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AF-i 21 1952 
 
 OUR HEROES 
 
 or 
 
 UNITED BRETHREN HOME 
 MISSIONARIES 
 
 */ By 
 
 W. M. WEEKLEY, D.D. 
 Bishop of WeS Diflria 
 
 H. H. FOUT, D.D. 
 
 Editor Sunday-School Literaturs 
 
 Introduction by 
 
 G. M. MATHEWS. D.D. 
 
 Senior Bishop of the United Brethren Church 
 
 VOLUME II 
 
 THE OTTERBEIN PRESS 
 W. K. FUNK, Agent 
 • DAYTON, OHIO 
 
The United Brethren Publishing House 
 
 I ayton, Ohio 
 
 VV. R. FUNK. Publisher 
 
 1911 
 
FOREWORD 
 
 In fulfillment of a promise contained in the foreword of 
 the former volume of "Our Heroes," and encouraged by the 
 cordial reception which was given it, this second volume 
 is issued. The task has been one of increasing pleasure. 
 
 It is said that the writer of fiction falls in love with 
 his hero. This can also be said of the writer of facts. 
 Such deeds as are recorded in the pages that follow, such 
 aspirations and holy achievements at a critical period in 
 the history of a militant church as we see in the life story 
 of early United Brethren itinerants, win and hold the ad- 
 miration of men who have entered into their labors. Those 
 who are engaged in missionary education, find that of all 
 literature on the subject, biography is the most effective. 
 
 It has not been an easy task to gather the material for 
 these biographies. The standard histories of the church 
 have but little to say about these remarkable men, and in 
 the whole range of periodical literature, we find a strange 
 dearth of reference to them. So that the larger part of 
 the material composing these chapters is new, having been 
 gathered from other and various sources. 
 
 Moreover, it has not been an easy task to compress the 
 main features of the biography of a great man "of whom 
 the world is not worthy," into a single chapter, when one 
 longs for two or three hundred pages to tell the thrilling 
 story of toil and sacrifice and triumph. We hope, however, 
 that the chapters may be found to give the leading facts 
 in the career of each of these missionary heroes, and that 
 not a few of those who read the book may be inspired "to 
 follow in their train." 
 
 These chapters record no deeds of men whom the world 
 calls great; they record the great deeds of men whom God 
 counts as heroes. The reader will search in vain in the 
 early records of United Brethrenism for any names that 
 are well-known in the annals of the Church at large. The 
 denomination was founded by humble pioneer preachers, 
 men who were willing to serve in obscurity, if through 
 their efforts the souls of men might be saved, and the 
 kingdom of God advanced even in the wilderness. And 
 to these brave men, who cut their way through the forests, 
 who forded dangerous streams, who endured much hard- 
 ship and privation, not only our denomination, but the 
 Nation as well, owes a great debt. 
 
 3 
 
The conviction grows upon us as the field enlarges, 
 and it is deepened by requests coming from all parts of 
 the Church, that the work should be continued. We have, 
 therefore, consented to give ourselves to the preparation 
 of other volumes. The debt we owe our heroes and the 
 promotion of our denominational life and loyalty demand 
 that the work should be continued indefinitely. Much of 
 the material for a third volume is already in our hands. 
 
 We wish to acknowledge our gratitude to the publisher, 
 who has extended many courtesies, and who in the me- 
 chanical part of the work has left nothing to be desired. 
 
 We also owe a debt of acknowledgment and gratitude 
 to friends in various sections of the country who have so 
 kindly and generously assisted in the preparation of this 
 volume by gathering and furnishing material. 
 
 We indulge the hope that the heroes of faith to whom 
 the following pages are devoted, may find as warm a place 
 in the regard of those who read them as they hold in the 
 hearts of those who have written them. 
 
 Authors. 
 
CONTENTS 
 
 Chapter p^ge 
 Foreword by the Authors iii 
 
 Introduction by Bishop G. M. Mathews, D.D vii 
 
 I. Joseph Hoffman — Otterbein's Successor in the 
 
 Pastorate H 
 
 Font 
 II. Henry George Spayth— Our Pioneer Historian.. 26 
 
 Fout 
 
 III. Daniel Funkhouser— An Early Foundation 
 
 Builder in the East 44 
 
 Weekley 
 
 IV. Aaron Farmer — Our Pioneer Journalist 57 
 
 Font 
 
 V. Samuel Huber — Noted for His Campmeeting 
 
 Campaigns 73 
 
 Weekley 
 
 VI. Jacob Erb — Pioneer Organizer in East Penn- 
 
 sylvania 90 
 
 Font 
 
 VII. Jacob Bachtel— A Prominent Leader in the 
 
 Virginias 109 
 
 Weekley 
 
 VIII. Christopher Flinchbaugh — "Peter Cartwright 
 
 of the Miami Valley" 122 
 
 Fout 
 
 IX. Jonathan Weaver— Noted Pastor, Presiding 
 
 Elder, and Bishop 140 
 
 Weekley 
 
 X. George W. Statton— An Itinerant of Fifty- 
 Two Years 155 
 
 Weekley 
 
 XI. Michael Long — Pioneer Evangelist of San- 
 dusky Conference 167 
 
 Fout 
 5 
 
Chapter Page 
 
 XII. William Cadman — Erie Conference's Pioneer 
 
 Herald 185 
 
 Weekley 
 
 XIII. John Williams Howe — A Hero of Virginia 
 
 Conference 197 
 
 Fout 
 
 XIV. Ezra D. Palmer — Prominent as Churchman 
 
 and Leader 212 
 
 Weekley 
 
 XV. M. L. Tibbetts — One of Minnesota's Early 
 
 Pioneers 223 
 
 Weekley 
 
 XVI. James L. Hensley — An Extended Mountaineer 
 
 Experience 234 
 
 W9ckley 
 
 XVII. Conservation of Our Resources 250 
 
 Fout 
 
INTRODUCTION 
 
 "Our Heroes"! What an appropriate title for a book 
 on home evangelism and home extension. Such a sig- 
 nificant and suggestive title is fitting for two or more 
 volumes giving proper recognition to those who wrought 
 faithfully in the distant past, and laid foundations abiding; 
 but services may be forgotten and names unsung by suc- 
 ceeding generations who have built and are building upon 
 those foundations. 
 
 And yet, nothing that is true, and good, and loyal to 
 Christ and his cause, is lost or entirely forgotten. The 
 good and great are immortal. This is God's will and law. 
 Their graves may be unmarked, their tombs neglected, 
 and their deeds covered over with the growth and 
 achievements of later years, but God has ordained 
 that the memory of the righteous shall not perish. For 
 the world needs the inspiration that comes from their 
 heroic lives. Some pen will recount the story of their 
 fidelity, and some poet will sing them out of the silence 
 of human forgetfulness. 
 
 The authors of this book have been inspired to perform 
 this blessed service. They have laid hold of hidden treas- 
 ures and handed down to us and to succeeding generations 
 such as shall richly contribute to the wealth of our church 
 literature and honor our denomination. 
 
 How may we expect to emphasize and perpetuate the 
 distinctive principles and spirit with which our denom- 
 inational life began, if we do not cherish the memory of 
 our pioneer fathers, and pay just tribute to their toils, 
 heroism, and achievements? 
 
 The forces of aggressive evangelism and the fires of 
 piety and missionary zeal that marked the origin of our 
 Church will be best kindled upon the altar of the Church 
 by holding sacred the hardships and sacrifices of the fath- 
 ers in those days when they counted mightily for godliness 
 and the spiritual Christianity. 
 
 A perusal of this biography, not only fires one's own 
 heart, but also reminds one of the Old Testament heroes 
 described by the writer of Hebrews. They were giants 
 "of whom the world was not worthy." 
 
 So our pioneer fathers were spirtual giants. They 
 were plain men, stalwart in character, mighty in faith, 
 
inflexible in purpose, and rich in achievement; for their 
 ministry was marvelously fruitful in souls, who were won 
 to God as the leaves of the forest or the dews of the 
 morning. Without appointment, or salary, or parsonage, 
 or library, they rode on horseback, far away from home 
 and loved ones, hundreds of miles, through the solitary 
 forest, over the rugged mountain and treacherous swamp, 
 flaming home missionaries going beyond the Ohio, the 
 Wabash, the Mississippi, into the western domain then 
 unsubdued but now teeming with the throbbing life of a 
 new civilization. They preached with strange power the 
 glorious gospel of Jesus Christ. "There were giants in 
 those days," as well as in the earlier centuries. They left 
 an imperishable impress upon the consciousness of the 
 denomination for which we owe them a debt of unspeak- 
 able gratitude. 
 
 Those servants of God had such a rich, joyous. Chris- 
 tian experience and were borne on by such a mighty call 
 and conviction from God that they created an atmosphere 
 in which the Home Missionary Society was born. It is 
 well that that society retains the same spiritual intensity 
 and aggressive life which were wrought into its being 
 over a half century ago. 
 
 For the fathers held and illustrated the elements that 
 are to redeem America from her perils and vices, and 
 to make her a real Christian country. They gave the 
 Church a distinct denominational spirit, the spirit of 
 democracy, brotherhood, and broad cooperation. They 
 created an evangelical church in which holiness and 
 spirituality are conspicuous. They expressed faith in the 
 fatherhood of God, the divine sovereignty and atonement 
 of Jesus Christ, and the personality and ministry of the 
 Holy Spirit, in the growth and administration of the 
 Church. They preached the necessity of miraculous con- 
 version and the wonderful saving power of the love of 
 God, through our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. 
 
 The authors of this volume have done a fine service 
 for the Church and American Christianity by presenting 
 striking, concrete examples of the elements and spirit 
 that must be incarnated in the religious leaders of to-day 
 in order to Christianize this land of ours. 
 
 This second volume even adds to the interest of the 
 first, in making more full the history and record of noble 
 heroes in our Church. 
 
 It shows the vital importance of home missions as a 
 home base. The life and resources of the home church 
 must be developed and strengthened. Christianity must 
 be domiciled in every nook and corner of America so that 
 in the regeneration of her cities, the transformation of 
 her communities, the purification of her social life, and the 
 
cleansing of her national conscience, she shall become 
 really a Christian nation. 
 
 Whoever reads this book will feel like doing his share 
 to forward the work of home missions in this country. 
 For America, with her marvelous growth and opportun- 
 ities, her vices, perils, heterogeneous elements, and un- 
 toward environments, must command the attention of 
 every Christian citizen. America, with her throbbing, 
 complex life, the laboratory out of which should come the 
 product of a better Christian citizenship, must be evan- 
 gelized and transformed by the gospel in the interest of 
 a strong, patriotic, dominant, Protestant Christianity. If 
 we do not face this task and strike as never before for 
 the conquest of America, the. heroism of our fathers will 
 shame us, their sacrifices mock us, and their spirit depart 
 from us. 
 
 The purpose and mission of this second volume being 
 so worthy, it deserves the widest distribution throughout 
 the Church. 
 
 G. M. Mathews. 
 Chicago, Illinois. 
 
OUR HEROES 
 
 or 
 
 United Brethren Home Missionaries 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 JOSEPH HOFFMAN. 
 
 Otterhein's Successor in the Pastorate. 
 
 Literature assumes its most interesting 
 form when it deals witli the spirit and message 
 of the men who have had something to dO' in 
 shaping the centuries that followed them. To 
 this class belong that noble company of heroes 
 known as the early apostles of American Chris- 
 tianity. They had a voice not only for their 
 own age but for subsequent ages. 
 
 The pioneer missionaries of the cross were 
 true nation-builders. Without the moral founda- 
 tions laid by them, the Republic would have 
 started upon its career fatally defective in the 
 elements which contribute to enduring national 
 life. In a notable speech before the United 
 States Senate, Stephen A, Douglas, when re- 
 ferring to the place of the Bible in civilization, 
 and religion as a fundamental part of true 
 government, said : "The pioneer missionaries 
 carried civilization in their saddle-bags through 
 
 11 
 
Our Heroes, or 
 
 the western wilderness." Theodore Roosevelt, 
 in his book entitled, "Winning the West," pays 
 a similar tribute to the work of the missionary 
 on the frontier in our day. In the foremovst 
 ranks of these knights errant, from the birth of 
 our nation until the present time, have been 
 found representatives of the United Brethren 
 Church. 
 
 Soon after the historic conference of 1800, 
 when the official name of the Church was 
 adopted, the cry was heard from beyond the 
 Alleghenies, "Come over and help us." In these 
 times of superb railway expresses and of palatial 
 hotels, it is next to impossible to imagine the 
 hardships and perils involved in such an under- 
 taking. It required the courage and zeal of the 
 apostles to answer the call. But the response 
 was immediate. The missionaries started west- 
 ward, bravely enduring the hardships incident 
 to the journey; they crossed the mountains and 
 forded the rivers on horseback, waded the 
 marshes, penetrated the forests, and when op- 
 portunity afforded, whether in barns, log cabins, 
 rude school houses, or in nature's temples, pro- 
 claimed the message of salvation. Within ten 
 years a conference was organized west of the 
 mountains. Within thirt^^-five years eight such 
 organizations had been effected, and in fifty 
 years the Church had planted the banner of the 
 cross on the shores of the Pacific. 
 
 Conspicuous in the list of those who dis- 
 tinguished themselves in the pioneer missionary 
 
 12 
 
United Brethren Home Missionaries 
 
 work of the Church is the name of Joseph Hoff- 
 man, the successor to Mr. Otterbein in his 
 pastorate at Baltimore. He was born on the 
 nineteenth day of March, 1780, in Cumberland 
 County, Pennsylvania. He was converted at the 
 age of twenty-one, and entered the ministry at 
 the age of twenty-three. From the first, he 
 attracted attention as a preacher, and quickly 
 rose to prominence in his conference. 
 
 Mr. Hoffman was reared in a religious at- 
 mosphere. The influence of godly parents was 
 a positive force in shaping his distinguished 
 career. In his humble German home he was 
 also trained to a life of toil — a discipline nec- 
 essary as a preparation for the rough tasks 
 which, in God's plan, he was to meet later in life. 
 When about fourteen years of age, young Hoff- 
 man became deeply interested in the matter of 
 his personal salvation, but not until seven years 
 later did he fully yield his life to God. The 
 circumstances of his conversion were vivid and 
 memorable. He had a marked religious experi- 
 ence, which lay at the foundation of his 
 evangelistic usefulness, and gave tone and char- 
 acter to his outlook upon life. In 1803 he was 
 licensed to preach, and the following year entered 
 upon his itinerant ministr3^ In singleness of 
 purpose, untiring diligence, missionary zeal, 
 and achieved results, he probably as nearly 
 approached Newcomer as did any of his con- 
 temporaries. He was earnest, persevering, and 
 daring. He went where duty called. His in- 
 
 13 
 
Our Heroes, or 
 
 tensity of effort, the long distances traveled, 
 and his exposure to cold and storm, almost sent 
 him to his death before he closed the tenth 
 year of his ministry. United Brethren history 
 presents few, if any, more conspicuous examples 
 of an imperious will, coupled with an all-com- 
 pelling sense of duty, made triumphant over 
 physical ills, than is furnished in the career of 
 this disting-uished hero of the cross, especially 
 during the first decade of his missionary work. 
 Speaking of this period of his ministry, Mr. 
 Spayth, who knew him well, says : "Virginia, 
 Maryland, and Pennsylvania, were alternately 
 his field of labor. In Brother Hoffman the 
 itinerant preacher was freely exemplified. In 
 labors abundant, even to excess. An originality 
 and inspired power characterized his preaching 
 in a peculiar manner. Sinners wept and be- 
 lievers rejoiced. His joy in the gospel harvest 
 was, nevertheless, balanced by the burden, the 
 heat, the sweat and fatigue, which like so many 
 ministering angels waited on the itinerant 
 preacher wherever he went, and Joseph Hoffman 
 enjoyed the benefit of their constant attendance 
 from 1804 to 1812. Six or seven months before 
 the sitting of the annual conference (in 1812), 
 i a calm atmosphere, the sound of Hoffman's 
 voice had been distinctly heard a mile from the 
 house at which he preached, and yet that voice 
 was not strained, but flowed in unison with the 
 gospel theme. But at that time he arose slowly, 
 as one borne down by some unseen weight, and 
 
 14 
 
Vnited Brethren Home MissioTiaHes 
 
 in his effort to speak, that strong voice was 
 reduced to a faintness ; the book trembled in his 
 hands. This sight, and the few words which he 
 attempted to say, moved the audience to the 
 strongest sympathy; they knew the cause and 
 felt the more easily affected. To human appear- 
 ance his health and strength were gone." 
 
 On the recovery of Mr. Hoffman's health, 
 after a few months of retirement, he continued 
 his work with the same degree of energy. At 
 this time none of the early ministers sent forth 
 by Otterbein and Boehm had been ordained. The 
 matter deeply concerned Mr. Hoffman. He 
 traveled ninety miles to consult Bishop New- 
 comer on the subject. They were of one mind. 
 Upon these saintly men the mantle of Father 
 Otterbein was soon to fall. They determined 
 to visit him at once and receive regular ordi- 
 nation to the ministry. They arrived in Balti- 
 more October 1, 1813, and the ordination oc- 
 curred the following day. The picture of that 
 event is one of thrilling and pathetic interest. 
 Mr. Otterbein was helped into an armchair, 
 from which he tenderly adressed the candidates. 
 The company beheld him with astonishment. It 
 appeared as if he had received particular unction 
 from above to perform the solemn act. At the 
 close of the address he offered a fervent prayer. 
 Then, being assisted and supported, he rose to 
 his feet, and, placing his hands on the heads 
 of the candidates and standing upon the very 
 verge of the unseen world, this patriarchal man 
 
 15 
 
Oar Heroes, or 
 
 solemnly dedicated these two brethren to the 
 sacred office of the ministry. Eight days after 
 this the sainted Otterbein himself stood in the 
 presence of the King of kings. 
 
 Mr. Hoffman was chosen to succeed Bishop 
 Otterbein in the pastorate at Baltimore. No 
 higher compliment could have been paid him 
 by the early Church. It was not only a recog- 
 nition of his superior talents, but an evidence 
 of the high esteem in which he was held by his 
 brethren. He was a close friend and disciple 
 of Otterbein. The early ministry of United 
 Brethrenism has sometimes been alluded to as 
 though the early preachers were without any 
 preparation for the work of the ministry, and 
 as men having no education at all. It would 
 be altogether unfair to say that Joseph Hoffman 
 was not an educated man. True, his early school 
 advantages were limited, but he was a student. 
 No young man of his type could have been a 
 disciple of the great Otterbein for ten years 
 without being educated. It is a fact in which 
 the Church may well take a little pride, that 
 Bishop Otterbein was regarded as the best 
 educated man that had crossed the Atlantic up 
 until his time. Dr. John George Pfrimmer 
 was also a man of superior culture. These 
 trained men became models for the men who 
 had not been so trained. Practically they be- 
 came the preceptors of the men who had not 
 had the same opportunities, and the preachers 
 who came into the ministry under them, con- 
 
 16 
 
JOSEPH HOFFMAN 
 
United Brethren Home Missionaries 
 
 sciously or unconsciously, imitated their manner 
 and came into some inheritance of their culture. 
 When some one asked James A. Garfield to 
 state what constituted a university, he replied, 
 "Mark Hopkins on one end of a. log and a 
 student on the other." 
 
 In the year 1817, Mr. Hoffman received what 
 he believed to be a divine call to join the forces 
 of the new western conference. His character- 
 istic promptness in responding to the call 
 furnishes a noble example of apostolic courage. 
 It meant the severance of the dearest and most 
 sacred ties of friendship. Moreover, it meant the 
 giving up of a city pastorate, where he had mde 
 popularity, and where the relations between 
 pastor and people were most pleasant, for the 
 perils and privations of missionary work in a 
 new and largely unsubdued country. It meant 
 to exchange the streets of Baltimore for a 
 wilderness parish, that was in most part a 
 stranger to the beaten highway. But it was not 
 his "to reason why," nor "to make reply." With 
 his family, this hero of the cross at once began 
 the journey to his far-distant field. He settled 
 first in Fairfield County, Ohio, and united with 
 the Miami Conference. Immediately he began 
 work in the pioneer settlements of the Scioto 
 and Miami valleys, where he laid the foundation 
 of churches whose membership still live to praise 
 him. It was perfectly natural that a man of his 
 ability, experience, and reputation would at once 
 rise to prominence in the conference. In the 
 
 17 
 
Our Heroes, or 
 
 divine plan he was soon to wear the mantle of 
 Bishop Zeller, whose health was then failing. 
 
 Mr. Hoffman possessed an extraordinary per- 
 sonality. He was tall and straight, with an 
 impressive face and commanding appearane. He 
 had one keen eye, the other having been destroyed 
 by the stroke of a limb while he was at work 
 in the forest. His countenance was expressive, 
 and the whole man seemed to speak to you. His 
 voice possessed unusual power — deep-toned, 
 mellow, rich, with extraordinary strength, when 
 occasion called it forth. This of itself made 
 him most popular and famous as a camp- 
 meeting preacher. "As an expounder of the 
 Scripture, he held high rank, and his gifts of 
 speech were such as to lay claim to high orator- 
 ical powers." He spoke with equal fluency in 
 the English and the German languages. 
 
 Perhaps the emotional and ethical intensity 
 of his nature, what we might call the martial 
 quality of the man, is mostly recognized in his 
 style. It is the language of a soul keyed to the 
 highest pitch of intensity. The opening sen- 
 tences of his discourse were deliberate, reflective, 
 and discriminative, speaking tranquillity to the 
 mind, and awakening mental interest in the 
 truth in hand. The closing of the sermon was 
 shot through, as with a flame of moral and 
 emotional passion that was almost over- 
 whelming. It was the vocabulary and syntax of 
 consecrated energy. It was the voice of a prophet 
 who was straitened within himself till his 
 
 18 
 
Ufiited Brethren Home Missionaries 
 
 message was given and his mission accomplished. 
 "Every passion of his soul was expressed, from 
 the more tranquil to the intensely agitated; 
 from the tears of passion and grief for ruined 
 sinners, to the glowing emotions of joy and 
 triumph through Christ; from the hallowed in- 
 dignation to transporting complacency." He 
 spent a winter in New York City, during which 
 time he was invited tO' speak in some of the 
 leading pulpits of the metropolis. "Had rest 
 been his object, he might have been settled 
 there in a very desirable living, which was 
 proffered him." 
 
 Mr. Hoffman possessed all the elements of a 
 great evangelist, and he used them most suc- 
 cessfully. One of his converts, who subse- 
 quently rose to prominence as a business man, 
 gives the following story, which illustrates his 
 power: "Previous to my conversion I opposed 
 the Church in every possible way. Nothing 
 seemed to please me more than to disturb re- 
 ligious gatherings. I went to the meeting in 
 which I was converted with something of the 
 same spirit with which Saul of Tarsus went to 
 Damascus. I organized a company of my com 
 panions for the purpose of breaking up the 
 camp-meeting. Near the camp we halted, and 
 divided into three bands, lest by going together 
 suspicion might be aroused. By some misun- 
 derstanding I became separated from my com- 
 panions, and, the night being dark, failed to 
 find them. Not content to remain in the woods 
 
 19 
 
Our Heroes, or 
 
 alone, I went into camp and lingered for a few 
 minutes by a fire-stand ; but feeling that I might 
 be identified, I moved into the shadow and sat 
 down, with my back against a beech tree. The 
 meeting was very quiet, the preacher dull and 
 uninteresting, and I soon dropped asleep. Soon 
 after the voice of the first speaker ceased, I 
 awoke, and observed that most of the congre- 
 gation, like myself, had been taking a nap. 
 Suddenly a tall man arose, who j)roved to be 
 Joseph Hoffman, and, stepping to the front of 
 the platform, he said in a clear voice, 'I have been 
 shaking for the last half hour with the ague; 
 but now, thank God, it is gone.' In a few minutes 
 he had so completely possesed me that I became 
 entirely lost to my surroundings, and found my- 
 self standing near the pulpit, looking up into the 
 speaker's face. I was in a new world. Around 
 me lay a number of my companions, some of 
 them as dead men, others bewailing their past 
 lives and pleading for mercy, while the faces of 
 the people were radiant with a glory that I had 
 never seen, and it was not until the gray dawn 
 of the morning that the people left to seek rest." 
 
 The following illustration of his dauntless 
 courage and unyielding faithfulness as a min- 
 ister is given by Dr. William McKee : 
 
 "At a great meeting held in a region where 
 prejudices prevailed against religious excite- 
 ment, several persons were deeply convicted, 
 one of whom was the wife of a highly respect- 
 able clergyman. This incident caused much dis- 
 
 20 
 
United Brethren Home Missionaries 
 
 pleasure with the friends of the penitents, 
 wounding, as they thought, their respectability. 
 One Sabbath morning after the audience had 
 assembled, and the service was about to com- 
 mence, eight or ten men and among them a 
 venerable father, came forward and requested 
 Mr. Hoffman, who was to preach, to be cautious 
 hoio he i>reached; that some had been alarmed 
 the day previous, and if any one should be 
 further alarmed he must cease preaching and 
 quiet the people. If he refused tO' do this, they 
 had vowed the meeting should not proceed, as 
 they were good Christians and not heathens. 
 They charged him to take heed to their words. 
 He had not proceeded far until many were 
 bathed in tears, and cried aloud for mercy. The 
 men arose to their feet trembling with anger, 
 but Mr. Hoffman spoke the faster and louder. 
 The scalpel of truth was thrust deeper and deeper 
 into the wounded heart until the disturbing 
 forces of the moral system were laid bare. Then 
 came the balm of Calvary's Victim^ — the blood 
 that cleanseth from all sin. The old gentleman 
 waved his strong arm toward the preacher, and 
 while in the act, a young man fell at his feet 
 shrieking, 'O father, pray! O father, pray!' 
 He attempted to flee, but his son held him, 
 saying, ^O father, don't go — stay— pray.' The 
 Pharisee was conquered. The word of the Lord 
 had its course and was glorified. It was the 
 work of God. Who could resist it?" 
 
 21 
 
Our Heroes, or 
 
 A further illustration of his manner of preach- 
 ing is given by Rev. Mr. Spayth, who knew 
 him well in the days of his greatest strength : 
 "At a quarterly meeting held at John Stickler's, 
 in Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania, in 1817, 
 Joseph Hoffman preached from Isaiah 1 : 18, 
 19, 20. While dwelling upon the character of 
 sin staining the soul in all its parts, the audience 
 listened with attention, and were filled with 
 joy, for his speech distilled as the dew and as 
 the small rain upon the tender grass. But 
 when the conditions were presented, and the 
 threatenings of insulted justice introduced, the 
 feeling became intense. The soul stained with 
 sin, which added the crime of rebellion against 
 Jehovah, was brought into the presence of the 
 lawgiver, and as he reached the last verse of 
 the text, 'If ye refuse and rebel, ye shall be 
 devoured by the sword, for the mouth of the 
 Lord hath spoken it,' his voice rose with the 
 grandeur and solemnity of the theme, and it 
 seemed as if the sword were actually drawn. 
 'What!' cried he, 'rebel, and there the sword!' 
 Sinners were paralyzed with fear, as if they were 
 waiting for the blow. The preacher paused, 
 and, looking up, began to pray: 'O Lord, spare 
 these people; although their sins be as scarlet 
 and crimson, in the fountain that was opened 
 for sin and uncleanness, wash them and make 
 them white as snow.' The reader can well 
 imagine how well prepared his sin-stricken 
 audience was to follow him in his prayer." 
 
