. M. Poteat, Dr. E. Y. Mullins, and Dr. Weston Bruner. While in Baltimore he was moderator of the Maryland Union Association. A call from the Leigh Street Church of Richmond brought him back to his native State. Here for six years he wrought with effectiveness and success, greatly endearing himself to the community, till, in 1886, he was elected to the Chair of English at Richmond College, succeeding the lamented Dr. A. B. Brown. The cause of education was very near his heart, and he was always active for its advancement. He took up his work at the college with the same enthusiasm and devotion that had marked his ministry. He was in these years a member of the Philological Society of this country, and always attended its sessions. He was a lifelong student, and his attainments in history, literature and theology, which were large, but enabled him to serve more efficiently his fellow-men. He served the college for fifteen years, until the summer of 1901, when he resigned to take up the quieter and less strenuous duties of a pastorate in 138 VIRGINIA BAPTIST MINISTERS the county of Caroline. He ministered to the churches of Bowling Green and Upper Zion on alternate Sundays, and soon became a force for the religious and social uplift of that community which will not soon be for- gotten. Dr. Pollard's early ministry was characterized by abounding enthusiasm, industry, and studiousness. These qualities opened the hearts of both young and old to his influence, for he was the happy comrade with the one and the sympathetic friend with the other. Many young men were thus won for Christ and became His heralds. Many of his sons in the ministry are scattered over the country, and they acknowledge him as their guide and counselor in the beginning of life. When he took up city pastoral work his heart went out to the masses that he longed to uplift and enlighten. This was true, although his ministry began when social Christianity was not so much practiced and taught as it is now. He proclaimed the social aspect of the gospel, and was among the first to apply, from the pulpit, the principles of the Christian religion to all matters which concern the welfare of humanity, and he gave himself earnestly to any cause which had such a purpose in view. He fol- lowed his star and proclaimed aloud a gospel for the healing of the nations. He believed he was following in the footsteps of his Master, who said: "He hath anointed me to preach good tidings to the poor; He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives, and recover- ing of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord." This passage bore to him a meaning which embraced the physical as well as the spiritual life. The Saviour, he thought, exemplified this in his life on earth "That they might have life, and have it more abundantly" the life abundant here and hereafter. JOHN POLLARD 139 In 1905, while preaching on a Sunday morning, he was stricken with paralysis, and was soon compelled to lay aside active service. From that time until his death, July 14, 1911, he made his home in Richmond, where the larger part of his active life had been spent, and where there were hosts of friends to love and honor him in his last years of ill health. Sorrows and joys were strangely mixed in his life, but the greatest sorrow that came was the one that took him from active service, for his was an earnest nature, to whom work and service to others was a joy. In these last years of waiting his patience and faith were wonderfully displayed, and have left a herit- age to those who love him. His was an active career, for his heart and hand were ever ready for the uplift of the fallen, the enlightenment of the masses, and for the removal of barriers that hin- dered the progress of religion and morality. It was given to him to see more clearly than some others the truth, and he was always in the advance guard for its defense. When others were holding back and fearing, he boldly attacked the strongholds cf evil and was at the front defending the banner of truth. He lived to see the final triumph of many causes which he was first to espouse and labor for. He was the author of the docu- ment which petitioned the Legislature to adopt the anti- dueling act, and was also a pioneer in the cause of local option when it was considered almost fanatical even to think of legislation in regard to the liquor traffic. He was able and courageous in debate when aroused on any question, but while firm in conviction, he was large in sympathy and genial in social bearing. His was a life both strong in love and fruitful in service, and he lives still in the hearts of thousands of friends, who honor him for the strength and purity of his earthly career. 140 VIRGINIA BAPTIST MINISTERS His children are Mary Ellen (Mrs. G. Harvey Clarke), Rev. Dr. E. B. Pollard, Juliet Jeffries (Mrs. J. W. Willis), Bessie Gray (Mrs. Millard F. Cox), Hon. John Garland Pollard, Annie Maud (Mrs. Robert Lee Tur- man), Lalla Rookh (Mrs. Otho P. Smoot), and Grace Nelson (Mrs. R. H. McCaslin). ALONZA CHURCH BARRON 1841-1905 While Georgia was the birthplace of Rev. Alonza Church Barron, and while under the soil of North Caro- lina his ashes rest, Virginia gave him his wife and had him within her borders for a number of years as a pastor. Less than two years after his birth, which took place at Columbus, May 3, 1841, his mother was left a widow. Her second husband proved unkind to her children, and so at the early age of nine Alonza was apprenticed to a printer. By reason of a precocious mind and a retentive memory he was already far more advanced in his studies than are most boys at his age. When he was a youth of fifteen a gentleman of means was so attracted to him by reason of his intelligence and his affable manners that he begged for the privilege of educating him for the Episcopal ministry. Although he was thus coveted for the Episcopalian ministry, and although he was named after a Presbyterian minister, nevertheless he became, during his college course, with the consent of his mother and his patron, a Baptist, and in due time a Baptist minis- ter. He was graduated at Howard College, Alabama, which institution, some years later, conferred upon him, almost at the same moment that he was receiving the same honor from Richmond College, the degree of Doctor of Divinity. The Civil War found him a faithful soldier in the Southern Army, where he contracted a disease which made him more or less of an invalid all the remainder of his life. In the last two years of the War he edited a paper in Atlanta, Ga. After some preparation he entered the ministry, and in 1868 became the pastor of 141 142 VIRGINIA BAPTIST MINISTERS the Baptist Church of Tuskegee, Ala., from which town he moved, in 1870, to Montgomery, in the same State, to become the pastor of the Second Church of that city. His next charge was in Lexington, Va., one of the col- lege towns of the Old Dominion, where he labored for some three years. In 1876 he became pastor of the Cul- peper Court House Church, where he remained some seven years. His last pastorate in Virginia, at Berry- ville, lasted about two years, and from this town he went, in 1883, to Baltimore. In this city his work was of a twofold nature, for he was pastor of the Fulton Avenue Baptist Church and one of the editors of the Baltimore Baptist. In 1896 he ended his connection with the Balti- more Baptist and gave himself, once more, fully to the work of preaching. The church to which he now went, the Tryon Street Baptist Church, Charlotte, N. C., saw his earthly labors end and wept over his grave. On January 6, 1873, he was married to Miss Addie V. Mason, of Staunton, Va., and in Charlotte, in what he thought was the "prettiest parsonage in the State," he celebrated, with his wife, the thirteenth anniversary of their union. While in Charlotte he heard Dr. Moses D. Hoge, the distinguished Presbyterian divine, in a public address, give to the Baptists the credit of beginning the missionary movement, and, during this pastorate, after a visit of a month to Philadelphia, upon his return bap- tized Rev. Wm. L. Walker, a Presbyterian minister of Piedmont, S. C. Dr. Barron was very much beloved by all the people of the city of Charlotte, being called "The Shepherd of the City." All classes and denominations looked to him in their hours of sorrow and trial, and when his death came, all the stores of the city were closed at the hour of the funeral and the bells of all the churches were tolled. The Supreme Court of North Carolina, which was in session in Charlotte at that time, took a ALONZA CHURCH BARRON 143 recess, entering on its record this statement: "We adjourned at this hour that we might attend, in a body, the funeral of a good man, Dr. A. C. Barron." Not a single member of the Court was a Baptist. Dr. Barron died at the home of his oldest daughter, Mrs. W. C. Graves, Somerset, Va., August 19, 1905. This sketch ought not to close without distinct reference to the genial spirit and deep piety of this man of God. A man may be good, but unless he has a winsome type of goodness he is not apt to receive such tokens of esteem as those that Charlotte gave to Dr. Barron. The secret springs of his life were deep, and "come upon him when you would and you would find him reading his Bible or upon his knees in prayer." In view of this side of his life and of the fact that he had magnetism as a speaker, it is not to be wondered that he had power in evangelistic work. JOHN THOMPSON RANDOLPH 1825-1905 "Verdant Lawn," a beautiful country home some three miles from Charlottesville, and not far from Carter's Mountain, was for his whole married life, a period of over fifty years, the home of Rev. John Thompson Ran- dolph. He and his wife, who was Miss Annie M. Parish, the only daughter of Rev. William P. Parish, kept up the traditions which had made this country-seat famous for hospitality and the scene of blessed fellowship among many of the most choice spirits of Virginia Baptists. It is not often the case with preachers that they never, for over half a century, change their home, but so it was with Mr. Randolph. His entrance into the ministry was brought about through the development of his gifts as he preached to the colored people, who belonged, in large numbers, to the Charlottesville Baptist Church. The churches to which he ministered, all in the Albemarle Association, Liberty, Effort, Bethany, Mt. Eagle, B. M., and Lime Stone, were within striking distance of his home. In addition to his work at these churches, for many years, on fifth Sundays, he preached in the meeting-house at Milton, "one of the oldest places in Albemarle County, and at one time a rival of Charlottes- ville for the location of the University of Virginia." The salaries that his churches paid him were distinctly small, but in his latter years, when his health failed, many of those to whom he had ministered in spiritual things shared with him their abundance in temporal things. He was born in Middlebrook, Augusta County, Vir- ginia, in March, 1825, his parents being John Randolph 144 JOHN THOMPSON RANDOLPH 145 and Mary Frazier. He was a grandson of Thompson Randolph and a great-grandson of Lieutenant John Ran- dolph and Margaret Thompson. His father was a man of affairs and of considerable wealth. It is said that he was related to the famous John Randolph "of Roanoke" : certainly he came of good stock, and there was "a decided streak of the Cavalier in his make-up." While not without his peculiarities and eccentricities, he was gentle, easy of approach, and open to advice. He was a student at the University of Virginia, and for his alma- mater to the end of his life he had a most ardent affec- tion, and enjoyed attending from year to year the Com- mencement exercises, not omitting the alumni banquet, which function appealed to his genial and social nature. The excellent library of his father-in-law, which came to him, grew under his hands and was always a joy to him. His ordination to the ministry took place in 1862, and, remembering his bent of mind and his antecedents, it is not surprising that his sermons were often marked by excellent thought ; indeed, so good a judge as Prof. H. H. Harris said that he had heard Mr. Randolph preach sermons the subject matter of which would have done credit to Dr. John A. Broadus. His early training in the management of business matters influenced all his subsequent life, helping him, doubtless, to be the enthusi- astic treasurer for years of the Albemarle Association, never absent from its sessions, and a faithful member of the Board of Visitors of the Miller Manual Labor School of Albemarle County. He was half owner, with his cousin, Wm. A. Frazier of Staunton, of the Rock- bridge Alum Springs. His last years were marked by suffering and distress. The wife of his youth preceded him by two years to the grave. The old homestead was sold and he moved to 10 146 VIRGINIA BAPTIST MINISTERS Charlottesville to live with one of his sons. At length, in his eighty-first year, on Sunday, November 26, 1905, in the home of his son, Thos. F. Randolph, while the congregation he had so long loved so well was gathering for the evening worship, he was called away to the con- gregation that never breaks up. Besides the son just mentioned he was survived by these children : Dr. John Randolph, Mr. Walter Randolph. Another son, Dr. W. P. F. Randolph, died before his father. JOSEPH RYLAND MURDOCH 1873-1906 Not until that day when we shall read the meaning of our tears will it be given us to understand why young men of splendid promise are laid low by the hand of death. Such a young man was Rev. Joseph Ryland Murdoch. He was born in Maryland, April 10, 1873, and died at Ontario, Cal., January 5, 1906. His early life was spent in King and Queen County, Virginia, and at Bruington Church, in this county, he was baptized when he was thirteen years of age, on August 28, 1896, and when twenty-four ordained. On this latter occa- sion the presbytery was made up of the following minis- ters: Dr. Charles H. Ryland, Dr. H. A. Bagby, Dr. B. Cabell Hening, Rev. J. W. Ryland, Rev. Alexander Fleet, and Dr. F. B. Beale. Before this he had studied for two years at Richmond College and then at Crozer Theological Seminary. Rev. W. B. Dulin, who was his roommate both sessions at Richmond College, says of him : "He was so thoughtful of others' interests and so diligent in serving others that his influence was felt in the classroom, on the campus, in the dining-hall, and wherever he went." On June 12, 1901, he was married to Miss Anna B. Gilchrist, of Philadelphia, Pa. After a pastorate of two years at Berlin, N. J., and another of the same duration at Kennet Square, Pa., he took charge of the church at Winchester, Va. Under his care this church prospered greatly, especially along the line of missionary growth, and when, after two years, his fail- ing health made it necessary for him to resign, the flock was sorely grieved. A handsome parsonage had been 147 148 VIRGINIA BAPTIST MINISTERS built, and the pastor's wife, faithful and winning, had endeared herself to all by her labors of love. He was pastor at La Junta, Colo., for one year, and then the end came. His life was "marked by strong character- istics integrity and singleness of purpose; great indus- try combined with cheerful courage; helpfulness with intense concern for the Master's work; all softened by resignation to his Father's will and luminous with the faith and hope of the gospel." LODOWIC RALPH MILBOURNE* 1855-1906 It was somewhere about 1831 that a majority of the ministers of the Accomac Association adopted the high- est Calvinistic doctrines and taught and preached them whenever occasion permitted, and instead of exhorting sinners to repentance, some of the more advanced, we are told, absolutely refused to preach the gospel to sinners, and opposed all missionary efforts. Among the leading ministers who opposed this higher Calvinism and anti- missionary spirit was the Rev. Levin Dix. He, with Rev. William Laws, laid the foundation for the present prosperity and progress of the Baptists on the Eastern Shore of Virginia. Father Dix, as he was lovingly called in those days of battle and struggle for the truth, had two children, a son, who walked in his father's footsteps and became a minister of the gospel, useful and blessed in his day; a daughter, named Amory, who married Mr. James Mil- bourne, of Somerset County, Maryland. Lodowic Ralph Milbourne, the child of this marriage, was born January 18, 1855. Amory Milbourne, in her devout Christian character and beautiful life, had the mantle of her father to fall on her. At her child's birth she consecrated him to Christ and prayed that he might become a preacher of the gospel like his grandfather and his uncle. Mrs. Milbourne died when her child was very young. The old colored woman, who was Mr. Milbourne's house- keeper for a long time after his wife's death, loved God *Save for slight omissions this is as it was written by Dr. F. R. Boston. 