.
RECOLLECTIONS
OF
FIFTY YEARS IN THE MINISTRY:
WITH
NUMEROUS CHARACTER SKETCHES.
BY
JOHN SCOTT, D. D.,
AUTHOR OF "PULPIT ECHOES," "THE LAND OF SOJOURN," AND "
CATECHISM OF THE DOCTRINES, HISTORY, AND POLITY OF
THE METHODIST PROTESTANT CHURCH," ETC.
INTRODUCTION BY REV. J. J. MURRAY, D. D.
"$atber up tbe fragments, tbat nothing be lost."
jDrotegtcmt iBrmrb of
PITTSBURGH. PA.. AND BALTIMORE, MD.
U. S. FLEMING, Agent, 422 Fifth Avenue, Pittsburgh, Pa.
W. J. C. DULANY, Agent, 8 East Baltimore Street, Baltimore, Md.
COPYRIGHT, 1898, BY
PITTSBURGH DIRECTORY ov METHODIST PROTESTANT CHURCH.
HIS BELOVED WIFE,
who, for more than Fifty years, has shared
his toils and cares,
this volume is affectionately
BY THE AUTHOR.
PREFACE.
THE observance of the fiftieth anniversary of my li-
censure to preach the gospel recalled to my mind so
vividly many of the scenes and occurrences of the
past, and many of the friends of former years, that I have
thought it might be of interest to my family, and perhaps
to others, to place on record some of my recollections of
former times, showing, as they do, the changes which have
taken place in one short lifetime.
The great mass of the people belong to the industrial
classes, who possess good common sense and such educa-
tion as qualifies them for the ordinary pursuits and enjoy-
ments of life, but who make no pretensions to literary
culture and scientific knowledge. A man who can write
an instructive and entertaining book about common things,
level to the capacity of this class, has an opportunity of
doing greater good than the man who can produce a
learned and profound treatise on some abstract scientific
subject, which but few persons would be able to under-
stand and appreciate. After all, it is the common, every-
day, practical things of life that really concern and interest
the great majority of the people, and these are often
deemed too trifling to secure attention and be placed on
record for their perusal and instruction.
This narrative is about a very common life, passed
among common scenes, and occupied with common things.
It makes no pretensions to elegance of diction or attract-
iveness of style; but tells in a plain and simple manner
the story of a life spent by a common man, among com-
mon people, in an attempt to do them good.
5
6 PREFACE.
The narrative being largely personal, it is hardly neces-
sary to apologize for its personal style and its numerous
personal allusions and statements. These, by a little at-
tention, might have been modified and rendered less strik-
ing; but having undertaken to write about myself, I have
not hesitated to do so in the most direct manner. This
is not agreeable to my own taste, but to accomplish my
purpose, it could not easily be avoided.
It is perhaps proper, and even necessary, for me to
say here, that in what I have written in reference to cer-
tain questions which at one time agitated our ecclesiastical
economy, causing long and earnest discussion, and the
action which followed, I must not be regarded as re-
arguing those questions from a present point of view; but
as presenting the light in which they appeared to me, and
to those who were in accord with me in sentiment, at the
time of their discussion. The subject is historical, and
the object is to present facts, not in the light in which
they appear to us now, but in the light in which they ap-
peared at the time of their occurrence. The facts being
presented in their proper setting, it is for the reader to
judge of the correctness of the action taken.
This volume, except a few corrections and additions,
was completed on my seventy-third birthday, October 27,
1893. Some important events with which I have been
associated, and many changes in the Conference with
which I am connected, have occurred since then; but as I
only undertook to give the recollections of fifty years,
these, of course, are omitted.
I trust that my narrative, with its numerous facts and
incidents, will not prove entirely uninteresting and un-
profitable.
Eldersville, Pa,
INTRODUCTION.
A MAN" that has given fifty years of his life to the min-
istry of the gospel in any branch of the Methodist
Church, must be a dull man if he has seen or heard,
during that time, nothing worth recording. But the
author of this book is not a dull man. Going through the
world with his eyes open, he has improved his opportuni-
ties, and acquired a fund of facts and reflections that will
not disappoint the reader who takes up the volume with
the expectation of being entertained and edified.
The book having been submitted to me in manuscript,
I read it with varied but sustained interest from begin-
ning to end. Sometimes smiling, sometimes laughing
aloud, at one moment stopping to wipe the tears from my
eyes, at another admiring a forcible argument, a just re-
flection, or a quaint expression, I persevered in the perusal
until, at the end of two sittings, I came to the conclusion,
regretting that the end had come. Possibly I was more
interested than some others will be, because familiar names
occur in the narrative, and I had taken part in some of
the transactions recorded. But apart from personal, local,
or denominational associations, I think there is enough
in the book to repay perusal; and I shall be disappointed
if the young are not instructed, and the old are not grati-
fied, as they go along with the author in the paths which,
for fifty years, he pursued as an itinerant preacher of the
gospel.
Dr. Scott, having lived before the division of the Meth-
odist Protestant Church and subsequent to the reunion
7
8 INTRODUCTION.
of the same, and having been prominent in the transactions
associated with both, naturally records what came under
his own observation, and I am free to acknowledge that
he does it in the spirit of fairness and charity. Beared
amid different surroundings, and associated for the greater
portion of my life with people of whom he knew little by
actual intercourse, my narration of the events which oc-
curred in the trying times of our ecclesiastical history,
and my reflections upon the occurrences of those days,
might not be identical with his own. Every man speaks of
what impresses him from his own point of observation.
"When we read history," says Dr. Hugh Frank Foster,
"we have not understood the subject if we have gained
merely a knowledge of the facts." Facts are misleading,
though narrated with honest intent, unless they are pre-
sented in a setting of their proper surroundings. Many,
if not all, the differences of good men are attributable to
their inability to see things clearly on all sides. "Now we
see through a glass darkly;" perfect vision is the privilege
of the saints that have passed "within the veil." Dr. Scott
has clearly presented facts from his point of view, and
thereby has done a service to those that thought and acted
with him that will be appreciated by them, and he has done
it in a manner that will elicit no unfavorable comments
from those that differed with him. Those of us who did
not so fully understand the pressure of all kinds upon our
brethren of the North and West, will revise our judgment
in the light of this book. If it does not as fully set forth
the difficulties of our brethren in the South, charity will
say, it is because the author could not be so familiar with
them as we were ourselves.
JOHN J. MURK AY.
UNION BRIDGE, MD., December 12, 1893.
CONTENTS.
CHAPTER I.
Parents Born in Ireland Early Methodists Emigration to
this Country Grandparents Settlement Birth Early Sur-
roundingsPrimitive Customs Early Products Social En-
joyments Religious Advantages Bethel Early Methodist
Preachers Catechising Important Lesson John Elliott-
Shock to my Feelings Charles Scott Methodism and
Local Preachers Pages 21-29
CHAPTER II.
My Father an Early Reformer "Mutual Rights" Bethel So-
ciety Reform Controversy General Conference of 1828
Organization under Conventional Articles Honored
Names Other Societies Ohio Circuit Josiah Foster, First
Preacher John Wilson Masonic Procession Change of
Pastor John Clark New Bethel Two Days' Meetings-
Dedication of New Church Large Attendance Great Re-
vivalConversions at Private Houses throughout the
Neighborhood Love-feast Conversion United with the
Church Conversion of Children 30-38
CHAPTER III.
My Father's Illness and Death Dying Charge Attending
School Books Teachers James Carmichael Visit to
Pittsburg Gift of a Dollar Purchase of a Grammar and
Dictionary Study of Grammar Improvement in the Char-
acter of our School Literary Society Address on Solar
System Work on Natural Philosophy Blair's Rhetoric-
Hedge's Logic Backsliding Beginning Progress Un-
happy Weekly Prayer-meeting George M. Scott Happily
Restored Family Prayer Purchase of a Farm Call to
Preach Embarrassment Slale of Farm Hand of Provi-
dence Dr. George Brown, Pastor Great Privilege
Elected Assistant Class-leader 39-50
9
10 CONTENTS.
CHAPTER IV.
John Herbert Three Years' Pastorate Fatherly Oare Li-
censed to Preach My First Sermon Some of the Books
Read Doctrines of the Gospel Theory of Preaching-
Wise Counsel Recommended to Conference John Cowl-
John Beaty A. W. Porter Trip to Conference Distin-
guished Members Shinn's Sermon Received into Confer-
enceAppointed to Ohio Circuit as Assistant R. T. Simon-
ton, Superintendent Muskingum Conference Set off Quar-
terly-meeting at West Middletown John Deselm's Prayer-
Four Weeks' Circuit Short Sermons My Brother Charles-
Good Meetings Small Salaries Had Acquired a Little
Experience Pages 51-62
CHAPTER V.
Conference in Pittsburg First Saw G. B. McElroy Ordained
Deacon Appointed Assistant on Union Circuit James
Hop wood, Superintendent Large Circuit Leaving Home
Stop in Washington James L. Porter and Wife National
Road Laurel Hill Arrival at Uniontown Father and
Mother Phillips Henry B. Bascom Preaching-places
Entertainment Protracted-meetings James Hopwood
F. A. Davis Breakneck Connellsville Isaac Frances-
Samuel Catlin Hugh Cameron Camp-meeting Hard
Times Book-bill My Only Horse-trade First Marriage-
Small Salary 63-75
CHAPTER VI.
Conference at Fairmont Mrs. Hannah Reeves and Cornelius
Springer Sensational Preaching Uniontown made a Sta-
tionAppointed to that Charge Hard Study Lack of Con-
fidence in Myself Boarding-places Father Phillips and
Hebrew Names D. H. Phillips John H. Deford Water-
ing the Horse John L. Means Joseph L. Phillips Fine
Singer Close of the Year Case of Trance 70-83
CHAPTER VII.
Conference Met in Connellsville Thomas H. Stockton A
Peerless Preacher Ordained Elder Appointed to First
Church, Pittsburg F. A. Davis, Assistant Boarding-
CONTENTS. 11
places Largo Congregations Plenty of Work Leading
Members Charles Avery Sketch of His Character Be-
nevolence Second Church Colored People Aid Society-
Death and Funeral Edward Moore Responses Pro-
tracted-meeting "All the Goslings" Small Salary Object
of Envy Important Lesson Marriage Acting as Chor-
isterClose of the Year * Pages 84-99
CHAPTER VIII.
Conference in Allegheny City Appointed to Uniontown
Young People and Housekeeping Small Salary Mr. Isaac
Skyles, a Kind Friend Left in Debt Church Never Pros-
perous Layman's Bureau Wrong Policy Conference in
Waynesburg T. H. Stockton's Sermon Appointed to Man-
chester Circuit Removal Cold House Mr. and Mrs. Bing-
ham Horse and Buggy Cultivation of a Garden Pastoral
Visitation The Brown Families Quarterly-meeting No
Money No Flour A Barrel of Flour Brought to My Door-
Very Bad Flour Controversy About It Many Excellent
People A Special Visit Attention to the Poor Local
Preachers Joseph Burns A Sad Event Out of
Debt 100-118
CHAPTER IX.
Conference in Pittsburg Appointed to First Church, Allegheny
City Samuel Clawson and Thomas MapleAmusing Con-
troversy William Reeves Secret Society Question
Trouble in Church Pastoral Visitation Different Stories-
Silence Prayer Labor to Harmonize the Church Some
Success Conference at Uuiontown William Collier Ex-
amination of T. H. Lancaster Returned to Allegheny-
Things Very Pleasant Many Good Brethren Numerous
Meetings P. T. Laishley Traveling President F. H. Col-
lierStudy of Greek and Latin Restrictive Rule Reluct-
ance to Leave 119-131!
CHAPTER X.
Conference in Morgantown Route to Conference Coach-ride
Across the Country Infant Baptism Missionary to
China Disappointment Daniel Bagley Madison College-
Two Scholarships E. Y. Reese and R. H. Ball T. II.
Stockton Received into the Conference Sent to Sharps-
12 CONTENTS.
burg Old Members William Garner John Cook First
Bereavement Religious Prosperity Close of the Year-
Conference at Pruntytown Trip to Conference Whisky-
Boiled Eggs and Potatoes Crossing the River Noble Gil-
lespie The Priest J. W. Rutledge Action on Temper-
ance Missionary Society Subject of Slavery Sermon-
Threatened with Arrest Difficulty in Stationing the
Preachers Sent to First Church, Pittsburg. .Pages 133-143
CHAPTER XI.
Removal to New Charge Site of First Church Great
Changes Labors Very Arduous Sunday-school Journal
Copway, Indian Chief Rev. De Hass Disappointment-
Large Congregation David Jones Preparation of Ser-
mon Death of William Shinn's Child Embarrassment
in Preaching David Jones united with the Church Con-
version Entered the Ministry Conference in Washing-
ton, Pa. Many Visiting Brethren College Matters En-
dowment Money Spent for Current Expenses Great Dis-
satisfaction Elected Delegate to General Conference
Returned to First Church, Pittsburg Noble Men Precious
Memories 144-153
CHAPTER XII.
General Conference in Steubenville Differences between
North and South Honest Desire for Adjustment Member
of Committee on Paper and Book Concern Knotty Ques-
tionPlan of Adjustment Faithfully Carried Out Hand
of Providence in It Conference in Allegheny City
Cholera Death of Henry T. Layton Theories about Chol-
eraIsaac B. Clark Western Virginia Conference Set
off 154-161
CHAPTER XIII.
Editor Missionary and Sunday-school Journal, and Correspond-
ing Secretary Board of Missions Visit to Virginia and
North Carolina, Conferences Virginia Conference Nor-
folk Numerous Incidents Navy-yard North Carolina
Conference Numerous Kind Friends Visit to Governor
Branch Return Home New York Conference Various
Other Visits Ill-health Fear of Location Remedy, 162-172
CONTENTS. 13
CHAPTER XIV.
Conference in Bridgeport President's Report Young Men and
the Ministry W. H. Phipps Transfers to Unstationed
List Appointed to Washington Mission Washington Col-
legePleasant Society Small Salary Good Garden Sec-
ond Year Good Done Sent to Birmingham Successful
Year Hearty Singing In Touch with the Times Confer-
ence in Connellsville Elected President Love of Home-
General Conference in Lynchburg Memorial Springfield
Convention of 1858 Changes in Discipline Easter Sun-
dayRemoval to Sharpsburg Its Condition Then Great
June Frost Salary Conference in Sharpsburg Allegheny
Seminary War of the Rebellion .Pages 173-189
CHAPTER XV.
Three Years in Stoarpsburg Conference in Allegheny City-
Sent Again to Birmingham Delegate to Cincinnati Con-
ventionWoman Suffrage Hard Year Financially John
Redman's Liberality Rebels Invade Pennsylvania Forti-
fications of Pittsburg Rine and the Donkey Elected Ed-
itor of Western Methodist Protestant Removal to Spring-
fieldJoel S. Thrap, Agent State Bank Notes No Offen-
sive Personalities Asked to Break My Pledge Pleasant
Relations with Board Enlargement of Paper Pastors of
Springfield Church Acted as Supply One Year Not Best
to Do So "Copperhead" Close of War Lincoln Assassi-
nated 190-205
CHAPTER XVI.
Non-Episcopal Methodist Union Call for a Convention
Numerously Signed Meeting of Convention in Cleveland-
President Attendance Proposed Basis of Union Action
Harmonious Cyrus Prindle in Wesleyan Recorder's Re-
marksConvention in Cincinnati Spirit of Fraternity-
Constitution Committee to Prepare a Discipline Luther
Lee L. C. Matlack American Wesleyan Methodist Prot-
estant General Conference Conventional Powers Changes
in Discipline General Conference in Cleveland 206-217
14 CONTENTS.
CHAPTER XVII.
Approval of Editorial Course Publishing Agent Enlargement
of Paper Trip West Chicago Then and Now Clerical
"Small Talk" Council Bluffs Senatorial Party Kains-
ville Mormons Pittsburg Conference Home Missions-
Ohio Conference Bishop Morris Favorite Hymn Hard
Work Pages 218-225
CHAPTER XVIII.
New Jersey Conference Fair Haven T. T. Heis "Outside
the Gate" E. D. Stultz T. B. Appleget Many Others-
Benjamin Doughty "Flat as a Flounder" Art of Fish-
ingNew York Five Points House of Industry Howard
Mission Home for Little Wanderers Inside View John
Allen Other Places Sad Feeling Publishing-houses At-
torney Street New York Conference Tarrytown "Sleepy
Hollow" Washington Irving Capture of Major Andr6
Monument Action of Conference about Wesleyans Re-
sponsive Action J. H. Robinson and Others Grand Street
Church 226-239
CHAPTER XIX.
Valentine Lucas Unbecoming Levity Conference in New
Brighton Sermon on the Deaconship Pleasant Session
Muskingum Conference Dr. Burns Forming Acquaint-
ances Numerous Relatives North Iowa Conference
R. M. Dalby J. D. Herr Old Lady Giggling Girls State
Center Church Agents Small Conference Transfer De-
ceased Brethren G. M. Scott Death of T. H. Stockton-
Notice by A. H. Bassett New York Conference T. T.
Kendrick Singular Action Retribution Mercy, but not
Lawlessness 240-249
CHAPTER XX.
Conference in Fairmont Church Embraced Leading Citizens
J. E. Snowden Subject of Union First Suggestion of It-
Discussed in Church Papers Fraternal Delegates to Mary-
land Conference Cordially Received Article of J. T. Mur-
rayReview of W. C. Lipscomb Editorial Comment Fra-
ternal Messengers from Maryland Conference Addresses
CONTENTS. 15
Very Kind, but Cautious Sabbath Services Tender
Time J. J. Murray's Sermon "Old, Old Story" Fraternal
Messengers to Maryland Conference W. H. Wills in
Methodist Protestant North Illinois Conference Discuss
Finance Smoking-car Nuisance Burying the Hatchet
North Iowa Conference Small Attendance High Waters-
Laborers Few "Old John Brown" Pages 260-259
CHAPTER XXI.
Alexander Clark and Samuel Young Young's Letter Of-
fense Article in Methodist Protestant Fraternal Messen-
gers Unpleasant Mood Call at Book Room Made Matter
Worse Dr. Collier Committee on Fraternal Relations-
Grievance Plain Talk Dr. Murray W. C. Lipscomb's Re-
marksRetractionSpell Broken Explanations A Mis-
understandingPleasant Ending Introduced to Confer-
ence Addresses Messengers of Methodist Episcopal
Church, South Funny and Flattering Addresses John
Paris "Brethren" Sunday Services Something Gained-
Resignation as Editor Resignation Accepted 260-267
CHAPTER XXII.
General Conference Methodist Protestant Church Brown, Col-
lier, Clark, Fraternal Messengers Cordial Greetings
Paper by J. J. Murray Discussion Different Views
Amended, and in Part Adopted Editorial Notice of the
Discussion and Action Last Editorial Reference to the
Subject General Convention Recommended Fraternal
Messengers to Methodist General Conference Thought of
Union Not Abandoned 268-274
CHAPTER XXIII.
Removal to Cincinnati Action of Board of Publication Sixth
Street Church Organization Location Persons of
Wealth Sale of Church New Location A Great Mis-
take Leading Members John Whetstone William
Young Spirit-intercourse "Never Came Back" John
Richards Delirium Tremens Indelible Impressions Noble
Women Many Things of Interest Two Sisters^Funeral
16 CONTENTS.
of "Susie" Brown Trying Ride Effort to Make a Ser-
monTender and Solemn Scene A Good Enough Re-
ligion Pages 275-288
CHAPTER XXIV.
Woman's Temperance Crusade First Steps Organization-
Districting the City Circulation of Pledges Mrs. Scott-
Meetings Three Times a Day First Praying Band Ex-
citement Reporters Mayor's Proclamation Singular
Document Mayor in Committee Room Cross Examina-
tion Arrest of the Women At the Lockup Released on
Parole In Police Court Mr. Emory, City Missionary
The Case of the Women Judge Hagans Examination of
Policemen Case Finally Dismissed Offer of Church
Yards Authorities Arraigned "Salty Document" Meeting
on the Esplanade Shrewdness Great Impulse to the Tem-
perance Cause 289-305
CHAPTER XXV.
General Methodist Union Subject Discussed Request of Dr.
Hoyt Six Articles on Union Delicacy of Subject Desira-
bility of Union Difficulties in the Way Color Line Sec-
tional Prejudice Secret Societies Question Narrowed
Methodist Episcopal and Methodist Protestant Churches
Defects of Each Middle Ground Objections of Early Re-
formersAn Executive Head Connectionalism and Con-
gregationalismCan Not be Combined Present Ten-
dency 306-314
CHAPTER XXVI.
Lack of Ministerial Association No Ministers of our Church-
Methodist Episcopal Preachers' Meeting Invitation to At-
tendSpringfield Pastor Other Ministers Dr. Merrill
"Colonel Moody, the Fighting Parson" Dr. Walden Com-
pliment by Dr. Merrill Sincere Friendship Elected Presi-
dent of Preachers' Meeting Closing Address Resolution
by John F. Wright Action of Meeting on My Leaving Cin-
cinnatiPublished in Western Christian Advocate Other
Ministers Dr. Aydelott Delightful Interviews
Heaven . ..315-322
CONTENTS. 17
CHAPTER XXVII.
Methodist General Conference, 1871 Letter from T. W. Peg-
ram Address of J. T. Murray Kind Responses Commis-
sioners to Methodist Protestant General Conference Au-
thority Never Met Did Not Attend Methodist Protestant
General Conference Good Reasons A. Clark and James
Robison Appointment of Nine Commissioners Dr. Burns' s
Call for Expression of Opinion Answer Letter of Dr.
Drinkhouse Answer General Conference in Princeton,
1875 William Hunter Bishop Janes Charles W. Button-
Recommendation of Committee on Union Commissioners
Appointed Ministerial Education Important Action Re-
moval to Pittsburg Pages 323-336
CHAPTER XXVIII.
General Conference Methodist Episcopal Church Fraternal
Delegates Disappointment Letter and Address Recep-
tion of Address Address of Dr. Clark Remarks of Bishop
Janes Reference of Dally Christian Advocate Pleasant
State of Feeling Change of Feeling No Official Inter-
course 337-344
CHAPTER XXIX.
Pittsburg Conference, 1876 Invited to Remain in Allegheny-
Declined Sent to Sharpsburg Grace Church Former Pas-
tor Old Friends Church not Prosperous Francis Mur-
phyMan of Great Magnetism "Old Home" Held Meet-
ing in My Church Protracted-meeting Gracious Revival-
Excellent Singing Mathematics and Music Henry Ding-
ierMiracle of Grace Trying to Pray Faithful Peaceful
Death Funeral 345-:;.-' i
CHAPTER XXX.
Meeting of Union Commissioners Action Basis of Union-
Action of Conferences Meeting of Conventions Basis of
Union Discussed and Adopted Meeting and Blending of
Two Bodies Pickens, a Lawyer Scott, a Preacher Stan-
Church Pleasant Flow of Good Feeling Happy Consum-
mation 351-355
2
18 CONTENTS.
CHAPTER XXXI.
Alexander Clark Lecture Tour Left in Charge of Methodist
Recorder Lecture in Richmond Address at Yadkin Ill-
ness Relapse Improvement Reaches Atlanta Kindness
of Governor Colquitt Sickness "In the Gate of Heaveu"-
Death Remains Brought Home Funeral Addresses
Pall-bearers Place of Interment Memorial Services in
First Church, Pittsburg Numerous Addresses Dr. Clark,
Author Man of Genius Continued to Edit Recorder
Elected Editor Editorial Greeting Experience Duties-
Tribute of Ingersoll to Clark Editorial Comments Inger-
soll's Letter in Reply Laborious Position. . . .Pages 356-371
CHAPTER XXXII.
Miss Lizzie M. Guthrie Meeting with Mrs. O'Neal Union
Board Education of Girls in Japan Preachers' Meeting-
Statements of Miss Guthrie Women Encouraged Wo-
man's Foreign Missionary Society Organized Officers
Constitution By-laws Miss Guthrie Birth Education-
Conversion Missionary to India Failure of Health
Japan Service There Attention Called to our Church-
Return Home Providentially Brought in Contact with our
Women Appointed Missionary to Japan Farewell Meet-
ingHer Departure Death in San Francisco Remains
Brought to Pittsburg Funeral Miss Harriet G. Brit-
tan 372-386
CHAPTER XXXIII.
General Conference of 1880 George B. McElroy, President-
Session of 1838 Two Survivors Not Members Old and
Young Men No Antagonism between Them Re-elected
Editor Recorder General Interests Offer of Column to
Women Accepted Editor for It Named Kept It Up
Assisted the Women Miss Brittan "Brick Fund" Mrs.
Scott, Treasurer Work Progressed Slowly Labor Attend-
ing It Amount Raised "Home" Paid For Mrs. Scott
Resigned 387-391
CHAPTER XXXIV.
No Idleness Personal Attention to Every Department of
Paper Weary Need of Rest Trip to the West Chicago
CONTENTS. 19
Political Conventions Differences Harmonized Council
Bluffs Mr. Baldwin Meeting of Relatives Beautiful
Scenery First Sabbath in the City Two Sermons Preach-
ing of the Gospel Scientific Preaching Assaults on the
Bible not Generally to be Answered from the Pulpit-
Through Books, Magazines, Quarterlies Visited Several
Conferences Mormon Camp-meeting Pages 392-398
CHAPTER XXXV.
Routine Work Editorial on Women in the Church Their
Position and Work No Thought of Controversy Disap-
pointed Critique by Mrs. Taylor Reply End of Contro-
versy 399-410
CHAPTER XXXVI.
Visitation of Conferences West Virginia. Conference Gov-
ernor Pierpont Anecdote Three Original Members of
the Conference Pittsburg Conference Solomon Spauld-
ing Book of Mormon Pleasant Incident Genesee Confer-
ence Narrow Escape Annoying Detentions Pleasant
Meeting Onondaga Conference, North Walcott Love-
feast Good Meeting Did Not Speak Brother Prindle
Aquafortis Zeal Muskingum Conference Detention
Midnight Arrival Members of Conference Money Col-
lectedA Day at Home New York Conference On Ship-
board with Wife Rockville Center Day in New York-
Central Park Obelisk New Jersey Conference Atlantic
City Home 417-430
CHAPTER XXXVII.
Routine Duties Visitation of Conferences Pittsburg Semi-
centennial Session Valuable Papers Read Sermon Fra-
ternal Messengers Dr. Collier J. W. Rutledge Other Old
Members Ohio Conference Old Veterans Straw Mat-
tressesLife of Clawson General Conference of 1884
Address of Welcome Conventional Powers Communica-
tion from Bishops Simpson and Harris Oase of Anna H.
Shaw Re-elected Editor Centennial Conference of the
Methodist Episcopal Church Addresses 431-455
20 CONTENTS.
CHAPTER XXXVIII.
Visit to Bethel Sacred Associations Communion Reception
of Members Among the Graves of the Departed Rela-
tivesRobert and Charles Scott My Father and Mother-
Other Cherished Names Sheep-shearing Pastoral Life
Scenes in the Holy Land Crossing the Jordan, Pages 456-469
CHAPTER XXXIX.
Conference at Burnside Bell's Gap Railroad Ride by Moon-
light Election of Delegates General Conference at Ad-
rian D. S. Stephens elected Editor Retirement Closing
Remarks Numerous Letters Touching One Kind Words
of Brother Editors The Interior A Week Unemployed-
Appointed a Supply Conference at New Cumberland-
Made a Station Appointed to that Charge "Arthur and
Hattie" Visit to Springfield Remarkable Case of Mr.
Goode 470-479
CHAPTER XL.
Session of Pitts-burg Conference in Wellsburg, 1891 Appointed
to Wellsburg Charge City of Wellsburg Near Early
Home Fiftieth Anniversary Special Services Dyer
Jones Westfall La Grippe Express Package Various
Letters Gift from Recorder Office Correspondence Sun-
day Services Communion Addresses by Various Breth-
renMy Address Close 480-495
CHAPTER I.
Parents Born in Ireland Early Methodists Emigration to
this Country Grandparents Settlement Birth Early
Surroundings Primitive Customs Early Products Social
Enjoyments Religious Advantages Bethel Early Meth-
odist Preachers Catechising Important Lesson John
Elliott Shock to My Feelings Charles Scott Methodism
and Local Preachers.
BOTH my parents were born in Ireland. My father,
John Scott, was the son of James and Susan Scott, and
was born in the Parish of Enniskillen, County of Donegal,
Ireland, on the 9th day of February, 1783. My mother,
Frances Carson, was the daughter of Joseph and Jane
Carson, and was born in the Parish of Enniskillen, County
of Donegal, Ireland, on the 19th day of May, 1782. Their
marriage took place in the parish church on June 2, 1807.
They became members of the Wesleyan Methodist society
in their native village, but the date of their union with
it I am not able to give. Their house became a preaching-
place, and a home for the Methodist preachers. I have
often heard my mother speak of some of the preachers,
and especially of a Mr. Hazlett, who appears to have been
a special favorite. At that time the ordinances were not
administered by the Methodist preachers in Ireland, and
my parents, like other members of the society, went to
the parish minister to receive the sacraments.
In 1819, my parents, with their four children, Susan,
Charles, Jane, and Rebecca, together with my grand-
father and grandmother, James and Susan Scott, emi-
grated to this country. It was before the days of ocean
steamers, and they took passage in a sail vessel for St.
21
22 RECOLLECTIONS OF FIFTY
John's, New Brunswick why, I do not know and from
there they took passage for Baltimore; but in consequence
of a report that yellow-fever prevailed in that place, they
were landed in Washington City. They were six weeks
on their second passage, in consequence of continued
stormy weather. In Washington City they procured
wagons, which brought them to Cross Creek Township
(now Jefferson), Washington County, Pa., where my
grandmother had two brothers, Robert and Charles Scott
for her maiden name was Scott who had preceded them
to this country. Here they settled on a farm, and never
removed from the neighborhood. My grandmother had
another brother, Francis Scott, grandfather of Eev. T. H.
Scott, of the Muskingum Conference, who, with his family,
accompanied my parents to this country; but he died on
the way, before they reached their final destination.
On the 27th day of October, 1820, about a year after
my parents arrived in the neighborhood, I was born,
within about one-half mile of Bethel church, in what is
now (1892) Jefferson Township, Washington County,
Pa. The house in which I was born has disappeared,
but its site is marked by some of its remains. In this
neighborhood I was raised, and lived till I arrived at
manhood.
This portion of Washington County possesses a rich
and productive soil, was originally heavily timbered,
abounds in excellent springs of pure water, and is under-
laid with thick veins of the best bituminous coal. Its
surface is somewhat broken and diversified, but well
adapted to agricultural purposes. It is especially adapted
to the growing of sheep, and while wool commanded a
remunerative price, this industry was largely followed.
In the days of my boyhood the work of subduing the
forest and clearing up the farms had not been completed,
YEARS IN TJIE MINISTRY. 23
and I assisted to some extent in these labors. Like other
boys, I attended "grubbings," "log-rollings," "house-
raisings," "huskings," "flax-pullings," "scutchings," and
other gatherings where both young and old were assem-
bled to aid in performing necessary work, which the people
generally thought required the help of their neighbors.
While the young men were called upon to assist in outdoor
labor, the young women were invited to assist in indoor
work, such as quilting, or sewing, or something else; and
when the labors of the day were over, the young people
generally had a good time in social enjoyment, and I dare
say they derived more real pleasure from those gatherings
than is now enjoyed at fashionable and expensive parties.
At nearly all of those gatherings liquor was supplied, and
most persons drank, and yet there was not perhaps a
greater amount of drunkenness then than now. But then
they drank pure whisky. It was not like the adulterated,
poisonous stuff that is now used. Of course, the quality
of the liquor was not a justification of its use, but it pre-
vented the effects of its use from being so injurious. Liq-
uor was kept in most families, and men could not be ob-
tained to assist in the harvest and at other kinds of work
without it.
The agricultural implements then used were very rude.
Many persons used plows with wooden "moldboards."
When the "Half Patent" plow was introduced, with iron
"coulter," "shear," and steel "moldboard," it was regarded
as a wonderful invention and the height of perfection.
But if farm implements were rude, the soil was new and
rich, and crops were generally abundant. Grain was
reaped with the sickle, and threshed with the flail, and
afterwards, as the next step in advance, tramped out by
horses on the barn floor. This work was generally done
in the winter; and to stand all day in an open barn, with
24 RECOLLECTIONS OF FIFTY
the thermometer at zero, with but moderate exercise, was
indeed very trying. Yet many a time when a boy I per-
formed this service. Sometimes the grain was winnowed
with a "fan," used by two persons, and sometimes by
throwing it up with a shovel when there was a strong wind
blowing, which carried away the chaff. But after a while
"windmills," turned by hand, were introduced, which was
a great improvement.
There were then but few wagons in use. Grain was
often carried to mill on horseback; but in winter, when
there was snow on the ground, it was hauled on sleds. On
such occasions the driving, like that of Jehu, was often
furious. The recollection of my own recklessness when
a boy, in driving horses with a single line and very in-
ferior harness, has often made me shudder. Ajid yet, not-
withstanding this, there were but few accidents. Some-
how or other, people are adapted to the times in which
they live and to the circumstances with which they are
surrounded.
The people in the country had but few wants beyond
their own ability to supply. Nearly every farmer kept a
few sheep, sufficient to supply him with wool for the use
of his own family. This was carded, spun, and woven at
home, and "fulled" in a manner peculiar to the times. A
web, or part of a web, of flannel, after being well saturated
with strong soapsuds, was placed on the floor, and a num-
ber of chairs were placed in a circle around it, at such a
distance from each other that the feet of two persons
sitting opposite each other on two of the chairs would al-
most meet. A rope was tied around the chairs to keep
them from slipping back. Then the chairs were all occu-
pied, generally by young people, barefooted, and the
kicking and pounding of the flannel with a dozen or more
feet commenced. As the suds became cold and ran off,
YEARS IN THE MINISTRY. 25
a fresh supply of hot suds was procured, and the lively
work went on till the flannel had attained to the desired
thickness. The process was rather a laborious one, but
it was generally attended with such mirthful ness that it
was deemed a pleasure, rather than a toil. After being
thus fulled, the flannel was used for blankets and various
kinds of garments for the comfort of the family. Flannel
for ladies' dresses was generally woven from yarn that had
been colored in different colors by simple dyes, mostly ob-
tained from barks, and woven in different patterns of
checks, some of which were very pretty. In this way the
family was supplied with plain, substantial, and comfort-
able clothing for the winter. If their garments were
coarse, they were comfortable; and this was the most de-
sirable thing. Then the people were very much on an
equality, and there was but little cause for envy among
them. It is not so much what we have, as what we have
compared with the possessions of others around us,, that
constitutes the standard of our ambition and desire.
The summer wear of the people was generally the pro-
duct of flax raised by themselves. The flaxseed was sowed,
the flax "pulled," and "watered," and "broke," and
"scutched," and "hackled," and then spun and woven by
members of the family. There were two grades of the
linen fabric; that woven in whole, or in part, from the
"tow," the coarser part of the fiber obtained by "hack-
ling," and that woven from the finer fiber of the flax.
The former was generally used for pantaloons, and the
yarn was often colored different shades by barks and cop-
peras, and woven in checks. The finer quality was used
for sheets, pillowslips, shirts, and other articles of personal
and household use. The garments made of this coarse
linen were very serviceable, and very pleasant for summer
wear.
26 RECOLLECTIONS OF FIFTY
There was generally a tannery in every neighborhood,
where the hides of cattle killed for domestic use were
tanned and made into leather. In the fall of the year the
itinerant shoemaker went from house to house, making
shoes for the whole family out of the leather thus fur-
nished him. The shoes were not always of the most ele-
gant make; but they were generally strong and substantial.
Wheat, rye, corn, oats, and potatoes were generally
raised in sufficient quantities to meet home demands, and
some to spare. A sufficient number of cows were kept to
supply the family with milk and butter, and sometimes an
excess for market. Hogs were raised to afford a supply
of meat, while chickens, in addition to furnishing a supply
of eggs, were always at hand, in case of necessity, for
table use. Maple sugar and syrup were generally manu-
factured in sufficient quantities to supply home consump-
tion. So far as clothing and food were concerned, but
little was needed beyond what was produced at home.
The forests were being cleared, wood was abundant, and
the great, open fireplace admitted of such a fire as warmed
and cheered the whole household. There were no lamps
and oil, but candles were "molded" and "dipped" so as
to afford necessary light. Of course the light was not
equal to that now furnished by oil, gas, or electricity; but
it was the best light then in use, and was considered very
comfortable. It is wonderful how people can learn to
accommodate themselves to their circumstances, especially
when they know of nothing better.
It seems to me there was far more sociability and real
enjoyment in those days than at present. There was less
formality, less selfishness, and a greater interest felt by
the people in each other than there appears to be now.
During the long winter evenings the families exchanged
visits, either receiving or visiting some friends almost every
YEARS IN THE MINISTRY. 27
night, thus passing the time delightfully, when there was
no pressing work to do. As people acquire wealth, they
become more independent of each other, and as a natural
consequence they become more selfish their friendship is
more conventional, and less natural and cordial.
The' religious advantages of the neighborhood were fair
for those days. Bethel church, a small frame building,
but sufficiently large to accommodate the people of the
neighborhood, had been erected by the Methodist society
in 1814. It was embraced in what was called the "Ohio
Circuit" a four weeks' circuit, with two preachers so
that there was preaching in the church every two weeks.
This church was about a mile from my home. My parents
united with the society, and worshiped in this church, and
to its services, when a very small boy, I often went up
with joy.
The first Methodist preachers of whom I have any rec-
ollection were William West and Andrew Coleman. The
former, according to my recollection, was a rather tall,
spare man; the latter a rather small, neat man, and, as I
thought, of a wonderfully solemn countenance. I was
afraid of him, for he always talked to me and catechised
me when he came to our house; and I tried, so far as I
could, to keep out of his way. I learned an important
lesson from this experience, which it would be well for
every minister to learn; and that is, that it is better to
inspire a child with love than with awe; better to attract a
child with kindness than to repel him by austerity. A
minister should never be frivolous, neither should he be
morose. A pleasant seriousness is the most winning and
impressive. A minister can often do the young, and even
the old, more good indirectly than by direct appeal. Some-
times a vessel under sail can make no headway directly in
the teeth of a gale; but by "quartering" and "tacking"
28 RECOLLECTIONS OF FIFTY
can advance, though it may be slowly, in the right direc-
tion. He that winneth souls must be wise. At a later
date Simon Lauck, Leonidas Hamline afterwards
bishop and Joseph Boyle were on the circuit.
There was a local preacher, John Elliott, in the society,
who was considered a very good man and a good preacher,
who often preached in Bethel church and in the surround-
ing neighborhood. He remained in the neighborhood
till I grew to manhood. I had great confidence in him,
and was greatly indebted to him for his sympathy and
pious counsel when I was a boy. He afterwards united
with the "Wesleyan Methodists, and removed to Davis
County, Iowa, where he died. I believe he was faithful to
the end. On one occasion he greatly shocked me by the
utterance, in animated conversation, of the word "gosh."
Had a clap of thunder come out of a clear sky, it would
not have surprised me more. To my young ears it sounded
like swearing, and it seemed difficult for me to restore him
to the high place he had occupied in my esteem before.
I never heard him give utterance to a similar expression;
but that one utterance made such an impression on my
mind that I never forgot it.
Christian men, and especially ministers, can not be
too careful in their conversation to avoid everything that
is objectionable, or that might exert an injurious influence
on others. I have heard ministers, I suppose from the
force of early habit, the propriety of which they were
never led perhaps to question, indulge in such expressions
as "by gum," "lay golly," and others of like character.
Such expressions always grate upon my ear, and although
perhaps meaningless, have the appearance of evil, and,
as in my own case just referred to, may be the means of
wounding tender consciences, and doing much harm. All
YEARS IN THE MINISTRY. 29
such expressions, it occurs to me, should be carefully
avoided. "Let your yea be yea, and your nay, nay."
There was another local preacher in Bethel society,
Charles Scott, a grand uncle of mine, who preached a
great deal in the neighborhood and surrounding country.
He was a plain, blunt Irishman; but it was said that while
his sermons lacked polish, they were full of thought. He
was very plain and pointed in his preaching. He did not
denounce the sins that prevailed in some other country,
or in some other neighborhood, but those which prevailed
in his own; and he was generally able to make the people
understand who and what he meant. A sermon that has
no point, and that is not calculated to better the life of
some one, is useless. Mr. Scott always had a direct aim
in his preaching, and he generally made out to reach the
point at which he aimed. An aimless sermon seldom ac-
complishes any good. A man to succeed in anything must
have a definite object in view, and must earnestly labor to
reach it. Mr. Scott was not a man of polish and literary
culture; but he was a man of excellent common sense, and
had a clear understanding of the great saving truths of
the gospel. Polish is a nice thing, but unless a man has
something worth polishing, it is all glitter and no sub-
stance.
Methodism in this country, in the beginning, was
greatly indebted to the labors of local preachers, and espe-
cially to Irish local preachers. They served as pioneers to
prepare the way for the regular itinerants, and to watch
over and care for those whom they were instrumental in
bringing to Christ. Indeed, Methodism was founded in
this country by two Irish local preachers, Philip Embury,
who organized the first Methodist society in New York;
and Robert Strawbridge, who, about the same time, organ-
ized a Methodist society on Sam's Creek, in Maryland.
30 RECOLLECTIONS OF FIFTY
CHAPTER II.
My Father an Early Reformer " Mutual Rights "Bethel
Society Reform Controversy General Conference of 1828
Organization Under Conventional Articles Honored
Names Other Societies Ohio Circuit Josiah Foster, First
Preacher John Wilson Masonic Procession Change of
Pastor John Clark New Bethel Two Days' Meetings
Dedication of New Church Large Attendance Great Re-
vival Conversions at Private Houses Throughout the
Neighborhood Love-feast Conversion United with the
Church Conversion of Children.
MY father was a reader of the Mutual Rights, and a
strong advocate of reform in the government of the Meth-
odist Episcopal Church. This was the prevailing senti-
ment in the Bethel society. Whenever the members met,
which was very frequently, the subject was discussed, so
that from my very earliest recollection I was familiar with
the "Reform" controversy. The action of the General
Conference of 1828, in Pittsburg, tended to increase the
excitement, unify the "Reformers," and render secession,
in their opinion, a necessity. The result was, that in many
places those persons who had been expelled from the Meth-
odist Episcopal Church, not for immorality, but for "envy-
ing" against its Discipline, and their friends who sym-
pathized with them and who voluntarily withdrew from
the Church, organized themselves into Associate Methodist
Churches, as they were termed at the time.
In 1829 almost the entire Bejthel society withdrew
from the Methodist Episcopal Church, and organized un-
der the "Conventional Articles" adopted in a Convention
of the Associated Methodist Churches in Baltimore, in
November, 1828. The society was composed of a class of
YEARS IN THE MINISTRY. 31
most excellent men and women, whose names are worthy
to be had in everlasting remembrance. They were people
of unblemished moral and religious character, of strong
common sense, and well informed in regard to Church
matters. They were honest in their convictions, and con-
scientious in the course they pursued.
I am sorry that I am not able to give the names of all
who entered into this organization. Among them, how-
ever, were James Patterson and wife, John Patterson and
wife, John Elliott, Sr., and wife, John Elliott, Jr., and
wife, John Cassiday and wife, Dr. David Pierce and wife,
Charles Scott, Sr., and daughter, Charles Scott, Jr., and
wife, John Scott and wife, John Long and wife, Edward
Jones and wife, William Melvin and wife, Anne Melvin,
Sarah Melvin, and others, whose names I can not give.
These men and their associates embraced the leading citi-
zens of the neighborhood.
About the time of the organization of the society at
Bethel, societies were formed at Eldersville, "West Middle-
town, Pughtown, Nessley Chapel, and Freeman's Landing,
and a circuit formed, called Ohio Circuit, embracing these
and some other appointments. The first preacher on this
circuit was Josiah Foster, a local preacher from Carroll
County, Ohio. He was regarded as a very good man, and
a plain, practical preacher. He was noted for his short
sermons. How short they were I can not say; but they
were considered short compared with the generality of
sermons at that time, which were mostly from an hour to
an hour and a half or two hours in length. The people
were anxious to hear the gospel, and as a preacher did not
preach very frequently in the same place, it was common
to give a synopsis of the whole gospel in every sermon,
showing man's apostasy from God, his redemption by the
suffering and death of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the way
32 RECOLLECTIONS OF FIFTY
of life and salvation through him. It was the same old
story, but differently told, and was always attractive and
impressive.
"We have more learned preachers and more learned
preaching now than we had then; but it is a question
whether we have a purer gospel preached, or men who, as
a general thing, are as successful in bringing souls to
Christ. We have men who can speculate and theorize; but
"no speculations however ingenious, no Bible knowledge
however extensive, no sentiments or theories of morals
however excellent, can be substituted for personal experi-
ence of forgiveness and regeneration. The Church that
ceases to be distinguished for converting power, and which
does not lead its people to walk in the way of holiness,
can not be the means of bringing back an alienated world
to God." Those early preachers were men of sound, com-
mon sense, of deep religious experience, of fervent piety,
of clear insight into human character, and appeared to be
peculiarly adapted to bringing men to Christ, and teaching
them the way of eternal life. Their great object was to
get men converted to bring them to an experimental
knowledge of the saving power of Christ. Whether their
sermons were long or short, or whether they embraced
a wide or narrow range, they aimed directly at the one
great object of saving souls.
Mr. Foster remained but one year on the circuit. I
believe he was not so circumstanced as to be able to give
all his time to the ministry, and only consented to supply
the circuit to meet an emergency.
Mr. Foster was succeeded on the circuit by John Wil-
son, an Irishman of more than ordinary ability, but some-
what eccentric. I was too young to be able to judge cor-
rectly of the character of his preaching, but those who were
older and competent to judge, pronounced him an excel-
YEARS IN THE MINISTRY. 33
lent preacher. It was told of him that on one occasion,
when giving an invitation to persons to unite with the
Church, he remarked: "Now I wish you to understand
that we do n't want many, but just a few good ones, for we
have more now than are good." This was a precaution
which it might be well for other preachers sometimes to
take. If there were greater caution taken in receiving per-
sons into the Church, there would often be far less trouble
in getting rid of improper persons who have proved them-
selves unworthy of membership in it. But ministers are
often anxious to increase their membership, without proper
regard to the character and religious experience of those
whom they receive.
Mr. Wilson was a Free Mason, and during the year he
walked in a Masonic procession and carried the Bible, in
Steubenville, Ohio. This gave great offense to Judge
McKeever, of West Middletown, and other antimasons on
the circuit, to whom his labors were no longer acceptable,
and for the sake of harmony on the circuit, he was removed
at the end of the year.
The following year the circuit was supplied by John
Clark, called "Pittsburg John" his home being in Pitts-
burg to distinguish him from another John Clark in the
Conference, who was called "Hacker's Creek John," be-
cause his home was on Hacker's Creek, in Western Vir-
ginia. Mr. Clark was a rather tall, spare man, of pleasing
address and agreeable manners. He was rather radical in
his views, and while popular with all, was a special favorite
with those who, the preceding year, had been opposed to
Mr. Wilson. He was very successful on the circuit, and his
labors were blessed with extensive revivals.
For a considerable time after the organization of the
new society at Bethel, both societies occupied the same
house for worship alternately. But occasional conflicts
3
34
occurred which produced unpleasantness, and it was found
that both societies could not well worship in the same
building. The members of the new society, by their labor
and money, had erected the old house, and in justice it
belonged to them. Of all those who adhered to the Meth-
odist Episcopal Church in the Bethel class, only one man
had contributed anything to the erection of the church,
and he but five dollars. But the old society claimed the
property, and the "Reformers," rather than engage in any
legal contention, resolved to erect a new church-building
for themselves. A site was chosen on the same eminence
on which the old church stood, and only about ten or fif-
teen rods distant from it. This was not done for the pur-
pose of annoying their Methodist Episcopal brethren, but
for their own convenience and comfort. That was the
place where they had been in the habit of assembling to
worship for many years, the place where their dead were
buried, and they did not wish to leave it. Their feeling
was not only justifiable, but commendable.
All the necessary arrangements having been made, the
work of erecting the new church began in the spring of
1832, and by the latter part of August it was completed
and ready for dedication. It was a stone building, and
much larger and more commodious than the old one. My
uncle, Francis Scott, had the contract for the stone work,
and I spent the summer in working at the new building.
I carried water, made mortar, and did everything which
a stout boy of between eleven and twelve years of age could
do. I took great pride in the new building. To my young
and inexperienced eyes it appeared like a grand structure.
Its large windows large in comparison with anything of
the kind that I had seen its paneled pulpit, with heavy
moldings and projecting Bible-board, its altar-railng
of fine cherry, nicely varnished; its pews, with solid backs
YEARS IN THE MINISTRY. 35
and capped with a neat molding, looked to me like the
perfection of art. Although it would be considered a very
plain and homely church now, it was regarded as a very
good and comfortable church then, and God honored it
with his presence and filled it with his glory.
At that time it was customary to hold what were called
"two-days' meetings" and "quarterly-meetings," which
sometimes were continued till Monday forenoon. "Pro-
tracted-meetings," as they are now called, had not then
been introduced. It did not require two or three weeks
of service to get the Church ready to go to work to save
souls. They were always ready, and were always looking
for tokens of the Divine favor at every coming together.
Persons were often converted under the ordinary preach-
ing of the Word.
The new church was called "New Bethel," and was
dedicated on the second Sabbath (the 9th) of September,
1832, just before the session of the Annual Conference.
The services commenced with a prayer-meeting on Friday
night, and at the very first meeting the Divine Spirit, in
his convicting power, came down upon the people, and
many cried out in the earnestness of their hearts, "What
must we do to be saved?"
On Saturday a great many persons, members of the
Church and others, came from West Middletown, Pugh-
town, Nessley Chapel, Freeman's Landing, and other
places. Some came in wagons, some on horseback, and
some on foot. It seemed like the gathering of the tribes of
Israel for a holy convocation to the hill of Zion. A holy
awe seemed to rest upon the people. The sacred influence
appeared to deepen and widen throughout the day. At
night the power of the Lord came down in a glorious
manner upon the congregation. It seemed like the break-
ing forth of mighty waters, the flowing of streams in the
36 RECOLLECTIONS OF FIFTY
desert. Believers were made to rejoice, sinners were con-
victed, and penitents were converted. There was indeed
the shout of a King in the camp. When the congregation
was dismissed at a late hour, and the people returned to
their homes along the public highways, through the woods
and across the fields, from almost every direction might
be heard the voices of some singing the praise of God, of
others shouting aloud for joy, and of others crying out
in the bitterness of their souls for mercy. It was a time
of wonderful power and grace.
The strangers who came to the meeting were enter-
tained by the families of the Church in the neighborhood.
There were many persons at my father's house, and many
who were seeking the Savior. It was not a night of quiet
slumbers. There were those there who could not give
"sleep to their eyes, nor slumber to their eyelids," till they
had found Him whom their souls desired to love. Several
of them arose in the night, and went out into the orchard
to plead with God, where they were converted. Similar
scenes occurred in other families in the neighborhood. It
was a memorable night a night of the right hand of the
Most High.
On Sabbath morning the people met in the church for
love-feast; and it was like the gathering of triumphant
hosts. From every quarter came tidings of salvation.
Great battles had been fought, and great victories had
been won. Souls had struggled into life, and their
"mouths were filled with laughter, and their tongues with
singing." The glory of the Highest appeared to over-
shadow the place. The interest continued during the day,
and during the evening, and through the closing service
on Monday morning. As the result of the meeting forty-
four persons united with the Church, and a far greater
number was believed to have been converted.
YEARS IN THE MINISTRY. 37
I believe I was converted at that meeting. I felt no
great and sudden change, but I was fervent in prayer, and
my heart gently opened to the influence of the Divine
Spirit. I had not been a bad boy; I had not been exposed
to bad influences, and had not formed any bad habits. I
used no bad language, and never swore an oath in my life.
I had been religiously trained; I believed in religion, and
thought it the most desirable thing in the world. I had
not the sense of guilt which vile transgressors of God's
law would naturally have. Yet my heart went out in
longings after God. By degrees a great change came over
me. It seemed to me I had gotten into a new atmosphere.
My heart was filled with love and peace and joy. I was as
happy a boy as could be. I could truthfully sing:
" The day glides sweetly o'er my head,
Made up of innocence and love."
There seemed to be nothing to interrupt my happiness.
But I did not unite with the Church. Indeed, I do not
know that the thought of uniting with the Church oc-
curred to me during the meeting. But after the meeting
was over, and Brother Clark had gone to Conference, I
got to thinking about the matter, and felt a strong desire
to become a member of the Church, but feared I was too
young to be received. I requested my father to ask
Brother Clark, when he should return from Conference,
if he would receive me into the Church. Brother Clark
was returned to the circuit for another year, and the first
time he came to our house my father made known to him
my request, and he said that he certainly would. So, at his
first appointment at Bethel, in the latter part of Septem-
ber, 1832, I united with the Church.
I do not believe the doctrine that is now taught by
some, that children do not need to be regenerated that
38 RECOLLECTIONS OF FIFTY
they are born in the kingdom, and that all that is necessary
to save them, is to properly train them and keep them in
the kingdom. This doctrine appears to me to be in direct
conflict with the plain teachings of God's Word. The
carnal mind, which is natural to every child of Adam, is
enmity against God, and must be taken away by the renew-
ing power of the Divine Spirit, to make us truly accept-
able to God. That this carnal mind in children should
be repressed and restrained by proper education and train-
ing is admitted; and that children who have not run to
any great extent into sin, and whose evil propensities and
inclinations have not been developed and strengthened
by indulgence, may more easily be brought to Christ than
hardened transgressors, is undoubtedly true; and that we
should earnestly seek the conversion of children before
they run into courses of vice, is a most obvious duty. We
can not be too earnest in seeking the salvation of the chil-
dren; but let us remember that they must be born from
above, and be made the children of God by faith. This is
in accordance with my own experience. I felt that a won-
derful change had taken place in me. It seemed to me
I was in a new world. Everything around me seemed to be
different.
YEARS IN THE MINISTRY. 3!)
CHAPTER III.
Father's Illness and Death Going to School Books Teachers
James Carmichael Visit to Pittsburg Gift of a Dollar
Purchase of Grammar and Dictionary Improvement in
School Literary Society Address on Solar System Back-
sliding Unhappy Reclaimed Family Prayer Purchase
of a Farm Gall to Preach Embarrassment Sale of Farm
Hand of Providence Dr. Brown Pastor Great Privilege
Elected Assistant Class-leader.
MY father's health had been poor for some time, and
his illness increased, and on December 23, 1833, he passed
away. He was a good man, a man of uncompromising
integrity and honesty, and had been for many years a de-
voted Methodist. I believe he was, as was customary in
those days, a licensed exhorter in the Church. Before his
death he called me to his bedside, and gave me his dying
counsel and blessing. Among other things, he told me
not to forget to pray to God every day for his blessing to
rest upon me; to be faithful in the observance of the means
of grace, and not to neglect the prayer-meeting and the
class-meeting. When he was through, he laid his hand
upon my head, and asked God to bless me, and said, "John,
remember." My father's death was a great loss to me; but
I did not realize it then as I did afterwards.
I commenced going to school when I was a small boy.
The schools in our neighborhood at that time were of a
very low grade. The teachers were incompetent, knew
but little themselves, and, of course, could teach others
but little. I had learned to read, write, and cipher. I
had gone through the "United States Spelling-book," the
"New Testament," and the "Introduction to the English
Header," and thought I knew something about "figures."
40 RECOLLECTIONS OF FIFTY
Indeed, I began to consider myself somewhat of a scholar.
But this vain conceit was soon taken out of me. We got
a new teacher, Mr. James Carmichael, who was a fine
scholar, and a teacher of large experience. He soon made
me realize that I knew nothing. He put me, as well as
many others, back into the spelling-book, and back to the
very beginning of it. He taught me the difference between
vowels and consonants, which I did not know before;
the various vowel sounds, all about diphthongs, silent let-
ters, hard and soft consonants, as he called them, accents,
the rules of spelling, and the combination of syllables into
words, or word-building in short, he gave me a thorough
drilling in the rudiments of English. The idea began to
dawn upon my mind that language was a very nice thing,
and that it was subject to very exact rules, or laws. I have
always felt that I was more indebted to Mr. Carmichael
than to any other teacher to whom I ever went. Mr. Car-
michael remained with us for several terms, and I profited
much from his instructions. Many young men who pass
through college, and study Greek and Latin, labor under
great disadvantages all through life, because of insuffi-
cient drill in the rudiments of their mother-tongue.
A short time after my father's death, I made a visit to
my brother-in-law, Mr. Thomas Johnston, residing some
sixteen or eighteen miles west of Pittsburg, on the Pan-
handle Eailroad, at what is now called McDonald, a new
town largely built on what was my brother-in-law's farm.
"While there, my brother-in-law had occasion to go to
Pittsburg, and he took me with him. It was a great grati-
fication to me, for, although Pittsburg was then but a
comparatively small place, it was by far the largest town
I had ever seen, and it impressed me with a sense of its
greatness. In the market my brother-in-law gave me a
silver dollar, and my mind was at once exercised as to what
YEARS IN THE MINISTRY. 41
I should do with it. The idea of keeping it never oc-
curred to me. Boy-like, I must spend it; but I could not
decide what to purchase. At that time English Grammar
was not taught in our school; but I had met with a boy,
John L. Johnston, who afterward became a brother-in-law
of mine, who lived in another neighborhood, who told me
that it was taught in his school, and that he was studying
it. He also gave me the name of the Grammar he was
studying. After a good deal of thought, and after looking
at a great many things I saw for sale in the market-place,
I concluded to buy an English Grammar. So I went into a
bookstore on Market Street, and asked for "Koswell C.
Smith's English Grammar." I had never seen a Grammar,
and had not the slightest idea as to what kind of a book
it was. The clerk threw it down, and I took it up and
happened to open it at the conjugation of the verb, "I love,
thou lovest, he, she, or it loves." I thought it was a very
queer book, and that that kind of reading would not do me
any good. I told the gentleman I did not like it. He
asked me what objection I had to it; but I could not tell.
But as I had asked for the book, I thought I must take it;
so he wrapped it up for me. I then asked the price of it,
and he said, fifty cents. I had fifty cents left, and I con-
cluded that as I had a Grammar I should have a diction-
ary. I asked for "Walker's School Dictionary," a small,
square book then in pretty general use. He threw it down,
and I asked the price. He said, fifty cents. I told him to
tie it up for me. So now my dollar was gone, and I had
a Grammar and a dictionary. I was rather proud of my
purchase, and anxious to get home, so I could examine
my books more fully.
The gift of that dollar, and the purchase of those
books, I have always regarded as the turning-point in
my life. As a little pebble cast into a tiny stream near its
42 RECOLLECTIONS OF FIFTY
source changes the direction of its waters, and turns them
into a new channel, so they gave a new direction to my
thoughts, and shaped my future course. It is true I was
ambitious before that to learn, and it was this that influ-
enced me to improve the opportunity afforded me.
When I got home and examined my Grammar, I found
that Mr. Carmichael had taught me a good many things
contained in the first part of the book, and that I under-
stood them pretty well. I was greatly encouraged by this,
and determined to master the book. After looking
through it in a general way, I concluded to commence
at the beginning. I soon found that it was very plain
and simple, and that as soon as I understood one thing
thoroughly, it prepared me to understand something else
that I did not and could not understand before. Thus
I went on, every step I took preparing me to take another.
The trouble with most young people, and indeed with old
people too, is, that they try to understand something which
depends on a knowledge of that which precedes it, which
they do not possess. The only way to succeed in anything,
is to begin with first principles, and advance by degrees
to final conclusions. This was the way I tried to study
grammar, and I think it was the right way. Of course,
my progress was very slow, as I had no one to teach me;
and had no time to study but at night, after my day's work
was done. But instead of being a task, it was a pleasure.
I always liked the study of language, and had a greater
taste for it than for most other studies. This enabled me
to persevere in my effort; and I succeeded in acquiring
such a knowledge of grammar as enabled me to avoid gross
errors, without being able to observe those nice distinc-
tions on which the beauty of language often depends.
When we got a teacher in our school who could teach
YEARS IN THE MINISTRY. 43
grammar, he said I understood it as well as he did; but I
suppose he did not understand it very well.
Our school improved, and in addition to reading, writ-
ing, and arithmetic, we had English grammar and history
taught. Indeed, some of the boys began to have literary
tastes, and a literary society was organized, in which ques-
tions were discussed and speeches and lectures delivered.
Of course, the performances were very humble and feeble;
but they indicated a taste in the right direction. A person
may know very little, but there is hope of him if he moves
in a proper course. It is not so important where a person
begins, as where he ends.
I had somewhere come across a pretty full and clear
outline of the solar system. I had read it with great in-
terest, and indeed wonder, and thought I had become pos-
sessed of rare knowledge, and that I was competent to
enlighten my young companions on the subject; and so
chose it for my next address. The thing is too ludicrous
to put on record even of a boy, if it were not for the sequel.
I delivered my address and told all that I knew, which I
suppose was well enough; for I did not venture beyond the
record.
When the society adjourned, our teacher, who was
quite an intelligent man, came to me, and told me that
he had a book which he would let me have, that would
tell me a great deal more on that and many other sub-
jects. A few days afterwards he brought to me a work
on Natural Philosophy, which opened up to me a new
world. I read and studied it with deep interest. Some
time after that I got a copy of "Blair's Rhetoric," and a
little later a small work on Logic. I suppose I would not
have stood a very good examination on any of the subjects
I attempted to study; but I tried to know all about them I
could.
44 RECOLLECTIONS OF FIFTY
After my father's death, which, as before stated, oc-
curred a little more than a year after I had united with
the Church, I did not feel the same restraint over me that
I had felt before. I was older, and mingled more with
other boys, and was exposed more than formerly to evil
influences. The influence of the great revival had some-
what worn off. There was not the same religious fervor
and zeal in the Church. All these things affected me.
My religious ardor abated, and my religious enjoyment
diminished.
It was customary at that time for the members of the
Church to occupy the seats at each side of the pulpit, and
immediately in front of it, while the non-professors occu-
pied the seats in the back part of the church. It was also
customary, then, to have class-meeting immediately after
the public congregation was dismissed. I had always occu-
pied a place in the Church, from the time I united with it,
about two seats from the front, among the members of the
Church. When the congregation was dismissed, those
around me sat down and remained for class; and being
among them I did not find it difficult to do so also. But
as I grew cold in religion, class-meeting had not the same
attractions to me, nor had immediate association with my
brethren. The result was, I dropped back a seat in the
Church, and then another; until I soon found myself sit-
ting among the, ungodly. When the congregation was dis-
missed, all around me went out, and I had not courage
enough to resist the temptation, and I went out too. Thus
class-meeting was neglected.
But, notwithstanding this, I did not abandon the
Church, or run into vice. I still considered myself a mem-
ber of the Church, and felt its restraints upon me. But I
had lost my love. I was a servant, and not a son. I was
far from being happy. This state of things continued
YEARS IN THE MINISTRY. 45
for a year or more. But at length it seemed to me I could
endure it no longer. I did not feel so much a sense of
guilt as of loss. It seemed to me I had lost something.
There was a great void in my heart, and I was filled with
sadness and sorrow. I often thought of the dying words
of my father, "John, remember," and they gave me pain.
I could stand it no longer, and I determined to retrace my
steps, and endeavor to regain what was lost; and began
earnestly to seek God in secret. I also became regular in
the observance of the means of grace, and went even to the
altar of prayer, and sought God publicly; but I could not
find comfort. I was told to believe, and to lay hold on
Christ by faith; but it seemed to me I could not do it.
There was a cousin of mine, about my own age, or per-
haps a few months older, George M. Scott, who for many
years past has been a minister in the Iowa Conference, who
was a member of the Church, and, like myself, seeking the
Savior. There was a little cottage prayer-meeting held
in the neighborhood every week from house to house, but
which met for the most part at Brother William Melvin's,
about two miles from where I lived. My cousin and I
attended this prayer-meeting very regularly, and generally
went and returned together. "We would often stop on our
way to this meeting in the woods, and pray God to meet
with us, and reveal himself to our hearts. Like the Greeks
of old at Jerusalem, we desired to meet Jesus. No one but
God knew the feelings of our hearts and the exercises of
our minds.
One night at this little prayer-meeting at Brother Mel-
vin's, my distress of mind became so great that I feared
if I remained in the room I would not be able to restrain
my feelings, and I felt ashamed to give way to them before
others; so I concluded to go out and seek some private
place, where I could pour out my soul before God; and if
46 RECOLLECTIONS OF FIFTY
I gave way to my feelings, no one would hear me. I got
out of the house, and out of the little yard in front of it
on to the public highway. It was very dark, and I did not
know where to go. It seemd to me that I would sink be-
neath my load. While standing there in deep distress,
Jesus of Nazareth, the friend of sinners, passed that way.
It seems to me I did not "lay hold" on Christ, as I had
often been told to do; but I let go of everything, and fell,
helpless, into his arms, feeling that he alone could save
me; and he did save me. My burden was gone, my soul
was filled with joy, and I shouted aloud the praise of God.
I do not know that I have ever shouted since, or that I
will ever shout again till I join the great multitude before
the throne; but I shouted then in the fullness of my joy,
and returned into the house and told what great things
God had done for me. The man-fearing spirit that had
possessed me but a short time before was gone.
A short time after my conversion, and before the meet-
ing closed that night, it was deeply impressed upon my
mind that I must go home and establish family worship
in my mother's house, which had not been attended to
since my father's death, or I would lose my religion. I
could not divest myself of this impression. I remained at
Brother Melvin's that night; but when I went home the
next morning, I told my mother of my conversion and of
the impression made upon my mind in regard to my duty.
She was greatly rejoiced, encouraged me to perform my
duty, and to be faithful. That night I read a portion of
. God's Word, and offered prayer in the family as best I
could. This practice I kept up till I left home to enter
the itinerancy.
I was but a boy, and we frequently had young people
as well as others at our house over night, and it was often
a great cross to me, in their presence, to attend to family
YEARS IN THE MINISTRY. 47
worship; but God sustained me, and gave me grace to en-
able me to bear the cross. This was the means of my pres-
ervation. The only way in which any one can stand fast
in the faith and maintain his integrity, is by doing his
duty, bearing the cross, and trusting in God for support.
It is not surprising that so many persons who have been
truly converted fall away, and sometimes make shipwreck
of faith, when they refuse to take up the cross, and confess
Christ before men. Every young convert should at once
be put to work, and taught that the only way in which
he can stand fast in the liberty wherewith Christ hath
made him free, is to be faithful in the performance of
every Christian duty.
My father left some means at his death, and the little
farm on which we resided was designed for my mother's
support while she lived, and at her death it was to be di-
vided between my brother, who was my senior by about
nine years, and myself. At the age of seventeen I had
attained to my full stature, and had the appearance of a
strong and vigorous young man, and was able to do any
kind of work on a farm. About that time a neighbor of
ours came to my brother, and wished to sell him his
farm, which adjoined ours, and was one of the best farms
in the neighborhood. The price was very low, and the
terms were very easy. My brother thought if I would take
his interest in the home place, that he could buy it. I had
no money, nor was there any immediately required of me;
but I thought I could make some. I agreed to the propo-
sition, and my brother bought the farm. We worked to-
gether, and we worked very hard, and succeeded as well as
we expected, and had not conscience and a sense of duty
on my part interfered, we would no doubt have succeeded
in carrying out our purpose, and would have become the
owners of adjoining farms.
48 RECOLLECTIONS OF FIFTY
From the earliest period of my recollection, I thought
I would be a preacher. I had no idea how such a thing
would be brought about; but such was my impression.
After my conversion I often thought. of it; but the subject
would pass out of my mind, and after a time return again;
but I was too young to give it very serious attention. But
when I grew older, and thought more upon the subject,
and especially after I found myself tied up by financial
responsibility, I became greatly troubled; for the matter
began to press upon my conscience, and I began to feel
that God had called me to the work of the ministry. But I
could not repudiate my obligation, nor relax my efforts
to meet it. I could not see any honorable way of escape.
My way appeared to be completely hedged up. Obligation
and duty appeared to be drawing me in different directions.
In the meantime every spare moment I had was given to
my books. Indeed, I was seldom without a book in my
pocket, to read at odd moments when I was not employed.
This state of things continued for a couple of years or
more. My mother, and also my brother, became aware of
the state of my mind; but there seemed to be no way of
escape. At length my mother proposed that we sell the
home place, and that she transfer her interest to my
brother's farm, as that would release me and assist him;
as he desired to retain the farm he had bought, as it was
larger and better than the old one. This plan was agreed
upon. But there was one great difficulty in the way.
Times were hard, money was scarce, and there was no sale
for property, and the prospect of being able to carry out
our purpose appeared to be almost hopeless. Still, the
farm was offered for sale, and very unexpectedly to us, a
neighbor, whom no one supposed desired to procure a farm,
came and bought it, giving us our price, and I was released
YEARS IN THE MINISTRY. 49
from my obligation, my mother was equally well provided
for, and my brother's financial condition improved.
I have always regarded this as a special interposition
of Divine Providence, and I have introduced it here to
show how God can work out deliverance for us, save us
from ourselves, our own imprudences, and open up the
path of duty before us. If I did not believe in a special
superintending Providence, and that God hears the prayers
of his children, and, notwithstanding their many mistakes,
guides them by his counsel, takes care of them, and opens
up their way before them, I would give up all hope, and
sink into utter despair. I had made a mistake in assuming
the obligations I did. But God knew my sincerity and
inexperience, and, in a manner that I could not have
thought of, opened up a way for my escape, and without
injury to any one. "Commit thy way unto the Lord; trust
also in him, and he shall bring it to pass."
When I was about eighteen years of age, the Rev. Dr.
George Brown was pastor of our circuit, and it was a great
privilege to hear his very able and practical preaching.
He was then in his prime, and many of his sermons were
grand and overpowering. He discussed the great doc-
trines and practical duties of Christianity, and his sermons,
for a student of theology, were far superior to most lec-
tures delivered in our theological seminaries. I endeav-
ored to profit by them, and was thankful that I was per-
mitted to sit under the ministry of such a master in Israel.
The preaching of the gospel is designed to teach men, as
well as to excite their emotions; and that preacher who
does not instruct the people in the great mysteries of the
gospel and make the way of salvation plain to their minds,
it matters not how much he may arouse their feelings,
fails in the most important part of his work. Dr. Brown
4
50 RECOLLECTIONS OF FIFTY
was clear and forcible in his expositions of Divine truth,
and also, powerful in appeal.
Before leaving for Conference, Dr. Brown held an
election for leader in our class, and after the society had
elected Brother George Elliott leader, Dr. Brown pointed
to me, and said, "I want you to elect that young man
assistant leader," which the class at once did. It was very
unexpected to me, and almost overwhelmed me, for I was
exceedingly diffident and backward in those days. Brother
Elliott was a good and prudent man, and he dealt kindly
with me, and by degrees induced me to take some part in
leading the class and in conducting our social meetings.
I am thankful that I had sense enough not to put myself
forward, or seek to bring myself into notice. A man who
has not sense and modesty enough to know and keep his
place is not fit to be a minister of Jesus Christ. Humility
and modesty are graces which every man, and especially
every young minister, should diligently cultivate.
YEARS IN THE MINISTRY. 51
CHAPTER IV.
John Herbert Three Years' Pastorate Fatherly Care Li-
censed to Preach My First Sermon Some of the Books
Read Doctrines of the Gospel Theories of Preaching
Wise Counsel Recommended to Conference John Cowl
John Beaty A. W. Porter Trip to Conference Distin-
guished Members Shinn's Sermon Received into Con-
ference Appointed to Ohio Circuit as Assistant R. T.
Simonton, Superintendent Muskingum Conference Set Off
Quarterly Meeting at West Middletown John Deselm's
Prayer Four Weeks' Circuit Short Sermons My Brother
Charles Small Salaries Had Acquired a Little Experience.
DR. BROWN remained on the circuit but one year. He
was succeeded by John Herbert as superintendent.
Brother Herbert was a good man and a good preacher, and
because of his straightforward course and his unswerving
integrity had acquired the sobriquet of "Honest John."
He was popular on the circuit, and remained for three
years, the full time then allowed by the Discipline. He
was kind to me, and encouraged and counseled me, and a
friendship grew up between us which was never inter-
rupted while he lived. Shortly after leaving Ohio Circuit,
he retired from the itinerancy, and located in Allegheny
City, Pa., where he went into business, and where he
gained the respect and confidence of all who knew him.
He connected himself with our First Church in that city,
and was one of its main pillars. He was over eighty years
of age at the time of his death, and he was gathered in
peace to his fathers.
During his last year on Ohio Circuit, Brother Herbert
watched over me with the care and solicitude of a father.
He was prompt in suggesting whatever he thought would
52 RECOLLECTIONS OF FIFTY
be for my good, and he endeavored to open up my way.
Without any solicitation on my part, for I never could
have asked for it, he brought my case before the second
Quarterly Conference of the year, on the 19th day of Feb-
ruary, 1842, and I was duly licensed to preach the gospel
of Christ. That was on Saturday, and on the following
Tuesday evening, I think, I preached my first sermon in
Eldersville. My text was Colossians i, 28: "Whom we
preach, warning every man, and teaching every man in all
wisdom: that we may present every man perfect in Christ
Jesus." I noticed three points: The great subject of
preaching "Christ;" the manner of preaching "warning
and teaching every man in all wisdom;" and the great
object of preaching to "present every man perfect in
Christ Jesus." Although my text embraced the whole
gospel, my sermon was very short about fifteen minutes.
In that length of time I said all I had to say. I have
always been thankful that I had wisdom and grace enough
to make Christ the theme of my first sermon, and I hope
he will be the theme and inspiration of my last. Men
may preach other things; they may speculate and philoso-
phize as they please; but, after all, a crucified Christ and
a risen, exalted, and interceding Savior, is the only hope
of the world.
Although I had been endeavoring to prepare for the
ministry for several years, yet having no one particularly
to direct me, my reading was desultory and confined to
such books as I could obtain. Among other books I had
read Dr. Adam Clarke's Life, written by himself, Wesley
on "Christian Perfection," Baxter's "Saints' Rest," Her-
vey's "Meditations," Finney's "Lectures on Revivals," one
or two volumes of Dr. Thomas Dick's works, a portion of
Ruter's "Ecclesiastical History," and a part of Watson's
"Theological Institutes." I also had access to Clarke's
YEARS IN THE MINISTRY. 53
Commentary, which I often consulted. I was groping my
way, reaching out after something, I hardly knew what,
and greatly needed some competent person to direct me
in my studies. I had, however, formed a pretty correct
idea of preaching, having been permitted to sit under the
ministry of some of the best preachers of that day, such as
Dr. Brown, Bishop Hamline, and others. From them,
too, I had obtained a pretty good knowledge, in a general
way, of the leading doctrines of Christianity. I had also
formed, perhaps, a right conception of the work of the
ministry, but I was poorly qualified to perform it. Still,
my aim was in the right direction, and while wasting
a good deal of time and strength in ill-directed efforts,
I made a little advancement towards the desired goal. But
had I fully realized the fearful responsibility I was about
to assume in becoming a teacher and guide of others, in
regard to interests of the highest importance, involving
not only their happiness in this world, but also in the
world to come, I should have shrunk back from the work
as utterly incompetent to perform it. But then, when
does a true minister feel that he is competent?
My mother had been comfortably settled in her new
home, my little worldly business had been settled up, and
I had made what arrangements I could to enter the itin-
erancy and devote my life to the work of the ministry.
At the last Quarterly Conference of the Ohio Circuit for
the Conference year ending September 1, 1842, I was
duly recommended to the Pittsburg Conference as a suit-
able person to be received into the itinerancy. The breth-
ren also with great kindness and consideration instructed
their delegate to the Annual Conference to ask for my
appointment to the circuit as assistant preacher for the
next year. They said they knew me, and could bear with
my weaknesses better than strangers could.
54 RECOLLECTIONS OF FIFTY
I will never forget the advice given me by Brother
Samuel Bushfield, of West Middletown, before starting
out in the itinerancy. While a boy on the farm I had
been in the habit of wearing what is called a "wammus,"
which was an outer garment made of red flannel, much
like the blouses that are now worn. When taking leave
of me, Brother Bushfield said, "Johnnie, never forget your
red 'wammus.' '' I fully grasped the idea, and have been
thankful all my life that I had a friend to give me such
wise counsel. I have never been tempted to vanity, be-
cause I have always felt my deficiencies to be so great
that I have had cause for humiliation rather than a feel-
ing of self-importance. But in the last fifty years I have
known a good many young men, who, by the grace of God
and the favor of the Church, were called from ignorance
and poverty into the ministry, who, if they ever received
such counsel as Brother Bushfield gave me, certainly for-
got it. They appeared not to know themselves, and to
have forgotten "the hole of the pit whence they were
digged."
During Brother Herbert's first year on Ohio Circuit
William Eoss was the assistant preacher. He was a young
man of piety, of fair ability as a preacher, and was well
received and held in esteem by the people. At a later date
he removed West, and united with the North Illinois Con-
ference, where I believe he labored successfully for many
years. During Brother Herbert's second year on the cir-
cuit, John Cowl was assistant preacher. He was a single
man. He was born in England, and came to this country
when quite young. He had been two or three years in the
Conference, was a fine preacher, and consecrated to the
work. He became one of the leading ministers of the de-
nomination, and never abandoned the ministry while he
was able to preach. He is still living (1892), in the sev-
YEARS IN THE MINISTRY. 55
enty-seventh year of his age, esteemed and loved by all
who know him. He has an honorable record, and although
no longer able to preach, he is ably represented in the Con-
ference in the person of his eldest son, W. R. Cowl, who
has been a member of the Conference for nearly twenty
years, has filled some of its best appointments, and is one
of the very best thinkers and preachers in the Conference.
During Brother Herbert's last year Alexander W. Porter
was assistant preacher. He was of Irish descent; indeed,
may have been born in Ireland; was raised in Pittsburg,
and had not been preaching long. His brother James,
spoken of as a precious young man, had traveled the circuit
some years before, but fell a victim to consumption, and
soon passed away. Brother Porter was a bright young man,
pleasant and agreeable in his manners, and gave promise
of becoming a fine preacher. But, like his brother, he was
afflicted with pulmonary disease, and soon ended his labors.
.Brother Porter and I procured a horse and buggy, and
went together to the Conference, which met in Mount Ver-
non, Ohio, in the early part of September, 1842. The dis-
tance we traveled can now be made by rail in five or six
hours. But there were no railroads in those days, and,
traveling by private conveyance, it took us between three
and four days to reach the seat of the Conference. The
first night we stopped in Cadiz, Ohio; the second with a
cousin of mine, Charles Scott, near Cambridge, Ohio. Here
we spent the Sabbath. The following Monday night we
spent at Brother Joseph Thrapp's, father of Israel and Joel
S. Thrapp, near Newark, Ohio; and on the afternoon of our
fourth day's travel we arrived in Mount Vernon. As we
neared the end of our journey, we found ourselves in a
company of perhaps twenty or twenty-five preachers and
delegates, mostly on horseback, who had fallen in with each
other at different points along the way. They appeared
56 RECOLLECTIONS OF FIFTY
like a company of troopers who were hastening forward to
engage in some impending conflict. Some of those who
attended the Conference had come two hundred miles or
more, and seemed cheerful and happy, and indifferent to
the toil they had endured.
The Conference was composed of a large number of re-
spectable and talented men, among whom were such men
as Asa Shinn, George Brown, Zachariah Eagan, Cornelius
Springer, William Eeeves, Israel Thrapp, and others. It
was my first Conference. Everything was new to me, and
deeply interested me. In due time, after a not very rigid
examination, my name was reported to the Conference for
reception. Several of the preachers knew me, and spoke
kindly of me, and Judge McKeever, who was the delegate
from our circuit, also spoke in favor of my admission, and
stated to the Conference that he was instructed to ask for
me as assistant preacher on Ohio Circuit. Preachers were
needed, especially young men, and the standard of quali-
fications was not very high; so I was received into the Con-
ference as a probationary member.
Several persons were received into the Conference at
that session; but I can now recall only the names of Henry
Palmer and Joel S. Thrapp, the former of whom, after
preaching in the Pittsburg Conference for nearly forty
years, and serving several times as its president, was placed
on the superannuated list, and after a few years of occa-
sional local service, died in peace at a good old age. The
latter served for many years in the ministry in the Mus-
kingum Conference, acting as its president several times,
and also serving as Publishing Agent, and then for several
years as agent of Adrian College. He still lives (1892) at
an advanced age, a hale and vigorous old man, honored and
esteemed, but not engaged in regular ministerial work.
At that Conference I heard the venerable Asa Shinn
YEARS IN THE MINISTRY. f>7
preach for the first and only time. As I remember him,
he was a man of medium height, of well-rounded form,
high and broad forehead, placid countenance, and keen
and penetrating eyes. His whole appearance and bearing
were deeply impressive. His text was Ephesians iii, 8:
"Unto me, who am less than the least of all saints, is this
grace given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the
unsearchable riches of Christ." The general subject dis-
cussed was the office and work of the ministry. I can not
give an outline of the sermon; but it struck me at the time
as one of great force, and this was the general opinion.
One point particularly impressed me. It was the apostle's
humility in view of the great work to which he was called.
He entertained a lowly opinion of himself. He spoke of
himself as "less than the least of all saints," using, as Mr.
Shinn said, "the superlative diminutive," to show the low
estimate he put upon himself. It is an act of infinite con-
descension in God to call any man, it matters not how
great his talents, into the ministry, and make him a co-
worker with him in saving the souls of men. "Who is suffi-
cient for these things?
At that session the Muskingum Conference was set off,
embracing that portion of the State of Ohio formerly em-
braced in the Pittsburg Conference. The two Conferences
were of about equal size, embracing each about 'he same
number of ministers and members. Israel Thrapp was
elected president of the Muskingum Conference, and
George Brown president of the Pittsburg Conference. My
lot fell in the Pittsburg Conference, in which I have re-
tained my membership ever since.
At that Conference Robert T. Simonton was appointed
superintendent of Ohio Circuit, and, at the request of the
delegate, I was appointed his assistant. Brother Simon-
ton was, in many respects, a pleasant and agreeable man,
58 RECOLLECTIONS OF FIFTY
yet he did not impress me as a man of deep sympathies or
broad and generous views. I thought he was more dis-
posed to criticise than to help me. Still, there was no
breach between us, and we labored in harmony through
the year. He was a fluent speaker, and never at a loss for
language. His words seemed to flow in an unbroken
stream. Taking him all in all, he was an ordinary preacher
of about average ability. I never felt disposed, however,
to choose him as a model, either in matter or manner.
One event occurred during the year, illustrative of his
character, which was unpleasant, but not without amusing
incident. Our second quarterly-meeting was held in West
Middletown. John Clark, who had formerly been pastor
of the circuit, was on Pittsburg Circuit, and Judge Mc-
Keever, who was a great friend of his, without consulting
Brother Simonton, had invited him to come to our meet-
ing. According to the strict rules of propriety, this, of
course, was out of place. Brother Clark was not at home
when the letter was received, nor till after our meeting.
Sister Clark read the letter, and supposing that ministerial
help was desired, sent Moses N". Warren, who was the as-
sistant preacher on Pittsburg Circuit, to our assistance.
This gave great offense to Brother Simonton, and he re-
fused to take charge of the meeting, claiming that his
authority had been ignored. He was very dumpish and
taciturn. The situation was decidedly unpleasant. Of
course, we endeavored to conceal the trouble as much as
possible; but any one could see that there was something
wrong. Brother John Deselm, a local preacher from the
Nessley appointment, had come to the meeting. He was
a man of deep piety, of good common sense, a good
preacher, and withal very eccentric, and sometimes given to
saying queer things. He did not know anything about the
trouble with Brother Simonton, but felt that there was
YEARS IN THE MINISTRY. 59
something wrong, which was a drawback to our meeting.
Some one called on him to pray, and he told the Lord that
there was something wrong. He could not tell him what
it was, but he conjectured that there might be an Achan
in the camp, who had stolen a wedge of gold and a Baby-
lonish garment; or a Judas, who had betrayed his Master;
or a Peter, who had denied his Lord; or an Alexander the
coppersmith, who had done much harm; or a Diotrephes,
who loved pre-eminence. When he had gotten through
with the whole list, he could not decide which of them it
was, but he told the Lord that there was "some devilment
the matter." A good many knew what the "devilment"
was, and many others, who did not know, felt as Brother
Deselm did. The meeting passed off without any public
manifestation of unpleasantness, but, of course, under the
circumstances, without any special religious interest. It
is well enough to observe the proprieties of life and the
respect that is due to others; but a Christian, and especially
a Christian minister, should be willing, for the glory of
God and the good of his cause, if circumstances require
it, to waive his claims to precedence and personal recog-
nition.
The circuit was what was called a "four-weeks' " cir-
cuit, consisting of eight appointments, each preacher
preaching at two of them every Sabbath. In this way
every appointment had preaching every two weeks, while
each preacher preached at all the appointments once in
four weeks. The appointments embraced in the circuit
were: Independence, West Middletown, Bethel, Eldersville,
Holliday's Cove, Freeman's Landing, Pughtown, and Ness-
ley Chapel. There were church-buildings at all of these
appointments, except Independence, Holliday's Cove, and
Freeman's Landing. At these appointments we preached
in schoolhouses. The two extreme points on the circuit,
60 RECOLLECTIONS OF FIFTY
West Middletown and Nessley Chapel, were between
twenty-five and thirty miles apart. The distance between
any two of the appointments at which we preached on the
same day was not more than five or six miles, and in most
cases less. The circuit was therefore considered an easy
one to travel. The roads, however, were bad, and in winter
the traveling was very disagreeable.
My leisure time was spent at my mother's in study, and
in the preparation of sermons. I found sermonizing a diffi-
cult work. I never could talk without having something
to say, and it kept me very busy to find something to say
to the people; and after all my efforts I was always ashamed
of my performances. I preached short sermons, because
I could generally tell all I knew about a subject in a short
time. I never was much of a repeater. Kepeating rifles,
I suppose, are very effective weapons; but repeating preach-
ers seldom do much execution. I soon found that when I
failed to express myself clearly at the first attempt, I sel-
dom improved it by further efforts. Clearness of thought
is the great essential to clearness of expression. A man
who has a thought clearly defined in his mind, if he has
ordinary use of language, will have very little difficulty in
expressing it clearly; but if his thought is confused, it
matters not how often he attempts it, he will fail in clear-
ness of expression. Dr. Adam Clarke said that he often
preached not more than fifteen or twenty minutes, because
in that length of time he had said all he had to say on the
subject, and he did not think it worth while to repeat it
then and there. The best way is for a preacher to have
something of importance to say, then to say it in the most
impressive manner he can, and when he is through, to quit.
Before the year was out, I had preached the same ser-
mons at different appointments on the circuit, always try-
ing to improve them. From my own experience, I could
YEARS IN THE MINISTRY. 61
appreciate the wisdom of Mr. Wesley in removing his
preachers from one circuit to another often at the end of six
months. Had they remained longer, they would but have
repeated themselves. But after a preacher has acquired
hahits of study, and gained a little experience, it is best
for him to be placed in a position that will compel him
to study, so that he may bring out of his treasure things
new as well as old. Whenever a preacher relies wholly
on his old preparations, and does not labor to prepare new
subjects and develop new themes, it matters not whether
he is young or old, his mental growth will cease, his mind
will become sluggish, and he will be no longer efficient.
If we cease to burnish the metal, it will grow dim; if we
cease to employ our mental powers, they will grow feeble
and sluggish.
While we had no great and general revival on the cir-
cuit during the year, we had some good meetings and sev-
eral conversions. It was my great happiness, at one of my
appointments at Bethel, to receive into the Church, in
connection with others, my only brother, Charles, some
nine years older than myself. He maintained his connec-
tion with that society for nearly fifty years, and died in
faith and hope, February 5, 1892, a little over eighty years
of age.
Those were not the days of large salaries. The full
"allowance," as it was called, of a single preacher was one
hundred dollars a year. He was expected to be generally
on the go, and not to stay very long in a place at a time.
He was entertained by the members of the Church on
whom he called, taking a meal, or spending a night or a
day or a couple of days with them, acording to circum-
stances. Then he passed on, to call on some other family,
and be entertained in a similar manner. In those days
it was customary in the country for school-teachers to
62 RECOLLECTIONS OF FIFTY
"board with the scholars/' as it was called, spending a week
with one family, and then a week with another, until all
the patrons of the school had been visited in this manner.
So the young preacher was expected to board round among
the members. Of course, a young man would naturally
be tempted to stay longer where he was well entertained,
and where he felt that he was welcome, than where the
entertainment was not so good and where the welcome did
not appear to be so hearty. Great care had to be taken
to prevent jealousies among the people, by avoiding every
appearance of partiality. The opportunities for study by a
young man under such circumstances were far from being
favorable, and it required a good deal of determination and
perseverance to enable him to make much improvement.
A married preacher was allowed one hundred dollars
for himself, one hundred dollars for his wife, and twenty
dollars a year for each child under fourteen years of age.
A married preacher, although he had a home, was neces-
sarily absent a great deal, visiting the members, and in
going to and in returning from his appointments. His "al-
lowance," all things considered, was perhaps more ample
than that of the unmarried man. But small as the "allow-
ance" was, the whole amount was seldom received. When
this was the case, the amount contributed was divided
betwen the two preachers in proportion to their respective
claims. My first year I received sixty-three dollars, and
Brother Simonton received the same proportion of his
"allowance." These were not large salaries, but then
our wants were not. so numerous, and money possessed a
greater purchasing power than now.
I had acquired a little knowledge and experience during
the year, and although still but poorly equipped, I was a
little better prepared to go among strangers than I was
at the beginning of the year.
YEARS IN THE MINISTRY. 63
CHAPTER V.
Conference in Pittsburg First Saw G. B. McElroy Ordained
Deacon Appointed Assistant on Union Circuit James
Hopwood, Superintendent Large Circuit Leaving Home
Stop in Washington James L. Porter and Wife National
Road Laurel Hill Arrival at Uniontown Father and
Mother Phillips Henry B. Bascom Preaching-places
Entertainment Protracted-meetings James Hopwood
F. A. Davis Breakneck Connellsville Isaac Frances-
Samuel Catlin Hugh Cameron Camp-meeting Hard
Times Book-bill My Only Horse-trade First Marriage
Small Salary.
THE next Conference met in Pittsburg. I have no very
distinct recollection of its general business. At that Con-
ference I first saw George B. McElroy. He was a tall and
very slender young man. If my recollection serves me
right, he was a delegate from the First Church, Pittsburg.
For some reason the Stationing Committee thought of
sending me to Wheeling, and in view of this fact the Con-
ference deemed it necessary to ordain me. So I was or-
dained deacon, the Church at that time, recognizing -two
orders, deacon and elder, in the ministry. But near the
close of the Conference the arrangement was changed, and
I was appointed assistant on Union Circuit, embracing
Uniontown and Connellsville, Pa., and the region round
about. Brother D. H. Phillips was delegate from Union
Circuit, and he seemed to be pleased with my appointment,
and promised me a hearty welcome to the circuit. James
Hopwood was appointed superintendent of the circuit. He
was a stranger to me, but impressed me favorably as a
pleasant and agreeable man.