 22 
 
United Brethren Home Missionaries 
 
 Mr. Hoffman was a master in controlling 
 disturbing elements. In his day church-houses 
 were scarce, and the large meetings during the 
 summer season were held in the groves. He 
 was absolutely fearless, and when a kindly 
 appeal failed to command order, he did not 
 hesitate to resort to other methods, as the fol- 
 lowing incident, told by an aged minister of 
 Miami Conference, shows : "At a camp-meeting 
 near Lancaster, Ohio, a young man a few feet 
 in front of the pulpit persisted in smoking a 
 cigar just at the opening of one of the public 
 services. Mr. Hoffman politely requested him 
 to desist. To this he paid no attention. Again 
 Mr. Hoffman informed him that the rules of 
 the camp forbade smoking inside the square, and 
 expressed the hope that he would desist. Still 
 the young man puffed away as though he had not 
 heard a single word that was said to him. This 
 was too much; Mr. Hoffman seized the 
 cigar and threw it violently on the ground and 
 rubbed it in the dust with his foot. As he 
 did this, he exclaimed in a low tone: 'There, 
 if you have no sense I will teach you some.' 
 The young fellow eyed the stalwart preacher 
 from head to foot. His look was met by a 
 withering glance from Mr. Hoffman, and the 
 young man, much disgusted, retired from the 
 scene." 
 
 At a distance Bishop Hoffman seemed brusque 
 and cold, but at close range he was the most 
 companionable of men, abounding in good will, 
 
 23 
 
Our Heroes, or 
 
 wit, and geniality. He was easy of approach, 
 and after retiring from the more active work, 
 he was considered one of the best counsellors 
 of the denomination. His home was one of 
 piety. His arduous work as a minister did not 
 cause him to forget the religion of his own 
 household. There the family altar was main- 
 tained. From childhood his children were 
 taught the holy Scriptures. As a result, five of 
 his eight sons entered the ministry. 
 
 The years of his itinerant life included long 
 and perilous missionary journeys, both in the 
 United States and Canada. These long cam- 
 paigns resulted in the salvation of multitudes 
 of souls. Many organizations and churches 
 followed in his wake; but, like many another 
 of those early preachers, Whitefleld not excepted, 
 he did not carefully garner his converts, and 
 much of the results of his work was reaped by 
 other churches rather than his own. 
 
 The climax to the ministry of this wonderful 
 man came when he gave his last message to 
 the Miami Conference. In his own forceful 
 way, he urged the ministers to fidelity in the 
 Master's service. The address made a, profound 
 impression. When he expressed the belief that 
 he was in their presence as a. conference for the 
 last time, every heart was melted, and many 
 wept aloud. Those of the conference yet living 
 who were present concur in saying that it was 
 one of the most impressive scenes that had ever 
 been witnessed in the conference. The pre- 
 
 24 
 
United Brethren Home Missionaries 
 
 monition of the Bishop proved to be correct. It 
 was the last time his voice was ever heard in 
 the sessions of the conference. The closing years 
 of his life were spent in Euphemia, Ohio. "In 
 the summer of 1856, Otterbein Chapel, near 
 Eldorado, had been rebuilt, and, in connection 
 with the dedication service, a quarterly meeting 
 was to be held, beginning on the eighth day of 
 November; and expectation was on tiptoe, for 
 it had been announced that Bishop Hoffman 
 would be there and preach the first sermon. But 
 before he left his home that morning, without 
 any previous illness, the chariots of Israel and 
 the horsemen thereof, came along, and the man 
 of God, like Elijah, dropped the mantle which 
 he had worn so long and so worthily, and as- 
 cended the heights of glory." 
 
 This venerable servant of God was seventy- 
 six years of age when the chariot came. For 
 more than a half century he had been a Chris- 
 tian minister. He was a worthy exemplar of 
 Him who, though rich, became poor, and was 
 found in fashion like a servant, that he might 
 become the servant of men. Characters like this 
 cannot die. The very memory of such must 
 draw to itself more and more the veneration, 
 the praise, and the honor of mankind. 
 
 25 
 
CHAPTER II. 
 
 HENRY GEORGE SPAYTH. 
 
 Our Pioneer Historian. 
 
 In that original group of men who founded 
 the United Brethren Church, some twenty -five 
 or fifty in number, each called of God to high 
 and heroic service, there was an interesting dis- 
 play of apostolic spirit, and also a remarkable 
 adaptation to pioneer work. Each one was 
 niched in some noble mold to the advantage 
 of that great movement, and rendered a service 
 worthy to make his name historic. That they 
 were participants in a divine plan is confirmed 
 by the abiding character of their work, of which 
 Otterbein was convinced and rejoiced over at 
 the close of his life, and which now appears in 
 the substantial growth and increasing efficiency 
 of the denomination. 
 
 Among these noble founders of our Zion whose 
 diversity of gifts furnished an equipment for 
 service akin to that of the Twelve, stands the 
 name of Henry George Spayth, to whose dis- 
 tinguished services as pioneer missionary and 
 church historian this chapter is devoted. 
 
 He was one of the first ministers of the de- 
 nomination whose message was given both in 
 
 26 
 
United Brethren Home Missionaries 
 
 the English and the German tongue, and who be- 
 lieved that the Church's largest opportunity 
 was with the English-speaking people. When 
 but a young man he translated the records of 
 the early councils of the Church from the 
 German into the English, and advocated the 
 organization of churches in English commun- 
 ities where opportunity afforded. The mag- 
 nitude of his work and the measure of his 
 responsibilities we cannot calculate, but God 
 made him sufficient for these things, and his re- 
 sponse to his obligations and opportunities was 
 faithful and adequate. 
 
 In a study of the comparative growth of 
 American churches during the early years of the 
 Republic, account must be taken of the fact 
 that the intense earnestness and unexcelled 
 activity and efl&ciency of the United Brethren 
 Church in evangelistic work was given almost 
 exclusively to the promotion of the general re- 
 ligious movement of the times, with little, or 
 perhaps no, thought of organizing and building 
 a great denomination. Early in the nation's 
 history a home missionary society was organized 
 by the Methodist Episcopal Church "for the 
 purpose of carrying the light of evangelical re- 
 ligion to every corner of our inhabited country, 
 whether Christian or savage, and of organizing 
 and establishing churches throughout the length 
 and breadth of this Western Hemisphere." To 
 the promotion of this enterprise United Breth- 
 renism contributed largely for a third of a 
 
 27 
 
Our Heroes, or 
 
 century. Therefore, the power and influence 
 of the Church as an arm of American Protes- 
 tantism cannot be measured justly by its com- 
 pairative numerical growth with some other 
 denominations. 
 
 Account must also be taken of the fact that 
 the call of the Church was originally tO' the 
 German-speaking people, and that the German 
 c ntinued to be the predominant language in 
 the General Conference until 1833. In the year 
 1759 — seven years after Otterbein had begun his 
 missionary work in America, and eight years 
 before our denominational Pentecost — the 
 great battle was fought on the Plains of Abraham 
 at Quebec, which decided that English should 
 be the dominant language on the continent of 
 America!, and that Protestantism should mould 
 the religious thought of the new world. At the 
 period of Bishop Otterbein's death, and for 
 several years thereafter, while the German ele- 
 ment in the American States was constantly 
 giving way to the English, it received but meager 
 reinforcements from Europe. The entire number 
 of immigrants to our shores from all the coun- 
 tries of Europe between 1785 and 1820 has been 
 estimated at one hundred and fifty thousand. 
 Of this number probably less than fifty thousand 
 were Germans. The language of the law, the 
 government, the literature, and the schools be- 
 ing English; rapid encroachments upon the 
 German tongue, even in the largest German 
 settlements, were inevitable. 
 
 28 
 
United Brethren Hoine Missionaries 
 
 From the foregoing it will be understood why 
 there was a demand in almost every place 
 for preaching in the English language, and this 
 demand was especially urgent in those com- 
 munities where a new religious life had been 
 awakened by United Brethren evangelists. 
 "Children of the very best United Brethren 
 families," says John Lawrence, "some of them 
 sons of United Brethren ministers, having re- 
 ceived an English education and desiring to hear 
 preaching in the English language, moved with 
 the current and found church homes elsewhere. 
 Furthermore, in almost every coramunitj^ where 
 the German fathers held revivals and started 
 churches, persons w^ere awakened and converted 
 who could understand the German language but 
 imperfectly, or who could not understand it at 
 all, and such persons would naturally be very 
 desirous, on their own account, and for the 
 sake of their children and English-speaking 
 neighbors, to secure preaching in the English 
 language." English evangelists, under the 
 direction of Bishop Asbury, were prepared to 
 respond to every call and to make the best use 
 of every opportunity. It is fair to say that, 
 had the relations of Otterbein and Asbury been 
 changed as to language and country, the rel- 
 ative strength of the two churches would be 
 the reverse of what it is to-day. 
 
 Moreover, in making comparisons, it must be 
 borne in mind that the United Brethren Church 
 is an American product, and that its recruits 
 
 29 
 
Our Heroes, or 
 
 have been gathered exclusively from the home 
 field. Unlike some of the large denominations, 
 our beloved Zion has, at no time in her heroic, 
 historic past, been inspired and cheered on by 
 reinforcements from the mother country. It 
 may be stated without successful contradiction, 
 that with but one exception, there is no church 
 in America larger than our own that w^as not, 
 during the early history of its progress, fed by 
 the tides of immigration more largely than it was 
 nourished by material it was able to appropriate 
 in the home field. 
 
 While the fathers had no thought of founding 
 a denomination, they were, at the same time, 
 unconsciously laying the lines of organized 
 church life. The time finally arrived when the 
 divine will and plan concerning the great re- 
 ligious movement with which they were 
 identified became manifestly clear. A new era 
 of progress dawned under the leadership of 
 Bishop Newcomer, the "re-founder" of the 
 Church. English ministers were discovered and 
 added to the ranks in increasing numbers and 
 the work of organizing the scattered forces wa;^ 
 begun. Soon after the General Conference of 
 1815 the Church began to display an unpre- 
 cedented vigor and life, which soon established 
 its right to a place among the organized forces 
 of American Protestantism. In planning and 
 carrying forw^ard the new campaign of con- 
 structive denominational work, Henry George 
 Spayth deserves special recognition. 
 
 30 
 
United Brethren Home Missionaries 
 
 He was born in Wurttemburg, Germany, Sep- 
 tember 13, 1788. Three years later he emigrated 
 tO' America, with his parents, locating, most 
 probably, in Washington County, Maryland. 
 Until the beginning of his distinguished career 
 as minister and writer, his history is as obscure 
 as that of the prophet Elijah. It is fair to 
 presume, however, that he was favored with pious 
 parental training. The inference is that he was 
 won to Christ and the Christian ministry by 
 the Eev. George Adam Geeting, the third mem- 
 ber of that illustrious trio, whose lives and work 
 constituted the first period of United Brethren 
 history. 
 
 The name of Mr. Spayth first appears on the 
 roll of ministers of the Eastern Conference in 
 1812, the session for that year being held at the 
 home of Kev. Mr. Geeting at Antietam, in Wash- 
 ington County, Maryland. His first work as a 
 minister was rendered in Maryland and Vir- 
 ginia. The minutes of that conference state 
 that "he and Henry Heistand shall this year 
 travel and preach on our circuit." The territory 
 referred to included parts of Maryland and 
 Virginia. The same record says : "He sliall 
 make a visit to Virginia in the month of No- 
 vember, and Lawrence Eberhart shall take 
 charge of his circuit." It would appear that 
 the work was subsequently divided, so that his 
 entire services for that year were given to the 
 Virginia territory. During a visit, in 1870, to 
 the offices of the Relgious Telescope, Mr. 
 
 31 
 
Our Heroes^ or 
 
 Spayth, on being interviewed by the editor, 
 stated that his first charge was in Virginia. 
 By appointment of the conference of 1813, which 
 convened in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, 
 his field for that year included Washington and 
 Frederick Counties, in Maryland. At the con- 
 ference of 1814, which was held in Hagerstown, 
 Maryland, he was assigned to Rockingham 
 circuit in Virginia: The territory included a 
 large portion of the Shenandoah Valley, and 
 also a large part of the mountain region on the 
 west. In 1815 he removed to Westmoreland 
 County, Pennsylvania, and two years later as- 
 sisted in the organization of the Muskingum 
 Conference. As the old veteran of the cross 
 recalled to the editor of the Telescope some of 
 the experiences of those three years of pioneer 
 missionary work in the "mother conference,'' 
 his eyes were often flooded with tears — tender 
 memories were awakened and the tides of feeling 
 were quickened. They were years of privation 
 and hardships, but of blessing and victory. 
 Each year's toil was crowned with the salvation 
 of more than a hundred souls. 
 
 The most noted event in the early history of 
 the legislative work of the denomination was 
 that of its first General Conference, which con- 
 vened on the sixth of June, 1815, when sl dis- 
 cipline providing rules and regulations for the 
 government of the Church was adopted. The 
 year was also made memorable in our national 
 history by the ratification of the treaty of peace 
 
 32 
 

 1 
 
 • 
 
 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 
 JH 
 
 i^' 
 
 Z^-, ■ 
 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 
 g 
 
 
 1^ 
 
 
 i 
 
 H 
 
 
 
 
 hbhhl 
 
 Wj' 
 
 ^ 
 
 Jl 
 
 HENRY GEORGE SPAYTH 
 
United Brethren Home Missionaries 
 
 between the United States and Great Britain. 
 The personnel of the conference was made up of 
 representatives from Virginia, Maryland, Penn- 
 sylvania, and Ohio. Mr. Spayth was one of the 
 delegates from Virginiai, 
 
 The Americanism of the Church in that early 
 day is seen in the fact that the entire member- 
 ship was asked to give expression to its will in 
 the selection of representatives to its legislative 
 body. The same principle of recognizing the 
 rights of the individual in the government of 
 the Church has been protected by its constitu- 
 tion from that time until the present. 
 
 The place of the meeting was an humble log 
 house, known as "John Bonnet's Schoolhouse," 
 situated about one mile east of Mt. Pleasant, 
 Pennsylvania, on the old turnpike road leading 
 over the Alleghenies. The surrounding country 
 presents a picturesque view of landscape, with 
 a sublime setting of mountains. "In this se- 
 cluded spot, far from the great city with its 
 lofty spires and deep-toned bells, its daily press 
 and ubiquitous reporters, from telegraph wires, 
 then undreamed of, from all the imposing cir- 
 cumstances so often attending important re- 
 ligious assemblies, this body of ministers met 
 to discharge the grave trust committed to them." 
 Fourteen of the twenty delegates elected were 
 present. A glance into that humble council- 
 chamber presents an interesting scene. They 
 were men of humble appearance. "None were 
 distinguished for learning, none bore titles as 
 
 33 
 
Our Heroes, or 
 
 doctors of divinity, or were known to literature, 
 or eminent in smj special sense as men recognize 
 eminence." Not widely different, indeed, were 
 they from that company of plain toilers whom 
 Jesus gathered about him, and to whom he com- 
 mitted the building of the kingdom after his 
 departure. They were men of strong minds, 
 giant hearts, and stalwart frames. They were 
 marked by a mighty faith. They knew God and 
 were well versed in the Scriptures. Moreover, 
 they had been for several years under the 
 training of the learned Otterbein, and under 
 liis instruction and superintendency they had 
 been introduced into the Christian ministry. 
 
 In the organization of the conference. Chris- 
 tian Newcomer, of Maryland, and Andrew 
 Zeller, of Ohio, were elected to preside over its 
 sessions. Henry George Spayth and Jacob 
 Baulus were honored by being chosen secretar- 
 ies of the conference. At this time Mr. Spayth 
 was twenty-seven years of age. He was en- 
 dowed with superior gifts, especially in matters 
 of counsel. His influence upon the conference 
 was not excelled by that of any other delegate. 
 The reader will remember the quotation from 
 his history respecting the contentions which 
 darkened the early sessions of the conference, 
 and also that, after a season of fervent prayer, 
 the clouds were dispersed and harmony reigned 
 from that hour forward to the end. Mr. 
 Spayth modestly omits to speak of the part he 
 himself performed in the bringing about of a 
 
 34 
 
United Brethren Home Missionaries 
 
 better feeling. Mr. Lawrence mentions that, 
 "at the moment when a rupture in that body 
 seemed inevitable, and the powers of darkness 
 were ready to shout a victory, Mr. Spayth arose 
 and delivered an address which, with the prayer- 
 meeting that followed, resulted in a complete 
 restoration of good feeling and a most happy 
 termination of the difficulties." In subsequent 
 church councils there were times when he ex- 
 celled in his power to quell storms and bring 
 together diverging factions. His poise, diplom- 
 acy, logic, and eloquence combined in giving 
 him almost irresistible power over a conference. 
 The absence of three of the great leaders, 
 who had recently been called from labor to 
 reward, caused a shadow to fall upon the first 
 session of the conference. The loss of their 
 counsel and support was keenly felt. Great and 
 good men, indeed, were they who were called 
 to take their places, but all missed the majestic 
 personality of Otterbein, the saintly presence 
 of Boehm, and the majestic power of the elo- 
 quent Geeting. There had been since their 
 departure a widespread feeling of doubt as to 
 whether the Church would be able to hold per- 
 manently together. Its government had 
 hitherto derived its strength from those leaders. 
 No discipline had been issued in printed form. 
 Again it was demonstrated that "God buries 
 the workmen but carries on the work." No 
 great cause dies with its representatives. That 
 which is of God abides. At the funeral of a 
 
 35 
 
Our Heroes, or 
 
 distinguished Methodist churchman, a lugxi- 
 brious orator lamented, "The sun of Methodism 
 is set." A sane voice shouted from the audience, 
 "Thank God, that is not true." In the provi- 
 dence of God this conference marked the 
 beginning' of an era of new denominational life 
 and influence. The real work of crystalizing 
 and organizing the disconnected elements was 
 now begun, and these fourteen stalwart men of 
 God went down from that mount of blessing 
 and vision to address themselves to their work 
 with new assurance as to the future. 
 
 In the year 1815, as previously stated, Mr. 
 Spayth located near Mount Pleasant, in West- 
 moreland County, Pennsylvania. The same 
 year he was united in marriage with Miss Nis- 
 wonger, of Virginia, a member of one of the 
 first and most noted United Brethren families 
 of the State. Two years later a new conference 
 was formed called the Muskingum Conference, 
 including that portion of Ohio which lies east 
 and west of the Muskingum River and Wash- 
 ington and Westmoreland Counties in Penn- 
 sylvania. He probably united with the 
 conference at its organization, for as early as 
 1821 he served it as presiding elder with great 
 faithfulness and success. His name, however, 
 does not appear with the six charter members 
 named by Mr. Lawrence in his history. These 
 were chiefly local preachers. In 1820 three 
 itinerants and three fields of labor were re- 
 ported. Local ministers were supplementing 
 
 36 
 
United Brethren Home Missionaries 
 
 the work of these itinerants. Hence, the duties 
 of a presiding elder would require frequent and 
 long journeys, with much labor and but little 
 compensation. 
 
 In our day we can scarcely appreciate the 
 privations and perils of the pioneer missionary 
 in the Western Reserve country. The settle- 
 ments, composed of a few families, were 
 scattered in various parts of that great terri- 
 tory, but the zeal and enthusiasm upon the part 
 of the home missionary never faltered as he 
 braved the dangers and perils of the long jour- 
 neys through the swamps and dense forests, in 
 order to bear the message of salvation to those 
 who were deprived of it. 
 
 From the pen of James B. Finly, a noted 
 missionary of another denomination in the 
 Western Reserve country during those early 
 times, we have the following: "I entered upon 
 this work with great fear and trembling. No- 
 where in all the round could I find a place for 
 my family to live, and I was driven to the ne- 
 cessity of building a cabin. After getting it 
 ready for occupancy, I wrote to my father, re- 
 questinjT him to bring my family, and, after a 
 separation of four months, we had the pleasure 
 of meeting again. We took possession of our 
 humble cabin, 12 x 14 feet, which proved 
 sufficiently capacious, as we had nothing but a 
 bed and some wearing apparel. My funds being 
 all exhausted, I sold the boots off my feet to 
 purchase provisions with, and, after making all 
 
 37 
 
Our Heroes, or 
 
 the preparation that I could to render my 
 family comfortable, started out again upon my 
 circuit, to be absent four weeks. I traveled and 
 preached night and day. Many times I suffered 
 from hunger and cold, and was always without 
 those comforts that are now enjoyed by travel- 
 ing preachers." 
 
 Mr. Spayth well remarks that those were days 
 that tried men's souls. The annual conference 
 was to those pioneer ministers a great occasion. 
 With worn and tattered garments, but happy 
 and united in prayer and purpose, these heroes 
 toiled, and when; they met at their annual gath- 
 erings they embraced each other; and they never 
 separated at those sessions without weeping, 
 
 Mr. Spayth, as already stated, was a member 
 of the First General Conference. He was 
 further honored by being returned to six sub- 
 sequent sessions, namely, the second, fourth, 
 sixth, eighth, ninth, and tenth. The second 
 convened in 1817 at Mount Pleasant, Pennsyl- 
 vania. The conference ordered that a trans- 
 lation be made of the revised Discipline into 
 English, and that one hundred copies be printed 
 in that tongue. The fourth was held in Tus- 
 carawas County, Ohio, in 1825. The sixth 
 convened in Pickaway County, Ohio, in 1833. 
 This conference pronounced in favor of increas- 
 ing the salaries of itinerant preachers, and also 
 took definite steps toward establishing a pub- 
 lishing house. The eighth met in Dresback's 
 Church, Pickaway County, Ohio, in 1841. This 
 
 38 
 
United Brethren Home Missionaries 
 
 conference adopted the constitution which had 
 been before the Church for several years. The 
 ninth met in Circleville, Ohio, in 1845. At this 
 conference it was determined that the Telescope 
 should be issued weekly. \, The tenth met in 
 Germantown, Ohio, in 1849. Possessing great 
 strength of character as well as sound judgment, 
 Mr. Spayth exerted much influence in these 
 successive conferences, and it has been remarked 
 of him that "perhaps few men did more to shape 
 the polity of the Church from 1815 to 1845, a 
 period of thirty years." 
 
 At the second session of the Sandusky Con- 
 ference, held in Crawford County, Ohio, in 1835, 
 Mr. Spayth was received on transfer, and re- 
 mained ai member of this conference until his 
 death. At this time there was not a church 
 house in the bounds of the conference, and for 
 several years conferences and preaching services 
 were held in private homes or in schoolhouses. 
 This was as much of a wilderness as the section 
 he had just left. The conferences were separa- 
 ted by a distance of more than one hundred 
 miles, much of it a dense wilderness. The 
 journey was made on horseback or on the old- 
 fashioned stage coach, which frepuently made 
 but ten or twelve miles per day. When it is 
 remembered that this was in the age before rail- 
 roads made travel quite an ease, and that the 
 work of an itinerant stretched over hundreds of 
 miles, it will be perceived that these were 
 heroic days for the missionary enterprise. In 
 
 39 
 
Our Heroes, or 
 
 1836 Mr. Spayth assisted in a camp-meeting 
 near the Auglaize River, ten miles west of 
 Findlay, at a place which, seven years before, 
 was a total wilderness, over which only the red 
 man roamed. That meeting under the blessing 
 of God laid the foundations for many of the 
 churches now in Sandusky Conference. To 
 form a correct estimate of the labors of this 
 hero of the cross during these years, the reader 
 must take into account the size of the missions 
 which he traveled and the character of the 
 country through which he passed, sometimes on 
 horseback and not infrequently on foot. The 
 Black Swamp country, though now intersected 
 with railroads and thriving villages, was a 
 dreadful country for an itinerant in those days. 
 Mr. Spayth was the chairman of a committee 
 appointed by the General Conference of 1845 
 to prepare a revised hymnbook for use 
 in the churches. The task was performed with 
 excellent taste. The book was published in 1849 
 and continued in use until 1858. The chief 
 work of his life, however, and that by means of 
 which his memory will be longest preserved, 
 was the writing of the first history of the De- 
 nomination. To this task he was asked to give 
 himself by the General Conference of 1845. 
 Previous efforts to obtain such a work had been 
 unsuccessful. Although he was peculiarly 
 fitted for the work by his intimate acquaintance 
 with the founders of the Church, and by his 
 official connection with its legislation, nev- 
 
 40 
 
United Brethren Home Missionaries 
 
 ertheless the task was a difficult one, and 
 was undertaken with misgivings. It was com- 
 pleted, however, and the history issued in 1851. 
 Every student of this work will be impressed 
 with its great value as an early and Avorthy 
 source of material for United Brethren history. 
 It is the groundwork of the larger histories that 
 have been written in more recent times. The 
 work bears the marks of careful investigation. 
 It proves the possession on his part not only of 
 an extensive knowledge of the subjects treated, 
 but a discriminating grasp of the causes that 
 led up to the founding of the Church and its 
 subsequent development during the early part 
 of the nineteenth century. If this distinguished 
 servant of God had never performed any other 
 service for the Church, this work alone would 
 place the Denomination under lasting obliga- 
 tions to him. It was a difficult task, requiring 
 not only labor and patience, but also a dis- 
 cerning mind and pious heart. 
 
 Those who were acquainted with ]Mr. Spayth 
 in the prime of his life speak of his preaching 
 as being more instructive to cultivated hearers 
 than interesting to the masses; yet he was 
 sometimes very eloquent. His sermons were 
 largely devoted to the fundamental doctrines of 
 Christianity. They were at the same time evan- 
 gelical and spiritual. 
 
 He was a strong man physically, and of a 
 commanding presence. He had a genial face, 
 full, broad, and usually clean shaven; his com- 
 
 41 
 
Our Heroes, or 
 
 plexion fair, his eyes gray and eloquent. Upon 
 his countenance were marks of tenderness, 
 shrewdness, and abounding good humor. When 
 a friend he was a friend for life, and his friend- 
 ship grew stronger with the years. Mr. P. J. 
 Wilson, an aged citizen of Tiffin, Ohio, who was 
 his intimate friend, furnishes us the following 
 testimony : " I heard Rev. Mr. Spayth preach in 
 Stone Chapel, near Mellmore, Ohio, when I was 
 a mere lad. His sermons greatly influenced my 
 young life. During the closing years of his life 
 we were intimately associated. He always stood 
 before the world as a man of high Christian 
 character and strong intellect. He possessed a 
 large fund of general knowledge and was well 
 versed in history. He was also a man of fine 
 business judg-ment and ability. He was my 
 close personal friend and a friend of my family. 
 When we had sickness in our home he visited 
 us as a pastor, and his extensive knowledge of 
 medicine enabled him to advise wisely. We 
 still rejoice that his life touched ours as it did. 
 He died in 1873, and his dear wife fifteen 
 months later; and I had the honor to help to 
 bear them both to Greenlawn Cemetery, where 
 they rest in peace." 
 