149 150 VIRGINIA BAPTIST MINISTERS and often spoke to the little boy about his sainted mother and her prayers for him that he might become a preacher of Christ. Dr. O. F. Flippo was pastor of the Rehoboth Baptist Church which the family attended. He says, knowing the lad well through these years, he never knew anything of him but what was pure and good. One who had been very intimate with him writes : "I have often marveled at the flowering of such a character and life, but I sup- pose heredity was strong and God meant that the traits of the Elder Levin Dix and the pure piety of his daughter, Amory, should reappear to bless another generation in Lodowic Ralph Milbourne." During the year of 1873, while Rev. L. D. Paulding was pastor of the Rehoboth Baptist Church, Rev. James Nelson, D. D., now President of the Woman's College of Richmond, helped in a meeting of days. Among the converts of that meeting was young Milbourne. From the very beginning of his Christian life he consecrated himself to the work of the church. He was soon made superintendent of the Sunday school. In this capacity, and in many other ways, he served his church faithfully until he went to the Crozer Theological Seminary to pre- pare himself for the gospel ministry. This was in 1878. He was graduated in 1881. I was the pastor of the Baptist Church in Hampton, and on my recommendation the State Mission Board called Brother Milbourne to take charge of the work in Newport News. Last summer I visited the First Baptist Church, of Newport News. As I looked over that splen- did building I went back in memory to the past, the coming of Milbourne and his young wife. The little red building in which he commenced to preach was a union chapel for all denominations. His ordination was at the old Denbeigh Church, Warwick County, July 14, 1881, Dr. R. W. Cridlin, then of Portsmouth, taking part, and I delivering the charge to the candidate; then came LODOWIC RALPH MILBOURNE 151 the organization of this First Baptist Church, and then the crushing sorrow in the death of his young wife. As I looked at this great church and its grand work for God, and the other Baptist churches of the city growing and prosperous, I said to myself : "All this mighty work was started by my friend and brother, L. R. Milbourne. Does not this illustrate that great saying of the Apostle John, 'And their works do follow them'?" It was in 1884 that the Luray Baptist Church called him to be their pastor. This they did without seeing and hearing him. He entered upon his labors with them in April and continued until September, 1889. During this time he was pastor of the young church at Marksville, now Stanley, near Luray, and he also organized the church at Rileyville, besides doing a great deal of State Mission work in the country around. These two young churches were especially dear to him. He frequently revisited them and held meetings, and was largely instru- mental in bringing about a change of location which was of vital importance to Stanley. Brother Milbourne was greatly blessed in his pastorate at Luray. His ministry was marked by the erection of practically a new church building and still more by the greatest revival ever known in that region, when about one hundred were added to his church and the whole country was visited by a great religious awakening. It is said that in all Page County there is no name more sincerely loved than his, and it is fitting that his last earthly resting place should be there in the land he loved. While pastor at Luray he married Miss Virginia A. Strickler, a highly educated and cultured lady, who made him a noble and faithful wife, and built again a home for him, which had been broken by death, at Newport News. Five sons were the fruit of this happy marriage. At the time of this writing Mrs. Milbourne is a teacher in the Charles Town Graded and High School. The 152 VIRGINIA BAPTIST MINISTERS sons are : Ralph Maclaren Milbourne, Lodowic James Milbourne, Harvey Lee Milbourne, Drummond Fairfax Milbourne, and Roger Williams Milbourne. In 1889 he became pastor at Rockville and Barnesville, Md., and later of Upper Seneca Church. He finally became pastor of Rockville alone. But he was always a State missionary, and very soon some of his labors resulted in the formation of Travilah Baptist Church, 1894. He erected a building for this church, also for Derwood mission, a point near Rockville, where he sus- tained preaching, prayer-meeting, and Sunday-school services. Here, as everywhere, his ministry was crowded with labors. Among those whom he baptized at Rock- ville was Miss Elizabeth Haney, now a missionary in San Luis Potosi, Mexico. Here, too, he greatly endeared himself to his churches and many friends. In December, 1897, he became pastor at Charles Town, W. Va. His pastorate here was marked by solid success, steady growth of membership, and perfect organization. The finances are no longer a problem. The missionary con- tributions increased from less than one hundred dollars a year to a reliable average of over three hundred dollars. He engineered the War claim to a successful issue. A new pipe organ has been put in, and the interior of the church and Sunday-school room has been remod- eled. His church showed their high appreciation of his service by their loving and faithful devotion to him in his long sickness and finally at his death, which took place February 8, 1906. Brother Milbourne was closely identified with the work of the Shenandoah Association. He was clerk for four years, then president for two. His influence widened steadily, and many avenues of interest were quickened by the throb of his earnest and vigorous per- sonality. It seemed that his life grew ever more strenu- ous; so far from shrinking, he invited new duties and LODOWIC RALPH MILBOURNE 153 labors. When nature gave the signal of distress and friends and physicians urged rest, still the eager spirit urged him on as if with resistless inner force. Of his whole life and character the dominant notes were joy, hope, and love. The joy of the Lord was indeed his strength. He was an optimist under all circumstances. He lavished love, not only on his nearest, but also upon a large number of friends, whom he delighted to serve, and upon the whole Christian brotherhood. The key- note of his ministry was faithfulness. One friend speaks of his purity, another of his sincerity, one paper of the clearness and force of his convictions. All speak of his geniality. His intellectual traits are not overlooked in dwelling upon his moral and social qualities. Dr. Hopkins, the pastor of the Presbyterian Church of Charles Town, paid a public tribute to his ability as a thinker, declaring that "his clear grasp of theological truth gave force, point, and power to his preaching.'' His mind acted with great quickness and precision. Brother Milbourne longed for symmetrical development, and wished his words to be just the expression of his manhood and to carry just the force of his everyday personality. Elo- quence as such he did not strive for. It was in dealing with men and in bringing things to pass that his strength was most apparent. He had great development in public usefulness in these last years. He was modest and unselfish. He carried out the injunction, "in honor preferring one another." In consequence of all these traits he was signally rich in friends. Every field that he served was full of them, and Charles Town, which knew him last, and perhaps best of all, honored him to a man. The loyal devotion of his church is a striking tribute. A monument will soon stand over his grave, and upon it will be inscribed just this : "A minister of Christ, faithful and well beloved." , xr w F. R. Boston. Warrenton, Va. WADE BICKERS BROWN 1871-1906 In Culpeper County, Virginia, Rev. Wade Bickers Brown was born April 28, 1871, his parents being James R. Brown and Sarah Elizabeth Bickers. "As a boy he was quiet, studious, and prompt in the performance of every duty," and at the age of fifteen was baptized into the fellowship of Bethel Church, Culpeper County, by Rev. T. F. Grimsley. After his public-school days he was a student, first at Richmond College and then, much later, at the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, Louisville. While at the former institution he gave his vacations to colporteur work in the Shenandoah Associa- tion, preaching as occasion offered. In 1892 he was called to a field in the Middle District, the churches being Matoaca and Gill's Grove. Later he was pastor of Woodlawn (Middle District Association) and Ettrick (Portsmouth Association). After some years in these fields and two as pastor of the Second Baptist Church, Newport News, he spent two years in study at the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, Louisville. During his vacations he did supply work in North and South Dakota, and, being impressed with the need there was in the Northwest of Protestant ministers, decided to give his life to that section of our country. In accord with this resolve he was first pastor at Bangor, Wis., where he did a lasting work. His next pastorate was at Hamilton, N. Dak. Subsequently he had charge of the Central Baptist Church, Green Bay, Wis., and it was while he was here that he was married, on July 24, 1901, to Miss Mary Elizabeth Bruce, daughter of the 154 WADE BICKERS BROWN 155 late Rev. Silas Bruce, of Culpeper County, Virginia. "The work in the Northwest is slow and discouraging. At that time there were not more than 20,000 Baptists in Wisconsin. There is an unceasing unrest and moving, so that churches are continually going out of existence. These difficulties helped to strengthen and develop him. ... He was a hard student, and his sermons improved with each year." Perhaps the climate was too severe for him ; at any rate his health failed and he was obliged to seek a place where the weather was less rigor- ous and where he could be much out of doors. He accepted, in December, 1904, a call to a field in the Lebanon Association, in Southwest Virginia, made up of the following churches : Chilhowie, Riverside, Glade Spring, and Friendship. It was, however, too late to save his life, and after a year he passed away, his death taking place on February 28, 1906, at his father's home in Culpeper County. His wife and one child, Margaret Bruce Brown, survived him. The funeral service was conducted by his old pastor, Rev. T. F. Grimsley. Mr. M. M. Morriss, of Glade Spring, wrote as follows about Mr. Brown: "... His brief life was crowded with unselfish work ; his convictions, as to the value of time, sent him forward to his self-imposed tasks with an impetuosity unexampled in the observations of this writer. The success of his ministry in this Association is a demonstration of the wisdom of his methods and the sincerity of his purpose." AUSTIN EVERETT OWEN 1837-1906 Austin Everett Owen came of Welsh and French stock. These elements were splendidly blended, and manifested themselves in a personality striking and strong. The Welsh are the folk who have never been subdued. They retreated to the high hills and have remained unconquered, rugged, independent, and staunch. The French are suave and quick-passioned and lovers of art. Dr. Owen's mother was of French Huguenot stock that came to Virginia in 1685. His father was of the Welsh strain that had come to Powhatan County even sooner. Dr. Owen had the original ruggedness of his father's family and all of the refined culture of the French strain. He was at once strong yet gentle, fiery yet tender, daring yet shrinking, severe yet lenient, jagged yet smooth, a flaming, burning, consuming evangel of the gospel, while at the same time he was a wooing singer of the old, old love story of the cross. These elements were so commingled in him that men were pleased to call him God's Christian gentleman. He was born on a farm in Powhatan County, Septem- ber 27, 1837. He lived the life of a poor country lad, with little opportunity for learning except as he touched the country schoolmaster and the houses of cultured gentlemen. He was converted at nineteen, of which event he himself says : "I was fixed in the opinion that I would soon sink into hell, but I said I would serve the Lord because it was right. Then in the western heavens I saw a black cloud; soon it was torn in two; a white shaft ran down its bosom, as sometimes we see a streak 156 AUSTIN EVERETT OWEN 157 of lightning split the storm cloud. The two clouds looked like black mantles fringed with white balls ; then a hand, beautiful in its whiteness, separated the edges and a face as white as the light came through the open- ing. That vision filled me with rapture, and I broke into laughter. That surpassingly glorious face of the Saviour of men remained but a few seconds, but I saw it; it thrilled me with rapture, it filled me with delight. . . . Changes have come to me. I have stood before the public forty-seven years telling 'the story of Jesus and his love.' I have lived in the smiles of friends and have borne the frowns of foes, but that face is as distinctly before me now as when I first beheld it." He went to Richmond and became a house painter. He was a member of the Leigh Street Baptist Church. He showed to his brethren such marked gifts that they suggested that he enter Richmond College as a minis- terial student and a beneficiary of the Education Board of Virginia. There came upon him the overwhelming conviction that he ought to preach, and he entered college the next year. More than once he referred to his first appearance on the campus of the college. With his small trunk in his hands he struggled up the long walk amid the derisive jeers of the better-to-do students. Cha- grined and outraged and keenly hurt by their taunts, the young man of scarce twenty years set his heart upon the high honors of the college, and twenty years after this first awkward entrance he was elected one of its trustees, and remained in this relationship to Richmond College until his death. Dr. Owen was a student of the college from 1857 until 1861, at the breaking out of the War. As he left the college building, among the last to leave the dormitory, already the dormitories were occupied by the Lynchburg Artillery. During the summer months of these college days he led the life of a colporteur for 158 VIRGINIA BAPTIST MINISTERS the distribution of tracts and Baptist literature. He tells of his treatment in the city of Petersburg: Once denounced from the pulpit of a prominent Methodist pastor, once driven out of the house of a gentleman for selling tracts on Baptist doctrines, and once, having been informed against for questionable conduct, he shows that the sole basis of all of this vilification was but an earnest and tireless and most successful prosecution of the work which he had been sent to do by the Board for the distribution of tracts for the Baptists of Virginia. During these colportage days he formed the lifelong companionship of the brilliant C. T. Bailey, of the Biblical Recorder of North Carolina. At the close of the college Dr. Owen was called to Reedy Creek Church in Brunswick County and Malone's Church in Mecklenburg; afterwards to Wilson's or Cut- Banks Church in Dinwiddie, and to Fountain's Creek in Greensville. These churches were widely separated, and it was necessary to ride from one to the other on horse- back. He left his field for Richmond to be ordained by the Leigh Street Church. J. B. Solomon, Robert Ryland, J. B. Jeter, J. L. Burrows, and Wm. E. Hatcher com- posed the presbytery that ordained him to the ministry in November, 1861. He was married to Miss Henrietta Hall, of Brunswick County, in December, 1866. From this union there were born ten children. The children now living are: Richard Clement Owen, Mrs. M. P. Claud, Mrs. John Freeman, Mrs. J. E. Button, Mrs. W. R. Moore, and William Russell Owen. For ten years, in fertile and wealthy Brunswick and contiguous counties, Dr. Owen spent the life of a busy and success- ful country pastor, serving at various times, in addition to the four churches already named above, Hebron, New- ville, Hicks ford, and High Hills. In these ten years new houses of worship were built, the churches he served AUSTIN EVERETT OWEN 159 were greatly strengthened, and the fame of Mr. Owen spread to other parts of Virginia, so that in 1871 the Court Street Baptist Church of Portsmouth, even then one of the strong churches of the State, called him unani- mously to the pastorate. It was in this pastorate of twenty-seven years that Dr. Owen came before the Baptists of Virginia as one of the prominent leaders. When, as a young man of thirty-four, Dr. Owen assumed the pastorate of Court Street Church, his was the only Baptist Church in Ports- mouth, and there were but three hundred Baptists. When he left the pastorate of this church, in 1898, there were five churches and about 2,000 Baptists in the city. During this pastorate many honors came to him. He was elected to the Presidency of the General Association of Virginia two terms, one term Vice-President of the Southern Baptist Convention ; Doctor of Divinity was conferred upon him by Baylor University ; he was made Grand Chaplain of Virginia Odd Fellows ; was elected Trustee to Richmond College and Virginia Institute, and for sixteen years was Vice-President of the Foreign Mission Board of the Southern Baptist Convention for Virginia. On resigning Court Street Church, in 1898, he accepted the Presidency of Ryland Institute for Young Ladies, at the same time holding the pastorate of the Grace Baptist Church of Norfolk. After three years he was called back to Portsmouth to the South Street Church, which was established while he was pastor of the mother church. He became Editor of the Gospel Worker about this time. In a few years the Portsmouth Association called him to be its General Evangelist, a compliment of surpassing beauty, and while in this office, the beloved Bishop, the honored Nestor, the recognized leader of Tidewater Baptists, he died in the strength of his powers. 