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. <f
Texas, described as "priceless," and as "a great Virginia
book" that should "live forever." This volume, prepared
by Dr. Jones after the War, was largely based on his own
experiences and on the letters that he wrote from camp to
the Religious Herald, Christian Index, and other papers.
In the first personal interviews that Mr. Jones had with
Robert E. Lee and "Stonewall" Jackson his business was
the religious interests of the soldiers and officers. In
February, 1864, when the army was on the Rapidan,
Rev. B. T. Lacy and he went to General Lee, a committee
f n -in the Chaplains' Association, in reference to a better
observance of the Sabbath. They were received with
"marked courtesy and respect," the great man's eye
brightening and his whole face glowing with pleasure as
he heard details in regard to the great revival that was
then sweeping through his army, and, the day after, he
issued a "general order" calling for a reduction, to the
minimum, of military work on Sunday, and expressing
222 VIRGINIA BAPTIST MINISTERS
satisfaction that there were houses of worship and
religious services in the camp. Mr. Jones' first interview
with "Stonewall" Jackson was when, on July 4, 1861,
the army being drawn up in line of battle at Darkesville
to meet General Patterson, he sought permission for a
colporteur, Rev. C. F. Fry, to distribute Bibles and tracts
in the lines. His request was at once granted and the
colporteur introduced. Along with many other chaplains,
Mr. Jones was active "in season and out of season,"
preaching, distributing Bibles and other good literature,
working in revivals, and seeking, by letters to the public
press, to secure more chaplains for the work. As a rule
there was preaching every day, and, at least once,
Mr. Jones preached four times in one day. On Sunday,
September 6, 1863, he preached at six o'clock in the
morning to his own brigade, at eleven o'clock he attended
an ordination service at the Orange Court House Baptist
Church, in the afternoon he witnessed, along with a
crowd of five thousand men, the baptism, in a creek near
the railroad, of eighty -two soldiers, and at dusk he
preached, by the light of fire stands, to five thousand men
seated on logs. Once, when he reached his appointment
for preaching, it was raining, and he suggested that per-
haps the service could not be held, but the men wanted
to stay, and so the sermon was preached in the rain. On
another occasion the sermon had not been reached when
a shell fell in the midst of the congregation ; at the sug-
gestion of the officer in charge, the congregation moved
to a more protected place and the sermon was delivered.
One of the most beautiful features of the religious work
in the army was the fraternal spirit of the ministers of
the various denominations. No one was more fully
possessed with this spirit than Mr. Jones, yet he was
withal a most decided Baptist. Dr. T. D. Witherspoon,
a distinguished Presbyterian minister, told, as a joke on
JOHN WILLIAM JONES 223
Jones, a story that was possibly more of a joke on him-
self. It was customary in the army that when a soldier,
upon a profession of faith, desired to unite with some
other denomination than that of the minister conducting
the service, he was directed to a minister of the denomi-
nation of his choice. Upon the invitation of Dr. Wither-
spoon, Dr. Jones had gone over to his brigade, cut the ice
on a mill-pond, and baptized a number of men. In the
service he had read, without comment, some of the
Scripture passages bearing on baptism. The next day
one of the men went to Chaplain Witherspoon and said :
"I do not think you ought to invite Brother Jones to come
over here any more." When asked why he felt this way,
the man replied that he did not think that Brother Jones
had a right to read to the crowd "all of them Baptist
Scriptures." In one of his reports Mr. Jones stated that
during the year he had baptized 222 candidates, having
preached 161 sermons. At another time his record
showed that in one month he baptized 67 men. Once
at Peyton's Ford, on the Rapidan River, when the
stream, owing to recent rains, was very swift, he baptized
twelve young men; an old citizen told him that fifty
years before, at the same place, Mrs. General Madison,
sister-in-law to the President, had been baptized, the
President and a great crowd being present. On two
occasions Mr. Jones baptized in the Rapidan in full view
of the Union pickets, but there was no motion on their
part to interrupt the ordinance. Once, in 1864, on a
moonlight night, after a sermon in Wright's Georgia
Brigade, Mr. Jones received nine for baptism, but
scarcely had he announced that the ordinance would take
place the next morning at nine o'clock when the "long
roll" sounded, and in a few moments the men were on
the march towards what proved to be a series of bloody
battles. Before there was another chance to baptize these
224 VIRGINIA BAPTIST MINISTERS
candidates three were dead and three in prison. While
the conflict was raging around Petersburg, one day
Mr. Jones, assisted by John R. Bagby, was distributing
tracts in the trenches, at a time when the shells were
bursting close at hand and the Minie balls whistled
through the air. One man, who was so fortunate as to
have a frying-pan and something to fry, was calmly pre-
paring his meal, when a Minie struck in the center of
the fire and threw the ashes in every direction. The
man's comment was : "Plague take them fellows. I
'spect they'll spile my grease before they stop their
foolishness." A little later the major suggested that the
party go into the noonday prayer-meeting that was being
held in the "boom proof"; the service that followed was
a precious and tender one. One day Mr. Jones was
riding along the lines at Petersburg with Carter, his little
boy, on the pummel of the saddle. The little fellow
amused himself giving the "military salute" to the "men
in gray" as he passed along. Presently one of them
called out: "How do you do, General?" The child
proudly replied : "I am no General, Sir, I am a Baptist
preacher." Some years later, when General Lee was
President of Washington and Lee University and
Mr. Jones pastor of the Lexington Baptist Church, the
same boy was being caressed and petted by General Lee.
General Lee said: "Ah, Carter, I. hope to live long-
enough to give you a high diploma." The boy replied :
"General, I am not going to your college ; I am going to
graduate at Richmond College and then I am going to
be a Master of Arts of the University of Virginia, a full
graduate of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary,
and a Baptist preacher" "Well, my boy," answered
General Lee, "you have marked off a noble course for
yourself, and I hope you may be able to carry it out to
the letter." Before .the War was over, in the many
JOHN WILLIAM JONES 225
religious meetings that had been held, it is estimated that
no less than 15,000 men had made profession of their
faith in Christ, and of this number Mr. Jones had bap-
tized 410. In after years Mr. Jones had abundant evi-
dence that very many, perhaps the larger proportion, of
the men who made profession of religion during the War
became faithful church members when they returned
home.
In 1865 Mr. Jones became pastor of the Goshen Bridge
and Lexington Churches, in Rockbridge County, Vir-
ginia. After a year he gave his whole service to the
work at Lexington. He reached the town about the same
time that General Lee assumed the presidency of Wash-
ington College (now Washington and Lee University).
It so happened that there was no other pastor in the town
who could give himself to active association with the
students at the college and the cadets at the Virginia
Military Institute save Mr. Jones, who was thus brought
into close touch with General Lee. Mr. Jones says of
this work: "I held well-attended prayer-meetings at the
Institute every night, attended, every morning, the prayers
at the college, and the frequent Y. M. C. A. meetings of
the students, and did a good deal of visiting in the rooms
of the college students and the barracks of the Institute.
The happiest results followed these labors; there were
a number of conversions among the students, and soon
we had a general and all-pervasive revival among the
cadets of the Institute, in which 110 of them professed
conversion. In the college and the Institute both there
were 150 professions of conversion, and of these, 35
became ministers of the gospel, and others were useful
church members. ... A distinguished Episcopal
bishop, whom I met some years ago, after talking about
the revival and his conversion in it, said to me : 'The first
theological instruction I ever received was in the Ne\v
15
226 VIRGINIA BAPTIST MINISTERS
Testament Greek class you used to teach at the Institute.'
General Lee, meeting me on the lawn one day, inquired
after the revival at the Institute and said with a good
deal of feeling: 'That is the best news I have heard
since I have been in Lexington. Oh, that we might have
such a revival in our college and in all the colleges of
the country' !" His relationship to General Lee at this
period, as well as his acquaintance with him during the
War, led to his writing his "Personal Reminiscences,
Anecdotes, and Letters of R. E. Lee," a book that had a
sale of over 20,000 copies.
In 1871 he left Lexington to become agent for the
Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. In September,
1873, he became General Superintendent of the Sunday-
School and Bible Board of the Baptist General Associa-
tion of Virginia. Until he resigned this work, on
June 1, 1874, he regarded himself as a Sunday-school
missionary, visiting as many Sunday schools and
churches as possible, attending many District Associa-
tions and Sunday- School Conventions, coming into per-
sonal contact with Sunday-school workers, and endeavor-
ing, by pen and tongue, to rally the workers and to disci-
pline the army for better work. In 1874 he received the
degree of Doctor of Divinity from Washington and Lee
University, and the following year, living in Richmond,
became pastor of the Ashland Church, and at the same
time being Secretary of the Southern Historical Society.
The main work of this last office was that of editing the
Southern Historical Society Papers. Under Dr. Jones'
direction fourteen volumes of this publication appeared.
During the active years that remained of his life, Dr.
Jones was, first, for some years the Assistant Secretary
of the Home Mission Board of the Southern Baptist
Convention, Atlanta, Ga., then for two years Chaplain
to the University of Virginia, and finally Chaplain of the
JOHN WILLIAM JONES 227
Miller Manual School, Albemarle County. In connection
with these positions he was busy with his pen, before his
death giving to the world, besides the books already men-
tioned, the "Jefferson Davis Memorial Volume," the
"Army of Northern Virginia Memorial Volume," a
"School History of the United States," the "Life and
Letters of R. E. Lee," and "The Soldier and Man." For
his "School History" he had been reading and gathering
material for twenty years. These books by no means
represent all of his pen work. Probably there was never
a year when he was not correspondent or reporter for
one or more papers, either regularly or for special occa-
sions or conventions. This newspaper work seems to
have begun when a brother preacher turned over to him
an engagement with the Richmond Dispatch. For this
paper Dr. Jones wrote many years over the signature of
"Viator." Dr. Jones had a large private and semi-public
correspondence, and much of this work he did without
the aid or before the day of stenographers. His hand-
writing was bold, large, and almost as plain as print, and
his "Yours to count on," with which he closed many a
letter, gave pleasure, and almost passed into a proverb
among his friends, seeming to be an index of the charac-
ter of the man. He was warm-hearted and enthusiastic
in his make-up, and loyal, in a very noble sense and to a
high degree, to cause or principle or person when once
he had committed himself. His devotion to the South,
her generals and men and destiny, his strong adherence
to Baptist doctrines and agencies for service, his willing-
ness to help a friend at any cost, illustrate the remark as
to the loyalty of his character. Not only with his pen
and as a preacher did Dr. Jones serve his day and coming
generations. He had a number of lectures touching the
history of War, one on Lee, another on "Stonewall"
Jackson, and yet another called the "Boys in Gray," that
228 VIRGINIA BAPTIST MINISTERS
he delivered far and wide, not only in the South, but also
in the North. Boston gave him an overflowing audience
to hear one of these lectures, and the respect and courtesy
the audience showed him on this occasion greatly
delighted him. Towards the close of his life he was
elected Chaplain-General of the United Confederate
Veterans and to the office of Secretary and Superintend-
ent of the Confederate Memorial Association. For years
not a few before the end came, it was fine, at the
Southern Baptist Convention and sometimes at other
annual Baptist gatherings, to see "The Jones Boys," as
Dr. Jones and his four preacher boys Carter Helm,
Pendleton, Ashby, and Howard came to be called, in
admiration and affection, by the brotherhood. The
father, in a wonderful way, preserved his youthful spirit,
and the fellowship and camaraderie among the five was
inspiring to behold. Each of these sons has had a useful
career, and as they still stand, in the vigor of service and
power, they are a noble illustration of the sterling worth,
real piety, and strong personality of their parents. The
fifth son, Frank, is a lawyer.
Dr. Jones died, in Columbus, Ga., March 17, 1909, at
the home of his son, Rev. M. Ashby Jones, and the body
was taken to Richmond, Va., where he had lived so long
and the capital of the Confederacy that he loved so well.
The service in Richmond was conducted by these minis-
ters : Ryland Knight, W. R. L. Smith, W. H. Whitsitt,
E. L. Grace, and Wm. E. Hatcher. The body was laid
to rest in Hollywood. Memorial services were held in
Ashland, where he had been pastor, and in May, at the
session of the Southern Baptist Convention, in Louisville,
Ky., an address was delivered by Dr. W. H. Whitsitt
upon the character and work of Dr. Jones.
JAMES HENRY BARNES
1833-1909
Among those who bore part in the organization of the
Liberty Baptist Church, New Kent County, Virginia,
were Mr. William H. Barnes and his wife, who was,
before her marriage, Miss Lucy Saunders. They were
both born in New Kent, but soon after their marriage
they moved to James City County, and here, on Septem-
ber 23, 1833, their son, James H., was born, and here he
grew to manhood. Hickory Neck Academy, located in
James City County, and one of the "best classical schools
that the South wa's noted for before the Civil War,"
helped the young man towards an education, preparing
him for William and Mary College, at which famous
institution he was a student the sessions of 1854-55 and
1855-56. When the Civil War broke out he enlisted,
^erving first under General Joseph E. Johnston and then,
as a courier and clerk, under General R. E. Lee. He con-
tinued in the service until near the end of the War, when
he was taken prisoner. After the close of the War,
returning to his home, he sought, first as a school-teacher,
to do all in his power, at this trying time, for the good
of his country. From the desk of the pedagogue he
passed to the pulpit, being ordained to the gospel ministry
at Liberty Church and becoming pastor of this flock. To
this people he ministered longer than to any other, and
there are many living in that community who give testi-
mony to the far-reaching blessings of his influence. In
the course of his ministry the other country churches of
which he was pastor were Samaria, James City, Har-
mony Grove, Macedonia, Spring Hill, and Eastville,
229
230 VIRGINIA BAPTIST MINISTERS
located in the counties of Northampton, Middlesex,
Gloucester, and Mathews. The towns of Williamsburg,
Richmond (Fulton Church), and Baltimore were also his
fields of labor before his work ended. In this last-named
city he founded the Hampden Baptist Church. His
preaching was characterized by "simplicity, earnestness,
directness, and spirituality," and was eloquent withal.
For some years before his death he was afflicted with
total blindness, which made it necessary for him to give
up his regular pastoral work, but he still continued to
preach, and many thought his messages after the days
of his great affliction were with greater power and ten-
derness than ever before. "Through a long life he loved
God and loved his fellow-men, and, though independent
of opinion and fearless in upholding the right, he was
ever patient, tender, and generous, and was loved,
honored, and esteemed by all who knew him." He died
at the residence of his brother-in-law, Mr. Ben Joe
Vaughan, in Ware Neck, April 7, 1909. The funeral
and burial took place at Poroporone Church, King and
Queen County. The services, which were attended by a
large crowd (some of the people from the Harmony
Grove Church coming across the country over winter
roads), were conducted by Rev. W. W. Sisk, assisted by
Rev. R. A. Folkes, Rev. H. J. Goodwin, and Rev. W. E.
Wiatt. The sermon, from the text "I have fought a
good fight," was preached by Mr. Sisk. Mr. Barnes was
married twice. His first wife, to whom he was married,
at Liberty Church, January 1, 1885, was Miss Mary
Florence Binns. Of this union there were born two
daughters, Macon E. and Mary F. Barnes. His second
wife, who survives him, and to whom he was married,
at Poroporone Church, November 13, 1894, was Miss
Florence Celeste Mann.
JOHN MILTON WILLIS
1849-1909
It would be interesting to have the statistics as to men
who had first been lawyers or physicians and then became
ministers of the gospel, and of those who had given up
the ministry for one of these professions. After a num-
ber of years as a successful attorney-at-law, John Milton
Willis entered the ministry and gave the remainder of
his life to this calling. He was born in Orange County,
at "Spring Hill," the home of his parents, on August 12,
1849. His father was James Willis and his mother
Elizabeth Gordon, a daughter of Rev. John Churchill
Gordon ; of this minister a sketch will be found in "Lives
of Virginia Baptist Ministers," Second Series. The sub-
ject of the present sketch spent his early days on his
father's farm, upon the Rapidan River, and attended the
"old-field" school located on his father's lands. Locust
Dale Academy, under the management of Mr. Andrew J.
Gordon, next ministered to his educational life, and then
he became a student of law at Richmond College. Upon
leaving Richmond College, in 1871, he engaged in the
practice of law for one year in Charlottesville, Va., and
then moved to Missouri. He settled in Saline County,
making first Miami and then Marshall, the county-seat,
his home. Here, by his ability and by his "remarkably
pure and upright life," he built up a large practice. On
May 3, 1877, he was married to Miss Mary Young Hoi-
man, the oldest daughter of Rev. Dr. Russell Holman,.
who was the founder of the Colosseum Place Baptist
Church, New Orleans, and for many years the secretary
of the Domestic Mission Board of the Southern Baptist
231
232 VIRGINIA BAPTIST MINISTERS
Convention. In October, 1884, Mr. Willis moved to
Florida* being led to this step because his health had
been seriously undermined by inflammatory rheumatism.
Here he worked at his profession, and raised oranges,
until the fall of 1895, when, responding to what he
believed to be a call from God, he offered himself as a
candidate for the gospel ministry, and was ordained, in
January, 1896, at Green Cove Springs, Fla. Although
he set out on the career of a preacher without regular
theological training, he had had no mean preparation in
this direction, since he had sat a.t the feet of Dr. Holman
and Dr. Henry Talbird, both of them ministers of ability
and learning. "In long talks and discussions with them
he drank deep of theological truths, and from their
libraries he garnered a store of knowledge." After two
years, in which period he was pastor at Palatka, also
supplying country churches, he returned to Virginia and
became, in the summer of 1898, pastor of the Mount
Madison Baptist Church, just across the river from
Lynchburg, and in Amherst County. After five years of
faithful service in this field he became State evangelist,
under the State Mission Board, and gave himself unre-
servedly to the hardships incident to a ministry in the
waste places. This work proved too strenuous for him,
his health broke down, and, in 1906, he resigned. In
November, 1907, he began to preach again, taking charge
of the Bridgewater and Mt. Crawford Churches, Rock-
ingham County, Augusta Association. While on this
field, on Sunday morning, May 22, 1909, after preaching
from Galatians 5:1, a few moments after the close of
the sermon he dropped dead on the street. He was
buried in Buena Vista, Va., where he had lived for
several years. As a lawyer he had never betrayed the
confidence reposed in him by fellow-citizens who called
him to represent them in positions of importance, and as
JOHN MILTON WILLIS 233
a minister "he was noted for a singularly consistent
Christian life, a keen insight into spiritual things, and a
determination to know nothing but Christ and Him cruci-
fied." He is survived by his wife and three children,
namely: Hon. Russell Holman Willis, Roanoke; Mrs.
L. M. Walker, Danville, and Miss Gladys Churchill
\Villis.
TIMOTHY FUNK
1824-1909
On Friday, January 29, 1907, a company of some five
hundred people gathered at the Baptist Church, Singer's
Glen, Rockingham County, Virginia, for an all-day
service. Although Rev. G. C. Bundick and Rev. J. H.
Brunk, and perhaps other preachers, were present, there
were no sermons, for the business of the day was singing.
After an opening prayer and a brief address the stream
of song began to flow, nor was its flow broken, save for
an hour given to an abundant dinner, until the evening
shades fell. During the larger part of the day the book
used was the old and historic "Harmonia Sacra" that had
its birth at Singer's Glen. Among the tunes selected
were these: "Greenfield," "Wesley," "Lingham,"
"Heavenly Vision," "Fatherland," "New Salem," "Eden
of Love," "Thanksgiving," and "Glorious War." The
most honored person in this gathering was the venerable
Rev. Timothy Funk, in celebration of whose eighty -third
birthday the meeting was held. The seat of honor was
his, and once during the day he was the leader of the
music, many of those who sang being his former pupils.
Not only Baptists, but also Mennonites, United Brethren,
Presbyterians, Methodists, and Lutherans were in the
congregation. This function was a most appropriate
one, since Mr. Funk, for more than half a century, was
a teacher of music throughout the State. In many, many
hamlets and rural neighborhoods, not only in the Valley,
but in Piedmont and Eastern Virginia, his name was
known. He "lisped in numbers, for the numbers carne/'
his father being Joseph Funk, well called, by Dr. John
W. Wayland, "The Father of Song in Northern Vir-
234
TIMOTHY FUNK
ginia." In the little village of Singer's Glen, whose very
atmosphere still seems to breathe of music, there is seen
the small building where the old printing-press stood.
Joseph Funk gave to the sweet, smiling valley its present
name, and to the world the "Harmonia Sacra," which
had a sale of 80,000 copies. He translated from German
manuscripts 'The Confession of Faith of the Mennon-
ites" ; this work, with a preface giving the history of
this denomination written by him, he published in 1837.
He and his sons, doing business under the style of Joseph
Funk's Sons, introduced what was known as the "patent"
or "shaped-note" system, which was patented, and which
came to be known among music publishers as "Funk's
system." For many years the types were manufactured
and sold by MacKellar, Smith & Jordan, of Philadelphia.
Timothy Funk, the second son of Joseph Funk, and
one of fourteen children, was born January 26, 1824.
While it seems that he did not enjoy, as his brother, the
advantages of a college course, nevertheless he was not
an uneducated man. The training that he received from
his parents was by no means to be despised. The work
that he did for over half a century as a teacher of singing
has been mentioned, but an interesting detail may well be
added. It was his custom to close all of his singing
schools with "There Is a Happy Land." So it was most
fitting that this hymn was sung at his funeral. His
work as a preacher was long, faithful, and effective. He
was pastor of the Turleytown Church for many years,
and a noble exponent of Baptist doctrines in all the lower
end of Rockingham County, and doubtless in even a
wider territory. His wife, who was Miss Susan Rheu-
bush, preceded him by many years to the unseen world,
having died May 26, 1895. His end came, after quite a
season marked by the infirmities of age, June 11, 1909.
His funeral and burial took place at Singer's Glen.
236 VIRGINIA BAPTIST MINISTERS
Singer's Glen, surrounded with its apple orchards and
fertile meadows, the mountains in the distance and the
hurrying trains far away, is rich in suggestions of peace
and comfort. One family, with wide ramifications, has
made the place famous, and here the descendants of the
first settler, who was a grandson of Bishop Funk, who
came to this country in 1719, dwell contentedly together.
Another branch of the family lives in Illinois, where
some years ago they owned, in one body, no less than
25,000 acres of the best land in the State.
W. R. WEBB
1844-1909
Thomas L. Webb and Sarah Chambliss Webb, his
wife, of good Virginia stock, lived on their farm in Din-
widdie County, Virginia. There, on August 14, 1844,
their son, W. R. Webb, first saw the light. The boy
grew up with little opportunity for an education, since
his father kept him close at work on the farm, believing
in the plow rather than books as the best preparation for
life. So it came to pass that not until he was a man and
married did he have the chance for an education that he
craved. After the death, in 1871, of his first wife, who
was, before her marriage. Miss Sarah E. Smith, of Din-
widdie County, he felt called to preach the gospel, and
attended, for several sessions ( 1872-74), Richmond Col-
lege. During this period Rev. Vernon FAnson "coached"
this student, who was no longer a youth, and he testifies
that it was a "privilege to aid one who was so eager to
learn, so willing to be taught, and so faithful and devoted
to his studies." During these years he spent much time
praying for the guidance of the Holy Spirit in his
preparation for the Master's work. In making his
arrangements to go to college he was greatly aided by
Deacon J. C. Duane, for whom he ever had a most grate-
ful affection. The Cut Banks Church, where he had
been baptized by the Rev. Hosea Crowder, ordained him
to the gospel ministry. Before his college days he had
served as a brave Confederate soldier all through the
War.
The churches to which he preached during the course
of his ministry were Bethel, Grafton, Emmaus (York
237
238 VIRGINIA BAPTIST MINISTERS
County), Denbeigh, James City, and James River. Until
the organization of the Peninsula Association his
churches were all in the bounds of the Dover Associa-
tion. Several of these churches he served for a long term
of years. More than one meeting-house was built by
him, and "the cause of the Lord prospered under his
faithful ministry." It is scarcely necessary to remark
that his salary was never large, but he was industrious,
and withal a prudent man of business ; and so it came to
pass that before his death he had secured an excellent
home, a farm, on James River, near Lee Hall, and thus
he left his family in fairly good circumstances. There
was only one child by his first marriage ; this son, at the
time of his father's death, was an earnest member of the
Second Baptist Church of Newport News. Before her
marriage his second wife was Miss Mary L. Williams,
of Elizabeth City County. She and seven of her eight
children survived her husband. The obituary, prepared
for the Minutes of the General Association by Rev.
Vernon FAnson, is the basis of this sketch; it closes with
these words : "For forty years the writer knew and loved
this consecrated Christian this humble but faithful
pastor this excellent and successful preacher of the
gospel of Jesus Christ. For some months before he died
his health was poor, and finally, in the full hope of a
glorious resurrection and a blessed immortality, he fell
asleep in his own home, with prayers for his family and
children, on the 15th of June, 1909."
BENJAMIN FUNK
1829-1909
Among the sons of Joseph Funk was Benjamin Funk,
who was born December 29, 1829, at Singer's Glen. The
name of "Funk," so far, at least, as Virginia is con-
cerned, is inseparably associated with the little village of
Singer's Glen, Rockingham County. This spot was first
known as Mountain Valley, until Joseph Funk gave it
its present name. He was the grandson of Bishop
Henry Funk, of the Mennonite Church, who came to
America in 1719. In 1847, at Singer's Glen, Joseph
founded the first Mennonite printing-house in this
country. Dr. John W. Wayland calls Joseph Funk "The
Father of Song in Northern Virginia." His "Harmonia
Sacra" had a sale of some 80,000 copies, passing through
seventeen editions. He went far and wide over the
State teaching singing.
Benjamin Funk was educated at Richmond College,
where he studied Latin, Greek, German, Mathematics,
and English (1854-55). For a time, after his leaving col-
lege, he taught school, and then became a minister of the
gospel. After a few years' labor in Eastern Virginia he
gave the rest of his active ministry, which lasted till about
ten years before his death, to the region roundabout
Singer's Glen. During his career as a teacher he labored
in West Virginia and at Harrisonburg and other points in
Rockingham County. He and his brother, Timothy,
were kindred spirits in life, and in death they were not
divided, less than a month separating their departures
from earth. Near together, on the hillside that overlooks
the valley where so much of their lives was spent, rest
the bodies of these two good men.
239
240 VIRGINIA BAPTIST MINISTERS
Mr. Funk was married twice, his first wife being Miss
Louie Burkholder, of Rockingham County, and his
second, Miss Mary E. Cowger, of Pendleton County,
West Virginia. Mr. Boyd H. Funk, of Bedford City,
is a son of the first marriage. Mr. Funk was the author
of the "Life and Labors of Elder John Kline," a volume
of 480 pages, published, in 1900, at Elgin, 111. John
Kline was "a Bunker preacher of note, who lived at
Broadway, Va., and who was shot to death near his home
in 1864 a martyr to good works."
The story is told of Robert Hall, the famous preacher,
that once after he had returned from the asylum, where
he had been confined for some time, a man said to him :
"Mr. Hall, what sent you to the asylum?" The great
man's answer was : "Brains, sir, brains, what will never
send you there." Not long before his death, after a
general breakdown, Mr. Funk's mind was impaired, and
he was taken to the asylum at Staunton. He was a man
of such bright and vigorous intellect that Robert Hall's
reply could be applied in his case. He passed away at
Staunton, July 1, 1909, and the funeral took place at
the Singer's Glen Baptist Church, July 3d.
SAMUEL GRIFFIN MASON
1831-1909
Not only as pastor of various churches in Franklin and
Henry Counties, but also in schoolhouses and out-of-the-
way places was the voice of Samuel Griffin Mason heard
as he proclaimed the glad tidings of the gospel. He was
born in Franklin County, September 23, 1831, and began
preaching about the year 1870, soon after which time he
was ordained, upon the call of the Providence Church,
of which body he was a member. His work as a
preacher, stopped only by declining health, continued up
to about two years before his death. During this period
he served these churches: Stoney Creek, Trinity, Mill
Creek, and Sandy Ridge, in Franklin County, and Mt.
Vernon, in Henry. He was pastor of Trinity some
twenty years. He served all through the Civil War,
proving himself a faithful soldier. He was twice mar-
ried, his first wife, to whom he was married in Decem-
ber, 1855, being Miss Eliza Pedigo, of Henry County.
She died October 26, 1896. He was married June 15.
1904, to Miss Anna Barbour, of Snow Hill, Va. ; she
survived him. He died December 18, 1909. He was
the nephew of Rev. Samuel Griffin Mason, a sketch of
whose life is found in "Lives of Virginia Baptist Minis-
ters." Fourth Series.
241
16
JOHN RHODES QUARLES
1849-1909
The death of Mr. John Rhodes Quarles, Sr., when the
son who bore his name was still a youth, led to this
youth's being sent to the home of his uncle, where he
grew up. This uncle. Dr. Charles Quarles, after many
years of successful practice as a physician, became a
minister of the gospel. As a layman he was a leader in
religious work, and through the zeal of him and others
their church became one of the most efficient in the upper
end of the Goshen Association. Since his father's home
was broken up, the young man was fortunate to be able
to live in his uncle's household. This home had a good
library, and was not far from the Mechanicsville Baptist
Church. Dr. Quarles had the aptitudes of a scholar, and
was withal a courteous, cordial, Christian gentleman.
Young Quarles, who was born July 17, 1849, was first a
student at the Gordonsville Academy and then at Rich-
mond College (1870-71 ). His hope as to the gospel min-
istry and as to his college career was marred by a trouble
with his eyes ; so he turned to farming and teaching. On a
portion of his father's estate he established himself, and,
in 1873, was married to Miss Emma Wheeler, of Albe-
marle County. Here he reared a family of five children.
His work on the farm and in the schoolroom did not
prevent great activity along religious lines. More and
more pastors sought his help for supply and protracted-
meeting work, and at last, when he was forty-five years
of age, a call to the regular pastorate came to him. His
shrinking from this high calling was overcome, and on
December 30, 1894, his ordination took place at Mechan-
242
JOHN RHODES QUARLES 243
icsville Church. The churches to which he ministered in
the remaining fifteen years of his life were Lower Gold
Mine and Waldrops, Louisa County, in the Goshen
Association ; and Freddy's Creek, Free Union, and Slate
Hill, Albemarle County, in the Albemarle Association.
Two of these churches, Waldrops and Freddy's Creek,
under his faithful preaching and leadership, broke away
from the time-honored, but not ideal, custom of once-a-
month preaching, and, each securing two Sundays a
month, formed a field, with him as their pastor. His
people were devoted to him, and whenever he preached
his meeting-house was crowded. In 1884 he was clerk
of the Goshen Association, and from 1903, for some
seven years, he filled this office in the Albemarle Associa-
tion. In his preaching he honored the Bible and made
the sermon the instrument for the accomplishment of
good. He was genial and hospitable in his nature, loving
to have his friends around him in his home. In this
home he was loved with a devotion little short of
idolatry, while his love for his dear ones was like a
strong, flowing stream. He passed away December 20,
1909, and the funeral, attended by a great concourse of
people, took place at the Mechanicsville Church. The
services were conducted by Rev. F. H. James, he being
assisted by Rev. Mr. Hudson and Rev. Dr. F. H. Martin.
JOHN W. McCOWN
1833-1910
In that decade of 1830 to 1840, so remarkable in
American history for its material development, John W.
McCown was born. In 1830 there were only twenty-
three miles of railroad in the United States, and perhaps
no one ever dreamed, in those days, that the steam
engine with its train of cars would come, in less than
fifty years, along the Kanawha River and through Put-
nam County. It was in this county (now a part of West
Virginia) that John W. McCown, one of six children,
was born, February 24, 1833. His father, Joseph
McCown, was widely known in that section, while his
grandfather, Charles Franklin McCown, was a Lieuten-
ant in the French and Indian Wars. His mother, Pamela
Hughes, was a descendant, through her emigrant ances-
tor, of a distinguished Welsh family. Mr. McCown
entered Richmond College in 1853, and so began a course
of studies in the classics, philosophy and theology, that
was to continue through his life. During his college days
he was one of a trio of students who came to be known
as "The Triumvirate/' This name is to be credited
rather to college rivalries and animosities than to the
callow wit of college fledglings. C. C. Chaplin, J. C.
Long, and J. W. McCown formed this "Triumvirate."
Years afterwards, when C. C. Chaplin passed away,
Long wrote for the Religious Herald a tribute to him,
entitled "A Sprig of Acacia," and, when Long died,
McCown sent to the same paper an article about the
second of the "Triumvirate" to depart, called "Another
Sprig of Acacia." In 1857 Mr. McCown graduated at
244
JOHN W. McCOWN 245
the college, the other graduates that year being Edward
Epps, W. F. G. Garnett, A. T. Goodwin, John M.
Gregory, Stephen E. Morgan, and Isaac T. Wallace. On
July 5th, of the same year, Mr. McCown was ordained
to the gospel ministry at Grace Street Baptist Church,
Richmond, his college friend, Mr. Long, being ordained
at the same time. Rev. Dr. R. B. C. Howell and Rev.
Dr. J. B. Jeter took part in the service. The same year
he was married to Miss Katharine Johnson. She was a
daughter of Fullerton Johnson and of Mary Neal, a
granddaughter of the distinguished Griffith Dickinson.
Mr. McCown's first pastorate was at Clarksville, Va.,
and his second in Campbell County. Here he organized
a company for service in the Confederate Army, and not
long afterwards became a chaplain in Zollicoffer's
Brigade, to which he was attached for the rest of his
army life. In 1866 he moved to Gordonsville, Orange
County, where he lived for twenty-five years, serving,
during this period, with fidelity and success, many
churches in that general section of country. It is inter-
esting to know that in 1868, when he was a missionary
of the State Mission Board, the Gordonsville Church,
which now numbers 160 members, had 42, and Orange
Court House Church, that now has 297, reported only
33. That year Mr. McCown, copying the custom of the
Richmond City churches, organized a Sunday School
Association, made up of five neighboring Sunday schools,
that met once a month. Twice he held pastorates out-
side of Virginia, first at Leaksville, N. C., and then,
some years later, at Richmond, Ky. For a season he was
in charge of the church at Glade Spring, and at two
periods of his life he resided at Bowling Green, Va.,
being pastor of the Calvary Church at that place. Dur-
ing his pastorate at Bowling Green a young negro man,
who was ignorant, being scarcely above a brute in intelli-
246 VIRGINIA BAPTIST MINISTERS
gence, a most pitiable creature, abject from fear, was
tried and hanged at the courthouse. Mr. McCown went
daily to see the poor wretch, talking and praying with
him, and brought him, it seemed, to a glimmering percep-
tion of the grace of God. Then, when the man's fatal
day came, he walked with him to the scaffold and held
his hand to the last. During the days that he lived at
Gordonsville and Bowling Green he served, for longer
or shorter periods, the following churches : Upper Gold
Mine, Pigeon Run, Liberty, Pleasant Grove, Louisa
Court House, North Pamunkey, Upper Zion, Providence
(Caroline County), Crooked Run, and Bethel.
His alma mater conferred on him the degree of Doctor
of Divinity, and, if culture and scholarship are the basis
of such a degree, he was most worthy of the honor. He
was a graceful prose writer, and in his early days he
expressed his thoughts in verse. The beauty of his
diction was remarkable. Quite recently an old woman
gave this testimony : "He wrote me the most touchingly
beautiful letter when my father died thirty years ago; I
have it yet, and my brother, in another continent, keeps
a copy of it." It seems very unfortunate that he did not
exercise more freely his remarkable gifts in this direction.
His sermons, which are extant, are "fine examples of
literary craftsmanship." Not only in his sermons, but
also in his prayers, "his artistic temperament found
outlet." When he led a congregation in prayer he lifted
them away from "sordid things and into the atmosphere
of the infinite." His former congregations still speak
of his prayers. One of his friends said, a year after his
death: "If I could only have him pray with me I could
bear, I believe, this heavy sorrow of mine." His keen
intellect, his eager thirst for knowledge and service, led
him to aspire to wide fields of usefulness, but his sensi-
tive nature suffered from the jars of busy life and made
JOHN W. McCOWN 247
him shrink from the struggle for place. "He deliberately
chose the quiet field for his sowing and there remained
to garner a rich harvest of love and appreciation." Not
only in mind and heart, but also in person, he was
attractive. "His figure was tall and well proportioned,
and preserved its youthful slender ness through life. His
regular features were modeled with almost feminine
delicacy, the nose straight, the mouth sensitive and
mobile, the eyes a beautiful blue-gray, the hair black, the
broad, virile, thoughtful brow dominating the whole
face."
Some ten years before his death a growing weakness
of the throat and the breaking down of a body never
overstrong, made it necessary for him to give up the
labor of the regular pastorate. From this time to the
end he was with his own people in Virginia and Ken-
tucky. He died in Richmond on January 5, 1910. On
the fifth day of the following June a beautiful service
to his memory was held at Gordonsville. Addresses
were made by Rev. J. B. Cook and Rev. L. J. Haley,
and words of appreciation were spoken by many in the
congregation. The following day the grave in Maple-
wood Cemetery was covered with tall white lilies and a
blanket of red roses. The children who survived him
were Mrs. Charles P. Winston, Mrs. Carter Helm Jones,
Mrs. Louis H. Czapski, Mrs. John Hart, and Albert
McCown.
ROBERT BAILEY SANFORD
1846-1910
In the home of his father, Rev. John H. Sanford, a
Methodist preacher, on February 28, 1846, Robert
Bailey Sanford was born, being one of seven children.
His birthplace was at "Federal Hill," a beautiful home
overlooking Kinsale, in the historic county of Westmore-
land. His mother was Susan Bailey Sanford, a pious
woman. "The San fords and Baileys have been, since
prior to the Revolution, staunch members and supporters
of the Methodist Church." When the boy was eleven
years old his mother passed away, her last words to him
being : "Bailey, my son, be a good boy. God will take
care of you." This dying message was never forgotten,
and no doubt, under God, had a blessed influence on
Bailey's life. At the age of thirteen, and again after the
close of the War, he entered as a scholar the Kilmarnock
Male Academy, Lancaster County, his teacher, at both
periods, being Mr. William Chase. When the War broke
out, this youth of fifteen wanted to enlist, but as he was
feeble in body his father would not give his consent, and
so it was not until he was eighteen that he went forth to
the defense of his country, but it was, all his life, a regret
to him that he had given only one year of service as a
soldier. Upon leaving school he took up his chosen pro-
fession of teaching. Late in the night, when he was
twenty-two years old, he was converted, and so definite
and clear was his experience of God's grace that never,
to the end, did he doubt his salvation, and his exemplary
Christian life gave others convincing proof of the
genuineness of his turning to God. Upon his c6nversion
248
ROBERT BAILEY SANFORD 249
he became a member of the Methodist Church, but after
his marriage, which led to a thorough reading of the
Scriptures, he united with the Baptists, being baptized by
the Rev. A. B. Dunaway in the Corrotman River,
Lancaster County. His marriage took place at Merry
Point, Lancaster County, Virginia, on March 17, 1869,
the bride being Miss Alverta S. Callahan, the accom-
plished daughter of Thomas C. and Hannah G. Callahan.
She had been educated at the Kilmarnock Seminary,
which was presided over by the Rev. Addison Hall. She
was a zealous Christian and a staunch Baptist, and a
wife who was never weary of helping her husband bear
the burdens of life. Upon his conversion Mr. Sanford
felt called to preach. This conviction was so strong with
him that although the door seemed closed at first for his
entry into the ministry, nevertheless he found work, after
teaching for some time, as a colporteur, first among the
Baptist churches of the Northern Neck and then for the
Sunday School and Bible Board of the General Associa-
tion. More than once, at later periods in his life, he
again engaged in this form of religious work. As a col-
porteur, as in everything to which he put his hand, he was
conscientious, aiming to do his best. In this sphere of
service he began to exercise his gifts as a public speaker,
and finally, on May 5, 1889, he was ordained to the
gospel ministry, the presbytery being made up of these
ministers: J. M. Pilcher, R. R. Acree, James Wright,
Duncan McLeod.
I Hiring the course of his ministry he served these
churches in Virginia: Ettricks and Matoaca, near
Petersburg; Union, on Chincoteague Island; and the
Tabernacle Church, Newport News ; and these churches
in Maryland : Vienna and Branch Hill. His salary was
never large, and his health never the most vigorous, but
he would take up his first love, colportage work, when he
250 VIRGINIA BAPTIST MINISTERS
could not preach ; and so, with his own earnest struggles
and those of his faithful wife, not only were the affairs
of the household kept going, but the eight children were
given a good education. When the years of his active
service were ended he proved that he knew how to be a
good listener to other preachers, and a faithful one in the
ranks and in the pew as well as in the place of leadership.
His piety was deep, and his life pure, and he loved to
commend, in private no less than in public, his Saviour.
On Wednesday, January 19, 1910, he was stricken with
paralysis, and the following Tuesday, January 25, a
few moments after three o'clock in the afternoon, he
came peacefully to the end of a useful life. The funeral,
which took place at the Second Baptist Church, Newport
News, was one of the largest ever witnessed in that city.
It was conducted by his pastor, Rev. J. T. Riddick, who
was assisted by these Baptist ministers : Lloyd T. Wil-
son, E. P. Jones, S. L. Naff, T. L. Seymore, W. C. Sale,
M. F. Sanford, and Rev. E. T. Welford, of the Presby-
terian Church, and Rev. T. J. Taylor, of the Methodist
Church. The Magruder Camp of Confederate Veterans,
of which camp he was chaplain, attended the funeral in
a body. The burial took place in "Green Lawn," the
Newport News cemetery. He was survived by his wife
and these eight children : Dr. H. B. Sanford, Richmond ;
Mrs. George Murray, Mrs. D. B. Simpson, Mrs. Harry
Scholfield, J. C. Sanford, T. W. Sanford, Newport
News; R. B. Sanford, Jr., U. S. N., and Mrs. W. Ward
Hill, Amherst, Va. This sketch is based wholly on a
tribute to Mr. Sanford written by Rev. J. T. Riddick and
published in the Religious Herald. The facts given in
this sketch, and in some cases the language, are taken
from Mr. Riddick's article.
ONAN ELLYSON
1826-1910
Rev. Onan Ellyson, younger by two years than his
brother, Henry K. Ellyson, outlived his brother many
years and reached the ripe old age of eighty-five. He
was born in May, 1826, and he passed from the scenes
of earth February 21, 1910. His body was laid to rest
at Washington, D. C. His birthplace was Richmond,
and Lynchburg the place of his death. In his early years,
being left an orphan, he worked first with his brother in
Richmond and then on his own account in Petersburg as
a printer and publisher. At the beginning of the War
he moved to Charlotte County, and soon afterwards gave
up a lucrative business to engage in evangelistic work.
In 1847 he was married to Miss Mary Steel, of Rich-
mond. For many years he was a member of the Second
Baptist Church, Richmond, until he moved to Peters-
burg, when he united with the First Church of that city.
With others he went out from the First Church to organ-
ize the Byrne Street (now the Second) Church of
Petersburg. Of this body he was an active member,
being a deacon and superintendent of the Sunday school.
About 1865 he was ordained to the gospel ministry, and
presently became a missionary of the State Mission
Board. One year during his service for the State Mis-
sion Board, while laboring in the Appomattox Associa-
tion, he made this report as to his work: "I am encour-
aged in my work. I expect to baptize a number more in
May, amongst them one Presbyterian, one Methodist,
and one Episcopalian. I preach for an anti-mission
church, by their request, whenever I visit Campbell
County." For this year he had baptized twenty-three
251
252 VIRGINIA BAPTIST MINISTERS
persons and arranged to organize two new churches, one
in Charlotte and one in Campbell. It was at this time
that he organized the first Men's Missionary Society of
Lynchburg. During his years in the Appomattox Asso-
ciation, besides the work he did on fields where there
were no church organizations, he was pastor of these
churches : Flat Creek, Burkeville, Kedron, and Midway.
After this, his life work continued, in what was then the
Potomac Association, as pastor of the Berry ville Church.
Here he remained some five or six years. His next field
was out of Virginia, namely, at Anacostia, Washington
City, where he did extension work. Upon his return to
Virginia he became pastor in the Rappahannock Associa-
tion, being pastor first of Bethlehem and Enon Churches
and later of Oakland.
His last years were spent with his daughters in King
George County and in Lynchburg. In Lynchburg he
attended the Cabell Street (now Rivermont Avenue Bap-
tist) Church, making himself most helpful to the pastor.
He visited a great deal among the members, urging them
to fall into line with all the plans of the pastor and the
church. He was much interested in the erection of the
new meeting-house, and attended the public services of
God's house whenever his strength made this possible.
"He was always optimistic ; the past was good, but the
present is better, and the future is going to be still
better." He loved children, and was in the habit, in these
last years, of saving his street-car fare that he might
invest in candy and peanuts for his little friends. Rev.
Oscar E. Sams declares that in Mr. Ellyson he had, from
the very first of his pastorate in Lynchburg, a most
loving, sympathetic, and helpful fellow-worker.
Mr. Ellyson's children are Mrs. A. B. Harvey, Geo. S.
Kllyson, Mrs. S. B. Redding, Mrs. J. N. Owens, Miss
Alollie E. Ellyson, Dr. R. M. Ellyson.
JAMES BOARDMAN HAWTHORNE*
1837-1910
Tht- Ua\\thornes of Xe\v England were rank Puritans.
In "the conviction of one hundred and fifty witches at
Salem, Mass., the judge and the prosecuting attorney
were both of this family. People of this name have been
found in Vermont, Virginia, North Carolina, Alabama,
and Florida, and it is at least possible that all these
branches came from the New England stock. From
Lunenburg County. Virginia, certain Hawthornes moved
to North Carolina. From here one family, at least, emi-
grated to Alabama. It was an arduous trip, in those
days, from North Carolina to Alabama, through virgin
forests over an unbroken track. On this journey Kedar
Hawthorne was a youth. When at last their destination
was reached he enlisted for the Seminole War, which
was then being waged in Florida. His courage and vigor
were great. Once he was sent on foot with a sack of
corn to the nearest mill, twenty miles away. Before his
return Murder Creek was swollen to dangerous propor-
tions by a sudden rain. Heavy logs ever and anon floated
by, and night was closing in. To stay on the bank all
night meant exposure to wild beasts or the Indians. To
swim the stream with the meal was no easy work. The
latter alternative, however, was successfully accom-
plished. In 1825 Kedar Hawthorne was married to Miss
Martha Baggett, and later husband and wife were con-
verted under the preaching of Rev. Alexander Trevis, a
pioneer Baptist preacher. On May 16, 1837, at Mt.
*This sketch, in the main, is based on an unpublished biography
of Dr. Hawthorne by Rev. B. F. Riley, D. D., LL. D. Dr. Rik-y
kindly permits this use of his biography.
253
254 VIRGINIA BAPTIST MINISTERS
Moriah, Wilcox County, Alabama, where his father had
organized, and was pastor of, the Baptist Church, James
Boardman Hawthorne was born. His birthplace was a
log hut, and his middle name was for George Boardman,
the missionary to the Karens, whose life Kedar Haw-
thorne had just read with burning enthusiasm. Young
Hawthorne's first school was near Camden, his teacher
being named Love. Here the boy enjoyed keenly both
the coon hunts by night and the all-day singing classes
common at that time, when the oblong Carmina Sacra
was used. At twelve years of age he went to an academy
at Oak Hill, Wilcox County, the teacher being one
Samuel Jones. Here, in a declamation contest, the timid
boy, a contestant against his choice, won the prize, a
copy of Cowper's poems. No wonder that in that day,
when books were few, he should have poured over the
new volume and learned by heart "John Gilpin," which
charmed him greatly. The next year, at the Camden
Institute, whose principal was Lucius Brutus Johnson, a
second victory in the art of public speaking brought
young Hawthorne a gold medal, and gave clearer evi-
dence of the future man. This time his rivals were able.
On the way to the contest he heard some one declare, in
a discussion as to the chances of the several candidates,
that he was sure to win if he only managed his long legs
right. He was wise enough to make good use of this ad-
vice so unconsciously given. Since in those days the law
was in very high repute, no wonder that the young man
decided to give his life to this profession. In 1851, at his
father's church, under the preaching of Rev. C. F. Sturgis,
he was converted and became a member of the church.
Finally he entered Howard College. Here he gloried in
the library, and soon became the orator of the school. At
this time Noah K. Davis had charge of the English De-
partment of Howard. His standard was so high, being
JAMES BOARDMAN HAWTHORNE 255
nothing short of Addison, that his students worked in
vain to win his praise. At last, in desperation, a passage
was copied from "The Spectator" and handed in as an
original composition. The paper came back severely
criticized with such comments as "pompous," "turgid,"
"ridiculous." Years afterwards Dr. Davis, being Pro-
fessor of Moral Philosophy at the University of Vir-
ginia, upon hearing this incident for the first time,
exclaimed : "Well, I always had a lingering suspicion
that I was a fool, and this confirms it." During Mr.
Hawthorne's career at Howard the college was destroyed
fey fire, the colored janitor, Harry, dying the death of
a hero, having rushed through the flames to give the
alarm. After three years at Howard, Mr. Hawthorne
decided to give up his fourth year and his degree and go
out at once into active life. He commenced reading law
with the firm of Chandler, Smith & Herndon, in Mobile.
Along with his law studies went much public speaking.
Before long he was the pet of the people, being regarded
as a boy orator. In the campaign of 1856 he supported
Buchanan against Fillmore. On one occasion his mimicry
of his opponent, who had but one eye, caught the crowd.
When he realized that he had been guilty of discourtesy
and bad taste in taking advantage of the physical
infirmity of his adversary, his prompt and frank apology
made him yet more popular. During his career as a
young political speaker several events occurred which
combined to change the current of his life. On one occa-
sion, out in the rural districts, after he had spoken, the
other side called loudly for "Billie Jones." Mr. Jones,
who was a preacher and a speaker of unusual ability,
responded to the call and gave his youthful rival such an
unmerciful "drubbing" that reply was impossible. At
another time and place the young lawyer had an old man
in his crowd who greatly helped him by his rapt atten-
256 VIRGINIA BAPTIST MINISTERS
tion. After his speech was over he sought out the
venerable citizen, but upon thanking him for his helpful
attention, he received this reply : "Oh, 'twarn't that
'twarn't that. I waz jest a-thinkin' that er young feller
like you might do somethin' fer hisself in this world if
he'd jest quit that tarnal foolishness uv a-goin' over the
country a-makin' uv speeches. What in the name of
common sense is yer a-throwin' away yer time fer when
ye can be a-doin' of somethin' shore 'nuff?" About the
same time Mr. David Cook, a wealthy planter and a
friend of Mr. Hawthorne's father, along with Col.
Richard Hawthorne, his cousin, urged the young man to
become a minister of the gospel. Col. Hawthorne did
more than argue the matter. He made an appointment
for the young law r yer to preach, and, without waiting for
the young man's consent, put out messengers whose
announcement collected a large crowd. Eventually, as a
result, surely in a measure, of these various experiences,
Mr. Hawthorne decided to give up the law and become a
preacher.
His decision to preach and his marriage came near the
same time. On August 27, 1857, he and Miss Emma
Hutchinson, who was only sixteen years old, were united
in marriage, and the next month he began his theological
studies at Howard College, Marion, Ala. During this
course at Howard the President, Dr. Henry Talbird,
often took young Hawthorne out into the country and
put him up to preach, believing that the only way to learn
how to preach is to preach. While at Howard the young
couple had their first great sorrow in the death of their
firstborn, Yancey Boardman. During his first vacation,
being in Mobile, Mr. Hawthorne was called on to preach.
His text was : "Prisoners of hope." It is known that
two persons were converted under this sermon. One was
Mrs. Hawthorne. Some months afterwards a sea
JAMES BOARDMAX HAWTHORNE 257
captain, who was baptized by Rev. Dr. Powhatan K.
Collins, one of the Mobile pastors, testified that seemingly
by accident he had heard the sermon about the "prisoners
of hope" and had been converted. With another early
sermon of Mr. Hawthorne an amusing incident is con-
nected. Since it was his habit to write very carefully
what he expected to say, and then commit to memory,
his stock of sermons was marked by quality rather than
by quantity. At the end of the session he arranged for
a series of preaching appointments, hoping thus both to
do good and to replete his pocket-book. At the first
appointment his sermon on "Rejoice evermore'
charmed a Mrs. C - that she decided to hear him at
Fatama, and again she heard the sermon on the words :
"Rejoice evermore." At Concord, for the third time,
and at Pineville, for the fourth, she heard the same
sermon. During his last session at Howard he and his
fellow-student, J. Alexander Chambliss, planned a
preaching tour through southern Alabama. Between
them they had fifteen sermons, Hawthorne eight and
Chambliss seven. When these fifteen sermons had been
preached at one point the young preachers moved on to
the next place. No amount of persuasion, no high degree
of interest could induce the young theologians to con-
tinue their meeting when once the fifteen sermons had
been preached. Doubtless the people at each place won-
dered and never knew why the services could not pos-
sibly be continued. Not long after this, in a meeting,
Mr. Hawthorne was forced to go on beyond the eight
sermons by reason of the sudden illness of the pastor he
was helping, and the impossibility of getting any other
preacher. Against his serious protest the meeting was
thrust upon him. He threw himself on God, the meeting
went on, and before its close some eighty persons had
made profession of their faith in Christ. He was
17
258 VIRGINIA BAPTIST MINISTERS
ordained to the ministry at Friendship Church, Pine
Apple, Wilcox County, Alabama, September 22, 1859.
During the first year of his ministry, while living at
Pine Apple and preaching to Fellowship, Friendship, and
Snow Hill Churches, he had much time for study and
reading. And in his leisure moments he undertook to
learn to play on the violin, but his wife's verdict that he
had no gift for music led him to give up this pursuit.
After one year he became pastor of the Broad Street
Church of Mobile. Here, besides being most popular as
a preacher, he carried on, in the columns of the South-
western Baptist, of which paper Dr. Samuel Henderson
was editor, a discussion with Rev. J. J. D. Renfroe on
the principles of Landmarkism, Mr. Hawthorne opposing
these views. When the Civil War came on he became
the chaplain of the 21st Alabama Regiment of Volun-
teers, his church continuing to pay his salary. About this
time a book appeared entitled "Armageddon." It de-
clared that the world would be destroyed about 1863.