 At the time of his death. ]Mr. Spayth had ad- 
 vanced considerably beyond four-score years of 
 age. He was personally acquainted with Bishop 
 Otterbein and the members of the famous con- 
 ference of 1800, and he lived to see almost every 
 member of that body translated before him. He 
 
 42 
 
United Brethren Home Missionaries 
 
 could take up worthily at the close of his life 
 the words of the great Paul : "I have fought a 
 good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept 
 the faith." 
 
 Nohly th}^ course is run — 
 
 Splendor is round it; 
 
 Bravely thy fight is won — 
 
 Victory crowned it. 
 
 In thy warfare of heaven, 
 
 Grown old and hoary, 
 
 Thou art like the summer sun, 
 
 Shrouded in glory. 
 
 43 
 
CHAPTER III. 
 
 DANIEL FUNKHOUSER. 
 
 An Early Foundation-B iiilder in the East. 
 
 America is distinguished from all other 
 nations in that the pioneer element is largely 
 developed in her entire citizenship. From the 
 first settlements established on the coast of New 
 England, every step westward has been marked 
 by the progress of pioneer life and honest 
 endeavor. 
 
 So with the United Brethren Church. Otter- 
 bein and his fellow-toilers were its pioneers in 
 a peculiar sense because they chiseled out its 
 foundations, and reared, at least in outline, the 
 superstructure which was later to be perfected 
 and made strong in all its parts. Others, follow- 
 ing these founders, pushed their way, decade by 
 decade, toward the setting sun, and so became 
 pioneers in opening up new fields of operation, 
 and in helping to blaze the way for the onward 
 march of all that goes to make up a great Church 
 and a glorious civilization. 
 
 One of the characters who figured prominently 
 and most efficiently in the early days of the 
 United Brethren Church in southern Pennsyl- 
 vania, and especially in the Cumberland Valley, 
 was Daniel Funkhouser. But little is said about 
 
 44 
 
United Brethren Home Missionaries 
 
 him in the earlier records of his conference, 
 partly because very little was said in those days 
 about any one; and more especially, because he 
 was unassuming, and in no sense inclined to 
 make himself prominent in the councils of the 
 Church. 
 
 His birth occurred near Strasburg, Shenan- 
 doah County, Virginia, February 18, 1809. He 
 was of German extraction, and exhibited in a 
 marked degree those qualities of head and heart 
 characteristic of a worthy ancestry. 
 
 His early life was peculiarly touched by a 
 great religious refortnation which swept through 
 that section of the country. United Brethren 
 and Methodist preachers were looked upon by 
 many, and perhaps by the masses at first, as 
 fanatics and impostors, possessed of a strange 
 kind of power calculated, as they thought, to 
 destroy the peace of families, and the tranquility 
 of whole communities. United Brethren held 
 great meetings through Virginia, INIaryland, and 
 Pennsylvania, and multitudes were convicted 
 under their trenchant sermons, and thus led into 
 a life of joy and trust. They had no special 
 program mapped out, but went whithersoever 
 the Spirit seemed to lead them. 
 
 The cold, lifeless formalism of some of the 
 older churches was utterly shattered by the 
 spiritual energy and converting power which 
 accompanied their work. Many were even afraid 
 to invite these gospel heralds into their homes 
 
 45 
 
Our Heroes, or 
 
 lest by the exercise of some sort of bewitchery 
 they might be led into heresy, or something as 
 wicked, and thus be exposed to the judgments of 
 heaven. At a union camp-meeting a minister of 
 another communion publicly declared, "I wish 
 God would banish this damnable heresy from the 
 face of the earth," Such Avere the feelings, gen- 
 erally, toward them and their preaching. 
 
 But a different sentiment prevailed in the 
 home and neighborhood of young Funkhouser. 
 United Brethren preachers were welcomed, and 
 not spurned. We are led to think of his early 
 life as closely in touch with the founders of the 
 Church. Bishops Newcomer, Hoffman, Erb, and 
 others, were seen and heard by him. And it is 
 possible that his infant eyes were permitted to 
 look upon the great Otterbein who lived four 
 years after Daniel's birth. We may further 
 picture him as listening with deepest interest to 
 the pious conversation of these holy men, and 
 especially to their recitals of service and sacri- 
 fice, of trials and triumphs. He tells us himself 
 that he was early impressed by their sermons. 
 When fourteen, he attended a camp-meeting 
 which led to his conversion, and to a place in 
 the membership of the Church. But these steps, 
 though fundamental, were only preparatory to 
 a larger life of service which soon opened up 
 before him. 
 
 Three or four years later the impression came, 
 strong and clear, that he ought to preach, but 
 
 46 
 
United Brethren Home Missionaries 
 
 like so many others, he hesitated, and was ready 
 to plead ignorance and moral unfitness. Here is 
 his experience as published in the autobiography 
 of Rev. Samuel Huber, a fellow laborer in the 
 Lord : 
 
 "In the year 1827, while I was plowing in the 
 field, I heard a voice calling me by name. I 
 stopped the horses thinking some one was want- 
 ing to inquire the road. But neither seeing nor 
 hearing any person, I started again. In a little 
 time the same voice was repeated. I then 
 thought some one wanted to fool me. However, 
 befoTe making another start I heard the mys- 
 terious call the third time, which seemed to be 
 just above me. Answering aloud I said, 'What 
 do you want?' The reply was, 'You must go and 
 preach Jesus to the people.' After some reflec- 
 tion I said aloud, 'This I cannot do,' and went 
 on plowing. The circumstances made a deep 
 impression on my mind respecting the work of 
 the ministry. I made it a matter of prayer that 
 God would remove these impressions, but they 
 continued to deepen." But he was slow to yield, 
 and the victory was not fully won until after a 
 hard-fought battle which extended through years 
 of doubt and misgivings. 
 
 How true that men of a highly sensitive 
 nature, of fine moral fiber, who possess a deep 
 sense of responsibility, and feel most keenly 
 their utter unfitness for the ministry, are the 
 ones who recoil from the thought of entering an 
 
 47 
 
Our Heroes, or 
 
 office so high and holy. The man who wants to 
 preach clearly indicates his unpreparedness for 
 the sacred calling. No thoughtful person will, of 
 his own accord, assume obligations so weighty, 
 nor seek a task so difficult and far-reaching in 
 its influence upon the destinies of men. 
 
 When Mr. Funkhouser was twenty he was 
 given license to exhort. In this step he was 
 evidently feeling his way, and wished to further 
 test his own capabilities before entering the 
 itinerancy. Nevertheless, he was happy over the 
 little progress made, and went home from the 
 quarterly meeting singing, 
 
 "Jesus, all the day long, is my joy and my 
 song, 
 O, that all his salvation might see." 
 
 In this relation he continued to work for years. 
 One incident which no doubt deepened his 
 convictions as to the duty of preaching, occurred 
 at a great camp-meeting held on the farm of 
 Jacob Hous, in the Valley of Virginia, the latter 
 part of August, 1828. The aged Bishop Chris- 
 tian Newcomer, William Brown, and William 
 Rinehart were present. Funkhouser writes: 
 "Newcomer preached on Sunday morning. When 
 preaching, he wept like a mother over the corpse 
 of her darling babe. His words were attended 
 with unusual power. Newcomer requested 
 Brother Brown to preach in the afternoon, but 
 
 48 
 
DANIEL FUNKHOUSER 
 
United Brethren Home Missionaries 
 
 he hesitated, saying he felt himself too unwor- 
 thy. Newcomer said, 'Take up the cross; we 
 will pray for you.' When Brown read his text 
 and began to preach, Newcomer prostrated him- 
 self upon his knees behind him in the stand, and 
 with uplifted hands prayed to God for Christ's 
 sake to bless Brother Brown and enable him to 
 preach. The congregation, seeing Newcomer in 
 that attitude, were melted to tears. Suddenly 
 something came over the people like a whirl- 
 wind. They fell over from their seats on the 
 altar and outside of it. The cries of mourners 
 struck by divine power became so great, with the 
 singing and praying, that Brown's voice could 
 not be heard. Many conversions took place." 
 
 The Brother Brown referred to was afterwards 
 elected one of the Bishops of the Church. New- 
 comer, referring to the occasion in his journal, 
 wrote, "We had a powerful time at that meet- 
 ing. Bless the Lord." Such scenes and demon- 
 strations of the Spirit so frequently witnessed a 
 century ago, left a. powerful impression upon the 
 communities in which they occurred, and very 
 naturally focused attention upon these prophets 
 of a new way, who came with their message fresh 
 from the throne. 
 
 Young Funkhouser's exhortations to the 
 Church and his appeals to sinners were so 
 effective, and his progress as a public speaker so 
 marked, that the annual conference which con- 
 
 49 
 
Our Heroes J or 
 
 vened at Greencastle, Pennsylvania, April 8, 
 1834, granted him license to preach, with six 
 others, though he had made no request for such 
 recognition. His credentials were signed by 
 Bishop Brown. Here he received his first reg- 
 ular charge — Lancaster and Lebanon Circuit — 
 which practically meant the two counties after 
 which it was named. 
 
 Serving the charge one year he was trans- 
 ferred to another, and then possibly to a third; 
 but later, in 1838, was returned to his first field 
 where a great religious tide swept over the 
 entire circuit, giving United Brethrenism such 
 strength and prominence that it has ever since 
 been one of the dominant forces in the moral 
 and religious work of that country. 
 
 One of the things achieved during the period 
 was the organization of what was and is known 
 as Ranck Class. The converts entering into 
 the organization came from various meetings 
 held thereabouts in barns, private houses, and 
 groves. It is the oldest local United Brethren 
 church in Lancaster County, and has at present 
 one hundred and seventy-six members. The 
 house of worship still in use was erected in 1844. 
 A Sabbath school has been held in the church 
 ever since 1845. 
 
 Mr. Funkhouser during all these years was 
 unmarried, and in the absence of a family to 
 care for he could give himself, day and night, 
 to the work of an itinerant. 
 
 50 
 
United Brethren Home Missionaries 
 
 Mrs. James Davis and Mrs. Anna Seldom- 
 ridge, the only surviving members of the original 
 class, ,remember well the pentecostal year, and 
 the dauntless hero who led the forces of the 
 Cross. The descendants of these great revivals 
 are to this day the pillars in the Ranck and New 
 Holland churches. In other sections where he 
 traveled a few still remain who recite with great 
 interest how God manifested himself in the 
 conversion of souls at all his meetings. Many 
 who knew him well, and heard him at his best, 
 often referred to him in later years as "the great 
 Daniel Punkhouser." 
 
 On account of ill health he did no itinerating 
 under the direction of his conference after 1840. 
 His passion for souls so flamed that in a little 
 while his vitality began to wane. But after 
 locating he kept on preaching as time and 
 strength permitted, sometimes filling a hundred 
 engagements in a single year. Being able to 
 preach fluently in both German and English, he 
 was in great demand, and so continued for many 
 years a leader in all the aggressively religious 
 work of his Church. 
 
 In discussing the character and achievements 
 of a man like Daniel Funkhouser, it is not neces- 
 sary to raise the question as to how many years 
 he traveled, or how many fields he served, but 
 what w^as his real influence upon the Church of 
 his day, and to what extent did he stamp it with 
 his own religious ideals? In what measure did 
 
 51 
 
Our Heroes^ or 
 
 lie contribute to the permanency of the super- 
 structure? How far did God use him in mould- 
 ing its life and shaping its policies? 
 
 We cannot answer these queries fully for the 
 want of data, but we are assured that he suc- 
 ceeded. We do know that as a great chieftain 
 at the head of redeemed militant forces he won 
 proud laurels for himself and the Church to 
 which he had pledged allegiance. 
 
 Indeed, we of to-day, though removed nearly 
 three-quarters of a century from his active 
 ministerial career, know more about the results 
 of his labors than he could know himself. We 
 have had time to study history, to identify and 
 locate agencies and first causes, to take an 
 inventory of the assets bequeathed to us, and to 
 place a just value upon them. We only regret 
 that a life so noble and devoted should be allowed 
 to remain obscure for so long a period. 
 
 The vitality and genuineness of every seed is 
 seen in its power of reproduction. The planting 
 of United Brethrenism in southern Pennsylvania 
 Maryland, and Virginia, by the divine husband- 
 men who wrought so nobly in those early days, 
 must have been genuine since the seed sown has 
 grown and multiplied itself "an hundredfold" 
 as it spread in different directions, and especially 
 westward toward the setting sun. 
 
 Men like Funkhouser got but little material 
 remuneration for their work. The full disciplin- 
 ary allowance was only $160.00 a year for a 
 
 52 
 
United Brethren Home Missionaries 
 
 married man, and |80.00 for the unmarried. 
 But feAv, however, were fortunate enough to get 
 that much. Rev. Samuel Huber, a devoted 
 friend of Mr. Funkhouser's, tells us in his auto- 
 biography that in a ministry of forty years he 
 received less than twenty dollars for his services, 
 though twelve years of that time were spent in 
 the presiding eldership, when his traveling ex- 
 penses must have been considerable. We do not 
 think such a policy was wise. Nor did he think 
 so himself as he viewed the matter in later years. 
 But we get the lesson, and important it is, that 
 the ministry of that day was in no sense com- 
 mercialized. To those who saw and obeyed the 
 "heavenly vision," it was not a question of salary 
 for self, but of service for others. And many of 
 them, we are inclined to think, preached more 
 gospel on a hundred dollars a year than some do 
 to-day on their thousands. 
 
 The paths blazed out by these divine harbin- 
 gers through wildernesses, and across mountains 
 and plains, have long since become highways for 
 the King, over which the onward tramp of his 
 victorious hosts may now be heard. Some of 
 these chevaliers spent most of their lives in the 
 saddle. Indeed, many of thelm were there when 
 God sent for them, and leaped from their stir- 
 rups into the waiting chariot. In honoring their 
 memory we bare our heads, and open our hearts 
 in gratitude to the good Father for their lives 
 and labors. 
 
 53 
 
Our Heroes, or 
 
 Daniel Funkhouser was not given to boasting, 
 and seldom took any credit to himself for what 
 he actually did. "He saw no man save Jesus 
 only." His all-absorbing purpose was to save 
 souls. He had the conception that stars with 
 which to bedeck the heavenly crown must be 
 gathered while down in this world. 
 
 He knew how to talk with God as a child 
 pleads with its father. His public prayers, at 
 times, were overwhelming — the unutterable 
 gushings of a soul in constant fellowship with 
 heaven. 
 
 Once while on a visit to his mother he stopped 
 with David Byers, an old acquaintance, who 
 lived in Martinsburg, Virginia. On Sunday 
 they went to a Methodist meeting. Byers told 
 the pastor who Funkhouser was, and requested 
 that he be invited to preach. After consulting 
 his officials he reluctantly consented, but would 
 not go into the pulpit with the newcomer. This 
 treatment was keenly felt by the visitor, but his 
 Christian heart would not allow him to resent 
 the injury, nor disregard the importunities of a 
 brother. The sermon was one of such marvelous 
 unction that the entire audience was deeply 
 moved. In closing, he turned to the unsaved 
 and presented his Christ with such fervor and 
 convincing appeals that twenty-three rushed to 
 the altar of prayer. The pastor himself was so 
 wrought upon that he wept over his conduct, 
 and humbly begged the preacher's pardon. 
 
 5i 
 
United Brethren Home Missionaries 
 
 This incident but illustrates the type of Mr. 
 Funkhouser's preaching, and the wonderful 
 strength of his personality when once aroused. 
 
 He was married February 6, 1840, to Susanna 
 Sharick, of Mountville, Pennsylvania, a sister to 
 Bishop Erb's wife. Susanna was saved at the 
 age of eighteen, and lived a true Christian life 
 thereafter until the time of her translation 
 which occurred when she was nearly ninety-five. 
 The writer called at her home, near Chambers- 
 burg, during her last years and found her 
 cheerful and happy. Upon bidding her good-bye 
 she smiled and said, "I am patiently waiting. 
 Wouldn't it be nice if the Lord would come for 
 me before morning?" He did come a little later, 
 sure enough, and took her to the eternal home 
 for which she had been preparing for more than 
 three-fourths of a century. 
 
 Daniel Funkhouser died on the thirty-first of 
 August, 1869, and he died as he had lived. At 
 no time did his faith falter. Not a single cloud 
 arose to bedim the brightness of his sky. In his 
 last moments he leaned back into the arms of 
 infinite love as a tired, trusting child, and "was 
 not, for God took him." 
 
 All that was mortal of him now rests in the 
 
 old Salem Church Cemetery, near Rocky Spring, 
 
 in Franklin County, Pennsylvania, having been 
 
 carried thither by the hands of his brethren and 
 
 comrades in toil. 
 
 55 
 
Our Heroes, or 
 
 "As sink the stars when night is o'er, 
 To rise upon some other shore. 
 So sank the hero out of sight 
 In other Avorlds to walk in light." 
 
 The subject of this chapter had two sons — 
 Jacob and Benjamin. The former lives in St. 
 Louis, Missouri, the other in Chambersburg, 
 Pennsylvania. Benjamin's daughter, Romaine, 
 is the devoted wife and helper of Rev. W, H. 
 Washinger, D.D., so favorably known through- 
 out the Church, and who has been, for many 
 years, the faithful, efficient presiding elder of 
 Pennsylvania Conference. 
 
 56 
 
CHAPTER IV. 
 
 AARON FARMER. 
 
 Our Pioneer Journalist. 
 
 The first periodical issued in the name of tne 
 United Brethren Church was edited and pub- 
 lished in 1829 by Rev. Aaron Farmer, of In- 
 diana. Of that devoted band of United Brethren 
 preachers who invaded Indiana in the early 
 days, he was one of the most widely known and 
 respected. Bishop Henry Kumler, Sr., was a 
 great admirer of Mr. Farmer, and often men- 
 tioned him in naming the marked men of early 
 United Brethrenism in Ohio and Indiana. 
 Every reference made to his brief, though 
 marvelously successful career, by his contempor- 
 aries, impresses the reader with a heroism and 
 grandeur that can only attach to a great 
 character. 
 
 Of the parentage, birthplace, and early history 
 of Mr. Farmer nothing is recorded, but he, no 
 doubt, inherited from his huuible Gemian home, 
 wherever it was located, those rugged, virile 
 qualities which have borne fruitage in a life of 
 remarkable usefulness to the world and to the 
 kingdom of God. Born among the poor, and in 
 a new country, his early advantages were of 
 necessity very limited, Init he developed for him- 
 
 57 
 
Our Heroes, or 
 
 self a keen sense of the value and necessity of 
 a well-stored and disciplined mind. His wide 
 reading, his general knowledge of men and 
 things, made him one of the best informed men 
 of his conference. 
 
 Mr. Farmer was born in the year 1799. His 
 conversion occurred in 1823. The following year 
 he joined the Miami Conference, when his itin- 
 erant life began. From that time until the day 
 of his death, fifteen years later, he gave full proof 
 of his calling. Having once put his hands to 
 the plow, he looked not back. He gave himself, 
 heart, and soul, and mind, and strength, to the 
 work of his ministry Witli unfaltering purpose, 
 with apostolic zeal, with heroic faith that feared 
 no danger and surmounted every obstacle, he 
 went forward as duty called. 
 
 It has already been said that Mr. Farmer be- 
 gan his ministry in 1824. At that time he was 
 appointed by the conference to his first charge, 
 known as "Orange Circuit." The territory 
 comprised portions of five sparsely-settled 
 counties. Clad in homespun, and with Testa- 
 ment in his pocket, he started upon his mission. 
 In those days the rivers were without bridges, 
 and most of the country was a dense wilderness. 
 The cabin of the frontiersman was a rude 
 structure of logs, often with but a single room, 
 with the naked earth as its floor. These early 
 missionaries were often obliged to swim the 
 rivers with their horses, to trail their own way 
 through the wilderness, and, for long periods 
 
 58 
 
United Brethren Home Missionaries 
 
 at a time, to suffer the privations and hardships 
 of pioneer life. 
 
 John LaAvrence, in his church history, in his 
 own peculiarly interesting way, gives the follow- 
 ing picture of the pioneer preacher's studio: 
 "I would show the reader the interior of 
 a log cabin, in one end of which are the 
 beds; in a corner, near the fire, the rude 
 cupboard and table, the latter made of a broad 
 puncheon, clean and white; around the great 
 log fire, I would introduce to him six or seven 
 children, the youngest in the lap of its mother. 
 In the midst of this interesting group I would 
 place the young preacher. The hard travel of 
 the day is past. His horse has been placed 
 under a shed ; his overcoat and leggins are drying 
 before the fire; the A\ind howls around the cabin, 
 and the snow beats against the window panes, 
 while he is sitting, Bible in hand, preparing his 
 sermon. In such a studio sermons have been 
 prepared which would not discredit our best 
 city pulpits to-day." 
 
 Mr. Farmer was retained three years on the 
 Orange Circuit, with constantly increasing 
 popularity and usefulness. During this time he 
 had attained such distinction as a. preacher that 
 he was sought for beyond the limits of any cir- 
 cuit or mission the conference might assign him. 
 The borders of his wilderness-mission were 
 constantly enlarged, until it required several 
 weeks to perform one round, giving each com- 
 munity preaching once a month. He was much 
 
 59 
 
Our Heroes, or 
 
 of the time a homeless wanderer. His life was 
 one of constant toil, of extreme poverty, crowded 
 with privations and hardships. And yet, as if 
 inspired and fortified by an Abrahamic call, 
 bidding him go up and become the possessor of 
 lands which he knew not, he deliberately gave 
 himself to the work with unfaltering devotion. 
 
 A historian pays the following splendid 
 tribute to the heroic life and work of this faith- 
 ful hero: "Having the heart of a pioneer mis- 
 sionary, he could not neglect the calls from the 
 scattered sheep, although the labor which an 
 acceptance of these calls involved was immense." 
 "I have known him," says William Davis, his 
 intimate friend, "to ride forty miles, and preach 
 three sermons in a day; and though unbridged 
 streams and high water might cross his path, 
 he never hesitated to swim them, no matter 
 how great the danger or the exposure." 
 
 The life and work of Mr. Farmer occupies a 
 ■distinctive place in the early history of the 
 denomination. In a very special sense he may 
 be classed as the John the Baptist of the pub- 
 lishing interests of the Church. Up until this 
 time the salvation of souls was the all-absorbing 
 thought of the pioneer minister, and but little 
 attention was given to the organization of the 
 forces. Dr. William McKee, in his history of 
 Miami Conference, referring to Mr. Farmer and 
 the period in which lie wrought so nobly, vsays: 
 
 "The fathers now began to see that, though 
 they had accomplished great good by the means 
 
 60 
 
United Brethren Home Missionaries 
 
 emploj^ed in the souls they had been instru- 
 mental in saving', and the classes that were or- 
 ganized, the increasing population and the ad- 
 vancing intelligence of the people, required that 
 something more be done for the permanent 
 growth of the Church than holding protracted 
 meetings. These were good, and of first im- 
 portance, but not all. The wilderness must not 
 only be cleared, but the land must be cultivated. 
 They had enlisted a great army of soldiers. 
 These must be trained in the art of war, and to 
 go out on an active and aggressive campaign 
 against the enemy. They must have something 
 to do, both for their own development, and the 
 saving of their children and the generations 
 yet unborn." 
 
 The age of construction in the life and work 
 of the denomination had dawned; an advanced 
 step must now be taken. The fathers began to 
 see in that early day, what became more mani- 
 festly apparent later on, that no movement 
 could live and grow without its own educational 
 and propagandic institutions. It now became 
 evident that in order to make permanent the 
 great movement which God had called into ex- 
 istence, it would be necessary to employ the use 
 of the press, and later on the place of the college 
 was recognized. 
 
 Mr. Farmer was a leader and a prophet that 
 thought in advance of his times. He had a 
 seer-like grasp of the future, and was construc- 
 tive in his work. His belief deepened into a 
 
 61 
 
Otir Heroes, or 
 
 conviction that in the process of building a 
 great church, the voice of the preacher must be 
 supplemented by the message of the printed 
 page, and he had the ambition to vitalize this 
 conviction into permanent working form. 
 
 With characteristic zeal this courageous man 
 undertook the enterprise. In 1829, at Salem, 
 Indiana, he sent forth the pioneer denomina- 
 tional journal. The title, "Zion's Advocate," 
 was significant. "Had it lived and fulfilled its 
 mission, as it was photographed in the mind and 
 heart of this earnest man of God, the name, 
 Religious Telescope, might never have been 
 heard, and the printing establishment might 
 have been located in Salem instead of Dayton." 
 The enterprise w^as undertaken under the 
 auspices of the Miami Conference. The re- 
 strictions of the conference as to doctrinal teach- 
 ing and unprofitable controversy are interesting. 
 They appear in the minutes of the session of 
 1829, and are as follows: 
 
 I. That Zion's Advocate was to contain doc- 
 trine consonant with the church of the United 
 Brethren in Christ. 
 
 II. It is not to be devoted to unprofitable 
 controversy. 
 
 III. It is to be printed on good paper and 
 neatly executed. 
 
 IV. It is to be edited by Aaron Farmer. 
 
 The requirement of the conference, as ex- 
 pressed in the third item, excites a smile, when 
 it is remembered that Mr. Farmer was to per- 
 
United Brethren Home Missionaries 
 
 sonally assume the financial responsibility of 
 the enterprise. However, the wishes of the con- 
 ference were honored. A good quality of paper 
 was used, and the mechanical appearance of the 
 journal was most commendable for that day. 
 
 But the limited patronage soon revealed the 
 fact that "the conference was better at giving 
 advice as to the management of the paper than 
 in supporting it — a lesson that has been often 
 repeated, both by individuals and large bodies 
 of men." It soon became apparent to Mr. 
 Parmer that it would not be possible to secure 
 suflflcient support to continue the publication 
 of the paper. This was one of the bitter trials 
 in the life of this heroic man. "The wonder is 
 not," says Doctor McKee, "that the fathers 
 made some blunders, and advanced slowly, but 
 that they succeeded so well in the face of such 
 great discouragements; that they took so many 
 advanced steps, stepped so firmly, and, did not 
 retreat, grow weary and faint, or remain quiet 
 and content to plod on by the old methods, or 
 rather the want of system, until their oppor- 
 tunity had gone by and others were risen up to 
 do the work that Providence had assigned to 
 them." 
 