160 VIRGINIA BAPTIST MINISTERS Upon his death, which occurred May 4, 1906, a spon- taneous movement was begun in Portsmouth, the scene of his life's labors, to erect a monument by the entire people of the city. The movement sprang out of a Methodist church, and the city and his noble old church, the Court Street, built him a monument, an imposing shaft of granite, that marks his grave. His lifelong wish was gratified: "I was glad to go back to Ports- mouth," he wrote just before his death ; "I had long lived among the people and loved them well. Some of my children were born in that city and two of them sleep in its cemetery, and all that is mortal of my frame will lie on the banks of the Elizabeth and be lulled to long repose by the music of its waves." He often expressed the con- viction that his clear voice, a good memory, a fine sense of humor, and God's using an ordinary country boy made him the successful preacher that he was. Wm. Russell Owen. THOMAS BENTON SHEPHERD 1836-1906 This sketch is little more than the obituary, in slightly different form, written by Dr. Julian Broaddus for the General Association Minutes. That section of Virginia, the Valley and northern Piedmont, that was his birth- place, was, in the main, the scene of the labors of Rev. Thomas Benton Shepherd. Before his death his name had come to be a household word throughout the Shenandoah Valley. He first saw the light in Clarke County, December 23, 1836, his parents being Park Shepherd and Elizabeth Gaunt Shepherd. His father, a man of sterling character and large means, was for many years a consistent and interested member of the Berry- ville Baptist Church ; his mother, who died when he was only four years old, dedicated him, in her last hours, to God's service. After this no other vocation ever seemed to have any attraction for him. In 1852 he was baptized by the Rev. H. W. Dodge and became a member of the Berryville Baptist Church. Before long he began to exercise his gifts as a public speaker, and in 1854 entered Columbian College. During his life at Columbian he was pastor of a colored church in Alexandria. From Wash- ington he went to Greenville, S. C, as a student of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, being one of the twenty-six men who formed the student body the first year of the Seminary's existence. Ten of these men were from Virginia, namely : J. Wm. Jones, C. H. Toy, C. H. Ryland, R^ B. Boatwright, W. J. Shipman, H. E. Hatcher, W. C Caspari, Jno. W. Harrow, J. D. Witt, and T. B. Shepherd. During the session of the Potomac 161 11 162 VIRGINIA BAPTIST MINISTERS Association, in 1858, at Berry ville, Mr. Shepherd was ordained, the presbytery being composed of these minis- ters: E. Kingsford, H. W. Dodge, W. F. Broaddus, Dr. Hayes, and the Herndons. At the same time Samuel Rodgers and Richard Mallory were ordained; the former, a young man of great promise, died early, and the latter drifted from one denomination to another, and, if still alive, is somewhere in the North. For something like half a century Mr. Shepherd gave himself to the ministry of the word. About seven or eight years of this period were spent in a pastorate at Smithfield, Va., the churches served during the remainder of the time being Berryville, Ketocton, Bethel, Rockland, Charles Town, Marshall, Millwood, Waterford, Pleasant Vale, and Front Royal. Rockland he organized and served for more than twenty years. He passed to his reward June 18, 1906. "As a preacher he was clear, strong, persuasive, and pathetic. The gospel fell from his lips with no uncertain sound. He was orthodox from center to circumference, and loved to preach the gospel as did his fathers. He had a poetical turn of mind, and often charmed his hearers by the beautiful language in which he clothed his thoughts. Like the great apostle, he gloried in the cross of Christ and the great love of God in the unspeakable gift of his son, the dear Saviour, and, in telling the old, old story, he pleaded with such tenderness and pathos that many souls were won for Christ under his ministry. In private life he was dignified, courteous, and winning in manner; always a welcome guest in the homes of the lowly and poor, as well as among the cultured and refined. He was eminently a spiritually minded man, and, as the end approached, he seemed to have a vision similar to that of Stephen, and the light of it lingered on his face until he quietly and peacefully fell asleep." JAMES HESS 1825-1906 The New Lebanon Association was the field of .labor in which Rev. James Hess spent his ministry. Here he served, at one time or another, and for periods of differ- ent length, these churches : Philadelphia, Russell's Fork, Thompson's Creek, Oak Grove, Copper Ridge. The span of his life was from May 3, 1825, to August 4, 1906. For forty years he was a professed follower of Christ, and for thirty-five years he preached the story of redeem- ing love. His membership was with the Oak Grove Church. He was in the habit of attending the New Lebanon Association, but he does not seem to have attended the General Association. 163 BENJAMIN CARTER JAMES 1861-1906 That disease which works such havoc in the ranks of men, typhoid fever, and which has seemed to be especi- ally fatal in our mountain sections, laid low the stalwart form of Rev. Benjamin Carter James, when, in his forty- fifth year, he seemed at the very zenith of his power and usefulness. The mystery of such a death makes the more evident the Christian's blessedness in having knowledge of God's merciful care of all things. Death ended a pastorate at Keystone and Graham which, though only about a year and a half in length, was rich in blessed fruit, and, in the opinion of many, the finest service of this preacher's life. Soon after he reached this field, ground had been broken for a new meeting-house, and on the second Sunday of April, 1906, the new Keystone Church, "in all its furnishings easily the most complete and attractive house of worship in the Elkhorn Valley," was dedicated, the whole debt being provided for before the services of the day were over. A parsonage, to be finished before the end of the year, was next planned. The great mineral and lumber resources of this section, and the multitudes gathered for work in these mountains, appealed strongly to this energetic preacher. He had given up a successful business career, while living for a season in Texas, to enter the ministry, and doubtless his mercantile aptitudes were a help to him as he came into touch with all sorts and conditions of men in the West Virginia mountains. Before going to West Virginia Mr. James had been pastor at Pulaski. While there he held a meeting at the 164 BENJAMIN CARTER JONES 165 church's Mt. Olivet mission which resulted in the bap- tism of nineteen persons, seven of whom were buried with Christ in baptism in a running stream (the baptis- tery was undergoing repairs), a new scene, the pastor believed, to many in the large crowd. His ordination took place in King William County, July 4, 1893, and his first pastorate was at Sharon and Colosse Churches, in King William County, Virginia, where for seven years he labored. His preparation for the ministry was made at the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, Louisville, Ky. At the age of thirteen years he had been baptized into the fellowship of the Wilderness Church by Rev. W. A. Hill. He was born at Bristerburg, Fauquier County, Virginia, July 21, 1861, the first year of the Civil War, his parents being Benjamin Hiter James and Nancy Maria James. After an illness of a few weeks he passed away at Graham, Va., on Friday, November 2, 1906, and the following Sunday the funeral services were held at Pamplin City, Va., being conducted by Rev. S. H. Thompson, assisted by Rev. J. J. Cook, Rev. S. R. Winn, and Rev. P. T. Warren. The burial took place in the family cemetery of Hon. John W. Harwood. His daughter, Ellen Holmden Harwood, who became Mr. James' wife November 24, 1897, survived her husband. ALFRED ELIJAH DICKINSON 1830-1906 The Dickinson family has for several centuries given to England and America many distinguished and useful men and women. The founder of the family is believed by careful students to have been Walter of Caen, whose name appears with those who came over to England from Normandy with William the Conqueror in 1066, and whose name also is found upon the battle roll of Hast- ings. "According to an English record, in order to Anglicize his name he received a grant of land in the old Saxon manor of Kenson near the city of Leads, York- shire." Walter de Kenson easily was changed to Walter Dickenson or Dickinson. Henry Dickinson emigrated from London to America in 1654, settled in Virginia, and was the direct ancestor of the subject of this sketch. Among the many famous men bearing the name in our Colonial and Revolutionary period were Jonathan Dickinson, first President of Princeton College, and John Dickinson, member of the Colonial and of the Continental congresses, President of Pennsylvania, and one of the greatest political writers of his time. In quite recent years two bearing the name have been members of the Cabinet at Washington. However, it may be justly said that few, if any, individuals of this family have been so widely known or so genuinely useful to humanity as Alfred Elijah Dickinson, who was born December 3, 1830, in Orange County, Virginia. His father, Ralph Dickinson, was a successful farmer and a quiet, devoted Christian. His mother, whose maiden 166 ALFRED ELIJAH DICKINSON 167 name was Frances A. S. Quisenbcrry, was of a well- known family and a woman of great vigor of body and mind and of a warm, impulsive heart. While the subject of this sketch was an infant the family moved to Louisa County, where his father purchased a large plantation in sight of the lower Blue Ridge Mountains and about two miles from Trevilian's Station on the Chesapeake & Ohio R. R. This locality and county were always very dear to Alfred E. Dickinson, and throughout his life he revisited these scenes many times each year. The old home was full of happy children, always open for visitors, and permeated with a strong Christian spirit. The parents were members of Foster Creek (now Berea) Baptist Church, and here Alfred was baptized, when about seventeen years of age, by Rev. E. G. Shipp. He felt an overwhelming desire to preach, and, being urged to aid in a new and struggling church recently organ- ized a few miles away at Forest Hill, he took his church letter to that body. After several months he was both licensed to preach and ordained there. At this time he was teaching a small school near his father's home. One day in the spring the famous and devoted Dr. Robert Ryland, President of Richmond College, appeared at the home, spent the afternoon and night there, talked with the young teacher about his life purposes, and, before he left, had made him promise to enter college. The next fall (1849) Alfred entered Richmond College, where he studied until his graduation in 1852. During his three vacation summers he worked as a missionary colporteur in the Goshen Association, going, on horseback, from house to house and from church to church with Bibles and good books, and preaching as opportunity offered. This was a very helpful experience, and often in later years he urged a similar work upon men thinking of entering the ministry. It was while at Richmond College 168 VIRGINIA BAPTIST MINISTERS that he formed the acquaintance of Miss Frances E. Taylor, daughter of the eminent and godly Rev. Dr. James B. Taylor. This acquaintance, a few years later, ripened into a happy marriage that took place in 1857. After graduating at Richmond College, Dr. Dickinson taught school for a session in Louisa County (one of his pupils became the honored Greek teacher, Herbert H. Harris), and preached for a year at the Lower and Upper Gold Mine Churches in the vicinity. He then studied at the University of Virginia two sessions, where he formed many happy and lifelong friendships. While there he was asked to become pastor of the Baptist Church at Charlottesville to succeed the famous John A. Broadus, who was about to begin a term of service as Chaplain of the University of Virginia. Dr. Dickin- son's two years' pastorate at the Charlottesville Church was marked by several great revivals, and he baptized hundreds of converts. In his diary of that period we have this entry for one Sunday: "I baptized this day four times." After two years he removed to Richmond, where he had been invited to come as Super- intendent of Baptist Colportage and Sunday-School Work of the State, which then meant all of Virginia from the Ohio River to the ocean. For nine years he li eld this important and laborious position, and it was one of the most fruitful and thrilling periods of his life. Thousands of ministers and Sunday-school missionaries and colporteurs were employed, hundreds of Sunday schools and churches were organized, thousands of per- sons w r ere converted, and large sums of money were secured. The guiding, energizing human agent behind all this was Alfred E. Dickinson. During this period raged the terrible Civil War, the chief theater of which was the State of Virginia. For four years Dr. Dickin- son pushed his work among the soldiers, and in one year ALFRED ELIJAH DICKINSON 169 raised one hundred and eighty thousand dollars for the distribution of Bibles and religious books and for other work in the Army of Northern Virginia. He traveled widely, toiled unceasingly, preached continually, made warm friendships with many famous military and political leaders, including Robert E. Lee and Stonewall Jackson, and held a number of great revival meetings among the soldiers. At the close of the Civil War he became pastor of the Leigh Street Baptist Church, then and now one of the largest churches in Richmond. This was a very happy pastorate, and lasted for five years, and was marked by several great revivals. One of these came as a great surprise, when apparently few were pray- ing for it. This revival lasted, with great spiritual power, for several months, and about two hundred were baptized as the fruit, in part, of the meetings. Dr. Dickinson afterwards rejoiced to trace this spiritual quickening to the prayers of one quiet and aged woman. While pastor of Leigh Street Church the honored Rev. Dr. J. B. Jeter called on him one morning to invite him to join with him in the editorship and publication of the Religions Herald, whose office had been burned at the close of the War. The paper itself, one of the oldest and most influential journals in the United States, had suspended publication for some time. In the fall of 1865 the firm of Jeter & Dickinson was formed for control and editorship of this paper. One of the keynotes of both editors was peace, the healing of the wounds of the Civil War. Probably no man did more than Dr. Dickinson, by pen and voice and his spirit of conciliation, to bring together North and South in a new fellowship of Christian love and service. He was a brilliant writer of editorial paragraphs, and the success of the paper for several decades was largely dne to the fertility of his resources. He traveled widely and continually, attending religious gatherings all over 170 VIRGINIA BAPTIST MINISTERS the country; he gave his aid to every worthy cause, helping scores of struggling churches and young men studying for the ministry. He preached more frequently than many settled pastors do. Several times he under- took the work of a financial agent for Richmond College, and the present endowment of that institution is in a good measure due to him. He held temporary pastorates in the Pine Street and Fulton Churches, Richmond, and the First Church, Manchester, and in a number of country churches, and in several cases was the leader in the erection of new church buildings. It is estimated that more than fifty young men were aided by him through the years in preparing for the Christian ministry, It was his delight to aid pastors in evangelistic meetings, and he had remarkable gifts of pathos and persuasion in this work. Dr. Dickinson always cherished a warm and affection- ate interest in the colored people, frequently preaching in their churches, counseling with their ministers, and trying in every way to uplift them religiously and educa- tionally. When, a few years after the Civil War, the American Baptist Home Mission Society started a