Mr. Hawthorne adopted the author's view and preached
more than once a sermon setting forth this startling
announcement. An old carpenter by the name of Hutto,
hearing that the sermon was to be preached at Rock
West, got on his horse and rode twenty-five miles across
the country to that point. Upon his arrival he announced
that he wanted to see Board Hawthorne. He was
informed that the preacher had already gone into the pul-
pit, and that he could see him after the service. That
would not do. He must see him at once. But why such
urgency? He wanted to get the preacher to put off the
end of the world for a while until the South could whip
the terrible Yankees.
The years of the Civil War sorely tried the Southern
people, and the Reconstruction Period was worse. In
the fall of 1865 Mr. Hawthorne became pastor at Green-
JAMES BOARDMAN HAWTHORNE 259
ville, Ala. After a year here, during which time great
crowds attended his ministry and the church house was
renovated, he accepted a call to Selma, one of the best
pastorates in the State. The problem presented by the
awful coalition of the negroes and their unscrupulous
white leaders was one that no loyal citizen could disre-
gard. One day Mr. Hawthorne heard that a certain
Dr. Henry, a "scalawag," was leading a throng of
negroes, proposing to occupy and use the First Baptist
Church. Mr. Hawthorne informed them that they could
not carry out their plan. The town was threatened with
a mob. Inflammatory speeches were made. Various citi-
zens spoke, but Mr. Hawthorne's words did more than
all else to save the day. The troubled state of affairs led
Mr. Hawthorne, Rev. W. Joseph Lowry, the Presby-
terian pastor, and Rev. C. N. Campbell, the Methodist
pastor, to begin a series of union services. A daily
prayer-meeting was held at eleven o'clock in the Metho-
dist Church, its location being the most central. The
meeting grew so in power that instead of one service
each day three were held, at the hours of nine, eleven,
and five. Throngs attended. For five weeks the special
services continued. So far as the Baptist Church was
concerned, the revival spirit prevailed for two years.
Quietly, in "an atmosphere vibrant with prayer and
praise," the good work went on, each Sunday witnessing
an ingathering of souls.
Mr. Hawthorne's first appearance before the Southern
Baptist Convention resulted in his being called to the
Franklin Square Baptist Church of Baltimore. In 1867
the Convention met in that city. Upon the advice of his
friend, J. L. M. Curry, Mr. Hawthorne decided to attend
the meeting. The weather turned suddenly quite cool,
and Mr. Hawthorne had to purchase heavier clothes. He
was so tall that he was not able to obtain a ready-made
260 VIRGINIA BAPTIST MINISTERS
suit that really fit him. Through the influence of
J. L. M. Curry, Mr. Hawthorne was put up Sunday
afternoon at a great mass-meeting to speak on what was
then designated Domestic Missions. His appearance, in
his short trousers and his ill-fitting coat, was not pre-
possessing. During the War he had pressed the claims
of this Board most successfully, and this, doubtless, was
an element in the success of his address in Baltimore.
His appeal was a masterly oratorical effort, and gave
him high rank as a speaker among Southern Baptists.
The following fall he began his Baltimore pastorate.
The condition of the church was not the best, but with
holy boldness the new pastor began a meeting with a sun-
rise prayer-meeting every morning and a service each
night. The work went on for six weeks, the pastor doing
all the preaching. The church was refreshed and its
membership greatly increased. At the last service,
during the singing of the last hymn, a wealthy wholesale
merchant, who afterwards became a tower of strength
and influence for God, made public profession of his faith
in Christ.
From Baltimore Mr. Hawthorne went to Albany,
N. Y. He remained here less than a year. Some trouble
with his throat led him to go to Albany, but its too severe
winter climate made it necessary for him to leave. His
next pastorate was in Louisville. Here he led the colony
of ninety-six members who went out from the Walnut
Street Church to organize the Broadway Church. Dur-
ing his four years here the membership grew to over four
hundred, and at a cost of $108,000 a beautiful meeting-
house was built. The Tabernacle Church, New York
City, was his next charge. His preaching here was
marked in an unusual degree by his direct appeals to the
heart rather than the head, and great crowds attended
upon his ministry. As pastor, no less than in the pulpit,
JAMES BOARDMAN HAWTHORNE 261
he gave himself to unremitting labors. His incessant
labors brought upon him a serious illness. For six
months he was in a most critical condition. His life was
despaired of. His brother pastor, Dr. R. S. MacArthur,
who visited him often, one day bade him farewell, never
expecting to greet him again in the flesh. The night
that the crisis was successfully passed five hundred
people were praying together for his recovery. His
people ordered him away for a six months' rest, putting
into his hands a purse of $1,400. Afton, Va., that
beautiful spot on the eastern slope of the Blue Ridge
overlooking the fair fields of Nelson, whither Mr. Haw-
thorne now turned, came to be the place to which he went
again and again in after years for seasons of rest and
vacation. The Goodloes were famous hosts, and the
chance for deer along the mountain side afforded a sport
in which he gloried.
His experiences in Albany and New York convinced
Mr. Hawthorne that a northern climate did not suit him,
and he decided never to accept another charge in the
North. Simultaneously calls came to him from the
Second Baptist Church, Richmond, and the First Baptist
Church, Montgomery. He accepted the call to Mont-
gomery. For years the galleries in the meeting-house
had been of no use. This was the case no longer.
Crowds attended. A great meeting was held, some two
hundred and fifty being added to the church. The pulpit
of the First Baptist Church became a mighty power in
the city against evil. Mr. Hawthorne was fearless in his
attacks on the saloon, gambling, and other forms of sin.
He was now in the very zenith of his power. People
came from distant parts of the State to hear him. His
broadsides against sin were tremendous. He was sub-
jected to adverse criticism, but this did not make him
change his methods. The reach of his power was great;
262 VIRGINIA BAPTIST MINISTERS
he was easily the first citizen of the State. In 1879, after
four years in Montgomery, he accepted a call to the
First Baptist Church in Richmond, Va. Dr. J. L. M.
Curry, a member of the church in Richmond, had no
small influence in having his church call Mr. Hawthorne.
From the very first the great auditorium of the First
Church was scarcely equal to the crowds that gathered to
hear him. Chairs had to be used. He gathered around
him here a body of young men who proved one of the
church's best assets. He was always a lover and admirer
of young men. He was almost a hero-worshiper of
young men of promise in the ministry. During his
Richmond pastorate he had to help him in a meeting
Rev. A. C. Dixon, a young man just coming into notice.
Some doubted the wisdom of having this unknown young
man for so important a work. Mr. Hawthorne carried
his point, and the result proved that he was right; the
meeting was a great and blessed one. One of the con-
verts was a Dutchman, who was so big in body that his
baptism was, to say the least, not a success, although Mr.
Hawthorne was famous for his grace and dexterity on
such occasions. While in Richmond he was most active
in promoting the interests of Richmond College and the
Woman's College. So great was his influence for good
in Richmond that when he received, in 1884, a call to
the First Church in Atlanta, Dr. Curry said if he
accepted he would feel inclined to call him an insane man.
But the call to Atlanta was accepted.
Dr. Hawthorne was pastor in Atlanta thirteen years.
Memorable in this pastorate was the temperance agita-
tion, in which Dr. Hawthorne bore a most conspicuous
part. First the State was carried for temperance, and
then came the campaign for Atlanta and its county,
Fulton. Sam Jones, Henry Grady, and J. B. Hawthorne
were the three great figures on the side of temperance in
JAMES BOARDMAN HAWTHORNE Z63
this contest. The struggle was fearful. The liquor
interests brought into battle their greatest power. At last
the day of election came. After hours at the polls Dr.
Hawthorne went to his home worn out. Some hours
later the family heard the approach of the crowd. The
result was unknown, and Mrs. Hawthorne feared that
the whiskey people, victorious, were coming to do
violence to their archenemy. Not so. The crowd surged
into the yard, shouting to their leader: "It is all right,
Doctor, we've got 'em." During the campaign Judge
Lockrane was so convinced of the sin of using ardent
spirits as a beverage that he decided to empty all the
choice wines and liquors of his cellar into the gutter. He
called on Dr. Hawthorne to be present at this function;
nor would he allow an old colored mammy to catch a
little of the old liquor to keep for cases of sickness.
While in Atlanta, Dr. Hawthorne would have led his
people in the erection of a larger and more commodious
house of worship, but what seems, to a looker-on, to be
the merely sentimental associations of an old member,
stood in the way of this forward movement. While in
Atlanta, Dr. Hawthorne had been the orator at the semi-
centennial of Howard College. Upon this occasion there
was conferred upon him the degree of M. A. (It will
be remembered that in his student days he had left col-
lege before receiving his degree.) Always a friend of
education, while in Atlanta Dr. Hawthorne led in the
movement that resulted in the establishment, in the
suburbs of the city, of a great school for women. When
the Southern Baptist Convention met in Birmingham,
Ala., in 1891, an invitation for the next year came from
Baltimore. The Baltimore brethren, believing that the
time had arrived to do away with the "free-entertain-
ment" plan, had the courage to recommend what prom-
ised to be an unpopular plan, though wise. The com-
264 VIRGINIA BAPTIST MINISTERS
mittee to which the matter was referred having no option
in the matter, since there was no other invitation, reported
in favor of going to Baltimore. At once Dr. Hawthorne
was on his feet asking the Convention to come to Atlanta,
"And," said he, "we do not ask you to bring your grub
with you." The Convention went to Atlanta.
A call to the First Church, Nashville, came, and he
accepted it. His departure from Atlanta was an ovation.
Crowds of his friends thronged to the station to say fare-
well, many bearing tokens of their admiration and love.
His journey to Nashville was made in the private car of
Maj. John W. Thomas, of Nashville. As had been the
case elsewhere, so it was in Nashville his pulpit was his
throne. From it went forth powerful denunciation of
sin. Here he took up arms against the American Pro-
tective Association, which he thought threatened to
violate the great doctrine of religious liberty. It need
not be said that temperance still found in him a mighty
friend. While in Nashville he began to be a great
sufferer from sciatica. This affliction, while it inter-
rupted his ministry, may have made his preaching gain
in tenderness. In April, 1906, he resigned to accept a
less strenuous work as pastor of the Grove Avenue
Church, Richmond, Va.
Grove Avenue was Dr. Hawthorne's last charge.
Conditions at this church were not ideal. The congrega-
tion was not large, and other difficulties presented them-
selves. Yet Dr. Hawthorne met the situation with the
courage of a young man. Suddenly an unexpected
emergency arose. The meeting-house was destroyed by
fire. The people, led by their dauntless pastor, soon
erected a structure more beautiful and capacious than the
first house had been. Increasing ill health induced Dr.
Hawthorne to offer his resignation. The Southern Bap-
tist Convention, at its meeting in Chattanooga, upon
JAMES BOARDMAN HAWTHORNE 265
motion of Rev. Dr. G. W. Truett, passed a resolution
requesting Dr. Hawthorne to deliver, the next year, an
address "upon such subject as he may deem best." The
following year, at the meeting of the Convention in Rich-
mond, Dr. Hawthorne delivered the address that had
been asked of him, his subject being: "Some things on
which it behooves Baptists of this generation to put
supreme emphasis." By order of the Convention it was
printed in tract form. It so happened that during this
session of the Convention Dr. Hawthorne's seventieth
birthday came around. On this day a pleasant surprise
was sprung upon him at the breakfast table at Ford's
Hotel, which was at the time his home. Friends who
were staying at this hotel gave him a gold-headed cane
properly inscribed, the presentation speech by Dr. H. W.
Battle being followed by a poem composed and read by
Dr. D. W. Gwin. After closing his work as a pastor
Dr. Hawthorne made several lecture tours through the
South, receiving at place after place what might be called
ovations at the hands of his friends and admirers.
Finally, however, after a sermon at Charlotte, N. C, on
October 17. 1909, when, in a high degree, his "pristine
power seemed to return," his strength failed so rapidly
that, after one or two appointments, other engagements
had to be cancelled. The winter of 1909-10 was severe,
and for several months he scarcely left the house. In
the early days of February, with milder weather, he was
again seen on the street. On the 14th, however, he
suffered a slight stroke of paralysis, and on February
24th the end came. In Richmond, where he had been
twice pastor, he fell on sleep. After appropriate services,
very simple, according to his request, he was laid to rest
in beautiful Hollywood near the graves of his friend.
J. L. M. Curry, and Jefferson Davis.
266 VIRGINIA BAPTIST MINISTERS
Dr. Hawthorne will be remembered as one of the most
distinguished orators and preachers Southern Baptists
have ever had. His unusually noble presence was no
unimportant factor in his power before an audience. As
vStraight as an Indian, and considerably over six feet
tall, he attracted attention in any crowd. His face was
placid yet strong, and his head, covered with long,
abundant hair, had the pose of a king. Dr. Hawthorne,
from the very beginning of his career as a public speaker,
always carefully prepared his speeches and sermons,
which were committed to memory word for word. Then
he adopted the plan of reading his sermons. This he did
with such consummate skill that many who heard him did
not know that he had his manuscript before him. He
was so familiar with his discourse that his eye was not
bound to the manuscript, but was free to direct itself to
the hearers. When he turned over a page he looked
away from the sermon, and so many never saw the leaves
as they were turned. Dr. Hawthorne seemed to honor
and magnify every word he spoke, giving full time for
its enunciation and, as it were, for its reception. Such
deliberation in some men would have been wearisome.
Not so with him. His enunciation and articulation were
so perfect that, apart from the meaning of the words, it
was pleasant to hear them as they followed each other.
Phillips Brooks was famous for the rapidity with which
he spoke. Dr. Hawthorne was at the other extreme.
Upon being asked once if he did not find the work of
writing out his sermons very heavy, he answered that his
sermons, when written out, were not as long as one
would suppose, for his deliberation in delivery made
each word go, as it were, a long way. Dr. Hawthorne's
delivery dignified his message. While his sermons were
not lacking in thought, had they been delivered by one
less gifted in elocution they would certainly have lost
JAMES BOARDMAN HAWTHORNE 267
much of their power. All his life he was a student of
words, and was scrupulous in the use of words and in
the construction of his periods. In the pulpit Dr. Haw-
thorne was so the impersonation of dignity, so kingly in
his bearing, that to many, who did not know him at
nearer range, he seemed haughty, austere, even unduly
proud. But this was not the case. Just the reverse of
this was true. He was as approachable, as guileless as a
child. He was companionable and genial in the social
circle, and was especially cordial to his younger brethren
in the ministry. Dr. Hawthorne was most careful in his
preparation for the pulpit and other public addresses, and
his attention to his dress added no little to his power.
Much more might be said about one who was an orator
of high order and a noble herald of the glad tidings of
salvation.
THOMAS D. SCOTT
1828-1910
Meadows of Dan, Patrick County, Virginia, was the
center of the arena in which Thomas D. Scott played his
part in life. Near this place he was born, in 1828. In
1855 Rev. D. G. Taylor, laboring as a missionary of the
State Mission Board, organized the Meadows of Dan
Baptist Church, into which body Mr. Scott, upon a pro-
fession of his faith and after his baptism, was received.
In 1861 he was licensed to preach, and later set apart,
by his mother church Elders Wm. Hankins and W. H.
Beamer constituting the presbytery to the full work of
the gospel ministry. Although never pastor of any
church, he was assistant pastor for the Meadows of Dan
and Sycamore Churches. He supplied other vacant pul-
pits; indeed, this seemed to be his chief calling. Thus
he rendered efficient and acceptable service. Though not
a preacher of great talent or of broad culture, he served
well his generation, and on March 1, 1910, in his eighty-
second year, fell on sleep. The facts for this sketch were
furnished by the Rev. J. Lee Taylor.
268
JAMES ALEXANDER MUNDY
1836-1910
This faithful, devoted, consecrated minister of God
passed away on the evening of May the 19th, 1910, at
the home of Mrs. John C. Mundy, in Amherst County,
Virginia. He had, on March the 5th, completed his
seventy- fourth year. In that county and at that home,
near Allen's Creek, where he passed away, he was born
and reared. His father, Captain Alexander Mundy, was
a successful farmer and a prominent resident of his
community. He was no less prominent as a Christian
man and deacon in the Mineral Spring Baptist Church.
James was reared in a most interesting and pious
family. We are not surprised, then, that in early life
he became a Christian and earnestly sought to adorn the
doctrine of his profession and faithfully serve Him
whose he was. He joined the St. Stephen's Baptist
Church and was baptized by Rev. T. W. Roberts, a mis-
sionary under the State Mission Board.
His early educational advantages were good, and he
made the best of them. Having finished at the Academic
School, he entered Richmond College, and, in June, 1859,
being twenty-three years of ag;e, received his degree.
During that summer he was ordained, to the full work of
the gospel ministry, at Mineral Spring Church. The
presbytery was composed of Rev. T. N. Johnson, Rev.
James M. Dillard, and Rev. P. S. Henson, the latter
preaching his ordination sermon. He soon entered upon
the work of a pastor, and was very successful in building
up the churches to which he ministered. For ten years
he was pastor of country churches in Xelson, Amherst,
270 VIRGINIA BAPTIST MINISTERS
and Appomattox Counties. For two and a half years he
was the Principal of Fluvanna Female Institute. During
his administration he showed decided ability in the
management of a large school and also his qualifications
as a teacher. The school prospered under his administra-
tion.
In 1872 he took charge of the church in Blacksburg
and at Christiansburg Depot, in Montgomery County.
Not being physically strong, he could not stand the
severity of that climate, and after two years of successful
work he resigned and accepted the call to Enon Church,
near Rollins Institute. While pastor there he preached
at Big Lick, now Roanoke, and organized there the First
Baptist Church. After a delightful pastorate at Enon of
three years, by the advice of a physician, who saw that
the climate was too severe for him, he resigned, to the
regret of the entire church. He then accepted a call to
Warrenton, N. C. In this warmer climate his health
improved. In his pastorate there he was successful, and
he served the church for seve.n years. While pastor there
Wake Forest College conferred on him the degree of
Doctor of Divinity. Resigning there, he accepted the
call to Greenville, S. C. There he had a wider field of
usefulness opened to him. Opportunities for good
among the students of Furman University and the
Woman's College, as well as the outlook for good in the
city, were not to be disregarded. For ten years the best
service of his ministerial life was given to that noble
church and cultured congregation. Dr. Charles Manly,
who was the President of the Furman University, says
of his pastorate: "How wisely and affectionately Dr.
Mundy labored may be inferred from the esteem in
which he was universally held, and from the fact that the
church so prospered as to send out, during his pastorate,
two colonies, which almost immediately became vigorous
JAMES ALEXANDER MUNDY 271
churches, and are now among the most important in the
State." His labors having greatly increased during these
ten years of service, since he was not strong physically he
resigned and accepted a call to Wilson, N. C. He
remained there two years, and during that time built a
neat, comfortable house for the accommodation of the
growing church and increasing Sunday school. From
there he went to Reidsville, N. C., where he remained
four years, and during that time had good success in
building up the church. He then accepted a call to Cabell
Street Church, Lynchburg, Va. The church was much
split up, and he, by his prudence and forbearance, suc-
ceeded in uniting and leading it to great efficiency. His
health failing him, he retired from the pastorate and
went to the old home, near Allen's Creek, where he spent
the last years of his life in the interesting family of his
widowed sister-in-law, Mrs. John C. Mundy. He loved
his work, and loved to tell the story of Jesus and His
love. Though he had retired from the active pastorate,
yet he preached for the churches at Gladstone and
Mineral Spring when his health would permit. He left
his impress for good upon all the churches of which he
was pastor and upon the various communities in which
he lived.
I )r. Mundy was richly endowed with a fine intellect,
which he studiously cultivated. He had an analytical
mind, and became one of our most logical and practical
preachers. His sermons were made very forcible by apt
illustrations from Scripture, nature, and the observations
of the everyday duties of life. He understood human
nature, and could adapt himself to any occasion. He
was generally a quiet speaker, but when inspired by his
subject he would rise in flights of oratory and eloquence,
carrying his congregation with him and moving them to
decisions for greater usefulness in the service of Christ.
272 VIRGINIA BAPTIST MINISTERS
His sermons were so natural and logical that they would
convince his hearers of the great importance of right
living and activity for Christ.
He was a genial companion and a good conversation-
alist. He was kind and liberal, always ready to do his
part. In social life he was attractive and, at times,
brilliant in conversation. He was very fond of young-
people, and always sought to encourage them to some-
thing noble and great.
He married the daughter of Rev. Thomas N. Johnson,
a Baptist minister of Buckingham County, Va. His
wife, who survives him, was truly a minister's helpmeet,
and his home was always pleasant and his doors were
ever opened to his brethren and friends. Over fifty years
he was a pastor. How wonderful that he should have
accomplished so much and lived so long when he was
always delicate! That prevented him from taking an
active part in our Convention and Associational meet-
ings. He could not stand the crowds. He must have
fresh air and a good deal of it. During his life he was
always bearing testimony to the love of God and the
worth of religion, and needed not to say anything when
he came to die. In his last days he would frequently
say: "I am ready whenever the Master calls me." He
died of heart failure, and could not say anything when
the end came. In the midst of his loved ones he calmly
and peacefully passed away from his work on earth to
his home in heaven. Loving hands and sympathetic
friends laid him to rest in the beautiful cemetery in
Lynchburg. Rev. Oscar E. Sams, his successor in
Lynchburg, made an appropriate address and closed with
the benediction.
W . J. Shipman.
JOHN KkA/lKK LANCASTER
1826-1910
Bedford and Floyd Counties and the Blue Ridge
Association formed the district in which John Frazier
Lancaster spent his life. After his birth, on December
15, 1826, in the former county, his father moved, with
his family, to Floyd. The members of this family were,
for a time, the only regular or missionary Baptists in
the county. When the New Haven Church was organ-
ized the subject of this sketch and others of his family
were the charter members. In 1858 he represented his
church in the organization of the Blue Ridge Associa-
tion; for a season he was clerk of this body. In 1864,
at the call of the Mayo Church, he was ordained to the
gospel ministry, and was pastor of Blackberry and per-
haps other churches. He was not only an earnest
preacher of the gospel but an uncompromising advocate
of "total abstinence," and Rev J. Lee Taylor, who fur-
nishes some of the material for this sketch, well says that
had his life been prolonged he would have rejoiced
greatly "in the blessing which came to his beloved State
September 22, 1914," when Virginia decided for "State-
Wide Prohibition." He was married to Annie, the oldest
daughter of Rev. D. G. Taylor. Of this union eight
children were born, of whom five, namely: Robert,
Emma, John D., George T., and Lizzie, are still living.
This couple reared an interesting family, and lived to
celebrate their "golden wedding." Since Mr. Lancaster
was a man of good education, it is not surprising to know
that much of his early life was given to teaching. He
passed to his reward March 1, 1910.
273
ROBERT DANIEL HAYMORE
1840-1910
Although Robert Daniel Haymore died in North
Carolina, and although some years of his ministry were
given to other States, he was a Virginian, and a con-
siderable part of his life work was in his native State.
When, on June 6, 1910, he passed away, he had reached
the age of some threescore and ten years, and had been
a preacher about half a century. His work in Virginia
was given to churches in the Roanoke and Blue Ridge
Associations and to the church, then known as Goodson,
in Bristol. A part of his time in Virginia he was a
missionary of the State Mission Board, and one year the
report of this Board, when speaking of the Blue Ridge
Association, his territory, described it, saying: "Nearly
every mile of which is missionary ground." In the
Roanoke Association he was pastor of Harmony Church,
and in the Blue Ridge, first and last, of these churches :
Bethlehem, True Vine, Starry Creek, New Haven,
Taylorsville, Beulah, and Rocky Mount. After his pas-
torate at Bristol, which lasted some six or seven years,
he accepted a call to the Central Church, Chattanooga,
Tenn. Of this pastorate Dr. J. J. Taylor says: "The
church was in the formative period of its history and
needed the guiding hand of a master. Brother Haymore
was just the man for the hour. By his serene spirit, his
wise oversight, his friendly bearing, he brought unifica-
tion, hopefulness, courage, and laid the foundation of
the prosperity that has ensued." After some six or seven
years in Chattanooga he resigned the care of the large
city church and returned to the section where he had been
brought up, and took charge of the Mount Airy Church.
274
ROBERT DANIEL HAYMOKI 275
Here he erected a beautiful residence and bought a good
farm a mile out of the town. So, with his church and
large response to evangelistic calls, his life ran to its
close. At the close of one year, writing to the Herald
concerning meetings he had held, he said: "More than
two hundred have been added to the Baptist churches,
many of them heads of families and persons of wealth
and influence. Among them, two young men have been
licensed to preach, both holding college diplomas. We
greatly desired a greater measure of visible results, but
we did all we could."
While his early life may not have had the oppor-
tunities for the largest educational preparation, still he
was in no mean sense an educated man. "He had some
knowledge of Greek, and his library was rich in English
classics, with which he had an extensive acquaintance.
In his public ministrations he showed a comprehensive
grasp of any subject he undertook to discuss, and he
never lacked in appropriate expression. Indeed, in
stature, voice, grace of manner, perspicuity of thought,
and facility of expression he impressed himself upon his
hearers as one of the foremost preachers of his day."
As a young man he was handsome, being "square built,
erect, beardless, swarthy, keen of eye and alert of mind."
In these early days he met one of the most accomplished
young women of his section of country, Miss Charlotte
A. Reid, and she became his wife. Of this union four
sons were born, namely: Nathan, Robert, Jerman, and
Nicholas. All of these sons, save Robert, are still living.
She was the daughter of Dr. Robert Reid, a distinguished
physician, though she had been adopted by her childless
uncle, Major Nathan Reid, whose home was a beautiful
country residence.
In evidence of the fact that Mr. Haymore was ever
charitable towards the faults and foibles of others,
276 VIRGINIA BAPTIST MINISTERS
Dr. J. J. Taylor, from whom the larger part of the
material for this sketch has been secured, tells the follow-
ing incident: "Some years ago, when Hugh Smith was
pastor in Martinsville, several visiting preachers were
guests in the pastor's home, Haymore among them. The
tide of ministerial fellowship ran high, and, incidentally,
but with no sort of malice or mischief, the odd doings of
some of the brethren came under review. Later the hour
of prayer before slumber came on, and Haymore, as the
elder, was asked to lead the devotions. Without pre-
meditation he turned to the seventh chapter of Matthew,
and, with that modulation and emphasis which so inter-
prets the printed page, he began reading: 'Judge not
that ye be not judged, for with what judgment ye judge
ye shall be judged, and with what measure ye mete it
shall be measured unto you again.' In the midst of the
reading he paused, and in one of those explosions of
emotion which sometimes seized him, he said, with tears :
'I feel rebuked!' Though if there were sin, he was the
least sinner of us all. In even a tenderer tone he finished
the lesson, and then in a prayer as simple as a child's he
led us into the secret place of the Most High and laid
our faults and failures and sins at the Master's feet."
MADISON E. PARRISH
1910
Although a native of Virginia and a son of Richmond
College (where he was a student, 1882-88, and where he
took his M. A. degree), the only pastorate Rev. Madison
E. Parrish ever held in Virginia was the brief one of a
year and eight months at South Street Baptist Church,
Portsmouth. This was the close of his earthly service.
After a severe illness with pneumonia he passed away on
June 11, 1910, leaving a widow and a son, Madison E.
Parrish, Jr., nine years old. Upon his death, a citizen of
Portsmouth said : ''His place can never be filled ; all
denominations loved him alike." Some few weeks
before his death he was assisted in a protracted meeting
in his church by the Rev. Carter Ashton Jenkins, now of
Richmond. During the progress of the meeting Mr.
Parrish worked day and night. One day he talked from
morning till night with twenty unconverted persons in
their respective places of business. That evening, with
tears on his thin, pale face, he said to the brother who
was assisting him : "I have been fighting the devil to-
day, but we will get one soul to-night." He was right;
that night one man was converted, and, before the series
of meetings ended, more than fifty persons had accepted
Christ.
Besides the Portsmouth pastorate, with which this
life, cut off in its prime, ended, Mr. Parrish had served
churches at Clovesport, Ky., Johnston, S. C, Salisbury
and Shelby, N. C. From this last town, where he was
pastor in 1908, the town from which Rev. Dr. A. C.
Dixon and his two brothers came, he wrote thus to the
277
278 VIRGINIA BAPTIST MINISTERS
Religious Herald: "I have the finest corn, tomatoes,
potatoes, beans, fat chickens, all fresh and homemade,
and I am feeding the flesh. I will send you some news
matter when the frost comes." Upon this letter the
editor of the Herald said, among other things : "Com-
mend us to the minister who has a fine kitchen, garden
and poultry yard. You may depend that he has a whole-
some personality, likes to see things grow, knows himself
what a hoe handle is for, has no dyspepsia, and does not
see the world through yellow glasses." In these words
Rev. Carter Ashton Jenkins describes Mr. Parrish: "If
purity of life, sweetness of disposition, unprecedented
humility, profound and lucid holdings of doctrine, broad
learning, comprehensive acquaintance with history,
unusual pulpit magnetism, together with refined manners
and unwavering faith in Jesus Christ, constitute a great
man, then Madison E. Parrish is the man of whom you
are thinking."
JACOB SALLADE
1871-1910
Lives of ministers are not without mysterious tragedy,
and still the promise holds : k< He will give his angels
charge over thee to keep thee in all thy ways." The
same Herald that announced the name of Jacob Sallade
as the Chairman of the Preaching Bureau Committee for
the Baptist World Alliance, in Philadelphia, gave an
account of his sudden death. On Monday, July 11,
1910, as he was hastening to take a train at Tioga Sta-
tion, Philadelphia, he stepped in front of a southbound
train, was hurled in front of another train, northbound,
and instantly killed. He was born in Williamsport, Pa.,
September 19, 1871, and reared in Fredericksburg. He
attended Bowling Green Academy, and then was at Rich-
mond College the sessions of 1892, 1893, and 1894 as a
ministerial student. On January 9, 1896, he was ordained
at the Broadus Memorial Church, Richmond, of which
church he was the first pastor, having been elected pastor
October 28, 1895. He resigned September 7, 1896. Be-
fore this time he had served Mt. Hermon and Providence
Churches in the Rappahannock Association, and the Con-
cord Church in the Dover. While a student at Crozer he
was pastor at Milton, Pa.; this place being 165 miles
from the Seminary, he had a long trip every Saturday
and Monday. He graduated at Crozer in the Class of
1898. While in Philadelphia he wrote to the Herald:
"The Old Dominion may forget some of her boys, but
it is hard work for the boys to forget the Old Dominion."
In 1901 he became pastor of the First Baptist Church,
New Castle, Pa. He left this field to become assistant
279
28Q VIRGINIA BAPTIST MINISTERS
pastor of Dr. Russell H. Conwell, Grace Baptist Temple,
Philadelphia. From the Temple he went, in 1905, to the
pastorate of the Tioga Baptist Church. In 1908 he
became District Secretary of the Home Mission Society.
In May, 1910, he became co-pastor to Dr. Conwell, the
position he was filling at the time of his death. What is
well-known to-day in church circles as the "Duplex
Envelope" is the result of much study and work, but Mr.
Sallade was the first "to apply the idea of a two-pocket
envelope to church collection uses." His envelope, which
was called a twin envelope, was patented August 27,
1901, it being No. 681,659. His envelope in a modified
form was again patented February 18, 1902, the number
of this patent being 693,624.
His funeral, attended by three thousand friends,
including two hundred ministers, was held in the Grace
Baptist Temple, and was conducted by these ministers :
J. M. Wilbur, Russell H. Conwell, John Gordon, T. H.
Sprague, and J. M. T. Childrey. The body was laid to
rest at Williamsport. Rev. Dr. John Love contributed
to the Baptist Commonwealth a poem in honor of the
memory of Dr. Sallade, entitled "An Appreciation." In
this poem this stanza occurred :
"To him no warning came until the hour
That marked the tyrant's dread, resistless power ;
One moment gazed he on the scenes of time,
The next on views of Paradise sublime."
In 1902 he was married at Milton, Pa., to Miss Mabel
Hatfield ; she and their daughter Ruth survived him. In
1908 the degree of D. D. was given him by the Temple
University.
JOSEPH LEONARD
1855-1910
Quite regularly, for a long number of years, the name
of Joseph Leonard appears in the list of Baptist pastors,
:iven in the Minutes of the General Association of
Virginia, and much less regularly, in the same series of
Minutes, is his name found as one of the pastors of the
Lebanon Association. In this Association he was pastor,
first and last, of the following churches : Walnut Grove,
Gum Hill, Willow Branch,^ Lime Hill, Valley View, and
North Fork. Several of these churches are in Washing-
ton County, Virginia, the county in which he was born
and where his life was spent. Because the sphere of
his life was narrow and the churches to which he min-
istered were small, it must not be decided that his service
was not faithful and effective. The people among whom
his ministry of some thirty-five years was spent had
confidence in him, hence the secret of the success that fol-
lowed his labors. Besides his work as a pastor he was
for six years a colporteur and for twenty-six years a
school-teacher. The span of his life was from 1855 to
July, 1910.
281
ROBERT WILLIAMSON
1828-1910
At the sixty-seventh session of the Accomac Associa-
tion, held in 1876 with the Lower Northampton Church,
a resolution was passed appointing Rev. Robert William-
son and Rev. F. R. Boston to prepare a history of the
Association from its organization. As Mr. Boston, soon
after this time, left the Association, the work fell upon
Mr. Williamson. In 1878 Mr. Williamson's "Brief
History of the Origin and Progress of the Baptists on the
Eastern Shore of Virginia, Embracing an Account of the
Accomack Association and Sketches of the Churches"
appeared, being a pamphlet of one hundred pages and
selling for thirty cents. Of the Accomac Association he
was moderator in 1874 and in 1875, and in 1875 the
preacher of . the introductory sermon. While in this
Association he was pastor of these churches : Lower
Northampton, Red Bank, Beulah, Union, and Chinco-
teague, living on Chincoteague Island. Before coming
into the Accomac he had his home within the bounds of
the Rappahannock Association, and after leaving the
Accomac he returned to the region of the Rappahannock
Association. For a season he was pastor of the Farnham
and Jerusalem Churches, members of this body. For
many years, however, of his sojourn at Farnham he was
not a pastor. It is said that he baptized no less than five
hundred persons during his residence in the Northern
Neck. His preference was for the quiet life of the
teacher, and so he gave much of his attention to this form
of service, being principal of several academies in differ-
ent parts of the State. In his obituary, in the Minutes
282
ROBERT WILLIAMSON 283
of the General Association of Virginia, are these words
concerning him : "His life was that of an earnest servant
of God, and, dying, he left no stain to dim the precious-
ness of his ministry." Princess Anne County was where,
in 1828, he first saw the light. His ordination to the
gospel ministry took place at Menokin Church, Richmond
County, in 1856; he was one of the seven graduates that
Richmond College sent forth in 1854, and on October 10,
1910, in Richmond County, he passed to his eternal
reward.
CHARLES EDWIN STUART
1872-1910
As the delegates were on their way to the General
Association, which met at Roanoke, November 18, 1910,
they heard of the death of Charles Edwin Stuart, which
took place November 16th. While for some months
before his death he had not been well, since in all his
ministry he had been so strong, and since he was in the
very heyday of manhood, it seemed hard to associate
death with him. Many of the delegates doubtless
thought of another meeting of the Association at which
Mr. Stuart had spoken with a fire and eloquence that had
stirred the great audience. It was at the meeting at
Grace Street Church, Richmond, in 1901. The work of
State Missions was under discussion, and Mr. Stuart had
as his subject his work and the religious condition of
things in the Powell's River Association and in all that
general section of the State. At this period he lived at
Pennington Gap, and besides this point had Deep Springs,
Jonesville, Dryden, and some other places as his preach-
ing appointments. In these years he seemed to be
activity personified, as if his motto had been :
"We are not here to play, to dream, to drift,
We have hard work to do and loads to lift.
Shun not the struggle; face it. Tis God's gift."
For some four or five years this was his field, a part of
the work of the State Mission Board. One year he
reported that he had preached 247 sermons and baptized
62 persons; another year the record was 141 sermons
and 52 baptisms. On April 30, 1905, Mr. Stuart
preached the dedication of the Corinth Meeting-House
and raised a collection of $143.47, and doubtless had
large share in the effort that resulted in the erection of
three other meeting-houses about the same time in the
284
CHARLES EDWIN STUART 285
same section. Besides his regular appointments and
much work in protracted meetings, he was greatly inter-
ested in education. A school which he established,
enrolled, the first year, 325 pupils. So marked was his
success as to call forth from the Methodist presiding
elder of the district the following testimony: "It may
not have come to notice yet, but two other denominations
are working this territory and will in the future contest
every inch of it with the Methodists. Their strength and
strenuous efforts make them a force that we do not
lightly regard. Who shall hold this territory and be the
instructors and guides of the people? The danger that
threatens Methodism is their repose in conscious
strength, while the persons referred to are almost
fanatically loyal. The church which does the educational
work for the young people of this valley will be the
dominant church of the next generation."
Mr. Stuart was born in Hanover County, July, 1872.
His educational preparation for life was secured in
Pulaski, Va., at Richmond College (where he was a stu-
dent, 1892-97, and where he took his B. A.), and at
Crozer Theological Seminary. He was ordained at
Keysville, August 22, 1895, and his first field was at
Keysville and Chase City, with Shiloh as one of his
churches. After a brief season on this field he became
pastor at Ashland, Va., and from there he went next, as
pastor, to Wytheville, preaching also for Carmi Church.
From the work at Pennington Gap, to which place he
moved upon leaving Wytheville which work has been
described above he came to Richmond, and, the first
Sunday in February, 1906, took charge of the Venable
Street Church. This was his last pastorate, the closing
months of his service being given to work as one of the
representatives of the Anti-Saloon League of Virginia.
His wife (to whom he was married August 7, 1906, and
who was, before her marriage, Miss Fannie B. Cox),
survives him, with one son.
THOMAS P. PEARSON
No information concerning the life of Rev. Thomas
P. Pearson, beyond that given in the obituary in the
Minutes of the General Association, has been secured.
He was a native of Franklin County, Virginia, where his
life was spent. He was a constituent member of the Blue
Ridge Association. He was ordained at Providence
Church, and in the course of his ministry served Mill
Creek, Trinity, Shady Grove, and Providence Churches.
His was an unostentatious life.
286
JAMES FOLEY KEMPER
1846-1913
Although almost all of his work as a minister was
given to Missouri, still Rev. James Foley Kemper was a
Virginian, and for two brief seasons a pastor in his
native State. Woodville, Rappahannock County, was his
birthplace, and, after so many years spent in the West,
he was again in this little village when the summons came
to him for the "long journey." His life reached from
May 20, 1846. to April 5, 1913. His parents were
Dr. Charles Rodham Kemper and Mary Virginia
(Jones) Kemper. In his twenty-first year, on November
28, 1866, he was married, but it seems that at this time
he was not a member of the church ; indeed, his baptism
did not take place till the autumn of 1870. His educa-
tional outfit for life's work was secured at the Virginia
Military Institute, Lexington, Va., and at the Southern
Baptist Theological Seminary, then located at Greenville,
S. C. Before he had decided to become a minister of the
gospel he practiced law for some months at the Rappa-
hannock County Court, and before he became a regular
pastor he was a supply, first for Dr. W. R. L. Smith at
the First Baptist Church, Lynchburg, and then in Dan-
ville. While in Lynchburg he attended, May 29, 1879,
at Portsmouth, the General Association as the delegate
of the First Church. As a missionary of the State Mis-
sion Board he took charge of the church in Harrison-
burg, Va., in 1879, remaining there some two years.
About 1883 he turned his face towards the State that
was to be his home and his field of labor for almost
thirty years. While in Missouri he was pastor of these
287
288 VIRGINIA BAPTIST MINISTERS
churches: Glasgow, Louisiana, Maryville, Marshall,
Carthage, Boonville. His longest pastorate seems to
have been at Marshall, where he labored from 1893 to
1902. There is full evidence of the esteem in which he
was held by Missouri Baptists. When they met in their
annual gathering at Lexington, October 22, 1907, he was
elected moderator of the body, and before this, more
than once, he had been elected vice-moderator of this
convention. He received the honorary degree of Doctor
of Divinity from William Jewell College, and soon after
his death these words about his worth and work appeared
in the Word and Way: "During his connection with the
Baptist work in this State no [other] minister was more
generally loved and revered. ... He was not only
an able preacher, but his consecrated, godly life was an
influence for good wherever he was known." In 1908
he was once more in Virginia, and as pastor of the
Washington, Piedmont, and Oakley Churches, in the
Shiloh Association, he labored for a few years, but the
"call of the West" must have been in his heart, for in
1910 he was once again in charge of a church in
Missouri. Rev. Dr. E. W. Winfrey, in the obituary he
prepared of Dr. Kemper for the Minutes of the General
Association, says that "he was dignified, but gracious and
winsome in bearing as a man, forceful and fresh as a
preacher, and his patience in suffering seemed impres-
sively Christian," and that he was "manly, gentlemanly,
amiable, brave, scholarly, consecrated, Christly." His
wife, who before her marriage was Miss Laura Frances
Miller, survives him.
C. E. WRENN
1858-1914
While Virginia was his birthplace, C. E. Wrenn died
in San Antonio, Texas, May 22, 1914, whither he had
gone, accompanied by his wife, in search of health. He
was born in Hanover County in 1858, and in this section
of the State his last work was done. After studying in
Richmond he was baptized into the fellowship of the
Grace Street Baptist Church by Rev. Dr. Wm. E.
Hatcher. On August 4, 1898, he was married, in Cali-
fornia, to Miss Alda Gaines. His ordination took place
in Danville, Va., November 5, 1906. For a season he was
pastor at Jessup, Ga. His ministry in Virginia was first
at the Schoolfield Church, Danville, and at the Elon
(Goshen Association) and Hopewell (Dover Associa-
tion) Churches. In 1909, while at the former field, he
baptized twenty-nine persons into the fellowship of the
church, and the following year sixty-three. The last
months of his service were marked by his failing health,
yet his faithfulness won large place for him among the
people whom he strove to serve when death was so near
at hand.
WILLIAM HETH WHITSITT
1841-1911
While not a native of Virginia, in a very real sense
Dr. Whitsitt may be called an adopted son of the Old
Dominion. At a very trying hour in his life his election
to the Chair of Philosophy in Richmond College brought
him to Richmond, where the remainder of his days were
spent, and in Hollywood, Virginia's most beautiful "city
of the dead," his body sleeps. He was always most loyal
to his native State, never allowing to go by an oppor-
tunity to praise Tennessee. He was born near Nashville
at the home of his father, Reuben Whitsitt, a prosperous
farmer, November 25, 1841. At the age of seventeen he
decided to give his life to the gospel ministry, and in
1861, after three years as a student, he graduated at the
Union University, then located at Murfreesboro. He at
once enlisted as a private in the Confederate Army, but
was soon made a chaplain, in which office he continued
until the end of the War. He was under General Nathan
B. Forrest, who, in his official reports, more than once
made mention of the young chaplain's courage and
gallantry. In 1866 he entered the University of Vir-
ginia, and the next year the Southern Baptist Theological
Seminary, Greenville, S. C. After two years there he
went abroad to continue his studies in Leipsic and Berlin.
It was not common in those days for young Baptist stu-
dents from the South to study in Germany, and upon his
return home doubt was entertained in some quarters as
to his orthodoxy. Rev. Dr. J. J. Taylor is the authority
for the story that soon after his arrival in this country
he dispelled all uneasiness as to his devotion to the faith
290
WILLIAM HETH WHITSITT 291
"f his fathers when, upon his first appearance to preach,
he gave out with great impressiveness the hymn :
"Before Jehovah's awful throne
Yt- nations bow with sacred joy;
Know that the Lord is God alone,
He can create and He destroy."
After a short pastorate at Hill Creek Church. Tenn., he
accepted a call to the Baptist Church of Albany, Ga., but
he remained there only from February to September,
since he was elected to the Chair of Biblical Introduction
and Church History in the Southern Baptist Theological
Seminary. This was in 1872, and his connection with
the Seminary continued till 1899. For no small part of
this time he was Professor of Polemics and Church
History.
In the Seminary and in the esteem and affections of the
students Dr. Whitsitt held an important place and a
place all his own. The men who studied under him
thoroughly believed in his piety, his sincerity, and his
scholarship. His quaint and pithy way of putting things
attracted and impressed in the classroom, causing many
of his sayings to be quoted in and beyond the Seminary.
The way in which he examined details and showed how-
little things are closely related to great issues and events
was a lesson of untold value as teaching his students
right historical methods. A stranger might have said at
first blush that his lectures would be dry, but no student
at all inclined to listen and study would have confirmed
*uch an opinion. While his manner was deliberate, his
Is seemed care- fully chosen, and each one in its right
place. His lectures were rich in epigrammatic expres-
xions, incisive criticism, tender pathos, genuine humor,
and rich common sense. As a preacher he never charmed
the popular ear as did Dr. Broadus, but he had many
admirers and manv students who loved to hear him in the
292 VIRGINIA BAPTIST MINISTERS
pulpit as well as in the classroom. Certainly in the
Louisville days his sermons were always written and
closely read, and the penmanship of the sermons, as well
as of other writings, was characteristic and unusual.
The writing was small, yet bold and clear, the sermons
being on small sheets of paper. Dr. Broadus was fond
of telling a joke on Dr. Whitsitt, of how he ruined the
effect of a strong sermon, preached in New England, by
beginning, soon after he came from the pulpit, to smoke
a cigar.
The heavy burden of classroom work that rested on
the Seminary professors did not altogether hinder Dr.
Whitsitt from literary work, for which he had so many
qualifications. His inaugural address as professor had
been on the theme: "The Relation of Baptists to Cul-
ture," and, as the years passed, he published first a
pamphlet entitled "History of the Rise of Infant Bap-
tism," and another called "History of Communion
Among Baptists." Later he wrote "Origin of the
Disciples of Christ," "Life and Times of Judge Caleb
Wallace," "A Question of Baptist History," "Genealogy
of Jefferson Davis," "The Genealogy of Jefferson Davis
and Samuel Davies, President of Princeton College." In
1873 he received the degree of Doctor of Divinity from
Mercer University, and later the degree of Doctor of
Laws was conferred upon him by William Jewell,
Georgetown, and the Southwestern Baptist Union Uni-
versity. In 1881 he was married to Miss Florence
Walker, and of this marriage two children were born, a
daughter, who is now Mrs. H. G. Whitehead, and a son,
William Baker Whitsitt. All who had the privilege to
come into the circle of Dr. Whitsitt's home were
impressed with the glow of love and happiness that dwelt
there. Dr. Whitsitt did not impress one as being physic-
ally a strong man, and there may have been years when
WILLIAM HETH WHITSITT 293
his health was not robust, but certainly towards the end
of his life he was by no means the victim of dyspepsia,
that foe of men given to sedentary habits. The year of
the Baptist Congress in London one of Dr. Whitsitt's
former students, who was a passenger with him on the
f'rinccss Alice, was surprised at his thorough enjoyment
of the decidedly German fare, fare which the student, a
very much younger man, found too rich and gross.
Upon the death of Dr. John A. Broadus, in 1895,
Dr. Whitsitt was elected to succeed him as president of
the Seminary. Soon after this, certain statements that
Dr. Whitsitt made, in articles and other publications, as
to Baptist history, started a controversy that lasted
several years, that was most bitter and unfortunate, and
that finally led to Dr. Whitsitt's resignation. Whatever
may have been the historical facts which aroused the dis-
cussion, it seemed to many that free speech and full
investigation were not things which need cause Baptists,
of all people, any alarm. Many, if not all, of the Baptist
newspapers of the South took part in the discussion, and
in some sections District Associations became arenas of
debate. Other denominations were attracted by what
was going on in Baptist ranks, and many in these other
communions seemed to think that the Baptists were
threatened with disaster and perhaps dissolution. When
finally the matter was ended, one paper said that Dr.
\\liitsitt went "into retirement with the distinction of
having been more abused, more persistently misquoted,
more cruelly dealt with by a large number of his brethren
than any other man who has lived among us for a cen-
tury past." Although Dr. Whitsitt was not fitted by
taste or temperament for the acrimonies of such a bitter
fight, nevertheless he calmly and with determination
stood in his place. The Board of Trustees of the
Seminary supported him, at two annual sessions, failing
294 VIRGINIA BAPTIST MINISTERS
to take any steps looking towards his withdrawal from
the presidency and from the Seminary. At the meeting
of the Board of Trustees, at Louisville, in 1899, at the
same time as the meeting of the Southern Baptist Con-
vention, Dr. Whitsitt offered his resignation. It is
understood that the Virginia trustees all voted against
accepting the resignation, but many who were warm sup-
porters of Dr. Whitsitt voted for the resignation in the
interests of peace. At the commencement of the Semi-
nary, a few weeks later, his connection with the institu-
tion as professor and president closed. Upon this occasion
friends presented the Seminary with a portrait of Dr.
Whitsitt; he made his final address, and words on behalf
of the trustees were spoken. Dr. Whitsitt closed his
address with these words : "In conclusion, I entreat the
favor of God upon our school. It has done a good work
hitherto. The past, at least, is secure. May the future
also be glorious. May good learning, enlightened piety,
and real Baptist orthodoxy always prevail in our Theo-
logical Seminary. And now, with malice towards none,
but with charity for all, I bid you an affectionate fare-
well." Dr. Hatcher, speaking on behalf of the trustees,
addressed Dr. Whitsitt with affectionate words, closing
his remarks thus : "Doctor, in the name of the Board of
Trustees and of the students, and of the people, I give
you the hand of true fellowship and affection, and I bid
you good-bye, and a thousand blessings upon you and
your faithful wife and your noble children, through
Jesus Christ our Lord." When the portrait had been
presented by Rev. Dr. Carter Helm Jones and accepted
by Dr. Hatcher on behalf of the trustees, after the
applause had died away, as Dr. Whitsitt arose to call for
the benediction he received an ovation. "Tears of affec-
tion and gratitude dimmed his eyes," says the report of
WILLIAM HETH WHITSITT 295
the occasion in the Courier-Journal, "and choked his
voice, and he could only indicate what his voice could not
express."
After leaving Louisville, and after a year abroad, Dr.
Whitsitt accepted the professorship in Richmond and
took up his new line of work, which he kept up until a
few months before his death. Upon his retirement from
his work at Richmond College the students presented him
with a loving-cup, and that year dedicated to him the
college annual. While he had been feeble for some time,
his death was not expected, but on Friday, January 20,
1911, he quietly fell on sleep. On Sunday afternoon
friends gathered at 31 1 Park Street and held a simple
service. The Herald, in an editorial upon his death, said :
"With the spirit of self-effacement, which was character-
istic of him, he quietly gave up his position of president
of our Seminary in the interest of peace, and later on we
brought him to Virginia. We are glad that Virginians
invited him, and glad that he came. We rejoice that in
his later years he found here useful and congenial occu-
pation for his mind and heart, and surrounded himself
with friends whose love and honor he prized above all
earthly possessions."
JAMES IRA TAYLOR
1831-1911
About 1772 George Taylor and his wife, who, before
her marriage, was Miss Elizabeth Anyon, set out from
Wales for the new world across the Atlantic. They
finally settled in Henry County, Virginia. In this
county, in 1779, the husband made entry of a tract where
he lived, died, and was buried. One of his ten children
was Reuben Taylor. Reuben Taylor and his wife, Nancy
Gray, reared a large family. One of their sons, James
Ira Taylor, was born, April 13, 1831, in the Mayo
neighborhood, in the southern part of Henry County.
His education, which was limited, was secured mainly
in the common schools, though he studied for a season
at the Patrick Henry Academy at Penn's Store. His
conversion, which took place on his father's farm, was
deep and sound. "He believed with all his heart that
only a profound conviction of sin can lead to true repent-
ance and to faith in the Lord Jesus." Soon after his
conversion he was ordained to the gospel ministry, and
he found great satisfaction in warning people "against
the perils of the movement of Alexander Campbell" and
in preaching salvation by grace. The two preacher
brothers, James Ira and Daniel Gray, sought to be in
some pulpit every Sunday, unless detained by other calls
of Providence. While Sycamore Church, Patrick
County, Blue Ridge Association, was the only pastorate
James Ira Taylor ever held in Virginia, he was highly
successful as the teacher of a Bible Class at Mayo
Church. He had much to do in shaping the theology of
the fourteen preachers whom Mayo Church sent out into
296
JAMES IRA TAYLOR 297
the world. Some of these men hold high places to-day,
and they can testify that the Theological Seminary did
not have to revise the theology they had learned in the
Mayo Bible Class under Mr. Taylor.
After many years at Sycamore, in 1874, Mr. Taylor
migrated to Oregon. While for a season pastor of a
country church in Benson County, in the State of his
adoption, the larger part of his time was given to young
pioneer churches that were unable to offer him financial
support. He spent much time in the study of the Bible,
and was in the habit of reading the good book in the
family; "evening prayer was part of the daily pro-
gramme, and was always a season of religious uplift and
refreshing." In Oregon, thirty years ago, preaching was
in many places infrequent and infidelity rampant. Men
who came into Mr. Taylor's home for a formal visit of
an hour were often led by him, in a tactful way, into
religious conversation and kept for the larger part of the
day.
Miss Ruth Pratt, of the Mayo neighborhood, who, in
January, 1857, became Mr. Taylor's wife, and who was
"all the world to him," survived him. They were the
parents of a large family ; four sons and four daughters
are still living: they are Rev. Dr. William Carson Tay-
lor, Reuben Taylor, Mrs. E. H. Hawkins, Mrs. J. T.
Vincent, Frank Taylor, Jesse G. Taylor, Mrs. J. L. Tait,
and Mrs. Caleb Davis. Mr. Taylor lived to see all his
children happily married and all in the kingdom of God.
He died on Monday. March 27. 1911, at 4:30 P. M., at
Corvallis, Oregon.