At the close of the Conference T returned home, and
64 RECOLLECTIONS OF FIFTY
prepared to go to my new field of labor. I found it very
difficult to bid adieu to my friends, and break off all my
early associations, to go among entire strangers. I tried
to treat it with seeming indifference; but no one but myself
knew the struggle that it cost me.
The distance from my home to Uniontown, the nearest
appointment on my circuit, was fifty-six miles. The first
day I went to Washington, Pa., and stopped with Brother
James L. Porter, one of our good brethren there, with
whom I was acquainted, and to whose home the weary
itinerant was always welcome. During the preceding win-
ter, I had assisted Brother J. B. Roberts, pastor of our
Church in Washington, at a protracted-meeting, and had
been entertained by Brother Porter. He was a man some-
what advanced in years, a sincere Christian, and deeply in-
terested in the welfare of the Methodist Protestant Church.
Sister Porter partook of his spirit, and heartily seconded all
his efforts to promote its interests. During my visit there
I had formed some very pleasant acquaintances, among
whom were the Misses Elizabeth and Margaret Hunter.
The former became the wife of Eev. John Cowl, and the
latter, some three years after, assumed my own name. But
now I did not call on any one, but spent the night pleas-
antly with Brother and Sister Porter, and early next
morning, after receiving their blessing, I started on horse-
back for Uniontown, thirty-six miles distant. My way was
over the National turnpike, which at that time was one of
the great thoroughfares of trade and travel between the
East and the West. The road was splendid, the day was
delightful, and my progress was very satisfactory. About
the middle of the afternoon I saw the blue range of the
Laurel Hill, like a heavy cloud lying along the horizon,
in the distance. I pressed on, and a little before sunset
reached Uniontown, and found a delightful home with
YEARS IN THE MINISTRY. 65
Brother John Phillips and his excellent wife, an aged
couple, among the first "Reformers," devoted friends of
the Church, and justly held in high esteem by all who
knew them.
Brother Phillips was a local minister, and had long
been a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and
had known many of the early. Methodist preachers in the
West. He related to me at various times many interesting
anecdotes of Bishop Asbury, Jacob Gruber, Thornton
Fleming, John F. Fielding, Henry B. Bascom, and others.
Mr. Bascom boarded with Brother Phillips while president
of Madison College, and he knew all about his personal
habits. A part of Mr. Bascom's library was still at Brother
Phillips's when I first went there. Among his books were
a great many volumes of sermons by different authors,
many of which appeared to have been very much used.
One of Mr. Bascom's peculiarities, as stated by Brother
Phillips, was, that he never would allow another person
to shave him. If he was so circumstanced that he could
not shave himself, he would permit his beard to grow.
Another peculiarity was his great love of home. He would
ride long distances after preaching at night to get home,
rather than remain among strangers. Sometimes in the
summer, when the weather was pleasant, he would walk
back and forth in the shade in the back yard for nearly
half a day, apparently absorbed in deep thought. On such
occasions he did not seem disposed to talk, and appeared
to be annoyed if any one spoke to him. Brother Phillips
said that when Mr. Bascom was in one of those moods,
they always expected something grand on the next Sab-
bath, and they were never disappointed. On one occasion
a little niece of Mr. Bascom was at Brother Phillips's, and
some of the friends teased her by telling her that her uncle
could not preach that he was no preacher. The little girl
5
66 RECOLLECTIONS OF FIFTY
was greatly annoyed, and seemed to take the matter greatly
to heart. The next Sabbath Mr. Bascom preached one of
his grand sermons, and everybody was carried away with
his eloquence. His little niece was present, and was as
much excited as the rest, and, unable to restrain her feel-
ings,, she clapped her hand, and exclaimed, "I knew my
uncle could preach! I knew my uncle could preach!" It
was in Brother Phillips's house that some of Mr. Bascom's
strongest articles in favor of the Heform movement in the
Methodist Episcopal Church were written. Although Mr.
Bascom was afterwards elected a bishop in the Methodist
Episcopal Church, South, he never retracted the charges
he had made against the government of the Methodist
Episcopal Church.
Brother Phillips had three married children, D. H.,
Joseph L., and Mrs. Mary Byers, all members of the Meth-
odist Protestant Church, residing in Uniontown. His old-
est son, John Wesley Phillips, resided in Connellsville, Pa.,
and was a leading member of our Church, and one of the
foremost citizens of the place.
Union Circuit covered a good deal of territory. It em-
braced as preaching-places, Oliphant's (now Fairchance),
Uniontown, Monroe, Union Schoolhouse, Franklin (now
Dunbar), Connellsville, Breakneck, Kell's Schoolhouse,
Gallatin's, Fayette Furnace, and the Neck (now Broad
Ford). There are now six charges within the territory
embraced in Union Circuit, to wit: Uniontown; East End
Church, Uniontown; Fairchance and Monroe, Dunbar,
Connellsville, and Broad Ford. It was a "four-weeks' "
circuit, with two preachers. I preached in Oliphant's in
a private house on Saturday night. The room in which I
preached served as church, parlor, dining-room, kitchen,
and bedroom. We have a good church there now. On
YEARS IN THE MINISTRY. 67
Sunday morning I rode seven miles, and preached in
Uniontown at eleven o'clock; and then rode two miles to
Monroe, and preached at three o'clock, and sometimes back
to Uniontown, where I preached at night. On the next
Thursday night I preached at Breakneck, four miles from
Connellsville. I always returned to Connellsville the same
night after preaching. There was no place there to stay.
One man always invited me very kindly to stop with him;
but I was told that he had two wives, and I did not like
to accept his invitation. On Friday night I preached at
Kell's Schoolhouse, about four miles from Connellsville,
in a little different direction. I always stopped with
Brother Kell, a very clever, but somewhat eccentric
brother, who appeared to be quite comfortably situated.
There I always slept cold in winter, which was my own
fault, for had I asked for additional covering, I have no
doubt I would have obtained it, as the family appeared to
have plenty of everything. But I was very timid and back-
ward in those days, and could not summon up courage
enough to do so. On Saturday I rode some nine or ten
miles up the mountain to 'Squire Gallatin's, on Indian
Creek, where I preached in a schoolhouse at night. Mr.
Gallatin and family were Germans, very clever, and very
comfortably circumstanced. Mr. Gallatin spoke English
very well, his wife rather imperfectly; but all the children
spoke German only. I stopped with Brother Gallatin,
and slept in a room upstairs, where there had never been
fire, and sometimes in winter it was very cold. There were
plenty of covers, comforts with feathers quilted in them
as I thought. They were very warm; but too small. When
I would pull them up to cover my shoulders, my feet would
be bare; and when I would try to cover my feet, my shoul-
ders would be bare. So I had to work them round cata-
68 RECOLLECTIONS OF FIFTY
cornered, and when I got fixed right, I slept very com-
fortably. Brother Gallatin was a very intelligent man, and
treated me very kindly.
On Sunday morning I rode seven miles across Laurel
Hill to Fayette Furnace, where I preached at eleven
o'clock. In the afternoon I rode thirteen miles down the
"mud pike," as it was called, to Connellsville, where I
preached at night. In summer-time this was a delightful
round; but in winter it was very disagreeable and trying.
Sometimes in riding down the mountain, it seemed to me
I would perish with cold.
The next Sabbath I preached in Connellsville in the
morning, and rode some four or five miles to the Neck
(now Broad Ford), where I preached in the afternoon. I
had no preaching-places for the following week. The next
Sabbath I preached at Franklin, about four miles from
Connellsville, at eleven o'clock; at Union Schoolhouse,
four miles from there, at three o'clock; and at Uniontown,
four miles from the latter place, at night. This made one
round on the circuit.
When in Uniontown my home was generally at Father
Phillips's; when in Monroe, at Brother Thomas Nesmith's.
He was a local preacher, and a very pleasant and agreeable
man, full of the milk of human kindness. He loved to
talk, and his conversation was generally entertaining.
When in Connellsville, I stopped with J. W. Phillips, John
Coup, and Samuel Freeman. While I visited the other
members, these were my principal stopping-places. They
were all in good circumstances, always gave me a hearty
welcome, and made me feel at home.
The superintendent of the circuit was James Hopwood,
who, I believe, was raised in Monroe, formerly called Hop-
wood, after his father, who, I believe, laid out the town.
His father and one of his brothers lived there, and another
YEARS IN THE MINISTRY. 69
brother, a lawyer, lived in Uniontown. Brother Hopwood
was a good man, and a fair preacher. He was kind to me,
and treated me well, and our relations were very pleasant.
His wife was a pleasant woman, a lady of refined taste, and
proved herself a good friend of mine. I always recall my
intercourse with Brother and Sister Hopwood with pleas-
ure. Brother Hopwood was a man of varying moods.
Sometimes he would be greatly dejected, and seem to think
that everything was going wrong. At other times he would
be greatly elated, and then everything was right. He had
a quick, short way of speaking, and sometimes, when ex-
cited, would make amusing remarks. One night in Church
in Connellsville he became very happy, and in his quick,
nervous way exclaimed, that he did not know what the
Lord was going to do with him; that he did not know but
that he would set him to making worlds yet. On my re-
turn home to Brother Phillips's, I told Brother F. A. Davis,
one of our invalid bachelor preachers, who was stopping
there, what Brother Hopwood had said, and he remarked
very sarcastically, "I would like to see one of the worlds
that he would make." Thus it is. <r Many men of many
minds," and many moods. Brother Davis did not think
that even the Lord could enable Brother Hopwood to make
much of a world!
We held several protracted-meetings during the winter,
and a camp-meeting in the summer. It was, upon the
whole, a year of prosperity. Many souls were converted
and added to the Church. At Fayette Furnace, on Laurel
Hill, among Pennsylvania Germans, we held a meeting of
much interest. We met at night in the schoolhouse, and
had meetings in daytime from house to house. We gener-
ally commenced our day meetings at ten o'clock, and some-
times we could not get them closed till one or two. The
Deople became excited, and they would sing, and pray, and
70 RECOLLECTIONS OF FIFTY
speak, and sometimes shout, and there was no stopping of
them till they got through. They were wonderfully gifted
in prayer, and prayed with a fervor and eloquence seldom
witnessed. At the close of these day services, the majority
of the members generally remained with the family where
the meeting was held for dinner. The next day the meet-
ing was held at the house of some other member, where
the same routine was observed. And so it went on till we
had gone round the neighborhood. It was a time of spir-
itual refreshing and great religious and social enjoyment.
The people, although in humble circumstances, appeared
to be free from care, and very happy.
We also held a protracted-meeting at Breakneck, among
as wild and uncultured a class of people as could be found
in all that region. But little good, apparently, was accom-
plished. One night thirteen men got down at the "mourn-
ers' bench " but we did not see them any more, and sup-
posed that they had come in sport or on a banter among
themselves. The devil sometimes gets people to do very
absurd and foolish things.
In Connellsville we had a strong society, and very in-
teresting meetings. We had in the society two local preach-
ers, Isaac Frances and Samuel Catlin. Brother Frances
was a genial soul, and no man seemed to enjoy a hearty
laugh better than he did. He preached a great deal, and
was popular among the people. Brother Catlin was a good
preacher, a rather sedate and serious man, and enjoyed the
confidence of the people. His preaching was very accept-
able.
We had another good brother there, who, though not a
preacher, was a prominent member, a devoted Christian
in whom every one had confidence; but who was peculiar
in his manner, and who, in the earnestness of his soul, often
said amusing things. This was Brother Hugh Cameron.
YEARS IN THE MINISTRY. 71
He was a man over six feet in height, very muscular, and
had a powerful voice. He had lived in the neighborhood
of Franklin Church, where our people had held several
camp-meetings. At one of these meetings Asa Shinn,
George Brown, T. II. Stockton, and several other ministers
were present. The meeting was one of very great interest.
Our people were then called "Radicals." Brother Cameron,
then a very wild, wicked man, who had no regard for the
Church or religion, and who never went to any place of
religious worship, had heard of the "Radicals," and his
curiosity was wonderfully excited, and he concluded that
he would go to the camp-meeting, to see what sort of people
these "Radicals" were. He attended the meeting, but was
not converted; yet new thoughts were stirred within him,
and he became dissatisfied with himself and with every-
thing around him. He did not like the people, he did not
like the neighborhood, and concluded to move away. He
did so; but things were no better where he went, and he
concluded to return to the old place. He came back, and
at last found out that it was his own heart that was wrong.
He earnestly cried for mercy, and God thoroughly con-
verted his soul. He had before been a very zealous servant
of the devil; but he now became as earnest and zealous for
the truth. His whole heart and life were changed, and he
afforded a demonstration of the power of Christ to regen-
erate and save the very worst of sinners. He was "an
epistle known and read of all men." I once heard him ex-
claim in a little prayer-meeting: "Bless the Lord that there
ever was a split in the Methodist Church! I 'm a Meth-
odist; my soul's a Methodist; the Lord's a Methodist."
His thought was, that had it not been for the division in
the Church and the term "Radical" applied to the "Re-
formers," which attracted him to the camp-meeting, he
might never have been led to hear the gospel, and might
72 RECOLLECTIONS OF FIFTY
have perished in his sins. Methodism had been the instru-
ment in saving him, and he could not magnify it too highly
in his thought.
It was a year of great stringency in financial affairs.
Every kind of business was depressed, and it was very diffi-
cult to get money for anything. Much of the business,
in that region at least, was done by an exchange of com-
modities. Many individuals and many business firms is-
sued what were called "shinplasters," which were promis-
sory notes, printed in the form of bank-bills, payable to
bearer, generally for small amounts, and which were used
as currency in the neighborhood, where the parties issuing
them were known and believed to be good for the amount.
But beyond this, they would not be received. This made
it hard for the single preacher, who had no family to use
such things as the members might be able to give him,
and who could not use "shinplasters" but in the neighbor-
hood where they were issued, and where he might not be
able to procure the things that he needed.
In the early part of the year I had purchased on time
a set of Clarke's Commentaries, and a copy of Mosheim's
"Eclesiastical History," from our Book Concern in Balti-
more, having no doubt but that before the time arrived
to pay for them I would have the money to do so. But I
was sadly disappointed. I failed, without any fault of
mine, to meet my engagement. Brother Eichardson, Book
Agent at Baltimore, good man that he was, wrote me a
very sharp letter, vaguely hinting at dishonesty, which
greatly wounded my feelings, and also somewhat incensed
me, for I had been taught from my early childhood to
abhor dishonesty. I smarted and chafed under the impu-
tation, vague as it was; but did not know how to get out
of my trouble. Had Brother Eichardson known my pur-
pose and circumstances, he would not have written as he
YEARS IN THE MINISTRY. 73
did. It is not the proper thing for men to make accu-
sations and pass harsh and uncharitable judgment on
others, in ignorance of their true character and circum-
stances.
When I left home I took with me a good, young horse
that I had raised. I still had him. Brother Daniel Howel
Phillips, who had been delegate to Conference, knew of
my difficulty, and proposed, as an accommodation to me,
to trade horses with me, and give me twenty dollars. He
said he knew it was not enough; but he was hard pressed
for money himself, and it was the best he could do. I
knew he was sincere, and was doing it as a favor to me.
His horse was old and pretty nearly worn out; but I
thought I could get along with him, and I did not desire
to have any more epistolary correspondence with Baltimore.
So I accepted Brother Phillips's offer, got the twenty dol-
lars, paid Brother Richardson, and never got a bill of books
on credit afterwards. That was my first and last horse-
trade.
My new horse was not much of a horse. He was, liter-
ally, "weak in the knees/' and often bowed down, though
not to worship, in what T considered very unbecoming
places. If he did nothing else, he excited me to great and
constant watchfulness when journeying with him. I had
occasion once or twice to ford the Cheat River with him,
the bottom of which, where I crossed it, appeared to be
covered with small, round boulders. I greatly feared he
would immerse me in that stream, although not a believer
in that mode of baptism, before I got over. But whether
he knew my sentiments or not, he braced himself for the
occasion, and I got through the flood in safety, and was
almost as jubilant as Miriam when she celebrated the de-
liverance of the Israelites from the waters of the Red Sea.
I would not cast any reproach on that horse, for he
74 RECOLLECTIONS OF FIFTY
served me to the best of his ability and that is as much
as any one can do to the end of the year; and not need-
ing a horse for another year, I took him to Pittsburg and
sold him, saddle and bridle, for a sum far from sufficient
to make a man purse-proud. We parted without visible
signs of regret.
The first marriage I ever celebrated was in Connells-
ville. The parties were Aaron Bishop and Mary Eicher.
They were both members of the Church, and continued in
its communion in Connellsville till a few years ago, when
they both died, within a few months of each other, es-
teeemed and honored by all who knew them. Brother
Bishop was a prosperous man, a sincere Christian, and a
devoted friend of the Church, and liberal, even beyond
his means, in. its support. Sister Bishop, for many years
before her death, was greatly afflicted with paralysis of
the vocal organs, and unable to articulate. She bore her
affliction patiently, and maintained a good degree of cheer-
fulness. I was very much frightened in performing the
ceremony. It seemed to me there was something in my
throat that obstructed my utterance, and it was difficult
for me to speak. I have married, I suppose, hundreds of
couples since, but I have never entirely overcome that feel-
ing. The fact is, marriage is a mysterious and solemn
thing, and is regarded by but few persons in its proper
light. Many persons enter into it from improper motives,
without any correct sense of the obligations they assume,
and the responsibilities on which they are about to enter.
It is generally considered a matter of natural emotion and
affection; but while this is so, our affections should be con-
trolled, or directed, by our intelligence, and we should act
in the matter of marriage, as well as in other things, in a
rational manner, in view of all the interests and responsi-
YEARS IN THE MINISTRY. 75
bilities involved. I married several other persons during
that year.
The year at length came to a close, its business was
wound up, and I had received on my "allowance" the sum
of seventy-four dollars, nearly three-fourths of the whole
amount. Brother Hopwood had received in the same pro-
portion. This was an advance on the preceding year, and,
considering the extreme stringency of the times, it was not
bad; at least, I did not murmur.
76 RECOLLECTIONS OF FIFTY
CHAPTER VI.
Conference at Fairmont Mrs. Hannah Reeves and Cornelius
Springer Sensational Preaching Uniontown made a Sta-
tionAppointed to that Charge Hard Study Lack of Con-
fidence in Myself Boarding-places Father Phillips and
Hebrew Names D. H. Phillips John H. Deford Water-
ing the Horse John L. Means Joseph L. Phillips Fine
Singer Close of the Year Case of Trance.
THE Conference of 1844 met in Fairmont, Virginia,
now West Virginia. I have but a faint recollection of the
business of that Conference. Nothing out of the usual
order of things occurred at it to fix my attention. Sister
Hannah Reeves and Brother Cornelius Springer were both
there, and both preached on Sunday morning, the former
to an overflowing congregation, and the latter to a com-
paratively small audience. Stopping at the same place,
after they had returned home and reported the character
of their congregations, Sister Reeves playfully twitted
Brother Springer with the fact that he could not attract
the people as she could. He replied that that did not sig-
nify anything; that had it been announced that he would
have a monkey-show at his Church, he would have had a
much larger crowd than she had. It is a pity that it is so;
but it is nevertheless true, that it is not the ablest and best
preachers that are the most acceptable, and attract the
largest congregations. The majority of people would
rather hear the sensational vaporings of some pretentious
upstart than the most important truths of the gospel, de-
livered in a clear and solemn manner by a man of ability
and character. I would not by this cast any reflection on
Sister Reeves, for she was an excellent woman, and a good,
YEARS IN THE MINISTRY. 77
plain gospel preacher. But she did not attract the people
because of her great ability and eloquence, but because
she was a woman, and the preaching of women was a rare
thing in that community. Idle curiosity brought many
to hear her.
Among those received into the Conference at this ses-
sion was Henry Lucas, father of John H. Lucas, at present
a member of the Conference, and a successful worker. He
was a man of good, rugged common sense, frank and can-
did, a plain, sound preacher, and was for twenty-six years
a sucessful worker in the Conference. His health then
failed, and for eleven years he sustained a superannuated
relation to the Conference. He died in 1881. His end was
peace.
At that Conference Uniontown was taken from the cir-
cuit, and made a station, and I was appointed its pastor.
The appointment may have been ultimately beneficial to
me, but it was a severe test, and one which I found it diffi-
cult to stand. I had done a great deal of extra preaching
in Uniontown the preceding year, and had preached almost
every sermon I had there, and to make and preach two new
sermons every week was to me no small undertaking. I
felt the burden that was placed upon me, and resolved to
do the best I could to bear it. Still, I entered upon the
labors of the year with no little apprehension.
The year was without special incident. I studied, night
and day, to try and do my duty and acquit myself with
some little degree of credit. Even before I retired to rest
on Sunday night after preaching, I would try to find a
subject for the next Sabbath, fearing if I let any time
slip, I might fail to be ready. I never put off my prepa-
ration till the last moment. Some young men have too
much confidence in themselves; my failing was, I had too
little, and, consequently, was always in a state of appro-
78 RECOLLECTIONS OF FIFTY
hension lest I should fail. I have scarcely ever been able
to rise and address an audience without a feeling of timid-
ity and embarrassment, however much I may have been
able to conceal it. But I have often felt, after getting
fairly started, and having fully grasped my subject, that I
could undaunted face the world. But, after all, it is worse
for a man to have too much confidence in himself than too
little.
I boarded part of the time with Father Phillips, part
of the time with his son, Daniel Howel, and part of the
time with John H. Deford, a lawyer, who was a member
of our Church. I felt at home in each place, but Father
and Mother Phillips were so good and kind to me, and
treated me so much like a child of their own, that their
house had for me a special attraction. Mother Phillips
was one of the best and most amiable women I ever knew.
Her name is worthy to go down to future generations, as
abundant in good works, and one who, for the Master's
sake, delighted to minister to his servants. She was, I
suppose, near seventy, but active and cheerful, and as she
went about the house attending to her domestic duties,
she would sing like a girl, and seemed to be always happy.
I suppose she was naturally of an amiable disposition; but
her heart was filled with the love of God, and she was
happy all the day long.
Father Phillips had been a cabinetmaker, but had re-
tired from business. When in business he sometimes em-
ployed and boarded quite a number of men. Family wor-
ship was kept up regularly, and all his employees were re-
quired to be present. On one occasion he was absent from
home for a considerable time. He had at that time thir-
teen men and boys in his employ, who boarded in his house.
Some of them were pretty wild. Sister Phillips was left
in charge. The men were called in as regularly as when
YEARS IN THE MINISTRY. 79
Brother Phillips was at home, and she conducted family
worship morning and evening, and the men conducted
themselves with great propriety, and treated her with be-
coming respect. She told me that had it not been for the
solemn awe which the worship of God seemed to inspire in
those men, she did not believe that she could have con-
trolled them. In addition to that, their belief in her piety
for no one could witness her life without being convinced
of that fact no doubt also had its influence on their minds.
Even the worst of men have a secret respect for the pure
and the good.
Father Phillips seldom preached, but he was very faith-
ful in the observance of the means of grace, and helpful
with his wise counsels and sympathies. I presume he was
over seventy, and age was beginning to show its effects
upon him. He was a tall man; but his form was now some-
what bent, and his step rather unsteady. He and I alter-
nated in holding family worship. He, as a usual thing,
attended to worship at night. After supper he generally
lay down and took a nap, rising about nine or half-past
nine o'clock. He had lost some of his teeth; his sight was
not what it once had been; and his articulation, especially
after one of his evening naps, was somewhat indistinct.
He was reading the Bible through in course at family wor-
ship, and did not omit the genealogical chapters in the Old
Testament. Some of those old Hebrew names are not
easily pronounced; and not being an expert in that line,
his renderings of them were not always exact. With all
my respect and love for him, T must confess that I was
often greatly amused at the old gentleman's courageous
attempts to master the situation; but he was not always
successful.
Daniel Howel Phillips was also a local preacher, a man
of fine intelligence and a fluent speaker; but he was so
80 RECOLLECTIONS OF FIFTY
pressed with business that he was not able to give much
attention to preaching. But he was deeply interested in
the Church and active in its support. I found him a true
friend, and my stay and intercourse with him and his fam-
ily was very pleasant.
John H. Deford was a prominent lawyer of the place;
had represented his county in the Legislature; was a man
of considerable means, a great friend of the Church and
of the preacher. But many people think it a privilege, if
not a divine right, to speak hard of lawyers, and, it matters
not how conscientious they may be in the discharge of their
duties, to condemn them. This was so in the case of
Brother Deford. There were those who did not like him,
and who took pleasure in criticising him. But he seemed
utterly indifferent to such criticisms. He may have been
sensitive; but if he was, he could so completely conceal his
feelings as to make the impression that nothing said to
him or about him affected him. But this may have been
the result of his perfect self-control. At any rate, he was
a man who did not allow the rebuffs of others to deter him
from doing what he believed to be his duty, or from pur-
suing the course he had marked out for himself. I boarded
with him for several months, and saw him in his family,
in his office, in the public, and in the Church, and my con-
fidence in his sincerity and Christian integrity increased
every day. He, no doubt, like other men, had his faults;
but I was convinced he was a good man.
Brother Deford was quick in his movements, and often
spoke quickly. If he handed you a dish at table, he would
do it quickly, and would often speak in a quick and ner-
vous manner. He had several children. His oldest son,
John William, was a boy of perhaps twelve or thirteen.
Mr. Deford kept a horse and carriage, and John William
YEARS IN THE MINISTRY. 81
generally took care of the horse. Brother Deford and I
attended to worship alternately. One Sunday morning his
father sent John William to water the horse, and before
his return we assembled in the sitting-room for prayers.
Brother Deford opened the Bible, as it afterwards appeared,
on the seventeenth chapter of John, beginning with:
"These words spake Jesus, and lifted up his eyes to
heaven," etc. He was looking intently on the Book, and
I thought every instant that he would begin reading, when
suddenly, in his quick, nervous way, he lifted his eyes,
looked around the room, and missing his boy, exclaimed,
"Where is John William?" and quickly remembering,
added, "He 's gone to water the horse," and then, without
the slightest pause, read, "These words spake Jesus," etc.
I must confess to my badness; but the thing came on me
so suddenly, and it seemed so ludicrous, that I thought
laugh I must. I had great difficulty in controlling myself
and observing the proprieties. I was several times on the
point of explosion, but succeeded in restraining myself. I
know it was not pious in me; but it seemed as if he read
it all from the Book, and it was an entirely new version to
me. The thing frequently recurred to my mind, and an-
noyed me through the day. Perhaps I should not have
recorded this; but I give the simple facts as they were, and
the reader can explain at his leisure the psychological con-
ditions underlying this little episode.
There was another local preacher connected with the
charge, John L. Means. He was a small man, of more
than ordinary intelligence, a tailor by trade, and a good
preacher. He was an excellent singer. He often preached,
and generally to the satisfaction of the people. Joseph L.
Phillips, a layman, was a fine singer, and an active worker
in the Church. The society at that time stood well in the
6
82 RECOLLECTIONS OF FIFTY
community and had a good working force. The year at
length drew to a close. There had been some prosperity,
and some good had apparently been done. Everything was
pleasant, and the year ended in peace.
During this year a remarkable case of trance occurred
under my observation. A young woman, whose name I
can not recall, a domestic in the family of Brother D. II.
Phillips, was the subject of it. She had not, to the knowl-
edge of any one, been laboring under any mental excite-
ment or physical disease. We had been holding a pro-
tracted-meeting; but there was no unusual excitement.
She had attended the meetings, but had manifested no
particular interest or seriousness. One evening, after re-
tiring to her room, she fainted, as the family supposed;
but all their efforts failed to restore her to consciousness.
At length she was carried down-stairs to the sitting-room,
a comfort was placed on an old-fashioned settee, and she
was laid upon it, where she remained perfectly motionless,
and, most part of the time, apparently dead, for eighty-four
hours. She was visited by all the physicians in the town,
and by most of the people; but no explanation of the case
could be given, and nothing could be done to restore her
to consciousness. At length, after the lapse of three days
and twelve hours, she revived. I had visited her many
times a day during this time, and saw her immediately
after she came out of her trance. I asked her if she was
tired; but she said she was not. I asked her if she was
hungry; but she answered, No. Part of the time, she said,
she was perfectly conscious, and heard everything that was
said by those about her; but she could not move a muscle.
She said that some of the persons who called to see her
pinched her, and ran pins into her; but she could not move.
Part of the time she was utterly unconscious of everything
YEARS IN THE MINISTRY. 83
around her. During her trance she had wonderful and
beautiful visions, which she related with much vividness,
and powerful religious impressions were made on her mind.
She professed conversion, and united with the Church.
But her piety was like the morning cloud and early dew,
and soon passed away. I give the facts; but I can give no
physiological or psychological explanation of them.
84 RECOLLECTIONS OF FIFTY
CHAPTER VII.
Conference Met in Connellsville Thomas H. Stockton A
Peerless Preacher Ordained Elder Appointed to First
Church, Pittsburg F. A. Davis, Assistant Boarding-
places Large Congregations Plenty of Work Leading
Members Charles Avery Sketch of His Character Be-
nevolence Second Church Colored People Aid Society-
Death and Funeral Edward Moore Responses Pro-
tracted-meeting "All the Goslings" Small Salary Object
of Envy Important Lesson Marriage Acting as Chor-
isterClose of the Year.
OUR Conference met in Connellsville that fall (1845),
and I had not far to go. It was a Conference of much in-
terest to me. I had the pleasure of hearing at that Con-
ference, for the first time, the celebrated Thomas H. Stock-
ton, a man of unsurpassed eloquence, preach. He was a
tall and rather spare man, with long arms, broad and high
forehead, hollow cheeks, high cheek-bones, large mouth,
rather prominent nose, and large, blue eyes. From this
description, one would not take him to be a handsome
man, and yet there was something very attractive and
pleasing in his appearance. There was something about
him that was very impressive, and that would attract at-
tention among ten thousand people. His appearance in the
pulpit, before he uttered a word, would deeply impress a
congregation. Then, he read a hymn as he only could
read it. His action during the delivery of his sermon
was in perfect harmony with his language and thought,
and the images which he presented to the mind were vivid
as life. Whatever he described, seemed to pass before his
audience as a living reality. His preaching was generally
pathetic; but sometimes he would indulge in fearful de-
YEARS IN THE MINISTRY. 85
nunciation, and occasionally in the most withering sar-
casm; but not often. He seemed to have perfect control
over his audience, and to be able to inspire them with such
feelings as he desired. There was nothing apparently
affected in his manner. He seemed to be perfectly natural
in all he said and did. I have heard a good many eloquent
preachers, but I never heard any one to compare with Mr.
Stockton. His sermon on the Sunday morning of the Con-
ference was one of wonderful eloquence and power. At
the close of the sermon, in company with some others, I
was ordained elder. P. T. Laishley was president, and
James Robison secretary of the Conference. Their names
are on my elder's credentials.
At that Conference I was appointed superintendent of
the First Church, Pittsburg, and F. A. Davis was appointed
my assistant. He was my senior in years, and also in the
ministry, and my superior as a preacher. But his health
was not good, and I suppose the Conference, in view of that
fact, made him assistant. We were both unmarried, and he
was called an "old bachelor." He was a Virginian, natur-
ally of a proud, haughty spirit, and was dissatisfied with
his position in the ministry, as beneath that which his
talents should command. He at that time contemplated
leaving the ministry, and was reading law in view of en-
tering the legal profession. This purpose, however, he
afterwards abandoned. He was very poor; but he held
that the world owed him a living, and he was not always
as careful as he should have been in keeping his expendi-
tures within the limit of his income. This often caused
him anxiety. He had a love affair during the year; but it
failed to materialize. Notwithstanding his little pecul-
iarities, he was in most respects a pleasant and companion-
able man, and we got along very well together, without any-
thing to interrupt our harmony. A few years afterwards
86 RECOLLECTIONS OF FIFTY
I married him to a Miss Baker, of Uniontown, a young and
pretty girl, who had spent her life at school, and knew
nothing about the cares and duties of domestic life. His
views and feelings were all Southern, and he removed to
the Alabama Conference, and afterwards united with the
Methodist Episcopal Church, South. He had a large fam-
ily of daughters, and always remained poor.
Brother Davis and I boarded for half the year with
John Armstrong and his good wife, Dorothea. They were
an excellent Irish couple, members of the Church, and
treated us with great kindness. Brother Armstrong was
a first-class bookkeeper, and had a good position. He was
a quiet, sensible man, very neat in his person, exact in his
habits, and always pleasant and agreeable. His wife was
a whole-hearted woman, and fairly idolized her husband,
and waited on him, of her own choice, as if he were a lord.
Her affection and attentions appeared to be fully recipro-
cated. In the spring of 1846 they removed to Wheeling,
and we found boarding for the remainder of the year with
Brother John Cowl, pastor of our First Church in Alle-
gheny City. Our sojourn with him and his family was
very pleasant.
The First Church, Pittsburg, was then in a prosperous
condition. We had a large membership, a large congre-
gation, and a large Sunday-school, which held two sessions
every Sunday, meeting at nine o'clock in the morning and
two o'clock in the afternoon. The city was then (1845-6)
comparatively small, and business had not driven the peo-
ple, as it has since done, to the suburbs. Many of our
members and congregation lived near the church, so that
it was not difficult for them, on account of distance, to
attend. I preached once every Sabbath, and Brother Davis
preached once. I also taught a Bible class in Sunday-
school every Sunday morning and afternoon, met a class
YEARS IN THE MINISTRY. 7
of ladies on Tuesday afternoon, and attended week-night
service every Wednesday evening, with frequent extra
meetings of different kinds. This, in addition to pastoral
visitation, visiting the sick, and attending funerals, af-
forded me ample work; quite as much as I felt able properly
to do. I worked hard all the time, and did not eat the
bread of idleness.
The year was a pleasant and prosperous one. We held
a protracted-meeting of several weeks' continuance during
the winter, and souls were converted and added to the
Church. We had many faithful workers. There were
several classes well attended, and there was no lack of per-
sons to lead in prayer, or to speak for Jesus, as occasion re-
quired. Among the leading members of the Church at
that time were Charles Avery, Edward Moore, Charles
Craig, John L. Sands, J. J. Gillispie, W. H. Garrard,
William and David Rinehart, Dr. Joseph Henderson, Dr.
Harrup, Henry Palmer, Henry Morrison, and a host of
others, whose names I can not now recall. Stephen Rem-
ington, one of the heroes of the Reform movement in
Pittsburg, was still living; but had been stricken with
paralysis, and was confined to his house. The First Church
at that time was one of the most prosperous Churches in
the city. It had on its roll the names of men of high
standing, and whose memories are worthy of being cher-
ished in the Church through all coming time.
Charles Avery was a man of no ordinary ability and
character. At the time of which I write he was a little
over sixty years of age, having been born in Westchester
County, New York, in 1784. His father was the owner
of a small farm, and he was one of a large family of chil-
dren. His education was obtained in the district school
of his neighborhood. At an early age he left homo. ;md
became an apprentice to an apothecary in New York, whore
88 RECOLLECTIONS OF FIFTY
he acquired a thorough knowledge of the drug business.
In his eighteenth year he was converted, and united with
the Methodist Episcopal Church. At a subsequent period
he was licensed to preach, and in due time ordained deacon
and elder, although he never entered the itinerancy.
In 1812 he invested what means he had in a small stock
of drugs, which he shipped to Philadelphia, intending to
bring them from there to Pittsburg, where he proposed
engaging in the drug business and the manufacture of
white lead. But the vessel which carried his goods was
wrecked, and, having no insurance, his entire stock was
lost. Friends, however, came to his assistance, who fur-
nished him with a little capital, and, procuring another
stock of goods, he came to Pittsburg, and commenced in a
small way in the drug business and the manufacture of
white lead. At that time, as now, nearly all the manu-
facturers of white lead adulterated their product with
whiting, a very inexpensive preparation of chalk, which,
while it detracted from its value, greatly lessened the cost
of the article. Mr. Avery was too honest and conscientious
to do so, and in consequence of the competition of un-
scrupulous manufacturers, he could not sell a pure article
at a price that would enable him to carry on the business
at a reasonable profit. He said, "If I can not sell a pure
article, I will give up the business;" and he did so, and
invested his capital in commodities which admitted of
honest treatment. In all his business transactions, those
who were the most intimately associated with him declared
that he never deviated from the strict rule of rectitude,
but often sacrificed his personal interests rather than con-
form to the corrupt usages of trade. Still, his business
prospered, his means accumulated, and he was soon known
as one of the most successful and enterprising business
men of Pittsburg. He was one of the first to perceive the
YEARS JN THE MINISTRY. 89
value of the copper-mines of Lake Superior, and made a
large fortune by dealing in their products. The various
branches of business in which he was engaged prospered;
indeed, he would not carry on an unprofitable business.
He soon took rank among the leading business men and
capitalists of his adopted city.
Mr. Avery was one of the early advocates of reform in
the Methodist Episcopal Church, and when the "Reform-
ers" organized in Pittsburg in June, 1829, he entered into
the organization with heart and soul. Notwithstanding
his business engagements, he often found time to fill
appointments in the neighborhood of the city, and to
assist his brethren at quarterly-meetings and on other oc-
casions. He was a good preacher, and his labors were
always acceptable. He was no lover of the Roman Catholic
Church, and seldom preached without referring to it in
some way. There were two very commendable traits in
Brother Avery's character. He was never ashamed of his
religion or of his brethren. He never failed boldly to
acknowledge Christ when occasion required, it mattered
not where he was, or with whom he was surrounded; and
he never was ashamed to recognize his brethren on the
street, or anywhere else, it mattered not how poor or how
black they were, or how aristocratic the company might
be in which he was. He was the friend of the poor, and
especially devoted to the interests of the colored people.
Mr. Avery's benevolence was equal to his wealth. He
was abundant in good works. No good cause failed to re-
ceive his cordial support and liberal aid. The first five
dollars he made in Pittsburg, he gave to aid in the erec-
tion of a Methodist church, and many thousands of dol-
lars he afterward gave all over the country for the same
purpose. Indeed, his brethren in his own Church often
imposed upon him; for, knowing his liberality, they not
90 RECOLLECTIONS OF FIFTY
infrequently refused to do their part as they should, know-
ing that Mr. Avery would not allow the cause to suffer.
He felt this, and sometimes complained that his brethren,
to relieve themselves, would burden him. In speaking to
me once on this subject, he said, "They would skin me;
yes, they would skin me!" But notwithstanding this, he
did not withhold his contributions, but continued to give
with undiminished liberality. It is often the case that
men of large means and liberal disposition are imposed
upon by those who, although able to do much, excuse
themselves because there are those who are able to do more.
Every man should be liberal in support of every good
cause in proportion to his ability, and as the Lord has
prospered him.
When the Second Church, Pittsburg, was built, a few
years after the time of which I have been writing, Mr.
Avery, to begin with, paid three thousand dollars for the
lot, and as the building progressed he continued to give
as money was needed. Brother James Robison was pastor
of the Second Church, and superintended the erection of
the building, and solicited and collected the necessary
funds. One day he came to me for I was again pastor of
the First Church and said he was in a great strait. He
needed fifteen hundred dollars, and he did not know where
he could get it, and he did not know what to do. If he
could not get the money, work on the Church must stop.
He said he had asked Mr. Avery for money so often, that
he was ashamed to go to him again. He asked me if I
would not go to Mr. Avery, and ask him to help him out.
He said he was a member of my Church, and he would
receive it kindly of me. I told him I would go. So I
went. It was on a Friday. I found Mr. Avery at home,
and in excellent humor. Sometimes he had peculiar
YEARS IN THE MINISTRY. 91
moods, when you could not easily approach him. But that
day he was in excellent spirits. It was not long till he
inquired how Brother Robison was getting along with the
new church. I told him the work was progressing finely;
but Brother Robison was in a great strait for money, and
did not know what to do. He inquired how much he
needed. I told him fifteen hundred dollars would let him
out. He seemed thoughtful for a moment, and I concluded
to make my appeal. He was an old man, and I was but a
young man, and the ludicrousness of my position and ap-
peal must have appeared wonderfully amusing to him.
Said I: "Brother A very, I am your pastor, and I want to
give you a little pastoral advice this morning. You have
already invested a great deal of money in that church, and
it would be a great pity if it should fail now, and all the
money you have given be lost. I would advise you to let
Brother Robison have what money he needs, and you take
a mortgage on the church, to make yourself secure." He
saw the point in a moment, and threw himself back in his
chair, and laughed immoderately. I never saw him laugh
so heartily. The idea of me giving him pastoral advice,
and such advice, in view of the fact that he had almost
built the church, appeared very amusing to him. As soon
as he got over his laugh and had composed himself, he
began to tell me of the different ways in which people ap-
proached him to get money out of him, showing that he
fully comprehended me. He said he had no money just
then; but he thought Mr. Arbuckle, his partner in the
cotton business, had money, and for me to go to him, and
tell him that if he would let Mr. Robison have fifteen hun-
dred dollars, he would indorse his paper, and see it paid.
I went to Mr. Arbuckle with my message, but he said he
had disposed of all his money the day before. I reported
92 RECOLLECTIONS OF FIFTY
the fact to Mr. A very, and he said he would see what could
be done. On the next Tuesday he took Brother Robison
a check for the amount he needed.
The colored people, who, he said, had no one to care for
them, were the special objects of his solicitude and liber-
ality. He seemed to regard himself as under special obli-
gations to care for them. He helped them in every way he
could, by his money, by his counsels, and by his sympathy.
Xot satisfied with affording them temporary aid, he planned
and labored for their permanent and future good. Seeing
that there were no institutions of learning of high grade
where they could be admitted, and receive mental training
to elevate them in the scale of intelligence, he erected, at
his own expense, a fine college building and chapel near his
own home in Allegheny City, and gave it an endowment
sufficient to yield about three thousand dollars a year. He
did this in his own lifetime, so that his purpose might be
fully carried out. He was president of the Board of Trus-
tees, the majority of whom were colored men, and most of
the teachers were also colored persons. The design of this
institution was to furnish a complete college course in
Latin, Greek, mathematics, and science.
For many years before his death, Mr. Avery gave away
his entire income, and yet when he died his estate was
worth nearly a million of dollars. That was before the
days of large fortunes, such as have since been accumulated
by speculation in railroad and other stocks. In his day but
few men were worth a million dollars. At his death he
gave five thousand dollars each to three of our city
churches, and four hundred shares of "Monongahela Navi-
gation Company" stock, worth at the time twenty thousand
dollars, and which afterwards greatly appreciated in value,
to the "Aid Society of the Pittsburg Annual Conference
of the Methodist Protestant Church," the income to bo
YEARS IN THE MINISTRY. 93
applied annually to the support of needy and wornout
preachers of the Conference. Numerous bequests were
made to colored Churches; but after providing amply for
his wife, and properly remembering a few relatives for
he had no children the bulk of his fortune was left for
the purpose of carrying on schools and missionary work
among the colored people in our own country and in Africa.
Hundreds, and perhaps thousands, of colored people in the
South are to-day being instructed and elevated by the
means which he left for that purpose. There is also a
sucessful mission in Africa, now under the supervision of
the "United Brethren in Christ," which is supported by
money left by Brother Avery.
As might have been expected after such a life of piety
and benevolence, Mr. Avery's death was one of peace and
joyous hope. He came down to his end full of faith and
assurance. He had no doubt or mistrust of his Father's
love; but full of confidence he departed in hope of a better
inheritance.
I was at his funeral. An immense multitude of people
were present, to show their esteem of the deceased and their
sorrow at his departure. Business men, judges, lawyers,
doctors, congressmen, poor widows whom he had assisted,
factory girls who had long been in his employ, colored
people of every shade whom he had labored to elevate
and bless, mingled in -one promiscuous mass, showing the
universal respect in which he was held. The memory of
Brother Avery is as precious ointment poured forth.
Edward Moore was another member of the First
Church, who, when I first knew him, was an old man, and
had been retired from business for a considerable time.
He was, I think, a native of Ireland, but had resided a
long time in Pittsburg. He was rather under medium
height, an active, energetic, and devoted Christian, and
94 RECOLLECTIONS OF FIFTY
was pretty generally known as "Amen Daddy Moore/' be-
cause he was in the habit, as was customary with the early
Methodists, of responding in hearty Amens to what he ap-
proved in the preaching, as well as in the prayers which
he heard.
The old First Church had three aisles, and the two
front pews to the right and left of the center aisle abutted
at their extremities against two columns, which in part
supported the galleries for the church had both an end
and side galleries. Brother Avery sat in one of these front
pews, with his back against one of the columns, and
Brother Moore sat in the other, with his back against the
other column. The responses of these two brethren to the
preacher, particularly if he became animated and earnest,
were frequent and very hearty. Such responses had an
encouraging effect on the preacher, and assured him of the
sympathy and approval of his brethren. It often served
as an inspiration, and gave confidence and courage, espe-
cially to a young and diffident man.
Brother Moore's responses were not always restricted
simply to "Amen." He frequently indulged in brief re-
marks, which were sometimes not a little amusing. It
seemed at times as if he were unconsciously thinking
aloud. On one occasion, while hearing Brother John Cowl
preach, he appeared to be quite carried away, and in a
sort of soliloquy softly exclaimed, "Dear me! How he
goes on! That should be printed." He was very generally
known in the city, and everybody had faith in him and
loved him.
During the winter we held a protracted-meeting of
several weeks' continuance. Brother William Keeves, a
very earnest and able preacher, assisted us, and preached
every night for thirteen nights. The main audience-room
was filled every night. The attention was marked, and a
YEARS IN THE MINISTRY. 95
profound impression appeared to be made; but, although
an invitation was given every night for seekers, not one
came forward. On the thirteenth night of the meeting,
Brother William H. Garrard, who was standing with me at
the altar, said to me, while the congregation was singing,
that he believed there were serious persons in the con-
gregation, and if they would not come to the "mourner's
bench," to ask them to rise up in their seats, or in some way
to express their desire for salvation. While we were con-
versing we had turned our backs to the congregation. It
seemed to me we had not been talking a minute but per-
haps it was longer and when we turned round the two
front seats, extending two-thirds of the way across the
house, were filled with seekers. As soon as one started,
they all started and came at once. Brother Moore was on
his feet in an instant, clapping his hands and blessing the
Lord. There was a gentleman in Pittsburg at that time,
Mr. James Gosling, who kept a large dry-goods store on
Market Street. His family attended our Church; but were
not members. Among those who came forward was Mr.
Gosling's wife, his sister Margaret, and his daughter Sophie.
Brother Moore saw them and knew them, and clapping his
hands as he walked in front of the seekers, he exclaimed,
"Lord, bless all the Goslings!" The prayer was all right,
and was generally understood; but it sounded queerly, and
a stranger might easily have misunderstood it, and given
it a ludicrous application. Our meeting was successful,
and resulted in the conversion of about forty persons, and
their reception into the Church.
There were many noble men and women in the First
Church at that time too many to be enumerated here
who were pious in heart, consistent in life, and greatly
devoted to the interests of the Church. But few of them
remain. The great majority of them have passed away.
96 RECOLLECTIONS OF FIFTY
That year I received my full Disciplinary "allowance"
of one hundred dollars and my boarding. This was too
small an amount to clothe me, as I was compelled to be
clothed in the city, and meet the various incidental ex-
penses which I could not well avoid. Sometimes I felt
very much straitened, and not a little depressed, in view
of my very limited financial resources. I remember that
one day I felt very badly. I was really in need of money,
and had none; and I thought my lot was a pretty hard one.
It was customary then for gentlemen to wear circular
cloth cloaks. Scarcely any one wore an overcoat. To ap-
pear respectable and like other people, I was compelled
to have a cloak. On the evening of the day above referred
to, we had a meeting of some kind in the church. After
supper I put on my cloak, and, I suppose, looked pretty
respectable, and started, rather moodily, from my board-
ing-house in Allegheny for the church. As I came down
near to Lacock Street, there were three factory girls return-
ing home from work, and as they crossed a vacant lot,
talking and laughing as if they had never known a care,
one of them pointed to me, and said, in a rather subdued
tone, but loud enough for me to hear her, "If I was as rich
as that man, I would n't care." I thought if she only knew %
how rich or rather poor I was, she would want to be as
rich as some one else. But, judging from my appearance,
she thought I was rich, and was perhaps tempted to envy
me. The incident set me to thinking. I concluded that
appearances were often deceptive. I looked perhaps quite
as respectable as many a rich man; but my position com-
pelled me to do so, and that was one cause of my trouble.
My position compelled me to keep up an appearance which
my means did not well justify. I realized what many an-
other person has realized, the embarrassment of genteel
YEARS IN THE MINISTRY. 97
poverty. But I took comfort from the thought, that if I
only knew the true condition and circumstances of those
whom I was tempted to envy, I would perhaps, after all,
prefer my own condition to theirs. We know our own diffi-
culties and trials; but we do not know the difficulties and
trials of others, and in our ignorance it is not best for us
to disquiet ourselves by envying them in their lot. I re-
turned home that night a little wiser and a little better
contented that when I left.
Having received my full Disciplinary "allowance" that
year, and as much as I could expect according to the law
of the Church while a single man, and as I had served
nearly four years in the itinerancy, the time required under
the old Methodist regime before marriage, I concluded
to get married, and I suceeded in carrying out my purpose.
I selected for a companion Miss Margaret Hunter, of Wash-
ington, Pa., and, after the lapse of nearly half a century,
I have no reason to regret my choice. I suppose, dear
reader, that you would like to know something about our
courtship and marriage; but I do not deem that a matter
of sufficient public importance to go into history. Dr.
George Brown used to tell the young preachers that when
he was courting his wife, he made it a subject of prayer;
but he always rose from his knees, feeling, "Well, I '11 have
Liza anyhow." Our little granddaughter, who is of a very
inquiring turn of mind, has often persistently asked me
what I said to grandma when I wanted her to marry me;
but if you will believe it, I have never yet been able to
answer the child. I suppose it is not best to place such
little matters on record; but to leave every one to the exer-
cise of his own ingenuity in such cases.
There is one incident, however, connected with our
first appearance at church after our marriage, which it
7
98 RECOLLECTIONS OF FIFTY
may not be improper to relate. It appears more amusing to
me now at this distance of time than it did when it oc-
curred. I took my wife to church, and saw her comfort-
ably seated, and then took my seat in the pulpit beside
Brother Davis, who was associated with me as assistant pas-
tor, and who was to preach that evening. He was very
prompt in beginning the service on time, and would not
wait for any one. The congregation was a little tardy that
evening; but Brother Davis, as usual, began on time, and
read a long long-meter hymn. There was not a member
of the choir present, and no one to sing. I never professed
to be an artistic singer; but I could sing a little in those
days, and as there was no one else to do it, I started the
hymn, two lines of which Brother Davis had read. Pretty
soon the members of the choir came in, and the congre-
gation filled up. Brother Davis, standing by my side, kept
lining out the hymn, and I kept singing it, and the choir
and the whole congregation, my wife with the rest, stood
and listened without uttering a single syllable that I could
hear, whether in admiration or in awe I can not say. I
suppose they feared they could not "come to time," and
give the tune the peculiar accent and expression that I
did. I had the best of attention. Indeed, it was one of the
efforts of my life. I would not, hoAvever, recommend any
of my young friends to become chorister, without any in-
strumental accompaniment, unless he was used to it, on his
first appearance at church with his young wife.
It was not long till the close of the Conference year.
It had been a year of hard work, of some trials, of con-
siderable enjoyment, and of encouraging success. I had
now spent four years in the ministry; I had learned some-
thing of the trials and also of the enjoyments of my chosen
field of labor; I had selected a companion for life, and now
YEARS IN THE MINISTRY. 99
regarded myself as having fairly entered upon my life-
work. I was deeply sensible of my lack of proper qualifi-
cations for the great work in which I was engaged; but
I labored faithfully, so far as I had opportunity, to supply
these deficiencies. I was diffident and shrinking in untried
positions, yet self-reliant, confident, and hopeful of the
future.
100 RECOLLECTIONS OF FIFTY
CHAPTER VIII.
Conference in Allegheny City Appointed to Uniontown
Young People and Housekeeping Small Salary Mr. Isaac
Skyles, a Kind Friend Left in Debt Church Never Pros-
perousLayman's Bureau Wrong Policy Conference in
Waynesburg T. H. Stockton's Sermon Appointed to Man-
chester Circuit Removal Cold House Mr. and Mrs. Bing-
ham Horse and Buggy Cultivation of a Garden Pastoral
Visitation The Brown Families Quarterly-meeting No
Money No Flour A Barrel of Flour Brought to My Door-
Very Bad Flour Controversy About It Many Excellent
People A Special Visit Attention to the Poor Local
Preachers Joseph Burns A Sad Event Out of Debt.
THE Conference of 1846 met in Allegheny City, next
door to the parsonage where I boarded. Rev. George
Brown was elected president, and Joseph Burns secretary.
The Conference was not marked by anything special, or
anything out of the ordinary course of things. I was ap-
pointed that year again to Uniontown. The Church there
desired my services; and, although it was very feeble finan-
cially, I was willing to go.
We had not yet commenced housekeeping, and it re-
quired a few days after Conference for us to make the nec-
essary preparation, and then we removed to our new field
of labor. We were received very cordially, and were enter-
tained by Father and Mother Phillips, at whose house we
remained a couple of weeks or more, while a little house
was being prepared for us. We were treated very kindly;
but the time seemed long till we got to housekeeping our-
selves. The future has always bright visions for the young,
and they are anxious to realize the anticipated pleasure.
The proper thing for young married people to do is to go
YEARS IN THE MINISTRY. 101
to housekeeping for themselves as soon as circumstances
will permit. It gives them more interest in life; makes
them more active, self-reliant, and useful. It seldom works
well for newly-married people to live with their parents,
unless it is to take care of them. Old people's views are
different from young people's, and they are apt to interfere,
dictate, and impose restrictions which are not agreeable to
young people. Let young married people go to themselves.
Let them feel the dignity and responsibility of their new
position; let them plan and arrange for the future; and let
them, in their own way, carry out their plans. Boarding
or living with parents seldom yields the best results.
At length we got to housekeeping. Our residence was
not a stately one; but it was neat and comfortable. We
had a neat little sitting-room and a nice little kitchen down
stairs, and a little hallway where the stairs went up to our
bedroom over our sitting-room. There was also room for
a bed over the hall upstairs. We had not much we did
not need much but what we had was new and good, and
we greatly enjoyed it. It was ours it was our home we
presided there as the united head of the household. The
family relation is of Divine origin. "God setteth the soli-
tary in families." There is nothing more beautiful than
to see a young married couple happy in each other's love,
influenced by the same feelings and motives, and their
minds filled with bright hopes of the future, erecting their
family altar, and entering together on the duties and labors
of life.
The members of the Church were kind to us, and did
what they could to support us and contribute to our com-
fort; but they .were not able to do for us what they de-
sired. With all our economy we could not live on what
we received, and were under the necessity of going in debt.
This greatly annoyed us, and detracted very much from our
102 RECOLLECTIONS OF FIFTY
happiness. I found, however, a good friend in Mr. Isaac
Skyles, a merchant in the place, who very kindly supplied
us with what we needed when we had no money. Had it
not been for his kindness, I do not know what we would
sometimes have done. When we came to move at the end
of the year, I settled with him and paid Mm all the money
I could spare, and still I owed him a considerable sum;
but instead of insisting, as some men would have done,
that I should pay him his entire bill, he insisted on my
taking back some of the money that I had paid him, lest I
might not have enough to move me to my new home. It
was an act of great kindness; I highly appreciated it, and
have never forgotten it. Of course, I embraced the very
earliest opportunity to pay him, and assure him of my grati-
tude. It is true, I had lived three years in the town; he
knew me; and he knew that my salary of one hundred and
fifty dollars was not enough to keep us. He had confidence
in me, and he found that it was not misplaced. A good
character is not a bad thing to have. It is not money; but
it often serves for a time in place of money.
I labored faithfully that year; but without any very
great success. I trust some good was accomplished; but
the results were not what I desired. Uniontown never
seemed to have a good soil for Methodist Protestantism.
At one time our college was located there, and was manned
by able and learned men, which should have given our
cause some prestige; and our Church there has been sup-
plied at various times by our best preachers; but still it
never prospered or became strong. Now, after nearly fifty
years, it is still feeble, and the '""Layman's Bureau" is sup-
plying it with a preacher and aiding in his support, in hope
of building up our cause there. We have always had some
good members there; but we have not had enough of them.
I trust the present effort will prove a success.
YEARS IN THE MINISTRY. 103
Aside from our financial straits, we got along very
pleasantly. The friends were kind to us. We had their
sympathy and love, and they did what they could to sup-
port us.
A weak Church in a town where other Churches have
regular services every Sabbath labors under great disadvan-
tages. It lacks sufficient strength to sustain itself and
keep a minister all the time, without overburdening its
members or embarrassing its pastor, and thus discouraging
both. To unite it with some other charge to give it finan-
cial support, detracts from its influence and hedges up its
way, for it is difficult to hold a congregation with preaching
but a part of the time, when other Churches in the town
have preaching every Sabbath. It is a question whether it
is right to labor so persistently to maintain a Church or-
ganization where there is no lack of the gospel, and where
the conditions essential to denominational success are
largely wanting. The same amount of labor bestowed
somewhere else, under more favorable conditions, and
where there is greater need, might be productive of much
more good. Is there not sometimes a little unjustifiable
denominational pride connected with such efforts?
At length the Conference year came to a close, and,
although we liked our Uniontown friends, and were sorry
on many accounts to leave them, yet because of their in-
ability to support us, we were willing to make a change.
Our Conference met that year (1847) in Waynesburg, Pa.
It was a very pleasant Conference. That peerless preacher,
Rev. T. H. Stockton, was present, and preached on Sabbath
morning to an immense congregation in a grove adjoining
the town. His sermon was one of wonderful eloquence.
Towards its close he described the death of a young Chris-
tian lady. The picture was clearly drawn, and was vivid
as life. You imagined yourself standing by her bedside.
104 RECOLLECTIONS OF FIFTY
You saw her pale brow, her hollow cheeks, her bloodless
lips, her clear, bright eyes, and her whole countenance lit
up with an inexpressible radiance and sweetness inspired
by the hope of a better life. As she neared the Jordan she
sang, in a low, soft voice, a verse of a hymn expressive of
her hope and joy. Brother Stockton sang it, and you im-
agined you were listening to the sweet voice of the dying
saint. At length you saw her breathe her last, and almost
imagined that you saw her pure spirit, escorted by the
angels, ascending to her God. The impression made on the
congregation was indescribable. Wherein did the power
of that man's eloquence consist? It was not so much in
what he said, although that was beautiful, as the manner
in which he said it. His appearance, his tone, his action
were deeply impressive. But back of all that was there not
a soul-power which, in some inconceivable manner, mas-
tered the minds of those who heard him? It would seem
that God gives to some men an indescribable gift or power,
by which they can bring other minds under their influence
and control.
At that Conference I was appointed to Manchester Cir-
cuit. This circuit had been a part of the old Ohio Circuit,
on which I was born, and which I traveled the first year
of my ministry. It had been set off as a separate cir-
cuit three years before. It embraced but three appoint-
ments, Freeman's Landing, Pughtown (now Fairview), and
Nessley Chapel. These appointments were not far apart,
so that it was an easy circuit to travel. It was near my old
home, and I was among old friends and acquaintances.
At the close of the Conference I returned to Union-
town, and packed up my goods, and then sent my wife,
with our babe, Willie, by coach, thirty-six miles, to Wash-
ington, Pa., to make a little visit with her mother, while
I accompanied our goods to Brownsville, and from there
YEARS IN THE MINISTRY. 105
down the Monongahela by boat to Pittsburg, where I re-
shipped them. The water in the Ohio was very low, and
it took us a couple of days to get down from Pittsburg to
my place of debarkation. The boat frequently ran
aground, and we spent hours with spars and windlasses
trying to get her over the shoals and sandbars. At last,
to my great satisfaction, we reached the place of my de-
barkation. I got my goods off the boat, and had them
hauled up to Pughtown, a distance of about three miles,
where I had procured part of a house from a Mr. Bing-
ham, a merchant in the town, and a member of the Presby-
terian Church, who occupied the other part of the house
for about six or eight weeks, when he moved out, and we
got the whole house. He and his wife treated us with
great kindness while we lived together in the same house,
and also after they left it. They were a most excellent
couple, and we esteemed it a privilege to enjoy their friend-
ship.
When I got my goods disposed of, I procured a horse
and buggy and went after my wife, a distance of perhaps
thirty miles. After we reached home we soon got things
arranged, and we settled down to the duties of life in our
new home. Our house stood on posts, and proved to be
very cold. It was larger than we needed; but there was
only one room in it that we could occupy with comfort
during cold weather, and we made that our living room,
and used it pretty much for all family purposes. In the
spring we procured a smaller and more comfortable house,
where we had a nice plot of ground for a garden, which I
cultivated, and in which I raised all the vegetables we
needed. We also raised a large number of chickens.
The cultivation of a garden in a small country town,
where it can be done, is of great advantage to a minister.
If he is a studious man, the exercise required to do this
106 RECOLLECTIONS OF FIFTY
will be beneficial to his health. A half-hour in the early
morning, or a half-hour in the evening, will be sufficient
for all the labor necessary to cultivate a small garden for
the use of his own family. This saves him the expense of
buying many things he can raise himself, and he can have
them at hand when he might not be able to obtain them
from others. Then, there is a real luxury in having vege-
tables fresh from the garden, instead of getting them from
the market or the store, or from wagons, after they have
become wilted and stale. But some preachers are too in-
dolent, or they do not know how, and are not disposed to
learn, to help themselves in this way. We pity the man
who can do nothing to help himself when he has the oppor-
tunity, but is dependent on others for every bite that goes
into his mouth. Our young men at college require a gym-
nasium, where they may take suitable exercise to develop
their muscles and preserve their health. Suitable exercise
after a man has entered the ministry, or some other pro-
fession, is as necessary to the preservation of his health
and strength as it was when he was in college; and there
is no more healthful and invigorating exercise than the
cultivation of a small plot of ground. Whenever I have
had the opportunity, I have had a garden. It has always
afforded me pleasure to cultivate it, and it never took time
that should be devoted to other things, or disqualified me
for my other duties. Our garden in Pughtown was a very
good one, and supplied us with all the lettuce, radishes,
peas, beans, cucumbers, potatoes, corn, tomatoes, and cab-
bages we needed. When a preacher ceases to eat such
things, he may laugh at the idea of his attempting, when
he has an opportunity, to cultivate them.
It was necessary for me on this circuit to get a horse, and
I also found it advantageous to procure a buggy. This en-
abled my wife and me to visit the members at their homes,
YEARS IN THE MINISTRY. 107
and become acquainted with them and their families in
a manner we could not otherwise do. A minister's success
depends very much on his ability to gain the good-will of
his people, and is obtained largely by the manner of his
intercourse with them. He must not be too distant and
reserved, or they will think he is cold and formal; and he
must not be too familiar, or he will lower himself in their
estimation, and lose their respect. A happy medium should
be maintained between these two extremes. Nor should
a minister visit too much, and make the people tired of
him; nor should he visit too little, and make the impression
that he is neglectful and indifferent to them. These are
matters which call for the exercise of good judgment on
the part of a minister, and he can not be too prudent in
avoiding everything, however trifling it may appear, which
might tend to create a prejudice in the minds of the people
against him, and thereby diminish his influence and useful-
ness. Then, there are great differences in people, and a
minister should study them so that he may adapt himself,
in his intercourse with them, to their different peculiarities.
If a minister can secure the good-will of his people, it will
go far to render his labors among them acceptable. A min-
ister whom the people love can scarcely do anything that
they will not approve; but if he fails to gain their esteem,
he can scarcely do anything that will be acceptable to them.
To what extent we were successful, I will not pretend to
say; but we made it a point to visit all the members, rich
and poor, at their homes, and tried to get acquainted with
them. Their treatment of us was uniformly kind and
courteous, and our stay on Manchester Circuit was very
pleasant to us.
There were on the circuit several families of the
Browns, whom I had previously known. There were four
brothers, James (a local minister), and John, and Jacob,
108 RECOLLECTIONS OF FIFTY
and George. They were men of means and high standing
in the community, and possessed of more than ordinary
intelligence. They were near relatives of the venerable
George Brown, D. D., one of the founders of the Methodist
Protestant Church, and, like him, they had a vein of humor
in their composition, were fond of a little amusement at
another's expense, and were a good deal eccentric. It was
necessary to know them in order to understand many of
their remarks. Indeed, they would often, in the kindest
spirit, say queer things to strangers, to see what kind of
stuff they were made of.
The first visit my wife and I made on the circuit was
to Brother James Brown's, who lived on a large farm in
Holliday's Cove. He and his family received us with great
cordiality. My wife had been raised in town, had never
been much among strangers except at school, knew but
little practically of the world, and was timid and sensitive.
When we came to the supper-table, Brother Brown, in his
own peculiar way, began to inquire of her if she knew how
to do anything; if she could milk cows, churn, and make
butter, and do many other things necessary to be done on
a well-regulated farm. She had to acknowledge her in-
ability, on account of inexperience, to do these things. He
then wanted to know how she expected to get along as
the wife of a Methodist preacher, if she could do nothing.
I understood him; but my wife did not. He did not intend
anything unkind; but wished, in a good-humored and
quizzical way, to tease her a little, not thinking how sensi-
tive she was. Her heart was nearly broke. By great effort
she restrained her tears until we got alone; but she could
restrain them no longer. I tried to console her. I told,
her I had known Brother Brown for years; that he was
peculiar, but kind-hearted, and had no intention of either
insulting her or wounding her feelings, and when she knew
YEARS IN THE MINISTRY. 109
him as well as I did, she would not feel badly at his re-
marks. She felt somewhat better after my talk with her;
but still seemed to fear that she was about to be crucified.
Our next visit was to Brother Thomas Anderson's, at
what was then called Freeman's Landing (now Penrith).
Brother and Sister Anderson were a very kind and pleasant
couple. Sister Anderson was a cheerful, warm-hearted,
motherly woman, who seemed to sympathize with Mrs.
Scott, and she at once gained her confidence. She could not
refrain from telling her of Brother Brown's remarks, and
how badly they had made her feel. Sister Anderson told
her the same thing that I had told her, that Brother Brown
was a little peculiar; but that he meant nothing unkind,
and that when she got to understand him, she would not
feel hurt at his remarks. She then related to Mrs. Scott
some amusing remarks amusing to him which Brother
Brown had made to her a short time before, and which
were even more out of line than what he had said to my
wife. This made her feel a little more comfortable, and she
thought she would try and not be so sensitive in the future,
and began to pick up a little courage.
The next visit we made was to Brother John Brown's,
a brother to James. When we came into the house he had
his sleeves rolled up; he had just been washing, and was in
the act of drying his face. Without advancing toward
us, or changing his attitude, he dryly remarked, "Here
comes John Scott with a wife to starve to death." That was
more of it. My wife thought, like the Irishman, that she
would be "kilt." But after we were there awhile, Sister
Brown was so pleasant, and Brother Brown was so cheerful,
and had so many anecdotes to tell, that my wife began to
feel better and more at home. I had been there before,
and knew him, and knew how to take him. He was a very
kind, clever man; but noted for his little eccentricities. It
110 RECOLLECTIONS OF FIFTY
was on Brother Brown's farm, near the mouth of Tummel-
son's Run, on the Ohio River, that Adam Poe and the Big
Foot Indian had their fierce and memorable conflict. The
spot where this encounter took place is now out some dis-
tance in the river, as the bank at that point has receded,
within my own recollection, perhaps one hundred feet;
but it is now protected.
Shortly after our visit to John Brown's, we called to
see his brother Jacob and his family. Jacob was perhaps
the most peculiar of them all. He had a fine farm on the
Ohio River, was surrounded with every comfort, was a man
of fine intelligence, had an interesting family; but it seemed
to me that he prided himself in being eccentric. He had no
regular time for shaving. Sometimes he shaved once a
week, sometimes once a month, and sometimes once a
quarter, just as he took the notion, or as his wife succeeded
in coaxing him to do so. He was very careless, ordinarily,
in his dress, going often quite a distance from home, or to
public gatherings, in very inferior apparel. He sometimes
attended political meetings in this manner, and while a
strange speaker, who did not know him, was addressing
the crowd, he would occasionally ask a question, which
was often carelessly answered, as his appearnce indicated
that he did not amount to anything. After a number of
questions had been asked and carelessly answered, he would
take the liberty of making a comment, and would some-
times put a speaker into an awkward position through his
own careless answers, for Mr. Brown was well-posted on
almost every subject.
On our arrival at Brother Brown's, he informed us that
Mrs. White, wife of the pastor of the Presbyterian Church
in Pughtown, had just left, and that he had been telling
her how to make sausages, and wished to know of my wife
if she could make them. She had to confess that she had
YEARS IN THE MINISTRY. HI
never performed that particular part of domestic labor.
He then proceeded to inform her with great particularity
of the entire process of making sausages, and especially
how the casing was prepared, indulging in some exagger-
ation which would make the picture more impressive to one
not familiar with the art. It seemed to my wife that the
plot thickened, and what the end would be she could not
tell.
When I arrived on the circuit I had but little money,
and I had many uses for the little I had. It was then cus-
tomary to pay the preacher at the quarterly-meeting, breth-
ren often forgetting that he sometimes needed a little
money before the quarterly-meeting came. The plan is not
a good one. Weekly payments in stations, and monthly
payments on circuits is much preferable every way. It is
easier for the people, and much better for the minister.
Men who are permanently settled on farms, or who are
engaged in business, and who know what they can depend
upon, may make bills; but even then it is better not to
do it if it can be avoided; but no preacher should be com-
pelled to do so. Outstanding bills are always an annoy-
ance, for a minister who depends on the voluntary con-
tributions of others for a support, never knows certainly
how much he will receive, and is always fearful, when
he shall get what they contribute, that he will not be able
to square his accounts. Especially should a minister who
has just come to a new charge be furnished with a little
money to begin with, as the expense necessarily incurred
in moving his family and goods, and in fitting himself up
in his new home, is generally sufficient to exhaust his funds.
Most persons have no idea of the embarrassments under
which ministers often labor, especially in entering upon
new charges.
Our quarterly-meeting was to be held in the little vil-
112 RECOLLECTIONS OF FIFTY
lage where we lived, and we expected some friends from
the other appointments to stop with us during the meet-
ing. The Friday before the meeting arrived and found
me out of flour, and without money. I was not much ac-
quainted. The stores in the village where I was acquainted
did not keep flour. The people of the town went to Pugh's
Mill, half a mile or so distant, for flour. I did not know
Mr. Pugh, and I did not like to go as a stranger and ask
him to trust me. My wife had flour enough to prepare her
yeast; hut not enough to bake with. She told me in the
morning that I must get flour; but I had not the courage
to go to a stranger, and ask him to trust me. I was in
great trouble. Dinner-time came, and my wife told me
she could wait no longer, that if I did not get flour we
would have no bread. I sat down to dinner full of sad
thoughts. But while we were eating in silence, some one
rapped at the front door. I went to the door and found
one of the brethren, who said he had brought me a barrel
of flour, as he thought we probably needed it. I was greatly
rejoiced, feeling that the Lord had remembered us in time
of need. I told my wife that the Lord had sent us a
barrel of flour. So I felt. But it proved to be miserably
bad flour, and as our family was small it lasted us a long
time. My wife and I differed about that barrel of flour,
and she still sticks to her opinion. She contended that the
Lord never sent it; for if he had sent it, he would have sent
good flour. She claimed that the inspiration to the act
came from another quarter; that the brother knew it was
bad, and wanted to get it off his hands; and while he could
not sell it to others, he could give it to the preacher, and
charge him full price for it. But I told her it was as good,
perhaps, as we deserved, and that the Lord saw, perhaps,
that we needed to cultivate the grace of patience, and he
put us on a diet of sad, black bread for that purpose. How-
YEARS IN THE MINISTRY. 113
ever that may have been, it let me out of a bad scrape. I
never was so glad to see a barrel of flour in my life. But
sometimes I felt almost disposed to accept my wife's logic
on the subject, when 1 learned that the brother had the
reputation of being a little "tricky" sometimes. It is highly
improper to impose on any one; but to impose on a poor
Methodist preacher, under the pretense of doing him a
kindness, is a very mean thing. But such a thing is some-
times done.
Our stay of two years on Manchester Circuit was pleas-
ant to us, and I think not without profit to the circuit.
There was a very good class of people on the circuit. The
Melvins, the Mayhews, the Hobbses, the Andersons, the
Browns, the Evanses, the Brennemans, the Mahans, the
Deselms, and others, were people of good moral and re-
ligious standing in the community, were strongly attached
to the Church, and kind and liberal to the pastor. We had
much social as well as religious enjoyment among them.
My wife and I made one visit on that circuit we will
never forget. We started one morning to go to Freeman's
Landing by a somewhat circuitous route. I told my wife of
a poor family living on the road we took, that we should
call to see as we passed. They lived in a very unpretentious
place; but were nice people. Before we reached the house
we passed a log stable, and discovered that the woman we
intended calling to see was in the stable "picking" geese.
We drove past the house some distance, and stopped; but
it took us a good while to get out of the buggy, and get
the horse hitched, and get ready to go in. We delayed on
purpose to give the woman time to get into her house of
one room and change her dress. When we got to the door
she was dressed and ready to meet us, and seemed to be
overjoyed at our call. She insisted on our remaining for
dinner, and we consented to stay, although we had not
114 RECOLLECTIONS OF FIFTY
intended to do so. Everything in the house was neat and
clean, and she got us a very good dinner. She shed tears of
joy. She said she never had a preacher to eat in her house
before, and she was so glad we had consented to take a
meal with her. Although forty-five years have passed
away since then, we often speak of that visit, and always
recall it with pleasure. Preachers often make a great mis-
take in being attentive to the rich, while they neglect the
poor. The rich often feel that they honor a minister and
lay him under obligations by receiving his visits, while the
poor feel that it is a great privilege to have the minister
visit them, and are thankful for his kind attentions. While
a pastor should not neglect any of his members, the poor
should be especially remembered.
Some time after our visit to this poor family, the hus-
band, who was not at home when we were there, brought
us a small pumpkin as a present. Its money value was
very small; but it was of great value to us. It was all they
had to give, and we appreciated it as coming from loving
hearts. It was an assurance that we were kindly remem-
bered, and that we had a place in the affections of these
poor but good and kind people.
There were three local preachers on the circuit at the
time I was there, John Deselm, James Brown, and Joseph
Burns. Reference has already been made to the first of
these. He was a good man, quite eccentric, powerful in
prayer, and sometimes would preach an excellent sermon;
but at other times, without any intention on his part to
make them so, his sermons would be quite amusing. He
was well versed in the Scriptures, and I never knew a man
who was so familiar with Scripture biography and the
genealogies recorded in the Old Testament as he was. He
lived at Port Homer, on the Ohio side of the river, and
YEARS IN THE MINISTRY. 115
belonged to the society at Nessley Chapel. lie married a
Nessley, and was an uncle of the Browns already spoken of.
Brother Burns had been a member of the Conference,
had filled several important appointments, and had trav-
eled the Manchester Circuit for three years, and there never
was a more popular man in that community. He was
highly esteemed by almost every one, both in the Church
and out of it. It was generally believed that he was en-
gaged to be married to a young lady on the circuit, a mem-
ber of the Church, and an excellent girl; but he discarded
her, as was supposed, and sought the hand of a daughter
of a wealthy merchant in Pughtown, whom he married.
After their marriage he entered the store of his father-in-
law. But the people liked him better in the pulpit than
they did in the store. His popularity began to wane, and
many of his former friends regarded him with coolness.
His wife did not live long. After her death, without un-
due haste, he married a widow lady whose former husband
kept a tavern, as it was then called. She owned the prop-
erty, and still occupied it. After his second marriage he
began keeping a public house. I am not certain that he
kept a bar; but my impression is that he did. At any rate,
he began to "tipple," the habit grew on him, and at length
overcame him. "When his habit first became known and
the subject of remark, Brother John Cowl, who was then
pastor of the circuit, remonstrated with him, and warned
him of his danger; but he took offense, and ceased to at-
tend Brother Cowl's ministry. He then studied law, and
practiced in his own and adjoining counties for several
years. His second wife died, and he married a third time.
He had, I believe, three children ; but I know only of one of
them, who is a very respectable and prosperous man, living
in or near Cleveland, Ohio. At length the end came. He
116 RECOLLECTIONS OF FIFTY
sent for Brother Cowl, who visited him in his last sickness,
and heard his sorrowful regrets for the sins and follies of
his life. Brother Cowl administered to him such counsel
and encouragement as he could, but with what result he
could not tell. At the time I was on Manchester Circuit,
Brother Burns was in his father-in-law's store. He was cor-
rect in his habits; he and I were the best of friends, and
he gave me all the assistance and support he could. I refer
to him here with sorrow, as a warning to others, even in
the ministry, to beware of temptation, and to guard against
the first step in an improper direction. If God has called a
man to the work of the ministry, it is a dangerous thing
for him to abandon his sacred calling and engage in secular
pursuits. One wrong step leads to another, and when a
man gets started in the wrong direction, it is hard to tell
where he will end. What the end of Brother Burns was,
we can not say. We would not limit the Divine compas-
sion, nor would we presume on the Divine mercy. The
Judge of all the earth will do right. This is the security of
earth and the joy of heaven.
A very sad event occurred while we resided in Pugh-
town. The Rev. Mr. White, for many years pastor of the
Presbyterian Church near that place, took his own life.
Mr. White was a very excellent man, genial, companionable,
and fraternal. I knew him well, and liked him very much.
His life was consistent and upright. He adorned his pro-
fession. He was an excellent preacher, a faithful pastor,
and while he was almost idolized by his own people, he
was held in high esteem by the entire community. He re-
signed his charge at Pughtown, and was elected a professor
in Jefferson College, located in Canonsburg, Pa. He re-
moved with his family to that place; but he soon became
melancholy, and regretted the change he had made. Noth-
ing could arouse him from his depression, which continued
YEARS IN THE MINISTRY. 117
to increase, until it became obvious to his friends that
reason had lost its balance. After a while he returned
to his old home near Pughtown, which he still owned. His
old friends rallied around him, and tried to cheer him; but
all in vain. Nothing could dispel the gloom that appeared
to overshadow him. One day in the fall, quite a number
of his old parishioners gathered to haul and cut his winter's
wood, and, if possible, cheer him up. He mingled pleas-
antly among them during the day; but while they were
eating supper in the evening, he slipped out quietly, went
into the stable, and hung himself. He was soon discovered;
but life was extinct. His death filled every one with sor-
row, and cast a gloom over the entire community.
I think his mind was affected before he left Pughtown.
Shortly before his removal, his congregation gave an en-
tertainment to the children. On his way home from the
entertainment he stopped at my house, and gave my wife,
with whom he was but slightly acquainted, a small paper
containing a few sticks of candy. He said she was not
forgotten, and he was determined she should have some of
the candy. He was always kind and pleasant; but there
was something in this so childish, and so unlike him, that
we noticed it and thought it .strange.
That his mind was unbalanced, and that he was not
responsible for his act, was clear to all who had witnessed
his conduct; and that the change of his official relation
was not the cause of his trouble, they as fully believed.
His mental affliction was believed by physicians and others
to be the result of disease. He had long been afflicted with
tetter about his neck, which often greatly annoyed him.
He had used some remedy that had been recommended
to him for this affection, which had dried it up, and, as was
believed, drove it to his brain. Shortly after the drying
up of the tetter his mental trouble began. What a blessing
118 RECOLLECTIONS OF FIFTY
to be permitted to enjoy the right use of our reason; and
what affliction so great as that of mental aberration! Yet
many good men have been thus afflicted, and have passed
out of this world under a cloud.
During the two years I was on Manchester Circuit, I
received about two hundred and fifty dollars each year,
which was a little over my Disciplinary claim. Living in
the country was cheap, and I raised a good deal of garden
truck, which saved me a good deal of money, so that my
salary enabled me to live very comfortably, and pay off the
debt I had contracted the year before I came there. This
was very gratifying, and relieved me of the feeling of em-
barrassment I had before. It is a very unpleasant thing
for any one, especially a minister, to be unable to meet cur-
Tent living expenses. This is a state of things every man
should labor to prevent. No minister should be blamed for
desiring to obtain a charge that will enable him to main-
tain his family decently, and "provide things honest in the
sight of all men."
YEARS IN THE MINISTRY. 119
CHAPTER IX.
Conference in Pittsburg Appointed to First Church, Allegheny
City Samuel Clawson and Thomas Maple Amusing Con-
troversy William Reeves Secret Society Question
Trouble in Church Pastoral Visitation Different Stories-
Silence Prayer Labor to Harmonize the Church Some
Success Conference at Uniontown William Collier Ex-
amination of T. H. Lancaster Returned to Allegheny-
Things Very Pleasant Many Good Brethren Numerous
Meetings P. T. Laishley Traveling President F. H. Col-
lierStudy of Greek and Latin Restrictive Rule Reluct-
ance to Leave.
WHEN we left Manchester Circuit in the fall of 1849,
we went to the First Church, Allegheny City. The Confer-
ence that fall met in Pittsburg. The session was enlivened
by several debates between Samuel Clawson, a ministerial
member of the Conference, and Thomas Maple, a delegate
from Monongahela Circuit. Both these brethren were
quite eccentric.
Brother Clawson, because of his peculiarities, was called
the "wild man." He was of medium height, compactly
built, active as a deer, and when excited sometimes per-
formed wonderful feats of agility. He was very dark-com-
plexioned, almost as dark as an Indian. He had a firm-set
mouth and chin. His eyes were peculiar. He was not
cross-eyed, but instead of this his sight slightly diverged,
so that he could not see very distinctly an object directly
before him; and when he wished to get a distinct view of
a person or any object he looked somewhat sideways, so
that sometimes when he was looking directly at you, you
would suppose he was looking at some one else. He had a
full, clear, sweet voice, and he could modulate it to suit
120 RECOLLECTIONS OF FIFTY
the sentiment he desired to express. He was a close ob-
server of nature. Scarcely anything occurred around him
that he did not notice and remember. He was uneducated
in the common acceptation of the term. When he com-
menced preaching he could hardly read; but he improved
himself, and, although he never became a great lover of
books, yet he was not indifferent to them; but consulted
commentaries, and made himself acquainted with the doc-
trinal standards of the Church. He possessed a wonder-
ful imagination, and descriptive powers of the highest
order. His sermons were not the result of special prepara-
tion, but of an impulse or afflatus which came upon him,
and which seemed to lift him above himself, and carry him
forward in a train of thought sometimes grand and sub-
lime. When this afflatus wore off, he would sometimes con-
clude one of the grandest and most beautiful passages with
a ludicrous and absurd remark. As an illustration of this, I
give an instance. It was told of him and I have no doubt
it was true, for I have heard him say things equally ab-
surd that in a sermon on one occasion he gave a descrip-
tion of the glories of heaven, which so transported his con-
gregation that they almost imagined themselves within
the pearly gates of the Celestial City, when he suddenly
paused and exclaimed, "Bless the Lord, brethren, when we
get to heaven we will all huddle together like pigs in a
sty." I heard him preach on many occasions when he pro-
ceeded for five or ten minutes in a strain of sublime elo-
quence a sort of blank verse as grand as anything Milton
ever wrote. And what was remarkable, he never committed
a grammatical error while giving utterance to those sublime
strains, while at other times he often spoke incorrectly.
He was a man of sweet spirit and deep piety. What seemed
the most ludicrous and mirth-provoking to others was al-
ways uttered by him in the most serious manner, and seem-
YEARS IN THE MINISTRY. 121
ingly without the least thought that there was anything
unusual in it. He was no economist. He had no idea of
business. He did not know how to use money when he
had it. He was always poor; but always had friends who
came to his assistance in time of need. He was a child
of nature. There never was but one Samuel Clawson.
After a long life of usefulness, he died in great peace at
Weston, W. Va., on his way to the West Virginia Confer-
ence, of which he was a member at the time of his death.
Thomas Maple was a tall, raw-boned man, with a rather
sharp visage, and a rapid but not very distinct utterance.
He was a local preacher, and a great friend of the Church.
There were certain expressions in which, when he became
excited, he frequently indulged. Among these was the
phrase, "Dipend, sir," which he often used when he wished
to give special emphasis to what he said. He was quick-
witted, and it was hard to corner him. He was a business
man; owned a flourmill and a linseed-oil mill, and was a
prominent man in Greene County, Pa., where he lived. It
was related of him that on one occasion, when he came to
Pittsburg to dispose of some of his products, he was invited
to preach in our First Church there. He accepted the invi-
tation, and took for his text the fourth verse of the fifth
chapter of Isaiah: "What could have been done more to my
vineyard, that I have not done in it? wherefore, when I
looked that it should bring forth grapes, brought it forth
wild grapes?" He said he was going to plead the Lord's
cause, that he would impanel his congregation as a jury,
and that when he was through he would call for a verdict.
He proceeded with his argument, and demonstrated to his
own satisfaction that the Lord had done everything for
his vineyard that he could have done, and if it did not bring
forth good fruit, it was not his fault. He claimed that he
had gained the case, and called for a verdict. He requested
122 RECOLLECTIONS OF FIFTY
all who thought the Lord had done all that he could for
his vineyard to stand up. But that congregation never
was good on a drill; and to his dismay not a single soul
arose. But he was not to be defeated, and immediately ex-
claimed: "Dipend, you do not understand me. All you
who think that the Lord has done all for his vineyard that
he could have done, sit still." As a matter of course, they
all sat still. Then he triumphed in his success. The ver-
dict was unanimous. Many years ago he passed away to
his rest.
At that Conference these two brethren had several
wordy and amusing encounters. In those days our min-
isters were but poorly supported. Brother Maple thought
that if the Conference met in April instead of September,
it would be greatly to the advantage of the preachers, and
he moved that the time of the meeting of the Conference
be so changed. He proceeded to show, in his own peculiar
way, that then a preacher could cultivate a garden, and
enjoy the fruit of his labor; but when the Conference met
in September, if the preacher did work and have a good
garden, he was liable to be removed just when his garden
stuff was ready for use, and there was but little inducement
for a preacher to attempt to help himself in this way. He
made the most of the garden argument he could.
Brother Clawson was ready and eager to reply. He
ridiculed the idea of a man, called to the sacred office of
the gospel ministry, and whose mind should be occupied
with high and holy things, giving his time and attention
to such trifling things as the cultivation of "garden sass."
For his part, he did not desire to dig in a potato-patch, but
to delve in the rich mines of the theological field. He made
the work of cultivating a garden, in comparison with that
of saving souls, appear exceedingly small and mean. His
argument, of course, was fallacious, as the two interests did
YEARS IN THE MINISTRY. 123
not conflict, as the greater had not to be abandoned to
perform the less. But as he put it, it seemed to be abso-
lutely conclusive. He then proceeded to point out the dis-
comfort that the change would cause the minister's family.
In doing this he described in a most vivid manner the
moving of a preacher's family in the spring, and as he
painted it, it seemed to pass before the mind in panoramic
view. He brought the old wagon out of the shed where
the chickens had roosted over it all winter, and which bore
marks of their presence. The cover was old, and you could
see the patches on it, and some holes that had not been
mended. The preacher's meager household effects were
placed in the wagon, and then his wife and smaller chil-
dren were put on top of them. The day was damp and
chilly, and between the wagon-body and the cover you
could see the little hands and blue finger-nails of the chil-
dren as they held to the sideboards to steady themselves.
The oldest boy and girl drove the cow, and you could see
the poor bedraggled things as they followed her from one
side of the road to the other. The mud was deep, and in
some places thin, and the horses went "plump, plump"
through it, scattering the thin mud and dirty water in every
direction. It was indeed a picture of woe. He declared
that when he came to a circuit, he wanted "a cloud of dust
to herald his coming." Instead of recommending the culti-
vation of a garden as a remedy for the poverty of the
preachers, he would recommend the erection of a great
poorhouse in the center of the district to which they might
go for relief. This was too much for Brother Maple. He
seemed to think the man was crazy, and exclaimed, "Di-
pend, sir, dipend, sir, he means a lunatic asylum." That
ended the debate, and there has never been a proposition
made since to change the time of the meeting of the Pitts-
burg Conference from fall to spring.
124 RECOLLECTIONS OF FIFTY
My predecessor in the First Church, Allegheny, was
William Reeves, one of the leading ministers of the Pitts-
burg Conference. He was an Englishman, and had been
a preacher among the "Bible Christians" before he came
to this country. His wife, Hannah, was also a preacher,
and had traveled a circuit in England. Brother Eeeves was
a man of medium height, well-knit frame, rather dark com-
plexion, high and broad forehead, dark hair, generally cut
short and brushed back from his forehead, and strong-set
features, indicative of great firmness and determination.
He was a man of undoubted piety and irreproachable life.
He was a logical and able preacher, and deservedly held in
high esteem. His career was an honorable and useful one,
and after a life of devotion to God and the Methodist Prot-
estant Church, he rested from his labors and was gathered
in peace to his fathers, in the sixty-ninth year of his age.
His remains were interred in New Brighton, by the side of
his beloved Hannah.
Notwithstanding the goodness and ability of Brother
Eeeves, his pastorate in the First Church, Allegheny, was
not a success, and he only remained there one year.
Brother Reeves had always been greatly opposed to secret
societies; but while in Allegheny, for some reason satis-
factory to himself, he changed his mind on that subject,
and became both a Mason and an Oddfellow. This excited
adverse criticism, especially upon the part of those who
were not friendly to these orders, which Brother Reeves
resented. This, instead of silencing his critics, led to fur-
ther criticism and increased irritation. At last the subject
was taken into the pulpit, and the breach became still
greater. One part of the Church vindicated Brother
Reeves, and another part condemned him. The result was
sad and injurious. When the Church came to instruct their
delegate to Conference, there was a small majority in favor
YEARS IN THE MINISTRY. 125
of Brother Reeves's return for another year. But the au-
thority of the Annual Conference to station the preachers
was then recognized, and no charge, after a private arrange-
ment with him, called for a certain preacher and demanded
his appointment. Almost every charge made a first, a
second, and sometimes a third choice, giving the Confer-
ence some latitude in making the appointments. I was
named as second choice in case the Conference could not
return Brother Eeeves. When the Conference became
fully acquainted with the facts in the case, it refused to
return Brother Reeves, believing that under the circum-
stances a change was absolutely necessary, and I, as the
second choice of the Church, was appointed their pastor.
Brother Reeves thought the Conference treated him badly
in not returning him to the charge, and so did the dele-
gate, Brother Henry Williams. He said he had nothing
against me, but as Brother Reeves was the first choice of
the Church, he thought the Conference should have re-
turned him. The situation was very unpleasant, and the
appointment, under the circumstances, was far from being
a desirable one. It is true I was in no way mixed up
with the trouble; but the question was, could I remain so?
and could I conciliate and harmonize the contending par-
ties? The congregation was then quite large, and the
charge at best was quite a laborious one, so that I had noth-
ing before me but the prospect of hard work and of doubt-
ful success. Brother George Brown gave me some fatherly
advice, and cautioned me not to commit myself to either of
the opposing parties. I felt the wisdom of his words, and
determined to do my best to act in harmony with his
counsel.