theo- logical school for colored preachers in Richmond, he was one of the chief helpers. Dr. S. F. Smith, the famous author of "My Country, Tis of Thee," came to Rich- mond for some days to study the field, and was the guest, while there, at Dr. Dickinson's home, and wrote later of the invaluable aid received from him. Between him and Dr. Charles H. Corey, the president of that school for many years, there was a warm and intimate friendship until death came. He was married to Miss Frances E. Taylor in 1857 r to Miss M. Lou Barksdale in 1879, and to Miss Bessie Bagby in 1899. The children who survive him are Rev. Dr. James Taylor Dickinson, Miss Nellie Taylor Dickin- ALFRED ELIJAH DICKINSON 171 son, Mrs. Samuel M. Torian, Miss Janie P. Dickinson, and Mrs. Edward A. Hobbs. Among the characteristics of Dr. Dickinson, those who knew him before his last sickness would always think of his exuberant vitality. Six feet in height, well rounded in figure, his face ruddy with health, his step quick and elastic, his eyes sparkling with happiness and humor, his bodily presence arrested attention in any assembly, and his simple geniality, kindly wit, and unostentatious piety won friends in any household. By intuition and experi- ence he possessed a shrewd knowledge of human nature which served him well in many a difficult situation. He was a wide and rapid reader of books, with a special fondness for biography. For many years he always kept close at hand the life of some religious leader, into which he would dip after his morning Scripture meditation. He was especially fond of the biographies of those saintly men Edward Payson and Robert Murray McCheyne, and read and re-read them many times. He had a deep and unspeakable love and reverence for the Bible, and the first hour of each day, following the morning meal, he gave to loving reading and study of it. Familiar with much of modern thought, the New Testament in its story, parable, and inspiration lifted itself in his thought and reverence high above all the dust of human controversy to the heights of heaven. In its revelation of Christ and God and duty and immortality it met his own sense of need. Dr. Dickinson had great gifts as a popular speaker and preacher. Humor and pathos, a rare fund of illustra- tions, sympathy with humanity and the individual, and a power of ad hominen appeal these were some of the sources of his influence as a speaker. As an illustration of some of his bright experiences as a traveler and of some of his genial and effective charac- 172 VIRGINIA BAPTIST MINISTERS teristics as a speaker and a man, it will be of interest to introduce here Dr. Dickinson's own account in the Religious Herald, written several years before his death, of one of his visits to the North to secure funds for Richmond College. The " 'possum story" alluded to, he told with inimitable humor and charm at many gather- ings in the North, and after the passage of about twenty years it is still vividly remembered by those who heard it from his lips. Dr. Dickinson's account is as follows: ''Some twelve years ago I visited Boston in the interest of Baptist educational work in Virginia and the South, and obtained permission to deliver an address on a Sun- day afternoon in Tremont Temple on 'The Truth about the South.' The subject was well advertised, and I had a large congregation. The next morning I found that my remarks were reproduced almost verbatim in the most widely circulated Republican paper of the city. I called to thank the editor of that paper for the kindness he had done me ; but he said : 'You owe me no thanks. Your people at the South do not believe it, but the truth about the South is just what many of us up here most desire to know, and, hence, as soon as I ascertained that that would be the subject of your address I determined to print a full report of it.' That great daily was then, and is now, the leading Republican paper in New England. For much of the success I had in Boston I am indebted to that Republican editor. The same little talk on 'The Truth about the South' I repeated in many places and with good results. "I sought the President of the Baptist Social Union of Boston and asked to be permitted to speak at the meet- ing of that body, which was to be held at Tremont Temple the same day on which I made the request. He replied that the arrangements were all made and there could now be no change in the programme; but he ALFRED ELIJAH DICKINSON 173 gave me a ticket which entitled me to a seat on the plat- form and said: 'You can not speak on this occasion. At some future time we may hear you, provided you make no appeal for money. The Social Union has very strict rules on that subject, and nothing is allowed looking to raising money at these monthly gatherings, unless the circumstances are very peculiar and very urgent.' I took the hint and the ticket and heard a very fine address from Governor Long, now a member of Mr. McKinley's Cabinet, then Governor of the State of Massachusetts, and one from Bishop Brooks, now deceased, but then the great Episcopal preacher of New England, and one from a certain distinguished Congregationalist, whose name I can not now recall. No one of the speakers was a Bap- tist, but all three of them said handsome things about the Baptists. Just as the last speaker closed, the president stepped over to me and whispered thus: 'I will call on you for a three -minute talk if you will not speak longer than that and if you will not say anything about the object of your visit to Boston not a word about money/ Then he said to the audience : 'We have heard from these distinguished brethren of other denomina- tions, and here is a Baptist brother from old Virginia, an ex-rebel, who wishes to say a word. Shall we give him just three minutes that much and no more?' I began by saying that I had often heard of "Free-Speech Boston," and that no man could be gagged in Boston, but that limiting me to three minutes reminded me of an old colored man down in old Virginia who went 'possum hunting. He came back about midnight, tired and hungry and sleepy, but he had his 'possum. He dressed it and put it in a skillet and placed it on a few hot embers and said : 'Now, old 'pos., you cook here while I get a little nap.' Then he threw himself down on his cot and was in a moment sound asleep. But while he 174 VIRGINIA BAPTIST MINISTERS was asleep another colored brother came in and found the 'possum all right and ate it. He then pushed the table, on which was the plate, with knife and fork and bones, up against the sleeper, and, that there might be no doubt as to who ate the 'possum, he rubbed some of the gravy upon the sleeper's lips and then slipped out. After a while the sleeper awoke, and, before his eyes were well open, he began saying to himself : 'This is the hungriest nigger God ever made ; but I have a good 'possum, and it's all right now.' Then, looking around and failing to see the skillet, he said : 'How is this ? There was no one here but the 'possum and me, and now the 'possum is not here.' And then, seeing the plate and the bones lying by him, he said: 'Well, I must have eaten that 'possum, for here's the plate and the bones and the gravy upon my lips. Of course I must have eaten that 'possum ; but never have I had a 'possum to lie so light upon my stomach and to give me so little consolation as that 'possum.' " 'Brethren,' said I, 'it's that way with me to-night. To come so far and to be dealt with this way gives me no consolation at all.' From every part of the room came cries : 'Tell what you came to Boston for,' and the presiding officer said : 'Brethren, you have taken the responsibility off of me. Now the brother can tell it, if you insist upon his doing so.' They did insist, and I told it as well as I could tinder the circumstances, "Now, concerning the collection. Well, there was none taken none at all; but they gathered around me and took me by the hand and said pleasant things. A dear old brother of more than fourscore years said: 'Meet me at my office on Devonshire Street at 10 o'clock to-morrow morning. Sharp,' said he, 'at 10.' Of course I was there on time, although a great snow storm was sweeping over Boston that morning. The first thing the ALFRED ELIJAH DICKINSON 175 old gentleman said to me as he came into his office and threw off his overcoat was: 'You have gotten me into trouble.' And then he explained: 'My wife asked me at breakfast this morning what it was that I was laughing about in my sleep last night, and I told her it was your 'possum story, and I undertook to tell the story to her, but failed in the attempt, and I left my family laughing at the idea that I should enjoy a thing so much as to laugh about it in my sleep and yet be unable to explain it in my waking hours. I wish you to tell it over to me, that I may tell it to my family when I go home to din- ner.' Then, pausing a moment, he said: 'Wait until I can go out and bring my brother and my nephew in, that they may hear it too.' In a few minutes he returned with his brother and his nephew, and, locking the door, he said : 'We are all ready now. Let us have the 'possum story.' Then he said: 'Stop; tell us what a 'possum is. Is it a thing that flies or something that crawls?' I answered his question, and then repeated the story and then wrote the old man's name in my book for $1 .000 for Richmond College, and his brother's name for $250 ; but the nephew said : 'Please excuse me. I think my father and uncle have paid enough on that 'possum for the whole family'." Dr. Dickinson, as a writer, not only had remarkable gifts as a racy paragraph ist and as a reporter of religious assemblies and as a writer of editorials, but he also was the author of a number of religious and denominational booklets and pamphlets which have had a very wide influ- ence. One of these has been translated into several European languages. Dr. Dickinson was by nature warm-hearted and impulsive. This natural impulsiveness, while often a source of power, sometimes brought him into trying situations. Those who knew him longest and most inti- 176 VIRGINIA. BAPTIST MINISTERS mately believed that the two mighty forces back of his long life of unceasing activity and world-wide helpful- ness were personal devotion to Christ and ever-growing love for humanity. He had a deep, personal experience of God's redeeming grace in Christ, and he adored the Saviour as the only refuge of the soul. From early years to the end of his life he had a yearning love and sym- pathy for men and women and children for the com- mon people. He could always see in the humblest types and especially in young people great treasures of spirit- ual possibility. So, as sorrow and disappointment and death came again and again, and as the swift years bore him on, and as at last, after long sickness, he came, at the age of seventy-six, to face the end of all things earthly, he was not cynical or bitter or lonely. The love and prayers of a great multitude of friends seemed to bear up his heart. The Saviour was very vivid to his faith and consciousness. Despite the long sickness and the weary body and the failing mind, it was light in the evening when his spirit passed away, November 20, 1906. James Taylor Dickinson. SIMEON U. GRIMSLEY 1839-1906 On January 16, 1879, a man who had worn, with courage and honor, the uniform of a Confederate soldier, was being set apart for leadership in the army of King Immanuel. This ordination service was held at Mt. Horeb Church, Caroline County, Virginia, a church organized in 1773. The new preacher in the ranks of the gospel ministry was Simeon U. Grimsley, who, having been born in the city of Richmond in 1839, was in his fortieth year. In 1876 he was licensed to preach by the Smyrna Church, Caroline County. His first charge was Mt. Horeb, Mt. Hermon, and Providence Churches, Caroline County, in the Dover and Rappahannock Asso- ciations. His salary did not warrant him in keeping a horse, but he "kept his appointments," though this meant walking, and his churches were not near together. In 1883 he accepted a call to the Union Church, on the Chincoteague Island. This island, lying in the Atlantic Ocean, and off the coast of Accomac County, is famous for its ponies that run wild, and once a year are sold for good prices. At the time of Mr. Grimsley's going to the island it was "dominated by an exceedingly immoral spirit. Religion was little more than bald fanaticism. Intemperance was rampant, and the outlook generally was dismal indeed." The new pastor was equal to the situation, and in five years the condition of things was very different ; the saloons had been put out of commis- sion and his church was one of the best organized and largest in the Accomac Association. When he died the church had a well-appointed meeting-house and a good 177 12 178 VIRGINIA BAPTIST MINISTERS parsonage, and was forward in every good work. In view of the fact that he had had no training in the schools, his preaching was most remarkable, being always earnest, thoughtful, devout, and scriptural. He was effective in evangelistic meetings. He was a man of great moral courage, and was never known "to quail in the face of foe, man, or devil." "For many weary months, in pain and suffering, he lingered, a helpless paralytic; with blended faith and hope he rested on the sure mercies of God." On Thurs- day, November 29, 1906, he passed to his reward. This sketch, in the main, is based on articles from the pen of Rev. J. W. Hundley. RICHARD EDWARDS 1860(?)-1907 One of the gifts of the Portsmouth Association to the Baptist ministry of Virginia was Rev. Richard Edwards. His ordination, which took place in June, 1892, at his mother church, Millfield, had back of it a long and hard struggle for an education. His lack of funds might have altogether blocked his way, but Rev. Joseph F. Deans, a sketch of whose life appears elsewhere in this volume, proved a friend indeed, enabling the young man to attend, for his secondary schooling, the Windsor Academy. From here he passed to Richmond College and then to Crozer Theological Seminary. His first charge upon leaving the Seminary was a field made up of the Jerusalem and Farnham Churches, in the Rappa- hannock Association. Here he labored for thirteen years, being warmly and deservedly esteemed. Towards all classes he was "cordial, warm-hearted, sympathetic, and unfailingly considerate and kind." The children, the Sunday school, the young people's meeting, the young men and girls, all had a place in his thought and care. From this field in Richmond County he went, in May, 1905, to take charge of Modest Town and Mappsville Churches, in Accomac. Here he soon "established him- self in the esteem and confidence of the people as a man of deep and unaffected piety and a minister of zeal, prudence, and singleness of aim in the Master's service." His gifts were "solid rather than shining, and his style of preaching was rather direct, simple, and practical than nrnate and eloquent. . . . The man, the true man, was behind his speech and gave it power." He was mar- 179 180 VIRGINIA BAPTIST MINISTERS ried to Miss Mattie A. Laine, who, with four daughters, survived him. "In the guidance and comfort of his household he was the embodiment of Scriptural faithful- ness, of thoughtful attention, of delicate tact, of prac- tical help and service. To visitors beneath his roof, and to his brethren of the ministry notably, his overflowing kindness, his social warmth of feeling, and his grace of hospitality ever bespoke his generous and tender heart/' On February 10, 1907, in the forty-eighth year of his age, he passed away, after only a week's illness of pneumonia. The beautiful obituary, from the pen of Rev. G. W. Beale, is the basis of this sketch. WILLIAM SYDNOR PENICK 1836-1907 At "Oak Plain," Halifax County, Virginia, the planta- tion of his parents, William and Elizabeth Armistead Penick, on May 12, 1836, William Sydnor Penick, the third child of the home, was born. Until he was fifteen years old "he lived in the glad freedom of plantation life before-the-War," and shared, with his three brothers and two sisters, the careful training of Mr. Berryman Green and Mr. Rufus Murrell, cultured gentlemen who were tutors in this home. According to the custom of the day the tutor roomed in the "office," in the yard, with the boys, and instructed all the children in Latin, Greek, Mathematics, and the English branches. Doubtless "manners" and dancing were not omitted from the cur- riculum of this school. Mr. Penick was an ardent lover of the chase, and his son, Sydnor, at an early age, having a hunter of his own, imbibed a love for horses, dogs, and hunting, especially following the hounds, that went with him through life. Since the father and the tutor united in desiring that young Sydnor should become a lawyer, and since it was Mr. Penick's opinion that a business training was fundamental to that profession, the youth, at the age of fifteen, was "bound" for three years to a Mr. Marshall, a successful merchant in Charlotte County. During these years the young man met all sorts and con- ditions of men, from the backwoods people to the aristocrats of the