JOHN W. MARTIN
1848-1911
A native of Appomattox County, John W. Martin
spent his life in this and the adjoining counties of
Nelson, Campbell, and Amherst. One of five sons of
Valentine and Elizabeth Plunkett Martin, he was born
June 28, 1848. When quite a young man he went, with
his brother, to Lynchburg, and engaged in the hardware
business. He was baptized into the fellowship of the
First Baptist Church by Rev. Dr. C. C. Bitting. He
became active and interested in Sunday-school work ; out
of this effort, in which young Martin bore a part, the
Sunday school was organized that later grew into the
College Hill Baptist Church. When he felt clearly that
he was called to the gospel ministry he at once decided
to go to Richmond College to prepare himself for what
he had determined to make his life work. At the college
he was older than many of the students, and his portly
form helped to give him the air of a man rather than a
stripling, but his energy and jovial spirit made him com-
panionable and popular with his fellow-students. On
December 18, 1879, he was married, at Gidsville, Va.,
by the Rev. Samuel Massie, to Miss Jennie Gannaway.
the daughter of James M. and Sarah Gannaway, and on
July 31, 1882, was ordained at Ebenezer Church,
Amherst County. His first pastorate was with this
church. Before his ministry, of thirty-odd years, came
to a close, he had been pastor, for longer or shorter
periods, of these churches : Ebenezer, Jonesboro, St.
Stephen's, Walnut Grove, Adiel, Kingswood, Mineral
Spring, Central, Ariel, Piney River, Oak Hill, Clifford.
298
JOHN W. MARTIN 299
His work was in the bounds of the Albemarle Associa-
tion until 1903, when the Piedmont Association was
organized, after which time his labors were in the latter
Association. Of this body he was clerk from its organi-
zation until his death. He was a man of tireless energy,
and for a part of his life managed to carry on a store
and teach school, all in addition to his work for his
churches. At times he was the pastor of five churches.
Of Mr. Martin, Rev. W. F. Fisher said, in the Herald,
soon after his death: "He was a fine organizer; he
possessed the remarkable ability to get other people inter-
ested in the work. . . . Genial, cordial, sympathetic,
companionable, he won the people, young and old. He
untiring in his efforts. . . . His people all
loved him." To the end, even after his strength began
to fail, he kept at his work. His last sermon was
preached the second Sunday in June at Clifford, where
he was seeking to complete a house of worship. The
Sunday before his death he made an earnest address
before the Woman's Missionary Society at Central
Church. He died Thursday, June 22, 1911, on the birth-
day of his wife. The funeral, which took place at his
home, was conducted by Rev. W. R. McMillan and Rev.
S. P. Massie. The Mt. Pleasant and Lowesville Lodges
of Masons were represented at the funeral. He was sur-
vived by his wife and these five children : Carroll Martin,
Sampson Martin, Maitland Martin, Mrs. R. C. Taylor,
Mrs. Frank Scott.
JAMES BARNETT TAYLOR, JR.
1837-1911
In Hollywood, Richmond's "city of the dead," in the
same lot, are the graves of James Barnett Taylor, Sr.,
and his son, James Barnett Taylor, Jr. In the city where
the father was pastor of the Second and Grace Street
Baptist Churches and Secretary of the Foreign Mission
Board of the Southern Baptist Convention, this son was
born, October 22, 1837. The home in which he grew up
was remarkable for its piety, its "plain living, and high
thinking." The children were as familiar with books as
a stableboy is with horses. The mother in the home, of
New England ancestry, had in her make-up energy,
thrift, shrewd common sense, and a decided religious
turn of mind. The father was a remarkable pastor, an
excellent preacher, and had great gifts of leadership and
capacity for administration. It is no wonder that this
boy in this home should be a clerk for a season in a
bookstore if he was to be clerk at all, or that at the age
of fifteen he became a member of the church, being bap-
tized December 19, 1852, by Dr. Jeter, and that his after-
life gave full evidence of the genuineness of his early
conversion.
His education, which had already been started in the
home, was continued, first at Richmond College (1852-
53, 1853-54, 1855-56), then at the University of Vir-
ginia, and then at the Southern Baptist Theological
Seminary, Greenville, S. C. While a student at Rich-
mond College he carried on, with Rev. Wm. E. Hatcher,
his fellow-student, a protracted meeting at Grace Street
Baptist Church which was marked by deep spiritual
300
JAMES BARNETT TAYLOR, JR. 301
power and which resulted in a large number of conver-
sions. This episode was prophetical of his future career ;
in after years he was quite successful in evangelical work ;
indeed, all of his preaching had the evangelistic note. At
the University of Virginia he was one of that little group
of students who organized the first college Y. M. C. A. in
the world, and he was one of the "managers" of the new
organization.
On June 10, 1860, an interesting service was held at
Charlottesville, Va. Several young men were set aside
at this time for the gospel ministry. The presbytery was
composed of the following ministers: James B. Taylor,
Sr., James Fife, A. M. Poindexter, Tiberius Gracchus
Jones, A. B. Cabaniss, John A. Broadus, A. B. Brown,
Charles Quarles, and W. P. Parish. The young men
who had been examined the day before, and who were
ordained, were Crawford H. Toy, John L. Johnson, and
James B. Taylor, Jr., of the Charlottesville, and John
Wm. Jones, of the Mechanicsville Church. The sermon
was preached by Dr. T. G. Jones, on the text " Preach the
word." The ordaining prayer was made by Dr. Taylor,
and then the charge was delivered by Dr. Broadus. By
this time the crowd, already large, was so increased by
people from other congregations in the town, whose
services were over, that the standing throng around the
doors pressed far down the aisles, "preserving, however,
a breathless silence." The purpose of these young men
to go to China and Japan was interfered with by the
coming on of the War. The same awful event inter-
rupted Mr. Taylor's course at the Seminary at Greenville.
He at once enlisted, and, as a member of Brook's Troop.
Hampton's Legion, was present at the first battle of
Manassas. Later he was transferred to Gen. W. H. F.
Lee's command in the 10th Virginia Cavalry. As a
chaplain, and as an agent seeking funds with which to
302 VIRGINIA BAPTIST MINISTERS
secure Bibles for the Confederate soldiers, he was very
useful. He also compiled a hymn-book, which was
extensively used in camp and other religious services.
After the War he became pastor at Culpeper Court
House, Va. During a pastorate of ten years at this
place he built up a strong church, beginning with a mem-
bership of only 28. Before he left there were 320
additions to the church, and, besides, he had 500 con-
versions in the protracted meetings he held in the sur-
rounding country. Once at the Louisville Seminary,
Dr. Broadus, addressing his class, used James B. Taylor,
Jr., and his work at Culpeper, as an illustration of the
blessing a wise and consecrated and tactful preacher
could be in a town and in a whole Association. From
Culpeper he went, in October, 1875, to Wilmington,
N. C, to become pastor of the First Baptist Church of
that city. Here he remained some years, wiping out a
debt on the meeting-house and greatly strengthening the
church. After a serious illness he resigned and spent
some months in European travel.
Upon his return from Europe he accepted a call to the
Baptist Church at Lexington, Va. While the Baptists
are not strong in Lexington, the fact that the Virginia
Military Institute and Washington and Lee University
are located in this town adds importance to this pastorate.
Besides a faithful ministry to his own flock, Dr. Taylor
won the esteem and confidence of the faculties of the two
institutions of learning and of the community, and did
good work among the students. The location of the
Baptist meeting-house is not a commanding one, but dur-
ing his pastorate the building was enlarged and so
improved as to be much more attractive. During his
pastorate here Dr. Taylor was called, upon the death of
Rev. Dr. John P. Strider, Professor of Moral Philoso-
phy and Belles-Lettres, to fill, for a season, the Chair of
JAMES BARNETT TAYLOR, JR. 303
Moral Philosophy in the University ; this work he did in
a highly acceptable manner to the students and faculty.
During a part of his residence in Lexington he lived in
what is known as the "Jackson House," it having been,
for a time, the home of "Stonewall" Jackson. In June,
1895, he became pastor of the Baptist Church, Salem,
Va. This was at the time when the land boom, which
had swept over Virginia, was leaving financial depression
and disaster in its wake. Salem did not escape the
"fever" and then the reaction. During the five years of
Dr. Taylor's work in this beautiful and peaceful town,
he was closely associated with the beginning of the Bap-
tist Orphanage, which, declining many other offers, came
to this town. For some time he was the field representa-
tive of the Orphanage, in which capacity he brought the
institution and its important work to the hearts and
sympathy of hundreds of homes and churches, raising a
goodly sum of money. When he left Salem it was to
become the representative, in the field, of the Georgia
Baptist Orphanage, with his residence in Atlanta. In
this position, the last regular work of his life, he was
eminently successful, receiving, with his family, a warm
place in the affections of Georgia and Atlanta Baptists.
While he was for a time supply pastor at Freemason
Street, Norfolk, and also at Suffolk, during the years
that remained, Richmond, the home of his boyhood days,
was his residence. As long as he was able he preached
as an occasional supply fnr churches in and near Rich-
mond. After several years of increasing feebleness,
during which time his cheerfulness and courage kept at
high tide, on Thursday morning, June 29, 1911, in Bar-
ton Heights, a suburb of Richmond, the end came. The
funeral, which took place in Grove Avenue Church, was
conducted by Rev. Dr. \V. C. James, the pastor, assisted
by Rev. Dr. Charles H. R viand. Rev. Dr. R. J. Willing-
304 VIRGINIA BAPTIST MINISTERS
ham, and Rev. Dr. R. H. Pitt. The burial was in
Hollywood, and Rev. Dr. W. E. Hatcher, coming from
his summer home at Fork Union, reached the grave in
time to offer the prayer. His wife and five children sur-
vive him. He was twice married; his first wife, who
died in Culpeper, was Miss Fannie R. Poindexter (the
daughter of Rev. Dr. A. M. Poindexter), a woman
remarkably lovely in person and character. His second
wife was Miss Fannie E. Callendine, of Morgantown,
W. Va.. a most gracious and charming Christian woman.
To within a few years of the end of his life Dr. Taylor
had the blessing of vigorous physical health ; his com-
plexion was florid, his figure inclining towards corpu-
lence, yet withal he was alert in his movements. He
loved work, and was ever busy. While fond of books,
he loved human fellowship and the companionship of
friends, his loved ones, and his brethren. For all the
work and trials through which he passed he was blessed
with a saving sense of humor. One of the biographers
of Milton says that he was lacking in humor; this is
the more remarkable as it is usually one of the factors in
the make-up of great men. How much strain and stress
the great poet would have been saved, living, as he did,
in trying days, if he had had the sense of humor ! Many
illustrations might be given of Dr. Taylor's humor and.
of his enjoyment of a joke or good story. He had, to a
considerable degree, the power of mimicry and the
instinct of an actor, which gifts often gave his loved
ones half -hours of real relaxation and innocent amuse-
ment. He was genial and companionable, knowing how
to see the best in people and how to make that which
was good in them better. He was fond of singing, and
often in the morning his voice rang out in some hymn
of devotion and praise. When he led family worship in
his own home or elsewhere he was apt to start a hymn
JAMES BARNETT TAYLOR, JR. 305
which was so familiar that all could share in its strains.
He was widely read in a kind of religious literature that
does not seem to have much popularity to-day the books
of devotion and biography that were highly esteemed
some generations ago. And books that he had read
seemed ever ready to his hand for use. He had quite a
collection of newspaper clippings which gave interesting
facts about men and manners of other days. He had the
historian's instinct. As a preacher he was earnest, direct,
appealing to the conscience. His hearers, whether they
were learned or ignorant, were apt to go away from the
church wanting and planning to lead better lives. His
sermons were usually short, and he was happy in his use
of illustrations. Doubtless he inherited some of his
father's gifts as a pastor; certainly the people of his
several churches loved him tenderly and felt, for years
after his service with them ended, the uplift of his cheer-
ful spirit and genuine piety. As a Baptist he had clear
convictions, but was at the same time ready to find in
other denominations his brethren in Christ and a high
degree of devotion and consecration. He loved the
meetings of the denomination, and was often seen and
heard in the district and State gatherings, nor did he
neglect the sessions of the Southern Baptist Convention.
His contributions to the Religions Herald and other such
papers were usually brief comments on men or questions
of the day or excerpta from his scrapbook or from books
that he had read and read again. From the movement
of an active life he passed into the years of his physical
decline, preserving his sunny spirit, his faith in God, and
his interest in his fellow-men. Of him it was true that
at eventime it was light. His children who survive him
are Dr. Boyce Taylor, Dr. H. M. Taylor, Mrs. W. R.
Whitman, and Mrs. W. J. Armstrong.
GEORGE HOLMAN SNEAD
1833-1911
In the Virginia Baptist ministry there have been not
a few men of ability who left the medical profession to
become preachers of the gospel. The story that follows
is the story of one who for many years accomplished
successfully the work of physician and preacher. The
community and church where this career was run are
remarkable. Fluvanna County, while not one of the
richest agricultural sections of Virginia, abounds in
homes where people live in comfort and love to entertain
their friends. In this county "The Fork" neighborhood,
which takes its name from the Fork Union Church, has
enjoyed, in a high degree, this fame for hospitality, and
has been known as the home of an excellent and very
large family, the Sneads. The chief church of this com-
munity, Fork Union, as the name suggests, was origi-
nally the meeting-place of various denominations. The
meeting-house, and one of these denominations, the Bap-
tists, have grown, through the years, until now every
Sunday, and not just once a month, as was the early
fashion, this people meet in this church for worship.
The community is very largely a Baptist community.
The enlargement and improvement of the meeting-house,
having been paid for by this denomination, nothing but
a friendly process of law was needed to give them legal
right to the property. With no small part of this growth
George Holman Snead was associated. He was born in
the adjoining county of Goochland, at "Bouling Hall,"
the home of his parents, George Holman and Oranie
Pollard Snead. Soon after his birth, which took place
306
GEORGE HOLMAN SNEAD 307
February 17, 1833, his parents moved to Fluvanna,
which was for the rest of his life his home.
At the age of fourteen, in a meeting conducted by the
famous evangelist, Reynolds, who afterwards lost his life
in a shipwreck on the Atlantic Ocean, he made a profes-
sion of religion. Of seven children, one sister and six
sons, he was the first to accept Christ. The story of his
mother's joy because of this event is handed down. The
youth hastened home to tell his mother what he had
done, and she, upon hearing the good news, broke forth
in joyful thanksgiving to God. From the neighborhood
schools he passed to Richmond College, where he re-
mained, 1853-54. When he had selected medicine as his
profession he became a student at the University of Vir-
ginia, taking his M. D. degree at the Commencement of
1855. Further preparation for his life work was secured
in Philadelphia, where for several months he was con-
nected with the Philadelphia dispensary. The year that
marked the beginning of his professional work in Flu-
vanna County he was married to Miss Virginia Clopton
Perkins. Until 1877, dwelling in the midst of his own
people, he followed successfully his chosen profession,
being popular in a wide section of country. In these
years, into his beautiful home, a farm on the banks of
the Rivanna River, eight children, who were to add
greatly to his happiness, were born. All through these
two decades Dr. Snead was active as a Christian, being
a member of Bethel Church, which was near his home,
and taking such part in the work of the church as his
brethren laid upon him. While his ambition to be the
superintendent of the Fork Union Sunday School was
never realized, he was for many years in charge of the
Bethel Sunday School. A busy country physician, who
is an efficient Sunday-school superintendent, must be a
man of earnest Christian spirit.
308 VIRGINIA BAPTIST MINISTERS
After long and grave reflection, when he had come to
middle life, Dr. Snead decided to enter the ministry. His
bearing as a citizen, his activity and earnestness as a
Christian, and his intelligence and enthusiasm, so com-
manded the confidence of the community that this
decision at once received the approval of the Fork Union
Church. They called for his ordination, that he might
become their pastor. When the ordination had taken
place, the services being held at Bethel, and the presby-
tery consisting of Rev. C. R. Dickinson and Rev. W. A.
Whitescarver, he commenced his pastorate, that was to
last thirty-four years and to the end of his life. Fork
Union and Bethel were his churches during this long
period, and for a briefer period he had charge of the
Antioch and Columbia Churches. While he was shepherd
of the last-named body a $5,000 brick meeting-house was
erected in the village of Columbia. Before Dr. Snead
became pastor of the "Fork" there had been a split in
the church which led to the establishment of a new
organization in sight of the old church. Soon after his
ordination he became pastor of both these organizations,
and in the process of time was able, by his tact and wis-
dom, to bring both bodies together again into one vigor-
ous and harmonious flock. As the years passed, the
"Fork" grew in numbers and in power. When Dr.
Snead had registered twenty years of pastoral service on
one field, the Religious Herald paid tribute to this long
and faithful record by publishing his picture and by an
editorial which told about his work, mentioning the fact
that he had baptized some four hundred persons. While
before he became a minister his power as a public speaker
was not remarkable, he grew to be strong and impressive
in the pulpit and on the platform. His mind was vigor-
ous, and he knew how to think straight. He was a man
of decided convictions, convictions that he never hesi.-
GEORGE HOLMAN SNEAD 309
tated to announce. His presence was pleasing and com-
manding, and until the closing years of his life he was
blessed with physical health. He declared that in much
of his work of visitation he was able to blend the service
of physician and pastor, thus effecting a great economy
of time. The severest winter weather never stopped him,
and, indeed, he contended that there was no reason why
a country pastor or doctor should ever suffer from the
cold; it was only necessary to make proper provisions
against the cold, provisions that were simple and within
the reach of all. If any man was ever a prophet in his
own country, Dr. Snead was that man; in the whole
section in which he lived he was bound by blood or mar-
riage to almost every one, and yet was a prophet with
honor among his own people. This, for many reasons
that will suggest themselves to the reader, is a remarkable
record.
Or. Snead was always interested in education. For a
number of years, in order to secure the best instruction
for his own daughters and at the same time for the
daughters of his neighbors, he maintained in his home
a girls' boarding-school. When, under the leadership of
Dr. Wm. E. Hatcher, the Fork Union Academy was
established, he was among its strongest supporters, one
of the trustees, up to a few years before his death the
resident physician, and the first to suggest the military
feature. The students always had a warm place in his
heart.
Notwithstanding the fact that for some fifteen years
before his death he suffered, at times most severely, from
grievous diseases, to the end he kept up his work. To
within a few weeks of the end he was in his pulpit. He
was a man of abounding energy, and his hope had always
been that he might die in the harness. And so it was.
Ten days before his death he was taken to St. Luke's
310 VIRGINIA BAPTIST MINISTERS
Hospital, Richmond, for surgical treatment, but relief
was not obtained, and on Saturday, July 1, 1911, he
passed away. It is not strange that a great concourse
of people gathered at Fork Union the following Monday
for the funeral. The trustees of the Academy were a
funeral escort, the deacons of the church, the honorary,
and his nephews, the active, pall-bearers. Dr. Wm. E.
Hatcher presided over the services; resolutions of
respect from the Board of Trustees of the Academy were
read by Rev. L. H. Walton, who also paid a loving
tribute to the departed one; the chief address was
delivered by Rev. Dr. Sparks W. Melton, and the closing
one by Rev. Dr. George W. McDaniel. The body was
laid to rest close to the church. On the last Sunday in
July a memorial service was held at Bethel, where Dr.
Snead had been pastor for thirty-three years, the main
address on this occasion being delivered by Rev. L. H.
Walton. His children who survive him are Mrs. Jos. T.
Snead, Mrs. George M. Bashaw, Mr. Channing C. Snead,
Mrs. C. Vernon Snyder, and Dr. Nash P. Snead.
FRANCIS RYLAND BOSTON
1847-1911
Francis Ryland Boston was born at Shelltown, Somer-
set County, Maryland, December 29, 1847, his parents
being Rev. Solomon Charles and Mary Ann Marshall
Boston. The atmosphere and traditions of the home
into which this only child came were distinctly devout
and religious. Throughout life he carried with him the
memory of his grandfather, who was careful to maintain
family worship, and whose house was the preacher's
home. As a boy, when his father called to him not to
make so much noise, he knew that Sunday's sermon was
in preparation, and when he himself became a preacher
and a pastor consciously and unconsciously he found
himself following his father's methods. When he had
finished, in the town of Princess Anne, Somerset County,
Maryland, his academic preparation, he entered Colum-
bian College, Washington, D. C. His professors at
Columbian were Clarke, Fristoe, Shute, Ruggles, Hunt-
ington, and Samson, and among the students were James
Nelson, J. Taylor Ellyson, and F. H. Kerfoot. His
friendship with F. H. Kerfoot, begun in college, was
strengthened at the Theological Seminary, where they
graduated together. While his father was pastor at Lee
Street Baptist Church, Baltimore, on April 15, 1869,
Mrs. Boston died. This sad event, and the illness which
went before it, caused the son to select Crozer Seminary,
which was not far away, as the place to pursue his theo-
logical studies. Here he graduated in 1872.
His first pastorate was at Hernando, Miss. In the
month of August, of the same year that took him to
311
312 VIRGINIA BAPTIST MINISTERS
Hernando, he married Miss Annie Lewis Schoolfield, the
only child of Ira Chase Schoolfield, of Petersburg, Va.
In 1875 he accepted a call to the church at Onancock,
Accomac County, Virginia. From there, in 1878, he
went to the pastorate of the church at Hampton, Va.,
where he remained seven years. He left Hampton to
become the pastor of the Curtis Baptist Church, Augusta,
Ga. He remained in Augusta only one year, leaving
there to accept, in 1884, a call to Warrenton, Va. Now
commenced what was to be his life work, a pastorate
that, with one break, was to last some twenty-three years.
On April 25, 1885, about six months after he went to
Warrenton, his wife departed this life. In 1887 he was
married to Miss Mary Armistead Spilman, the daughter
of Mr. John A. Spilman, of Warrenton. In 1891 he
accepted a call to the Central Baptist Church, Memphis,
Tenn. After three years he returned to Warrenton,
where he remained as pastor until his death, Wednesday,
August 23, 1911. Two children of his first marriage,
Mrs. E. S. Turner and Mrs. C. S. Boston, and two of
the second marriage, Miss Florence and Mr. John Armis-
tead Boston, with their mother, survive him.
Dr. Boston was a man of culture and refinement. He
was genial and cordial in spirit, and decided in his con-
victions. He was greatly beloved and esteemed by the
Virginia Baptist brotherhood, being counted as one of
their most trusted leaders. By pen and voice he was
always ready to champion movements that made for the
progress of the kingdom of God. In June, 1903, he had
in his pulpit Rev. Dr. W. H. Whitsitt, who delivered
before the Judson Missionary Society of the church an
address on Luther Rice, and in September of the same
year a Y. M. C. A. Convention, looking to the establish-
ment of this kind of work in country districts, was held
in Warrenton. Both of these events greatly interested
FRANCIS RYLAND BOSTON 313
Dr. Boston, and he wrote about them to the Religious
Herald. He was painstaking and conscientious in what-
ever he undertook. At Alexandria, some years ago, at
a State District B. Y. P. U. meeting, he was to lead one
of the sunrise prayer-meetings. Notwithstanding the
fact that it was past midnight before he got to sleep, the
next morning, at a very early hour, he was up making
his final preparation for the service he was to conduct.
Once in a prayer-meeting at the First Baptist Church,
Richmond, he said, the subject being the duty and best
method of reading the Bible, that he loved to take the
Bible up and just read on and on and on. One of his
brother pastors, who knew him very well, writes : "Oh,
how gentle, how guileless, pure, consecrated, and faith-
ful was he ! He sought to please the Master, but, at the
same time, he was so gentle and considerate of the people
that even those who did not believe in Christ loved
Christ's minister. In the way of patience, meekness, and
gentleness, Boston was my despair." Warrenton, one of
the cultured towns of Piedmont Virginia, where Dr.
Boston spent the larger part of his ministry, will not soon
cease to feel the blessed influence of his life and service.
His death was sudden and unexpected. After a sick-
ness of several weeks and an illness of only a few days,
an operation for appendicitis not having brought the
hoped-for relief, he died at the Providence Hospital,
Washington, D. C. His body was taken to Warrenton
for burial.
FRERRE HOUSTON JONES
1836-1911
Although his birth and death took place in North
Carolina, Frerre Houston Jones was pastor for a number
of years in Virginia. His father, one of three brothers
who came over from the old country, apparently after
some wanderings, finally made a permanent settlement on
the Yadkin River. The parents of the subject of this
sketch were Jonathan and Hannah Jones, and he was
born September 4, 1836. Here the boy, in whose veins
ran Scotch-Irish blood, spent his youthful years. When
he had completed his education he went, as a young man,
to teach school in Tennessee. This work was interrupted
by the death of his father, which called him home. The
Civil War having broken out, he became a missionary of
the Yadkin Association, among the soldiers in eastern
North Carolina. Before this time he had been baptized
by Rev. C. W. Bessant and ordained to the gospel
ministry by a presbytery consisting of Rev. G. W. Brown
and Rev. Isaac Davis. In the meetings which he con-
ducted in camps near Kinston, Goldsboro, Washington,
Edenton, and Tarboro, many soldiers were converted,
not a few of them receiving baptism at his hands. At
the close of the War he was appointed missionary of the
Beulah Association, which included the counties of For-
sythe, Stokes, Guilford, Rockingham, Caswell, Person,
and a part of Granville. His efforts to establish mission
points, that would grow into self-sustaining, strong
churches, were highly successful. Prosperous churches
to-day in Reidsville, Winston, and Greensboro, are
monuments to his zeal and the blessing of God that
314
FRERRE HOUSTON JONES 315
crowned his labors. Because of his executive ability and
his gifts as a financier, disciplinarian, and organizer, his
work was so fruitful. He won for himself the title of
"The Church Builder." Mr. Jones was of medium size
and some five feet nine inches tall. His hair was brown
and his eyes hazel. His mouth was well shaped, and his
expression and manner gentle and pleasing.
In 1885 he became pastor of the Baptist Church at
Chatham, Va. During his pastorate of twelve years in
this attractive town the membership of his church grew
from 80 to 144, and a new meeting-house, costing about
$12,000, was built. His field, while he was in Chatham,
embraced the two prosperous country churches, Mt.
Hermon and Kentuck. During his service with them the
Kentuck Church erected a commodious house of worship.
Before his work in Virginia ended he had ministered also
to these churches : Bannister, Marion, Sharon, Vandola,
Union Hill, and Ringgold. His field in Virginia was in
the Roanoke Association, of which body he was, for
many years, moderator. In this general section he did
much to develop the churches in benevolence and in the
missionary spirit. Upon resigning at Chatham he moved
to Reidsville, N. C. After a season given to recuperation
he took up mission work in the Piedmont Association,
and later became pastor of several country churches not
far from Reidsville. He declined more than one position
of prominence, glad to work on in an humble, quiet way.
In the course of the years he was moderator of the
Beulah and Piedmont Associations and an officer of the
North Carolina Baptist State Convention. He was a
great friend of young ministers. In many instances they
passed their vacations in his home, doing work, which
he had secured for them, that enabled them to return to
college in the autumn. He died at Reidsville, N. C.,
December 1, 1911. The funeral was conducted by these
316 VIRGINIA BAPTIST MINISTERS
ministers : H. A. Brown, W. C. Tyree, J. B. Brewer,
D. I. Craig, and W. F. Womble. His wife, to whom he
was married on February 18, 1864, was Miss Emma
Brown, of Person County, North Carolina, the daughter
of Green W. Brown and Elizabeth Coleman, of Virginia.
The children of this union who grew up are William
Houston Jones, Mrs. C. G. Jones, Mrs. H. L. Morrison,
Mrs. R. S. Williams, and Miss Minerva Louise Jones.
His wife survives him.
Rev. Wm. Hedley, now of Ashland, Va., writes thus
of Mr. Jones in the Religious Herald: "It has been my
privilege to visit many of these communities where
Brother Jones labored, and in every place to have heard
unstinted praise accorded to him for the faithfulness of
his work and the purity of his character. These tributes
were paid while he was yet alive. For a little over four
years I had the honor of being his pastor. . . . His
guileless life, his sweet spirit of cooperation, his kindly
appreciation of one's ministry, his delightful conversa-
tion on gospel themes, endeared him to my heart, and he
crowned his excellencies with as pervasive a spirit of
humility as was possessed by any man. For fifty years
he had preached the gospel, and fully two thousand souls
had he buried in baptism."
S. H. THOMPSON
1854-1912
While his life, and later his ministry, began in North
Carolina, the most fruitful years of Rev. S. H. Thomp-
son's life were spent in Virginia. Here, for two decades,
he gave himself to preaching, also having, a part of this
time, the burden and the blessing of the teacher. He was
born in Alamance County, April 28, 1854, and spent the
days of his boyhood on his father's farm. On this farm
his education, in the truest sense, began, for a country
boy never gets over his country life. He studied in the
academy conducted by the Rev. William Thompson at
old Salem Church, and then passed, for further
preparation, to the National Normal University at
Lebanon, Ohio. Finally, at Franklin College, Franklin,
Tnd.. he took both the B. A. and the M. A. degrees. To
those who knew and heard him preach and speak in
the years of his public ministry it seemed that he brought
back the impress of the Middle West in his pronuncia-
tion and in the tone of his voice. Deeper than accent
and manner was the vim and determination of the man.
and if from these marks one did not soon guess his
Scotch-Irish blood, he was apt, before long, to claim and
glory in such extraction. At the age of seventeen he
was converted, and, having led an earnest Christian life,
was, in June, 1879, ordained to the gospel ministry. The
year before, on July 18, he was married to Miss Tabitha
Schan.
His ministry in Virginia began, and continued for
some ten years, in the Dan River Association. During
this period he was pastor, first of Black Walnut, South
317
318 VIRGINIA BAPTIST MINISTERS
Boston, and Scottsburg Churches, and later of a field
composed of the Scottsburg and Catawba Churches. It
was during this time that he gave part of his strength to
teaching. While pastor at South Boston he cordially
cooperated with Rev. John R. Moffett in his work for
the great cause of temperance. At a crisis in the history
of the Anti-Liquor, a paper which Moffett had estab-
lished, Mr. Thompson came to the rescue and assumed
one-half of the financial burden, taking also a good share
of the editorial work. From this Halifax County field
Mr. Thompson went, in 1900, to Farmville, Va., to
become pastor of the Baptist Church of that town. Here
he remained till 1904, being an effective leader in his
District Association (the Appomattox), as well as a
faithful pastor. From 1904 until 1910 he was pastor
of the First Church, Bluefield, W. Va., and in these
years, under his leadership, a handsome meeting-house
was built. From the crest of the Alleghanies he moved
to Lake City, Fla., where he was pastor of the church
and a teacher in the college. It was here that the painful
illness began that terminated in his death, at Richmond,
Thursday, January 25, 1912. One who had known him
for years, and who saw him in these months of great
physical suffering, says that his faith, instead of waver-
ing, seemed to grow stronger because of this awful trial.
At last the end of his agony came; the funeral took
place at Farmville, the remains and the widow and two
daughters being accompanied on this sad journey from
Richmond bv Rev. R. D. Garland.
HENRY WISE TRIBBLE
1862-1912
On the campus of Columbia College, Lake City, Fla.,
is the grave of Henry Wise Tribble, who, at the time of
his death, was the president of this college. .His death
was tragic. He was returning from the Baptist Florida
Convention at Ocala. where the college had received a
"launching gift" of $27,000 towards its endowment.
Between Cummings, on the man line of the railroad, and
Rodman, where he was preaching, in connection with his
college work, twice a month, an accident occurred which
resulted in his death. Cummings and Rodman are con-
nected by a sawmill road. "Over that road a log train
is operated, and passengers are taken in an auto truck
which uses the same track. It was night, and the log
train had gone ahead ; Dr. Tribble and two other passen-
gers were following. They had no lights, and the train
had stopped when the auto crushed into it. The collision
might not have been serious had not a log protruded from
the rear car; that jammed through the truck, catching
and crushing Dr. Tribble's leg. It passed on through and
crushed the leg of a negro passenger sitting in the rear.
The injuries of the negro are said to have been worse
than those of Dr. Tribble, and he is recovering without
amputation." Thus Dr. C. W. Duke described, in a
letter to the Reliyiotis Herald, this accident. He was
lovingly cared for in the home of Henry S. Cummings,
a sawmill man and an earnest Christian ; but on Tuesday,
February 6, 1912, with the coming of the dawn, his
spirit passed to God. On Thursday, February 8, the
fifty-first anniversary of his birth, his funeral took place,
319
320 VIRGINIA BAPTIST MINISTERS
Rev. Dr. L. B. Warren, who conducted the service, being
assisted by Rev. Dr. A. J. Holt, Rev. Dr. S. B. Rogers,
Rev. Dr. C. W. Duke, and Mr. Will D. Upshaw. Thus,
in the full flush of a vigorous manhood and an active
ministry, there came what seems, from the merely human
standpoint, an untimely end to this useful life, but God
has his "mysteries of grace." Dr. Tribble had not been
long in Florida, scarcely long enough to learn that one
can not move with the vim, in such a relaxing climate, as
is possible in the bracing air of Piedmont Virginia. At
the Jacksonville Convention, in May, 1911, he was the
picture of health, weighing not less than 180 pounds,
and, as he expressed his concern for his fellow-minister,
Rev. S. H. Thompson, who was extremely ill, no human
eye could foresee that their deaths would be separated
by only a few days.
Vigorous in body, Dr. Tribble was likewise vigorous
in mind. In him these two assets for success seemed to
go together. He was a good sleeper, and usually had a
good appetite. He had a good supply of rich red blood.
What with his fine bodily presence and his fearless
spirit he was a most manly man. In his early ministry
a burly fellow took some exception to a rebuke he had
uttered in the pulpit, and at the close of the service made
show of fight. Tribble's invitation to come around back
of the church, if he wanted to have it out, ended the mat-
ter. Dr. Tribble was a leader rather than a follower.
He did his own thinking, came to his own conclusions,
and could give his reasons for his views. In his Rich-
mond College student days, at the end of the session of
1883-84, when he won his B. A. degree, he also took the
Frances Gwin Philosophy medal. This victory gave
evidence of the caliber of his mind and proved a prophecy
of his mental grasp of the problems of life. His mind
was quick, and he was practical rather than visionary in
HENRY WISE TRIBBLE 321
the way he approached the tasks of the daily round.
Dr. Duke, in the letter to the Herald mentioned above,
tells how, when he, in his days at Richmond College, was
ill with typhoid fever, four students, Tribble being the
foremost, watched by his bedside at night to relieve the
anxious and weary parents.
Caroline County was his birthplace, and here, on June
15, 1885, at Carmel Church, he was ordained to the
gospel ministry. Before his course at the Southern Bap-
tist Theological Seminary, Louisville, was completed, he
had given a year of service as pastor of the Liberty and
Hebron Churches, Appomattox County, Virginia. Upon
his graduation at Louisville he became pastor at Jackson,
Tenn. In this university town he remained, doing excel-
lent service, until 1895, when he became pastor of the
First Baptist Church of Charlottesville. Here he was to
do the main work of his life. After five years at the
First Church, on October 4, 1900, under his leadership,
the High Street Baptist Church was organized, he
becoming its pastor. In eight years, having set out with
a membership of 50, High Street came to be a company
of 325 members, with a good meeting-house properly
equipped and paid for. Three years before the organiza-
tion of the High Street Church, Dr. Tribble had taken
upon his shoulders the additional burden of the presi-
dency of the Rawlings Institute. He kept the school full
from year to year, gathered around him an able faculty,
and was untiring in his efforts to set upon a sure financial
foundation this institution for the education of young
women.
As a preacher Dr. Tribble was in the front rank. Dur-
ing his life in Charlottesville he kept in close touch with
the University of Virginia, and often preached in the
University Chapel. While this pulpit is filled from Sun-
day to Sunday by distinguished ministers from all parts
21
322 VIRGINIA BAPTIST MINISTERS
of the land and of all denominations, Dr. Tribble was
regarded by the University community as fully equal, in
pulpit ability, to the distinguished divines who came to
them from a distance. As a preacher, his method of
developing a theme was natural, interesting, incisive.
His style was clear. His illustrations were apt. His
sermons were short; indeed, it was said, half playfully,
perhaps, that he was given the degree of Doctor of
Divinity because he preached so well and yet preached
only twenty minutes. In the social circle he was genial
and entertaining, able to tell a good story and ready to
join in the laughter that marks the moment of lighter
vein. He was a delightful and helpful companion. He
was highly esteemed by the denomination, being a leader
in the work in the State and the South. He was for
some .years a trustee of the Southern Baptist Theological
Seminary, and in this position bore an important part in
the solution of difficult problems in the life of this school
of the prophets. In 1905 he was one of the vice-
presidents of the Baptist General Association of Virginia.
In 1888 he was married to Miss Belle Estelle Rawlings,
of Augusta County, Virginia, who, with six children,
survived him.
Besides the services held in Florida, in memory of this
man of God, on the Sunday morning after his death, at
the High Street Church, Charlottesville, Rev. Dr. H. W.
Battle, the pastor, delivered a memorial sermon based on
the words: "And Enoch walked with God, and he was
not, for God took him." The auditorium was appropri-
ately draped, a large congregation was present, and a
paper, prepared by the pastor and deacons, setting forth
briefly the character and work of Dr. Tribble, was
adopted. At 3 P. M. of the same day another service was
held in the First Baptist Church, when the pastors and
mayor of Charlottesville paid tributes to his memory.
ALBERT D. REYNOLDS
1844-1912
The Northern Neck of Virginia was the birthplace and
the life arena of Albert D. Reynolds. In Westmoreland
County he first saw the light, his parents being humble
but godly people. Since his early days were spent in the
open air, at work on a farm, and the years of his budding
manhood, amidst the hardships of war and the stirring
experiences of a soldier in the cavalry, he came to the
real work of his life, seasoned and hardened. This may,
in some degree, have compensated for his failure to
secure the regular training of the schools. He doubtless
had, by nature, the power of making himself at home
with all sorts and conditions of men, but it is to be sup-
posed that his life in the army developed this aptitude.
For service in the Confederate Army he enlisted in
Company D, 9th Virginia Cavalry, a most dashing and
daring command. It may have been that a love for a
horse led him to join the cavalry. If so, this taste must
have grown during the four years of fighting, for it is
certain that one of the marks of his after-life was "a
fondness for a stylish and well-groomed horse."
Early in life he became a professing Christian, uniting
with Nomini Church. Here he found opportunity to
speak in public and to lead in prayer, and here his faith-
fulness and ability were in due season recognized, and he
was made a deacon, Rev. M. F. Sanford being elected
to this office at the same time. Once again his mother-
church recognized his gifts and called for his ordination
to the gospel ministry. In the month of December, at
Coan Church, Northumberland County, he was set apart
323
324 VIRGINIA BAPTIST MINISTERS
for this work. He was pastor first of Bethany and
Providence (Northumberland County) Churches. On,
until within a few weeks of his death, he labored continu-
ously as a Baptist pastor. Before his ministry closed,
besides those already named, he had served, in several
cases for twelve or thirteen years, these churches:
Totuskey, Pope's Creek, Oak Grove, Rappahannock,
Carrotoman, Montague's, and Welcome Grove, all in the
Rappahannock Association. "His official connections
thus held with these churches in five counties exceeded in
number those of any other minister who has yet labored
in the Northern Neck, and brought him into personal
touch with more families and individuals dwelling in that
region. It came to be true that in the long round of his
travels in visiting his congregations he could, with rare
exception, recognize and familiarly greet every resident
face that he met. If there be many preachers whose
search is for books and who read commentaries, he
sought his fellow-men and studied human characters.'*
What has already been said about his lack of educa-
tional training and about his love for men and the study
of mankind throws light on his power and limitations
as a preacher. "In preaching he was better able to break
the hearts of sinners than not to break the rules of gram-
mar. Without the study of homiletics, without well-
adjusted notes, with scantiest aid of pen or books, or
general reading, his mind was yet quick, inventive,
capable of strong reasoning, logical and argumentative,
and withal ever ready to gather energy and force from
its own action. A holy fire burned in his heart, and his
appeals, no less in private than in public, were fearless,
searching, direct, and strong, and many shining seals
were added to his ministry."
For several years before his death a diseased internal
organ often caused him great pain. In the winter of
ALBERT D. REYNOLDS 325
1912 he was taken to Baltimore in the hope that a
surgical operation might bring him renewed strength and
relief from pain. Travel between his home and Balti-
more is only by water. A spell of severely cold weather
closed this means of communication just at the time
when he needed in the hospital the sight of loving faces
and the touch of loved ones' hands. Alone he walked
tlu i path that leads to the river of death, and yet surely he
was not alone, for to him was the promise : "When thou
passest through the waters I will be with thee." In his
sixty-eighth year, on February 12, 1912, he departed
this life. His second wife and three daughters survived
him. She, and her sister, who was his first wife, were
both daughters of Rev. James Weaver, a Baptist
preacher. The quotations in this sketch are from an
article by the Rev. Dr. George W. Beale, from which
article, and from the obituary in the Minutes of the Gen-
eral Association by Rev. E. L. Hardcastle, many of these
facts have been taken.
ALBERT GRANT HASH
1876-1912
One of the many mysteries of God's providence that
we do not understand is why young men, full of promise,
and busy in successful work for God and humanity, are
cut off. Such a life was that of Albert Grant Hash. He
was born among the mountains of Virginia, and died a
pastor in one of the towns of Georgia. Before he had
rounded out four decades he was called away. Not long
after his birth, which took place in Grayson County,
March 14, 1876, he was deprived, by death, of the com-
fort and blessing of a mother's love. He was the son
of Abram and Rebekah Hash, and had three brothers,
one sister, one half-brother, and one half-sister. His
boyhood days were spent on the farm, helping his father.
The mountain school which he attended in these early
years brought him into touch with a teacher, Miss Sarah
La Rue, who, a few years later, was in charge of the
academy at Pearisburg. When he was eighteen years
old he left his home and went to this academy, drawn
hither, as it seems, by his old teacher. For the next three
years he studied in the winter, and during the summer
was himself a teacher. At the age of sixteen he made
a profession of religion and united with the Pine Branch
Church, and while at Pearisburg he felt called to preach
the gospel. In 1897 he was licensed by his home church,
and on July 17, 1898, the same body ordained him, the
presbytery being composed of these preachers : Rev. J. F.
Fletcher, Rev. J. S. Murray, and Rev. A. S. Murray. At
once, after this event, he set out for Alabama to prepare
to enter Howard College. He entered this institution
326
ALBERT GRANT HASH 327
and pursued his studies for two years, being pastor, at
the same time, of neighboring churches. He suffered an
attack of typhoid fever, in the summer of 1900, which
was almost fatal, and the effects of which he never fully
overcame. He was, because of this illness, unable to
complete his college course, and for four or five years
could do little work of any kind. One who knew him well
says that "during these years of waiting he was learning
the lessons of simple faith and patience that ever charac-
terized his remaining years. His bodily weakness, to
him, was an open door into God's presence and power."
He became pastor of the Fort Gaines Baptist Church in
January, 1905, a position that he was to hold for seven
years and until his death, which took place March 4, 1912.
He soon gained the esteem, not only of the church, but
of the whole community. When, in the fall of this same
year, he was obliged to go to Johns Hopkins Hospital,
Baltimore, for treatment, his church bore the expenses
of this trip. With renewed strength, for the years that
followed he gave himself unstintingly to his church and
to the community, thus binding more closely to him his
people and the town. On April 17, 1907, he was married
to Miss Leola Paullin, the youngest daughter of Mr. J. E.
Paullin, one of the deacons of the church. Hand in hand
this husband and wife worked for God till His summons
came. March 4, 1912, he passed from earth. The
church adopted resolutions expressing their admiration
for him and their sorrow at his death. The Christian
Index, in noticing his departure, printed an excellent
picture of him, a picture suggestive at once of gentleness,
strength of character, and piety. His wife and a little
girl survive him.
WALTER RHODES
1872(?)-1912
The ministerial work, in Virginia, of Rev. Walter
Rhodes, a native of Baltimore, Md., and a descendant
of Zachariah Rhodes (who landed in this country with
Roger Williams), was done on the Eastern Shore. His
first pastorate there was from 1899 to 1903, his churches
being Atlantic, Chincoteague, Reamy Memorial, and
Modest Town. His second pastorate in this section, at
the Onancock Church, began in 1909, and was broken by
the hand of death. Between these two seasons on the
Eastern Shore came his service in Baltimore, where he
was pastor of the Second Baptist Church until October
24, 1908. During his first sojourn in Accomac County
he published a newspaper devoted to the interests of the
Baptist cause on the Eastern Shore. Not only in his
Virginia fields, but also in Baltimore, he labored earnestly
and well. In Baltimore his "zeal and progressiveness
were marked, and he gained an honorable place in the
Conference of the Baptist Ministers and the Maryland
Association." Under his leadership the Second Church
built its present handsome structure on the corner of
Luzerne and Orleans streets. At Onancock he was
"popular and beloved, though he pursued his work
under the strain, often, of serious physical debility."
Before the end of his life and labors came he was called
on to pass through a long and terrible ordeal of pain. It
is not for us to sit in judgment concerning his death,
which was caused by a wound inflicted by his own hand,
but we may well give our sighs and pity at the thought
of his sufferings and anguish. His death occurred at
the Caswell Hotel, Baltimore.
328
WALTER RHODES 329
At Louisville, where he studied, he proved himself
diligent and successful, and he carried through life care-
ful habits as to his sermon preparation and other work.
Before going to Louisville he had been in the accounting
department of the Baltimore & Ohio Railway, where he
gained a good knowledge of business life. He was "a
clear, systematic, vigorous, and effective preacher, and
possessed high evangelistic gifts. Many weak and wan-
dering souls were reclaimed and many rejoicing converts
were led to Christ through his persuasive and convincing
appeals. As a close and devout student of God's word,
and a clear, fresh, accurate, and discriminating
expounder of it, few men of his age surpassed him. His
book of observations and reflections, while not of sus-
tained and equal merit throughout, has many pages in it
that do him honor, and has commanded high commenda-
tion from an eminent critic in England. While living in
Baltimore he wrote a series of articles which appeared in
the Sun and which attracted much attention in religious
circles." He was married to Miss Mary Evelyn Hard-
wick, a daughter of Mr. Alvin Hardwick, of Westmore-
land County. She and a son and daughter survived him.
On the Sunday before his death he preached an unusually
strong sermon from the words : "Things which eye saw
not and ear heard not and which entered not into the
heart of man, whatsoever things God prepared for them
that love him." I Cor. 2:9. At the funeral Rev. Dr.
H. A. Griesemer, who conducted the service, based his
remarks on this verse. Mr. Rhodes passed away Tues-
day, March 5, 1912, in the forty-first year of his life.
Rev. L. M. Ritter, the present pastor of the Onancock
Church, says of Mr. Rhodes: "The people here tell me
he was a very strong preacher." Mr. Rhodes was a
Royal Arch Mason.
JAMES E. JONES
1841-1912
At the close of one of the services of the Baptist
General Association of Virginia, in Petersburg, Novem-
ber, 1904, one of the younger pastors, Rev. W. Thorburn
Clark, who was about to go to the pastorate of Beaver
Dam, one of the churches of the Portsmouth Association,
felt a touch upon his shoulder. He turned and looked,
for the first time, into the face of Rev. James E. Jones.
The older pastor had sought the younger one to welcome
him to his new field, for their churches were near each
other. This little but gracious act showed the character
of the man, who, before his death came, had been pastor,
for a long period, of four churches in his Association.
These churches were South Quay, Sycamore, Holland's
Corner, and Jerusalem. Two of these bodies, Holland's
Corner and Sycamore, organized by him in 1880 and
1878, had him as their pastor for some thirty and thirty-
three years. His ministry at South Quay reached
through about twenty-seven years, having begun in 1885.
His service at Jerusalem ran from 1880 to 1904. South
Quay was the church of his childhood, and it was here,
after his student days at Richmond College and the Uni-
versity were over, that he was ordained to the ministry.
His retirement from the pastorate of the South Quay
Church a short time before his death, on account of
declining health, led to the adoption, by the church, of
resolutions expressing their devotion to him. These
resolutions declared that their retiring pastor left monu-
ments to his usefulness in South Quay, Jerusalem, Syca-
more, and Holland's Corner, the two last-named points
330
JAMES E. JONES 331
having come, under his guidance, from bush-arbor
appointments to strong and influential churches. The
resolutions spoke of him as eloquent in the pulpit, gifted
in prayer, kind and sympathetic in pastoral labors, one
who bound his people to him by love.
On Monday, April 1, 1912, about seven in the even-
ing, at his home near South Quay, Nansemond County,
in the seventy-second year of his age, after a week's ill-
ness, he passed from the scenes of earth to his heavenly
reward. The funeral took place the following Wednes-
day afternoon at South Quay Church, being conducted
by Rev. J. L. McCutcheon, of Franklin, who was
assisted by several pastors of other denominations. The
body was laid to rest beside that of his wife, who pre-
ceded him to the grave some twenty years. His brother
and sister, Mr. Mack Jones and Mrs. Gary Beale, survive
him, and also seven of his children, namely : Mrs. Hugh
Lawrence, Mr. J. Paul Jones, Mrs. Randall Rawls,
Mrs. Percy Vaughan, Mr. Philip Jones, Mr. William
Jones, and Mrs. J. M. Robertson.
JOHN ROBERT WILKINSON
1842-1912
Not many miles from Richmond City is Dover Mines,
Goochland County. At this place John Robert Wilkin-
son was born June 21, 1842, his parents being Hezekiah
and Mary Ford Wilkinson. From the best primary
schools of his native county he passed to the Huguenot
High School, hoping next to go to Washington College,
now Washington and Lee University, but in this his
hopes were shattered by the War. From March, 1862,
when he enlisted, until the end of the conflict, he
remained in the ranks. After the surrender, having
taken up farming, on August 24, 1865, at Goochland
(Nuckols') Church, under the preaching of Rev. A. E.
Dickinson, he professed faith in Christ and was baptized
into the fellowship of Dover Church by Rev. A. B.
Smith. Before long he was licensed to preach, but it was
not until after his removal from Powhatan and until four
years after his marriage, on January 19, 1870, to Miss
Adah Winfree, a daughter of Rev. Dr. D. B. W^infree,
that he decided to give himself to the gospel ministry.
Jerusalem Church, Chesterfield County, where he was
ordained, November 29, 1874, the presbytery consisting
of the ministers D. B. Winfree, W. S. Bland, J. R.
Bagby, R. W. Cridlin, and L. W. Moore, was his first
charge. His work as a preacher was, in the main, with
churches, first in the Middle District, and then in the
Dover, Association. On July 4, 1903, he organized, in
Louisa County, the Mineral Church, and in November,
1906, he dedicated the imposing meeting-house that this
congregation, under his leadership, had erected. This
332
JOHN ROBERT WILKINSON 333
church, which at its organization had twenty-one mem-
bers, reports now an enrollment of one hundred and fifty-
seven. During the whole course of his ministry he
served, besides those already named, the following
churches: Skinquarter, Tomahawk, Berea, Hopeful,
Mt. Olivet, Ashland, Winns, Mt. Gilead, Branch's,
Arbor, and Deep Run.
After a long and painful illness, on April 9, 1912, he
passed away. The funeral was conducted by Rev. Dr.
J. B. Hutson, who was assisted by other ministers, and
the body was laid to rest near the Mineral Church. His
second wife, who was, before her marriage, Miss Emily
F. Bowles, of Hanover County, and three children sur-
vive him. Rev. T. A. Hall, in his obituary in the
Minutes of the General Association, says of him : "There
was a bewitching charm about his striking personality
that won all persons with whom he came in contact.
An ingenuous suavity of spirit, a whole-hearted
friendship, a stainless life, and a spotless character, com-
bined with signal spiritual vivacity, great love for Jesus
Christ and for lost souls, together with lofty purposes
in living and in doing, constituted the prominent charac-
teristics of his noble life and his exalted attainments."
PATRICK THOMAS WARREN
1839-1912
On the walls of the Onancock Baptist Church are tab-
lets to the memory of Rev. Patrick Warren and his wife,
Elizabeth Ann Scott Warren. One of the children of
this pious couple was Rev. Patrick T. Warren. In him
the name Patrick had come down to the third generation,
for his grandfather, a godly Baptist deacon, had borne
this name. On November 4, 1839, in Northampton
County, Patrick Warren III, as he might well be called,
first saw the light. Through the private schools and by
the help of his uncle, Mr. Lewis Warren, he was prepared
for his college work, which was done at William and
Mary and Richmond College. In 1861, at the Onancock
Baptist Church, he was ordained, the presbytery being
composed of Elders Patrick Warren, George Bradford,
and S. C. Boston. This young man, the same year as
his ordination, served as a supply for the Lower North-
ampton Church, and, in 1862, became her pastor. This
good man's ministry, which began thus in Virginia, and
was to come to its close on the soil of the Old Dominion,
gave many of its years to work in other States. In these
years away from Virginia he was pastor at Salisbury,
Cumberland, Longwood, and twice at Vienna, all in
Maryland ; at Mobile and Eufaula, Alabama ; and at
Watsontown, Pennsylvania. In 1885 he was once more
back in his native State, his field at this time lying in the
territory of the Portsmouth and Concord Associations ;
during these years he ministered to the Fountain's Creek,
James' Square, Hicks ford, and Zion Churches. From
1890 to 1897 he was pastor at Williamsburg, Va. Upon
334
PATRICK THOMAS WARREN 335
leaving Williamsburg he moved to Pamplin City, which
was his home until the end of his life. During a part of
this period he was pastor of these churches, in the James
River and Appomattox Associations: Liberty Chapel,
New Hope, Mathews, and Rocks. He was deeply inter-
ested, not only in the life of his own churches, but in the
prosperity and growth of all the churches of his Associa-
tions. He was moderator of the Appomattox Associa-
tion and the preacher of the sermon when this body cele-
brated its centennial. During his life in Appomattox a
Pastors' Conference was organized, and he was made its
president. For some years before the end of his life he
gave up active pastoral work, but up to the close of 1911
he continued to respond to all requests for occasional or
supply sermons, whether they came from Baptists or
from other denominations. A few weeks before his
death he was paralyzed, and this event making him
realize that death was near at hand, he "set his house in
order," even giving directions for his burial. At ten
o'clock Friday morning, May 31, 1912, surrounded by
his family, he passed away. His body was laid to rest
in the cemetery of the Liberty Baptist Church, Appo-
mattox, the services being conducted by Rev. C. R.
Norris, Rev. Dr. H. C. Smith, and Rev. Dr. W. J. Ship-
man. The wife, whose married life had extended over
some forty-four years, and who, before her marriage,
was Miss Mary A. Price (daughter of Dr. William R.
and Susan Denmead Price), of Baltimore County, Mary-
land, survived her husband, with her three daughters,
Mary Houston, Hannah Denmead, and Odelle Austin
(Mrs. Milledge L. Bonham), and one son, Luther Rice
Warren.