 It wouhl not be correct to say that Mr. 
 Farmer's adventure was a failure, even though, 
 by force of circumstances, he was compelled to 
 discontinue the publication of his journal. The 
 lenterprise served to show the trend of the 
 thought and purpose of the fathers during that 
 
 63 
 
Onr Ueroes, or 
 
 early period of religious activity. The paper 
 was published in response to a vital need of the 
 young denomination. It made possible the 
 action of the General Conference four years 
 later, providing for the establishment of a de- 
 nominational publishing house. The present 
 splendid institution, upon which the Church 
 can well look with pride, is the fruitage of the 
 seed-sowing of Aaron Farmer and a few other 
 seers of his day, such as John Russell and 
 William R. Einehart. 
 
 When the General Conference of 1833 con- 
 vened, the conviction was profound that a de- 
 nominational paper had now become a necessity. 
 It was the voice of God biding the Church go 
 forward, and she was not disobedient to the 
 call. There was in sight no such denominational 
 wealth as to justify the support of the enter- 
 prise. The work was, with the founders, one of 
 love and of faith, prompted by a deep conviction 
 of the needs of the people. Circleville, Ohio, 
 was selected as the sight of the new institution. 
 The board of trustees, composed of John 
 Russell, Jonathan Dresback, and George Dres- 
 back, proceeded cautiously in the discharge of 
 their duties, and it was not until the thirty- 
 first of December, 1834, more than a year and 
 a half from the time it was ordered, that the 
 first number of the new paper appeared. It 
 was issued under the title, which it has since 
 retained unchanged — The Religious Telescope. 
 The paper bore the name of William R. Rine- 
 
 64 
 
REV. JOSEPH FARMER 
 
 Son of Aaron I'arnu-r. Ditil m ISIil. 
 
United Brethren Home Missionaries 
 
 hart as its first editor. He had started, during 
 the year 1834, a paper at Hagerstown, Mary- 
 land, entitled The Mountain Messenger, which 
 was merged into the new official publication. 
 
 From the human side, this first department 
 of the organized work of the denomination was 
 started under auspices apparently most for- 
 biding. The work was begun with liabilities 
 amounting to sixteen hundred dollars, and soon 
 the debt reached six thousand dollars. "It 
 would certainly have failed had it not been 
 sustained by the courage and ample credit of 
 the trustees." Under this financial burden the 
 officers toiled for more than a dozen years, and 
 it was not until 1849 that the House was re- 
 lieved of the indebtedness incurred in the 
 launching of the new enterprise. 
 
 Ifl looking back over the eighty-two years 
 since the little journal was started by Mr. 
 Farmer, which resulted in the founding of a 
 publishing house five years later, we can but 
 marvel at the growth of the institution. From 
 its borrowed capital of sixteen hundred dollars, 
 it has progressed until it now has a net property 
 of one million dollars. In equipment and finan- 
 cial standing, it rates second to none in the 
 land. It has never made any compromises with 
 its creditors, but has always paid one hundred 
 cents on the dollar of its material obligations. 
 
 The institution has contributed many thou- 
 sands of dollars to cheer and brighten the 
 closing days of our aged ministers, but its high- 
 
 65 
 
Our Heroes, or 
 
 est service and greatest glory appears in the 
 fact that it is sending forth annually to United 
 Brethrenism, and to its afflliated patronage, not 
 less than seventy-five full carloads of pure and 
 uplifting literature. Best of all, in the light of 
 reasonable possibilities, the institution is but 
 in the youthful beginnings of its great career. 
 The future mil witness its greatest service to 
 the Church and the world. We pause to wonder 
 whether our pioneer journalist ever had any 
 adequate forecast of how great an institution 
 was to rise upon the foundations he was laying. 
 
 Mr. Farmer is spoken of by his associates as 
 a man of rare power in the pulpit. In the out- 
 goings and outgivings of his personality there 
 was a mystic power, by which, at will, he moved 
 and melted and mastered men. He was erratic, 
 if that familiar term, applied to the pioneer 
 preachers, meant that they differed from the 
 established conventional clergy; for those men 
 followed no beaten track, Mr. Farmer is de- 
 scribed as a man of commanding presence. He 
 was five feet, ten inches in height, firmly built, 
 face round and full, forehead broad and high, 
 chest full. He had a strong voice, well ac- 
 cented; expressive gestures, and thorough 
 earnestness of manner. "There was thought in 
 all his words and wisdom in all his thoughts." 
 
 Great heart-power was also manifest in his 
 ministry. "He seldom preached," says Mr. 
 Lawrence, "to a tearless congregation; and few 
 men have been more successful in soul-winning. 
 
 66 
 
United Brethren Home Missionaries 
 
 Wherever he went, for a period of fifteen years, 
 the people flocked in crowds to hear him ; and 
 he had the happiness of seeing added unto the 
 Church, almost daily, such as are saved. He 
 had a passion for souls, which no labors, sor- 
 rows, or hardships could abate. He went forth 
 weeping-, and in the harvest few men wall have 
 more sheaves." "He played upon the emotions 
 of his audience as upon a stringed instrument." 
 Once, when preaching on "The Rich Man and 
 Lazarus," he hesitated for a few minutes, 
 when a death-like stillness prevailed; then he 
 uttered the rich man's prayer : "Send Lazarus, 
 that he may dip the tip of his finger in a cup of 
 cold water and cool my parched tongue." 
 Suiting the action to the word, he dipped his 
 finger into a glass of water, and allowed a drop 
 to fall on his tongue. The effect was wonderful. 
 Mr. Farmer wielded a great influence over 
 young men. Of those awakened and converted 
 through his efforts were a number who entered 
 the ministry, some of whom became eminently 
 useful preachers. His public ministry was sup- 
 plemented by personal effort in winning men, 
 and discovering and developing those whom God 
 had called into the Christian ministry. A great 
 leader has made the criticism upon the present- 
 day organized Christianity, that it is lacking in 
 personal dealing with men. That was not true 
 of this hero of the cross. He was a man of 
 prayer, of deep personal piety. His spirit 
 gripped men. He was first among his associates 
 
 67 
 
Our Heroes, or 
 
 in service and in sacrifice. During the closing 
 years of his life he was presiding elder of the 
 Indianapolis District, in his own conference, 
 which included about half of that great State. 
 When he moved among his brethren with the 
 authority of a military chieftain, that authority 
 was always respected, because he himself was 
 uniformly a war-leader, and at the forefront in 
 the battles. It was a perpetual object lesson, 
 inspiring to magnificent work. It transformed 
 the preachers of his district into heroes. 
 
 The field of Mr. Farmer''s toil was mainly 
 Ohio and Indiana. At one time, however, he 
 took a long missionary tour beyond these 
 borders, during which he visited portions of 
 Tennessee, Illinois, and Missouri. He never 
 grew tired of his tasks, though he often grew 
 weary under them. A few days before his death, 
 when conversing witli a brother about the hard- 
 ships to which the pioneer ministers v/ere nec- 
 essarily subjected, he said : "Although I have 
 faced the fierce winds, and often almost per- 
 ished with cold, and although I have been sent 
 many miles from home, and have received very 
 little support, my salary ranging from twenty- 
 five to sixty dollars a year, yet, should I never 
 meet my brethren in a conference again, they 
 will bear me witness that I never complained." 
 
 A high tribute to the piety of Mr. Farmer's 
 humble pioneer home is found in the fact that 
 each of his seven children was early won to 
 Christ, and they became active church-workers. 
 
 68 
 
United Brethren Home Missionaries 
 
 Tills hero of the cross was greatly encouraged 
 in his arduous toil by the devotion of his faith^ful 
 wife, who maintained family worship during 
 the long periods of his absence. The cabin in 
 which they lived had scanty furnishings, but it 
 was home; there love reigned supreme. Many 
 of the faithful wives of those heroic men are not 
 named, but they were heroines. Beautiful 
 crowns will bedeck their brows in heaven, even 
 though they had no recognition upon the earth. 
 The following extracts from a letter, reporting 
 his work, written about six months before his 
 death, and appearing in the Telescope of Sep- 
 tember 19, 1838, give something of an insight 
 into t\iQ character and labors of this heroic 
 man, and contain a very tender allusion to the 
 partner of his toils: 
 
 "Our fourth quarterly meeting on Indianap- 
 olis Circuit began on the last Saturday in July. 
 Great blessing attended the communion on Sun- 
 day evening At a tAvo-days' meeting in the 
 
 wilds of Indiana, near the Miami Indian Re- 
 serve, God was with us of a truth. Saints 
 rejoiced and sinners wept. At the close there 
 were but few who did not come forward and 
 give their hands, desiring to be prayed for. On 
 Tuesday, in company with Brother Davis, I 
 preached in Andersontown, Indiana, to a large 
 and mixed assembly — infidels of ancient and 
 modern type, and some true believers and friends 
 of God and man. On Friday our first camp-meet- 
 ing opened near Middletown, Indiana. Every ser- 
 
 69 
 
Our Heroes, or 
 
 mon and every prayer seemed to be seasoned. 
 There were no visible awakenings until the 
 afternoon of the second day, when the cries of 
 sinners were heard. On Monday a number were 
 
 converted Other appointments compelled 
 
 me to close with great reluctance, leaving per- 
 haps fifty trembling mourners. 
 
 "I pursued my way to the second camp-meet- 
 ing, preaching twice a day, and reaching the 
 camp ground near Indianapolis on Friday, July 
 10. The meeting gradually grew better. I 
 introduced the love feast before the sacrament 
 on Sunday night. God was in our midst, and 
 the meeting continued until midnight. After 
 a farewell sermon on Monday forenoon, we met 
 at the table of our Father. There I met my 
 dear Gitty (referring to his devoted wife), who 
 had riden forty miles to meet me at the Lord's 
 table, where he was manifest unto us in the 
 breaking of bread." It was a strong tie which 
 bound these two hearts in love, hope, and pur- 
 pose. The Church owes as much to those faith- 
 ful heroines as it does to their husbands, whom 
 they cheered on to victory. 
 
 Mr. Farmer was called from labor to reward 
 when at the very zenith of his power and use- 
 fulness. To measure as we measure time, his 
 life was short, but measured by the standard 
 of good accomplished, that brief span of life 
 was full, complete, and inspiring. A few days 
 previous to his death, when riding in company 
 with a brother minister, he remarked that his 
 
 70 
 
United Brethren Home Missionaries 
 
 time would soou come to a close, and burst into 
 a flood of tears, exhorting his friend to be faith- 
 ful to his charge. He was now about forty 
 3'ears of age. He had no decadence of power, none 
 of the yellow mould of old age was upon him ; 
 there was no lack of strength and enthusiasm, 
 of enterprise and vision; but full-sunned and 
 orbed in all his powers, he at once ceased to 
 labor and to live. 
 
 It was on the evening of the first day of 
 March, 1839, when his departure occurred. Just 
 before the chariot came, while his neighbors 
 were conversing around his bed, he asked them 
 to be quiet. "Gitty," he said, for this was the 
 familiar name by which he called his faithful 
 companion, "Gitty, come here and listen." "To 
 what shall I listen?" she replied. "Why," said 
 he, in surprise, "Don't you hear that singing?" 
 "No," said she, "I do not." "Oh," he continued, 
 as a smile played over his face, "it is the 
 sweetest music I have ever heard in all my life. 
 Heavenly messengers have come for me and I 
 must go." With this he asked them to raise 
 him up and give him a cup of water. He took 
 the cup, drank, and then, with a smile, closed 
 his eyes in death. Thus went to his reward a 
 man of apostolic zeal, one whose record can 
 never perish. 
 
 It is a matter of regret that no picture of this 
 pioneer missionary, editor and publisher, has 
 been handed down to the Church. After a spe- 
 cial effort covering a period of six months, we 
 
 71 
 
Our Heroes, or 
 
 have failed to locate his grave. It is supposed 
 that his body rests in a cemetery near Williams- 
 burg, Indiana. If so, the grave is unmarked. 
 God knows the location, and angels will guard 
 the saered dust until the resurrection morn. He 
 has a memorial more enduring than marble or 
 granite in the good he accomplished, which lives 
 after him in ever enlarging results. 
 
 72 
 
CHAPTER V. 
 
 SAMUEL HUBER. 
 
 Noted for His Camp-Meeting Gmnpaigns. 
 
 Among the ministers widely known in the 
 early years of United Brethrenism in southern 
 Pennsylvania and Virginia was Samuel Huber. 
 The evangelistic tone of his preaching, his adap- 
 tation to pioneer work, and his ability to in- 
 fluence great audiences, attracted wide attention, 
 and created a general demand for his services. 
 He was born in Franklin County, Pennsyl- 
 vania, January 31, 1782. Though his parents 
 were Mennonites, the^^ threw open their door for 
 United Brethren preachers, and Otterbein, 
 Boehm, Geeting, Newcomer, and Hoffman, were 
 among the first to visit the home and hold relig- 
 ious services therein. At first it was the Church's 
 only preaching jDlace between Harrisburg, 
 Pennsylvania, and Hagerstown, Maryland. In 
 that earl}^ day it was no uncommon thing for a 
 minister to travel fifty miles between appoint- 
 ments. 
 
 The gospel messages proclaimed by these dis- 
 tinguished men profoundly stirred the heart of 
 young Huber. In his autobiography he devotes 
 considerable space to a description of his 
 struggles to reach a Christian life, which ex- 
 
 73 
 
Our Heroes, or 
 
 tended through many years of doubts and con- 
 flicts. He wanted to do right, but the opposing 
 current carried him far away in the opposite 
 direction, leaving him at times almost hopelessly 
 stranded in the matter of religion. But he must 
 tell it. "When about thirteen years of age," he 
 says, "under the preaching of Joseph Hoffman, 
 I became more deeply convinced of 'sin, right- 
 eousness, and of a judgment to come.' Then I 
 prayed to God at times, but was in a great meas- 
 ure carried off through the follies of youth. On 
 another occasion, under Father Newcomer's 
 preaching, God sent another arrow to my heart. 
 I felt awful. But these emotions again wore off. 
 Yet, I really had no peace of soul. In this state 
 of mind I grcAV up to manhood. Like the poet 
 I could say: 
 
 " 'Now I repent, and sin again ; 
 Now I revive, and I'm slain ; 
 Slain with the same unhappy dart 
 Which, oh, too often wounds my heart.' " 
 
 On the tenth of June, 1806, he was married to 
 Nancy Weaver, whose parents lived near Win- 
 chester, Virginia. About this time, in his search 
 for pleasure, he became infatuated with horse- 
 racing, and spent much of his time at the race 
 track. His wife, though not a Christian, soon 
 recognized the danger to which he was exposed, 
 and begged him to give up such a life. Nor did 
 she plead in vain. One day while among his 
 
 74 
 
United Brethren Home Missionaries 
 
 drunken, gamblino^ associates at one of these re- 
 sorts, he was greatly wrought upon by the spirit 
 of conviction. He describes his experience as 
 follows : "After taking a drink, and while in the 
 act of mounting my horse, like Saul of Tarsus, T 
 was smitten with divine power similar to a flash 
 of lightning. The scales fell from my eyes, and 
 I saw at a glance that all the people, with myself, 
 were on the broad road to hell. The alarming 
 thought of losing my soul was impressed upon 
 my heart with a power I never felt before. I was 
 wretched and filled with remorse. I knew I 
 had so frequently grieved the Spirit of God that 
 I deserved to be sent to hell." 
 
 As conviction deepened, the burden of sin be- 
 came intolerable. In the midst of it all he pros- 
 trated himself before heaven and prayed: "O 
 Lord ! if thy justice requires my damnation, then 
 it is just, and if I must perish, send me to hell 
 rather than permit me to live longer in sin. In 
 this depth of horror I cannot continue. If there 
 be mercy, for Christ's sake let me feel it ; if not, 
 cut me down as a 'cumberer of the ground.' " 
 
 Then he went to the woods again, where he 
 had gone before more than once for meditation 
 and prayer, and resolved to spend the whole day 
 there, alone with God. While wandering among 
 the trees, bemoaning his wretched condition, a 
 voice was plainly heard, saying, "There is yet 
 mercy for you." Hope was once more enthroned 
 in his soul, and he cried aloud, "Yes, thank God, 
 there is yet mercy for me. Here, Lord, I give 
 
 75 
 
Our Heroes, or 
 
 myself, soul and body, into thy hands; do with 
 me as seemeth good to thee." "A ray of light 
 flashed down into my heart," he says; "my fears 
 were gone. Unspeakable joy filled my soul. I 
 went forth praising God, saying. Break forth 
 into' singing, ye trees of the wood, for Jesus has 
 brought Samuel Huber to God." 
 
 Upon returning home, his wife inquired, 
 "Where have you been so long?" "In the 
 woods," was the reply, "where I have found Him 
 of whom Moses in the law and the prophets did 
 write." 
 
 Soon thereafter his wife w^as saved, and both 
 entered together upon a life in which God had 
 determined to make them an abiding blessing to 
 the Church and the world. At once he opened 
 his house for preaching, and the influence of the 
 new convert spread in every direction. Soon his 
 brother Benjamin, and many of the neighbors, 
 were converted. Prayer and preaching services 
 were held from house to house through the week, 
 and thus the revival spirit continued to grow. 
 At one of these meetings, in the absence of a 
 preacher, he made his first attempt to lead. After 
 prayer and song, he was encouraged to speak, 
 though it was done with "fear and trembling." 
 But God so blessed him in the effort, and the 
 impressions made upon the people were so deep 
 and strong, that he soon began to make appoint- 
 ments for other communities, holding as many 
 as two or three meetings each week. Feelings of 
 conviction marked every service. News of the 
 
 76 
 
ZJ lilted Brethren Home Missiotuiries 
 
 great awakening finally readied the ears of many 
 of the preachers in other sections of the country, 
 and some of them came to see Mr. Huber and 
 to inquire of the work. 
 
 The success achieved in his meetings, and the 
 measure of the divine blessing bestowed upon 
 his public efforts, led him by degTces to accept 
 the ministry as the great calling of his life. 
 
 In 1815 he was licensed to exhort, near Green- 
 castle, Pennsylvania!, and a year later received 
 regular license from the Pennsylvania Confer- 
 ence. He must now go^ where he was sent, and 
 do whatever his brethren laid upon him. So the 
 true itinerant always does. At this conference 
 a request came for preaching in Tuckaho Valley, 
 Pennsylvania, and the lot fell upon Samuel 
 Huber and John Bear. In those early days the 
 preachers, as far as they could, traveled by twos, 
 in apostolic style. Mr. Huber gives the follow- 
 ing description of the itinerary: "We went first 
 to Path Valley, thence to Aughwick Valley, and 
 from there to Hill Valley. Passing through 
 Huntingdon County we came to Tuckaho Valley, 
 and tarried to preach at Brother Buttenberger's. 
 We were regarded as strange sort of men. Some 
 of the people looked at us with terrified glances, 
 afraid to come into the house where we were to 
 preach, but stood looking in at the windows. They 
 finally dscovered that we were like other men. 
 We invited them in, and, after some hesitation, 
 they began to enter until the house was crowded. 
 Brother Bear preached and I followed with an 
 
 77 
 
Our Heroes, or 
 
 exhortation. The Word took effect. Some were 
 deeply moved. One woman, a Lutheran preach- 
 er's wife, got under conviction and prayed 
 earnestly. Next day we went to Warrior's Mark, 
 put up with Mr. Rumberger, and preached to the 
 people. Returning home, we held services at 
 the several appointments we had made on our 
 outward route. These appointments extended 
 eighty-five miles from where we started on the 
 Alleghen}^ mountains. For about two years the 
 Lord wrought such work among the people, and 
 preaching places were open in such numbers 
 that we could not fill them. A circuit was then 
 formed for two preachers. During these times 
 a new appointment was taken up at the 
 home of Mr. Conrad, near Warrior's Mark. 
 Brother David Bear, Henry Troub, and 
 myself, while on the way to the Iron Furnace, 
 where Mr. Conrad lived, heard that an appoint- 
 ment had been made for us there. When we 
 arrived, we found a wedding party in waiting, 
 and Brother Troub tied the knot. In the even- 
 ing I preached, and the Holy Spirit wrought 
 wonderfully. Seven of the wedding party fell, 
 cried for mercy, and were married to the Lamb 
 of God." Later, it would seem, a house of wor- 
 ship was erected in the neighborhood, and a 
 permanent organization established. The good 
 work spread through the valley, extending as 
 far as Bellefonte. Thus United Brethren preach- 
 ing was introduced in that section of Pennsyl- 
 vania. 
 
 78 
 
United Brethren Home Missionaries 
 
 The work of revivals was constant. No serv- 
 ice was a success unless somebody was saved. 
 Mr. Huber tells of a meeting at "Sister Hubler's" 
 which lasted from dark until breakfast time the 
 next morning. It was a night of decision, of 
 struggle, and of triumph. Many experienced a 
 new sunrise in their souls long before the day- 
 dawn appeared. The next evening he preached 
 at a Mr. Cling's, near Concord, where six were 
 saved and entered the better way. Another 
 evening, perhaps the following, five more were 
 converted in another neighborhood. These cases 
 but illustrate how things went, not only for a 
 season, but from year to year. 
 
 At a conference held in Frederick County, 
 Maryland, May 7, 1819, Mr. Huber was or- 
 dained by Bishop Newcomer, and by the same 
 conference elected presiding elder, in which 
 capacity he served, all told, twelve years. The 
 duties of the office led him over a vast district 
 of country, extending not only through southern 
 Pennsylvania, but far up the Shenandoah Valley. 
 During the preceding year he had made a trip 
 through the same valley with Bishop Henry 
 Kumler, preaching twice a day, going and re- 
 turning. On their way back they attended an 
 annual conference, which convened in Harper's 
 Ferry. 
 
 Speaking of his first trip through Virginia 
 as a presiding elder, he has this to say : "I went 
 through the Virginia Circuit, and held a quar- 
 terly meeting at John Funkhouser's. Here 
 
 79 
 
Our Heroes, or 
 
 much good was done. Many got under convic- 
 tion. Believers were stirred up, and swelling 
 shouts of joy ascended on high. There was a 
 protracted meeting going on at Father Shewey's, 
 ten miles above Stanton, which I attended, and 
 then went, upon invitation, and preached in 
 Stanton. From here I journeyed to Middle- 
 brook and preached, and thence went toward 
 Greenbrier, not far from the Natural Bridge, on 
 my way to hold the following quarterly meetings, 
 namely, one at Brother Site's, one at New Mar- 
 ket, at Brother Lauman's, and one at Brother 
 Blind's. After this I returned home." Possibly 
 his sermon in Stanton was the first one ever 
 preached there by a United Brethren. 
 
 When harvest was over, he went back up the 
 valley and held a. camp-meeting in Kockingham 
 County, six miles out from Harrisburg, assisted 
 by Christian Troub, John Brown, Henry Burt- 
 ner, and others. Things didn't go well for a 
 while. The prayer-life seemed to be absent. 
 One afternoon he got the Christians together 
 in the preacher's tent for confession and suppli- 
 cation, and while thus waiting before the throne, 
 some unconverted persons came in and were 
 immediately seized with conviction so deep and 
 pungent that they fell upon their faces and 
 sought salvation. The tide had turned. Others 
 came, and a great time was experienced. Many 
 prayed, others shouted, and the preachers ex- 
 horted, while — 
 
 80 
 
SAMUEL RUBER 
 
United Brethren Home Missionaries 
 
 "Heaven came down their souls to greet, 
 And glory crowned the mercy seat." 
 
 Like many another camp-meeting in that day, 
 and since, it touched the homes and hearts of all 
 the adjacent communities, and was looked back 
 to by Mr. Huber as one of the greatest victories 
 of his life. 
 
 But such ai religious awakening is almost sure 
 to stir rebellious hearts into bitter opposition. 
 So it happened in this case. He says : "On Sun- 
 day I preached in German. The Methodist pre- 
 siding elder, who attended the camp, followed 
 with a sermon in English. There was a great 
 deal of weeping in the congregation that day. 
 Many of the people on the ground were colored, 
 and I promised them that they should have three 
 hours in which to conduct their own religious 
 exercises as they might think best. After I came 
 down from the stand, a big, burly-looking man, 
 Mdth a heavy whip in his hand, took me roughly 
 by the arm, and told me that I had subjected 
 myself to a. fine of twenty-five dollars for giving 
 liberty to the colored people. I told him I was 
 not aware of having violated the Virginia laws, 
 that I was a Pennsylvanian, preached the Bible, 
 and believed that the colored people had as much 
 need of the gospel as either of us. He still held 
 fast to my arm. At length a magistrate came to 
 where we were standing, and, becoming ac- 
 quainted with the affair, said to the fellow, 'Sir, 
 
 81 
 
Our Heroes J or 
 
 if you don't let go of the preacher, and cease 
 further molestation, I will teach you some law 
 which you do not understand.' He let go my 
 arm, hung down his head, and sneaked away." 
 
 From this camp-meeting he went to another 
 near Newton, and thence home, where he con- 
 ducted a third camp near the head of Falling 
 Spring, Franklin County. 
 
 At this time certain elements, mainly members 
 of other churches, left nothing undone to oppose 
 and defeat the exponents and leaders of United 
 Brethrenism. In some instances they would re- 
 sort to downright persecution ; in other cases to 
 the use of bitter invective and biting sarcasm. 
 One thing they talked, generally, was that Huber 
 and his crowd of preachers could never hope to 
 win a following. "They can put all the members 
 they will ever get into a few corn-cribs," they 
 said. But the achievements of the years that 
 followed have long since shown that they were 
 false prophets, and only uttered out of wicked 
 hearts what they hoped would come to pass. 
 
 Mr. Huber was a modest man, and ordinarily 
 impressed the stranger as being timid and in 
 no sense combative; but those who knew him 
 well, and heard him often, and under circum- 
 stances calculated to test a man's mettle, found 
 that a hero's blood ran through his every vein. 
 When aroused he showed no quarter, and asked 
 none of his enemies. He, too, was merciless in 
 repartee and sarcasm, and came to be feared by 
 the opposers of the Church. 
 
 82 
 
United Brethren Hcmie Missionaries 
 
 About the year 1818 he took up a regular 
 appointment in Chambersburg, preaching in 
 private homes. At one of his meetings "the 
 spirit of God," he says, "came upon the people 
 like 'the rushing of a mighty wind.' Some 
 shouted, leaping and praising God. I felt heaven 
 within me." At the close of the service he re- 
 ceived twenty-six into the Church. This was 
 when and how the Church started in Chambers- 
 burg. Two weeks later he proposed the erection 
 of a house of worship, and actually raised |500 
 toward the enterprise from the citizens on Main 
 Street. When the house was completed, he and 
 John Crider preached there, alternately, every 
 four weeks, in the German language. Then fol- 
 lowed a great revival, which added both to the 
 membership and character of the Church, and 
 made it a permanent fixture in all the future of 
 the town. This house of worship met the needs 
 of the congregation until 1852, when a larger one 
 was erected in its place, which served for about 
 thirty years more, which was supplanted by a 
 third structure under the pastorate of Rev. J. 
 P. Miller. The congregation continued to grow, 
 until under the pastorate of Rev. W. H. Wash- 
 inger, D. D., a fourth structure was erected on 
 the ground, in 1900, at a cost of about fifty thou- 
 sand dollars. The present membership is 1113, 
 and the Sunday school enrollment 1563. 
 