great neighboring tobacco plantations, and so had full opportunity to learn human nature. Nor was this period without trying experiences that taught hard lessons in self-denial and self-control. From his 181 182 VIRGINIA BAPTIST MINISTERS very childhood the youth won friends by his charm and courtesy of manner, his quick wit, and his handsome face, that might almost have been called beautiful. Since Mr. Penick was an ardent Episcopalian (he was also a Whig), it was a distinct disappointment to him when Sydnor, at the age of seventeen, was baptized, probably by Rev. James Longanacre, into the fellowship of the Catawba Baptist Church, his mother's church. Again the father was doomed to disappointment in his plans as to this son's education. When his engagement with Mr. Marshall was over, the young man set out in the stage for Charlottesville and the University of Vir- ginia. On passing through Richmond he was persuaded by friends to enter Richmond College, and he took this step before consulting his father, his plan being to follow his course at the college by further study at the Uni- versity, but alas, this plan was never carried out. During his years at the college, among his friends were Charles H. Ryland, William E. Hatcher, James B. Taylor, Jr., and C. C. Chaplin, and when he graduated, in 1858, besides him the other members of the class were William E. Hatcher, Harvey Hatcher, Samuel H. Pulliam, John W. Ryland, and Joseph A. Turner. While at college he organized the Philologian Literary Society, being its first president, and in the hall of this society there hangs his portrait, which the society had painted in 1875. After he left the college he kept up an interesting correspondence for many years with his professors, George E. Dabney and Robert Ryland, and, in 1866, when the question arose in the General Association as to the reopening of the col- lege after the ravages of the War, the third speaker in the discussion which resulted in the recommencement of the college was Mr. Penick. In 1871 his alma mater con- ferred on him the degree of Master of Arts, and some years later the honorary degree of Doctor of Divinity. WILLIAM SYDNOR PENICK 183 Once again his father was disappointed when, at the close of his college course, he decided to be a minister of the gospel and not a lawyer. The fact that his father had suffered financial reverses and was not able to send him to the University of Virginia may have had something to do with this decision, but there was another event that helped to bring about this step. His mother, a woman of strong will and deep consecration, had felt that her son Sydnor, being the most restless and self-willed of her children, needed more earnest and continuous prayer than any of the others. One day the boy, in mad search for some fishing tackle, rushed up into the attic. There he overheard his mother telling the Lord that although Sydnor was the most unruly of her boys and most bent on the pleasures of this life, still she implored that he might be converted and become a Baptist preacher. He never forgot this prayer. His ordination to the ministry took place at the church of his childhood, Catawba, in Halifax County, the presbytery being composed of these ministers: A. M. Poiridexter, A. B. Brown, and John H. Lacy. With his ordination began a ministry of almost half a century. Before his work as a regular pastor was broken in upon by the War he served successfully a weak church at Chatham, the county-seat of .Pittsylvania County, and, by building up a Sunday school of over two hundred scholars, laid the foundations for a strong church. On November 2, 1859, he was married, at Chatham, to Miss Betty Tarpley Martin, a daughter of Dr. Chesley Martin and Rebecca White, and the granddaughter of Dr. Rawley White, of Pittsylvania. In August, 1861, he went into the Confederate Army as Captain of the David Logan Guards, a militia company equipped by his friend and cousin, Mr. David Logan, of Halifax County. In 1868, sharing, with the vast majority of the Southern 184 VIRGINIA BAPTIST MINISTERS people, the deep poverty that was part of the heritage of the War, with his young wife and three children, he went as a missionary of the State Mission Board to Charles Town, W. Va. The meeting-house was in ruins, so a semi-monthly service Sunday morning was held in the courthouse, while for the afternoons of these days he preached at old Zoah, the first house of worship built in Jefferson County. The other Sundays of the month were given to Mt. Zion, a large country church in Berkeley County, and to the cause at Martinsburg, where there was no Baptist Church. At this place, in the parlor of Mrs. Henry Kratz, he organized, with some five women, a Baptist Church. The outlook here was soon so promising that the Board had him give his whole time to Martinsburg. In his report, in 1871, to the State Mis- sion Board, he said : ... Since I have been in the Valley, three years, I have paid about $2,000 worth of debt for the Charles Town Church. ... In Mar- tinsburg we have built a fine brick church which has cost us about $6,000. The Mt. Zion Church has been refitted and repainted ; the old Zoar Church refitted and painted on the inside." After leaving Martinsburg he was pastor for seven years of the First Church of Alexandria, and then for four years of the High Street Church, Balti- more. While in Baltimore he supplied, during the sum- mer, for churches in New York and Yonkers. About this time he had calls from churches in New York State and Brooklyn that were declined, while one from the First Church of Shreveport, La., was accepted. Subse- quent events show that his decision in this matter was of God, for it is probable that the best work of his life was done in this city of the near Southwest. Not only was he for thirteen years the beloved pastor of his church, but the denomination felt his helpful influence all through the State, nor was this service of his bound in WILLIAM SYDNOR PENICK 185 by State lines. He came to be also one of the first rit i /ens of his city, loved and respected, not only by Gentiles, but by the Jews as well. His literary culture and fine address led to his being much in demand for college commencements and other similar occasions, while his record during the Civil War gave him high rank among the Confederate Veteran organizations. In 1887 he established in Shreveport the Genevieve Orphanage, which has grown into an institution which is of service and blessing to north Louisiana. It is interesting, in this connection, to know that as early as 1866 he offered, in the General Association of Virginia, a resolution calling for a committee to look into the matter of caring for and educating the children of deceased Baptist ministers of Virginia. While no practical results came from this motion, it is worthy of note that the care of orphan children was already a matter that concerned him. In 1898 he resigned at Shreveport and became pastor at Elizabeth City, N. C, but after three years he returned to the First Church at Shreveport and continued his work there until forced by failing strength to give up the active work of so large a church. After this he minis- tered for two years to the Ardis Memorial, an offspring of the First Church. He had hoped that he might labor t<> the very end, but this was not to be. For two years he was called on to wait and watch, with his labor done. Finally the messenger came, and on Sunday, June 30, 1907, just at the hour when for almost half a century, week after week, he had pronounced the benediction at the close of the morning service, he passed to the service of the heavenly congregation that shall never break up. The funeral was conducted by Dr. H. A. Sumrell, pastor of the First Baptist Church, and Dr. Jasper K. Smith, pastor of the First Presbyterian Church, all of the pastors of the city taking part in the service. Along the 186 VIRGINIA BAPTIST MINISTERS streets to the Oakland Cemetery, where the body was laid to rest, the crowds stood silent and tearful as the proces- sion passed, and the Confederate Veterans covered the grave with their flag. Dr. Penick was a man of unusually fine appearance and bearing. In the days of his prime, straight as an Indian and of portly build, he would have attracted attention in any crowd. "He was an industrious stu- dent, a clear thinker, a sound theologian." He prepared his sermons with great care, usually writing out fully what he expected to say, although he did not always keep closely to his manuscript in the pulpit. His sense of humor was keen and he was gifted as a raconteur. He was devoted to his home, and often refused invitations for engagements that would have meant protracted absence from his family. He was hospitable in a high degree and in great demand as a guest. Possibly his chief characteristic was his spirit of forgiveness, one of his favorite maxims being : "As my Father forgives me, a miserable sinner, should not I forgive my brother?" His widow is now living in New Orleans, and there are six surviving children, namely : Chesley, now Mrs. James Burrows Johnson, Charlottesville, Va. ; William Sydnor Penick, New Orleans (whose wife was Miss Otelia Jacobs) ; Dr. Raleigh Martin Penick, Shreveport, La. (whose wife was Miss Eugenia Elizabeth Carnal) ; Mary Louise, now Mrs. James Polk Ford, New Orleans ; Nathan Treadway Penick, New Orleans (whose wife was Miss Anne Stephenson) ; Martha Brantley, now Mrs. Burr. D. Ilgenfritz. GEORGE BOARDMAN TAYLOR 1832-1907 George Boardman Taylor was born December 27, 1832, in the pleasant and homelike city of Richmond, Va. Its gardens in spring are wreathed with roses and bridal spiraea, and pretty Southern girls, in white, flit from porch to porch with easy neighborliness. Little squirrels skip across the dappled grass under the venerable trees of the old Capitol Square, and life is sweet; but Rich- mond has its cold winters, too, and in those days of unheated houses the inhabitants often waked to find their breath forming a blue mist on the frosty air and their pitchers and basins masked with ice. George came like a belated Christmas gift, on the 27th of December, to the modest home of a Baptist minister, who was later to be the first secretary of the Foreign Mission Board. His mother was of what Holmes calls the Brahmin caste of New England, with a pious and learned ancestry of ministers and college professors. In the annals of her family linger memories of a kinswoman, Eunice, carried off by the Indians in childhood and held until, as a woman, she no longer cared to return to her white kin ; bleak days in New England when such a family as the Williams' often possessed little beside learning and piety. One ancestor saw the light first on one of those "cribbed, confin'd" vessels in which men and women then faced the elements for conscience' sake, carrying ever after his certificate of birth in the unique name : Seaborn Cotton. Another forebear was a chaplain of General Washington, and his descendants like to seek his face in the prow of the boat in which, with his chief, he crossed the Delaware 187 188 VIRGINIA BAPTIST MINISTERS River. One ancestor, Rev. Elisha Williams, was the fourth president of Yale. All this, not for vainglory, but to account for an almost morbid conscientiousness and love of books which the subject of this sketch absorbed with his mother's milk. It is the fashion of our day to satirize the stern theology and simple, un- resthetic lives of that New England theocracy, but they put iron into the blood which our commonwealth could ill spare. The father's family was also of purely English stock, but more recently come from the old country. It is said that the race was near being extinguished in the green waves of the Atlantic Ocean. Those were days of that dreaded pressgang which Mrs. Gaskell has so vividly portrayed in "Sylvia's Lovers." The vessel on which George Taylor and his wife had embarked for America was overtaken by one of the ships out ranging to seize men for enlistment, and he would have been carried back to serve, but his wife clung to him as the limpet to the rock. The king's men discovered that to take the man they would have to have the woman too, a double bargain not worth while. The story goes that in the hand-to- hand struggle the baby, James B. Taylor, fell into the water, and by the time he was rescued (who knows how?) the pressmen were glad to be rid of so trouble- some a family. However this may be, that baby, James Taylor, proved one of nature's gentlemen, and when nature and Christianity combine to make a gentleman they make the best one possible. He brought to the moral making of his son remarkable justice and sweet- ness of disposition. Even the irreligious outsider recog- nized his gracious saintliness with none of the antagonism which more self-conscious virtue is apt to rouse. GEORGE BOARDMAX TAYLOR It was a deeply pious home, but the piety was genuine, and so tempered by love, common sense and proportion, that none of the six children bred in it were driven by the strict religious training to the opposite extreme. The Bible was read and studied, and numberless hymns were committed to memory, but the shelves were filled with other excellently selected books, and there was a big yard where the children could play. It was not unnatural that in it the two oldest children should enthusiastically build with broomsedge and sticks a "George and Jane College." George had yellow curls and was a lovable little boy. If he did contrive to stick his aunt's scissors down a crack in the porch he helped her get them out again, and disarmed criticism by hugs and kisses. At first he went to school with his sisters, where the "dame," when disobeyed, used to slip a whalebone out of her stays and administer chastisement, or, failing that, made use of her slipper. He must have been quite a little fellow still when sent to a sanctimonious but very stingy boarding school of the Oliver Twist order. George tried to supplement the meager diet by a large consumption of blackberries, and when these produced a succession of boils he was too cannie to complain in his letters home. He tied his most necessary clothes up in a small bundle, and knowing that his father, on his way to a protracted meeting, was to pass, on the train, a crossroad a few miles off, he slung his small pack over his shoulder, trudged to the spot, signaled the train, and was able comfortably to pour forth his just grievances and return no more to the place of penance. This childish episode illustrates the cool deliberation and spirit of adventure combined in his character. When he was seven his father became for a year chaplain of the University of Virginia, and this period was always remembered with pleasure by the family, who, being rather overgiven to 190 VIRGINIA BAPTIST MINISTERS introspection and self-communings, needed to be thrown among those who were their equals in breeding and cul- ture, a luxury not always accessible to a Baptist minis- ter's family. From the University the family returned to Richmond, and, as an old man, he used to tell with gusto of swimming and diving with other boys in the pictur- esque James River, and of the jolly fights and feuds between the "hill cats" and the "river cats." George joined the church when a boy and never regretted it. Combined with his keen sense of life and mischievous love of fun was a deep fund of character and an acute mind leavened by a conscientious, strong sense of duty. His imaginative gifts were not, perhaps, remarkable, but he had rare gifts of reasoning, good judgment, mental grasp, and breadth of spirit. He studied because he loved study, and read widely with exquisite appreciation. He had what might be called real hunger for ideas and trains of thought. After graduating at Richmond College he taught for a year an "old-field school" in Fluvanna, reading and studying meanwhile on his own account. He began to read law by himself, but could not withstand the "weight of evidence" which was to make him a preacher and pastor. Nearly three years were spent at the University of Virginia, which at that time rejoiced in the inspiration of such professors as Gessner Harrison and Wm. H. McGuffey. While devoted to his studies, he was active in the Washington Literary Society, taught a Sunday school in the Ragged Mountains, and preached in neigh- boring Baptist churches. He found pleasure and profit in the companionship of John A. Broadus, his lifelong friend, who was then pastor in Charlottesville. Then, as always, he took delight in the discussion and ventilation of ideas in morals and ethics with fellow-students and GEORGE BOARDMAN TAYLOR 191 professors. The subject of his own able alumni address at Richmond College, on 'The Thinker," shows the favorite bias of his mind. On the other hand, he had strong social instinct which had been little cultivated in his quiet, staid home. He loved the society of intelligent women, and while susceptible to beauty, his many friends were rather remarkable for mental vivacity and sym- pathetic responsiveness than for mere pink-and-white comeliness. In his third session at the University he had a physical breakdown