Patrick Thomas Warren was a man remarkable for his
courtesy, for his systematic habits, for his painstaking
care as to little things. He was always scrupulously neat
336 VIRGINIA BAPTIST MINISTERS
in his dress and person, and his horse and buggy showed
that almost equal thought had been bestowed upon them.
A poorly groomed horse, or a buggy not clean and well
cared for, would have vexed him no little. In the keep-
ing of his books and papers and his house and lot, a
similar interest was manifested; it was his pride to show
his friends his fine tomatoes, held up by proper frames,
and the other good things in his garden. Not only in
things that concerned himself, but as well in what
touched the lives of others, was he interested to see that
the little points were watched. Life is made up of little
things, but life is no little thing. Concerning his real
piety and conscientious devotion to duty there is no need
that words be spoken, for on that matter the whole of
his useful life throws clear light.
THOMAS HUME, JR.
1836-1912
In 1806 Rev. Thomas Hume, of Edinburgh, Scotland,
came to Virginia to represent the Scotch heirs of Rev.
Robert Dickson, his uncle. A little later his brother,
Rev. William Hume, followed him to Virginia. The
Hon. Hugh Blair Grigsby bore testimony to the scholarly
ability of the two brothers, declaring that William Hume
was the ''finest Grecian he had known." By reason of
the "law's delay," Thomas was detained some time in
Virginia, and finally married and settled in Smithfield,
Isle of Wight County. Here his only child, Thomas, was
born, March 16, 1812. This second Thomas, known
among Virginia Baptists as Dr. Thomas Hume, Senior,
married, in 1835, Miss Mary Anne Gregory, a member
of an old and honored family, and a teacher in the
Trinity Episcopal Sunday School of Portsmouth. Of
the eight children of this union the oldest was named
Thomas. This third Thomas Hume is known as Dr.
Thomas Hume, Junior. He was born, at his father's
home in Portsmouth, Va., October 21, 1836. For a full
story of the life of Dr. Thomas Hume, Senior, the reader
is referred to the "Lives of Virginia Baptist Ministers,"
Third Series, where the son pays a beautiful and deserved
tribute to his honored father. Suffice it here to say that
Dr. Thomas Hume, Senior, besides being for many
years the distinguished pastor of the Court Street Bap-
tist Church of Portsmouth, was one of the leading
citizens of that city, where he was able, not only to care
for the interests of his own flock, but also to be president
of an insurance company, County Superintendent of
Education, president of a Provident Society, and con-
337
338 VIRGINIA BAPTIST MINISTERS
suiting director of the Seaboard Railroad. Nor was
his influence limited by the Elizabeth River, for he was
at one time pastor in Norfolk. And his leadership
reached out to the work of the denomination in the
State. In this home, with its pious and literary atmos-
phere and traditions, the subject of this sketch was born.
After studying at the Virginia Collegiate Institute, of
Portsmouth, he entered Richmond College at the age of
fifteen, and graduated there, with the degree of Bachelor
of Arts, in 1855, the other members of the class being
Peter W. Ferrell, Halifax, Va., and Wm. S. Ryland,
Richmond, Va. From Richmond College he went to the
University of Virginia, where he remained three years
and took a number of the "school" diplomas. Through
the pen of Rev. Dr. John L. Johnson we see Mr. Hume
as he was in the fall of 1856, when he entered the Uni-
versity, and when he and Dr. Johnson met for the first
time. Dr. Johnson says: "In person he was of small
stature, of less than average height, and very delicately
made. Slightly curling auburn hair fell upon his
shoulders ; a massive brow, broad and deep, under which
gray-blue eyes shone with unusual brightness, gave to his
full face a wedge-like contour ; and over all was a lurk-
ing humorous cast, which, even in pensive moods, made
his expression interesting and magnetic. Poor health
was his misfortune; chronic indigestion was his mortal
foe. Days at a time he lay in bed, racked with pain, and
smilingly receiving the loving ministry of his fellow-
students. An ardent Christian, in spite of this physical
weakness, he was to be found habitually at his church,
Sunday school and preaching services, and in the Sun-
day afternoon prayer-meeting of the students." He
belonged to that interesting group of students in which
number were H. H. Harris, J. William Jones, J. C.
Hiden, L. J. Haley, James B. Taylor, Jr., and John L.
THOMAS HUME, JR. 339
Johnson, and with some of them he formed a happy bond
between Richmond College and the University of Vir-
ginia. The first college Young Men's Christian Associa-
tion in the world was organized at the University of
Virginia, and Mr. Hume was its first secretary and its
second president. He was also one of the magazine
editors.
Scarcely had Mr. Hume entered upon his work as
Professor of Latin and English in the Chesapeake Col-
lege, Hampton, Va. (an institution which had been
rescued a few years before, by Mr. Hume's father, from
purchase by the Catholics), when the War called him
from the teacher's chair to the camp and the line of
march. He had already felt the call to preach, and now
he became chaplain of the Third Regiment Virginia
Infantry. Later he was made post chaplain at Peters-
burg, where he remained as official chaplain of the Con-
federate Hospitals during the siege of the city and until
the surrender at Appomattox. On June 5, 1865, at the
close of the session of the Baptist General Association
of Virginia, at the First Baptist Church, Richmond, Va.,
he was ordained to the gospel ministry. On this occasion
the sermon was preached by J. B. Jeter, the ordaining
prayer made by Wm. F. Broaddus, the charge delivered
by J. L. Burrows, the hand of fellowship given by
J. William Jones, and the Bible presented by Geo. B.
Taylor. For the score of years that followed this event,
Mr. Hume gave himself to teaching and to preaching,
a part of this period both of these lines of service receiv-
ing at the same time his thought. For a short season he
supplied the pulpit of the First Church, Petersburg, and
then became Principal of the Petersburg Classical Insti-
tute, giving his Sabbaths to country churches in Sussex
and Chesterfield Counties. On June 29, 1867, in company
with Dr. William D. Thomas, Dr. J. W. M. Williams,
340 VIRGINIA BAPTIST MINISTERS
Dr. G. W. Samson, Dr. J. L. M. Curry and bride, and
others, he sailed from New York for a trip to Europe.
His next work was in Danville, where he was Principal
of the Roanoke Female College, and for two years pastor
of the First Baptist Church. It was only after long con-
sideration that he decided to turn from his teaching to
take charge of this church, but when the question was
settled "he became at once a busy pastor, looking system-
atically after the membership of the church and making
most careful preparations for the pulpit. He was indeed
a fine preacher; language simple and chaste, thought
strong and penetrating, illustrated richly from the broad
fields of his reading ; voice clear and incisive, face aglow
with the passion of the hour, made him a speaker good
to listen to and easy to learn from." In 1874 his father's
death called him back to his old home, and he was invited
to succeed his father in the pastorate of the Cumberland
Street (later known as the First) Baptist Church, of
Norfolk. This position he held till 1878, when he
became Professor of Latin and English in the Norfolk
College. In the same year he was married to Miss Annie
Louise Whitescarver, a daughter of Rev. W. A. Whites-
carver, and remarkable for her beauty of person and
face. In June, 1881, Dr. Hume was the Richmond Col-
lege Alumni Poet. While a broken-down engine pre-
vented his being present to read his poem alumni night,
he did read it on the Wednesday night of the Commence-
ment. The poem, the subject of which was "Walking
With God," instituted a comparison between Enoch and
Dr. J. B. Jeter.
In 1885 Dr. Hume became Professor of English
Language and Literature in the University of North
Carolina. He filled this chair for twenty-two years, and
in this capacity probably did the best work of his life.
It is certain that he was most highly fitted to be a teacher,
THOMAS HUME, JR. 341
yet he had elements that go to the making of the success-
ful pastor. If a warm, genial heart and an intense
human interest in people gave him power in the class-
room, surely this same marked factor in his character
would have become, in the sphere of the church, the
"shepherd heart/' He threw into his work as a teacher
a zeal and enthusiasm and love that quickened in his
students a kindred fire and a spirit of painstaking work.
His appreciation of the true and the beautiful in litera-
ture was at once keen and accurate. He seemed to know
almost as if by instinct what was really fine in prose and
poetry, and those who followed his taste and leadership
were sure to drink of the purest waters. Letters from
many of his old students record his patient and kindly
work with them, not only in their studies, but in the prob-
lems of their personal and religious life. At his death,
one of these students wrote of him, in a Southern paper :
"Many old students are anxious to testify that he
opened up to them vistas of things undreamed of before;
that he helped them on in paths that have been so pleasant
and so inspiring in after-life; that he interpreted the
vision of the 'light that never was on sea or land' so
that it has illumined many a dark hour; that he lifted
them up and introduced them to the masters, who have
inspired, cheered, and comforted, oh! so many hours
since ; that his outlines of the Great Plan are coming out
largely as he sought to make plain to young, mobile, and
impressionable minds; that he was nobly unselfish
through it all, and their appreciation is unstinted."
Mr. E. K. Graham, formerly Professor of English,
now President of the University of North Carolina,
writing of his work, on his retirement, said, in part :
"When Dr. Hume came to the University, conditions
surrounding teaching in the State were not so favorable
342 VIRGINIA BAPTIST MINISTERS
as they are now. They were especially unfavorable to
the teaching of English Literature. ... In the face
of the difficulties which confront every teacher of the
aesthetic, and the peculiar difficulties that confronted him,
Dr. Hume wrought at his task of teaching the master-
pieces of literature with the zeal of a prophet. Litera-
ture (whenever he wrote the word he capitalized it) was
to him not a chance profession; it was a religious faith.
The beauty he found there was not the sentimentalism of
a cult; it was the gift of God, coequal with truth and
goodness the heavenly light that was the consecration
of the monotonous struggle to get on. . . . During
most of the years in which he served the State, Dr.
Hume, in his field, worked almost alone alone, in what
was by all odds the largest department in the University.
He placed but one limit on the number of courses he
taught, and that was the number of hours in the day.
Day and night he gave himself to active instruction. In
addition, he organized Shakespeare clubs out in the
State, lectured in summer schools, preached in churches;
in fact, put no reserve whatever upon his time or
strength. It was a matter of everyday wonder how so
frail a man had the burden-bearing power of a superman.
But here was the simple secret: to him it was not a
burden, but a joy. It gave him the chance to teach !
"Besides the influence that Dr. Hume exerted on all
his students, on the thousands of people with whom he
came in contact in his extension work and through his
preaching, he made other leaders of sweetness and light
in whose work his influence is especially obvious. Many
successful teachers themselves makers of teachers
many successful preachers and lawyers, have added a
grace to their lives that was kindled at the torch he bore.
He was never a writer of books, but he was a maker of
writers of books. A half-dozen books come to my mind
THOMAS HUME, JR. 343
in which he was in this indirect way a joint author.
. As a teacher of men it was given him to subdue
the petty tyranny of time and space. Is it not possible
to say simply and with certitude about such a teacher,
that life gives to him her greatest gift; that even while
he lives immortality becomes to him a visible, a realized
fact?"
At Glen Falls, N. Y., and at Knoxville, Tenn., he gave
courses at summer schools, while he delivered series of
lectures on Shakespeare, Tennyson, and the Literary
Study of the Bible before schools and clubs and Bible
assemblies in various parts of Virginia and North Caro-
lina. He published many articles and addresses, and
during the last months of his life was at work on a book
on the development of the English Bible. In 1907 he
was made Emeritus Professor on the Carnegie Founda-
tion, being the first educator in North Carolina to receive
this appointment.
Although he gave up regular preaching during this
last twenty -odd years of his life, he did not give up his
interest in his church. He was ever a most active and
earnest member of the Chapel Hill Baptist Church, the
right-hand man of his pastor, active in the Sunday
school and the B. Y. P. U.. and Sunbeam Missionary
Society, ever bearing on his heart and mind the welfare
of the church and his pastor. One pastor writes thus :
"It was my honor to be Dr. Hume's pastor for two years,
when I had not been preaching long. The way he treated
me, his young and inexperienced pastor, was character-
istic of the man. He honored me as his pastor, and in
scores of ways was courteous to me and considerate of
my office, as well as of my comfort. He never forgot
those little amenities which always help to tide over the
rough places, especially when they mark the manner of a
man, in distinguished place, towards one far less
344 VIRGINIA BAPTIST MINISTERS
advanced in age and achievement. If he made sugges-
tions as to sermon structure, or as to the work of the
church, it was done with marvelous tact." His interest
in religious work was not limited to the local church,
nor to his own denomination. He was in touch with
what was being done by North Carolina and Southern
Baptists, and as Superintendent of the Y. M. C. A. work
in the colleges and towns of North Carolina, as well as
in other ways, he made himself felt throughout all the
State.
Towards the end he was a sufferer. On July 15, 1912,
he passed away at his home in Chapel Hill. The funeral
and burial were in Waynesboro, Va. His wife and three
children, Thomas Hume, Annie Wilmer (now Mrs.
William Reynolds Vance), and Miss May Gregory, sur-
vive him.
JOSEPH R. GARLICK
1825-1912
One of the delegates to the "Virginia Baptist Anniver-
saries" (as the general State gathering was then called),
in Norfolk, 1852, was "Joseph R. Garlick. In 1856 he
was one of the life members of the General Association,
and on through the years, until his death, he was closely
connected with the work of the denomination in Virginia.
He was born on December 30, 1825, in King William
County, Virginia. After his early training in neighbor-
hood schools he entered, in 1840, the Virginia Baptist
Seminary (now Richmond College), where he continued
till the fall of 1841, when he became a student at Colum-
bian College, Washington. Here he graduated in 1843.
For a season he now became a teacher, his first experi-
ence as a pedagogue being at Lancaster Court House.
One of his pupils, a youth four years his junior, named
Thomas S. Dunaway, still abides among us, in his vener-
able age, after a long and a most honored career of
service among Virginia Baptists. Upon the death of his
former schoolmaster, Dr. Dunaway wrote tender and
loving words concerning him, describing him as "a man
of fine literary taste and acquirements and broad scholar-
ship," and recalling the fact that Dr. Jeter had once
suggested to Dr. Garlick that he prepare a lexicon of the
English language.
After studying theology under Rev. Dr. Andrew
Broaddus, the elder, he was ordained, in December, 1847.
His first charge was at Hampton, Va., and here he
remained four years. After teaching for two years in
the Chowan Female Institute, Murfreesboro, N. C., he
345
346 VIRGINIA BAPTIST MINISTERS
moved, in 1855, to Bruington, King and Queen County,
where he established the Rappahannock Female Institute,
over which he presided for fourteen years. For a decade
of this period at Bruington he was pastor of St.
Stephen's Church, in the same county. In 1870 he was
called to succeed Rev. A. E. Dickinson as pastor of the
Leigh Street Baptist Church, Richmond. This relation-
ship continued some nine years, and that the work pros-
pered is seen from the fact that in 1869 the church
reported 544 members, and, in 1879, no less than 896.
Upon leaving Richmond and Leigh Street he returned to
a country pastorate and to the section where he had
already spent many years. Once more he became pastor
of St. Stephen's Church, and later, also, of Mt. Zion
and Lower King and Queen. After some nine or ten
years here, he passed to the Dover Association, taking
charge of that historic church now known as Winn's,
but first, and until 1833, called Chickahominy, and then
Bethlehem until 1870, when the present name was
chosen. In the historical sermon that Dr. Garlick
preached, in November, 1901, the year "Winn's" was one
hundred and twenty years old, he explained why the
name of the church was changed from Chickahominy to
Bethlehem, and then to "Winn's." In 1833, at the time
of the Campbellite excitement, the Chickahominy Church
was excluded from the Association because many of its
members held unbaptistic views. The rest of the church
went on, simply adopting the new name. By 1870 there
were so many churches called "Bethlehem" that the name
of the man who had given the site for the meeting-house
was chosen, since it was more distinctive.
As has already been seen, Dr. Garlick was a scholar
and a student. Three years after his graduation at
Columbian he received, "in course," his M. A. degree,
and while he was pastor in Richmond, Richmond College
JOSEPH R. GARLICK 347
conferred on him the degree of Doctor of Divinity. For
some years he was a trustee of Richmond College, where
he "brought the ripe experience of his teaching life to
bear on the adjustment of many educational problems."
For several years he was professor in the Richmond
Female Institute and the Woman's College of Rich-
mond. For five years he was President of the State
Mission Board of the General Association. His married
life was long and happy, his wife having been, before
her marriage, Miss Sue Morrison. The children of this
marriage were Edward, Lizzie, Ellen (Mrs. Todd),
Richard Cecil, and Mary Atwood. Full of years and full
of honors, Dr. Garlick passed away August 13, 1912.
WILLIAM ELDRIDGE HATCHER
1834-1912
Those who knew Dr. Hatcher in his manhood and
ministry days were very apt to learn that Bedford
County was his birthplace, for he was proud of his native
county, a county that has produced many preachers. The
Peaks of Otter, at whose foot his early days were spent,
he called "my mountain," and the tall summit seemed to
speak to the boy of God and heaven. His only memory
of his mother was her funeral, for the day he was four
years old she was laid to rest under the old cherry tree
back of the garden. He felt, through life, how much he
had missed in not knowing a mother's love, and his
sympathy and interest in boys was testimony to the lack
in his own life. His father was fifty years his senior,
but the boy loved him with strong devotion, and, after
the mother's death, for years they were bed-fellows.
The father was greatly distressed because this son seemed
to him to be so lazy. It was true that the young fellow
hated to "work in the dirt." The father predicted that
this aversion meant that he would .starve, but the boy
believed that in some other way he would make his living.
So serious was the father's distress over the boy's dis-
inclination to do farm work that he told his cousin, the
future Dr. Jeter, how matters stood, and that the boy,
instead of working, was forever reading. The boy, who
overheard the conversation, was keenly mortified to see
what his father thought of him, but Dr. Jeter's view of
the situation was less grave, and his advice that the boy
be sent to school was eventually followed. The family
circle consisted of the children, Henry, Harvey, William,
348
WILLIAM ELDRIDGE HATCHER 349
Damaris, and Margaret, and of the colored folks, Uncle
Sam, Aunt Charity and Charlotte, William and Harvey
being the children of the second marriage. Country life
in Bedford in those days certainly had its limitations.
Later, Dr. Hatcher thus described his early environment
and life: "We were twelve miles from the county-seat,
had mail once a week, and church once a month when the
weather was good. A blacksmith's shop, a tanyard, and
a store, with a mill further on, constituted all of our
public interests. As I had no horse to shoe, no letters to
write or receive, not a copper to buy anything with, and
did not belong to the church, my communication with
the outer world amounted to naught. This statement
was modified by one exception. I did attain to the honor
of being a mill boy, and every Saturday morning 'Old
Fillie' was bridled, a bag of corn was balanced on her
back, and the giant arms of my brother hoisted me
astride the mare and bag, and, with only the necessary
garb, in warm weather, to save me from public disgrace,
I jogged my way over to Chilton's Mill. There I always
had an interesting time. The proprietor of the mill had
a most unsavory name in that community, but he was
rich ; he had quite a handsome assortment of books,
always welcomed me into his office, was a glib and capti-
vating talker, and was one of two or three men on the
earth at that time who seemed to be conscious of my
existence when I came along." The boy seems to have
had but one everyday suit, and that made "of the wool
taken from the backs of our sheep, carded, spun, and
woven in our house, dyed with ill-odored, homemade
dyes, cut out, and warranted not to fit, and was ugly and
unattractive, and usually very slow to wear out." The
Sunday school of the neighborhood, which ran from the
early days of spring until the end of the summer, was
most unattractive; the teachers and scholars stammered
350 VIRGINIA BAPTIST MINISTERS
through long chapters of the Bible, the prayers were
long, and there was no singing, and never "a breezy and
cheery address."
At Mt. Hermon Church, when the pastor, Father
William Harris, and F. M. Barker, a man of great elo-
quence, were conducting a meeting, the youth was con-
verted. With his hand in the kindly grasp of Dr. Falls,
he first went forward when "the invitation" was given,
and later came out into the full light of joyful surrender
to Christ, under the gentle guidance of Monroe Hatcher.
That night, when the two brothers reached home, the
elder son went in to where Mr. Hatcher was in bed and
said: "Father, great news to-night great news; your
baby boy came into the Kingdom of God." It may have
been that the youth's call to preach came that day when
Father Harris laid his hand on his head, as he passed the
reading boy, and said he hoped he would be a minister of
the gospel some day. Later, the young man's greatest
obstacle to entering the ministry was his irresistible
eagerness to do so. But there seemed to be no money
for an education. At nineteen he began to teach, and
the session, it was arranged, was to last twelve months
and the salary to be $300 and board. It was in a private
family, and before the year was out a whipping that the
young pedagogue administered to his employer's son
broke up the school and turned the teacher's feet towards
college, a place that had been his heart's desire for no
little time. With him went his older brother, Harvey.
This was in 1854. It so happened that the young man's
first Sunday in Richmond was the first Sunday of Dr.
J. L. Burrows' pastorate at the First Baptist Church.
With wonder, this student sat in the gallery and heard
the new preacher. Such crowds he had never seen
before, and the preacher was a revelation to him. He
did not know "that God made men like that." The two
WILLIAM ELDRIDGE HATCHER 351
brothers who came together to Richmond College from
the mountains of Bedford were almost wholly unlike.
Harvey had a gift for mathematics and was slow of
speech, while William abominated this exact science and
was a most fluent speaker. In June, 1858, the two
Hatcher brothers graduated from the college, the other
members of the class being Wm. S. Penick, Samuel H.
Pulliam, John W. Ryland, and Joseph A. Turner. Be-
fore his college course was finished, young Hatcher had
had no little experience in preaching, and had accepted
a call to his first church and pastorate. His first sermon
was preached in Bedford, the only word concerning it
that reached the preacher's ears being the remark of a
countryman that he had gotten "a fair night's sleep while
that fellow was talking." During one of his vacations
he conducted his first protracted meeting, the call for this
service having come from Father Harris at Mt. Hermon
Church, in Bedford. In the college, one session, a deep
work of grace blessed the whole student body, many of
the men being brought, by the power of the gospel, to
Christ and his service. In this work William E. Hatcher
was one of the leaders. From the college the wave of
spiritual power moved out to the city, and the young
men of Grace Street Church invited Mr. Hatcher and
James B. Taylor, Jr., to conduct special services in the
basement of their church. This work was rich in blessed
fruit. During these college days Mr. Hatcher preached
at least once for Dr. Ryland at the First African Church,
and many times, without money and without price, for
the feeble Baptist Church in Manchester, just across the
river from Richmond. As he tramped his way from the
college to Manchester, and back to the college, he little
dreamed that here he was to begin his career as a pastor,
but it was even so.
On the fourth Sunday in August, 1858, he became
pastor of the Manchester Baptist Church. The town
352 VIRGINIA BAPTIST MINISTERS
was far from inviting, and with an unenviable reputation.
Religion in the town seemed to languish, and several
attempts to found a Baptist Church had failed. Finally
the erection of a meeting-house was undertaken, and
before it was completed the church had been blessed by
the short but earnest ministry of Rev. Z. Jeter George.
Upon his death, Mr. Hatcher was called. In much
depression of spirit, and yet with a clear conviction as
to the path of duty, he began his work. Before long the
congregations began to grow, there were conversions,
and the burdensome debt on the meeting-house was paid.
The clouds of war gathered over the South, and Man-
chester shared with her sister towns, Petersburg and
Richmond, many of the horrors and sorrows of those
awful days. Yet during these nine years in Manchester
Mr. Hatcher was growing as a pastor and preacher.
Already he was beginning to go out into the country for
work in protracted meetings, a field in which he was to
exert such a mighty influence for good, in an ever-
widening area, until the end of his life. On March 17,
1867, he became pastor of the Franklin Square Baptist
Church, Baltimore. While in Baltimore he felt the
power and helpful sympathy of Richard Fuller, the
greatest pulpit orator Southern Baptists, not to say the
South, ever had. This unique man called on the new
pastor and prayed with and for him so tenderly that the
younger man never forgot the visit; he also urged his
members in that part of the city to unite with the
Franklin Square Church. After a brief sojourn in
Baltimore, Mr. Hatcher returned to Virginia, becoming
pastor of the First Baptist Church, Petersburg. During
his seven years in Petersburg his church grew from a
membership of some 213 to an enrollment of some 442.
Besides meetings of power in his own field, Mr. Hatcher
was inspirational along missionary, educational, and
WILLIAM ELDRIDGE HATCHER 353
evangelistic lines in the State at large. While pastor in
Petersburg he held a meeting at Shiloh, a church which
had been reported at the District Association as "dead,"
and before the week was over a band of 56 converts
were ready for the reviving of the old church, and later
a fine new meeting-house was built. During his pastor-
ate in Petersburg the famous Memorial Campaign for
Richmond College took place, in which campaign Mr.
Hatcher was a leader. He was a member of the com-
mittee, appointed by the General Association at the
session in Staunton, June, 1872, to have charge of this
campaign, and at this same meeting he preached the
introductory sermon, his text being: "Christ also loved
the church 'and gave Himself for it" (Eph. 5:25); his
theme being: "Christ's Love and Labor for the Church."
Far and wide he went throughout the State telling the
story of the struggles of Virginia Baptists, in the early
days, for religious liberty.
On the fourth Sunday of May, 1875, Dr. Hatcher
began his pastorate at Grace Street Baptist Church, Rich-
mond, a pastorate that was to last exactly twenty-six
years, and was to be the most successful and important
period of his career. He succeeded, at Grace Street, Rev.
Norvell Wilson, and had as predecessors in this field,
James B. Taylor, Sr., Jas. B. Jeter, David Shaver,
Henry Keeling, and Edward Kingsford. While the
church was a strong body, with some 625 members
when he became pastor, and a noble house of worship,
still it grew in numbers and influence. At the end of
the twenty-six years, although two colonies had gone out
to establish new churches, the mother church had on her
roll 989 members. Two new church edifices were built,
the first one taking the place of the house that had stood
and served for many years, and the other erected after
a fire had destroyed, in a few hours, the new church.
From year to year protracted meetings, with great
354 VIRGINIA BAPTIST MINISTERS
ingatherings, came to be the normal order of things, and
Dr. Hatcher declared that the church had wonderful
"spiritual fecundity," and that it "was only necessary to
watch the signs, mark the season, call them together, and
sound the gospel trumpet, and the work began." One
of the unique features of Dr. Hatcher's work at Grace
Street was his "boys' meetings." Every Sunday after-
noon Dr. Hatcher's "boys" met. This was before the
days of B. Y. P. U. and Junior B. Y. P. U. and Royal
Ambassadors. Yet Dr. Hatcher, by his genial person-
ality, great love for boys, wonderful tact and resourceful-
ness, humor and power of organization, led the boys into
glad devotion and service for Christ and the church.
Once a year the main audience room was crowded to see
and hear these boys render a programme largely prepared
by their leader and pastor. Out of this band came many
preachers and church workers, and, when the need arose,
these boys raised large sums of money for the improve-
ment of the old or the building of thejiew meeting-house.
Great congregations were the order of the day at Grace
Street, and the Sunday school, although it worked in a
room that was utterly inadequate, was mighty in num-
bers and spirit. Dr. Hatcher, in some respects, grew as
a preacher until tjie end of his life, but doubtless he
reached his zenith of pulpit power at Grace Street. He
was a great preacher. He was not always at his best
who is? but Sunday after Sunday his sermons were
interesting, helpful, fruitful, and on special occasions
and at other times he often spoke with convincing and
moving power. He had many demands on his time that
invaded the hours for sermon preparation, and some
accused him of neglecting his study and his Sunday
messages, but this was not, I am persuaded, a just criti-
cism. He told me once that if he was busy all the week
out of his study, on legitimate work, the Lord helped him
WILLIAM ELDRIDGE HATCHER 355
Sunday, but if he failed to prepare by reason of laziness
or carelessness the help from above did not seem to come.
In protracted meetings he was perhaps at his best. He
enforced his arguments and carried home his exhortation
by most telling illustrations. Very rarely were his illus-
trations ever taken from history. They usually came
from events in his life and from experiences in other
lives which he had known. The Bible was the other
chief treasury from which his illustrations were drawn.
He was a master in the painting of word pictures, know-
ing how to use details so that they never wearied, but
were always interesting. He rarely quoted poetry in his
sermons, and probably knew little. He was not, in the
stricter sense of the terms, a great student or a great
reader. He seemed to read rather for recreation and
information as to events of the day than for use in
preaching. Yet he was a careful and thorough thinker,
and his mind was quick and well trained. He once said
that he could not just get up and talk without having a
subject and an objective point. Humor played a part
in his sermons and had even larger room in his platform
addresses and speeches on various occasions. Yet they
are mistaken who suppose he was humorous merely to
make people laugh. With him humor must serve a moral
purpose or be counted out of place. He was not a teller
of funny stories ; indeed, it is remarkable how few anec-
dotes leading to laughter he told. His humor was more
natural, more spontaneous, and so more delightful. It
was his art of saying things. He saw things from new
and unexpected angles and differently combined. If in
his earlier years his sense of humor needed curbing when
he was preaching, in his later years he never offended the
most exacting taste in this direction, and was in every
way dignified, though not stern, in the pulpit. Some-
times on special occasions, when much was expected of
356 VIRGINIA BAPTIST MINISTERS
him, he disappointed hopes that had been raised. This
was true when he preached the Commencement sermon at
the University of Virginia. The night was warm, the
students, with young ladies, were present in large num-
bers, and several bats came in and refused to go out.
Dr. Hatcher said the belles and the bats were his undoing.
Certainly such disasters were rare with Dr. Hatcher.
Some of his sermons reached the high-water mark of
pulpit power. This was true of his sermon before the
Southern Baptist Convention at Nashville in 1893. His
text was "Experience worketh hope," and his theme
"The Value of the Experimental Hope." The meeting
hall was the Ryerson Auditorium, not, perhaps, as
favorable a place for a sermon as a church, yet with
good acoustic properties. The sermon was heard by all
the great audience, produced a deep impression, and
ranks as one of the best of our Convention sermons.
Dr. Hatcher did not have a clear or musical voice, and
at times his tones were not clear, yet he overcame
this handicap, and he was usually heard by his congrega-
tion however large it was. In speaking of this sermon
he said that he worked on several texts before finally
choosing the one on which he spoke. In his opinion,
many Convention sermons failed because the preachers
had no clear-cut idea of what the sermon was aiming to
accomplish.
While he was at Grace Street, Dr. Hatcher's leadership
in the work of Virginia Baptists grew. Here his sphere
widened and his influence in the affairs of the Southern
Baptist Convention was potent. Within the ranks of his
own denomination in Virginia he held, for many years,
the first place. What movement of importance came to
success among Virginia Baptists during this Grace Street
quarter of a century, and yet other years, which did not
have his championship and leadership? It was hard, in
WILLIAM ELDRIDGE HATCHER 357
all these years, to think of Ministerial Education, Rich-
mond College, the Orphanage, and not remember Dr.
Hatcher, nor did he fail to espouse the cause of State,
Home, and Foreign Missions. If a church was to be
dedicated, or a debt paid, or a great anniversary occasion
celebrated, Dr. Hatcher's presence was, if possible,
secured. He attended our District Associations, from
the Seaboard to the Alleghanies, rather than take such a
vacation as many city pastors do. Other States besides
Virginia called on him for all kinds of occasions, and he
was known, not only in the South, but also among the
Northern Baptists. At one of the most trying times in
the history of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary
he was recognized as a leader in the Board of Trustees
and on the floor of the Convention, and it was he who
"discovered" and nominated Dr. E. Y. Mullins for the
presidency of the Seminary. During Dr. Hatcher's years
at Grace Street many of the students of Richmond Col-
lege attended his church, and he was in close touch with
the life of the college, and the students saw him often
in his hours of relaxation. As a youth, while his brother,
Harvey, had been devoted to hunting and the fox chase,
such sports did not appeal to him. At one season of his
life in Richmond he was much given to the game of
croquet, and from afternoon to afternoon Dr. Harris,
Dr. Jeter, Dr. Hatcher, some of the students, and others,
might be seen on the college campus engaged in playing,
with great earnestness, this game. One student says
that a certain man, who was known to have cheated in
playing in this circle, when afterwards a candidate for
some position of trust, failed to get Dr. Hatcher's vote,
since he regarded the game as a fine and fair test of
character.
With the close of his twenty-sixth year at Grace Street
he resigned his church to take up a special agency work
358 VIRGINIA BAPTIST MINISTERS
for Richmond College. While at one time, during the
Grace Street pastorate, there was a serious faction in the
church and determined opposition to him, all this had
passed away and the church was united and devotedly
loyal to him for years before his work with them ended.
About this time he became interested also in the Fork
Union Academy, in Fluvanna County. After his five
years of service with the college was completed he gave
much of his time and thought to the school in Fluvanna.
Under his fostering care and by reason of his enthusi-
astic leadership the institution came rapidly to a. position
of real influence and service. This Academy, the boys,
their games, their physical and religious welfare, their
studies, had large place in his thoughts and affections.
By this time he had sold his residence in Richmond, 608
West Grace Street, where he lived for many years, and
had made "Careby Hall," at Fork Union, his home.
Here the rest of his days were spent, and here he died.
Since now he had no regular church and Sunday appoint-
ments, he was more than ever free for special services
and for protracted-meeting engagements. And how
busy he was kept, and what long and, if necessary, what
rapid trips he made across the State and even yet further
afield to help pastors and churches! He was now no
longer a young man, and yet he seemed to have the vigor
and dauntless spirit of a young man. Once he was help-
ing a pastor in the Valley when a call came to both of
them, as trustees, to attend an important meeting of the
Richmond College Board. Dr. Hatcher preached at the
night service, and then he and the pastor traveled all
night in a day coach, reaching Richmond for breakfast.
After the Board's meeting was over they traveled again
all night, and then, by driving eleven miles the next
morning, were on hand for that morning's meeting at the
church. Nor did the forced march leave Dr. Hatcher
WILLIAM ELDRIDGE HATCHER 359
weary or jaded. The week before his death he attended
three Associations and rode nine miles to see a boy who
was thinking about attending the Fork Union Academy.
His activity of heart and body continued to the very last
day of his life. The night before his death there was a
gathering of his fellow-citizens at his house and on his
lawn to take steps for village improvement work, and he
made them a speech. Early the next morning he was
dressed, straightening up things in his room, and singing,
when the messenger of death approached, and in a few
hours he had fallen on sleep.
Dr. Hatcher was many sided, able to do many things
well. He was called, by one, "the great Baptist com-
moner," and indeed his gift for leadership was wonder-
ful. While his power as a leader has already been men-
tioned, a few words more on this side of his life and
work will not be untimely. In emergencies, when others
hesitated, or failed to see the way the path of duty and
success led, or were held back by prudence or conserva-
tism, Dr. Hatcher came to his conviction and determina-
tion and moved forward, inviting his brethren to go with
him to victory. As an illustration of this, see him at a
crisis in the history of the Greater Richmond College.
The Finance Committee hesitated to assume the larger
financial obligations which the magnificent plans for
Westhampton demanded. The Board of Trustees met
in special session. Should they retrench, or, with faith
in God and the brethren, assume the great responsibility
and move forward for great things? There was silence.
After a few moments Dr. Hatcher arose. He described
with tenderness the courage and boldness of the fathers
who founded the college. He caught the vision of
glorious things. He declared his trust in God and the
denomination. He moved that the larger plans be
carried out. It was the speech of a born leader. It sug-
gested the spirit and enthusiasm of a young man. It was
360 VIRGINIA BAPTIST MINISTERS
a great speech ; it carried the day ; it marked an era.
In the social circle, or in a more private tete-a-tete con-
versation, he was delightful. He was willing to listen,
as well as talk, but few cared to do anything but hear
him so long as he was willing to describe men and events.
His humor was as sparkling as wine and as the cool
water, on a hot day, from a crystal spring. So far,
nothing has been said about Dr. Hatcher's work with his
pen. For years he wrote regularly for the Religious
Herald, and later was a constant contributor to the
Baptist World. During a number of years he wrote a
part of the lesson notes in the Baptist Teacher, of the
Nashville Board. In order to keep up all this work, as
well as his large correspondence, he managed to make
good use of fragments of time, even when he was wait-
ing for a train, and in his latter years often called upon
a friend or companion to become his scribe. He was also
an author. There is his "Life of Dr. Jeter." He and
his wife wrote together the "Life of Dr. A. B. Brown."
Two books he gave the world in the last period of his
life "John Jasper" and "Along the Trail of the
Friendly Years," have had a wide circulation and given
great pleasure to thousands. To this latter book, which
is largely autobiographical, the reader is referred for
the fuller knowledge of Dr. Hatcher's life. Not a few
facts in this sketch are taken from this book. It is
understood that he had another book almost ready for
publication when his end came; some chapters of this
book have been published, since his death, in the New
York Watchman-Examiner.
Dr. Hatcher was survived by his wife. Together they
had walked the paths of married life since December,
1864. She was Miss Virginia Snead, of Fork Union,
Fluvanna County, and not long before her marriage had
graduated at the Albemarle Female Institute, Charlottes-
WILLIAM ELDRIDGE HATCHER 361
ville, Va. Mrs. Hatcher helped to organize the W. M. U.
of the Southern Baptist Convention, and in 1889 was the
first president of the Virginia (State) Union. The
children who survive their father are Rev. Dr. Eldridge
B. Hatcher, Miss Ora Latham Hatcher, Mrs. C. L.
DeMott, and Mrs. H. W. Sadler. The span of his life
was from July 25, 1834, to Saturday, August 24, 1912.
Services were held, first at Fork Union and then in Rich-
mond. The plan that his body be laid to rest under the
sod of Fluvanna was changed when a committee came
from his old flock, Grace Street Church, asking that
Hollywood be made his burial place. Here, near the
graves of many whom he loved and with whom he
labored, and hard by the city where so much of his life
was spent, his ashes await the resurrection morn. The
speakers at the funeral at Fork Union were Dr. F. W.
Boatwright, Mr. Walton, Dr. W. W. Landrum, and Dr.
T. J. Shipman, and those taking part in the services
at Grace Street were Dr. R. J. Willingham, Dr. W. W.
Landrum, Rev. Andrew Broaddus, Lieutenant-Go vernor
J. Taylor Ellyson, Dr. R. H. Pitt, Dr. C. H. Ryland, and
Mr. Haddon Watkins. Such a familiar figure was
Dr. Hatcher to Virginia Baptists that a description of his
personal appearance seems almost unnecessary, but some
who read these pages may live beyond the arena and
period of his service. In his latter years he was portly
in figure, and yet he had, almost to the end, an alertness
of movement that showed remarkable physical vigor.
He was of distinguished bearing, and would have
attracted attention in any crowd. His features were
almost rugged, though not stern, and his eyes clear and
imperative in their sweep. His head, which was large,
finely shaped, and remarkably broad, was firmly set on
his neck that gave token of strength and power. While
he was not tall, his appearance before an audience was
always impressive, for he was indeed a master of
assemblies.
ALEXANDER FLEET
1912
In the home of his father, Col. Alexander Fleet (who
claimed, and apparently with justness, to be descended
from Charlemagne, of France), near Fleetwood Acad-
emy, King and Queen County, Virginia, Alexander Fleet
was born. In the community of his birth he came up to
manhood "amidst influences which admirably tended to
nurture his mind and heart, to refine his manners, and
confirm him in the faith of the gospel as held and prac-
ticed among Baptists. The piety of his early life, his
devotion to the interests of the church, and his natural
aptitude and gifts, left no cause for surprise among his
associates and friends when he gave himself to the
ministry/' At Bruington Church, King and Queen
County, he was ordained, on June 24, 1883, to the gospel
ministry. He began his ministerial career as pastor of
Upper Essex and Centennial Churches, Rappahannock
Association. This Association was to be, save for a brief
season, the scene of his work as a pastor and preacher.
For some eighteen years he ministered to the Exol and
St. Stephen's Churches, and a year or so longer at the
former charge. His interesting association with these
churches began in 1890.
Rev. W. T. Hundley, speaking of Mr. Fleet, after his
death, says : "He was known by friends and companions
. . . as Darner Fleet. . . . Fifty years ago last
September I saw him for the first time one Monday
morning, standing by a desk in the old academy building
at Stevensville, King and Queen County. . . . He
was a tall and comely youth, with the ruddy glow of
362
ALEXANDER FLEET 363
budding manhood on his cheeks. . . . Darner and
I entered Richmond College together. ... All the
qualities that go to make up the character of a royal
Christian gentleman were found in him; . . . gentle
as a woman, refined, cultured, intellectual, self-sacrific-
ing, modest, courageous, faithful, loyal to his convictions,
cheerful. So he was a gentle man. I can say no more."
"Along with his ministerial aims and glad willingness
to preach as God gave him opportunity, he was strongly
called to the schoolroom, and much of his life was
devoted to that high and useful service. He conducted
schools at Warrenton, six years in Kentucky, at Tappa-
hannock, and at Bruington, and many pupils in these
several localities hold his memory in grateful esteem.''
During his life at Warrenton he was pastor, for a short
time, of Bealeton and Broad Run, churches of the
Potomac Association.
For some years before his death his health was not
good, and so his work was much interrupted. He bore
his sufferings with Christian fortitude, and his end, that
came September 20, 1912, was peaceful. His wife, who
before her marriage was Miss Josie Jeffries, of Essex,
and these children survive him: Ella Laurie (Mrs. Robert
Grey Dillard), Robert Hill Fleet, Rawley Martin Fleet,
Martha Pollard Fleet. The quotations in this sketch and
some of the facts are from the obituary, in the Minutes
of the General Association, by Rev. Dr. G. W. Beale.
ROBERT BABBOR GILBERT
1867-1913
While the list of ministers and the Associational tables
of the General Association do not contain the name of
Robert Gilbert, an obituary of him appeared in the
Minutes of the General Association for 1913, written
by Rev. O. L. Terry, one of the pastors of the New
Lebanon Association. The facts given in the obituary,
with others furnished by Mr. Terry, are summed up here.
He was born in Russell County, Virginia, in 1867, and
died February 8, 1913. In 1889 he was baptized into
the fellowship of the Oak Grove Church, New Lebanon
Association. He was ordained to the gospel ministry in
1899, and then the Copper Ridge Baptist Church called
him to be their pastor. Until his death, February 8,
1913, his life was a consecrated one, and his friends say
that in his last hours, when he was ill, he sang, preached,
and prayed till he fell on sleep. He left behind him a
mother and two brothers. His education, though limited,
was remarkable, when it is remembered that his oppor-
tunities for self -improvement were most restricted. His
knowledge and comprehension of the Bible were wonder-
ful. Mr. Terry gave him a "Teacher's Bible" and guided
him in the effective use of this valuable volume. Mr.
Gilbert was a most zealous and earnest preacher. It was
his custom to get employment at "public works" and then
preach to his fellow-workers at night. Many very hard-
hearted sinners were converted under his ministry.
364
THOMAS F. GRIMSLEY
1835-1913
In the "Lives of Virginia Baptist Ministers," Third
Series, there is a sketch of Rev. Barnett Grimsley. Rev.
Thomas F. Grimsley, who was his son, was born near
Laurel Mills, Rappahannock County, Virginia, December
20, 1835. As a youth Mr. Grimsley, with the help of Rev.
Mr. Worden, a Presbyterian minister, prepared himself
to teach, and began his work in this important sphere in
the home of Mr. William B. Harris, of Clarke County.
While young Grimsley was giving instruction in other
branches, perhaps he was receiving from Mr. Harris,
who was a good classical scholar, special training in the
Latin language and literature. His work at this time
was evidently thorough, for in his latter years, after all
the vicissitudes through which he had passed, he could
translate, practically at sight, Caesar, Virgil, Cicero, and
the Vulgate. He was a great reader, and was always
trying to fit himself, in these years, for the business of
teaching. When the War broke out he left the school-
room for the more trying experiences of the camp. As
a member of the 6th Virginia Cavalry he followed the
cause of the Confederacy from Manassas to Appo-
mattox. He made a good record as a soldier, and his
comrades, who knew him as Tom Grimsley, loved to tell
how he had stood by them in their hours of emergency.
With the end of the War he took up the work of life
in the twofold capacity of teacher and preacher. At
Mt. Salem Church, on Saturday before the first Sunday
in February, 1868, he was ordained to the full work of
the gospel ministry. In the course of the years, he served
365
366 VIRGINIA BAPTIST MINISTERS
as pastor, his field of activity being the counties of
Madison, Greene, Culpeper, and Rappahannock, these
churches: Liberty, Swift Run, Mt. Zion, Shiloh, Slate
Mills, Flint Hill, Graves' Chapel, Pleasant Grove, and
Bethel. To this last organization he preached more than
thirty-seven years. After his marriage, November 29,
1869, to Miss Elizabeth M. Carpenter, of Madison
County, he made his home, for the years of his active
ministry, at Madison Court House. Here he established
a school for young ladies, which he conducted success-
fully until the demands of his churches made the closing
of the school necessary.
While as a preacher Mr. Grimsley did not have the
ringing voice and impressive delivery of his father, as a
thinker he was his father's equal, if not his superior.
"His sermons were clear in conception, accurate in state-
ment, and always instructive and helpful." A man of
strong convictions, he was amiable, generous, and frank,
with agreeable and winning manners. As a pastor he
visited rich and poor alike, and took an interest in the
material, as well as the spiritual, welfare of his people.
Several men whom he baptized afterwards became
ministers of the gospel.
Mr. Grimsley died at the home of his son-in-law,
Mr. Barnett Miller, of Culpeper, Va., March 6, 1913.
On the thirtieth day of the same month, at a Fifth Sun-
day Meeting in the Culpeper Baptist Church, when a
Memorial Service in honor of Mr. Grimsley was held, a
paper was read by Rev. Thomas P. Brown. This sketch
is based upon this paper and upon the obituary, also by
Mr. Brown, which appeared in the Minutes of the Gen-
eral Association for 1913.
ISAAC NEWTON MAY
1841-1913
A number of Virginia Baptist preachers have had, as
a part of their life work, the opportunities and the
responsibilities of the teacher, some in public schools,
some in academies, and some in colleges and universities.
In many cases, as was true of Rev. I. N. May, the years
given to the classroom were also those through which
they preached. In not a few instances financial needs
have made it necessary for the preacher to supplement
his salary from his church or churches. And often it
has been true that the talent for teaching equaled, if it
did not surpass, that for the pulpit. Mr. May, either as
student or as teacher, in the course of his life, was con-
nected with two universities and several secondary
schools. A student of the University of Virginia the ses-
sion of 1860-61, he left his ahna mater to enter the
Confederate Army, and after the War, having gone to
Texas, he was Professor in Baylor University. He was
also Principal of Bryan Female College. Upon his return
to Virginia he was pastor, first, at Gordonsville, then at
Luray, and then at Flint Hill, Rappahannock County.
From Flint Hill he moved to Louisa County to the estate
he had inherited from his father. This place, known as
"Oakland," was to be his home until his death. After
teaching for several sessions, beginning in 1882, first at
Green Level Academy and then at Locust Dale Academy,
he established at his home a school for boys, known as
"Oakland Academy," where he labored with enthusiasm
and success to the end of his life. He had a bright mind,
loved to teach, and was especially devoted to mathematics.
367
368 VIRGINIA BAPTIST MINISTERS
Prof. J. B. Loving, who was a student under him at
Locust Dale, wrote of his influence over his scholars, and
quoted a remark of Prof. John Hart about one of Mr.
May's sermons at Locust Dale; he said that neither Dr.
Hawthorne nor any of the "D. D.'s" could have preached
a finer sermon.
Mr. May's work as a preacher was in the Shiloh and
Goshen Associations. While teaching in Rappahannock
County he was pastor of Flint Hill and Luray Churches.
After moving to Louisa he was pastor, before his active
work as a preacher closed, of the following churches:
Oakland, Lower Gold Mine, Cedar Run, Perkins, Forest
Hill, Mt. Gilead. Some of these places were at con-
siderable distances from his home, so there is the picture
before our eyes of this man of God, with his double
work, turning away from the schoolroom to drive or ride
to his distant "appointment." Professor Loving says of
him : "As a sermonizer Brother May was far above the
average. He possessed a logical mind, analyzed well his
subject, and always gave his hearers something they
could take with them to their homes." While in Texas,
in August, 1867, Mr. May was married to Miss Jane D.
Goodwin, a native Virginian, who, with a son, survived
him. In the home which she helped to make, cordial
hospitality abounded. His fatal illness lasted but a week,
and on March 17, 1913, he passed away, in his seventy-
second year, for he was born September 28, 1841.
REUBEN BAKER BOATWRIGHT
1831-1913
From the Religious Herald for February 8, 1906, the
genial and kind face of Reuben Baker Boatwright looked
forth upon the reader. The occasion for the presenta-
tion of this picture in the Herald was Mr. Boatwright's
arrival at the age of threescore and fifteen years. The
picture was accompanied by an article from the pen of
Dr. A. E. Dickinson, descriptive of the work and charac-
ter of Mr. Boatwright. This article expressed the
opinion that perhaps the best service he had rendered was
the giving of his son, Dr. F. W. Boatwright, to Rich-
mond College and to the world, and closed with these
words: "His life has been a benediction, and I trust he
may yet be spared for years to the hundreds and
thousands who know and love him." It was in the same
year that Mr. Boatwright sent a brief letter to the Herald
pleading for more "spiritual uplift" in its columns for
the old men and women, declaring that it is "highly
necessary to keep the fires burning on the altars of our
hearts." Mr. Boatwright had known Mr. Sands, the first
editor of the Herald, and had paid $4 a year subscription
for the paper.
Mr. Boatwright will be remembered as a country and
village preacher, and his college and seminary friend,
Dr. Charles H. Ryland, whose friendship ran out through
sixty years, thinks that the following lines of Goldsmith
well described his character and career :
"Remote from towns he ran his godly race,
Nor e'er had changed, nor wished to change, his place;
Unpracticed he to fawn, or seek for power,
By doctrines fashioned to the varying hour;
Far other aims his heart had learned to prize,
More bent to raise the wretched than to rise."
369
370 VIRGINIA BAPTIST MINISTERS
Buckingham County, where he spent much of his life,
and beneath whose sod his ashes rest, gave him birth.
Near Mt. Zion Church, January 23, 1831, he first saw
the light, his parents being Reuben Boatwright and Mary
Bryant. His grandfather, Reuben Boatwright, a soldier
of the Revolution, coming from Prince Edward County
to Buckingham County in 1788, had built his home,
"Travelers' Rest," near Mt. Zion Church. The son of
this Revolutionary soldier and the father of Reuben
Baber Boatwright was an ordained minister, but he
declined calls from Mt. Zion and other churches, choos-
ing rather to look after his farm and to preach as
occasion invited. The other children of the family were
two daughters, who died when young, and two brothers,
Charles P. and Thomas Frederick, and three half-sisters
and one half-brother, P. P. Boatwright, offspring of the
father's second marriage. In 1847, when sixteen years
old, he made a profession of religion and was baptized,
near Mt. Zion and into her fellowship, by Rev. Wm. H.
Taylor.
After having begun his education at Berryman's
Academy he entered Richmond College in the fall of
1856, Charles H. Ryland being one of his fellow-
students. Before his course of two years at the college
was over he was licensed by his mother church to preach,
and before he became a student at the Southern Baptist
Theological Seminary at Greenville, S. C, he did some
preaching and was ordained at Mt. Zion, Rev. P. S. Hen-
son and Rev. W. H. Taylor forming the presbytery. His
year at Greenville was the first in the history of the
Seminary, and he was one of the ten Virginia sent that
session. His fellow-student, Charles H. Ryland, says
that he was "the best theologian of his class." From the
Seminary it was not long before he took his place in the
army, becoming chaplain of the 46th Virginia Regiment.
REUBEN BAKER BOATWRIGHT 371
Before the War ended he was pastor of Enon and
Brown's, in the James River Association, and Scottsville,
in the Albemarle, and, having been married on Septem-
ber 5, 1865, in Cumberland County, to Miss Maria Eliza-
beth Woodruff, Rev. Wm. H. Taylor performing the
ceremony, in 1866 he took charge of Lewisburg and other
churches in Greenbrier County, West Virginia. The
children of this union were F. W., Martha Susan (now
Mrs. J. A. Clark), Mary Elizabeth (now Mrs. R. M.
Booth), Sarah Look (now Mrs. Sands Gayle), and John
B. During his pastorate of some three years there he com-
pleted the repairs on the Lewisburg Meeting-House and
"secured a deed of gift to the house of worship at the
Sweet Springs." One of his members at Sweet Springs
was a Mr. Moss, who had been a very wicked man, and
who, at the age of eighty, was converted. As soon as he
was converted he became most anxious to know more
about Jesus. Upon his wife's death, years before, he had
put her Bible away in the bottom of the trunk, but now he
took it out, kissed it and wept over it, deploring the fact
that he could not read a line of it. But, wonderful to
tell, without a teacher he taught himself, and spelled and
read his way through the New Testament and through
much of the Old Testament. He never would read to
any one, but Mr. Boatwright, interested in his remarkable
and highly praiseworthy achievements, went up to his
room, prevailed on him to read to him, and found that
he could read, and that he understood what he read.
While in West Virginia, Mr. Boatwright knew Wm. G.
Margrave, whom he considered "the greatest man that
ever lived in West Virginia, for he served most." Mar-
grave led a wicked career for forty-five years, but the
remainder of his life he was a zealous worker for God.
Although an ordained minister, he never served as a
pastor save as a supply or till the church could get some
one else. In the destitute sections he \vas ever busy,
372 VIRGINIA BAPTIST MINISTERS
preaching in private homes and distributing far and
wide tracts and good books. Mr. Boatwright tells how
once Margrave was overtaken by night in a section where
settlers were few and where rattlesnakes were numerous.
As the cabin to which he had come was small, and the
family large, they could give him food but not a bed. So
he ate his supper, and then raking up chips into a circle,
set them on fire, got into the circle, went to sleep, and
had a good night's rest.
Marion, in the Lebanon Association, was Mr. Boat-
wright's next field of labor. Here was his home and
his church for three different pastorates, and, all told, for
seventeen years, a longer period than he spent as pastor
anywhere else. While at Marion he also preached, dur-
ing his first pastorate, for the South Fork, Chatham Hill,
and Sugar Grove Churches, and during his second term
for Friendship and Greenfield Churches. Mr. Boatwright
always retained "the impress of his alma mater," was
ever interested in education, and while at Marion taught
in the Marion Academy and the Marion Female College.