 About the time the Chambersburg church was 
 founded, or a little earlier, perhaps, an organi- 
 
 S3 
 
Our Heroes^ or 
 
 zation was effected at Greencastle, which has 
 ever since been one of the permanent charges of 
 the conference. 
 
 In 1821 Mr. Huber was a member of the 
 General Conference, which was held in Fairfield 
 County, Ohio. The journey was made on horse- 
 back. Joseph Hoffman and G. A. Geeting were 
 his traveling companions. After a trip of eight 
 days, the place of meeting was reached. Evi- 
 dently things did not go to suit him, for he 
 writes: "There was much sparring among the 
 members. All could not see eye to eye on the 
 different questions which came up for consider- 
 ation. This gave rise to considerable debate. 
 But after much steam had been spent through 
 the vocal powers by thrusts and rejoinders, the 
 conference closed its session in peace and har- 
 mony." The "sparring," no doubt occurred over 
 the questions of slavery and rum, for on both 
 strong resolutions were proposed and adopted. 
 
 At the close of the conference, a three-days' 
 meeting was held, when the delegates from the 
 East departed for their homes, preaching at 
 various points along the way where appoint- 
 ments had been arranged. After an absence of 
 five weeks, Mr. Huber reached home, weary, of 
 course, and somewhat out of pocket in hard cash, 
 as he had received only three dollars for his 
 traveling expenses. But he made no complaint. 
 The thought of financial support, it appears, 
 never entered his mind. He earned a living in 
 
 84 
 
United Brethren Home Missionaries 
 
 another way. He assures us in his autobiog- 
 raphy that for all his services as missionary and 
 presiding elder he never received so much as 
 twenty dollars. Such a. policy, however, was 
 wrong, and at the end of forty years, he so con- 
 fessed. After referring to what he had himself 
 done, he adds this comment: "I hold that a 
 preacher of the gospel should be supported by 
 the gospel, providing he is faithful to his call- 
 ing." This is Paul's view, and needs renewed 
 emphasis in all the churches to-day. Yet we 
 must say that Mr. Huber's course, like that of 
 so many others of his day, indicates a love for 
 soul-winning, and a devotion to the kingdom 
 which challenges our admiration and heightens 
 our appreciation of what he did. 
 
 In those early times the special meetings con- 
 tinued only a few days, but the people who at- 
 tended remained, for the most part, on the 
 ground from the opening service until the final 
 doxology was sung. The brother at whose house, 
 or in whose grove, the meeting was held, would 
 kill a beef, lay in a. large supply of flour, meal, 
 and potatoes, and feed anywhere from twenty- 
 five to seventy-five persons three times a day. If 
 the crowd was too great, a neighbor or two would 
 join in the entertainment, and thus help him out. 
 By such a plan, services of one kind or another 
 were kept going the most of the time from nine 
 o'clock in the morning until ten at night. And 
 
 85 
 
Our Heroes J or 
 
 how blessed the fellowship was ! Such generous 
 hospitality never failed to bring its benedictions. 
 
 Bishop Newcomer once suggested to a brother, 
 whose home was a gathering place for preachers 
 and others, that possibly the people were over- 
 doing it in staying with him in such large num- 
 bers. But the reply was: "If you want me to 
 get rich in the world, just send as many people 
 as you can. I will entertain them free of charge 
 and be glad to do it." And it is a matter of rec- 
 ord that his worldly holdings continued to in- 
 crease, and he was made to realize the truth of 
 the promise, "He that giveth to the poor, lendeth 
 to the Lord, and that which he hath given him, 
 shall be returned to him again." Those who thus 
 took the people in and fed them were abundantly 
 rewarded in seeing sinners converted and the 
 Church enlarged. The complaint often heard 
 to-day that the hospitality of a half century ago 
 is no longer in evidence, is not altogether with- 
 out foundation. Fine dwellings and upholstered 
 furniture really seem to be against the idea of 
 entertainment. In plain English, selfishness, in 
 too many instances, even among church people, 
 so predominates that they can scarcely be per- 
 suaded to receive their brethren, much less the 
 stranger. 
 
 In the early history of the United Brethren 
 Church, the camp-meeting was the most popular 
 of all religious convocations. It was a rallying 
 point for Christians, and a recruiting station for 
 the kingdom. From the middle of June to the 
 
 86 
 
United Brethren Home Missionaries 
 
 first of October, the time was largely occupied 
 in holding such gatherings. Mr. Huber was 
 especially adapted to these occasions. He re- 
 lates many interesting incidents which occurred 
 in connection with them which indicate not only 
 the spirit and purpose of the fathers, but show, 
 as well, some of the hardships they endured and 
 the dangers they braved. 
 
 The country being but sparsely settled, the 
 camp-meeting afforded opportunity for the 
 bringing together of Christian people from all 
 the communities round about. Many parents 
 brought their children with the hope of seeing 
 them converted. No better place could be found 
 they thought, for the winning of souls. Then, 
 what preaching they heard! Far-famed pul- 
 piteers were sure to be on hand, and so the occa- 
 sion was looked forward to with keenest interest. 
 At nearly every service there was a strange 
 mingling of penitential pleadings and triumph- 
 ant shouts, of holy song and fervid appeal. It is 
 related of Bishop Otterbein that in his last 
 years he was preaching near Hagerstown, jNIary- 
 land, one Sabbath, when his strength so failed 
 that he could not make himself heard by the 
 great audience. Suddenly he paused, extended 
 his arms heavenward, and exclaimed, "O Lord 
 God, if I am thy servant, assist and strengthen 
 me once more to declare thy truth." In answer 
 to the prayer he felt himself quickened, and 
 appeared like a "flame of fire" during the closing 
 part of his discourse. An old sinner who heard 
 
 87 
 
Our Heroes y or 
 
 him, afterwards said : "That sermon went home 
 to my heart. I never rested until my soul was 
 converted to God." 
 
 Much more might be said respecting the worth 
 of Samuel Huber to the United Brethren Church 
 in its beginnings, but the incidents recited in the 
 foregoing chapter, partly from his own pen and 
 partly from other witnesses, wdll suffice to show 
 the reader something of his real worth, and the 
 praise that such a character merits. It is a 
 pleasure to prepare and present to the Church 
 in permanent form this new outline of his life 
 and labors, with the assurance that it will be 
 read and appreciated by many a devout soul in 
 the years to come. 
 
 His sun had a cloudless setting. After a long 
 life of eighty-six years, more than a half century 
 of which was given to the ministry, like Jacob 
 he "yielded up the ghost, and was gathered to 
 his people." This sublime event occurred July 
 12, 1868. How the saved hero must have en- 
 joyed heaven when once there with Newcomer 
 and Russell, Hoffman and Erb, Bear and Rine- 
 hart, and the multitudes who had been saved 
 through his messages of reconciliation ! Rev. 
 James Bishop, for a long time a trusted friend 
 and companion in toil, preached the funeral 
 sermon and laid his dust away in the Salem 
 church cemetery, near Rocky Spring, where sleep 
 the remains of Daniel Funkhouser, and others, 
 who, with him, rendered such splendid service 
 for their Lord. 
 
 88 
 
United Brethren Home Missionaries 
 
 "Yes, our hero's course is run; 
 Ended is the glorious strife ; 
 Fought the fight, the work is done; 
 Death is swallowed up in life." 
 
 89 
 
CHAPTER VI. 
 
 JACOB ERB. 
 
 Pioneer Organizer in East Pennsylvania. 
 
 I 
 The mantle of the fathers is not a gift to be 
 
 inherited by human transmission. Elijah could 
 not himself bequeath his spirit to Elisha. Nev- 
 ertheless, the student of biography, who comes 
 to admire the salient features of a great life, 
 will inevitably partake in some measure of its 
 spirit and character. The test by which Elisha 
 may know is that of spiritual insight. And he 
 has his wish. Through rending sky and cloud, 
 he catches a glimpse of his translated master. 
 He has dared the awful vision, and at his feet 
 falls the symbol of inherited power, the rough 
 mantle of the ascended prophet. If we can 
 glimpse the glory of a great life, we have en* 
 tered into some inheritance of its greatness. 
 
 About the middle of the eighteenth century 
 two pioneer families settled in Lancaster 
 County, Pennsylvania. In the providence of 
 God they were destined to become famous in 
 the annals of United Brethrenism. The heads 
 of these families were Christian Erb and 
 Abraham Hershey, natives of Switzerland, the 
 former having reached our shores in 1736, when 
 but a child of three summers, and the latter in 
 1759, when in the strength of mature manhood. 
 
 90 
 
United Brethren Home Missionaries 
 
 These families were neighbors. Together they 
 engaged in the conquests of the wilderness, 
 which was still traversed by semi-civilized tribes 
 of Indians. When the pioneer missionaries 
 came to this community, they were gladly wel- 
 comed, and public worship was established. The 
 young people of these families were friends and 
 associates. Under those circumstances it is not 
 strange that an attachment w^as formed between 
 Christian Erb, Jr., and Elizabeth Hershey that 
 would ripen in holy wedlock. Elizabeth was 
 the youngest daughter of Abraham Hershey, 
 and was noted for her beauty. Her brothers. 
 Christian and Abraham, Jr., were among the 
 most noted of our Church fathei-^ and pioneer 
 missionaries. 
 
 Born in the forest, inured to its hardships, 
 with habits of industry. Christian Erb and his 
 beautiful young wife built a home and dedicated 
 it to Jehovah. This was probably between 1786 
 and 1790. Here was subsequently established 
 a regular preaching place for United Brethren 
 ministers. On the twenty-fifth day of May, 
 1804, God gave to these parents a son — the 
 fifth of a family of several children. He 
 was destined to become a channel of blessing 
 and a constructive force in the building of a 
 great denomination. To his heroic life, so useful 
 in its achievements, and so morally inspiring — 
 covering a creative ministry of more than sixty 
 years, this chapter is devoted. 
 
 n 
 
Our Heroes, or 
 
 In the year 1810, when the little son, Jacob, 
 was six years of age, his parents moved to 
 Cumberland County, and settled on a tract of 
 land located on the banks of the Susquehanna, 
 opposite Harrisburg. With the majestic flow 
 of the splendid river often before his eyes, the 
 boy toiled with his father on the little farm 
 until he reached his sixteenth year. He was 
 constitutionally and most delicately responsive 
 to religious influences. His mother was his one 
 earliest teacher, a woman of sound judgment 
 and who loved her Church. She probably knew 
 nothing of child psychology, as taught in our 
 day, but she succeeded admirably in training 
 her son for Christ and the Church. In 1820, 
 at a meeting in their own home, it was the joy 
 of this father and mother to see their devoted 
 son definitely yield his life to God and unite 
 with the Church. He was now in his sixteenth 
 year. His call to the ministry immediately 
 followed. 
 
 The same year a great sorrow came upon the 
 home in the death of the father. Many extra 
 cares now came upon the son, whose devotion 
 to his mother was beautiful. They subsequently 
 moved to Wormleysburg, where regular preach- 
 ing was still maintained in the home. The 
 following year he hired to his brother-in-law, 
 Samuel Eberely, and worked on the farm. Dur- 
 ing this time he was a diligent student of the 
 Bible. He would frequently place before him 
 on the plow a passage of Scripture and commit 
 
 92 
 
United Brethren Home Missionaries 
 
 it to memory. When in liis seventeenth year, 
 young Erb began to hold public meetings. 
 In his eighteenth 3^ear, he yielded to the 
 entreaties of Fathers Hershey and Neidig 
 to give himself fully to the itinerant work. 
 To this his mother heartily consented, even 
 though it meant to her a gTeat sacrifice. 
 In 1823, when in his nineteenth year, he joined 
 the Hagerstown Conference, and was appointed 
 to the Lancaster Circuit, a charge then having 
 thirty appointments. In his zeal to spread the 
 work, the number of preaching places was in- 
 creased to forty before the close of the con- 
 ference year. 
 
 Mr. Erb entered upon his life-work with the 
 heritage of a good name, a good ancestry, and 
 a good atmosphere. Courageous, and hopeful, he 
 went forth to his first circuit and a destina- 
 tion larger than the golden dreams of his youth. 
 To breathe the pure air of God's heavens, as it 
 spread over the mountains and valleys of 
 Pennsylvania and New York, to look year after 
 year upon the hills whence come man's help, is 
 to be favored of God. , Enthusiasm amid such 
 scenes and under such conditions is normal. A 
 singing faith, a belief in large truth, a readiness 
 to dare great things for God, are met amid such 
 surroundings, even among the unhonored and 
 unknown. "He was a foe to enthusiam," wrote 
 an old Puritan over the tomb of his friend on 
 Copp's Hill, Boston. It is safe to say that 
 neither the man who wrote the sentence nor the 
 
 93 
 
Our Heroes, or 
 
 man whose virtues he sought to describe came 
 from nature's temples. Happy the pastor even 
 to-day, who has in his church men from God's 
 out-of-doors, away from the beaten path of the 
 tourist; the land of dreams and visions. Through 
 the years of his childhood, youth, and young 
 manhood Jacob Erb lived amid such scenes. He 
 was indeed a child of nature. 
 
 In 1824, the second year of his itinerant min- 
 istry, he was appointed to Hagerstown Circuit 
 as junior preacher with Rev. Henry Burtner. 
 The following year he was returned to Lancaster 
 Circuit, where he opened a mission in a terri- 
 tory not far from Philadelphia. The tasks and 
 sacrifices of those three years would severely 
 test the consecration and heroism of a young 
 man just passing out of his teens. One of his 
 contemporaries gives the following picture of 
 what the work of the missionary involved at that 
 time: 
 
 "In those days our services were held in 
 private houses, barns, and groves. I do not 
 recollect that there was one meeting-house in 
 Cumberland Valley, except at Schropps, The 
 circuits were large and our members but sparsely 
 settled throughout the country. Our circuit 
 embraced part of Frederick and Washington 
 Counties, in Maryland, and part of Franklin 
 County, Pennsylvania, and had no less than 
 thirty appointments. It required four weeks to 
 make the round. At this time all east of the 
 Susquehanna River was called the Lancaster 
 
 94 
 
United Brethren Home Missionaries 
 
 Circuit. The preachers often had very long 
 rides to reach their appointments, and often 
 through very inclement weather, but they sel- 
 dom disappointed, unless they were sick. It 
 was common for our people to go twenty or 
 thirty miles to a protracted meeting, and many 
 would walk this distance. At these meetings 
 the beds were spread upon the floor and people 
 were quartered around the room. 
 
 "The preachers had but little time to read; 
 some got but little, others no pay. I remember 
 hearing one say, who is yet living, (this was in 
 1858) that he was out of pocket for his preaching 
 |900. I heard George Geeting (soU; of the 
 bishop) tell my parents with tears that he was 
 traveling his first round on his circuit when he 
 heard of his father's death. He said he was 
 never more anxious to see him than at that time, 
 but of that pleasure he was deprived; but al- 
 though it was a trial he was submissive to the 
 will of God and received the descending mantle 
 of his sainted father." 
 
 In the autumn of 1825, when only twenty-one 
 years of age, Mr. Erb responded to a call for 
 missionary work in New York and Canada. 
 Four hundred miles stretched between him and 
 the farthest point of his mission field. Alone, 
 with his knapsack on his back, the young mis- 
 sionary journeyed on foot, like his Master be- 
 fore him. He chanced to be in Rochester 
 October 25, 1825, when the water was first let 
 into the Erie Canal. There were no railroads. 
 
 95 
 
Our Heroes, or 
 
 The stagecoaches were few that rolled their way 
 for the most part over wretched roads, often 
 mud-deep to the hubs. It was indeed a school 
 of hardship through which the young hero was 
 now passing. He had but a few dollars in his 
 pocket, and no missionary society back of him^ 
 to bear his expenses. Many days must pass be- 
 fore he reaches Canada, and when he shall reach 
 it, there is no chapel for him, nor a single 
 United Brethren home to give him welcome. 
 There are places Avhere there is not the sem- 
 blance of a road to guide him. He must find the 
 trail through dense forests, and follow the path 
 through flooded fields; but he fearlessly presses 
 on. His lodging place is frequently a poverty- 
 stricken cabin, with food of the coarsest kind. 
 After leaving Buffalo, he was accompanied part 
 of the way by his cousin, the Kev. Jacob G. 
 Erb. 
 
 Some experiences of the journey were, no 
 doubt, delightful because of the young man's 
 admiration of nature. His warm and passionate 
 heart must often have greatly relished the un- 
 tamed nature in which he was moving; but little 
 did he dream how those grand horizons, those 
 mighty trees with their robust foliage, those 
 living streams, untainted by the mar of civili- 
 zation, were depositing in his soul materials 
 to be used in the temple of God in a later day. 
 He was also encouraged by the good he was able 
 to accomplish. Wherever he went, like the 
 apostles of old, he talked with the people and 
 
 96 
 
JACOB ERB 
 
United Brethren Home Missionaries 
 
 preached to them as he had opportunity, seeking 
 in every way to win them to Christ. To the 
 results of his labors that year and subsequently, 
 many churches in northwestern New York and 
 Canada still bear testimony. 
 
 Mr. Erb was richly endowed with the gifts 
 and graces that make a great missionary, and 
 he used the'n with apostolic zeal and courage. 
 He also possessed the elements of a great or- 
 ganizer and builder, which was the type of 
 leadership a time like that demanded. He be- 
 came one of the most distinguished and influ- 
 ential of the fathers in shaping the policy of the 
 Church at a time when the glowing itinerant 
 evangelism had reached a period which de- 
 manded a more elaborate organization for the 
 preservation of its unity, and the multiplica- 
 tion of its usefulness. When he began his min- 
 istry the organization of the Church was ex- 
 tremely simple, and was directed mainly to 
 securing the most effective evangelism. Its 
 preachers went far and near calling men to 
 repentance and gaining converts by the hun- 
 dreds. It soon became a serious question how 
 to preserve this ever-increasing power, and turn 
 it to the largest effectiveness in the kingdom of 
 God. 
 
 Mr. Erb was a true disciple of Newcomer in 
 his zeal to conserve to the denomination the re- 
 sults of its toil, and to organize and train the 
 new "societies" of converts for Christian service 
 in the United Brethren Church. He believed 
 
 97 
 
Our Heroes, or 
 
 with a distinguished churchman of more modern 
 times, that "it is just as important to know how 
 to use and appropriate a victory as it is to know 
 how to win a victory." In "Landmark History 
 of the United Brethren Church," Doctor Eberly 
 gives the following instance of Mr. Erb'vS denom- 
 inational loyalt^^, which occurred when he was 
 seventeen years of age. It was the year follow- 
 ing his conversion, when he was engaged in 
 holding meetings in private homes : "To those 
 meetings came quite a number of people who 
 had been converted, but still retained member- 
 ship where there was opposition to prayer- 
 meetings, and hostility against revivals of re- 
 ligion. On a certain evening when returning from 
 prayer-meeting, young Erb entered into contro- 
 versy with great zeal on this subject with Jacob 
 Coover, a most excellent i Christian gentleman, 
 who was very reluctant to sever the bonds of his 
 church union. Mr. Coover said, 'If I have a 
 light to guide a company over a dangerous road 
 on a dark night, am I justified in taking that 
 light away from them?' To this Mr. Erb re- 
 sponded, 'If that company be composed of people 
 who appreciate the light, it would be very wrong 
 to remove it; if the company be constructed of 
 persons without discretion, or wielding a 
 bludgeon right and left, liable at any moment 
 to extinguish that light, and placing yourself 
 in the dark with them, better get out.' And Mr. 
 Coover, not long afterward, did get out. For 
 many years he was a resident of Mechanicsburg, 
 
 98 
 
United Brethren Home Missionaries 
 
 the first member of our Church in that town, 
 around whom others gathered and a society was 
 formed in old Union Church, which with the 
 years has grown into the present large con- 
 gregation." 
 
 Mr. Erb is distinguished as the founder of 
 the organized work of the Church east of the 
 Susquehanna River. To him belongs the honor 
 of having organized the first United Brethren 
 class in the territoi-y on which is now located 
 the East Pennsylvania Conference, a territory 
 sacred to every loyal United Brethren, because 
 it contains the spiritual birthplace of the de- 
 nomination. Classes had been formed west of 
 the river several years prior to this time. It 
 was in the year 1827 when this first organization 
 was effected. The place was called Sherk's Old 
 Meeting-House, located in the northwestern 
 portion of Lebanon County, about two and a 
 half miles east of Grantville, Dauphin County. 
 
 The Lancaster Circuit originally included the 
 greater portion of the present conference terri- 
 tory. Here others of the fathers preceding Mr. 
 Erb toiled with great success in evangelistic 
 work. While the converts were in a sense rec- 
 ognized as members of the Church, they had 
 refused to be organized into classes. Referring 
 to these conditions, Lawrence, in his Church 
 history, says: "Numbers of those who, by the 
 attraction of divine love, formed themselves 
 into United Brethren societies, refused to have 
 their names recorded in a church book, and were 
 
 99 
 
Our Heroes, or 
 
 slow to submit to any discipline except the New 
 Testament." Mr. Erb set himself to the task of 
 changing these conditions, and preparing the 
 "societies" for formal organization and indi- 
 vidual enrollment in the Church membership. 
 He was yet a young man, twenty-three years of 
 age, with but four years' experience in the min- 
 istry, but he was the child of the hour, and 
 God gave him strength equal to the task. It 
 was a mount of victory as well as vision, when, 
 "by the consent of some of the older brethren," 
 he announced to a great Lord's day audience 
 that on the following evening the people would 
 be given an opportunity to formally unite with 
 the Church. It was, indeed, a mount of blessing 
 when on Monday evening, in the presence of a 
 great audience, a goodly company came forward 
 and were received into church membership. 
 From that organization has grown a conference, 
 the largest numerically, and one of the wealth- 
 iest and most influential, in the denomination. 
 Mr. Erb was an intimate friend of Elder John 
 Winebrenner, founder of "The Church of God." 
 As early as 1826 they were associated in evan- 
 gelistic work. When Mr. Winebrenner changed 
 his views on church matters, he requested his 
 friend Erb to baptize him by immersion. On 
 the Sabbath appointed for the service, Mr. Erb 
 filled an appointment on his circuit in the morn- 
 ing, then rode to Harrisburg, a distance of 
 fifteen miles, arriving at two o'clock in the 
 afternoon. A large congregation assembled in 
 
 100 
 
United Brethren Home Missionaries 
 
 the bethel, on Mulberry Street, where Mr. Wine- 
 brenner preached what is now known as "the 
 1830 sermon on baptism." Immediately after 
 the preaching, and between three and four 
 o'clock in the afternoon, they proceeded to the 
 Susquehanna Elver, and Mr. Erb baptized him, 
 just above where the railroad bridge now stands. 
 This occurred on Sunday, July 4, 1830. 
 
 Prom the beginning of his ministry, Mr. Erb 
 performed his work faithfully, and filled with 
 marked success every position to which he was 
 assigned. His superior ability and qualities of 
 leadership were early recognized. In 1829, 
 when but twenty-four years of age, he was 
 elected delegate to the General Conference, 
 which convened in Fairfield County, Ohio. The 
 Church was now entering upon the thirtieth 
 year of her history. Her larger mission was at 
 hand. The conference was one of those historic 
 occasions when men chosen of God begin to 
 realize that they are facing a mission of vast 
 magnitude. It is a mount of revelation, where 
 God's plans, and purposes concerning the build- 
 ing of the denomination are made clear. Certain 
 propagandic institutions now became a neces- 
 sity. In 1833 Mr. Erb again represented his 
 conference in the General Conference, at which 
 time definite steps were taken for the establish- 
 ment of a denominational publishing house. 
 
 After the death of Bishop Newcomer in 1830, 
 it is probable that no one of his immediate suc- 
 cessors was more influential in shaping and 
 
 101 
 
Our Heroes, or 
 
 directing the policy of the Church in the Cum- 
 berland Valley than was Mr. Erb. His intimate 
 friend and associate in the work was Bishop 
 William Brown, who was eight years his senior. 
 In 1837 he was elected to the bishopric ; in 184:5 
 he was elected editor of a German paper, pub- 
 lished in Baltimore, entitled, "Busy Martha;" 
 in 1849 he was again elected to the office of 
 bishop. For a period of twelve years he served 
 in this relation with marked ability. His 
 familiarity with the work to be done, his trained 
 knowledge of men, his quick perception, his 
 wise practical judgment, his full-mindedness, 
 his heroic moral courage, his superior con- 
 scientiousness, and his unselfish consecration to 
 the interests of the Church — all these qualities 
 in him were so well blended and balanced as to 
 make him an able administrator. While gentle 
 and loving in disposition, he was, at the same 
 time, a strong character, a wise counsellor, and 
 a forceful executive, prompt to decide, when a 
 prompt decision was necessary, and, as a par- 
 liamentary officer, presiding over an annual 
 or general conference, he was always able and 
 skillful. He was always approachable, brotherly, 
 and companionable, a bishop to whom could go 
 the humblest minister or the plainest layman 
 with the assurance that he would be graciously 
 received, and that his cause would have careful 
 and kindly consideration. He was truly an 
 apostolic bishop, ever presenting a good example 
 and constantly performing noble work. 
 
 102 
 
United Brethren Home Missionaries 
 
 Bishop Erb was regarded as a forceful 
 preacher both in German and in English. He 
 was always listened to with interest because 
 there was thought in what he had to say. His 
 sermons were sound in doctrine, affectionate in 
 spirit, and direct and pungent in application. 
 As pastor he was tender and fatherly. In 1846, 
 when pastor of the Otterbein Church in Balti- 
 more, an effort was made to wrest the property 
 from the denomination. Again the hero, with 
 his characteristic tact, grace, and statesmanlike 
 diplomacy, proves himself equal to the occasion. 
 For a time the doors were closed against him, 
 his support was reduced to a mere pittance, and 
 his life was endangered. But the sturdy pilot 
 stood faithfully at his post, as had been his 
 custom in every emergency and duty, until the 
 twelfth day of November, in the same year, 
 when the courts ruled in his favor, and the 
 property was saved to tlie denomination. 
 
 Immediately the house was put in order for 
 worship. One who was present at the opening 
 says: "On Sunday morning the long-silenced 
 bells began to ring, once more inviting friend 
 and foe, as in days gone by, to come to the 
 house of the Lord. This was a solemn hour. 
 As far as the sound of those bells could be 
 heard, you could see old and young, white and 
 black, standing in doors or looking out of the 
 windows, gazing toward the steeple of Otterbein 
 Church, trying to convince their minds with the 
 eye what the ear could not accomplish, and when 
 
 103 
 
Our Heroes, or 
 
 you met with a brother or sister, you could see 
 the tears of gratitude rolling down their 
 cheeks, and the first utterance was, 'Thank the 
 Lord !' Bishop Erb preached from Psalms 40 : 
 14, 15. I never witnessed such a scene in a 
 congregation before. Smiles of joy on every 
 countenance mingled with tears in every eye. 
 Then, each humbling himself before God, who 
 is mighty to save, pouring out sincere prayers 
 to the throne of grace, implored the Lord to 
 forgive their enemies, that they might be 
 brought from darkness to light and see that 
 they who fight against His people are warring 
 against the Mighty One in Israel." Bishop 
 Russell and his wife were present and witnessed 
 this service. 
 