which prevented his taking the Master's degree. Soon after leaving the University he was called to the pastorate of the infant Franklin Square Baptist Church, ; Baltimore, where he remained for several years as an inmate of his kinsman Dr. Wilson's home, editing, with Dr. Wilson, The Christian Revieiv, and fighting out for himself many of the theological problems which confront a young preacher. On May 13, 1858, his life was enriched and broadened by his marriage, at "Hazel Hill," near Fredericksburg, Va., to Susan Spots wood Braxton, one of four sisters listinguished for beauty, charm, and intellectual gifts united to deep, personal piety. A ng less ardent Baptist than himself, Sue Braxton's warm, generous heart and gracious personality made her an exceptional pastor's wife. Wit, sunny unselfishness, and unusual conversa- tional gifts combined to make her no less beloved by the poorest negro than by the polished and traveled citizen of the world. At his marriage George Taylor became pastor of the struggling, nascent church in Staunton, where Baptists were few and little esteemed. The pastor's intellect and his wife's birth and social gifts entitled them to associate with the best people in the beautifully situated mountain town, but they gave themselves with unremitting devo- 192 VIRGINIA BAPTIST MINISTERS tion to the poor and needy of their own congregation. The husband's days were shared between strenuous sermon-making and pastoral calls and cares. He was ably seconded by his wife, who never grudged a gracious hospitality. In the sixteen years which followed she gave birth to eight children and buried four. Besides his duties to his church the pastor preached frequently for the colored people, for the State Insane Asylum, and for the Deaf, Dumb, and Blind Institution located in Staunton. He supplemented his scant exchequer by writing series of children's books called: "The Oakland Stories" ; two boys' books, "Roger Bernard" and "Coster Grew," and a historical novel about the early Baptists of Virginia, "Walter Ennis," all of which have maintained their place in Sunday-school literature. Besides these books he wrote several able tracts on baptism, Baptist history, and religious liberty, and held revivals to which he traveled over the country by buggy, horseback, and railroad. In the hard years which followed the War he taught a boys' academy and several classes in a girls' college. He collected funds South and North for Alle- ghany College and Richmond College. On these agency trips, as later in conducting the Italian Mission, he used the most rigid personal economy. He would eat cheap meals, put up at modest inns, and during winter weather in New York and Boston, though unusually susceptible to cold, he allowed himself no fire in his bedroom, thaw- ing out his rigid fingers to hold a pen by lighting news- papers in his wash-basin. Though late in life he doubted the wisdom of such strains on a delicate physique, and never exacted them from others, it is bracing for a more lax generation to know of such scrupulousness in the use of public money. As the early and the latter rains, frost, wind and sleet are needed to sweeten and swell the kernel of wheat, so GEORGE BOARDMAX TAYLOR trials and cares chastened and developed the character of this man of God. The loss of his children struck him as it could not have done a man less sensitive and tender, and he always maintained that nothing in life had been so terrible as the loss of his firstborn, Bessie, who died sud- denly while he was away from home preaching to a large crowd in Charlottesville. His own health was always so broken and frail that it was a miracle to his doctors and friends how he survived to the ripe age of seventy - five years. In Staunton, as later in Rome, church anxieties gave him sleepless nights and thorny days, and the Italian Mission always had on hand some distressing problem or trying disappointment to vex the responsible head. Three years after his coming to Staunton the Civil War broke out. Though attached by ties of kindred and friendship to the North, he was an ardent Virginian, and threw himself whole-heartedly into the Southern cause. He was elected captain of a home guard, but very soon after obtained a chaplaincy in Stonewall Jackson's command. He took a full share in visiting the hospitals and in the remarkable revival which swept over the Army of Northern Virginia. Only those who endured it knew what the War and the years following it meant in privations and hardships. The pastor saw his small supply of provisions mutilated and destroyed by an invading army, was paid in Confederate notes or not at all in short, had his nose to the grind- stone. After occupying several rented houses and boarding a while he had bought a house near the church for a dwelling and paid for it with Confederate money. When the War closed he felt compelled to surrender the property, as he could not otherwise make good the loss to the original owner. When Lee surrendered at App<>- mattox, this man, who had never owned a slave and had 194 VIRGINIA BAPTIST MINISTERS dearly loved the old family servants hired by his father, lay down on his face and said he did not want to live any longer; but with the buoyancy of a healthy nature he soon took a saner view and wrote to his brother : "In times like these we need to be actively engaged to keep from being unhappy. For my part, I accept the facts as indicating God's will, and acquiesce with a peace of mind I had not thought possible. Perhaps it is a fulfilment of the promise: 'As thy days so shall thy strength be/ Still I confess that ever and anon the sad facts come over me with fresh power and almost crush and paralyze me. But it is all right, and we must remember that we are chiefly connected with a kingdom which is 'not of this world.' ... I am not without fears for the future. The North is now as clamorous for negro suffrage as they were for emancipation. Then I fear for the negro himself lest he be crushed between the upper and nether millstone. But I have faith that God will overrule all things for the best interests of His cause and people. I feel a deep solicitude for our late President, and bear very hardly the dismemberment of our old Mother State. But because a Christian, I hope to be a good citizen." In 1869 he was called to the two-year chaplaincy of the University of Virginia, and the stay there was a pleasant interlude of congenial society and profitable work for both him and his wife, who renewed old ties and made many valued friends. In 1870 Dr. Taylor (the doctorate was conferred on him simultaneously by Richmond College and Chicago University) took a three months' trip to Europe with his youngest brother, and of course his wide reading made every place he visited full of stimulating interest. With characteristic loyalty he sought out his English cousins and visited the little village of Barton-on-Humber, his GEORGE BOARDMAN TAYLOR 195 father's birthplace, where he stayed at the wee inn of the Sheaf and Stack ; just a few years before he had made a pilgrimage to his wife's birthplace on the Eastern Shore of Virginia. At the end of the term as University chaplain he was called enthusiastically by his old church to return to Staunton. After somewhat considering the idea of going to Lexington as pastor and as adjunct professor in Washington and Lee University, he decided to return to his old charge, and was most cordially welcomed back. His house was refurnished by the church, his salary put on a more stable basis, and it seemed as if an easier period were beginning and a long union with the church to follow. But, as he himself was wont to quote with a smile, "the Christian man is never long at ease." Only eighteen months after his return to Staunton a telegram came from the secretary of the Foreign Mission Board which sharply changed the current of his life. The year and a half was chock-full of work and travel. Besides his regular preaching and pastoral work in Staunton he taught three classes in Mr. Hart's school and wrote the memoir of his beloved father, who had passed away on December 21, 1871. He suffered anxiety over several severe illnesses in his family, and his wife's health began to feel the strain put upon it. Early in 1873 he was released by his church to help raise the $300,000 Memorial Endowment Fund for Richmond College. It was while engaged in this work in New York in March, 1873, that he was startled by hearing from Dr. Tupper of his appointment as missionary of the Foreign Mission Board to Rome, Italy. After much consideration and prayer he decided to undertake the task. The same day he bought an Italian grammar and began to peg away at the language. His wife doubted the wisdom of a delicate, middle-aged man, burdened with four young 196 VIRGINIA BAPTIST MINISTERS children, making an entirely new start in life, but she was loyal to his decision, and \vas scarcely less useful and beloved in Rome than she had been in Staunton. Dr. Taylor attended, by request of the Board, the Southern Baptist Convention in Mobile and the June meeting in Richmond. Then, on the 18th of June, 1873, with his wife and four children the youngest an infant of eight months and two young ladies, who were placed under his care for the journey, he embarked for Glasgow en route for Rome. The Baptist work Dr. Taylor found in Rome was a small day- and night-school among the poorest class, a discharged evangelist, and a missionary of the Board, who was dismissed the week after Dr. Taylor arrived. There were evangelists maintained by the Board in other parts of Italy. The English Baptists, the Wesleyans, the American Methodists, and the Waldensians, supported by the Congregational and Presbyterian churches of England and America, were already at work. The American Baptists came last and were the least desired. Close communion and a man coming from a slave State were abominations to the Protestants already installed in Italy, so there was a double antagonism to meet. Money for the work came uncertainly and irregularly from America. During the first year Dr. Taylor had the news of the death of his eldest sister, and a few years later of that of his mother. He spent the winter studying Italian and going nightly to the school in Trastevere, where he began from the first to try and evangelize the boys and youths in attendance, and in taking journeys to mission stations already begun in other places. During the second year he hired a hall in a fine position opposite to the Roman Parliament and began preaching services with an able evangelist from North Italy. On Sunday afternoon there was a popular singing meeting which GEORGE BOARDMAN TAYLOR 197 attracted good crowds. A small number of faithful and sincere members were baptized at this period and have formed the nucleus of the Roman Church ever since. After holding this hall for four years Dr. Taylor suc- ceeded in purchasing property and adapting an old hall for church purposes. This purchase, owing to the diffi- culty of getting property for evangelical uses, entailed several law suits, loss of time, and much harassment and worry. When it was completed the Board called !)r. Taylor to America to collect the money to pay for it, and he spent a year doing this, traveling over a large part of the United States. During this year he suffered the loss of one sister and much pain and anxiety over the -evere trials of another. Malaria, contracted in Italy, also gave him much trouble. During the first five win- ters in Rome his family occupied successive furnished apartments and spent their summers in Tuscany and in the Waldensian Valleys, where there was one mission sta- tion. Dr. Taylor himself spent much of his time in sum- mer in Rome and Naples and in traveling for the work, visiting the evangelists and work gradually established throughout the continent and the islands of Sardinia and Sicily. After the chapel in Rome was finished Dr. Tay- lor occupied for three years an unpretending apartment in the same building, which was afterwards used by Signor Paschetto and his family. In 1884 Mrs. Taylor died very suddenly of laryngitis, and her husband and children sustained the most profound loss possible to them. From that time on the father became, if possible, more solicitous and tender to his children, seeking to atone to them for the want of their mother and to com- fort his own widowed heart. Following a plan, formed with his wife, in order that their children might not be quite alienated from their native country. Dr. Taylor, in 1885, obtained a furlough 198 VIRGINIA BAPTIST MINISTERS from the Italian Mission and accepted, for the second time, the chaplaincy of the University of Virginia, where he was no less appreciated than he had been fifteen years before, and keenly enjoyed the society of Noah K. Davis and other congenial professors. At the end of the two years Dr. Taylor returned, with his two daughters, to Rome, and as the apartment on the mission property was rented he took a small, sunny, unfurnished apartment at the foot of the Capitol, which he occupied until his death twenty years later. Soon after his return to Italy he wrote, for the American Baptist Publication Society, a book on "Italy and the Italians." The large and harass- ing correspondence entailed by the administration of the work, and journeys over Italy, occupied the time, which was much broken by bad health. At the stately 800th anniversary of the Bologna Uni- versity Dr. Taylor represented the University of Vir- ginia, and enjoyed meeting Philip Schafr", who was also there as a representative. All the prejudice against him, which had attended Dr. Taylor's coming to Italy, was more than overcome by his real Christlikeness and brotherly spirit, which he was able to manifest without any sacrifice of doctrine or peculiar principle. Twice again Dr. Taylor went to America for short visits to his sons, one a pastor in Virginia and the other a surgeon in the United States Navy. Dr. Taylor suggested to the Board the advisability of establishing a Baptist Theological School in Rome, and it was done, Dexter G. Whittinghill, Th. D., being appointed and sent out to dedicate himself particularly to this work. Dr. Taylor took the liveliest interest in this new feature, which he felt was much needed. He taught in the school until his death, and wrote for it a modest but clear and concise manual in Italian on "Systematic Theology." The chapter on baptism was considered GEORGE BOARDMAN TAYLOR particularly good, and was republished separately by the ministers of the Southern branch of the Italian evangel- ists as the best possible statement of the question. In the early years of his life in Italy Dr. Taylor edited, with an Italian minister, an Italian monthly called The Sower, and later he united with the English Baptists to produce a weekly organ called The Witness, which is still pub- lished. He wrote frequently for both papers, as well as in English for The Watchman, The Examiner, The Religions Herald, The Foreign Mission Journal, and other publications. While striving to make each article a work of art, he tried no less to make them a true picture, and did much to arouse interest in the Italian work for which he had the affection consequent on personal sacrifice and devotion. While his sensitive organization made him keenly susceptible to heat and cold and to every jar, he was no less alive to natural and spiritual beauty. He loved nature, and took the most exquisite delight in English literature and the keenest interest in the history and politics of the whole world. As his physical strength abated and his bodily powers decreased, his piety, loving-kindness and generosity widened. He grew each day more anxious to give to others, not only their just due, but a measure pressed down and overflowing. He was hospitable in a double sense, hospitable as it is enjoined on the bishop to be with bed and board, and in that rarer hospitality of the mind to new ideas and new people. His personal letters had a peculiar charm, and were written in small, clear characters which compressed matter and saved space. As a preacher he felt the importance of his message in his own personal experience, and exemplified the "beauty of holiness" in a constant striving after the divine life. Deafness contracted during his second chaplaincy at the University, from getting overheated in preaching and 200 VIRGINIA BAPTIST MINISTERS going out into the snow, was a severe trial, and cut him off in a way especially trying to a man so social. But it was wonderful how, as he grew older, his saintly and loving influence overcame even such "bars of the prison house." During the last two years he was one of the commission for the Revision of the Italian New Testa- ment, and, though really ill and fast failing in bodily strength, he worked over it constantly and took the deep- est interest in it. Though possessing few of the graces of oratory, he prepared carefully and was an able and compelling speaker, eloquent in the sense of the defi- nition : "Thought packed until it ignites," and with a force of conviction which must always tell on the hearer. To the end he took the