When Conference adjourned I returned home, and pre-
pared at once to remove to my new charge. I did so with
fear and trembling, not knowing what the result would
126 RECOLLECTIONS OF FIFTY
be. On our arrival we received some rebuffs, yet there
were kind friends to receive us, who did what they could
to make things pleasant. It was evident, however, that
there was an unpleasant state of feeling and a lack of har-
mony in the Church. Brother Henry Williams, who had
been delegate to Conference, and who was superintendent
of the Sunday-school, was an excellent man, and had been
one of the best workers in the Church, although he at-
tended preaching, instead of coming forward as formerly,
took the first seat inside of the door, and appeared as a
spectator who was waiting to see what the result of things
would be. Brother Eeeves was still there when we went;
but he was evidently hurt, and was not in a very concili-
atory mood. Upon the whole, the situation was trying,
and the outlook anything but encouraging.
As soon as we got settled, I commenced visiting the
members, and then the "tug of war" began. I would call
upon one family, and the first thing I would hear would
be a tirade against Brother Eeeves, and a severe condem-
nation of his course. I could not do otherwise than hear
it; but without committing myself in any way, would bring
the interview to a close by asking if it would be agreeable
to unite with the family in prayer. I would then leave
them to their own reflections. The next family, perhaps,
would be equally severe in their condemnation of the treat-
ment Brother Eeeves had received. I would listen pa-
tiently, and then propose that we pray. I knew that none
but God could inspire them with a right spirit. In this
way I went through the entire Church without committing
myself to either party. But the trial was a severe one, for
I heard many unreasonable and improper remarks by both
parties which deserved to be rebuked; but I knew for me
to do anything of the kind would do no good, and only
destroy my own influence. Hence I restrained myself,
YEARS IN THE MINISTRY. 127
which sometimes required no little effort. Both .parties
attended Church, and no allusion was made in the pulpit
to the existence of any difiiculty. Instead of fixing their
minds upon it, I endeavored to divert attention from it.
This is the best way to overcome a difficulty in the Church.
By degrees the excitement began to die out, other thoughts
began to occupy the minds of the people, and the prospect
gradually grew more encouraging.
The labor of my first year was to harmonize the
Church; and, with great prudence and the blessing of God,
this was effected. By the end of the year the members
had come together, and a pretty good state of feeling ex-
isted. A number had been converted and added to the
Church; but there had not been anything like a general
revival. But the few conversions we had were like drops
before a shower, and had a good and encouraging effect
on the membership.
At the close of the year the Church instructed their
delegate to ask for my return for another year. Two years
was then the limit. A preacher could remain three years
on a circuit; but only two years in a station. This, per-
haps, was best under the circumstances; but with a change
of circumstances came the necessity for a change of the
rule. God's laws are perfect, and embrace great funda-
mental principles, which apply under all circumstances,
and are therefore unchangeable; but human laws are im-
perfect and special, and consequently change with chang-
ing circumstances.
The Conference met that fall, 1850, at Uniontown, Pa.
The session was a pleasant and interesting one. Rev.
William Collier, president of the Maryland Conference,
was present. He was a very pleasant and genial man,
and an able preacher. His visit to our Conference was a
sort of prospecting tour, in view of his removal to the
128 RECOLLECTIONS OF FIFTY
West. About a year and a half later he came West, and
united with the Pittsburg Conference, of which he re-
mained a member till his death, which occurred at his
home in Sharpsburg, Pa., July 12, 1884, in the eighty-
second year of his age. He stood high in the denomina-
tion, and was universally respected wherever he was known.
His remains were interred in the beautiful Allegheny Cem-
etery.
At that Conference I was a member of the Committee
on Itinerancy and Orders. Brother Collier preached one
evening during the session of the Conference. I had heard
him preach; but the other members of the committee had
not, and they desired to hear him. But our committee
had a meeting, and how could they meet in committee
and also attend preaching? To solve the difficult problem,
they authorized me to examine all applicants, and report
my decision to them, and they would indorse it. At the
hour fixed I repaired to the place of meeting appointed
in the law office of John H. Deford. Only one applicant
appeared, T. H. Lancaster, for many years past a leading
minister in the Indiana Conference. I asked him a few
questions, when he took the floor, and in a connected dis-
course, addressed to me, gave an outline of the entire
Christian system. I did not interrupt him; but let him go
on till he was through, and then dismissed him. I re-
ported favorably in his case to the committee, and they
accepted my report, and recommended his election. The
report was adopted by the Conference. Brother Lan-
caster's success in the ministry has proven the correctness
of my decision.
I was returned by the Conference to Allegheny for
another year. The conditions which surrounded me then
were far different from those which surrounded me at the
beginning of the preceding year. The members had for-
YEARS IN THE MINISTRY. 129
gotten their dissensions, or only recalled them with regret.
They had a mind to work, and came up nobly "to the help
of the Lord against the mighty." Among my most able
and trusted helpers was my old and tried friend, John
Herbert, who was always found at his post, doing valiant
service for the Lord. But there were many other faithful
workers, among whom were Henry Williams, Alexander
Maxwell, George Kurtz, William Miller, James Short, John
Moon, Thomas Moffet, William Karnes, Samuel Claney,
and many others, both men and women, whose names I
can not now recall. We had a gracious revival that win-
ter. A large number were converted and added to the
Church. Our congregations were large, the main audience-
room being sometimes so crowded that additional seats
had to be brought in and placed in the aisles. Our Sunday-
school was also very large, and held two sessions every Sab-
bath, beginning at nine o'clock A. M. and two o'clock
P. M. I generally attended both sessions. At the close
of the Sunday-school several classes met, most of which
were largely attended. Sometimes some of these classes
would continue their exercises till the people began to
assemble for evening service. Brother Maxwell was espe-
cially enthusiastic, and always had a lively class. Almost
every Sabbath he would sing:
" We '11 cross the river of Jordan,
Triumphant, triumphant
We '11 cross the river of Jordan,
Triumphant in the Lord."
Dear, good man! long ago he crossed over the dark
river, realizing the triumph that he had so joyously antici-
pated.
During the winter the president of the Conference,
Dr. Peter T. Laishley, made us his official visit, which
9
130 RECOLLECTIONS OF FIFTY
was very aceptable and profitable. Dr. Laishley was an
Englishman by birth, and came to this country before he
had arrived to years of manhood. He had studied medi-
cine and engaged in its practice before he entered the itin-
erancy. He was at first identified with the followers of
O'Kelly, known as Christians, or Republican Methodists;
but shortly after the organization of the Methodist Prot-
estant Church, he united with it, and remained in its fel-
lowship till his death. He was rather a short and heavy-
set man, smoothly shaven, with a somewhat stern expres-
sion. He was very genial and companionable, and took
great pleasure in telling anecdotes, of which he had a
large store. He was a man of much firmness of character;
but not of an overbearing and domineering spirit. He was
an able preacher, and a firm defender of the truth. He
would not turn his back on any foe; yet he was not con-
tentious, nor did he seek controversy with others. But
if a man crossed his path, and desired to measure swords
with him, he was not the man to back down. He lived
to be an old man, and died on his farm near Morgantown,
W. Va., May 31, 1884, in the eighty-seventh year of his
age, and was buried near his home. He has four grand-
sons, the Conways, in the ministry, three in the Meth-
odist Protestant Church, and one in the Baptist Church.
He occupied an honorable place in the Church, and was
abundant in labors and usefulness.
In those early days of the Church we always had a
traveling president, and our ablest ministers were chosen
to fill that position. Their visits were looked for with great
interest, and generally were profitable to the Churches.
In a connectional Church we must have connectional offi-
cers; and unless they are to be such only in name, they
must visit the different charges, and promote a connectional
spirit among them. Without this, the tendency is to con-
YEARS IN THE MINISTRY. 131
gregationalism, isolation, and lack of denominational feel-
ing and attachment.
Towards the close of my second winter in Allegheny,
F. H. Collier came to my house, and, I think, brought a
letter of introduction to me from his father, the Rev.
William Collier, of whom I have already spoken. Mr. Col-
lier was a young married man, and a lawyer. He had grad-
uated and studied law in Georgetown, D. C., supporting
himself while studying law by teaching. He came West
in hope of finding a better opening for the practice of his
profession than he had in the East. He had left his wife
at her father's in Georgetown till he could prospect a little,
and decide on a place of location. He concluded to locate
in Pittsburg. He desired to board with us, and earnestly
entreated us to allow him to do so. We had a large house
and a small family; but we did not wish to take boarders.
But at last we yielded to his entreaties, and we did not re-
gret it. We found him a perfect gentleman, genial and
companionable, and disposed to give us as little trouble
as possible. After remaining with us about three months,
he brought his wife out, and in a few weeks afterwards
they procured a house and went to housekeeping. We
then formed an attachment to Mr. and Mrs. Collier that
has never been broken off. Mr. Collier succeeded in his
profession, and obtained an honorable position at the bar.
During the Rebellion he went out as a colonel of a Penn-
sylvania regiment, was promoted to the rank of brigadier-
general, returned home safely after the war, and not long
afterwards was elected judge of the Court of Common
Pleas of Allegheny County, Pa., and at the present time
is serving his third term of ten years each in that judicial
office. At his two last Sections he had no opposition. He
has for many years resided in Sharpsburg, and he and his
family are members of our Church in that place.
132 RECOLLECTIONS OF FIFTY
I had long desired to learn the Greek and Latin lan-
guages; but with the labors I had to perform, and the
embarrassments that surrounded me, I never had seen
my way clear to fairly make the attempt. But now an
opportunity presented itself. Mr. Collier was fresh in his
studies, and quite willing to aid me, so that during the
three months he was with us I applied myself with a good
deal of diligence in that direction, and made a beginning.
I afterwards continued the study in Sharpsburg, with the
assistance of Professor Goff, afterwards chancellor of the
"Western Pennsylvania University, and still later by the
aid of a private tutor in Pittsburg. Indeed, I kept up the
study privately for many years; but I never considered
myself proficient in those languages. Still, the little
knowledge I acquired of them was sometimes a great satis-
faction to me in reading books, and especially when I be-
came editor, and received learned communications from
some of my contributors. There is a great difference in
men. There are a great many really learned men who make
no pretensions to learning, and there are many others who
would like to appear learned, who are not really so. We
often see illustrations of this. Some persons interlard their
writings with words and phrases from the Latin, or some
foreign language, of which they know nothing but what
they learn from a list of such words and phrases in the dic-
tionary. This, I think, is in bad taste. The English, after
all, is not a bad language, and a man must have great
thoughts, or but little knowledge of the language, who can
not express himself in English.
At length my second year in Allegheny came to a close,
and I was under the necessity of leaving, because the rule
of the Church would not allow me to stay longer. When I
first went to the charge I went with reluctance, and I now
left with as great reluctance.
YEARS IN THE MINISTRY. 133
CHAPTER X.
Conference in Morgantown Route to Conference Coach-ride
Across the Country Infant Baptism Missionary to
China Disappointment Daniel Bagley Madison College
Two Scholarships E. Y. Reese and R. H. Ball T. H.
Stockton Received into the Conference Sent to Sharps-
burg Old Members William Garner John Cook First
Bereavement Religious Prosperity Close of the Year-
Conference at Pruutytown Trip to Conference Whisky-
Boiled Eggs and Potatoes Crossing the River Noble Gil-
lespie The Priest J. W. Rutledge Action on Temper-
ance Missionary Society Subject of Slavery Sermon-
Threatened with Arrest Difficulty in Stationing the
Preachers Sent to First Church, Pittsburg.
THE Conference met that fall, 1851, in Morgantown,
Va. Brother William Graham was elected delegate. Our
route to Conference was by way of the Monongahela River
to Brownsville, from there by stage-coach to Uniontown,
and by similar conveyance to Morgantown. We took the
morning boat at Pittsburg; but the river was so low that
it was nearly night before we reached Brownsville. There
were quite a number of preachers and delegates on the
boat, enough to fill two small coaches more than comfort-
ably full. It was perhaps nine o'clock when we reached
Uniontown, where we spent the night. There was but one
regular coach running between Uniontown and Morgan-
town, and the next morning an additional coach had to
be made ready to accommodate the extra number of pas-
sengers. The day was extremely warm, and we had hoped
to be able to start early; but from some cause there was
great delay, and the sun was high before we got started.
The coach I was in was one of the old-fashioned kind, the
134 RECOLLECTIONS OF FIFTY
body being supported by great leather fastenings at each
end. We had not proceeded, I suppose, more than eight
or ten miles, when one of these fastenings broke, and let
one side of the coach-body down. The passengers had to
get out, and a rail was pushed under the coach-body to
support it till we got to Brownfield, a distance of about
two miles. All the passengers but Brother Graham had
to walk that distance. He was an old man and rather
corpulent, and he preferred to remain in the coach, even
if it was "lop-sided" and uncomfortable. At Brownfield
we got our coach mended, and also got our dinner. Here
our driver hired two additional horses from a farmer; his
own, because of his heavy load and the heat of the day,
were not sufficient. We .had now six horses, the farmer
riding one of his in the lead. So we careered along at a
great rate, raising a tremendous dust, and frightening all
the dogs along the road, and bringing all the women in
the houses we passed to the doors, to see such an unusual
sight. We afterwards learned that the other coach had
taken a different road, and that our driver was anxious to
arrive in Morgantown first, and that this accounted for our
speed. So, we were unconsciously engaged in a race,
preachers as we were, on our way to Conference. At
length, after two days of very unpleasant travel, we arrived
at the place of our destination, covered with dust, weary
and worn.
The Conference at Morgantown was one of much in-
terest. Various subjects of importance were discussed, and
different views developed. In almost every body there will
be found men of peculiar views and obstinate wills, who
will differ from their brethren, and desire to have their
own way, without regard to the law of the body, or the
views of the majority. There were a few such men in the
Conference at that time, who were persistently opposed
YEARS IN THE MINISTRY. 135
to infant baptism, and who maintained that immersion was
the only proper mode of administering that ordinance.
After a good deal of discussion, a resolution was adopted
declaring that no person should be appointed superintend-
ent, or assistant, of a station, circuit, or mission, who would
not administer the ordinances according to the Discipline.
It is strange that men will remain in a body whose views
they can not adopt, and persistently place themselves in
antagonism with their brethren.
At that session G. G. Westfall was received into the
Conference. In 1854, when the Western Virginia Con-
ference was set off, his appointment was in that district,
where he remained till September, 1867, when, on its dis-
solution, he returned to the Pittsburg Conference, where
he has remained ever since. Brother Westfall is a man of
fine presence, gentlemanly and affable in his bearing, an
excellent preacher, and one of the most faithful and suc-
cessful laborers in the Conference. His ability and faith-
fulness have been recognized, as he has filled many of the
best appointments in the Conference, and was thrice
elected its president, and represented it some six or seven
times in the General Conference and General Conventions
of the Church. He is a man of clear convictions and un-
swerving integrity. He has had an honorable career, and
his record is without a blemish. He is still active, and
bringing forth fruit in old age.
The preceding General Conference had located the
Board of Missions in Pittsburg, and the board had re-
solved to establish a mission in China, and also in Oregon.
The missionary for China had been employed, and the
arrangements for sending him out had been nearly com-
pleted. The action of the Board was heartily indorsed,
and had it not been for some unfortunate circumstances
which led to the declination of the appointed missionary
136 RECOLLECTIONS OF FIFTY
to China, almost at the last moment, its purposes would
have been fully carried out. As it was, its object was but
partially accomplished by sending Eev. Daniel Bagley as
a missionary to Oregon.
The report of the trustees of Madison College, at
Uniontown, Pa., then under the control of the Methodist
Protestant Church, was presented to the Conference, and
the Conference decided to take two scholarships at five
hundred dollars each; and the sum of seven hundred and
fifty dollars was at once subscribed for the purpose. My
salary the preceding year was only four hundred and fifty
dollars; but I subscribed fifty dollars to the fund. A note
was given for the amount, the interest to be paid annually,
and the principal in installments.
The Eevs. E. Y. Eeece, editor of the Methodist Prot-
estant, and E. H. Ball, president of Madison College, were
in attendance, and, although not members of the Confer-
ence, served on committees. At that session, the Eev.
T. H. Stockton, that prince of orators, was received on
certificate into the Conference, and loaned for one year to
St. John's Methodist Church, Baltimore. He continued a
member of the Conference till his death, October 9, 1868.
Among his last utterances was this: "I can not tell you
how happy I am at the prospect of getting at the center
of universal intelligence through the mercy of God in
Christ Jesus our Lord. I am nothing but a poor sinner,
and have been all my life; but Jesus is a precious Savior,
God a kind and loving Father, the Holy Spirit a blessed
Sanctifier."
At that Conference I was sent to Sharpsburg Circuit,
a suburb of Pittsburg and Allegheny. The circuit em-
braced the town of Sharpsburg and Grub's Schoolhouse.
I preached in Sharpsburg every Sabbath, and at the other
appointment once every two weeks on Sunday afternoon.
YEARS IN THE MINISTRY. 137
The distance was some three or four miles. I sometimes
walked out; but generally got a horse from some of the
brethren and rode. We had some good members in that
neighborhood; but our cause did not prosper there, and
after a few years the appointment was discontinued.
Sharpsburg was not a strong society; yet we had some
reliable members there, and the Church ha! lived and
prospered. Among the older members were William Gar-
ner, John Cook, and William Eobinson. The last-named
lived in the country, was quite an old man, and seldom got
to Church. Brother Garner was one of the early settlers
of the town. He was a man of even temper, gentle spirit,
and consistent life. He had long before passed his prime,
and his declining years were spent in ease and comfort.
He was fond of fishing, and generally went with his sons
once a year up the Allegheny to hunt deer. I often went
with him to fish, and admired his skill in the piscatorial
art. Brother Cook had been an engineer on the "under-
ground railroad," and had aided many a fugitive slave
who had escaped from his master, and, guided by the North
Star, was trying to reach the Canadian border. He was
mercurial in temperament, earnest, energetic, and deter-
mined. He is still living, and must be in the neighbor-
hood of ninety, if not over that age. Among the younger
men were T. H. Gibson, who for a while was a member of
the Conference; J. B. Koberts, who also itinerated for
several years, but who located in Sharpsburg and engaged
in secular pursuits; our friend, F. H. Collier, had also re-
moved to Sharpsburg, and he and his wife were members
of our Church. We had then a small brick meeting-
house, which occupied the site of the present beautiful
Grace Church. Although small, it was sufficiently large to
accommodate our congregation. The friends were uni-
formly kind to us, and our sojourn among them was very
138 RECOLLECTIONS OF FIFTY
pleasant. Brother Gibson was then entering on a prosper-
ous business career, and he and his wife were especially at-
tentive, and laid us under many obligations, which we have
never forgotten. There was one brother who attended
Church very regularly, and occupied a front seat, who every
Sabbath cleaned and paired his finger-nails during the ser-
mon. I thfnk he did it well, for he took ample time, and
seemed to give it his undivided attention. Although it
appeared interesting to him, it was not specially encourag-
ing and helpful to his pastor. An attentive hearer is often
a great help to a preacher.
During that year we had our first bereavement. Our
second child, little Johnnie, was taken from us. He died
of scarlet fever, and unexpectedly. We gave him up re-
luctantly; but we would not call him back. He is safe
with the Savior, and we shall meet and greet him again
after a while.. But how will he appear to us? As the beau-
tiful child with which we parted; or as a wonderfully-
developed and glorified spirit ? No matter. We shall know
him, and feel that he is ours. I thus early learned to sym-
pathize with parents in the loss of their children, and
realized the insufficiency of the most tender and fitting
words to give comfort to smitten hearts. God only, who
is the God of all consolation, can comfort them who are
in any trouble.
We had considerable religious prosperity during the
year. Rev. George Brown was president of the Confer-
ence, and during his visit a revival commenced, the influ-
ence of which was felt throughout the entire Church, and
which was lasting in its effects.
The year at length drew to a close, and Brother William
Garner was elected delegate, and was instructed to ask
for my return. The Conference met that year, 1852, at
Pruntytown, Ya., and there was no way of reaching it
YEARS IN THE MINISTRY. 139
but by private conveyance. Brother Garner had a horse
and buggy, and we started together for Conference. I
do not remember where we stopped the first night, or how
long it took us to reach Pruntytown; but I remember
very distinctly of taking dinner, with quite a number of
preachers and delegates who had fallen in with us by the
way, at a "tavern" between Morgantown and Fairmont.
The indications were not favorable for much of a dinner;
but it was our only chance, and our horses needed to be
fed; so we concluded to risk it. As soon as we entered the
house the bottle was placed on the counter, and we were
invited to help ourselves; but all declined to drink. We
did not like the appearance of things, and concluded to
call for food in "original packages;" so we ordered pota-
toes boiled in the skins, and eggs cooked in the shells.
The potatoes did well enough; but it was not a good time
for eggs, and in that line we got more than we bargained
for. It was not necessary for any one to urge upon us
moderation at that meal, for we were all inclined to be
very abstemious, even to an extreme. I suppose the prin-
cipal business of the proprietor of that "tavern" was to
drink and sell whisky, and everything about the premises
showed the result. Evidences of idleness, filth, and poverty
were seen on every hand. What a blighting curse the
liquor-traffic is! It is an evil that all good men should
oppose, and it should be prohibited and suppressed by
law. Our horses fared better than their masters on that
occasion, and were the better able to take us on our way.
So, after all, we had something to be thankful for.
So*e of the brethren, in crossing the river above Fair-
mont, missed the ford, and got into rather deep water,
which came up on the seats of their buggies, and for a little
time matters appeared to be rather serious; but they soon
got out, wetter if not wiser men than they were before.
140 RECOLLECTIONS OF FIFTY
In those days bridges were few in number, and ferries
were not very numerous, and persons were in the habit of
fording streams that no one would think of fording now.
I once forded the Ohio River between Steubenville and
Wellsburg, and recrossed it the next day; but in the mean-,
time it had risen more than a foot, which I did not know
till I had crossed it. Fording large streams when one is
not very well acquainted with them, is rather risky busi-
ness. But it was no uncommon thing for the early Meth-
odist preachers to do so.
The Conference in Pruntytown was well attended and
well entertained. Rev. George Brown was elected presi-
dent, and Noble Gillespie secretary. Brother Gillespie
was an Irishman, and not a very handsome man, but a
man of intelligence and piety. He was rather tall, had
a long neck, his head inclined a little forward, overhang-
ing brows, large nose, rather heavy towards the end, and
somewhat pockmarked. He was a good preacher, and a
very agreeable and genial companion. He was stationed
in Fairmont when the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad was being
built through that place. There was much sickness along
the road, and some cholera. Brother Gillespie was very
faithful in visiting the sick. One day, as he was passing
along, he heard some one moaning as if in great pain in
one of the "shanties," and he went in and found a poor
woman, a Catholic, very sick. He talked to her, and prayed
with her. Just as he got out of the "shanty," he met the
priest, with whom he was well acquainted, and said: "I
was just in to see one of your members, and I prayed with
her, and told her to trust in Jesus till you came;" **id then
passed on. He was faithful to the end, and died in peace
and hope in New York City many years ago. He made
an excellent secretary.
At that Conference Rev. J. W. Rutledge was received
YEA1& IN THE MINISTRY. 141
by transfer from the Pennsylvania Conference. He was
then acting as agent for the Board of Missions, collecting
money to send out missionaries to China and Oregon. He
was a very good man, and a good preacher. He was a
strong believer in the premillennial advent of Christ, and
often preached on the subject. In 1865 he was placed on
the superannuated list, and continued to sustain that re-
lation to the Conference till his death, December 14, 1883.
He was a member of the Pittsbnrg Conference for thirty-
two years, fourteen of which he was efficient, and for
eighteen years he was superannuated.
At that session of the Conference Sharpsburg was made
a station, and has remained so ever since. A curious re-
port in reply to a paper presented from the Sons of Tem-
perance was adopted. Among other things, it said: <r WTiile
we truly sympathize with the Pruntytown Division of the
Sons of Temperance in the interest they manifest for this
good work (temperance), yet your committee, under pres-
ent circumstances, deem it inexpedient that the Conference
should hold a regular temperance-meeting." A motion was
subsequently made to reconsider the vote by which the re-
port was adopted; but it failed.
A missionary society auxiliary to the Board of Missions
was organized at that session, and nearly fifty dollars were
contributed by its members. The Eev. Asa Shinn was
made a life member of the society.
The subject of slavery at that time was agitating the
country, and in a slave State a man had to be careful what
he said on the subject. One evening, during the session,
I was appointed by the Conference to preach in the Bap-
tist church. I took for my text the fifteenth, sixteenth,
and seventeenth verses of the thirty-third chapter of
Isaiah: "He that walketh righteously, and speaketh up-
rightly; he that despiseth the gain of oppressions, that
142 RECOLLECTIONS OF FIFTY
shaketh his hands from holding of bribes, that stoppeth
his ears from hearing of blood, and shutteth his eyes from
seeing evil; he shall dwell on high; his place of defense
shall be the munitions of rocks: bread shall be given him;
his waters shall be sure. Thine eyes shall see the King
in his beauty; they shall behold the land that is very far
off." My subject was, the character and blessedness of
the godly. In speaking of the gain of oppressions I made
some remarks which were construed by some as directly
applying to slavery, and as there were a few colored per-
sons in the back part of the house that I had not noticed,
my discourse was denounced by some hot-headed persons
as seditious, and there was strong talk of having me ar-
rested as a seditious person. Serious threats were made,
and the gentleman by whom I was entertained, who was
a justice of the peace, appeared to be a good deal excited,
though he assured me that my remarks were of too general
a character to be construed as a violation of the statute.
I was not much frightened, as I knew that I had no inten-
tion to violate any law, or excite any disturbance. There
is nothing better for a man to have when accused than a
clear conscience.
There was a good deal of difficulty experienced that
year in stationing the preachers. When the Stationing
Committee reported, a motion was made to recommit the
report, with instructions. Some six or eight motions were
made to instruct the committee to make changes in the
appointments, most of which were lost. The committee,
instead of returning me to Sharpsburg, as had been re-
quested by the delegate according to his instructions, had
put me down for the First Church, Pittsburg. A motion
was made to amend the report, by placing me at Sharps-
burg. The motion was lostj and that item of the report
remained as the committee had presented it. The Con-
YEARS IN THE MINISTRY. 143
ference then claimed the right, if it was deemed best in
view of all the circumstances, to disregard the wishes of a
particular Church in stationing the' preachers. Indeed, if
the Conference is denied this authority, it is nothing more
than an association of Congregational Churches, each one
taking care of itself independently of the others. This
right, while it should be recognized, should nevertheless
be exercised with great care, and the wishes of the Churches
should be regarded, so far as this can be done consistently
with the good of the whole. The Sharpsburg brethren
were not pleased with the action of the Conference; but
it did not result in any serious injury.
144 RECOLLECTIONS OF FIFTY
CHAPTER XI.
Removal to New Charge Site of First Church Great
Changes Labors Very Arduous Sunday-school Journal
Copway, Indian Chief Rev. De Hass Disappointment
Large Congregation David Jones Preparation of Ser-
monDeath of William Shinn's Child Embarrassment
in Preaching David Jones united with the Church Con-
version Entered the Ministry Conference in Washing-
ton, Pa. Many Visiting Brethren College Matters En-
dowment Money Spent for Current Expenses Great Dis-
satisfactionElected Delegate to General Conference
Returned to First Church, Pittsburg Noble Men Precious
Memories.
As SOON as convenient after Conference, we removed
to our new charge. I had been absent six years, three of
which, however, had been spent in the immediate vicinity,
so that my acquaintance with the brethren and the Church
had been kept up, and it seemed very much like returning
home.
The old First Church was built on the site now occu-
pied by Kaufman & Brothers, on Fifth Avenue, a little
below Cherry Alley. The parsonage occupied the site of
the present Methodist Protestant Publishing-house, and
adjoined the church. The building on the corner of Fifth
Avenue and Cherry Alley also belonged to the Church at
that time. Cherry Alley had been graded through; but
between the alley and Grant Street was quite a hill, on
which the remains of the old, original water-basin were
to be seen. Immediately in the rear of the church, on the
lower side of the alley, on quite high ground, stood a
schoolhouse, which was soon after abandoned, and the
lot graded down. Wonderful changes have taken place
in that locality since then.
YEARS IN THE MINISTRY. 145
My labors that year were very arduous; indeed, more
than any one man should have attempted to perform. I
preached twice every Sabbath, and taught a Bible class
in Sunday-school, met a class on Tuesday afternoon, and
attended prayer-meeting every Wednesday evening, besides
the numerous official meetings which were held. I was
also corresponding secretary of the Board of Missions, and
was required to keep copies of all my letters, to be read
to the Board. This doubled my work in that connection,
as I had no copying-press, and had to make copies of my
letters by hand. Beginning in December, I edited the
Missionary and Sunday-school Journal, wrote all the wrap-
pers, folded and mailed the papers, corrected the mail-list,
and did the correspondence which the publication involved.
All this, in addition to pastoral visitation and attending
funerals, occupied my entire time, and kept me continually
on a strain. Had it not been that I possessed a vigorous
constitution, I could not have endured it. As it was, my
health began to give way, and I began to feel the burden
of my work. The Church was then large and prosperous,
the members were exceedingly agreeable, and it was a
pleasure to mingle with them. My labors were attended
with a good degree of success. We had numerous conver-
sions and accessions, and good was done.
During the autumn of 1852 an Indian chief by the
name of Cop way came to Pittsburg. He was a preacher,
and put up at the St. Clair Hotel, which stood on the
southeast corner of Penn and Sixth Streets, where the
Hotel Anderson now stands. Brother WilRam Einehart
learned in some way of his being at the hotel, and came
to me on Saturday morning, and requested me to call on
him, and invite him to preach for us. I did so, and he
consented to preach in our church the next morning. He
was a noble looking man, gentlemanly in his manner, and
10
146 RECOLLECTIONS OF FIFTY
impressive in his bearing. His complexion and hair gave
unmistakable evidence of his Indian blood. He spoke
English fairly well; but sometimes with less circumlocution
than is common with those who speak it as their mother
tongue. But his "short-cuts" in expression seemed to ren-
der his manner the more impressive. He was a beautiful
singer, with a sweet, clear, full voice, and under perfect
control. It was announced in the evening papers that he
would preach in our Church on Sabbath morning, and the
announcement brought out a great crowd of people, who
filled not only the body of the church, but also the two
side and end galleries to their utmost capacity. He was a
wonderfully eloquent man, and preached a most attractive
sermon. He also sung several pieces in his own inimitable
style. The people were perfectly captivated by him, and his
praise spread throughout the city. His services were soon
in great demand, and he had numerous invitations to
preach in various Churches. He engaged, however, to
preach for me again on the following Sabbath evening,
and the announcement was accordingly made. I relied on
him to preach, and made no preparation to occupy the pul-
pit on that evening myself. With this understanding the
week wore away, and at the Sabbath morning service his
appointment for the evening was again announced.
About three o'clock on Sunday afternoon, Brother De
Hass, afterwards consul at Jerusalem, who was then pastor
of the Wesley Chapel Methodist Episcopal Church, called
at my house to see Mr. Copway. Through some misunder-
standing he had announced that Mr. Copway would preach
in his church that evening. Mr. Copway was stopping with
lawyer Dunlap on Fourth Street, and we went together to
see him. We talked the matter over together. I insisted
that Mr. Copway should preach for me according to his en-
gagement, and Brother De Hass insisted that he should
YEARS IN THE MINISTRY. 147
preach for him. At last we had to leave the matter to Mr.
Copway to decide. He said he was very sorry for the mis-
take; but as it was, one of the congregations must be dis-
appointed, and as he had preached for my people, and they
had all heard him, the disappointment to them would not
be so great as to Brother De Hass's people, who had never
heard him. So he decided to preach for Brother De Hass.
By this time it was four o'clock. I knew our house
would be crowded with people to hear Mr. Copway, and
that they would be disappointed if they had to hear any
one else. Then, I had made no preparation to preach
had no subject in my mind, and had almost no time to
make any preparation. I returned home, however, and did
the best I could. I thought and prayed, and prayed and
thought, and at last selected a subject on which I pro-
posed to make an effort to preach.
The hour for preaching soon arrived, and, as I expected,
the house was crowded. I stated to the congregation the
fact of my great disappointment, as well as theirs, and how
it came to pass, and informed them that as they had come
to hear another person preach, and as he was not there, I
would not consider it disrespectful to me, or indecorous on
their part, to withdraw. But from pity for me, or for some
other cause, all remained. I do not remember what my
subject was, or how I preached; but I know I was excited,
and did the best I could.
Among those who were present on that occasion was
a boy by the name of David Jones. He lived in the city
on Fourth Street, and having heard of an Indian going to
preach in our Church, his curiosity was excited, and, like
hundreds of others, he came to hear him. But, like others,
ho was disappointed, and his curiosity was not gratified.
There was, however, something about the sermon, or the
congregation, or the services, that attracted his attention,
148 RECOLLECTIONS OF FIFTY
and he resolved to come again, and he did so. I do not
know that any of the members of the Church knew him,
or that he knew any of them; but he attended from Sab-
bath to Sabbath, and at last became interested in the sal-
vation of his soul.
One week I tried to prepare a sermon on the ninth
verse of the ninth chapter of Zechariah: "Eejoice greatly,
daughter of Zion; shout, daughter of Jerusalem; be-
hold thy King cometh unto thee: he is just and having
salvation," etc. I made full notes of the sermon, finishing
it on Friday evening. I intended to take Saturday to get
it thoroughly into my mind, so I would have no need of my
notes, for at that time there was a good deal of opposition
to a minister taking notes of his sermon into the pulpit.
Other men might make notes to assist their memory in
business or other matters; but a minister must not make
notes to assist his memory, or prompt him to certain trains
of thought. At any rate, whether well founded or not,
the prejudice existed, and I did not wish to encounter it.
Just about dusk, a little after I had completed my ser-
mon, on Friday evening, the door-bell rang, and on going
to the door I found Brother William Shinn there. He was
the older son of Rev. Asa Shinn, a lawyer, and a member
of my charge. He lived at Evergreen, a little hamlet some
four or five miles from the city. He told me that one of
his children was dead, and wished me to attend the funeral
from his house the next day. He said there would be car-
riages going out in the morning at eight o'clock, and I
could come out in one of them. I went out in the morning
as directed, and, instead of getting home by noon, as I had
expected, I did not get back till dark. I then went into
my study and run my mind through the sermon, and en-
deavored to fix every point clearly in my thought. At a
late hour I retired; but was up early the next morning, and
YEARS IN THE MINISTRY. 149
thought my sermon over and over nearly till Church time.
Then I went into the pulpit, taking my notes with me;
but it seemed to me I could not recall the points I had
made, or use the notes I had prepared. I was greatly em-
barrassed, and labored exceedingly. I talked rapidly, for I
feared if I stopped I would not be able to start again. I
was very much mortified, feeling that I had made a great
failure. I was ashamed to look any one in the face. At the
close of the sermon an opportunity was given for persons to
unite with the Church, and David Jones and some lady
came forward and gave us their names; but I did not sup-
pose that either of them had been influenced in the slight-
est degree by anything I had said that morning. I had
intended making another sermon on the verse immediately
following the text: but I was so perfectly discouraged with
my performance that morning, that I never attempted it.
Brother Jones was a boy of fine mind, stable purpose,
had been brought up under Methodistic influence, and
gave promise for the future. He entered the employ of
Marshall & Sons, now Marshall Brothers, on Diamond
Street, Pittsburg. They were connected with our Church,
and excellent people. He was faithful in his business, and
faithful in the Church. He was among the first to enter
the Reiceville Sunday-school, out of which grew the Second
Church. As he became older, his brethren saw in him the
elements of great usefulness, and opened up his way to
attend Madison College, where he studied and prepared
himself for the ministry, and in due time, in 1858, he was
received into the Pittsburg Conference.
One day, while Brother Jones and I were seated in my
house on South Side, Pittsburg, after he had entered the
Conference, he asked me if I remembered preaching from
a text in Zechariah, quoting the text of the sermon above
referred to. I told him that I remembered trying to preach
150 RECOLLECTIONS OF FIFTY
from it; but that I had made such a failure that I had
never attempted to preach from it again. He said that was
the best sermon I had ever preached; and then told me
that under that sermon, sitting away back in the old First
Church, he had been converted, and realized in his heart
the saving power of Zion's King. That was some five or
six years after his conversion, and I never knew till then
that I had been the instrument of leading him to Christ.
How little do we know in reference to the effect of
our labors! Sometimes when we think that we have done
something that will be productive of great good, little or
nothing is accomplished; and sometimes when we think
that we have utterly failed, God makes our labors success-
ful. Without the Divine blessing, nothing that we can do
will succeed; but with the Divine blessing our feeblest
efforts may be instrumental in the accomplishment of great
good. "We should be encouraged, then, to sow our seed
in the morning, and in the evening not to withhold our
hand, as we know not whether this or that shall prosper.
Brother Jones has now been for nearly thirty-five years
a member of the Pittsburg Conference. He has filled its
best appointments, for two years served as president of his
Conference, and once as president of the General Confer-
ence, and is now, and has been for the last eight or nine
years, pastor of the Church in which he was converted.
He is a man of irreproachable life, modest and retiring in
his manner, and a preacher of wonderful eloquence and
power. I would not flatter him. He is too old and has
too much good sense for that; but he will pardon me for
expressing my good opinion of him, an opinion which is
universally shared by all who know him. Had I been in-
strumental only in bringing such a man to Christ, my life
would not have been spent in vain.
The Conference met, in the fall of 1853, in Washing-
YEARS IN THE MINISTRY. 151
ton, Pa. It was well attended, and well entertained. There
were several visitors in attendance, among whom were Rev.
L. W. Bates, of the Maryland Conference, and Rev. John
Burns, president of the Muskingum Conference. Consider-
able attention was given to the interests of Madison Col-
lege, which was then under the care and supervision of the
Methodist Protestant Church. Rev. R. H. Ball, president
of the college, had resigned, and the Rev. George Brown
had been elected to fill his place. Considerable dissatisfac-
tion was expressed by the Conference at the fact that the
money subscribed to endow two scholarships in the college
had been spent for current expenses. It is strange that
institutions that can live and prosper only by retaining the
sympathy and confidence of the Church, will deliberately
perform acts calculated to destroy that sympathy and confi-
dence. But it is sometimes done, and the result is always
disastrous. Men who will deliberately misappropriate trust
funds committed to their care, in utter disregard of the
wishes of the donors, are not worthy of confidence, and
can not reasonably hope to secure the support of honest
and upright men. Men may attempt to justify their course
on the ground of expediency; but it is never expedient for
men to betray a solemn trust. It is a great pity that Madi-
son College was allowed to go down. Had it been sus-
tained, it would have formed a central institution and rally-
ing-point for all the Eastern and Middle Conferences. A
more beautiful location for a college could not be found.
But through the divisive influence of the slavery excite-
ment, it failed to retain the patronage of a sufficient num-
ber of Conferences to make it a success. But, after all, it
can not be regarded as a failure. It turned out a number of
men who would be an honor to any institution and any
Church. Among these the names of David Jones, pastor
of the First Church, Pittsburg, and of G. B. McElroy, pro-
152 RECOLLECTIONS OF FIFTY
fessor in Adrian College, occur to my mind. There are,
no doubt, many others, whose names I can not now recall.
At that Conference, delegates were elected to the Gen-
eral Conference to meet in Steubenville, Ohio, in the fol-
lowing May. I was elected a ministerial delegate to that
body, and the only one elected on the first ballot. I sup-
pose I was considered by the Conference orthodox on the
questions then agitating the Church, and which would
ccme up for consideration in the approaching Conference.
My ministerial associates in our delegation were George
Brown, John Clark, and P. T. Laishley.
At the close of the Conference I was appointed to the
First Church, Pittsburg, for another year. I returned
home, and resumed the same routine of work that I had
carried on the preceding year, except that I had dismissed
my teacher in Greek and Latin, because I could not, in
consequence of funerals and other engagements and un-
avoidable interruptions, meet him at any fixed hour. I
did not, however, give up the studies. I worked very hard;
but with somewhat impaired energies. I began to suffer
from throat affection, and was not quite so vigorous as I
had been. Still, I did not neglect or slight my work. Had
I then known what I have learned since, I might have
saved myself a little, and really increased my efficiency.
But without trying to spare myself, I drove on and im-
paired a vigorous constitution, which never regained its
former strength.
The year was a very pleasant one; indeed, it could not
have been otherwise among such a people. In my Church
work I had the sympathy and support of almost the entire
membership. My intercourse with such men as Charles
Avery, Charles Craig, Edward Moore, John L. Sands, Eob-
ert Morrow, Henry Palmer, William Morrison, J. J. Gilles-
pie, William Armstrong, William Scholey, William Eine-
YEARS IN THE MINISTRY. 153
hart, W. H. Garrard, Solomon Stoner, David Rinehart,
John Garrard, Henry Johnson, John Atwell, William Barn-
hill, John Scott, George Horton, Robert H. Marshall,
Henry Morrison, William Henderson, Edwin Johnson,
William B. English, and their families, and scores of others,
whose names I can not here insert, was indeed of the most
pleasant and agreeable character. A more pleasant charge
than the First Church was at that time, no one could desire.
Although nearly forty years have passed away since
then, the memories of those days are often recalled with
pleasure. At the "social reunion" at the closing services
in the old First Church, in May, 1892, there were but seven
persons present who were members of the congregation
when I was first their pastor. Nearly all of those noble
men and women have passed away. This reflection some-
times gives a tinge of sadness to my feelings; but the
thought of the happy reunion after a while, brightens the
prospect, and inspires the mind with hope.
154 RECOLLECTIONS OF FIFTY
CHAPTER XII.
General Conference in Steubenville Differences between
North and South Honest Desire for Adjustment Member
of Committee on Paper and Book Concern Knotty Ques-
tionPlan of Adjustment Faithfully Carried Out Hand
of Providence in It Conference in Allegheny City
Cholera Death of Henry T. Lay ton Theories about Chol-
eraIsaac B. Clark Western Virginia Conference Set off.
THE General Conference met in Steubenville, Ohio, in
May, 1854. I had been elected a delegate to that body at
the last preceding session of our Annual Conference, and,
of course, I felt it my duty to attend. I took my wife and
two little boys with me. I did not expect the Church to
provide for our entertainment, for that would be an im-
position; but we went to a hotel, and proposed paying our
own way. My wife has never been in the habit of attend-
ing Conference, except when she has had relatives or
friends who have specially invited her to attend. The
practice of preachers taking their wives to Conference, and
imposing them on a Church already overburdened in its
efforts to entertain the members of the Conference and
those having official business with it, is a bad practice, and
should be discountenanced. If they have friends or ac-
quaintances who request them to bring their wives with
them, that is another thing. That preachers' wives should
have relaxation and rest, no one can deny; but their hus-
bands should arrange for them to have it at some other
time than at the session of the Annual Conference, if they
have to impose themselves on the people for entertainment.
The General Conference met on the 2d day of May.
There were sixty-two representatives in attendance from
YEARS IN THE MINISTRY. 155
twenty-three Aimual Conferences. The body was organ-
ized by the election of John Burns, of the Muskingum
Conference, president, and W. H. Wills, of the North Caro-
lina Conference, and John Scott, of the Pittsburg Confer-
ence, secretaries. The chairmen of the most important
committees were taken from the Northern and Western
Conferences.
The relations between the Southern and Northern Con-
ferences were a good deal strained by the question of slav-
ery, which then agitated the country from one end to the
other. Yet the brethren from all parts of the connection
seemed to manifest an honest and sincere desire to adopt
such conciliatory measures as would conserve the peace
and unity of the Church. As a member of that General
Conference, which happened to be the last General Con-
ference of the united Methodist Protestant Church for
twenty-three years, I must bear witness to the spirit of for-
bearance, concession, and kindly Christian feeling which
was manifested by its members throughout. They all
seemed to have but one object in view, not that one section
might gain some undue advantage over another, but that
some plan might be adopted to enable the Church to bear
up amid the moral, social, and political storm that was then
raging around it.
I was a member of the Committee on Paper and Book
Concern. It was a large committee, and every section of
the Church was represented, in it. The Church then had
but one official paper, The Methodist Protestant, located in
Baltimore. It was the common property of the whole
Church, and persons from all sections of the Church
claimed the right to be heard through its columns on any
subject which they deemed of importance to the Church,
the subject of slavery not excepted. The official deliver-
ances of the Conferences North and West, in denunciation
156 RECOL ECTIONS FIFTY
of slavery, were sometimes excluded from the paper. This
created friction and great dissatisfaction. For this there
was both reason and apology. Indeed, the circulation of
such rejected documents through the South at that time,
considering the excitement that prevailed on the subject
of slavery, would, in all probability, have been considered
treasonable or seditious. This was the difficulty that con-
fronted the conductors of the paper, entirely aside from
their own personal views on the subject. The Northern
and Western brethren th ught it hard to own a paper, and
be excluded from its columns.
Our committee had a knotty question before it. This
question came up at every General Conference, and it
would not down. Our committee was expected to reconcile
two irreconcilable things. The subject was discussed in all
its phases, and the conclusion was at last reached, to recom-
mend that the whole subject be removed from the juris-
diction of the General Conference; that the assets of the
Book Concern in Baltimore be equitably divided, one por-
tion to be given to the South, to be used and controlled
by a voluntary association of Conferences in supporting
a paper and Book Concern, over which the General Con-
ference should have no control; and that the other portion
should be given to support a paper and Book Concern in
the West, to be controlled by a similar association of Con-
ferences. Each section, it was thought, could then discuss
in its own paper sunh questions as it deemed proper, and
exclude what it deemed improper, and no one could be
aggrieved. This plan, if I remember correctly, met the
approval of every member of the committee, except Dr.
Armstrong, of Tennessee, who declared that it was the
entering wedge to division. The other members of the
committee could not see it in that light; but thought it the
direct road to peace and prosperity.
YEARS IN THE MINISTRY. 157
The report was a lengthy one, none of the details of
which are here given. It was adopted entire with very
little opposition from any quarter. Dr. Armstrong, Dr.
Brown, and a fev othe? * thought it would lead ultimately
to division; but the great body of the Conference was of a
different opinion. They honestly believed that it was a
measure in the interest of unity and peace. Many of the
members, however, had not reached their homes until they
saw that the two sections had dissolved partnership, and
mutually agreed to set up business for themselves.
The plan was faithfully carried out, and The Methodist
Protestant and The Western Methodist Protestant became
the respective organs f the two different sections, without
any interference in their control by each other.
I have never regretted the part I took in bringing about
this state of things. It appears to me that the hand of
Providence was in it. The members of that General Con-
ference builded wiser than they knew. Had our brethren
in the South acceded to the demands of those in the North,
it would have annihilated our Church in that section; had
the Northern section indorsed the position of the South,
it would have disrupted and entirely destroyed our Church
in the North. By the arrangement that was made by the
General Conference of 1854, each section was enabled, in-
dependently of the other, to conserve its own interests,
and when the storm was over and the sky grew clear, there
were but few wounds to heal, and the brethren began to
think of the olden and f former associations, and
now that the disturbing 'lenient,, in the providence of God,
had been removed, they could see no just cause why the
two sections should not be again united in one body. And
so, after a time, the desired union was brought about.
The Pittsburg Conference met in September, 1854, in
Allegheny City. The summer of 1854 was the driest and
158 RECOLLECTIONS OF FIFTY
warmest summer I ever saw. The ground was parched,
the fields were withered and dry, many of the small streams
were entirely dried up, and in some places in the country
the people had great difficulty in obtaining water for their
stock. The rivers were extremely low, and the water was
very impure. The heat was intense and oppressive. The
Conference commenced its session on Tuesday morning,
September 12th, with a pretty full attendance of its mem-
bers.
The cholera was in the country that season, and there
had been a few cases in Pittsburg; but not enough to occa-
sion any great alarm. One of our members, Sister William
Armstrong, had died of the disease some ten days or two
weeks before, and there had been a few other scattered
cases. On Wednesday afternoon, about two o'clock, a heavy
cloud, seemingly black as ink, overspread the cities, and
in a very short time a perfect torrent of rain descended,
washing out the gutters and flooding the streets. It was
a tremendous rain; but it conitinued for only about half an
hour. Then the cloud passed away, and the sun came out
in all his strength. In a little while the streets were steam-
ing. The evaporation was very rapid, and the whole city
seemed to be sweltering in a sort of steam bath. That
night the cholera broke out, and the next day forty cases
were reported in the city, and it continued to increase until
the deaths exceeded one hundred a day. This was a great
mortality, considering the population of the city at that
time, which was less than fifty thousand.
There were many theories as to the cause of the disease
at that time. Some supposed that the contagion, or infec-
tion, was in the atmosphere, and in order to purify the
air and destroy the disease, large fires of bituminous coal
where kindled at the street crossings, hoping that the sul-
phureous smoke from these fires might have the desired
YEARS IN THE MINISTRY. 159
effect. But these fires, while they gave a sort of weird
and gloomy appearance to the city, had no perceptible
effect on the disease. The more probable theory is that the
disease originated in the water and the stirring up of the
filth in the streets and alleys.
There was something very remarkable, however, con-
nected with the cholera in Pittsburg that year. The disease
was confined, with but few exceptions, between the two
rivers. There were very few cases in Allegheny City, north
of the Allegheny River, and very few cases on the South
Side, south of the Monongahela River. So far as visible
appearances were concerned, the same conditions favorable
to the disease existed in both these places that existed in
Pittsburg; yet, although there was constant intercourse
between these places and Pittsburg, they were almost en-
tirely exempted from the disease.
For two weeks a terrible gloom hung over the city.
When you met a friend in the morning, you did not know
but he, or you, or both, might be dead before night. One
morning my wife met Sister Mary Dowthet, one of our
members, and an excellent lady, in market. She was a
near neighbor of ours, and said she intended coming round
to our house in the afternoon. But before night she was
dead.
Dr. John Cowl, my brother-in-law, then pastor of Man-
chester Circuit, and James W. Brown, delegate from the
circuit, were stopping with us during the Conference. We
were all, more or less, alarmed, of course, when the disease
broke out with such violence. This alarm gradually wore
off, and we seemed to become accustomed to our sad sur-
roundings. Still, we had all the time an uneasy, appre-
hensive feeling about us. We provided ourselves with such
remedies as were generally recommended, so as to be some-
what prepared for an emergency, and then we took such
160 RECOLLECTIONS OF FIFTY
precautions as we could to guard against the disease. We
cooked all the food, and boiled all the water that we used.
The water, as observed before, was very impure, and when
permitted to stand for some time in a vessel would deposit
a brick-dust, slimy-looking substance in the bottom. We
were cautious in the use of fruits and vegetables. We did
not change our mode of living very much; but we were
more careful in the preparation of our food, and perhaps
a little more temperate in its use.
I believe there were some twelve hundred deaths in a
little over two weeks, when the disease gradually abated,
and in three or four weeks entirely disappeared. I visited
many persons who had it, and was of the opinoin then, as
I am now, that one person will not take it by going into
the room of one who has it, or who, with proper prudence,
waits upon him. I do not think the disease is taken into
the system by inhalation, or by touch; but by something
taken into the stomach, either in food or drink.
The modern theory advanced by some physicians, that
cholera is a disease of dirt, and that persons of cleanly
habits and surroundings need not fear it, was not sustained
by the facts as I witnessed them in Pittsburg in 1854.
Some of the earliest cases were among the most cleanly
families and correct livers in the city. The disease may
originate in filth, and filth, as in many other diseases, may
prove the means of spreading it; but it is a fact that in its
ravages it is not always confined to filthy persons or places.
That cleanliness, under all circumstances, is promotive of
health and comfort, all will admit; but that it is always a
preventive of disease, none will affirm. The probability is
that many persons, from constitution and habit, are more
predisposed to certain diseases than others, and when these
diseases prevail, they are liable to be attacked by them, it
matters not what their surroundings.
YEARS IN THE MINISTRY. 161
During the prevalence of the cholera I twice visited
the home of Isaac B. Clark, at one time a member of the
Pittsburg Conference, to attend his funeral services; but no
conveyance could at those times be obtained to convey his
remains to the cemetery. They were afterwards interred
in my absence. He had died of cholera.
Isaac B. Clark was an Englishman, and a good preacher;
but while on the Morgantown Circuit, I think, he was
overcome by strong drink, and retired from the ministry.
His course was downward; but not without earnest efforts
to reform. He came to Pittsburg, and I assisted in get-
ting him a book agency. He attended regularly upon my
ministry. I visited him, and tried to encourage and help
him; but what the final result was, I am unable to say. It
is sad to record such a case as this; but it is done as a warn-
ing to others. "Let him that standeth take heed lest he
fall."
The Conference, of course, was excited over the out-
break of the cholera; but it continued its session, and fin-
ished up its business without undue haste. One of our
number, Rev. Henry T. Layton, a young married man, who
had been in the Conference four years, a devoted Christian,
and a man who gave promise of usefulness, fell a victim
to the disease. The Conference adopted appropriate reso-
lutions of appreciation and condolence with his family, and
appointed a committee to attend his funeral. His remains
were laid to rest in the beautiful x\llegheny Cemetery. Dr.
Laishley also had an attack of cholera; but by prompt
action it was arrested, and he was soon restored.
At that session the Western Virginia Conference was
set off, and Dr. P. T. Laishley was elected its president,
Dr. William Reeves had been elected president of the Con-
ference before its division, and, of course, he continued
president of the Pittsburg District.
11
162 RECOLLECTIONS OF FIFTY
CHAPTER XIII.
Editor Missionary and Sunday-school Journal, and Correspond-
ing Secretary Board of Missions Visit to Virginia and
North Carolina Conferences Virginia Conference Nor-
folk Numerous Incidents Navy-yard North Carolina
Conference Numerous Kind Friends Visit to Governor
Branch Return Home New York Conference Various
Other Visits Ill-health Fear of Location Remedy.
BEFORE the session of our Annual Conference, the
Board of Missions had engaged me to serve the Board dur-
ing the ensuing year. I was to conduct its correspondence,
edit and publish the Missionary and Sunday-school Jour-
nal, visit the Conferences, and in every way I could pro-
mote the cause of missions. The arrangement was recog-
nized by the Conference, and I was appointed to that work.
After the close of the Conference, as soon as I con-
veniently could, I procured a house, and moved out on
Fifth Avenue, near the Second Church. We had a small,
comfortable house, and I arranged to enter upon my work
as vigorously as I could.
The Kev. Dr. George Brown proposed attending that
fall the sessions of the Virginia and North Carolina Con-
ferences in the interest of Madison College, and I arranged
to accompany him in the interest of foreign missions. We
were to meet in Baltimore at Brother Starr's. The Virginia
Conference met in Norfolk, Va., and the North Carolina
Conference in the Bradford Church, about two miles from
Enfield, North Carolina.
I had never traveled any except within the bounds of
our own Conference, and was not very familiar with the
wavs of the world. I had never been on board a railroad
YEARS IN THE MINISTRY. 163
car. Indeed, railroads were then rather a new thing, the
Pennsylvania Road having been completed to Pittsburg
but a little more than a year before. I procured a ticket,
however, and boarded a train in Pittsburg at seven o'clock
on the morning of October 31st, for Baltimore, Md. About
seven o'clock in the evening the train arrived at Harris-
burg, where I remained all night, no train leaving there
for Baltimore till the next morning. The day of fast
trains and close connections had not then been introduced.
As the train did not start till nine o'clock, I had time the
next morning to look about the city a little, and visit the
Stats House, which was being fitted up for the meeting
of the Legislature.
About one o'clock we reached Baltimore. I had never
been in the city, and knew nothing about it, so I took a
hack and told the driver to take me to a hotel. I did not
know one from another. He took me to Barnum's Hotel,
a very comfortable place, where, about two o'clock, I got
dinner. After dinner I inquired for the Book Room, and
found it was not very far away, and from the directions I
received I had no difficulty in finding it. There I met
Brother E. Y. Reece, the gentlemanly and accomplished
editor of the Methodist Protestant, and Brother T. H. Stock-
ton, a member of our own Conference, and several other
brethren. After a pleasant time with the brethren, Dr.
Reece very kindly showed me the way to Brother Starr's,
where, in a short time, I was joined by Dr. Brown, who
came in on the Baltimore & Ohio Road. Brother and Sister
Starr were very cordial, and made our stay with them quite
pleasant.
The greater part of the next day we spent in looking
about the city, and in social intercourse with some of the
brethren with whom we met. At about five o'clock in the
afternoon, we boarded the steamer North Carolina at Union
164 RECOLLECTIONS OF FIFTY
Dock, for Norfolk, and in a short time were under way.
This was a very fine vessel, and one of the line boats in the
then great Southern mail route connecting Baltimore and
Norfolk. The evening was a delightful one; not a cloud
was seen in the sky, and the moon, nearly at the full, shone
brightly on the widespread sheet of water. For many miles
numerous vessels of different sizes and various forms were
seen, spreading their white sails to the breeze, pursuing
their way in different directions. As we descended the
bay, their number diminished until sometimes but a single
sail could be seen far off in the distance. After a few
hours a fresh breeze sprung up from the south, which
rendered it unpleasant to remain on deck, and we retired
to our berths to seek repose. About six o'clock next morn-
ing we made a short stop at Fortress Monroe, a military
post of large dimensions and considerable strength. At the
close of the late War of the liebellion, Jefferson Davis was
held there as a prisoner for between one and two years.
On leaving there and entering Hampton Eoads, we were
again surrounded with numerous sails, which presented
a beautiful appearance, as the sun arose and scattered his
beams upon the bosom of the quiet waters.
About nine o'clock on the morning of November 3d
we landed at Norfolk, having made the run from Balti-
more, a distance of two hundred miles, in about fifteen
hours. Eev. J. G. Whitfield, president of the Virginia
Conference, met us at the wharf, and kindly conveyed us
to our lodgings. During our stay we were kindly enter-
tained by Brother and Sister Capps, who seemed disposed
to do everything in their power to promote our comfort.
Still, our stay in the city to me was not very pleasant; but
this was not the fault of our host. The air was damp and
chilly, and seemed to penetrate me through and through.
I could not keep warm. I would sit by the fire; but with
YEARS IN THE MINISTRY. 165
all the doors open which appeared to be the custom
there^-it seemed to give no heat. I would put my over-
coat on, and walk to and fro in my room; but I could not
get warm. I would take a hurried walk on the street; but
still that chilly air seemed to penetrate me. To those who
were accustomed to it, it was perhaps all right; but to me it
seemed to be the most unpleasant locality I had ever
been in.
It was in the days of slavery, and that institution neces-
sarily crippled enterprise. The contrast between Pittsburg
and Norfolk was very striking. In the former city every-
thing manifested industry, push, and energy. Everybody
was at work, and every one seemed to be in haste to do his
work. But in the latter, there was no evidence of enter-
prise. Nobody seemed to have anything he was anxious
to do, or which should be done speedily. It seemed to be
a place of leisure. The Negroes drove their horses and
little drays, loaded with a few baskets of sweet potatoes
and perhaps a dozen heads of cabbage, or a few boxes of
merchandise, leisurely along the street, as if they had an
abundance of time, and had no cause to be in haste. The
manual labor being mostly performed by the colored peo-
ple, the whites had ample time for social culture and inter-
course, and in these respects, perhaps, they excelled. They
paid much attention to the formalities of sooial life.
Almost every locality has some provincialisms peculiar
to itself, which are never noticed by those who use them.
One of these that attracted my attention in Norfolk was
the word "carry." If a person wished a boy to take his
horse to the stable, he would tell him to "carry" him to the
stable. If a gentleman wished you to accompany his wife
or friend to church, he would ask you to "carry" her to
church, and so of other things. They "carried" every-
thing. This amused me at first; but, then, it was nothing
166 RECOLLECTIONS OF FIFTY
more than is found in other places. In some localities the
phrase "you know" is on almost every tongue. A person
undertakes to tell you about something of which you have
never heard, and he prefaces it and interlards it with
"you know," when you know nothing about it, and he is
telling it to you as a new or strange thing. In other sec-
tions I have heard the responsive phrases, "you do n't say!"
and "that 's so," on almost every tongue. We seldom call
in question the propriety of habits in which we indulge,
while we are ready to criticise those of others with which
we are not familiar. We are largely creatures of circum-
stance and habit. We naturally conform to our surround-
ings, and acquire the habits of those with whom we asso-
ciate.
But Norfolk was the place for fine oysters and sweet
potatoes, and many other good things, for we fared sumptu-
ously every day. There was no lack of kindly attention
and courteous bearing towards us.
In due time we visited the Conference, and were intro-
duced to the body, and then to most of the brethren indi-
vidually. We formed many pleasant acquaintances, and
our intercourse with the brethren of the Conference was
very agreeable. At a proper time I was permitted to pre-
sent the claims of missions, and the response was hearty
and liberal. Nearly one hundred dollars were contributed
for the work of the Board, and much interest in the subject
was manifested. During the session of the Conference the
new church edifice in which the Conference met was dedi-
cated, and over twelve hundred dollars were raised to liqui-
date the remaining indebtedness upon it.
At that time the Virginia Conference was a strong body,
and I supposed possessed of considerable wealth. At a
subsequent period an attempt was made to unite with the
Methodist Episcopal Church, South, which resulted not in
YEARS IN THE MINISTRY. 167'
union, but in a partial disintegration of the Conference,
and the withdrawal of several of the leading ministers from
the Conference and the Church. Union is an excellent
tiling, and a very pleasant subject to talk about; yet, after
all, the organic union of different ecclesiastical bodies
which have always maintained separate organizations is not
easily effected, and it might be as well if they would con-
tent themselves with maintaining the "unity of the spirit
in the bond of peace," and love as brethren.
During our stay in Norfolk we visited the navy-yard
at Portsmouth, on the opposite side of the Elizabeth River
from Norfolk. This was then one of the great workshops
of the Nation. The number of hands employed was about
thirteen hundred. We saw two ocean steamers in course
of construction for the use of the Government, and won-
dered how even the surges of the deep could shiver the
mighty timbers of which they were formed. But facts re-
minded us that the strongest vessels are sometimes made
the sport of the raging winds and dashing waves, and are
broken in pieces almost as easily as a toy. We were kindly
shown through the Pennsylvania, then the largest ship in
the United States navy, and which had been stationed there
as a "receiving ship" for several years. The number of
marines on board was over two hundred. Everything about
the vessel was most scrupulously clean. Lieutenant Hass,
who was in command, treated us in the most courteous and
gentlemanly manner, and seemed to take pleasure in show-
ing us everything which he thought would interest us.
At eight o'clock on the morning of November 9th we
bade adieu to our Norfolk friends, and took the cars on
the Portsmouth & Roanoke Railroad at Portsmouth for
Enfield, North Carolina, which we reached about two
o'clock P. M., a distance of about one hundred miles. Here
we were met by Rev. W. H. Wills and Dr. M. C. Whitaker,
168 RECOLLECTIONS OF FIFTY
and were driven to the home of the latter, near the church
where the North Carolina Conference was holding its ses-
sion. During our stay we enjoyed the hospitality of Dr.
Whitaker and his kind family, and we have never for-
gotten the obligations under which they placed us by their
kindly attentions. We attended the daily sessions of the
Conference from the time of our arrival till its final ad-
journment, and had the pleasure of forming the acquaint-
ance of perhaps all its members, and I must say that, al-
though I have had the pleasure of visiting many of our
Conferences and many sections of our country since, I
have never met anywhere with more whole-souled, gener-
ous, and noble men than I met at the North Carolina Con-
ference. I have never forgotten them, and it would give
me great pleasure to be permitted to visit them once more.
But when I come to think of it, there are not many of them
left. Dr. Whitaker, my kind host; Dr. Wills, Brother John
F. Speight, the elder Harrises, and many others, axe gone.
My old friend, John L. Michaux, I am glad to say, still
survives, and I believe also his brother Eichard. During
the late war I often thought of these brethren, and won-
dered how they fared. But God took care of them, and I
had the pleasure of meeting several of them at the Union
Convention in Baltimore in 1877, and at subsequent ses-
sions of the General Conference.
At a suitable time I had an opportunity afforded me
of presenting the claims of missions to the Conference,
and as an immediate result over sixty dollars were collected.
Several of the sisters took a special interest in the cause.
Had we not been disappointed in sending a missionary to
China, as had been contemplated, and as had been arranged
for, I have no doubt that the Church at that time would
have done liberal things in behalf of missions, and that
YEARS JA THE MINISTRY. 169
to-day it would be far in advance of what it is in mission-
ary work.
During our stay at the North Carolina Conference,
Governor Branch, who had been Secretary of the Navy
under General Jackson's Administration, and who resided
not far from Enfield, invited Dr. Brown and myself to
spend a night with him, and he sent his carriage and con-
veyed us to his residence. He was a man of medium
height, straight as an arrow, neatly and plainly dressed.
He was then seventy-two years of age, and his hair was as
white as wool. He received us very graciously, and treated
us with great cordiality. At first our conversation was
rather formal and constrained; but after supper the gov-
ernor invited us into his smoking-room, and he and Dr.
Brown took a cigar each for I never used the weed in
any form and the conversation became free and unre-
strained, and many reminiscences were recalled, and many
anecdotes related; for each of the old gentlemen seemed to
have a large stock on hand. The evening passed away
very pleasantly indeed. During the course of conversa-
tion the subject of politics came up incidentally, and Mr.
Branch spoke freely and without any apparent reserve.
The Kansas trouble was then agitating the country, and
the political situation was one of great unrest. In referring
to the outlook, Mr. Branch casually remarked that if ever
the South lost control of our Government, it would dis-
solve the Union. To this Dr. Brown expressed his 'dis-
sent. Mr. Branch replied: "I know the South, Dr. Brown,
better than you do, and if it ever loses control of this Gov-
ernment, it will dissolve the Union, and establish a gove/n-
ment of its own." He also thought it not improbable that
the Congress that would assemble during the coming winter
would be the last Congress of the whole country that would
170 RECOLLECTIONS OF FIFTY
ever meet. These remarks were made pleasantly, and with-
out the least sign of feeling. This was six years before the
outbreak of the Rebellion, and I suppose the leading men
of the South at that time understood each other, and, in
certain contingencies, had their course marked out. I often
thought of this conversation afterwards when the South
attempted to establish a Confederacy of her own.
When bedtime arrived, the governor arose and took a
candle that was the kind of light used and remarked
that the last time he was in the "Hermitage" General
Jackson's home the general showed him to his room him-
self, and then conducted us to our room. He wished to
treat us with the greatest respect, and we fully understood
and appreciated the compliment he paid us.
Our work there being finished, we took the cars at En-
field for home on Wednesday, the loth, about one o'clock
5?. M., and passing through Weldon, North Carolina, and
Petersburg, Richmond, and Fredericksburg, Virginia, we
reached the Potomac at Aquia Creek, fifty miles below
Washington City, about one o'clock next morning; but in
consequence of some obstruction we were detained there
for three hours. At four o'clock we got on board the
steamer M t. Vernon, and reached Washington City about
seven o'clock. Here we remained till five o'clock P. M.,
and then took a train to Baltimore, and the next evening
I reached home.
The road between Richmond and the Potomac was laid
with flat rails, and seemed to be in a fearfully bad condition,
judging from the motion of the cars, which was sometimes
so violent as to almost throw a person, if not on his guard,
out of his seat.
At Weldon we saw a gang of slaves, of perhaps forty or
fifty in number, who had been sold, or who were being
removed from one plantation to another. They were in
YEARS IN THE MINISTRY: 171
double file, a long chain passed between them, to which a
short chain fastened to a handcuff, which each one wore,
was attached. They had their pots and pans, and all their
utensils for cooking, with them. The sight was new to
us, and, of course, was very much out of harmony with our
views and feelings.
In the following March I visited the New York and
Vermont Conference, as it was then called, which met in
the old Grand Street Church, in the Eastern District of
Brooklyn, New York. There was not the same enthusiasm
manifested there in the cause of missions as at the two pre-
ceding Conferences I had visited. Still, the Conference
took favorable action on the subject, and a missionary
society auxiliary to the Board was organized in the Con-
ference, and held its first meeting during the session of
that body, and between thirty and forty dollars were sub-
scribed, the most of which was then paid. I had relatives
in New York City, by whom I was very kindly entertained
during the Conference, which made my visit quite agree-
able. I had never been in New York before, and I em-
ployed my leisure time in looking a little about the city,
and visiting places of interest. New York was a great city
then; but it was very far from being what it is now.
I visited various other places during the year, and did
what I could for the cause of missions. I was not un-
faithful, but did my best; but I was never fully satisfied
with the results of that year's labor. Sometimes we are
unnecessarily discouraged, because we do not immediately
see the fruit of our labors. But we may rest assured that
God will, in his own way, and in his own time, reward faith-
ful labor, although its fruits may not immediately appear.
My health that year was very poor, and towards the
close of the year I feared that I would be compelled, on
account of my throat trouble particularly, to be left with-
172 RECOLLECTIONS OF FIFTY
out an appointment for the coming year. This thought
was very unpleasant and depressing to my mind. A short
time, however, before Conference I met Brother De Hass
on the street, and he inquire cl how I was. I told him of
my throat trouble, and of my fear of being laid aside. He
informed me that- he had a friend who had been troubled
in the same way, and who had consulted physicians in this
country, and also in London, without receiving any benefit;
but who went to Paris, where a physician cured him, and
then gave him the prescription that he used. He told me
where I could get it, and advised me to try it. I accord-
ingly procured the prescription, had the medicine com-
pounded, used it as directed, and found almost immediate
relief. I concluded then to take work. Still, I was by no
means vigorous, and was not able to take a charge involv-
ing great labor.
YEARS IN THE MINISTRY. 173
CHAPTER XIV.
Conference in Bridgeport President's Report Young Men and
the Ministry W. H. Phipps Transfers to Unstationed
List Appointed to Washington Mission Washington Col
lege Pleasant Society Small Salary Good Garden Sec-
ond Year Good Done Sent to Birmingham Successful
Year Hearty Singing In Touch with the Times Confer-
ence in Connellsville Elected President Love of Home-
General Conference in Lynchburg Memorial Springfield
Convention of 1858 Changes in Discipline Easter Sun-
dayRemoval to Sharpsburg Its Condition Then Great
June Frost Salary Conference in Sharpsburg Allegheny
Seminary War of the Rebellion.
THE Conference met that year (1855) in Bridgeport,
Fayette County, Pa. There was a good attendance of the
brethren, and the Conference was a very pleasant one. The
president reported that during the preceding year Brother
F. A. Davis had removed by certificate of transfer to the
Alabama Conference, and Brothers Thomas Cullen and
David Pershin by certificates of transfer to the Illinois Con-
ference. Four preachers had also been released from their
charges during the year. He also deplored the fact that
while the facilities to enable young men of talent to pre-
pare for the ministry had increased, the disposition on their
part to enter the sacred calling had apparently diminished.
In inquiring for the cause of this, he suggested that it
might arise from the failure of the Church to afford proper
encouragement to youthful preachers. He asks: "Has the
day of juvenile ministrations passed away? Will none but
adult preachers be received in the present day?" It was
not then supposed that the young men knew more than the
fathers, or that lack of experience was a commendation in
174 RECOLLECTIONS OF FIFTY
the ministry. It was then thought that in the ministry,
as in other professions, age and experience were elements
of worth, and that the services of men possessing these ad-
vantages were desirable. But a great change has taken
place since then, and if Brother Beeves were now living
he would not have occasion to make the suggestion he did.
Young men have pressed to the front, and in the ministry
and in business pursuits, if not in law and medicine, their
services are in great demand. One reason for this is, that
with increased advantages they are better prepared to enter
upon active service than formerly. Then the spirit of the
age that calls men earlier into active service, will earlier
retire them from positions of responsibility; so that in the
end things will equalize themselves, and at last the young
men will have no advantage over the old.
At that session of the Conference Brother W. H. Phipps
was received on trial. He was an Englishman by birth,
but came to this country with his parents when quite
young. He was a man of excellent mind, general infor-
mation, kind disposition, and thoroughly honest and sin-
cere. I had received him into the Methodist Protestant
Church, had married him, had been the means of getting
him licensed to preach, and secured his recommendation to
the Conference for admission, and, of course, I felt a deep
interest in him. He continued many years in the active
work of the ministry, is still a member of the Conference,
performing irregular service, and enjoys the esteem and
confidence of his brethren. He is an excellent preacher,
and a ready "off-hand" speaker. I married his two daugh-
ters, and also buried his wife, who died a few years ago.
I still number Brother Phipps and his children among my
special friends. Brother Phipps in his old age, unlike many
of his brethren, is in easy financial circumstances, and free
from worldly care.
YEARS IN THE MINISTRY. 175
The Rev. Joseph Burns, to whom I have aiready re-
ferred, at that session of the Conference, was, at his own
request, transferred to the unstationed list. D. B. Dorsey,
Jr., James Hopwood, W. A. Porter, William Alcock, and
Daniel Gibbon were also transferred to the unstationed
list. N. Watson, J. B. McCormick, and J. Deford took
certificates of transfer. But, notwithstanding this, with
the persons received into the Conference at that session,
there was a sufficient number of preachers to supply the
work.
At that Conference I was appointed to Washington
Mission. Washington was then a very pleasant town, the
seat of Washington College now Washington and Jeffer-
son College. The people generally were intelligent, re-
fined, and social. The place was healthful and inviting.
The charge did not necessarily involve great labor. The
membership was small, and not able to do much for the
support of the pastor. The Conference, in view of this
fact, appropriated one hundred dollars to the mission for
that year. This, with what the Church contributed, gave
us a salary of two hundred and fifteen dollars. It was not
a large salary; but somehow or other we made out to live
upon it, and were pretty comfortable. After moving once
or twice, I got a little house and about four acres of ground
on the National Road, about half a mile east of the town.
Here we had an excellent garden, and raised all the vege-
tables we needed. We kept a cow, and had plenty of milk
and butter. My wife raised a great many chickens, and we
had plenty of eggs. I raised more potatoes than we could
use, and sufficient corn and barley to keep our cow, and the
last year we were there I had forty bushels of wheat. Of
course, I had to pay for having it put in. We had but
little money, only a couple of hundred dollars; but still
we seemed to have an abundance of everything; and if
176 RECOLLECTIONS OF FIFTY
a friend came to see us, we could always set a good meal
before him. I enjoyed the outdoor exercise; it agreed with
me, and my health very much improved.
We spent two years in the mission, and, all things con-
sidered, they were pleasant years. We had some good and
true members in the Church, who were deeply interested
in its welfare, and who did all they could to support it.
The community was pleasant, and we had many friends in
other Churches," who treated us with respect and kindness.
I also had the pleasure of forming the acquaintance of sev-
eral of the professors in the college, and frequently had
the privilege of meeting with them. I never felt that I had
a commission from heaven to belabor my brethren of other
Churches who differed from me in regard to doctrines or
ecclesiastical polity, and who had as good a right to their
opinion as I had to mine. In consequence of this, I did not
unnecessarily excite opposition and incur the ill-will of
others. But when it was necessary and proper, I never
shrunk from stating and defending my own views. This
is a right which every man possesses, and which every rea-
sonable man concedes to others. But when a man is at-
tacked, he also feels that he has a right to defend himself.
And it is attacks and defenses that make war. If Christian
people would fight the devil more, and each other less, it
would be better for the world.
My labors in Washington were not unproductive of
good. Quite a number of persons were converted and
added to the Church, and although they did not give
much financial strength to it, yet their souls were precious,
and they gave good evidence that they had found the
Savior. One of the evidences of his Divine mission that
Christ gave to the disciples of John was that the poor had
the gospel preached unto them. No Church that performs
YEARS IN THE MINISTRY. ffl
its duty will neglect the poor. They are always with us,
and with us as the objects of our solicitude and care.
The last year I was in Washington I preached once
every two weeks in Amity, at least for a part of the year,
and the friends there contributed something to my sup-
port, so that my salary that year amounted to two hundred
and eighty-six dollars.
At the Conference which met in Pittsburg in Septem-
ber, 1857, I was sent to Birmingham Station now Eigh-
teenth Street Charge, South Side, Pittsburg. We had a
good working membership in this Church, among whom
were some of the excellent of the earth, and our congre-
gation was as large as our house would hold. There were
some unpleasant things left as a heritage from my prede-
cessor; but they were outside rather than in the Church,
and their influence for evil gradually wore away. The year
was a pleasant one. We had good meetings, and precious
souls were brought to Christ. The members were not
afraid to pray, or sing, or speak, or shout if they felt like
it. We had one brother, an excellent singer, who generally
led the Church in song, and who appeared never to grow
weary. He could sing from night to night, and from week
to week, and then appear as fresh at the close as when he
began. He also had wonderful skill in selecting something
adapted to the occasion, and was always ready with some-
thing appropriate. He seemed to be peculiarly gifted in
that way. Under his leadership the singing, if not the
most scientific, was sometimes very inspiring. I am very
fond of good music, and no one enjoys it more than I do;
but still the singing in some of the revival-meetings in
those early days, when the hearts of a whole congregation
seemed touched with a Divine inspiration, and their voices
with deep pathos swelled up like the sound of many waters,
12
178 RECOLLECTIONS OF FIFTY
was truly impressive, and sometimes almost overwhelming.
I would like to hear one of those wonderful outbursts of
song again; but this may not be. Every generation has its
own methods of work, and what is adapted to one time is
not adapted to another. It is perhaps a fault of age to
inquire why the present are not as the former days. The
world changes, and new conditions call for new agencies
and methods. It is not wise to despise or reject present
methods, simply because they differ from those of the past.
A man must keep in touch with his surroundings to re-
tain his influence. A man who keeps in sympathy with
his times will never grow old.
At the Conference which met in Connellsville, Pa.,
September, 1858, I was elected president of the Confer-
ence, very much against my will. I did not desire the
position, because I was satisfied where I was, and wished
to remain; and, furthermore, I greatly disliked to travel
all over the district, and be absent from home the greater
part of the time. However attractive such a position might
be to others, it had no attractions for me. I have always
been a great lover of home, and have never, in all my life,
been absent from my family and home on a mere pleasure
trip. I have often been absent on business, when duty
called me; but never merely for pleasure. My children
have often urged me to take a trip to Europe; but I have
never had any business in Europe no duty that called me
there and I have never thought that I would be justified
in running all the risks which such a voyage involved, even
if I had the money to spare, merely for pleasure. I do not
condemn others for taking such trips if they feel like it;
but for my part I never felt a desire to do so. It never
seemed to me to be the proper thing for a man to seek
pleasure abroad, while his wife was left at home burdened
with the care of the family, when she perhaps needed rest
YEARS IN THE MINISTRY. 179
as much as he did. But this is a matter of taste. Some
men like to be away from home, and some wives do not
object to it, but seem to be rather pleased with it, and I
am willing that they settle the matter to suit themselves.
'According to the plan adopted by the General Confer-
ence of 1854, in regard to our publishing interests, the
Northern and Western Conferences met in Convention
from time to time, to provide for the proper management
and control of their paper and other local literary interests.
At the Convention of these Conferences, held in Cincinnati
in 1857, a memorial was addressed to the General Confer-
ence to be held in Lynchburg, Va., in May, 1858, asking
that body to recommend to the several Annual Conferences
to take such action as would secure the removal from the
Discipline of certain specified objectionable features which
threatened the very existence of our Church within the
bounds of the Northern and Western Conferences; and
in case such action was not taken, it was proposed to call
a Convention in Springfield, Ohio, on November 10, 1858,
to make the proposed changes.
The General Conference in Lynchburg did not take
the action requested by the memorialists, and the proposed
Convention in Springfield was called, to meet at the time
named. This Convention, according to the terms of its
call, was authorized to make the proposed changes in the
Discipline, and no others. All the Conferences in the non-
slaveholding States, with the exception of two nominal
Conferences, Oregon and Maine, nineteen in number,
elected delegates to the Springfield Convention.
That Convention, with great unanimity, took the action
which had been proposed, and struck the word "white"
from Article XII of the Constitution, and also the third
item and the annexed proviso in the fourth section of
Article VII. An edition of the Discipline, so amended,
180 RECOLLECTIONS OF FIFTY
with the "Kules" of John and Charles Wesley, was ordered
to be published.
This action was based on an absolute necessity. It was
that or ecclesiastical death. Some claimed that the action
was warranted by the Constitution, Article VII, Section 4,
which authorized each Annual Conference "to make such
rules and regulations as the peculiarities of the district
required." But this did not cover the case. Its only justi-
fication was its necessity. It was also resolved to suspend
official intercourse with slaveholding Conferences till the
evil of slavery complained of was put away. I was a mem-
ber of the Convention, and concurred in its action.
Whatever may be said of the action of this Convention,
it was not intended to be a withdrawal. from the Methodist
Protestant Church, but a suspension of official intercourse
with slaveholding Conferences, and the adoption of such
changes for the time being as were essential to our life as
a Church. Our action was designed to be temporary, "till
the evil of slavery complained of was put away." And
looking at it now, in view of its final results, I can not but
regard it as providential.
I entered upon the duties of the year as soon as con-
venient after the adjournment of Conference, and visited
the circuits in the southern part of the Conference so far
as I could, during the fall and before cold weather set
in, reserving the charges in the central part of the district,
composed mostly of stations, for the winter. By this ar-
rangement I was not much exposed in traveling in the
severest of the weather. This was a necessary precaution,
as I was not sufficiently vigorous to endure very great ex-
posure. The winter was rather severe; but the following
spring was delightful, and the fruit-trees put out very
early. On Easter Sunday I was at Brother George Loar's,
in Greene County, Pa. The apple-trees were in leaf, and
YEARS IN THE MINISTRY. 181
the fruit was formed. But on the preceding Saturday night
there had fallen not less than three inches of snow, and
on Sunday morning it looked like midwinter. The sun,
however, soon came out, and before night the snow had
nearly all disappeared, and in a day or two the air was
again soft and balmy.
In the spring of 1859 I removed to Sharpsburg, Pa.
It was then a small village, quiet and pleasant, but without
advantages of railroads, gas, natural and manufactured,
electric-lights, waterworks, and paved streets, which it
now enjoys. We had, however, the canal, and in summer-
time the packet Jenny Lind, commanded by Captain Saint,
made two trips to Pittsburg every day through the week.
It was, to be sure, a slow way to travel; but the boat had
a nice cabin, as well as an apartment for packages and
freight, and persons could sit and read, and the women
going to market could knit and sew if they desired to do
so. In this way the time was occupied in making the trip,
and little or no time was wasted. The world did not move
so fast in those days as it does now, and the people were
not in such a hurry as at present, and I am not sure but
that they were quite as happy then as they are now. Still,
having enjoyed the improvements which have taken place
since then, we would not like to go back to the conditions
and usages of those times. But this is as much owing to
our changed tastes as to our changed circumstances. Both
have gradually changed together.
After removing to Sharpsburg, I visited the circuits
in the northern part of the district. I was cordially re-
ceived wherever I went. The brethren treated me well,
and the people, appeared to listen attentively to what I had
to say. Indeed, some were pleased to tell me that they
appreciated my labors; but still I did not feel that I was
doing much good. I could not feel that that was the kind
182 RECOLLECTIONS OF FIFTY
of work for me. But I continued in it to the end of the
year, and did the best I could.
On the night of the 4th of June, 1859, I was at the
house of Brother John Byers, near New Washington, in
Clearfield County, Pa. The season was very forward, and
the wheat was in full head, and other crops were equally
advanced. For a few days the weather had been cool, and
on the preceding day very cool. That night there was a
killing frost. The next morning the fields were white, as
if partially covered with snow. The wheat and fruit were
killed, and corn and potatoes and all kinds of vegetables
were destroyed. When the sun came out, everything of the
grain and vegetable kind wilted and turned brown. The
destruction was almost total, and was widespread. A panic
prevailed among the people, and many persons thought
there would be a famine, and hastened to town to purchase
flour, and secure at least a partial supply of breadstuff.
As a consequence, prices at once advanced, and the stock
on hand was soon exhausted. It was not long, however,
till a reaction took place. It was found that the destruc-
tion was not so widespread as at first supposed. There were
many places were the injury was but partial, and it was
also found that there was a large supply of old grain in the
country. Then some persons replanted their corn and
potatoes, others trimmed off the frosted blades of corn
and the frosted tops of their potatoes, and in some instances
these put out afresh, and produced moderately fair crops.
So, the want that was at first feared did not come. The
fruit, however, of every kind, where the frost occurred,
was entirely destroyed.
We have a wonderful country. With its diversity of
climate, and its network of railroads connecting its various
parts, there is not much likelihood of any serious want
existing which can not soon be supplied. Neither frost nor
YEARS IN THE MINISTRY. 183
drought are likely to affect the whole country at any one
time, so as to cut off our resources and produce actual
want. While there may be a scarcity in one part, there
is an abundance in another, and the means of transporta-
tion being so complete, the need of one section can soon
be supplied by another. Severe as was the frost of 1859,
the injury which it inflicted was but temporary, and the
section which sustained the greatest loss soon recovered
from it.
The Conference year at length drew to a close, and I
was not sorry when its labors were ended. The amount
assessed upon the different charges for my salary that year
was $478, and the amount received was $429.19. Salary
in those days was but a secondary consideration. The
preachers were appointed where it was thought they would
do the most good, and the people were expected to give
them what they could for their support. The idea of
placing a money value upon a minister's services had not at
that time entered the minds of our people. A circuit or
station desired the services of a minister, and they had to
support him in order that he might serve them. They were
not compensated for their work, but were given a living
that they might be able to work.
The Conference met in 1859 in Sharpsburg, where I
resided. In my report to the Conference I recommended
that measures be taken to establish a seminary of learning
in the vicinity of Pittsburg for the education of our young
people, and also to assist young men in preparing for the
minstry in the Methodist Protestant Church. My report
was ordered to be entered on the journal, and also to be
published; but the secretary failed to enter it on the jour-
nal, and whether it was published or not I do not now
remember. It is very important that the journals of a
Conference be kept correctly, so as to show clearly and
184 RECOLLECTIONS OF FIFTY
fully, without implication or outside explanation and testi-
mony, what the body did. Without this they are of com-
paratively little value as a whole. I can not now recall
the arguments by which I urged my recommendation; but
the Conference regarded the matter favorably, and ap-
pointed a Board of Education, consisting of William Col-
lier, James Eobison, John Cowl, William Reeves, J. W.
Eutledge, William Wragg, V. Lucas, and John Scott, and
instructed them to take such steps as they might deem safe
and proper to establish in the vicinity of Pittsburg a semi-
nary of learning, having a theological or Biblical depart-
ment, to assist young men preparing for the ministry in
the Methodist Protestant Church. The appointment of
this Boar^. is not entered in the Minutes of that year; but
the fact appears from the Minutes of the Conference of the
following year.
At that Conference I was appointed to the Sharpsburg
Charge, and as I had not to move, I entered upon my labors
at once. I was among old friends, and found things pleas-
ant and agreeable.
On the 17ih day of January, 1860, the Board of Edu-
cation held its first regular meeting, and organized by
electing William Collier president, and John Scott secre-
tary. After a full and free interchange of views, every
member of the Board being present but one, it was unani-
mously agreed to make an immediate effort to establish
a seminary of learning, subject to the restrictions imposed
by the Annual Conference.
In beginning such an enterprise, the first thing of im-
portance was the selection of a suitable location. In deter-
mining this question three things were taken into consider-
ation: first, cheapness of property; second, nearness to the
city; and, third, prospects of patronage. After carefully
considering the whole matter, it was decided that Sharps-
YEARS IN THE MINISTRY. 185
burg met these condiitions more fully than any other
locality to which the attention of the Board had been di-
rected. Accordingly, a lot of ground containing nearly
two acres was procured on Main Street; architects were
employed, who furnished a suitable plan for a building;
the contract was let, and the work was prosecuted with
vigor. The building was of brick, and contained eight
rooms, six of which were quite large, well-lighted and
ventilated, and admirably adapted to the purpose for which
they were intended. There were two side porticoes, ten
by thirty feet, which added much to the appearance of
the building. It was so arranged that any number of
rooms could be added without destroying in any measure
the attractiveness of its appearance. Dr. Collier and I
superintended the erection of the building, and often
worked with our own hands. Dr. Collier was an active,
energetic, and industrious man, and I never knew anything
but hard work, so that neither of us spared ourselves; and
persons having no experience in such matters would be
surprised at the amount of work, of very many kinds, we
found to do, from soliciting and collecting money, down to
keeping up fires at night in the building, to prevent the
plastering from being injured by the frost.
The building was at length completed, and the school
was started under the superintendence of Professor Milton
B. Goff, who after a time retired and was succeeded by
Professor G. B. McElroy, now professor of Mathematics
in Adrian College. The school, like most other institutions
of its kind, had its difficulties, but was as successful as
could have been reasonably expected. But when Adrian
College came under the control of the Methodist Protestant
Church, under the teachings of Dr. Asa Mahan, the idea
got into the heads of those having control of the Allegheny
Seminary, that the Church should unite its efforts to sus-
186 RECOLLECTIONS OF FIFTY
tain one great institution of learning, and that the semi-
nary should be sold, and all our efforts in favor of educa-
tion should be centered on Adrian College. This idea
was carried out, so far as the sale of the seminary was
concerned, and it was sold for the sum of $8,000. A debt
of $1,000 was paid off, and the balance of the money was
invested. The Board of Trustees, in their report to the
Conference of 1866, requested the Conference to appoint
the then existing Board, "a Board of Education, to hold
and disburse the funds in their hands, for the purpose of
educating poor, worthy young men who desire to enter the
ministry, and also to form some plan, or authorize said
Board to form some plan, to increase the amount of funds
on hand, and let it be permanently invested for the special
benefit of the Pittsburg District."
The seminary was a Conference institution. It origi-
nated with the Conference, was confessedly under its con-
trol, and was originally designed to be a local institution
for the benefit especially of our members and friends in
Pittsburg and surrounding country, and of young men of
the Pittsburg Conference preparing for the ministry in
our Church. The report of the trustees to the Conference
clearly shows that this was their understanding. The Con-
ference referred the report of the trustees to a committee,
of which I was chairman. That committee, in its report
to the Conference, and which was adopted by that body,
among other things, said: "As the Board of Trustees is an
incorporated body, and can not transfer the funds held by
them to another body without forfeiting its charter, we
would advise them to organize themselves as a Board of
Education, and to co-operate with the General Board of
Education, so far as they can, consistently." This clearly
shows that it was the opinion of the committee, and of the
Conference, that the original design of the seminary, so
YKARS IN THE MINISTRY. 187
far at least as providing for young men preparing for the
ministry in the Pittsburg Conference was concerned, should
be practically carried out by co-operating with the Gen-
eral Board of Ministerial Education. The income from the
invested money of the seminary should be held as a fund
to educate young men of the Pittsburg Conference for
the work of the ministry, and should be expended through
the General Board, and not some other institution. The
money was given for the benefit of the Pittsburg Confer-
ence, and not of the whole Church, and it should be held
and used for the purpose for which it was given. The
Conference is competent to direct the income from the
seminary fund to be used through another channel; but
can not divert it from its original purpose.
The trustees of Allegheny Seminary have ceased to
make any reports to the Conference, and have become a
law unto themselves. In this I think they have made a
great mistake. They are the custodians of trust funds,
raised by the authority of the Conference and owned by
the Conference, if they have any owner, and the wishes
of the Conference in regard to these funds should be con-
sulted.