He was one of the first trustees of the Southwest Vir-
ginia Institute (now Intermont College), and later of the
Jeter Female Institute, Bedford City. In writing once
for the Herald on the question of ordination, he said,
referring to the Marion period of his life, that he had
had "some bitter experience in trying, as one of a presby-
tery, to keep out men whom I thought unqualified for the
ministry." Dr. Ryland is doubtless right when he says :
"At this place the best work of his life was done. He
not only built up the Marion Church but strengthened
other churches in Smyth and Washington Counties." It
was while he lived in Southwest Virginia that once at a
meeting of the New River Association, in company with
Hon. J. Taylor Ellyson and Dr. W. R. L. Smith, the
following incident occurred. At the home to which the
trio went to spend the night there were not less than
REUBEN BAKER BOATWRIGHT 373
thirty or forty guests. After a long trip of a score and
a half miles over the mountains they were very tired, and
so no little interested as to where they were to sleep.
About ten o'clock their host led them to a large room
furnished with two good beds. There was a fire burning
on the hearth, but, much to the dismay of the trio, before
the fire there sat two women wearing long-eared bonnets
and busy cooking. The women looked neither to the
right nor to the left, and were silent. It was evident that
they were going to stay until the victuals were cooked,
no matter how long that took. After much hesitation
Mr. Boatwright, feeling that the long-eared bonnets gave
him a large degree of protection from observation,
undressed and got into bed. His companions after a
season left the room, but finally returned, when the
women, seeing that they were ''uncommonly modest
young men," gathered up the next day's dinner and
departed.
After leaving Marion the last time, and before his
active work as a pastor ceased, Mr. Boatwright served
the following churches, all of them in that general
section of Eastern Virginia of which Buckingham forms
a part: Peterville and Fine Creek (Middle District
Association) ; Lyles (Albemarle Association) ; Carters-
ville, Enon, Cedar, Buckingham, Cumberland (James
River Association) ; Mt. Hermon, Big Spring, Ivey
Chapel, Morgan's, Diamond Hill, Flint Hill (Strawberry
Association). Before this he had been pastor for a year
at the First Church, Bristol.
During the closing years of his life he was an invalid,
and at times a great sufferer. When the end came, April
19, 1913, his wife and five children were with him, and
there was peace. On a bright Sunday afternoon his body
was laid to rest under the old oaks in the Buckingham
churchyard, the funeral being conducted by Rev. R. W.
Bagwell, who was assisted in the services by Rev. W. H.
Street and Rev. C. H. Ryland.
JOSEPH B. KENDRICK
1837-1913
Within the bounds of the New Lebanon Association
the main work of Rev. Joseph B. Kendrick was done.
Before the organization of this body he was one of the
original members of Independence Church, which was
organized in 1861. For many years he was pastor of
this church. The other churches of the New Lebanon
Association that he served as pastor were Bethany,
Salem, Russell's Fork, Corinth, Finney, and Oak Grove.
He was a member of a family remarkable for its size,
there being twenty-one children. He was the youngest
of the twenty-one, and outlived them all. From July 7,
1837, to April 22, 1913, was the period covered by his
life, being nearly seventy-six years. On April 27, 1859,
he was married to Charity Hart, who bore him five sons
and six daughters and survived him. In March, 1861,
he was licensed to the gospel ministry, but when a few
weeks later .the War broke out he enlisted and served
until the battle of Sharpsburg, September 16-17, 1862,
when he received such wounds that he was exempted
from further service. While in the army he was in the
battles of Ball's Bluff, First and Second Winchester,
Hanover Court House, Fair Oaks, Cross Keys, Port
Republic, Chickahominy, Games' Mill, Malvern Hill,
Cedar Mountain, Kettle Run, Groveton, Second Manas-
sas, Chantilly, and Harper's Ferry. He was a regular at-
tendant at the sessions of the New Lebanon Association.
He was sound in his theology and faithful in his procla-
mation of the gospel. As an evidence of how customs
have changed, it is interesting to know that at one time,
374
JOSEPH B. KENDRICK 375
many years ago, Mr. Kendrick was a distiller as well as
a preacher. There is a man now living who tells this
incident: "When I was a young fellow I went to Mr.
Kendrick's, in company with a young man, and we
bought a quart of good liquor from him." During his
last illness Mr. Kendrick realized that his end was near,
but no fear oppressed him, and he spoke with joy of his
departure.
WILSON V. SELFE
1842-1913
Within the bounds of the New Lebanon Association,
Rev. Wilson V. Selfe lived and did his work. He was
a prophet with honor among his own people. "The fact
that for forty years he was able to command the respect
and esteem of the people among whom he lived, and
lead them in spiritual things, gives abundant proof of his
excellent character and his consecration to the work."
He was born October 2, 1842, and his second birth took
place in 1869. About three years after his conversion
he entered the ministry, and in the long course of his
service he was pastor of the following churches, all of
them in the New Lebanon Association: Springfield,
Mt. Zion, Grassy Creek, Cleveland, Liberty, Ring's
Chapel. He was with the Springfield Church longer than
with any other. "He was a pioneer, laying the founda-
tion upon which another generation is now building."
On January 11, 1865, he was married to Elizabeth Kiser,
and of this union eleven children were born, and all of
them are still living. He passed to his reward May 21,
1913.
376
THOMAS BRECKENRIDGE GATEWOOD
1826-1913
On the night of March 4, 1876, a great calamity befell
Rev. Thomas Breckenridge Gatewood. His home, in
the northern part of Amherst County, was consumed by
fire, his youngest son, Boyd Elbert Gatewood, who was
eleven years old, perishing in the flames. At the time of
this catastrophe Mr. Gatewood, with his wife, was away
from home and at one of his churches. With the house
were destroyed all the family records, so that some of the
dates given in this sketch are approximate only. He was
born in Amherst County, Virginia, October 6, 1826, and
about 1860 was ordained to the gospel ministry, the pres-
bytery being composed of Rev. John W. Hopkins and
Rev. Armistead H. Ogden. He organized the Oak Grove
Baptist Church, in the Albemarle Association, and served
them as pastor for some fifteen years. He was also
pastor for a number of years of the New Prospect, Piney
Mount, and Corner Stone Churches. Later he served the
Neriah and Mountain Branch Churches, in Rockbridge
County. It is said that he married more couples than any
preacher in his county, nor did county lines limit his
activity in this sphere, for he was often called to Bedford
and Rockbridge to perform this ceremony. It is also
estimated that under his ministry more people were led
to make profession of their faith in Christ than under
any other minister of his day in Amherst County. The
larger part of his service was near the place of his
nativity. He was a great reader and a subscriber to
the Religious Herald for forty years. He was fond
of horseback riding, and took great interest in his home,
377
378 VIRGINIA BAPTIST MINISTERS
a farm of some 85 acres. Here he entertained many
guests with genial cordiality. Vigorous still at the great
age of eighty, he was serving churches with real zeal,
though with small material compensation. Rev. P. H.
Cowherd, who was his pastor for the last five years of
the life of the venerable man of God, testifies to the
attractiveness of this old soldier of Christ, who was
always present at every service of his church, unless
providentially hindered. He says of him : "He stood for
truth and righteousness and was uncompromisingly
opposed to everything that seemed wrong. He knew
how to rebuke with all long-suffering and love. I have
often heard him say : 'I want to be missed for the good
I have done when I am gone !' ' He was married, about
1853, to Miss Editha Jane Christian, who bore him three
daughters and two sons ; of these children three are still
living, namely : Mrs. V. S. Thornton, Covington, Va.,
Mrs. A. M. Watts, Amherst, and Mr. Marshall P. Gate-
wood, Pleasant View, Va. His second marriage was
about November 8, 1879, and this wife, who was Miss
Nannie Jane Thornton, and their daughter, Mrs. T. E.
Lacy, Covington, Va., survive him. He died, after a
month's illness, on June 2, 1913, and was buried in the
cemetery, on the hill, near his home. The funeral service
was conducted by Rev. E. W. Robertson.
RANSDELL WHITE CRIDLIN
1840-1913
The seventh in a family of ten children, Ransdell
White Cridlin was born in Westmoreland County, Vir-
ginia, July 18, 1840, his parents being William White
Cridlin and Alice Peed Cridlin. The parents and this
child were natives of the same county, the stock being
English. In Essex County, whither his father moved
when he was five years old, young Cridlin attended, at
Vawter's Episcopal Church, his first Sunday school,
where, without any musical instrument save a tuning
fork, they sang, among other hymns, "I Want to Be An
Angel," and "There Is a Happy Land Far, Far Away."
In this Sunday school one teacher, a Mr. Mathews, who
had a class of the larger boys, was remarkably popular,
and finally young Cridlin, finding out that the cause of
this popularity was a package of homemade ginger cakes
that Mr. Mathews brought each Sunday under his cloak,
at once longed to be big enough to enter that class. His
parents dying when he was quite young, the boy went to
live with a cousin, where, working on a farm, he soon
forgot the little learning that the old-field school had
given him. The family of Whites with whom he lived
were not churchgoers, and his religious opportunities
were few. He did, however, go once to a camp meeting,
and, left outside, heard, from behind the pulpit, a sermon
that greatly touched his heart. Upon returning home he
asked his cousin's wife to teach him to pray, and,
although not a praying woman, she told him the
publican's prayer, "God be merciful to me a sinner." Not
only then, in the field, in the stable, in the woods, did the
379
380 VIRGINIA BAPTIST MINISTERS
boy make this prayer, but even through life this soul-cry
was his. Mr. Cridlin always believed that this call of his
child heart was heard, and that then he was converted.
Before long he went to Richmond to live with an older
brother, and was there put with Mr. George Ainslie,
coach maker, to learn this business, and here he remained
until 1858. He now went to a night school, so anxious
was he to advance in his studies, and a good woman took
him to the Pine Apple Episcopal Church Sunday School,
a church standing on the corner of Franklin and
Eighteenth Streets. Here he became fond of his teacher
and of the pastor. This church was burned and he went
for a time to St. John's Episcopal Church. He became
careless, however, about going to Sunday school, and one
Sunday, as he was setting out for a stroll, he was passing
the Second Baptist Church, on Main Street, when a boy
asked him to go into his Sunday school. He accepted,
and was put into the class of Mr. Hooper, Mr. H. K.
Ellyson being the superintendent of the school. Later
he was in the class of Mr. John McCarthy at the First
Baptist Church. During a protracted meeting at the
Leigh Street Baptist Church, whose pastor was Rev. E. J.
Willis, Mr. Cridlin was induced by his friend and shop-
mate, W. B. Johnson, to attend these services. He made
a profession of religion and was baptized by the pastor.
At once the young man began to take an active part in
religious work, and one night, as they walked home from
prayer-meeting together, Deacon A. B. Clarke stopped
him just as they were at St. John's Church and asked
him if he had ever thought whether it was his duty to
preach. About this time there was a group of young men
in the Leigh Street Church who were thinking about the
ministry, A. B. and A. P. Woodfin, George B. Smith,
and Royal Figg being among the number. By the help
of the Ladies' Society of the church, who paid all of his
RANSDELL WHITE CRIDLIN 381
expenses, Mr. Cridlin was enabled to go to the Green
Plain Academy, Southampton County, to begin his
preparation for the ministry. Since he was the only stu-
dent in the school who was a Christian he felt doubly
that he must let his light shine, so he studied with zeal,
organized a Sunday school in the Academy, and finally
preached before the students and teachers his first
sermon, his text being John 3:16. A revival followed,
and fifteen of the young men accepted Christ, but never
again, to the end of his life, did he preach from this text.
During his vacations he did colporteur work in South-
ampton, Sussex, and Amelia Counties, and after the
revival, while going on with his studies, supplied Hebron
and Zion Churches. At the close of the session the stu-
dents presented him with six volumes of Olshausen's
Commentary as a token of their appreciation of his
services for them. The War interrupted his course at
Richmond College, begun in 1860, and he became a
missionary among the soldiers, doing work in the camps
and hospitals on the Potomac River, at Mathias Point,
Craney Island, Norfolk, and Portsmouth. He was
licensed to preach July 30, 1860, and having received his
commission as chaplain of the 38th Virginia Regiment,
June 9, 1863, he was, on the following December 6th,
ordained. The presbytery, consisting of these preachers,
Thomas Hume, Sr., J. B. Harwicke, T. C. Keene, John
M. Butler, William M. Young, ordained, at the same
time, Joseph F. Deans. During the Seven Days battles
around Richmond the hospital became very much
crowded, and often Mr. Cridlin helped lay to rest as
many as fifty soldiers a day. He shared with his regi-
ment all the dangers of the battlefield, removing the
wounded from the zone of fire and helping in other ways.
On to the end of the War he was with his command.
He baptized many of his fellow-soldiers, sometimes
382 VIRGINIA BAPTIST MINISTERS
under the very guns of the enemy. One whom he bap-
tized was Captain Chas. F. James, Company F, 8th Vir-
ginia Regiment, who afterwards became an able preacher
and educator. Once, near Chester, he and his negro
servant were preparing a pond for baptism when the
enemy, thinking that he was throwing up breastworks,
began to shell the place. The service was postponed.
His brigade, at the end, in appreciation of his work for
them, presented him with a magnificent horse, with
saddle and bridle, the gift having cost them $1,200.
After the surrender at Appomattox he became Principal
of the Salem Academy, Chesterfield County, and the
following spring became pastor of the Salem and Hepzi-
bah (or Branch's) Churches. On November 1, 1866, he
was married to Miss Mary E. Burgess, the daughter of
Mr. William Burgess, of Chesterfield County. She lived
only a year, the injuries received in a fall from a runaway
horse causing her death. His second wife, also of
Chesterfield County, to whom he was married January 1 ,
1869, was Miss Emma H. Snellings.
In May, 1871, he became pastor of the Fourth Street
Church, Portsmouth, where he remained until August,
1874. After serving eighteen months as missionary of
the Middle District Association he became pastor of the
Red Lane, Fine Creek, and Peterville Churches, Pow-
hatan County, and from there he returned to Portsmouth
to become once more pastor of the Fourth Street Church.
In connection with this pastorate he was also Superin-
tendent of the Portsmouth Orphan Asylum. It was
while he was in this twofold work that "Corvejon," in
the Relights Herald, called attention to his marked
personal likeness to Dr. A. E. Dickinson, and spoke
further, as follows, of him : " . . . Brother Cridlin
is quite a nabob. He lives in a princely mansion on the
edge of the sea rides in his own buggy, catches his own
RANSDELL WHITE CRIDLIN 383
crabs, cultivates a mammoth garden, and lives like an
admiral. But withal he cleaves to the Lord with full
purpose of heart, works patiently on his sermons,
watches for the souls of his people, and lives for eternity.
. . . He is a fluent, easy speaker, with a mellow,
pleasant voice. His sermons are evangelical in doctrine,
addressed to the hearts and consciences of his people, and
often delivered in great fervor and tenderness." His
next work was at Brambleton, where from a mission a
church was organized, under his care, with nineteen
members. This church is now known as the Park
Avenue (Norfolk) Church. At this time he was also
pastor of Salem, Mulberry, and Kempsville Churches,
Portsmouth Association. While on his next field, which
was in the Dover Association and was composed of the
churches, Winns, Berea, and Deep Run, he established
the Beulah Hill Institute.
The next period of his life was given, in the main, to
education. Upon the suggestion of Rev. M. F. Sanford,
and with the financial cooperation of Mr. J. D. Brad-
shaw, he established at Burkeville, Va., the Southside
Female Institute. Here, with the cooperation of his
resourceful wife, he kept up for a series of years a school
that enabled scores of young women to secure an educa-
tion. In 1902, upon the death of Mr. Bradshaw, and
because of other things, he was led to sell the Burkeville
property and set up, at Amelia Court House, the Otter-
burne Springs Institute. He gave up this work to become
pastor of the Stockton Street Church, Manchester (now
South Richmond), where he was to render his last public
services. While here, in 1906, his wife, who had been
his comfort and help for thirty-eight years, passed away,
and two years later his failing health made it imperative
that he resign his church. After this, however, with fine
dauntlessness and energy, he set up and conducted the
384 VIRGINIA BAPTIST MINISTERS
Virginia Teachers' Agency and Bureau of Information
for Pastoral Supply, one of his daughters rendering him
much assistance. This work he maintained for five
years, though most of this time he was confined to his
bed or his home. His energy was wonderful, and then,
at last, on the afternoon of Sunday, June 22, 1913, he
fell on sleep. His funeral at Stockton Street Church, and
the burial at Riverview Cemetery were both according to
the directions he had given in a letter to his son. His
children who survive him are William Broaddus Cridlin,
Ransdell Chiles Cridlin, Mrs. L. B. Lloyd, and Misses
Addie and Nettie Cridlin.
JOHN KERR FAULKNER
1834-1913
On April 3, 1834, Mr. William A. Faulkner and his
wife, Mary Anne (Crawley), needed a name for a boy,
since on that day there had come into their home, near
Black Walnut, Halifax County, Virginia, their first son.
Some six years before this time Rev. John Kerr, a
brilliant and popular preacher, who had spent some of his
earlier ministry in Halifax, became pastor of the First
Baptist Church, Richmond, Va. So Mr. Faulkner, "an
influential and highly esteemed citizen," named his son
after the Richmond preacher. Young Faulkner had good
educational opportunities, for he graduated first at the
University of Virginia in Philosophy and Political
Economy, and at a later period attended Richmond Col-
lege. In the former institution, among his fast friends
were Thomas Hume, Jr., and William Kable. He was
one of the charter members of the University Y. M. C. A.
After leaving the University he taught for a year or so
in Greenbrier County, West Virginia. In 1861, when
the noise of war was in the land, he was ordained by
Black Walnut, his mother church, and became pastor of
Aaron's Creek Church. In 1867, when he was still in
charge of this church, being a missionary of the State
Mission Board, he reported that there had been thirty-
two additions to the church by baptism. Before his
labors in the Dan River Association closed, besides the
Aaron's Creek Church he had these churches also : Fork,
Musterfield, Clover, Dan River, Mill Stone, and Laurel
Grove, all in Halifax County. At this period he also
ministered to Sandy Creek, in North Carolina. Think
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386 VIRGINIA BAPTIST MINISTERS
of his busy life when more than one year he was preach-
ing to five churches. From about 1889 some ten years
of his life's service were given to the Rappahannock
Association, where he preached for these churches:
Clark's Neck, Zoar, Ebenezer, Spring Hill, and Urbanna.
His ministry outside of Virginia was as pastor at Kins-
ton, Newton, Ephesus, Lincolnton, Kid's Chapel, Fellow-
ship, Winterville, and Castoria, all in North Carolina,
and at Fort Mill, South Carolina. "His last pastorate
was held, amidst advancing years and waning strength,
with the Alton and Semora Churches, south of the Dan,
and when no longer able to pursue his sacred calling he
retired to a home near Buffalo Junction, filled with the
joyful hopes of the gospel which he had so long preached,
and soothed with the love and veneration of countless
grateful hearts to whom he had ministered in his toilsome
life."
In 1861, soon after his ordination, he was married to
Miss Lavenia Victoria Chandler (eldest daughter of
Thomas Chandler and Sally Anne Puryear), of Green-
ville County, North Carolina, with whom he was to spend
over forty years of happy wedded life, a union broken
by her death, on April 20, 1900. During her last painful
and protracted illness he gave up his church to minister
to her. The three children who survive their parents
are Dr. Thomas H. Faulkner, a well-known dentist, of
Kinston, N. C. ; J. B. Faulkner, manager of the Western
Union Telegraph Company, Richmond; and Mary
Emma, the wife of the Rev. Tames Long, of Goldsboro,
N. C.
Evidences of the worth and usefulness of this man of
God abound. For twelve successive years he was chosen
clerk of the Dan River Association, and for six,
treasurer, and no less than four times did this body
choose him as the preacher of their introductory sermon.
JOHN KERR FAULKNER 387
One in a position to know, said of him : "He was perhaps
as well known and as deservedly loved as any minister
that ever lived in Halifax. His piety, his amiability, and
sympathetic disposition made him a welcome visitor in
the homes of the people and especially to those with
whom and for whom he labored. He was not regarded
as a brilliant preacher, but was strong, tender, and
thoroughly evangelical." Another, who was his neigh-
bor, thus testifies to his life and influence: "He was a
finished scholar and a strong gospel preacher. Through-
out his life he scrupulously obeyed the Scripture injunc-
tion as to giving. On looking through his papers since
his decease they show that at the end of each year he
footed up his accounts, showing what the gross income
of all his resources was, and that he gave more than one-
tenth. You can not say anything too high or beautiful
as to his character it was as near perfect as that of any
man I have ever known. He was an incorruptible man,
who brought up his children in the fear of God, and his
daily life was an example worthy of imitation." The
text "For I determined not to know anything among
you save Jesus Christ and him crucified" from which,
in August, 1860, he preached at Black Walnut Church,
his first sermon, came to be a motto and standard in his
life. When he had preached fifty years, he said : "I have
never been on the platform as lecturer, on the stump as
haranguer, on the arena with 'strange vagaries,' or on
the mart for doubtful emoluments ; but have been content
to be only a preacher of the gospel and pastor of
churches all the way up to the present time." At this
time his face, while showing the marks of age, had the
strength of a Roman senator blended with the peace of
a victorious child of God. Once a brother pastor in the
same county sought to break up Mr. Faulkner's "field,"
being anxious for one of the churches himself. After-
388 VIRGINIA BAPTIST MINISTERS
wards this man came to grief and his family was in
want. He came to see Mr. Faulkner. Excusing himself,
Mr. Faulkner slipped out of the parlor long enough to
say to his daughter : "See that a sack of flour and some
other provisions are put into Brother - - buggy, and
do not say anything about it or let him see how it gets
there. The wife and children will find it when he reaches
home. They need it." He died in Richmond at the
Retreat for the Sick at 8 A. M., August 1, 1913. On
Sunday, August 3, his body was laid to rest beside that
of his wife in the Chandler burying ground in Granville
County, North Carolina.
JOHN ALEXANDER SPEIGHT
1840-1913
While North Carolina was the birthplace of John
Alexander Speight, no inconsiderable part of his ministry
was spent in Virginia. He served various churches in
the territory covered by the old Portsmouth Association,
and at the time of his death was pastor of the Sunbeam
Baptist Church, in Southampton County, a church that
was organized in 1907. This Sunbeam Church, which
with Elam Church, North Carolina, formed his field at
his death, was especially dear to his heart, since under
his leadership it had made a wonderful record, its
membership having grown in seven years from seventeen
to one hundred and nine. This preacher and another
preacher, Rev. T. T. Speight, at present living in Wind-
sor, N. C., came from the home of a preacher, their
father having been Rev. Henry Speight. Henry Speight
and Olivia Pruden, his wife, were godly people, she being
of Huguenot extraction. Although it is stated that the
son, John, had little preparation for college save an
irregular attendance upon the neighborhood schools, still
it must be remembered that the influence of such pious
parents was a superior preparation for college and for
life. He graduated, however, at Columbian College,
Washington, D. C., and in later years was given the
degree of Doctor of Divinity by Judson College. He was
born May 25, 1840, and celebrated his twenty-first birth-
day in an army camp in Virginia. This fact shows how
promptly he had cast in his lot with the forces of the
Confederacy, and before the end of this struggle he had
389
390 VIRGINIA BAPTIST MINISTERS
been wounded twice and had endured the unusual priva-
tion of a prisoner. He was captured at Winchester and
again at Gettysburg, and spent eighteen months at Point
Lookout and a season at Fort Delaware. During the
War he was a member of the Gates' Guards, Company B,
5th Regiment of Infantry. In 1865 he came home "with
his parole in his pocket and a sweetheart in his eye."
Nor was it long before this sweetheart, Miss Elizabeth
Williams, of Gates County, became his wife. "She made
his home happy. She bore him sons and daughters. She
blessed his life."
Scarcely had a year passed, after the surrender at
Appomattox, before he was a minister of the gospel in
charge of a church. His ordination took place at Middle
Swamp Baptist Church, in his native county, the church
of which his father was pastor for years and which he
himself had joined when he was thirteen years old. His
ministry in North Carolina was with "Cashie Church,
Windsor, with its century and a third of blessed memo-
ries," and with "Ross, w r ith its simple faith and trustful
folk and genuine hope," and finally with Elam. In Vir-
ginia the churches he served, besides Sunbeam, were
West End (Petersburg), St. John's, North West, Kemps-
ville, Centerville, Mulberry, Deep Creek, and Bethel.
Besides his service for the kingdom as a preacher he
spent some years as an editor, the Atlantic Baptist, of
Norfolk, the Asheville Baptist, of Asheville, N. C, and
the Biblical Recorder, of Raleigh, N. C., being the papers
with which he was connected.
The wound that he received at Gettysburg led to his
death. About three years before his end he was attacked
by a cancer which finally overcame him. In July it was
his joy to be at the veterans' reunion on the famous
Pennsylvania battlefield and to preach to his old com-
rades and foes, and on the last day of the next month he
JOHN ALEXANDER SPEIGHT 391
answered the summons to a nobler and an unending
reunion. The body was buried in Magnolia Cemetery,
Berkley, the services being conducted by Rev. Dr. Vernon
I'Anson, assisted by Rev. Q. C. Davis, Rev. T. T.
Speight, Rev. T. M. Green, Rev. L. E. Dailey, and Rev.
J. H. Pearcy. On September 7, 1913, resolutions of
affection and respect were passed by the Sunbeam Church.
JAMES PASCHAL LUCK
1856-1913
John P. Luck, having come to this country from
England, settled in Caroline County, and later purchased
a farm in Botetourt County, near what is now Hollins
College, where he kept for many years a tavern known
as the "Black Horse Stand." Tradition says that Presi-
dent Andrew Jackson often put up at the "Black Horse"
on his way back and forth between Tennessee and Wash-
ington. His son, George P. Luck, purchased a farm on
the head waters of Goose Creek, Bedford County, and
here passed all his married life. His second wife was
Miss Nannie Buford, a daughter of Mr. Abraham
Buford and a niece of Captain Paschal Buford, a man of
distinction in Bedford. This Mrs. Luck was a woman
of deep piety, and after many years her prayers were
answered in the conversion of her husband, who finally
became a Baptist minister. One of the ten children of
this couple was James Paschal Luck, who was given at
least a part of his maternal uncle's name. He was born
August 4, 1856, at his father's home in Goose Creek
Valley. This valley, lying at the base of the Peaks of
Otter, that lift their heads some 4,000 feet into the air,
is perhaps the most fertile section of Bedford County,
being famous, especially, for its fine tobacco. Of this
tobacco there were shipped, in seven months of 1886,
from Montvale, the railroad station for Goose Creek,
510,550 pounds.
One could follow the life of Mr. Luck to the end with-
out leaving Bedford County or going out of sight of the
Peaks of Otter, save for the most brief seasons. Here
392
JAMES PASCHAL LUCK 393
he lived and did his work. From the training of the
public schools he passed, at an early age, into business,
working first on the farm, then in a store, and then
becoming a commercial traveler for a Richmond firm.
He made a profession of religion when about seventeen
years old, but after a season of activity in religious
service the temptations of the world caused his faith to
grow dim and cast a dark shadow over him. While in
business in Missouri he was made quite lame for several
months by a kick on his knee by a horse. He returned to
his father's home, and during a protracted meeting at the
old home church renewed his vows to God and yielded
to a call that he had resisted for some time, a call to
preach. Since he dared not go forth to this new work
without fuller preparation, he became a student, first at
Sunnyside Academy, where that born teacher and man
of God, Rev. Alexander Eubank, was Principal, and then
at the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary.
On September 16, 1887, at Walnut Grove, he was
ordained to the gospel ministry, which was to be his
constant and loved employment to the day of his death.
In the course of these twenty-six years he was pastor, in
some cases for short periods, of these seventeen churches,
all in the Strawberry Association: Beaver Dam, Mt.
Olivet, Mountain View, Timber Ridge, Wolf Hill, New
Prospect, Suck Spring, Diamond Hill, Morgan's, Flint
Hill, Mt. Hermon, Shady Grove, Staunton, Thaxton,
Big Island, Hunting Creek, Mt. Zion. To Suck Spring,
however, he ministered longest, his service there extend-
ing over twenty-five years; his next longest pastorate
was with the Mt. Olivet Church. If there could be
added to this catalogue the names of the churches where
he helped in protracted meetings, it would probably
appear that every church in the Strawberry had heard
this ambassador for God. He had evangelistic gifts, and
394 VIRGINIA BAPTIST MINISTERS
doubtless many "in that day" will point to him as the
one who led them to Christ. As a pastor he was a good
preacher and "mild mannered, magnetic, approachable,
thoughtful, sympathetic, and friendly to all, saints and
sinners." His bent for business, which he followed in
earlier years, was recognized by his fellow-citizens in
after years, for they often came to him for advice and
urged him once to run for the House of Delegates and
once for the State Senate. These invitations did not
attract him, for his heart was in a higher calling. For
several sessions he presided with dignity as the moderator
of the Strawberry Association.
For two years before the end he suffered from heart
trouble, and this disease caused his sudden death. On
Friday afternoon, November 13, 1913, he was in Bed-
ford City until five o'clock. After conducting his family
worship at nine o'clock, he was in the act of retiring
when in a moment the end came. Although the day of
the funeral and burial was rainy, a large company
gathered at his residence, and a procession almost a mile
long followed the body to its last resting place, in Oak-
wood Cemetery, Bedford City. The sermon was
preached by Rev. J. A. Earnhardt, who was assisted in
the service by Rev. C. T. Kincannon. Mr. Luck was sur-
vived by his widow (nee Georgia Fizer) and six sons
and one daughter, namely: George, Manly, Alva,
Paschal, Gilbert, Calvin, and Estelle.
AUGUSTUS BEVERLY WOODFIN
183&-1913
On December 2, 1833, a company of eleven, going
forth, in the main, from the Second Baptist Church,
organized the Third Baptist Church, of Richmond,
known to-day as the Grace Street Baptist Church.
Among this little band were Mr. and Mrs. George Wood-
fin. Mr. Woodfin was a man of high character and rare
intelligence, who wielded a strong religious influence.
He served in the War of 1812. His wife was a woman
of deep piety. He was a native of Prince Edward
County, but spent most of his life in Richmond. About
twenty-one years after the establishment of the Grace
Street Church, Mr. Woodfin was one of those who helped
to organize the Leigh Street Baptist Church. He died in
Powhatan County in 1864. Of these parents, on March
21, 1838, Augustus Beverly Woodfin was born, in Rich-
mond, Va. His student life began when he was only
four years old, in a little school conducted by a Miss
Smithers. When he was about twelve he became a pupil
in Mr. David Turner's "somewhat famous classical
school." Later he went to two other similar schools, one
taught by E. W. Cone and the other by W. H. Chase.
From his sixteenth to his nineteenth year he was deputy
clerk of the Circuit Court, of Henrico County, and of the
Hustings Court, of Petersburg. "In these positions he
was brought under the influence of some of the greatest
lawyers Virginia has ever produced, an influence dis-
tinctly educational." In 1857 he entered Richmond Col-
lege, and in 1861 graduated with the degree of Bachelor
of Arts, the other members of the class being R. R.
395
396 VIRGINIA BAPTIST MINISTERS
Bailey, C. W. Parish, Geo. M. Leftwich, R. S. Lindsay,
John M. Pilcher, Geo. W. Prince, Wm. H. Williams, and
A. Peyton Woodfin. Six of this nine were from Rich-
mond, and four of this six became preachers. While
Mr. Woodfin was at college a school of Modern Lan-
guages was established, the professor for two years being
William Staughton Chase, son of Dr. Ira Chase and
nephew of Dr. William Staughton. During these early
days Mr. Woodfin, John M. Pilcher, and T. H. Ellett
were close friends, and Mr. Pilcher declares that Mr.
Woodfin's determination to become a minister helped him
to decide to enter the same high calling. Under the
preaching of Dr. Cornelius Tyree at Grace Street Church,
Mr. Woodfin was converted, and when his course at
Richmond College was completed he set out, in the fall
of 1861, for the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary
at Greenville, S. C. The War interrupted his studies at
Greenville and he entered the army, becoming chaplain
of the 61st Regiment of Gordon's Georgia Brigade,
Army of Northern Virginia, his ordination at Muddy
Creek, Powhatan County, having taken place in October,
1862. He continued in the army till the close of the con-
flict, and then taught school for a season in Cumberland
County. While here, on January 12, 1865, he was mar-
ried to Miss Mary Isabella Abrahams, the ceremony
being performed by Dr. Cornelius Tyree. As the result
of a trip that Mr. Woodfin and John William Jones took
through the Valley of Virginia in the fall of 1865, Mr.
Woodfin became pastor of the Mt. Crawford and Laurel
Ridge Churches, the former being not far from Harrison-
burg and the latter some seven miles from Staunton.
During this pastorate there was a revival of far-reaching
power in the Mt. Crawford Church, many heads of
families being added to the church. While Mr. Woodfin
was on this field, living at the village of Bridge water, he
AUGUSTUS BEVERLY WOODFIN 397
and George B. Taylor, who was pastor at Staunton,
enjoyed a fellowship that was helpful to both of them.
Once when Woodfin was a guest in Taylor's home, at
the supper table the host said : "Brother Woodfin, have
some more preserves." And the answer came : "Thank
you, Brother Taylor, I will take some, but I have not
had any yet." One year when the Association was meet-
ing with their church, Mr. Woodfin and his wife enter-
tained some twenty-five guests. "Only the older guests
occupied beds; the others rested on ticks filled with hay
laid about the rooms. Perhaps little sleeping was done,
as Dr. W. F. Broaddus was in the company, and on such
occasions he usually entertained his roommates all night."
In December, 1868, after a brief pastorate at Coving-
ton, Ky., he took charge of the St. Francis Street Church,
Mobile, Ala. With this important and influential church
he remained about six years, his work being highly
successful. There were two hundred and twenty-five
added to the membership, and the meeting-house was
enlarged at a cost of $30,000. After two years as pastor
of the First Baptist Church, Columbia, S. C, he became
chaplain of the University of Virginia. The two years
at the University were thoroughly enjoyed by Dr. Wood-
fin and by the people to whom he preached. Dr. Woodfin
was scholarly in his aptitudes, and a great lover of books,
and fond of thinking through religious and philosophical
problems. One of the professors, a regular attendant
upon the chapel exercises, greatly annoyed Dr. Woodfin
by sitting through the sermon with his face in his hands.
A tactful suggestion from Dr. Woodfin was cordially
received by the distinguished teacher, who buried his face
in his hands no more. He was a careful sermonizer and a
graceful speaker. An extract from a tribute to him, from
the pen of Dr. W. R. L. Smith, written after Dr. Wood-
fin's death, may well be introduced here. Dr. Smith said :
398 VIRGINIA BAPTIST MINISTERS
"What a preacher! Not for occasions, which hampered
him by inevitable artificiality, but for the usual and quiet
ministration. A wizard was he in capturing the hidden
meanings of a passage. His interpreting faculty gave
challenge to a text like a spiritual bandit; his analysis
was a divine surgery, and the sermon structure was a
gem of the homiletic art. Ah, there was a sermonizer
whose craftsmanship was the despair of so many of his
brethren. He was with me in meetings in Lynchburg,
1888. One discourse on l Justification by Faith' was a
masterpiece. Thought, passion, and diction blended in
triumphant oratory. Uncommon power was on him, and
he carried the burden of great ideas with the agility and
grace of an athlete. It was one of the rarest sermons I
ever heard."
From the University, Dr. Woodfin returned to Ala-
bama, becoming pastor of the First Baptist Church, of
Montgomery. From here he moved, in 1884, to Hamp-
ton, where he remained for some twenty years as pastor
of the Baptist Church of that town. This was the longest
and perhaps the most useful of his several pastorates.
When he went to Hampton the church reported a mem-
bership of 142, and before he left the enrollment had
reached the high mark of 408. Failing health made it
necessary for him to take a field where the burdens were
less heavy, and so he accepted a call to Waynesboro, a
beautiful town in the Valley of Virginia. This was his
last pastorate. After some eight years here he was
obliged to give up active work. A surgical operation
was not thoroughly successful, and the three remaining
years were full of suffering, but he was patient to the
end. Much of this time he spent in the home of his son,
Mr. G. W. Woodfin, in Atlanta. Here his summons to
depart came December 24, 1913. According to his
request his body was laid to rest in the East Hill Ceme-
AUGUSTUS BEVERLY WOODFIN 399
tery, Salem, Va. His wife and five children, namely:
Mrs. John Lewis Cobbs, Mr. George Wyclyffe Woodfin,
Mrs. Edgar Lyle Justice, Mrs. George R. Hood, and
Mr. Paul Beverly Woodfin, survived him.
Besides his work for his particular church, Dr. Wood-
fin took an active part in the work of the denomination.
He was Vice-President of the Virginia Orphanage
Trustees, a member of the Educational Commission, and,
in 1909, Vice-President of the General Association of
Virginia. He was a Mason. He loved his brethren, and
was fond of their company. He was genial, and ready
to hear and to tell a good story. To quote again from
Dr. Smith : "His presence was sunshine, his mind was
intellectual keenness, and his heart was a magazine of
human charities. He was the type of man who com-
mands confidence to the end, and for whom admiration
never limps. He was more diffident than his abilities
justified. The nature of his high endowment would
easily have sustained more self-assertion." He greatly
admired the noble women whom he knew, and was
always a favorite with the women. This does not
mean that he was not vigorous in thought and fearless
in his contention for the truth, for he was; but he was
courtly in his grace and gentle in word and manner, and
he was comely in person, and always most scrupulously
neat and careful in his dress. Yet he was always popular
with men, and held his own in a gathering of men,
whether it was with timely anecdote or able discussion.
His power as a preacher has already been mentioned, but
it may be well to quote yet another testimony on this
matter. Dr. C. T. Herndon, in his obituary, says:
"Dr. Woodfin was a preacher of unusual ability. He
had a strong and well-furnished mind. He thought
clearly and had the power to express his thoughts in lucid
and strong English. He loved to preach, and was a tire-
less sermon maker."
JAMES MAGRUDER THOMAS
1862-1914
On the long roll of beloved Baptist preachers the name
of Rev. James Mag-ruder Thomas is affectionately and
with tender memories revered by those who knew him
best. James Magruder Thomas was born January 25,
1862, at Severn, Va., and died at Zanoni, Va., January
14, 1914. Between these years the impress of his charac-
ter, so full of generosity, courtesy, and cheer, is indelibly
written on the hearts of loving relatives and a broad
circle of admiring friends. Most of his life was lived in
the immediate section of lower Gloucester County, Vir-
ginia. Brother Thomas always smilingly informed
strangers that he came from "Guinea," and with mingled
pride and humor he told of this native homeland.
Provincially, "Guinea" is known as the fishermen's
country, down in Tidewater where the salt tides indent
the shores. The broad York River, the Mobjack Bay,
and the Severn River hem in these folks, and habitually
the men follow the water as naturally as the fish swim
to and fro. In the Severn River section the Thomas
family is most prominent. For many generations their
success and their homes here have made them well
known. Of all the salt-water fishermen, Captain James
Thomas, father of Rev. J. M. Thomas, is to-day remem-
bered as the most prosperous. His family consisted of
twelve children, five girls and seven sons. In time
Brother Jim's six brothers followed the water, he alone
choosing a different career. So handsome in appearance,
so courtly in manner, in early manhood he was familiarly
referred to as "good-looking Jim" an epitaph which
400
JAMES MAGRUDER THOMAS 401
followed among his friends during a lifetime. He was
a gentleman "to the manner born," his tastes were
aesthetic, his mind alert and appreciative as a student.
His fondness for books, for music, and study forecast his
life work. Who knows but that his ideals were wrought
in the little one-room schoolhouse, taught "in the long
ago" by Miss Alice J. Thornton, a faithful, untiring
teacher, whom lower Gloucester County may wisely
honor for her sacrifice to those students who in later
years have become prominent in citizenship! Near by
this old school stands Union Baptist Church both strong
factors in the educational and spiritual development of
James M. Thomas. There is doubt of whether any
serious love affair marked his life. He was a gifted
singer, and at one time a favorite daughter of a Baptist
pastor and young Jim were often thought to have btcn
sweethearts. She presided at the church organ and he
led in the singing. Since Brother Thomas never married
there is no one to know if his heart's love was ever lost
or won.
When he was a splendid boy of fourteen years of age
he accepted Christ as his Saviour. His baptism took
place a few miles from his home at Sagey Creek, an inlet
of York River, in August, 1876. He united with Union
Baptist Church and was long an esteemed member in
Gloucester County, Virginia. During a tent-meeting
held by the Friends' Holiness Association during the
summer of 1899, scores of church members made new
consecration, and Brother James Thomas declared at
these humble services he heard the call to preach the
gospel. Following his conviction, in 1900 Brother
Thomas entered Richmond College, where he remained
two years. In 1902 he entered the Baptist Theological
Seminary, Louisville, Ky., and received his first call to
preach in 1903. In 1905 he was ordained at Louisville,
26
402 VIRGINIA BAPTIST MINISTERS
Ky., accepting the work of Nansemar Baptist Church
and the chapels in Charles County, Maryland.
On the third Sunday in June, 1913, Brother Thomas
was taken ill paralyzed and fell in the pulpit after
preaching his sermon. Continuing sick until January
3, 1914, at his sister's home (Mrs. R. C. Smith) at
Zanoni, in Gloucester County, he died. The simple
funeral services were conducted by Rev. S. T. Habel,
then pastor of Union Baptist Church, and the beloved
form was laid away in the shadow of the old church he
cherished in " Guinea" the scene of happy boyhood days.
Daisy Rowe Craig.
JOSEPH FRANCIS BILLINGSLEY
183^-1913
John Ashcum Billingsley was born in St. Mary's
County, Maryland, April 24, 1770, and died at his home,
"Salem," in Spottsylvania County, Virginia, August 1,
1837. His son, John Ashcum Billingsley, was born at
"Salem" on February 11, 1817, and died April 12, 1893.
Joseph Francis Billingsley, one of sixteen children, was
the son of John Ashcum Billingsley and his second wife,
who was, before her marriage, Miss Johnson. He
was born at "Salem," February 10, 1839. These three
men, of three generations, were Baptist preachers. A
sketch of the first of this trio is found in the "Lives of
Virginia Baptist Ministers," First Series, and in the
Fourth Series is a sketch of the second, and now, accord-
ing to the prophecy in the Fourth Series, here is a sketch
of the third.
With such an ancestry and brought up in an atmos-
phere of piety, it is not surprising that Joseph Francis
Billingsley became a member of Hebron Church at the
age of ten and later an earnest preacher. Dr. Beale says
that "in the homes in which his early years were spent
the altar of prayer was sacredly maintained and the Bible
was daily read." From the vicinity of King George
Court House, where much of his early life was passed,
he went to reside in Washington City. While living
there, although not ordained to the gospel ministry, he
"engaged actively in evangelistic services, often exhort-
ing crowds on the street." In 1895 he returned to Vir-
ginia to live, making his home in Westmoreland County
with two of his married daughters. On October 1, 1898,
403
404 VIRGINIA BAPTIST MINISTERS
he was licensed to preach by the Pope's Creek Baptist
Church, and on November 26, 1899, was ordained at the
Hebron Baptist Church. On this occasion the presbytery
was composed of these ministers : Rev. Dr. L. J. Haley,
Rev. W. J. Decker, and Rev. E. P. Hawkins. His work
as a preacher was done in the Hermon Association,
where he was pastor, first and last, of these churches:
Belle Air, Travelers' Rest, Providence, Mt. Hermon, and
Mt. Horeb. The last years of his life were spent in the
Northern Neck of Virginia, where he preached as oppor-
tunity offered and rendered other ministerial services.
He died at the home of his daughter, Mrs. Belfield, at
Stratford, Va., December 26, 1913, and the body was
laid to rest at Providence Methodist Episcopal Church,
Westmoreland County, Virginia. At the very time of
his death the funeral of his brother, a gallant Confeder-
ate captain, was taking place in an adjoining county.
Of Mr. Billingsley, Dr. Beale says : "As a speaker he
was clear, entertaining, and effective, and possessed a
commanding and vigorous fervor and a distinct and
resonant voice. He was wont to carry with him, as a
sort of vade mecum, a scrapbook in which were recorded
incidents which he might use in his sermons, impressive
illustrations, and literary gems." He was tall and of
heavy build. His manner was quick and alert. He was
a man of strong will and stern demeanor, yet his was a
loving disposition. He had a keen sense of humor and
knew how to rise above the petty annoyances of life. He
was generous almost to a fault, and a self-sacrificing and
loving father. He was of strong likes and dislikes, and
was fearless in his denunciation of that which he did not
approve. He was most loyal to his friends and charitable
to those whose ways he did not endorse. He was a
typical man's man, his few faults serving as a back-
ground to bring out more fully his excellent traits.
JOSEPH FRANCIS BILLINGSLEY 405
His wife, to whom he was married on November 4,
1856, and who survived him, was, before her marriage,
Miss Almira Virginia Price, daughter of Abner B. Price.
Of the seven children of this marriage, three, namely:
Almira Virginia, Frank Connor, and Mary Mildred
(wife of James T. Trew, Baynesville, Va.), have passed
away. Those still living are Laura Kate, the wife of
George W. Henderson, Washington, D. C. ; Clara Belle,
the wife of David C. Belfield, Stratford, Va. ; Leslie
Ogle, Washington ; Chastain M., Philadelphia.
GEORGE COOPER
1841-1914
"Scotland and Canada bore him, England and Vir-
ginia received him, Philadelphia, The City of Brotherly
Love,' holds him." On December 27, 1812, near the
village of Dunse, Berwickshire, Scotland, James Cooper
was born. After having been for seven years an appren-
tice at the cabinet-maker's trade, in the town of Kelso,
where the saintly Horatius Bonar lived, he moved to
Edinburgh. Here he decided to become a minister, and
here he was married, in 1839, to Miss Jessie Sutherland.
The next year, his views as to baptism having changed,
he left the Presbyterian Church, and in September, 1840,
was baptized in the Charlotte Chapel by Rev. Christopher
Anderson, author of the "Annals of the English Bible."
On the tenth day of the following December there was
born to Mr. Cooper and his wife a son, who was given
his grandfather's name, George. After having pursued
his studies for several years, part of this time sitting at
the feet of the famous Sir William Hamilton, in 1843
Mr. Cooper emigrated to Canada. Here he spent thirty-
six years, being a successful and esteemed pastor and
leader among the Canadian Baptists, and then, having
returned to his native land, on Sunday, January 16, 1881,
he passed away.
At Woodstock, Ontario, Canada, where his father had
much to do with the establishment of Woodstock College,
George Cooper was converted, and baptized by his father,
December 27, 1857. Here there began a friendship
between John Peddie, one of the elder Cooper's students,
and George Cooper, a friendship which was to last
406
GEORGE COOPER 407
through the years and until broken by death. From
Woodstock young Cooper passed to Toronto University,
where he graduated, and was the medalist in the Greek
and Latin classics. In pursuance of his plan to make
teaching his life work, he became a tutor in this Uni-
versity, under Dr. McCaul, but in July, 1864, in one week
his mother and little sister, Maggie, were laid low in
death, and this bitter experience led the young man to
turn his mind towards the ministry. Madison (now Col-
gate) University, Hamilton, N. Y., became his theo-
logical alrtw mater, and after graduating there, on June
1, 1866, he was ordained at North Attleboro, Mass.
Here he began his work as pastor, and on June 12, 1867,
was married to Miss Sarah Elizabeth Cole, of South
Niagara Falls, Canada, the daughter of Jesse and Ann
Hughes Cole. From Attleboro he passed to the pastor-
ate of the Baptist Church at Gloversville, N. Y., and
then, after serving the First Church (now Epiphany),
West Philadelphia, and the Williamsport (Pennsylvania)
Church, on the second Sunday in June, 1885, he became
pastor of the First Baptist Church, Richmond, Va.
His Richmond pastorate, which continued until the
last Sabbath of December, 1903, covered the years of
Dr. Cooper's vigorous manhood and was the most dis-
tinguished service of his ministry. 'Throughout this
long and exacting pastorate, and with conspicuous zeal
and devotion, Dr. Cooper cheerfully and vigilantly
shepherded his large flock, literally knowing and calling
each by name. Though he visited and ministered to his
own people in season and out of season, and to an extent
that greatly taxed his time and energy, his warm and
sympathetic heart could not resist the appeals, voiceless,
often, of sickness, distress, and sorrow, though they came
from the community at large. His prayers at the bedside
of the sick, and on the occasions of the last sad offices
408 VIRGINIA BAPTIST MINISTERS
for the dead, were impressively and inimitably tender and
felicitous." The First Baptist Church is one of the most
historic among the Baptist churches of the South. It
was founded in 1780, and has had as pastors dis-
tinguished men ; to have served such a church faithfully
for almost two decades is indeed a worthy record.
In the denominational life of Virginia, Dr. Cooper
bore an active part. Only a few weeks after his pastor-
ate at the First Church began, he made an address at the
Richmond Sunday School Association at Leigh Street to
the children, "using a wordless book with four leaves
black, red, white, and gold with which he symbolized
the blackness of sin, the cleansing blood of Christ, the
whiteness of redeemed souls, and the golden streets,
crowns, and harps of the heavenly home." Not long
after this, at the annual meeting of the Dover Association
at Liberty Church, New Kent County, he took part in
the discussions and preached "at the stand." For years
he was a member of the Foreign Mission Board and
Chairman of the Committee on China Missions. He was
President of the State Mission Board and a member of
the Richmond College Board of Trustees. He was
closely connected with the establishment of the Baptist
Orphanage of Virginia, being the chairman of a com-
mittee appointed, upon his resolution, "to secure an
expression on the subject from the various churches and
Associations represented in this body, receive bids for
location, hold in trust moneys and other contributions,
and report to the next meeting of this Association such
conclusions and plans as may be deemed by them wise
and necessary to the end proposed." This was an impor-
tant step in the establishment of the Orphanage, and on
July 1, 1892, the institution was opened at Salem.
Besides the work Dr. Cooper did in Virginia, he was on
the governing boards of Bucknell University and Crozer
GEORGE COOPER 409
Theological Seminary, and took part in the work of the
Southern Baptist Convention; he was the preacher of
the Convention sermon at the session in Louisville, in
1887.
From a boy he was fond of a horse, and while he lived
in Virginia he often spent his vacation, or a good part of
it, on a horseback tour through the mountains. On these
trips he had many amusing experiences. Since he was
attired in "short riding trousers, a wide-brimmed hat,"
and wore no coat, there was nothing to indicate that he
was a preacher, and to his great amusement he was taken
"for a drummer, a fruit-tree seller, a guano man, a col-
porteur, and a city tramp." On these trips he usually
preached every Sunday, and on one trip, when he
traveled three hundred and fifty miles, and when he was
gone five Sundays, he preached twice every Sunday, save
one. With all of his fondness for out-of-doors life, and
his wonderful activity as a pastor, he was still a student
with scholarly aptitudes. Dr. John Gordon said of him
that "as a Greek scholar he had few peers," and told how
a few weeks before his death he wrote to him, saying:
"Please go into your Greek lexicon (mine are all boxed
up) and get for me the history and use of this word.
. . . I had rather have it than the best meal they can
give me." Once in the Richmond Baptist Ministers' Con-
ference the discussion was about the "Public Reading of
the Scripture," and the paper was read by Dr. Cooper.
After he read his paper, which "was a masterpiece," he
seemed surprised when the ministers all agreed that he
was "exceptionally skillful and impressive in the reading
of the Bible." Dr. Cooper was warm-hearted, cordial in
his manner, and companionable. Nor did he win the
esteem of those of his own denomination only. Upon
his resignation at Jenkintown, Pa., the rector of the
Episcopal Church wrote to express his regret. In his
410 VIRGINIA BAPTIST MINISTERS
letter he said : "You have been a leader and father to
us, and your special place simply can not be filled. I have
to think of the gap it means in our common work for our
Master in this community, but at least there is the
memory left of a most perfect and delightful coopera-
tion of that kind that ought to be always, but that too
often human nature and perhaps the odium theologicum,
too, prevent." After Dr. Cooper's death Dr. Strand, the
Catholic priest in the same city, spoke beautifully from
the pulpit about him and asked his congregation to
remember him in their prayers.
After resigning the First Church, Richmond, Dr.
Cooper was pastor for a season at Media, Pa., and then
came his last charge, which covered over seven years, at
Jenkintown. In the fall of 1912 his health began to fail.
After a trip to Montreal, Quebec, and Lake George,
walking, of which exercise he had always been very fond,
quickly fatigued him, and he complained of pain in his
limbs. Neither a specialist nor a sanitarium in Atlantic
City brought relief, and when he wanted to go to Ber-
muda, the doctors deeming this unwise, Richmond was
decided on. Here, in the home of his son, Mr. J. Homer
Cooper, he passed from earth, on January 19, 1914.
Funeral services were held in the First Church, Rich-
mond, and in the Chestnut Street Baptist Church, Phila-
delphia. In Richmond the services were conducted by
Rev. Dr. Geo. W. McDaniel and Rev. Dr. James Nelson.
In Philadelphia the exercises were conducted by these
ministers: George D. Adams, A. J. Rowland, Charles
Hastings Dodd, J. G. Walker, John Gordon, David
Spencer, George Young, and Mr. David P. Leas.
Dr. Cooper is survived by his wife and three of his
children, namely : James Homer Cooper, Mrs. Walter
Sebastian, and George Cooper, Jr. A daughter, Lelia,
died in 1875.
WILLIAM BONNIE DAUGHTRY
1874-1914
On June 13, 1874, at Franklin, Va., William Bonnie
Daughtry was born, his parents being Thomas Daughtry
and Cherry Carr. At the early age of about ten he united
with the church, and when only sixteen years old was
Superintendent of the Sunday school. He spent four
sessions at Richmond College and two at Crozer Theo-
logical Seminary, graduating at Crozer in 1901. On
December 26, 1899, at Beaver Dam Church, Isle of
Wight County, Virginia, he was ordained to the gospel
ministry, the presbytery being composed of these minis-
ters : J. L. Lawless, J. F. Love, J. T. Bowden, and J. E.