 A daughter, Mrs. T. A. Bash, of Chicago, to 
 whom the author is indebted for valuable items 
 concerning the life of her noble father, says, 
 "Father frequently made the remark in the home 
 circle that in his church relations he had served 
 in every position, from janitor to bishop." In 
 all of these he discharged his duties conscien- 
 tiously, and all who knew him reposed in him the 
 most implicit confidence. The marked heroic 
 element in his character is especially seen in the 
 twenty-two years of his itinerant life. He had 
 the evangelistic spirit in an intense degree, and 
 the spread of the Redeemer's kingdom was to 
 him paramount to all things else. Many hard- 
 ships and privations were endured on the long 
 and perilous journeys made on horseback 
 
 104 
 
United Brethren Home Missionaries 
 
 through New York, Ohio, and Canada. He 
 served as presiding elder seven years, as agent 
 three years, and as bishop twelve years. In 
 1869, because of failing health, after almost a 
 half century of heroic toil, it became necessary 
 for him to retire from active service. His 
 counsel and help, however, were constantly 
 sought, and generously given when his strength 
 admitted, during the closing years of his life. 
 He possessed a great talent in getting young 
 men of ability to enter the ministry, and re- 
 joiced in their success. Farther than any his- 
 torian will ever be able to trace, his lofty ideals 
 and the might of his spirit have gone into the 
 making of the Church. The man is greater than 
 his deeds, and the power of his life is pulsing 
 in institutions and lives where his name and 
 his deeds are rarely mentioned. 
 
 His school advantages were very limited, but, 
 by dint of hard work and close application, he 
 attained a. good education, especially in the 
 German. The discipline of his early years, 
 under the oversight of some of the Church 
 fathers, was for him a veritable school of the 
 prophets. In later years he deplored his want 
 of college privileges in his youth. He was a 
 friend and promoter of higher education. From 
 1860 to 1863 he gave himself exclusively to 
 Otterbein University as agent and trustee. Later 
 he was connected with Cottage Hill Seminary, 
 an institution for the higher training of young 
 women, located at York, Pennsylvania. Doctor 
 
 105 
 
Our Heroes, or 
 
 Thompson, in "Our Bishops," says of him: "He 
 favored colleges, Sabath schools, and everything 
 that looked like enterprise and growth. In this 
 respect he was in advance of many of his 
 brethren. The Church did not move forward 
 and leave him behind." 
 
 It is a remarkable fact that during his min- 
 istry of sixty years he never failed to attend a 
 single session of his conference, except the last„ 
 when the feebleness of old age forbade his being 
 present. No one can tell the struggles through 
 which the old hero passed, as he felt that he 
 must hang his sickle and battle-ax on the wall, 
 and wait the setting of the sun. The following 
 letter made a profound impression upon the con- 
 ference : 
 
 "I love to look back and see the progress 
 which we as a Church have made. How our 
 brethren have pushed forward with the work as 
 seen in the hundreds of churches built, the 
 thousands of members received, many of whom 
 are already safe in heaven ; in the schools which 
 have been founded; in the institutions of be- 
 nevolences; in our Publishing House — becoming 
 every year more and more extensive; and in the 
 noble work of our missionary society. I thank 
 God that I have lived to see this day, which 
 presents such grand monuments of the sub- 
 stantial growth of the Church of the United 
 Brethren in Christ. As an humble member of 
 this conference, I have always tried to do my 
 duty. In looking back I can see where I might 
 
 106 
 
United Brethren Home Missionaries 
 
 have done better service, but I console myself 
 with the thought that I always tried to bring 
 an honest heart to my work. A kind Heavenly 
 Father granted to me the privilege of attending 
 in consecutive order, sixty annual sessions of 
 the Pennsylvania Conference. Could I be pres- 
 ent with you this would be my sixty-first. My 
 faith in God is strong, my confidence in his 
 Word unshaken, and I know by personal ex- 
 perience there is a power in true religion. The 
 future of a blessed life is to me full of hope and 
 promise. God is my refuge and my strength." 
 
 In 1836 Bishop Erb was married to Miss 
 Elizabeth Sherk, of Erie County, Pennsylvania. 
 Together they lived and toiled in happy wedded 
 love until they were separated by death in 1883. 
 The home was noted for its piety and hospitality. 
 Bishop Dickson, a life-long friend and associate 
 of the famil}^, and who officiated at the funeral 
 of Bishop Erb, said: "Every general officer of 
 the Church knows the big brown house at Shire- 
 manstown. Bishops, editors, secretaries, agents, 
 missionaries, black and white, all received a 
 hearty welcome and shared alike its hospitality." 
 A daughter gays : "Father gave all his earnings 
 to the Church. The amount mother received 
 from home they endeavored to save for their 
 support in old age." 
 
 The bishop had a stout, manly frame. He was 
 five feet nine inches in height, and weighed about 
 180 pounds. In his personal bearing he was 
 dignified. In the genial Christian gentleman 
 
 107 
 
Our Heroes, or 
 
 was manifest a perfection of character, which, 
 beginning in a pure and lovable youth, steadily 
 developed and matured through the after years. 
 His life was one of exalted piety. He was a 
 true brother of Baxter, who stained his study 
 walls with the very breath of prayer. He was 
 never triflingly employed. He met the challenge 
 of the world's work with a noble seriousness, 
 and an equally noble and lavish consecration. 
 In his voice rang, and in his eyes shown, the note 
 and glory of spiritual power. Assurance and 
 joy of fellowship with God was one of the char- 
 acteristic notes of his ministry. 
 
 The evening of his life was beautiful and 
 peaceful. It was like the half-hour before sun- 
 set, in the midst of nature's grandest and most 
 majestic scenery. Never were his intellectual 
 faculties brighter, nor his spiritual sense cleaorer 
 than when the day of his life was consciously 
 closing. He spoke to his family and friends 
 about him of his great peace of soul. When 
 asked what message he had for the friends who 
 were absent, he said, "Tell them to be faithful 
 unto death." It was on the evening of April 
 29, 1883, when his earthly day closed. His body 
 sleeps in Shrapp's graveyard, near Shiremans- 
 town, Pennsylvania. 
 
 108 
 
CHAPTER VII. 
 
 JACOB BACHTEL. 
 
 A Prominent Leader in the Virginias. 
 
 No braver, truer man ever preached the gospel 
 annong the mountains of Virginia tlian Jacob 
 Bachtel. While he did not possess that orator- 
 ical charm which so marvelously distinguished 
 some of his early colaborers, yet his sermons 
 were always scriptural and deeply searched the 
 hearts of the multitudes that heard him. As a 
 logician he was mighty in convincing the gain- 
 say ers. In point of judgment, and integrity, 
 and courage, but few" were ever better fitted for 
 leadership than he. 
 
 His birth occurred in Washington County, 
 Maryland, July 7, 1812. His parents, though 
 poor, were honorable, and early imbued their 
 son with the spirit of integrity and true manli- 
 ness. His early religious life was far from 
 being satisfactory. When but a small boy, of 
 not more than twelve years, he had the conviction 
 that if ever converted, preaching would be his 
 life work. But that was the one thing he did 
 not want to do, and his whole nature seemed to 
 revolt at the thought of assuming such solemn 
 obligations as attach to the ministry. 
 
 He says: "I was like Moses. I had no confi- 
 dence in myself. I did not know that the Lord 
 
 109 
 
Our Heroes, or 
 
 could make the dumb speak; so I disobeyed the 
 heavenly call until I lost the enjoyment of 
 religion, I then felt awful, and frequently 
 wandered to the fields and mountains to weep 
 and pray ; but all seemed in vain. I went abroad 
 into the world seeking pleasure, but found none. 
 I then examined the field of infidelit3\ I went 
 round and round it, but lo ! it was like the field 
 of the sluggard; the fences were broken down, 
 and it was all grown up with briers. I soon 
 found this was no place for me to seek happi- 
 ness." But, after much doubt and caviling, and 
 at times deepest agony of soul, he made the final 
 surrender. 
 
 One night he dreamed that he was far up in 
 a high building where there were only a few 
 loose planks. In trying to walk on one of these 
 it tilted, and he was in the act of falling. While 
 in this perilous condition he looked up and saw 
 a man clothed in white, and cried to him most 
 earnestly for help. But the man iref used, saying, 
 "You have disobeyed me so long that I have no 
 right to do so." Continuing his cry for help, the 
 man finally promised, "If you will pledge obedi- 
 ence to me in the future I will save you." When 
 the vow had been made, he was lifted out of his 
 danger. While ^Ir. Bachtel was far from being 
 superstitious, yet the dream seriously impressed 
 him. "The next morning," he said, "I thought 
 of my vision and concluded I had disobeyed God, 
 and despised his goodness so long, that if I did 
 
 110 
 
United Brethren Home Missionaries 
 
 not repent, he could cut me off and send me to 
 hell; for I consider this the last call I should 
 ever have." A long period of restlessness fol- 
 lowed this dream. He could not get away from 
 it, for at every turn, in imagination, he saw the 
 man in white, and heard the words of his just 
 reproach. 
 
 One day as he was passing along the highway, 
 there came to him such a desire for prayer that 
 he crossed the fence into a cornfield where no 
 eye but God's could see him, and there poured 
 out before high heaven the deepest, bitterest 
 sorrows of his soul. He promised God he would 
 preach, if such was his will. The language of 
 his heart was, "I yield, I yield, I can hold out 
 no more." With what agony of spirit did he 
 lift up his heart and hands before the throne! 
 The surrounding hills sent back the echo of his 
 bitter cry. May we not suppose that angels 
 gathered around the spot and gazed with awe 
 upon a grief -stricken soul seeking audience with 
 Jehovah? It was an hour of trial with no 
 earthly friend near to speak words of counsel 
 and consolation, or to join with him in weeping 
 and prayer. And yet it was an hour of sublimest 
 triumph. Jesus stooped to be a brother and 
 friend; the Holy Spirit whispered peace to his 
 soul ; the inner life which had been storm-swept 
 so long, felt the thrill of a holy quiet, and the 
 fire of complete triumph sparkled in his eyes. 
 With every fetter broken, and every faculty free, 
 
 111 
 
Our Heroes, or 
 
 he realized all the joy and beauty of the new 
 creation which had been wrought in him. Quite 
 awhile before this, he had joined the Methodists, 
 but now he decided that the United Brethren 
 Church should henceforth be his home, and reap 
 the fruits of his toil. 
 
 In 1834, the Virginia Conference was held at 
 Jennings' Branch, in Rockingham County. 
 Young Bachtel attended and knocked for admis- 
 sion. Being modest and timid, he scarcely knew 
 what to say or do. He had no diploma from 
 college or seminary to recommend him. He did 
 not have back of him the prestige of wealth or 
 family distinction. But he presented himself 
 before the conference in the consciousness that 
 Heaven had decreed that the ministry should be 
 his field, and soul-winning his special work. 
 "When I saw^ the preachers," he said, I felt so 
 little that I wished I had stayed at home." Of 
 course, such a feeling might be expected in a 
 modest young man of less than twenty-two, who 
 found himself for the first time in the presence 
 of venerable men. Though they were without 
 scholastic training, they were deeply versed in 
 the mysteries of the gospel. They were of the 
 apostolic stamp. The closet, the valley, and the 
 mountain top had each been in its turn a Bethel 
 to them as they talked with God, and by faith 
 caught glimpses of "a better country." They 
 were giant pulpiteers, for sinners fell under the 
 influence of their preaching like leaves of 
 
 112 
 
United Brethren Home Missionaries 
 
 autumn; and in answer to their prayers the 
 "windows of heaven" were opened and pente- 
 costal baptisms fell upon the Church. 
 
 The young man was sent from this conference 
 to Frederick Circuit, John Dorcas being the 
 preacher in charge. At his first appointment he 
 utterly failed in his sermon, as he thought, and 
 left the church with a heavy heart. On his way 
 to his next preaching place he wept bitterly, 
 turning his face from those he met to conceal 
 his tears. But with experience came increased 
 self-confidence, and a larger faith in the all-suffi- 
 ciency of the gospel committed to him. He 
 continually grew in public favor, and became a 
 valuable helper to the senior pastor. 
 
 For his year's work he received eighty dollars. 
 The minutes of the conference make this special 
 mention of him : "Moved, seconded, and carried, 
 that Jacob Bachtel have the privilege of admin- 
 istering the ordinance of baptism" — an action 
 which indicated the esteem and confidence in 
 which the young itinerant was held. 
 
 His next charge was South Branch Circuit, 
 which embraced Hampshire and Hardy counties. 
 To enter upon, and prosecute, the task Avhich 
 had been assigned him thoroughly tested his 
 fidelity. The country was rough, and the people, 
 for the most part, uncultured, yet they were 
 kind, and soon won the heart and sympathy of 
 the new preacher. He likewise won his way 
 among them to such an extent that they 
 
 113 
 
Our Heroes, or 
 
 demanded his return for the ensuing year. He 
 reported to the chart fifty-five dollars salary. 
 
 The next year he extended his labors into 
 Pendleton County, where he established new 
 preaching places. At one of his meetings two 
 men were converted who afterward entered the 
 ministry of the Church — Revs. William Cun- 
 ningham and John Richards. But the year's 
 work was too strenuous for him. By conference 
 time he was so broken in health and voice that 
 he could not take a charge, and so was given a 
 supernumerary relation. But after resting a 
 while he fully recovered, and the next conference 
 elected him presiding elder. Shortly after this 
 he was married to Miss Sarah A. Smith, of 
 Hardy County, a most estimable and highly cul- 
 tured young lady, and in every way fitted for the 
 life of her own choosing. 
 
 During the year Mr. Bachtel did some recon- 
 noitering, and traveled west as far as the Great 
 Kanawha River. In all this trip of hundreds of 
 miles through mountain fastnesses he did not 
 find a dozen United Brethren families, but he 
 did find what he thought would prove a most 
 fruitful field in the years to come. And he was 
 right. We have at present in that same territory 
 fifteen thousand members, and two hundred and 
 seventy-three churches and parsonages worth 
 more than $400,000.00. 
 
 His presiding eldership continued four years. 
 During one of these years, perhaps the last, he 
 
 114 
 
United Brethren Emne Missionaries 
 
 was compelled to move three times — a most 
 harrowing experience to any preacher's family. 
 His salary was less than one hundred dollars a 
 year. Just how he lived and kept out of debt, 
 which he did, is hard to understand. We know 
 this, however, that naught but devotion to the 
 Church, and love for souls, will lead any man to 
 make such sacrifices for so long a period. How 
 trying to be compelled to fight the "wolf" from 
 the door year in and year out ! 
 
 In 1842, he was sent to Frederick Circuit 
 again, with J. J. Glossbrenner as his presiding 
 elder. He soon infused his own energy and 
 optimism into the people, and sw^eeping revivals 
 were promoted all over the charge. The next 
 year he traveled to Hagerstown charge, with 
 Rev. John Richards, one of his own spiritual 
 children, as a helper. His colleague says of him : 
 "If he might serve well his people, no trial was 
 too great, no temptation too strong, no affliction 
 too severe." Devoted man of God! No wonder 
 those who knew him continued to cherish his 
 memory as long as they lived ! He remained on 
 this field three years, laying broad and deep the 
 foundations of a future church which was to 
 become a great factor in all the aggressively 
 religious w^ork of that country. 
 
 He was elected to the ninth General Confer- 
 ence which convened in Circleville, Ohio, May 
 12, 1845. J. J. Glossbrehner and J. Markwood, 
 both elected Bishops later, were his colleagues ; 
 
 115 
 
Our Heroes, or 
 
 and, from this on, he was a member of every 
 General Conference up to, and including, 1865. 
 
 Mr. Bachtel was a staunch business man, 
 courageous in expressing his views, and a most 
 forceful debater. In the great discussions in 
 the General Conferences over the Depravity and 
 Secrecy questions, he took a lively part, and 
 showed himself sane and trustworthy as a 
 leader. 
 
 In 1846-47, he had charge of Woodstock 
 Circuit, and then went to Staunton, where he 
 remained three years, which at that time was 
 as long as the Discipline permitted a pastorate 
 to continue. His first report shows that he re- 
 ceived 1260.69 from seventeen appointments. His 
 missionary collection was thirty-two dollars. The 
 policy of collecting missionary money as early 
 as 1849, to say the least, was unique. We had no 
 missionary society then, and did not have till 
 years afterward. At conference he offered the 
 following resolution : "Resolved, That we lift a 
 collection at each annual conference for foreign 
 missions, and that the conference instruct its 
 members to get as much as possible by private 
 solicitation." This was, perhaps, the first money 
 ever raised in the Church for missionary pur- 
 poses abroad; if this be true, then he had the 
 honor of giving tangibility to a movement which 
 originated as far back as the General Conference 
 of 1841. 
 
 116 
 
United Brethren Home Missionaries 
 
 The second year Mr. Bachtel reported $254.00 
 salary, and the reception of one hundred and 
 nineteen members. During this year a most 
 amusing incident occurred in connection with 
 his work. While absent from his home at Day- 
 ton, where he lived, some miscreant stole his 
 wood and turnips, of which he had laid in a good 
 supply. The next time he preached there he 
 denounced such conduct in language more vig- 
 orous than polished. The denunciations which 
 he hurled at the thief, who happened to be 
 present, were simply terrible. Shortly afterward 
 the wood-and-turnip thief attended a meeting 
 held by the Lutherans, became penitent, and 
 after going to the injured preacher and making 
 confession and reparation, was soundly con- 
 verted. 
 
 In 1852, the sturdy pioneer was again elected 
 elder and continued in the office a number of 
 years. In March of 1857, he was sent to the 
 western part of the State, now West Virginia. 
 About this time this territory was formed into 
 a separate conference, and Bachtel became one 
 of its charter members. The move to his new 
 field. West Columbia Circuit, was fully three 
 hundred miles, the entire distance being by 
 private conveyance, and no little of it through 
 a rough and almost impassable country. The 
 work of the year was exceedingly difficult, and 
 the remuneration shamefully small, amounting 
 to only 1281.00, presents included. 
 
 X17 
 
Our Heroes J or 
 
 The first session of the new conference, called 
 Parkersburg, was held at Centerville, Tyler 
 County, March 4, 1858. Ten preachers were 
 present, reporting less than one thousand mem- 
 bers for the new district. The next year Mr. 
 Bachtel had a better report. His salary was 
 1334.00, with thirty-eight dollars additional for 
 missions, and twenty-seven dollars for Sunday- 
 school purposes. The third year his support 
 dropped to |279.00. The time limit having been 
 reached, he was transferred to Jackson Circuit. 
 
 The Civil War was now in full blast, and great 
 excitement prevailed everywhere. Mr. Bachtel 
 was a strong "Union" man, and constantly 
 advocated loyalty to the old flag. Nor was his 
 preaching without fruit. The Church was 
 unsettled, money was scarce, and revivals seemed 
 impossible. His salary this year was only 
 1153.00. No darker hour ever came to the 
 Church in West Virginia. The 1862 session of 
 conference was held at Centerville, the place 
 where the new organization had been effected 
 four years before. Only nine pastors were able 
 to get there. Bishop Glossbrenner was shut up 
 in the South, and a general depression seemed 
 to rest upon the poor preachers who had suffered 
 so much to build up their new field. Guerrillas 
 were on some part of Jackson Circuit all the 
 time carrying on depredations of one kind or 
 another, but for some reason they never molested 
 the preacher. Going to one of his appointments 
 
 118 
 
United Brethren Home Missionaries 
 
 one Sabbath morning he found the church occu- 
 pied by Southern troops, but when tlie moment 
 came for him to preach he began the usual serv- 
 ices, the soldiers paying special attention, and 
 expressing the wish afterward that they might 
 have as good a chaplain. 
 
 The next meeting of the conference was in 
 Freeman's Creek Church, Lewis County. Mr. 
 Bachtel did not attend. Only eight of the faith- 
 ful pioneers made reports. His salary was |152. 
 By special arraingement he was returned for the 
 fourth year. But the work was too heavy. He 
 had no horse a part of the time, so was compelled 
 to walk long distances in filling his appoint- 
 ments. Think of a man trudging around over 
 large portions of two counties on foot to preach 
 the Word, and to shepherd his flock ! No earthly 
 record will ever tell it all. We must wait for 
 the opening of God's book. His pay for all this 
 was 1178.00. 
 
 In compliance with the wish of the leading 
 members of the West Columbia charge, he Avas 
 again sent there as its pastor. Things went well. 
 Good meetings were held, and ninety-five were 
 received into church fellowship. His salary 
 was the largest ever received by any pastor in 
 the conference, being $357.00, while his mission- 
 ary collections reached the then enormous sum 
 of eighty-four dollars. The following year a 
 high tide of revival power swept over the entire 
 circuit. Fifty joined the church at New Haven, ^ 
 
 119 
 
Our Heroes J or 
 
 sixty at Hartford City, and one hundred and 
 thirty-two at other points, making a magnificent 
 total of 242. His support was far above that 
 of the previous year, totaling $480.84. The col- 
 lections for all purposes reached $1,800 — the 
 best report he ever made in a ministry of a third 
 of a century. And it was his last report. He 
 went home to die. The brave, dashing cavalier 
 had won his last battle on the field, and now felt 
 the approach of the black-winged messenger. 
 But he was ready. Not a cloud nor even a 
 shadow appeared upon his spiritual horizon. 
 After makina: his will, and calmly conversing 
 with his faithful wife about their affairs, he said, 
 "I think my work is done, and why should I want 
 to live?" Upon seeing his wife in tears he ten- 
 derly pleaded with her : "Child, don't cry. Just 
 think how merciful God is in taking me first. 
 You can do better without me than I could 
 without you. There will only be a few days of 
 separation. I will watch for you as you come 
 to the better land." 
 
 At times, when reason seemed dethroned, he 
 would preach to himself, and then converse with 
 the old ministers with whom he had toiled and 
 suffered in the years long agone. 
 
 At last the fatal hour came. When far down 
 in the valley he said, pointing with his finger, 
 "What a beautiful grove I see ! What delightful 
 fields ! Oh, if I can find a resting place in some 
 corner of that delightful place." As he lay 
 
 130 
 
United Brethren Home Missionaries 
 
 looking intently into his wife's face, she asked, 
 "Do you know me?" "Certainly I do," he re- 
 plied, "for you have been a good and faithful 
 companion." Then folding his hands across his 
 breast, he died as quietly and peacefully as the 
 child falls asleep upon its mother's bosom. This 
 was on the twenty-third of October, 1866. 
 
 At the ensuing conference session. Bishop 
 Glossbrenner preached an appropriate sermon 
 in memory of the hero itinerant, from the text, 
 "And his disciples came and took up the body, 
 and buried it, and went and told Jesus." (Matt. 
 14 : 12. ) At his funeral a special song, composed 
 by Professor W. H. Diddle, was sung with mar- 
 velous effect, the first verse being, 
 
 "Through persecutions oft severe. 
 He labored long with toil and care ; 
 To cultivate Immanuel's ground, 
 He fought until with victory crowned." 
 
 "He left in the Church a reputation as pure as 
 the marble that marks his grave, and a record 
 of usefulness surpassed by none who have pre- 
 ceded him." So wrote a life-long friend. 
 
 nx 
 
CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 CHRISTOPHER FLINCHBAUGH. 
 
 ''Peter Cartwright of the Miami Valley/^ 
 
 In the eleventh chapter of Hebrews, the 
 writer introduces a distinguished company of 
 "heroes of faith," belonging to the olden time. 
 The evident purpose is that the Church in all 
 the future ages might learn the lesson of their 
 success, and partake of the same essential ele- 
 ments of character. A prominent churchman 
 of the present day remarks: "If the list pre- 
 sented by the great apostle would ever wear out 
 by its much usage, it could be supplied many 
 times with heroes and heroines of the same type, 
 from Paul to Luther, and from Luther to the 
 present time." True succession of the same type 
 of heroism is readily discovered and recognized 
 in the lives and sei'vices of United Brethren 
 home missionaries, from Otterbein to the present. 
 They are marked by the same mighty faith. 
 
 It is of exceeding interest to note the various 
 types of character nitched by the Almighty in 
 some noble mold for the various places and 
 kinds of service in the extension and constructive 
 work of the denomination. We have had great 
 preachers, like the learned Otterbein and the 
 eloquent Geeting. We have had our Lorenzo 
 Dows, illustrating how God can use men even 
 
 122 
 
United Brethren Home Missionaries 
 
 though they seem toi be full of absolutely crip- 
 pling blemishes. We have had our Peter Cart- 
 wrights, whose history reads like fiction, and 
 demonstrates how great an influence a man can 
 have on all classes when he walks a straight road 
 with Christ. The cost of sainthood among 
 Protestants is demonstrated when we find that 
 Newcomer, during the last twenty years of his 
 ministry, traveled an average of six thousand 
 miles a year, mostly on horseback, sleeping 
 sometimes on the cold ground, or, usually, on 
 the floors of log cabins, and received the meager 
 salary of sixty-four dollars a year. 
 
 One of the most unique characters promi- 
 nently connected with the early history of United 
 Brethrenism in Ohio is that of Christopher 
 Flinchbaugh, to whom reference is frequently 
 made as "the Peter Cartwright of the Miami 
 Valley." It is commonly charged that the 
 pioneer preacher was eccentric. If this charge 
 refers merely to^ a laughter-producing eccentric- 
 ity, it is wrong. If the term, however, means 
 that those pioneers differed from the established 
 conventional clergy, it will be freely admitted, 
 for they were unhampered by conventionalities. 
 In their great evangelistic meetings there was 
 no cathedral hush, no mountain quiet, but vol- 
 canic action, orthodox in heat and power. Their 
 testimony was direct and forceful, and seldom 
 failed to bring conviction to' their audiences. 
 Many who came to scoff remained to pray. Such 
 were the characteristics and power of Mr. Flinch- 
 
 123 
 
Our Heroes, or 
 
 baugh. Many of his epigrams, if spoken by 
 another, or taken out of their connection, would 
 seem wholly out of place in pulpit discourse, but, 
 considered with their context, and the natural- 
 ness with which he uttered them, they were in 
 place, and most effective in riveting the truth 
 upon the hearts and consciences of his hearers. 
 
 Mr. Flinchbaugh was born in Wurttemburg, 
 Germany, April 26, 1799, the youngest of a 
 family of six children. On the death of his 
 parents, in his fifteenth year, he was left in an 
 exceedingly distressed and melancholy condition. 
 Because of this loss, he lacked the tender touches, 
 the sheltering care, and the brooding affection 
 which mean so much to a lad passing into and 
 through his teens toward manhood. At this 
 early age he was tossed into a turbulent tide, 
 where, buffeted by the waves and hurt by the 
 hidden rocks against which he was dashed, he 
 had to struggle for life. His experiences during 
 the famous Napoleon campaign in 1816, which 
 left disaster and distress in its tracks, remained 
 with him as a thrilling memory even in his old 
 age. 
 