At the time the seminary was sold I thought, with
others, that it was the proper thing to do; but after years
of observation and experience I have changed my mind on
that subject, and am now disposed to think that it was
a mistake, and that had the seminary been retained it
would have been a great blessing to the Pittsburg Confer-
ence. Indeed, it is a question whether the funds on hand
should not be sacredly held and increased, in view of ulti-
mately carrying out the original purpose of the projectors
of the seminary.
I remained three years in Sharpsburg. The last year
of the three, Bakerstown, a Church about twelve miles
188 RECOLLECTIONS OF FIFTY
distant, was attached to it, and the charge was called
Sharpsburg and Bakerstown. We had had a Church in
Bakerstown many years before; but when the Wesleyan
Methodist Church was organized the society left us, on
account of slavery, and united with the Wesleyans. They
found it difficult, however, to obtain ministerial supplies,
and after our Church had suspended official co-operation
with the Conferences in the slaveholding States, there was
no good reason why they should not return to us, espe-
cially as we could supply them with preaching. I was in-
vited to visit them and preach for them, and after supply-
ing their pulpit occasionally, I received them back into the
Methodist Protestant Church. Their connection with
Sharpsburg continued for a few years, when Bakerstown
became an independent charge, and has ever since been
self-sustaining.
During my stay in Sharpsburg the War of the Rebellion
broke out, and many persons of my acquaintance enlisted.
I never felt any inclination to do so. In the first place,
I had no taste for fire-arms knew nothing about them;
never loaded a gun or killed anything with a gun in my
life; never fired at any living thing, but once at a squirrel,
and then was glad when I found that I had missed it. In
the second place, my health was not sufficient, had I been
ever so much inclined to do so, to justify me in attempt-
ing to serve my country in that way. I had not physical
vigor enough to endure the toil and exposure for a single
month. But, above all, I felt that God had called me to
another work, and that he had not released me from it,
and that I was not at liberty to voluntarily abandon it. I
have no disposition to criticise others of my profession
who felt and acted differently. I only speak of my own
views and feelings on the subject. While it was the duty
YEARS IN THE MINISTRY. 189
of some to respond to the call of their country for troops
and go to the front, it was the duty of others to stay at
home. I felt that I belonged to the latter class. Although
subject to the draft for troops that was made before the
close of the war, I was not drafted, and so escaped the
necessity of becoming a soldier. Those were sad days, and
I pray God that their like may not come again.
190 RECOLLECTIONS OF FIFTY
CHAPTER XV.
Three Years in Sharpsburg Conference in Allegheny City-
Sent Again to Birmingham Delegate to Cincinnati Con-
vention Woman Suffrage Hard Year Financially John
Redman's Liberality Rebels Invade Pennsylvania Forti-
fications of Pittsburg Rine and the Donkey Elected Ed-
itor of Western Methodist Protestant Removal to Spring-
fieldJoel S. Thrap, Agent State Bank Notes No Offen-
sive Personalities Asked to Break My Pledge Pleasant
Relations with Board Enlargement of Paper Pastors of
Springfield Church Acted as Supply One Year Not Best
to Do So "Copperhead" Close of War Lincoln Assassi-
nated.
AFTEK laboring in Sharpsburg for three years, we left
there in the fall of 18(52. The Conference met that year
in Allegheny City, and we were sent again to Birmingham,
or, as it is now called, South Side, Pittsburg.
At that session of the Conference delegates were elected
to the Convention to meet in Cincinnati, Ohio, on the 5th
of November following. The Conference was pleased to
elect me one of the ministerial delegates, and it was my
privilege to be present during the entire sessions of that
body. In that Convention the question of woman suffrage
in the Methodist Protestant Church was considered, and
favorably acted upon. I was in favor of the measure, and
advocated it, and voted for it in the Convention, and when
the action of the Convention came before the Pittsburg
Conference for ratification at its next session, I supported
and voted for the measure. But I had not the remotest
idea at the time that the action of the Convention bestowed
upon women the right to become members of the General
Conference and lawmakers in the Church. Had I thought
YEARS IN THE MINISTRY. 191
that the action of the Convention carried such consequences
with it, I should at that time have opposed it, and I think
a large majority of the members of the Convention, had
they so understood it, would also have opposed it. I do
riot here discuss the propriety or impropriety of the admis-
sion of women to the lawmaking department of the
Church. I only wish to place myself on record as to what
was my own understanding and intention, and what I be-
lieve was the understanding and intention of a large ma-
jority of the members of the Convention, that their action
did not contemplate the holding of office by women, and
their admission to the Annual and General Conferences.
If the action of the Convention admits of such an interpre-
tation, it is an interpretation which those who passed it
did not intend or have in view.
At that Convention the following paper, presented by
the Rev. Dr. George Brown, was unanimously adopted:
"WHEREAS, The whole Methodist Protestant Church, by her
original organization in the city of Baltimore, November, 1830,
in her 23d Article of Religion, did stand firmly bound in her
allegiance to 'the President, the Congress, the General Assem-
blies, the Governors, and Councils of State, as the delegates
of the people,' and did avow these to 'be rulers of the United
States of America, according to the division of power made
to them by the Constitution of the United States, and the Con-
stitutions of their respective States;' and that the said States
are a sovereign and independent Nation, and ought not to be
in subjection to any foreign jurisdiction; and
"WHEREAS, The States of South Carolina, North Carolina.
Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Florida, Louisiana, Texas,
Tennessee, Arkansas, and the eastern part of Virginia, includ-
ing the Methodist Protestant Church in those States, did re-
nounce their allegiance to the United States, and are now in
armed rebellion against the Government of our country; and
"WHEREAS, The position assumed by the Methodist Protest-
ant Church in the rebel States aforenamed, in repudiating the
23d Article of our religion, and taking part in the rebellion,
192 RECOLLECTIONS OF FIFTY
must be considered in the light of a revolt from the Methodist
Protestant Church in the free States, still maintaining her
allegiance, as aforesaid, to the constituted authorities of the
United States, it follows, therefore, that in the calling of a
Convention to reinstate the General Conference, and for other
purposes, the Methodist Protestant Churches in the West and
North were absolved from all obligation to ask the official con-
currence of the Methodist Protestant Conferences in the States
aforesaid, now involved in the double sin of slavery and re-
bellion, and are left entirely free to maintain the act of sus-
pension adopted in Springfield, Ohio, in 1858; and
"WHEREAS, It is in evidence before this Convention that
twenty out of twenty-three of the Conferences in the free
States now strictly loyal to the Government of our country,
according to the 23d Article of our religion, have united in the
call of a General Convention, the leading purpose of which is
to reinstate the General Conference; therefore, be it
"Resolved, On this 12th day of November, 1862, in the city of
Cincinnati, Ohio, that the General Conference of the Methodist
Protestant Church, by action of the aforesaid Convention, be,
and the same is hereby, restored to its full original authority
under the Constitution of said Methodist Protestant Church."
The intention of this paper was to show that, in the
judgment of the Convention, the Conferences in the free
States constituted the true, original Methodist Protestant
Church.
In Birmingham we found ourselves among old friends,
and it was pleasant to labor among them. We had some
noble members in that Church, good and true men and
women, who loved the Lord and the Church. One of these
is worthy of special notice, and his memory should be
cherished in the Church. John Eedman was a Christian
nobleman. He was quiet and unassuming, always self-
possessed, of even temper, cool judgment, constant and
reliable, and of undoubted piety. Sister Redman was a
helpmeet for him, and they walked together hand in hand
before the Lord, abundant in every good word and work.
YEARS IN THE MINISTRY. 193
Brother Redman was a man of considerable means. He
was engaged in the lumber business. He had two large
steam sawmills, and employed a considerable force in
building barges. Most of our members were workingmen
who were engaged in the glass-houses and rolling-mills.
One of the years I was in Birmingham business generally
was very much depressed. The glass-houses and rolling-
mills were shut down, and most of our brethren were out
of employment, and had hard work to keep their families,
and, of course, had but little to give to. the Church. Dur-
ing that season of great business depression Brother Red-
man called at my house every two weeks, and paid me my
salary as regularly as he paid the men who worked in his
mills and yards. Of course, there were some of the mem-
bers who paid what they could; but he made up what was
lacking, which was the larger part of my salary. I knew
he was paying me out of his own means, and it made me
feel badly, and I remonstrated with him. But he said it
was all right; that while the brethren were out of work
his business was good, that he was making money, and
that he felt that he should help the brethren, as he put it,
by making up for their lack. In addition to that, he said
that when he was a young man he felt that he should
preach the gospel; but that his health was then so poor
that he was not able to do so, and that he had always felt
since that he would like, if he were able, to support some
one to preach the gospel in his place, so that he was doing
nothing more than what he ought to do. Many men, be-
cause they have large means and give largely to the sup-
port of the Church, think that they should be looked up to,
that their will should be law, and that they should have
things their own way. But Brother Redman was not a
man of that kind. While he gave largely to the Church,
he was always modest and unpretentious, and never claimed
13
194 RECOLLECTIONS OF FIFTY
any consideration above his brethren. He was a man of
commanding presence, dignified bearing, but easily ap-
proached, and very companionable. He was a model Chris-
tian, serious but not morose, companionable, but never
light and trifling. His life was a continual commendation
of the religion that he professed. He died but little beyond
the prime of life, and, as might have been expected, in
great peace.
In the summer of 1863, while we were in Birmingham,
the Confederates under General Lee invaded Pennsylvania,
and it was thought that Pittsburg might be in danger, and
it was deemed important that proper steps should be taken
for its protection. The citizens of all classes, professions,
and callings, to the number of twenty thousand, turned
out, and, under the direction of Government engineers, dug
eighteen miles of rifle-pits around Pittsburg and Allegheny
cities, and, under the direction of United States officers,
constructed in the most scientific manner a number of
forts in commanding postions, so as to be ready for the
occupancy of troops in case of necessity. In common with
the members of my Church and thousands of other citi-
zens, I turned out to do what I could for the common
defense. I first engaged in digging in the rifle-pits, in
which I spent two or three days; but that kind of work
was too hard for me, and I did not perhaps do much good
at it, although I did what I could. But after two or three
days I was transferred to the commissariat, and got a job
at cutting boiled hams. That was easy enough; but it
was a very greasy business, and I was not sorry when I was
put to cutting bread. I procured a good knife, and if my
memory is not at fault, I cut several hundred small loaves
in a day. This was nice work; but after keeping at it
steadily for a week, I found my right wrist quite swollen
and somewhat painful. This was caused by its constant
YEARS IN THE MINISTRY. 195
use for so long a time in an unusual manner. But the
battle of Gettysburg, on the 2d and 3d of July, 1863,
turned the tide of war, the Confederate army retreated,
the danger which threatened Pittsburg was past, and its
citizens left the rifle-pits and forts, and returned to their
peaceful pursuits. I never applied for a pension; but little
as I did, I fear that many a man who did no more has
drawn a pension from the Government. But these frauds,
committed by unscrupulous men, can not, perhaps, after
the greatest care, be entirely avoided.
Our oldest son, who was attending Washington College,
and who was only about sixteen years of age, felt it to be
his duty to enlist and fight for his country. This, of
course, caused us constant anxiety, especially as he was
so young, and had never been exposed to any hardship.
But it was nothing more than what thousands of other
parents all over the country had to endure. We were, how-
ever, far more fortunate than many others, for after three
years of service, at the close of the war, he returned home
in good health, and without having formed any bad habits
that I ever knew of. In this God was indeed merciful
to us.
The Pittsburg Conference met in Wellsburg, W. Va.,
on the 2d day of September, 1863. The Rev. William
Reeves was elected president. The Convention in Cincin-
nati, Ohio, in the fall of 1862, had taken action in favor
of female suffrage, subject to the approval of the Annual
Conferences. A very amusing circumstance occurred while
this subject was under consideration in our Conference.
D. I. K. Rine was on the floor, delivering an impassioned
address against conferring the right of suffrage on the
women. Dr. George Brown was in the chair. The day
was warm and the windows were raised. On one side of
the church was a vacant lot, and a loose donkey was crop-
196 RECOLLECTIONS OF FIFTY
ping the grass under one of the open windows. As Brother
Kine waxed warm in his discourse, the donkey lifted up his
head and let out a fearful m-e-w-a, and Dr. Brown, in his
most mirth-provoking manner, said, "One at a time, breth-
ren." The brethren laughed, and Brother Eine seemed
somewhat disconcerted; but he braced himself up, and
started again, and had only gotten lairly under way when
the donkey broke in the second time with his m-e-w-a.
Brother Eine stopped, and Dr. Brown remarked from the
chair, in his own peculiar manner, "That is the same
animal that reproved the madness of the prophet." That
convulsed the Conference with laughter, and Brother Eine
had nothing more to say. The measure under consider-
ation was adopted. What prompted the donkey to inter-
rupt Brother Eine, I was never able to find out.
At the Conference which met in Eldersville in the fall
of 1864, 1 was returned for the third year to Birmingham,
and anticipated a pleasant and prosperous year, little think-
ing that my stay among them would be of short duration.
One day near the close of November I received a tele-
gram from a committee of the Board of Publication at
Springfield, Ohio, inquiring if I would be at home on a
certain day, to which I replied that I would. On the day
named the Eev. Eeuben Eose and T. J. Finch came to my
house, and informed me that at a meeting of the Board of
Publication a few days before, I had been elected editor
of the Western Methodist Protestant, to fill out the unex-
pired term, of nearly two years, of Eev. D. B. Dorsey, Jr.,
who had been elected editor of the paper at the Convention
held in Cincinnati in November, 1862, and who had re-
cently resigned, and whose place was being temporarily
supplied by Dr. George Brown. I had not been an appli-
cant for the place, did not know that my name had been
before the Board, and knew nothing of the action of the
YEARS IN THE MINISTRY. 197
Board in electing me. They desired an immediate an-
swer. They informed me, however, that I had been elected
with the express understanding that all offensive person-
alities, it mattered not from what source they might come,
were to be excluded from the paper, and that if I accepted
the position, it must be on that condition. Had I been
seeking the place, and had I been making rules for my
own government in it, nothing could have pleased me bet-
ter than this. A Church paper is no place for the venting
of personal spleen, and indulgence in offensive and dis-
agreeable personalities.
I did not know what to do. The matter had been
suddenly sprung upon me, and I had not had time to think
much about it. I finally told the committee that I had
accepted an appointment from the Conference, and that
I would not agree to engage in anything else until I was
first released by the proper authority from my present en-
gagement. Dr. William Reeves was president of the Con-
ference, and I told them, as I had not sought the place,
I would not seek a release from my charge to accept it;
but if they chose to see the president, and he should think
it best to release me, I would accept; but if not, I would
decline. I based my action entirely on his decision.
Brother Reeves was at that time on the Brownsville Cir-
cuit, some fifty miles by boat above Pittsburg. The breth-
ren seemed determined to faithfully fulfill their mission,
and on the next morning they took boat for Brownsville.
When they reached there they found that the president
was a few miles out in the country; but they made their
way to him, and laid the case before him. What passed
between them I do not know; but the result was that the
president sent me a release by the brethren, and I accepted
the position to which I had been elected.
I knew almost nothing about editing a paper. I had
198 RECOLLECTIONS OF FIFTY
had but little experience, indeed nothing worth naming,
in that line. I had, it is true, edited the Missionary and
Sunday-school Journal, a little nionthly paper, for about
three years; but that was far different from editing a weekly
Church paper, and deciding the numerous and often deli-
cate questions that must be determined in conducting it.
I was not, however, without some confidence in myself.
I believed that a Church paper should be true to the
Church that it represented; that it should be pure and
chaste; that it should be level to the capacity of the com-
mon people among whom it mostly circulated; that while it
gave prominence to the movements of its own Church, it
should keep its readers informed, so far as possible, in
regard to the religious, political, and social movements
of the day; and that it should contain such articles, origi-
nal and selected, as would entertain its readers, give them
useful information, and cultivate their moral and religious
sense, as well as their literary taste. I thought I knew, to
some extent at least, what a Church paper should be, and
I resolved to do my best to make as good a paper as I could.
I thought if I could not get into the paper everything that
was good, I could keep out what was bad.
At the time I was elected editor, the Eev. Joel S.
Thrap, of the Muskingum Conference, was elected pub-
lisher and Book Agent. He and I were nearly of th same
age, had entered the itinerancy at the same time, and were
both new to the work in which we were about to engage.
Our publishing interests had not been in a very prosperous
condition, and those having charge of them were willing
to run the risk of trying new men in the editorial a"nd
publishing departments. Experience is sometimes of great
importance; but without trial, experience can not be ac-
quired. Every man has to make a beginning, and time
develops his fitness or unfitness for the position he assumes.
YEARS IN THE MINISTRY. 199
So Brother Thrap and I resolved, without experience, to
try what we could do in our new positions.
As soon as I could, I made arrangements to move. I
packed up my goods and placed them in a car, and on the
9th day of December, 1864, with my family I left for
Springfield, Ohio, where our publishing interests were then
located. Winter had set in, and the weather was very cold.
It was an unpleasant time to move. At that time our pres-
ent national banking system had not been established, and
the money in circulation was the issues of State Banks,
many of which were of doubtful standing. The Exchange
Bank of Pittsburg was considered at home one of our safest
institutions, and I turned all my money into the notes of
that bank; but when I got to Springfield I could not pay
the freight on my goods with it, and had to stand a shave
of three per cent to get money that would pass there. Our
present National currency is the best our country ever had,
and a return to the old State banking system would be
an evil greatly to be deplored.
On our arrival in Springfield we were met by Brother
Rose, who took us to his house and kindly entertained us
for a few days till our goods arrived, and we could get
them moved into a little house that had been procured for
us. At that time the Revs. George Brown, A. H. Bassett,
Reuben Rose, A. H. Trumbo, D. B. Dorsey, Jr., and
Reuben M. Dalby, all ministers in our Church, resided
there. We had met all these brethren before; so that we
felt at home among them. It was not long till Brother
Thrap arrived, and as soon as he and I could get settled,
arrangements were made for us to take charge of the paper
and the publishing interests. On December 28, 1864, the
first paper issued under my editorial supervision appeared.
I had sense enough, inexperienced as I was, not to enter
upon my new and untried work with a great flourish of
200 RECOLLECTIONS OF FIFTY
trumpets and an announcement of the great improvements
I proposed to make in the paper. I knew what I desired;
but I did not know what I could do, and all that I could
safely say was, that I would do the best I could. There
was a great deal of good sense in the declaration of the
king of Israel, "Let not him that girdeth on his harness
boast himself as he that putteth it off." It would be well
for men patiently to wait till they have successfully ac-
complished their task before they boast of their ability;
and, even then, it would be wise to remember the admo-
nition, "Let another praise thee, and not thine own mouth;
a stranger, and not thine own lips."
I had not been long installed in my new office when a'
member of the Board brought me an article for the paper,
which I regarded as very personal and offensive. After
carefully reading it, I informed him that it could not be
inserted. He insisted that it should. I told him that I
had accepted the position as editor on the express con-
dition that all matter of an offensive personal character
should be kept out of the paper, and I proposed to live up
to my engagement. Still, he was not satisfied. I finally
told him that, sooner than insert it, I would resign my
position; and so we parted. But he was a sensible man,
and I suppose when he came to consider the matter calmly,
and the part he took in securing my services on the very
condition named, he concluded that I was right, and he
never named the matter to me again. Although we had
differed so positively in our convictions, it did not pro-
duce any unpleasant feelings between us; but we con-
tinued to be the very best of friends. Men are not always
disposed to apply the same rule to themselves that they
apply to others. But I sometimes thought it was not the
insertion of the article he wanted so much as an oppor-
tunity to try me to see what I would do.
YEARS IN THE MINISTRY. 201
I wish to say here that my intercourse with the Board
/ v
of Publication at Springfield, which was then composed of
Eevs. George Brown, Eeuben Eose, and Jonathan M. Flood,
and Messrs. T. J. Finch and James G. Evans, was of the
most pleasant and agreeable character during my entire
term of service. I found them kind and courteous, gen-
tlemanly and brotherly, always ready to sympathize with
me and aid me in every way they could. Brother Brown
was one of the founders of the Church, and was a grand
old man. He was full of the milk of human kindness,
wise in counsel, familiar with all the interests of the
Church, and an old and tried friend of mine. Brother
Eose was a man of excellent sense, clear, discriminating
judgment, disposed to be cautious, but when convinced
that he was right, firm and persevering. He was one of the
old and honored members of the Ohio Conference, an able
preacher, a judicious executive, a man of undoubted piety,
and very successful in his ministry. He died at his home
near West Jefferson, Ohio, a few years ago, at a good old
age, honored and esteemed by all who knew him. Brother
Flood was a man of strong mind, positive convictions, full
of fire, impulsive, yet withal a man of excellent judgment
and sweet spirit. There was no sham or pretense about
him. He was true to his heart's core. Nothing could in-
timidate him, and nothing could swerve him from what
he believed to be right. He had to be known to be appre-
ciated. He was a member of the Ohio Conference, hon-
ored by his brethren, and successful in his labors, and
many years ago was gathered in peace to his fathers. T. J.
Finch and James G. Evans were partners in business, and
were amiable Christian gentlemen, active in the work of
the Church, and devoted to the service of Christ. The
latter was a son of the Eev. William B. Evans, one of the
early Eeformers, and author of "Questions and Answers"
202 RECOLLECTIONS OF FIFTY
on Episcopacy, a little work which was much used in the
controversy in the Methodist Episcopal Church, which re-
sulted in the organization of the Methodist Protestant
Church. Brother Evans has been dead for many years.
Brother Finch still lives, and is yet engaged in business.
I believe he is the only member of the Board of Publication,
as constituted when I became editor of the Church paper,
who is now living.
It was not long after our installment in office until
Brother Thrap and I concluded that the Western Meth-
odist Protestant was too small to admit of such an amount
and variety of matter as was necessary to meet the demands
of the Church. The type used was also too large, and was
well-worn, so that a new outfit appeared to be necessary.
The matter was brought to the attention of the Board,
which fully indorsed our views, and ordered the enlarge-
ment to be made, and new type and all necessary material
to be purchased. As soon as it could be conveniently done,
the purpose was carried out, and the paper was enlarged by
the addition of more than a column to each page in width,
and its equivalent in length, and a smaller type was used.
This admitted of the insertion of about one-third more
matter. The paper was in folio form, and in its new,
clean dress presented a very neat appearance. The first
number of the paper in its enlarged form and new dress
came out on February 15, 1865. We were very much
pleased with the change, although it increased in many
respects the labors of the editor. More matter had to be
prepared for the paper, and more proof had to be read;
for during my connection with the paper, the proof was
generally read twice by the editor, except during the last
year or two of my final term. Inexperienced and ambitious,
I worked with all my might, and did the best I could. It
was gratifying to know, however, that the change was ap-
YEARS IN THE MINISTRY. 203
predated by our patrons, and that the paper was reason-
ably successful.
Dr. Thrap says "that in proportion to the capital on
hand and invested in stock, leaving out all invested in real
estate, we made more money for the Concern in propor-
tion than was ever made in the same length of time before,
or has been made in the same length of time since; and the
work of those two years, 1865 and 18G6, was the beginning
of all the permanent success the Concern has had. I have
carefully run over the figures, and have them in tabulated
form." I know that no two men ever worked more faith-
fully than Dr. Thrap and myself, and I think we had no
reason to be ashamed of our work, or of the success that
attended it. We fully sympathized with each other, and
worked in perfect harmony.
It may not be improper here to say that every enlarge-
ment and improvement made in the paper was made while
I was editor of it. With the beginning of the volume for
1867 it was again enlarged, and changed to an eight-page
paper, and its name changed from Western Methodist Prot-
estant to Methodist Recorder. Again with the beginning of
the volume for 1881 it was enlarged and changed into a six-
teen-page paper, its present size and form. All these
changes were made under my editorial supervision. It is
gratifying to know that, however imperfect my work, the
paper did not run down in my hands.
During the time I remained in Springfield our Church
there had four pastors, S. Bartlett, M. V. B. Euans, J. W.
Ellis, and John McFarland. The three first were men of
but ordinary ability and little devotion to the Church, for
they all afterwards left it, the first in a very discreditable
manner, and the other two to join other Churches. Brother
McFarland was a man of fine education, and in some direc-
tions of considerable ability, but quite eccentric, which
204 RECOLLECTIONS OF FIFTY
greatly stood in his way, and finally forced him out of our
Church. But he was a good and true man, and, like many
another good man, had to yield to the inevitable.
For one year I served the Church as a supply, and by
this additional labor supplemented my meager salary with
a small additional sum. I had promised one hundred
dollars to the new church-building in Birmingham, the
Church I had recently served, and this extra labor enabled
me to pay it without drawing on my regular salary. I
would not, however, recommend any man who has as much
regular work to do as I had, to take upon him the addi-
tional labor of preaching twice every Sabbath.
The war was drawing to a close. The paper was loyal
to the Government, and supported it with all the influence
it could exert; but sought to do so in a manly and dignified
manner. At the first session of the Pittsburg Conference
after my election as editor, I met an old friend of mine,
3enry T. Shepherd, of Connellsville, whom I had known
or many years. I asked him to subscribe for the paper;
but he declined, saying that about the first thing he would
see in it would be "Copperhead," a reproachful term ap-
plied to those who were opposed to the policy of the Gov-
ernment in dealing with the South, and that that would
make him mad. I told him to subscribe for it, and the
first time he saw "Copperhead" in it, to let me know, and I
would return his money. He subscribed; but I was never
called upon to refund his subscription.
In the fall of 1865 the Pittsburg Conference met in
Elizabeth, Pa., and was opened with an able sermon by
the president, Dr. Reeves, which the Conference requested
to be published. The movement to form a union with the
Wesleyan Methodists was indorsed, and representatives to
the Union Convention, to be held in Cincinnati, on the
second Wednesday of May, 1866, were elected. At that
YEARS IN THE MINISTRY. 205
Conference T. II. Colhouer was received from the New
Jersey Conference, in which he had preached for ten years.
He is still in the Conference, and has been a faithful and
successful laborer. He has served the Conference nine
years as secretary, and three years as president. He was
elected in 1887 a missionary to Japan, where he filled out
his term of five years, and was successful as a preacher,
teacher, and builder. He has represented his Conference
in several General Conferences and General Conventions.
He is the author of two volumes, "Non-Episcopal Meth-
odism," and "Founders of the Methodist Protestant
Church." Although Dr. Colhouer has been nearly forty
years in the ministry, he is still an active and vigorous
man, and successfully engaged in the work of the Master.
He is deservedly held in esteem by his brethren. He has a
son, T. W. Colhouer, a graduate of Adrian College, in the
Conference, who is a faithful and successful worker.
On the morning of April 15, 1865, the wires flashed
the sad intelligence of the assassination of President Lin-
coln all over the country. On the very heels of victory
came the unexpected and startling report of the death of
the Chief Magistrate of the Nation at the hands of an
assassin. The excitement in Springfield was intense, and
the whole community was filled with gloom and sadness.
The next issue of the paper was put in mourning, and fit-
ting words uttered on the sorrowful occasion.
206 RECOLLECTIONS OF FIFTY
CHAPTER XVI.
Non-Episcopal Methodist Union Call for a Convention
Numerously Signed Meeting of Convention in Cleveland-
President Attendance Proposed Basis of Union Action
Harmonious Cyrus Prindle in Wesleyan Recorder's Re-
marksConvention in Cincinnati Spirit of Fraternity-
Constitution Committee to Prepare a Discipline Luther
Lee L. C. Matlack American Wesleyan Methodist Prot-
estant General Conference Conventional Powers Changes
in Discipline General Conference in Cleveland.
WHEN I went to Springfield the subject of a union of
the non-Episcopal Methodist bodies of this country was
being discussed in our paper. Several private interviews
on the subject had also taken place between leading breth-
ren of the Methodist Protestant Church and of the Ameri-
can Wesleyan Church, and the feeling upon their part, as
well as on the part of several representatives of Independent
Methodist Churches, was favorable to the movement. The
discussion of the question was continued in the paper, and
the general opinion, so far as expressed, was in favor of
the proposed union. At length, on the 29th day of March,
1865, a call for a Convention of non-Episcopal Methodists,
to meet in the First Wesleyan Methodist Church, in Cleve-
land, Ohio, on the 21st day of June, 1865, appeared in the
Western Methodist Protestant, signed by forty-seven Wes-
leyan Methodists, ministers and laymen, fourteen Inde-
pendent Methodists, one Free Methodist, and eighty-seven
Methodist Protestants. I was one of the signers of that
call, because I always deprecated unnecessary division
among the people of God, and especially when occasioned
YEARS IN THE MINISTRY. 207
by matters of comparatively little importance. If Chris-
tian men can agree on the essentials of religion, there
should be large liberty given them to differ on non-essential
points, especially when they only relate to matters of gov-
ernment and prudential arrangements in the Church.
But it is often the case that men cling with the greatest
tenacity to things which are of the least importance.
The call for the Convention was written by Dr. George
Brown, and clearly set forth its object. Among other
things it said: "It is not asked or expected that those who
attend the Convention will do so in the. name or by the
authority of any denomination of Christians; but simply
as non-Episcopal Methodists, to confer together in a free,
unofficial manner on the subject of union between these
bodies, in the name of the Savior of sinners, and, if it shall
be found practicable, fix upon some plan by which all these
branches of the Methodist family, who in doctrine and the
principles of Church government agree with each other,
may unite in one body." Nothing could be more commend-
able than the object here proposed, and there was certainly
nothing objectionable in the manner in which it was pro-
posed to promote it.
According to the preceding call, the Convention met
in the First Wesleyan Methodist Church, in Cleveland, on
Wednesday morning, June 21, 1865, there being present
fifty-six Methodist Protestants, sixty-three Wesleyans, four
Independent Methodists, and two Free Methodists one
hundred and twenty-five in all. On the permanent organ-
ization of the Convention, the brethren honored me by
electing me president, an honor I neither desired nor
sought. The body was a very respectable one, its proceed-
ings were harmonious, and its action, it is thought, was
judicious.
208 RECOLLECTIONS OF FIFTY
The report of the Committee on Basis of Union "was
discussed with .great enthusiasm, and unanimously adopted
by a rising vote." It was as follows:
"It is not the object of this Convention to consummate at
this time a union of the Churches represented by its members-
being unauthorized and without instructions to that work.
"Neither is it the object of this Convention to elaborate
the details of a basis of union, nor to detail the mode of con-
summating a union, for the reasons above indicated.
"With great caution, and by the use of guarded, though
hopeful, language, the call for this Convention ventures only
to suggest the possibility of so presenting the claims of Chris-
tian union that it may ultimately be fully consummated by the
legitimate authority.
"These consderations, taken in connection with the dis-
cussions of the Convention thus far, have influenced your
committee in what they have finally concluded to present for
your immediate consideration, and for action subsequent to
your final adjournment.
"In anticipation of the propositions to be reported, and in
justification of their character, your committee declare their
unanimous conviction that the Churches represented in this
Convention are nearly one in their Metbodistic views of Bible
doctrine, and so much alike in their principles of ecclesiastical
economy that they can not justify themselves before the
world for remaining separate.
"And it is confidently believed, that without attempting
now to solve every question of difference, all obstacles in the
way of a satisfactory adjustment of questions of doctrine, of
discipline, and of morals will gradually and surely disappear
during the investigation, preliminary to and consequent upon
the action of the official bodies hereafter to be assembled.
"We therefore recommend for the adoption of the Conven-
tionto be hereafter forwarded to all the Methodist bodies
here represented for their information the following resolu-
tions as our full and final report:
"1. That the union of the Methodist bodies hereby repre-
sented, is respectfully recommended to the early consideration
of the Annual Conferences of the Methodist Protestant Church,
YEARS IN THE MINISTRY. 209
of the Wesleyan Methodist Connection, of the Free Methodist
Church, the Independent Methodist Conference here repre-
sented, and any others of like character who may desire to
unite with these.
"2. That we recommend the calling of a Convention to be
held in Union Chapel, Cincinnati, on the second Wednesday
of May, 1866, and constituted on the following basis of repre-
sentation; viz., for every five hundred members and fraction
of one-half of five hundred, each Conference shall be entitled
to one ministerial and one lay delegate; provided that no one
body shall be denied the privilege of one delegate of each
class, and that Independent Methodist Churches, not con-
nected with any Annual Conference as above contemplated,
shall be entitled to representation through ministerial and lay
delegates. Said Convention to be fully authorized to fix upon
a basis of union, and the mode of consummation, subject to
such confirmatory action by bodies represented as may be
agreed upon by said Convention.
"3. That we recommend that the plan of union shall fully
and entirely secure the liberty of the local Churches on New
Testament principles; that an efficient itinerant ministry shall
be maintained, and that Annual and General Conferences
shall be maintained, with power to make all needful regula-
tions consistent with the principles and institutions of the New
Testament, as may be necessary to carry into effect the great
principles of Scriptural Christianity."
This report was signed by George Brown, Luther Lee,
Lucius C. Matlack, S. H. Burton, J. S. Thrap, S. M. Short,
Cyrus Prindle, T. J. Finch, Richard Green, J. M. Swift,
John Cowl, A. A. Phelps, H. Mattison, and John J. Eppley,
and, as observed before, was adopted unanimously.
It will be perceived, by a careful reading of this report,
that no final action is recommended independently of the
regularly-constituted authority of bodies informally rep-
resented. The movement was not revolutionary, but was
one that sought to accomplish its object within the lines
of established law and order. In all .that I did throughout
14
210 RECOLLECTIONS OF FIFTY
the whole movement I kept this object constantly in view,
and sought to prevent our Church from doing anything
contrary to its own law.
The Convention appeared to produce a good impression,
and some were enthusiastic over it. Dr. Cyrus Prindle,
one of the prime movers in the matter, expressed himself
in the American Wesleyan, of June 28, 1865, in reference
to it, as follows:
"The Convention was one of the grandest occasions we
ever witnessed. Our soul is full of thanksgiving to our
Heavenly Father and Redeemer, for such a manifestation
of kindly influences as was shed upon the Convention, from
the commencement to the end. We have witnessed sev-
eral occasions of rich and hallowed unanimity on public
occasions during life; hut never saw the equal of this, and
can hardly expect to see the like again. It will constitute
an epoch in our history and life. Its hallowedness will
grow in the distant future, and swell the soul with gratitude
to God of all whose names shall appear upon the roll of
that body. Many a transatlantic voyage has been per-
formed, for mingling in the living scenes of our stirring
world, as much inferior in melting pathos and sweeping
power over the heart to this one as the swell of the ocean
is beyond the mere ripple."
Our reference to the Convention, although pleased with
its action, was not so gushing as that of Brother Prindle.
In the issue of our paper of July 5, 1865, among other
things, we said:
<r Upon the whole, the Convention was one of more than
ordinary interest, and the impressions made upon the minds
of those who participated in its doings, as well as on others
who witnessed its proceedings, were of the most pleasant
and salutary character.
YEARS IN THE MINISTRY. 211
"The Convention was preliminary, and, strictly speak-
ing, unofficial; yet it accomplished all that was intended
by the friends of the movement, and more than many of
them hoped at this time to effect; and the prospect of a
complete and ultimate union of the Churches represented
is now far more encouraging, we think, than it ever was
before. The Convention has submitted to the Churches
for their consideration a basis of union, embracing those
general principles of faith and ecclesiastical economy on
which it is thought a union may be effected. It did not
attempt to elaborate anything in detail; but if the Churches
shall agree on the principles of union proposed, there will
be but little difficulty in perfecting the details at the proper
time hereafter."
So far as I could learn, the action of the Convention
was approved by the various bodies which were informally
represented therein. As an evidence of this fact, delegates
were elected, in harmony with the recommendation of
that Convention, by twenty-three Annual Conferences of
the Methodist Protestant Church, by nine Annual Confer-
ences of the Wesleyan Connection, and by four Independ-
ent Methodist Churches, to the Convention which met in
Union Chapel, Cincinnati, Ohio, on May 9, 1866. All
these Conferences and Churches were represented in that
body, except the Oregon Conference of the Methodist Prot-
estant Church. Rev. Daniel Bagley, who had been elected,
failed to attend.
The Convention was organized by the election of the
Rev. S. A. Baker, Wesleyan, of the New York Conference,
president, and Revs. John Scott and P. T. Laishley, Meth-
odist Protestants, and Revs. Luther Lee and Cyrus Prindle,
Wesleyans, and C. Moore, Esq., Independent Methodist,
vice-presidents, and Rev. John McEldowney, Wesleyan,
212 RECOLLECTIONS OF FIFTY
and Rev. G. B. McElroy, Methodist Protestant, secretaries.
The sessions of the Convention throughout were pleasant
and harmonious.
The spirit of fraternity and union appeared to be abroad
at that time. On the first day of the session of the Con-
vention, the following communication from the Preachers'
Meeting of the Methodist Episcopal Church of Cincinnati
was received:
"CINCINNATI, OHIO, May 9, 1866.
"At the Preachers' Meeting, Methodist Episcopal Church,
Monday morning, May 7th, the following resolution, offered
by Dr. Wiley [afterwards bishop], was unanimously adopted:
" 'Resolved, That we extend a cordial greeting to the repre-
sentatives of the various branches of non-Episcopal Meth-
odism about to assemble in this city, and earnestly hope their
Convention may tend to harmony and unity among the fam-
ilies of Methodism, and trust it may prove to be an initiatory
movement toward the unity of all branches of the Methodism
of our country. S. D. CLAYTON, President.
" 'S. A. BKEWSTEB, Secretary.' "
To the above communication the following response
was made:
"Resolved, That we reciprocate the cordial greeting extended
to us by the Cincinati Preachers' Meeting, through their presi-
dent, Rev. S. D. Clayton, and we request him to assure these
brethren that in our hearts we repeat the Savior's prayer on
behalf of all which shall believe on him, 'that they all may be
one,' and that we recognize the interchange of these words
of Christian salutation, by them initiated, as directly tending
to this desired end."
It is to be regretted that the spirit of union manifested
in the foregoing resolutions was not more fully cultivated,
and the general union of the various branches of Meth-
odism, which appears to have been so ardently desired,
has not been effected. Whatever may be said on the sub-
ject, I think it is certain that these divisions are not the
YEARS IN THE MINISTRY. 213
result of correct views of truth, nor of the love of the
brethren.
The Convention attracted considerable attention, and
many ministers and others, not members of the Conven-
tion nor of the bodies therein represented, came from dis-
tant points to attend its sessions.
Many matters were brought to the attention of the
Convention; but its principal business was the formulation
of a basis of union aceptable to the bodies therein repre-
sented. A committee, which had been appointed for the
purpose, reported the following persons a Committee on
Basis of Union; viz., George Brown, D. D., Luther Lee,
D. D., C. Moore, Esq., Cyrus Prindle, D. D., Kevs. J. S.
Thrap, D. B. Dorsey, Jr., H. B. Knight, S. B. Smith,
R. Rose, G. W. Bainum, J. Burns, S. M. Short, G. G. West-
fall, Messrs. E. R. Hall, A. M. Searles, A. Backus, J. W.
Rush, E. Starbuck, H. Cassell, and M. Thompson.
This committee went to work at once, and as soon as
possible reported for adoption a Constitution for the united
Church. This Constitution was considered item by item,
and, after being discussed and amended, was adopted. It
provided that the name of the united body should be, The
Methodist Church. It also provided for a General Con-
ference, to be held on the third Wednesday in May, 1867,
in Cleveland, Ohio, and on the third Wednesday in May
every fourth year thereafter.
A committee of seven, consisting of Luther Lee, John
Scott, George Brown, John McEldowney, J. S. Thrap,
G. W. Bainum, and C. Moore, were appointed to prepare
a Discipline, embracing all necessary prudential rules in
harmony with the Constitution, both of which were to be
submitted to the various Annual Conferences for their
approval, and also to the Independent Methodist Churches.
The Constitution adopted, and the Discipline provided for,
214 RECOLLECTIONS OF FIFTY
were to have no binding force until adopted by the various
Churches, according to their own existing law. The action
of the Convention on this point was as follows:
"Resolved, That the several Conferences and Churches be
governed by the Disciplines which they have hitherto used,
until the Discipline provided for shall be adopted."
In an editorial in the Western Methodist Protestant of
May 30, 1866, 1 said:
"Upon the whole, the Convention accomplished fully
as much as it was expected to accomplish. It agreed upon
a basis of union, to be submitted to the various bodies
therein represented, to be acted upon according to their
own usages, in a constitutional way; and if these bodies,
thus acting, agree to change their Constitutions and Dis-
ciplines so as to make them harmonize with that proposed
by the Convention, the union will then take place. But
if the different bodies represented in the Convention re-
fuse so to modify their respective economies, the object of
the Convention will be defeated, and the union will not be
effected."
The Eev. Luther Lee, D. D., in a communication in
our paper of June 6, 1866, said in reference to the Con-
vention:
"I feel constrained to give my testimony, that the Con-
vention was one of the best I ever attended; the Christian
spirit that was manifested, and the harmony that pre-
vailed, gave to me undeniable evidence that God favored
the object of the Convention, and I feel like working with
heart and will to finish up the union so nobly and unani-
mously resolved by that Convention."
About the second week in July, 1866, the committee
appointed to prepare a Discipline, to be submitted to the
various bodies represented in the Union Convention in
YEARS IN THE MINISTRY. 215
Cincinnati, met in Springfield, Ohio, Luther Lee, G. \V.
Bainum, and S. B. Smith, Wesleyans, and George Brown,
John Scott, and J. S. Thrap, Methodist Protestants, being
present. I do not know why Brother Smith was present,
unless as a substitute for John McEldowney, as he was not
on the original committee. I had the pleasure of enter-
taining Dr. Lee for a week at my house, and I regarded it
as a privilege to do so, as I esteemed him very highly, and
he there prepared the draft of the Discipline which the
committee adopted, and which was published in the West-
ern Methodist Protestant a few weeks afterwards.
All seemed pleased and hopeful in regard to the union.
The American Wesleyan, however, had already indulged in
criticisms of the Cincinnati Convention, and manifested,
though cautiously, a spirit of opposition to the union, and
Dr. Matlack, who wrote the paper on the basis of union
adopted by the Cleveland Convention, had intimated his
purpose of returning to the Methodist Episcopal Church,
which he afterwards did. There were numerous indications
from time to time of a faltering and backing down on the
part of the Wesleyans; but the Methodist Protestants were
true and determined, whatever others might do, to act in
good faith.
On the 14th day of November, 1866, the General Con-
ference of the Methodist Protestant Church met in Alle-
gheny City, Pa,, and organized permanently by the election
of John Scott, president, and Joseph J. White and E. A.
Wheat, secretaries. After the transaction of preliminary
business, it was found that the body was clothed with full
conventional powers.
The Constitution and Discipline adopted by the Cin-
cinnati Convention in May preceding, had been referred
to a committee of five, of which Dr. Brown was chairman.
216 RECOLLECTIONS OF FIFTY
In presenting his report to the Conference, Dr. Brown
said:
"We find, on thorough examination, that twenty of the
twenty-four Annual Conferences entitled to representation
in this body, have indorsed the union of the non-Episcopal
Methodist Churches. From one we have no report. Three
others have yet to act upon the question at their ensuing
sessions, and these will, no doubt, favor the union. We
likewise find that seventeen of the twenty-four Conferences
have clothed their representatives to this body with full
conventional power and authority to so change the Con-
stitution of the Methodist Protestant Church as to enable
our denomination, in an orderly way, through this Con-
ference, to place itself under the ecclesiastical economy
agreed upon at the Cincinnati Convention."
The Conference then went into convention with the
same officers, and proceeded to business. The Constitution
and Discipline provided by the action of the Union Con-
vention in Cincinnati, which had been presented by Dr.
Brown, was taken up and considered item by item, and
adopted as a whole. By this action the name of the Church
was changed from the Methodist Protestant Church to the
Methodist Church. But this change was made by a body-
clothed with conventional powers, and having authority
according to our own law to do so, and was perfectly legal.
In the exercise of the powers with which we were clothed,
we so changed our own Constitution and Discipline as to
make them harmonize with the Constitution and Discipline
provided by the Union Convention, and so our part toward
the union of the various bodies therein represented was
accomplished, and still we were perfectly intact as a de-
nomination, our organization being complete.
It soon became evident that the union, if anything,
would be far from what had been hoped. Many of the
YEARS IN THE MINISTRY. 217
Wesleyan leaders proved unfaithful, not only to the other
Churches which were parties to the union, but to their
own Church, and the great body of the Wesleyans backed
out of the union altogether. I had been in correspondence
with Dr. Lee until within a week of the meeting of our
General Conference, and he still professed great devotion
to the union movement, and expressed his purpose to be at
our Conference, if he could make the necessary financial
arrangements to do so. He did not come, however, and
before our Conference was over, I heard that he had re-
turned to the Methodist Episcopal Church. I was never
more shocked in my life. I could not understand it. I
have no hard things to say about Dr. Lee. I had esteemed
him very highly; but he disappointed me sorely. I had
one or two of his books; but I could not consult them with
satisfaction, and I gave them away. I never met him after-
wards, or had any communication with him. Dr. Cyrus
Prindle, Dr. L. C. Matlack, Dr. H. Mattison, Kev. S. B.
Smith, and others, leaders in the union movement, and
who had uttered the severest things against the Methodist
Episcopal Church, all went back to that Church. Most of
them are dead, and I trust are in heaven; but certainly they
acted in a very singular manner, and showed at least great
weakness.
The General Conference in Cleveland in 1867, was
simply the meeting of our own General Conference, under
our new name and revised Constitution and Discipline, with
a few unimportant additions, which, with the exception
of a few brethren, never did us much good.
I have taken considerable space to give an account of
this movement, of which many persons are not well in-
formed, because I was intimately identified with it, and
favored it, and it is due to myself and others that the facts
in regard to it should be known.
218 RECOLLECTIONS OF FIFTY
CHAPTER XVII.
Approval of Editorial Course Publishing Agent Enlargement
of Paper Trip West Chicago Then and Now Clerical
"Small Talk" Council Bluffs Senatorial Party Kadns-
ville Mormons Pittsburg Conference Home Missions-
Ohio Conference Bishop Morris Favorite Hymn Hard
Work.
THE General Conference in Allegheny in 1866, ex-
pressed approval of the editorial conduct of the Church
paper for the two preceding years. The Committee on
Publishing Interests said in their report:
"Your committee would not be unmindful of the faithful
services of the late editor, Dr. J. Scott, as we believe the
general favor with which the Church paper is regarded by our
people is mainly attributable to the prudent, cautious, and
dignified manner in which he has so successfully conducted
the editorial department of the same, and your committee
would respectfully recommend his continuance in said re-
lation."
This, of course, was gratifying to me. No sensible man
will be indifferent to the good opinion of others, and espe-
cially of those whom he endeavors faithfully to serve. Nor
is it wise to withhold such approval when it is justly de-
served. Men may profess indifference to the opinions of
others; but as a general thing their indifference is more
pretended than real.
The faithfulness and energy of Brother J. S. Thrap
as Publishing Agent during his term of service were also
commended, and he was thereafter employed as Agent of
Adrian College. A. H. Bassett was elected Publishing
Agent, a position he bad long occupied before.
YEARS IN THE MINISTRY. 219
The General Conference ordered the paper to be en-
larged, and changed to an eight-page form. It also changed
its name from the Western Methodist Protestant to the
Methodist Recorder, the name it still bears. The enlarge-
ment of the paper necessitated an increase in the price,
which was advanced from two dollars to two and a half a
year. Shortly after the adjournment of the Conference
the Board of Publication met in Springfield, and took the
necessary action to carry out the wishes of the Conference
in regard to the enlargement of the paper. But some three
weeks elapsed before the necessary material could be pro-
cured, and the proposed changes made. The first number
of the paper in its new form, beginning the twenty-eighth
volume, though numbered Volume I, Number 1, appeared
under date of December 26, 1866. It was a great improve-
ment, giving more room for matter, and making the paper
much more convenient to handle and read. Although the
price had been advanced, the subscription-list increased
seven hundred in less than six months, and the Agent was
enabled in that time to meet current expenses, and pay
off more than one thousand dollars of previous indebted-
ness. This was indeed gratifying, and prompted the editor
as well as the Agent to still greater efforts to make the
paper still more acceptable to its readers.
The duties of editorial life are very uniform, and afford
but little of incident worthy of being placed on record;
and being very exacting, when a man desires to do his duty
faithfully, there is not much opportunity for outside ad-
venture. While editor, I stuck close to my office, and gave
strict attention to every detail of the paper. Some relax-
ation, however, was absolutely necessary. A man can not
tie himself down to such exacting labor all the time, if he
would retain his mental vigor and his ability to do good
work.
220 RECOLLECTIONS OF FIFTY
Believing this to be the case, after between two and
three years of very close attention to editorial duties, I
concluded to take a little rest. Accordingly, on the 28th
day of May, 1867, with my wife and two children, I took
the cars en route for Council Bluffs, Iowa, where I had a
brother-in-law, John T. Baldwin, Esq., and my wife had
a sister and other relatives. There was nothing specially
notable in our trip. We reached Chicago the next morn-
ing after leaving home, and remained there till three
o'clock in the afternoon. Even at that late period many of
the leading streets of Chicago were unpaved, and rough
board sidewalks kept the pedestrians on the streets out of
the mud. Our description of it then contrasts strangely
with its condition now. In writing to the Recorder, we
said of it:
"On every hand we behold evidence of vast enterprise,
and also of discomfort. Chicago is a place where a man
with large capital, business capacity, and energy of char-
acter may acquire great wealth; but we think it is not the
place to enjoy it. It affords, no doubt, many advantages
as a business locality; but few attractions as a place of
residence. Indeed, we could not but wonder how people
in many portions of the city could live at all, surrounded
as they were with stagnant pools of water, sufficient, we
should think, to produce a pestilence among them. We
did not wonder to learn from their daily papers that the
subject of sewerage was one of absorbing interest to the
citizens. We think it is with them either sewerage or
death. It is true, the season has been unusually wet, and
it may be that the city presents an unusually dreary appear-
ance. This city was named by our late General Confer-
ence among the sites proposed for the future location of
our Book Concern. If our Commissioners to whom that
important interest is intrusted desire literally to swamp
YEARS IN THE MINISTRY. 221
the 'Concern/ we know of no better locality than this. It is
true, they might be able to keep it afloat for a while; but
we do not know how long it would be."
The Chicago of to-day, on which the eyes of the world
are placed in connection with the Columbian Exposition,
is far different from the Chicago of that day. We can
hardly believe it possible for such changes to take place
in a single generation. But the world moves rapidly in
these latter days, and great things are accomplished in a
short time.
The Wise Man tells us that "to everything there is a
season, and a time for every purpose; a time to weep, and
a time to laugh; a time to keep silent, and a time to speak."
Nothing is more important than the proper observance
of the proprieties of time and place. A disregard of such
proprieties often causes worthy persons to appear in an
unenviable light, and creates an unfavorable opinion of
them. We witnessed an illustration of this on the cars
after we left Chicago.
The anniversaries of the missionary and other religious
societies of the Baptist Church were held that year in Chi-
cago, and had just closed their series of meetings the even-
ing before we reached there. As we took the first train
West many of the ministers in attendance upon the anni-
versary services were on our train. They were in fine
spirits, and evidently enjoyed themselves very much. Their
"small talk" was perhaps entirely innocent in itself; but we
could not help thinking that the proprieties of time and
place were sadly forgotten, and that if they could have
heard themselves as others heard them, their conversation,
if not more innocent, would have been at least a little more
reserved and dignified. It is well for ministers, without
being stiff and formal, to everywhere maintain such a bear-
ing as becomes their office and character. Especially is
222 RECOLLECTIONS OF FIFTY
tliis important before a promiscuous company, where their
unrestrained manner is liable to be misunderstood.
We spent nearly two days and nights in going from
Chicago to Council Blufl's. The Chicago & Northwestern
Road, which was the first road to reach the Missouri across
the State of Iowa, had been finished the winter before; the
road-bed had not yet become settled, and wrecks and de-
tentions were numerous. No accident occurred to our
train; but we were frequently detained by freight wrecks,
which blocked the road in advance of us.
Council Bluffs and Omaha were at that time compara-
tively small places. I witnessed the driving of the great
metal tubes, which were sunk to the depth of ninety feet,
and filled with concrete, to form the foundation of the
first bridge across the Missouri at that point. It is wonder-
ful how our Western country has grown within the brief
period of a quarter of a century.
During our stay in Council Bluffs a senatorial party,
comprising some of the political magnates of the country,
passed through on their way to the "Plains," to make some
investigations in regard to "Indian affairs." They were
banqueted in Omaha, and it was commonly reported that
some of the honorable senators were very drunk. A very
reputable gentleman told me that he saw one senator, a
man who had a high political record, and who had per-
formed noble service in defense of his countr}, sitting on
a sawlog near the river, so overcome by liquor that he was
indifferent to all around him, except an Irish "captain,"
who partook of the same "spirit," and whom he recognized
as a friend. It is to be hoped that improvement has been
made since that day; but there are still grounds to fear
that many of our public men are addicted to intemperate
habits, and that this is one reason why it is so difficult to
YEARS IN THE MINISTRY. 223
secure legislation favorable to temperance. The friends
of temperance should see to it that such men are left at
home.
The first permanent settlement on the present site of
Council Bluffs was made by the Mormons after they left
Nauvoo, in 1846. The place was then called "Kainsville."
It became a place of considerable importance as an out-
fitting point for California emigrants. The Mormons re-
mained here till 1852, when they disposed of their property
for whatever they could get for it, and started across the
Plains for their future home in Utah. Shortly after their
departure the name "Kainsville" was dropped, and the
place, by special Act of the Legislature, was incorporated
as "the City of Council Bluffs." It lies back from the Mis-
souri River nearly three miles, on slightly rising ground,
the bottom land between it and the river being subject
sometimes to overflow. Some of its finest residences are
built in the glens and recesses among the bluffs, and are
not seem from the lower part of the city. A person viewing
it from the railroad can form but a very imperfect idea
of its size and character. Of late, however, the city is ex-
tending towards the river, especially towards the Union
Depot, the initial point of the Union Pacific Eailroad,
where all the through roads from the East center. It has
numerous churches and excellent schools, is a place of
wealth and culture, and is no doubt destined to become a
large city.
Our visit was a delightful one, and did us all good, and
I returned to my work in good spirits and with renewed
vigor.
In the following September, 1867, I attended the ses-
sion of the Pittsburg Conference, which met in Uniontown,
Pa., among my old friends. Dr. William Reeves was elected
224 RECOLLECTIONS OF FIFTY
president, and required to travel through the district and
visit the various charges during the year. Various visit-
ing brethren were in attendance from other Conferences.
The session was a very delightful one, and numerous evi-
dences of prosperity were apparent. The Home Mission
interests of the Conference were found to be in a healthy
and prosperous condition. The aggregate amount assessed
upon the different charges for home mission purposes at
the preceding session of the Conference was about two
thousand dollars. This amount was so nearly raised that
the claims of the missionaries were almost met, and the
Conference made provision for the payment of the small
balance due them, refusing to repudiate any part of their
claim.
Two weeks later the Ohio Conference met in Spring-
field, Ohio, where I resided. Just thirty years before, the
Conference had met in that place; but of the members then
present who were now members of the Conference, Brother
A. H. Bassett, Publisher and Book Agent, only was pres-
ent. But within the territory embraced in the Conference
then there were now some twenty Conferences, and a large
and increasing membership. Dr. J. M. Flood was elected
president, and directed to visit the various pastoral charges
during the year. A number of visiting brethren were in
attendance, among whom was Bishop Morris, of the Meth-
odist Episcopal Church, who resided in Springfield, and
who kindly assisted in sustaining the Conference. He was
then an old man, no longer able to perform active service,
and had his permanent home in that city. He was a good
man, humble, unassuming, genial, and pleasant. He and
Dr. George Brown were warm friends, and were often to-
gether. The old bishop often visited his neighbors and
the sick who were near him, always singing and praying
YEARS IN THE MINISTRY. 225
with them. His favorite hymn, which he generally sung,
was:
"My latest sun is sinking fast,
My race is nearly run;
My strongest trials now are past,
My triumph is begun."
My intercourse with the brethren of the Ohio Confer-
ence was always pleasant. I was fortunate enough to be
able to number among my personal friends A. H. Bassett,
Eeuben Hose, Jonathan M. Flood, W. B. Evans, C. S.
Evans, D. P. Stephens, T. B. Graham, and many others
of the older men. I was always glad to be permitted to
meet with them in their Conference.
During the fall and winter I stuck close to my office,
and devoted myself entirely to the paper. If I did not do
good work, it was not because of any lack of attention to
it. Whatever else I may have done, I have never eaten the
bread of idleness. Laziness and Christianity do not go well
together. Paul's doctrine is worthy of acceptance, "If any
will not work, neither shall he eat." Work is the legitimate
way of making a living. If one man goes idle, some one
else has to work to keep him. I never thought the world
owed me a living till I had earned it.
15
226 RECOLLECTIONS OF FIFTY
CHAPTER XVIII.
New Jersey Conference Fair Haven T. T. Heiss "Outside
the Gate" E. D. Stultz T. B. Appleget Many Others-
Benjamin Doughty "Flat as a Flounder" Art of Fish-
ingNew York Five Points House of Industry Howard
Mission Home for Little Wanderers Inside View John
Allen Other Places Sad Feeling Publishing-houses At-
torney Street New York Conference Tarrytown "Sleepy
Hollow" Washington Irving Capture of Major Andr6
Monument Action of Conference about Wesleyans Re-
sponsive Action J. H. Robinson and Others Grand Street
Church.
THE New Jersey and New York Annual Conferences
held their sessions early in March, and it became my duty
to attend them. On the 2d day of March, 1868, I left
Springfield to attend those Conferences. The morning was
stormy and disagreeable, and when I arrived in Pittshurg,
in consequence of some detention, our train failed to con-
nect with the train East. I spent the night with Brother
James Eobison, who kindly met me at the station, and con-
ducted me to his house. He informed me that Brother
J. B. Walker, corresponding secretary of the Board of
Missions, was in the city, and intended accompanying me
to the approaching Conferences. The next morning it
was very cold, some three or four degrees colder, it was
said, than any day before during the winter. I remained
in the city till seven o'clock in the evening, when Brother
"Walker and I took the fast train for New York, where we
arrived about two o'clock the next afternoon. Fast trains
then were not so fast as they are now. About four o'clock
we took a steamer and ran down the bay about eighteen
miles, and landed at Monmouth, New Jersey, where we
YEARS IN THE MINISTRY. 227
took the cars for Bed Bank, only six miles distant, and from
there two miles in a sleigh brought us to Fair Haven, where
the New Jersey Conference was in session. This place was
then a small village of about four hundred inhabitants,
situated on the North Shrewsbury Eiver, about two miles
from its mouth. The river was covered with heavy ice,
the snow was deep, and the sleighing excellent.
The Conference had organized by the election of
Brother T. T. Heiss, president, and Brother T. B. Appleget,
secretary. The business of the Conference was conducted
in an orderly and harmonious manner. The brethren ap-
peared to have the happy talent of speaking the truth in
love. Sometimes the plainest things were said; but in such
a manner as to give no offense. We formed the acquaint-
ance of all the brethren, most of whom we there met for the
first time. Some of them still remain; but many of them
have passed over to the other shore. Brother T. T. Heiss
was one of the sweet singers in Israel, and his songs were
like an inspiration. At that Conference I heard him sing:
"I stood outside the gate,
A poor, wayfaring child;
Within my heart there beat
A tempest loud and wild," etc.
It was the first time I ever heard it, and it was sung with
such pathos and impressiveness that it fairly captivated
me. His soul was full of song, and it appeared as if he
"could not keep from singing." He is now with the
angels, and is singing a sweeter song than he ever sung on
earth.
I had the pleasure of meeting there Brother E. D.
Stultz, the patriarch of the Conference, and of frequently
hearing him say to the brethren, in his soft, kind voice,
"Be good." Brother L. E. Stultz, his son, was ordained at
that Conference. We also met with Brothers H. Watson
228 RECOLLECTIONS OF FIFTY
and W. B. Vanleer, both of whom have gone to reap their
reward. The two brothers, J. D. and J. P. Wilson, were
present; but both afterwards left our Church, and united
with the Methodist Episcopal Church. I do not know that
there are in the Conference now any of the brethren who
were in it then, except Brothers E. D. Stultz, L. E. Stultz,
and T. B. Appleget. At that Conference Brother J. S.
Thrap, College Agent, Brother J. J. Smith, of the New
York Conference, and J. K. Helmbold, of the Pennsyl-
vania Conference, were present. I always enjoyed my visits
to the New Jersey Conference. The brethren seemed to
have big and warm hearts.
Brother Walker and I were kindly entertained during
the Conference by Brother Benjamin Doughty and his
amiable family. Brother Doughty was a fisherman, and
he told us more about nets, and fishing, and the different
kinds of fish and other aquatic creatures than we ever heard
before. In consequence of the heavy ice on the river, fresh
fish could not then be obtained; but he had different kinds
of salted fish, which were new to us, and which we thought
were excellent.
I had often heard the expression, "as flat as a flounder;"
but never fully understood it till Brother Doughty showed
us some flounders. They resemble in shape two thin plates
with their faces placed together, some larger and some
smaller, the mouth instead of opening as if between the
plates, opens across them. The flounder, for its size, in
circumference is a very thin or flat fish, and for anything
to be as "flat as a flounder," is to be considerably spread
out, but very thin or flat. Notwithstanding their "flat-
ness," they form a very palatable dish.
Brother Doughty informed us that he often found
queer creatures, besides good fish, in their nets, some of
which were furnished with stings and were very poisonous,
YEARS IN THE MINISTRY. 229
and had to be handled with great care, as their sting was
very dangerous. It is so also with the gospel net. It some-
times incloses queer creatures, some of which are not only
worthless, but also dangerous, and it sometimes requires
great caution and labor to get them out of the net and
separated from the good fish. Some preachers report every
nondescript that they take, as evidence of their skill and
success; but it would be better if they would wait until
they get the contents of their net assorted, to see how many
good fish they have really taken.
On Monday morning, March 9th, in company with sev-
eral of the brethren, we left our friends in Fair Haven for
New York, where we spent a day or two, which we im-
proved in seeing as much of the city as we could. New
York, like every other large city, has two sides, the outside
and the inside the apparent and the real. The apparent
is in many respects attractive and imposing; the real has
much that is sad and revolting. The extremes of society
are here found, and in many instances it may, no doubt,
be truthfully said that they meet. "Wealth, position, and
pride are seen on the one hand, and poverty, wretchedness,
and shame on the other; and many times these two ex-
tremes meet in the indulgence of gross appetite and pas-
sion, which poverty scarcely attempts to conceal; but over
which wealth can draw a veil.
While in the city I visited the "Five Points House of
Industry," located on Worth Street; and at the time of our
visit it contained two hundred destitute children, who were
fed, clothed, sheltered, educated, and cared for as parents
would care for their own children. In addition to these,
two hundred other destitute children came three times a
day for their meals, while they sought clothing and lodging
elsewhere. We visited the school-rooms, the dining-room,
the nursery, the hospital, the gymnasium, and found every-
230 RECOLLECTIONS OF FIFTY
thing neat and clean, and in a condition to promote the
comfort and welfare of the children. We heard some of
the classes in the schoolrooms recite, and the children
showed that they possessed good minds, and had heen dili-
gent in their studies. This institution was entirely sus-
tained by the voluntary contributions of benevolent indi-
viduals and the Churches.
We also visited the "Howard Mission and Home for
Little Wanderers," located on the Bowery, then under the
superintendence of the Eev. W. C. Van Meter, assisted by
Mr. Arnold. The number of inmates in this institution
at that time was not large; but the whole number of chil-
dren taught in its schools, and partially or entirely clothed,
and assisted in various other ways, amounted to over six
hundred. Destitute children were gathered in from the
streets and alleys, and from homes of poverty and shame,
and taught in the day-school, the Sunday-school, the Bible
class, the prayer-meeting, the Conference meeting, and in
various other religious meetings held for their benefit. To
the great mass of these persons the "Home" was the only
Church they knew anything about, and they never at-
tended any other. We were present at the prayer-meeting
in the "Home" in the evening. The attendance was large.
The conduct was orderly and becoming, and the singing
excellent. A lady played on the piano and led the singing,
and how that nondescript crowd did sing! The assem-
blage was indeed a promiscuous one, composed of all sorts
and classes of poor and comparatively destitute people,
from mere children to old men and women, dressed in all
sorts of garments betokening poverty and want.
The "Home for Little Wanderers," like the "House of
Industry," was supported entirely by voluntary contribu-
tions. Sometimes, I was told, their store was entirely ex-
YEARS IN THE MINISTRY. 231
hausted; but God always sent them assistance in time of
need. The day before I was there, a bill of several hundred
dollars fell due, and there were no funds to meet it; but
on the morning of our visit a gentleman called and gave
his check for one thousand dollars, which met the claim
and left a considerable surplus for other purposes. God
always takes care of his own work, and will never forsake
them that trust in him.
At the invitation of Mr. Arnold, assistant superintend-
ent of the "Home,* in company with Brothers Walker and
Conklin, after the prayer-meeting I visited some of the
places of sin and wretchedness that abounded in New York.
Our first visit was to the police station, where Mr. Ar-
nold had some conversation, the character of which I did
not know, with the police officers. From there we went to
one of the lock-ups, where we saw the wrecks of men and
women confined in damp cells, some of them lying on the
cold stone floors, and others raving as maniacs, alternately
uttering curses and prayers. The offenses for which these
persons were arrested and awaited trial were various; but
as a general thing the cause which led to their incarcera-
tion was the same strong drink. From there we went
to the lodging-rooms connected with the lock-up, where
scores of wretched, houseless wanderers, who had neither
home nor friends, were permitted to sleep under lock and
key, on the bare, hard floor, without a pillow on which to
rest their heads, or anything to cover them. "We were cau-
tioned not to touch anything in the room, for if we did we
might carry away with us more than we might wish. There
were, I suppose, a score or two, or perhaps more, in the
room we visited, and we were told that there was another
room which was filled with women. They all received
soup in the morning, and were then turned out to provide
232 RECOLLECTIONS OF FIFTY
for themselves till night. I thought a man must have a
heart of stone to be able to look on these poor outcasts
without the deepest pity.
Turning away in sadness from this scene of human
wretchedness, we were conducted by Mr. Arnold to the
saloon and dance-house of John Allen, who was then no-
torious, and said to be "the wickedest man in New York."
Mr. Arnold was well acquainted with him, and addressed
him familiarly as "John." He then introduced us to him
as ministers. He swore that he was always glad to see the
ministers; but he cursed the editors, who, he said, always
lied about him. He seemed like a man of more than ordi-
nary intelligence, and disposed to treat us with respect;
but it appeared as if he could not speak without an oath.
Mr. Arnold inquired about his wife. He said she was very
ill, and invited us to go upstairs to see her. Mr. Arnold
at first declined; but Mr. Allen rather insisted, and swore
that if we did, not a hair on our heads would be injured.
Mr. Arnold then asked us if we would go up. We told him
that we had nothing to say; that we were under his direc-
tion. He then told Mr. Allen that we would go upstairs
to see his wife. He then took us through a room in the rear
of his saloon, where there were, I suppose, a dozen cour-
tesans, whom he commanded, in the most peremptory man-
ner, to make no noise till he came downstairs. Out of this
room we passed into a long, dark hall, and up a flight of
stairs, and through a dark room, to the front room on the
second floor, where we found Mrs. Allen sitting in a rock-
ing-chair, and apparently in the last stage of consumption.
After talking to her a little while, Mr. Arnold promised
to send her some jellies in the morning.
Here we found a remarkable little boy, five years of age,
the son of Mr. Allen, who manifested an amount of infor-
mation and intelligence far beyond his years. His father
YEARS IN THE MINISTRY. 233
told us that we might ask him any questions we pleased in
regard to Bible history, geography, the officers of the Gen-
eral and State Governments, and he would answer us. A
great many questions were asked him, and he answered
every one of them correctly. His father then told him to
repeat his morning prayer, and he did so. He then told
him to repeat his evening prayer, and in doing this the
little fellow sort of halted, and 0, how his father did curse
him! He was then told to sing us a song, which he did.
His father then told him to turn a somersault, which he
did in a trice. Mr. Arnold told us afterwards that he at-
tended the Howard Mission School; but that they had not
taught him those things there, that his father had taught
them to him at home.
We then went downstairs, and bade Mr. Allen good-
night. His place was old and rickety; but he owned valu-
able property in the city, and was reputed to be worth two
hundred thousand dollars. He was one of the queerest
men I ever met. He was evidently a man of intelligence,
and possessed of gentlemanly instincts; but was so cor-
rupted and debased that he was entirely dominated by his
evil habits. About six months after our visit to him he
professed to be converted, and his saloon was turned into a
place for holding prayer-meetings. What finally became
of him I can not say.
We were next shown a large tenement-house, which we
were told contained twelve hundred people. The building
was large, it is true; but it is easy to imagine the state of
things that must have existed in such a crowded place.
But to live above ground, however much persons may be
crowded, is not so bad as to be compelled to live in deep,
dark cellars, where the light of day never enters. We were
taken into one of these, with the ceiling below the pave-
ment of the street, and found it crowded with inmates,
234 RECOLLECTIONS OF FIFTY
breathing an atmosphere full of noxious odors, from which
we were glad enough soon to escape. The room was per-
haps sixty feet deep, without any partitions, and occupied
by eight or ten families, each one having a little space
marked off for itself. In many of the cellars in the lower
part of the city near the East Eiver, we were told, the water
sometimes at high-tide rose so high as to put out the fires
in the stoves, putting the inmate to great inconvenience
till the tide went out. This, we suppose, did not often
occur.
From here Mr. Arnold conducted us to a place present-
ing many attractions to the eye. Brilliant lights, rich
carpets, large mirrors, and elegant curtains met the gaze.
A clerk occupied a desk near the entrance, whom Mr. Ar-
nold addressed familiarly as an old acquaintance. As we
entered, a number of young women in the rear of the room
rose to meet us; but recognizing Mr. Arnold, they speedily
retreated. Here we tarried but a few minutes. We had
seen enough. We had such a picture presented to us that
night of poverty, wretchedness, and sin as we had never
seen before, and which we do not wish to see again. Mr.
Arnold told us that it was his duty to visit the poor and
wretched and abandoned of the city, and gather up the
children and others, and bring them into the Home, in
view of training and saving them. Every one where we
went seemed to know him, and treat him with the utmost
respect. Whether he was clothed with any sort of police
authority I do not know. The first thing, however, which
he did when we started out was to consult the police
officers.
After leaving Mr. Arnold we returned to our lodgings,
sick at heart, and deeply impressed with the truth that
"the way of the transgressor is hard." We had often
marked the downward course of sin; but never had we
YEARS IN THE MINISTRY. 235
traced it to such depths before. And what we saw was but
a mere glimpse of the surging sea of vice which is swal-
lowing up every year tens of thousands of victims in its
dark waters.
While in the city we visited the Bible House, the Tract
Society, the Methodist Episcopal Book Concern, Harper &
Brothers, and Charles Scribner & Company. I tried to see
and learn all I could, and everywhere I was treated politely
and kindly.
On Monday evening I preached in the Attorney Street
Methodist Protestant Church, of which Brother Conklin
was then pastor. The congregation was large, the atten-
tion good, and, so far as I could judge, the Church was in
a good spiritual condition. Boston Corbet, who performed
such a prominent part in the capture of Booth, who assassi-
nated President Lincoln, was an active and zealous mem-
ber of that Church, and was present, and we had a warm
shake of his hand. This was our only Church in New York
City at that time, and there was no good reason why, with
proper management, it should not have succeeded. But
at a subsequent period the church was sold, and with the
proceeds a church was bought in Brooklyn, which, by bad
management, was lost to the denomination. The Attorney
Street Church eventually passed into the hands of the
Methodist Episcopal Church, and Dr. Daniel Curry, editor
of the New York Christian Advocate, told me several years
afterwards, that it was one of their most prosperous
Churches. A cause may be good; but unless it has wise
and good men to direct and sustain it, it will fail of success.
One of our great drawbacks in the Methodist Protestant
Church has been that we have boasted of our principles,
without going to work in a wise, prudent, and energetic
manner to promote them and build up the Church. From
some cause our Church has been unfortunate in the cities
236 RECOLLECTIONS OF FIFTY
of New York and Brooklyn, and it is not likely that we
shall ever regain in those cities what we have lost.
On Wednesday afternoon we reached Tarrytown, the
place of meeting of the New York Conference. This was
then a place of from twelve to fourteen thousand inhab-
itants, on the Hudson Biver, twenty-eight miles from New
York. At that time many of the merchants and others
of New York City had their residences there and in the
vicinity on the Hudson. Among these were John C. Fre-
mont, Mr. Grinnell, and Mr. Aspinwall, names then fa-
miliar to every one. The residence of Washington Irving
during the later years of his life was at Irvington, a few
miles below Tarrytown, and at his "Sunnyside" home in
that place he died. I visited the old "Dutch Church," in
"Sleepy Hollow," with its stone walls, I suppose, three feet
thick, and the grave of Washington Irving in the adjoining
churchyard. There were plain, white head and foot stones
at his grave, the former, I suppose, about three and a half
feet high, twenty inches wide, and about two inches thick.
There -was nothing inscribed upon it but his name and the
dates of his birth and death. He had built for himself a
far more imposing and enduring monument than could be
built of marble or granite by the hands of others. He
sleeps with his kindred. There were five or six other graves
of the Irvings side by side with his, and all marked in the
same way. There is perhaps nothing in it; but we naturally
desire to be laid to rest with those we love, and not among
strangers.
I also visited the spot, marked by a low monument,
which was partially blown up by some miscreant a few
years ago, where John Paulding, David Williams, and Isaac
Van Wart captured Major Andre, who was returning to
New York, after having arranged with the traitor, Bene-
dict Arnold, for the surrender of West Point to the British,
YEARS IN THE MINISTRY. 237
and who had plans of the fortifications and works in his
boots. The place and its surroundings to me were very
interesting.
Before our arrival at Tarrytown, the Conference had
organized by the election of Dr. J. J. Smith, president, and
Brothers N". W. Britton and G. W. Dikeman, secretaries.
On the morning of the second day of the session the
following preamble and resolution were adopted:
"WHEREAS, The Methodist Protestant Church and the Wes-
leyan Methodist Connection did, by official action, in Conven-
tion assembled, in Cincinnati, Ohio, in May, 1866, adopt a
Constitution, and provide for the preparation of a Discipline
in harmony with said Constitution, for the Methodist Church,
to be composed, at least in part, of the two beforenamed
bodies; and
"WHEREAS, The Methodist Protestant Church, did, in a
regular and constitutional manner, make such changes in its
Constitution and Discipline as to conform them to the action
taken in the beforementioned Cincinnati Convention; and
"WHEREAS, We, as a Conference, are desirous, in good faith,
to carry out the intention of the Church officially expressed in
said Convention; therefore,
"Resolved, That J. H. Painter, N. W. Britton, and Alvard
Purdy, be, and they are hereby, appointed a committee to
proceed to Peekskill, and in the name of this Conference most
cordially and earnestly invite our brethren of the New York
Conference of the Wesleyan Methodist Connection to adjourn
to Tarrytown, and unite with us under the Discipline of the
Methodist Church, in fulfillment of the purpose, and [in har-
mony with the] action of the Cincinnati Convention."
The above committee, according to the design of its
appointment, proceeded to Peekskill, and on Thursday
afternoon, the 12th inst., presented to the Wesleyan Con-
ference the above paper, and Rev. William Irvine moved
that the delegation of the New York Conference of the
Methodist Church and the paper presented by it be grate-
fully received, and that they cordially accept the invitation
238 RECOLLECTIONS OF FIFTY
to adjourn to Tarrytown, and unite with the Methodist
Conference. Dr. S. A. Baker seconded the motion. After
a discussion of nearly or quite a whole day, as we were in-
formed hy a party who was present, at the close of an
elaborate speech hy Eev. A. Crooks against the resolution,
when two brethren who were in favor of the motion were
out, a motion was made to lay the whole matter on the
table indefinitely, which was carried by a bare majority.
Thus ended a second effort to induce the New York Wes-
leyan Conference to fulfill its twice-repeated pledges, unani-
mously adopted in favor of union. When all hope in this
matter failed, Revs. S. A. Baker, Joseph Thompson, W. Ir-
vine, and R. S. Hulshart called for their letters, which were
granted, and the same afternoon these brethren came down
to Tarrytown, presented their letters to the Conference, and
were cordially received as members. Dr. Baker and Broth-
ers Hulshart and Thompson are still in our Church, and
have been active and successful laborers since their con-
nection with it. The first of these is now an old man; but
still active and energetic for one of his years.
Among others of the Wesleyans who were true to their
convictions and purpose was John Gregory, who united
with the Pittsburg Conference in 1868. He served in the
ministry nine years among the Wesleyans before entering
our Church. He is a man of fine mind, general informa-
tion, a strong preacher, and a man of unswerving integrity.
He has served five years as secretary of the Pittsburg Con-
ference, and two terms as its president, and has also repre-
sented it in the General Conference, and for twelve years
was a member of the Board of Publication. At present,
because of impaired health, he is on the superannuated list.
A good and true man.
The Rev. John H. Robinson, of the Primitive Meth-
odists, and Revs. Mark Staples and William H. Mott, In-
YEARS IN THE MINISTRY. 239
dependent Methodists, were received at that Conference.
Brother Staples was a man then well advanced in life; but
he continued active and efficient for many years, and died
not long ago at an advanced age. Brother Robinson .was
a comparatively young man, full of life and vigor, and is
still actively engaged in the ministry. He is full of Irish
wit and humor, and makes sunshine wherever he goes.
Dr. J. J. Smith, who was then president of the Confer-
ence, is still living; but not in regular active service. He is
now a little over seventy-six years of age, and is a bright,
cheerful, hale, and hearty man. A few years ago he made
the tour of the Holy Land, and is the author of two valu-
able books, "The Impending Conflict," and "Wonders of
the East." He has also attracted attention by his contri-
butions to some of the scientific publications of the day.
He is a good preacher, and a very genial and companionable
man.
I left the Conference on Saturday afternoon, and re-
turned to New York, and worshiped with Dr. Baker's
Church on Sunday morning. In the afternoon I attended
love-feast in the Grand Street Methodist Protestant
Church, Brooklyn, and preached there at night. On Mon-
day morning I left for home, where I resumed my regular
labors.
240 RECOLLECTIONS OF FIFTY
CHAPTER XIX.
Valentine Lucas Unbecoming Levity Conference in New
Brighton Sermon on tbe Deaconship Pleasant Session
Muskingum Conference Dr. Burns Forming Acquaint-
ances Numerous Relatives North Iowa Conference
R. M. Dalby J. D. Herr Old Lady Giggling Girls State
Center Church Agents Small Conference Transfer De-
ceased Brethren G. M. Scott Death of T. H. Stockton-
Notice by A. H. Bassett New York Conference T. T.
Kendrick Singular Action Retribution Mercy, but not
Lawlessness.
A COUPLE of months later I was startled and greatly
saddened by intelligence of the sudden and unexpected
death of Valentine Lucas, pastor of the First Methodist
Protestant Church, Allegheny City, Pa., and a member
of the Pittsburg Conference, and also an intimate friend
of mine. He died on the 19th of May, 1868. He retired
to bed on Monday night a little before twelve o'clock, in
apparently excellent health. Shortly after three o'clock on
Tuesday morning his wife was awakened by hearing a
groan, and on looking to ascertain the cause, she found
him lying on the carpet beside the bed. She immediately
lighted the gas and summoned assistance; but the vital
spark had fled, and life was extinct. Thus suddenly was
he called away in the midst of his usefulness.
Brother Lucas was a man of fine physique and com-
manding presence. He possessed a good natural mind,
and had made respectable attainments. He was of a cheer-
ful and lively disposition, but never light and trifling. He
was noted for his kind and generous spirit and rare social
qualities. He was a true friend, an industrious pastor,
YEARS IN THE MINISTRY. 241
and a zealous and faithful preacher. He was closing his
fourth year in the pastorate of the First Church, Alle-
gheny. He was just in the prime of life, being a little
over forty-five at the time of his decease. He was greatly
missed and mourned by his numerous friends.
Before the meeting of the fall Conferences, I felt con-'
strained to utter a word of caution to the brethren in re-
gard to indulging an undue spirit- of levity during the
sessions of the Conferences. From my observations before
and since, I do not think it was out of place. Of course,
there were many to whom my remarks did not apply; but
there were many others to whom they did. I reminded
the brethren that the eyes of the world were upon them,
and that what would be considered entirely innocent in
others, would be criticised and condemned in them. "Men
are responsible for the influence they exert, and it matters
not how innocent their enjoyments may be, if they exert
an injurious influence on others, they should be abandoned.
On this principle the apostle declares, 'If meat make my
brother to offend, I will eat no meat while the world
standeth, lest I make my brother to offend/ Still, we
do not suppose that it would require any very great sacrifice
for brethren to avoid even the appearance of evil in their
intercourse with each other, and to maintain that cheerful
sobriety and cordial but decorous bearing, which is entirely
unexceptionable, and all that is really essential to true
enjoyment. The apostle cautions Christians generally
against 'jesting and foolish talking/ and this admonition
is peculiarly applicable to ministers, whose words should
be seasoned with grace. Yet, in their annual assemblies,
they appear to be peculiarly tempted, at least occasionally,
to indulge in light and trifling conversation, and it must
be admitted that the effects produced by such indulgence
are often of an injurious character. It lowers ministers in
242 RECOLLECTIONS OF FIFTY
the estimation of many, and lessens their influence for
good, while others regard it as a license to them to indulge,
not only in similar but far greater levity. In this way the
Church is injured, and the cause of Christ is made to
suffer."
The Pittsburg Conference, which I always attended,
met that fall (1868) in New Brighton, Pa., and was opened
with an able sermon by the president, Dr. "William Reeves,
on the "Deaconship," a subject which was then being a
good deal discussed in our Church. The sermon showed a
great deal of research, and much originality of thought.
The session of the Conference was a very pleasant one
throughout.
I next attended the Muskingum Conference, which
met, September 30th, in Cambridge, Ohio. I was very
kindly entertained by Dr. John Burns and his amiable
companion. Dr. Burns was one of the old and deservedly
honored members of the Muskingum Conference. He was
a man of fine presence, of gentlemanly bearing, affable
and courteous, always dignified, but never cold and stiff
in his manner. He was a safe counselor and a true friend.
He was a fine preacher, an excellent singer, a faithful pas-
tor, and one of the best of presiding officers. He was fre-
quently president of his own Conference, and several times
president of the General Conference. He was deservedly
esteemed throughout the whole Church. He died on the
12th day of September, 1883, at the age of seventy-five.
Although the names of most of the members were
familiar to me, the greater number of them were person-
ally strangers. I recognized only five or six who were
members of the Conference at the time of its organization
in 1842. I soon, however, formed the acquaintance of the
brethren, and my intercourse with them was very pleasant.
I also had the pleasure of meeting during that Con-
YEARS IN THE MINISTRY. 243
ference with several of my relatives, some of whom I had
not seen for years. Among these was the Rev. Thomas H.
Scott, a member of the Conference, John W. Scott and
wife, Elzy Scott and family, Eoss Scott and family, Wilson
Scott and wife, and John Scott, a namesake. I very much
desired to see George, Cyrus, and McKendry Scott; but
my limited stay would not permit. With some of these we
spent the days of our boyhood, and the pleasure of meeting
them and recalling the scenes of long ago was very great.
Several of my relatives bearing the euphonious name
"Scott" had removed from that neighborhood, and some
had died since my last visit. Still, there were a few left.
We thought of the man fighting off the mosquitoes, who
was told by a native that there were not many of them
there, but that a little farther on they were pretty plenty.
That was not exactly the headquarters of the Scotts, still
they had a name among the people. God bless them all!
I do not think it speaks well of any one to be indifferent
to the ties of kindred and the tender associations of his
childhood and youth.
In the beginning of October I visited the North Iowa
Conference, which met in State Center, Iowa, a little over
three hundred miles west of Chicago, on the Chicago &
Northwestern Railroad. Brother R. M. Dalby accompanied
me from Springfield, and at Forest we met with Rev. J. D.
Ilerr, of the Pittsburg Conference, who had been appointed
by that body a fraternal messenger to the North Iowa Con-
ference. Finding the other cars very much crowded, and
expecting to be out two nights, we secured berths in the
sleeper, where we found comfortable quarters, and antici-
pated a good night's rest. But in this we were somewhat
disappointed. We found the Scriptural declaration true,
that "one sinner destroyeth much good." One individual
is enough to interrupt the repose of a whole car-full of
244 RECOLLECTIONS OF FIFTY
people. We had one old lady in the car who was not satis-
fied with her quarters, and she was determined to make
her grievance known. She scolded just as some women can
scold. She declared the car was full of dust, and that she
was "eating dirt." No persuasion could induce her to
change her mind. At length she determined in disgust
to leave the car, expressing, as she did so, her regret for
having entered it, in which we presume all the passengers
heartily concurred. So, out she went in her wrath, scold-
ing as she went. We then hoped for quiet and rest; but
just as we were going to sleep, two giggling girls came in,
and their titter and talk woke us up, and banished sleep
from our eyes and slumber from our eyelids. At length
they quieted down, and we thought then that surely we
would have quietness; but in this we were disappointed,
for soon a drunken man came in, and although assured that
there was not an empty berth in the car, a berth he would
have, and before the conductor could get him out, every
one in the car was wide awake. These repeated annoyances
carried us far into "the small" hours of the night, and left
us more to do in the way of sleeping than we could accom-
plish in the short time left us for that purpose. Some per-
sons have no respect for themselves, and no regard for the
rights and comfort of other people. A person of good
sense, if he is uncomfortable himself, will avoid, so far as
he can, making others uncomfortable.
We left Chicago at three o'clock P. M., and arrived
at State Center about seven o'clock next morning,
somewhat weary after two nights on the cars. The Con-
ference organized by the election of J. Selby, president,
and William Purvis and E. J. Cook, secretaries. Reuben
Rose, corresponding secretary of the Board of Missions,
J. B. Walker, corresponding secretary of the Board of
Ministerial Education, J. S. Thrap, agent of Adrian* Col-
YEARS IN THE MINISTRY. 245
lege, 0. Gray, representative of Marshall College, J. D.
Herr, fraternal messenger from the Pittsburg Conference,
and myself, representing the publishing interests, were
present. All these brethren were very cordially received
by the Conference.
The Conference was not a large body, but composed of
good men. Afterwards it became united with the Iowa
Conference, and at present there is but one Conference
in the State. It is much better to have one strong Con-
ference within a given territory, than two or three small
and weak ones. Since the country has been covered with a
network of railroads, it is easier to move a long distance
than it was a short distance before.
E. M. Dalby was received by transfer from the Ohio
Conference, and was stationed in State Center. Of those
who were then members of the Conference, J. Selby, F. A.
Kirkpatrick, J. Dalby, J. A. Bolton, R. M. Dalby, and
perhaps others, have passed away. They were good and
true men, and faithfully finished their course. I have lost
sight of many of the members, whose names are, no doubt,
in the Book of Life. My dear old friend and relative,
G. M. Scott, although a member of the Conference, was
not present at that session. He is still engaged in the
active work of the ministry, though a little older than
myself.
During my absence at the North Iowa Conference, the
Eev. Thomas H. Stockton, that peerless orator, preacher,
and saintly man of God, passed away, full of faith and hope.
For many years he had been a member of the Pittsburg
Conference. The relation was nominal, and intended by
himself and by the Conference to keep up his official con-
nection with the Methodist Protestant Church. Brother
Stockton was born in Mount Holly, New Jersey, June 4,
1808, and died in Philadelphia, Pa., October 9, 1868, a
246 RECOLLECTIONS OF FIFTY
comparatively young man, though in appearance extremely
old and venerable. His career was a varied, brilliant, and
.honorable one. He filled the best charges in his own
Church, and was always welcome to the pulpits of other
Churches. He was three times elected chaplain of the
United States House of Representatives. He was unani-
mously elected president of the Miami University, Oxford,
Ohio; but declined the position. He published nearly half
a score of books, and left very valuable manuscripts which,
unfortunately, have never been published. It is greatly
to be regretted that no suitable biography of him has ever
been published. In my absence from home, Brother Bas-
sett kindly furnished an excellent sketch of Brother Stock-
ton for the editorial columns of the Recorder. I had the
pleasure of being well acquainted with him, and had the
privilege of entertaining him at my house. In his private
intercourse he was simple and artless as a child, and his
conversation, which was free and unrestrained, was as beau-
tiful as his public utterances. To know and hear such a
man, was a privilege not to be lightly esteemed.
In the March following (1869) I visited the New York
Conference, which met in the Grand Street Methodist
Protestant Church, Brooklyn. I had heard, a few days
before leaving home, that the Rev. T. T. Kendrick, for-
merly a member of the Ohio Conference, but who had lost
his membership therein, had fallen dead on the street in
Xenia, Ohio. With this sad fact, as I believed it to be,
in my mind, I left for the New York Conference. When I
got to the church where the Conference was held, and went
upstairs, the first man I met was Mr. Kendrick. As a mat-
ter, of course, I was greatly surprised, for I supposed he
was in his grave. But he was not. It was another man
who had died suddenly in Xenia, and not Mr. Kendrick.
He expressed great pleasure at meeting me, and told me
YE AIt8 IN THE MINISTRY. 247
that he had made application for admission into that Con-
ference, and that his case had been, or would be, referred
to a special committee, and he wished me to go before
the committee and state what I knew about him. This
very much surprised me, as I knew a good deal about him.
I told him if he would go with me before the committee,
and hear what I had to say, I would not object. To this
he at once acceded. In due time the committee met, and
I was requested to go before them, and Mr. Kendrick went
with me. The committee asked me what I knew about
Mr. Kendrick. I told them that I knew he had been a
member of the Ohio Conference; that charges had been
preferred against him; that he had been tried before a
committee and found guilty; that the committee indefi-
nitely suspended him from the ministry, and then dis-
solved; that he did not take an appeal from the decision of
the committee; that I was in the Ohio Conference at its
first session after his trial; and that when his name was
called the Conference decided that, as his suspension was
indefinite and he had taken no appeal, there was no
authority in the Church by which the suspension could be
lifted, and that it was equivalent to expulsion; and that
his name was stricken from the roll. Mr. Kendrick gave
his assent to my statement as correct.
Drs. J. J. Smith and R. Hanks, if I am not mistaken,
with some one else whose name I can not now recall, com-
posed the committee. The report of the committee was,
of course, adverse to the reception of Mr. Kendrick. Be-
fore the report was acted upon, Mr. Kendrick asked per-
mission to make a few remarks, which was granted him.
He confessed he had done wrong, said he was very sorry for
it; but he was determined not to do so again, and he wanted
to devote the remainder of his days to the service of the
Lord. He became tender and pathetic, and got hold of
248 RECOLLECTIONS OF FIFTY
the feelings of the brethren, and from appearance I
thought he would be received, notwithstanding the ad-
verse report of the committee. I felt that it was my duty
to speak, and I asked the privilege to do so, which was
granted. The house was full, and I stated before the Con-
ference and the audience what I had stated before the
committee. I was determined to clear my skirts in the
matter. After considering the case for a short time, the
Conference refused to receive him.