Jones. After being pastor for some two years and four
months of the Eastville and Cape Charles Churches,
Accomac Association, he became pastor in the Concord
and Appomattox Associations, his churches being Black-
stone, Jonesboro, Burkeville, and Bagby Memorial. His
next work was also in the Concord Association, and,
before he left Virginia to become pastor in North Caro-
lina, he served these churches, in the Concord : Meherrin,
Mt. Carmel, Tussekiah, Union Grove, Victoria, and Mt.
Zion. After about two years at Plymouth, N. C, he
accepted the care of the church at Tarboro, N. C. He
preached only one sermon at Tarboro, when he was
stricken down with pneumonia, and after an illness of
one week passed away. His death occurred January 15, '
1914. On Saturday, January 17, the body was laid to
rest at the Beaver Dam Church, near Carrsville, Va., the
funeral services being conducted by these ministers:
G. C. Duncan, J. T. McCutcheon, W. T. Clark, and
411
412 VIRGINIA BAPTIST MINISTERS
R. A. McFarland. His wife, to whom he was married
November 27, 1901, and whose maiden name was Miss
Delia Poole (the daughter of Paschal and Henrietta
Poole), and two children, William Bonnie and Henrietta,
survive him. He was five feet, eleven and a half inches
tall, and weighed from 165 to 175 pounds. His com-
plexion was fair, his eyes and hair brown. Until his fatal
illness his health was almost perfect.
JOHN RICHARD THOMAS
1850-1914
Baltimore was the birthplace and for some years the
home of John Richard Thomas. He first saw the light
March 5, 1850. His educational preparation for life was
secured at the public schools of the city of Baltimore.
He was a Christian from an early age, being very active,
for some time, in the Methodist Church. About 1884
he was baptized in the Riverside Church, Baltimore, by
Rev. W. J. Nicoll. He served this church for several
years as a deacon, and then entered the ministry. At the
age of twenty-two he was married to Miss Elizabeth
Durmn. She and six children survive him. In the
church where he was baptized he was ordained, on Janu-
ary 8, 1893, and his first regular charge was the Nanje-
moy Baptist Church, Charles County, Maryland. Here
he labored successfully for more than seven years. It
seems that his next field was in the Rappahannock Asso-
ciation, Virginia, being composed of these churches:
Colonial Beach, Potomac, and Pope's Creek. After
several years he seems to have returned to Maryland,
and either now, or at the earlier residence, organized the
Port Tobacco Church. "Through all kinds of weather
this man of God ministered to the people of that village,
driving fifteen miles each way twice a month, and receiv-
ing but meager financial support, but much joy in
service." He was next pastor at Rio Grande, N. J., and
he left this place to go to the church at East Georgia
Plains, Vt. Then he returned to New Jersey, taking
charge of the flock at Hornerstown. His health, which
seems to have been frail, now failing, he returned to
413
414 VIRGINIA BAPTIST MINISTERS
Colonial Beach. Here he ministered to the church once
more, and then the end came, on February 3, 1914. His
children are Mrs. Carrie E. Wheeler, Mrs. W. L.
Southerland, Mrs. B. A. Southerland, Mr. J. R. Thomas,
Jr., Prof. W. H. Thomas, and Rev. Charles E. Thomas.
GEORGE FRANKLIN WILLIAMS
1833-1914
The Gallatin family, which gave so distinguished a
son to American public life, boasted an ancestry running
back to A. Atilius Callatinus, who was a Roman consul
in 259 B. C. The Williams family, of which George
Franklin Williams was a member, traces its genealogy
through the Weeks' line back to 534 A. D., Alfred the
Great and others, famous in English history, being among
their ancestors. Mr. Williams was descended from the
early settlers of New England, and had among his for-
bears these colonial governors: Hinkney, of Plymouth;
Bishop, of New Haven; Dudley and Bradstreet, of
Massachusetts. Anne Dudley, the daughter of Gov.
Thomas Dudley, who married Simon Bradstreet (after-
wards Governor of Massachusetts), and emigrated with
him to New England, wrote poems which were published
in London, in 1630, under the title, "The Tenth Muse."
This volume, which came out in a second edition
(Boston, 1678), won for her the title of the first poetess
in America. Members of the famous Cotton family, of
New England, and of the Tufts family, that founded
Tufts College, are also among Mr. Williams' ancestors.
On the paternal side, the name John Williams runs back
through four generations. His grandfather, John Wil-
liams, who lived from 1775 to 1834, was instrumental in
building, in his town of Goshen, a Baptist Church, which
he sustained as long as he lived. His paternal grand-
father, Rev. Asa Todd, who was born in New Haven in
1756, was one of the three pioneer Baptist ministers of
western New England. During the week he strapped his
415
416 VIRGINIA BAPTIST MINISTERS
Bible to his plow handles, and so prepared his sermons
while he worked his farm. He often walked as much as
twenty miles on Sunday to preach, and on horseback he
made his way from place to place through the Connecti-
cut Valley. He was a Revolutionary soldier, and at the
time of the evacuation of New York was with Washing-
ton. Captain Thomas Weeks, another ancestor of Mr.
Williams, was a minuteman at the battle of Lexington,
and continued in service till the surrender of General
Burgoyne at Saratoga.
Mr. Williams was born at Ashfield, Mass., April 17,
1833, his parents being John Williams and Obedience
Todd. Although he was not baptized until February 6,
1853, when he received the ordinance at the hands of
Rev. E. H. Gray at Shelburne Falls, he believed that he
was converted long before this, probably in his ninth
year. From Shelburne Falls Academy he passed to
Rochester University, where he received his Bachelor of
Arts degree in June, 1860. A fondness for mathe-
matics, which began in his school days and lasted to the
day of his death, led him, while a student at Rochester,
to try for a prize in mathematics. He missed the prize
by one point; in the examination he indignantly refused
the offer of a fellow-student to pass him the key to the
problem. He always regarded this experience as one of
the severest temptations of his younger days. Even in
advanced life he took keen delight in solving problems of
higher mathematics, and was never weary of working at
the most difficult examples. Through the influence of
Mr. Thomas P. Miller, a native of Massachusetts, who
was a wealthy banker of Mobile, Ala., and a loyal Bap-
tist, Mr. Williams' feet were turned to the South and the
Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. Mr. Miller
was greatly interested in the success of this institution,
and gave substantial financial aid to young Williams,
GEORGE FRANKLIN WILLIAMS 417
whose sister he had married, and to other students at
Greenville. When he arrived at Greenville, S. C, to
become a student of the Southern Baptist Theological
Seminary, the spirit of war was running high. Since
he was from Massachusetts, his trunk, which was very
heavy, aroused the suspicions of the proprietor of the
hotel where he put up. Not until it was made plain that
the trunk contained theological books, and not firearms,
were the suspicions of the host allayed. At a later date,
because he was a "Yankee," he was surrounded by a local
company of Confederates and threatened with arrest.
Nor was he liberated until his landlady, Mrs. Mauldin, a
typical Southern woman of gentle blood, vouched for
him to the captain, her friend.
He was ordained on May 17, 1863, and his active
work as a minister began in the Confederate Army,
where he worked, as a missionary of the Home Mission
Board, from 1863 to 1865. One day in his work among
the soldiers Mr. Williams found a poor wounded fellow
lying on the railroad station in the blazing sun. After
he began to minister to him, what was his surprise to find
that he was his old friend Home, of the Seminary days,
now become a captain. He cared for him for weeks, and
then Home went back to the army. Years afterwards,
when Mr. Williams went to be pastor of Ridge Spring,
S. C., what was his surprise and delight to find his friend
Home living in the village and pastor of several country
churches not far away. At the close of the War he took
charge of the Marine Street Mission, Mobile, Ala., which
he organized into the Palmetto Street Baptist Church, his
ministry there continuing until 1873. He now came to
Richmond, Va., and took charge of a mission on Venable
Street. Of his work here Dr. J. M. Pilcher says: "His
pastorate of seven years was distinguished by zeal and
evangelistic power, which was an inspiration to his
418 VIRGINIA BAPTIST MINISTERS
fellow-pastors. Any other man would have been dis-
couraged in the early years of the work, but his success
encouraged other mission work in the city and made it
easy for his successor to lead the church to build a fine
house in a better location." From what had become the
Venable Street Baptist Church he went, in 1880, to the
pastorate of the church at Ridge Spring, S. C, but in
1887 he returned to Virginia to take charge of the River-
ton and Bethel Churches, Clarke County. His home was
in the village of Millwood, and in due time the Sunday
school, which he began in a storeroom, grew into a
church. In 1888 he returned to Richmond to engage in
city mission work. This organized effort, sustained by
all the churches, was inspired by him, and when interest
in it among the churches died away he carried on the
work at his own charges, supporting his family by means
of a book agency that he established. He now found
opportunity to proclaim the glad tidings of salvation on
the streets, in the factories, in the jail, and in the State
penitentiary. At this last place he preached three times
a month to a congregation of 1,200 persons. One year
he had in this congregation no less than 66 professions
of faith. He was the self-appointed guardian, for years,
of the boys of the Laurel Industrial Home, and in the
Cedar Works and the Locomotive Works he won for
himself hundreds of friends, among the working men,
by his daily noon prayer-meetings. In 1908 he became
Superintendent of the Ex-Prisoners Aid Association of
Virginia. In this position he remained till the end of his
life. One year, according to his annual report to the
Society, he had in hand 71 ex-convicts. He learned the
plans of each one before the discharge came, seeing those
who were in Richmond and writing to those in the con-
vict road camps. He met each one, on the morning of
his discharge, at the penitentiary at eight o'clock, and
GEORGE FRANKLIN WILLIAMS 419
then gave them their breakfast, introduced them to
friends, and saw them on the train if they were going
away. The value of this work can be judged when it is
known that Mr. J. Pierpont Morgan, upon hearing of it,
sent for its support his check for $100, and when the
letters are read that came from friends of those whom
he had befriended. A few sentences from some of these
letters are quoted. One from Brooklyn said : "You have
a father's and mother's blessing for interesting yourself
in our boy." A mother wrote: "I thank you for your
interest in my son. I did not think any one on earth
cared for him but myself." A father wrote: "I have
hunted everywhere for my son, but got no tidings of him
until your letter came." Equally interesting and touch-
ing are the letters that he received from the ex-convicts
after they passed from beyond his care. One fellow,
who had made good, wrote back : "I have put in a solid
month's work here. ... I have paid up my board
bill in full. . . . Tell the boys up yonder at the
prison, and tell them to pray." Who can read this part
of Mr. Williams' history and not remember the words:
"I was in prison and ye came unto me. . . . Inas-
much as ye have done it unto one of the least of these,
my brethren, ye have done it unto me"?
The story of Mr. Williams' service for the kingdom of
God in Richmond would not be complete without some
mention of the Gospel Wagon which he conducted for
many years. It was large enough to hold some twelve
persons and a "baby" organ, and was drawn by two
white horses. Every Sunday afternoon, when the
weather was mild, Mr. Williams and his wife set out in
the wagon at two o'clock and were gone till six. They
went down into the "slums." Many conversions
occurred, and some substantial families were led to unite
420 VIRGINIA BAPTIST MINISTERS
with neighboring churches. Barkeepers came to listen
to the gospel message, and others of low repute heard
the glad tidings of salvation.
He died in Richmond, Va., February 19, 1914, and the
funeral took place at the Calvary Baptist Church, being
conducted by his dear friend and Seminary fellow-
student, Rev. Dr. Charles H. Ryland, who was assisted
in the service by Rev. Dr. Alfred Bagby and Rev. C. A.
Jenkins. The body was laid to rest in Oakwood
Cemetery. On his death bed, when asked by his
daughter if she must read, with other passages, the
twenty-third Psalm, his reply was to read it as he had
read it to a dying soldier, and thus the blessed words
were read to him, emphasis being put on all the pronouns
of the first person. His wife, whose maiden name was
Miss Emma Virginia Woodfin, preceded him to the
grave September 5, 1910. She was genial in nature, with
a sweet, lovely face, a vigorous mind, and a great
capacity for work. In the home her influence was
strong, and her children rise up and bear witness to her
wise and loving training. She found time for missionary
work, and was for many years the leader of the Virginia
Sunbeams. As a memorial of this work with the Sun-
beams there has been established a school in Chefoo,
China, that bears her name. As a young woman she
taught a class in the Leigh Street Church, exerting a
strong influence over many youths. There are three
ministers, who are useful to-day for God, who remember
how she made lasting impressions on them for good
when they were boys in her class. Three of his children,
little boys, died before they were four years old. A son,
George Beverly Williams, and two daughters, Miss
Bertha Belle Williams and Emma Wirt Williams, now
the wife of Rev. Benjamin D. Gaw, and two of his
sisters (one over ninety-five years of age and the other
eighty-six) survive him.
HUGH DAVIS RAGLAND
1840-1914
Goochland County, that narrow and long county which
hugs James River for something like fifty miles, was the
birthplace of Hugh Davis Ragland, his home and field of
labor for a large part of his life, and where he died. He
was born November 5, 1840. When he was fourteen
years old he was converted under the preaching of Rev.
L. W. Allen, and was baptized into the fellowship of
the Williams Baptist Church. This church, organized
in 1785 and located in Louisa County, the nearest post-
office being Cuckooville, had as her pastor, in 1855, Rev.
Samuel Harris. He became a colporteur under the
Publication Board of the General Association in 1858,
and continued in this work until he entered Richmond
College. As a boy he had attended Goochland Academy.
His work at the college was interrupted by the outbreak
of the Civil War, and he became a soldier, serving in the
ranks until he was captured and carried as a prisoner,
first to Point Lookout and then to Elmyra, N. Y. He
preached to his fellow-prisoners and had the joy of seeing
many of them brought to Christ. Upon the close of the
War he returned to his native county to take up work
among the churches there, and the March following Lee's
Surrender at Appomattox he was married, March 12,
1866, to Miss Amarintha Perkins, daughter of Benjamin
Perkins, of Fluvanna County, and Martha Bullock, of
Albemarle.
In the report of the State Mission Board to the Gen-
eral Association, in 1871, these words are found: "The
Goshen Association is now cooperating in the State
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422 VIRGINIA BAPTIST MINISTERS
Mission work of the General Association, and we have
made appropriations to aid five brethren in preaching to
feeble churches of that body which, without such help,
are in danger of extinction. . . . Brother H. D.
Ragland has four stations in Goochland and Louisa. We
propose to aid liberally in restoring the waste places of
Zion in the Goshen Association, not only for the sake
of the hallowed memories which linger around the old
meeting places of the early Baptist fathers of Virginia,
but to hasten the bright future which we feel assured lies
before the Lord's people there." In 1873, when Mr.
Ragland worked for half a year in this same connection,
he had five preaching points and baptized sixteen persons.
During his long service in the Goshen Association he was
pastor of these churches : Mt. Prospect, Fork, Perkins,
and Lickinghole (now known as Smyrna). The
churches in the Dover Association to which he ministered
were Dover and Goochland. In this territory, in these
two Associations, for fifty years he went in and out
among the people, God setting the seal of his approval
on his "devoted and popular ministry." Of two of these
churches, Fork and Perkins, he was pastor twice, his
first union with the former body extending over twenty-
one years ; but his longest pastorate was at the Dover
Church, where he remained a quarter of a century.
Something like a decade before the end of his life he
went to live in Botetourt County, becoming pastor of
Springwood, Mt. Beulah, Longdale, and Forest Grove
Churches ; but after a few years he returned to the section
where he was to the "manner born." His last work was
given to Hopeful, Louisa County, and Mt. Olivet, Han-
over County. He became interested in the establishment
of a church near his home, and, even on what proved to
be his death bed, planned for the accomplishment of this
undertaking. Three months before his own death came
HUGH DAVIS RAGLAND 423
that of his wife. This was a severe blow, but his faith
did not falter, and their graves are near the meeting-
house they labored to build.
Mr. Ragland was a man of genial bearing and with a
sweet-toned voice. One of his fellow-ministers said of
him : "He was a plain and unassuming man. His
humility was beautiful. He was greatly beloved by his
flock, because he always showed a deep concern for
them." His genial and cordial spirit was not out of
harmony with a vigorous mind, and this blend of
qualities doubtless gave him special fitness for the office
of Public School Superintendent, which he held for
Goochland County sixteen years. He owned and drove
for seventeen years a sorrel mare named "Catherine
Swinford." He died March 5, 1914, being survived by a
son and two daughters, Mr. E. Herbert Ragland, Mrs.
H. A. Wiltshire, and Mrs. E. S. Lacy.
EDWARD LANGSTON BAPTIST
1837-1914
Richard Harwood Baptist, whose sister, Frances
Russell Baptist, was the mother of the famous Confeder-
ate general, Ambrose Powell Hill, represented his county,
Mecklenburg, for twelve years in the Virginia State
Senate. His wife, who was Miss Sallie Goode, a
daughter of Samuel and Ann Spottswood Goode, of
Mecklenburg County, was a great-granddaughter of
Alexander Spottswood, one of the colonial governors of
Virginia. Of these parents Edward Langston Baptist
was born, March 13, 1837, at "Sycamore Grove," on
Bluestone Creek, Mecklenburg County, Virginia. Not
many miles away from "Sycamore Grove" is Hampden-
Sidney College, with its peaceful quiet of the country;
here young Baptist attended school for a season and then,
for some reason, went to William and Mary at Williams-
burg, where he graduated in the class of 1857, Dr.
Samuel G. Harris being one of his fellow-graduates.
While at William and Mary, Mr. Baptist was a member
of the Epsilon Chapter of the Theta Delta Chi Fra-
ternity. The records of the fraternity bear witness to
his noble qualities and to the fact that he was a true
friend. From Williamsburg he went to Columbian Uni-
versity and studied law, and then settled in Charles Town
(now in West Virginia) to practice his chosen profes-
sion, but the questions of slavery and States' rights that
were being discussed so generally, suggested to the young
lawyer that war might not be far off and that it would
be better for him to be among his own people, so he
turned his steps towards his native county and opened
EDWARD LANGSTON BAPTIST 425
an office at Boydton. When the war cloud did break he
went to the front with the Boydton Cavalry, 3d Virginia
Regiment, commanded by Thomas F. Goode. He was
a courier for Gen. Joseph E. Johnston, and was with that
distinguished commander when he was wounded. Later,
Mr. Baptist was taken as prisoner to Point Lookout,
where he was held for more than a year. In the awful
"reconstruction period," with his property all gone, he
set out to provide as best he could for his growing family.
He established himself as a school-teacher in an old log
schoolhouse four miles from his home, often walking
this distance to his daily work. One of his pupils testifies
that he had the happy faculty of making the student love
his work. He was the friend of boys, and they loved
and respected him. When, in the early seventies, the
Public Free School System was established in Virginia,
Mr. Baptist was appointed the first Superintendent of
Public Instruction for Mecklenburg County. He held
this position until he was elected by his fellow-citizens to
represent them in the State Legislature for the session
of 1895-6.
In 1869 at "The City," or what is now known as Chase
City, Mr. Baptist was converted, the light of the gospel
coming to him with something of the suddenness and
deep conviction that marked the great change in the life
of the Apostle Paul. He at once began to prepare him-
self for the gospel ministry to which he felt called. He
attended the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, and
in 1874 his name appears for the first time in the list of
Virginia Baptist ministers in the Minutes of the General
Association. Within the bounds of the Concord Asso-
ciation his work as a minister was done. At times he was
both teacher and preacher. The churches to which he
ministered for longer or shorter periods were Boydton,
New Hope, Olive Branch, Mt. Zion, Cut Banks, Ephesus,
426 VIRGINIA BAPTIST MINISTERS
Tabernacle, Mt. Horeb, and Concord. His was a
successful ministry, and many of his spiritual children
rise up to call him blessed. He was a man of handsome
appearance, of dignified bearing, yet easily approached;
a true friend, fond of horses and of books, high-minded,
and very conscientious. He loved to work among the
troubled and distressed, and gave more thought to others
than to himself.
His marriage, in 1860, to Miss Emma Rolfe, of Meck-
lenburg County, was the beginning of a long and very
happy married life that was not broken until the death of
the wife on March 11, 1911. Five of the children of
this home are still living, namely : Edward Langston
Baptist, John Harwood Baptist, William Glanville Bap-
tist, Mrs. W. G. Moss, and Mrs. J. K. Lockett.
Mr. Baptist died, on March 11, 1914, in Lynchburg in
the home of his daughter. The body was taken to Boyd-
ton and laid away in the snow-clad earth of the old
Presbyterian Church cemetery, the funeral service being
conducted by Rev. R. E. Peale.
JUDSON CAREY DAVIDSON
1846-1914
Not far from one of the small streams which make the
headwaters of the Appomattox River, and some eight or
ten miles west of old Appomattox Court House, is "Oak
Grove," a comfortable home which has belonged to the
Davidson family since 1701, at which time the original
grant was made to Alexander Davidson by William III,
"King of Great Britain and Ireland." The house, with
its wide doors, large rooms, and big fireplaces,- is unlike
most of the farmhouses built to-day. Some splendid
trees stand near the house, and at the foot of the hill is
a generous spring. In this home Judson Carey Davidson,
whose very name suggests that he came of pious stock,
was born, February 2, 1846, his parents being Jesse
Thornhill Davidson and Martha Osborne Davidson.
He was converted early in life and baptized by Rev. John
Hamner. Two miles from "Oak Grove" is Hebron Bap-
tist Church, in which there is a memorial window to Jesse
Thornhill Davidson, who for thirty-seven years was the
Superintendent of the Hebron Sunday School. His son,
T. O. Davidson, who now has this office, has filled it for
twenty-five years. Appomattox County, that was to
have a world-wide fame as the place where the Civil War
came to an end, was not behind in the matter of sending
out soldiers when the cruel struggle began. Young Jud-
son Carey Davidson, having studied under tutors and at
Union Academy, was one of the men, or rather youths,
for he was only seventeen years old, who answered their
country's call and went forth to the tented field. The
remaining years of the War he served in Company A,
427
428 VIRGINIA BAPTIST MINISTERS
llth Virginia Regiment, Pickett's Division. On the
retreat from Petersburg "he was wounded at the Battle
of Five Forks, in Dinwiddie County, April 1, 1865.
When he was shot down a companion stopped long
enough to prop him against an embankment at the inter-
section of two roads. As a detachment of Union cavalry
came up one man shouted : 'Only a wounded Rebel ; ride
over him, boys.' But the captain commanded a halt and
detailed men to move the 'wounded Rebel' out of the
road, put him in a more comfortable position, and fill his
canteen with water. The grateful soldier inquired the
name of his humane enemy, but his only reply was : 'Just
a Yank trying to help a wounded Johnnie.' For many
hours he was left unattended, and was finally put into a
rough army wagon and hauled over an almost impassable
road, sometimes conscious, sometimes fainting from loss
of blood or excessive pain. He at last reached a field
hospital, where, on the fourth day after he was wounded,
he was fed and his wound was examined. The doctors
decided to amputate his leg, but he protested so vigor-
ously that they concluded to let him alone. The wounded
men were moved to a prison, and for three months Mr.
Davidson remained a prisoner, suffering horribly from
his wounded leg and from want of proper attention.
About the last of June he and many other sick and
wounded men were put on a boat and sent to Richmond,
from which point he made his way home" in the face of
incredible hardships.
Upon the reestablishment of his health he went into
business in Lynchburg. It was not long, however, before
he decided that it was his duty to be a preacher. This
decision led to his entering the Southern Baptist Theo-
logical Seminary, then at Greenville, S. C, where he had
among his classmates such men as Breaker, Rogers, and
Sproles. Upon leaving Greenville he was ordained,
JUDSON CAREY DAVIDSON 429
October 30, 1872, at the First Baptist Church, Lynch-
burg, the following ministers composing the presbytery :
Rev. Dr. C. C. Bitting, Rev. Dr. J. C. Kincannon, and
Rev. Dr. W. A. Montgomery. A few months after this
he became pastor of the First Baptist Church, of Sedalia,
Mo. Here he built up a large congregation, being
especially popular with the young men of the city. In
1878 he was married to Miss Elizabeth Diuguid, the
daughter of George A. Diuguid, of Lynchburg, and the
next year became pastor of the Fifth Street Church,
Hannibal, Mo. From Hannibal he came to Winchester,
Va., "where perhaps the greatest work of his life was
done. The Baptist Church in Winchester had never been
strong. Members were few and scattered ; there was no
church edifice, and prospects for Baptist growth were
very dark. The Baptist Church now standing in Win-
chester is Mr. Davidson's best monument, representing,
as it does, the overcoming of almost insuperable obstacles.
It was dedicated entirely free from debt and supported
by a well-organized membership." After six years in
Winchester he became pastor of the Grace Church, Balti-
more. During his pastorate a debt on the meeting-house
was paid, a handsome stone parsonage and a reading-
room were built, and the church, giving up help from the
State Mission Board, became independent and self-
supporting. During his years in Baltimore he was for
two sessions President of Maryland Baptist Union Asso-
ciation. After some three years in Johnson City, Tenn.,
as pastor of the Baptist Church there, he returned to the
church and community of his early years. Hebron was
now his charge, and for a part of his time at Hebron he
was also the undershepherd at Mt. Vernon and Red Oak.
This pastorate, which lasted nine years, was the close of
his active ministry. His health began to fail, so he
resigned in October, 1911, and, two months later, moved
430 VIRGINIA BAPTIST MINISTERS
to Lynchburg to live. In this city, on the night of April
21, 1914, he passed away. His wife and three children,
namely, Dr. George D. Davidson and Misses Mabel and
Grace Davidson, survive him.
Mr. Davidson's sermons invited attention by striking,
epigrammatic, or alliterative phrases. Of Mr. Davidson,
after his death, Rev. W. S. Roy all, in a tribute in the
Herald, said : "Brother Davidson was constructive. In
nearly all his pastorates he had church building to do, debt
paying and organizing to accomplish, such as require
resourcefulness, patience, and perseverance.
Genial and companionable, I found it very helpful and
joyful to be associated with him in our Lord's work."
A poem written by Rev. T. D. D. Clark to the memory
of Mr. Davidson begins with these lines :
"Dear friend of my youth, when I needed a friend,
The door that swings outward now hides from my sight
The face and the form of as gracious a soul
As ever was brought from darkness to light."
CALVIN ROAH NORRIS
1870-1914
Almost three-quarters of a century ago a man set up,
on a roadside in Watauga County, North Carolina, a
country store. It seemed so small an affair that an old
gentleman said that it would have nothing but soda to
sell. So the place came to be called Soda Hill. At this
place, August 22, 1870, Calvin Roah Norris was born.
Watauga County, under the shadow of the Blue Ridge
Mountains, is in a section of the State that has sent forth
many preachers. Young Norris grew up on the farm,
living a quiet, peaceful life, and was educated, as his
parents before him had been, in the common schools. He
joined the church January 20, 1889, being baptized by
Rev. David Greene. In the midst of his own people, at
Meat_ Camp Church, an old-fashioned meeting-house
among the mountains, he was ordained in 1906, these
ministers composing the presbytery: David Greene,
L. A. Wilson, and John Orisp. At this church he labored
for some three years with marked success. Stuart's
Draft, Augusta County, Virginia, was his next field, and
after a year or more there he became pastor at Pamplin,
Appomattox County, Elon (Pamplin), Evergreen, and
Matthews Churches forming his field. On the morning
of June 13, 1914, he passed away, in the very prime of
his manhood. The body was taken back to his old home
among the blue hills. The funeral was conducted by
Rev. Willis F. Wayts, of Farmville, assisted by Rev.
A. J. Ponton, the pastor of the Pamplin Presbyterian
Church. Of Mr. Norris, Rev. Mr. Ponton said : 'Truly
he did a great work in our midst in the little while that he
431
432 VIRGINIA BAPTIST MINISTERS
was spared us. All classes will miss him. ... I
shall miss him, oh, so much. We were like David and
Jonathan. We were true yokefellows. We walked
together, we preached together, we prayed together, and
in all of our close and intimate associations there was
never a jar. He was a Baptist loyal and true to every
tenet of his faith, yet withal void of a sectarian spirit."
He was, in build, about the average height, straight, and
deep chested. His forehead was high and broad, the face
clean shaven, the mouth well shaped and strong. His
countenance was genial and his appearance inviting.
His wife, to whom he was married July 17, 1895, sur-
vives him. Before her marriage she was Miss Cora
Adamire Gragg. From their earliest childhood they had
known each other. Of this marriage six daughters,
Blanche, Mattie, Annie, Edna, Marion, and Pearl, and
one son, William Broadus, were born.
JOSEPH WASHINGTON HART
1843-1914
In 1861 a young man nineteen years old, named Joseph
Washington Hart, went forth from King and Queen
County, Virginia, to join the Confederate Army. He
enlisted in the 26th Virginia Infantry, "where he ren-
dered faithful service and led an irreproachable moral
life. His comrades in the army testify that he was a
soldier who could be depended on to do his duty." He
was licensed to preach in 1864, and, after having studied
at Richmond College the session of 1867-68, and at the
Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in 1869, at the
call of the Mattaponi Church was ordained to the gospel
ministry. In the summer of 1865, in a protracted meeting
held at Howerton's Church, Essex County, Virginia, the
pastor of the church, Rev. Isaac Diggs, was helped by a
young man, a licentiate. This young man was Hart.
Many were converted, and to one of this number, at least,
this was the greatest meeting he had ever known. The
one who looks back to this series of meetings at Hower-
ton's with such tender emotion is Rev. Dr. W. T. Derieux,
now a leading Baptist pastor in South Carolina. Upon
Mr. Hart's death Dr. Derieux, in an article about him in
the Herald, said : 'Through the critical years of my youth
he never failed me, and his gentle and Christly spirit
helped to guide me into the ministry. My first preaching
was done for him, and on it he set his blessings. . . .
He was my pastor at Hebron, King William County,
where I entered the ministry. More than any other man
he led my steps. . . . Humble, faithful, honest,
courageous, upright soul was his."
His work as a minister was given to churches in the
Dover, Rappahannock, and Portsmouth Associations.
433
434 VIRGINIA BAPTIST MINISTERS
From about 1871 to 1913 he labored faithfully. At two
churches he continued as pastor for more than a decade.
In the Dover Association he had charge of the Hebron
and Mt. Horeb Churches. He was next in the Rappa-
hannock Association, where his churches were Hower-
ton's, Providence (Caroline), and Mt. Hermon. From
1885 to 1904 he labored in the Portsmouth Association,
ministering to these churches: Newville, Waverly, Old
Shop (which, since 1896, has been known as Oakland),
Elam, and Readsville. From this section he moved back
to the Rappahannock Association, where his last field
was composed of the Lower King and Queen and Mat-
taponi Churches. He died on August 11, 1914, and was
buried in the Mattaponi churchyard.
He was married three times. His first wife was Miss
Columbia Derieux, of Essex County, Virginia, daughter
of A. G. and Virginia F. Derieux. The children of this
marriage are Mrs. Emma Roger, Seattle, Wash. ; Dr.
Arthur Hart, of Mecklenburg County, Virginia ; and
Rev. Joseph L. Hart, missionary of the Southern Baptist
Convention to Argentina. His second wife was Miss S.
Terrell. His last wife, who, with one daughter, Miss
Mary Lelia, survives him, was, before her marriage, Miss
Mary L. Wright.
The Religious Herald, in noticing Mr. Hart's death,
called him "one of the most modest and excellent of our
country pastors," and said : "He has been pastor of
various Virginia fields, and the sweet savour of a godly
and earnest life abides in every community in which he
has lived and labored." Rev. Dr. G. W. Beale, in his
obituary of Mr. Hart, said : "Brother Hart, in the pro-
found experiences of his soul, felt that the gospel had
been the power of God unto his own salvation, and it
was his delight to recommend it with all his ability to
the hearts and consciences of others, and his sympathies
for the lost were as wide as the world."
CHARLES WELDON COLLIER
1861-1914
On May 19, 1861, just a few weeks after Virginia
had seceded, in Petersburg, where so many tragic scenes
of the War took place later, Charles Weldon Collier was
born, his parents being James L. and Sue Dicson Collier.
While working as a printer in Petersburg he and his
wife, who before her marriage, which took place Novem-
ber 24, 1882, was Miss Ella V. Browne, the daughter
of George I. and Mary Goodwin Browne, were baptized
into the fellowship of the West End Baptist Church by
Rev. M. L. Wood. He at once became active in church
effort, and before long took up Y. M. C. A. work. From
this service he passed into the gospel ministry, being
ordained at his mother church December 29, 1892. He
went to Crozer Theological Seminary, where he gradu-
ated in 1894. At his ordination, which took place at the
West End Church, Petersburg, December 29, 1892, the
presbytery was composed of these ministers : J. C.
Hiden, J. M. Pilcher, and H. W. Battle. After his first
pastorate, which was at Wilmington, Del., he came back
to his native State and accepted the care of churches in
the Shiloh Association. During all the years of his
service in the Shiloh Association he was pastor of Mt.
Carmel and Woodville, and, for a large part of this
period, of Mt. Lebanon. For a portion of the decade
he spent in the Shiloh he was in charge of one or more
of these churches : Slate Mills, New Salem, Shiloh, Beth
Car, F. T., and Flint Hill. In 1905 he moved to the
Strawberry Association, becoming pastor of the Bedford
City Church. During the larger part of this pastorate
435
436 VIRGINIA BAPTIST MINISTERS
he ministered also to the Timber Ridge Church. While
he was at Bedford City he led his people to the erection
of a modern Sunday-school room and to securing a
parsonage. After some eight years here his health began
to give away, and he was called on to pass through
months of languishing and suffering. His earthly life
closed August 12, 1914, at Culpeper, Va. Mr. Collier
was tall, of fair complexion, dark hair and moustache,
and brown eyes. He had a bright, happy disposition,
loved his home, books, his many pets, and horses. He
was fond of flowers and music, and played the organ.
FREDERICK WILLIAM CLAYBROOK
1844-1914
In the Northern Neck of Virginia, at Heathsville,
Northumberland County, FYederick William Claybrook
was born August 3, 1844, his parents being Richard A.
Claybrook and Charlotte T. Brown. For the first twenty
years of his life his father's house, near Lotsburg, in his
native county, was his home. When this residence was
burned by the Union Army in 1864, the family moved
to Westmoreland County. Private tutors cared for the
training of the boy until he was old enough to enter the
Northumberland Academy. From this institution he
passed to the school of Mr. Hillary Jones, in Hanover
County, and from there to the Virginia Military Insti-
tute, Lexington, where he graduated in 1864. The story
of the Virginia Military Institute cadets who went to the
War and to the battle of New Market, May 15, 1864, is
famous in the annals of Virginia and the South. Young
Claybrook was one of this noble band, whose names are
enrolled on the stone monument "Virginia Mourning
Her Dead" in front of the Institute. He was Second
Lieutenant, D Company. He continued with the Con-
federate Army around Richmond until early in 1865,
when he joined Mosby's Battalion, with which command
he remained till the end of the War. After the War,
living at his home, "Afton," near The Hague, Westmore-
land County, he studied and practiced law for a few
years. In 1871 he made a profession of religion, and
later, it seems in 1873, was baptized into the fellowship
of the Machodoc Baptist Church, Westmoreland County.
The same year he entered the Southern Baptist Theo-
437
438 VIRGINIA BAPTIST MINISTERS
logical Seminary, Greenville, S. C., and was there until
the death of his father made it necessary for him to
return home so as to be able to care for his mother and
sister. He was ordained to the gospel ministry at his
mother church, Machodoc, on June 20, 1875, his ordina-
tion having been asked for by the Pope's Creek Church,
of which flock he took charge that same year. In his
ministry of some forty years he was to do good service
in the organization of churches and the building of
meeting-houses, and he here exercised his hand first at
this kind of work, organizing the Oak Grove Church, and
then first built and later improved their house of worship.
At Oak Grove and Pope's Creek he was "very popular
and successful." Farnham, Richmond County, and
Lebanon, Lancaster County, formed his next field; here
he remained several years, having "a successful and
popular ministry and endearing himself greatly to the
churches." In 1885, accepting a call of the Morattico
Church, Lancaster County, he began what was his long-
est and most fruitful pastorate. Upon his going to this
field, Irvington and White Stone were missions of the
Morattico Church ; but, largely because of his energy and
zeal, they soon became separate organizations. He estab-
lished preaching stations near Wicomoco and Weems
Churches, and for several years maintained such work at
Bluff Point. All this meant that two Sundays every
month he rode thirty-six miles, preaching three times. In
order to make this circuit, when the days were short, he
was obliged to eat a lunch on the road and to feed his
horse while he was preaching. At three points on this
field he saw erected houses of worship, and in a large
measure these churches : Oak Grove, Irvington, Clay-
brook (named after him), and Wicomoco, which "owe
their existence to his fine judgment, consecrated energy,
and the unwearying purpose of his soul to make his life
FREDERICK WILLIAM CLAYBROOK 439
count for his Master's service and glory." The new
meeting-house at Kilmarnock "is also a monument to his
pious zeal and practical sagacity." He was always on
time at his appointments, his work always gave him joy,
and he never worried. It was while he was at Morattico
that he organized the Wharton Grove Camp-Meeting, a
gathering over which he presided as long as his strength
would allow.
In the general work of the denomination, both in his
Association, the Rappahannock, and in the State, he was
deeply interested. He was a member of the State Mis-
sion Board and the Orphanage Board, and was regular
in his attendance at the Sunday School Convention, the
Ministers' Institute, and the Association, and in these
gatherings was a "prudent counselor and a clear and
forceful speaker." Dr. Beale, from whose obituary
quotations have already been made, says : "As a preacher
he was practical, direct, and hortatory in his style, not
ornate or given to imaginative flights, but deeply in
earnest, and his messages were from his heart appealing
to other hearts. His ability was recognized in his call to
preach an annual sermon before the General Association,
as also at a Commencement of the Virginia Military
Institute." Dr. Beale also says: "In his relation to his
brother ministers he was genial, cordial, and affectionate
in his manner, and a vein of delightful humor pervaded
and enriched his conversation. Against certain popular
and indiscreet amusements he inveighed in private and in
the pulpit, and whatever indulgences seemed to him
fraught with immoral tendencies found in him an alert
and steadfast foe. In his home life, love ruled supreme,
and found expression in the embrace and kiss of affection
in the family circle, which in far too many homes is
omitted." His habits were regular, he was an early
riser, and very industrious. He was fond of reading and
440 VIRGINIA BAPTIST MINISTERS
study, and, though he did not care for hunting, loved a
good horse. He gave close and strict attention to busi-
ness and other work that his hands found to do. He
loved children, and was manly and godly. One who
knew him well for many years says: "I could write a
book on his beautiful life." He was of medium size,
about five feet eight inches in height, erect in his carriage,
"of pleasing address, and good looking," his eyes and
hair being dark.
He was married twice ; first in January, 1 884, to Miss
Mary Franklin Dew, of King and Queen County, and in
1895 to Miss Nannie Garnett, of the same county. Five
children by the first marriage survive him, namely:
Frederick William, Franklin Dew, Mary Susan, Char-
lotte Edmonds, and Elizabeth Simmons, and of the
second marriage two children: Reuben Garnett and
Lilia F., and his widow.
For several years before his death his health was
declining, and finally a lingering illness kept him in bed
for months. During his illness he asked Dr. M. B.
Wharton, who was visiting him : "Wharton, where is
heaven?" He passed away at his home at Kilmarnock,
Lancaster County, August 14, 1914. The funeral, which
was held on the 16th at Kilmarnock Church, was con-
ducted by Rev. Wayland F. Dunaway, assisted by Rev.
H. J. Goodwin, and was attended by a great concourse
of people. The interment took place in the Morattico
Church cemetery.
SAMUEL P. MASSIE
1835-1914
Amherst County, which lies in Piedmont Virginia,
was the birthplace and, with adjoining counties, the
scene of the life work of Samuel P. Massie. The year
1835, which saw Texas declare its independence, was the
year of his birth. When the War broke out, in 1861, he
enlisted in Company I, 19th Virginia Regiment of
Infantry, Pickett's Division, and served to the end of
this struggle. At the close of the War he entered Rich-
mond College, where he was a student from 1866 to 1869,
to prepare for the gospel ministry. During these years,
when opportunity was given him to speak at Sidney Bap-
tist Church (Richmond), he displayed such remarkable
evangelistic gifts that he was invited to conduct a pro-
tracted meeting; this meeting resulted in a revival. He
was called to the pastorate of the church, and served
until the end of the session, being succeeded in this
office by Rev. J. M. Pilcher. The summer which
followed was filled with evangelistic work, and, not
returning to college, he settled among his own people.
For almost thirty years he was pastor and preacher in
the Albemarle Association, in which period he served
these churches : Mt. Moriah, Sharon, Mt. Paran, Walnut
Grove, Jonesboro, Piney River, Mt. Shiloh, Rose Union,
Midway, New Prospect, Central, Adiel, Oak Hill. After
his active work was over he continued to live at Lowes-
ville, and here he was buried. On October 2, 1914, he
passed away, leaving three children: C. G. Massie, a
civil engineer, P. R. Massie, a lawyer, and Mrs. Ella M.
Harvey. His wife, who died some five years before he
did, was, before her marriage, Miss Lucy Cox.
441
JOHN WALKER HUNDLEY
1841-1914
On April 14, 1841, John Walker Hundley was born
in King and Queen County, Virginia, his parents being
William Clarke Hundley and Marion Street Hundley.
His mother died when he was two years old, and he was
reared by his grandparents. They, being people of some
means, sent him to the best available schools "and
indulged him to the extent of badly spoiling him." In
1858 he became a student at Richmond College, and was
there until the War broke out in 1861.
"At outbreak of the War he was associated as teacher
with J. Adolphus Montague in an Academy for Boys at
Centerville. I will tell you of an incident which occurred
while he was teaching there which in after years amused
him greatly.
"In common with many young men at that time, he
was thirsting for an opportunity to display great valor
on the battlefield, and the great chance seemed at hand
when the news reached Centerville from Richmond that
the great Union man-of-war, Pawnee, was on its way up
the York River, spreading death and destruction as it
came.
"A council of war was called, and upon deciding that
something must be done immediately, my father was
posted off at 12 o'clock at night, with instructions to
ride under whip and spur to King and Queen Court
House, seventeen miles distant, to sound the alarm of
imminent peril and desolating war. And he relates that
no gallant knight ever rode forth to meet inevitable death
with more alacrity and eagerness than he. He arrived
442
JOHN WALKER HUNDLEY 443
at the courthouse at 2 o'clock, and the scene after the
alarm was given beggared description.
"All possible preparations were made for war, and a
day was spent with the tension on heart and nerve
drawn tight. Then brains cooled, and reason again held
sway; the panic-stricken crowd realized the supreme
ridiculousness of the United States Government sending
a great man-of-war upon the obscure little village, Cen-
terville, a place not known outside the county and not
upon the county map."
The death of his only sister, to whom he was greatly
attached, was one of the saddest afflictions of his life,
and it came when he was at home, sick, on a furlough.
He was Second Lieutenant of Company C, of the 26th
Virginia Regiment of Infantry, Wise's Brigade, N. B.
Street being Captain. He was publicly applauded for
gallantry in the battle of Nottoway Bridge. This
company was mustered into service at Gloucester Point,
it seems, on June 12, 1861. In 1876 he graduated at
the Crozer Theological Seminary, and having been
licensed to preach in May, 1874, he was ordained to the
full work of the gospel ministry in November, 1876, at
Mechanicsville Church, Virginia. He began his pastoral
work on the Eastern Shore of Virginia, his churches
being Modesttown and Chincoteague. While on this
field, as a missionary of the State Mission Board, he
organized, on July 1, 1877, with 12 members, the
Atlantic Baptist Church. That year he baptized 22 into
the fellowship of this new church, and, within a year or
so, 57 others. During his ministry in the Accomac Asso-
ciation he was pastor, for longer or shorter seasons,
besides the churches already named, of these churches:
Bethel, Lee Mont, Zion, Drummondtown, Pungoteague,
Onancock, Broadway. In 1890 he moved to Tarboro,
N. C., and, during a brief pastorate of the Baptist Church
444 VIRGINIA BAPTIST MINISTERS
in that town, built a meeting-house. He came back to
Virginia and worked for several years, in the Shenandoah
Association, as pastor at Martinsburg, W. Va. His next
service was first at Glade Spring and then at Marion.
From 1897 to 1904 he had charge of the Baptist Church
at Covington, Va. He was for several years the moder-
ator of the Augusta Association, to which body the
Covington Church belongs, and for a part of his life at
Covington he was pastor of the Healing Springs Church.
In the opinion of Rev. F. P. Berkley, who is now pastor
in Covington, Mr. Hundley "accomplished at Covington
the greatest results of his long and earnest ministry." In
1900 the church, under his leadership, commenced the
erection of a beautiful and commodious house of wor-
ship, which was dedicated on April 6, 1902. Rev. Mr.
Berkley says: "I am sure that no pastor has ever lived
in Covington who touched the hearts of the people and
gained and retained their affections and respect to the
extent of our beloved brother." From Covington he
went once more to the Eastern Shore, becoming now the
pastor of the Cape Charles Church. His last pastorate
was at Pocomoke City, Md. After leaving this place,
and giving up the active service of the pastorate because
of feeble health, he came back to Covington, where he
was among loved ones and friends. Here he passed
away at the home of his daughter, Mrs. W. A. Rinehart,
October 21, 1914.
His wife, to whom he was married March 23, 1865,
was Miss Virginia M. Quarles, of Louisa County. She
preceded him to the grave, passing away February 29,
1912. Of this union there were born seven children,
namely : Marion Lee, Henry Rhodes, Augusta, Susy
Quarles, Virginia, Lois, and John Walker Hundley, Jr.
Marion Lee died November 15, 1890; Lois, who was
then Mrs. E. S. Porter, passed away October 15, 1903;
JOHN WALKER HUNDLEY 445
and John Walker, Jr., departed this life November 19,
1913. Susan Quarles is now the wife of Mr. R. A.
McCoy, Virginia the wife of Mr. Claude Rhame, and
Augusta the wife of Mr. W. A. Rinehart.
Rev. Mr. Berkley says: "Brother Hundley was a very
strong preacher, clear in the expression of his thoughts,
Scriptural in his conception of truth, exceedingly tender
in his disposition ; as gentle and pure in speech as a
woman ; very modest of his own powers, and kind and
affectionate in his dealings with others; a man whom
it was no task to love ; a friend whom one could not help
trusting fully. He was a little over the average height,
possibly six feet, or six feet two inches, when he was
in good health. He weighed, I suppose, nearly two
hundred when he was well and in active life. He was
remarkably handsome, both in figure and face. He had
one of the finest shaped noses I ever saw, very clearly
cut, and his eyes were striking in their tenderness when
that quality was necessary, and yet they could almost
blaze if occasion arose for any expression of disapproval.
Brother Hundley's appearance in the pulpit was easy and
commanding. He possessed a charming voice and a very
attractive style. His feet and hands were shapely, and
he never appeared, so far as I could judge, in the slight-
est degree slovenly or unkept ; not even in his last sick-
ness did his keen sense of cleanliness in person and in
speech desert him. He was as modest as a woman." In
his home, while not demonstrative and not without a
degree of timidity, he was companionable, and hospitable
even to the extent of going out and compelling guests to
come in. He enjoyed outdoor life and sports, and was a
skilled gardener, and even after he was in a measure
broken by disease, loved to see a good game of baseball.
He was in the habit of having family worship just before,
and of reading his Bible in his room just after, breakfast.
SUPPLEMENT
Some of the sketches in the Supplement are not in the body of
the book because the material necessary for their writing was re-
ceived after the larger part of this volume was in type.
HENRY DUNDAS DOUGLAS STRATON
1836-1897
In the little village of Bannockburn, Stirlingshire,
Scotland, on August 14, 1836, Henry Dundas Douglas
Straton first saw the light. Since the piety and devotion
to books of even the peasant homes of Scotland are
proverbial, it is not surprising that although his parents
were in humble circumstances, they gave their son a good
common schooling and reared him in the nurture and
admonition of the Lord. And must not the exploits of
William Wallace and Robert Bruce, associated with
Stirlingshire, have stirred the soul of the boy? Was it
not at Bannockburn, his birthplace, that on June 24,
1314, the Scots, thirty thousand strong, under Bruce,
defeated the English army, one hundred thousand strong,
under Edward II ? When, as a youth, sixteen years old,
he went to Falkirk and became a clerk in a dry-goods
store, he must have been interested in the old Roman wall
that runs through that town. At one end of the county
is Loch Katrine, and further south Loch Lomond, while
the scenery of the rest of the shire takes its charm from
the views of the valley of the Forth, with its winding
river and the peaks of the Grampians in the distance.
During the four years spent in the store in Falkirk the
young man was led, by the pious example of a com-
panion, to accept Christ, and from this time forward he
446
HENRY DUNDAS DOUGLAS STRATON 447
found pleasure in distributing tracts and in explaining
and enforcing the Scriptures among the poor and igno-
rant, in private homes, in the Sunday school, and else-
where. After leaving Falkirk he taught school for a
year in Stirling, and then, when he was twenty-one,
applied for the appointment as city missionary for one
of the largest Presbyterian churches in Glasgow. The
test to which he was subjected, he passed successfully,
and for three years he worked among the destitute classes
of this city, attending, at the same time, classes in
Hebrew, Latin, Moral Philosophy, Greek, and Logic, in
the University of Glasgow. The year that he commenced
this work was the very year that John G. Paton gave
up exactly this kind of work in Glasgow to go as a
missionary to the New Hebrides; whether they served
the same church is not known. After satisfactory
examinations at Glasgow he entered the United Presby-
terian Theological Hall at Edinburgh, where he con-
tinued his theological studies for three terms. His
parents had emigrated to Australia, and he planned to
follow them, but in some way his steps were turned
towards America, and in January, 1865, he landed at
Philadelphia. His purpose had been to run the blockade
to Selma, Ala., but this plan having failed, at the end of
the Civil War he came to Virginia, and for some time
canvassed various counties as a book agent. In Cumber-
land County he met Rev. Jesse Clopton Perkins, the
pastor of Forks of Willis Church, and while a meeting
was going on in this church, he was led, through inter-
course with Mr. Perkins, to a complete change of his
views as to baptism. He was baptized in James River by
Mr. Perkins, and later a presbytery consisting of Elders
Cornelius Tyree, Jesse Clopton Perkins, W. Hall, and
W. A. Whitescarver, ordained him to the Baptist min-
istry. On December 12, 1866, he was married to Miss
448 VIRGINIA BAPTIST MINISTERS
Julia R. Carter, of Richmond, and soon after this he
became pastor, in the Dover Association, of the Hebron
Church, King William County. After some two years at
this church he became a missionary of the State Mission
Board, and, while working for the Board, organized the
Baptist Church of the town of Salem. This event took
place on May 29, 1870. After a sermon by Rev. Gabriel
Gray, eighteen persons, seven male and eleven female,
went into the organization of the church, adopting their
covenant, rules of order and decorum, and electing their
officers. H. D. D. Straton was elected pastor, Jno. M.
Harlowe, clerk, and Jno. M. Evans, treasurer. On
November 12, 1870, Mr. Straton resigned the care of the
Salem Church. Seven years were now spent in Ken-
tucky, his field being Taylorsville, Buck Creek, and
Henderson, in Kentucky, and Evansville, in Indiana. In
1878 he accepted a call to Greensboro, Ga., one Sunday
each month being given to Bairdstown. From this field
he went to the pastorate of the First Church, Monroe,
Ga. And from Monroe he moved to Atlanta, being
pastor in that city first of the Jones Avenue Church and
then of the Central Avenue Church. He died at Monti-
cello, January 31, 1897. Rev. John Roach Straton,
D. D., pastor of the First Baptist Church, Norfolk, Va.,
is his son.
RICHARD HENRY EDMONDS
1831-1858
Two old daguerreotypes and a diary kept for some
three years are as windows to the character and brief
career of Richard Henry Edmonds. One of these
pictures was taken when he was about eighteen and the
other when he was twenty-three years old. They show a
mass of soft hair, a forehead of unusual height and
width, and full, lustrous eyes. The mouth is large and
well shaped, and about the whole face there is an expres-
sion of blended gentleness and intelligence. Sweetness
and guilelessness are in every lineament. The diary,
begun when he was nineteen, reminds one of David
Brainerd and other men famous for their piety, for it
abounds in humble contrition for sin and cries for cleans-
ing. Indeed, so strong are the words of self -depreciation
and accusation that by themselves they would describe a
desperately wicked man. The face that looks out from
the old pictures contradicts such an opinion. So we are
led to believe in his piety. In this diary he declares that
his "standard of piety is too low," and that he feels, "to
a lamentable extent, that all is not right within," and
that one night he was "beset and well-nigh overthrown
by a well-timed temptation from the adversary" of his
soul. He "experiences great spiritual darkness," and
records his wicked transactions of the day "with shame,
with sorrow, and with bitter reflections." He is
"pestered" as to the question of young ladies' society,
whether it is not hurtful to the spiritual life. Yet at this
time he was attending church regularly, usually three
times on Sunday, was often the leader of the sunrise
prayer-meeting, was a teacher in the Sunday school, and
449
2f
450 VIRGINIA BAPTIST MINISTERS
one of a group of young men who organized a Young
Men's Missionary Society. He was in the habit of
visiting the sick and of talking with the unconverted
about their souls' welfare. All this time he was engaged
in a business that gave him his living, but where he was
surrounded by men who were very profane. Before the
diary closes the question of his giving up his business to
prepare for the ministry was a burning issue. On Octo-
ber 13, 1850, he was licensed by his church to preach, and
in Norfolk and elsewhere, although he had had no college
or theological training, he often proclaimed the glad tid-
ings of salvation.
As a boy, in his native county of Lancaster, he made
a profession of religion, and at the age of thirteen was
baptized by Rev. Addison Hall. Afterwards he was not
sure whether this experience was genuine, but later, in
Norfolk, he made a surrender to Christ, the genuineness
of which he never questioned. During his life in Nor-
folk, while an apprentice to a Mr. Hall, he came into
intimate touch with the Rev. Dr. Charles R. Hendrick-
son, who had been called to the First Baptist Church, his
church, in 1846. He also heard such men as Rev.
Reuben Jones, Dr. Tiberius Gracchus Jones, and Dr. Kirk
preach, and usually he set down the texts of the sermons.