 In 1817, when in the eighteenth year of his age, 
 young Flinchbaugh came to America, the voyage 
 covering a period of fifteen weeks. He paid his 
 fare by working as a deck hand. At the end 
 of the journey he worked eighteen months for 
 the party who brought him over, under an agree- 
 ment that he was to receive in remuneration, 
 additional to his passage, nine months' school- 
 
 X24 
 
United Brethren Home Missionaries 
 
 ing, two suits of clothes, and forty dollars in 
 money. But he failed to receive his reward, 
 which was another crushing experience in the 
 life of the struggling German boy. In 1819 he 
 came to Miami Township, Hamilton County, 
 Ohio, walking most of the way from Harrisburg, 
 Pennsylvania. This he called home the re- 
 mainder of his days. It was the center from 
 which he went out on many long and perilous 
 missionary journeys during his itinerant life. 
 
 Mr. Flinchbaugh came to Ohio a careless, and, 
 so far as Christianity is concerned, a very 
 thoughtless young man. According to his own 
 testimony, he was naturally a "wild, wicked 
 boy." In the year 1821, after his marriage to 
 Miss Elizabeth Columbia, he began to attend 
 religious services in the home of Mrs. Fagely, a 
 devout Christian woman residing near Miami- 
 town. Here, under the preaching of United 
 Brethren itinerants, he was deeply convicted of 
 sin. For eighteen months he passed through a 
 state of wretchedness indescribable, feeling at 
 times that he was utterly lost; "seeming now to 
 hear the voice of Christ in encouragement, and 
 now to feel the devil present with a power which 
 threatened to sieze him and drag him down to 
 hell." But he still struggled on, like Bunyan's 
 Pilgrim, bearing the burden of his sin. It was 
 during the summer of 1823, when in a cornfield, 
 kneeling beside the plow, that the light broke in 
 upon his soul, and a voice said, "Thy sins are all 
 forgiven thee." The temper and habits of Saul 
 
 125 
 
Our Heroes, or 
 
 of Tarsus were no more changed in his conver- 
 sion than were those of Christopher Flinchbaugh. 
 The lion had become a lamb, the swearer devout, 
 the drunkard sober, the fighter a man of peace. 
 Thereafter, this illiterate, plain man, for a period 
 of sixty years, moved and transformed by the 
 power through which he had been saved, preached 
 to the multitudes and won souls to Christ by 
 scores and hundreds. 
 
 The Sunday following his conversion he 
 preached his first sermon. The meeting place 
 was the Chamber's Tavern, in Miamitown. His 
 old associates in sin crowded the place to over- 
 flowing, curious to hear a man preach whom they 
 knew as a very profane and drunken fighter. 
 He began by stating that his audience knew the 
 kind of life he had lived in their midst, but he 
 had now turned his back upon the old life of sin, 
 and set his face toward the prize of his "high 
 calling in Christ Jesus." The story of his con- 
 viction and marvelous conversion melted some 
 of the hardest hearts present. He then most 
 earnestly exhorted his old companions in sin to 
 turn to God and to flee from the wrath to come. 
 He spoke in the power of the Holy Spirit. A 
 number present called upon God for mercy and 
 salvation, who subsequently became pillars in 
 the Church. The following Sabbath he preached 
 in a cooper shop, on the outskirts of the town, 
 with the same results. It was the boast of some 
 of his past associates that within a period of 
 three months Flinchbaugh would be associated 
 
 126 
 
United Brethren Home Missionaries 
 
 with them again in wickedness and in sin. But, 
 on the contrary, before the close of that period, 
 the majority of those who had joined in the 
 prediction were won to Christ and were assisting 
 the earnest young missionary in his work. 
 
 In 1824, when in his twenty-fifth year, Mr. 
 Flinchbaugh joined the Miami Conference, was 
 licensed to preach, and was appointed to his first 
 charge. Constrained by the love of Christ, and 
 without conferring with flesh and blood, he went 
 forth at once to the work. "A United Brethren 
 preacher in those days, when he felt that God 
 called him to preach, instead of hunting up a 
 college or biblical institute, hunted up a horse 
 and saddle-bags, and, with his library always at 
 hand, mainly a Bible, hymn-book, and Discipline, 
 he started, and with a text that never wore out 
 or grew stale, he cried, 'Behold the Lamb of God 
 that taketh away the sin of the world.' In this 
 way he went through storms of wind, hail, snow, 
 and rain, climbed hills and mountains, traversed 
 valleys, plunged through swamps, swam swollen 
 streams, laid out all night, wet, weary, and 
 hungry, held his horse by the bridle all night, 
 or tied him to a limb, slept with his saddle- 
 blanket for a bed, his saddle or saddle-bags for 
 a pillow, and his own big coat, or blanket, if he 
 had any, for a covering. His text was always 
 ready, 'Behold the Lamb of God.' " 
 
 The itinerant life of Mr. Flinchbaugh covered 
 a period of a half century without a single fur- 
 lough. From his first appointment to his last 
 
 127 
 
Our Heroes, or 
 
 he prosecuted his work with a bravery like that 
 of chivalry, a loyalty to God and to the souls of 
 men which neither opposition nor discourage- 
 ment could frighten. He was a "cavalry cap- 
 tain," always found at the head of the column, 
 and on the "firing line." His natural physique 
 was almost superhuman. He did not seem to 
 require food and rest as other men; no day's 
 journey was long enough to tire him; no food 
 too poor for him to live on. To him, in traveling, 
 roads and paths were useless — he "blazed" his 
 own course. When remonstrated with by his 
 friends concerning the perils and privations 
 through which he was constantly passing, and 
 being urged to desist from his exposures to cold 
 and neglect, he would remark that he had been 
 a ring-leader in wickedness and had done much 
 evil, the influence of which he could not undo, 
 and since Christ had mercifully found and saved 
 him, he should improve every moment in doing 
 what good he could for the cause of righteous- 
 ness. 
 
 Mr. Flinchbaugh believed in the itineracy, and 
 illustrated its effectiveness and adaptability by 
 his life. He spoke of one of his early circuits 
 being four hundred miles in length, with thirty- 
 two appointments. This number was constantly 
 increased during the year. After giving the 
 message to one community, he would hurry on to 
 lift up his voice in other dark places, where men 
 were dying in sin. Because of the awful need of 
 the sheep in the wilderness, he could not tarry 
 
 128 
 
CHRISTOPHER FLINCHBAUGH 
 
Uiiiied Brethren Home Missionaries 
 
 with the sheep in the fold. He spent most of 
 his ministerial life in Ohio, and traditions of him 
 are still with the people and are often recited. 
 His field of toil stretched from Evansville, 
 Indiana, to Pittsburg, Pennsylvania. On this 
 great field, which was then frontier country, the 
 footprints and faithful toil of this hero of the 
 cross were deeply impressed and remain to this 
 day. Eight large conferences have grown up in 
 the territory. 
 
 The educational advantages of Mr. Flinch- 
 baugh were limited. He went to school eight 
 3'ears in Germany, but being of a careless, idle 
 disposition in his mental make-up when a boy, 
 as he claimed, he profited but little by this op- 
 portunity. In those days the methods pursued 
 in the schools and the discipline used gave many 
 a boy such a horrible dread that he would do 
 an^' thing in preference to going to school. At the 
 time of his conversion he was scarcely able to 
 read in the English language, but so anxious was 
 lie to proclaim the story of his new-found love, 
 that he applied himself to study with great dili- 
 gence. While he always spoke with very much 
 greater ease and satisfaction in the German 
 tongue, he gained distinction as a preacher 
 among the English-speaking people. In his 
 audiences at different times were Gen. William 
 Henry Harrison, Governor Bebb, and others who 
 were prominent in the State and Nation. His 
 good common sense, his knowledge of the Scrip- 
 tures, his natural gifts in public address, his odd 
 
 129 
 
Our Heroes, or 
 
 and striking way of presenting the truth, his 
 knowledge of human nature, and his mighty re- 
 ligious fervor, enabled him to sway his audiences 
 at his will, and gave him great popularity among 
 all classes. He was a manly man — manly in 
 body, mind, and heart. 
 
 Mr. Flinchbaugh's ministry was peculiarly 
 adapted to the pioneer times and communities. 
 He was a plain and bold speaker. He did not 
 spare those who seemed to deserve ridicule, 
 whether in private conversation or in the public 
 assembl3^ At times his words were as keen as 
 whip lashes, cutting deep into the most callous 
 offenders, and bringing them into ridicule and 
 contempt. Following a description of the hei- 
 nousness of sin, his heart would seem to break as 
 he looked upon the picture of judgment coming 
 upon the impenitent. He would immediately 
 pass then to the other extreme, for he was a man 
 of broad and tender sympathies, and, with a 
 tenderness unexcelled, he would persuade men 
 to flee the wrath to come. Such was the power 
 of his message and appeal that frequently his 
 voice would be almost submerged by the cries of 
 sinners bewailing their past lives and pleading 
 with God for mercy. He was intense as a 
 speaker. His whole frame would at times re- 
 spond to his mental and emotional intensity. The 
 manliness and courage of the man were manifest 
 in every tone of his utterance and in his very 
 attitude and movements. The closing of his 
 sermons was often a flame of moral and emo- 
 
 130 
 
United Brethren Home Missionaries 
 
 tional passion, and was overwhelming and irre- 
 sistible. The words were short, the sentences 
 were compact; great emotions would explode in 
 short, sharp, abrupt vocal utterances. It was 
 like the short, sharp, double-quick of a soldier. 
 Passion swept his soul witli such tremendous 
 force that the architecture of his sentences was 
 twisted, words involuted, order of sentences 
 wrecked, and fragments regathered in new form. 
 An earnestness possessed him that always 
 gripped his audiences. He hated shams and loved 
 plain, evangelical, earnest preaching. Dullness 
 in the pulpit upon the part of others he could not 
 and would not endure. On one occasion, after 
 listening for an hour to a dry sermon on the 
 text, "Sow to yourself in righteousness, reap in 
 mercy, break up your fallow ground; for it is 
 time to seek the Lord till he come and reign 
 righteousness upon you." Mr. Flinchbaugh spoke 
 out and said, "Brother, you had better unhitch 
 and take your plow to the smithshop and get it 
 sharpened." On another occasion a man who 
 had little qualification for a minister, was trying 
 to preach. For nearly an hour he had blundered 
 on, when he remarked that he had then reached 
 a place where a large field opened before him. 
 Just then Mr. Flinchbaugh, who sat on the pulpit 
 near him, and was noticeably restless and im- 
 patient, exclaimed, "O Lord ! put up the bars so 
 Brother L — can't get into that field, for we are 
 tired and want to go home to dinner." This old 
 hero and the two whom he rebuked being farmers, 
 
 131 
 
Our Heroes, or 
 
 and the congregation composed mostly of farm- 
 ers, the statements made about getting the plow 
 sharpened and putting up the bars were well 
 understood, and in both cases the harangues 
 came to a speedy close. 
 
 Like all inspirational preachers, Mr. Plinch- 
 baugh would sometimes preach under great 
 difficulty and embarrassment. The following 
 incident is given as occurring at a camp-meeting 
 where he was assigned to i^reach on a Sunday 
 night. A large company of ministers was 
 present, including two bishops. After Mr. 
 Flinchbaugh consented, he retired to a. private 
 place in the grove and prayed for help. He 
 could think of nothing but "Thy Kingdom come," 
 although he had never before spoken from the 
 text. It was apparent from the moment that he 
 started to preach that he was depressed, and the 
 depression spread to the audience. "Everything 
 was dark," he said, in referring to the experience. 
 Just at that moment, however, when he could 
 do nothing more than repeat his text, and he was 
 expected to take his seat, he took a red bandanna 
 handkerchief from his pocket, drew it slowly 
 across his forehead, and held it up before him to 
 see if the perspiration had started, and then ex- 
 claimed in his German brogue, "Thank God, it 
 has come." He then stepped to the edge of the 
 platform, and, with a significant wave of his 
 hand, cried, " Good-bye, bishops and presiding 
 elders," and, changing his tone from defeat to 
 victory, he repeated, "Good-bye" several times. 
 
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United Brethren Home Mis Nonaries 
 
 Then light broke from heaven upon the speaker 
 and upon the audience, and for more than an 
 hour he led the people at his will, and such was 
 the intensity of feeling that the assembly rocked 
 to and fro as if swept by a tempest. Before he 
 was through^ more than an hundred people had 
 fallen before him. Some pressed forward to the 
 altar with cries for mercy, others fell where they 
 had been standing and lay like dead men. They 
 Avould fall in companies before him, when he 
 would cry at the top of his voice, "O Lord ! load 
 and fire again !" and it was not until the gray 
 dawn of the morning that the people left to seek 
 rest. One who heard the sermon says, "It seemed 
 that God himself was speaking to the people." 
 The meeting was held on the farm of Mr. Hack- 
 elbender, on the east fork of the Little Miami 
 River. The physical phenomenon of men and 
 women falling helpless under powerful religious 
 appeals was a very common occurrence in those 
 early days. The most hardened and wicked, as 
 if smitten with apoplexy or sudden paralysis, 
 would fall helpless to the floor; but it almost 
 invariably resulted that when these persons 
 emerged from that helpless and seemingly un- 
 conscious state they were in a position of spirit- 
 ual obedience, filled with joy, and physically un- 
 harmed. Thousands of such incidents are re- 
 corded in the ministry of Newcomer, Boehm, 
 Hoffman, Flinchbaugh, and others. 
 
 When Charles G. Finney was called to Auburn, 
 New York, to conduct evangelistic services, he 
 
 133 
 
Our Heroes, or 
 
 found an organization of infidels, of which 
 Palmer Hawley was president. The society in- 
 cluded a large majority of the men of the place. 
 So greatly was the evangelist burdened as the 
 result of these conditions that he asked his host 
 for permission to sleep in the stable, that his 
 prayers might not interrupt the members of the 
 household. He spoke for several successive 
 evenings on the work of the Holy Spirit. The 
 news of his marvelous sermons spread abroad. 
 At a meeting of the society, Mr. Hawley sug- 
 gested with an insinuating smile, that they 
 adjourn and go down to Finney's meeting, that 
 they might find out where he keeps his Holy 
 Ghost. That night, under the power of the 
 sermon, Hawley was stricken down and re- 
 mained unconscious for twelve hours. He re- 
 vived lisping a prayer of penitence, and was 
 gloriously saved. Palmer Hawley became one of 
 the most influential Christian men of the city, 
 and was an elder in the Presbyterian Church 
 until called to his reward a, half century later. 
 
 The question is asked : Why do we not have in 
 our day the Saul of Tarsus and Palmer Hawley 
 kind of conversions? In this more cultured and 
 enlightened age, with its changed conditions, 
 such miracles may not be necessary to convince 
 men of the divinity of the Holy Spirit and the 
 Bible as the Word of God. But the old weapon 
 is still effective in reaching men, breaking them 
 down, and sweeping them into the kingdom 
 when wielded by the Holy Spirit. During the 
 
 134 
 
United Brethren Home Missionaries 
 
 Chapman-Alexander meetings in Boston, two 
 ministers of the Unitarian faith were present at 
 a service, when, under the power of the sermon, 
 about two hundred persons repented of their sins 
 and publicity confessed Christ as their Savior. 
 The company included some men who were old 
 in years and hardened in sin. On leavinp^ the 
 service, one of those ministers was heard to re- 
 mark, "Well, the same old story." His friend 
 answered, "Yes, and the same old results." 
 
 When the Ohio German Conference was or- 
 ♦T^anized in 1853, Mr. Flinchbaugh, on transfer 
 from the Miami Conference, became a charter 
 member. He served as one of its first presiding 
 elders, during which time he was not only a real 
 partner in the toils and sacrifices of his preach- 
 ers, but he allowed none to surpass him in the 
 work of carrying the gospel into new commun- 
 ities. He was especially happy in camp-meetings. 
 They were the great occasions of the year, furn- 
 ishing an exceptional opportunity both for seed- 
 sowing and reaping. Men and women of every 
 kind and condition were caught as in the meshes 
 of an invisible net, and drawn to the hearing of 
 the gospel. Many came to worship, some came 
 in idle curiosity, some with malignant purpose, 
 or even to break up the meeting. Flinchbaugh 
 was without a peer on such occasions. He was a 
 man of gigantic proportions and Herculean 
 strength, with an arm like a weaver's beam. His 
 voice was mighty. He could pray, preach, and 
 
 135 
 
Our Heroes, or 
 
 exhort day and night the whole week through 
 and not grow weary. 
 
 None surpassed him in ability to master un- 
 ruly elements. There was in the times in which 
 he lived, in the spirit of the frontier country, and 
 in the very blood which throbbed in his heart, 
 the making of a fighter. When justice seemed to 
 suffer oppression, when his congregation was 
 denied the right to worship God in peace, when 
 the dignity of his own soul was offended by an 
 affront, the strength of his spirit leaped into 
 action, and he was never known to falter before 
 an enemy. On one occasion he was conducting 
 a meeting, when two "ruffians" appeared in the 
 congregation, who were famous for disturbing 
 religious services. During the prayer they 
 talked aloud, and, with a pin, gorged a colored 
 man, who was kneeling near them. When Mr. 
 Flinchbaugh began his sermon, they advanced 
 near the altar and began to laugh and talk. He 
 stopped for a moment, and, addressing them 
 kindly, asked them to either be seated or with- 
 draw from the congregation. With an oath they 
 told him to mind his own business. This was too 
 much for the old hero, who immediately left the 
 stand, and, seizing the man who uttered the oath, 
 the other having fled, he ushered him to the out- 
 skirts of the encampment, and, after dealing him 
 one or two blows, released his grip, the intruder 
 promising to leave the community and never to 
 interfere again with a religious service. By this 
 time the congregation was in confusion, but Mr. 
 
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United Brethren Home Missionaries 
 
 Flinchbaugh returned to the pulpit, and, facing 
 the audience, exclaimed in his German brogue, 
 "That is the way I cast out devils." He then 
 proceeded with his sermon. 
 
 When the Ohio German Conference was well 
 established. Father Flinchbaugh returned to 
 Miami. Being well advanced in years, he did not 
 again assume the responsibilities of a regular 
 charge. The long journeys incident to his itin- 
 erant life, fraught with constant hardship and 
 peril, with the heroic service he had rendered on 
 the "firing line" of the battle for a half century 
 or more, had now stamped deep furrows in his 
 face and had enfeebled his once mighty frame. 
 
 In his old days he would take pleasure in re- 
 calling the trials and triumphs of his missionary 
 career, when the old-time fire would burn again 
 in his soul, and the impulse would come again to 
 buckle on the spurs, take his place in the saddle, 
 and go out to win other victories for his Lord. 
 
 When one of his friends inquired how he lived 
 and supported his family on less than one hun- 
 dred dollars a year, he replied : "That was part 
 pay, and God made up what was needed by giving 
 me good friends," adding, "General Harrison sold 
 me some land on good terms, and Ezekiel Hughes, 
 a wealthy farmer, loaned me money at a low rate 
 of interest, and on long time, when it was needed, 
 and in this way I secured a home." He referred 
 to one experience of his early itinerant life, when, 
 in a moment of real need, the devil tempted him 
 to give up the ministry. Said he: "I preached 
 
 137 
 
Our Heroes, or 
 
 three times during the day, riding long distances 
 through rain and cold between the appointments. 
 I reached home at ten o'clock at night, hungry 
 and weary, having had nothing to eat since the 
 early morning. At that time we had but little 
 in our home upon which to subsist. The tempter 
 took advantage of my hunger and weakness. 
 While sitting with bowed head, in meditation 
 and prayer, at midnight in front of the fire, I 
 suddenly heard the song of angels. They were 
 singing, 'Oh, how happy are they who their 
 Savior obey!' thus exhorting me to be faithful 
 and to continue in the service. I have never 
 since heard such melody or listened to so great a 
 choir. From that moment the temptation never 
 again returned." 
 
 The old age of this distinguished servant of 
 God was a benediction to the community in 
 which he lived. It was true in his case that 
 "great trials had made a great saint." The even- 
 tide of his good and useful life was spent at his 
 comfortable home, where he shared the tender, 
 loving care and ministrations of wife and chil- 
 dren. He was beloved and honored by all who 
 knew him — always cheerful and happy, and ready 
 to do good by word or deed. He was in great 
 demand to preach funerals, and to perform 
 wedding ceremonies, both in his own and other 
 denominations, and among people bearing no 
 church connection. During his ministerial life 
 he preached about fifteen hundred funeral ser- 
 mons and performed about the same number of 
 
 138 
 
United Bretkre^i Home Missionaries 
 
 marriage ceremonies. These facts alone speak of 
 his marvelous popularity. 
 
 On Sunday, November 4, 1884, at his pleasant 
 home in Cleves, Ohio, when surrounded by his 
 family and some close personal friends, the 
 heavenly chariot came and bore him to his coro- 
 nation, where the old battle-scarred veteran ex- 
 changed his armor for a crown of fadeless glory. 
 The words applied to John L. Dw^er seem alto- 
 gether in place for Father Flinchbaugh : "He 
 was a graduate of God's school for heroes." His 
 body sleeps in the cemetery near Zion Chapel, 
 three miles from Cleves, Ohio, awaiting the res- 
 urrection morning. 
 
 139 
 
CHAPTER IX. 
 
 JONATHAN WEAVER. 
 
 looted Pastor, Presiding Elder, and Bishop. 
 
 What Bishop Matthew Simpson was to Meth- 
 odism, and Bishop Phillips Brooks was to the 
 Episcopal Chuirch, and Dr. Washington Gladden 
 is to Congregationalism, and what Senator Alli- 
 son was to Iowa, and Senator John Sherman to 
 Ohio, Bishop Jonathan Weaver was to the 
 United Brethren Church. 
 
 This remarkable man was born of poor parents 
 in Carroll County, Ohio, February 23, 1824 ; grew 
 up on a farm ; was converted at the age of seven- 
 teen; entered the ministry at twenty, and for 
 more than half a century was a prominent factor 
 in all the aggressively religious work of the 
 Church. 
 
 If to be born obscure and die famous is the 
 acme of human felicity, then Bishop Weaver 
 mounted the summit of human happiness. 
 
 His name became a household word every- 
 where among United Brethren. Perhaps no one 
 ever had the hold on them that he possessed. 
 His peculiar style of writing secured for his 
 newspaper articles a wide reading, and brought 
 him in touch with the Church in all its borders. 
 
 As a man he attracted people in different 
 ways. His physical appearance always excited 
 attention. In figure he was tall and command- 
 
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United Brethren Home Missionaries 
 
 ing, and in facial expression pleasing and capti- 
 vating. In his later life, his long white hair, 
 which touched the shoulders, and his full beard, 
 gave him a patriarchal appearance, and led the 
 multitudes to revere him. His genius for mak- 
 ing friends was extraordinary. He had the 
 faculty of drawing them with silken chords, and 
 then of binding them to him with hooks of steel. 
 
 He was a plain man, and so could make him- 
 self at home with the commonest of the common 
 people; and yet he was perfectly at ease in the 
 most cultured circles. He never assumed dignity, 
 nor tried to put on airs. In the scope of his 
 prayers, sympathy, and service, he counted him- 
 self the servant of all. Hundreds refer with 
 pride to the fact that at some time Bishop 
 Weaver was a guest in their home, and tell of 
 his pious conversation and fatherly advice. 
 
 During his long, active ministry no one ever 
 saw in him anything unworthy a Christian gen- 
 tleman, and high Church official. He possessed 
 a lofty scorn of all cheap tricks, and of all 
 tricksters as well. He despised hypocrisy 
 wherever found, and especially in the sacred 
 ministerial calling. He kept himself aloof, by 
 many leagues, from ecclesiastical politics, and 
 therefore never affiliated with rings and cliques 
 in Church circles. Even his opposers, few as 
 they were, respected him because of the broth- 
 erly consideration and gentlemanly courtesy 
 with which he invairiably treated them. 
 
 141 
 
Our Heroes, or 
 
 As a Christian he had a clear and satisfactory 
 experience. He emphasized the New Birth and 
 Spirit's Witness as fundamental. His whole 
 doctrinal system was simple and easily under- 
 stood. He believed in prayer, in revivals, in the 
 mourner's bench, and in getting religion — a 
 thing that was sufficiently real, he said, to be 
 worth getting and holding on to. Never, until 
 the "books are opened," will it be known what 
 such a life is worth to an old, wicked world like 
 this. 
 
 Bishop Weaver, however, was not a leader in 
 the fullest sense. Some of the essential elements 
 of a reformer were lacking in him. He was 
 never found very far in advance of public senti- 
 ment. He naturally shrank from the cross-fire 
 of criticism and abuse which are so often 
 directed toward the man who dares to strike out 
 independently, and who endeavors to create con- 
 victions in harmony with his own ideals. The 
 Bishop's place was with the people. Like a giant 
 he stood among them, and towered above them. 
 While he greatly admired the courage and work 
 of the pioneer in reform movements, he only 
 followed him as the masses moved in that 
 direction. 
 
 When the great battle over the secrecy question 
 was on in the Church, he was not pronounced 
 either way for some time, though in his earlier 
 ministry he stood with the radical element of the 
 Church. As a student of passing events, he 
 
 142 
 
United Brethren Home Missionaries 
 
 closely watched the trend of things, weighing 
 carefully and critically all the arguments pro 
 and con on the subject. He was among the first 
 to observe the bad effects of the old secrecy law, 
 and the disaster it was likely to work in many 
 of the conferences and local churches. Then it 
 was that he took a stand in favor of revising the 
 constitution, and demanded the abolition of the 
 Church's restrictive rule. Others had fought 
 the battle — some of them at a very great cost to 
 themselves and friends. Every argument of the 
 opposition had been met and answered. In a 
 sense the work of the leaders was done. They 
 had gone before, like the Baptist, and had blazed 
 the way for a mighty revolution that was tO' be 
 as far-reaching in its effects as eternity itself. 
 
 No one was quicker than Jonathan Weaver 
 to discern these things, and no one exercised so 
 great a power as he in making the reform 
 effective. All this indicates clearly that he kept 
 his finger on the pulse of the Church, as few did 
 or could, and knew just when to speak in order 
 to be heard and heeded. 
 
 As a preacher he excelled. The pulpit was his 
 throne, and when once on that throne he was a 
 master of men. The art of public address was 
 next to perfect in him, though, perhaps, he never 
 studied rhetoric under a teacher an hour in 
 his life. He was a born orator. His speech 
 had the charm of magic, the magic was all 
 divine. In a remarkable degree he possessed the 
 
 143 
 
Our Heroes, or 
 
 faculty of blending humor and pathos and logic 
 all in the same discourse. One moment his 
 hearers were touched into laughter and applause 
 by the ripples of wit that flowed from his lips; 
 the next moment they were made to weep by 
 some touching incident he would relate in his 
 own inimitable style ; and, following these plays 
 upon the emotions of his heairers, there would 
 likely come bursts of argument, deep and pro- 
 found, that would fairly entrance the more 
 thoughtful among his auditors. 
 