But the Church with which the Conference met had
called for his services for the coming year, and he and they
were anxious to carry out their purpose. The result of the
matter was, that he joined the Church that night on pro-
fession of faith; a Quarterly Conference was called, and he
was licensed to preach, and recommended as a suitable
person to be received into the itinerancy; his application
was presented to the Conference, and he was received.
After his reception, he was appointed to some out-of-the-
way mission by the Conference. It was then stated that
there was no ordained minister on the mission, and that
it was necessary that he should be ordained. In view of
this necessity his credentials were revived and their validity
recognized; and Mr. Kendrick was in the Conference a
full-fledged minister. The Conference, by the just law of
retribution, suffered the full penalty due to its well-meant
but wrong and foolish act.
It is right that a Church should be merciful; but it
should never override its own laws and usages, especially
when facts point in the opposite direction. Mr. Kendrick
was a fine-looking man, suave and attractive in his man-
ners, genial and companionable, and just the man to im-
press himself upon others. One of the great errors com-
mitted by some of our Conferences is the admission,
through .the force of personal influence and bearing, of
YEARS IN THE MINISTRY. 249
improper persons into the Conference. However defective
a man may be in talents and attainments, his character
should be above suspicion. It matters not how pressing the
need for ministers may be, no man should be received into
the ministry and the Conference unless his moral and
Christian character is above reproach.
I do not know whether Mr. Kendrick is living or not.
If he is, I hope he is doing well. He had abilities which,
if properly directed, were capable of doing good. I have
introduced his name here to show the evil results of
Churches and Conferences permitting their sympathies to
overcome their judgment, and cause them to connive at
the violation of wholesome law and discipline.
250 RECOLLECTIONS OF FIFTY
CHAPTER XX.
Conference in Fairmont Church Emta-aced Leading Citizens
J. E. Snowden Subject of Union First Suggestion of It-
Discussed in Church Papers Fraternal Delegates to Mary-
land Conference Cordially Received Article of J. T. Mur-
rayReview of W. C. Lipscomb Editorial Comment Fra-
ternal Messengers from Maryland Conference Addresses-
Very Kind, but Cautious Sabbath Services Tender
Time J. J. Murray's Sermon "Old, Old Story" Fraternal
Messengers to Maryland Conference W. H. Wills in
Methodist Protestant North Illinois Conference Discuss
Finance Smoking-car Nuisance Burying the Hatchet-
North Iowa Conference Small Attendance High Waters-
Laborers Few "Old John Brown."
THE Pittsburg Conference met that fall (1869) in Fair-
mont, W. Va., a very good place for a Conference to meet.
Our Church there was strong, and composed of a noble
class of people. The Peirpoints, the Barneses, the Flem-
ings, the Halls, and others of our members like them, were
among the leading citizens of the town and vicinity, and
a Church composed of such people could not but be influ-
ential. Eev. James E. Snowden was pastor of the Church.
He was an old friend of mine. I married him, and always
liked him; but for some reason he left our Church, and
went to the Congregationalists. That session of our Con-
ference was one of very great interest.
For some time before this the subject of a reunion of
the two severed branches of the Methodist Protestant
Church had been agitated. Numerous articles had been
published in our Church papers on the subject. I was in
favor of such a reunion, and I believe that I uttered the
first word publicly, suggesting such a union, True, it
YEARS IN THE MINISTRY. 2ol
was but a word, and merely suggested the thought; but
even that was something. In a brief editorial in our paper
of January 3, 1866, in referring to our exchanges, I said:
"And, first, we name the Methodist Protestant, Baltimore.
This is natural enough, because of cherished memories and
cherished hopes." The words here italicized were italicized
in the paper. This clearly shows that the thought the
hope of reunion was then in my mind. I have no recol-
lection of seeing anywhere any reference to the subject
prior to this. Afterward it was agitated in the Church
papers, and many persons were anxious to discuss it, and
some did so. I was not favorable to this. I did not think
that the union of the two bodies was to be brought about
in that way. I thought that such discussion would be more
likely to develop a spirit of antagonism than a spirit of
union. I thought that by fraternal intercourse and friendly
visitations we would be more likely to soften the asperities
of the past, and become imbued with the spirit of fraternity
and love, and I advocated such a course in the paper and
elsewhere.
At the session of the Pittsburg Conference of 1868 a
fraternal delegation, consisting of Revs. William Reeves,
William Collier, J. D. Herr, and Samuel Young, was ap-
pointed to carry the fraternal greetings of the Conference
to the Maryland Annual Conference of the Methodist
Protestant Church, to meet in Georgetown, D. C., in the
following March. These brethren, in compliance with the
wish of their Conference, attended the session of the Mary-
land Conference, and were very kindly and cordially re-
ceived. That body, by a rising vote, adopted unanimously
a resolution expressive of their sincere gratification in hear-
ing their addresses, and assuring them, "and the beloved
brethren they represented," of their "most earnest Chris-
252 RECOLLECTIONS OF FIFTY
tian sympathies, affection, respect, and confidence." This
was certainly very brotherly and encouraging.
About three months after the Maryland Conference,
there appeared an article in the Methodist Protestant (June
19th) from the pen of Dr. J. T. Murray, in which, among
other things, he said:
"The presence, at the last session of the Maryland Con-
ference, Methodist Protestant Church, of fraternal mes-
sengers from the Pittsburg Conference, Methodist {nee
Protestant) Church, was officially acknowledged by us, as
affording us 'sincere gratification;' and we gave them and
those they represented, assurance of 'our most earnest
Christian sympathy, affection, respect, and confidence? In-
dividually, many of us expressed to these messengers, in
plain terms, what we would fain believe our official lan-
guage implies: an earnest desire that we who were once
one corporate body, may be thus reunited. And what is
to hinder the reunion ? The unity of the spirit is the chief
thing. First that, and then corporate union. Just as
timbers, duly prepared, while lying separate are an un-
pointed frame-work, needing only to be brought into their
fitting relations to make a s3Tnmetrical building; so the
unity of the spirit between these two bodies has prepared
them to be brought into the strength and beauty of cor-
porate unity. I think the timbers will fit; let us at least
try them."
In the Protestant of July 10th, Eev. William C. Lips-
comb had an article in review of that of Dr. Murray. In
a brief notice of Brother Lipscomb's article in our paper
of July 21st, I said:
"We agree with Brother Lipscomb in deprecating a dis-
cussion, at the present time, on the subject of HTnion/
We think such a discussion now, instead of doing good,
would be productive of evil. That such a union will take
YEARS IN THE MINISTRY. 253
place we think entirely probable; but the time for it has
not yet come. We are fully convinced that it can never
be effected by a review and discussion of past issues; but
by the development and cultivation of different views and
feelings in the future. As we remarked before, it is im-
possible to combine antagonistic elements; but let an
affinity between them be produced, and a union may easily
be effected. This, we think, can more satisfactorily be
done, in the present case, by fraternal intercourse, than by
discussion in our Church periodicals. . . . The leaven
of union is at work. Let it have time, and, with the bless-
ing of God, may we not hope it will leaven the whole
lump? This unifying power must operate from within,
and not from without. Hence we heartily unite with
Brother Lipscomb in desiring, for the present, fraternal
intercourse, where the spirit of it exists, and not dis-
cussion."
The Conference at Fairmont, 1869, was a Conference
of fraternity and the best of feeling. Nothing occurred
to mar the pleasant intercourse of the brethren during the
session.
Rev. C. Springer, Rev. J. L. Scott, and Rev. G. "W.
Hissey, of the Muskingum Conference, much to the grati-
fication of our brethren, were in attendance, the first two
as fraternal messengers, and the latter as a visitor. Com-
munications from fraternal messengers of other Confer-
ences, of our own Church, who could not be present, were
received, and appropriate action taken in reference to
them. Dr. Mahan, president of Adrian College, and Rev.
J. B. Walker, corresponding secretary of the Board of
Ministerial Education, were also present.
On Thursday, Rev. J. K. Nichols, D. D., Rev. John J.
Murray, D. D., Rev. J. T. Murray, Rev. Daniel Bowers,
B. H. Richardson, Esq., and John T. Dodd, Esq., fraternal
254 RECOLLECTIONS OF FIFTY
messengers from the Maryland Conference of the Meth-
odist Protestant Church, arrived, and Friday morning was
fixed as the time for the formal exchange of fraternal greet-
ings. At the time appointed, the brethren named addressed
the Conference, according to their own arrangement, in
the order of their seniority, Dr. Nichols making the open-
ing address. It was distinctly stated that they came pre-
senting no proposition for union, but simply to extend
the Christian and fraternal greetings of the Maryland Con-
ference of the Methodist Protestant Church to the Pitts-
burg Conference of the Methodist Church. The addresses
of the brethren manifested a spirit of kindness and
brotherly affection, which evidently excited similar feelings
in the members of the Conference. Notwithstanding this,
sentiments were expressed by some of the brethren, which,
we have no hesitancy in saying, were not approved by the
Conference; yet they were so kindly uttered, and evidently
without any intention to give offense, that they did not
mar the good feeling which prevailed. The Maryland dele-
gation was an able and dignified one, and no doubt truly
represented the views and feelings of their Conference,
whose interests could not suffer by being committed to
their hands. Several brethren, by appointment of the
Conference, responded to their fraternal greetings in the
same spirit of brotherly affection, some of them taking the
liberty, in their turn, to express views which their visiting
brethren, perhaps, could not indorse. Dr. Brown, par-
ticularly, after expressing in the strongest terms the great
pleasure which the presence and greetings of the Maryland
brethren afforded him, remarked, nevertheless, that were
that the proper time and place, he held himself prepared
to fully justify our Church in all she did in assuming her
present position. The subject, however, was only alluded
to, and then dismissed. As the Doctor proceeded, he
YEARS IN THE MINISTRY. 255
reached out his hand and grasped that of Dr. Murray, re-
marking that were he near enough he would embrace him
in his arms; and, then, with a significant gesture peculiarly
his own, he added, "But, mind you, I give up no principle."
Remarks were made by other brethren, all of them kind,
some of them plain and candid, and some of them quite
gushing. The effect produced in the Conference and in
the large audience present was of a very happy character.
All felt that progress had been made, and that something
had been gained, and hope was excited in reference to the
future. That real differences in sentiment existed on some
points, no person of discernment could help but see; but
that great changes had already taken place was equally
evident, and the hope grew stronger that, by continued
fraternal intercourse, such a modification of sentiment and
feeling would take place as would enable the two branches
of what was the Methodist Protestant Church to come to-
gether and unite in one body, without the sacrifice of prin-
ciple, or dishonor to any one.
The Sabbath services were very impressive and profit-
able. Most of the visiting ministerial brethren preached,
and they did not preach a strange gospel. It was "the
old, old story," and hearts were melted by it, and flowed
together like drops of water. Dr. J. J. Murray preached
on Sabbath morning in our own Church on the great mul-
titude before the throne, and fairly captivated the hearts
of the people. It was, indeed, a union sermon. Although
nearly a quarter of a century has since elapsed, I recall
the events of that Conference with pleasure.
The Conference resolved to keep up the fraternal visi-
tations which had been inaugurated, and appointed Revs.
William Collier, John Cowl, G. G. Westfall, and John
Scott, and John Redman, Esq., and William Rinehart,
Esq., fraternal messengers to the Maryland Conference,
256 RECOLLECTIONS OF FIFTY
Methodist Protestant Church, to meet in Westminster,
Md., in the following March.
The same feeling manifested in the Pittsburg Confer-
ence did not at that time universally prevail in all the
Conferences. Rev. Dr. W. H. Wills, president of the North
Carolina Conference of the Methodist Protestant Church,
in an account of a presidential tour through his Confer-
ence, published in the Methodist Protestant, November 6,
1869, in referring to the visit of the fraternal messengers
of the Maryland Conference to the Pittsburg Conference,
said: "The speeches recently made in the Pittsburg Con-
ference of the Methodist Church, by the Maryland mes-
sengers, as also the responses of the Pittsburg members,
were very pretty, and no doubt produced a favorable effect
there." After indulging in some not very complimentary
reflections on some of the North Carolina brethren of the
Methodist Church, he proceeded: "Dr. Brown is reported
in the Protestant to have said that he could not give up
principle. Nor can we. Desirable as 'union' may be, I
can not believe that the Maryland District will ever con-
sent to ignore the present Constitution of the Methodist
Protestant Church. The South, I am sure, will not; espe-
cially will not North Carolina. But these fraternal inter-
changes are pleasant, and may lead to more conclusive
results."
At this session Brother Henry Siviter was received into
the Conference, and entered upon an honorable and useful
career as a minister of Jesus Christ. He was a man of
quiet and modest disposition, of gentle and loving spirit,
unselfish and without guile, a man of good mind, and
a very respectable preacher.
After spending one day at home on my return from
the Pittsburg Conference, I started, Wednesday morning,
YEARS IN THE MINISTRY. 257
September llth, for the North Illinois Conference, to meet
in Princeton, Illinois. I reached Chicago early next morn-
ing, and finding I would be detained there for several
hours, I went to a hotel and got breakfast, and spent the
remainder of my time in studying human nature as pre-
sented in a great many different phases. One person whose
attention I attracted, seated himself beside me, and seemed
very anxious to discuss finance. I never claimed to have
a profound knowledge of the subject; but having nothing
else to do, and being in a talking mood, I proceeded to
discuss banks, bonds, currency, and balances in trade in a
very knowing manner, feeling sure all the time that I was
talking to a <f blackleg" or pickpocket; but I determined
that if he stole my purse, which would not have been
very much of a prize, he would show himself a better
financier than I supposed him to be. Without exhausting
the subject I chose to dismiss it, and also my new-made
acquaintance, and turn my attention to other matters.
At ten o'clock I took the cars for Princeton. I was
directed to take a particular car, and soon found myself
surrounded with a dense cloud of tobacco-smoke. I sought
the door, and after inhaling a little fresh air, returned to
my seat, determined to convince my traveling' companion
for the time being, of the impropriety of the smoking
habit; but as if to add insult to injury, he would not dis-
cuss the subject with me, but meekly admitted that I was
right and he was wrong, and went on smoking, with the
provoking remark that the wind was favorable. About
that time the conductor came along, and I concluded to
ask him for a seat in another car; but, poor man, he seemed
to be deaf in the ear next to me, for he did not appear to
hear a word I said. But it was very wise in him to be deaf
just then, for there were far more people in the other cars
17
258 RECOLLECTIONS OF FIFTY
than there were seats to hold them. From an experience
of three or four hours, I came to the conclusion that
"smoking cars," like "smoky chimneys," are a nuisance.
I arrived in Princeton about two o'clock, and in due
time reached the Conference room, where I received a
hearty greeting from the brethren, the majority of whom
were strangers to me. I was especially pleased to meet
two or three brethren with whom I had had the misfortune
of differing in opinion in reference to the publication of
some matters; but after looking each other in the face,
and taking each other by the hand, and talking pleasantly
for awhile, we seemed to understand each other. At all
events, our greetings were very cordial, and we parted
talking about a "hatchet" that had been buried without
any hope of a resurrection. That was our first visit to
the North Illinois Conference, and it was a very pleasant
one. It was a good Conference, with a noble class of min-
isters and laymen who would have been an honor to any
cause. Late on Monday evening the Conference closed its
session, and next morning the "brethren departed for their
different fields of labor for another year.
From the North Illinois Conference I went direct to
the North Iowa Conference, which held its session in West
Liberty, about forty miles west of Davenport, Iowa, on the
line of the Rock Island & Pacific Railroad. The attend-
ance of the members at that session, on account of high
waters and bad roads, was comparatively small. The
great need of the Conference at that time, which is one
of the great needs of the Church everywhere to-day, was a
greater number of competent, devoted, and self-sacrificing
ministers. The harvest was great; but the laborers were
few. And it is so still in most of our Conferences.
During my stay in West Liberty, at his invitation, I
called upon a gentleman who was an intimate and special
YEARS IN THE MINISTRY. 259
friend of "old John Brown," of Harper's Ferry notoriety.
He told me a great many anecdotes of the old hero, or
fanatic, as men choose to call him. The winter before his
attack on Harper's Ferry, he drilled his men about twelve
miles north of West Liberty, and it was from this station
that he embarked to carry out his Utopian scheme. The
gentleman boarded ten of his men for some time before
their departure; but, although on the most intimate terms
with Mr. Brown, and enjoying, as he thought, his entire
confidence,, yet he never gave him the slightest hint of his
purpose, and when he left he knew nothing of his destina-
tion. He certainly possessed one qualification of a military
leader he knew how to keep his own counsels.
260 RECOLLECTIONS OF FIFTY
CHAPTER XXL
Alexander Olark and Samuel Young Young's Letter Of-
fense Article in Methodist Protestant Fraternal Messen-
gers Unpleasant Mood Call at Book Room Made Mattel-
Worse Dr. Collier Committee on Fraternal Relations-
Grievance Plain Talk Dr. Murray W. C. Lipscomb's Re-
marksRetractionSpell Broken Explanations A Mis-
understandingPleasant Ending Introduced to Confer-
ence Addresses Messengers of Methodist Episcopal
Church, South Funny and Flattering Addresses John
Paris "Brethren" Sunday Services Something Gained-
Resignation as Editor Resignation Accepted.
THE Eev. Alexander Clark and the Eev. Samuel Young
were ardent advocates of a union of the two branches of
the Methodist Protestant Church. They were outspoken
on the subject, and very zealous for its promotion. Indeed,
they did not appear to see any difficulties in the way. Still,
the union was a thing that could not be hurried. The
sentiment and feeling in favor of it had to be cultivated,
and given time to grow and strengthen.
In the Methodist Recorder of May 9, 1870, Brother
Young had a letter of Church news, in which he said:
"Two hundred and seventy-five members, composed partly
of Methodist Protestants and partly of young converts,
headed by Rev. H. A. Francis, are knocking for admission
into the Methodist Church in Pocahontas County, West
Virginia. This is quite cheering to me, as I have been
laboring for years to this end, but was almost ready to
despair of the success of the Methodist Church amidst the
associations of my native home."
This letter gave offense to some of our brethren of the
Methodist Protestant Church, and produced the impression
YEARS IN THE MINISTRY. 261
on their minds that Brother Young was not true, that he
was acting a double part, and that while he professed to
be anxious for a union of the two Churches, he was, never-
theless, trying to make proselytes to the Methodist Church
from the Methodist Protestant Church, and build up the
former at the expense of the latter.
In the issue of the Methodist Protestant for March 3,
1870, an editorial appeared reflecting very severely on
Brother Young, and calling in question his sincerity, and
winding up by inquiring if all the brethren of the Meth-
odist Church in the West were like him. This was just the
week before the meeting of the Maryland Conference.
There was, perhaps, some apparent grounds for persons un-
acquainted with the facts in the case, to challenge Brother
Young's position; but the reflection on all his brethren in
the West by wholesale was entirely gratuitous, without any
just cause, and very unkind.
I was one of the fraternal messengers from our Con-
ference to the Maryland Conference, to meet the next week,
and I had arranged with Brother John Cowl, another of
our fraternal messengers, to meet him at Benwood, below
Wheeling, on the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad, at a certain
time. Before I received the Methodist Protestant contain-
ing the editorial above referred to, I had procured my
ticket to Baltimore. When I read the editorial I was
greatly surprised, and righteously indignant. I felt that
I could not carry fraternal greetings to those who accused
me and my brethren, as I understood it, of deception and
double-dealing. But as I had my ticket, and had not time
to cancel my engagement with Brother Cowl, and did not
wish to disappoint him, I concluded to go and see what
explanation could be made, and what would come of the
whole thing. So I took the train at the appointed time,
and met Brother Cowl according to agreement. He had
262 RECOLLECTIONS OF FIFTY
read the editorial, and was as much exercised over it as I
was; but we agreed to go to Westminster, where the Con-
ference met, and see the end of it. In Baltimore we met
Brother T. H. Colhouer and Brother William Kinehart,
also fraternal messengers, and we were all in the same
mood.
Having a little time to spare, we called at the Methodist
Protestant Book Room, and found that all the preachers
had gone to Conference. Brother Thomas Ewing, the
Book Agent, was there, and on mentioning the matter of
the editorial to him, he informed us that it had been in
type for two or three weeks, and that they hesitated to
publish it; but at last concluded to let it appear. This only
made the matter worse. It was not published hastily and
on a sudden impulse; but was a matter of deliberation and
forethought, and was a designed and premeditated insult.
You have heard of March hares, and how mad they get.
Well, we were not wickedly mad; but we felt like resenting
an imputation which we knew to be unfounded and unjust.
With this feeling we went to the Conference as fraternal
messengers. When we got to Westminster we met Dr.
Collier, an old Marylander, and he was as much insulted
as any of us. We were, however, assigned to very pleasant
lodgings, and went to the church where the Conference
was being held.
At a suitable time Dr. J. J. Murray, chairman of the
Committee on Fraternal Relations, called his committee
together, and requested us to meet with them, in view of
fixing a time agreeable to all parties for addressing the
Conference. The committee and our delegation met, and
Dr. Murray wished to know when it would be agreeable
to us to be presented to the Conference and make our
addresses. We informed him that there was a little matter
that had to be arranged before we would consent to be in-
YEARS IN THE MINISTRY. 263
troduced to the Conference and address the body. We told
the committee that we had been openly insulted but a week
before in their official paper, and our sincerity and honor
called in question, and unless that accusation was with-
drawn, we would not consent to be introduced to the Con-
ference at all, and would not appear before it. Each of our
delegation spoke, and, I suppose, with some earnestness,
and there were several responses.
At length, Dr. Murray, chairman of the committee, a
man I afterwards learned to love, felt constrained to in-
form us that he did not feel disposed, under the influence
of threats, to make any explanations in the case. It did
not appear much like a love-feast, although nothing inde-
corous had been said. Then Brother William C. Lipscomb
rose, and made some severe remarks about the Western
brethren, when suddenly, as if conscience-stricken, he
paused, and in a peculiar manner said, "I will not say that;
I take that all back." There was something in his look
and manner that amused us all, and we indulged in a laugh
at his expense. This was like a ray of sunshine, and
seemed to inspire us all with a different spirit, and started
a new line of thought.
Dr. Collier was at that time president of the Pittsburg
Conference, and was familiar with the facts in the case of
Brother Young. He told the committee that there was no
ground for the charge against him. When the West Vir-
ginia Conference disbanded during the Eebellion, it was
agreed that each charge should choose its own associations,
and affiliate with the Southern or Northern division of the
Church as it might think best. The Pocahontas Circuit
had not connected itself with either branch of the Church;
but stood alone as an idependent body, without any eccle-
siastical affiliations, and Brother Young did not try to get
anybody to leave the Methodist Protestant Church, but
264 RECOLLECTIONS OF FIFTY
only tried to get this independent circuit that stood out
in the cold, to come into the sheltering fold of the Meth-
odist Church, which he certainly had a right in all good
faith to do. This was a revelation to our Maryland breth-
ren, who supposed that the Pocahontas Circuit was con-
nected with one of their Conferences, and that Brother
Young had been trying to get it to secede and unite with
the Methodist Church. Admitting the facts stated by
Brother Collier, the charge made in the Protestant was,
of course, groundless, and based on a misapprehension of
facts. The committee being convinced of these facts, like
Brother Lipscomb, were willing to take back what had been
said in the Protestant; and Dr. Murray promised, which
promise he kept, that in introducing us to the Conference
he would explain the misapprehension of facts, and relieve
us of the imputation which had been cast upon us.
The next day was fixed upon as the time for our ad-
dresses to the Conference. Dr. Murray introduced us in
a few neat remarks, in which he relieved us of the imputa-
tion and embarrassment under which we had labored. Dr.
William Collier, the senior member of our delegation, and
who had been president of the Maryland Conference, led
off in one of his most happy addresses, and was followed
by Dr. John Cowl, and after that by the other members
of the delegation. The Conference was evidently favorably
impressed, and the spirit of union was strengthened.
While Dr. Cowl was speaking, a fraternal delegation
from the Baltimore Conference of the Methodist Episcopal
Church, South, consisting of Dr. Rozel, Dr. Poisel, and a
local minister, whose name I can not recall, arrived, and
requested to be heard just after us, as they wished to re-
turn to Baltimore that evening. Their request was granted,
and at the close of our addresses, Dr. Rozel proceeded to
address the Conference. He evidently perceived that we
YEARS 1% THE MINISTRY. 265
had made an impression on the Conference, and he de-
sired to dissipate it. His address was a very humorous
one. He compared Methodism to a kite. At first it had
no tail; but it flew very well. After a few years the breth-
ren concluded that it needed a tail, and they put the Epis-
copal tail to it, and still it flew very well. After a while
a party in the Church thought the tail was too long, and
they wanted to cut part. of it off. Still it flew nicely. But
after a time another party thought one tail was not enough,
and they put another tail to it, and still it was flying
grandly. In this way he directed attention to the intro-
duction of Episcopacy into the economy of Methodism,
the attempt of the Reformers to curtail its powers, and the
final division of the Church into two Episcopal bodies,
North and South. His whole address was humorous and
witty, and produced a good deal of mirth in the Confer-
ence. At the close of his address, the local minister, rather
an aged man, addressed the Conference, and lauded the old
men of the Conference to the sky. They were grand men.
He had never known their superiors. He evidently de-
signed to make the old men feel comfortable, and be on
good terms with themselves. Dr. Poisel, an old bachelor,
as we were informed, proceeded in his address to eulogize
the young men of the Conference. They were noble young
men, destined to make their mark in the world, and much
of that sort of thing. The Baltimore delegation evidently
desired the Conference to think well of itself; still we did
not think they made a very favorable impression. Their
addresses contained too much fun and compliment for
sensible men to thoroughly relish.
On the next day the Rev. Dr. John Paris, of North
Carolina, addressed the Conference. Dr. Paris told the
Conference that they had heard on the day before the fra-
ternal greetings of brethren from other Churches; but he
266 RECOLLECTIONS OF FIFTY
came from one of their own Conferences, which had al-
ways been in sympathy with them. They were brethren,
and had always seen eye to eye. In order to demonstrate
this, he told them that when he came into Frederick, with
Stonewall Jackson, as chaplain, during the late war, he
was rather dilapidated in appearance; but he was still a
Methodist Protestant, and had his Methodist Protestant
hymn-book and Discipline in his haversack. He inquired
if there were any Methodist Protestants in Frederick, and
was directed to the residence of Eev. Dr. Daniel Eeece
(who was, by the way, a loyal man). The Doctor treated
him kindly, and invited him to take tea with him, and
they had a pleasant interview. The purport of it all was,
"I was a rebel; but you and I were still brethren, and in
full sympathy with each other." His address was hardly
a happy one. The people about Westminster, we were
told, were generally loyal during the war, and some of
them had suffered considerably from the depredations of
the Confederates, and we fancied that Dr. Paris's address
did not suit them very well. He was a good man, and
loved and trusted by his brethren; but we were still too
near the scenes of conflict and blood through which we
had passed, for men to entirely forget their sectional differ-
ences. Upon the whole, we thought the people appeared to
be more in sympathy with their Northern than their South-
ern brethren.
The Sunday services were pleasant and profitable. Dr.
Cowl preached in the Methodist Protestant Church in the
morning one of his grand and touching sermons, and evi-
dently got hold of the hearts of the people. In the after-
noon there was an excellent love-feast. At night I preached
on the great design of the gospel, "to gather together in
one all things in Christ." Whatever might be said of the
sermon, it was a good subject, and adapted to the occasion.
YEARS IN THE MINISTRY. 267
Our delegation returned home from the Conference in
much better spirits than when they went. We felt that
we had lost nothing, but had made some permanent gain.
We and our Maryland brethren evidently understood each
other a little better than we had before. It was clear that
we were not yet ready for union; but the way was being
prepared, and we were getting nearer each other.
On the 27th day of April, 1870, for reasons which I
deemed sufficient, I tendered my resignation as editor of
the Methodist Recorder to the Board of Publication, to take
effect on the 15th day of September following. My resig-
nation did not result from any unpleasantness of any kind
connected with my position, for my relations with the
Board and the publisher were of the most agreeable char-
acter. Nor was my work uncongenial. My reasons were
purely personal, and I never had occasion to regret my
act. I think it was entirely proper, and, indeed, it seems
to me the hand of Providence was in it. When I resigned
it was in view of returning to the pastorate; but I had no
place in view, and did not know whether my services would
be called for anywhere or not. It was not long, however,
till I received an invitation to serve the Sixth Street
Church, Cincinnati. This invitation I accepted, subject,
of course, to the authority of the stationing power of the
Conference. In the meantime I labored faithfully to per-
form my duty on the paper, and did not relax my efforts
in that direction.
On the 25th of May the Board of Publication, at its
annual meeting, accepted my resignation as editor, and
unanimously elected Rev. Alexander Clark to be my suc-
cessor. This proved to be a happy selection. Brother
Clark had rare gifts for such a position. He was a very
genial and companionable man, and wielded a facile pen.
As a descriptive writer he had few equals.
268 RECOLLECTIONS OF FIFTY
CHAPTER XXII.
General Conference Methodist Protestant Church Brown, Col-
lier, Clark, Fraternal Messengers Cordial Greetings
Paper by J. J. Murray Discussion Different Views
Amended, and in Part Adopted Editorial Notice of the
Discussion and Action Last Editorial Reference to the
Subject General Convention Recommended Fraternal
Messengers to Methodist General Conference Thought of
Union Not Abandoned.
ON the 7th of May, 1870, the General Conference of
the Methodist Protestant Church met in Baltimore, Mary-
land. At that Conference the Revs. George Brown, Will-
iam Collier, and Alexander Clark were present as fraternal
messengers from the Pittsburg Conference. These breth-
ren appeared before the Conference, assuring that body
of their earnest desire that the old union might be re-
stored, and that they were willing to do anything that did
not require a sacrifice of principle to consummate the
reunion. The president of the Conference responded to
their addresses, reciprocating their fraternal sentiments,
and assuring them that the subject would receive from the
Conference respectful consideration. At a subsequent
time, and we believe after the fraternal messengers had
withdrawn, Rev. J. J. Murray, D. D., chairman of the
Committee on Ecclesiastical Visitors and Communications,
presented the following report:
"WHEKEAS, The Pittsburg Conference of the Methodist
Church, actuated by the desire to promote the union of the
two bodies formerly constituting the Methodist Protestant
Church, did send as fraternal messengers to this body Rev.
YEARS IN THE MINISTRY. 269
George Brown, D. D., Rev. William Collier, D. D., and Rev.
Alex. Clark, A. M.; and
"WHEREAS, Said messengers have expressed the desire of
the body they represent, and of several other Annual Confer-
ences of the Methodist Church, for reunion, asserting, at the
same time, that the intention of these and other Conferences,
acting with them in what they define as an act of suspension,
was not to secede from the Methodist Protestant Church, but
simply to prevent the disruption of said Annual Conferences;
and
"WHEREAS, The fraternal messengers aforesaid have ex-
pressed kind sentiments of Christian regard for this body and
the Churches it represents; therefore, be it
"Resolved, By the General Conference of the Methodist Prot-
estant Church, That the fraternal visit of Rev. George Brown,
D. D., Rev. William Collier, D. D., and Rev. Alexander Clark,
A. M., is highly appreciated, and their sentiments of Christian
regard are fully reciprocated.
"Resolved, That whenever the Conferences aforesaid shall
see fit to rescind their act of suspension, and place themselves
again under the Constitution and Discipline of the Methodist
Protestant Church, they will be cordially received as co-labor-
ers in the cause of Christ, and constituent members of this
body.
"Resolved, That if the General Conference of the Methodist
Church shall see fit to appoint commissioners to consider the
subject of union between that Church and the Methodist Prot-
estant Church, the president of this body is authorized, upon
due notification of said appointment, to designate commis-
sioners from this body to meet and confer with the commis-
sioners of the Methodist Church."
Eeport signed by the committee.
The second resolution in the report was amended by
striking out the following words: "rescind their acf of sus-
pension, and," after which the preamble and first and
second resolutions, as amended, were adopted.
The third resolution of the report was then taken up.
The following account of the discussion on this resolution
270 RECOLLECTIONS OF FIFTY
is copied from the Baltimore Gazette of May 17th, and is
supposed to be, in the main, correct:
"Dr. Bates was opposed to the union at the present
time. We were different Churches; the literature of their
brethren of the Western (Methodist) Church could not be
circulated in the Maryland Conference. We were not
ready for the union. There was no political stain upon the
record of the Methodist Protestant Church.
"Dr. Murray said the resolutions contemplated merely
an act of Christian courtesy and kindness. We did not
take the initiative; our Commission was to be appointed
after the appointment of one on the part of the Methodist
Church.
"Dr. Nichols said he thought the adoption of the item
would be productive of much good, not only in Maryland,
but elsewhere.
"Dr. Batchelor contended that the Conference had no
constitutional power to pass the resolution; , the Confer-
ence at Georgetown had said so. If the passage of this
resolution would have the effect of changing the 12th
article of the Constitution in reference to the word 'white,'
a great part of the North Carolina Conference would be
obliged to leave the Conference.
"Dr. Herring said the abstract question of union be-
tween ourselves and the Methodist Church was not under
discussion. The resolution just passed gives our view as
to the manner in which that union may take place; it was
definite, but this item might lead to the inference that in
the appointment of the commission we contemplated to
do more than we intended to do.
"Brother Button said the Methodist Church has invaded
the rights of the Methodists of the South, and it required
the mellowing influence of time to effect a union. It was
YEARS IN THE MINISTRY. 271
premature at this time. He thought the matter should
be dropped just where it was.
"Brother J. T. Murray said he was known as a sup-
porter of the contemplated union; but he did not think
the question was before the Conference. He did not de-
sire union, however, by dividing ourselves. We have al-
ready said we would unite with the Methodist Church
under certain circumstances, and this resolution was, there-
fore, unnecessary. If there were wranglings concerning
Church property, etc., on the border, they would be laid
at rest by union. He believed the fraternal messengers had
come to us with pure motives.
"Dr. Webster said, taking everything into consider-
ation, it would, perhaps, be best not to pass the item. It
seemed so selfish for the Western Conferences when they
seceded to say, if the word 'white' were not stricken out,
they would be ruined, when they knew perfectly well that
if it were stricken out, we ourselves would be ruined. They
had no interest in the matter. After they seceded upon
such ground, he felt like leaving them to have it out their
own way. They found their way out, and they can find
their way back. He would, however, to satisfy our dis-
senting brethren and receive them back, strike out any-
thing from the Discipline except principles. The Mary-
land Conference would not do anything but what would
be acceptable to the other Conferences; the action should
be unanimous.
"Dr. Southerland said the fraternal messengers had
been pleased to say that there was one word in the Consti-
tution which was offensive to them. It was a constitu-
tional word, put there by the fathers, and suggested by
sad experience. He believed, with Dr. Bates, that there
were dangers ahead, and that the Maryland Conference
was not ready for the question.
272 RECOLLECTIONS OF FIFTY
"The representatives from the Alabama and Texas
Conferences objected to the passage of the item.
"President Whitfield (Dr. Webster in the chair) said
the Virginia Conference had been contemplating a union;
but as Maryland stood upon the question, so he considered
the whole South stood. It was not necessary, after having
forgiven these Western brethren, to take them to our
bosoms. The discussion of the subject of the suspension
was an agitation of a political question, which was not
desired by the Virginia Conference.
"The resolution was lost. The report as amended was
then adopted."
In commenting on the above reported discussion and
action in the Methodist Recorder of May 25th, we said:
"This discussion is quite suggestive. We refrain, how-
ever, from making any remarks upon it, leaving the reader
to form his own opinion of its character and bearing. We
wish, nevertheless, to notice the effect of the action of the
Conference. While it does not preclude fraternal inter-
course between the two bodies, it prohibits any official
negotiation in view of the union of the Methodist and
Methodist Protestant Churches, and thus virtually ends,
so far as its action can do so, the union movement. It is
in effect an official notification to the Methodist Church in
advance, that it is useless for her to appoint commissioners
to treat with the Methodist Protestant Church on the sub-
ject of union; for in case she shall do so, she will find no
persons authorized to negotiate with them on this subject.
So far, then, as this phase of the question is concerned,
it is definitely settled, at least for the next four years to
come. Perhaps it is best so. The time, it may be, is
not yet.
"As to the manner indicated by the General Confer-
YEARS IN THE MINISTRY. 273
ence in which a union may be effected, we have only to
say, as the case now stands, it can never take place in that
way. We are willing to recognize our Methodist Protestant
brethren as equals, but, we wish it distinctly understood,
not as superiors. As equals, at the proper time we are
willing to meet them, and consider calmly and dispassion-
ately the questions of difference between us; if more than
this is demanded, self-respect and love of principle alike
require the rejection of any such proposal.
"While we feel constrained to make these plain state-
ments, we do so with no unkind feeling. While we do not
despair of an ultimate union of these two bodies, we are
more and more convinced that it will require time and
the exercise of forbearance to effect it. We desire no
union at the sacrifice of principle or honor. A union pro-
cured at such a price would be too dear. The great work
before us is to labor for the advancement of the cause of
Christ in the sphere in which Providence has placed us.
If this sphere can be enlarged, and our hands strengthened
to labor in it, so much the better; but if not, let us faith-
fully preform the labor assigned us, and the final result
will be glorious. So, then, for the present at least, let
us dismiss the subject of union with our Methodist Prot-
estant brethren, and address ourselves to our great work,
not forgetting to keep 'the unity of the Spirit in the bond
of peace.' *
This was my last editorial notice of the union move-
ment before retiring from the Recorder. In view of some
of the remarks of our Methodist Protestant brethren, it
was certainly mild and forbearing; but that was the only
spirit in which union could be promoted. That General
Conference, however, passed a resolution recommending
the several Annual Conferences to unite in calling a Con-
18
274 RECOLLECTIONS OF FIFTY
vention, to meet in Lynchburg, Va., at the time of the
meeting of the General Conference there in 1874, for the
purpose of effecting certain changes in the Constitution
of the Church. It also appointed fraternal messengers to
the General Conference of the Methodist Church. So, after
all, the feeling and thought of union was not abandoned.
YEARS IN THE MINISTRY. 275
CHAPTER XXIII.
Removal to Cincinnati Action of Board of Publication Sixth
Street Church Organization Location Persons of
Wealth Sale of Church New Location A Great Mis-
take Leading Members John Whetstone William
Young Spirit-intercourse "Never Came Back" John
Richards Delirium Tremens Indelible Impressions Noble
Women Many Things of Interest Two Sisters Funeral
of "Susie" Brown Trying Ride Effort to Make a Ser-
monTender and Solemn Scene A Good Enough Re-
ligion.
IN September, 1870, 1 retired from the editorship of the
Methodist Recorder, and removed from Springfield, Ohio,
to Cincinnnati, to become pastor of the Sixth Street Meth-
odist Church. I left the brethren with whom I had been
officially associated in Springfield for nearly six years with
the kindest feelings, and with sentiments of high esteem,
which, judging from the adoption of the following report,
was reciprocated on their part. I will be pardoned for giv-
ing it here, as it is one of the pleasant incidents connected
with a long life of toil, and I see no good reason why it
should be withheld. The committee say:
"The undersigned were appointed by the Board of Pub-
lication of the Methodist Church, at its last annual meet-
ing, to give expression to the feelings of the Board in re-
gard to the retirement of Rev. John Scott, D. D., from the
editorial control of the Methodist Recorder, after a most
satisfactory and useful connection with it during a period
of six years.
"It is to us a real pleasure, as well as a duty, to say, that
in all our intercourse, official and social, with Dr. Scott,
he has endeared himself to us as a pure-minded, intelligent
276 RECOLLECTIONS OF FIFTY
Christian gentleman, possessed of rare gifts and qualifica-
tions for the high and responsible position of editor of a
religious journal. And further, that he has at all times,
faithfully and in the spirit of self-denial, prosecuted his
work. In view of the extensive and increasing usefulness
of Brother Scott, to the whole Church, as editor of the
Church papers, we deeply regret the necessity that com-
pels us to submit to the loss of his services in that relation;
but in re-entering the pastoral work, which he regards as
his heaven-appointed life-work in whatever portion of the
Master's vineyard he may be called to labor our best
wishes will follow him, and our prayers will be offered for
the blessing of our Heavenly Father upon him and his
amiable family. J. M. FLOOD,
J. G. EVANS,
Committee."
The Sixth Street Church, of which I became pastor,
was, I think, the first organization of our people in the
West. On the 18th day of August, 1828, two hundred
and seventy-nine members withdrew from the Methodist
Episcopal Church in Cincinnati, and organized the Sixth
Street Church. They were a noble class of men and wo-
men, and their names are worthy of being held in honor.
As an illustration of the spirit by which the leading
men of that Church were actuated, I give the following
paper, the original of which is in my possession:
"We, the undersigned, members of the Methodist Prot-
estant Church of Cincinnati, being deeply impressed with
the obligation Divine goodness has laid us under in ena-
bling those with whom we are joined in fellowship, to
establish a government for the Church based on religious
liberty and equal rights to all its members, thereby se-
curing to us and our posterity a blessing we hold very
YEARS IN THE MINISTRY. 277
dear; and while we feel truly grateful that we have not
labored in vain in this matter, we feel deeply solicitous
to see and experience the important work of reform in our
hearts, lives, and manners, as well as in our Church polity,
which, in reference to the vast concerns of a future life
and eternity, can be of little importance to us as individ-
uals, who quickly pass away from among the living. There-
fore, in order that we may improve to the best advantage
those great temporal blessings which God has vouchsafed
to us for our spiritual edification and growth in grace and
in the knowledge of God, and be better prepared to glorify
him and be useful to our fellows in our day, we, in the fear
of God, agree to observe the following rules, viz.: We will
endeavor, through grace, to maintain a constant watch
over all our words, thoughts, actions, tempers, and man-
ners; second, we will constantly and uniformly three times
a day implore the Divine blessing; third, we will read a
portion, not less than a chapter, in the Scriptures every
day; fourth, we will, in a tender and Christian manner,
advise, counsel, and reprove each other whenever we see
or hear in each other that which we think to be wrong;
fifth, we will use fasting or abstinence once in each week,
as we may be able to bear it, as a means of self-denial, and
to increase our watchfulness; sixth, we will meet together
once a week for social devotion, where each one will be at
liberty to exhort the rest, tell his experience, engage in
prayer or singing; in short, take that part in the meeting
that he may believe in the fear of God is best for him and
those who worship with him; seventh, we declare that no
vain conceit that we are better than others has prompted
us to this, but a deep sense of our own want of spirituality,
that haply God may have compassion on us, revive us and
those with whom we are joined in fellowship, whose luke-
warmness and deadness with ourselves we deplore and
278 RECOLLECTIONS OF FIFTY
lament; eighth, we do this in submission to the Church:
whenever they shall think any part, or the whole, is wrong,
we will discontinue, as we think we have only the glory
of God, our good, and the good of others in view; ninth,
each male member, as his name may stand on this paper,
will be considered the leader for that night, and is at lib-
erty to speak to any of the rest, and require them to tell
their experience, pray, etc.; tenth, each meeting shall be
commenced by reading a chapter, singing, and prayer;
eleventh, we feel under obligation, punctually and faith-
fully to attend on all the means of grace established in our
Church, so far as in our power lies." (Signed,) James
Foster, William Young, Thomas Wright, Moses Lyon, E.
Beal, F. Westerman, and E. Mudge.
These were some of the original and leading members
of the Church, and this paper, which, no doubt, was in-
tended for the signatures of others also, shows the spirit
which these men possessed. While they placed a high esti-
mate on the polity of our Church, they placed a still higher
estimate on true godliness.
Most of the early brethren and sisters had passed away
before the time of my pastorate, and their places had been
filled by others. The Church still had many noble men
and women in it; but it was not strong, and the congre-
gation was not large. Among its members were several
persons of large wealth, and the Church was in no financial
straits. The location of the Church had at one time been
perhaps among the best; but the people had moved out,
and the Church was now in the business part of the city,
and the location had ceased to be favorable for Church
purposes. We occupied it for three or four years after I
became pastor, when the society sold it for over thirty
thousand dollars, and remodeled and enlarged the church
YEARS IN THE MINISTRY. 279
on George Street, which they owned, and which they still
occupy, at a cost of a little over ten thousand dollars.
The George Street church is a very nice church; but
unfavorably located. At the time the Sixth Street church
was sold, a comparatively new and commodious Protestant
Episcopal church, which some five years before had been
built at a cost of about thirty-two thousand dollars, in a
very eligible location, was offered to our people, with all
its furnishment of pipe-organ, carpets, cushions, and Sun-
day-school furniture, for nineteen thousand dollars; but
the older members of the Church opposed its purchase,
and carried their point, and the Church lost an opportunity
which it will never be able to regain.
Among the leading members of the Sixth Street Church
at that time were John Whetstone, John Richards, "W". H.
Harbaugh, William White, Henry Ellis, and D. C. Garri-
son. Brothers Horn, Hicks, and Ogden had died a short
time before I came to the Church.
Brother Whetstone was a member of the original or-
ganization, lie was a man of large means, strong mind,
unblemished Christian character, and devotedly attached
to the Church of his choice. He was one of the early in-
habitants of Cincinnati, having come to the place when it
was quite a small village, with his parents in 1792, when
only four years of age. He was raised there, married there,
and spent the remainder of his days in the city. He fre-
quently related to me interesting reminiscences of the
early days of Cincinnati. He told me that he and a friend
of his were among the first persons to build on Fourth
Street. They built together a hewed log house. It was
then among the best houses in the place. They had each
two rooms; but one room, Brother Whetstone said, would
have been enough for him, as he had nothing to put in
the other.
280 RECOLLECTIONS OF FIFTY
He engaged in the lumber business at an early day,
and was very successful, although on one occasion, during
a great monetary depression, he came near being pushed
to the wall. But he had friends who knew him and who
trusted him, and helped him through. Nicholas Long-
worth and several other leading citizens indorsed his paper
in blank, and told him to go to the banks and do the best
he could, to fill the blank with the amount he should be
able to obtain. This was a wonderful token of confidence;
but it was not abused. He finally pulled through, and his
business became more prosperous than ever. Sometimes, in
referring to his early life and labors, he would say with
peculiar emphasis, "I married the prettiest girl in Cincin-
nati." Sister Whetstone was a very amiable woman. She
died September 10, 1869, just about a year before I went
to Cincinnati.
Brother "Whetstone was in some respects a remarkable
man. He told me that he went out of business in 1837,
when just in the prime and vigor of life, and when his
business was the most successful, and when he was making
money faster than he had ever done before. And the reason
why he quit business was lest he should get rich. He said
he had noticed that the children of many men, who had
accumulated large fortunes, had been ruined thereby.
They did not feel the need of forming habits of industry
and economy, but became idle, improvident, and often
dissipated, and the wealth which their parents had gath-
ered with great care and labor, they scattered with reck-
less prodigality; and he feared if he became rich it might
prove the means of ruining his children, and he resolved
to quit business. He said he told his children that while
they were at home he had enough to keep them; but that
they could not always be at home, and that it was neces-
sary for them to acquire a knowledge of business, and be
YEARS IN THE MINISTRY. 281
able to provide for themselves. As the result, his sons
became active and prosperous business men, and his family
proved a comfort to him. But notwithstanding his retire-
ment from business, by the appreciation in value of real
estate which he had purchased when prices were low, and
the prudent management of his affairs, he became quite
wealthy, and was able to largely aid his children after they
had become active business men. Money, when it is the
means of aiding honest industry and laudable enterprise,
is a blessing; but when it is the occasion of promoting idle-
ness and profligacy, it is a curse. But, after all, it is not
perhaps so much the possession of wealth, or the lack of
wealth, but the proper education and training of children,
that forms their character and determines their course.
The children of poor men, as well as the children of the
rich, go astray, showing that there is a common cause,
which may be stimulated either by wealth or poverty, and
which, if unchecked by proper education and training,
may lead to sad results. And, then, both among rich and
poor, there are children who, notwithstanding the best of
training, break away from all moral restraints, and do
badly. Still, Brother Whetstone's course, whether the as-
sumption on which it was based was correct or not, showed
the strength and controlling power of sincere convic-
tions.
William Young was one of the expelled local ministers
who entered into the original organization of our Church
in Cincinnati. He did not reside there in my time; but
frequently visited there, as one of his daughters had mar-
ried a son of Brother Whetstone, and I became well ac-
quainted with him. In his old days he became a sort of
Spiritualist, and believed that some of his old friends,
Snethen, and Shinn, and others, sometimes visited him.
Brother Whetstone did not have much faith in the reality
282 RECOLLECTIONS OF FIFTY
of this spirit intercourse. On Brother Young's last visit
to Cincinnati, while I was there, he and Brother Whet-
stone had a long conversation on the subject, and they
agreed that whichever of them should die first, if God
should permit, would come back and communicate with
the other. With this understanding they parted. Brother
Young returned home to Painesville,.0hio, and died rather
suddenly a few days after reaching home. Brother Whet-
stone, in conversing with me about him afterwards, told
me of the agreement they had made, and laughingly re-
marked, "But he never came back." Such, I take it, is
generally the case. When men leave this world, whatever
spiritual influence they may be permitted secretly and
silently to exert on our spirits, they are not, I think, per-
mitted to appear in visible form, except it may be on some
extraordinary occasion, such as in the case of Samuel, if his
appearance was real, and in that of Christ. The spirits of
the departed do not return at our beck, to gratify our idle
whims. What manifestations Satan and his angels may
be permitted to make is quite another question. At any
rate, Brother Young, a very reliable man while in this
world, for some good reason, no doubt, did not keep his
engagement with Brother Whetstone. Brother Whetstone
survived his wife four years and eleven months, dying on
the 10th day of August, 1874. He died in great peace in
the eighty-second year of his age, and was interred beside
his beloved wife in Spring Grove Cemetery.
John Richards was another leading member of the
Sixth Street Church. He was a few years the junior of
Brother Whetstone. He had been a member of our Church
when a young man; but for a time had fallen away. Hg
had been elected captain of a military company, and, un-
fortunately, fell into habits of intemperance, and the
Church expelled him. After a few years, however, he re-
YEARS IN THE MINISTRY. 283
covered himself from his evil habit, and his wife told him
that she would go with him to any Church that he might
choose. He said he would go back to the Church that he
had dishonored, and which had turned him out as it should
have done. And he did so. When I went there he had
been a member of the Church for nearly thirty-five years,
was a member of the Official Board, and held in high es-
teem. He was a man of strong mind, iron will, and great
energy. He never communed. He told me that he would
as soon put his head in the fire as taste wine. He had had
the cholera, and his physician prescribed brandy; but he
refused to take it. He said he would rather die than touch
it. Before he had fallen into habits of intemperance he
owned considerable property, and when he broke off his
intemperate habits he found himself greatly in debt. He
showed me one piece of property which he told me had
cost more than it was worth in interest; but he was de-
termined to keep it. He carried on an extensive business,
and before his death paid off all his indebtedness, and had
a handsome property left. He told me that he had delirium
tremens twenty-one times, and that he had frequently seen
and conversed with the devil. This he believed as firmly as
he believed in his own existence. On one occasion the
devil wanted him to commit suicide; but he would not con-
sent to that. He had too much family pride for that; he
would not disgrace his family. The devil told him that
everybody knew he had a great deal of business about the
river, and that he could slip in sometime, and it would
be considered an accident. But he would not consent to
do it. The devil, he said, often annoyed him on the street,
and he concluded if he had a Bible about him, that he
would perhaps let him alone. So, one day he got a small
Bible and put it in the crown of his hat before going down
street; but at the corner of Broadway and Fourth he met
284 RECOLLECTIONS OF FIFTY
the devil, who cried out, "There goes a hypocrite with a
Bihle in his hat." He told me this more than thirty-five
years after the time he believed it had occurred. It was
not because he was a weak-minded man, for he was not;
but a man of strong mind and clear judgment, as was evi-
dent from the fact that he personally managed and con-
trolled a large and profitable business till within a year of
his death; but he believed it because the impressions he
received in his delirium were burned into his very soul,
and nothing could efface them. What a horrible condition
a man must be in to leave such indelible impressions upon
his mind! Brother Richards maintained his integrity to
the end, and having overcome the world, the flesh, and the
devil, died in peace, and went to reap his reward.
Among the noble women of the Sixth Street Church in
my time were Sisters Ogden, Tatem, Skillinger, Kirby,
White, and Zilar. There were many others; but these were
among the older members, who were always foremost in
every good word and work. Their kindness to us in many
ways laid us under special obligations to them, and we
have never ceased to remember them kindly. Most of
them have passed away; but their memory is as ointment
poured forth.
Many things of interest, at least to me, occurred during
my stay in Cincinnati. Some of these were connected with
my own pastorate, some of them with the "Women's Cru-
sade," and others with my intercourse with brethren of
other Christian communions.
I received a number of good people into the Church,
and I buried a good many of the old members, as well as
others, during my stay in the city. One funeral I recall
of special interest:
There were two sisters, excellent young ladies, Susie
and Jennie Brown, who were members of our Church.
YEARS IN THE MINISTRY. 285
They were truly pious young ladies, intelligent, refined,
and deservedly held in high esteem. Their relatives resided
some twenty miles from the city, in Clermont County, Ohio.
During the third summer of my pastorate, Susie, who was
somewhat indisposed, went out into the country to visit
her friends and recruit her health; but instead of her health
improving it grew worse, and she finally died. I had not
heard of her death till about noon on Saturday, when a
married sister, Mrs. Hutchison, called at my house, and
informed me of the fact, and requested me to attend her
funeral on the next day. She said she and her husband
would take the four o'clock train on the Little Miami
Road, and meet me at Milford, ten miles above the city.
It was the day the fountain was unveiled on the Esplanade,
and the city was full of people from the surrounding towns,
villages, and country, and there was no likelihood of our
being able to meet at the depot in the city. She said her
sister Susie had a little volume of Scripture texts, a text
for every day in the year, and that she committed the
text for the day to memory; and that the last text she was
able to read was the twentieth verse of the sixtieth chapter
of Isaiah, and it was her request that I should preach her
funeral sermon from that text. As a matter, of course, I
consented to comply with her request; but I had to obtain
a supply for my pulpit, and it took me nearly till train-
time to do that. I had only time enough left, after put-
ting a few things in my satchel, and turning to the refer-
ence to see what the text was, to make the train. The text
was a beautiful one. It was this: "Thy sun shall no more
go down; neither shall thy moon withdraw itself: for the
Lord shall be thine everlasting light, and the days of thy
mourning shall be ended." I had never thought of preach-
ing on the passage, and had nothing arranged on the sub-
ject. But I thought that, on my way out, I would think
286 RECOLLECTIONS OF FIFTY
it over, and arrange an outline of thought at least upon
it. When I got to the depot I found a great crowd of
people, and everything was jostle and confusion. The
train, consisting of fourteen or fifteen cars, was an accom-
modation, and the cars were crowded, standing-room heing
at a premium. The train was long after time in starting,
it moved very slowly, and stopped so often, that it tfas
nearly night when we reached Milford. There I met my
friend, Mr. Hutchison, and he directed me to an omnibus,
where his wife, he said, had reserved a seat for me. I
went to the door and looked in; hut it was full of women
with hand-boxes, and I could not see how another person
could crowd into it. I inquired if that was the only way
of getting out, and was told that was the only way. I then
inquired the distance, for I thought if it was only two or
three miles I would walk. But I was told it was ten miles,
and was urged to get in, which I did. But there was no
place to stand, and I saw no place to sit. Two ladies, how-
ever, leaned apart, and told me to sit down, and I tried to
do so; but I found it one of the tightest places I had ever
been in. The road was neither smooth nor level, and the
driver seemed anxious to make good time, and we were
jolted and tossed about in a ludicrous manner, so that it
was impossible to think of anything but how to keep from
hitting our heads together, or being pitched together in a
heap. Methodical, or even serious thought, was a thing
out Of the "question.
About ten o'clock we reached the residence of a brother-
in-law of the deceased, a mile from where the funeral was
to take place, where we stopped for the night. I was then
so tired that I could not think, and went to bed, intending
to get up early the next morning, and arrange something
to say. Next morning I got up early and looked at the
text; but could not think of anything to say upon it. I
YEARS IN THE MINISTRY. 287
went down to breakfast in bewilderment. After breakfast
I went back to my room, and paced the floor until the
family were nearly ready to start to the funeral. At last
I got two ideas, an unending day, "Thy sun shall no
more go down;" and an unsorrowing state, "The days of
thy mourning shall be ended." An unending day and an
unsorrowing state! This gave me a foothold, so to speak,
and also an inspiration, and opened up a line of thought
that was very pleasing. I called to mind the apocalyptic
vision, "And there shall be no night there; and they need
no candle, neither the light of the sun," and what that
implied; and then the reason of it, "For the Lord God
giveth them light." And then the other declaration, "They
shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more: neither
shall the sun light on them, nor any heat. For the Lamb
that is in the midst of the throne shall feed them, and
shall lead them unto living fountains of waters; and God
shall wipe away all tears from their eyes." The veil began
to lift, the future began to grow bright; and while I was
musing, the fire began to burn. Thoughts began to group
themselves under the two leading ideas, so that I soon had
the outline of a sermon in my mind.
After we reached the place where the corpse was, Sister
Jennie Brown took me into a private room to tell me about
her sister's sickness and death. Her sickness was peculiar,
and her death was most triumphant. She told me of the
closing scene with mingled sadness and joy. While her
heart was sorrowful, she yet rejoiced. Her simple, tender
words were like an inspiration. Never did death appear
to me more like a conquered foe, and never did the future
seem to glow with a greater radiance.
The funeral services were held in the Presbyterian
Church near by. The assemblage of people was very
large. I never spoke with greater freedom, nor, apparently,
288 RECOLLECTIONS OF FIFTY
to a more appreciative audience. The place of interment
was six miles distant, and the funeral procession seemed
to me like a triumphal march. Brother and Sister Zilar
had driven out from the city to the graveyard, and Sister
Zilar remarked to me, that she had never seen such a
beautiful grave; it had no gloom, but appeared like a place
of sweet and quiet rest. "Blessed are the dead which die
in the Lord from henceforth: Yea, saith the Spirit, that
they may rest from their labors; and their works do follow
them." Men may talk as they please; but a religion and
a faith that can sustain the soul amid the conflicts of life,
and cheer it amid the gloom of death, and brighten the
future with hope, is a religion and a faith good enough
for me.
YEARS IN THE MINISTRY. 289
CHAPTER XXIV.
Woman's Temperance Crusade First Steps Organization-
Districting the City Circulation of Pledges Mrs. Scott-
Meetings Three Times a Day First Praying Band Ex-
citement Reporters Mayor's Proclamation Singular
Document Mayor in Committee Room Cross Examina-
tion Arrest of the Women At the Lockup Released on
Parole In Police Court Mr. Emory, City Missionary
The Case of the Women Judge Hagans Examination of
Policemen Case Finally Dismissed Offer of Church
Yards Authorities Arraigned "Salty Document" Meeting
on the Esplanade Shrewdness Great Impulse to the Tem-
perance Cause.
THE Woman's Temperance Crusade occurred while I
was in Cincinnati, and my wife and I were intimately con-
nected with it from its opening till its close. It was a
wonderful movement, and stirred up the whole city, and
produced an excitement such as I never witnessed either
before or since. The best people in the city were engaged
in it, and their social position added to its influence.
The first step toward its inauguration in the city was
taken in the Preachers' Meeting of the Methodist Episcopal
Church on one Monday morning. At that meeting a com-
mittee was appointed to visit the Preachers' Meeting of
the Presbyterian Church, and of the Baptist Church
both of which met in the afternoon for consultation on
the subject. The result was, a public meeting was called,
which was largely attended, and an organization was ef-
fected. A president and a secretary, and an executive
and an advisory committee, were elected. These commit-
tees were composed of men and women. The duty of the
executive committee was to devise plans for carrying on
19
290 RECOLLECTIONS OF FIFTY
the \vork, and to take a general supervision of it. The
duty of the advisory committee was to give advice in diffi-
cult cases, and, if necessary, secure legal counsel. I hap-
pened to be a member of the executive committee, and was
familiar with the details of the entire movement.
The first thing after an organization had been effected
was to prepare a series of pledges, embracing an individual
pledge to abstain from the use of all intoxicating liquors, a
grocer's pledge, a druggist's pledge, a physician's pledge,
a property-holder's pledge, etc. These pledges were de-
signed to secure, not only personal abstinence from the use
of intoxicating liquors, but also abstinence from all acts in
professional and business life that would in any way aid
and foster the traffic in strong drink.
The next step was the dividing of the city into small
districts of a few squares each, and the appointment of
committees of women to canvass these districts, to procure
signatures to their pledges. At once the whole city was
aroused. These committees were soon everywhere in their
respective districts, pressing the canvass for signatures to
their pledges. My wife was appointed on one of the com-
mittees with three other ladies, and assigned to a district
across the "Rhine," as it was called, among the Germans
and saloons. They had pressed their work all the after-
noon till about four o'clock, when one of their number,
Mrs. Dr. Carter, insisted on going into a saloon. Soon
a crowd of persons pressed in to see what was going on,
and they found it difficult to get out. When they got
out the children were returning from school, and some one
shouted "Crusaders." That was enough. In an incredibly
short time the street was filled with a great crowd of ex-
cited people, who followed them along the street giving
vent to their sentiments and feelings in a way far from
complimentary to the ladies. Mrs. "Rucy, a young married
YEARS IN THE MINISTRY. 291
lady, and her sister, a single girl, members of the com-
mittee, had presence of mind enough to get on a passing
street-car, and thus get out of the crowd; but Mrs. Carter
and my wife, not so quick of thought, failed to do so, and
went into a store to get clear of the crowd. The proprietor
promptly ordered them out; but some lady who happened
to be present, and who was full of pluck and vim, "read
him the riot act," and told him that he should be ashamed
of himself, pretending to be a man, to order decent ladies
out of his store who were engaged in a noble work, and who
had taken refuge in his store from the insults of a rude
mob. At length some one notified a policeman, who came
and dispersed the crowd. In the meantime Mrs. Bucy
and her sister had come to my house, and reported to me
the scenes through which they had passed, and waited
a considerable time for Mrs. Scott to return before they
left. Mrs. Bucy was the principal speaker, and was suffi-
ciently excited to tell her story with great earnestness and
vividness. Her sister said little; but shut her eyes and
shook her head, as if the scene was one that might be con-
templated, but not described. After more than an hour
had elapsed, my wife came home no little excited. Of a
timid disposition, she shrank from such notoriety, and
seemed to dread, most of all, lest the thing should get into
the papers, and her name be dragged before the public.
She did not sleep very soundly that night, and was anxious
next morning to see the paper; but, fortunately for her,
the occurrence was not noticed. But several other ladies
had received worse treatment in their districts than she
had, and accounts of several exciting scenes were given.
The excitement grew from day to day, and the Crusade
movement was on every tongue.
Meetings were held three times a day, and great crowds
of people attended. These meetings began in the Ninth
292 RECOLLECTIONS OF FIFTY
Street Baptist Church, and afterwards were held in many
Churches throughout the city. It was from the Ninth
Street Church that the first praying band went out on the
street, led by Mrs. Leavitt, wife of the pastor of the First
Baptist Church. She was a heroine, ready-witted, and full
of pluck and determination. The band visited a saloon on
Fourth Street, where they sung and prayed and expostu-
lated with the keeper, and finally induced him to shut up
his saloon. I shall never forget the look of triumph with
which the members of the band on their return entered the
church, which was crowded with people, singing the long-
meter doxology, "Praise God, from whom all blessings
flow," etc. They related their adventure and success, and
the enthusiasm of the hour ran high.
The excitement increased from day to day, as praying
bands went out in every direction through the city. The
Crusade was the common theme of conversation every-
where, on the street-corners, in the street-cars, by persons
passing along the streets, in the stores, indeed every-
where, but little else seemed to be talked about. The papers
were full of the movement. The Gazette had a reporter who
was in sympathy with the women, a young man by the
name of Krehbiel, whose father was a minister in the Meth-
odist Episcopal Church, who followed them everywhere,
and gave glowing accounts of their proceedings. The
Commercial had also a young reporter, whose name I can
not recall, who was a friend of the women, and who fur-
nished his paper with very interesting accounts of their
doings.
The excitement at length became so great that Mayor
Johnston, who professed friendship for the women, but
who was really a saloon man, deemed it necessary, in order
to the preservation of the peace, as he said, to issue a proc-
lamation, which was a most remarkable documen^ It was
YEARS IN THE MINISTRY. 293
difficult to tell what it meant. A person might infer from
it that every woman engaged in the Crusade had a revolver
in her pocket, and was a dangerous person. The papers
criticised it, and almost everybody, except the saloon-
keepers, criticised it. So he thought it necessary to try
and explain it, so as to modify some of its most offensive
utterances; for the wives and daughters of the best men
in Cincinnati were engaged in the movement. So one
morning he came to the meeting in the Ninth Street Bap-
tist Church. The house was crowded, and both the execu-
tive and advisory committees were in session. Some one
who saw him working his way through the crowd, requested
the congregation to pray for the mayor, and then after the
prayer some one struck up, "In some way or other the
Lord will provide." The tide of enthusiasm ran high; the
excitement was up to fever-heat.
The mayor found his way into the small room where
the executive committee was in session, and, after profess-
ing sympathy for the object of the movement, which no
one believed to be sincere, he proceeded to explain what he
meant in his proclamation, which made the matter but
little clearer; for when a man tries by his utterances to
make different impressions on the minds of different classes
of people, he can not express himself clearly. As he came
to explain himself, the ladies of the committee especially
felt it to be their privilege to make numerous inquiries, in
order to fairly understand him; and they subjected him
to the most rigid examination and cross-examination, and
catechised him to their heart's content. I think he hardly
regarded his visit as a success. His proclamation did not
arrest the movement, although it encouraged and strength-
ened its opponents.
One day, during the progress of a meeting in the Sev-
enth Street Presbyterian Church, a large praying band of
294 RECOLLECTIONS OF FIFTY
forty-three women went out, and while singing and praying
before a saloon on Baymiller Street, between Ninth and
Richmond, they were arrested by the police, and taken to
the station-house of the third precinct. The mayor and
chief of police were telegraphed for, and while they were
coming, which occupied half an hour or more, the women
proceeded to examine the premises. They found no one in
the lock-up but one old woman, and they asked her what
she had been put in there for, and she said, "To tell the
truth, I was put in for getting drunk." She then wanted
to know what they all were put in for, and they told her for
trying to keep people from getting drunk.
At length the mayor arrived, and as soon as he came
in they all fell on their knees and prayed for him. He
then proceeded to business; but he found he had a deli-
cate case before him. Here were the wives of many of.
the leading business and professional men of Cincinnati,
and it was Saturday afternoon, and what was he to do with
so many prisoners of their character and social standing?
At length he took their names, their ages, their occupa-
tions, and their residences, and released them on parole,
to appear at the police court on Monday morning at ten
o'clock. The women on their release returned to the Sev-
enth Street Church, and Mrs. Leavitt, who was one of the
number, gave a glowing account of their adventure, and
humorously remarked that the mayor had released them
on patrol. There was no feeling of fear or shrinking from
the performance of what they believed to be a duty mani-
fested. The spirit of the martyrs was revived, and the
women seemed willing to go, not only to prison, but to
death, if it was necessary.
A meeting was appointed for the Ninth Street Baptist
Church for nine o'clock on Monday morning. When the
time arrived, the church was full to overflowing, and hun-
YEARS IN THE MINISTRY. 295
dreds, if not thousands, of people crowded the street for
a square away. We had an enthusisastic meeting, which
adjourned in time for the forty-three arrested women to put
in an appearance at the police court at ten o'clock. My
wife and I followed close in the rear, and were fortunate
enough to get into the court-room to witness the proceed-
ings. The women had secured for their counsel three
ex-judges, Judge Hagans, Methodist; Judge Matthews,
Presbyterian, and afterwards a justice of the Supreme
Court of the United States; and another ex-judge, a Bap-
tist, whose name 1 have forgotten. The only one of their
counsel present was Judge Hagans.
The first business attended to in court that morning
was the case of Rev. Mr. Emory, city missionary, who had
been arrested by the police the day before (Sunday) for
preaching on the street. He appeared without counsel.
When his case was called, the prosecuting attorney arose,
and, addressing the court, said that he had examined the
law very carefully, and that he could find no law against
street-preaching, and did not think Mr. Emory had vio-
lated any law, and that he thought he should be discharged.
With this view the court concurred. The old judge, whose
name I have forgotten, and who, the reporter of the
Gazette said, "looked as wise as an owl," said he knew
Brother Emory very well, and often went to hear him
preach on the street himself, and he knew he did not in-
tend to do anything wrong, and he was satisfied he had
violated no law, and he dismissed the case. Yet Mr. Emory
had done the very same thing that the women had done
he had sung and prayed on the street, and, in addition to
that, had preached to the people.
After the case of Mr. Emory was disposed of, that of
the women was called. They were charged, not like
Brother Emory, with singing and praying on the streets,
296 RECOLLECTIONS OF FIFTY
but with obstructing the sidewalk. Four policemen were
put on the stand, who testified that they had arrested the
women on Baymiller Street for obstructing the sidewalk.
Judge Hagans cross-examined them. He wanted to know
how much of the sidewalk the women occupied, and they
all concurred in saying about four feet in width, and fifty
feet in length. He then wanted to know how wide the
pavement was at that place, and they all agreed that it
was from ten to twelve feet wide. He then showed from
the testimony that if the pavement was ten feet wide, and
the women occupied four feet of it, there were six feet of
the pavement left; and if it was twelve feet wide, then
there were eight feet of it not occupied by the women,
sufficient space being afforded in either case for persons
to pass along the sidewalk unmolested. He then wanted to
know of the witnesses if there were from six to eight feet
of the sidewalk not occupied by the women, how it was
that they obstructed the sidewalk. They replied that
other people came and occupied that space. He then
wanted to know why they did not arrest the "other people."
They replied that they were instructed to arrest the women.
This clearly revealed the animus of the case.
The prosecuting attorney then addressed the court.
He declared that there was great excitement in the city,
that its peace was in danger, and that if the prisoners were
not convicted and punished, no one could tell what scenes
of violence might take place. In order to quiet the popu-
lace, something must be done an example must be made
of the women. If not, the worst element in the city might
gain the ascendency, and a reign of mob violence might
ensue. It was a wonderful speech. The pith of it was,
that the women must be punished to appease the mob ele-
ment and preserve the peace of the city.
At the close of this speech, without consulting the
YEARS IN THE MINISTRY. 297
women, and for reasons which he deemed sufficient, Judge
Hagans moved a continuance of the case till the following
Thursday. This displeased the women, as they wished to
have the case at once decided. But perhaps he understood
the case hetter than they did, and pursued the wiser course.
On the following Thursday the women appeared before
the court, and the judge said that he thought they did not
intend to do wrong or violate the law, and in view of this
fact he would dismiss the case, with the distinct under-
standing, however, that they would 'not repeat the offense
in the future. This ended the legal proceedings, and barred
the women, except in open disregard of the warning of the
court, from singing and praying on the streets.
After the case was dismissed, the Eev. John Fee, pastor
of the Wesley Chapel Methodist Episcopal Church, offered
the use of a large yard in front of his church to the women;
he said they were welcome to come inside the fence into
the yard, and sing and pray as much as they pleased, and
if other people gathered on the sidewalk outside, they
would not be responsible for it. One of the Presbyterian
pastors made a similar offer, his church having a yard in
front of it. They were also allowed to meet on the Espla-
nade, and hold services there.
After the arrest of the women, singing and praying on
the streets before the saloons was abandoned; but meetings
were held from day to day and from night to night in
various churches throughout the city, and also at the foun-
tain on the Esplanade. These meetings were attended by
great crowds of people, and were deeply interesting. One
night we met in the Friends' meeting-house, and sung
gospel hymns, and had a most enthusiastic meeting. Most
of the ministers, and the best people out of nearly all the
Churches, were engaged in the movement. This fact, in
addition to the assurance of the temperance workers that
298 RECOLLECTIONS OF FIFTY
they were engaged in a righteous cause, calculated to honor
God and bless their fellow-men, inspired them with confi-
dence and even boldness in their work. They hesitated not
to charge the authorities openly with disregarding their
solemn obligations, and encouraging vice and crime. As
a sample of their boldness, I here give part of a paper read
before a vast audience, and unanimously adopted by a
rising vote. This paper had been prepared by a committee
consisting of Dr. Walden (now bishop), John Fee, and my-
self. As chairman of the committee, I wrote and read the
report. I must confess that the fear of man was not before
my eyes, and my associates on the committee were as fear-
less and determined as myself, and behind us were thou-
sands of men and women as fearless and determined as we
were. The editor of the Gazette very properly denominated
the paper "a rather salty document," and such it was in-
tended to be. After a preliminary statement, the com-
mittee proceeded to say:
"We hold that intemperance is a crime against the laws
of God and man; that no man has a right, by indulging
in intoxicating drinks, voluntarily to becloud his own
intellect, to impair his moral sensibilities, to enfeeble his
energies, to impoverish his family, to bring suffering and
shame on those whom he has vowed to love and cherish,
and to disqualify himself for the proper discharge of his
duties, which he owes, as a citizen, to the Government
under which he lives.
"In the fifth section of the present law of Ohio, en-
titled, 'An Act to provide against the evils resulting from
the sale of intoxicating liquors,' it is declared that 'it
shall be unlawful for any person to get intoxicated, and
every person found in a state of intoxication shall, upon
conviction thereof, be fined in the sum of five dollars, and
the costs of the prosecution.' The law, thus recognizing
YEARS IN THE MINISTRY. 299
drunkenness as a crime, declares that 'it shall be un-
lawful for any person, by agent or otherwise, to sell in
any quantity intoxicating liquors to be drank in, upon, or
about the buildings or premises where sold, or to sell such
intoxicating liquors to be drank in any adjoining room,
building, or premises, or other place of public resort con-
nected with said building.'
"From this it appears that our law not only recog-
nizes drunkenness as a crime, but also brands as criminal
that which directly tends to promote drunkenness. This
being the case, the law provides for the punishment of
these crimes in order to restrain, and if possible to prevent
them. Section 4 of the Act above referred to declares
'that all places where intoxicating liquors are sold, in vio-
lation of this Act, shall be taken, held, and declared to be
common nuisances, and all rooms, taverns, groceries, cof-
fee-houses, cellars, or other places of public resort where
intoxicating liquors are sold in violation of this Act, shall
be shut up and abated as public nuisances, upon conviction
of the keepers thereof, who shall be punished as hereinafter
provided.'
"Now, it is evident, from the plain letter of the statute,
that the sale of intoxicating liquors, to be drank on the
premises where sold, or in any adjoining building, is a
palpable violation of law, and that every place where in-
toxicating liquors are thus sold is, in the eye of the law,
a public nuisance; and it is the duty of every officer of the
law, each of whom has taken a solemn oath to sustain and
enforce it, and particularly of the executive and police
officers, who are especially charged with this duty, to see
that the law in these cases is respected, and its violations
properly punished.
"Every saloon-keeper, grocer, druggist, tavern-keeper,
and all others who sell intoxicating liquors, it matters not
300 RECOLLECTIONS OF FIFTY
in what quantities, to be drank on the premises, are en-
gaged in an unlawful business, and while carrying it on
can not claim for it any protection of law.
"But has the law in these cases been enforced? Has
any proper effort been made to carry out the provisions
of the law? Has it been made a terror to evil-doers?
Instead of this, it has been permitted to become a dead-
letter. Men who have sworn before God and heaven to
obey and enforce it have witnessed and connived at its
violation. The existence of bars and glasses in drinking-
houses where intoxicating liquors are exposed to view,
together with frequent cases of inebriation which occur
there, have been held by the courts in other States as
prima facie evidence of the violation of law, and on this
evidence arrests have been made, and convictions secured,
as in other cases where reasonable evidence of guilt has
been presented. But here the law designed to protect
the interests and promote the happiness of society has
been trampled under foot, and is openly violated every day
and almost every hour. The traffic in intoxicating liquors,
branded by the law of our State as a crime, is permitted
to go unpunished, and its fruits of misery, poverty, dis-
ease, and death are beheld everywhere around us. Fathers,
brothers, husbands, and sons are besotted and ruined by it;
and mothers, sisters, wives, and daughters are impover-
ished, crushed, and heart-broken, while the cruel vam-
pires, who fatten on their very hearts' blood, are reveling
in their ill-gotten gain.
<r When the sworn officers of the law will not enforce
the law when the guardians of society prove faithless
to their trust, and the very end for which the law was
instituted is defeated what remedy is left to an outraged
and law-abiding people but to seek in a peaceable way,
it may be by new and perhaps untried methods, to arouse
YEARS IN THE MINISTRY. 301
society to a sense of its danger, to reclaim the erring, and
to create such a public sentiment as will lead to the cor-
rection of the evils complained of? And to Christian
women particularly, who are destitute of political power
and influence, and who daily witness, if they do not per-
sonally feel, the desolations of the fell destroyer, what
remedy is left them but an appeal to God, and the presen-
tation of high moral and religious motives, in a gentle
and persuasive manner, to men? In view of all the cir-
cumstances of the case, what candid, disinterested man
will not admit that they have sufficient reasons to justify
them in the course they have pursued?
"Although these women have gone out peaceably, yet
Jthey have been forbidden to proceed according to their
own chosen method in their 'work of faith and labor of
love/ They have violated no law, they have incited to
no riot, they have not gone out 'with intent to do any
unlawful act with force and violence,' they have threat-
ened no bloodshed, they have interfered with no man's
legal rights, they have done injury to no one; but they
have gone forth modestly, timidly, peacefully, lovingly,
in the spirit of their Master, returning good for evil, and
praying for them which despitefully use them and perse-
cute them. Yet, notwithstanding this, they have been
interdicted in their work, they have been held up, at least
by implication, as dangerous persons, while their conduct
has been represented as calculated to produce disorder and
riot. They have been threatened unjustly as violators of
law, while men who are engaged in an unlawful traffic,
ruining the souls and bodies of their fellow-men, are pro-
tected in their unlawful business by those whose duty it is
to arrest and punish them for their crimes.
"The principle on which the late proclamation of the
mayor of this city against the temperance women rests
302 RECOLLECTIONS OF FIFTY
is a most dangerous and pernicious one, and, if it were
admitted, would remove with one fell stroke the founda-
tion on which the right of free speech and the liberty of
worshiping God according to the dictates of our own con-
sicences rest. Should the rabble of this city conclude at
any time that, unless peaceable, law-abiding citizens shall
desist from the exercise of their constitutional right to ex-
press their sentiments openly in opposition to certain vices,
or to worship God according to the dictates of their
own consciences, they will create a riot, and interrupt the
peace and good order of the city, the policy adopted by
the mayor would lead him, if consistent with his recent
action, to interdict the peaceable citizens in the exercise
of their rights, lest, forsooth, their conduct might be made
the occasion of riot, while the lawless and disorderly would
be permitted to go free. The breaking up of a prayer-
meeting in this city a few evenings ago by a rabble mob,
none of whom, so far as we know, have been arrested,
affords a sad and striking illustration of this point. If
this policy is adopted, all good citizens are placed at once
at the mercy of the malcontents of the city, who may at
any moment introduce a reign of terrorism, destructive
to the peace and happiness of the community, and which
may result in bloodshed and pillage.
"Are we ready, as a community, to accept such a prin-
ciple as this? Are we ready to admit that peaceable, law-
abiding citizens must desist from their efforts to oppose
crime, and purify and elevate society, whenever violent
and lawless men may threaten a breach of the peace? Are
we ready to admit that we have no rights but such as the
rabble may choose to concede to us? Never! while the
Stars and Stripes, under which our fathers fought and bled,
wave over us as the emblem of our civil, political, and re-
ligious rights, will we admit any such thing. If the issue
YEARS IN THE MINISTRY. 303
must be made, if the conflict must come, who can doubt
for a single moment that the lovers of law and order,
without regard to party, sect, or nationality, will unite in
a solid phalanx, bound together by principle and not by
passion, to oppose the encroachments of the very worst
elements of society? Nor will we admit that the violators
of law have any right to dictate to us what methods we
shall adopt in opposing vice and crime, so long as we do
not interfere with the rights of our fellow-citizens. Our
plans may not be suited to their tastes; but while we do
not injure others in the pursuit of their lawful business,
nor interfere with any of their lawful rights, we claim the
privilege to choose our own methods and adopt our own
plans of operation, and in the peaceable prosecution of our
plans we claim the protection of law.
"We arraign before the friends of law and order in
this community the mayor, the police commissioners, and
the councils of this city. We charge them with pursuing a
course calculated, whether so designed or not, to incite
to lawlessness, and to encourage crime. Had the chief
magistrate of this city, with the concurrence of the police
commissioners, sanctioned, instead of opposed, by resolu-
tions of the Council and Board of Aldermen, issued his
proclamation declaring that the temperance women of this
city, so long as they did not interfere with the lawful busi-
ness of their fellow-citizens, should be protected from all
insult and violence, and declaring that any attempt of
lawless men to incite to disturbance or riot would be
promptly suppressed, and the offenders justly punished,
the scenes of disorder which now occur almost daily, to
the disgrace of our city, would not take place. But instead
of this, the mayor declared that he was instructed by the
police commissioners to enforce the law; not against all
parties obstructing the street, but 'only ayaiiist the la die a."
304 RECOLLECTIONS OF FIFTY
thus intimidating the virtuous class in their work of re-
form, and encouraging the vicious class in their course of
crime.
"We demand, in the name of injured innocence and
the majesty of insulted law, that the vicious and lawless
be restrained and punished, and that peaceable, law-abid-
ing citizens who are laboring for the suppression of crime,
practices branded by the law of our State as criminal, be
protected in the exercise of their rights. Let the law be
enforced, impartially, fearlessly, and fully, and then the
work of the temperance women, so far as any unusual
movements on the streets are concerned, will be ended.
But till then, come what may, we pledge ourselves to con-
tinue our efforts in the cause of God and humanity, and
to oppose, in every proper and lawful way, so far as we
are able, the blighting curse of intemperance, and the
numerous agencies employed to promote it, and in this
good work we appeal to the sympathy and support of all
lovers of law, order, and sobriety."
During the whole movement the women displayed
great courage, tact, and prudence. One day a meeting
was to be held on the Esplanade, and a great crowd of
people had assembled. Some one, who had in some way
learned the fact, pointed out to the leader, Mrs. Leavitt,
a band of roughs, who had come with the avowed purpose
of raising a disturbance, and breaking up the meeting.
But Mrs. Leavitt was equal to the emergency, and went
directly to the leader of the band, a great, stalwart fellow,
and told him that she understood that there were a lot
of persons on the ground that intended to make a disturb-
ance, and that she wanted to place herself and the women
under his protection, and appealed to him as a man of
honor and courage to see that they were not molested.
His honor and courage being appealed to, he declared with
YEARS IN THE MINISTRY. 305
emphasis that he would do it, and that he would see that
no one disturbed them; and he and his band stood as guard
while the meeting was conducted without the slightest
interruption. There are but few men who have no sense
of honor left, and who, if approached in a proper manner,
may not be influenced in the right direction.
Although the Woman's Crusade did not shut up the
saloons and overthrow the liquor-traffic, yet it marked
an important period in our reform history, and gave a
powerful impulse to the temperance movement that is felt
to the present hour. It created and developed a temperance
sentiment which had not before existed. No one can esti-
mate the amount of good that it accomplished.
20
306 RECOLLECTIONS OF FIFTY
CHAPTER XXV.
General Methodist Union Subject Discussed Request of Dr.
Hoyt Six Articles on Union Delicacy of Subject Desira-
bility of Union Difficulties in the Way Color Line Sec-
tional Prejudice Secret Societies Question Narrowed
Methodist Episcopal and Methodist Protestant Churches-
Defects of Each Middle Ground Objections of Early Re-
formers An Executive Head Connectionalism and Con-
gregationalismCan Not be Combined Present Tendency.
WHILE we were negotiating a imion with the Wesley-
ans, and also while we were discussing the reunion of the
divided parts of the Methodist Protestant Church, the
subject of a general Methodist union received consider-
able attention, and was extensively discussed in many of
the Church papers. Dr. Hoyt, who was then editor of the
Western Christian Advocate, published in Cincinnati, re-
quested me to write a series of articles on the subject for
his paper, and as he seemed very desirous that I should do
so, I complied with his request, and furnished him with six
articles on the subject. I entered upon the discussion by
recognizing the difficulty of any one connected with any
of the various branches of Methodism to discuss the ques-
tion without some denominational bias, and without claim-
ing, perhaps, too much for his own particular Church. I
also assumed the desirability of such a union, and noticed
the points of agreement between the various Methodist
bodies. From this I proceeded to consider the difficulties
in the way of a general Methodist union, noticing the color-
line, the existence of bitter sectional prejudice, and the
secret society question, which was regarded as involving a
matter of conscience. All these points were dwelt upon to
some considerable extent.
YEARS IN THE MINISTRY. 307
The question of union, in view of these difficulties,
seemed to narrow itself down to a union of the Methodist,
the Methodist Protestant, and the Methodist Episcopal
Churches. I gave a resume of the controversy in the
Methodist Episcopal Church from the beginning, which
resulted in the organization of the Methodist Protestant
Church, and then proceeded to discuss the possibility of a
union between the three bodies last named. I inquired:
"In view of existing facts, can a union be effected be-
tween the Methodist Episcopal, the Methodist, and the
Methodist Protestant Churches? Is there any ground to
hope for such a result as this? Can such a modification be
effected in the governments of these bodies as to bring
them together? We do not pretend to be able to answer
this question with any certainty. We will venture the
opinion, however, that there is a middle ground on which
they might meet, with advantage to them all. There is no
human system, however perfect it may be, which is free
from defects; and the governments of these Churches do
not form an exception.
"All the Methodist Churches in this country, with the
exception of a small body of Congregational Methodists
in the South, have adopted, as a fundamental principle in
their economy, the association of individual Churches in
one general body, governed by general rules, and main-
taining an efficient itinerancy by a regular interchange
of ministerial labor. Their various systems are designed
to harmonize with this fundamental principle. In such an
association the individual Churches give up some of their
rights, to secure the advantages arising from their asso-
ciation with the general body, just as men willingly sur-
render some of their natural rights to secure the advan-
tages of general society. The advantages derived from
the union of the individual Churches in one body, are
308 RECOLLECTIONS OF FIFTY
deemed far more important than those that would accrue
to them from the strict maintenance of their independ-
ence, and the full exercise of their rights as individual
Churches. All the above-named Methodist bodies meet
on this common ground, and give their assent to the prin-
ciple of general association in Church government, rather
than the independence of the Churches. This is a fact
which it will be well for us to keep in mind.
"It has been objected to the government of the Meth-
odist Episcopal Church that it recognizes a third order
in the ministry, and confers undue power on its bishops.
In answer to the first part of this objection, it may be
sufficient to say, that whatever confusion of ideas existed,
or whatever tendencies were manifested on this subject
in the early period of the Church, the idea of a third min-
isterial order is now disavowed and repudiated, and the
episcopacy is held to be an office in the Church, and not an
order in the ministry. The use of the solemn consecration
service is held to be not inconsistent with this view, nor
improper in inducting men into such an important and
responsible office. Even Paul, who had been called to be
an apostle of Jesus Christ, was set apart, by prayer and
the imposition of hands, to a special work. (Acts xiii, 3.)
The Discipline of the Church clearly shows that the epis-
copacy is not considered as a third and superior order in
the ministry. A stream can not rise higher than its source,
neither can the less create the greater. According to the
established theory of episcopacy (of the so-called 'apos-
tolic succession' sort), it takes a bishop to make a bishop.
But the Discipline of the Methodist Episcopal Church
says, page 96, section 215: If by death, or otherwise, there
be no. bishop remaining in our Church, the General Con-
ference shall elect a bishop, and the elders, or any three
of them, who shall be appointed by the General Confer-
YEARS IN THE MINISTRY. 309
ence for that purpose, shall consecrate him according to the
Ritual.' This shows very clearly that the episcopacy of the
Methodist Episcopal Church is not regarded as a higher
order in the ministry than elder; but that it is the creature
of the General Conference, and of course subject to its
control.
"That bishops, or general superintendents, are neces-
sary in a body composed of a great many individual
Churches, having very many general interests to promote
and supervise, can hardly be called in question. Men who
have their own special duties to perform, can not attend
to these general interests without neglecting those which
are particularly committed to their care. Where there are
general Church interests to promote and manage, there
must be general Church officers to attend to them, or else
they will be neglected. The existence of episcopacy, as
an office, in the Methodist Episcopal Church, with its duties
and powers clearly defined and properly limited, should not,
we think, form any barrier to the union of the Methodist
Episcopal, the Methodist, and Methodist Protestant
Churches. The first part of the objection, then, seems to
possess little or no force.
"The second part of the objection, that the government
of the Methodist Episcopal Church confers undue power
upon its bishops, appears to be well taken. We shall notice
only a few points, which will be sufficient for our present
purpose.
"In the first place, the bishops appoint all the preach-
ers, including presiding elders, to their respective charges,
and in the intervals of the Conferences, change, receive,
and suspend preachers, as necessity may require, and as
the Discipline directs. (See "Powers of the Bishops.-") It
matters not how the bishops make the appointments,
whether by calling in many or few of their brethren, to aid
310 RECOLLECTIONS OF FIFTY
them by their counsels, the power to make the appoint-
ments, and the responsibility of making them, rests with
the bishops. Without their approval, either directly or
indirectly, no preacher receives an appointment.
"In the second place, all the pulpits in the denomina-
tion are under the control of the bishops. The Discipline
says (page 205, section 499): 'In future we will admit
no charter, deed, or conveyance for any house of worship
to be used by us, unless it be provided in such charter,
deed, or conveyance, that the trustees of said house shall
at all times permit such ministers and preachers belonging
to the Methodist Episcopal Church as shall from time to
time be duly authorized by the General Conference of the
ministers of our Church/ etc. Here we see that the trus-
tees of the various meeting-houses are legally bound to
receive whatever ministers or preachers may be sent to
them by the bishops, on whom the General Conference has
conferred the appointing power. It matters not whether
the ministers or preachers are acceptable or not, the trus-
tees, and the societies which they represent, are legally
bound to receive them.
"In the third place, neither the preachers nor the soci-
eties have any right, recognized by the Discipline, of di-
rectly making known to the bishops their wants and wishes,
in order to enlighten their decisions in reference to the
appointment of preachers, nor have they any right of ap-
peal from their decisions, if aggrieved, after they have
been made. It is but just to say, however, that without
such a right being recognized by the Discipline, the privi-
lege of ministers and Churches making known their wishes
to the bishops is conceded and commonly practiced through
the presiding elders.
"We perceive, from the preceding facts, that the bishops
possess great power, and have in their hands a tremendous
YEARS IN THE MINISTRY. 311
patronage. Nearly ten thousand ministers and preachers
are subject to their behests, and more than thirteen thou-
sand pulpits are under their control, while nearly a million
and a half of Christian men and women, without their
wishes being in any way directly consulted, are dependent
on them for the ministrations of the gospel, and have no
right to reject the ministers who are sent to them. That
the bishops exercise this tremendous power wisely and dis-
creetly, and that the preachers and societies as a general
thing, have little or no cause of complaint, is readily ad-
mitted; but this does not in any way affect the fact of the
vast power possessed by the bishops. Its possession is one
thing; the manner in which it is exercised is quite another.