keenest interest in life and the future, but sleeplessness and constant suffering wore the delicate frame to gossamer, so that those who loved him best felt that it would be cruel to wish for him to stay longer. He died on the 28th of September, 1907, and his body was laid beside his wife's in the lovely cemetery for strangers under the crumbling city walls of Rome. His children, who survived him, are Geo. Braxton, Mary Argyle, James Spotswood, and Susie Braxton (Mrs. D. G. Whittinghill). Mary Argyle Taylor. WILLIAM N. BUCKLES 1834-1908 Carter County, which touches North Carolina, and is <>ne of the extreme eastern counties of Tennessee, was the birthplace, of William X. Buckles. Here he was horn September 24, 1834. Just one month, to a day, after he had reached his majority he was baptized into the fellowship of the Old Holston Baptist Church, Tennessee. Two years later his mother church licensed him to preach, and in 1862 he was ordained to the full \\nrk of the gospel ministry. At the very beginning of the Civil War he enlisted, belonging to First Company K, Third Regiment of Tennessee Volunteers, being under Colonel John C. Vaughan. To the end of the War, either as chaplain or as colporteur or as private soldier, Mr. Buckles served, filling the place to which duty seemed to point. When the War was over, realizing that he needed better preparation for the work of the ministry, he entered, although he was now over thirty years of age, the Academy at Bluntville, Term., and remained there as a student for three sessions. In 1868 he was married to Miss Seraphine Pyle, of Sullivan County, Tennessee. This proved a blessed union, marked by happiness and love. Four children were born, three of whom, with their mother, survived the husband and father. For some time Mr. Buckles wrought as pastor and oilporteur in East Tennessee, serving a number of churches and organizing the Holston Valley Church, which body he led in the building of a house of worship. In 1876 he came to Virginia, where the rest of his life 201 202 VIRGINIA BAPTIST MINISTERS was spent. He located in Russell County and became pastor of the Lebanon, Bethel, and Honaker Churches. On to the end of his life his service was in the New Lebanon Association, his residence being part of the time at or near Bristol. Before the close of his work came, the other churches to which he had ministered were Lewis Creek, Oak Grove, Castlewood, Pleasant Hill, Green Valley, Liberty Hill, and Cedar Grove. "For a number of years he was the moderator of the New Lebanon Association, and wisely led his brethren in the work." In the gloaming of Sunday, February 2, 1908, he fell on sleep. The following Tuesday afternoon, in the presence of a multitude of friends, the funeral services were conducted by Rev. T. A. Hall. The body was laid to rest in the Bethel Cemetery (Russell County), a great company of people being present. Concerning this servant of God, Rev. C. E. Stuart, in his obituary, says : "In this day of glorious harvest we can never thank God too much for these pioneer missionaries of the cross." MORTON BRYAN WHARTON 1839-1908 Although the larger part of the ministry of Morton Bryan Wharton was given to other sections of the country, it must not be forgotten that he was born and educated in Virginia, and that here he held, for some eight years, an important pastorate. No one could look upon the picture of Dr. Wharton, in the Minutes of the Southern Baptist Convention for 1909, without being impressed by the signs of intellectual power in his face; the brow was high and broad, the mouth well formed and clear cut, and the flash of the eyes brilliant and strong. At this same meeting of the Convention, which was held in Louisville, Ky., an address on his life and work was delivered by Rev. Dr. J. A. French. The official relationship that he bore to the Convention was that, in 1873, at Mobile, Ala., he was one of the secre- taries. This son of Virginia, who was most gifted and versatile, was born in Culpeper County, April 5, 1839, being the son of Malcom Hart Wharton and Susan Roberts Colvin. At the age of eighteen he was con 1 verted, at Alexandria, Va., and united with the Baptist Church of that city. In October, 1858, he entered Rich- mond College, where he remained through the session of 1860-61. His first pastorate was at Bristol, Tenn., where he labored for two years. During the other years of the War he was evangelist in the army, under Rev. A. E. Dickinson, and, later, agent in Georgia to collect funds for the Virginia Army Colportage Board. At this period of his life he was also, for a time, the agent of the Domestic and Indian Mission Board, of the Southern Baptist Convention. 203 204 VIRGINIA BAPTIST MINISTERS After the War he became pastor of Eufaula, a church he was destined to serve a second time at the end of his life. Here in his two pastorates he erected two hand- some meeting-houses, and here has been set up, since his death, in front of the building in which he preached, a monument of him. His other pastorates were Walnut Street, Louisville, Ky. ; First Church (Green Street), Augusta, Ga. ; First Church, Montgomery, Ala. ; Free- mason Street, Norfolk, Va. In this period, however, there were several seasons when other work than that of the pastor and the preacher engaged his powers. He gave himself for some years to an agency for the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, his field being Georgia. Gifted as a speaker, with eloquence, humor, and pathos, he must have been well-nigh irresistible in his appeals for this school of the prophets. Although of compact build, and apparently vigorous physically, more than once he turned aside from the heavy pressure of the pastorate because of broken health. Once, having purchased the Christian Index, he filled the editor's chair. Another break in his pastoral career was when he spent several years in Germany as United States Consul at Sonneberg. On August 6, 1881, he reached Sonneberg and began his work as consul. He described the duties of a consul, at an interior town, as consisting "chiefly in the certifica- tion of invoices, notarial acts, issuing passports, extend- ing protection to American citizens, looking after prop- erty of American citizens who die abroad, and writing monthly reports, to the Secretary of State at Washing- ton, on agricultural and commercial and other interests, designed for publication by the State Department." The shipments from Sonneberg, at that time, ran up to the sum of nearly two millions of dollars, and consisted mainly of dolls, toys, musical instruments, china, glass- MORTON BRYAN WHARTOX 305 ware, hosiery, paints, and drugs. There were in the town and the surrounding villages over two hundred factories. While the consul's office \vas at Sonneberg, his residence was at Tolmrg. This city, with its castle, palaces, parks, mausoleum, and schools and private homes, Dr. Whar- ton described as the "most beautiful place I have ever seen." While here, he had services every Sunday in his own residence and instructed the children in the Sunday school. His purpose in accepting this position as consul wa> not to abandon the ministry but to secure a season of rest, to educate his children, and to see Europe under favorable circumstances. In his brief pastorate of less than a year at Augusta he succeeded Dr. James Dixon. During these ten months some seventy were received into the church, the meeting- house was renovated and enlarged, and two new churches were constituted. At the rededication of the improved church-house Dr. J. A. Broadus was the preacher, his subject being "The Woman of Samaria, or Worship." While pastor at Augusta he baptized Rev. J. Q. Adams. When he went to Augusta the understanding was that, as his health was not good, he was not to preach but once a day. As a matter of fact, however, he preached twice every Sunday while there. His health did not improve in Augusta, so he resigned to go to Germany. An idea of the great energy of the man is secured when it is seen that, though far from at his best, he did so much. Dr. Wharton was an author, and had the poet's vision and power of expression. When the Southern Baptist Convention met in Norfolk, Va., and was holding its sessions at the Freemason Street Church, where Dr. Wharton was pastor, he made the address of welcome. This address was an original poem, and its delivery, what with Dr. Wharton's musical voice and magnetic presence, charmed the audience. One of his books, "Pictures from 206 VIRGINIA BAPTIST MINISTERS a Pastorium," is a volume of poems. His other volumes are: "Men of the Old Testament," "Women of the Old Testament," "Women of the New Testament," and "European Notes." In this connection it should be remembered that Dr. Wharton coined the word "pas- torium" as a name to be used, especially by Baptists, to describe the church's home for her pastor. The word has been given place in the "Standard Dictionary." He was singularly gifted as a writer and as a speaker, and was scholarly in his aptitudes. He received the degree of Doctor of Divinity from Washington and Lee Uni- versity, and that of Doctor of Laws from the University of Alabama. A few days before his death, which took place at Atlanta, Ga., July 20, 1908, he assured his brother, Dr. H. M. Wharton, that his life work was finished and that he was ready and willing to go. His wife, to whom he was married August 2, 1864, and who before her marriage was Miss Mary Belle Irwin (daughter of Rev. Dr. C. M. Irwin), survives him, and also a daughter, Mrs. John M. Moon. FRANK BROWN BEALE 1852-1908 The fourth son of General R. L. T. and Lucy M. Beale, Frank Brown Beale, was born near The Hague, HI Westmoreland County, Virginia, on April 11, 1852, and named for a maternal uncle a beloved physician- Frank Brown. Remarkable for his diminutive size, as a babe, he was no less remarkable for his development into an active, vigorous, energetic boy. He early dis- played great enthusiasm and aptitude for physical sports and athletic exercises, and gave promise in boyhood of the vigor and endurance which marked him in his future labors. His education, begun under an elder brother, whose school he attended two sessions, was continued near his home, and later at an academy conducted by Judge Cole- man in Caroline County. Before attending this school, in the summer of 1869, he openly confessed Christ at Machodoc Church, and was baptized by his brother. While still a student, in the eighteenth year of his age, without conferring with flesh or blood, he announced, in a brief note sent to the Religious Herald, his resolve to devote his life to the ministry of the gospel. He spent two sessions at Richmond College, and, at the call of his mother church, was ordained on November 16, 1873. Elders Wm. H. Kirk, Wayland F. Dunaway, Geo. H. Northam, and Geo. W. Beale took part in the ordaining service. Dr. Thomas S. Dunaway, his revered friend, sent the charge prepared for the occasion, since he was unable to be present. His ministry began at once with Menokin, Nomini, and Machodoc Churches, and the divine favor rested 207 208 VIRGINIA BAPTIST MINISTERS signally on his labors. Soon after beginning his work on this field he was induced to hold night services in the town of Tappahannock, where the old Episcopal Church edifice of Colonial days was in use for Baptist preaching. Despite the increased mental and physical labor required, the necessity of crossing the river in a small boat often under adverse conditions of weather and other diffi- culties, this work enlisted his warmest interest, and he gave to it the ardent enthusiasm of his nature, with the result that, in 1876, a church was organized, the old courthouse purchased, renovated, and dedicated, and the spiritual body and place of worship were styled Centen- nial. With but a brief interval this church, in which he felt a peculiar joy, shared his ministration and grew under his care until failing health terminated his work, in May, 1908. He was permitted to see their number increase to 117, a parsonage provided, and the church become strong in the intelligence, piety, and liberality of their membership. While connected with his first pas- toral charge he attended lectures for one session at the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, the churches having generously released him to do so, and at the same time retaining him as pastor and paying his salary. Before leaving his home in Westmoreland he married, in December, 1882, Miss Susie Garnett (daughter of Dr. John M. Garnett, of Newtown), a union which proved one of unalloyed happiness to him and gave him a companion whose charm of person, Christian woman- hood, and sweet graces of character greatly strengthened his hand and blessed his ministry. As the fruits of this union his home was brightened with a daughter and a son, both of whom survive. In 1889 he resigned the care of the churches in the Northern Neck, which he had served for fourteen years, and located in Tappahannock as pastor of Ephesus FRANK BROWN BEALE - ; ' ' ( > Church in conjunction with Centennial. The can Ephesus was held for three years, when he accepted that of Howerton's, and in 1892 that of Upper King and Queen, the latter being the well-trained body which had enjoyed the pastoral nurture and leadership of the t\\" Andrew Broadduses for many years. In this field Cen- tennial, Howerton's, and Upper King and Queen- numbering approximately five hundred members, he \\a> in the position in which he was destined to toil for sixteen years and to accomplish his best work. These churches steadily grew in strength, in efficiency, and in liberality to the cause of Christ, under his guidance, and the relationship between them and their pastor continued t> the last, fraternal, cordial, and tender. The striking ele- ments of his success were his intense and unwearied earnestness, the breadth and warmth of his sympathies, and the unfailing cordiality of his manners. These made him ready to respond to every call of pastoral duty, and to visit the sick, comfort the sorrowing, and to render the last sad rites of burial within, and often beyond, the bounds of his own field. Amidst the multiplied activities of his pastorates he still found occasions to aid other pastors in special meet- ings, and in many parts of the State and beyond its bounds his labors were blessed in the conversion of hundreds of souls, and many a mature Christian along the track of these labors gratefully acknowledged that he derived from his earnest spirit and burning words impulses towards a higher and holier life. Our brother was for thirty-five years a member of the Rappahannock Association, and during this long period was never absent from one of its annual sessions. He served this body as clerk for over twenty years, and became a recognized and trusted leader in its affairs. His deep interest, sound judgment, fervid speech, and 14 210 VIRGINIA BAPTIST MINISTERS cordial manner bound the brotherhood to him in con- fiding and tender bonds. When death removed him from them they placed on their minutes this testimonial to his work : "The Rappahannock Association has sustained no greater loss in thirty years or more ; we shall not soon see his like again." He was scarcely less interested in the General Association and its work, and had become a familiar figure in its sessions. He served often on important committees in that body, and his voice was not infrequently heard in addresses and discussions before it. For a year or more previous to his death he showed symptoms of failing health, but his ever-sanguine and hopeful temperament forbade his looking upon his con- dition as serious. A fatal malady, however, was insidi- ously preying upon his vitals, and in the spring of 1908 his loss of flesh, frequent inability to retain his food, and growing weakness made the suspension of his work imperative. All that the tenderest care of friends, the thoughtful kindness of his churches, the skill of phy- sicians, and the change of scene could do, was done for his relief; but it was God's will that he should lay his armor down and exchange his cross for his crown, and after weeks of increasing debility, without suffering or loss of his serene and cheerful composure, on the after- noon of July 31, 1908, he gently and calmly fell on sleep. His burial was made at Upper King and Queen Meeting-House, and the funeral services, on a sweet Lord's Day morning, drew together a sympathetic multi- tude, amongst whom were hundreds whose moistened cheeks and irrepressible sobs betokened their sense of grief and loss. His intimate friend and beloved co- laborer, Andrew Broaddus, delivered the sermon, in the course of which he said : "He was so good, so noble, so brave, so tender and true, so inexpressibly dear to me FRANK BROWN BEALE 211 that I know not how to speak. I am overwhelmed, I am crushed, I am broken-hearted. ... As I think of his life, so crowded with work, so rich with achievements, so fragrant with grace and godliness, my first thought is what a blessing he has been to the world. When God called Abraham to go forth from kindred and country, his parting injunction to him was: 'Be thou a blessing,' and so I think when He called Frank Beale to his life's work He gave him the same command. How faithfully he kept it !" While he reclined on his couch of illness, and the deepening shadows gathered, the Trustees of Richmond College conferred upon him the honorary title of D. D., and when he had been laid to his rest Upper King and (Jueen Church, and other friends, placed a monument at his grave; Centennial Church commemorated him by changing its name to Beale Memorial ; Menokin Church paid him the tribute of a marble tablet beside the pulpit, and the Maryland Avenue Church, of Washington, D. C, held a memorial service in his honor. Thus approved and honored of men, he passed to the high reward of those who, having "turned many to righteousness," "shall shine as the brightness of the firmament" and "as the -tars forever and ever." G. W. Bede. I. T. KERN 1908 The obituary in the Minutes of the General Associa- tion of Virginia furnishes the only information secured about the life of Rev. I. T. Kern. His father was the Rev. Isaac Kern, who for fifty-four years preached the gospel in the bounds of the Clinch Valley Association, Southwest Virginia, the same section in which his son preached for fourteen years. The son, whose death occurred about the end of the summer 1908, was a good and faithful minister of Christ. The obituary in the Minutes of the General Association was prepared by Rev. J. B. Craft. 