While he was at work at his daily business he also
gave himself to study. His older brother, now a capable
lawyer in Texas, says that in those days, when they
studied together, the younger lad got in one night what
it took the older a week to acquire. The father died
when young Edmonds was just a lad, and he came to
Norfolk and went to work. During these years the
city, visited and desolated by the cholera, one fourth day
of August gave itself to fasting and prayer. This
observance, as well as the celebration of the anniversary
of the battle of Yorktown and the commemoration of
the death of the Ex-President, J. K. Polk, might well
RICHARD HENRY EDMONDS 451
make a deep impression on this youth. He heard of the
death, by cholera, of his brother, and in his diary
recorded the hope that he was "ready to go into the mar-
riage supper of the Lamb." At another place he records
the conversion of another brother. While he never came
to be the regular pastor of any church, his love for
preaching is distinctly seen in the way that he preached
even when his business engaged his time day after day.
Towards the close of his diary, again and again he speaks
of having preached. Indeed, he was pressed by the ques-
tion whether he ought not to be a missionary to the
Indians. His health, that showed signs of giving way,
added another factor in the problem as to his duty, he
was trying to solve.
He was never to come to the full service of a minister
of the gospel, yet the message of his brief life is clear
and strong for devotion to God and for purity and
prayer. In such a busy day as the one in which we live,
such a call to consecration may well be heeded. Since
there was no line of vessels making between Norfolk and
Lancaster, his boyhood home, he fell on the habit of
traveling the sixty or more miles across the wild, and
often stormy, Chesapeake Bay, in a little sailboat, all by
himself. A night and a day on the Bay in this boat,
where, being becalmed, he was exposed to the hot sun
and then to the cool night, brought on the illness of
which, in a few weeks, he died.
His parents were Rev. Elias and Anna Lackey
Edmonds. He was born Janpary 19, 1831. On Decem-
ber 1, 1852, he was married by Rev. Reuben Jones to
Miss Mary Eliza Ashley, daughter of William and Mary
Elizabeth Ashley. Three children were born of this
union, namely: William Henry, Mary Elizabeth, and
Richard Hathaway. Mr. Edmonds died in Norfolk on
July 23, 1858, and almost forty years afterwards, on
March 28, 1898, his widow followed him to the grave.
JAMES D. COLEMAN
1878
On November 21, 1878, Rev. James D. Coleman was
suddenly called away by death. "The last act of his
earthly life was to walk in the garden and gather some
flowers, and then he returned to the house and went into
his chamber, threw himself on the bed, died instantly, and
went into the paradise of God to gather fruit from the
tree of life, which grows on either side of the river of
life." He was the son of Thomas B. and Elizabeth Cole-
man (nee Coghill), and was born, it seems, at "Concord
Farm," Caroline County, Virginia. The place where
Concord Academy was located was an estate of 1,600
acres. Here Mr. Coleman lived and farmed for many
years, owning a number of slaves. In Caroline County
his work as a minister of the gospel was done. In this
county he was pastor of these five churches: Carmel,
Bethel, Bethesda, Liberty, and Round Oak. As early as
1855 he was pastor of the first of these churches, with its
508 members. Of the second of these churches he was
pastor for over twenty-five years, and of the other three
for many years.
Rev. T. S. Dunaway knew Mr. Coleman for more than
a decade, having been associated with him in protracted
meetings, and having spent days at a time in Mr. Cole-
man's home. He wrote, after Mr. Coleman's death, a
sketch of him for the Religious Herald. In this sketch
he said : "As a man, in his physique, he was a noble speci-
men of the race. Unusually tall, well proportioned and
erect, his personal presence was most commanding. In
almost any assembly, however large or distinguished, he
452
JAMES D. COLEMAN 453
would have been a marked and an observed man. He
looked like one of nature's noblemen, born for a leader
and ruler. In his deportment he was dignified and polite,
unostentatiously impressing himself upon you as a cul-
tured gentleman. In character and temperament he was
frank, sanguine, and resolute. He was a man of deep
convictions, strong will, and inflexible purpose. He
could not be swerved from any purpose or opinion
except by convincing his judgment. All his traits of
character were of the positive sort. Bold and ingenuous,
he was incapable of dissembling. While by nature made
of the 'sterner stuff' of which martyrs are made, yet,
under the softening touch of divine grace, he had a
tender heart, an affectionate disposition, and a warm
and sympathetic manner. . . . He had great confi-
dence in the efficacy of prayer, and loved the mercy-seat.
In a word, he was a consecrated man. One of his most
intelligent church members writes of him thus : 'For the
past twelve years he has neglected his farm and all
worldly interests and devoted himself exclusively to his
ministerial duties. His favorite themes were faith in
Christ and the atonement so full and so complete.'
All of his sermons, which were methodically
arranged, showed study, thought, and great familiarity
with the Bible and other books. . . . His preaching
was well adapted both to edify Christians and to awaken
sinners. He frequently held protracted meetings in his
own churches without any ministerial aid, and generally
with great success in winning souls to Christ.
He was ardently attached to his members. . . . The
sick were visited by him, and to the afflicted he adminis-
tered consolation. ... It was at the bedside of a
dying woman that he was attacked with the disease from
which he never recovered. He went, the next day, the
fourth Sunday in December, 1877, and preached, in great
454 VIRGINIA BAPTIST MINISTERS
pain, the last sermon he ever delivered, which was one of
unusual unction and power. Elder Coleman wielded a
mighty influence in his immediate field of labor and in
the Goshen Association, over which he presided as
moderator for nine consecutive years. . . . Had he
sought a more prominent place in the denomination and
a more extended influence, and attended more frequently
our general meetings, his talents and piety would have
secured for him a place among the foremost of the Bap-
tist ministers of the South."
CHARLES HILL RYLAND
1836-1914
The first building at Westhampton, the home of
Greater Richmond College, formally named by the
Trustees, perpetuates the memory of the first President
of the College, and of Charles Hill Ryland. In the last
article that Dr. Ryland ever wrote for publication he told
how Robert Burns, upon entering a new home, had the
little servant go in first, bearing a bowl of salt and the big
Bible, and suggested "that the formality of the opening
at Westhampton include a revival of this unique old
Scottish ceremony ; that some servant of the corporation
be commissioned to bear through the open portals of the
iit'w home a copy of the Bible, which is the source book
of all true wisdom, and a bowl of salt, representing the
preserving grace of God, while a proud and rejoicing
throng of officers, faculty, students, and other representa-
tives of the great family of interested friends, shall take
possession of the Temple of Learning, in the name of
our Lord." And to a loved one he said : "I would love
to bear them, when we move." But it was not to be so.
Just a few weeks before the first session began at West-
hampton he passed away. It would have been fortunate
if he could have seen the work as it started as the new
site, for, with all his associations with the past, he was
deeply interested in the plans for larger things. Still, in
a way, it was significant that his life closed exactly with
the close of the career of the College at the old location.
For forty years he served Richmond College with loyal
heart and willing hands. In 1874 lie was elected to the
position of Secretary and Treasurer of the College, and
455
456 VIRGINIA BAPTIST MINISTERS
this position he laid down after thirty-seven years; but
until the end of his life he continued with the institution
that he loved so well, being still Secretary of the Board
of Trustees and Librarian of the College.
While Dr. Ryland will be remembered for many other
things his name will be forever especially associated with
Richmond College. He was deeply interested in the stu-
dents and was greatly beloved by them. Many of them
counted his influence in their lives one of the best assets
that their college days gave them. In 1913 the Spider,
the College annual, was dedicated to him, the dedication
telling of how "by his strong character, his wisdom, his
great practical ability, and his unfailing Christian
courtesy" he won "the love and confidence of thousands
of men and women in and out of Virginia," and of how
he daily illustrated to many generations of college stu-
dents "the shining virtues of noble living, unflagging
energy, clear and sound thinking, and unselfish devotion
to the cause of Christian Education." His career as
Treasurer was a most remarkable one. The tragic story
of institutions of learning where mistakes have been made
in financial policy, and where bad investments have proved
fatal, stands in marked contrast to the history in these
matters for forty years of Richmond College, and this
wonderful record was in no small part due to the
devotion, the painstaking care, and the sound judgment
of Dr. Ryland. Practically not a dollar was lost in all
these years. It was an interesting occasion when, at the
close of his treasureship, he handed over to Mr. B. West
Tabb, his successor, the securities of the College. The
transfer took a whole day. There were present, besides
the outgoing and the incoming treasurers, the Chairman
of the Finance Committee of the College, the President
of the College, and an expert accountant of the American
Audit Company. "The conscientious fidelity of the
CHARLES HILL RYLAND 457
chairman and the accuracy of the accountant would have
satisfied the Treasury of the United States. Every
separate paper was opened and scrutinized. It was a
pleasure also to see the scrupulous care with which all
the securities of the College had been kept. Every bond
was in its proper place, every coupon was accounted for,
and all books balanced to the cent." When Dr. Ryland
had taken charge, the assets of the College were so much
smaller that the transfer was a simple matter. When
Dr. Ryland became treasurer, the Endowment Fund of
the College was $75,000, and when he laid down the
work, it was $640,000. While Dr. Ryland was ever the
friend of progress and enlargement in the work of the
College, he never was willing to set such a pace as to
jeopardize the resources of the College, or to threaten a
sound financial basis. Again and again in the meetings
of the Trustees his voice sounded out this note. While
constantly careful about these great matters he had time
and thought for things seemingly, in comparison, unim-
portant, and yet not unimportant. His record of the
meetings of the Trustees of the College was full and
accurate. At the Commencement of the College in June,
1907, through Dr. I. B. Lake the College was presented
by some of its friends with an oil portrait of Dr. Ryland.
The College was always on Dr. Ryland's heart, and the
last thing that he ever wrote for publication was a brief
summary of some important events in the history of the
College, and at the time of his death he was at work upon
an historical sketch of the College, and a brief biography
of Dr. Robert Ryland.
Not alone in the life of the College did the influence
of Dr. Ryland count among Virginia, and Southern
Baptists, for good. Before going to the College, and
during most of his years there, he wrought as a pastor
and preacher. He was sent forth into the ministry by
his mother church, Bruington, King and Queen County,
458 VIRGINIA BAPTIST MINISTERS
being ordained May 30, 1863. The presbytery was com-
posed of these ministers : Richard Hugh Bagby, Andrew
Broaddus, J. R. Garlick, J. H. Fox, and Alfred Bagby.
A letter from the first of these ministers had urged the
young man to consider the claims of the ministry, and
this letter had had a sympathetic reply, and doubtless had
no little to do with the life choice he made. Before his
ordination he went, first as a missionary from Bruington
to the Confederate Army, and then served as colporteur
for the Army Colportage Board until the War closed.
In 1865 he became pastor of Carmel Church, Caroline
County, an organization that was once known as
"Burrus," and, at even an earlier date, as Polecat. He
gave up this field to take charge of the Baptist Sunday
School work of the State, and from December, 1869, to
January 17, 1874, was the beloved and successful pastor
of the First Baptist Church in Alexandria, succeeding in
this place Rev. E. J. Willis, and being followed by Rev.
W. S. Penick. In 1870 Dr. Richard Hugh Bagby died,
and Bruington "promptly and persistently" called Dr.
Ryland to be their pastor. This and other calls to Selma,
Leigh Street (Richmond), and Atlanta he declined. In
1879, in connection with his work at the College, he be-
came pastor of the Taylorsville Church. After some nine
years he gave up the Taylorsville Church, but continued
to serve the Walnut Grove Church. In 1907, when he
resigned this church after a pastorate of twenty-five
years, the gift of a loving-cup gave expression to the
devotion of this people. Dr. Ryland was always an in-
teresting and forceful speaker and a good preacher.
Rev. S. M. Province tells of a sermon that Dr. Ryland
preached in 1867 at the Lebanon Association from the
text: ''In the Lord put I my trust: how say ye to my
soul, Flee as a bird to your mountain?" (Psalm 11 :1),
which proved "one of the great hours" of this hearer's
CHARLES HILL RYLAND 459
life. Another sermon that Dr. Ryland preached was
epochal in the history of Virginia Baptists. It was the
introductory sermon before the General Association in
1882. The year before Dr. Ryland had been chairman
of a committee of twenty-two appointed "to devise plans
for securing more active cooperation between churches,
District Associations, and this body." The sermon led
to the establishment of the Committee on Cooperation, a
committee that has meant so much for the development
of Virginia Baptists along the lines of beneficence. A
resolution offered by Dr. Ryland, at the General Asso-
ciation in Staunton, in 1873, led to the "Memorial Move-
ment" of 1873. An address before the Alumni led to his
being called to become Financial Secretary ; and this office
he accepted, taking up its work January, 1 874. Dr. Beale
called attention, in his obituary, to the fact that Dr.
Ryland was the founder of the Virginia Baptist His-
torical Society, and from 1881 until his death its secre-
tary, and then said : "He did more for the discovery and
preservation of the materials of our denominational his-
tory than any other man of his day. He was more active
than any other in inducing churches to observe centennial
services with a view to compiling and placing on record
the events of their history; he was instrumental in
securing, in connection with the General Association,
perhaps all the strictly historical meetings that have been
held. His devotion to the work burned like a holy fire
on the altar of his heart, till strength and life failed him,
and the future historian of Virginia Baptists will pause
at times amidst his toilsome task to take heart over the
help received from him, and to breathe a grateful bene-
diction on the name of Charles Hill Ryland." Dr. Ry-
land was a safe and helpful counselor, and many sought
his advice, believing at once in his ability to see a question
from all sides, and in his sincerity and unselfishness. A
certain Baptist pastor went to him at a crisis in his life,
and came away from the interview helped, and more than
460 VIRGINIA BAPTIST MINISTERS
ever assured of the guidance that God gives to those who
want to walk in the way the Heavenly Father would
have them go. Once in the early ministry of Dr. Ryland,
as he and the family of a brother preacher were leaving
the train at Variety Springs, in the Blue Ridge Moun-
tains, if it had not been for his quick grasp, a little
daughter of the other preacher would have rolled down
a steep embankment ; this seems a simple incident, but it
has its lesson: Dr. Ryland went through life reaching
out the kindly hand of help.
Dr. Ryland was born at Norwood, King and Queen
County, Virginia, January 22, 1836, his parents being
Samuel Peachy and Catherine Gaines Hill Ryland.
After attending Fleetwood Academy he entered Rich-
mond College in 1854. From Richmond College he
passed to the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary,
in 1859, being one of the ten men whom Virginia sent
to this the first session of the Seminary.* On January
11, 1911, Founders' Day, Dr. Ryland delivered an ad-
dress, at Louisville, to the Seminary students and Faculty,
''Recollections of the First Year of the Southern Baptist
Theological Seminary." In this address he told of how
the students had great discussions as to who was the
better preacher, Dr. Williams or Dr. Broadus. One Sun-
day, when these two men were supplying the Greenville
Church pulpit, Dr. Ryland's roommate, J. D. Witt,
came back from the night service, having heard both
these professors that day, and said : "Oh, Ryland, they
beat each other every time." One morning Dr. Boyce's
class in Systematic Theology was late. They explained
that they had not had any breakfast, but that they had
come anyhow. Dr. Boyce said they had done well to
come, then excused himself for a few moments, and
then the lesson went on. At the end of the hour, Dr.
Boyce invited them into the next room, where he had
*See list of these students, p. 161.
CHARLES HILL RYLAND 461
for them a delightful breakfast from his own table.
Dr. Ryland was married on October 28, 1869, to Miss
Alice Marion Garnett, the daughter of Dr. John Muscoe
Garnett, of "Lanefield," King and Queen County. Dr.
Ryland died August 1, 1914, at his home, Richmond.
The funeral service that was held at the home was con-
ducted by Rev. Dr. W. W. Landrum. Dr. Landrum
began his remarks with these words: "Nearly eighty
years of unsullied life and unselfish service.'* The burial
was in Hollywood. On Sunday, November 15, 1914, a
memorial service was held at Richmond College, when
President F. W. Boatwright, Mr. George T. Terrill (one
of the students), and Dr. R. H. Pitt spoke, and Hon.
J. Taylor Ellyson read resolutions adopted by the Board
of Trustees. Dr. Ryland's wife and these children
survive him: Julia Brooke (Mrs. Ryland Knight),
Annie E. (Mrs. James Hoge Ricks), Marion Garnett,
Garnett, S. P. Ryland, III ; C. H., Jr. ; John M. Garnett.
Dr. Beale, in his obituary read before the General As-
sociation in Bristol, said: "Dr. Ryland was most efficient
and valuable, not with respect only to the management
and prudent use of the funds committed to his care, but
also to those endeavors, methods, and policies whereby
additional funds might be secured. Not in the public
canvasses, which augmented the revenues of the College,
merely, but in private ways by word and by letter, he
rendered aid in this matter.
"His eye was on the grounds and buildings for their
care and preservation from defacement or injury; his
hand was busy in the arrangement, classification, and
protection of the Library, and was not less so with respect
to the portraits, the specimens, and other treasures of the
museum. In fact, over the College and all its equipment,
everywhere, his spirit brooded with a loving and un-
wearied interest. He stood as a sentinel on the high
tower of our educational wall, ever on the alert, ever
watchful to the last."
ROBERT JOSIAH WILLINGHAM
1854-1914
Dr. George Mosse, an Irishman and a graduate of the
University of Dublin, married Miss Phoebe Norton, of
St. Helena Island, S. C, and a daughter of this union,
Miss Jane, became the wife of Benjamin Themistocles
Lawton. A daughter of Mr. Lawton, Miss Phoebe, be-
came the wife of Thomas Willingham, and these were
the parents of Benjamin Lawton Willingham. In 1848
Mr. Benjamin Lawton Willingham was married to Miss
E. M. Baynard, the daughter of a wealthy planter of
Beaufort, S. C. Her mother was a noble Christian
woman, and her life useful and beautiful, spent in the
bosom of her family. Miss Baynard was educated at
Beaufort and Charleston, and at the age of fourteen was
baptized by Dr. Richard Fuller. She was a woman of
"marked intelligence and deep piety." Her home was
her kingdom, she was the companion of her children,
and, though gentle, her wish was law. Her husband was
a remarkable man. He was a native of Beaufort
District, South Carolina, and was educated at the South
Carolina Military School, Charleston. He became a man
of striking personality, strong will, a leader of men, a
tower of strength in his church, respected and esteemed
by his community. To this husband and wife nine sons
and four daughters were born. The third son of this
large family, Robert Josiah, first saw the light May 15,
1854, in Beaufort District, South Carolina. About a
year after this event the family moved to Allendale,
Barnwell County, and here, save for brief intervals, the
early years of Robert Willingham were spent. "Gravel
Hill," the Willingham residence, near Allendale, was a
462
ROBERT JOSIAH WILLINGHAM 463
large, comfortable, old-fashioned house, with big porches,
big attic, and high chimneys. The meeting-house of
Concord Church, where the family worshiped, was a
substantial but plain frame building, with the entrance
on the side, and was about three miles from "Gravel
Hill." The Sunday school knew nothing of "lesson
helps" and "graded lessons," but catechisms were so used
that the children learned from them the real gist of the
gospel, and along with the catechisms went learning by
heart many verses from the Bible; hymns were also
committed to memory. One day the superintendent
announced that the scholars must all learn by heart all of
the hymn "From Greenland's Icy Mountains." There
was one little boy there that day who thought that he
was so small he would not be expected to learn this
hymn, but in this he was mistaken. It was his mother's
custom, on the way home from church on Sunday, to
talk to the children about the sermon and the lessons of
the day, and at this time she also taught them hymns.
So Sabbath after Sabbath the hymn was worked at until
the little boy was able to stand up before the whole school
and recite it. Especially did these lines
"Shall we whose souls are lighted
With wisdom from on high,
Shall we to men benighted
The lamp of life deny?"
rivet themselves upon the heart of the boy. As the
years came and went they rang in his memory, and no
doubt had much to do with making him at last a great
mission secretary. The two brothers, Calder and Robert,
were nearly the same age, and as boys they ate, slept,
studied, played, and prayed together, and on the fourth
Sunday in August, 1867, both were baptized by Rev.
Joseph A. Lawton.
In the fall of 1868 Robert entered the University of
Georgia, Athens. In 1873, after four years in the Uni-
464 VIRGINIA BAPTIST MINISTERS
versity, and one year in the middle of his college course
spent in business, he was graduated. The next four
years were given to teaching and to business. His father
was now a resident of Macon, Ga., and Robert became
first assistant and then Principal of the Macon High
School. In June, 1877, he entered his father's cotton
warehouse and commenced to study law at night. On
September 8, 1877, he was married to Miss Sarah
Corneille Bacon, the beautiful and accomplished daughter
of Robert and Belle Walton Bacon, of Albany, Ga. Now
a crisis came in the young man's life. He heard a call.
One day, as he was sitting on a street car waiting for it
to start, Deacon Walker, his head white and his form
bowed, came in. Presently the old man said : "My young
brother, has it ever occurred to you that God wants you
in some other business than that in which you are now
engaged?" The young man looked up and answered:
"Why do you ask such a question?" "Because," said
the deacon, "I have an idea that God wants you to
preach." The young man, thinking that some of his
kin people had been talking to the old gentleman, said:
"Who has been talking to you about this?" "No one,"
replied the deacon: "I have simply been impressed this
way, and thought I would mention it to you." The same
impression had already come to the young man, and not
long after this conversation, in front of his father's
counting house, he said to his father: "I believe, after
all, I will have to preach. I can not get around it. The
conviction is on me by day and by night. I want to do
what God wants me to do, and I am impressed that to
preach is His will." At these words great tears ran down
his father's cheeks as he said : "Why, my boy, the evening
you were born I prayed for that. I went aside into the
little shed room of our home and prayed God, if it was
His will, to make you a preacher of the gospel; but my
ROBERT JOSIAH WILLINGHAM 465
faith had grown very weak." So weak had the father's
faith grown that, as his sons grew up and as he saw
Robert's turn for business, he was wont to say: "R. J.
will be one day the richest of my boys." On December
19, 1877, the young man was licensed to preach by the
First Baptist Church, Macon, and the first day of the fol-
lowing January, having left his family in Macon, he
reached Louisville to enter the Southern Baptist Theo-
logical Seminary. He preached his first sermon January
28, 1878, and on June 2, 1878, was ordained, at the First
Baptist Church, Macon, the presbytery being composed
of these ministers : Drs. T. E. Skinner, S. Boykin, A. J.
Battle, J. J. Brantley, and T. C. Teasdale. His second
year at the Seminary, Mr. Willingham had his family
with him. Before this session was out, however, he
accepted a call to the Talbotton (Georgia) Church. For
part of his time at Talbotton he served also Geneva,
Valley Grove, and Thomaston Churches. To reach his
Thomaston appointment he had to drive twenty miles.
Barnesville was his next pastorate. Here he found the
Baptists weak and discouraged, but before his pastorate
came to an end a spendid meeting-house costing $9,000
had been built and paid for, and the membership largely
increased. In 1887 he received two calls, one to the First
Church, Houston, Texas, and the other to the First
Church, Chattanooga, Tenn. He accepted the call to
Chattanooga, and during the four years of his pastorate
there led his people in the erection of a handsome stone
meeting-house that cost some $50,000, and received into
the church 496 members. During this pastorate he was
given the degree of Doctor of Divinity from Mossy
Creek (now Carson-Newman) College, and took a trip
to Europe, Egypt, and Palestine. Towards the close of
1891 he became pastor of the First Church, Memphis,
Tenn. This charge continued a year and nine months,
466 VIRGINIA BAPTIST MINISTERS
and from Memphis he moved to Richmond to assume the
secretaryship of the Foreign Mission Board, a work to
which he was to give some twenty-one years of his life,
and render the greatest service of his ministry. It is
interesting to remember that all through his fifteen years
as pastor and preacher, up to the time when he took
charge of the arduous duties in Richmond, he was always
the zealous champion of Foreign Missions. An examina-
tion of numerous associational minutes shows that at
almost every session of the district and State gatherings
of which he was a member he made the report or spoke
on missions. Long before the Laymen's Movement he
called special attention to the obligation of laymen in the
matter of education and giving. At the Tennessee Con-
vention, in 1889, in his report on Foreign Missions, he
said : "Our pastors should preach and teach that the
people should know. Our leading laymen should empha-
size by word and deed the truth taught, while every
Christian should seek and use the many sources of in-
formation now so easily obtained. . . . Besides this,
we need system. Not sporadic, spasmotic, high-pressure
effort for giving, but regular, faithful worship of God in
this grace also. . . . Every church should have a
committee of one or more whose special duty it should
be to see that Foreign Missions is faithfully presented to
the people, and that they are urged to give of their means
to its prosecution."
In becoming Corresponding Secretary of the Foreign
Mission Board of the Southern Baptist Convention, Dr.
Willingham was the third to hold this office, his prede-
cessors being James B. Taylor and H. A. Tupper. For
his work he had a remarkable combination of physical
and spiritual power, with an inherited gift for business
affairs. Upon coming to Richmond he was in the full
tide of a vigorous manhood. He was a man of com-
ROBERT JOSIAH WILLINGHAM 467
manding appearance. He was six feet one inch tall and
weighed some 250 pounds. He would have attracted
attention in any crowd. A few years later, when he was
setting out to go around the world and visit the various
mission stations of his Board, he was on the Minnesota,
the ship that carried Mr. Taft, who was then Secretary
of War, and was going on business of the United States
to the Philippines. A picture of the two men was taken
under which was written : "Secretary of War and
Secretary of Peace." And there was little to choose
between the two men as to nobility of appearance and
carriage. Dr. Willingham was a fine business man. One
of a group of brothers all of them remarkable for their
business ability, his brother Broadus said of him: "Bob
is the best business man of us all. If he had turned his
attention to money-making he would have been the
richest." Before entering the ministry he had put away
a goodly sum for when men have to depend on their sav-
ings to live. Dr. T. P. Bell says that while Dr. Willing-
ham was Secretary he laid all this on the Master's altar.
He resisted efforts to increase his salary, and always kept
his salary $500 behind any other secretary of any Board
of the Convention. Under his leadership the gifts of
Southern Baptists to Foreign Missions rose in these
twenty-one years from $106,332, in 1893, to $587,458,
in 1914. Dr. Willingham brought to his task in Rich-
mond the enthusiasm of a great heart, a genuine and
absorbing piety, and a commanding and resolute will.
The work of a world-wide evangelization became the
passion of his soul. In the secret chambers of his life,
and in the presence of great multitudes, he believed in
the power of prayer and the need of the Holy Spirit.
His public addresses for missions were powerful chiefly,
perhaps, because those who heard him believed so fully
in the sincerity and earnestness of the man. It was not
468 VIRGINIA BAPTIST MINISTERS
an uncommon thing to see him and his audience with
tears flowing down their faces, as they planned and
pledged for greater things for God and His kingdom.
His faith was simple and strong. "He believed sincerely
that men everywhere are hopelessly lost without a saving
knowledge of Jesus as Saviour. To the making of Christ
known, in the remotist regions of the world, Dr. Willing-
ham devoted every atom of strength at his command.
. . . Hardly ever did he make an address without
portraying the divine origin of missions." Dr. Landrum,
in his address at Dr. Willingham's funeral, called atten-
tion to how often he began his public prayer with the
exclamation, "Holy, holy, holy," and then said: "Will-
ingham was a subject, a loyal subject, of the King
eternal, immortal, invisible. At the same time through
grace he was a son of God, and held daily intercourse
with Jesus Christ, his elder brother and Saviour. When
he knelt in prayer with a small group of his brethren he
literally talked to the Lord Jesus, calling Him 'blessed
Master' with a tone of intense affection I have never
heard coming from any other human lips." Dr. Bell says
that once after a speech of Dr. Willingham had greatly
moved the Convention a brother said to him : "What is
there in Willingham's speaking that produces such
effect?" Dr. Bell replied: "He is the incarnation of a
great cause, and that cause speaks out through him, with-
out let or hindrance. It is not Willingham, it is Foreign
Missions." At another time a keen observer compared
him with another speaker, regarded as quite an orator,
and said : "When you hear - speak, you feel that
his was a great speech, and you go away thinking of
's great speaking power. But when you hear
Bob Willingham you go away thinking Foreign Missions
is the greatest thing in the world."
ROBERT JOSIAH WILLINGHAM 469
Whether in the office at Richmond, or going through
the length and breadth of the South, or on the platform
as a speaker for the cause he loved so well, he was a
tireless worker. With pen and voice and purse and
thought he labored for the success of missions. No one
could come near him and not feel the earnestness and
zeal of the man. Everything seemed secondary with him
to the great purpose of his life. He brought things to
pass. With him business sense and deep consecration
and love to God were wedded in a blessed union. At all
times resourceful, when the crisis of a debt threatened
he redoubled efforts and devised new plans for victory.
The figures give inadequately the story of what was
done for missions in the twenty years of his leadership.
The report of the Foreign Board to the Convention, after
Dr. Willingham's death, contrasting the beginning and
close of his service with the Board, said : "Then there
were only a few day schools; now there are schools
ranging from the kindergarten to the college and the
theological seminary. Then there were no hospitals or
printing plants ; now there are eight hospital buildings,
where eleven medical missionaries treated 74,839 patients
last year, and a number of printing plants, which send
out millions of pages of literature. One of the greatest
achievements of Dr. Willingham's administration was
the remarkable increase of interest and growth in con-
tributions from the churches. ... In 1893 there
was hardly a church in the whole Convention that had
any adequate conception of its duty to Foreign Missions,
if we are to judge the interest of the church by its con-
tributions. Then Virginia led all the States with a total
contribution of $22,803; in 1914, Virginia again led with
$80,655. It would be a remarkable story if we could
tell it; how the great Secretary went from church to
church, and with burning appeals aroused the people to
470 VIRGINIA BAPTIST MINISTERS
do far greater things. Often with a single supreme
effort he increased the contributions of a church many-
fold for world-wide missions."
Upon moving to Richmond, Dr. Willingham pur-
chased, as his predecessor, Dr. Tupper, had done upon
coming to Richmond, a spacious home. The residence
Dr. Willingham bought was on the northeast corner of
Fifth and Gary Streets, and was built by Mr. Wm.
Barrett. Here Dr. Willingham maintained his home,
with his many children, in generous and comfortable,
but not lavish or extravagant, style, and received in
gracious hospitality hundreds not to say thousands of
his brethren, and scores of missionaries. Towards the
end of his life, when some of his children had gone to
homes of their own, he sold this large house and moved
to a smaller one. Dr. Willingham was a faithful church
member, not allowing his official duties to keep him from
interest and loyalty to his pastor and church. He was
in the habit of going to prayer-meeting, and often
preached in the Richmond churches of his own and other
denominations. After his death one of the secular papers
in an editorial said : "He found time in the midst of
nerve-consuming labors to perform that personal
Christian service dear to his heart. Sometimes he
staggered under the burden of his work, and sometimes
he seemed ready to fall in his tracks, but he was scarcely
less frequent in visitation than was the pastor of the
church to which he belonged, and scarcely less constant
in his devotion to the suffering. Many an humble mis-
sion, many a struggling colored congregation, many a
heart-wrung man, torn with temptation, was blessed by
his endeavors. He never forgot, and often after months
of separation, he would take up, precisely where he left
it, some argument he had used in persuading a friend to
nobler service."
ROBERT JOSIAH WILLINGHAM 471
Dr. Willingham was devoted to his family, and strove
to make them happy. Since he came from a large house-
hold he knew how to adapt himself to children. "From
their babyhood he romped and played with them, tossing
them up in the air and riding them on his feet. As they
grew older he would sing to them and with them, enter-
taining them with his college songs as well as with
Sunday-school hymns. When the children had company
he put himself out to help entertain them ; was very fond
of young people; enjoyed teasing them. He played
chess, checkers, and backgammon with his children dur-
ing their vacation, and in the late afternoons he and his
older boys had games of quoits. As his children grew
older he enjoyed walking with them, strolling, chatting,
and getting acquainted. He would take them fishing
and often went swimming in the river with the boys.
He looked forward to the little family picnics in the late
afternoons ; with a basket of good things all would take
the car for Forest Hill or Westhampton Park for a
pleasant time. ... He seemed to feel it a privilege
to show attention to the sons and daughters of his
Baptist brethren at school in Richmond. So, many stu-
dents from Richmond College and the Woman's College
came under his roof. The last week of his life he
thoroughly enjoyed having several College boys to tea.
He was especially fond of music, and always delighted to
have a crowd of young people gathered around the piano
singing the old songs, and often he joined in."
After having been urged for years by his brethren to
take a trip to the far-away mission stations, on Septem-
ber 2, 1907, he set out on such a trip with his wife, her
expenses being provided privately by the generosity of
one or two churches, friends, and relatives. They
crossed the continent and visited the mission stations of
the Southern Baptist Convention in Japan, China, and
472 VIRGINIA BAPTIST MINISTERS
Italy, and also those of the Northern Baptists in Burmah,
and of the English Baptists in India. On April 8, 1908,
he returned to his native land. What shall be said of his
zeal for missions now, since it burned as a flame before
he had seen with his own eyes the needs of the harvest
fields? He would not pause to rest after his long
journey, but began immediately, by speeches at the
Seminary and before the Convention, to lay afresh on
the hearts of his brethren the great work.
In the fall of 1913 his health began to fail. Upon his
return that year from the Maryland Convention, where
he had delivered an address on the life of Dr. R. H.
Graves, of Canton, he was taken sick. When he came
to realize how ill he was he said one day to the doctor:
"Doctor, my work is almost over." After nine weeks in
his room he went South seeking renewed strength. He
was anxious to be back at his work, and returned the
middle of March. Every morning he would go down to
the Foreign Board office. An unknown gentleman in
Richmond was much impressed by this earnestness of
Dr. Willingham, and told Dr. Willingham's son, whom
he met on the way to the High School, that what his
father was doing day by day in going thus to the office
was one of the bravest sights he ever saw. Sunday
morning, December 20, 1914, on his way to Sunday
school, Dr. Willingham felt badly, and stopped at the
Jefferson Hotel, that was just one square from his
church. All was done that friends and physicians could
do, but he had come to the end of his journey, and in
two hours he breathed his last.
The funeral, which took place at the Second Baptist
Church, was conducted by the pastor, Rev. Dr. T. Clagett
Skinner, who was assisted in the services by Rev. Dr.
J. B. Hutson, President of the Foreign Mission Board ;
Rev. Dr. B. D. Gray, Corresponding Secretary of the
ROBERT JOSIAH WILLINGHAM 473
Home Mission Board ; Rev. Dr. C. S. Gardner, Professor
in the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary ; Rev. Dr.
R. H. Pitt, Editor of the Religions Herald; Rev. Dr.
Emory W. Hunt, of the Foreign Mission Society of the
Northern Baptist Convention ; Rev. Dr. W. H. Smith,
Rev. Dr. T. B. Ray, and Rev. Dr. J. F. Love, Secretaries
of the Foreign Mission Board ; and Rev. Dr. W. W.
Landrum, Pastor of the Broadway Baptist Church,
Louisville, Ky. The body was laid to rest in Hollywood
Cemetery, near the graves of Curry, Hawthorne,
Hatcher, and Whitsitt.
Dr. Willingham was survived by his wife and these
children: Robert J., Jr.; Corneille (Mrs. James W.
Downer), Calder Trueheart, Benjamin Joseph, Belle
(Mrs. Ralph H. Ferrell), Elizabeth Walton Willingham,
Carrie Irvin (Mrs. T. Justin Moore), Harris E., Edward
Bacon.
HENRY W. DODGE
1815
On March 28, 1859, Dr. William F. Broaddus wrote
from Fredericksburg to his friend, Wm. H. Cabaniss,
of Lynchburg, suggesting that the church in Lynchburg
call Rev. H. W. Dodge, then pastor in Berryville. In
the letter Dr. Broaddus said of Dr. Dodge: "He is a
very excellent preacher, of fine education, and of lovely
character. He has an amiable wife and three children.
I think (I am not sure), he could be moved. He has
been years in his present field, universally loved and
honored. Should you think of him, correspond with
him speedily. He will be much in demand." (The
Berryville Church Minutes show that he became pastor
in September, 1853, and that he resigned August 20,
1859.) The Lynchburg church called Dr. Dodge, he
accepted the call, and in July, 1859, began his work in
Lynchburg. The very day that his family passed
Harper's Ferry, on their way to Lynchburg, John Brown
was hiding in the neighboring mountains. Dr. Dodge
continued as pastor in Lynchburg until 1867. During
this pastorate many, who are now members of the First
Church, were brought into the kingdom of God. One
of the oldest members of the church tells of a glorious
revival in the church, during the War, that went on for
three or four months, Dr. Dodge conducting the meeting,
the singing being led by Mr. Cabaniss.
At the annual session of the General Association, in
1854, at which session J. G. Oncken, of Germany, was
present and spoke, Dr. Dodge was appointed to preach
the next year the introductory sermon. The next session
474
HENRY W. DODGE 475
was held in Charlottesville, commencing on Thursday,
May 31st. The minutes record that "On motion the
Association adjourned to hear the introductory sermon,
which was preached by Brother H. W. Dodge, from
Jeremiah 23 : 6, The Lord our righteousness'." This
year the Berryville church, which was then in the Salem
Union Association, reported 78 baptisms. The follow-
ing year the minutes show that Dr. Dodge had baptized
into the fellowship of his church Rev. John T. Tabler,
a Lutheran minister, who became a missionary of the
State Mission Board in Highland County. In 1860 Dr.
Dodge was appointed on several important committees
of the General Association, and as a delegate to the
Western Association that was to meet that year in Fin-
castle. He was chairman of a committee to report the
following year "on the best system of religious in-
struction for our colored people." The following year
the committee having no report it was continued, and it
was several years before any report on this subject was
made, and then there seems to have been a different
committee.
From Lynchburg Dr. Dodge moved to the Potomac
Association, some time in 1865 or 1866, and took charge
of these churches: Pleasant Vale, Upperville, and
Ebenezer. About 1870 he resigned Pleasant Vale to
accept a call to Ketockton. He resigned the pastorate of
these churches in January, 1872, and then went to Texas,
where the rest of his life was spent. He was married
twice; his first wife was Miss Abbie Brown, of Wash-
ington, D. C, the daughter of Rev. Dr. O. B. Brown.
The only child of this marriage (Mrs. William Kerfoot)
is still living. His second wife was Mrs. Ida Latham;
with her Dr. Dodge conducted a school in Lynchburg
after the War. The two children of this marriage were
William R. and Clarence.
476 VIRGINIA BAPTIST MINISTERS
Dr. Dodge was a man of scholarship and literary
tastes. He was fond of books, and in his old age, when
he did not have large means for the purchase of books,
he wrote to a friend that he must needs content himself
with reading the titles. He was of the opinion that
every one should read with ease some other language
than his own; his choice would have been, "Greek
modern Greek," for he agreed with a French author in
regarding the Greek as the most beautiful language in
the world. One who knew Dr. Dodge well calls him
"one of our greatest preachers, poetical, scholarly, pro-
found, magnetic." He was born November 16, 1815, in
Rappahannock County.
VINCENT THOMAS SETTLE
1823-1892
Rather the larger part of the ministry of Rev. Vincent
Thomas Settle was spent in Missouri. He was, however,
a native of Virginia, and some seventeen years he labored
in the Old Dominion. He was born May 28, 1823, at
"Mountain View" farm, Warren County (then Frederick
County), Virginia, his parents being Vincent and
Catherine Shull Settle. He was one of thirteen children,
seven boys and six girls, and, of this number, nine lived
to mature age. "Mountain View," his birthplace, was
originally granted to Lord Fairfax by the Crown. After
having studied at the Lisbon and Front Royal Academies,
Professors Latham and J. Worthington Smith being
among his teachers, he himself was an assistant in the
latter institution for several years. Upon his conversion
he was baptized, by Rev. John Ogilvie, into the fellow-
ship of the Goose Creek (now Pleasant Vale) Baptist
Church, Fauquier County, Virginia. In October, 1853,
at Front Royal, he was licensed to preach, and, in August
of the following year, he and his brother, Josiah J. Settle,
were ordained at St. Stephen's Church, Nelson County.
His first pastorate, in 1856 and 1857, was at Lexington,
Va., and his next at Mount Crawford, Rockingham
County, Virginia. At this latter place he remained from
1858 to 1861, and here he was married, April 30, 1859, to
Miss Caroline L. Turley, youngest daughter of Cyrus
and Elizabeth Turley. Of the five sons and three
daughters born of this union, one son and one daughter
died in infancy. About 1863, under -the employ of the
Old ( Goshen ) Board, he preached for the Mount Moriah
Church, Amherst County. Before leaving Virginia to
477
478 VIRGINIA BAPTIST MINISTERS
live in the West, he had ministered, at one time or
another, to these churches : Rose Union and Jonesboro,
Nelson County ; Adiel, Albemarle County ; and Ebenezer,
Amherst County. The Minutes of the General Asso-
ciation for 1856 show that that year he attended the
meeting of the body in Lynchburg, as a delegate from
Ebenezer Church. His last pastorate in Virginia was at
Mount Moriah.
In 1872 he moved to Missouri, where for fifteen years
he labored under the State and Home Boards. He
organized the Baptist Church, at Fredericktown, Mo.,
and during his pastorate there the first meeting-house
was built and paid for. His other pastorates in Missouri
were Ironton, Potosi, Greenville, Desarc, Oran, Kelso,
and Pleasant Hill. The last year of his life he was
missionary of the St. Francis Association, and in this
capacity visited all the churches in the Association. In
this year he raised enough money to pay his own salary
and all the indebtedness of the Association, and reported
111 conversions and 103 baptisms. His last sermon was
at the Wayne County Association, September, 1892,
when his text was : "For if any be a hearer of the word
and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural
face in a glass." James 1 : 23. He passed away at
Fredericktown, Mo., October 30, 1892. His wife, who
survived him, died in the spring of 1915, and one of his
sisters, Mrs. Sarah Settle Brown, still resides in
Columbus, Ohio. Professor Joseph R. Long, of Wash-
ington and Lee University, through Mr. F. V. Settle,
of Amherst, Va., secured from Mrs. Brown practically
all of the facts contained in this sketch.
GEORGE B. BEALER
1824-1870
At the close of the Civil War, Rev. George B. Bealer
became pastor of the Freemason Street Church, Norfolk,
Va., but since his lungs were weak he did not
remain long in Norfolk. From Norfolk he went to the
pastorate of the church at Madison, Ga. After eighteen
months at this place, his health continuing to decline, he
gave up work and was carried to Atlanta for treatment.
There he died June 2, 1870. He was born in Graham-
ville, S. C, in 1824, and just before his death he begged
to be carried back to South Carolina, saying: "Bury me
in the lowlands. My heart is not here. It is among the
people I know and love." The body was taken back to
Darlington, and buried near the church where he had
had a successful ministry of thirteen years. While he
was pastor in Norfolk the Episcopal minister asked to be
allowed to use the pool of the Freemason Street Church
to baptize a candidate. His request was granted. Just
before the baptism was to take place the rector asked
Mr. Bealer if he would not immerse the candidate; his
answer was : "I would suffer my right arm to be removed
before I would do such a thing."
Mr. Bealer was twice married. His first wife was
Miss Bascot. She left one son. His second wife was
Miss Emily J. Winkler, a sister of Rev. Dr. E. T.
Winkler. Of this union there were four children. The
two who are living are Rev. Alexander W. Bealer and
Pierre Bealer.
479
BALLARD PRESTON PENNINGTON
1858-1914
The Red Sulphur district of Monroe County, West
Virginia, was the birthplace of Ballard Preston Penn-
ington. He was the son of William and Nancy Shrews-
bury Pennington, and was born August 13, 1858. After
having taught school for several years he studied law
and was admitted to the bar. Soon after this, while
attending a protracted meeting, he was converted, and
the whole plan and purpose of his life changed. He
united with the Baptists ("missionary"), and, answering
a call that he heard, decided to be a preacher. He was
ordained, and from that time to the end "his life became
a fountain of grace which has flowed in an ever-broaden-
ing stream, touching and blessing literally thousands of
his fellow-beings. He had the gift of oratory, a rare
command of language, and the love of God and man in
his heart. A physical infirmity which made him a cripple
would have brought to inactivity a less earnest nature,
but he was endued with dauntless energy, and was always
ready to go whithersoever he was needed, and where
he could speak a good word for Jesus." He served as
pastor to many churches in Monroe County, and probably
preached to more churches in this county than any other
preacher now living. Among the churches in Monroe of
which he was pastor were Oak Grove, at Gates; the
Valley Church, near Zenith ; Sweet Springs, Sinks Grove,
and Broad Run. At these last two churches he was
pastor at two different periods, and at the time of his
death. Twice, for two years in 1908-09, and again, not
long before his death, he was pastor of the Princeton
480
BALLARD PRESTON PENNINGTON 481
Church, which church is a member of the Valley Asso-
ciation and so of the General Association of Virginia.
From time to time he engaged in evangelistic work, in
which work he was very successful, in West Virginia
and other States. In 1912 he was elected Mayor of
Princeton.
After an illness of six weeks he passed away Tuesday
morning, October 20, 1914. His wife, who was before
her marriage Miss Mary Elizabeth White, and these
children survive him : Mr. S. R. Pennington, Grace,
Beecher, Mary, Virgil, and Jewel. The funeral, that
took place at the Methodist Church, Princeton, was con-
ducted by the pastors of the various churches of Prince-
ton, the burial being in the Princeton Cemetery. This
sketch is based on information furnished by Dr. Zed E.
Bee and an article in Monroe (W- Va.) Watchman.
81
ISAAC V. LUKE
1787(?)-1879
At the time of his death, which took place September
17, 1879, Rev. Isaac V. Luke was the oldest Baptist
minister in the State. He had reached the great age of
ninety-two. He was born in Nansemond County. He
was a Baptist minister for over fifty years. He
served through the War of 1812, and two days before
his death received his last pension. He was called
"Uncle Luke," and was a great favorite with all who
knew him. "He bore but few marks of the decrepitude
of age, and preserved wonderful freshness in appear-
ance, while his mental faculties were unimpaired. His
was a long and useful life. His ministerial career was
blessed to the good of thousands of souls." He was
ordained from the Western Branch Church, Portsmouth
Association, the Association in whose bounds his life
seems to have been spent. For many years he lived at
Suffolk. One of the churches that he served was
Bethesda. His son, Rev. J. M. C. Luke, as his father,
was ordained from the Western Branch Church, and was
for a time pastor of the Lake Drummond and Deep
Creek Churches, and later of the Elizabeth City (N. C.)
Church. On September 19, 1879, a large crowd gathered
for the funeral; the service was conducted by Rev. Dr.
O. F. Flippo, who spoke from the text : "I have waited
for thy salvation, O Lord." Genesis 49:18. Almost all
of this sketch is taken from a letter of Dr. Flippo, in the
Religious Herald for December 4, 1879.
482
THOMAS TREADWELL EATON
1845-1907
The Western Recorder for August 12, 1915, contained
an editorial with this heading: "T. T. Eaton." This
article said : "We are now getting far enough away
from the grave of this giant of grace and truth to form
an impartial estimate of his life and character. That he
was a very remarkable man, all admit, and that he filled
a place all his own, none will deny. ... In our time
we have known many great men and ministers, yet,
all in all, we are disposed to regard T. T. Eaton as the
most versatile genius it has ever been our good fortune
to know. ... He seemed to know much about
many things, and something about everything. . . .
With him thought was an instant conclusion rather than
a tedious process." This same number of the Recorder
contained an article of his reprinted, by urgent request,
from an issue of 1909, entitled : "Call to Moral Men."
The Recorder carries on its front page, from week to
week, the motto selected by Dr. Eaton, with the Greek
for the first two words: "Contend earnestly for the
faith which was once for all delivered to the saints."
Thomas Treadwell Eaton was born at Murfreesboro,
Tenn., November 16, 1845, his parents being Dr. Joseph
H. Eaton and Esther M. Treadwell. At this time Dr.
Eaton was professor in the College in Murfreesboro, the
institution that in 1847 became Union University, with
him as its president. This Dr. Eaton, when a child,
during a severe illness, was pronounced by the physicians
to be dead. The mother, however, despite all appear-
ances and the verdict of the doctor, maintained that the
483
484 VIRGINIA BAPTIST MINISTERS
child was not dead, because he was the child of too many
prayers to die so young. Young Eaton, after attending
Union University, went to Madison University, Hamil-
ton, N. Y., where his uncle, George W. Eaton, was
president. When the Civil War broke out he returned
home to enter the Confederate Army. His service as
a Confederate soldier was "the thing in his life of which
he was most proud." He was one of Forrest's men, and,
though only a youth, was made a "headquarter scout"
by Gen. Stonewall Jackson. After the War he entered
Washington College, now Washington and Lee Univer-
sity, being there under General Lee. Before his gradu-
ation he was tutor, and had been offered the place of
assistant professor; at his graduation Commencement
he took the orator's medal, and made two of the four
speeches delivered by students. During his college life
he accepted Christ, and was baptized by Rev. John
William Jones.
From 1867 to 1872 he was professor in Union Uni-
versity, and his first pastorate was at Lebanon, Tenn.
From this place he went to take charge of the First
Baptist Church, Chattanooga. At Petersburg, his next
field, he remained some five years. Next came his last
and his longest pastorate, namely, at Walnut Street
Baptist Church, Louisville, Ky. Here he remained some
twenty-seven years. During these years the meeting-
house on the corner of Walnut and Fourth Streets was
sold and the present meeting-house on Third and St.
Catherine Streets built. Before this period Dr. Eaton
had been editor of the Christian Herald, of Tennessee,
and a contributor to the Religious Herald and other
religious papers. For a large part of his life he was
editor of the Western Recorder. Before the end of his
life he had written a number of books, namely, "Talks
to Children," "Talks on Getting Married," "Angels,"
THOMAS TREADWELL EATON 485
and the "Cruise of the Kaiserin." He had many popular
lectures, two of these lectures having these titles: "Poor
Kin," "Woman."
Dr. Eaton was a man of tireless energy both of mind
and of body. It seemed as if his hunger for
knowledge and his love of work would make it im-
possible and unnecessary for him to sleep. He used to
say that he had learned to be in two places at one time
and that he had hopes of learning to be in three at the
same time. His capacity and versatility were often im-
posed on. He told how in one of his pastorates a member
sent for him posthaste all the way across the city on a
midsummer day. When he arrived at the house, very
hot and out of breath, the good woman said she wanted
him to help her get a cook. While he was pastor in
Louisville a countryman once shipped to him a carload
of mules, asking him to sell them and remit the money.
Yet another countryman asked him to look into the
character of a certain clerk who was asking for the hand
of the farmer's daughter.
He was a leader among Kentucky and Southern
Baptists, and a debater of great ability. In appearance
he was tall, with a head and face in which the marks of
intellectual strength were very clear. His face as it
appears in the excellent steel engraving, in the Minutes
of the Southern Baptist Convention of 1908, shows to
great advantage and with great accuracy his high brow,
his clear-cut nose and mouth, his strong, bright eyes. It
is the face of the thinker, of the man of action.
Suddenly on his way to a Chautauqua, at Blue Moun-
tain, Miss., June 27, 1907, where he was to lecture, he
was stricken with apoplexy, at Grand Junction, Tenn.,
and was soon dead. A great crowd attended the funeral
at the Walnut Street Church, Louisville. There were
some one hundred and fifty ministers present. Addresses
486 VIRGINIA BAPTIST MINISTERS
were made by Drs. T. T. Martin, W. P. Harvey, P. T.
Hale, Lansing Burrows, and C. M. Thompson. The
sermon was preached by Dr. J. M. Weaver. His wife,
who before her marriage was Miss Alice Roberts, died
some two years after her husband. Their two children,
Joseph H. and Maria (Mrs. E. C. Farmer), are still
living. Dr. Eaton was one of three children who lived
to man's estate.
TRAVIS BUTHY THAMES
1854-1914
While Dr. Thames was pastor of the First Baptist
Church, of Danville, a Virginia Baptist preacher was
helping in a protracted meeting at one of the other
Baptist churches of the city. He was the guest of Dr,
Thames one Saturday night and for breakfast the next
morning. At this meal mushrooms were served, with
delicious beefsteak. The visitor expressed some surprise
that so rare and choice a thing as mushrooms could be
found in the Danville market. Dr. Thames answered
that he and his wife got them often on their bicycle rides,
for they were plentiful in the fields. While Dr. Thames
was in Danville he was one of the founders of the Book
Club, and was often called on for addresses by the
Wednesday Afternoon (Literary) Club, an organization
among the women of the city, and by the Daughters of
the American Revolution. One winter, probably when
he was pastor in Elizabeth, he spoke every week for the
public schools of New York City. When the Baptist
General Association met in Petersburg, in 1895, Dr.
Thames presented the minority report of a committee
appointed a year before to consider and report on the
consolidation of the State Mission and the Sunday-
School Boards. The minority report favored the con-
tinuance of the two Boards. Feeling was tense. There
was decided difference of opinion. Dr. Thames, through
all the discussion, was cool, good-natured, patient, genial,
calm. A difficult crisis was passed. A good judge who
was present said that Dr. Thames had done much to save
the situation. The following year, when the Association
met with the Grace Street Church (in the temporary
487
488 VIRGINIA BAPTIST MINISTERS
tabernacle on West Grace), Dr. Thames was the preacher
of the introductory sermon, his text being II Timothy
4:7: "I have kept the faith." He was a preacher of
unusual charm and power. His sermons were carefully
thought out, couched in choice language, and most im-
pressively delivered. Dr. W. R. L. Smith speaks of his
voice as "that soft, flute-like voice," and says that an
elocution teacher once said to Dr. Thames: "Sir, your
voice is worth a fortune." Dr. Smith calls him "a
genuine orator." As a companion he was genial, sunny,
and, upon occasion, full of fun and humor. To quote
again from Dr. Smith: "Those were fine qualities that
fitted him to win success and popularity in each of his
fields, North and South. He blessed every community
he touched. Nature and grace joined to fashion a rare,
gentleman. He was a social prince. The charm of him
was an inheritance from a noble Alabama family.
. . . He could be gracious without condescension,
dignified without stiffness, and sympathetic without
affectation. . . . Never dogmatic or intolerant he
cultivated large hospitality to all truth. In Christian
sympathy he was broad, and in all human interests he
was generous. The center of his soul was poised on
the changeless conviction that Christ is the Lord of life.