The members of the republican Methodist Churches, as
they sometimes call themselves, object to such a concen-
tration of power in the hands of the bishops, holding that
it is unsafe, and that it deprives the preachers and members
of the Church of rights which they should be permitted to
exercise. Here, then, we perceive the greatest difficulties
to a union of the Churches above-named, on the one hand.
Now let us look at some of the difficulties on the other.
"In the first place, the Methodist and the Methodist
Protestant Churches have no bishops no general super-
intendents. This is a source of weakness. They have each
a General Conference a general legislature but they have
no general executive to carry into effect their general legis-
lation. They are an association of Churches and Confer-
ences, without an associated head to carry out their will.
They are like what the United States would be without
a President bound together in name, but, without an ex-
ecutive head, hardly bound together in fact. The Meth-
odist Episcopal Church can not consent to dismiss its chief
executives, and leave the general work without general
supervision.
312 RECOLLECTIONS OF FIFTY
"In the second place, in the Methodist and in the Meth-
odist Protestant Churches, the title to Church property
vests in each individual society, and the property is under
its exclusive control. The consequence is, any society may
reject any minister the Conference may send them, and
open their Church doors to any one whom they may select.
The Conference, as it is generally understood, has no power
to enforce its appointments. If a Church is dissatisfied,
it may refuse to receive a preacher from the Conference;
a preacher may decline to take an appointment; and then
the Church and preacher so declining can make their own
arrangements. The consequence is, the Conferences are
without proper authority to enforce their decisions, and
weakness of administration is the result.*
"In the third place, in the Methodist and in the Meth-
odist Protestant Churches the ministry and laity are equally
represented in the Annual and General Conferences. In
the Annual Conferences the preachers in person, and the
Churches through their own chosen representatives, make
their wishes known directly to the stationing authority, in
reference to their fields of labor and ministerial supplies
for the coming year. When the appointments are an-
nounced, if any preacher or representative of a Church is
aggrieved, he may appeal to the Conference, whose decision
is final.
<f Now, place these two systems, as here very briefly
presented, and what is the conclusion at which an unpreju-
diced mind, after serious consideration, will arrive? We
think it will be this: That, while one of the systems of
government is by far too strong, the other is by far too
* Since the above was written, it has been decided by the courts that
a local church can not reject the preacher appointed by the Annual
Conference.
YEARS IN THE MINISTRY. 313
weak. Is there not a middle ground, then, on which they
may meet and unite?
"May not a union of these Churches be effected on
something like the following basis: Let the episcopacy, or
general superintendency, as an office in the Church, be
retained; let the appointing power remain in the hands of
the bishops, but let the Annual Conferences, as well as the
General Conference, be composed of an equal number of
ministers and of laymen as the representatives of the
Churches, and let the ministers in person, and the Churches
through their delegates, present directly to the bishops
their wishes, in reference to ministerial labor and supply,
with the privilege, if aggrieved, of an appeal from the
appointment of the bishop to the Conference, whose de-
cision shall be final. Let the Church property be deeded
according to the deed of settlement, thus giving the Con-
ferences, composed alike of preachers and people, the power
to enforce the rules and regulations of the Church. The
suggestion in reference to Church property may seem to
some very objectionable; but if a general association of
Churches be preferable to independency, and such a pro-
vision in reference to Church property be necessary to give
sufficient power to the association to enforce its own rules,
it does not appear, after all, to be unreasonable, as the ad-
vantages derived from a connection with the general body
will far more than compensate for the surrender of this
individual right of the Churches."
The objection of the early Eeformers was not to the
office of bishop, or general superintendent, but to the
powers and prerogatives of the episcopacy. With these
properly defined and limited, the office itself was not ob-
jectionable. I have often thought that a general executive,
with his powers specifically pointed out, and properly re-
314 RECOLLECTIONS OF FIFTY
stricted, and who should be elected by the Church, and
responsible to the Church, would be preferable to the
intermeddling of general agents, who, outside of their own
particular duties, are without authority and without official
responsibility. Without a united head, responsible to the
Church, it is difficult to maintain the unity of the body
and the connectional principle on which our Church is
founded. To combine the advantages of the connectional
principle and Congregationalism in one body, appears to
me to be impossible. As the one increases, the other de-
clines. If we adhere to the connectional principle in our
government, we should adopt such measures as will give it
efficiency, and enable the Conferences to enforce their
decisions, when indorsed both by the preachers and the
individual Churches through their chosen representatives.
A government that does not govern, is only a government
in name, and can neither command obedience nor respect.
Between the Methodist Episcopal Church, with its present
episcopal prerogatives, and the Methodist Protestant
Church, with its weakness of administrative power, the
preference must emphatically be given to the latter; but
the middle ground which I proposed, would, I think, be
preferable to the position occupied by either. That such
a position will ever be assumed by either of the Churches
I now think very unlikely. The tendency among us, it
seems to me, is more to Congregationalism than to the
strengthening of the connectional principle.
>/:. i A-.V /.v r ii i<: MINISTRY. 315
CHAPTER XXVI.
Lack of Ministerial Association No Ministers of our Church-
Methodist Episcopal Preachers' Meeting Invitation to At-
tendSpringfield Pastor Other Ministers Dr. Merrill
"Colonel Moody, the Fighting Parson" Dr. Walden Com-
pliment by Dr. Merrill Sincere Friendship Elected Presi-
dent of Preachers' Meeting Closing Address Resolution
by John F. Wright Action of Meeting on My Leaving Cin-
cinnati Published in Western Christian Advocate Other
Ministers Dr. Aydelott Delightful Interviews Heaven.
WHEN I went to Cincinnati I found myself without
ministerial association. There were none of our own min-
isters in the city. I felt very seriously the deprivation.
I knew one or two of the Methodist Episcopal preachers
in the city, with whom I became acquainted in Springfield.
I met them in their Book Room, and was invited to attend
their Preachers' Meeting, which I did. I was very cordially
received, and invited to meet with them regularly. I ac-
cepted the invitation, and for five years was a member of
their weekly meeting, and was treated with unifonn kind-
ness and courtesy. I became well acquainted with many
of the brethren, among them Dr. Merrill, now bishop; Dr.
Wiley, afterwards bishop, and since deceased; Dr. Moody,
who was a colonel in the late War of the Rebellion, and
sometimes called "the fighting parson." He was a noble-
looking man, and as noble as he looked. He was some-
what eccentric, and a man of much more than ordinary
ability. 'He and I became intimately acquainted, and I
liked him very much. Dr. Walden (now bishop) and I
were associated on the executive committee throughout
the Woman's Crusade, and I got to know him very well,
and to esteem him very highly. I became more or less
316 RECOLLECTIONS OF FIFTY
acquainted with more than a score of other preachers dur-
ing those five years, for the meeting was largely attended,
more than thirty sometimes being present. During those
years of intimate intercourse no one ever insinuated the
thought of my changing my Church relation and uniting
with them but once. When I was in Springfield, the High
Street Methodist Episcopal Church, the wealthiest and
most aristocratic Methodist Episcopal Church at that time
in the place, desired to secure a certain minister for their
pastor, and assumed that to do so it was only necessary for
one of their leading members to go to Conference and make
their wish known to the bishop. But the bishop refused to
grant their request, and sent them a man they did not
want. They were very much disappointed and felt badly
over it, and, as a consequence, did not treat their pastor,
as he thought, with proper kindness. After a while he and
I became intimately acquainted, and he would sometimes
tell me of his troubles. When I went to Cincinnati he was
there, and we renewed our acquaintance. I can not recall
his name, though I have often tried to do it. One morning
I went into the Book Eoom, and he and several other
preachers that I knew very well, among whom was Dr.
Merrill, were gathered in a little group talking, and I
joined them. Dr. Merrill had just returned from the ses-
sion of his Conference, I think the Central Ohio, and he
said to me, "Do you know that two of your preachers joined
our Conference?" I told him I did not know they had
joined; but I knew they had intended to join. Then the
Springfield brother, whose name I can not recall, turned
to me, and playfully remarked, "0, you had better come,
too." But Dr. Merrill paying me one of the highest com-
pliments' replied, "0 no, we do n't expect him to come."
He knew I was not in the market. There are some men,
who, from certain considerations of advantage to them-
YEARS IN THE MINISTRY. 317
selves, can change their principles and Church relations,
and there are other men who have honest convictions, and
who can not give them up for good places. Dr. Merrill
regarded me as one of the latter sort. He was right, and I
considered his remark as highly complimentary.
That was the only hint ever given me in regard to
uniting with the Methodist Episcopal Church, and it was
promptly repelled by one of their leading men. I was fully
convinced of the sincerity of their friendship, and that it
was not with a view of winning me over to their Church.
Afterward they elected me president of their meeting for
a term of six months. I often felt out of place, and told
the brethren so; but they assured me it was all right. Every
Church has difficult questions to discuss which are not for
the public ear. Questions of this kind came up in the
.Preachers' Meeting, and I became familiar with all their
internal affairs. But the brethren gave me their confi-
dence, and I never betrayed it. Those matters were as
sacred to me as they were to them.
At the expiration of my term, before retiring from
the chair, I made the following little address:
"DEAR BRETHREN, In retiring from an office in which
your partiality placed me six months ago, I can not refrain
from expressing to you my deep sense of the honor you
have done me by this expression of your Christian confi-
dence and esteem. It is hardly necessary for me to say
that I love my own Church, which was instrumental in
bringing me to Christ, and which took me when a little,
ignorant boy, and nourished and cherished me, and hon-
ored me by putting me into the ministry, and which has
since honored me by committing to my trust some of her
most important interests. But while as an honest and
honorable man I feel bound to be- true to her interests. 1
318 RECOLLECTIONS OF FIFTY
feel at the same time that she is too small to fill my heart.
Grace has so enlarged my heart that it embraces all who
love our Lord Jesus Christ in sincerity. And especially
do I love the various branches of the great Methodist
family. I recognize their common origin, their common
family likeness, and I rejoice in their common prosperity.
In all that is essentially Methodistic we are one; and al-
though a member of one of the smaller tribes of our Israel,
I claim a portion in the common heritage. The tribe of
Judah was the most powerful of the tribes of ancient
Israel, and produced a David who spread his conquests
far and wide. But the tribe of Benjamin, which was the
least of the tribes, produced a Paul, who was set for the
defense of the gospel. We do not hope to equal you in the
extent of our labors, but we hope to equal you in our
sphere, in our faithfulness and devotion to the cause of the
Master.
"With assurances, dear brethren, of my high appreci-
ation of your great kindness to me, and of the pleasure
which I have derived from my intercourse with you, and
praying the blessing of God to rest upon you, I retire from
my present position with sentiments of sincere Christian
regard for you all."
I had hardly concluded this address when John F.
Wright, who was pastor of the Methodist Episcopal Church
in Cincinnati more than forty years before, when several
local preachers for their reform views were expelled, and
more than two hundred and seventy members for the same
reason withdrew, and who was then charged with having
treated the Reformers very harshly, was on his feet with
a very complimentary resolution, couched in the kindest
terms, in reference to me. It seemed to afford him great
pleasure to offer the resolution, and he took special pains
YEARS IN THE MINISTRY. 319
to show his friendship for me. More than forty years of
experience from the time of the expulsion and secession
of the brethren in Cincinnati had no doubt modified his
views and changed his feelings towards the Reformers.
It seemed as if he wanted to give evidence of the fact.
On my removal from Cincinnati, the brethren, of their
own motion, and without my knowledge at the time,
adopted the following paper:
"John Scott, D. D., of Grace Methodist Church, of this
city, having closed his labors here, and is about to remove
to Pittsburg, Pa., the undersigned were appointed a com-
mittee to prepare an expression of the kind regards and
high appreciation cherished for him by the members of
the 'Preachers' Meeting' of the Methodist Episcopal Church
of Cincinnati and vicinity.
"It gives us much pleasure to give utterance to the
sentiments of high esteem and brotherly regard which we
cherish toward Dr. Scott as an able preacher, a faithful
pastor, a genial companion, and a catholic^spirited Chris-
tian gentleman.
"His relations with us during his residence in this city,
have more and more endeared him to us. As a member
of our meeting, he has fraternized heartily, and as presi-
dent during one term presided with dignity and much
satisfaction to the body.
"We part with him with reluctance, and feel assured
that he will be welcomed with equal pleasure where his
duty now calls him. From his sentiments, repeatedly ex-
pressed, we are fully persuaded that if his opinions and
spirit "were cherished throughout the various Methodisms,
all would soon be one in spirit and in organization.
"We pray that God's blessing may attend his labor in
the future as in the past."
This paper was signed by C. W. Ketcham, S. B. Smith,
320 RECOLLECTIONS OF FIFTY
A. N". Spahr, and E. K. Deem, and was adopted unani-
mously, and published in the Western Christian Advocate.
I insert it here as alike creditable to those dear brethren
and ta our common Christianity. They knew I was a
Methodist Protestant, and that I intended to continue so;
but this did not prevent them from treating me as a brother
while I was among them, and manifesting their respect for
me when I was about to leave them. Every man has a right
to think for himself, and honestly form his own opinion;
but a difference in opinion, or non-essential points, should
not alienate Christian men in affection.
It was also my happiness to form the acquaintance of
several Presbyterian and other ministers in the city, whom
I found to be kind and brotherly. Especially was I favored
with the friendship of the venerable Dr. B. P. Aydelott,
of the Presbyterian Church. He had been raised an Epis-
copalian, studied medicine, and entered on its practice in
New York City; but by reading the Bible, as he told me,
and not by anything he heard from the pulpit, he was led
to Christ, and converted in his own office, and filled with
great joy. He at once abandoned his practice, went to a
theological seminary, studied for the ministry, and in due
time became a rector in the Protestant Episcopal Church,
and continued so for many years; but because of what he
believed to be the Romanizing tendencies of that Church,
he withdrew from it, and united with the New School
Presbyterian Church. He was a man of ardent piety, rare
literary culture, a very able preacher, and the author of
several valuable works. He possessed a true catholic spirit,
and fraternized with the brethren of the various Christian
Churches. He was regarded as a patriarch among his
brethren. He frequently attended our Church, and often
preached for me. I had his sympathy, his counsel, and,
as he assured me, his frequent prayers. I felt it to be a
YEARS IN THE MINISTRY. 321
great privilege to enjoy the friendship of such a great and
good man. When he learned that I was about to leave the
city, he wrote me a kind and tender letter, too flattering
in its terms to be introduced here, expressing his regret and
his best wishes for my prosperity. I recall with pleasure
the many interviews we had together. I always felt like
a little child, sitting at the feet of a venerable father, rich
in experience, and wise in counsel. Our interviews were
always closed with prayer. He was a leader in every good
work, and a tower of strength in the Church. He passed
away a few years ago at an advanced age, in full assurance
of a blessed immortality. What a glorious place heaven
will be, where the good of all ages and all lands will be
gathered together to celebrate the wonders of redeeming
grace forever!
About a year after my removal to Cincinnati, my dear
old friend, George Brown, D. D., one of the founders of
the Methodist Protestant Church, entered into rest, at his
home in Springfield, Ohio, October 6, 1871, in the fifty-
sixth year of his ministry and the seventy-ninth year of
his age. He was a great and good man. He had served as
presiding elder in the Methodist Episcopal Church, and
as president of his Conference for many years in the Meth-
odist Protestant Church. He served for a time as presi-
dent of Madison College, and for two years as editor of the
Methodist Recorder. He was author of "Becollections of
Itinerant Life," a large octavo volume, and of "The Lady
Preacher/' a 12mo, being a biography of Mrs. Hannali
Eeeves. Dr. Brown was a man of noble bearing, of clear,
strong intellect, genial and companionable, full of "the
milk of human kindness," and a great friend of the young
preachers. He was a clear, strong writer, and a preacher of
great power. We have seen vast assemblies spellbound
by his thrilling utterances, or swayed, like the forest in
21
322 RECOLLECTIONS OF FIFTY
the breeze, beneath the power of truth as it fell in burning
fervor from his lips. In the days of his prime, he towered
in the pulpit like a giant in his strength, and wielded the
sword of the Spirit with a dexterity and power seldom
surpassed. He was wise in counsel, firm in purpose, and
prudent in the discharge of duty. He was one of the early
Eeformers, and the Methodist Protestant Church is in-
debted to but few men so much as to Dr. Brown. His
funeral was attended, among others, by more than a score
of ministers; but I was the only member of his Conference
who was present. His remains repose in the "Fern Cliff
Cemetery," Springfield, Ohio, beside thosa of his amiable
companion.
fo
!
YE AUS /.V T.HJ5 MINISTRY. 323
CHAPTER XXVII.
Methodist General Conference, 1871 Letter from T. W. Peg-
ram Address of J. T. Murray Kind Responses Commis-
sioners to Methodist Protestant General Conference Au-
thorityNever Met Did Not Attend Methodist Protestant
General Conference Good Reasons A. Clark and James
Robison Appointment of Nine Commissioners Dr. Burns's
Call for Expression of Opinion Answer Letter of Dr.
Drinkhouse Answer General Conference in Princeton,
1875 William Hunter Bishop Janes Charles W. Button-
Recommendation of Committee on Union Commissioners
Appointed Ministerial Education Important Action Re-
moral to Pittsburg.
AT the General Conference of the Methodist Church
in Pittsburg in May, 1871, a communication from Kev.
T. W. Pegram, of North Carolina, one of the delegates
of the Methodist Protestant General Conference, breathing
a kind and brotherly spirit, was received and read; and
Rev. J. T. Murray, of Maryland, addressed the Conference
in person, and presented the greetings of himself and
brethren. Kindly responses were made, and John Scott,
John Burns, F. H. Pierpont, A. H. Bassett, and H. E. H.
Hartsock were appointed commissioners, or messengers,
to the General Conference of the Methodist Protestant
Church, to meet in Lynchburg, Ya., May 1, 1874, and were
authorized to "receive any proposition looking toward
union that might be made by the General Conference of
the Methodist Protestant Church, and report the same to
the General Conference of the Methodist Church."
These commissioners never had a meeting, and never
did anything, because a resolution offered by Dr. J. J.
Murray in the General Conference of the Methodist Prot-
324 RECOLLECTIONS OF FIFTY
estant Church in 1870, to authorize the president of that
body, in case of the appointment of such a commission on
our part, to appoint commissioners to meet and confer
with us on the subject of union, had been voted down. We
could not, therefore, do anything before the meeting of
their General Conference in 1874. These commissioners,
for what they considered good and sufficient reasons, did
not attend the General Conference in Lynchburg; but
Revs. Alexander Clark and James Eobison, our editor and
book agent, attended and represented the feeling of our
Church.
At that Conference, on the recommendation of a com-
mittee, of which John Paris was chairman, the following
resolution was adopted with great unanimity:
"Resolved, That a committee of nine persons be appointed
by this General Conference, to confer with any like commis-
sion from any Methodist body in America, who may signify
a desire to confer with them upon the subject of union with
the Methodist Protestant Church, and especially with a com-
mittee of nine, to be appointed by the Methodist Church,
which has made overtures to us for a reunion: believing it to
be the desire of a majority of the members of the Methodist
Church to effect a union of the Methodist and Methodist Prot-
estant Churches, upon terms which shall be alike agreeable
and honorable to each."
This was an important step towards union in advance
of any that had been before taken. The overtures for
union which had been made by the Methodist Church were
personal and not official, and just the same as had been
made by the Methodist Protestant to the Methodist Church.
The desire for union was evidently mutual, and there was
nothing discreditable in it.
In the latter part of November, 1874, Dr. Burns called
on me, through the Recorder, for an expression of opinion
YEARS IN THE MINISTRY. 325
in regard to the duty of our commissioners. This was after
the meeting of the General Conference at Lynchburg. To
that appeal I responded in the following article, published
in the Recorder of December 19, 1874:
"As Brother Burns has publicly called on me for an
expression in regard to the duty of the commissioners ap-
pointed by the last General Conference of the Methodist
Church on the subject of union with the Methodist Prot-
estant Church, I beg permission to make a brief response.
"After examining the action of the General Conference
of the Methodist Protestant Church, I am satisfied that our
commissioners have no power to act in any way in the p x rem-
ises as matters now stand.
"In the first place, we were appointed to receive propo-
sitions in reference to union, and not to make them.
"In the second place, the General Conference of the
Methodist Protestant Church entirely ignored our present
commissioners, consisting of five members, and authorized
its commissioners to confer with a commission of nine, to
be appointed hereafter, of course, *by the General Confer-
ence of the Methodist Church.'
"Whether our present commissioners were objectionable
to our Methodist Protestant brethren or not, I do not know.
One thing, however, is very clear, that their commissioners
have no authority to confer with us on the subject of union.
So far as I am concerned, then, I think that we must dis-
miss the whole subject, so far as negotiations are concerned,
until the meeting of our General Conference in May next.
That body can then take such action on the subject as it
shall think proper.
"From the last number of the Methodist Protestant I
learn that the editor of that paper does not seem to deem it
prudent at present to continue the discussion of the sub-
ject of union in his columns, because some of his sub-
326 RECOLLECTIONS OF FIFTY
scribers object to the 'discussion of premature and irrele-
vant issues.' It may be well for us, also, perhaps to act
with becoming prudence, and 'do nothing before the time.'
"Could our commissioners have a meeting for consulta-
tion with each other, it would afford me great pleasure;
but they are so scattered that this is scarcely practicable
under the circumstances. If it is the wish of the brethren
composing our commission, however, to meet at some cen-
tral point, say Cambridge, Fairmont, Pittsburg, or Cin-
cinnati, I will be happy to meet with them, and carefully
consider the subject of the union of the Methodist and
the Methodist Protestant Churches. Such preliminary dis-
cussion might lead to more judicious action at a subse-
quent time. In reference to such a meeting, some time be-
fore our General Conference, I will be pleased to hear
privately from other members of the commission."
This article I thought was judicious, and not out of
place. But under date of Baltimore, December 24, 1874, 1
received from Dr. E. J. Drinkhouse, editor of the Methodist
Protestant, the following letter:
"DEAR BROTHER SCOTT, Your communication on the
union (commission) business in the Recorder (19th) I think
judicious. Evidently nothing can be done before the meet-
ing of your General Conference, and very probably nothing
then. If the position of the Methodist Church is that the
original organization is to make proposals to those who
'suspended' relations, to put it 'mildly,' this would be a
strange reversal of the natural and logical order of things.
"Again permit me to notice your reference to the action
of our General Conference in appointing nine instead of
five, or twenty, or any other arbitrary number, with the
exclamation-point annexed. You attempt to saddle the
wrong horse. It seems, then, you had a committee to
YEARS IN THE MINISTRY. 327
receive proposals of five; yet not one of you appeared even
fraternally at Lynchburg worse still, not one of you con-
descended even to communicate in writing. Brothers Clark
and Eobison did the best they could over the bungling busi-
ness; but could not offer even an apology, so utterly did
you pass us by. It seems to me it comes with an ill grace
from you, as one of the five, to insinuate by an exclamation-
point, that there was some ulterior purpose in appointing
nine. The fact is, you left us perfectly bare of information,
not knowing whether you were five or what. The nine
was a mere accident.
"I have shut down on the discussion in the interest of
union, not against it this ought to be plain enough. How-
ever, a few letters like yours and Brother Widney's will
effectually kill the whole project, I fear.
"Yours fraternally, E. J. DRINKHOUSE."
Under date of Cincinnati, Ohio, December 28, 1874,
I answered the above communication as follows:
"KEY. E. J. DRINKHOUSE:
"My Dear Brother, Yours of the 24th instant was re-
ceived in due course of mail, and is now before me. Its
general tone is objectionable, and if its contents were a
matter of personal interest only, it would probably pass
without further notice. But as the general subject referred
to is one of more than personal interest, I have concluded
to answer your letter, or lecture, and disabuse your mind
in reference to certain matters contained therein.
"As to my failure to attend your last General Confer-
ence, or to communicate with that body in writing, I had
sufficient reasons at the time to justify the failure, even in
your estimation, were I to state them; but after the man-
ner in which you have referred to the matter, I do not
deem it proper to do it now.
328 RECOLLECTIONS OF FIFTY
"As to the exclamation-point on which you place so
much stress, I have only to say that it was not in my manu-
script, and how it got into the printed copy I do not know.
I am not much in the habit of insinuating anything by
exclamation-points. I mostly express my sentiments in a
way sufficiently plain to be understood without the use of
such appendages. So much, then, as to matters merely
personal. Now a few words in reference to matters of far
more importance.
"You say, 'If the position of the Methodist Church is
that the original organization is to make proposals to those
who "suspended" relations, to put it "mildly," this would
be a strange reversal of the natural and logical order of
things.' If I understand this, it simply means that your
Church, claiming to be the 'original organization,' pro-
poses to stand on its dignity, and make no proposals to the
Methodist Church, which 'would be a strange reversal of
the natural and logical order of things;' but that 'those
who "suspended" relations, to put it "mildly,"' must
humbly approach your 'original organization,' and ask for
a reunion with it. I think I do not misunderstand you.
This is a vital point, and I wish to consider it candidly,
and will ask for it the same consideration from you.
"I observe, then, that the question as to which of the
two Churches, the Methodist Protestant or the Methodist
Church is the 'original organization' is one that is unde-
cided, and still in dispute. This may be a new thought
to you, and it may, therefore, be the more valuable. Let
me state the case. It has been held by the court of Noble
County in this State (Ohio), in a case involving the title
to Church property, in a suit brought by a Methodist Prot-
estant society, to recover a house of worship from a Meth-
odist society, that all the changes which were made by our
Conventions in the Constitution and Discipline of the
YEARS IN THE MINISTRY. 329
Methodist Protestant Church, even to the change in our
name, were made according to the provisions of the Con-
stitution of the Church, we having represented in the Con-
ventions the necessary number of Annual Conferences to
enable us legally to make the changes. If this decision
was correct, and the evidence satisfied the court that it
was, and no appeal was taken from the decision, then the
inevitable conclusion is that the Methodist Protestant
Church, as it now stands, is not properly the 'original or-
ganization/ but a faction which refused to concur in the
legal acts of the original body. You will please observe
that I am not now indulging in theory and speculation,
but refer you to a matter of fact, a judicial decision, ren-
dered in a respectable court of justice, and which remains
to this day unquestioned. To this you may reply that a
court in West Virginia has rendered an opposite decision
in a similar case. If such be the fact, I at once admit it.
How, then, does the case stand? Simply that the question
as to which of the two bodies, the Methodist Protestant
Church or the Methodist Church, is the 'original organiza-
tion/ is in dispute, and that conflicting decisions on the
subject have been rendered by the courts, and that the
question can not be legally and finally settled till the case
is carried by appeal to the court of last resort. Are we to
wait till such a decision is obtained to enable us to observe
proper etiquette in making and receiving proposals, before
we enter upon negotiations for union between the two
Churches? If so, the day of union is very far distant. HV
have as good a right, basing our claim on judicial decisions,
as you have. Suppose, then, we both claim to be the
'original organization/ and stand on our dignity, and de-
cline to make any advance toward each other, when do
you think a union will be effected? We are willing to
treat with you as our equals, but never as our superiors.
330 RECOLLECTIONS OF FIFTY
"It seems to me, then, that the question as to which
of the two bodies is the 'original organization/ and all the
feeling of dignity which such a claim inspires, must be
entirely dismissed in the consideration of the subject of
union, and the fact as it now stands must alone be taken
into account, that we are now two distinct and independent
bodies, of equal rights and respectability, and that any
proposals for union submitted by either one to the other,
is not in any way an acknowledgment of inferiority, but
an expression of a desire for a more intimate union in the
future, in view of the good to be thereby accomplished.
Any other course would be 'a, strange reversal of the natu-
ral and logical order of things/
"Permit me to suggest another thought. It is this.
A union of the two Churches can never take place on the
basis of past relations, past positions, or past acts. To
attempt to effect a union on such a basis would be to fight
our old battles over, and reach, perhaps, the same conclu-
sions we did before. So far as I am personally concerned,
I have no intention to stultify myself, or go back on my
record. I acted honestly in all I did, and if I were placed
again in the same circumstances, with the same light I
then had, I would, doubtless, act in a similar manner. I
presume that the feelings of my brethren on the subject
are the same as my own. I have no idea that the Methodist
Church, for the sake of union, will ever offer any apology
for her past course, or renounce the principles she has
advocated. Such a thing need not be asked. What I am
unwilling to render to others in this connection, I am un-
willing to ask of them in order to union. It seems to me
that in all negotiations for union, the past must be left
out of sight, and we must act, not in view of past but of
present circumstances, and of the good to be accomplished
in the future by the united body. The cause that divided
YEARS IN THE MINISTRY. 331
us in the past no longer exists to distract us in the future,
and the differences which exist on other points are so
small that, by mutual concessions, they may in a Christian
spirit be easily arranged.
"So far as details are concerned, I have nothing now
to say. The time for that has not yet come. The prin-
ciples on which these negotiations are to take place, if they
ever occur, is the first thing to be settled. I have indicated
briefly my views on that subject, and I commend them to
your consideration. What I have written is my own indi-
vidual opinion on the subject, for which I alone am re-
sponsible. I am free to admit that I am heartily in favor
of the union of the two Churches; but at the same time I
am not willing to humiliate myself, or to ask either of the
negotiating parties to humiliate themselves, to accomplish
it. Hence I have suggested what appears to me to be the
only practicable course to be pursued in order to effect
the union. My article in the Recorder, to which you refer,
was written deliberately, without the exclamation-point, in
the interest of union. Although you may not understand
its bearing, I do, and I think it will do good. This reply
to your communication is written for the same purpose,
and I trust it will not do any harm, but turn attention in
the right direction. As I read the signs of the times,
Churches which differ no more than those do to which you
and I belong can not much longer innocently remain apart.
"You are at liberty to make any proper use of this letter
you may see fit. Yours truly,
"JOHN SCOTT."
I regarded this letter at the time it was written as
suggesting the proper course to be adopted in negotiating
a union between the two Churches, and it was the course
adopted at last, and the two Churches met, through
332 RECOLLECTIONS OF FIFTY
their chosen representatives, as equals, possessing equal
rights.
The General Conference of the Methodist Church met
on May 19, 1875, in Princeton, Illinois. Dr. John Burns,
an excellent presiding officer, was elected president. It was
an important session, and many subjects of deep interest
came before it, and were freely discussed and acted upon.
The vexed question of the ordination of women to the
Christian ministry, which had been negatived in the pre-
ceding General Conference in Pittsburg in 1871, by a vote
of forty-six to nineteen, was introduced by D. B. Turney,
and referred to a committee; which brought in two reports,
which were placed on file, and no further action taken on
the subject.
The spirit of fraternity seemed to prevail at that Con-
ference. The Rev. Dr. William Hunter, a fraternal mes-
senger appointed by the General Conference of the Meth-
odist Episcopal Church, was present, and presented the
fraternal greetings of that body. He was responded to in
a kind and brotherly spirit, and fraternal messengers were
appointed to attend the next session of the General Con-
ference of the Methodist Episcopal Church. The Eev.
E. S. Janes, senior bishop of the Methodist Episcopal
Church, was also present, and addressed the Conference.
He said he did not come to represent anybody but him-
self; that he wanted to show his respect and love for the
brethren of the Conference and those whom they repre-
sented; and that he hoped the day was not far distant when
all the Methodists of this country would be united in one
body. The bishop was responded to by the president, by
Alexander Clark, and by the writer; and the occasion was
one of much interest, because of the feeling of brotherly
love which prevailed, showing that the Spirit of Christ
united in heart those who were separated by systems of
YEARS IN THE MINISTRY. 333
ecclesiastical polity. Bishop Janes, if not as a bishop, yet
as a Christian man, captured the hearts of the brethren
of the Conference, and while they did not admire his office,
they could not but love the man.
Charles W. Button, a fraternal messenger from the
General Conference of the Methodist Protestant Church,
was introduced, and addressed the Conference in words of
kind and Christian greeting. He assured the Conference
of a rapidly-growing sentiment in the Church he repre-
sented, in favor of organic union between the two bodies.
He said that they were fondly cherishing the hope that
erelong the divided stream might again become one.
Brother Button was recognized as a representative man,
a man of candor and sincerity, and his address was received
with great pleasure, and very favorably impressed the
Conference. Eesponses were made by W. R. Parsons, T. H.
Colhouer, and the writer, in a similar spirit of Christian
fraternity.
The Committee on Methodistic Union, among other
things, contained the following, which was adopted:
"Inasmuch as the cause for suspension of official relations
by the Conferences of the North, now represented in this Con-
ference, is now entirely removed by the providence of God,
and the suspension having from the first been declared to be
only contingent upon the continuance of the cause complained
of; and
"WHEREAS, Furthermore, the General Conference in the
South, assembled at Lynchburg, May, 1874, did, in accordance
with mutual and reciprocal advances for reunion, elect nine
commissioners to meet nine co-ordinate commissioners, ex-
pected to be appointed by this General Conference now in
session, to deliberate together and devise plans for reunion
alike honorable and desirable to each; therefore, this Com-
mittee unanimously recommend the election of nine persona
as commissioners for said purpose."
334 RECOLLECTIONS OF FIFTY
In harmony with the preceding recommendation, the
Conference elected nine commissioners, as follows: J.
Burns, J. J. Smith, T. J. Finch, F. H. Pierpont, J. J. Gil-
lespie, E. A. Wheat, P. F. Eemsburgh, A. Clark, and G. B.
McElroy, five ministers and four laymen. Thus the
cause of reunion was placed in such a position as to give
reasonable hope of its success. There is one amusing
thing, however, which can not fail to be noticed in connec-
tion with the action of each of the parties to the proposed
union, and that is the caution taken to prevent the impres-
sion that it was the party that first proposed the union.
At the Princeton General Conference important action
was taken in reference to the Board of Ministerial Edu-
cation, which placed it on a better footing, and guarded
against certain evils connected with its operations, which
were perhaps unavoidable in the beginning of such an
enterprise. It was found that unsuitable persons had been
admitted as beneficiaries of the Board, who had disap-
pointed the expectations of the Church, and some of whom,
after receiving aid from the Church, with utter indifference
to their obligations, had left it. I happened to be chair-
man of the committee to which the report of the Board
was referred. I had given the subject special thought,
and was prepared to suggest such remedies as I believed
would correct the mistakes which had been discovered.
The other members of the committee agreed with me, and
we made several recommendations, which were adopted,
and which have produced important practical results.
In the first place, we recommended that in the future
"no person be received as a beneficiary of the Board unless
he be recommended by an Annual Conference as a young
man of undoubted piety, and of good natural ability, and
who shall be able to pass an examination admitting him
to the second year in the college/' by which was meant
YEARS IN THE MINISTRY. 335
the preparatory department. There is no sense in the
Church supporting boys, or young men, at college, who
may pursue the very same studies in the common or high
schools at home. As the report said, "Any young man
who can not, in a reasonable length of time, with the as-
sistance which may anywhere be obtained, qualify him-
self to enter the second preparatory year, has not the per-
severance and energy necessary to secure success in the
ministry." In this day dreamy drones are not wanted in
the ministry. We want young men, not only of undoubted
piety, but of snap and vim, who can study and work in
every appropriate way to build up the kingdom of Christ.
The committee recommended, in the second place,
"that the aid afforded young men shall be in the form of a
loan, without interest, to be refunded to the Board by the
party receiving it, at the rate of ten per cent of the amount
of salary received per annum after he has entered the min-
istry. And that in case he shall leave the Church, or en-
gage in secular pursuits, he shall refund the whole amount,
with interest from the time he leaves the Church or retires
from the ministry: and that every beneficiary, before en-
tering the college, should be required to give his written
obligation to the Board to comply with the above con-
ditions."
Young men should not be made to feel that they are
paupers, dependent on the charity of the Church; but,
should the Church educate competent young men for the
ministry, it will receive back in the value of the service
they render it, more than an equivalent for the money
expended on them. Still, the committee were of the
opinion "that the adoption of the above plan would de-
velop the manhood of the young men, make them more
self-reliant, and prompt them to greater efforts to sustain
themselves." In this way young men are assisted in the
336 RECOLLECTIONS OF FIFTY
way of an accommodation, to be paid back at a future
time, and the Church is not only benefited by their labors,
but the money they pay back can be usjed in educating
others indefinitely for the service of the Church.
The committee also directed attention to the impor-
tance of providing for the necessary theological instruction
of the young men pursuing their literary course in college
in view of entering the ministry. This has since been done,
and I have had the satisfaction of seeing the measures
which I proposed and earnestly advocated, adopted with
success by the Church.
In the fall of 1875 I left Cincinnati, and was stationed
in the First Church, Allegheny City, Pa. I had served
the charge before; but during my absence many changes
had taken place. Still, I found some of my old friends
left, among whom was the Rev. John Herbert, who mani-
fested the same interest in me that he had always done.
The year was one of faithful labor and some success.
YEARS IN THE MINISTRY. 337
CHAPTER XXVIII.
General Conference Methodist Episcopal Church Fraternal
Delegates Disappointment Letter and Address Recep-
tion of Address Address of Dr. Clark Remarks of Bishop
Janes Reference of Daily Christian Advocate Pleasant
State of Feeling Change of Feeling No Official Inter-
course.
THE General Conference of the Methodist Episcopal
Church met in Baltimore, Md., in May, 1876. Dr. John
Cowl and myself, two of the fraternal messengers appointed
at the Princeton General Conference to attend the next
session of that body, when the time came, prepared to
attend, and, with the other members of the delegation, dis-
charge the pleasant duty imposed upon us. But at the last
moment we were providentially disappointed. We, how-
ever, hurriedly prepared a brief address to the Conference,
and forwarded it with an accompanying note explaining
the cause of our absence. These communications were
placed in the hand of the Conference by Brother Alexander
Clark, who had been appointed to take the place of W. H.
Jordan, one of our fraternal messengers. I insert these
papers here, as showing th'e state of feeling which existed
at that time between the two Churches.
Bishop Janes, who presided on the occasion, said: "The
Conference will recollect that Dr. Hunter, of the Pitts-
burg Conference, and Dr. Martin, of the West Virginia
Conference, were appointed fraternal delegates to the Gen-
eral Conference of the Methodist Church, held in Prince-
ton last year. Dr. Hunter's report was read to you this
morning. The fraternal delegates appointed by that Gen-
eral Conference to reciprocate the visit of your fraternal
22
338 RECOLLECTIONS OF FIFTY
delegates are prevented from being present. The president
of the Conference has appointed a substitute. That sub-
stitute is present. He, however, must leave, as he sails for
Europe in a day or two. He desires your attention for a
very few minutes. I trust this Conference, in view of the
exigency of this case, will give him the opportunity to be
presented, and to make that brief communication.
The Conference indicating their wish to hear the fra-
ternal delegate referred to, Bishop Janes said: "It is due,
previous to his being presented, that the reasons for the
absence of the other delegates should be read." The secre-
tary here read the following:
"To the Members of the General Conference of the Methodist
Episcopal Church, assembled in the city of Baltimore,
May, 1876:
"DEAR FATHERS AND BRETHREN, We deeply regret
our inability to be present with you in person, as we greatly
desired. We had procured our tickets, and were on our
way to the train, when intelligence of the death of a near
relative constrained us to change our purpose. We have,
however, endeavored, in a brief and hurried communica-
tion, which we trust the other members of our delegation
will approve, to discharge the duty imposed upon us, and
also to express to you some of our individual views and
feelings.
"Praying that the blessing of the Great Head of the
Church may rest upon you, we remain, dear Fathers and
Brethren, Yours in Christ,
"JOHN SCOTT,
"JOHN COWL.
"PiTTSBURG, PA., May 9, 1876."
After the reading of the above, Bishop Janes said:
''There is the document to which that letter refers a
communication prepared and sent here by these fraternal
YEARS IN THE MINISTRY. 339
delegates, when they found that they could not be present.
Brother Clark, however, says he will consent that the read-
ing of this be postponed until some time when it will meet
your convenience to hear it, unless you prefer to hear it
now."
Several voices: "Let us hear it now."
The secretary then read as follows:
"To the Members of the General Conference of the Methodist
Episcopal Church, in General Conference assembled, in the
city of Baltimore, May, 1876:
"DEAR FATHERS AND BRETHREN, We are happy, as
Fraternal Messengers of the 'Methodist Church' without
prefix or suffix one of the smaller bodies of Methodism,
to extend to you the fraternal greeting and kind Chris-
tian regards of the body which we have the honor to rep-
resent. This is an official duty which it affords us very
great pleasure to perform.
"In addressing you, we feel that we are addressing our
brethren; for we regard Methodism in its various branches
as essentially one. We had a common origin, and for a
considerable time a common history; and we are sure we
have, or ought to have, a common interest. We all venerate
the name of Wesley, adopt the theology of Watson, and
recognize as a standard of exposition and comment the
learned writings of Adam Clarke.
"The teachings of Methodism everywhere are the same.
Differences have arisen in reference to forms of govern-
ment and questions of a domestic nature; but no difference
exists in reference to the essential doctrines of Methodism.
In this respect the branches are as thoroughly Methodistic
as the original stock. And this, after all, is the great
essential thing. This is the soul of Methodism; and in this
respect it is one and undivided. Its ordinances, its forms
340 RECOLLECTIONS OF FIFTY
of worship, and the general outlines of its economy are also
the same. In all that is essential to Methodism there is
an absolute and permanent agreement among the various
Methodist bodies. The points of difference are compara-
tively unimportant and non-essential, and relate to mat-
ters not originally connected with the great Methodist
Reformation.
"For eighteen years after the introduction of Meth-
odism into this country it existed without a formal and
general organization, and without a general executive head,
except so far as Mr. Wesley, through others, partially
superintended it. At the Christmas Conference, held in
this city (Baltimore) in 1784, a general organization was
effected, and general superintendents or executives were
chosen. These measures, as well as those of a different
character, adopted by bodies which afterward seceded from
the Methodist Episcopal Church, formed no part of original
Methodism. They were measures adopted by the different
parties concerned, according to their best judgment, for
the extension and permanent establishment of Methodism.
They no more constitute Methodism than the coat a man
wears constitutes the man. Variety of form is not incon-
sistent with unity of character.
"Every branch of Methodism is a living, fruitful
branch, and each acts and reacts upon the other. The
mutual influence thus exerted has perhaps, after all, been
of a healthful and beneficial character, and has promoted
the common good. One of the results has been to bring
the various Methodist bodies into greater harmony, and,
in things not essential, into greater practical unity. They
are now moving on converging lines, and we know that
such lines, if sufficiently extended, ultimately meet.
"Some forty-five years ago our fathers planted a little
vine in this city (Baltimore). It was a cutting from an older
YEARS IN THE MINISTRY. 341
vine, and they so trimmed and set it that, in the'ir opinion,
the fruit was wonderfully improved. But they planted it
in the same ground where the old vine was growing. Its
roots permeated the whole soil, and its branches cast their
shadows far and wide. In consequence of this the little
vine was deprived of the nourishment, sunshine, and air
it would have enjoyed had it been permitted to grow alone.
Still, it grew and produced good fruit, and its friends
claim that, by some means or other, it has so affected the
old vine that its fruit has improved to such an extent that
it requires a person of some penetration to tell the differ-
ence between the two. In consequence of this, some have
thought that the young vine might now be safely ingrafted
again into the old vine. But there are others who think
the old vine should be ingrafted into the new. This prob-
lem is too difficult for us to solve.
"We are happy to say, however, that the irritation
which almost necessarily attended the 'Reform' contro-
versy, the expulsion of some ministers and members, the
withdrawal of others, and the organization of a new
Church, has passed away. A new day has dawned, and
the spirit of fraternity and brotherly love has taken the
place of a spirit of division and strife. The great funda-
mental principle of lay representation, for which the found-
ers of our Church mainly contended, has been conceded,
if not fully applied, and the mother now looks tenderly
upon the children, and the children dutifully "return her
love.
"One year ago, the Eev. Dr. Hunter, one of your Fra-
ternal Messengers to our General Conference, visited us,
and extended to us your fraternal greeting, and assured
us of your kind regards. His visit afforded us very great
pleasure. We were glad to greet him as a brother beloved
and honored by us, and also heartily to receive him as your
342 RECOLLECTIONS OF FIFTY
messenger. Your venerable senior bishop also honored us
by his presence, not in an official capacity, as he told us,
but to represent himself and assure us of his love, and we
think he will bear record that his reception was most cor-
dial; for we felt it a great privilege to greet and honor such
a man of God. He told us that, however the statement
might subject him to criticism, he was in favor of an
organic union of the Methodist Churches in this country.
As individuals, we most heartily indorse his position on
that subject. We say here, as we have said elsewhere, we
are in favor of one Methodism for the continent. We can
not, Mr. President, for the life of us, see any good reason
for the existence now of so many different Methodist
Churches in this country. The tendency of this age is not
to a blind submission to usurped authority, but to restive-
ness under the proper restraints of law. This undue tend-
ency to liberalism does not need to be fostered, but rather
to be restrained.
"The Church which we have the honor to represent
is now negotiating, with favorable prospects, a union with
the Methodist Protestant Church, a part of her former self.
This step is in the right direction, and we hope will be
succeeded by others, which will result in a general Meth-
odist union. We believe the angels in heaven would re-
joice at such a consummation.
"It may be proper for us, Mr. President, to say, as your
venerable senior bishop said, in the expression of these
sentiments on the subject of union, we represent our-
selves, and for them we are individually responsible. We
were appointed to bear to you the fraternal greetings of
our brethren; but perhaps we may be pardoned for the
additional expression of our individual views and feelings
on a subject of so much interest. Recognizing, then, the
essential unity of Methodism, and the minifying of non-
YEARS IN THE MINISTRY. 343
essential differences, we come to you in the name and by
the authority of the 'Methodist Church/ to assure you of
our high esteem, of our Christian love, and of our sincere
desire for your prosperity and more abundant success. We
ask the Divine benediction upon you in all your works of
faith and labors of love. We devoutly pray that the spirit
of fraternity and unity may increase until we shall not only
be one in Christ, but also one in organization and in name.
"JonN SCOTT,
"JOHN COWL."
Dr. Alexander Clark, who was present, said in the
Recorder of the following week, that "the address elicited
the greatest attention, and was several times applauded
heartily by the Conference, especially at the point where
the principle of lay representation, instituted by the fa-
thers of 1828, was said to have been indorsed at last by
the Methodist Episcopal Church. This, in . Baltimore, so
handsomely said, and so thoroughly enjoyed, was a scene
worthy of remembrance."
After the reading of the preceding address, Dr. Clark,
in his own peculiar and impressive manner, proceeded to
address the Conference in person, his remarks frequently
eliciting applause. At the close of his address, Bishop
Janes said: "I can assure our brother that in due time the
Conference will express, by resolution and otherwise, their
appreciation of the manner in which he has performed his
services before it to-day, and also of our fraternal interest
in the branch of Methodism which he represents."
The Daily Christian Advocate, which published both
addresses in full, said: "The reception of the Fraternal
Delegates from the Methodist Church was an exceedingly
pleasant affair. The addresses of Drs. John Scott, John
Cowl, and Alexander Clark, Fraternal Delegates, were ad-
344 RECOLLECTIONS OF FIFTY
mirable in kind, and were listened to with great satisfac-
tion."
There were pleasant feelings existing between the two
Churches at that time, and these good feelings continued
for several years afterwards; but of late years there has been
no official intercourse between the Methodist Episcopal
and the Methodist Protestant Churches. Whether the
change has contributed anything to the glory of God, or
the prosperity of either of the Churches, I will not pre-
tend to say.
YEARS IN THE MINISTRY. 345
CHAPTER XXIX.
Pittsburg Conference, 187ft Invited to Remain in Allegheny-
Declined Sent to Sharpsburg Grace Church Former Pas-
torOld Friends Church not Prosperous Francis Mur-
phy Man of Great Magnetism "Old Home" Held Meet-
ing in My Church Protracted-meeting Gracious Revival-
Excellent Singing Mathematics and Music Henry Ding-
ierMiracle of Grace Trying to Pray Faithful Peaceful
Death Funeral.
THE Pittsburg Conference met in the fall of 1876 in
Bellevue, a suburb of Pittsburg. The First Church, Alle-
gheny, had invited me to remain with them another year,
but I preferred not to do so, and the Conference sent me
to Grace Church, Sharpsburg. I had been their pastor at
two different times before; but had been absent more than
a dozen years, yet on my return I found that comparatively
few changes had taken place. Most of the old members
were still there, while new ones had been received. I
found Dr. William Collier, and his son, Judge F. H. Col-
lier, Thomas H. Gibson, John Cook, H. F. Dunham, Fran-
cis Alsup, James I. Robinson, and other old friends there
to greet me. I always liked Sharpsburg, and my residence
there and my intercourse with the people at different times
for more than a dozen years was always pleasant, and I
know of no place where I would rather reside to-day, did
circumstances justify it, than among my old Sharpsburg
friends.
The Church was not in a very prosperous condition
spiritually. The prayer-meetings were poorly attended,
and there was no class-meeting. There were not many who
would lead in prayer, and if some of these were absent, it
346 RECOLLECTIONS OF FIFTY
made our prayer-meetings rather short. But I entered
upon my work resolved to do the best I could.
That fall and winter Francis Murphy, the great apostle
of temperance, was in Pittsburg, and the excitement which
he produced among the people was wonderful. His head-
quarters were in our First Church on Fifth Avenue, where
the Kaufman building no\v stands, and during the Murphy
movement it was known as "The Old Home." It was a
large church, with galleries on both sides and one end, and
would hold a great many people. But it was crowded for
weeks and months with all sorts and^classes of persons, and
thousands of them, I suppose, signed the pledge, and many
of them kept it.
Mr. Murphy was a man of great magnetism, of quick
perception, full of Irish wit and humor, an eloquent
speaker, and he seemed to know exactly how to manage
and control a great mass of all sorts of people. He ap-
peared to be perfectly at home, and self-possessed in the
midst of the greatest excitement. He urged the people
not only to sign the pledge, but also to become religious
and lead better lives. And, so far as he could, he put every
one who signed the pledge at once to work. He would
urge them, after signing the pledge, to speak and give some
of their experience as to the evils of intemperance. He
tried to imbue the people with the idea that they must go
to work, and do something to advance the good cause.
Meetings were held at other places besides "The Old
Home," and the excitement spread in every direction.
I was fortunate enough to be able to persuade Mr.
Murphy to hold one meeting in my church in Sharpsburg.
He was accompanied by several other speakers, and a vast
crowd of people was in attendance. The large folding
doors between the church and the chapel were thrown open,
and both church and chapel were packed to their utmost
YEARS IN THE MINISTJ; ) . 347
capacity. Standing-room was at a premium. The enthu-
siasm was indeed wonderful, and a great many persons
signed the pledge. Among these were quite a number of
young married men, and some verging on middle life.
It was the season for protracted-meetings, and we at
once commenced a series of religious services. The meet-
ings were interesting from the start, and they increased
in interest as they progressed. Many sought the Savior,
and found him to the joy of their hearts. Unlike most
revivals, the principal work appeared to be among the
men. Many of them sought Christ, and professed faith
in his name. As soon as they were converted, I put them
to work, called on them to pray, and urged them to speak,
and I do not remember one of them that refused to bear
the cross. The Church was quickened and revived, and a
most gracious state of spiritual prosperity was enjoyed.
There was nothing boisterous, but the melting and sub-
duing power of the Holy Spirit, and the overflowings of
Divine love seemed to be manifested in every heart. There
was no longer a lack of persons to pray or exercise in the
Church. "The people had a mind to work." The young
men organized a prayer-meeting, which was held in the
chapel every Sabbath morning an hour before public serv-
ice, and which was largely attended. From this meeting
they came into the church with hearts aglow, ready for the
public worship.
My three years' pastorate in Sharpsburg at that time,
although embarrassed with some serious difficulties, was the
most pleasant of my life, and I never recall the memory
of those happy days without the most tender emotions.
I am passionately fond of music, and our choir in Sharps-
burg, at that time under the leadership of Judge Collier,
could not easily be surpassed anywhere, and the songs
and anthems of praise which they sung were sometimes
348 RECOLLECTIONS OF FIFTY
so inspiring and uplifting that it seemed to me the place
was the very vestibule of heaven. The Eev. Dr. George B.
McElroy, professor of Mathematics in Adrian College, once
said to me that he expected to continue the study of mathe-
matics to all eternity. I told him that, while he sat apart,
enrapt in profound thought, I would visit the great mu-
sical conservatory of heaven, and try to learn some of the
songs of the redeemed. There is no part of religious wor-
ship more delightful and more pleasing to God than the
heartfelt singing of his praise.
There was one man, Brother Henry Dingier, who was
converted during our series of meetings, who is worthy
of special mention, as illustrating the power of Divine
grace to elevate and save the most abandoned. He was of
German descent, and had enjoyed but few educational ad-
vantages. He had served as a soldier through the War of
the Eebellion, but he contracted habits of intemperance,
and had become a great inebriate. His father had left him
a handsome property; but he had wasted it all, and was
reduced to poverty. He signed the pledge the night of
Mr. Murphy's meeting in our church, and then came to
our meetings and presented himself at the altar for prayer.
He was honest, he was sincere, he wanted to break away
from his sins, and lead a new life. And God thoroughly
converted him made a new man out of him. I almost
at once called on him to pray, and be did not refuse; but he
seemed to have few ideas, and fewer words. But God un-
derstood him, and we bore with him. I continued to call
on him, and he never refused; but did the best he could.
And it was astonishing how rapidly he improved. He
seemed to get control of his thoughts and the use of words,
and it was not long until he could make a very sensible
prayer. Persons always learn to talk when they are chil-
YEARS IN THE MINISTRY. 349
dren. So when persons are converted they must begin to
pray and speak for God. If they do not learn to do so
then, it is not likely that they ever will. A child does not
at first speak with a clear and distinct utterance. It takes
time to enable him to do so. So with the Christian. He
can not reasonably expect to be able at first to pray and
speak without some embarrassment and difficulty; but if
he perseveres like the little child, these difficulties will
soon be overcome, and he will be enabled to do so with
comparative ease and comfort. This was very clearly illus-
trated in the case of Brother Dingier.
Through the mercy and grace of God, Brother Dingier
was preserved, and led a sober and upright Christian life,
showing to all around him the power of Christ to save.
After some seven or eight years he sickened and died; but
he died as the Christian dies, in peace and in hope of a
better country. His remains were brought to the church,
and Judge Collier, in whose regiment he served in the
army, spoke of him as a good soldier, and I spoke of him
as a Christian, and his companions in arms conveyed his
remains to the cemetery, and gave him an honorable burial.
During my pastorate in Sharpsburg, it was my privi-
lege to receive into the Church Brother H. J. Heinz and
wife. Sister Heinz is with the pure ones before the throne;
but Brother Heinz, with his sincere devotion, his wonder-
ful energy, and his almost unequaled business talent, is
still spared to bless the Church of his choice.
At the Bellevue Conference A. \V. Eobertson was re-
ceived, and has continued in the Conference to the present
time. In addition to his other opportunities, he enjoyed
the advantages of a course in the Western Theological
Seminary, of the Presbyterian Church, while pastor of one
of our Churches in Allegheny City. He is a man of keen,
350 RECOLLECTIONS OF FIFTY
penetrating legal mind, of great indiistry, a pleasing and
attractive speaker, an able debater, cool and self-possessed,
and an authority on questions of Church law. Were he to
turn his attention to the legal profession, he would, no
doubt, attain to eminence. It is unnecessary to say that he
is an excellent preacher.
YEARS IN THE MINISTRY. 351
CHAPTER XXX.
Meeting of Union Commissioners Action Basis of Union-
Action of Conferences Meeting of Conventions Basis of
Union Discussed and Adopted Meeting and Blending of
Two Bodies Pickens, a Lawyer Scott, a Preacher Starr
Church Pleasant Flow of Good Feeling Happy Consum-
mation.
THE committee appointed by the General Conference
of the Methodist Protestant Church, at its session in
Lynchburg, Va., in May, 1874, and the committee ap-
pointed by the General Conference of the Methodist
Church, at its session in Princeton, Illinois, in May, 1875,
met in joint session in the First Church, Fifth Avenue,
Pittsburg, on Tuesday, October 22, 1875, and remained in
session till the following Monday evening. Seven of the
nine commissioners appointed by the Methodist Protestant
General Conference to wit.: L. W. Bates, S. B. Souther-
land, B. F. Duggan, R. H. Wills, W. M. Betts, ministers,
and 0. Hammond, and William Vandervort, laymen; and
John Burns, J. J. Smith, E. A. Wheat, Alexander Clark,
and G. B. McElroy, ministers; and P. F. Remsburgh, J. J.
Gillespie, T. J. Finch, and F. H. Pierpont, laymen, ap-
pointed by the Methodist General Conference, were pres-
ent. L. W. Bates was elected president, and G. B. McElroy
secretary.
A committee was appointed, which examined the Dis-
ciplines of the two Churches, and reported to the com-
missioners such modifications of each as they deemed nec-
essary in order to the formation of one Discipline for the
united body. The modifications were considered, and such
action taken as was deemed necessary to form a basis of
352 RECOLLECTIONS OF FIFTY
union on which it was believed the two bodies could unite.
This basis of union was published in the Methodist Prot-
estant and Methodist Recorder, that the two Churches might
know what their commissioners had done, and on what
grounds it was proposed they should come together. The
commissioners also recommended that a Convention of
each Church should be called, to meet in the city of Balti-
more on the second Friday in May, 1877.
All the Annual Conferences of the Methodist Church,
twenty-one in number, at their several sessions during the
year 1876, concurred in the basis of union adopted by the
commissioners, and elected delegates to the proposed Con-
vention of their own Church in the city of Baltimore.
Sixteen of the twenty Conferences of the Methodist Prot-
estant Church voted in favor of a Convention, and four
against it; yet all of them elected a full representation of
delegates to the proposed Convention. It was not pro-
posed that the representatives of the two Churches should
meet in joint session; but that the representatives of each
Church should meet separately, and, according to the pro-
visions of their own law, take action on the proposed basis
of union.
The two Conventions met in Baltimore as proposed,
on the llth day of May, 1877. I had been elected a mem-
ber of our Convention by the Pittsburg Conference, and
it afforded me great pleasure to attend. I was heartily in
favor of the union; but I was not one of the "gushing"
kind, who permitted emotion to overcome reason and judg-
ment. When a thing is done right it generally stays done,
and good results follow; but when a thing is not done right,
it matters not how much "gush" there may be about it,
results are not favorable. It took the mellowing influence
of time to enable the two Churches to overcome the excite-
ment under which they had labored for years, and with
YEARS IN THE MINISTRY. 353
calm and cool judgment to consider in a proper spirit the
whole subject, and to act on it measurably free from sec-
tional influence and bias. The wonder is, not that the
union did not take place sooner, but that it took place as
soon as it did. The basis of union proposed by the com-
missioners was candidly and earnestly discussed in each
of the Conventions, and finally adopted by each with very
little dissent.
The union having been virtually effected, it only re-
mained for the two bodies to come together, and hence-
forward act as one. This was very pleasantly brought
about. It was arranged that the brethren of the Meth-
odist Convention, which had held its sessions in the Meth-
odist Protestant Church, on the corner of Green and Lom-
bard Streets, should proceed to the corner of Lombard and
Fremont Streets, where the brethren of the Methodist
Protestant Convention, which had held its sessions in the
church on the corner of Fayette and Aisqueth Streets,
should be waiting, and that the presidents of the two Con-
ventions respectively should join arms, followed by the
secretaries in like manner, these to be followed by the mem-
bers of the two Conventions, two by two, each twain being
of one from each body, all to march to the Starr Church,
on Poppleton Street.
This order was nicely, and without any confusion, car-
ried out. When I came up to the gentleman who was
waiting for me, and took him by the arm, he said: "My
name is Pickens S. V. Pickens I am a lawyer, from
North Carolina." I said: "My name is John Scott. I am
a preacher, from Pittsburgh So, we were introduced, and
talked pleasantly with each other, and found that there
was no conflict between the law and the gospel.
The two Conventions having assembled together in
Starr Church, the body was called to order by L. W.
23
354 RECOLLECTIONS OF FIFTY
Bates, president of the Methodist Protestant Convention,
after which J. J. Smith, president of the Methodist Con-
vention, delivered a brief and well-timed address, breath-
ing a fraternal and hopeful spirit, which was well received.
He was followed in a brief address, in a similar spirit, by
L. W. Bates. At the close of his address, he pronounced
the Convention then in session the General Convention of
the Methodist Protestant Church. The doxology, "Praise
God, from whom all blessings," etc., was then sung with
great emotion, after which an hour was given to five-
minute speeches from the brethren, and exchange of greet-
ings and congratulations. The scene that followed was
one difficult to describe. It was a scene of joy and glad-
ness, and brethren spoke and acted in harmony with their
natural impulses. Some were calm and self-possessed; but
their countenances, radiant with smiles, indicated the deep
satisfaction of soul which they felt. Others were not only
full of feeling, but also full of words, and they could not
restrain themselves, but bubbled over in the fullness of
their joy. Many speeches, tender, touching, and gushing,
were made by brethren, calling forth responses in similar
strain. It was, indeed, a scene long to be remembered,
and one over which the angels no doubt rejoiced.
After more than twenty years of estrangement and sepa-
ration, the divided parts of the Methodist Protestant
Church had been brought together, and were united in one
body. This was a consummation which had been greatly
desired and sought by many, and by no one more earnestly
than myself for years. It removed cause of friction along
the border between the divided bodies, and gave increased
strength and ability for more extended and efficient work.
In 1878 the Pittsburg Conference met in Sharpsburg,
where I was then pastor. I was not in good health, and
the arrangements for the entertainment of the Conference
YEARS IN THE MINISTRY. 355
largely devolved upon me, so that when Conference met
I was quite worn down. Then the brethren elected me
president, which imposed an additional burden upon me.
The result was, that after Conference adjourned I broke
down, and had a severe sick spell. There is a point of
endurance beyond which we can not safely pass. It is not
best for men to undertake te accomplish too much.
At that Conference J. H. Hull, who had been a mem-
ber of the Conference for nearly thirty years, and who
had served two years as president, was placed on the super-
annuated list, and during the following year withdrew from
the Church. But he never was satisfied, and after twelve
years, although broken down in health, he returned and
was received again into the Conference, and died among
his old and early friends. It is hazardous for a man to
break off his early associations, and sever his connection
with the Church of his early choice, that was instrumental
in bringing him to Christ, and unite with some other
Church, unless he has the very best of reasons for doing so.
At this session J. C. Berrien was received from the New
York Conference, and has proved a faithful and successful
worker. He is a man of genial spirit, a good preacher, and
devoted to the Church. Since the death of J. B. Walker,
he has filled the office of corresponding secretary of the
Board of Ministerial Education with great acceptability.
356 RECOLLECTIONS OF FIFTY
CHAPTER XXXI.
Alexander Clark Lecture Tour Left in Charge of Methodist
Recorder Lecture in Richmond Address at Yadkin Ill-
ness Relapse Improvement Reaches Atlanta Kindness
of Governor Colquitt Sickness "In the Gate of Heaven"
Death Remains Brought Home Funeral Addresses
Pall-bearers Place of Interment Memorial Services in
First Church, Pittsburg Numerous Addresses Dr. Clark,
Author Man of Genius Continued to Edit Recorder
Elected Editor Editorial Greeting Experience Duties-
Tribute of Ingersoll to Clark Editorial Comments Inger-
soll's Letter in Reply Laborious Position.
DURING the last year of my pastorate in Sharpsburg,
Dr. Alexander Clark, editor of the Methodist Recorder, ar-
ranged for a short lecture tour in the South, and requested
me to take charge of the Recorder till his return. I had
often helped him, and supplied his place in his absence
for a short time. Having been editor of the paper, the
work was familiar to me, and I suppose he thought I could
do it better than one who had no experience in it.
On the 26th day of May, 1879, Dr. Clark left home,
in poor health, to deliver the annual literary address at
the Commencement of Yadkin College, North Carolina,
and fill a few other lecture engagements in the South.
After lecturing in Eichmond, Virginia, on his way, he
reached Greensboro, North Carolina, on the 1st of June,
and was the guest of the Eev. J. L. Michaux. Here he was
taken ill; but after a few days he rallied, and, by permission
of his physician, although very feeble, he went to Yadkin,
a distance of forty miles, and delivered his address before
a crowded audience on the afternoon of June 5th. The
labor, however, was more than his strength could bear,
YEARS IN THE MINISTRY. 357
and the next day he took a relapse. But after a few days,
with careful nursing, he again rallied, and on the 10th of
June he returned to Lexington, from which place, on the
evening of the llth, he took passage for Atlanta, Georgia,
although extremely feeble. He reached that place the fol-
lowing day, and took lodgings at a hotel. But His Excel-
lency, Governor A. H. Colquitt, hearing of his arrival and
illness, went to the hotel in person, and had him removed
to the executive mansion, where he received every attention
which love could bestow. But the skill of physicians and
the kind ministries of dear friends could not arrest the pro-
gress of his disease. Yet, amid all his suffering and pain,
he was calm and resigned. On the 13th, in a letter to Rev.
J. L. Michaux, he sent the following message to his friends
in North Carolina: "Say to them how I love them. Tell
them I am patient trying to get towards home, and my
love for the Savior abounds more and more." When vis-
ited by Brother Michaux on the 23d of June, he said to
him: "I have been very ill, but am better, though still very
weak. The doctor says I must not talk. I have been at
death's door, but right in the gate of heaven." "At another
time," says Brother Michaux, "he spoke how good the
Lord had been to him, and how much he had blessed him.
He spoke of the valley of the shadow of death said it was
only the 'valley of the shadow of death/ adding, 'I know
it, for I have been there.' ''
On the 24th of June his son Edward arrived from
Philadelphia, and remained with him till the end. He
was the only member of his family who was able to be
with him at any time during his illness. Far from home
and the dear ones he loved, he was called to suffer and
die. On Sunday evening, July 6th, he breathed his last,
just as the church-bells were giving the first signals for
evening worship, and so calmly that those who sat by his
358 RECOLLECTIONS OF FIFTY
bedside, and his devoted son, who clasped his hand, were
not certain of the moment when he took his final leave.
"Mark the perfect man, and behold the upright, for the
end of that man is peace."
After appropriate services, at three o'clock on Monday
afternoon, July 7th, his remains, having been placed in a
metallic coffin, or burial case, left Atlanta, in care of his
son, in a special car, by way of Louisville, for Pittsburg,
where they arrived at eight o'clock on Wednesday morn-
ing, July 9th, William Clark, the only brother of the
deceased, arriving on a train from the East at the same
hour. The remains had been expected at that time, and
all the necessary arrangements for the funeral had been
made by a committee of the Board of Publication and of
the Pittsburg Preachers' Meeting.
Through the kindness of the officers of the Cleveland
& Pittsburg Railroad, a special car was placed at the dis-
posal of the committee for the accommodation of friends
desiring to attend the funeral at Wellsville, the home of
Brother Clark's family, fifty miles west of Pittsburg. The
train left the Union Depot at 8.40 A. M., and arrived at
Wellsville about eleven o'clock A. M. Quite a large num-
ber of ministers and friends from Pittsburg accompanied
the remains. On the arrival of the train at Wellsville, the
casket was taken to the family residence, a beautiful home
on the banks of the Ohio, where, at 2.30 P. M., the funeral
services took place. The afternoon was unpleasant, a light,
drizzling rain falling continuously, as if in harmony with
the feeling of sadness and gloom which appeared to have
settled on the large multitude of friends assembled to pay
the last tribute of respect to one whom all loved and hon-
ored. The services were necessarily brief. Rev. M. B.
Taylor, of Beaver Falls, read the Scriptures; Rev. D. True-
man, of Wellsville, announced the hymn; Dr. John Scott,
YEARS IN THE MINISTRY. 359
of Sharpsburg, and Dr. A. M. Reid, president of the Fe-
male College, Steubenville, Ohio, made brief addresses.
After prayer, Dr. John Cowl, of Port Homer, pronounced
the benediction. The remains were then taken to their last
resting-place, and deposited in a beautiful spot in the
Spring Hill Cemetery, on high ground overlooking the
village of Wellsville and the Ohio River, the following
persons acting as pall-bearers: J. J. Gillespie, president
of the Board of Publication, and Dr. T. "W. Shaw, also
a member of the Board; John J. Murray, D. D., pastor
of the First Methodist Protestant Church, Pittsburg, and
Henry T. Reeves, of the Methodist Protestant Church,
Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania; Alfred Wheeler, D. D., editor
of the Pittsburg Christian Advocate, Pittsburg, and "W. B.
Watkins, D. D., pastor of the Methodist Episcopal Church,
Sewickley, Pennsylvania; Rev. James Robison, Publishing
Agent, and Rev. M. A. Parkinson, pastor of the Presby-
terian Church at Industry, Pennsylvania.
Although Dr. Clark died among strangers, yet he was
buried in the midst of his friends. His aged father and
mother, both of whom were over eighty, his wife and
eleven children, his only brother and two sisters, together
with a large concourse of neighbors, and friends from near
and far, were present at his funeral. With gentle hands
the remains of this endeared husband, this loving father,
this honored minister and faithful servant of the Church,
were laid away to their rest until the Angel of the Resur-
rection shall bid them rise.
On Friday afternoon, July 11, 1879, a service in mem-
ory of Brother Clark was held in the First Methodist
Protestant Church, Fifth Avenue, Pittsburg.
The large edifice was well filled by a deeply-interested
audience. A few members of Dr. Clark's family, embrac-
ing three sons, a daughter, his brother, one sister, and a
360 RECOLLECTIONS OF FIFTY
few other near relatives, were provided with seats in the
middle aisle, while the ministers of the Methodist Protest-
ant Church and a large number of divines of other denomi-
nations had seats on the opposite side of the same aisle.
Under the direction of a florist, assisted with exquisite
taste by loving friends of the deceased, the church was
decorated with beautiful simplicity. At the base of the
desk, within the altar, where the deceased had often offi-
ciated in his capacity as minister, growing plants were
placed in an attractive manner. From the moss in the
center, vines were run so as to reach either corner of the
desk, and in the center was a mammoth calla-lily, the pure
whiteness of which contrasted beautifully with the deep
green of the plants and vines. The posts supporting the
lamps at either side of the desk were draped with crape
and smilax, and at the base on one side was a large anchor,
while at the other side was a cross artistically worked in
white flowers. On either side of the desk was a vase filled
with beautiful flowers, and on these vases rested a piece on
which appeared the simple but expressive word, "Best."
On the wall in the rear of the pulpit was a large portrait
of the deceased, draped with crape and smilax. These
decorations were beautiful in their simplicity, and accorded
with the tastes so often expressed by the deceased.
The services were conducted by Eev. Dr. J. J. Murray,
pastor of the Church, and were opened shortly after two
o'clock, with a voluntary by the choir, led by Mr. Frank
Rinehart,
"And he shall wipe away all tears."
Rev. David Jones, of New Brighton, read selections from
the Scriptures, after which Rev. George B. McElroy, D. D.,
of Adrian College, led in prayer. The choir then sang
YEARS IN THE MINISTRY. 361
the 888th hymn, which was announced by Rev. John
Gregory, of New Cumberland, West Virginia, commencing,
"How blest the righteous when he dies!"
after which addresses were made by Rev. Dr. E. J. Drink-
house, editor of the Methodist Protestant, Baltimore; Rev.
Dr. C. L. Thompson, pastor of the Third Presbyterian
Church, Pittsburg; Rev. Dr. Alfred Wheeler, editor of the
Pittsburg Christian Advocate; Rev. Dr. James Allison, ed-
itor of the Presbyterian Banner, Pittsburg; Rev. Dr. W. B.
Watkins, pastor of the Methodist Episcopal Church, Se-
wickley, Pa., and by the writer. Many pleasant and touch-
ing things were said of our deceased brother, and the occa-
sion was one of deep interest.
Dr. Clark was the author of some half-dozen or more
volumes, which were received by the public with favor,
and some of which were republished in England. His
first publication was entitled, "The Old Log Schoolhouse."
This was followed by "Schoolday Dialogues," then "The
Gospel in the Trees," then "Workday Christianity," then
"Starting Out." His last work was, "Summer Rambles
in Europe," embracing sketches of travel in England,
Scotland, Holland, Belgium, Germany, Switzerland, and
France. Besides these, he was the author of some smaller
publications. In addition to writing profusely for his
own paper, he was a frequent contributor to other journals,
and performed a great deal of literary labor in other ways.
Some of his best articles in the Recorder, while he was ed-
itor, appeared under a nom de plume.
Dr. Clark was a man of genius, noble-hearted, kind-
spirited, and full of the charity of the gospel. A son of
toil, with indomitable will, in physical weakness and
straitened circumstances, he nobly battled against diffi-
culties under which others would have succumbed. From
362 RECOLLECTIONS OF FIFTY
a poor country boy, without the advantages of wealthy
parentage or collegiate culture, he raised himself by his
own unaided efforts to an enviable place in the world of
letters, and compelled recognition from the learned and
the great. He was a Christian of sincere faith and broad
catholic views. All the impulses of his nature were sym-
pathetic and responsive. In his death he was mourned by
all classes, by all denominations, and by all parties. His
life presents an example which should stimulate young
men, even in the midst of the greatest difficulties, to hope-
ful and persevering effort in the performance of their life-
work.
The following letter, neatly printed in circular form,
and addressed to the editor of the Methodist Recorder, was
received shortly after Dr. Clark's death, from Colonel Rob-
ert G. Ingersoll:
"Editor Methodist Recorder:
"Upon the grave of the Rev. Alexander Clark I wish
to place one flower.
"Utterly destitute of cold dogmatic pride, that often
passes for the love of God; without the arrogance of the
'elect;' simple, free, and kind, this earnest man made
me his friend by being mine. I forgot that he was a
Christian, and he seemed to forget that I was not, while
each remembered that the other was a man.
"Frank, candid, and sincere, he practiced what he
preached, and looked with the holy eyes of charity upon
the failings and mistakes of men. He believed in the power
of kindness, and spanned with divine sympathy the hideous
gulf that separates the fallen from the pure.
"Giving freely to others the rights that he claimed for
himself, it never occurred to him that his God hated a
brave and honest unbeliever. He remembered that even
YEARS IN THE MINISTRY. 363
an infidel has rights that love respects, that hatred has
no saving power, and that in order to be a Christian it is
not necessary to become less than a man. He knew that
no one can be maligned into kindness; that epithets can
not convince; that curses are not arguments, and that the
finger of scorn never points towards heaven. With the
generosity of an honest man, he accorded to all the fullest;
liberty of thought, knowing, as he did, that in the realm
of mind a chain is but a curse.
"For this man I entertained the profoundest respect.
In spite of the taunts and jeers of his brethren, he pub-
licly proclaimed that he would treat infidels with fairness
and respect; that he would endeavor to convince them by
argument, and win them with love. He insisted that the
God he worshiped loved the well-being even of an atheist.
In this grand position he stood almost alone. Tender, just,
and loving where others were harsh, vindictive, and cruel,
he challenged the respect and admiration of every honest
man. A few more such clergymen might drive calumny
from the lips of faith, and render the pulpit worthy of
respect.
"The heartiness and kindness with which this generous
man treated me can never be excelled. He admitted that
I had not lost, and could not lose, a single right by the
expression of my honest thought. Neither did he believe
that a servant could win the respect of a generous master
by persecuting and maligning those whom the master would
willingly forgive.
"While this good man was living, his brethren blamed
him for having treated me with fairness. But I trust, now
that he has left the shore touched by the mysterious sea
that never yet has borne on any wave the image of a home-
ward sail, this crime will be forgiven him by those who still
remain to preach the love of God.
364 RECOLLECTIONS OF FIFTY
"His sympathies were not confined within the prison
of a creed, but ran out and over the walls like vines, hiding
the cruel rocks and rusted bars with leaf and flower. He
could not echo with his heart the fiendish sentence of
eternal fire. In spite of book and creed, he read 'between
the lines' the words of tenderness and love, with promises
for all the world. Above, beyond the dogmas of his
Church humane even to the verge of heresy causing
some to doubt his love of God because he failed to hate his
unbelieving fellow-men he labored for the welfare of
mankind, and to his work gave up his life with all his
heart. EGBERT G. INGERSOLL.
"WASHINGTON, D. C., July 13, 1879."
This letter I published in the Recorder, with the follow-
ing appended remarks:
"We insert the above letter in the Recorder for two
reasons: first, to show that every expression of sympathy
and respect for Dr. Clark meets with a hearty response
from his friends; and, secondly, respectfully to express
our dissent from some of its conclusions. We would water
with our tears, and ever keep fresh the flower that Colonel
Ingersoll lays upon the grave of our brother.
"True worth always deserves respect, and we are glad
when it is recognized and acknowledged. We know that
Dr. Clark, as Colonel Ingersoll expresses it, was simple,
free, and kind, frank, candid, and sincere, practicing what
he preached, and looking with the holy eyes of charity
upon the failings and mistakes of men; giving freely to
others the rights he claimed for himself, remembering that
even infidels have rights which love respects. Dr. Clark
was all this, because the religion which he professed, and
with the spirit of which he was imbued, requires it. All
these graces, which Colonel Ingersoll so much admires, are
Christian graces, and are expressly enjoined in the Word
YEARS IN THE MINISTRY. 365
of God, and professedly Christian men are amiable, or
otherwise, in proportion as they attain, in conformity to
the requirements of their religion, these graces of the Chris-
tian character. It was really the true Christian in Dr.
Clark that Colonel Ingersoll admired. 'In this grand po-
sition,' says Mr. Ingersoll, 'he stood almost alone. Tender,
just, and loving where others were harsh, vindictive, and
cruel, he challenged the respect and admiration of every
honest man.' That all who bear the Christian name are
not really Christians we are free to admit and deeply la-
ment; but this is not the fault of Christianity, but of un-
christian men. But to say that Dr. Clark was almost the
only man who possessed the noble traits of Christian
character above enumerated, would be giving him undue
praise.
"Colonel Ingersoll declares that Dr. Clark, 'giving
freely to others the rights he claimed for himself, it never
occurred to him that his God hated a brave and honest
unbeliever.' And why should such a thought occur to
him, when the Bible teaches that God is love, that his care
is over all his works, that he maketh his sun to rise upon
the evil and upon the good, and sendeth rain upon the just
and upon the unjust, and that he gave his only begotten
Son, that whosoever believeth on him should not perish,
but have everlasting life?
"But if God loves his creatures, he must discountenance
and discourage whatever is injurious to their happiness
and welfare. Sin is the great curse of the universe, and
God, in the administration of his divine government, would
discourage and restrain it, and this can only be done by
manifesting his approval of virtue, which always pro-
motes happiness, and his disapproval of vice, which always
promotes misery, by rewarding the one and punishing the
other. And whatever may be said of the 'fiendish sentence
366 RECOLLECTIONS OF FIFTY
of eternal fire/ based on some figurative expressions in the
Bible, the whole tenor of its teachings is, that the Judge
of all the earth will do right, and that he will reward every
man according to his works, and that whatsoever a man
soweth, that shall he also reap. God will not punish any
man more than he deserves, and then only to promote the
happiness and welfare of the universe. To promote the
happiness of the universe we must have order; to secure
order, we must have government; to maintain government,
we must have law; to enforce law, we must have penalties;
and to maintain respect for law, these penalties must be exe-
cuted. Whether would it be more 'fiendish' to abrogate all
law, and remand the universe to moral anarchy, or to en-
courage virtue by rewarding the good, and to discourage
vice by justly punishing transgression? Can God be good,
and yet ignore all distinctions in moral character, and, in
the final awards of his administration, treat with equal
complacency the evil and the good?
"There is a matter of fact to which we wish to refer,
and in regard to which Colonel Ingersoll appears to be
in error. He says that Dr. Clark, 'in spite of the taunts
and jeers of his brethren, publicly proclaimed that he
would treat infidels with fairness and respect; and that
he would endeavor to convince them by arguments, and
win them with love.' And again, that 'while this good man
was living his brethren blamed him for treating me (Inger-
soll) with fairness/ That there are some professing Chris-
tians who do not possess a Christian spirit, we admit; but
to our personal knowledge Dr. Clark received many letters
from ministers and laymen of his own and other Churches
commending his course in reference to Colonel Ingersoll,
while a few others objected, not to his treating Colonel
Ingersoll with fairness, but to his conceding perhaps more
YEARS IN THE MINISTRY. 367
than truth and justice required. We most heartily indorse
the position that 'no one can be maligned into kindness;
that epithets can not convince; that curses are not argu-
ments; and that the finger of scorn never points towards
heaven.'
"The right of private judgment in matters of religion
was one of the fundamental principles in the great Refor-
mation, and it is one of the cardinal principles of the
Methodist Protestant Church indeed, of all Protestant
Churches. While we claim it for ourselves, we freely con-
cede it to others, and if exercised in the spirit of Christ,
it will be in kindness and love. We trust the day will ne
come when Colonel Ingersoll, or any one else, will be
treated unfairly in the columns of the Methodist Recorder"
I mailed Colonel Ingersoll a marked copy of the Re-
corder containing his letter and my editorial notice. of it,
and the following is his reply:
"WASHINGTON, D. C., August 4, 1879.
"REV. JOHN SCOTT:
"My Dear Sir, I received, read, and liked your article.
Of course, I do not expect you to agree with me; but,
really, I see no reason why we should not be friends.
'Master/ said a disciple of Confucius, 'is there any word
that contains the whole duty of man?' and Confucius re-
plied, 'Yes; reciprocity.'
"I liked Mr. Clark simply because he treated me with
kindness, and I am not used to such treatment from the
clergy. I was astonished.
"Nearly every day I receive papers containing the most
cruel and heartless things said by the clergy about the
death of my dear brother. I never felt so resentful towards
Christianity as I do now. Your kind article did me good,
and I thank you for it. I surely hope the time may soon
368 RECOLLECTIONS OF FIFTY
come when every man will give to every other every right
that he claims for himself. Thanking you again, I remain,
"Your friend, E. G. INGEBSOLL."
I give this correspondence, in hope that it may do
good. In my article I yielded nothing to unbelief; but
I treated Mr. Ingersoll with respect and kindness, which
found a response in his heart. Reciprocity is a great
thing; but love to God and man, which Christ inculcates,
is far greater. We should remember that if we would
convert men to Christ, we must do it in the Spirit of Christ.
Being in charge of the Recorder at the time of Brother
Clark's death, I continued to edit it in an uncertain and
hesitating manner, without any further authorization than
that given me by Brother Clark, till the 20th of August,
1879, when I was elected editor by the Board of Publi-
cation, to fill out the unexpired time of Brother Clark.
For four months I had charge of the paper, under circum-
stances of peculiar embarrassment, and had also charge of
the Church in Sharpsburg. The duties devolving upon
me were delicate and difficult; but I did the best I could in
my double capacity as editor and pastor. To give the reader
a correct view of my feelings in entering officially upon my
work as editor, I here insert my editorial greeting to the
readers of the paper:
"I assume control of the columns of the Methodist
Recorder, and of the three Sunday-school papers of the
Church, with great diffidence. Having occupied the po-
sition before, I am familiar with its duties and responsi-
bilities, which, instead of diminishing, are continually in-
creasing. Nine years ago, after a term of nearly six years,
I tendered my resignation, and retired from the position to
which I have now again been called. I was succeeded
by our lamented brother, Eev. Alexander Clark, who
YEARS IN THE MINISTRY. 369
wielded a keen and versatile pen, and who, as a journalist,
had but few equals. This fact renders the position now
more difficult to fill. I shall not attempt to imitate an-
other, whose peculiar talent I do not possess; but, bring-
ing the talents which God has given me to the perform-
ance of the duties assigned me, I shall do the best I can,
and endeavor to be faithful to my trust. The interests
of the Church, with which I have been identified almost
from its organization, and whose servant I am, I shall feel
it my paramount duty to promote. In this work I shall
need both the forbearance and assistance of my brethren,
and I respectfully and earnestly solicit their hearty co-
operation. With many of Dr. Clark's special contributors
I am not acquainted; but I trust they will kindly continue
their favors, which will be highly appreciated, and that
an acquaintance may be formed which shall prove mutu-
ally agreeable.
"I greet the many thousand readers of the Recorder
this day sadly, yet hopefully; sadly, when I remember the
cause which has rendered this greeting necessary; but hope-
fully, when I remember that in the Divine hand any instru-
ment may be rendered efficient in the accomplishment of
good. I shall labor to make the Recorder worthy of your
patronage and support, an assistant in every good word
and work, and a means of Christian edification and cul-
ture. I trust that our acquaintance will prove agreeable
and profitable, and that with tender memories and bright-
ening hopes, we shall labor in our lot till the angels of
mercy shall whisper us to our rest."
Having had six years' experience as editor of the Church
paper, I knew something of the difficulties connected with
it, and of the character of the work to be performed. In
consequence of this, I was not so sanguine as one possess-
ing less experience would probably have been. It is easy
24
370 RECOLLECTIONS OF FIFTY
in this vocation, as well as in every other, to talk of suc-
cess; hut it is not so easy to succeed. The editing of a
Church paper, where so many different tastes are to be
suited, and so many different demands to be considered,
is peculiarly difficult. After the exercise of the calmest
judgment and the most impartial and disinterested de-
cision, in view of all the circumstances in the case, the
editor is often censured; and if his decision had been the
reverse, the censure would have been no less severe. While
the judgment of others should be duly considered and
respected in this connection, it can not be safely recog-
nized as the rule of action any more than in the discharge
of other duties. An editor's own judgment, after duly
considering all the facts before him, must decide the case
in every instance. If he yields his own judgment, he will
be like a vessel without helm or compass; tossed about by
every contrary wind. As it sometimes requires a firm hand
to grasp the helm so as to conduct the vessel safely through
the dashing waves, so an editor must sometimes act with
great firmness in pursuing a proper course in the midst
of conflicting opinions. But when the editor of a Church
paper is officially associated with others, who are equally
responsible with himself for the success of -the enterprise,
it is his duty to treat their judgment with special respect.
The office on which I entered was by no means a sine-
cure. It involved a great deal of labor indeed, enough
for two men. For five years I edited the Methodist Re-
corder, the Morning Guide, the Sunday-school, and the
Child's Recorder, prepared all the "copy," wrote up the
cuts for the Sunday-school papers, and read all the proof,
without an assistant. The last four years of my term I
was relieved of the Sunday-school papers, and for a while
in the close of my term I had some assistance on the
Recorder. I never had the art of inducing others to do my
YEARS IN THE MINISTRY. 371
work, and my work was always a labor I put my thought
into it, and did not write out every foolish thing that came
into my mind. That all my work was of first-class char-
acter was more than could reasonably be expected in the
circumstances. In the fall of the year I was required to
visit as many of the Conferences as I could, and in order
to keep up my work, I had to prepare what matter I could
for the paper before I left home, and then prepare editorials
on the cars, or at the depots while waiting for trains, or
wherever I was, so that my absence from the office did not
relieve me from work. Had it not been that it was a kind
of work that I liked, it would have been an unendurable
drudgery.
372 RECOLLECTIONS OF FIFTY
CHAPTER XXXII.
Miss Lizzie M. Guthrie Meeting with Mrs. O'Neal Union
Board Education of Girls in Japan Preachers' Meeting-
Statements of Miss Guthrie Women Encouraged Wo-
man's Foreign Missionary Society Organized Officers
Constitution By-laws Miss Guthrie Birth Education
Conversion Missionary to India Failure of Health
Japan Service There Attention Called to our Church-
Return Home Providentially Brought in Contact with our
Women Appointed Missionary to Japan Farewell Meet-
ingHer Departure Death in San Francisco Remains
Brought to Pittsburg Funeral Miss Harriet G. Brit-
tan.
IN the beginning of February, 1879, Miss Lizzie M.
Guthrie, a returned missionary from Japan, visited Pitts-
burg, and, seemingly by accident, met with Sister O'Neal,
a member of our First Church, Allegheny City. The two
ladies a few days afterwards visited our Preachers' Meet-
ing, and Miss Guthrie gave us some account of her labors
in Japan, and of the great opening presented there for
Christian work, and excited a good deal of interest in the
minds of the brethren. Previous to that time we had been
co-operating with the Woman's Union Foreign Missionary
Society, and had furnished money for the education of
sixteen or seventeen girls in Japan, to become Bible-readers
there. Miss Guthrie proposed that the women of our
Church should organize a Woman's Foreign Missionary
Society, and endeavor to enlist the women of our whole
Church more fully in the missionary work. Her sugges-
tion met with the hearty approval of the brethren of the
Preachers' Meeting, and they encouraged the women to
go forward and effect an organization.
YEARS IN THE MINISTRY. 373
The subject was accordingly discussed among our wo-
men in and about Pittsburg, and on the 14th day of Febru-
ary, 1879, a meeting of the ladies was held in the First
Church, Fifth Avenue, Pittsburg, at which Miss Guthrie
was present. She informed them of the general mission
work done by the Union Missionary Society in Japan, and
particularly of the good that was being done through the
liberality of the Methodist Protestant Church, in furnish-
ing means for the education of young girls in Japan, in
view of becoming Bible-readers and helpers in missionary
work.
After due deliberation a society was organized, to be
known as the Woman's Foreign Missionary Society of the
Methodist Protestant Church. Mrs. Margaret H. Scott,
wife of the writer, was elected president; Mrs. John H.
Claney, secretary; Mrs. N. B. O'Neal, corresponding secre-
tary; and Mrs. Shaw, treasurer. Mrs. James I. Bennett,
Mrs. F. H. Collier, and Mrs. John L. Sands were elected
vice-presidents. A committee was appointed to prepare
an address to the women of the Methodist Protestant
Church, and another committee was appointed to prepare
a Constitution and By-laws for the Society. These com-
mittees subsequently reported, and their reports were
adopted, and a thousand copies were printed in pamphlet
form for distribution. Thus the Society was fairly inaugu-
rated, and entered upon its career of great usefulness.
There seemed to have been something peculiarly provi-
dential in the organization of this Society, and in the way
in which it was brought about. It would seem as if God
had chosen Miss Guthrie, and thrown her -in our way. to
stimulate our lagging zeal in the missionary cause, and lead
us to engage in the work of the foreign field.
Miss Guthrie was born in Bakerstown, Allegheny
County, Pa., a village about eighteen miles north of Pitts-
374 RECOLLECTIONS OF FIFTY
burg. Her father, the Eev. Joseph Guthrie, D. D., was
a minister in the Reformed Presbyterian Church, and
cousin of the celebrated Dr. Thomas Guthrie, of Scotland.
Her mother died when she was but two days old. She was
then placed in charge of her grandfather, Mr. Joseph
Coskey, who tenderly cared for and educated her. In 18G1
she was adopted by an aunt, Mrs. McClurg, and removed
to Philadelphia, where she enjoyed every comfort and even
luxury, and became a gay and fashionable young lady, full
of life and joy. But a change came over her. Jesus laid
his hand upon her heart, and called her into his service.
"Won by his love, she yielded to the Divine Spirit, and dedi-
cated herself to God. Her heart was changed, and also
the great purpose of her life. She could now say,
"Fade every earthly joy,
Jesus is mine."