212 JOHN BROADUS TURPIN 1848-1909 John Broadus Turpin was born at "Woodwell," Hen- ncn County, Virginia, the home of his maternal grand- father, Jesse Frayser Keesee, September 28, 1848. His father's father was Rev. Miles Turpin, whose name is associated with Four Mile Creek Baptist Church, his only pastorate. His parents were Elisha Straughan Turpin and Elizabeth Keesee. When he was five years old his parents moved to Richmond. He attended school, as a lx>y, in Richmond, and was a diligent scholar. As he passed from boyhood to youth he was able to escape the temptations of this period of life, and one who knew him well testifies that "no impure word ever escaped his lips, no doubtful associations soiled his life." While still a youth he made a profession of religion and was bap- tized into the fellowship of the Leigh Street Baptist i 'hurch by the pastor, Rev. Dr. J. B. Solomon. A little later he, with two other youths, S. C. Clopton and J. A. i rench, came into fine fellowship and friendship during a great meeting in the pastorate of Rev. Dr. A. E. Dick- inson. While still a youth he manifested great interest in public speaking and talent in that direction. He loved to frequent the court room, where he heard many of the ablest lawyers of the day. In a Temperance Society of the Leigh Street Sunday School, and in the Church Hill Literary Society he took an active part. Although at this period of his life he was for a season a clerk in the hardware store of James L. Porter, 17th and Franklin Streets, his ambition pointed to a path in which public speaking was important. Soon he decided to be a lawyer. 213 214 VIRGINIA BAPTIST MINISTERS With this hope he entered Richmond College. A spell of sickness having prevented his completing the academic course, he became a member of the law class, and in 1871 received, along with C. V. Meredith and others, his B. L. diploma. At the same commencement J. E. L. Holmes won his B. A. degree. He and Mr. Turpin, during their student days, had established in Fulton, a section of Richmond, a German Sunday School. The young lawyer set out upon his chosen profession. Before long, however, he was laid low by a very severe spell of illness. His life hung in the balance. He came near to the gates of death. Public prayers were offered for his recovery. Upon his restoration to health he informed his loved ones that during his illness he had made a vow that if his life was spared he would become a minister of the gospel. He at once took steps to keep his vow. He abandoned the law, and, without any train- ing at a theological seminary, began to preach. He supplied for a season, first at a church in King William County, and then for Dr. Thomas Hume, Jr., the pastor of the First Church of Danville, Va. Shortly after Mr. Turpin decided to become a preacher, Rev. A. H. Sands congratulated him on the change he was making, saying that it was harder to preach than to be a lawyer. Mr. Turpin replied that doubtless to do both was still harder. (Mr. Sands was for a time both preacher and lawyer. ) Upon being called to the Black Walnut field, in Hali- fax County, Virginia, his ordination to the ministry took place, at Leigh Street Baptist Church, June 22, 1873. Dr. J. L. Burrows preached the sermon, his text being Acts 9:20; Dr. J. B. Jeter delivered the charge, Prof. H. H. Harris made the prayer, and Dr. J. R. Garlick delivered the Bible. The following fall, on November 13, he was married to Miss Susie Lamar Curry, the only daughter of Dr. J. L. M. Curry. Mr. Turpia JOHN BROADUS TURPIN 215 remained in the Halifax pastorate some five years, until he accepted a call to the Baptist Church in Warrenton, Va., to succeed Dr. John L. Carroll. Here another five years were spent, and here Mr. Turpin exhibited some characteristics which were to be important factors in his subsequent career. We see him at Warrenton organizing his young people for Bible study and Christian work. Remember that this was before the days of Christian Endeavor and B. Y. P. U. Societies. He always had great success in reaching and training children and young people of his churches. He deserves the credit of having organized the first young people's society in Virginia, at least in the Baptist ranks. While in Warrenton he suf- fered a great sorrow in the death of his wife. She left two children, Mary Lamar and Manly Curry. On July 4, 1884, Mr. Turpin accepted a call to the Charlottesville Baptist Church. In Charlottesville he did his real life work. He was pastor here twice, first for twelve years and then for eight years. Between these two terms of service in Charlottesville was a pastorate of two and a half years in Americus, Ga., and another at Carrollton, Mo. The fact that he was twice pastor in Charlottesville, each time for so many years, is a sug- gestive commentary on the character of his work in this university town. This church had had such remarkably able pastors as Wm. F. Broaddus, Jno. A. Broadus, and Jno. C. Long, and a mile away was the University of Virginia. Mr. Turpin was a decided success in his work in Charlottesville. He could scarcely be called a great preacher, but he was unquestionably a great pastor. He had great tact, he was interested in people, he remem- bered faces and names, he was systematic and unceasing in his work, he was cordial in his manner, he was skilful in organization, he was careful as to his dress, he knew how to reach young people and children, he was consider- ate of others. Above and beyond all these things, he had 216 VIRGINIA BAPTIST MINISTERS the ''shepherd heart," and he loved God and his neighbor. He was a great believer in tracts, which have been called the side arms in Christian work and warfare, and he always kept a good supply of them on hand, having them so arranged in pigeonholes as to be able, in a moment, to lay his hand on just what he wanted. The Charlottes- \ ille Church made great demands on their pastor in the matter of visits, and perhaps no pastor ever came nearer meeting these demands than did Mr. Turpin. At one time he had a buggy and a little black horse, and this trio seemed almost ubiquitous. Charlottesville is not a large place, and yet for its population it has magnificent distances. The Sunday school was prosperous in a high degree, and the congregations from week to week were large, while upon an extra occasion, such as a Children's Day, the crowds taxed the capacity of the spacious meeting-house, and a more reverent and enthusiastic crowd it would have been hard to find. While it has been said that Mr. Turpin was not a great preacher, let it not be supposed that he was weak in the pulpit. He was faithful and conscientious in the preparation of his sermons. He was felicitous in his use of illustrations. He did not have a voice of unusual range, but it was pleasant, and he used it well. His manner, when he spoke, was easy yet dignified. He commanded attention for his message. He had a forceful English style. While in Charlottesville Mr. Turpin was an active cham- pion of the temperance cause, and before moving away the second time he had the joy of seeing the town go "dry." During his first pastorate in Charlottesville his church, (indeed, it might rather be said the town) enjoyed three great revivals of religion. During his second pastorate the present meeting-house, an unusually handsome and attractive structure, was erected. He was ever most gracious to his brethren in the ministry, with a peculiarly JOHN BROADUS TURPIN 217 cordial and helpful spirit towards the young pastor just winning his spurs. In the Albemarle Association, of which body his church was a member, he was a leader. At the centennial session of the Association, held at i "la-stnut Grove Church, August 19, 1891, he preached the special historical sermon, which he afterwards enlarged and published in booklet form. Mr. Turpin was not of a robust physical build. He was often in danger of overtaxing his power. Concern as to his health was one cause of his going to Americus, Ga. While in Americus he was called on to take part in the services at the funeral of Speaker Crisp, of the House of Representatives. The prayer which he made on this occasion so impressed one of the Congressional party that a copy of it was secured for the official printed record of the occasion. In his various pastorates Mr. Turpin was always cordial in his help towards the colored people, and always highly esteemed and loved by them. He had a keen sense of humor, loved a good joke, and with his hearty laugh more than rewarded the one who had furnished the fun. He was himself quite ready with a good story. For commencement addresses he was much in demand, and, at the time of his death, was engaged for speeches at two such functions. During his second pastorate in Charlottesville he was married to Miss Rosa Bibb Smith, the daughter of J. Marion and Nellie Timberlake Smith. Miss Smith was of Albemarle County, and this marriage took place at the First Baptist Church, Charlottesville, September 3, 1890. She sur- vives her husband. On Wednesday, January 20, 1915, she was married at Shadwell, Albemarle County, Vir- ginia, to Judge William Francis Rhea. When Mr. Turpin resigned at Charlottesville the second time it was to accept the pastorate of the First Baptist Church of Parkersburg, W. Va. Scarcely had he been on this field a year when, February 3, 1909, he departed this life. The body was laid to rest in "Holly- wood," Richmond. JOHN WILLIAM JONES 1836-1909 A class poem, called "The Boys," written in 1859 by Oliver Wendell Holmes, has these lines descriptive of Dr. S. F. Smith, the author of our national hymn : "And there's a nice youngster of excellent pith. Fate tried to conceal him by naming him Smith; But he shouted a song for the brave and the free, Just read on his medal 'My Country of Thee'." The name of John William Jones is so associated with the Civil War and with its two great generals, Lee and Jackson, that he, like S. F. Smith, has overcome the dis- advantage of having a name borne by so many. On the morning of April 17, 1861, as the Louisa Blues, a volunteer company, were drilling on the court- house green at Louisa Court House, Va., a telegram from the Governor of the State ordered the company to be ready to leave for the front by sunset. At that hour a great crowd gathered to see the young soldiers depart. A venerable minister of the gospel spoke tender words of farewell and made an earnest prayer to God. Amidst tears and shouts these boys, who were to wear the gray, went off. John William Jones was a member of this company. He was the son of Col. Francis William and Ann Pendleton Ashby, having been born at Louisa Court House, September 25/1836. In a protracted meeting at Mechanicsville Baptist Church, Louisa County, in August, 1855, under the preaching of Rev. George B. Taylor, Mr. Jones was converted and baptized. That fall he entered the University of Virginia. This session his roommate was John C. Hiden, and they had as their 218 JOHN WILLIAM JONES 219 quarters Room No. 1, Mrs. Daniel's boarding house. This room, which was close to the dining-room, became the rendezvous, after supper, for a half-hour of fun and song before hard work began, such men as these drop- ping in : H. H. and Jerry Harris, Tom Hume, John L. Johnson, Eddie Bowie, John C. James, Cullingworth, Estes, and Boston not an idler among them, all fine students. During his student days Mr. Jones was an earnest Christian. He was active in the Y. M. C. A., which was organized in 1858, the first college Y. M. C. A. in the world. Its constitution was adopted October 12, and when the officers were elected the place of treasurer was given to Mr. Jones. This Association organized a prayer-meeting in every boarding house and in every sec- tion of the University, established Bible classes, kept up a well-attended prayer-meeting Sunday afternoon, sent out teachers and workers to Sunday schools and religious services in destitute sections within eight or ten miles of the University, and, under the superintendence of Dr. John B. Minor, maintained a negro Sunday school. In this work Mr. Jones took deep interest. From Sunday to Sunday, although he did not love to walk, he tramped five miles to teach in a Sunday school among the mountains. During a protracted meeting held in the University, under the auspices of the Y. M. C. A., there were in his dormitory eight students ; the four who were professors of religion made special effort and prayer for the other four, and before the meeting closed all eight were followers of Jesus. From the University he went to Greenville, S. C., to attend the first session of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. His name stands as the first matriculate of the Seminary, he being one of the ten that Virginia sent that year, the total enrollment being twenty-six. On June 10, 1860, at the Baptist Church, Charlottesville, four young men, namely, 220 VIRGINIA BAPTIST MINISTERS Crawford H. Toy, John L. Johnson, James B. Taylor, Jr., and John William Jones, were ordained to the gospel ministry. Less than a month later, on July 3, Mr. Jones was accepted by the Foreign Mission Board, in Rich- mond, for work in Canton, China. This year was a most eventful one for him. On December 20, at "Oak- ley," Nelson County, a country residence commanding a fine view, he was married to Miss Judith Page Helm, who was to prove in every way a noble helpmeet. (The cere- mony was performed by Dr. Wm. D. Thomas.) In 1888, at a District Association, a lady came up to Dr. Jones and said: u Do you not know me? I was a bridesmaid at your marriage." He was candid enough to admit that he did not recognize her, whereupon a friend suggested that his attention had been so centered on the bride that he did not see any one else. This same winter he became pastor of the Little River Baptist Church, Louisa County, with a once-a-month appoint- ment. In the spring of 1861 the "blast of war" sounded in the ears of the Southern people, and, as already men- tioned, Mr. Jones went out with a company from his own county. It was not long before he became a chaplain in the army, but it is interesting to note that he went out as a private. It was during the first year of the mighty struggle, when the first flush of victory had lowered the moral tone in the Southern Army, that a brigadier- general fell off his horse on review and lay drunk in his quarters for weeks, with sentinels to guard him. One of these sentinels was our young soldier, who, speaking of this episode, says : "For many a weary hour I paced the sentinel's beat in front of those headquarters, my only orders being not to disturb the general." Mr. Jones tells of another disgraceful scene. Gambling became common and open. Col. A. P. Hill ordered the officer of the JOHN WILLIAM JONES 221 guard to take a file of men and capture the faro-bank that was doing a big business. Mr. Jones, one of the detail, was stationed at the door, with orders to arrest all who attempted to escape. The first who tried to pass out was a prominent politician, who was fond of gaming, and who was on a visit to his son. He protested against being detained, saying that he was a citizen and a mem- ber of the Legislature, but the young soldier's bayonet prevented his escape. These two events are the more striking in this life story, as the subject of this sketch was so associated with the religious life of the Army of Northern Virginia. First as chaplain, and then as army evangelist, he sought in every way the physical and spiritual welfare of the soldiers. For the full story <>f the religious life of the army, and the part that Mr. Jones bore in it, the reader must turn to "Christ in the Cam])." a book which, a few years ago, Dr. B. H. Carroll.