He saw God in the Nazarene, whom he adored as the
divine-human model of moral and spiritual perfection.
Here was the lodestar of his ministry, recon-
ciliation to the Father, and resemblance to the Son."
Travis Buthy Thames was born at Claiborne, Ala.,
August 18, 1854, his parents being Mary McCollum and
Cornelius Ellis Thames. After his college course he was
at the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, three
sessions and parts of two others, in all from 1874 to
1879, becoming an "English Graduate." His several
pastorates were: Shelbyville, Ky. (five years) ; La Salle
TRAVIS BUTHY THAMES 489
Avenue Church, Chicago (five years) ; First Church,
Danville, Va. (thirteen years) ; First Church, Elizabeth,
N. J. (eight years) ; and Newnan, Ga. (two years). He
passed away Wednesday evening, February 25, 1914, at
Newnan. During the funeral services held in Newnan,
which were conducted by Dr. J. S. Hardaway (who was
assisted by Pastor Edmondson of the Methodist Church,
Pastor Hannah of the Presbyterian Church, and Drs.
J. F. Purser and B. D. Gray), the business houses of
the city were closed, and a great audience taxed the
capacity of the church. Saturday morning, February
28th, services were held in the Danville Baptist Church,
conducted by the pastor, Dr. J. E. Hicks, and Dr.
W. R. L. Smith. The burial took place in Green Hill,
Danville's city of the dead. Dr. Thames's wife, who
was, before her marriage (which occurred December 23,
1880), Miss Sallie Long, survives him, and these
children: Mamie Lyon (Mrs. R. R. Patterson), John
Long Thames, Sarah Curd Thames; one daughter,
Lydia Long Thames, is dead.
EDWARD KINGSFORD
1788(?)-1859
It is supposed that the American city of Boston re-
ceived its name through compliment to Mr. Isaac
Johnson, "one of the foremost in the enterprise" of the
establishment of the town ; he was from Boston, in
Lincolnshire, England. This English town was the birth-
place of Edward Kingsford. He first saw the light,
probably in 1788. While an officer in Hindustan, in the
employ of the East India Company, he was converted.
He resigned his commission and gave himself at once to
the work of the ministry. Once in his earlier ministry
he was at a conference of the Baptist ministers of
London. They met in a large room in a tavern. Down
the center of the room there was a table and along the
middle of the table a row of candles. "At each side of
the table were seats for the ministers, and in front of
each seat there was a glass of grog. Each preacher
held a pipe in his hand, and alternately sipped his grog
and puffed at his pipe." Years afterwards when Dr.
Kingsford described the scene he said that "as he stood
at the door and looked down this room, ... it
looked more like the mouth of hell than any place he
had ever seen." This scene may have had something
to do with the strong aversion that later in life he is
known to have had towards the use of strong drink and
tobacco. Once at the Rappahannock Association the
report on temperance described liquor dealers as "doing
the work of the devil." Rev. Thomas B. Evans objected
to the language since it cast an aspersion on some
respectable men who were engaged in the traffic. Dr.
Kingsford arose and said that he "fully agreed with
490
EDWARD KINGSFORD 491
Brother Evans that the language of the report was un-
justifiable." Here he paused, and then added, "with a
sardonic smile and great emphasis : 4 It is a slander on
the Devil! No respectable devil would be caught in a
grog shop !' '
When pastor of Grace Street, Richmond, Dr. Kings-
ford succeeded, "in a large measure, in making his church
a total abstinence body." Dr. Jeter was less extreme in
his temperance views, and the result, in his pastorate at
Grace Street, was that a number withdrew from the
church and organized what was known as a "test
church." "He and Dr. Kings ford had a sharp news-
paper controversy on the ecclesiastical aspects of the tem-
perance question."
From May 1, 1834, to February 1, 1836, Dr. Kings-
ford was pastor of the Second Baptist Church (now the
Tabernacle Church), of Utica, N. Y. During this
pastorate forty- four members were received by letter and
twenty-three by baptism.
Dr. Kings ford began his pastorate in Harrisburg, in
November, 1837, and offered his resignation December
31, 1839. This was a stormy pastorate and closed by
Dr. Kingsford's dissolving the church, because he felt
that the debt, the lack of male members, and the attitude
of the members towards each other and towards him
rendered it "impossible to maintain a scriptural visibility."
These are the facts as they appear on the church record,
though it may be that the account is a prejudiced one.
He became pastor of the Baptist church in Alex-
andria, June 1, 1841. At this time there were
probably less than one hundred white Baptists in
Alexandria, and "these were almost entirely of the
plainest and poorest people. Worse than that they had
quarreled on the subject of missions and separated into
two parties." Both sides claimed the meeting-house.
492 VIRGINIA BAPTIST MINISTERS
While the matter was in the courts the anti-mission
party used a ladder and got in through the galleries and
held their meetings. The church was finally given to
the other party, that during the law process had wor-
shiped in the Lyceum, Dr. Kings ford conducting the
services. The people of the town were greatly prejudiced
against the Baptists, and Dr. Kings ford came in for his
share of censure, but he held his ground. "Once he set
the whole town in a state of excitement by preaching a
sermon on the subject of baptism. . . . The large,
old-fashioned pulpit was filled almost" with the works
of Pedo-baptist authors from whom he quoted. Dr.
Kings ford certainly had "a difficult task." Indeed, he
once declared that if it had not been for the encourage-
ment his blind "preachers" gave him he would have
resigned long before he did. A certain Sunday after-
noon a young lady was baptized in the Potomac River,
and the following Saturday afternoon her pastor, Dr.
Kings ford, came and asked her to visit with him his
"preachers," from whom he said he drew inspiration for
his work on Sunday. Imagine her surprise when she
found these "preachers" to be blind colored women over
one hundred years old. Their "testimony freely given,
left no room for doubt, . . . and it was evident that
God's Holy Spirit had dispelled nature's darkness from
their minds." One of these "preachers" besides being
blind was totally helpless. The Dorcas Society of the
church, that "without officers or parliamentary rules"
made "comforts, flannel undergarments, linsey-woolsey
gowns, hoods, cloaks, and so on," for all the needy mem-
bers, provided a colored woman to stay with this aged
and helpless one. But once, when a great snowstorm
prevented travel for several days, the watcher forsook
her charge, and when Mrs. Daniel Cawood reached the
house, she found poor Aunt Mary sitting in her chair,
where she had spent the long and lonesome hours.
EDWARD KINGSFORD 493
On September 21, 1845, Dr. Kings ford resigned the
care of the Alexandria church. His next charge was
the Fourth Church, Richmond. Here he succeeded
Rev. A. B. Smith. In 1849 he became pastor of
Grace Street Baptist Church, his predecessor being Dr.
David Shaver. Upon his resignation, in the spring of
1852, Dr. J. B. Jeter became pastor of the church. Of
Dr. Kingsford and his Grace Street pastorate Dr.
Hatcher says: "He was an Englishman of generous
culture and high Christian character. He was also
an able preacher, . . . rigid and severe in his
methods. He had the eye of a critic, and against
that which seemed wrong in his sight he was never slow
to utter his censure. With his exacting and imperious
spirit it was not easy to maintain harmony with an in-
stitution so intensely democratic as an American Baptist
Church. . . . It is creditable to Dr. Kingsford that
when he ascertained that Dr. Jeter was to be his suc-
cessor, he worked with great diligence to cleanse the
church of certain disorders which then existed. In this
unselfish undertaking he was eminently successful.
Dr. Kingsford was a man of peculiar mould,
. . . but he was a man of lofty Christian principle
and not really capable of an ignoble act." During his
pastorate at Grace Street, Dr. Kingsford seems to have
made a trip to Europe, and it is interesting to know that
at this early period the Foreign Mission Board had
thought of Southern Europe as a mission field. On
October 6, 1850, the Board resolved to adopt France as
a field of missionary labor, and Dr. Kingsford, who was
about to visit that country, was "requested to make such
inquiries ... as would afford necessary informa-
tion to the Board."
"One morning Richmond blossomed out with big
theater posters, prepared by him, representing the drama
494 VIRGINIA BAPTIST MINISTERS
of the judgment day." Dr. Kingsford, although severe,
had a generous nature and a warm, sympathetic heart.
A lady in Richmond, deeply afflicted by the death of an
almost idolized child, was greatly comforted by his tender
sympathy, and "amazed at the unquestioning confidence
with which he spoke of leading her child by the hand
through the streets of the New Jerusalem, when he
should himself enter the gates of the Golden City."
From Richmond Dr. Kings ford again made Alex-
andria his home, and he and his wife were received back
to the fellowship of the Alexandria church, on a letter
from Grace Street, September 2, 1852. On March 23,
1853, however, they were granted a letter to unite with
the Back Lick. It seems that of this church, located in
Fairfax County and belonging to the Columbia Asso-
ciation, Dr. Kings ford now became pastor, though he
still resided in Alexandria. At the organization of the
Potomac Association, in 1856, Dr. Kings ford preached
the introductory sermon from the text Philippians 1 : 27,
was on the committee to draft the Constitution and Rules
of Decorum for the body, and was president of the "Act-
ing Board." In 1857 and 1858, when his home was in
Washington, he was moderator of this Association.
During all his years among Virginia Baptists he was
distinctly a leader. At the annual meetings of the "Gen-
eral Association" he was on important committees, and
took active part in the deliberations. As early as 1846,
when the Education Society report came up, he suggested
that the debt reported "presented an obstacle to his speak-
ing." A collection was taken amounting to $200, and
then he went on with his address. In 1855 he was one
of those who made a pledge when the Education Board
needed $1,000 to sustain their beneficiaries. In 1856 he
offered a resolution providing that the return certificates
required by the railroads be printed under the direction
EDWARD KINGSFORD 495
of the Secretary of the Association, and that there be
for each a charge of six cents, and that any balance after
paying for the printing be given to the Sunday-school
library of the church (Lynchburg) entertaining the As-
sociation. Of Dr. Kingsford Dr. Andrew Broaddus
says: "As a speaker both in the pulpit and on the plat-
form, his manner was impressive. His gesture was be-
coming but not abundant, and his voice was strong and
distinct, but without the slightest touch of pathos or
tenderness. ... He excelled especially as a reader
of the Scriptures. I once heard him read a chapter so
impressively that, amid the death-like stillness of the
congregation, a woman burst out into a scream."
In appearance Dr. Kingsford was a typical English-
man, being "burly, red faced, clean shaven." Dr.
Broaddus thus describes him : "In person Dr. Kingsford
was large and portly, and in stature slightly above
medium height. Dressed with faultless taste a large
white cravat, without a collar, about his neck, with a
florid skin, a large mouth, a substantial nose, intelligent,
but rather severe blue eyes, a well-shaped head sur-
rounded by a brown wig, and a military bearing,
Dr. Kingford's personal presence was striking and
imposing."
During his residence in Alexandria and also in Rich-
mond Mrs. Kingsford conducted a school for young
women that, because of its remarkable excellence, com-
manded the patronage of the very best people of these
communities. Mrs. Kingsford was a woman of strong
character, and of great intelligence and unusual culture.
She controlled the school herself, allowing her husband
no function in its workings save to lead the devotions,
and "to criticize in a pleasant way the language of the
young ladies." There were in the school (in Richmond)
some forty boarders and some sixty day pupils. The
496 VIRGINIA BAPTIST MINISTERS
school occupied a large mansion that had been the home
of one of the first families of the city. Before moving
into this house Mrs. Kingsford "paid the sum of $80.00
to have it thoroughly scoured and cleansed from cellar to
attic." Every morning at an early hour she was up and
about, to see that the servants and teachers were all in
their places. She went to market herself, taking with
her several of the girls, that by actual experience they
might learn how to lay in provisions for a large
household.
In 1850 the Missionary Sewing Society of Grace
Street Church, by a contribution of $176.15, made Mrs.
Kingsford and two other ladies life members of the
Virginia Baptist Foreign Mission Society.
It seems that Dr. Kingford's last years were spent in
Washington City. Here, on Wednesday, July 27, 1859,
he passed away in his seventy-first year. The next day,
at the Tenth Street Church, Drs. Isaac Cole, S. P. Hill,
and G. W. Samson, took part in the funeral services.
The funeral procession was one of the largest ever seen
up to that day in the city. Mrs. Kingsford survived her
husband and lived to quite an advanced age.
. J. C. CARPENTER
1834-1897
Rev. Emmett J. Mason, Jr., presented to the Augusta
Association, in 1897, an obituary of Rev. J. C. Carpen-
ter, whose funeral sermon he preached at the Natural
Bridge Baptist Church, Virginia. All of the facts of
this sketch are taken from this obituary. Brother
Carpenter was born in Spottsylvania County, Virginia,
October 12, 1834; he died August 10, 1897, from
typhoid fever. He was converted at the age of eighteen
and baptized into the fellowship of the County Line
Church. He was educated at Greenville, Richmond
College, and Washington and Lee University. During
the War he served as chaplain to Federal prisoners in
Castle Thunder and Libby Prison, Richmond. He was
in the Bible and colportage work for thirty-five years.
In 1875 he was ordained and served in Spottsylvania,
Rockbridge, and Franklin Counties, Virginia, and in
Greenbrier, Monroe, Summers, Fayette, and Mason
Counties, West Virginia.
497
DAVID SHAVER
1820-1902
Abingdon, an attractive town in the fair Washington
County, Virginia, was the birthplace of David Shaver.
He first saw the light on November 22, 1820. His
parents were Presbyterians, and at the early age of seven
he made a profession of his faith in Christ. Since he
was so young, he was not allowed to unite with the
church. Not until he was sixteen did he take this step,
and then he made the Methodist Protestant Church his
choice. He decided to preach, and before he was twenty
entered the itinerant ministry of the Virginia Conference.
Under one of his sermons Miss L. C. Nowlin, of Lynch-
burg, was converted, and then, in 1843, became his wife.
(Of this union ten children were born.) When con-
vinced that he had entered the ministry without adequate
equipment, he suspended his active labors and spent three
years in "diligent preparation for pulpit service." As a
child he had never heard a Baptist minister preach, but
when, in his pastorate of the Methodist Protestant
Church, in Lynchburg, he was called on to sprinkle a
dying infant, he was led to study the whole matter of
baptism. He found that his argument that the Baptists
were wrong, because they were at one extreme (the
Catholics being at the other), was false. He became a
Baptist, being baptized in 1844. Upon the occasion of
his baptism he preached, presenting his reasons for this
step. This sermon led a young man of Episcopal
tendencies to become a Baptist; this was C. C. Chaplin,
afterwards well known as a Baptist minister. After his
ordination Mr. Shaver became pastor of the Baptist
Church right across the street from the flock (Methodist)
498
DAVID SHAVER 499
he gave up. After a brief season in Lynchburg he ac-
cepted, in October, 1846, the pastorate of the Grace
Street Baptist Church, Richmond. In two years, by
reason of trouble with his throat, he resigned at Grace
Street to take up agency work for the Domestic Mission
Board. In 1853 he came back into the active ministry,
taking charge of the church at Hampton, Va. About
the end of 1856 he gave up the work at Hampton and
became editor of the Religions Herald. The front page
of the Herald now bore this statement: "By Sands,
Shaver & Co.," and the issue of March 17, 1859, this
direction: "Office, corner of Main and 10th Sts., above
Post-office." He continued with the Herald until its
outfit was burned at the surrender of Richmond in 1865.
After the paper was reestablished by Jeter and Dickin-
son, he was Associate Editor until 1867, when he moved
to Atlanta and became Editor of the Christian Index.
After closing his work with the Index, in 1874, and after
living for a season at Conyers, Ga., Dr. Shaver was in
charge of the Third Church, in Augusta, and then,
in 1878, became instructor in the Theological Seminary
(of the Home Mission Society) for colored young men.
This institution was located, first in Augusta, and then
in Atlanta. When Dr. Shaver reached middle life his
countenance wore "the pale cast of thought" and sug-
gested the student. While all through life he seems to
have had the handicap of frail health, nevertheless he
lived to the good age of over four score years. His last
days he spent in the home of his son in Augusta. Of
this period of his life, Dr. Lansing Burrows, who was
his pastor, says : "He was in his last days an invaluable
adviser and friend of the brethren. . . . His weekly
meeting with the pastors in Augusta was of untold bless-
ing to them." He passed away at the home of his son
January 13, 1902.
THOMAS CORBIN BRAXTON
Thomas Corbin Braxton was born at "Mantua," King
William County, the home of his parents, Carter Braxton
and his wife, Sarah Moore. He was a grandson of Carter
Braxton, "The Signer" (of the Declaration of Indepen-
dence). He was descended in the third generation from
Robert Carter ("King Carter") and Elizabeth Landon,
from whose loins have sprung probably more names emi-
nent in Virginia history than from any other couple. In
early life he removed to Richmond County, and, having
been ordained to the Baptist ministry, assumed the care of
Farnham Church, which he joined by letter on March
8, 1828. His labors in the vicinity of this church and
Royal Oak, five miles distant, were greatly blessed, and
at the latter place a church was established in 1832, and
named Jerusalem. He became pastor of this body, upon
its organization, and served them nearly ten years. For
one year he was pastor of Rappahannock Church, near
the close of his ministry. He was one of the presbytery
who ordained Rev. John Pullen, May 7, 1843. He was
one of the founders of Baptist churches in the Northern
Neck. A picture of Mr. Braxton indicates that he had
dark blue eyes, dark brown hair, rather a thin nose, and
a large mouth, and that while he was very good looking,
his expression was very stern. He married Miss Maria
Davis and his children were Thomas, John, and Lucy.
The son John became prominent in political circle at the
close of the Civil War, and served efficiently in the Legis-
lature from Richmond and Lancaster Counties.
On December 29, 1841 he was elected pastor of the
Fredericksburg (Va.) Church, where he served until
January 2, 1843, when he declined the call again ex--
tended to him (those were the days of "annual" calls),
expressing a desire to be a traveling missionary.
500
JAMES LANCASTER GWALTNEY
1799-1864
James Lancaster Gwaltney was born in Isle of Wight
County, Virginia, in the neighborhood of Mill Swamp
Church, November 28, 1799. Dr. Beale, in his
"Semple's History of Baptists of Virginia," says that he
entered the ministry from the Black Creek Church,
Southampton County. In 1832 and 1833 he was pastor
of this church, and later of the Suffolk Church, and still
later of the Cumberland Street Church, Norfolk. In
1835 we find him working as a missionary of the Ports-
mouth Association. He was an impressive preacher and
many men of influence professed religion under his
preaching. At Newville, Sussex County, the people
cleared a piece of ground, prepared logs for seats, and
he held a meeting, the result of which was the organiza-
tion of a church with twelve members. He became its
pastor, and later a meeting-house was built. Many years
after, when he was a second time pastor of Newville,
another meeting-house was built. For several brief
seasons he was pastor of Antioch Church, which was
originally known as "the Baptist Church on Raccoon
Swamp, Sussex County." In 1852 he moved to Bote-
tourt Springs, and became pastor of Big Lick Church.
His purpose in this move to the west was mainly that
his daughters might attend Hollins Institute (now
Hollins College). His work in this neighborhood helped
towards the organization of the Enon Church, which
took place January 27, 1855. He was a skilled mechanic,
as well as a preacher, and, aided by his son and by a little
boy named George Elter (whom he paid nine pence
a day to carry shingles and so on), he built the Enon
Meeting-House that still stands, an evidence of his
501
502 VIRGINIA BAPTIST MINISTERS
ability and faithfulness. He was pastor of Enon from
its organization until the summer of 1856, when he re-
turned to his former charge, Newville, in Sussex. In
1863 he resigned at Newville, and on May 23, 1864, at
Littleton, Sussex County, he passed away. He was
buried at Spring Hill, near Homeville, Sussex County,
but subsequently the body was moved to Elmwood
Cemetery, Norfolk. He was married twice. His first
wife was Miss Holleman, of Isle of Wight County. Of
this marriage there were these children: John Ryland
Gwaltney, Almarine Gwaltney, Wm. H. Gwaltney, Mrs.
Almeda Wyatt, and Mrs. Ann Elizabeth Mildred
Marable. His second wife was Martha Brundell. The
children of the second marriage were Robert, Mary,
Mattie, and Junius Kincaid. Through the kind help of
Rev. J. R. Daniel many of the facts for this sketch have
been secured.
NATHAN HEALY
1804-1845
Nathan Healy, the youngest son of Rev. James Healy
and his wife, Ruth, was born in Middlesex County,
November 22, 1804. On May 12, 1822, he was married
to Miss Mary Ann Bristow, daughter of Leonard and
Lucy Bristow, of Middlesex. At the call of Clark's
Neck Church he was ordained the third Sunday in
March, 1828, Elders Richard Claybrook and George
Nathan forming the presbytery. In 1832 he began to
preach in a destitute part of Northumberland County.
In 1833 he removed to a home called "Mulberry Grove,"
Northumberland County, and while living there was in-
strumental in the formation of Gibeon Church, which he
served as pastor until his death, August 3, 1845. About
1844 he removed to Westmoreland County and located
in the vicinity of Nomini Church, of which he had al-
ready become pastor. He was among the founders of
Baptist churches in the Northern Neck. One of his sons
remained in Westmoreland County, the others moved to
Baltimore. His children and grandchildren have re-
flected credit on his name. The facts for this sketch are
furnished by Dr. G. W. Beale.
503
HENRY KEELING
1795-1870
Rev. Henry Keeling, Sr., was born in Princess Anne
County, Virginia, in 1770. He was ordained in 1803,
and served these churches: Back Bay, London Bridge,
Black Water, and one church in North Carolina. He
died at London Bridge in July, 1820. The subject of
this sketch, also named Henry, the second of Mr. Keel-
ing's fifteen children, was born in "Norfolk Borough,"
December 26, 1795. His early opportunities were
limited, but he made the best use of such educational
advantages as he had. At the age of twelve he was a
clerk in a grocery store, and later in other mercantile
establishments. He was converted in 1816, licensed to
preach December 12, 1817, and ordained May 10, 1818.
At his ordination the sermon was preached by Rev.
Samuel Cornelius, and the charge delivered by Rev.
Adoniram Judson, Sr. (father of the missionary).
Upon advice of Luther Rice the young man went, in
September, 1818, to Philadelphia to study in the Theo-
logical Institution just opened, the first school for such
instruction among Baptists in this country. His certifi-
cate, dated Philadelphia, July 25, 1821, and signed by
Wm. Staughton and Ira Chase, read thus : "This certifies
that Henry Keeling has been a member of the Theo-
logical Institution of the Baptist General Convention
for three years; has statedly attended to the public and
private exercises prescribed in the Institution, and has
sustained a Christian character. Having finished his
regular course, he is now honorably dismissed." During
these three years, having frequently preached for the
504
HENRY KEELING 505
Roxborough Church, near Philadelphia, he now became
pastor of this flock. After about a year, he went to
Richmond, Va., where, at the First Baptist Church, he
became nominally the assistant of Rev. John Courtney,
"but really the sole pastor of the church." This relation
continued three years. Rev. David Roper died February
28, 1827, and by his request an address was made at the
funeral by Rev. Henry Keeling. When Rev. J. L.
Shuck and Miss Henrietta Hall were married, on the
eve of their departure for China, the ceremony was per-
formed by Mr. Keeling. For some years Mr. Keeling
had a school for girls in Richmond, and he was at one
time the teacher of William Carey Crane, afterwards a
distinguished preacher and educator. The first pastor of
the Grace Street Baptist Church, Richmond, that was
originally the Third Church, and that had its earliest
house of worship on the corner of Marshall and Second
Streets, was Mr. Keeling. It seems that he "never
became very thoroughly identified with the church. He
owned and occupied a handsome brick residence in the
lower part of the city, and becoming convinced that his
people were careless as to his support, because of the
imposing domicile in which he dwelt, he addressed them
a caustic letter, in which he reminded them that 'he
could not live on bricks and mortar.' . . . Possibly
the church felt willing, after that letter, for him to try
the experiment of subsisting on those innutritious sub-
stances, for it was not long before their connection was
dissolved."
The story of how Virginia Baptists came to have a
denominational paper is an interesting one. On Septem-
ber 25, 1826, Mr. William Crane wrote to a friend from
Richmond: "I send accompanying this three copies of
the first number of the Richmond Evangelical Enquirer,
by Brother Keeling. ... I don't think the first
506 VIRGINIA BAPTIST MINISTERS
number a very interesting one, but hope Brother Keeling
will make a good editor when he gets a little further into
it." In December of the same year Mr. Crane arranged
for Mr. William Sands to come to Richmond to begin the
publication of a Baptist paper. Mr. Crane assumed the
bill of $677 for press, type, and so on, bought from
Fielding Lucas, and on January 11, 1828, the first num-
ber of the Religious Herald appeared, Mr. Keeling being
the editor. After about two years Rev. Eli Ball suc-
ceeded him as the editor of the Herald. In 1842 Mr.
Keeling established the Baptist Preacher, a monthly
periodical that contained sermons by leading Baptist
ministers. From time to time it was Mr. Keeling's habit
to add at the end of the Preacher an editorial note. In
1856 he alluded to a sermon by Rev. J. H. Luther in the
Preacher, on Divine Sympathy, as having been "balm to
our distressed heart," having "found us and those whom
we love most on earth in deep affliction." What this
affliction was is not known. Mr. Keeling was useful
along many lines. In 1835, when Richmond was having
trouble from hot abolitionists, called "Incendiaries," a
pile of the pamphlets that were being sent to the slaves,
urging them to desperate deeds, were publicly burned in
front of the post-office, and the Protestant clergymen of
the city met and passed resolutions condemning this inter-
ference by the abolitionists ; among those present at this
meeting was Henry Keeling. He devoted much of his
time to the instruction of the colored youth of the city.
He was one of the organizers of the Virginia Baptist
Education Society, and for some time its corresponding
secretary. He was also one of the trustees of Richmond
College in 1840, the year that it was incorporated. As
to Mr. Keeling's preaching, Dr. J. L. Burrows said: "He
was never a popular preacher, but his sermons were
characterized by good taste, evident study, and purity of
HENRY KEELING 507
doctrine. Many preachers are more effective whose ser-
mons have less intrinsic merit." One who, as a little boy,
knew Mr. Keeling says that "he wore an enormous white
beard and reminded me of pictures of Moses in the old
family Bible." The Religious Herald for Thursday,
November 24, 1870, says: "Rev. Henry Keeling, of this
city, died on Saturday last in the seventy-first year of
his age."
INDEX
PAGE
ABRAHAM, WYCLIFFE YANCEY 87-88
Acree, R. R 249
Adams, George D _ .... 410
Adams, J. Q '.""""".1""""""'""""II"I" 205
Aiken, William _ _ 61
Alabama Central Female College 81
Alderman, Edwin Anderson 53
Alleghany College 192
Allen, L. W _ _ 421
Alexander, James Waddel 43
Alexander, Joseph Addison _ 43
Anderson, Christopher 406
Anderson, Major _ 26
Asheville Baptist, The _ _ 390
Ashburn, A. H _ '.Z"I'"" 50
Atlantic Baptist, The 390
Bagby, Alfred 137, 420, 458
Bagby, George Franklin _ _ 137
Bagby, H. A 147
Bagby, John R 224, 332
Bagby, Richard Hugh 137
Bagwell, R. W _ 373
Bailey, C T _ 158
Bailey, R. R 396
Baldwin, Elisha 46
BALDWIN, NOAH CALTON _ 46-48
Baker, Andrew 47
Ball, Dyer _ _ 19
Baltimore Baptist, The 142
Banks, H. H 109
Banks, H. S _ 89
BAPTIST, EDWARD LANGSTON 424-426
Baptist Teacher, The 360
Baptist Visitor, The 72
Baptist World, The ... 360
Barker, F. M 350
Earnhardt, J. A .._ 394
BARNES, JAMES HENRY 229-230
BARRON, ALONZA CHURCH 141-143
Barton, L. E 51
Battle A J 465
Battle, H. W ....265, 322, 435
509
510 INDEX
PAGE
Bayard, Thomas F 62
Baylor University 367
BEALE, FRANK BROWN 147, 207-21 1
BEALER, GEORGE B 479
Beale, G. W 180, 207, 211, 325, 363, 403, 404, 434, 439, 503
Beamer, W. H 268
Beauregard, General 26
Bee, Z. E ... 481
Bell, T. P ....34,468
Berg, John _ 70
Berkley, F. P 444,445
Bessant, C. W _ 314
Bethel College 100
Biblical Recorder 122, 158, 390
BlLLINGSLEY, JOSEPH FRANCIS _ 403-405
Bitting, C C 298,429
Bitting, W. C 63
Bland, W. S _ 332
Blevins, N. M 120
Board, C. A 185
Boatwright, F. W _....361, 369, 461
BOATWRIGHT, REUBEN BAKER 161, 369-373
Boggs, Rev. Mr. 65
Bologna University 198
BOSTON, FRANCIS RYLAND 152, 282,311-313
Boston, S. C _ 334
Bowden, J. Theodore 50, 41 1
Bowie, Eddie 219
Bowie, James 54
Boyce, James P 18, 20, 23, 35, 460
Boyce, Kerr 23
Boykin, S - 465
Bradford, Edward A 61
Bradford, George 72,334
Bradshaw, J. D 383
Brantley, J. J 465
Brantley, W. T 20
BRAXTON, THOMAS CORBIN - 500
Brewer, J. B ~ - 316
Broaddus, Andrew, Sr 345
Broaddus, Andrew 210,494
Broaddus, Julian 161
Broaddus, W. F 162, 215, 339, 397, 474
Broadus, John A 88, 145, 168, 190, 205, 215, 393, 301
Brooks, C. W 98
Brooks, Rev. Mr 24
Brown, A. B 92, 137, 183, 301
Brown, C. C 124
Brown, G. W - 314
INDEX 511
PAGE
Brown, H. A 316
Brown, John 38
Brown, O. B 475
Brown, Pleasant 92
Brown, T. Edwin _. 136
Brown, Thomas P 366
BROWN, WADE BICKERS ................154-155
Bruce, Silas _ 155
Bruner, Weston _ 118, 137
Brunk, J. H ... 234
Butler, John M _ 381
Bucknell University 1 10, 408
Bush, Andrew _ 110
Burrows, J. L 158, 214, 339, 350, 506
Burrows, Lansing 486,499
BUCKLES, WILLIAM N _ 201-202
Bundick G C 234
Byerly, F. A _ 66
Cabaniss, A. B ... 301
Calhoun, John C. . 54, 56
Campbell, D. R .. 133
Campbell, C. N 259
CARPENTER, J. C 497
Carpenter, J. T 66
Carroll, B. H _ 221
Carroll J L 215
Caspari, W. C 161
Central Baptist, The 80, 123
Chaplin, C. C 182, 244, 498
Chandler, H. J 89,109
Chase, Ira 504
Chase, William _ 248
Chase, W. H 395
Chase, William Staughton 396
Childrey, J. T. M 280
Christian, Charles 88
Christian, Index, The 123, 204, 221, 327
Christian Review, The 191
Cleveland, Grover 62, 136
Clifford, John H 61
Clark, A. B 380
Clark, T. D. D ... 430
Clark, W. Thorburn 330,411
CLAYBROOK, FREDERICK WILLIAM 437-440
Claybrook, Richard 503
Clopton, James 104
CLOPTON, SAMUEL CORNELIUS 104-107, 213
Cocke, C. L 1 14
512 INDEX
PAGE
COLEMAN, JAMES D 452-454
Colgate University 133
COLLIER, CHARLES WELDON 435-436
Collins, Powhatan E 257
Columbian College 49, 114, 136, 161,311,389
Conant, T. J 20
Cone, W. H 395
Connally, John A 63
Conwell, Russell H 280
Cook, David 256
Cook, J. B 247
Cook, J. J 165
COOPER, GEORGE 64,406
Corey, Charles H 170
Councill, J. G _ 133
Craig, D. 1 316
Crawford, Rev. Mr 21
CRIDLIN, RANSELL WHITE 38, 150, 332, 379-384
Crowder, Hosea 237
Crozer Theological Seminary 147,179,279,285,409
CURRY, JABEZ LAMAR MONROE 53-64,214,259,260,262,265,340
Cummings, Henry S 319
Dabney, George E 182
Dailey, L. E 391
Daniel, J. R 502
Darlington, J. J 117
DAVIDSON, JUDSON CAREY .427-430
Davis, Isaac 314
DAVIS, JAMES ALLISON 83-86
Davis, Jefferson 64, 265
Davis, Noah K 198,254
Davis, Q. C 391
DAUGHTRY, WILLIAM BONNIE 411-412
DEANS, JOSEPH FRANKLIN 49-52, 179, 381
Decker, W. J 404
Derieux, W. T 433,434
DICKINSON, ALFRED ELIJAH 45, 66, 122, 166-176, 203, 332, 346, 382
Dickinson, C R 308
Dickinson, J. T 170,176
Diggs, Isaac 433
Dix, Levin 149,150
Dixon, A. C _ 262,277
Dixon, James 205
Dodd, Charles Hastings 410
DODGE, H. W - 161, 162,474-476
Dudley, E. E 52
Duke, C. W 51, 319, 320, 321
Dulin, W. B 147
INDEX 513
PAGE
Dunaway, A. B - 51,249
Dunaway, Thomas S 207, 345, 452
Dunaway, Wayland F 207,440
Eaton, Dr 20
Eaton, George N 61
EATON, T. T 483-486
EDMONDS, RICHARD HENRY 449-452
EDMONDSON, THOMAS F 120
EDWARDS, RICHARD 179-180
Ellett. T. H 396
Ellyson, Henry, K 251,380
ELLYSON ONAN _ 251-252
Ellyson, J. Taylor 38, 311, 361, 372
Elsom, P. G 66
Epps, Edward 245
EUBANK, ALEXANDER - 67-68, 92, 393
Evans, A. B 126
Evans, John M 448
Evans, Thomas B 125
Evarts, Wm. L - 61
Examiner, The 199
Farish, William P 144,301
Farish, C. W - 396
Farragut, D. G 61
FAULKNER, JOHN KERR - 385-388
Ferrell, Peter W :. 338
Fellers, L. P - 94
Fife, James _ 301
Figg, Royall 380
Finn, Daniel W 54
Fish, Hamilton - 61
Fisher, W. F 51,299
FLEET, ALEXANDER 147,362-363
Fleming, Josh 53
Fletcher, J. F - - 326
FLIPPO, OSCAR PARISH 69-78, 150,482
Folkes, R. A. 230
Foreign Mission Journal - 199
Foushee, N. B 90
Franklin College 55
Franklin College (Indiana) 317
Frazier, Wm. A - 145
French, J. A - 203,213
Fry, C. F 222
Fuller, Richard 21, 22, 23, 137, 462
FUNK, BENJAMIN 239-240
FUNK, TIMOTHY _ 234-236
514 INDEX
PAGE
Gardner, C. S 473
Garland, R. D 318
GARLICK, J. R 214, 345-347, 458
Garnett, W. F. G 245
GATEWOOD, THOMAS BRECKENRIDGE 377-378
Gaw, B. D 420
Geddings, Dr 24
George, Z. Jeter _ 352
Georgetown College 100, 133
GILBERT, ROBERT BABBOR 364
Gill, Mrs. Everette 82
Goodwin, H. J 230,440
Goodwin, A. T 245
Goode, Ann Spottswood . 424
Goode, J. K 51
Goode, Thomas F . .. 425
Gore, Mrs. S. S 82
Gordon, Armistead Churchill 53
Gordon, John 280, 409, 410
Gordon, John Churchill 231
Gospel Worker, The 159
Grace, E. L ... 228
Graham, E. K ... 341
Grant, U. S . 61
Graves, R. H ... 472
Gray, B. D 472, 489
Gray, E. H _ 416
GREGORY, ERNEST THOMAS 103
Gregory, John M 245
Green, Berryman 181
Green, T. M 391
Green, W. C 106
Gresham, William A 61
Griffith, B 123
Griesmer, H. A 329
GRIMSLEY, SIMEON U _ 177-178
GRIMSLEY, THOMAS F 154, 155, 365-366
GWALTNEY, JAMES LANCASTER 501-502
Gwaltmey, R. R 107
Gwin, D. W _. 365
Habel, S. T ... 402
Hale, P. T _ 486
Haley, L. J _ 247, 338, 404
Hall, Addison 249,450
Hall, Charles A 132
Hall, T. A 202,333
Hall, W 447
Hamilton, Sir William 406
INDEX SIS
PAGE
Hamner, John .. 427
Hampden-Sidney College 43, 127
Hankins, Wm _ 268
Hard, Wm 24
Hardaway, J. S 489
Hardcastle, E. L 325
Harding, Aaron 100
Hardwick, Alvin 329
Hardwick, J. B 381
Hargrave, J. H 79
Harris, H. H _. 64, 85, 145, 168, 214, 219, 338, 357
Harris, J. H 66
Harris, Samuel G 424
Harris, William ("Father") 86,92, 114,350
Harris, William B 365
Harrison Gessner 190
Harrison! J. R iZiZZZZZZZ." I .".ZZZ.84, 85, 92
Harrow, John W 161
Hart, A. J 120
Hart, John 81,368
HART, JOSEPH WASHINGTON _ 433-434
Harvard, University _ 55. 56
Harvey, W. P 486
Harwood, John W 165
HASH, ALBERT GRANT 326-327
Hatcher, E. B _ _ 361
Hatcher, H, E, 161
HATCHER, HARVEY 121-124, 182
Hatcher Jeremiah .... 121
HATCHER, WILLIAM ELDRIDGE 42,64,65,92, 100,158,182,228,
294, 300, 304, 309, 348-361
Hawkins, E. P 404
HAWTHORNE, JAMES BOARDMAN 253-267, 368
Hayes, Rutherford B 56
HAYMORE, R. D 85,274-276
Headley, Wm 316
HEALY, NATHAN .. ... 503
Hedley, Wm 42
Henderson, Samuel 58
Hendrickson, Charles R 450
Henry, Patrick ~ 40
Henry, William Wirt 39
Hening B Cabell 147
Henson, P. S 269,370
Herndon, C. T 399
Herndon, Thadeus 97
HESS JAMES . 163
Hicks J E 489
Hiden, John C - 218, 338, 435
516 INDEX
PAGE
Hill, A. P 220
Hill, W. A " 165
Hines, W. P .". 51
Hitchborn, Mrs 19
Hoge, Moses D 142
Hollins College 114,270
Holman, Russell 231
Holmes, J. E. L 214
Holt, A. J 320
Hopkins, Dr _ 153
Hopkins, John W 377
Howard College 59, 141,256,263,326
Howell, R. B. C 128,245
HUME, THOMAS, JR 214, 219, 337-344, 385
Hume, Thomas, Sr 109, 337, 381
HUNDLEY, JOHN WALKER 178, 442-445
Hundley, W. T 362
Hunton, Eppa . 38
Hutson, J. B 333,472
Hutson, J. E 101
I'Anson, Vernon .. ._.237, 238, 391
Irwin, C. M _ 206
AMES, BENJAMIN CARTER 164-165
AMES, CHARLES FENTON 38-42,382
ames, F. H 243
ames, John C _ 219
ames, W. C 303
ackson, "Stonewall" 169, 218, 221, 303
_ efferson, Thomas 39
Jeffries, James 135
Jenkins, Carter Ashton 277, 420
Jeter, J. B 30, 122, 128, 169, 214, 245, 300, 339, 340, 345, 353,
357,491,492
Johnson, Fullerton _ 245
Johnson, J. L 219, 220, 301, 338, 339
Johnson, Lucius Brutus 254
Johnson, T. N 269,272
Johnston, Joseph E 59, 229, 425
Jones, C. G 85
Jones, Carter Helm - 102, 224, 294
Jones, E. P _ 250
JONES, FRERRE HOUSTON 314-316
JONES, TAMES E 330, 41 1
JONES, JOHN WILLIAM 87, 161,218-228,338,339,396
Jones, Reuben .450,451
Jones, Sam 75
Jones, Tiberius Gracchus 301,450
Judson College 398
INDEX 517
PACE
Kable, Wm _. 385
KEELING, HENRY _ 353, 504-507
Keene, T. C 381
KEMPER, JAMES FOLEY 287-288
Kendrick, Dr 20
KENDRICK, JOSEPH B _ 374-375
KERN, I. T _ ... 212
Kerfoot, F. H ... 311
Kerr, John 385
Kincannon, C. T 394
Kincannon, J. T 48, 429
King, Judge Mitchell 20
KINGSFORD, EDWARD 162, 353, 490-496
Kirk, Wm. H 207,450
Kline, John _ _ 220
Knight, Ryland 228
Lacy, B. T .. 221
Lacy, John H 183
Lake, I. B 457
LAMB, JOHN MOODY L27-129
Landmark Banner, The 48
LANCASTER, JOHN FRAZIER 273-274, 461, 473
Landrum, W. W 102,361
La Rue, Miss Sarah ... 326
Lawless, J. L 411
Laws, William _ 149
Lawton, Joseph A _ 463
Leas, David P ... 410
Lee, R. E 35, 41, 169, 218, 221, 229
Lee, W H F 301
Leftwich, G. W _ _ 92
Leftwich, George M 396
Leftwich, James _ 1 14
LEONARD, JOSEPH _ 281
LEWIS, THOMAS W _ 130
Lewisburg University 1 10
Lindsay, R. S _ 396
Logan, David 183
Long, J. C 215,244, 245
Long, James _ 386
Long, Joseph R 478
Longanacre, James 182
Longfellow, H. W ."...._ .".IT. 56
Longstreet, Augustus Baldwin 54
Love, J. F _ 411, 473
Love, John 280
Loving, J. B 368
Lowell, James Russell 56
518 INDEX
PAGE
Lowry, W. Joseph 259
Luck, J. M 85
LUCK, JAMES PASCHAL 392-394
LUKE, ISAAC V 482
Luke, J. M. C _ 482
Lunsford, Lewis 91
Lunsford, Merriman 91
LUNSFORD, ROBERT RHODAM ....91-93
Luther, J. H 506
Macalister, Charles 61
Madison, James 39
Madison University 18, 20, 23, 407
Maginnis, Dr 20
MAIDEN, JAMES FRANKLIN 94-96
Mallory, C. D 54
Mallory, Richard 162
Manly, Basil, Jr 80
Manly, Basil, Sr _ 18
Manly, Charles 270
Mansfield, J. W 83
Margrave, Wm. G _ 371
Martin, F. H 243
MARTIN, JOHN W 298-299
Mason, Emmett, J., Jr 497
MASON, SAMUEL GRIFFIN 241
Mason, Otis _ 136
MASSIE, SAMUEL P 65, 298, 299, 441
MAY, ISAAC NEWTON _ _ 367-368
McArthur, R. S 261
McCarthy, John 380
McCowN, CHARLES FRANKLIN 244
McCowN, JOHN W 244-247
MCDONALD HENRY 99-101
McDaniel, George W . 310,410
McDufifie, George 54
McFarland, R. A 412
McGuffey, Wm. H 190
Mcllwaine, Charles P 61
McLeod, Duncan _ 249
McKerley, Rev. Mr 54
McMillan, W. R 299
McKinley. William 173
MEADOR, CHASTAIN CLARK _ 114-119
Melton, Sparks W 310
Merrikin, Richard H 73
MILBOURNE, LODOWIC RALPH _ _ 149-153
Miller, Thomas P 416
Mitchell, J. W 127,128
INDEX 519
PAGE
Moffett, John R _ 318
Moore, F. W 103
Moore, L. W 332
Montague, J. Adolphus 442
Montgomery, W. A _ 429
Morgan, J. Pierpont 419
Morgan, Rev. Mr 70
Morgan, Stephen E 245
Morriss, M. M _ 155
Mossy Creek College 465
Mullins, E. Y 137,357
MUNDEN, NATHAN M _ 89-90
MUNDAY, JAMES ALEXANDER ...269-272
MURDOCH, JOSEPH RVLAND 147-148
Murray, A. S 326
Murray, J. S 326
Murrell, Rufus _ 181
Naff, S. L .. 250
Nelson, James _ 136, 150, 31 1, 410
NEWMAN, THERON WALLACE _ 97-98
Nicoll, W. J _ 413
Nininger, N. T _ 74
Norfolk College 340
NORRIS, CALVIN ROAH..._ 431-432
Northam, George H 207
Ogden, Armistead H 377
Ogilvie, John _ 477
Oncken, J. G ... 474
Otey, John M 129
OWEN, AUSTIN EVERETT 51, 156-160
Owen, Wm. Russell 160
PARRISH, MADISON E 277-278
Pattie, D. M 132
Pauling, L. D 150
Peabody, George 61, 63, 64
Peale, R. E 426
Pearcy, George 104
Pearcy, J. H _... 391
PEARSON, THOMAS P 286
Peck, George - 100
PENICK, WILLIAM SYDNOR 122, 181-186,361,458
Pennington, G. W 120
PENNINGTON, B. P 480-481
Perkins, Jesse Clopton 447
PERRY, JOHN MAJOR 110-111
Petigru, James Lewis 54
520 INDEX
PAGE
PETTY, HENRY _ 108-109
Peyton, E. G _ _ 66
Pilcher, J. M 51, 52, 249, 396, 417, 435, 441
Pitt, R. H 304, 361, 461
Poindexter, A. M 183, 301, 304
Pollard, E. B 102,140
POLLARD, JOHN 125, 135-140
Pollard, John Mrs 105
Pollard, John Garland _ 140
Ponton, A. J 431
Porter, James A _ 213
Poteat, E. M _ 137
Prince, George W 396
Princeton College 43
Province, S. M 458
Pullen, John 500
Pulliam, Samuel H .....182,351
Purser, J. F 489
8UARLES, JOHN RHODES 242-243
uarles, Charles _ 242,301
RAGLAND, HUGH DAVIS 421-423
RANDOLPH, JOHN THOMPSON _ 144-146
READ, MARSHALL W 79
Reid, Robert - 275
Religious Herald, The 40,65,85,106,113,122,126,127,169,
172, 199, 207, 221, 244, 250, 278, 279, 295, 299, 305, 313,
316, 319, 321, 360, 369, 372, 377, 382, 433, 434, 452.
Renfroe, J. J. D 59, 258
REYNOLDS, ALBERT D 323
Rhea, William Francis 217
RHODES, WALTER
RICE, ARCHIBALD ALEXANDER 43-45
Rice, Benjamin Holt 43
Rice, Samuel W 56
Richard, J. C 112
Richmond College 36, 38, 49, 51, 55, 59, 60, 63, 65, 67, 80, 100,
103, 107, 121, 125, 141, 147, 154, 157, 159, 167, 168, 170,
172, 179, 182, 190, 191, 192, 194, 195, 203, 207, 224, 231,
237, 239, 244, 262, 269, 279, 285, 290, 298, 300, 308, 320,
321, 330, 338, 339, 340, 345, 346, 351, 357, 363, 385, 395,
396, 401, 408, 433, 442, 455, 456, 471.
Riddick, J. T - 250
Riggs, Geo. W 61
Riley, B. F 253
Ritter, L. M 329
Rives, Wm. C ---- 61
Roanoke Female College 79,340
INDEX 521
PAGE
Roberts, T. W _ 269
Robinson, John 135
Rochester University _ 216
Rockefeller, John D 63
Rodgers, Samuel 162
Rodgers, S. B ... 320
Rogers, A. E 73
Roper, David _ m 505
Rowland, A. J 410
Royall, W. S 85,430
Russell, George Peabody . 61
RYLAND, CHARLES HILL 45, 63, 147, 161, 182, 303, 361, 369,
370,420,455-461
RYLAND, JOHN WILLIAM 125-126,147,182,351
Ryland, Josiah 49
Ryland, Robert 152, 167, 182,351
Ryland, W. S 338
Sale, W. C ... 250
SALLADE, JACOB 279-280
Samson, G. W 496
Sanderson, F. N 92
Sands, A. H 214
Sands, Wm _ 506
Sandford, John H ... 248
Sanford, M. F _ 250, 323, 383
SANFORD, ROBERT BAILEY 248-250
Sams, Oscar E _ 252,272
Samson, George W 136, 340
Savage, W. V 51
SCOTT, THOMAS D _... 268
Sears, Barnas 61
SELFE, WILSON V 376
Senter, D 47
Senter, N. M 47
Settle, J. J 477
SETTLE, VINCENT THOMAS _ 477-478
Seymore, T. L 250
SHAVER, DAVID 353, 498-499, 492
SHEPHERD, THOMAS BENTON 161-162
Shipman T J 361
Shipman, W. J ."."..." ."." 88, 161, 335
Shipp, E. G 167
Sisk, W. W - 126,230
Skinner, T. Clagett 472
Skinner, T. E 465
Skinner, Thomas ~97, 98
Smith, A. B 332,492
Smith, G. B 380
522 INDEX
PAGE
Smith, H. C 335
Smith, J. Worthington _ 477
Smith, Jasper K 185
Smith, John _ 129
Smith, S. F 170,218
Smith, W. H 473
Smith, W. R. L 228,287,372,397,488,489
Snyder, W. A 52
SNEAD, GEORGE HOLM AN _ 300-310
Solomon, J. B 158,213
Southern Baptist Theological Seminary 38, 65, 80, 103, 120,
154, 161, 165, 204, 208, 219, 224, 287, 300, 393,
396, 401, 410, 425, 428, 433, 437.
Southern Historical Society Papers _. 226
Southwestern Baptist, The 258
Sowers, N. 81
Sower, The 199
Spencer, David 410
Speight, Henry 389
SPEIGHT, JOHN ALEXANDER 389-391
Speight, T. T 389,391
Sprague, T. H 280
Staley, D 92
Stevenson, T. J 102
Story, Judge _ 56
STRATON, HENRY DUNDAS" DOUGLAS 446-448
Straton, John Roach 448
Street, J. M 86
Street, W. H _ 373
Strider, John P 302
STUART, C. E 202,284-286
Sturgis, C. F 254
Sumrell, H. A 185
Swann, George 42
Tabb, B. West ... 456
Tabler, John T 475
Talbird, Henry 280
Taylor, C. T 96,120
Taylor, D. G 268,273
TAYLOR, GEORGE BOARDMAN _ 49, 87, 187-200, 218, 339, 397
Taylor, J. B 26,168,188,300,301,353,466
TAYLOR, J. B., JR _ 182,220,300-305,338,351
TAYLOR, JAMES IRA 296-297
Taylor, J. J 51, 274, 276, 290
Taylor, J. L _ 28,273
Taylor, Mary Argyle 200
Taylor, T. J - 250
Taylor, W. C 297
INDEX 523
.PAGE
Taylor, W. H.... 370,371
Teasdale, T. C 465
Temple University _ 280
Terry, O. L 364
THAMES, T. B .42,487-489
Thomas, James, Jr 59
THOMAS, JAMES MAGRUDER _ 400-402
THOMAS, JOHN RICHARD 413-414
Thomas, John W - 264
Thomas, Wm. D 220,339
Thompson, C. M - 486
THOMPSON, S. H 113, 165,317-318,320
Thompson, William - 317
Thornton, Miss Alice 401
Timrod, Henry Hannibal ~ 20
Todd, Asa 415
Toronto University - 407
Toy, C. H _ _ 161, 220, 301
Trevis, Alexander 253
TRIBBLE, HENRY WISE 319-322
Truett, Geo. W 265
TUCKER, R. ATWELL .65-66
TUPPER, HENRY ALLEN 13-37,466
Turner, David 395
Turner, Joseph A 182,351
TURPIN, JOHN BROADUS 213-217
Turpin, Miles 104,213
Tyree, Cornelius 396,447
Tyree, W. C ...... 66,316
University of Chicago 194
University of Georgia 55
University of Virginia 144, 145, 168, 182, 183, 189, 190, 191,
194, 198, 199, 218, 224, 226, 300, 301, 307, 321, 330, 339,
350, 367, 385, 397.
Upshaw, Will D ... 320
Vaughan, John C 201
Virginia Military Institute 225, 287, 302, 437, 439
Waddell, Moses .. 54
Waddill, Edmund, Jr _ 129
Waite, Rev. Mr 70
Walker, J. G 410
Walker! W. L 142
WALLACE, ISAAC f _ 245
Wallace, Rev. Mr 70
Walton, L. H _...._ 310
Wake Forest College 270
524 INDEX
PAGE
WARD, JOHN WYATT 133-134
Warren, L. B _ 320
Warren, Patrick 334
WARREN, PATRICK THOMAS 334-336
Washington, George 129
Washington and Lee University 224, 225,302
Watchman, The 199,200
Watchman-Examiner, The 360
Watkins, Haddon 361
Watkinson, M. R 89
Wayland, J. W 234, 239
Wayts, Willis F 431
Weaver, James 325
WEBB, W. R 237-238
Webster, Daniel 56
Welford, E. T ...... 250
Wharton, H. M 137,206
WHARTON, MORTON BRYAN 203-206
White, Augustus 70
White, John E 102
Whitescarver, W. A 308, 340, 447
WHITSITT, WILLIAM HETH 228, 290-295
Whittinghill, D. G 198
Wiatt, W. E _ 125,230
Wilbur, J. M 280
Wildman, J. W 86
WILKINSON, JOHN ROBERT _ 332-333
William Jewel College 288
William and Mary College 229, 424
WILLIAMS, GEORGE FRANKLIN _ 415-420
Williams, H. T 110
Williams, J. W. M 339,
WILLIAMS, WILLIAM HARRISON 80-82, 122, 396
WILLIAMSON, ROBERT 282-283
WILLINGHAM, R. J 303, 3.61, 462-473
Willis, E. J 380
WILLIS, JOHN MILTON 231-233
Wilson, L. T 250
Wilson, Norvell 353
WILSON, M. A 112-113
Wilson, William L 136
Wilson, Woodrow 94
Winfree, D. B - 332
Winfrey, E. W - 288
Winkler, E. T 479
Winn, S. R 165
Witherspoon, T. D 222
Winthrop, Robert C 61,62
Witmore, Samuel 61
INDEX 525
PAGE
Witness, The 199
Witt, J. D .. 161
Wood, M. L 435
WOODFIN, AUGUSTUS BEVERLY 380, 395-399
Woodfin, A. P 380,396
Woodson, C. A . 38
Word and Way, The 288
Womble, W. F .. 316
WRENN, C. E 289
Yates, Mrs. Levi.... 19
Yoer, Jacob _ 14
Young, George 410
Young, William M 361
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