Like the Master himself, she resolved to seek, and, by
the assistance of Divine grace, to save the lost. She was
converted under the ministry of our own sainted Thomas
H. Stockton, and partook of the last communion ever ob-
served in the church at the corner of Eleventh and Wood
Streets, Philadelphia, where Brother Stockton served for
so many years as pastor. That was an Independent Church,
and Miss Guthrie knew perhaps nothing of the Methodist
Protestant Church, of which Brother Stockton was a min-
ister.
Miss Guthrie's attention was soon turned to the sub-
ject of missions, and, after due deliberation, she made up
her mind to go out as a missionary in the foreign field.
In 1868, Miss Guthrie's services were secured by the
Woman's Union Missionary Society of New York, and she
was sent out as a missionary to India. The climate of
India, however, did not suit her. Her health soon gave
YEARS IN THE MINISTRY. 375
way, and at the end of a few years her fellow-missionaries
deemed it advisable that she should return home. Her
friends were advised of her purpose, but were also in-
formed that but little, if any, hope was entertained that
she would live to reach her native land. Contrary to ex-
pectation, however, the sea voyage proved beneficial; her
strength began to return; and when she reached Japan,
the improvement in her condition was very marked. She
' was urged by the missionaries of the Woman's Union Board
there to remain a few months until her health should be
fully restored. To this she assented. At length, having
entirely recovered from her illness, and her services being
needed there, she entered heartily into the mission work,
under the direction of the Union Board, and remained there
for six years.
During her stay in Japan, the. funds of the Union
Board were taxed to their utmost extent, and she was di-
rected not to receive any more girls into her school, as
there were no means at command for their support. Con-
trary, however, to this direction, she did admit two girls
for whom no provision could be made. She felt that she
could not reject them. She took the case to God, and
entreated him to open up some way for their support.
About this time God put it into the hearts of some of our
people to assist in the education of young girls in Japan.
Dr. William Collier, pastor of our Church in Connells-
ville, raised forty dollars for this purpose, and Sister John
L. Sands, of the First Church, Pittsburg, contributed forty
dollars for the same purpose. The Woman's Union Board
presented a medium through which they could carry out
their purpose, and it was soon reported that the Methodist
Protestant Church had made provision for the support of
two girls, and Miss Guthrie regarded this as a direct an-
swer to her prayers, and, as a consequence, her attention
376 RECOLLECTIONS OF FIFTY
was turned to our Church, and she became very much in-
terested in it, and anxious to leaxn something more
about it.
How wonderful are the dispensations of our Heavenly
Father, and how mysterious his ways of working! Who
could have imagined that an entire stranger to our Church,
though one who had been converted under the labors of
one of our ministers, but who had been trained under the
auspices of another organization, should become the
means of arousing our missionary zeal, organizing our
women, and should go forth as our first missionary to a
foreign field! But so it was. It seems that God had pre-
pared and sent her to lead us out into the foreign mission-
ary work.
Miss Guthrie aided our women by her counsels and
efforts, and during the year subsequent to the organiza-
tion of the Woman's Foreign Missionary Society, visited
some of our Conferences, to promote its interests.
The first anniversary meeting of the Woman's Foreign
Missionary Society of the Methodist Protestant Church was
held in the First Church, Pittsburg, February 19, 1880,
the president, Mrs. Margaret H. Scott, presiding. The
morning session was occupied with an old-fashioned Meth-
odist love-feast, and was a season of much religious in-
terest.
It was then the day of small things with us in mis-
sionary work. Neither the Board of Missions nor the
Woman's Society was prepared alone to send out a mis-
sionary. Before the meeting of the Woman's Society in
the afternoon, the Eev. C. H. Williams, corresponding sec-
retary of the Board of Missions, met Mrs. Scott in my
office, and we discussed the propriety of the Board of Mis-
sions and the Woman's Society uniting for the present in
sending out and supporting a missionary, until they should
YEARS IN THE MINISTRY, 377
be able to engage separately in the work. This, it was
agreed, was the best thing under the circumstances that
could be done.
At the afternoon session of the Society, Mr. Williams
being present, by request addressed the meeting, and as-
sured the Society of the kind feelings of the Board of
Missions, and suggested that they unite their strength, and
then a missionary could immediately be sent to the foreign
field, and the labors of the girls being educated by our
money in Japan could be utilized in connection with our
own Church. This suggestion met with favor; but did
not assume tangible form. I took the liberty of making a
few remarks in favor of it, and said that if I were a mem-
ber of the Society, and had a right to make a motion, I
would move that a committee be appointed to confer with
the corresponding secretary of the Board of Missions, to
ascertain if a suitable arrangement could be devised to
carry into effect the suggestion which had been made.
Some one then moved that such a committee be appointed,
which was carried, and the committee named. Thus the
matter was placed in proper form.
The committee and the corresponding secretary arrived
at a satisfactory understanding, and reported the same to
the Society. The report was adopted, and all that was
needed was the sanction of the Board of Missions to ren-
der the arrangement complete. This was soon obtained,
and Miss Guthrie was appointed our first missionary to a
foreign land, to represent the General Board of Missions,
and also the Woman's Society. The women agreed to pay
her salary, and the Board agreed to meet her other expenses.
As soon as convenient, the necessary arrangements were
made, and April 23d was fixed upon as the time of her
departure from Pittsburg. On Thursday evening, April
22, 1880, a farewell meeting was held in the First Meth-
378 RECOLLECTIONS OF FIFTY
odist Protestant Church, Union Avenue, .Allegheny City.
It was an occasion of deep interest. The Eev. S. F. Crow-
ther, pastor of the Church, presided. The large lecture-
room was filled with a select audience, in which nearly
every evangelical denomination was represented by earnest
workers for Christ, who had come to greet Miss Guthrie
and extend to her their kind regards. The stand was deco-
rated with beautiful flowers, and in the rear of it was a
large American flag, presented to the Woman's Foreign
Missionary Society by the ladies of the Muskingum Con-
ference, to be placed over the mission home in Yokohama,
Japan. The first hour was given to social enjoyment, the
ladies having provided substantial refreshments for the
occasion. After this came the devotional exercises and
addresses. Prayer was offered, several hymns were sung,
and short impromptu addresses were made.
Miss Guthrie was introduced, and spoke in the most
tender and touching manner in reference to her departure.
She said: "To-morrow I shall leave you, dear friends, and
set my face toward the rising sun in Japan, the place of
my future labors and love. I rejoice to know that I do
not go alone. My Savior will go with me, and keep me
and bless me in my distant field. But there is one thing
that I wish to urge upon you, Christian friends, especially
upon the young members of the Church, that you soon
send me an assistant, as the field there is already white to
the harvest; but the laborers are few. What can one do
among so many millions who are hungering for the bread
of life? I shall expect to read in every kind letter from
you the cheerful tidings of your earnest efforts to send, as
soon as possible, another worker into the vineyard in
Japan." Then, extending her thanks to the Christian
friends for their great kindness and courtesies bestowed
upon her, and soliciting a deep interest in their prayers
YEARS IN THE MINISTRY. 379
and symapthies for the future, she said she would pro-
nounce the words, "good-by," or in its Saxon meaning,
"God be with you."
After Miss Guthrie's address, the writer of this made
a few remarks. He said: "The cause of Christ can only
be promoted in the Spirit of Christ. This truth should be
deeply impressed upon every mind and heart. To attempt
to promote it in any other spirit would be in vain, and
would bring upon us the fate of those who offered strange
fire upon God's altar. We are now about to take an ad-
vanced step as a Church, and to attempt greater things
for Christ, and we should seek a greater consecration to
him. God's ancient people on one occasion desired a king,
that they might be as the nations round about them. We
should not permit Church pride or denominational am-
bition to influence us to engage in this work, that we may
be as other Churches; but the love of Christ should con-
strain us. This love has constrained our dear sister to
sever the tenderest ties, and leave home and friends to cany
the gospel to perishing souls. As a Church, we have the
ability; and all that is necessary to send out an assistant
missionary at an early day is to be more fully imbued with
the Spirit of Christ and the love of souls." He urged the
Church to a more entire consecration to the Savior, and
to the work of converting the world to Christ. He assured
Sister Guthrie of our sympathy, our prayers, and our sup-
port as a Church.
Dr. J. J. Murray spoke in the most earnest terms, and
indorsed the remarks that had just been made. He urged
the Church to greater missionary zeal, referring to the
case of a Christian mother, who cheerfully gave her only
son to go and die in Africa as a missionary of the Cross,
and thanked the Lord that he had given her a son for such
a glorious purpose. He said: "If we have the Spirit of
380 RECOLLECTIONS OF FIFTY
Christ, we will soon have funds and workers in the foreign
field."
Several other short addresses were made, kind adieus
were uttered, and the meeting, after a most enjoyable and
profitable season, adjourned.
The next forenoon was spent by Miss Guthrie in re-
ceiving calls from her numerous friends at the residence
of her uncle, Mr. James Irwin, Pittsburg, and at two
o'clock a little company of brethren and sisters accom-
panied her to the cars, where the last farewell words were
said. The parting with her aunt and foster-mother, Mrs.
McClurg, of Philadelphia, and her uncle and aunt, Mr.
and Mrs. Irwin, of Pittsburg, was very tender and touch-
ing. But with a sublime faith, inspired by the love of souls,
alone and unattended, she started to cross this broad con-
tinent and the wide Pacific, to teach the ignorant the way
of life, and tell them of the love of Jesus. But the last
tender words and whispered prayers of loving hearts were
uttered. The train was in motion, and the object of our
Christian love and deep solicitude was borne away from
us. I shall never forget that last earnest, tender, tearful
look! It shall abide with me as a constant benediction.
My wife accompanied her across the river to Allegheny
City, and there bade her a final adieu.
Miss Guthrie intended taking the steamer that sailed
from San Francisco, California, on May 10th; but not
having entirely completed her arrangements, she concluded
to wait for the steamer which was to sail on the 22d. In
the meantime she was taken ill, and died at the home of a
relative of hers on the morning of May 15th. In referring
to her death in an editorial in the Methodist Recorder of
May 22d, I said:
"God has greatly chastened us as a Church. In the
hour of our expectancy, when all hearts were cheered with
YEARS IN THE MINISTRY. 381
the prospect of entering upon a successful career of for-
iegn missionary labor, a deep shadow has fallen upon us,
and our standard-bearer, on the very threshold of her work,
in the van of the host, has been released by the Master, and
called to the joy of his presence. On last Saturday evening,
the 15th instant, a telegram was received by Miss Outline's
relatives in this city, from San Francisco, conveying the
sad intelligence that on the morning of that day Sister
Guthrie departed this life. None of the particulars of her
death were given, and a week must elapse before full in-
formation will be received. Her remains will be brought
to this city for interment.
"This appears like a mysterious dispensation of Divine
providence. We can not fathom it. A mist is before our
eyes. Still we would not reproach God foolishly. We
would not murmur against his providence. It is a Father's
hand that has bereft us. He knows what is best, and we
would bow submissively to his will. 'The workmen die,
but the work goes on.' The broken ranks must be closed
up, and another take the place of our dear departed sister.
Moses led the children of Israel through the wilderness
to the border of the Promised Land, and then ascended
to the top of Pisgah and died before the Lord; and Joshua
conducted the people through the disparted waters of the
Jordan into the land of their possession. Elijah went up
in a chariot of flame, escorted by the angels to his God;
but his mantle fell upon Elisha, and he became the prophet
of Israel. Although Sister Guthrie has been taken from
us, the work on which she had entered must not be aban-
doned. Our faith must not fail, our zeal must not abate;
but, impressed with the importance of the work, we must
meet the emergency with calm determination and renewed
effort. God may try us, to prove our fidelity to his cause;
but if we are faithful, he will open up a door of usefulness
382 RECOLLECTIONS OF FIFTY
to us, direct us to suitable instruments, and prosper us in
our foreign mission work. Let no one yield to discourage-
ment. It is God's cause we labor to advance, and while
doing so we may confidently rely upon Divine aid.
"From the example of our dear, departed Sister Guth-
rie,who placed herself upon the altar of service, consecrating
all she had to God, not counting her life dear unto herself,
let us draw fresh inspiration, and consecrate ourselves anew
to the mission work in which she labored, in which she
died, and from which her gentle and purified spirit went
up to join that great multitude before the throne, gathered
out of all lands. We have a missionary crowned in the
kingdom, and from the exultant presence of the Master she
is beckoning us on to the conflict and the victory. With
chastened spirits and trusting hearts let us look up through
our blinding tears to our loving Father for grace to enable
us to press forward in our mission work. Let us trust God
where we can not trace him."
The. news of Miss Guthrie's death was almost a crush-
ing blow to the members of the Woman's Missionary So-
ciety. A special meeting of the Executive Committee was
called, and the following action was taken:
"WHEREAS, We have learned, by telegram from San Fran-
cisco, of the death of our beloved missionary, Miss Guthrie,
on Saturday morning, May 15th, we, the resident membei-s
of the Executive Board of the Woman's Foreign Missionary
Society, at Pittsburg, convened by special call, May 17th, de-
sire to place on record some expression of the deep feeling
of sorrow produced in our hearts by this afflictive dispen-
sation; therefore,
"Resolved, That we bear testimony to the gentle, amiable
disposition of our sister, and her earnest devotion and self-
sacrificing spirit in the cause she had espoused.
"Resolved, That while we can not understand the sad provi-
dence which has removed our sister so suddenly from the work
ehe loved, that we bow in humble resignation to the will of
YEARS IN THE MINISTRY. 383
our unerring Father, and in the words of our blessed Lord
himself, say, 'Not ray will, but thine be done.'
"Resolved, That we hereby extend our heartfelt sympathy
to the immediate relatives of our deceased sister, to the Board
of Missions of our Church, under whose auspices she had gone
forth, and to the women of the Methodist Protestant Church,
who have so earnestly aided to raise the standard of our
Church in a foreign field.
MRS. JOHN SCOTT, Prcs't,
MRS. CHAS. A. HERBERT, Scc'y,
MRS. JOHN H. CLANEY,
MRS. M. A. MILLER,
Committee."
Miss Guthrie, when she found she was about to die,
hurriedly made a will, and left her money and effects, in-
cluding her library in Japan, to the "Woman's Society. Her
will was found after her death to be informal, and not
legally binding; but her brother, Dr. Guthrie, of Sparta,
Illinois, carried out her wishes to the letter, and saw that
her effects were disposed of according to her desire.
Miss Guthrie's remains were brought to Pittsburg for
interment. They arrived in the city on Saturday after-
noon, June 5th, and were taken to the residence of her
uncle, Mr. James Irwin. On Monday morning, -June 7th,
her funeral took place from the First Methodist Protestant
Church, Fifth Avenue.
The large auditorium was filled with relatives and
deeply-interested friends, who came with tearful eyes and
throbbing hearts to pay the last tribute of respect to one
whom all had learned to love. Revs. T. H. Colhouer, J. C.
Berrien, and Messrs. Charles A. Scott, Charles A. Herbert,
\V. K. Gillespie, and John H. Clancy acted as pall-bearers.
As the remains were borne to the chancel, the choir ren-
dered in a very beautiful and impressive manner the an-
them, "And God shall wipe away all tears." Upon the
altar was placed a large cross of pure white flowers, and a
384 RECOLLECTIONS OF FIFTY
floral pillow showing the single word, "Best." Upon the
casket was laid a beautiful floral cross and crown. Other
floral decorations were placed upon the altar, and the pul-
pit and altar and casket were trimmed with smilax. The
whole arrangement was simple and tasteful, and the effect
pleasing.
At the close of the anthem, Rev. S. F. Crowther read
part of the fifteenth chapter of First Corinthians, and part
of the seventh chapter of Revelation. At the close of the
reading of the Scriptures, Rev. William Wragg announced
the eight hundred and ninety-fourth hymn, beginning,
"Farewell, dear friend," etc.;
after which Rev. "W. H. Phipps led in prayer. After the
prayer, the writer of this made a few remarks, in which he
endeavored to speak in befitting words of the deceased, the
purity of her character, the sublimity of her faith, and her
entire consecration to the mission work in which she was
engaged. Providence appeared to have sent her among us.
Wherever she went she won the hearts of our people, and
all eyes were turned to her as our standard-bearer in the
foreign field. But almost at the moment when we expected
her to sail from San Francisco for her field of labor, the sad
news was borne to us, that she had passed through the
"Golden Gate," and entered the Celestial City, and our ex-
pectations were cut off, and our hopes turned to ashes.
But God's hand was in this. He knows what is best. He
sees the end from the beginning. What is mysterious to
us, is plain to him. This dispensation, which we can not
comprehend, God may make the means of stirring up the
whole Church to greater missionary zeal and effort. Her
relatives, the women of the Missionary Society, with whom
she had so pleasantly associated, and the members of the
Church at large, were urged to imitate her example of de-
YEARS IN THE MINISTRY. 385
votion to the Master, and after a while, when the reapers
return, bringing their gathered sheaves, there will be joyous
greetings before the throne, where God shall wipe away all
tears.
Dr. J. J. Murray followed in a few well-chosen, tender,
and touching words. He held in his hand a volume of
daily Scriptural readings, which had been the constant com-
panion of Miss Guthrie amid her toils in Yokohama, and
which, on leaving her brother at Sparta, Illinois, to come
to Pittsburg, she presented to him as a small token of re-
membrance. In this small volume is the following entry:
"February 4, 1880. Left Sparta for Pittsburg." The pas-
sage for the day reads: "The Lord hath said unto you, Ye
shall henceforth return no more that way." On the day
of her death, May 15, 1880, is this entry, made by her
brother: "Passed from death to life at San Francisco, Cali-
fornia." The passage for the day was: "And God shall
wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no
more death, neither sorrrow, nor crying, neither shall there
.be any more pain: for the former things have passed away."
The chorister, without knowing this fact, selected for the
opening anthem, "And God shall wipe away all tears." The
coincident was beautiful and touching.
We can not reproduce the words of Dr. Murray; but
they were such as found a response in every heart that was
present.
The remains having been embalmed in San Francisco,
were remarkably well-preserved, and Miss Guthrie's friends
were permitted to look once more on the face, now pale and
cold, of their dear, departed friend. The large audience,
without any confusion, came up the west aisle, passed in
front of the altar, looked upon the calm, sweet face of the
silent sleeper, and then passed down the east aisle, and filed
out of the Church. The remains were then carried to the
25
386 RECOLLECTIONS OF FIFTY
hearse, and followed to the Allegheny Cemetery by as sin-
cere a band of mourners as ever entered the portals of that
beautiful city of the dead. "Blessed are the dead which
die in the Lord from henceforth: Yea, saith the Spirit,
that they may rest from their labors; and their works do
follow them."
Shortly after Miss Guthrie's death, Miss Harriet G-.
Brittan, who had spent eighteen years as a missionary in
India, and who had organized the work of the Woman's
Union Foreign Missionary Society in that country, came
forward, and was employed to take the place left vacant by
the death of Miss Guthrie.
Miss Brittan was a very excellent lady, but very differ-
ent from Miss Guthrie. She was of a sterner character,
and possessed of great executive ability; but she lacked the
sweetness and gentleness of Miss Guthrie, which gave her
such power to win the hearts of those with whom she came
in contact. Miss Guthrie and Miss Brittan were co-laborers
in India during the stay of the former in that country.
Miss Brittan served the Society with faithfulness, accepta-
bility, and success for several years in Japan, until she en-
tered upon independent missionary work of her own. She
made a good record.
YEARS IN THE MINISTRY. 387
CHAPTER XXXIII.
General Conference of 1880 George B. McElroy, President-
Session of 1838 Two Survivors Not Members Old and
Young Men No Antagonism between Them Re-elected
Editor Recorder General Interests Offer of Column to
Women Accepted Editor for It Named Kept It Up-
Assisted the Women Miss Brittan "Brick Fund" Mrs.
Scott, Treasurer Work Progressed Slowly Labor Attend-
ing It Amount Raised "Home" Paid For Mrs. Scott
Resigned.
AT the session of our Conference which met in Beaver
Falls, Pa., September 3, 1879, Rev. S. F. Crowther was
elected president, and J. F. Dyer secretary. Brother Crow-
ther united with the Conference in 1865. He is a man of
good mind, a fine preacher, and has faithfully filled some
of the best appointments in the Conference, and has repre-
sented it in the General Conference. He served two terms
as president. He is now among the older members of the
Conference, and his sun is beginning to decline. Two
members of the Conference, Alexander Clark, D. D., and
Charles S. Cowl, youngest son of John Cowl, D. D., de-
ceased during the preceding year.
The General Conference of the Methodist Protestant
Church met in its fifteenth quadrennial session in the First
Church, Pittsburg, Pa., on Friday, May 21, 1880. This
was the first session after the union of the Northern and
Southern branches of the Church. George B. McElroy,
D. D., was elected president, and discharged the duties of
his office with ability, and to the satisfaction of the body.
Dr. McElroy was born in the city of Pittsburg, Pa,,
June 5, 1824. He was converted when sixteen years of age,
and united with the First Methodist Protestant Church
388 RECOLLECTIONS OF FIFTY
in his native city. Almost immediately his attention was
turned to the ministry, and on his eighteenth birthday
he was licensed to preach the gospel. In September, 1843,
he was received into the Pittsburg Conference, and for
eight or nine years labored faithfully as an itinerant min-
ister, filling different appointments within its bounds. In
1852 he accepted a position in Madison College, Union-
town, Pa., where, in addition to teaching, he finished his
course of study, and graduated with honor. After a few
years he was elected professor of Mathematics and Natural
Science in that institution, which position he retained, ex-
cept during a short interval, when he voluntarily retired
from his chair, till 1857, when he removed to Henry,
Illinois, where, for five years, he had charge of the North
Illinois Institute. After that, for two years he served as
county superintendent and principal of city schools. He
then removed to Sharpsburg, Pa., and for three years had
charge of the Allegheny Seminary, located in that place.
In 1867 he was called to the chair of Mathematics in
Adrian College, at Adrian, Michigan, and during the year
became vice-president, and in 1873 he succeeded Rev. Asa
Mahan, D. D., LL. D., as president of that institution. A
few years ago he resigned the presidency, and is now pro-
fessor of Mathematics, and also dean of the School of
Theology connected with the college. In personal appear-
ance, Dr. McElroy is tall, erect, and commanding. His hair
and full beard are perfectly white, giving him a venerable
appearance. He is modest and retiring in disposition, and
never disposed to put himself forward, or bring himself
into notice. In his chair of Mathematics he has few equals,
and perhaps no superior in the country. As a preacher, he
is clear, logical, convincing, and thoroughly orthodox. As
a writer, he is chaste, exact, and attractive in style. As a
man and a Christian, he is true as steel, and can not be
YEARS IN THE MINISTRY. 389
turned aside from his convictions of duty. He is not a
place seeker; but has filled with credit every position to
which he has been called.
The General Conference had met in Pittsburg in 1838,
but not one of its members was present at the session of
1880, and it was stated on the Conference floor that but
two of them were living, Kev. John Clark, of Rushville,
Illinois, and James Barnes, of Greene County, Pa. Forty-
two years had made an entire change in the men to whom
the interests of the Church were committed. In the course
of nature the old men pass away, and the young men as
naturally come forward to take their place. As the grasp of
the old men slackens, that of the young men tightens, and
almost imperceptibly the former are succeeded by the lat-
ter, who, in turn, will be succeeded by others. The young
should regard with affection and gratitude the old, who
have laid the foundation of success; and the old should look
with joy and hope upon the young, who will carry forward
the work which they, often amid many difficulties, began.
No sensible man, unless he has some sinister object in view,
would excite antagonism between these two classes, who,
like links in a 'chain, are mutually dependent on each other.
At that Conference I was elected editor of the Meth-
odist Recorder and Sunday-school papers for another term
of four years. I was not called to the position because there
was no one else who felt himself competent and willing
to fill the place. Such a thing as that could not occur in
a Church of "mutual rights." But, however imperfect my
work had been, the Conference chose to continue me in it
for another term.
In conducting the Church paper, I made it a special
object to keep all the general interests of the Church before
the people, and to do what I could to promote them. When
the women engaged in the work of foreign missions, I ten-
390 RECOLLECTIONS OF FIFTY
dered them the use of the columns of the Recorder, and
offered to give a column or more of the paper, to be edited,
if they preferred it, by one of their own number. This
offer was accepted, and a column devoted to woman's work
was opened in the paper, and an editor of it was elected
by the Woman's Society. The matter for this column was
furnished to me, and I took pleasure in arranging it, and
reading the proof, and often supplemented it with selections
of my own, and when matter was not supplied, I still kept
up the column. At one time I did this for perhaps six
months, when the editor was absent, and still kept her
name at the head of the column. Indeed, I did everything
in my power to help the women in their new enterprise,
and I think the Woman's Society was no little indebted
to me for their success in the beginning of their work.
Although I do not go to the extent of some in the advocacy
of woman's rights, yet I advocated their cause when they
needed a friend, and when there was not only indifference,
but opposition on the part of many to their work.
On the 8th of August Miss Brittan came to Pittsburg,
to meet with the Woman's Society, and arrange for her
departure to Japan. She was with them in council for
several days, making suggestions and proposing plans for
future work. Among the things suggested was an immedi-
ate effort to raise money to build a missionary home for
the woman's work in Japan. She proposed that an appeal
be made to the Church, and that any one giving ten cents
should be considered as giving one brick for the building,
and larger sums at the same rate. This plan was adopted,
and the fund to be raised was called the "Brick Fund."
My wife was elected treasurer of this fund, and began her
collections in hope of being able to raise three thousand
dollars, which it was thought at first would be sufficient
to secure the desired home in Japan. The work progressed
YEARS IN THE MINISTRY. 391
slowly, the contributions ranging from five cents to fifty
dollars. Every contribution was entered in the treasurer's
book, and then transcribed and published in the Recorder.
This continued for several years. As the sura collected in-
creased, the amount needed seemed to enlarge, until nearly
eight thousand dollars were collected, and a beautiful home
for the Woman's Society in Yokohama, Japan, was erected
and paid for. This being accomplished, and we having left
the city of Pittsburg, Mrs. Scott resigned as treasurer of
the Building Fund, feeling that she had accomplished a
good work. The long-drawn-out effort involved no little
labor and expense; but the satisfaction of having succeeded
compensated for this.
392 RECOLLECTIONS OF FIFTY
CHAPTER XXXIV.
No idleness Personal Attention to Every Department of
Paper Weary Need of Rest Trip to the West Chicago-
Political Conventions Differences Harmonized Council
Bluffs Mr. Baldwin Meeting of Relatives Beautiful
Scenery First Sabbath in the City Two Sermons Preach-
ing of the Gospel Scientific Preaching Assaults on the
Bible not Generally to be Answered from the Pulpit-
Through Books, Magazines, Quarterlies Visited Several
Conferences Mormon Camp-meeting.
DTJKING my editorial term in the office of the Methodist
Recorder I did not eat the bread of idleness. I gave con-
stant and personal attention to every department of the
paper, except that of the publisher, and, as a consequence,
I was often weary and worn, and a little relaxation became
absolutely necessary. During the summer of 1880 I made
a visit, with my wife, to the West, for the double purpose
of obtaining a little rest and visiting some relatives. We
left home on the 8th of June, and arrived in Chicago the
next morning. The Eepublican National Convention,
which met in that city, and which nominated General
James A. Garfield for President, and Chester A. Arthur
for Vice-President, of the United States, had just ad-
journed, and the National Greenback Party were to meet
in Convention in the same hall that day. The city was full
of people, and we did not tarry long amid the confusion.
At 12.30 P. M. we took the train on the Chicago &
Northwestern Eoad for Council Bluffs. The cars were
crowded in large part with the delegates returning home
from the Convention, and we were treated to no little po-
litical talk. They had been the followers of various polit-
ical leaders; but they had been converted, and were return-
YEARS IN THE MINISTRY. 393
ing home all of the same mind at least they had waived
their differences, and agreed to unite for the promotion
of a common object. Verily, we thought, "the children
of this world are wiser in their generation than the children
of light."
Next morning, about nine o'clock, we reached the city
of Council Bluffs, and were soon conveyed to the home of
my brother-in-law, John T. Baldwin, where mother and
sisters and nieces united in giving us a hearty welcome.
Here we spent a couple of weeks in delightful intercourse
with our relatives and other friends in the city.
The scenery along the Missouri, especially in the
neighborhood of Council Bluffs, I always regarded as very
beautiful. The towering bluffs, of almost every form and
contour, with their cozy dells, covered here and there with
the dark shadows of passing clouds, while some of their
peaks were bathed in a shimmering light, presented a
beautiful picture, which I could not but greatly admire,
contrasting, as it did, with the broad plain stretching out
two or three miles to the river, whose winding course could
be seen in the distance for several miles.
On our first Sabbath in the city I heard two sermons
from two different ministers, in different Churches, both
of whom discussed Christian doctrines from a scientific
point of view. The first was an attempt to prove, on scien-
tific principles, the existence of a future spiritual state
of being, as the perfection and development of the present
life, and the light which this truth casts on the doctrines
of miracles, providence, and prayer. The second was an
attempt to show the harmony between science and the
Bible, and the development of the higher manhood through
faith and knowledge. Both were creditable productions;
the latter was especially scholarly, and showed a great deal
of thought.
394 RECOLLECTIONS OF FIFTY
The preaching of the gospel is the most important, and,
perhaps, the most difficult work in which a man can en-
gage. Its importance will appear when we consider the
vast issues, embracing the spiritual and eternal interests
of the souls of men which it involves. Its difficulty will
become apparent if we consider the natural perversity of
the human heart, its aversion to spiritual and divine
things, the many forms of unbelief which prevail, and the
numerous influences which are continually at work to
draw men away from Christ and heaven. To present the
truth to men in such a manner as to overcome all these
opposing influences, and lead them to the Savior, requires
more than human wisdom and skill.
Unbelief, although at all times essentially the same,
is continually assuming new forms, and assaulting Chris-
tianity on what it claims to be new grounds. Its present
form of attack is of a scientific character. The facts of
science, it is claimed although without any just founda-
tion can not be harmonized with the teachings of the
Bible; and as truth can not contradict itself, it is con-
tended that the teachings of the Bible, which conflict with
science, so called, can not be true. However unfounded
these assumptions may be, they are put forth with the
greatest assurance.
That the various forms of error and unbelief which
prevail among men should be fairly met and their fallacy
exposed, does not admit of doubt; but how far this should
be attempted in the pulpit, in the presence of promiscuous
audiences, the great majority of whom, perhaps, never
heard of them, and who can not appreciate the arguments
by which they may be clearly refuted, is a question not
easily answered. As a general thing, it may perhaps be
safely assumed that the pulpit is not the most suitable
YEARS IN THE MINISTRY. 395
place for their discussion, and yet it would be unwise, no
doubt, to exclude them entirely from it.
After hearing the two sermons above referred to, I
endeavored to analyze them, and to get clearly before my
mind the object at which they aimed, and to what extent
the arguments presented sustained the positions assumed.
The end contemplated was evidently nothing more nor
less than to secure an intelfectual assent to the truth, and
the arguments employed were well calculated to do this.
But this, while essential, is not sufficient to save the soul.
There are hundreds and thousands of men who give an in-
tellectual assent to the truths of the Bible, who are not
Christians. Indeed, we are assured that intellectually the
devils believe and tremble. Something more than a mere
intellectual assent to the truth is necessary to the salvation
of the soul. The most that scientific preaching can do,
when it accomplishes the object which it proposes, is to
convince unbelieving minds that there is no conflict be-
tween science and the Bible, but that when properly un-
derstood they harmonize with each other. But this only
brings the objector to the condition of the great mass of
unconverted men, who never, perhaps, had a doubt upon
the subject.
Scientific preaching, then, can never convert men. The
preacher must pass beyond this, if he would bring men
savingly to Christ. He must present truths unknown to
science, although not in conflict with it. The fact of our
morally lost condition, the necessity of repentance toward
God and faith in our Lord Jesus Christ as necessary to a
change of heart and life, must be pressed home upon men's
consciences, and they must be made to feel that they are
not their own, but that they are bought with a price, and
that they should therefore glorify God in their bodies and
396 RECOLLECTIONS OF FIFTY
spirits, which are his. The very same gospel which proved
the power of God unto salvation before modern science set
up its high and pretentious claims, is the only gospel that
will convert and save the world. The apostles did not
preach the gospel with enticing words of man's wisdom,
but in the power and demonstration of the Spirit. Hence
they declared that the weapons of their warfare were not
carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of
strongholds. What the Church and the world need to-day
is less scientific preaching, and more of the power from on
high for which the apostles tarried in Jerusalem, accord-
ing to the command of their Divine Lord.
Let the assaults of science on the Bible be met, as a
general thing, through the same channels in which they are
made, in books, and magazines, and reviews, and quarter-
lies; but let the pulpit be left free, not to deal in negatives,
or in scientific speculations, but in the plain and positive
truths of the gospel. Let it ever be aggressive, and let all
true ministers of the gospel, like those of old, preach Jesus
and the Resurrection to the people. This is the work to
which ministers of the gospel are especially called, and
they should faithfully perform it.
Our little visit was very pleasant, and we returned
home stronger and in better spirits to resume our labors.
An editor who is always on the go can not do the work
he is capable of doing if he would give it proper atten-
tion; nor can a man who is always tied down to his office
till he is jaded and worn out, do what he is capable of doing
under other circumstances. As a general thing, the editor
who is least before the public in person is the one who has
most influence with his readers and the public. "Distance
lends enchantment to the view." Still, an editor must take
sufficient relaxation to keep in healthy action both mind
and body.
YEARS IN THE MINISTRY. 397
In the fall (1880) I attended the Michigan, the West
Michigan, the Pittsburg, the North Illinois, the Iowa, and
Muskingum Conferences. The visiting of the Conferences
was always a labor to me; but, nevertheless, a source of
great pleasure. I was always glad to see the old members,
and form the acquaintance of the new ones. Some of the
pleasantest recollections of my life are associated with my
visits to the Conferences. I often think of the dear breth-
ren with whom I was permitted to mingle, many of whom
have ceased from their labors, and have entered into rest.
It will be pleasant to meet and greet them again.
While in Iowa, I had time between the sessions of the
North Illinois and Iowa Conferences to attend for a day
a camp-meeting of Mormons, or Latter-day Saints, a few
miles from the Missouri River, in Pottawattamie County.
It was more like a session of our General Conference than
an ordinary camp-meeting. It was largely devoted to the
transaction of business and planning for future work. The
parties composing the encampment belonged to the Joseph
Smith, Jr., faction, who profess not to believe in polygamy,
"blood atonement" or in killing a man to save his life
or in resisting the laws of the land.
I found, perhaps, seventy-five tents or more pitched
in a grove, one-half of which, I suppose, were designed to
furnish refreshments and entertainment for those needing
them. The tents were all of muslin, of a very primitive
style, and the interior of many of them, which was exposed
to view, showed the most simple arrangements for com-
fort. I found an assembly of several hundred persons
seated in front of the stand, which contained a number of
the dignitaries of the Church, among them "Joseph," its
recognized head. The meeting proved to be a business
one, and the secretary was engaged in reading reports
from their missionaries all over the country. I tried my
398 RECOLLECTIONS OF FIFTY
best to hear; but the wind happened to be blowing so strong
at the time, that I could not hear with much satisfaction.
I found, however, that they had missionaries all over the
country, whose reports were being read, and that they were
putting forth an amount of zeal, in support of their grand
delusion, worthy of a better cause. Taking a position at
the end of the stand, for the purpose of hearing and also
of seeing, I took a good look at the assembled multitude,
full in the face, and after looking at them, I did not wonder
that they believed in Mormonism, and would not wonder
at them believing in any other delusion. I did not see an
intelligent-looking person in the crowd. They seemed to
me to be of the very lowest and most ignorant class. As
I retired I fell in company with a couple of the "Saints,"
who appeared to be very enthusiastic in support of their
religion. One of them informed me that the business ses-
sion, in which they were then engaged, would last till five
o'clock P. M., but he proposed to call "Joseph" out of the
stand so I might be introduced to him. But I declined
the honor. There is nothing peculiarly striking in the
appearance of "Joseph," although he is said to be a man
of good education and fair ability. His great claim is that
"he is the son of his father," the founder of the Church.
He could never become a leader among intelligent people.
Many of the persons present had come hundreds, and
some of them thousands of miles. There were delegates, I
was informed, from Utah, California, England, and even
Australia. Many of them had, no doubt, appropriated their
last dollar to enable them to be present at this grand con-
vocation. When will the friends of true religion be willing
to make equal sacrifices to advance the cause of Christ
and build up his kingdom in the world? While truth al-
ways elevates and ennobles men, error degrades and lowers
them in the scale of intellectual and moral being.
YEARS IN THE MINISTRY. 399
CHAPTER XXXV.
Routine Work Editorial on Women in the Church Their
Position and Work No Thought of Controversy Disap-
pointed Critique by Mrs. Taylor Reply End of Contro-
versy.
AFTEB the Fall Conferences were over, I settled down
to my regular routine of work. From some cause or other
my attention was turned to the subject of women's work
in the Church, and I wrote an editorial on it, which, in
my simplicity, I thought to be about the right thing; at
least, that was the way the thing presented itself to my
mind. Here it is:
"Women are coming to the front and pressing for recog-
nition everywhere. They are no longer willing to be
ignored or kept in the background. They have talents,
education, and influence, and they desire u proper field for
their recognition. And that they have a right to exercise
their talents and influence in appropriate spheres, no one
can rationally deny. The bestowment by the Creator of
any gift, either upon man or woman, implies not only its
use, but also ultimate accountability for the manner in
which it is employed. The talents which God has bestowed
upon women were evidently designed to be exercised, and
that in a way to promote the greatest good. They are cer-
tainly designed to be workers in the great harvest-field of
the world as well as men. They have ability to work; they
have a right to work, and no one has a right to hinder them.
Their demand to have their rights recognized can not con-
sistently be disregarded.
"As to the proper field in which women should labor,
400 RECOLLECTIONS OF FIFTY
different opinions are entertained. Some maintain that
every sphere of usefulness is open to them; others are of
the opinion that they are necessarily restricted, by circum-
stances over which they have no control, to a more limited
field of usefulness; but a field, nevertheless, sufficiently
large to admit of the grandest achievements. This ques-
tion, we think, must be determined by the law of adapta-
tion which everywhere prevails throughout the works of
God. All men are not adapted to the same positions in life,
and it would be folly for them to aspire to move in the
same sphere. There is much in common between them,
and most of the duties of life alike devolve upon them.
There are some positions, however, to which some men are
especially adapted, and to which other men are especially
unfitted. These differences sometimes arise from physical
and mental constitution, and sometimes from external cir-
cumstances and mental and moral training. When they
inhere in our physical and mental constitution, they can
not be overcome; but when they arise from accidental cir-
cumstances, it is possible for them to be removed. A man's
usefulness and success in life depend upon his moving in
that sphere to which his natural endowments and his men-
tal and moral training properly fit him. If he attempt to
move in a sphere to which he is not thus adapted, he will
necessarily fail.
"The same law of adaptation applies to women. There
are certain spheres in life to which women are especially
adapted, and there are other spheres for which they are
physically and naturally unfitted. This is true of men,
and is equally true of women. While men and women are
fitted for the performance of most of the duties of life in
common, they possess, without question, natural and mental
peculiarities which clearly point in some particulars to
different spheres of action. There are positions of useful-
YEARS IN THE MINISTRY. 401
ness to which women are by natural endowment and train-
ing especially fitted, and from which men are necessarily
excluded. And who can reasonably doubt that the con-
verse of this is equally true? While men and women possess
a common nature, and are properly one, yet God himself
has endowed them with certain peculiarities which clearly
indicate that he designed them to move, in some respects
at least, in different spheres, for the promotion of a com-
mon end. There is nothing in this that can reasonably
be regarded as humiliating to women any more than it is to
men. While the body is one, it has many members, and
every member has its own office. Each one is necessary,
and bears its proper relation to the others. Hence, as the
apostle declares, 'The eye can not say to the hand, I have
no need of thee; nor again the head to the feet, I have no
need of you/ Each one occupies the position which God
gave it, and fills the office which he assigned it. So God
has evidently, by a different constitution of their physical
and mental powers, fitted men and women in some impor-
tant particulars, for different spheres in life, and it is the
highest honor of both faithfully to perform the duties of
their respective spheres.
"The family circle is, primarily, woman's domain. God
has honored her by making her the mother of the race,
and committing the early training of all the generations
of men into her hands. No higher duty could be imposed
upon her, and no grander field of usefulness could be af-
forded her. Young minds, in their plastic state, by her
magic touch, may be molded into forms of moral beauty,
and started upon careers of usefulness and unending happi-
ness. In this respect she occupies a pre-eminent position,
and has committed to her hands a work of far-reaching
influence and untold importance. But she is not neces-
sarily confined, in her ministries of love, to the family
*
402 RECOLLECTIONS OF FIFTY
circle. When its duties do not demand her attention, in-
numerable opportunities are presented for exerting her
influence in society at large, in the promotion of benevolent
labors, and in all the social and religious enterprises of the
Church to which, by physical and mental constitution and
intellectual and moral training, she is fitted. This field is
certainly large enough to give full scope to her abilities,
and satisfy her most enlarged and reasonable desire for
usefulness.
"But there are those who are not satisfied with this wide
field, and who claim that in the Church, so far as official
position, labor, and authority are concerned, there should
be no distinction made between men and women; that the
pastoral office should be open to them, and that they should,
like men, be solemnly inducted into this office by ordina-
tion. While the New Testament gives no sanction to this
view, either by precept or example, woman's lack of adap-
tation to this work is a sufficient reason, if there were no
others, to convince us that God did not design her for it.
This lack of adaptation does not arise from any intellectual
or moral inferiority for in these respects some women are
vastly superior to many men who fill the sacred office but
it arises from other causes. Women must either renounce
the family relation, for which God has eminently qualified
them, or decline to enter the ministry till the period when
the Jewish priesthood retired from the duties of their sacred
office, before they can continuously discharge the duties
of the pastoral relation. This is a point that can not be
pressed; but it is one that determines the whole question,
and clearly shows that God designed women to move in a
different sphere.
"We honor the Christian love and zeal of those women
who would break every barrier and serve the Master in the
sacred office of the ministry. But if they will look around
YEARS IN THE MINISTRY. 403
them in the Church, they will find numerous other open-
ings for usefulness, better adapted to their capabilities, and
in which they may more successfully serve the Master."
I had no thought when I wrote this article, that it
would excite any controversy, or call forth any dissent.
In this, however, I was disappointed. It was not long
until I received the following lengthy criticism of my
article, from the pen of Mrs. M. Johnson Taylor, since
deceased. I give it in full, that I may not be accused of
marring it. She said:
"When moral issues are before the public for consider-
ation and decision, there are no neutral grounds. Hence,
thinking women rejoice when leaders of thought pronounce
themselves on this modern problem, even though they can
not go into heroics over the negative notions which pious
prejudice always brings forth as 'strong reasons' for draw-
ing the sex-line between pulpit and pew, thus to define
lay privilege and clerical prerogative.
"Controversies through the columns of Church periodi-
cals, however, are usually as objectionable as they are un-
profitable. Nevertheless, truth and justice require the
reconsideration of some of the statements in the editorial
of October 16th, as to the 'women who are coming to the
front and pressing for recognition everywhere/
"But, first of all, let me modestly say, though I have
written sermons and read theology most of my life even
studied it a year in Boston University as a pleasure yet
I pronounce myself as one woman not aspiring to the
pastoral office, not asking ordination, not even considering
myself 'called to the ministry/ Beside the irresistible
power of the Holy Ghost upon the heart to believe that
the true call, without regard to sex, implies a very special
fitness of one's triune nature spiritual, intellectual, and
physical and that disability in any one of these ton
404 RECOLLECTIONS OF FIFTY
ditions disproves the divineness of the call, however great
'the feeling' or other constraining influences in the matter:
according to this belief, God has not called me to the min-
istry. Friends have, frequently; but, fortunately, I have
never mistaken the fond wishes of friends and generous
judgment of fellow-workers for the 'voice of God within,'
or the direct impression of the Holy Ghost, as, it is to be
feared, many have done, judging from their manifest dis-
abilities in pulpit and pastorate. Aside, then, from all self-
seeking, and only in defense of the right in any cause, I
am going to pick at a few of the able editor's paragraphs.
"In the first, he generously grants woman 'the talents,
education, and influence bestowed by their Creator/ admits
that they are 'designed to be workers in the great harvest-
field of the world/ concedes that 'bestowment of any gift
implies its use and ultimate accountability for the manner
in which it is employed/ etc.
'Tacts fairly and fully stated, but wholly negatived in
the next paragraph, where 'as to the proper field in which
women should labor/ instead of the judgment of the above-
described capable women, and their undeniable efficiency
and success in all departments of Church work being sug-
gested as proof of 'the proper field/ the same old opinions
of extremists who are forever wasting words on woman's
'limited sphere/ or woman's 'restricted fields of useful-
ness/ are quoted as if man's opinion should decide wo-
man's place!
"What a pity these speculators on 'spheres' and 'fields'
have not yet learned that God has never transferred his
right of defining woman's proper place to man or mannish
woman, though many have assumed such right, forgetting
utterly that it is alone God's prerogative to create, call,
choose, and even ordain whom he will; and as he knows
their fitness for any field be it as home-makers in the
YEARS IN THE MINISTRY. 405
family circle, as benefactors in the social world, as reform-
ers on the platform, or as spiritual guides in the pulpit.
"But mere opinions aside. The next statement is that
woman's 'proper field must be determined by the law of
adaptation.' We would n't quarrel with this in the least if,
as afterward applied, it did not limit women, indiscrimi-
nately (not according to individual fitness, but by the sex-
line again, because they are women!), to a few fields, and
these always the hardest physically, and always cautiously
below the officially recognized places of privilege, oppor-
tunity, and power for good, wholly ignoring the fact that
the class of women who are asking for these latter places
give the same assurance of their 'divine call' as are univer-
sally received as 'sufficient evidence' for the bestowment
of clerical rights upon a brother. Perhaps men and
Churches will wake to realize what a fearful thing it is to
repress the Holy Ghost when these women are all forced
out of regular Churches into all manner of undenomina-
tional unions, where they can work 'according to their
ability,' and not as restricted by mere sex.
"The same paragraph continues: 'While men and wo-
men possess a common nature, and are properly one, yet
God himself has endowed them with certain peculiarities
which clearly indicate that he designed them to move in
different spheres.' Somewhat, I suppose, as in the
Churches of our childhood: men solemnly entered at one
door, women the other, and sat on opposite sides, as a re-
ligious duty. We have always looked upon this as a horri-
ble heathenism; but it may be that they were 'endowed
with certain peculiarities which clearly indicated that God
designed them to move in different spheres.' So, all down
the ages, many foolish Church customs, as well as ridiculous
theological theories, have been cherished and sacredized
and dogmatically asserted, until they have seemed to be
406 RECOLLECTIONS OF FIFTY
'clear indications of God's designs;' hence all the notions
about 'different spheres,' 'proper fields/ and 'sound the-
ologies.'
"But again, if, as is asserted, men and women are 'one
body of many members,' and if 'the law of adaptation is
to determine the proper field,' why do not the able-bodied
brethren of the pulpit exchange places with the more deli-
cately organized sisters, acknowledged to be their equals
mentally and morally, yet, for lack of physical endowment,
always restricted to fields requiring far greater physical
power than would the full work of the ministry?
"I wonder, if God were to 'clearly indicate his design*
for a change in the offices of the members of this meta-
phorical body, how many of the heads would humbly be-
come hands and feet? How many of the brother ministers
would willingly become 'hewers of wood and drawers of
water/ and allow the sister ministers to serve the temple
in spiritual things for a time?
"Only when women, as well as men, are allowed to enter
the 'different spheres' for which their individual 'pecul-
iarities' fit them, will it be, as the last of this paragraph
says it is, 'the highest honor of both faithfully to perform
the duties of their respective spheres/ for only then can
they work out God's design in their several lives.
"So far, this law of adaptation limits women simply,
as sex, to certain fields. In the next paragraph, it limits all
women, first, to the family circle, which is necessarily true
only of mothers while rearing families, hence does not
apply to women as ministers; secondly, to 'society at large/
to which thankless toil the women in question are seldom
'called' or adapted; and, finally, to 'the social and religious
enterprises of the Church, to which, by physical and mental
constitution, and intellectual and moral training, she is
fitted/
YEARS IN THE MINISTRY. 407
"Well, experience has proven how much more 'physical
and mental constitution and moral training' are required
to attend to 'the social and religious enterprises/ such as
presiding over gossiping societies, managing annual fairs
and festivals (those spiritual waste-pipes of the Church),
harmonizing quarrelsome choirs, enthusing dull prayer-
meetings and Sabbath-schools, and filling in the niches
generally, than is ever necessary to constantly prepare and
preach the sermons, visit the sick, bury the dead, and do the
whole work of the pastorate. We admit all this, and much
more on this point as to the 'unlimited field of usefulness'
for women as lay workers.
"But what about eminently spiritual and intellectual
maids and widows and even childless mothers who are not
adapted by nature or circumstance to 'the family circle;'
whose capabilities compass more than the benevolences of
society at large; and who, in so far as Church authorities
allow, are giving unmistakable proof that they are 'called
of God,' and adapted to the full work of pulpit and pastor-
ate, though not to baking and boiling, washing and iron-
ing, sewing and entertaining, child-bearing and rearing
to none of which honorable home-labors these women are
constitutionally called, or circumstantially chosen.
"These are the consecrated women, who by God's four-
fold preparation of nature and grace, education and expe-
rience, are 'asking that the pastoral office should be open
to them, and that they should, like men, be solemnly in-
ducted into this office by ordination.' Yet these are the
very women whose demand for a 'proper field' is not 'de-
termined by the law of adaptation,' when that law selects
the 'family circle as woman's domain,' or limits her to
benevolent and religious enterprises only, or allows her the
unsettled 'field' of a traveling evangelist, or even permits
her to go and preach the gospel to the heathen.
408 RECOLLECTIONS OF FIFTY
"Just here we never could quite understand how the
editor can encourage women going to foreign fields with
their hardships, exposure, and renounced 'family relations/
yet pronounce against their preaching in their native land,
where the work of settled pastorate would he better adapted
to woman's nature, where her sufferings would he fewer
among Christian people, and where her home relation could
remain unbroken. If his law of adaptation determines
the proper field/ does n't it seem as if his consistency, cour-
tesy, and Christianity would require him to urge women
not to go to, but rather return from missionary lands, and
'preach the Word' in their home-land?
"In the next paragraph, speaking of official distinction
and ordination, it is said that 'the New Testament gives
no sanction to this view/ Of course not. The whole mat-
ter is a modern problem, and, like many others, not to be
solved by the teachings of apostolic times. If Scripture
be interpreted in its true light of time and place, and
people and circumstance, then the restrictions of ignorant,
degraded women in the early Church will not be applied
to educated, consecrated women in the Churches of our
time. Moreover, if local injunctions be literally applied
as general principles, they will 'silence' women's voices in
the Sunday-school, prayer-meeting, and all religious serv-
ices just as much as in the pulpit, and remand enlightened
women back to the veil, subjection, and ignorance of Ori-
ental women.
"And, finally, as to 'the point that determines the whole
question/ that is, as before hinted, that 'women must re-
nounce the family relation before they can continuously
discharge the duties of the pastoral relation.' This is true
only of mothers who are rearing children, and such neither
claim to be 'called' nor seek to enter the regular ministry.
No other family relation need be renounced by women
YEARS IN THE MINISTRY. 409
assuming pastoral relations. If efficient women can devote
hours daily and days weekly through months and years, as
many are doing, to practice in the arts, research in the sci-
ences, studies in literature, pursuits in professions and busi-
ness, beside sustaining all manner of meetings missionary,
temperance, gospel, and social without neglecting home
duties or 'renouncing the family relation/ why may not
capable, consecrated women, with similar economy and
holier inspiration, 'continuously' prepare and preach ser-
mons, and do the whole work of the pastorate without 're-
nouncing the family relation?'
"But those who have no such 'relation to renounce/
nor ever intend to have, are the ones chiefly asking official
recognition in the 'field' to which they are called, and for
which they have made equal preparation with men in col-
lege and schools of theology. Cases without number could
be quoted of talented single women; such as Miss Annie
Oliver, of Brooklyn; Miss Annie Shaw, of Massachusetts;
Miss Elizabeth Delevan, of New York all graduates of
Boston Theological School, and now doing excellent work
as regular preachers in independent charges. Then there
are faithful widows, whose lives are literally sanctified for
the work; such as Mrs. Mary Willard, of Chicago, Mrs.
VanCott, and many others, besides a few mothers whose
families are reared and gone from them to life's work or
its reward; such as Mrs. Hibbard, of New York; Mrs. Liver-
more, of Massachusetts; Mrs. Davis, of Cincinnati; and,
again, the well-known evangelists, Miss Sarah Smiley, Miss
Frances Willard, Miss Leonard, Mrs. Jennie Willing; with
the newer ones Miss Fannie Hamlin, of Pennsylvania;
Mrs. Jennie Caldwell, of Illinois; Mrs. Hartsough, of Iowa;
and local preachers, such as Mrs. Slade, of Illinois; Mrs.
York, of Michigan; and many others, all earnestly preach-
ing as they have opportunity. These are the 'women who
410 RECOLLECTIONS OF FIFTY
are coining to the front' with holiness of heart, discipline
of mind, endurance of body, experience of life, combined
with that womanly tact, insight, and spirituality (so de-
pended upon in other departments of Church work), simply
asking Churches and Conferences to formally sanction
God's call and God's ordination to the field for which he
has adapted them by their organization, education, and
circumstances.
"Surely the Methodist Protestant Church, with its
boasted motto of 'Mutual Eights/ should be the first among
Churches to welcome to its pulpits and pastorates the wo-
men thus called and ordained of God.
"Once more: as one Methodist Protestant, I publicly
protest against drawing the sex-line to define any 'sphere'
whose boundaries can and should only be determined by
individual adaptation. And now, if our good friend, the
editor, will pardon my picking his paragraphs, I '11 promise
to pick no more, provided his pen pursues preaching women
no further."
I give this critique of my esteemed correspondent in
full, and my reply to it, not as presenting anything decisive
on the subject, or even a glance at it in all its phases; but
simply as affording a slight view of the early discussion of
a subject which is still in controversy in our own as well as
other Churches. Here is my reply to my learned critic:
"On the second page of this week's Recorder will be
found an article from the pen of Mrs. M. Johnson Taylor,
criticising our editorial on 'Women in the Church,' which
appeared in our issue of October IGth. We are pleased to
lay this communication before our readers, because it
emanates from a lady of talent and culture, a personal
friend, who has 'written sermons, and read theology most
of her life, even studied it a year in Boston University as
a pleasure,' and who, if the cause she espouses admits of
) I>:A us IN TII /: M / .v / > rn r. 411
defense, is able to maintain it. It is also gratifying that
on a subject of some delicacy, to certain phases of which
we felt at liberty but barely to allude, a lady has so heroic-
ally led the way, and compelled us, in self-defense, to speak
plainly. We accept the situation, and do not shrink from
the discharge of a duty which our relation to the Church
requires. In doing this, however, it is not necessary for us
to follow our respected correspondent through her lengthy
communication, and notice all the points which she pre-
sents. If our object was merely an effort to display skill
in polemics, we might, perhaps, be tempted to do this; but
our only desire is to maintain the truth, and guard the
Church against views and practices which we consider detri-
mental to her highest interests. We shall, therefore, only
notice a few essential points to justify our former remarks,
and render our position more clear. It is hardly necessary
to say that we do this with the most profound respect for
women. We do not forget that our mother, of precious
memory, who, in intellectual and moral worth, has never
been surpassed by any of her sons, was a woman; that our
sisters were women; and that our wife is a woman; and we
would not dishonor ourself by dishonoring them.
"Although it may be distasteful to our esteemed corre-
spondent, we can not but regard it as highly creditable to
any one to faithfully perform the duties of the 'sphere* in
which God has placed him. That all have not been en-
dowed with the same capabilities, and placed in the same
'sphere' of action, is a fact too obvious to be denied; and
this is not chargeable to the 'pious prejudices' of men, but
to the inscrutable design of the all-wise and benevolent
Creator. We may question the wisdom of men, but we
should not murmur at the allotments of Providence.
"Our reviewer, in defining what she believes to be a
true call to the ministry, sets forth that it 'implies a very
412 RECOLLECTIONS OF FIFTY
special fitness of one's triune nature, spiritual, intellectual,
and physical, and that disability in any one of these con-
ditions disproves the divineness of the call, however great
the feeling or other constraining influence in the matter/
This is simply an affirmation, in a somewhat different form,
of our position, that 'the law of adaptation which every-
where prevails throughout the works of God/ must deter-
mine this question. The lack of either spiritual, intel-
lectual, or physical fitness, she admits, 'disproves the divine-
ness of the calP to the work of the ministry. This is
precisely what we affirmed. We said: 'There are some
positions to which some men are especially adapted, and to
which other men are especially unfitted. These differences
sometimes arise from physical and mental constitution, and
sometimes from external circumstances and mental and
moral training. When they inhere in our physical and
mental constitution, they can not be overcome; but when
they arise from accidental circumstances, it is possible for
them to be removed.' The same law of adaptation, we
asserted, applies to women. 'There are certain spheres
in life to which women are especially adapted, and there
are other spheres for which they are naturally and physic-
ally unfitted,' and the regular pastorate in the Church of
God we regard as one of these. This lack of adaptation
inheres in their physical constitution, and can not be over-
come. However much some may rail out against the 'sex-
line/ it exists; God himself has established it; and neither
men nor women can blot it out.
"On this distinction of sex is based the family relation,
which is not an artificial, but a natural one. This is the
normal condition of the sexes, and whatever interferes
with this forms but an exception, and not the rule. Christ
declared to the Jews, that 'from the beginning of the cre-
ation, Grod made them male and female,' and 'for this
YEARS IN THE MINISTRY. 413
cause shall a man leave father and mother, and cleave unto
his wife.' The design of this relation was clearly expressed
by the Creator himself when he commanded the original
pair to 'be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth.'
This is still the design; but in these modern times many
persons have become so enlightened as to defeat the divine
purpose. The woman who enters into this relation and
accomplishes its design, is physically unfitted for the duties
of the pastorate. A mother, for several months before the
birth of her child, and for several months afterward, while
it is dependent on her for that nourishment and care which
God designed her to supply, would find it utterly impos-
sible, continuously and properly, to discharge the duties
of the ministerial office. No woman, under such circum-
stances, with any sense of propriety, and of the natural
and social obligations devolving upon her, would attempt
to do so. According to the rule acknowledged by our
correspondent such women are debarred from the pas-
torate.
"'But what/ she inqiures, 'about eminently spiritual
and intellectual maids and widows, and even childless
mothers, who are not adapted by nature and circumstances
to the family circle,' and who, as she expresses it again,
'have no such relation to renounce, nor ever intend to have?'
This class of women, she seems to think, may safely be
admitted to the ministry, as the disabilities of mothers can
not affect them. So far as maidens are concerned, we know
of no place in the New Testament where they are instructed
or exhorted to decline the marriage relation and enter the
ministry; but we know that Paul, in his first letter to
Timothy, says: 'I will, therefore, that the younger women
marry, bear children, guide the house, give no occasion to
the adversary to speak reproachfully/ This, we justly in-
fer, he uttered under the influence of Divine inspiration;
414 RECOLLECTIONS OF FIFTY
for, on another occasion, when he advised Christians to
refrain from marriage, for the time being, on account of
the distressed state of the Church, he was careful to inform
them that he did not speak by commandment, but simply
expressed his own opinion as a man. But here there is
no such intimation, and we are left to infer that he speaks
by inspiration of the Divine spirit. Still, there is a diffi-
culty about receiving young women into the ministry. If
the Church receives them and forbids them to marry, she
develops one of the signs of the great apostasy of the last
times, which the apostle declares to be, 'forbidding to
marry.' If she receives them without such prohibition,
who can tell how soon they may change their minds and
enter the marriage state? The same is equally true of
young widows, whom the apostle exhorts Timothy to re-
fuse, because they will marry. Xow, what the possibilities
of marriage may be in any given case, within the limits
which God has fixed, who can tell? The marriage relation
is that which God in our original creation designed the
sexes to sustain to each other. The few women who do
not marry, whatever the cause may be, are exceptional
cases on which it would be folly to base a general rule.
Taking the original design of God in creating the dis-
tinction of sex, on which is based the family relation, for
the perpetuation of the race, we must determine the differ-
ent 'spheres' of men and women according to this design,
and not in disregard of it. This is the true principle, and
according to this principle, women, on account of their
sex, and not because of any inferiority, are disqualified for
the duties of the pastoral office. It is not for us to pre-
sume that they will not fulfill this design, and on that pre-
sumption assign them a position inconsistent with it.
"As to women who have ceased 'bearing and rearing
children/ or whose children are grown and settled in life,
YEARS IN THE MINISTRY. 415
we have only to remark, that they have arrived at a period
of life when even men are regarded as unfitted to enter
upon the ministerial office and discharge its duties effi-
ciently.
"Our argument here is based upon plain, undeniable
facts, and the conclusion is irresistible. We did not in our
former article, nor do we in this, attempt to develop the
Scripture argument, which we think will be found in per-
fect harmony with the order of nature. We have not space
to attempt to do so now. Indeed, as preliminary to such
an argument, we would have to show that the teachings
of apostolic times are authoritative in the case, which our
esteemed correspondent denies, for she says, 'the whole
matter is a modern problem, and like many others, not to
be solved by the teachings of apostolic times.' We had
thought the teachings of the Bible were of universal and
perpetual obligation, and the Methodist Protestant Church,
unless we are greatly mistaken, so teaches. But as we
barely alluded to Scriptural teaching on this subject in our
former article, we shall not enlarge upon it here.
"One word in regard to the editor's 'consistency, cour-
tesy, and Christianity' in encouraging women to go as
missionaries to foreign fields may not be amiss. We have
conversed with many ladies who have served as mission-
aries in heathen lands, and have ascertained from them
that the duties of such missionaries are very dissimilar to
the duties of regular pastors in Christian countries. And
for the discharge of these duties it is not necessary to re-
nounce the 'family relation,' as they are not inconsistent
with it, any more than many benevolent and Christian
labors in which women engage, outside of the pastorate,
at home. Married women, as well as single women, can
reach heathen mothers in their seclusion, and converse
with them, and by familiar intercourse teach them the
416 RECOLLECTIONS OF FIFTY
words of life. To encourage such missionaries we think
does not compromise our 'consistency, courtesy, or Chris-
tianity.' "We would not debar women from any sphere of
Christian activity to which God has called them, and to
which they are adapted. We have only attempted to show
that there is one calling, that of the regular gospel min-
istry, to which they are not adapted, and to which, there-
fore, God has not called them.
"There are other points in the article of our corre-
spondent which, did space permit, we might notice; hut
having considered the essential points, we shall not further
trespass upon the patience of our readers except to say
that, in the exercise of our right, and in the discharge of
what we considered our duty, we published our former edi-
torial. We have permitted our correspondent freely and
at length to criticse it. We have, without introducing any
new issues, as the lawyers say, in the exercise of our right,
explained and fortified our former positions. And now,
without giving any pledge that we will not pursue it further
at another time, we dismiss it from our columns for the
present."
Here our controversy ended, although my respected
contributor desired to continue it.
YEARS IN THE MINISTRY. 417
CHAPTER XXXVI.
Visitation of Conferences West Virginia Conference Gov-
ernor Pierpont Anecdote- Three Original Members of
the Conference Pittsburg Conference Solomon Spauld-
ing Book of Mormon Pleasant Incident Genesee Confer-
ence Narrow Escape Annoying Detentions Pleasant
Meeting Onondaga Conference, North Walcott Love-
feast Good Meeting Did Not Speak Brother Prindle
Aquafortis Zeal Muskingum Conference Detention
Midnight Arrival Members of Conference Money Col-
lectedA Day at Home New York Conference On Ship-
board with Wife Rockville Center Day in New York-
Central Park Obelisk New Jersey Conference Atlantic
City Home.
BUT little occurred out of the ordinary course of things
till the visitation of the Conferences in the fall of 1881.
The first of these to be visited was the West Virginia Con-
ference, which met in Palatine, W. Va., August 31st. At
that Conference I was kindly entertained in the family of
my old and genial friend, Ex-Governor Pierpont, of Fair-
mont, whom I had known almost from the time I had
entered the ministry. He is a lawyer, and a devoted Meth-
odist Protestant. He never wavered in his attachment to
the Church of his early choice. Neither business, nor
politics, nor office could cause him to neglect his Church,
or become indifferent to the claims of religion. He is a
man of fine social qualities, of sweet spirit, and although
sometimes impulsive, never cultivated any bitterness of
feeling. He was elected president of the General Confer-
ence of the Methodist Church, in Pittsburg, Pa., in 1871,
being the first layman who ever presided over a Methodist
General Conference. It is needless to say that he filled the
office with credit to himself and the Church.
27
418 RECOLLECTIONS OF FIFTY
An anecdote was told me of Brother Pierpont by Rev.
George Shaffer, who was his pastor at the time. Mr. Pier-
pont had large business interests, and dtiring the time he
was governor of his native State and wholly occupied with
official duties, these interests were controlled by a gentle-
man who was associated with him. When Mr. Pierpont
came to look after his own business, he found that it had
not been conducted in a manner satisfactory to him. The
result was serious litigation between him and his business
agent, with considerable unpleasant feeling. While this
state of things existed, a brother of Mr. Pierpont died, and
he was absent at and after the funeral for two weeks or
more. During his absence a great revival broke out in
our Church in Fairmont, and the gentleman above referred
to, with many others, was converted. Mr. Pierpont got
home late on Saturday evening, and had not learned much
about the meeting. On Sunday morning he went to
Church, and many parents presented their children for
baptism, and among them the gentleman spoken of. Mr.
Pierpont noticed it; but did not appear to think it strange.
But when, after preaching, an invitation was given for
persons to unite with the Church, and the gentleman came
forward among many others, Mr. Pierpont seemed to regard
him for a moment with great interest, and then got up,
and passing inside the altar railing, came up to the man
and threw his arms about his neck, and in an instant the
two men were encircled in each other's arms. The whole
congregation seemed to be electrified, for everybody knew
they had not been on good terms. That incident showed
what kind of a man Mr. Pierpont was, and what sort of re-
ligion he had. At the writing of this he is still living,
bordering, I suppose, closely on fourscore. He is justly
honored and esteemed by all who know him.
YEARS IN THE MINISTRY. 419
I found at that session of the West Virginia Conference
but three persons who were members of it when it was set
off, twenty-seven years before. These were Samuel Claw-
son, George Nestor, and William M. Betts. D. R. Helmick,
P. T. Laishley, and J. B. McCormick, although members
of the Conference when it was first organized, had for
several years been members of the Pittsburg Conference.
D. H. Davis was elected president, and B. F. Stout, present
corresponding secretary of the Board of Home Missions,
was elected secretary. The session was a pleasant one.
My next' visit was to the Pittsburg Conference, which
met in Amity, Washington County, Pa., a pleasant hamlet,
where we have a good Church, composed of excellent ma-
terials.
While at the Conference I visited the grave of Solomon
Spaulding, in the Presbyterian churchyard, but a short
distance from the Conference room. Mr. Spaulding was
the author of the Book of Mormon, or the romance on
which it was based. From all the facts in the case there
can be scarcely any doubt of this. Mr. Spaulding was a
Congregational minister, whose health had failed, disquali-
fying him for the regular duties of the ministry. To amuse
himself, he employed his leisure hours in writing a sort
of religious romance, chapters of which he read to his
neighbors from time to time. We were informed that at
that time there was still living in the neighborhood a very
old gentleman, Mr. Jospeh Miller, who knew Mr. Spauld-
ing, and who had heard him read portions of his book.
Mr. Spaulding's work fell into the hands of Sidney Rig-
don, who, in the beginning of the Mormon delusion, was
associated with Joseph Smith, ,ind was used by them as
the basis of the Mormon Bible, which Smith professed
to have obtained as a revelation from heaven. Mr. Spauld-
420 RECOLLECTIONS OF FIFTY
ing died in 1816. The headatone placed at his grave had
almost entirely disappeared. A portion of the footstone
remained.
Men's deeds live after them, and they can not be too
careful to bring influences to bear that, instead of injuring,
will benefit mankind. It is true, that which is in itself
harmless may be turned by bad men to evil uses. Little
did Mr. Spaulding think when he whiled away his leisure
moments in writing his romance, that it would form the
basis of one of the greatest superstitions that has ever
cursed the world, and whose influence for evil is still in-
creasing.
Our home during the session of the Conference was with
A. J. Swart and his kind family near the church. At high
noon on the first day of the Conference, September 7, 1881,
an event of more than ordinary interest occurred in the
family of our respected host and hostess. Their eldest
daughter, Miss Florella, was united in marriage to Mr.
Samuel Luellen, a highly-esteemed young gentleman of
the neighborhood. The ceremony was performed by Rev.
G. G. Conway, pastor of the Church, assisted by Rev.' S. F.
Crowther, president of the Conference, Rev. J. J. Murray,
D. D., pastor of the First Church, Pittsburg, and the
writer. A large company of friends, together with a goodly
number of the members of the Conference, were present,
and enjoyed the festivities of the occasion. After the cere-
mony, the company sat down to a sumptuous repast, suffi-
cient to tempt the appetite of an epicure. In the evening
the Amity Cornet Band serenaded the happy pair, discours-
ing sweet music for the entertainment of them and their
many friends. At a late hour the company dispersed, all
feeling that the occasion was one of the most enjoyable.
There are two persons at least who will never forget the
Conference at Amity.
YEARS IN THE MINISTRY. 421
Another interesting event occurred at the close of
the services in the church on the evening of the first
day of the session of the Conference. Brother G. G.
Conway had served the Church for four years, and his
services for another year were called for. The members
of the Church, desiring to give their pastor some special
token of their regard, presented him a copy of Henry's
"Exposition" in five large octavo volumes. A gold-piece
was also presented to Sister Conway. Such tokens of
appreciation are very grateful to a sensible and faithful
pastor.
Among others who were received at that Conference
was W. II. Gladden, a whole-souled, earnest man, of bright
mind, endowed with natural tact, making him a successful
worker.
From the Pittsburg Conference I went to the Genesee
Conference. I had but one day at home, into which I
tried, but unsuccessfully, to press the labors of a week. In
company with N. E. Swift, on the morning of September
14th I took a train on the Allegheny Valley Eoad, and
followed the Allegheny Eiver a distance of one hundred
and thirty-two miles to Oil City. I had a pass over the road
to that place. I had never been there, and knew nothing
about it. When the brakeman called out "Oil City," I. got
off to get a ticket to Salamanca. The agent had no
tickets for that place, and the conductor, coming in, said I
would get a ticket on the other side. I supposed he meant
on the other side of the train, and that the ticket-office was
there, and I stepped over to get a ticket, when the train
started. It did not seem to be moving fast, and I took hold
of the handles to get on; but it was moving much faster
than it appeared to be, and I could not keep on my feet,
and had nothing but the strength of my arms to keep me
from falling under the wheels. A gentleman standing on
422 RECOLLECTIONS OF FIFTY
the platform, seeing my perilous condition, seized hold of
me, and hy his aid I got upon the steps, with hardly
strength enough lefi to stand. Had it not been for the
assistance I received, I certainly would have lost a limb,
and perhaps my life. Before retiring to rest that night, I
made a record of the fact, and gratefully acknowledged
the goodness of my Heavenly Father in delivering me from
danger and death. Out of how many dangers does God
deliver us, when, perhaps, we are not aware of their pres-
ence! How thankful we should be to him continually for
his preserving care! Passing up Oil Creek, we intersected
the New York, Pennsylvania & Ohio Eoad at Corry, and
finding that we could not get a train going East from Sala-
manca that night, we stopped at Kennedy, where we were
most kindly entertained by Brother S. S. Thatcher. Next
morning we took an early train for Salamanca, where we
connected with the New York & Erie Koad for Hornells-
ville, near which the Genesee Conference was holding its
session.
Our train on the Erie Eoad was in no hurry, although
we were. It stopped wherever it pleased, and started when-
ever it chose, and in a most provoking way tried our
patience all morning. At last, as we neared the place where
we wanted to stop, it perversely dashed ahead and carried
us four miles beyond our station. The only thing we
could do was to take another train and come back; and, as
if there was a conspiracy against us, that other train was
an hour behind time, and when it did come up and stop,
it seemed as if it never would start; but it did, in its own
good time, and at last, after a day of delays and provoca-
tions, we reached our destination, and had the privilege
of being present during one session at the Genesee Confer-
ence. The brethren received us very kindly, and permitted
us to present to the Conference and friends the interests
YI'lARS IN THE MINISTRY. 423
which we represented. Our stay was necessarily brief; but
very pleasant.
Next morning we took an early train for Rochester,
where Brother Swift took the New York Central, which
would take him by his home, and I took the Lake Shore for
Wolcott. Here I staid all night, and next morning secured
conveyance to North Wolcott, the seat of the Conference,
about five miles distant. I was kindly entertained by
Brother and Sister Field during my stay at the Confer-
ence.
The Conference at North Wolcott was one of much
interest. The religious feeling which prevailed was espe-
cially good. The services on Sabbath commenced with a
love-feast at ten o'clock, which was very spirited and deeply
impressive. The house was nearly full, and from all parts
of it persons testified for the Master, sometimes two or
three persons being on their feet, desiring to speak at once.
In some, the tearful eye, the quivering lip, and the tremu-
lous voice indicated the depth of pent-up feeling in their
hearts; others, with different emotions, spoke without ap-
parently any restraint, while some even shouted aloud for
joy. I have no criticism to offer on the manner in which
Christians express the feeling of their hearts. Much in this
respect depends upon natural temperament and education.
The one great thing is to have the love of God in the
heart, and whether it shines forth with a mild and steady
light, or flashes out in coruscations of glory, I am satisfied.
I did not speak during that love-feast. The excitement
was too great. I could not have got in a word if I had tried
ever so much. Brother Prindle, a very good and zealous
brother, who was all excitement, and as unlike me in natu-
ral temperament as one person can be unlike another,
thought, I suppose, as I did not speak, that I did not like
the meeting, or did not approve of it. When he got up to
424 RECOLLECTIONS OF FIFTY
speak I listened to him attentively; but he spoke so fast
that I could not hear distinctly all he said; but I heard him
mention "this Pittsburg religion/' and then ask the Lord
to apply the aquafortis. He wanted the Lord, I suppose,
in some way to test it, to see if it was genuine. It was hard
on Pittsburg, and amused me greatly; but nothing more.
The dear old brother meant it all right; but his zeal was
greater than his discretion. How much men are inclined
to bring every one to their peculiar standard, and if they
can not pronounce their Shibboleth, to condemn, if not to
anathematize them! Men often need a little better judg-
ment and a little more charity than they manifest in their
well-meant but short-sighted zeal. We can not all move
in the same line. Indeed, it would not, perhaps, be best if
we could. Every man has his own proper gift.
My next visit was to the Muskingum Conference, which
met in California, a small village in Pike County, Ohio.
Going by way of Springfield, I took the train from there
on Wednesday morning, September 28th, on the Ohio
Southern, for Whitman's Station, the nearest railroad sta-
tion to the seat of Conference. Brother William Hastings
and 0. V. W. Chandler and the delegates from their
charges were on the train, on their way to Conference.
Other brethren boarded the train at different points, until
the number had increased, before we reached the place of
our destination, to perhaps twenty-five. As the train did
not stop at any place long enough for dinner, the con-
ductor, Mr. Lewis Carr, very kindly telegraphed ahead, and
ordered dinner to be brought on the car for us, and al-
though not such a dinner as Delmonico could get up, yet
it was very good and very acceptable. We greatly enjoyed
it, and felt very thankful to our kind conductor for having
procured it for us. The great trouble was, neither the
dinner nor the diners could keep still, and although it is
YEARS IN THE MINISTRY. 425
said a blind man can find the way to his mouth, we found
it quite difficult, with ordinarily good vision, to find the
way to our mouths. But we continued our efforts, and
succeeded comfortably well. Taking that dinner, with all
its surroundings, it was very enjoyable, and in the strength
of it we went, not like the prophet Elijah, for many days,
but like other of our brethren, for many hours.
Our train was due at Whitman's at four o'clock, and
we expected to get to California before dark. But it was
a day of mishaps. A wreck on the road detained us more
than three hours, and, instead of reaching Whitman's at
four o'clock, we did not get there till after seven. It had
rained all the afternoon, and the young moon soon went
down, and the night was dark and gloomy. The teams
that had come to the station to meet our train had met
other brethren and gone home. There was no place to
stay, and no place to go to. The station-house consisted
of one room, occupied as a store and ticket-office, and was
alone in the country there were no houses near it. It
had hardly space enough to hold us, and had no accommo-
dations for eating or sleeping. A more dreary outlook
could not easily be imagined.
At last, about nine o'clock, a team arrived, and Brothers
Fisher, Chandler, Sears, Slosser, Wolf, and myself started,
under the care of Mr. Thomas Brown, for California, six
miles, as we were told, away. The incidents of that ride,
and the many witty and sparkling remarks, to say nothing
of the solemn expressions, it called forth, I will not at-
tempt to describe. The miles seemed to increase with the
hours; but at last, as the clock in the tower struck twelve,
we made our triumphal entrance into the village of Cali-
fornia, and, driving to the parsonage, called up the pastor,
Brother Lowther, who received us kindly, and greeted
us with a midnight welcome. The members of our party
426 ' RECOLLECTIONS OF FIFTY
were soon all provided for, and the trials of the day were
forgotten in sweet slumber.
John Burns and W. H. Marshall, two of the old veter-
ans of the Conference, in consequence of illness, were not
able to be present. Among the old men of the Conference
who were present were: Israel Thrap, Joel S. Thrap, John
Baker, E. S. Hoagland, G. W. Hissey, and J. H. Hamilton.
Then, of a younger class, were: S. A. Fisher, F. A. Brown,
J. A. Thrap, W. A. Samson, and 0. V. W. Chandler; and
of a still younger class, were: J. H. Gray, L. Bowman,
W. L. Wells, and many others, whose names I can not now
recall. J. A. Thrap was elected president, and J. B. Wil-
kin and J. W. Thompson secretaries. The session was a
pleasant one, and one of much interest. I returned home
from that Conference with nearly five hundred dollars
collected for the Recorder and other general interests of
the Church. A better system now prevails of forwarding
all collections as soon as taken to the treasurers of the re-
spective Church Boards.
After a day or two at home, endeavoring to put things
right in the Recorder office, and already tired, having at-
tended five Conferences in succession, on Thursday, Oc-
tober 6th, at four o'clock P. M., I took a train on the
Pennsylvania Central, accompanied for once by my wife,
for New York, to attend the session of the New York Con-
ference, to meet in Eockville Center, Long Island. We
took a sleeper, and next morning found ourselves in the
metropolis of the great Empire State, in the midst of its
teeming multitudes and wonderful activities and enter-
prises. Finding that we could not conveniently make the
morning train from Brooklyn for the seat of Conference,
we took a car and ran up to Pier 46, North Eiver, to call
on Mr. Thomas Stevens, second officer of the California, of
the Anchor Line, plying between New York and London,
YEARS IN THE MINISTRY. 427
and for whom we had a pleasant message. We were fortu-
nate enough to find Mr. Stevens on board, and had the
pleasure of spending some time with him very agreeably.
He had the reputation of being a very skillful officer, and
we certainly found him to be an exceedingly pleasant gen-
tleman. He kindly showed us through his vessel, and gave
us a great deal of information in regard to many matters
of which we had but an imperfect knowledge.
In the afternoon we made our way to Rockville Center,
where we were kindly entertained by Brother and Sister
Hulshart during our stay. The Conference had been in
session two days when we arrived; but several of the mem-
bers were still absent. Business progressed slowly. The
brethren did not seem to be in any hurry, and gave them-
selves sufficient time to transact their business. There are,
perhaps, two extremes to be avoided in this matter: too
much haste on the one hand, and too much deliberation
on the other.
That was our fifth visit to the New York Conference,
and we were glad to meet with a number of old friends,
among whom were Brothers Withie, Painter, Smith, Hanks,
Weaver, Robinson, Hulshart, and others. Of younger men,
we met Brothers Woodworth, Berrien, Davis, Hanks, Jr.,
Holden, and others. Of these last, Brothers Berrien and
Hanks, Jr., are now members of the Pittsburg Conference.
Our Church at Rockville Center was a large and strong
Church. Brother Hulshart had served them for ten years
as their pastor, and the people desired him to remain.
This was alike creditable to him and them. Long pastor-
ates should be encouraged, rather than discouraged. The
desire for change for something new and novel should
not be encouraged. If a minister is the right kind of a
man, and is adapted to the place and people, the longer he
remains the better. The conditions which rendered a
428 RECOLLECTIONS OF FIFTY
change of pastors necessary every year or two, do not now,
at least in many cases, exist; and where they do not exist,
a change should not be made, except for very good reasons.
Having accomplished our mission so far as possible, we
left on Tuesday morning, before the adjournment of the
Conference, in order to attend the New Jersey Conference,
to meet in the Palestine Church, on English Creek, New
Jersey, October llth. We spent a little time in New York,
and took the opportunity to visit Central Park, and among
other things to take a view of the obelisk which had been
recently brought from Egypt and put in its present po-
sition a task which required a large expenditure of means,
and no little engineering skill. In looking at its massive
proportions, one can hardly imagine how it was ever taken
from the quarry, reduced to its present form, and erected
anywhere, much less taken down, placed on shipboard,
and transported across the seas for many thousands of
miles, and again erected. Under each corner of the shaft,
resting on the square and massive block of granite that
forms its pedestal, is an immense bronze crab, showing its
great claws, and which was no doubt intended to represent
something, of which we can now only 'conjecture. While
standing at its base and looking on the hieroglyphics on
its sides, we could not but imagine that Moses had often
looked upon and read those characters, which, to us, were
entirely unintelligible.
On Thursday evening, after some unexpected delays,
we arrived at the seat of the New Jersey Conference, and
found a pleasant home in the family of Captain E. S.
Barrett. The captain was absent when we arrived, but
Sister Barrett was so kind and whole-hearted in her hospi-
tality that we felt perfectly at home. On Saturday evening,
the captain, having left his vessel at New York, arrived,
which added to our pleasure. The attendance of the Con-
YEARS IN THE MINISTRY. 429
ference was good, and, although some inconvenience was
felt by committees, in consequence of the members being
entertained at places considerably distant from each other,
the business of the Conference was conducted with dis-
patch, and it reached a final adjournment by Saturday
evening. Several members of the Conference left on the
evening of its adjournment, which we thought detracted
somewhat from the interest of the Sabbath services. I
think every Conference should embrace one Sabbath within
the time of its session. Sunday should be at every Confer-
ence the great day of the feast.
Early on Monday morning the members of the Con-
ference left in crowded vehicles for their homes.
We had nearly a day on our hands, and not being far
from Atlantic City, we concluded to run down there, and
spend the day till train-time on the seashore. The crowds
of pleasure-seekers were gone; but the city and the beach
and old ocean were still there, and the day being pleasant,
we enjoyed ourselves very much. We concluded that
pleasure, as recreation, was a very good thing; but as a
regular business, it could not but become irksome. At half-
past three o'clock we took a train for home, where we ar-
rived safely the next day.
The Pittsburg Conference of 1882 met in Waynesburg,
Pa. Mr. Samuel Melvin, proprietor of the Downey House,
Waynesburg, an old friend of mine, had sent Mrs. Scott
a very kind invitation to accompany me to Conference, and
make his house our home during its session. This invi-
tation was accepted, and we enjoyed a very pleasant time
with him and his kind family.
Brother John Gregory, who had been president of the
Conference the preceding year, was re-elected, and Brother
J. F. Dyer was elected secretary. At that Conference
George Shaffer was received by letter from the Pennsyl-
430 RECOLLECTIONS OF FIFTY
vania District, and has made an honorable record in the
Conference. Brother Shaffer is a man of an original mind,
of clear analytical powers, social and pleasing disposition,
an ahle preacher, and an excellent pastor. He is approach-
ing the prime of life, and seems to have a hopeful future
before him. Brother George C. Sheppard was also re-
ceived at that session on recommendation of the Eighteenth
Street Church, Southside, Pittsburg. He had graduated
at Adrian College, and desired to take a special course at
Yale; but his services being needed, he entered the active
work, and has become a very successful minister. He has
filled some of the best appointments in the Conference, and
served with credit to himself and the Church as its presi-
dent. He is a good executive, a fine preacher, and a tire-
less worker.
Brother John Henderson came into the Conference
also at its Waynesburg session that year. He was appointed
to his home charge, and has remained there ever since, and
the indications are that if the charge can have its choice,
he will remain there much longer. He is a good preacher,
and a very faithful and diligent worker. He is a man of
sweet spirit, genial and companionable, and so calm and
self-poised, that his society is restful. C. E. Wilbur also
united with the Conference that year. He came by transfer
from the New York Conference. He is a man of ability,
one of our best preachers. Since entering the Pittsburg
Conference, he has served for several years as a professor
in Adrian College; but as a matter of choice he has returned
to the active work of the ministry. He is highly esteemed.
YEARS IN THE MINISTRY. 431
CHAPTER XXXVII.
Routine Duties Visitation of Conferences Pittsburg Semi-
centennial Session Valuable Papers Read Sermon Fra-
ternal Messengers Dr. Collier J. W. Rutledge Other Old
Members Ohio Conference Old Veterans Straw Mat-
tressesLife of Clawson General Conference of 1884
Address of Welcome Conventional Powers Communica-
tion from Bishops Simpson and Harris Case of Anna H.
Shaw Re-elected Editor Centennial Conference of the
Methodist Episcopal Church Addresses.
THERE is generally not much in the regular routine
of editorial work worth recording. As on a broad, flat
prairie there is nothing presented to the view but a mo-
notonous sameness,, so there is ordinarily in regular edi-
torial work nothing special to attract attention or excite
more than ordinary interest. Occasionally something may
occur worth noting; but this is not of frequent occurrence.
So there was nothing during the year of sufficient interest
to be noted here.
In the fall of 1883 my visitation of the Conferences
again began. I visited the Michigan, the Ohio, the Pitts-
burg, the Genesee, the Onondaga, and the Muskingum
Conferences.
The session of the Pittsburg Conference that fall was
its semi-centennial session, and was held in the Eighteenth
Street Church, Southside, Pittsburg. The attendance
at the opening of the Conference was unusually large. The
session was opened with religious services, under the direc-
tion of the president, by Dr. John Cowl, after which busi-
ness was taken up. Rev. G. G. Westfall was elected
president. On Wednesday evening, according to previous
432 RECOLLECTIONS OF FIFTY
arrangement, Eev. T. H. Colhouer delivered an address
on the general history of the Methodist Protestant Church,
which commanded close attention. On Thursday evening
the Eev. James Eobison read an interesting paper on the
history of the Pittsburg Conference from its organization
down to that time. At the close of Brother Eobison's his-
torical sketch, the Eev. John Gregory presented three
papers, one of them giving an account of the time and
place of each session of the Conference for fifty years, with
the name of every president and secretary, and brief notes
of some important action taken at each session. He also
presented a list of deceased members, and also a list of all
persons who at any time held membership in the Confer-
ence. This last list numbered four hundred and eight.
On Friday evening the Eev. David Jones preached on the
doctrinal position of the Methodist Protestant Church.
All these special services were of deep interest, and appeared
to be highly appreciated. The valuable papers of Brothers
Eobison and Gregory have been preserved in the Minutes,
and will be available for the future historian in writing a
history of the Pittsburg Conference.
The Eevs. J. A. Thrap and S. A. "Fisher, of the Mus-
kingum Conference, and Eev. C. M. Conway, of the "West
Virginia Conference, were present, and presented the fra-
ternal greetings of their respective Conferences. Letters
expressing fraternal regard were also received from Eev.
J. B. Walker and T. Douglas, of the Ohio Conference, and
from Eev. H. C. Gushing, of the Maryland Conference.
Proper responses were made to these greetings, in the midst
of which Dr. William Collier, a superannuated member of
the Conference, who had been unable to attend any of its
sessions for several years, was carried up the aisle in a large
chair, and placed beside the president. Dr. Collier was
then in the eighty-first year of his age. He was licensed
YEARS IN THE MINISTRY. 433
to preach in 1824. In 1829 he became identified with the
Beform movement, and for fifty-four years had been con-
nected with our Church as an itinerant minister, part of
the time in the Maryland Conference, and after 1851 in the
Pittsburg Conference. He received the hearty greetings
of his brethren, who were delighted to see him once more
in their midst. He answered to his name at roll-call, and
dismissed the Conference with the benediction. He had
been conveyed from his home in Sharpsburg, some six or
seven miles distant, to the Conference room in an easy
carriage, and after remaining till the close of the afternoon
session, returned home in the evening. I feared that the
trip would be too much for his strength; but, calling next
morning about seven o'clock, I found him comfortably
seated at the breakfast-table, cheerful and happy, though
feeling somewhat tired after his unusual exercise and ex-
citement.
Another old veteran, also on the superannuated list,
Eev. J. W. Eutledge, who had not been able to attend the
sessions of the Conference for several years, was also pres-
ent. He was very feeble, but slightly better just then.
He was over seventy, and had long been in the ministry
of the Methodist Protestant Church. He came to the
Pittsburg from the Pennsylvania Conference in 1852; but
in consequence of feeble health, had been superannuated
for several years. It was a great pleasure to Brother Eut-
ledge, as well as to his brethren, to be able once more to be
present in the Conference.
There was not an individual present at that session who
was a member of the Conference at the time of its organiza-
tion. There was one person living who was a member then,
John Clark; but who had long been a resident of Rushville,
Illinois, and who, by force of circumstances, in order to
obtain a Church home, had become a member of another
28
434 RECOLLECTIONS OF FIFTY
Church. James Robison and John Cowl had united with
the Conference in 1837, Henry Palmer and myself in 1842,
E. H. Sutton in 184t>, James M. Mason in 1850, and
W. Collier in 1851. All these were present. Brothers Col-
lier, Robison, and Palmer have passed away, and Brothers
Cowl, Sutton, and Mason have been superannuated for
several years. Brother Mason is the only one of the last
three named who has been able to attend the Conference
for several years past. He is feeble; but his heart is still
in the work, and, if he had physical strength, would still
be active. He was a faithful laborer, and never refused
any work assigned him. Among others who united with
the Conference at that session was W. S. Fleming, a gradu-
ate of Adrian College, who is still in the active work; also
C. A. Sturm, who came by transfer from the Pennsylvania
Conference. He is an excellent man, and needs only to
be known to be appreciated.
The Ohio Conference met that fall on the Ohio Con-
ference Camp-meeting grounds, about four miles from
"Washington Court House, Ohio. I had the privilege of
being present a few days with the brethren. There were
several of the old veterans present, among them A. H.
Bassett, R. Rose, C. Caddy, A. H. Trumbo, and R. C. Davis.
I was kindly entertained at the boarding-hall. The party
having charge of it set a good table, and the sleeping ac-
commodations were as good, perhaps, as could be expected
under the circumstances. But it requires a good deal of
practical philosophy and skill, in a country where grain
grows very rank, to enable any one to make up an ordinary
camp-meeting straw mattress so as to be perfectly smooth
and level, and as soft as a bed of down. There are some-
times irregularities or protuberances in these mattresses,
which, by a concatenation of circumstances, are brought
into immediate contact with certain irregularities of the
YEARS IN THE MINISTRY. 435
body, which produce a sort of pivotal sensation, not free
from uncertainty as to what turn matters may take. These
things are not always of a soothing character, but, never-
theless, excite reflection, and fill the mind with pleasing
anticipations. Such things must be agreeable to some
minds. But men will differ, even in regard to the make-up
and length of an ordinary camp-meeting mattress.
In the fall of 1883, Brother James Robison published
a very interesting volume, entitled, "Recollections of Rev.
Samuel Clawson." Mr. Robison was a great friend of Mr.
Clawson, and had treasured up many anecdotes of that good
and wonderfully eccentric man, with which he enriched his
book. At Brother Robison's request, I wrote a short in-
troduction to the volume, as I was well acquainted with
Brother Clawson. The book, I suppose, is now out of
print; but a new edition, I have no doubt, would com-
mand a ready sale. It is greatly to be regretted that so
many of the fathers, good and great men, have passed
away without any suitable record of their lives and labors.
The Genesee Conference, which I attended that fall,
met at Adams Basin. The Church at that place is the
mother Church in this district, and there appears to have
been a special providence connected with its organization.
The Rev. Isaac Fister, when a young man, in passing
through Charlotte, some eight miles north of Rochester,
New York, and about sixteen miles from where the Church
at Adams Basin now stands, was taken sick, and Dr.' .Web-
ster, of the latter place, was called to attend him. He
made him three visits, and then informed his patient that
he thought, with proper care, he would, get along, and
that it would not be necessary to visit him again. Mr.
Fister then asked the doctor for his bill, whereupon the
doctor inquired if he was not a minister, and on receiving
an affirmative answer, remarked that he had inferred as
436 RECOLLECTIONS OF FIFTY
much, and stated that he would require Mr. Fister to re-
turn his visits, and preach an equal number of times in
his house. This Mr. Fister agreed to do, and on his third
visit a revival broke out, and twelve persons were con-
verted, and the Church at Adams Basin was organized.
The first class consisted, in part, of Stephen "Webster and
wife, familiarly known as "Aunt Betsy," "Joseph Wood-
mansee and wife, Jeremiah Webster, and Asa A. Webster
and wife. Stephen Webster was a son of Dr. Webster.
Dr. Covil was the first pastor on this charge. We had the
pleasure of meeting Sister Webster ("Aunt Betsy"), who
was the only surviving member of the original organization.
All the others had passed away to their eternal rest, and
she had almost reached the close of life's journey, and
although feeble in body, was strong in faith, giving glory
to God, and expected soon to "depart and be with Christ,
which is far better." We took her by the hand, bade her
farewell, not expecting to see her face again till we meet
in our Father's house of many mansions. That little class
grew and strengthened until circuits, and at last a Con-
ference was organized, where our cause before was un-
known. How mysterious the ways of Providence! Who
could have imagined that such important results should
be linked with the apparently accidental sickness of a
stranger in a strange place?
There were but two changes made in the pastoral re-
lation at that session of the Conference, Brother Bowen
and Brother Leach exchanging places. Sometimes at some
of the Conferences the changes are quite numerous. Not-
withstanding the discomfort which this system of minis-
terial supply sometimes occasions, it is perhaps the best
system that has been, or can be, devised. But the burdens
which it imposes on ministers should, so far as possible,
YEARS IN THE MINISTRY. 437
be lessened by the Churches which they are appointed to
serve.
Some men are adventurers, dissatisfied with what they
have, and willing to run the risk of change in hope of
bettering their condition. With them familiarity creates
contempt, and consequently they are always seeking for
something new. They are never so much at home, as
when they are abroad; never so much in the midst of
friends, as when surrounded with strangers. This may be
the case with some preachers; but generally it is not the
case with them, nor with any other class of men. Persons
of this character form an exception to the general rule.
By continued intercourse the social principle, generally,
is developed, and attachments are strengthened. Whatever
disturbs these attachments and associations is disrelished,
and gives pain to the mind. The frequent changes to
which itinerant preachers are subject is a fruitful source
of trial, and as they advance in life, and can not so easily
accommodate themselves to change, this trial increases in
severity. Persons who are permanently settled in life, or
who even change their locality as a matter of choice, from
motives of interest connected with worldly pursuits, can
not appreciate the feelings of those who, for the Church's
sake, without any prospect of worldly gain, but in view
of loss and discomfort, patiently submit to the severance
of the strongest social and Christian ties, and go forth
amid the chilling shyness of uncaring strangers, to per-
form their work in the spirit of self-denying love.
Strangers in any community should be treated with
attention and consideration, on principles of common po-
liteness and humanity. God expressly declared to the chil-
dren of Israel, "Ye shall not oppress a stranger; for ye
know the heart of a stranger, seeing ye were strangers in
438 RECOLLECTIONS OF FIFTY
the land of Egypt." And who can know the heart of a
stranger but he who has been himself a stranger, cut off
from the tender associations of known and tried friends?
On the same principle the apostle exhorts us to be "not
forgetful to entertain strangers."
Many of our preachers go to their fields of labor, and
enter upon their work as strangers, with a sense of loneli-
ness stealing over their hearts. And, if in their sadness
they can sing at all, they will feel like singing:
"A stranger lonely here I roam,
From place to place I 'm driven;
My friends are gone, and I 'm alone,
The earth seems dreary as a tomb,
I have no home but heaven."
The members of the Church, instead of increasing this
sense of loneliness in the preacher's heart, and in the
hearts of those who share his toils, by a distant and re-
served behavior and an apparent indifference to his com-
fort, should at once rally around him, and with grasping
hands and kindly words assure him that, though strangers
in the flesh, they are brethren in the Lord. It is to be
presumed that the official bodies of the Church have done
their duty; and if so, that he is a tried and true man, and
worthy to be received to the hearts and homes of the
membership. He does not come as a probationer. He has
already served his probation, and proved himself worthy,
and should be so regarded. Let him be received, then,
"without doubtful disputations."
Brethren and sisters should promptly call upon their
new minister at his home, and invite him and his family
to enjoy their hospitalities. They should show him that
they sympathize with him, and desire him to feel that he
is at home among them. When a Church invites a min-
YEAHK IN THE MINISTRY. 439
ister to labor among them, and the invitation is accepted,
the advances should be upon their part. But how much
more so if a minister has been sent who had not been
called! How much more, in that case, does he need the
attention of his brethren to relieve his mind from the
anxiety which he can not but feel, and assure him that he
may be "among them without fear!"
But something more substantial, but not more agree-
able, than these kindly attentions is also needed. Our min-
isters often find it difficult, with all the economy they are
able to exercise, to maintain their families, without laying
aside a surplus of means. A removal from one circuit or
station to another, necessarily incurs an expense which they
are not well able to meet. With their little means ex-
hausted by their removal, they have nothing left to sup-
port them till the close of the first quarter, and great em-
barrassment in feeling is the result. They can not think
of beginning their labors by asking their brethren for
money, or the grocer for credit, and yet the necessaries of
life must in some way be secured. Brethren should not
permit their ministers to endure these embarrassments.
Unsolicited, they should at once, either as a gift of kind-
ness, or by the prepayment of a portion of their regular
contributions, furnish him with means to meet his present
wants.
The General Conference of 1884, to which my brethren
of the Pittsburg Conference saw fit to elect me as one
of their representatives, met in the St. John's Independent
Methodist Church, Baltimore, on May 1(5, 1884. The Con-
ference was called to order by Dr. G. B. McElroy, president
of the preceding General Conference. After the opening
religious services, Dr. L. W. Bates presented to the presi-
dent a handsome gavel, the gift of Dr. E. J. Drinkhouso.
Dr. S. W. Hammond, secretary, then called the list of
440 RECOLLECTIONS OF FIFTY
members, after which a Committee on Credentials was
appointed. A very interesting address of welcome to the
members of the Conference was then delivered by Dr.
J. J. Murray, pastor of the Church in which the Confer-
ence met. Among other things, he said: "It is with no
little pleasure that I welcome you to St. John's Church.
Considerations of convenience, not to be overlooked in a
city of such physical proportions, prompted the Committee
of Arrangements to solicit the use of this building for your
meetings; but it was not without a touch of sentiment that
application was made; for within these very walls, fifty-six
years ago, assembled our fathers in council, and -fifty-four
years ago they here adopted the Constitution and Discipline
under which, with some modifications, the Church has
lived and grown to its present proportions."
The Kev. W. S. Hammond, of the Maryland Conference,
was elected president, and Kev. S. K. Spahr, of the Ohio
Conference, secretary.
It was decided, after considerable discussion, that two-
thirds of the Annual Conferences had clothed their repre-
sentatives with conventional powers, and that the body was
fully authorized to make changes in the Constitution as
well as the Discipline of the Church. In the exercise of
this power, numerous changes were made in the Consti-
tution and Book of Discipline.
At an early stage in the business, Dr. G. B. McElroy
presented a communication from Bishops Simpson and
Harris, of the Methodist Episcopal Church, inviting the
General Conference of the Methodist Protestant Church
to take such action as would secure the participation of our
body in the approaching celebration of the Centennial
of the Methodist Episcopal Church in the United States.
The paper was referred to the Committee on Fraternal Re-
YEARS IN THE MINISTRY. 441
lations. The committee, at a subsequent time, made a re-
port which elicited considerable discussion, and which re-
sulted in the reference of the subject to a special committee,
whose report, after a spirited debate and several changes,
was adopted. The report, as adopted, recommended the
appointment of a Fraternal Commission of two ministers
and two laymen, to convey the fraternal greetings of our
Church to the Centennial Conference of the Methodist
Episcopal Church of 1884. We had been invited to become
a constituent part of that Conference; but this our Con-
vention declined, and resolved to remain outside and pre-
sent fraternal greetings. I was not favorable to this
action, and thought that we should have accepted the very
kind and respectful invitation extended to us. I submitted
to the action of the Convention, simply because I found
that no other action could be secured. The whole thing
was simply a matter of Christian courtesy, and was not
intended to imply in any way a renunciation of our eccle-
siastical principles. But not being able to secure such
action as I desired, I acquiesced in the action taken.
The Committee on Judiciary reported that at the fifty-
first session of the New York Annual Conference, Miss
Anna H. Shaw was elected to elder's orders, and received
ordination. This, the committee declared, was unauthor-
ized, and that her ordination was not entitled to recognition
in the Methodist Protestant Church. This report was
adopted, and the advocates of this view claim that, as it
was the action of a General Convention, it can not be re-
versed by the action of a General Conference; but only by
the action of a General Convention. The General Confer-
ence of 1892, however, reversed the action of the General
Convention of 1884, the highest body known in the Church,
and recognized the validity of female ordination. I simply
442 RECOLLECTIONS OF FIFTY
state the facts, and the further fact that I was not favor-
able to the action of the General Conference; but, from
.conscientious convictions, opposed it.
At the General Conference of 1884, I was again elected
editor of the Methodist Recorder for another quadrennium.
I had previously served in that position for nearly eleven
years, and I appreciated the evidence of confidence in me
which my election afforded.
My home during the Convention was with my old and
highly-esteemed friend and brother, Eev. J. J. Murray,
D. D., formerly pastor of the First Methodist Protestant
Church, Pittsburg, but then pastor of the St. John's Inde-
pendent Methodist Church, Baltimore. The Eev. J. L.
Michaux, editor of the Central Protestant, North Carolina,
whose acquaintance I formed thirty years before, and whom
I have always highly esteemed, together with Kev. W. H.
Phipps and Mr. William McCracken, Jr., Publishing Agent,
Pittsburg, Pa., shared with us the hospitality of Dr. Mur-
ray and his very agreeable and amiable family. Words
can not express our appreciation of the kind attentions we
received, and the pleasure which our association with so
many old friends afforded us. Those sunny days form a
bright spot in our recollection, to which we revert with
pleasure. We often think of the happy reunion of the
loved and saved ones in our Father's house of many man-
sions, to go no more out forever. Blessed hope!
In connection with Eev. L. W. Bates, Dr. J. W. Hering,
and F. H. Pierpont, I was appointed one of the commis-
sioners to bear the fraternal greetings of our Church to the
Centennial Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church.
The Conference met in the Mt. Vernon Place Methodist
Episcopal Church, Baltimore, December 10, 1884. It was
a large and imposing body, embracing the representatives
of the Methodist Episcopal Church, the Methodist Epis-
YEARS IN THE .W/.\7> //.'}'. 443
copal Church, South, the Independent Methodists, the
various colored Methodist Churches of this country, and
the Methodist Church of Canada. After the organization
of the Conference, Bishop Foster delivered the opening
sermon, which was fully up to the demands of the occa-
sion, and a credit both to the head and heart of the
preacher. It was a grand discourse; grand in its great
practical truths, which were presented with a clearness and
incisiveness which could not be surpassed. It was but
partly delivered, although the bishop spoke for two hours
and ten minutes, without wearying his audience, which
appeared to be willing to sit, had he gone on, that much
longer. The sermon, however, appeared in full in the
next morning's Centennial Daily. Many able papers were
read and discussed in the very best spirit, and the whole
atmosphere of the Conference was one of fraternity and
love. On Thursday afternoon one of the colored bishops
presided, and presided with becoming dignity. Several of
the colored members participated in the discussions during
the Conference, commanding as marked attention as any
other speakers, and sometimes being as enthusiastically ap-
plauded as any others. There was one subject which, when-
ever it was alluded to, called forth the greatest .applause;
it was the subject of Methodist unity. Of course, it was not
on the program, and was not formally discussed; but it was
often alluded to, and always with the same effect.
Thursday evening was set apart for the hearing of fra-
ternal delegates, no other service being held under the
direction of the Conference that evening, although on the
preceding evening services in the regular program had
been held in eleven churches. The only fraternal delegate
present, in addition to those from the Methodist Protestant
Church, was the Rev. Richard Thomas, of the Bible Chris-
tian body. The evening was wet and disagreeable; but a
444 RECOLLECTIONS OF FIFTY
large audience was present, and a very respectful hearing
was given to the addresses delivered on the occasion. In-
deed, the Conference could not have treated the fraternal
delegates with greater kindness and respect than it did.
I always 'believed that our Church should have been
represented in the Conference as one of the constituent
members of the body, and after attending for some days
upon its deliberations, I was more than ever convinced of
the correctness of my view. Our Church, in appearing as
it did, lost an opportunity which might have been im-
proved greatly to its advantage. The Conference was not
occupied with fulsome eulogies of Methodism, much less
of Episcopacy. While it properly recalled the important
facts in the history of Methodism, it devoted large atten-
tion to the presentation of broad plans and wise counsels
in regard to its future operations and success. No grander
ecclesiastical body ever assembled in this country, and its
influence was, no doubt, productive of good. The day is
past for any Church to succeed by exalting human theories
above Divine truth, and cultivating a spirit of narrow sec-
tarian bigotry, rather than the broad, catholic spirit of the
gospel.
A very amusing incident took place that evening in the
opening of the evening services. The senior bishop in the
chair had invited a very venerable-looking old brother
from the South to open the exercises with singing and
prayer. The Mt. Yernon Place Church had a grand organ
and an excellent choir. But it is presumed that the ven-
erable brother was not favorable to such modern inno-
vations; for, having read through the hymn, he repeated
the first two lines, and immediately, without waiting for
the organ and choir, started the tune himself. Having sung
the two lines, he repeated two more, when the great organ
struck up, and the choir chimed in, and when those lines
YEARS IN THE MINISTRY. 445
were sung, the organ would not stop; but poured forth its
pealing notes, and the choir seemed enthused with the
spirit of song, so that they ran away with the tune and
hymn. The old gentleman stood, and seemed to look on
in amazement. The situation appeared to be pretty gen-
erally comprehended, and every one seemed amused.
Bishop Foster, on whom my eye happened to fall, almost
shook his sides at the old brother's discomfiture. We
may have our own notions about things; but we can not
always control those who differ from us in opinion.
After the address of Brother Thomas, our delegation
was heard. Dr. Bates, in his address to the Conference,
said:
"A few years ago, in 1874 perhaps, by the earnest
invitation of Bishop Janes, I held an agreeable interview
with the Board of Bishops in this city, the entire Board
being present, I believe, with the exception of Bishop
Simpson, Bishop Foster, and Bishop Haven, and I do not
hesitate upon this occasion to refer to passages in that
pleasant interview.
"Bishop Janes asked me what I believed to be the chief
impediment to organic union, and, in reply to my answer,
said he believed my opinoin was correct. Bishop Ames
then asked me what impression it would make upon our
Church if the right of appeal were extended to elders,
leaving deacons and licentiates still absolutely in the hands
of the stationing authority. He would not say that it could
be done, but simply wished to know what impression such
a measure would make upon our people. I answered that
such a measure would make a profound impression upon
our Church. We have the right of appeal; but during a
membership of forty-four years in the Maryland Confer-
ence a Conference of one hundred and nine traveling
preachers, and eighty-six stations, circuits, and missions
446 RECOLLECTIONS OF FIFTY
I can not recall a half-dozen appeals during those forty-
four years.
"Bishop Peck asked me how the class-meetings were
attended in our Church. I told him that they were at-
tended just as they were in his Church; those who had
Methodist religion enough attended class, and those who
had not, neglected class-meeting. He then asked me what
plan I believed would be the most effective to bring about
the union of all the Methodists in the United States. I
answered: 'A joint Convention with equal powers; for every
branch represented in such a body would yield much more
than they would concede by mere negotiation/ He re-
plied, 'Yes; that is the most honorable way to do it.'
"Before I leave this point, I will take the liberty to
present to you a prediction by Eev. Nicholas Snethen,
Bishop Asbury's 'Silver Trumpet/ In 1834, Nicholas
Snethen and Asa Shinn were joint editors of our Church
paper, and in one of his editorials Mr. Snethen said: 'The
point of controversy is reduced to a unit a pure, un-
mixed question of representation. If we are true to it, if
we are not ashamed of it, it must finally prevail and prose-
lyte every Methodist in the United States. They may, in-
deed, remain Episcopal Methodists; but so sure as we are
not moved from our high calling, the whole lump will be
leavened into representative Methodists/ Thus, you see,
we once had a true prophet in our Zion; and as a son of
the prophets, I venture to predict that a union of American
Methodism is a foregone conclusion.
"We claim the credit of your lay delegation, and when
the union comes to pass and'lo, it will come we shall
claim the credit of that also/'
Dr. Hering's address was very chaste and pleasant, and
confined to the expression of fraternal regard.
YEA1M IX THE MINISTRY. 447
In my remarks, I said, among other things:
"Could it be demonstrated that a particular form of
Church government existed in apostolic times, it would
not necessarily follow that the same form of government
should always exist, under different circumstances and in
dill'erent conditions. The fact that Christ and his apostles
did not enjoin any particular form of Church government,
very clearly indicates that the whole subject of Church
order was left to the enlightened judgment of the Church,
and may be varied according to the varying circumstances
in which it may be placed. "We may safely conclude, then,
that men may honestly differ in regard to questions of
Church polity and discipline, but that these honest differ-
ences of opinion do not afford just cause for the alienation
of Christian brethren, especially when they agree in doc-
trine and the observance of the same means of grace. A
man who is not willing to accord to others the same rights
of conscience, and the same liberty in regard to prudential
regulations in the Church which are confessedly a matter
of individual judgment and preference that he claims for
himself, is a tyrant, however much he may boast of liberty.
But there are many men who overlook the unity of the
Churches in what is essentially saving and divine, and
magnify their differences in regard to non-essential things,
thereby producing alienation and strife.
"While recognizing the differences in matters of polity
between the Church which I, in part, represent, and most
of the Churches embraced in this Conference, I do not re-
gard these differences as sufficient to prevent the exercise
of that brotherly love, Christian fellowship, and general
co-operation that should exist between brethren of a com-
mon origin, a common faith, and of the same high and
Christian aims. While I love all of them, of every name
and order, who love our Lord Jesus Christ in sincerity and
448 RECOLLECTIONS OF FIFTY
truth, I have a special love for my Methodist brethren of
the different Methodist Churches, who agree with me on
the great doctrines of the gospel which are essential to the
salvation of the world. However others may feel, I desire
to act towards them in such a manner that, when I shall
meet them in heaven, I shall not be ashamed to look them
in the face.
"May we not hope, my dear brethren, that this Confer-
ence will exert a unifying influence on all the Methodist
Churches in this country, and lead them to magnify those
things wherein they agree, and minify those wherein they
differ? Christ is the great center of Divine attraction and
glory, and as lines drawn from a circumference to a com-
mon center continually approach each other, until they at
last unite, so as we draw nearer to Christ we shall draw
nearer to each other, until at last, either on earth or in
heaven, we shall be 'gathered together in one, even in Him.'
"I would be willing, Mr. President, to live to a great
age, if I could only see all the Methodist Churches in this
country sink out of sight the minor differences which sepa-
rate them, and, as my brother from Canada suggested this
afternoon, unite in one great Methodist Church."
From present indications I am inclined to think that
I would have to live to a very great age indeed, to be
permitted to see a union of all the Methodist Churches in
this country.
In the summer of 1884 there appeared a very sensa-
tional article in the Pittsburg Leader, which it styled, "A
Modern Miracle." It was the cure of a little boy by the
name of Albert Clemmer, of Eedstone Township, Fayette
County, near Brownsville, Pa. His father, Samuel Clem-
mer, was a saddle and harness maker, doing business in
Brownsville. His home was more than a mile from town,
situated in a little vale a quarter of a mile from the old
YEARS IN THE MINISTRY. 449
National Road. The reporter represented it as a pretty
place. He described his visit to it, and his meeting with
the little boy. He says: "He was a delicate-looking boy,
with a pale, intelligent face, black, bright eyes, and jet-
black hair. His limbs were slender; but he seemed graceful
in action. It was no use to ask him his name, as he was
at once known to be Albert Clemmer, from the description
of him. Mrs. Elizabeth Clemmer, his mother, is a comely
matron of forty-five, intelligent in speech, and pleasant in
manner. A pretty, black-eyed daughter, Gertrude, also
joined the company, when the following interesting facts
were elicited from the restored boy, who took a seat close
by. 'I have been sick for nearly three years, and in bed
for ten months. My left limb was drawn forward and my
head downward, so my chin touched my knee; my right
leg was bent straight back, and out of joint; my backbone,
they said, like the letter S. My left leg was paralyzed,
my right eye. was entirely blind, and I could just see day-
light with my left one. I had no appetite, and could
neither sit up in bed nor crawl. My pains were very great.
I had the dream at night, for three nights in succession.
I did not speak of the dream to ma until after the third
night. I dreamed that I was directed by God to go to
Pittsburg, where, on a big street full of people, I should
get the drugs. I thought I went into a drugstore, and got
the drugs and made the ointment, mixed in sweet-oil, as
directed, and that I got well in two days.' (The names of
the drugs his father had forbidden him to tell; but by dint
of persuasion, his mother gave them as follows: Xanth-
oxylum, filbrin, lupulin, xyris, euphorbium.) He con-
tinued: 'How I mixed them in proportion I am not allowed
to say now. I first told my mother and sister of my dream.
The drugs were mixed in sweet-oil. I asked pa to get me
the drugs, and he finally did so. He sent off for them.
29
450 RECOLLECTIONS OF FIFTY
When he brought them home, I could tell that they were
right by the smell. I made the ointment at ten A. M.
on Sunday. My mother and sister saw me with the drugs.'
Upon being asked if he thought they would cure him, he
said: 'I knew they would cure me, for God told me in my
dream they would. I mixed them in bed. At a quarter
to twelve my left or paralyzed limb was anointed with the
ointment. At twelve ma anointed my back. I then lay
till five P. M. I could not raise myself in bed. At that
time I was again anointed as before. I then lay till seven
A. M., Monday, when it was applied again. A bandage was
then put about my hips for half an hour. It was removed
by my direction, and tightened in a double band higher up,
and remained an hour. At twelve I stood up. There was
to be a throbbing in my back, so I would know when to try
to stand. When my paralyzed limb straightened out I suf-
fered awfully for about two minutes; at the same time my
back straightened and went to its place/ His sister said
that when his limbs were straightening out he cried out: '0
ma, God has made my legs the same length.' The boy con-
tinued as follows: 'God told me in my dream that when I
had done all he wanted he would cause a clap of thunder
overhead, which he did. There was a little white cloud
overhead. I went and saw it. God said in my dream that
when I first applied the ointment the limb would turn
purple, and it did; and then when the circulation started
it grew very hot and felt good. I have not had any pain
since I began to walk. I have walked continually since I
began. I can see well out of both eyes. I am thirteen years
old. I have a good appetite.' Upon wishing to see his
former afflicted parts, he refused, saying that no one was to
look at his body, according to his dream, for a certain num-
ber of weeks, when the shrunken limbs and breast would
be filled out. He had expected to walk a quarter of a mile
YEARS IN THE MINISTRY. 451
to a neighbor's house to-day; but sent word he would not
go, having company. Said he: 'I prayed to God frequently
to help me, and I believed that he would do so. When I
dreamed, I thought God said no man could cure me, and
that if I followed his directions I would get well. I will
never, never lose faith in the good God who has helped
me so. I am getting stronger day by day. My limbs are
filling out, my breast is fuller, and I feel well.' If ever a
boy told a plain, unvarnished tale, little Albert Clemmer
did, so truthful and honest is his countenance that its ex-
pression strikes one on sight. The boy had told his people
that there would be a clap of thunder when he was cured,
and the medicine was no longer needed. In speaking to his
mother, she said that what remained of the ointment had
been put away in a bottle, and the boy had forbidden any
one to touch or uncork it, alleging that it is dangerous.
The medicines unmixed were not strong; but when mixed
were almost unapproachable. The boy's case had been
looked into by several physicians, none of them giving her
any hope. When the boy's limbs and back straightened,
those about the bed could see the cords loosening and
twitching throughout his frame; all thought he was dying,
and the mother fainted and had to be taken from the room.
. . . .In religious matters his father had some 'go-as-
you-please' ideas of the existence of a God, and when the
boy began to mix the drugs he went off to his mother's
house, not believing in the boy's whim. When he saw his
son rise up and walk, he cried out, 'This is God's work,'
and now believes as the boy does. Said the mother: 'At first
my son complained of a pain in the back of the neck, then
it went down his back, then his left limb began to be para-
lyzed, and it kept bending him until from walking on
crutches and crawling he got past moving. I have taught
my son to pray and ask God to help him in trouble, and I
452 RECOLLECTIONS OF FIFTY
believe he did so.' When the writer departed, Albert arose
from his chair and walked to the door alone, and, extend-
ing his little hand, said: 'When you see me again I will
tell you more than I am allowed to now.' The writer went
away, convinced that something beyond earthly power had
transpired in that house. Either the Divine Hand had in-
terposed, or there has been a most wonderful and fortuitous
concurrence of circumstances. The writer called upon
Mr. Theodore Vankirk, a neighboring wealthy and very
intelligent farmer, known to nearly all Fayette County
people. In answer to the question as to whether he thought
there was anything in it, he said: 'I know there is; I have
known the boy and his condition, and it is the most won-
derful cure I ever heard of. I heard the clap of thunder,
and wondered whence it came; when, looking up, I saw
a little cloud, light in color, and over the house down
there (pointing to Clemmer's house). I have seen the boy
since, and I say there is more than man's hand in it.' Rev.
Nevin, pastor of the Presbyterian Church at Brownsville,
questioned the boy closely, and the reverend gentleman
says that since the time when Christ was on the earth
no such miracle had been performed. The Brownsville
physicians have for the most part visited the boy, and all
agree that the doctor who cured the lad is greater than
they. The mystery to physicians is how the boy, who knew
the names of no medicines in the world, could dictate the
medicine by name, and spell it properly. 'There are more
things in heaven and earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in
your philosophy." 1
The preceding marvelous statement appeared in the
Pittsburg Leader of June 19, 1884. I thought of inserting
it in the Recorder; but as the writer of it referred to the
Rev. Mr. Nevin, of Brownsville, I concluded, before doing
YEARS IN THE MINISTRY. 453
so, to send the article to him, and ask if its statements were
correct, which I did. Here is Mr. Nevin's answer:
"BROWNSVILLE, PA., June 24, 1884.
"BEV. JOHN SCOTT, D. D.:
"Dear Brother, Your note, together with the clipping
from the Leader, is just received. It is only necessary for
me to say that it is correct. I was just out with the pastor
of the First Methodist Episcopal Church of this place to
see the boy. He was away at the house of a neighbor, and
we saw him there. He is now about as well as he ever has
been. Eev. J. T. Steffy is the brother who was with me.
You might write to him, when you will have testimony
from one whom, I presume, you personally know. 'The
prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise
him up/ Why should it be thought a thing incredible?
"Very respectfully, W. G. NEVIN."
At Brother Nevin's suggestion, I wrote to Brother
Steffy, and here is his reply:
"BROWNSVILLE, PA., June 27, 1884.
"EEV. JOHN SCOTT:
"Dear Sir, Yours in reference to the Clemmer boy
to hand. The statement as to his helpless condition is
true. His dreaming of the remedies by their technical
names, ... is true. He was to mix them in olive-oil,
and apply at a quarter of and at twelve; and a quarter of
and at seven, and then walk, and in the presence of family
and neighbors [he] stretched out his limbs and walked.
I met him a few days ago at a neighbor's, one-fourth of a
mile from home, and he is still improving. His uncle,
II. S. Clemmer, told his mother, a few days previous to the
cure, that the boy must die in a few days. In the main, the
newspaper accounts are true; in detail, somewhat colored.
454 RECOLLECTIONS OF FIFTY
I confess I have been skeptical, and would explain every-
thing away on natural principles; but there are facts about
this case that won't down at our bidding. There is* no
doubt that the boy was distorted, suffering, growing sight-
less, and given up to die. He dreamed of remedies, fol-
lowed directions, and was cured. Truly,
"T. J. STEFFY."
This is a wonderful statement, and as given in the
Leader, is pronounced by Mr. Nevin to be correct, while
in some other papers its details, as Mr. Steffy states, may
have been somewhat colored. The main facts being ad-
mitted, how can we account for them? If we refer the
cure of this boy to the operation of mere natural causes,
we do so without sufficient reasons; for there are no natural
agencies of which we have any knowledge capable of bring-
ing about a result involving mental operations and the
acquirement of important knowledge while the senses are
locked up in sleep, as well as the previous knowledge of
natural phenomenon which no human wisdom can fore-
tell. But if we refer the cure in all its parts to the power
of God, the difficulty disappears; for with God nothing is
impossible. In other ages he gave evidence of his power
by performing miraculous cures beyond the power of hu-
man skill to effect; and where has he told us that he will
not do so again? In such an age of skepticism and unbelief
as this, may there not be sufficient reasons why God should,
as in olden time, give, as he may see fit, some special evi-
dence of his Divine power? "We are willing that everything
that can be explained on natural principles, and in har-
mony with physical laws, shall be so explained. But, after
all, we hold that there is a God that doeth wonders in the
earth, and that he is to judge when circumstances justify
the special interposition of his power. That God can cure
YEARS IN THE MINISTRY. 455
the sick, with or without means, in answer to prayer, we
do not doubt; but in this, as in other things, except for
special reasons known only to himself, he works through
ordinary means. But that he will cure all sickness in
answer to prayer it is foolish to assert. Paul prayed thrice
for the removal of the thorn out of his flesh; but his prayer,
in that form, was not answered. All men must die. There
is a sickness that is unto death, from which no prayer can
deliver. If it were not so, men in answer to prayer would
in the flesh become immortal.
456 RECOLLECTIONS OF FIFTY
CHAPTER XXXVIII.
Visit to Bethel Sacred Associations Communion Reception
of Members Among the Graves of the Departed Rela-
tivesRobert and Charles Scott My Father and Mother-
Other Cherished Names Sheep-shearing Pastoral Life
Scenes in the Holy Land Crossing the Jordan.
PASSING over a year or two which contained nothing
but the ordinary routine of duty and labor, and a few
things which should be forgotten rather than remembered,
I can not refrain from noticing a visit to my early home,
which was of much interest to me, if to no one else; and
yet it may possibly be of some interest to others.
Ever since Jacob slept at Bethel, and in divine vision
saw a ladder set on the earth, with its top reaching to
heaven, and the angels of God ascending and descending
upon it, the name has been invested with more than ordi-
nary sacredness. But before I was old enough to know
much of the place where Jacob slept, with a stone for his
pillow, another Bethel, scarcely half a mile from where I
was born, became associated in my thoughts with all that
was sacred and divine. There was Old Bethel, and then,
after the organization of the Methodist Protestant Church,
there was New Bethel, but a few rods distant. Old Bethel
has entirely disappeared, and New Bethel now stands alone
as the one central place of worship for the neighborhood.
This Bethel is not located at the place Luz; but in a far
more fertile region in Washington County, Pennsylvania.
For more than eighty years God has had a house and an
altar here, and through him, whom Jacob's ladder pre-
figured, uninterrupted communication has been kept up be-
tween earth and heaven. For many years I have made
YEARS IN THE MINISTRY. 457
annual, and sometimes more frequent, visits to that sacred
place, where my fathers worshiped, and where, in the
adjacent graveyard, many that I knew and loved sweetly
sleep in Jesus.
On the 14th day of May, 1887, 1 visited my early home
to assist Brother William A. Eush at his quarterly com-
munion at Bethel. The occasion was one of much interest.
There were large congregations, and a very large com-
munion on the Sabbath. Four persons were received into
full membership, in one of whom my youngest son, Albert
E. Scott I felt the deepest and most tender interest. God
had blessed the faithful labors of Brother Bush, and given
him success and favor in the eyes of the people. Brother
Bush is one of the younger members of the Conference,
having been received at the session of 1881, held in Amity,
Pa. He is a good preacher, a faithful pastor, and a con-
sistent Christian, and commands the love and respect of
all who know him.
After speaking to the living, it was natural enough to
recall the memories of the dead, with many of whom I had
associated and worshiped in former years. One among the
first books I ever bought was Hervey's "Meditations Among
the Tombs." The title, to many persons, is suggestive of
unpleasant thoughts; but although it is nearly sixty years
since I read the book, my recollection is that the style was
pleasing, and to a Christian mind the meditations were by
no means disagreeable. Indeed, to the Christian death is
not the king of terrors, for to him he has lost his enven-
omed sting. Christ has consecrated the grave, and by his
rising has burst its barriers and scattered its gloom. My
meditations among the graves of my fathers were not dis-
agreeable. There was something pleasing in the retro-
spect, and also in the prospect. There are sacred memo-
ries and sacred hopes which we delight alike to cherish.
458 RECOLLECTIONS OF FIFTY
Among the graves I found were those of two brothers,
Bobert Scott and Charles Scott. My grandmother, on the
paternal side, Susan Scott, who married a Scott, was their
sister. Eobert died in 1821, at the age of nearly seventy.
His wife, Catharine, who lies by his side, died in 1837, in
the eighty-sixth year of her age. The family were Irish,
and had some of the peculiarities of their countrymen.
Eobert died in my infancy. I never saw him; but in my
boyhood I heard some amusing anecdotes of him. Among
others, was this:
He had a young horse that he was breaking to the
saddle, and he was anxious to know whether it would be
easily frightened or not, and concluded to test the matter
in a practical way. Accordingly, he directed his son,
Eobert, to go out along the lane and hide in a fence-corner,
and when he came along riding on the colt, to jump out
and say, "booh!" This plan was carried out effectually.
When the old gentleman reached the place where Eobert
.was concealed, he jumped out and said, "booh!" The colt
was greatly frightened, and threw its rider, considerably
shaking up the old gentleman. But gathering himself up,
and addressing his son, he said very earnestly, "Ah, Eobbin,
that was too big a 'booh' for a filly." There are many
things in this world that are overdone. The experiment
of the old gentleman was not, perhaps, a very philosophical
one; but there are many men, esteemed very wise, who are
experimenting on subjects of a far more serious character,
involving far more serious consequences, but which are
not any more successful.
Eobert Scott, who was the innocent cause of his father's
discomfiture, had a large family of sons and daughters.
Four of his daughters married Methodist preachers. Pa-
mela married "Eev. Eobert Hopkins, D. D.; Catharine mar-
ried Eev. Hamilton Cree; Eachel married Eev. George B.
YEARS IN THE MINISTRY. 459
Hudson; and Mary married Rev. Edward Hunter. They
are all dead except Mrs. Hopkins and Mr. Hudson.
Charles Scott, the other brother, was a local preacher,
and died in 1840, in the eighty-ninth year of his age. He
was the grandfather of the Rev. George M. Scott, for many
years a member of the Iowa Conference of the Methodist
Protestant Church. His wife, Annas, died sixteen years
before him, aged seventy years. He preached a great deal,
and never softened the truths of the gospel to suit the
carnal tastes of his hearers. If he knew of any prevailing
sins, those were the sins he denounced, and generally with
such plainness of speech that there was no misunderstand-
ing of his meaning. He was not a learned and cultured
man in the modern sense, but possessed a great deal of
good common sense, accompanied with a sparkle of Irish
wit. He often preached in Wellsburg, Virginia (now West
Virginia), and Philip Dodridge, who resided there, and
who was one of the most eminent lawyers of his time, a
compeer of the celebrated Charles Hammond, and brother
of Rev. Joseph Dodridge, author of "Notes on Virginia,"
always went to hear him preach, and often said that he
liked to hear the Irishman; for, although he sometimes
blundered, he got more ideas from him than from most
men whom he heard. By the way, ideas are not a bad thing
in a sermon.
As the old gentleman advanced in years, his memory
became somewhat impaired, which sometimes led to amus-
ing results. On one occasion he had an appointment to
preach in a private house near Burgetstown. He had never
been there, did not know the way with certainty, and, un-
fortunately for him, he had forgotten the name of the
gentleman at whose house he was to preach, so that he did
not know for whom to inquire. In the midst of his per-
plexity he overtook a gentleman and lady on foot, going
460 RECOLLECTIONS OF FIFTY
in the same direction as himself. He kindly spoke to them,
and after some remarks, begged leave to ask them where
they were going. They informed him that they were going
to a certain place to preaching. He inquired who was to
preach, and they informed him Mr. Scott. He then in-
quired the way. They gave him the proper directions, and
he reached his appointment in good time.
He preached his last sermon, by special appointment,
in Bethel, and he requested all his relatives in the neighbor-
hood to be present. His friends turned out to hear him,
and it was said there were twenty-one Scotts of the third
generation present.
In company with his grandson, Rev. G. M. Scott, I
watched with him the night he died. He was perfectly
self-possessed, and conversed with us freely, and apparently
with ease. He informed us of the first sermon he heard
preached in this country, and of the manner in which the
preacher handled his subject. He spoke of great preachers
whom he had heard, and of the greatest sermon he thought
he had ever heard. He gave us good advice, worthy of a
dying patriarch. I left him about twelve o'clock at night,
and in about two hours afterward he was dead. He was a
man of sterling character, of great moral courage, and
neither feared the frown nor courted the favor of any.
A short distance from the graves of these two brothers
and their wives are the graves of my sainted father and
mother, John and Frances Scott. My father was a class-
leader and exhorter in the Church, and his house had been
a preaching-place for the Methodists, and a home for Meth-
odist preachers in Ireland, long before I was born. He
died on the 19th day of December, 1833, aged fifty years
and ten days. There was no obituary written of him. In-
deed, it was not customary then, except in special cases,
YEARS IN THE MINISTRY. 461
to publish obituaries of deceased friends. But his record
is on high. My mother, who sleeps by his side, was one of
the best of Christian women. She survived my father forty-
two years, and died on the 1st day of August, 1875, in the
ninety-fourth year of her age. She had been a Christian
for more than seventy years, and died in peace. There
was no obituary written of her. Her pastor did not see fit
to do it, and her children left the matter to him, and did
not interfere. Indeed, it would be well if fewer obituaries
were written. When, as editor of our Church paper, I re-
ceived so many obituaries, and some of them quite lengthy,
even of children, and of persons who were not even identi-
fied with the Church, I often thought of my parents, whose
lives of Christian devotion were worthy of imitation, who
went up to heaven without any obituaries being written of
them. But their rest is as sweet, and their children are as
fully assured that they are with the Lord, as if high eulogies
had been written upon them.
Another grave that attracted my attention was that of
Miss Nancy McNeely, who died April 22, 1834, in the
twenty-third year of her age. She was an orphan, and pos-
sessed of considerable property. She was educated at Dr.
Beatty's Seminary, Steubenville, Ohio, and after her gradu-
ation became a teacher in the school. She bequeathed all
her property to Dr. Beatty; but in her sickness was brought
to Robert Pogue's, near Bethel, whose wife was a distant
relative of hers, where she died. Dr. Beatty erected a
tombstone at her grave, of sandstone, which was originally
about two and a half or three feet high, about sixteen
inches broad, and perhaps two inches thick. The ground
had been thrown up around it, and it then stood about
twenty inches above ground. The back of the stone was
Scaling off, and before many years it will disappear. Dr.
462 RECOLLECTIONS OF FIFTY
Beatty, who received her fortune, should have placed a
more permanent monument at her grave. She died tri-
umphantly.
I found two other graves side by side those of James
Patterson and his wife, Sarah. James Patterson died
August 31, 1849, in the ninety-second year of his age.
His wife died a few months before him, on January 8, 1849,
in the eighty-fourth year of her age. A little distance from
these graves are those of John Patterson and his wife.
John Patterson died October 29, 1849, in the eighty-sev-
enth year of his age. His wife, Jane, died eighteen years
before him, on August 5, 1831, aged fifty-four years.
James and John Patterson were brothers, but very different
in disposition and temperament. James was a man of
clear, strong mind, gentle spirit, and great self-possession.
He was a man of deep piety, and a wise and safe counselor.
I had the pleasure from a boy of numbering him among
my warm friends. After I commenced preaching, he al-
ways called me "Johnnie," as he had been in the habit of
doing from my childhood. He said I was too young for
him to call me '"'brother," and "Mr." was too cold an appel-
lation. His brother was a man of warm temperament,
great energy, and devoted to business. He, too, was a mem-
ber of the Church, and a professor of religion, but not so
devoted and self-sacrificing as his brother.
In the early days of Methodism in that neighborhood,
as was the case in many other places, the people had preach-
ing only on week-days. It was related of John and James
Patterson, that on a certain preaching-day in the neighbor-
hood both were plowing, and had marked out "lands," or
pieces of ground, of the same size in the morning, each
plowing his own "land." James resolved to go to preach-
ing, but John thought he could not spare the time, and
YEARS IN THE MINISTRY. 463
plowed on. James went to preaching, returned, and re-
sumed his plowing, and finished his "land" as soon as his
brother John, having plowed as much and gone to preach-
ing, too. There was nothing marvelous in this. James was
so anxious to go to preaching that he worked with greater
vim and energy while he was at it, and thus overcame his
loss of time, as his brother thought, while he was at preach-
ing. It is wonderful what an earnest purpose can accom-
plish, especially when that purpose is in the right direction.
A little distance from these are the graves of John and
Nancy Elliott. John Elliott, Sr., died December 20, 1835,
aged seventy-eight. Nancy, his wife, preceded him a little
over six years, having died August 2, 1828, in her sixty-
first year. He was a small man, a devoted and enthusiastic
Christian, consistent in life, an Israelite indeed, in whom
was no guile.
Not far from these are two other graves those of John
and Jane Cassidy. John Cassidy died March 23, 1868, in
the eighty-sixth year of his age. * His wife died less than a
year before him, on July 8, 1867. Mr. Cassidy was a man
of strong convictions, of great conscientiousness, and of
deep piety.
All these, with the exception of Miss McNeely, were
members of the Methodist society of Bethel, and all of
them, except she and Robert Scott, who died before its
organization, became members of the Methodist Protestant
Church. The great age, with one or two exceptions, to
which they all attained, is worthy of note, and also the fact
that none of them re-married. But they are only a few of
a great host of worthies who were members of that society,
and many of whom sleep sweetly there, till Jesus shall
bid them rise. But time would fail me to tell of the scores
who, from this Bethel on earth, have gone up to the Bethel
464 RECOLLECTIONS OF FIFTY
above. If I am ever so happy as to reach the Father's
house of many mansions, I shall not enter it as a stranger.
"There's rest at home, there's joy at home,
And many I love are there;
They wait with sweet songs for me to come,
Their glory and bliss to share."
My visit happened to he in the time of sheep-shearing,
a time that has heen fraught with interest from the earliest
ages. The raising and caring of sheep has heen an im-
portant industry from the very infancy of our race. Abel,
the second son of Adam, was "a keeper of sheep." For
what particular purpose he kept them we do not know.
It is probable that they were principally kept for food.
Our first parents were in the beginning clothed with the
skins of animals; but we can hardly suppose that the skins
of sheep, at least in their natural condition, could have
been used for that purpose. The nature of the climate was
such that, in their state of innocence, they were perfectly
comfortable without clothing. The wearing of sheep-
skins, in almost any form, in such a climate, would doubt-
less have been attended with great discomfort. The skins
may have been used for the covering of tents, as they were
afterwards used by the Israelites for the covering of the
tabernacle in the wilderness. Whether Abel had learned at
that -early day to utilize the wool of his sheep for any valu-
able purpose, is a question we have no means of deter-
mining.
At what time the practice of shearing sheep was intro-
duced is a fact which history has not recorded. We find,
long before the Israelites went down into Egypt, about one
thousand seven hundred years before Christ, that the prac-
tice existed among the patriarchs. We read of Judah hav-
ing sheep-shearers at Timnath, and of his going to see
YEARS IN THE MINISTRY. 465
them in company with his friend Hirah. Long after that,
in the time of David's persecution by Saul, we read of
Nabal, a man of Maon, who had large possessions in Cannel,
and among other things three thousand sheep and a thou-
sand goats; and when David fled from Saul, after the death
of Samuel, Nabal was shearing his sheep in Carmel. The
treachery of Absalom, in causing his servants to slay his
brother Amnon on account of his conduct toward his sister
Tamar, when he had sheep-shearers at Baalhazor, will at
once suggest itself to the mind of every Bible-reader.
While hearing some of the shearers complain of the
inferior character of their shears, and knowing, both from
observation and experience, that the best quality of steel
is necessary to produce a pair of shears that will give satis-
faction, I could not help thinking of the state of perfec-
tion to which metallurgy and the use of metals must have
been brought in those early days referred to, to enable men
to produce shears with which one could shear sheep at
all. We hear a great deal of boasting about the intelligence
and knowledge of "this nineteenth century," and the won-
derful achievements which men have made in the arts and
sciences, and I would not detract one iota from the just
claims of modern discovery; but while this is the case, we
must not suppose that men were less capable in those early
days than they are at present; but their minds were exer-
cised about fundamental and necessary things, a knowl-
edge of which underlies all the achievements of modern
times, and the discovery of which, under the circumstances,
required, perhaps, as much penetration as the seemingly
marvelous discoveries of the present day. The men who
could build the pyramids, and erect the obelisks of Egypt,
and embalm their dead so as to preserve their remains for
thousands of years, were men of no mean intelligence, and
not to be sneered at by our modern Solons, who seem to
30
466 RECOLLECTIONS OF FIFTY
think that all who preceded them were, comparatively,
fools. The fact is, the more we learn of antiquity, the more
we are led to admire the wisdom and achievements of the
ancients. I should not wonder if Judah's sheep-shearers
at Timnath had shears that answered their purpose quite
as well as those do which are furnished to sheep-shearers at
the present day.
"Washington County, Pennsylvania, is celebrated for its
valuable flocks, and for the superior quality of its wool;
yet there are few persons in the county, if any, who have as
many sheep as JSTabal had at Carmel. Indeed, the flocks
are not nearly so large there now as they were some years
ago, on account of the low price of wool for the last few
years, and especially of the finer qualities or grades of
wool, such as are produced in this county. The wool-
growers claim that this industry does not receive proper
protection from the Government; that foreign wools are
allowed to be imported at such a low duty that the native
clip does not command a remunerative price. I do not
pretend to know much about these questions of Govern-
mental policy; but I know that sheep-raising and wool-
growing are by no means as profitable as they were a few
years ago, and as a consequence the number of sheep is
diminishing, and farmers are compelled to turn their at-
tention to other industries to which the soil is not so well
adapted.
Sheep-raising in this country has never been carried
to the same extent that it was in Palestine and adjoining
countries. Sir John Chardin, whose manuscript notes are
quoted by Mr. Harmer and others, says that he saw a clan
of Turkoman shepherds whose flocks numbered three mill-
ion sheep and goats. This great number did not belong to
one individual, but to a clan, or tribe, of quite a consider-
able number. Job, before his affliction, had seven thousand
YEARS IN THE MINISTRY. 467
sheep, and after his affliction God wonderfully prospered
him, and the number of his sheep increased to fourteen
thousand. Jacob, no doubt, had large flocks, which re-
quired a large range of pasturage to meet their necessities;
hence his sheep, under the care of his sons, were often
pastured at a considerable distance from home. When
Joseph was sent by his father from the vale of Hebron
to visit his brethren, he found them pasturing their flocks
in Dothan, not far from Shechem. In those ancient times
sheep were always attended by a shepherd, and sometimes
more than one. He watched over them by day and night,
and protected them from beasts of prey, to whose attacks
they were constantly exposed. In this country sheep are
not thus attended, because they are not exposed to the
same dangers. They are assorted into flocks of different
sizes, and placed in different pastures, salted, and changed
from pasture to pasture as circumstances require. The
owner in caring for them is not, like Jacob when he kept
the flocks of Laban, parched by drought during the day
and by frost at night. Sometimes, in this country, dogs
attack and injure the sheep by night, but not often.
There is something very agreeable in pastoral life, and
most persons take pleasure in attending to their flocks.
Sheep are very innocent and harmless animals, and afford a
pattern of meek and patient endurance. The prophet uses
this fact to illustrate the character of the blessed Savior,
who was "led as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep be-
fore her shearers is dumb, so he opened not his mouth."
Shearers sometimes handle the sheep very roughly; but
ordinarily they submit to this without resistance, and
meekly and patiently endure.
There are more illustrations of Christian life and char-
acter drawn from the pastoral vocation in the Bible than
from any other. The psalmist declares, "The Lord is my
468 RECOLLECTIONS OF FIFTY
Shepherd; I shall not want. He maketh me to lie down in
green pastures; he leadeth me beside the still waters."
Christ represents himself as the Good Shepherd, who careth
for the sheep who has even laid down his life for the
sheep. He said to Peter, 'Teed my sheep feed my lambs."
Every child of God is embraced in the fold of the Ee-
deemer, and will be protected and preserved by him.
Dr. Thomson, in "The Land and the Book," gives an
acount of a shepherd and his flock, which he once saw
crossing a river between Damur and Sidon. He says that
the shepherd went before, and the sheep followed him.
"Not all in the same manner, however. Some enter boldly,
and come straight across. These are the loved ones of the
flock, who keep hard by the footsteps of the shepherd,
whether sauntering through green meadows, by the still
waters, feeding upon the mountains, or resting at noon
"beneath the shadow of great rocks. And now others enter,
but in doubt and alarm. Far from their guide, they miss
the ford, and are carried down the stream, some more,
some less; and yet, one by one, they all struggle over and
make good their landing." "I once saw," he continues,
"flocks crossing the Jordan 'to Canaan's fair and happy
land/ and then the scene was even more striking and im-
pressive. The river was broader, the current stronger, and
the flocks larger, while the shepherds were more pictur-
esque and Biblical. The catastrophe, too, with which many
poor sheep were threatened of being swept down into
that mysterious sea of death which swallows up the Jordan
itself was more solemn and suggestive." ,,
This may well illustrate the final scene through which
we all must pass. The crossing of the Jordan is before us.
The Good Shepherd is leading us to its "stormy banks;"
but we know that if we keep close to his side, we need not
fear to enter its "cold stream," for he will conduct us
YEARS IN THE MINISTRY. 469
safely over, and we shall rest with him in peace on the
farther shore. We may well say with the psalmist, "Though
I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will
fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff
they comfort me."
That visit was a pleasant and refreshing one, and I
returned to my post of duty strengthened and encouraged.
C.WILSQN,
470 RECOLLECTIONS OF FIFTY
CHAPTER XXXIX.
Conference at Burnside Bell's Gap Railroad Ride by Moon-
light Election of Delegates General Conference at Ad-
rian D. S. Stephens elected Editor Retirement Closing
Remarks Numerous Letters Touching One Kind Words
of Brother Editors The Interior A Week Unemployed-
Appointed a Supply Conference at New Cumberland-
Made a Station Appointed to that Charge "Arthur and
Hattie" Visit to Springfield Remarkable Case of Mr.
Goode.
IN the fall of 1887 the Pittsburg Conference met in
Burnside, Clearfield County, Pennsylvania. The great
majority of the members, in reaching the seat of the Con-
ference, passed over the Pennsylvania Central Eailroad
to Bell's Mills, one hundred and twenty-four miles east of
Pittsburg, and then over the BelFs Gap Eailroad for thirty-
seven miles, to Newburg, and from there in wagons, bug-
gies, and carriages, a distance of eight miles, to Burnside,
making in all one hundred and sixty-nine miles from
Pittsburg, and, with the delays we experienced, occupying
the whole day.
The BelFs Gap Eailroad was built principally as a
means of reaching the coal-fields and lumber region near
and beyond the summit of the mountain. This road pre-
sented great engineering difficulties in its construction.
For heavy grades, sharp curves, and the height to which it
ascends the mountain in such a short distance, it has no
competitor in the eastern section of our country.
Starting from Bell's Mills, seven miles east of Altoona,
this remarkable road threads its serpentine way up the
mountain's side, over gorges and torrents, around sharp
YEARS IN THE MINISTRY. 471
curves and steep inclines to the coal-fields at the mountain
top. The distance to the summit is nine miles, and every
mile reveals some of the grandest and wildest scenery of the
Alleghany Mountains. The grade in some places, we were
told, is one hundred and seventy feet to the mile. As the
panting engine strains up* precipitous heights, twists
around sharp curves, and glides over high enbankments,
the passenger's nerves are severely tried; but alarm gives
way to wonder and admiration. Here a beetling precipice
seems about to break from its moorings; there one looks
down into a gorge, seemingly thousands of feet deep,
through which a rushing torrent dashes its silver flood.
Here the skill of the engineer has constructed a path for
the track high above the solid earth, which, contrasted
with the majesty of nature around it, seems as frail as a
spider's web; there, above and below, is the dark mass of
the mountain, covered by primitive forest, and cracked into
gaping fissures, dotted with mighty boulders, grand in the
wild ruggedness of untamed nature. With every step of the
journey interest intensifies, so that it is hard to decide
whether the views from the ascent or the summit are the
grandest.
Near the summit of the mountain a resort, called
Rhododendron Park, has been laid out, and equipped with
all the conveniences of a picnic ground. Mountain springs
form pretty little lakes; rustic bridges span the sparkling
streams, and a beautiful fountain scatters its spray amid
green bowers. Pavilions and tables are provided for the
use of excursionists. The park is surrounded with a wild
tangle of mountain laurel, presenting, when in full bloom,
a magnificent spectacle.
I have frequently passed over the Pennsylvania Central
Road, with its "Horseshoe Bend" and other magnificent
mountain views, and over the Baltimore & Ohio Road, which
472 RECOLLECTIONS OF FIFTY
also presents some magnificent mountain scenery; but no-
where have I seen anything to compare with the bold, weird
scenery brought successively to view in the zigzag windings
of the Bell's Gap Bailroad, in its ascent to the summit of
the Alleghany Mountain. To a lover of nature's grandeur,
a view of this magnificent sctnery would more than com-
pensate for the cost of a trip across the mountains. I
doubt whether many travelers to foreign lands see anything
in their travels more grand than the views here presented.
A ride of eight miles by moonlight in a country hack,
concluded a day's journey of no little interest.
The session of the Conference at Burnside was the one
immediately preceding the session of the General Confer-
ence, and elected delegates to that body. This matter had
occupied the attention of some of the members for a con-
siderable time, and the election was quite spirited.
For reasons which I deemed entirely satisfactory, I
did not visit any of the Conferences that fall, except the
Pittsburg Conference.
At the General Conference in Adrian in 1888, 1 retired
from the editorship of the Methodist Recorder, after a
service in that position, at two different times, of nearly
fifteen years. Eev. D. S. Stephens, D. D., president of
Adrian College, was elected to take my place.
Immediately after the General Conference I turned over
to my successor all my editorial responsibilities, and prof-
fered him any aid I might be able to render him in his
new position.
In retiring from the duties of editor, I said, among
other things: "We have kept the paper true to the doc-
trines and traditions of Methodism and of the Methodist
Protestant Church, and we are pleased to know that the
Methodist Recorder never had a better subscription-list, nor
stood better with its readers than now. Every enlargement
YEARS IN THE MINISTRY. 473
and improvement made in the Recorder within a quarter
of a century has been made under our editorial supervision,
and it is with- no little degree of satisfaction that we are
able to turn it over to our esteemed successor in such a
prosperous condition. We trust he will be able to increase
its prosperity, and carry it forward to a still higher degree
of excellence."
Upon my retirement as editor I received many kind
letters from many persons, expressing appreciation and
regret, and saying even complimentary things, which it
would be improper here to insert. Such expressions, how-
ever, were very agreeable, and showed that my labors had
not been without appreciation. Several of my brethren of
the press were pleased to notice my retirement, and to say
kind things of me. I can not, of course, give these ex-
pressions here; and still I can not resist the inclination
to insert a single specimen of them. Dr. Gray, editor of the
Interior, Chicago, gave the following brief notice:
"Bev. Dr. John Scott retires from the editorial chair
of the Methodist (Protestant) Recorder of Pittsburg. In
closing his adieu, he says:
" 'As the sun declines and the shadows lengthen, and
the time for labor lessens, we would quicken our pace and
improve the closing hours of day before the twilight deep-
ens and the time for work is past. We know not what is
before us; but if it is the Father's will, we would go from
active service to join the victor throng who have been
faithful to the end.'
"Dr. Scott was editor of the Recorder before that beau-
tiful and brilliant character, Alexander Clark, came to its
tripod. At his death Dr. Scott again resumed the editor-
ship, and now after long and faithful and acceptable serv-
ices retires. The words we quote from his valedictory will
touch the heart of many a worker who is on the down-
474 RECOLLECTIONS OF FIFTY
grade of life 'quicken our pace and improve the closing
hours of the day before twilight deepens and the time for
work is past.' Beautifully said! Heroic words! Not the
rest that an old man feels entitled to claim; but the full
and busy employment of the golden hours of sunset for
the dear Master. A few months before his death the vener-
able Dr. Plumer said to us: 'My time is so short, and I
have so much to do.' Brother Scott's words will come as
a reproof to many of us. I have said: 'Let the boy do the
work I have done my share, and now I propose to take it
easy.' Perhaps Brother Allison said as much also.* Now
we should reconsider, and say: 'Let us quicken our pace,
and improve the closing hours.' ' :
Equally kind were the words of many of our late con-
freres of the religious press.
For about one week in forty-six years I was without
regular employment in the Church. But in about a week's
time I was appointed by the president of the Pittsburg
Conference to fill out the unexpired term of Brother M. L.
Jennings, who, on account of illness, had resigned the
charge of the First Church, Eighteenth Street, Southside,
Pittsburg.
The session of the Pittsburg Conference of 1888 was
held in New Cumberland, W. Va. It is a manufacturing
town, and the seat of justice for Hancock County. We
had a good Church there, which had been connected with
Manchester Circuit; but at that session it was set off as a
station, and I was appointed to that charge, where I re-
mained for three years.
When we went to New Cumberland, there was a great
business "boom" in the town, and as the Church at that
time had no parsonage, I found it almost impossible to
* Dr. Allison, of the Presbyterian Banner, Pittsburg, had shortly be-
fore lost a promising son,
YEARS IN THE MINISTRY. 475
obtain a house. At last I secured part of a house from
Mr. Arthur Stewart, who, with his wife, occupied the other
part. They were a young married couple, and were as
kind to us as our own children could have been. I had the
pleasure of receiving them both into the Church, with a
good many others, during my pastorate there. "Arthur
and Hattie," as we familiarly called them, endeared them-
selves to us, and will ever retain a warm place in our affec-
tions. Although hampered by lack of room, we did not
move till we left the place. We had many excellent mem-
bers there, among whom were the Smiths, the Stewarts,
the Donagans, the Bradleys, the McGrews, the Coopers,
and many others. The Church has prospered, and is one
of our most pleasant charges.
At that session B. F. Saddler, A. E. Fletcher, A. E.
Rush, and F. N. Foster were received into the Conference.
They are good and faithful men, who will make full proof
of their ministry. Brother Foster came by transfer from
the Genesee Conference.
At the Conference which met in Springdale, Pa., in
1889, E. B. Whitehead, a graduate of Adrian College, was
received and loaned for one year to the New York Con-
ference. At the end of that time he returned to the Pitts-
burg Conference, and is one of the most active and earnest
laborers in the Conference.
In 1890 the Pittsburg Conference met again in Amity,
Pa. Brother J. F. Dyer was elected president, and after
serving acceptably that year was re-elected the following
year. Brother Dyer is a devoted Christian man, earnest
and faithful in the performance of duty, a good preacher,
and an excellent pastor. He has the confidence of his
brethren, and has not only served as president, but also for
several years as secretary. He is a man of sweet spirit, and
always affable and gentlemanly in his bearing. At that
476 RECOLLECTIONS OF FIFTY
Conference Robert McGarvey and J. M. McCormick were
received as licentiates.
In May, 1891, my wife and I made a visit to Spring-
field, Ohio. While there I took occasion to inquire into
some particulars connected with the last sickness and death
of Frank C. Goode, Esq., son of Judge James Goode, of
that city. I had learned something of the matter from
my son, and also from Miss Bowman, with whom I had
traveled some time before from Springfield to Pittsburg
on the cars; but being in. Springfield, 1 concluded to get
the facts from first hands. Judge Goode was for many
years one of the leading lawyers in Ohio, and for one or
two terms judge of the Circuit Court. I knew him very
well when I resided in Springfield, and frequently met him
afterwards, as my oldest son was for several years associ-
ated with him in the practice of law. He was, I believe,
a member of the Second Presbyterian Church, of Spring-
field. His son, Frank, had studied law in his father's
office, and entered successfully upon its practice. He was
a young man of fine mind, correct habits, studious, and
devoted to his profession. He was a married man, and at
the time of his death was about thirty-five years of age.
He had been quite successful in his profession, and had
accumulated considerable property. He was an attendant
on the services of the Second Presbyterian Church, of
which Dr. Fullerton was pastor, but was not a member.
He was very popular, and one of the most promising young
men at the Springfield bar.
Wishing to learn the particulars of young Mr. Goode's
death, I called on Dr. John Eodgers, his physician, and
Dr. Fullerton, his pastor.
Dr. Eodgers informed me that Mr. Goode was taken ill
with typhoid-fever; but in the bginning of his illness he
did not regard the case as serious; that one evening, after
YEARS IN THE MINISTRY. 477
the gas had been lighted, while his wife was standing by
his bedside, and his eyes wide open, he instantly seemed
to lose all sensibility and consciousness. He was immedi-
ately summoned, and was soon at his bedside. He said that,
to all appearance Mr. Goode was dead. There were no
signs of life perceptible. He remained in that condition
for about an hour, when in an instant he regained con-
sciousness, and requested the gas to be turned up. Dr.
Rodgers said that for a moment he appeared slightly agi-
tated; but almost immediately became perfectly composed.
He said he never knew a man who had such perfect self-
control as Mr. Goode.
Next morning when the doctor called to see him, his
trained nurse, a very intelligent man from Cincinnati, was
walking back and forth before the house, taking a little
fresh air, and he remarked to the doctor that Mr. Goode
had had a vision the night before. The doctor passed in,
and, after making a few inquiries of his patient, Mr. Goode
said: "Doctor, I was in the other world last night, and T
saw hell, and no mind can conceive nor tongue express
its horrors." Dr. Rodgers, as he told me, replied: ''Mr.
Goode, you are a very sick man; I want you to get well;
we will not talk about this now; but at another time when
you are stronger." This terminated the conversation on
the subject. The doctor said he did not wish to talk with
him then about the matter, lest it might excite and injure
him.
Dr. Rodgers said that throughout Mr. Goode's entire
sickness his mind was never affected in the slightest dc
either before or after the above occurrence. As an evidence
of this fact, he said, when he found that Mr. Goode could
not recover, he told him that if he had any business to
arrange, he had better attend to it. Mr. Goode then called
his father, and informed him how he wished to dispose of
478 RECOLLECTIONS OF FIFTY
his property, and requested him to write his will. His
father, according to his direction, proceeded to write his
will, and, when it was finished, read it to his son. But he
objected to it, and pointed out two or three particulars in
which it was not sufficiently clear and definite, and might
admit of different constructions, and he requested his father
to re-write and correct it, which he did. Dr. Rodgers said
that he referred to this fact to show that to the last Mr.
Goode's mind was clear, and as keen in its perceptions as
ever. He said, had Mr. Goode been a nervous, imaginative,
and excitable person, he might have supposed that the
whole thing was an hallucination; but knowing Mr. Goode
as he did, and knowing the clearness of his mind, and his
perfect self-possession and self-control, he could not ac-
cept the supposition. He said he never knew of such a
remarkable case; and while the facts were as he stated, he
had no theory to present on the subject.
After my interview with Dr. Rodgers, I called on Dr.
Fullerton, and informed him of the object of my visit.
He said that Mr. Goode had sent for him, and that he had
visited him; that he had told him the same thing that he
had told Dr. Rodgers, that he had seen hell; that it was a
horrible place; that he did not want to go there; and that
he wanted him to thank God for letting him come back to
this world. Dr. Fullerton, like Dr. Rodgers, would not
permit him to talk on the subject, lest it should excite
and injure him. But he prayed with him, and conversed
about his soul. He continued to visit him and pray with
him, and he expressed his full trust and confidence in
Christ as his Savior, and the hope of a blessed future life.
Dr. Fullerton said that on one of his visits, Mr. Goode
addressed his father in the most tender and touching ap-
peal he ever heard. He said: "Father, you are an honor-
able man; you are an honest, upright man; but, father,
YEARS IN THE MINISTRY. 479
that is not enough; your sins must be washed away in the
blood of Christ, or you can not be saved/' He said he could
not repeat his words; but his appeal surpassed in tenderness
anything he had ever heard. At last the end came, and he
passed away in great peace.
I have no explanation to offer of this peculiar case.
There is a mystery about it that I can not explain. There
is one thing, however, which it seems to me clearly to
establish, and that is, that there is a soul a spiritual es-
sence or entity in man, separate and distinct from the
body, that is capable of perception, thought, and feeling,
independent of the physical or bodily senses. This living,
spiritual agent can use our bodily organs, which in them-
selves are lifeless and inactive; but it can exist independ-
ently of them, in possession of all the attributes of an in-
telligent, immortal being or essence. It is separate and
distinct from gross matter.
During this year, on the 3d day of August, 1890,
Brother James Robison, the oldest member of the Confer-
ence, passed from labor to reward. He had been a member
of the Conference for fifty-three years, had filled its best
appointments, had served as secretary and president of the
Conference, had represented it in several General Confer-
ences and General Conventions, and had served for ten
years as Book Agent. Indeed, he filled almost every po-
sition of honor and trust the Church could bestow upon
him. He was honored and trusted by all who knew him.
He was a man of quick, bright mind, well-informed, a good
preacher, an excellent pastor, and the church-builder of
the Conference. He had been the means of erecting eight
churches, and some of them among the best in the Con-
ference. He was a man of sweet spirit, genial and com-
panionable, and of unswerving integrity. Esteemed in life,
mourned in death, his memory is precious.
480 RECOLLECTIONS OF FIFTY
CHAPTER XL.
Session of Pittsburg Conference in Wellsburg, 1891 Appointed
to Wellsburg Charge City of Wellsburg Near Early
Home Fiftieth Anniversary Special Services Dyer
Jones Westfall La Grippe Express Package Various
Letters Gift from Recorder Office Correspondence Sun-
day Services Communion Addresses by Various Breth-
renMy Address Close.
AT the session of the Pittsburg Conference, in Wells-
burg, West Virginia, in September, 1891, I was appointed
to the Wellsburg Charge, to which I removed as soon as
convenient after the rise of the Conference.
Wellsburg is the seat of justice for Brook County, West
Virginia. It is one of the oldest towns on the Ohio River.
Marietta, Ohio, I believe, is the oldest, and Wellsburg
comes next. It is only ten miles from where I was born
and raised, and is associated with the recollections of my
boyhood. It is a nice little city, with paved streets, electric-
lights, excellent waterworks, and good graded schools.
It is located on the southeast bank of the Ohio River, with
a railroad running through it, and two other railroads run-
ning along on the opposite side of the river. It is sixteen
miles above Wheeling, and fifty miles west of Pittsburg.
It is near my early home and many of my relatives, and
the place where I expect to sleep with my fathers. We have
a good church-building here, and a comfortable parsonage
adjoining it; but the membership is small, and the Church
has much to contend with. There are some excellent mem-
bers in it, however, who do all they can to sustain it.
Among those worthy of special mention are Benjamin
YEARS IN THE MINISTRY. 481
Huggins and wife, Ulysses Huggins and wife, Charles Hug-
gins and wife, Brother Cram and wife, and a few others.
At the Wellsburg Conference B. \V. Anthony was re-
ceived by transfer from the South Illinois Conference, and
W. S. Hanks from the New York Conference. They are
both successful workers.
On the 19th of February, 1892, occurred the fiftieth
anniversary of my -licensure to preach the gospel. The
brethren, learning of this fact, resolved that the occasion
should be observed by some special services. Arrangements
were accordingly made to that effect. Brother J. F. Dyer,
president of the Pittsburg Conference, and David Jones
and G. G. Westfall, two of the oldest members of the Con-
ference, and special friends of mine, were invited to be
present, and to participate in the services of the occasion.
A couple of weeks before the time of these special
services, I was taken ill with grippe, and when the time
came I was greatly prostrated, but able, by a great effort,
to be up. I was exceedingly nervous, a new form of afflic-
tion for me, for I had never been subject to anything of the
kind before.
The services were to take place on Sabbath, February
21st. On Friday evening the expressman brought me a
package containing a copy of Ridpath's "History of the
World," in four large octave volumes, beautifully bound.
There was nothing to indicate from whence they came.
Shortly after, one of the brethren brought me my mail,
which contained letters from various friends, extending
their congratulations. Among these letters was one which
particularly touched me, and, in my feeble and nervous
condition, considerably excited me. It was from the em-
ployees of the Methodist Recorder office, and called up
memories of years of toil which the senders of it and I
31
482 RECOLLECTIONS OF FIFTY
pleasantly shared together. Although I had been absent
from the office for nearly four years, it showed that I was
not forgotten. Here is the letter:
"REV. JOHN SCOTT, D. D.,
"Wellsburg, W. Va.:
"Dear Doctor, Your friends, the *boys' of the Meth-
odist Recorder office, send their congratulations upon the
completion of your half-century in the ministry of the
Methodist Protestant Church.
"As a slight testimonial of their regard, and in recog-
nition of your uniform kindness and courtesy to all during
the years in which they worked with you daily, they ask
you to accept a set of Eidpath's 'History of the World.'
"With the assurance of highest esteem, and sincere
wishes for your future happiness, we remain your friends,
"William McCracken, Jr., M. S. Johns, Jesse Hook,
Pres. K. McClelland, J. H. Nieth, T. D. Jones, T. J.
Armor, J. S. Leland, J. W. Zirckel, Charles H. Gullett,
August Stoehr.
"PiTTSBUKG, PA., February 18, 1892."
Here is my response:
"MY DEAK 'Boys' OF THE METHODIST RECORDER OFFICE:
"Your kind letter and accompanying gift of a copy of
Ridpath's 'History of the World,' in four royal octavo vol-
umes, elegantly bound, came to hand last night. Your
kind remembrance of me, and your congratulations, deeply
touched my heart. For nine years, in our almost daily
intercourse, nothing occurred to interrupt the pleasant re-
lations that existed between us. Your gentlemanly bearing,
your promptness in complying with my every wish, and
your constant readiness to do me any kindness within
your power, placed me under great obligations to you,
YEARS IN THE MINISTRY. 483
and laid the foundation for a friendship that shall never
die.
"Please accept the assurance of my appreciation of your
valuable gift, and of my far higher appreciation of the
kindness that prompted it. I shall preserve your auto-
graphs among my most precious things.
"My prayer is, that prosperity may attend you through
this life, and that the friendship which we formed in our
long and intimate intercourse with each other, may be re-
newed and cemented in a brighter and better world than
this. God bless you all!
"Your old and sincere friend, JOHN SCOTT.
"WEIXSBURG, W. VA., February 20, 1892."
The services on Sabbath were very interesting. Brother
Westfall preached an excellent and touching sermon in the
morning, after which the Lord's Supper was adminis-
tered. In the afternoon the anniversary services were held.
The choir had arranged for some good music for the occa-
sion. Brother Dyer made the opening address, after which
I read, with considerable effort owing to my weakness, my
address. Then, after singing by the choir, addresses were
made by Brother Jones and Brother Westfall, and others.
Brother Jones preached on Sabbath evening to a crowded
house, and Brother Dyer preached on Monday evening to a
good congregation. This closed the services of the occa-
sion. The addresses were interesting, and the people pro-
fessed to be very much pleased.
The following is the address which I delivered on the
occasion:
"On some public thoroughfares there are mile-posts at
the end of each mile, to remind the traveler of the distance
he has come, or how near he is to the end of his journey.
So it is in the journey of life. The even, onward flow of
484 -RECOLLECTIONS OF FIFTY
time is divided into separate periods. Some of these are
artificial, such as minutes, hours, months, and years. Some
of them are natural, such as day and night; the return of
the seasons, as spring, summer, autumn, and winter. Some
of them are marked by events in social life, such as birth-
days, marriages, and deaths. Then there are periods
marked by important historical events, deemed worthy of
commemoration, such as the granting of Magna Chaxta
and the Declaration of American Independence. So, also,
in the religious world, there are important events which
mark the progress of religious movements which it is
deemed proper to observe. Then, in each individual life,
there are events of special interest which the individual
may observe, but which are not observed by others, except
through courtesy.
"An important event, at least important to me, oc-
curred in my history fifty years ago on last Friday. On
that day, after due examination by the authorities of the
Church, I was licensed to preach the gospel of Christ.
That was my entrance upon public life; and as you have
been pleased very courteously to take some notice of the
fact, it is due to you that I should recall some of the events
of the half-century through which, since then, I have
passed. Hours could be occupied in such a review; but I
am admonished that but a few minutes can be thus em-
ployed.
"Fifty years ago I was a young and vigorous man; to-
day I am an old man, and not so vigorous as I then was.
Then, like most young men, I thought I knew a good deal;
now, like all sensible old men, I think I know but very
little. Then, like other young men, I entertained high
hopes of the future; now, like other old men, I have very
clearly-defined experiences of the past. Then the battles
of life were mostly before me; now they are mostly behind
YEARS IN THE MINISTRY. 485
me. Then the end appeared to be a great way off; now it
appears to be drawing near.
"The changes which have taken place around me in the
last fifty years, in the social, scientific, political, and relig-
ious worlds, have been great and marvelous.
"In that length of time the social habits and customs
of the people have almost entirely changed. Their modes
of life are very different. They are now more cultured
and refined. Schools and colleges have increased, and the
people, generally, are better educated. The comforts, and
even luxuries of life, which, fifty years ago, were enjoyed
only by the few, are now largely enjoyed by the many.
Other changes have also taken place. Then a farmer could
not employ hands to reap his harvest, or to assist him in
performing other labor, without whisky. In many in-
stances the intoxicating bowl sparkled on the sideboard of
the minister, sealed the vows at the hymeneal altar, and
drowned the sorrows of the living over the forms of the
dead. When I first came to this town, sixty years ago, the
bottle was placed on the merchant's counter, and every
customer ladies may have been excepted was invited to
drink. Then slavery existed in nearly one-half of the
States of the Union, and it existed in this State. But great
changes have taken place, and the state of things which
then prevailed has largely passed away.
"Fifty years ago there was no electric telegraph. The
first telegraph line was established between Washington
City and Baltimore in 1844, two years after I was licensed
to preach"; and the thought of an ocean telegraph had not
entered the mind of man. It was not until more than
sixteen years after my licensure, on the 28th day of Au-
gust, 1858, that the first message was received in New York
over an ocean cable. At the time of which I speak, there
was no electric-light. The first electric-light was used by
486 RECOLLECTIONS OF FIFTY
Professor Tyndall in 1855. There were then no telephones,
nor any of the other phones now in use. The first attempt
to transmit vocal sounds by elctricity was made in 1860.
Nor were there then any sewing-machines in use. The first
successful machine was given to the public by Elias Howe
in 1847; but it was not introduced into use till 1854. There
were then no reaping-machines. McCormick's reaper was
invented in 1831; but was not perfected till 1846. Travel
was then on horseback,, or in carriages, or by river and
stage-coach. The first Conference I attended was in Mt.
Vernon, Ohio, some five or six hours' ride from here by
rail; but it took me between three and four days to reach
it by private conveyance. There was then no railroad west
of the Alleghany Mountains, except, perhaps, a portion of
the 'Little Miami/ between Xenia, Ohio, and Cincinnati.
I saw, in 1851, the first, train of passenger cars that ever
went out of Allegheny City, over a short piece of road ex-
tending then to Eochester, Pennsylvania. The Pennsyl-
vania Eoad was not completed to Pittsburg, I think, till
the following year. There were then less than three thou-
sand miles of railroad in the United States, and only about
five thousand miles in the world. Now there are in this
country over one hundred and twenty-two thousand miles,
and in the world about two hundred and seventy-seven
thousand miles.
"The changes which have taken place in the political
world have been equally great. Fifty years ago John
Tyler was acting President of the United States, William
Henry Harrison, President, having died on the 4th of
April, the preceding year, just one month after his in-
auguration. Daniel Webster, of Massachusetts, was Secre-
tary of State; Walter Forward, of Pennsylvania, a member
of our First Church, Pittsburg, was Secretary of the Treas-
ury; John C. Spencer, of New York, was Secretary of Wax;
YEARS JN THE MI. \JSTRY. 4*7
Abel P. Upshur, of Virginia, was Secretary of UK- Xavv;
C. A. Wicliff, of Kentucky, was Postmaster-General; Hugh
S. Lagare, of South Carolina, was Attorney-General; and
Roger B. Taney, of Maryland, was Chief-Justice of the
Supreme Court. Calhoun, and Benton, and Cass, and Ber-
rien, and Crittenden were leaders in the Senate; and Hun-
ter, and Yancey, and Garrett Davis, and Joshua Giddings,
and others, now almost forgotten, were leaders in the
House. Neither Seward, nor Sumner, nor Fessenden, nor
Douglas had then entered the Senate; nor had Breekin-
ridge, nor Chase, nor Winter Davis, nor Thaddeus Stevens,
nor Henry Wilson appeared at the Capitol, nor had Abra-
ham Lincoln taken his seat in the House of Representa-
tives. The "great War Secretary," Edwin M. Stanton, was
practicing law in Steubenville, Ohio.
"Then there were only twenty-six States in the Union;
now there are forty-four; then there were but 18,000,000
of inhabitants in the United States; now there are 63,000,-
000. Texas was then an independent State, and was not
admitted into the Union till March 1, 1845, and the war
with Mexico, which grew out of its annexation, com-
menced in the spring of the following year. California was
not then ceded to the United States, and was not admitted
as a State till 1850. The War of Secession did not occur
till nineteen years afterwards, in 1861.
"Then Louis Philippe filled the throne of France. Na-
poleon III did not become emperor till 1852, ten years
afterwards. It was before the unification of Italy, the re-
construction of the German Empire, the great Sepoy Re-
bellion in India, and the emancipation of the serfs of
Russia. China was not then open to foreign influence and
traffic, and Japan still maintained the isolation in whith
she had for centuries been concealed. Africa was, indeed,
the 'Dark Continent/ and Livingstone had neither been
488 RECOLLECTIONS OF FIFTY
lost nor found. The Free State of Orange, in South Af-
rica, had not been founded. The construction of the Suez
Canal had not then been even proposed. Brazil, so far as
our knowledge went, was a land full of Jesuits, slaves,
and debased races. Then a few adventurous travelers, at
long intervals, visited the Holy Land; but now such visits
are deemed but little more than an ordinary pleasure tour.
Eight hundred vessels now touch at Jaffa, the ancient
Joppa, every year, and within the next two or three months
a railroad will be completed from that city to Jerusalem.
Three locomotives for the road were received there from
Philadelphia more than a year ago. Such changes were
not then even imagined.
"The changes which have taken place in the religious
world in the last fifty years have also been very great. Fifty
years ago a spirit of antagonism prevailed to a great extent
among the Churches. Religious and ecclesiastical contro-
versies were the order of the day. The Calvinistic and
Arminian forces in this country were earnestly arrayed
against each other. Presbyterians and Methodists often
encountered each other, and not always in the sweetest
spirit. The excitement caused by the organization of the
New School Presbyterian Church a few years before, added
a new element to the strife. The contention between the
Methodist Episcopal Church and the Methodist Protestant
Church was still active. In 1843 the Wesleyan Methodist
Church in this country was organized, and equally assailed
both the Methodist Episcopal and Methodist Protestant
Churches. In 1844 the Southern Conferences of the Meth-
odist Episcopal Church withdrew, and organized the Meth-
odist Episcopal Church, South, involving bitter sectional
controversies. Alexander Campbell, at the time to which
I refer, was in the fullness of his strength, and, with many
others of similar belief, was laboring earnestly to extend
YEARS JN THE MINISTRY. 489
the influence of his new organization, and being an able
man and fond of debate, many interesting controversies
were engaged in throughout the country. In 1858 the
Methodist Protestant Church was virtually divided into
two parts, North and South. In 1860 the Free Methodist
Church was organized, antagonizing all the other Meth-
odist Churches. In 1862 the Southern Commissioners
withdrew from the General Assembly of the Presbyterian
Church, and organized another Presbyterian Church in the
South. In 1868 the ^Reformed and the Associate Re-
formed Presbyterian Churches, through their commission-
ers, which met in Pittsburg, organized the United Presby-
terian Church. In 1869 the Old and the New School
Presbyterian Churches, through their commissioners, met
in Pittsburg, and united. In 1877 the two branches of the
Methodist Protestant Church, by their representatives, met
in the city of Baltimore, and became one.
"Fifty years ago the Evangelical Alliance had not been
organized, the Pan-Presbyterian Council had not been
called, and an Ecumenical Conference of Methodists had
not been thought of. The uniform Sunday-school Lesson
system had not been devised, and the great temperance
reformation was only taking form. The ^higher criticism'
was unknown, and infidelity under its old forms attacked
the Christian faith.
"What a wonderful change has taken place since then!
While the old Churches remain, they have largely forgotten
their controversies; they are no longer actuated by a spirit
of antagonism, but of friendly rivalry in doing good. Men
have ceased to quarrel about non-essentials, and now unite
in practical efforts for the salvation of men. Religious and
benevolent organizations of almost every kind have been
multiplied, and are exerting a powerful influence for good.
All Christians are learning that love is the essential prin-
490 RECOLLECTIONS OF FIFTY
ciple of our holy religion, and that 'every one that loveth
is born of God, and knoweth God.'
"When I united with the Pittsburg Conference, fifty
years ago, it covered the territory now embraced in the
Muskingum, West Virginia, and Pittsburg Conferences,
and had about six thousand members. The Muskingum
Conference was set off from the Pittsburg Conference the
year I united with it; the West Virginia was set off in 1834.
The Muskingum Conference has now 12,717 members; the
West Virginia Conference, 15,867; and the Pittsburg Con-
ference, 8,056; making nearly 37,000 members, where we
then had but 6,000. The increase is not what we could
have desired; but it shows, nevertheless, encouraging pro-
gress.
"When I entered the Conference there were on its roll
the honored names of Asa Shinn, George Brown, Zachariah
Eagan, William Reeves, John Herbert, James Eobison,
John Cowl, Peter T. Laishley, D. B. Helmick. John Clark,
and many others, all of whom have passed away, with the
single exception of Dr. John Cowl, and he has not been
able to attend a session of the Conference for several years.
There is not a single person left who was a member of the
Conference when I united with it, except Dr. Cowl.
"I have attended fifty consecutive sessions of the Pitts-
burg Conference, never, from sickness or any other cause,
having missed a single session since I became a member
of it. I am the only man, I think, who has done so. God
has mercifully kept me all these years, notwithstanding my
unworthiness and unfaithfulness, and I desire this day to
acknowledge my indebtedness to his love, and to call upon
all that is within me to laud and magnify his holy and
excellent name. From a long experience of the comfort-
ing and sustaining power of the religion of our Lord and
Savior Jesus Christ, I can with confidence commend it
YEARS IN THE MINISTRY. 491
to you to-day. Change is written on everything around
us. But while everything earthly is changing, our God
is unchangeable. He is the same yesterday, to-day, and
for ever. We may, then, confidently trust in him, for 'in
the Lord Jehovah is everlasting strength.'
"The great sorrow of my life has been that I have not
been more successful in bringing souls to Christ; that I
have not been instrumental in doing greater good. My
success has not been equal to my desire. Still, I trust I
have been the means of doing something for the Master.
If I have not been able to take a place in the van, perhaps
I have sometimes helped to steady the column.
"A few years ago, when editor of the Methodist Recorder,
I attended a session of the North Illinois Conference at
La Harpe, Illinois. I preached on Sunday morning, and
at the close of the service some one told me that a lady at
the door wished to speak to me. I went to the door, and
was introduced to a lady in a plain calico dress, and wear-
ing an old-fashioned sun-bonnet. She said to me, 'Are
you the editor of the Methodist Recorder?' I told her I was.
'Bless the Lord!' said she. And then, as if to assure her-
self of the fact, she said, 'Are you the editor of the Re-
corder?' I told her again that I was. Then, 'Bless the
Lord!' she exclaimed, with greater fervor. Then she told
me that she lived sixteen miles from there, out on the
prairie; that she had no Church, no pastor, no preaching.
The only preacher she had was the Recorder, and that it did
her so much good that she was rejoiced to see the editor.
After all, I thought, I am doing some good, and felt en-
couraged to toil on.
"When I retired from the editorship of the Methodist
Recorder some three or four years ago, I received a great
number of very kind letters; but the one that touched me
most, because the most unexpected, was from a young lady
492 RECOLLECTIONS OF FIFTY
in Baltimore. She was one of those bright, light-hearted
girls that make sunshine wherever they go, and about the
last person that I should have supposed would be impressed
with my style of thought. After saying some pleasant
things, and telling me how sad she was while reading my
closing editorial, she went on to say:
" 'Now I want to tell you that your paper, and your
editorials particularly, have helped me a great deal, and
have been really a source of inspiration to me. I can not
tell you the strength and comfort I have many times re-
ceived from them. I am so sorry you are no longer editor,
for my sake as well as that of many others/
"I wiped the tears from my eyes, and took courage, and
thanked God that he had condescended to use me as an
instrument, even in any degree, in doing good to others.
I trust that at last, through the Divine mercy, I may be
able to bring a few sheaves, and lay them at the Master's
feet. . . .
''Well, the day is declining, the shadows are lengthen-
ing, and, as a matter of course, the end is approaching.
But the evening grows pleasant, and I think there will be a
calm sunset after a while.
"WELLSBUKG, W. VA., February 21, 1892."
So, with crowding memories of the past, and, through
grace, a pleasing hope of the future, closed fifty years in
the ministry.
In looking over my life I find much to regret, and but
little on which I can look with entire satisfaction. God
has been very good to me; but I have been a very unfaith-
ful and unprofitable servant. My only hope for salvation
and eternal life is in the atoning merit of our Lord and
Savior Jesus Christ. In him I trust; on him I cast my
helpless soul. His grace is sufficient; his arms of ever-
YEARS IN THE MINISTRY. 493
lasting love encircle me. I hope in his mercy. I know
that his faithfulness endureth forever. My trust and con-
fidence in him are firm and abiding.
Could I begin life again with the experience I now
have, I might be able to do better than I have done; but
I would not begin life again as I did begin it, lest, instead
of improving, I might even do worse than I have done in
the past. We can pass over life's journey but once. We
can not go back and correct our mistakes. We have but
one trial. How important, then, that we tread life's path-
way carefully, and that we earnestly seek, and, by the
assistance of Divine grace, endeavor to do the right!
Were I called upon to give my closing advice to my
young brethren in the ministry, I would say:
First of all, consecrate your heart and life unreservedly
to God. Lay your all upon the altar. Like the apostle,
"count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowl-
edge of Christ Jesus," your Lord; and, like him, "count
not your life dear unto yourself, so that you may finish
your course with joy in the ministry which you have re-
ceived of the Lord Jesus, to testify the gospel of the grace
of God."
Second. Let your one great aim be to save souls; to
bring men to the Savior. Abase self and exalt Christ.
Endeavor to be able to say in truth, "We preach not our-
selves, but Christ Jesus the Lord; and ourselves your serv-
ants for Jesus' sake." Hide behind the cross.
Third. Diligently improve your time in qualifying
yourself, so far as you can, for your great work. Do not
trifle away your time; do not spend it in needless and un-
important things. It is a precious gift. Improve it to the
very best advantage.
Fourth. Be not a place-seeker. Put yourself into the
hand of God, to be at his disposal. Qualify yourself for the
494 RECOLLECTIONS OF FIFTY
highest position; but if God so order, be content with the
lowest. The place where God puts you, it matters not how
trying it may be, or whether it be high or low, is the right,
the best place. Put your hand in God's hand, and let him
lead you.
Fifth. Pursue your work in the Spirit of Christ. Let
the love of Christ constrain you. "We love him," says the
apostle, "because he first loved us/' Love begets love.
Convince the people that you love them and seek their
good, and you will be likely to gain their love, and acquire
a saving influence over them. You can not, by harsh re-
proofs and unkind treatment, drive people into the king-
dom; but you can drive them beyond your influence. Seek
earnestly to possess the gentleness and tender sympathy
of the blessed Savior, who wept over the doomed city of
Jerusalem and prayed on the cross for his cruel enemies
who rejected and crucified him. "Love is of God." Noth-
ing but love will ever conquer the world and win men to
Christ. In this spirit pursue your work.
Sixth. Be faithful. Make full proof of your min-
istry. Do the best you can, and all you can. Be instant
in season and out of season, always abounding in the
work of the Lord. Try and be able to say with the Apostle
Paul, when you come to the end of your journey, "I have
fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept
the faith; henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of
righteousness, which the Lord, ihe righteous Judge, will
give me at that day; and not to me only, but unto all them
also that love his appearing." What a blessed hope! What
a glorious consummation!
"Abide with me! Fast falls the eventide,
The darkness deepens Lord, with me abide!
When other helpers fail, and comforts flee,
Help of the helpless, O abide with me!
YEARS IN THE MINISTRY. 495
Swift to its close ebbs out life's little day;
Earth's joys grow dim, its glories pass away;
Change and decay in all around I see;
O Thou, wlio changest not, abide with me!
Hold thou thy cross before my closing eyes;
Shine through the gloom and point me to the sku,-,
Heaven's morning breaks, and earth's vain shadows flee;
In life, in death, O Lord, abide with me!"
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