 His tremendous personality, his clear-cut 
 English, and perfect diction, coupled with an 
 unfaltering faith in the old Book, and his all- 
 consuming desire to save men, made him the 
 peer of the mightiest pulpiteers of his day, and 
 will send him down in history as one of the 
 greatest among the great. 
 
 In many respects he was of the Abraham 
 Lincoln type — simple in life, unique in style, 
 trenchant in humor, and eloquent and forceful 
 in argument. His very presence in the public 
 assembly was always an inspiration. 
 
 In debate he was a master, and, strange as it 
 may seem, was somewhat inclined to contro- 
 versy. When the doctrines of his Church were 
 assailed he defended them with the adroitness of 
 a general, and with the courage of a hero. He 
 built up around him fortifications of Bible truth 
 that were insur'mountable by his antagonists. 
 
 144 
 
JONATHAN WEAVER 
 
United Brethren Home Missionaries 
 
 He held eight great public debates — three on 
 the mode, design, and subjects of "Christian 
 Baptism," four on "Universalism," and one on 
 "Slavery." His greatest battle was with Rev. 
 Josiah Davis, a Universalist, and lasted four 
 days. It was a conflict of giants, each at his 
 best and determined to win. 
 
 In his last argument the Bishop finally turned 
 to the moderator and asked how much time he 
 had left. "Eight minutes," Avas the reply. Then 
 it was that he made, perhaps, the appeal of his 
 life. It was a climax which swei)t the great 
 audience like a storm. Among other things, he 
 said: "We have now come to the end of this 
 discussion. We are all going to eternity. How 
 awfully solemn the reflection ! We shall soon be 
 there. I have taught you the doctrine I believe. 
 Christ, our salvation, died for us. All who believe 
 in him shall live forever. Friends, accept him, 
 and you shall never die. When the end comes 
 you may say with Alfred Cookman, 'I go sweep- 
 ing through the gates into the new Jerusalem.' 
 I warn you against the lake of fire. I tell you, 
 friends, there is danger in trifling with eternal 
 things. God is good, but he also is just. I can- 
 not promise you eternal life according to Univer- 
 salism; but if you obey the gospel, thank God, 
 you shall live forever. The city of God is open 
 to you now. Through faith in Jesus you may 
 eat of the tree of life, in the midst of the paradise 
 of God. And when death-drops stand on your 
 
 145 
 
Our Heroes, or 
 
 marble brow, you may say, 'Light breaks in/ and 
 then you shall meet the moving millions who, 
 like a cloud of glory, are circling around the 
 great white throne. In hope of the joys of the 
 better land, we say, farewell. Let us sing, 
 'Praise God, from w^hom all blessings flow.' " 
 
 The effect, so eye-witnesses affirm, was inde- 
 scribable. The people rose tO' their feet, while 
 amens and shouts came from all parts of the 
 house. Kev. Mr. Davis turned as pale as a 
 corpse. The tide was against him. He had met 
 his conqueror, and lost the field. 
 
 Two years later, when asked if he cared to 
 meet Bishop Weaver in another debate, he 
 replied that he had left that kind of work in 
 other hands. 
 
 The Bishop never failed to put the aliens to 
 flight, yet he never carried the battle into their 
 camp. His very attitude seemed to make him 
 say, "I stand for the defense of the Church; 
 harm it if you dare." And how essential such 
 defenders of the truth ! They are of incalculable 
 value in strengthening the faith of believers, and 
 in quieting those apprehensions which so often 
 arise as to the stability of the Church, and the 
 permanency of the work. 
 
 It may be said of the good Bishop that he was 
 a veritable magazine of evangelistic dynamite, 
 and his supply was next to exhaustless. The 
 very sight of a great crowd at conference, or 
 at a camp-meeting, set his heart ablaze with a 
 
 146 
 
United Brethren Home Missionaries 
 
 desire to preach Christ to them ; and to all 
 eternity thousands will thank God for the mes- 
 sages of hope and salvation brought to them 
 while on earth by this mighty prophet of the 
 truth. The thrill of his great discourses was 
 felt throughout the whole Church. Nearly 
 everywhere the older people tell about the won- 
 derful sermons he preached in his palmier days. 
 Just how those same discourses would affect 
 the people at this time we do not know. Possibly 
 they would not stir the emotions, and arouse 
 enthusiasm as they once did. Lyman Beecher, 
 and Jonathan Edwards, and George Whitefield 
 could hardly gather about them, if here now, 
 such vast audiences as they once did, and hold 
 them spellbound for hours at a time. Conditions 
 have changed in the last hundred years. The 
 people to-day are cirammed with sermons and 
 lectures and special progTams. As intelligence 
 increases the emotions are held under better 
 control. But Bishop Weaver would be a great 
 preacher if he were yet among us. He possessed 
 in a large degree the elements which enter into 
 a successful ministry. He knew the Scriptures ; 
 he knew men ; he knew Christ as his personal 
 Savior; his vision was mighty in its sweep; his 
 heart overflowed with love; the right word was 
 always on his lips; the fire of eloquence flashed 
 in his eyes. No wonder he could preach! He 
 seldom failed to stir the emotions, but these 
 were reached through the intelligence. There 
 
 147 
 
Our Heroes, or 
 
 was always enough of the intellectual in his 
 sermons to engage and interest the mind, while 
 the warmth of soul, and a compelling prophetic 
 energy, took the people by storm. And he was 
 right, both in theory and in practice. Appeals 
 that arouse the emotions without convincing the 
 judgment do not bear much fruit in the end; nor 
 can much more be said of sermons directed 
 solely to the intellect. Every normal individual 
 is possessed of emotions as well as intelligence, 
 and every highly successful preacher must aim 
 to influence both. But few men ever succeeded 
 in doing this better than did Bishop Weaver. 
 
 At Westerville, Ohio, during a revival many 
 years ago, he preached with such marvelous 
 power one evening, that when the final invitation 
 was given, sixty penitents rushed to the altar, 
 the most of whom were saved before leaving the 
 house. The scene was indescribably sublime 
 and impressive. 
 
 At a great camp-meeting held at Warsaw, 
 Indiana, by a sister denomination, he dropped 
 in one day and preached for them. He was at 
 his best, and almost set the camp wild. Doctor 
 Foot, of New York, a great preacher himself, 
 was so overcome with emotion that he could not 
 speak for a time. Finally, he exclaimed, 
 "Blessed man! How I wish I could put my 
 arms around him," whereupon the Bishop said, 
 "Doctor, I will help you," and there, for a time, 
 the two great men stood in each other's embrace 
 
 148 
 
United Brethren Home Missionaries 
 
 weeping like children. The thrill occasioned by 
 such a scene, we may imagine, was something 
 like that which the saints in Isaac Long's barn 
 experienced when they saw Otterbein take 
 Boehmi in his arms, and heard him say. "We are 
 brethren." Afterwards Doctor Foot said, "I 
 have met but few divines in America so simple, 
 yet so profound." 
 
 On one occasion he made the resurrection 
 appear so real that his hearers unconsciously 
 arose to their feet, and bent over as if to see the 
 opening grave. 
 
 He was not given to boasting, and seldom 
 referred to his own achievements. But one day, 
 when the writer was in his home, he became 
 somewhat reminiscent, and told of a certain 
 camp-meeting experience which he once had with 
 his Methodist brethren. For years they had 
 invited him to preach for them at their great 
 gatherings. At the particular meeting referred 
 to, he was to discourse in the afternoon of a 
 certain Sunday. A prominent Methodist divine 
 occupied the morning hour, and most favorably 
 impressed the listening multitude. Some of the 
 preachers hastened to tender tlie Bishop in 
 advance their heartfelt sympathies in view of 
 his difficult task in the afternoon. But the old 
 pulpiteer understood the situation perfectly. No 
 man could have known it better than he. He 
 said : "I took one of my old texts. I knew every 
 foot of the ground I was to go over, and thought 
 
 149 
 
Our Heroes, or 
 
 I knew what the people needed. The good Lord 
 wonderfully helped me that afternoon; and, be- 
 fore I was done, you could have heard those 
 Methodists shouting a mile away." It was fol- 
 lowing this masterful message that one of the 
 Methodist secretaries was heard to say, "Meth- 
 odism has no Weaver in its bishopric." 
 
 Bishop Weaver was great without any effort 
 to become so. His greatness, it may be truth- 
 fully affirmed, was immeasurably above the arts 
 by which inferior minds thrust themselves into 
 notice. The qualities of self-respect and modesty 
 were marked in his whole life. He was just to 
 himself without flattery, and too single-hearted 
 and honest to accept flattery from others. What 
 an example to us all in these regards ! 
 
 Bishop Weaver possessed a. roseate nature. 
 No one ever saw him in the midst of shadows. 
 With him the sun of hope and good cheer never 
 went down. His genial nature and flow of 
 humor served him well in his public life, and 
 especially in the capacity of a presiding officer. 
 Many times in annual and General Conferences, 
 when discussions became heated and personal, 
 and the feeling was intense, his tact and pleas- 
 antry would quiet things down, and effectually 
 relieve the tension. When presiding he never 
 lost his head, and seldom permitted anybody else 
 to lose his. 
 
 As to the future life he did not possess a 
 shadow of a doubt. Glimpses of the glory world 
 
 150 
 
United Brethren Home Missionaries 
 
 were constantly flitting before his vision. His 
 faith in, and hope of, immortality, cropped out 
 in nearly every sermon he preached, and in every 
 book he wrote. Indeed, it has been said that no 
 matter where the Bishop started in his sermon, 
 he was almost sure to end it in heaven. The 
 same may be said of the many volumes he pro- 
 duced. The last thing Avritten is about the life 
 beyond. His face was constantly turned toward 
 the better country, because his Lord and his 
 citizenship were there. 
 
 On his seventy-sixth birthday, which occurred 
 February 23, 1900, a number of his friends called 
 on him in his Dayton home in the early evening 
 to pay him their respects, and, as far as might 
 be, cheer him in his afflictions. Anticipating 
 their coming, he prepared an address of mar- 
 velous beauty and strength. Editor Kephart 
 called it, "A Voice from Beulah Land." After 
 giving a brief review of his life, he turned, as 
 might have been expected, to the future, and 
 said things so charmingly beautiful and true 
 that we have never forgotten them. As he 
 sounded the bugle notes of faith and hope, feel- 
 ings of rapture were kindled in every soul 
 present. 
 
 "But looking forward," he said, "despite the 
 thick foliage which grows along the banks of the 
 river, I now and then catch glimpses of what 
 seems to be a country — a real place. These 
 glimpses come at all hours, by day and by night, 
 
 151 
 
Our Heroes, or 
 
 winter and summer, but at no time has there 
 appeared a shadow or any gloom ; so I conclude 
 that they have no night in that country. I some- 
 times catch glimpses of domes and spires and 
 towers, but no monuments or anything that 
 resembles a cemetery; so I conclude there is no 
 death over there. Beautiful forms pass and 
 repass before my vision, but they are quickly 
 gone — just a glimpse, and they are gone. I turn 
 to the materialistic skeptic and ask for an 
 explanation of these strange, yet delightful 
 glimpses. He says, 'It's nothing — only a fancy, 
 a delusion. Death ends all.' I turn to the 
 agnostic with the same question, and he says, 
 'I don't know.' What shall I do? I cannot go 
 back, for it is evening time now, and the sun is 
 almost down. Sliut in on all sides, with only a 
 stej) between me and the grave, and nothing 
 before me but annihilation — eternal nothingness. 
 Again, I ask, What shall I do? To whom shall 
 I go? Are all my hopes, longings, aspirations, 
 and expectations about to perish forever? 
 Wherein, then, lies the difference between not 
 beginning to be, and ceasing to be? Can it be 
 that nature, reason, and consciousness have all 
 been playing false with me? Are they nothing 
 more than miserable cheats concerning the most 
 important and far-reaching problems of human 
 existence? Is there no justice, love, or mercy 
 anywhere in the universe? Is there no God other 
 than one of cruelty and deception? The case is 
 
 152 
 
United Brethren Home Missionaries 
 
 becoming desperate, for the mists are beginning 
 to fall, and the roar of the ocean's waves, borne 
 upon wings of wind, is beginning to fall upon 
 the ear. Pity the sorrows of a poor old man 
 standing within a step of eternal nothingness. 
 
 "But, hark! A voice from beyond the moon 
 and stars, like the chime of a thousand silver- 
 toned bells, comes ringing down, exclaiming, 
 'Immortality' ! In response to that there comes 
 springing up like angels from the temple of the 
 heart the simple words, 'Hallelujah ! Amen and 
 amen. Immortality' ! 
 
 "Then my glimpses are not all fancy and 
 miserable cheats. If there is anything true, 
 anything firm, anything that abides, it is immor- 
 tality — life everlasting in heaven. 
 
 "If from under the shadow of life's evening 
 tree such glimpses may be had, how will it 
 appear after the shadows are all gone, and the 
 clouds are lifted, and the mists rolled away? 
 The half is not now understood. By and by the 
 glass through which we now see darkly will be 
 removed, and we shall see as we are seen, and 
 know as we are known." 
 
 The closing hours of the Bishop's life were 
 full of peace. So his last message to the Church 
 would indicate. He said : "I have not a doubt as 
 to the truth of the gospel of Jesus Christ. I 
 believed what I preached, and preached what I 
 believed. I die in the faith of the gospel 
 I preached to others. Jesus Christ is all, and 
 
 153 
 
Our Heroes, or 
 
 in all. Tell the Church never to depart from 
 the doctrines held by the fathers, that a vital 
 union with Christ is essential to the Christian 
 life." His last recorded words were, "I shall see 
 the King in his beauty. I feel perfectly safe." 
 
 The golden sheaf was ripe for the celestial 
 harvest, and awaited the coming of the angel 
 reaper; and on the sixth of February, 1901, at 
 three-thirty in the morning, that reaper came, 
 and Bishop Weaver "was gathered unto his 
 people." His funeral, which occurred two days 
 later, brought together a large number of sor- 
 rowing friends, not only of his own city, but 
 from many other sections of the Church. All 
 his associates in the bishopric were present to 
 speak words of appreciation, and to let fall upon 
 his sleeping dust the tear of regret. 
 
 Servant of the Most High; winner of souls; 
 hero of faith; knight of the Cross; glorified 
 spirit; brother and father in Israel, we bid thee 
 good-bye, but hope to hail thee again on some 
 sweet morning with all the redeemed in thy 
 heavenly home. 
 
 "There saints of all ages in harmony meet. 
 Their Savior and brethren transported to 
 
 greet ; 
 While anthems of rapture unceasingly roll. 
 And the smile of the Lord is the feast of the 
 soul." 
 
 154 
 
CHAPTER X. 
 
 GEORGE W. STATTON. 
 
 An Itinerant of Fifty-Tico Years. 
 
 History bears to us the fragrance of noble 
 characters who wrought in faith and died in 
 triumph. We who live to-day cannot know to 
 what extent we are indebted to them^ for their 
 part in moulding the life and shaping the des- 
 tiny of our nation, and for the exalted service 
 they rendered the Church they so dearly loved. 
 Their spirit was heroic. Thoughts of ease and 
 earthly reward never entered their minds. 
 
 Horace Bushnell once said : "Great trials 
 make great saints, and deserts and stone pillows 
 prepare for an open heaven and an angel crowded 
 ladder. 
 
 So the heroes of the decades long agone were 
 great saints. They knew where service and 
 sacrifice converged, and rejoiced daily and 
 greatly in the fellowship of Him who gave his 
 precious life for the world. 
 
 Among the imperial characters produced by 
 the Virginia] Conference was George W. Statton, 
 who was born in Hampshire County, now West 
 Virginia, on the eleventh of October, 1825. He 
 was one of eleven children, having five brothers 
 and five sisters. In the veins of these hardy 
 scions coursed the mingled blood of an English 
 
 155 
 
Our Heroes, or 
 
 and German ancestry, and from a noble parent- 
 age had descended traits of character and 
 peculiar talents which distingiiished the family 
 throughout the United Brethren Church. 
 
 George had three brothers, John F., Isaac K., 
 and David E., who also became ministers. Isaac, 
 especially, won distinction as a pastor and pre- 
 siding elder, and was highly regarded in the 
 councils of the Church. 
 
 The subject of this chapter grew up on a farm, 
 attended such common schools as his day 
 afforded, professed religion at the age of nine- 
 teen, and entered the ministry at twenty. 
 
 While he did not have the training he needed 
 and craved, he was, nevertheless, a close, 
 thoughtful student, and by dint of personal 
 effort and perseverance acquired a vast store 
 of knowledge, and became mighty as a prophet 
 of truth. 
 
 After teaching and preaching a year under the 
 direction of the presiding elder, he joined the 
 Annual Conference at Churchville, Virginia, in 
 1845, Bishop Eussell presiding. Thus in the 
 very outset he found himself associated with 
 Jacob Bachtel, Jacob Markwood, and others who 
 were great as preachers, and eminent because 
 of their leadership in the Churcli. 
 
 His first field was Frederick Circuit, where, 
 with W. R. Coursey, pastor in charge, he 
 preached at twenty-four appointments, receiving 
 for tbe year's work just ninety dollars. Several 
 
 156 
 
United Brethren Hoine Missionaries 
 
 good revivals were held and ninety new members 
 added to the Church. 
 
 The followino- year he was sent to Jackson 
 charge, far west of the Alleghenies. This meant 
 a move of more than three hundred miles, which, 
 no doubt, thoroughly tested the young man's 
 devotion to his chosen work. He visited twenty- 
 one preaching places every three weeks, and 
 traveled one hundred and seventy-five miles in 
 making the round. But he was strong for the 
 tasks committed to himi. Being fired and thrilled 
 mth a holy passion for souls, he threw himself 
 with tremendous energy into revival work. And 
 he succeeded, as the record shows. We have no 
 means of knowing how many were converted 
 at his meetings, but his report shows that one 
 hundred members were received into' church- 
 fellowship. At one of his appointments there 
 were ninety professions in six days^ — the time 
 allotted to each revival. His salary aggregated 
 one hundred dollars even. A coincidence may 
 be seen in the fact that during the first two 
 years of his ministry he received a member for 
 every dollar paid himi for his services. He and 
 John Haney this year traveled over much of the 
 territory now covered by the West Virginia 
 Conference. To' make one round on the latter's 
 circuit required a journey of two hundred miles. 
 
 But now the young preacher must gO' back 
 to the older portion of the conference again, 
 and, consequently, at the close of the year he re- 
 traced his three-hundred-mile journey to Win- 
 
 157 
 
Oior Heroes, or 
 
 Chester Circuit. This seemed tO' him and others 
 like an unreasonable move, but it had been made 
 possible by the itinerant system under which 
 he served, and which required that he be "sub- 
 ject toi the counsels of his brethren." This year 
 John W. Perry was his fellow-laborer. He 
 found thirty-two appointments, and to fill them 
 all required five weeks. If he preached three 
 times each Sabbath, then in making the round 
 he wa,s compelled to preach seventeen sermons 
 between Sundays. The two men together re- 
 ceived only |230 for the year's work. This was 
 small pay, to^ be sure, but great victories were 
 won. Sweeping revivals spread all over the 
 field, and a, multitude was led to repentance. 
 How else could the Lord of the Church do than 
 honor and bless such heroism and self-forget- 
 fulness on the part of his servants? 
 
 On the fifth of February, of this year, 1851, 
 Mr. Statton was married to Martha C. Punk- 
 houser, in Shenandoah County, Virginia, and in 
 March following received ordination at the 
 hand of Bishop Erb. From this conference he 
 was sent again to Frederick cliarge, where he 
 had spent his first year, which certainly spoke 
 well for the young itinerant. This time, how- 
 ever, he was himself preacher in charge, Tvith 
 L. W. Matthews as associate. He had twenty 
 appointments, and received as support |200, 
 But the year closed with a deep, dark shadow 
 upon his heart and home. The black-winged 
 angel robbed him of his young wife, who had 
 
 158 
 
United Brethren Home Missionaries 
 
 contributed so largely to his success. The be- 
 reavement, nevertheless, brought its lesson of 
 trust and consolation, and the ensuing year on 
 the same field was one of victory from first to 
 last. His converts and accessions numbered one 
 hundred and seventy. 
 
 In 1855 he was married again, this time to 
 Mary E. Punkhouser, of Strasburg, Virginia, 
 who still survives, making her home with her 
 son at Monta Vista, Colorado. 
 
 The same year he was made presiding elder 
 of what was known as the "West Virginia Dis- 
 trict," which embraced Buckhannon, Glenville, 
 Middle Island, Hartford City, West Columbia, 
 and Mason County charges. Hartford was a 
 station. East and west the territory was at 
 least one hundred and sixty miles long. All 
 this distance was made on horseback, and much 
 of it through uninhabited sections. The writer 
 is acquainted with nearly eyery mile of the ter- 
 ritory, and can appreciate the disadvantages 
 under which he labored. 
 
 Such was the process of making a new con- 
 ference. In perusing the minutes of the Vir- 
 ginia and Parkersburg Conferences in their 
 earlier years, one is especially impressed with 
 the rapidity with which they mapped out new 
 charges. The work of the boundary committee 
 was of first importance, and its report was al- 
 ways awaited with special interest. 
 
 Some pioneer would go out into a new terri- 
 tory and take up ai dozen appointments, and in 
 
 159 
 
Our Heroes, or 
 
 some instances many more, forming organiza- 
 tions wherever lie coiild hold revivals. Then 
 the conference would divide the field into two 
 or three circuits, or missions, each preacher ex- 
 tending his particular charge so as to make its 
 division necessary in a year or two. Through 
 this process the West Virginia Conference has 
 grown from six toi sixty circuits and stations. 
 
 For thirty-one years, without a break, Mr. 
 Statton preached in the old conference, giving 
 to it the strength of his best manhood. The 
 minutes from 1846 to 1877 show him to have 
 been a leading spirit in all its aggressive work. 
 His name is prominently connected with every- 
 thing which meant progress and success. He 
 not only traveled the most important fields, but 
 spent, all told, ten years in district work, a part 
 of the time having charge of the entire confer- 
 ence territory. 
 
 During the dark days of the bloody Civil War 
 he never turned aside from his one w^ork through 
 fear, or for any other reason, though at times 
 his life was in peril. Writing of those days a 
 short time before he died, he recalled with much 
 tenderness the sad experiences through which 
 he was called to pass. When he left home he 
 did not know that he would ever return. He 
 says: "Many a time during the war when I 
 kissed my wife and children good-bye upon leav- 
 ing home, I did not know that I should ever see 
 them again. Human life was cheap in the heat 
 of those awful days; no one was safe." 
 
 160 
 
GEORGE W. STATTON 
 
Vnited Brethren Home Missionaries 
 
 The whole country through which he traveled 
 was overrun by guerrillas and marauding bands, 
 in whose estimation the rights and lives of po- 
 litical opponents were entitled to but little con- 
 sideration. How the preacher's heroism flames 
 out in all his words and acts! and what ad- 
 miration is kindled within us for the redoubtable 
 knights of the cross! 
 
 In times of strife and bloodshed, when faith- 
 ful heralds were hunted down and captured, or 
 were compelled to flee to other sections for 
 safety, he remained at his post of duty and 
 service. 
 
 As a revivalist he excelled. His tender gospel 
 messages, his sweet singing and glowing passion 
 for souls, put him close to the multitudes and 
 made his success phenomenal. Kev. W. O. 
 Smith, of Missouri Conference, was led to re- 
 pentance at a meeting held by Rev. Mr. Statton 
 in 1865 in Otterbein Church, Rockingham 
 County. He says he remembers distinctly to 
 this day portions of the great sermon the 
 revivalist preached the night of his con- 
 version. His text was Jeremiah 12 : 5 : "If 
 thou hast run with the footmen and they have 
 wearied thee .... then how wilt thou do in 
 the swelling of Jordan?" The meeting resulted 
 in one hundred and thirty professions. Not 
 infrequently whole communities were swept by 
 his mighty discourses as the forest bends before 
 the onrushing storm. 
 
 161 
 
Our Heroes^ or 
 
 He had unbounded faith in the divine mess- 
 age, and proclaimed it as all sufficient for every 
 human need. "Man is not to improve the 
 gospel," he argued, "but to be improved by it/' 
 Many of his sermons were prepared on his knees, 
 with the open Bible before him. Is it any wonder 
 that he became a very "flame of fire" when once 
 electrified by the truth he preached? But to 
 be at his best he must feel the touch of sympathy. 
 Though prepossessing in physical appearance, 
 and though his clarion voice fairly enchanted 
 his auditors, yet it required a chorus of hearty 
 mnens to make the fire flash in his eyes, and his 
 sermon to blaze T\dth holy fervor. 
 
 He wais honored with membership in five 
 General Conferences, where he was always in- 
 fluential, manifesting a lively interest in all the 
 great problems of the Church. The breadth of 
 his sympathy was noted by all. At the session 
 of 1873, when a prolonged discussion occurred 
 over cutting off a number of small conferences 
 from missionary support, he championed the 
 cause of the conferences thus threatened, and 
 did more, perhaps, than any one else to prevent 
 an action which he, with others, felt would prove 
 almost fatal to their further success. His strong- 
 est plea was for Missouri, which he declared 
 appealed to the heart of the whole Church, and 
 should be sustained in its work regardless of 
 what it might cost. 
 
 In 1876 he moved to Iowa, whither others of 
 the family had gone, and united with the Des 
 
 162 
 
United Brethren Home Missionaries 
 
 Moines Conference. Here he threw himself, 
 with his great personality, into the work of the 
 Church, serving several fields, and spending two 
 3'ears as presiding elder. 
 
 For the next twenty-one years he stood with 
 his brethren in the forefront of the battle, which 
 rounded out more than a half century in his 
 heaven-appointed work. 
 
 While traveling a district in 1880, he was in a 
 railroad VkTeck and his arm was badly crushed. 
 With a number of others he lay fastened in the 
 debris from near midnight till daylight, while 
 rain and snow pelted him almost incessantly. 
 The wounded were brought to Des ]Moines and 
 laid upon the floor of the depot, where they re- 
 mained until medical attention could be given. 
 The injured arm kept him at home for many 
 weeks. 
 
 His purity of life, and his faithfulness as 
 Christ's ambassador, made his years in Des 
 Moines Conference a benediction to the Church, 
 and especially to the ministry with which he 
 toiled. Dr. E. W. Curtis, who knew him well, 
 has this word : "He was really a great and good 
 man, and strong as a leader and organizer. His 
 life was full of sunshine." 
 
 Though humble in spirit, and not given to 
 boasting, he was proud of his record, and re- 
 ferred to it often with expressions of deepest 
 satisfaction. He rejoiced exceedingly because 
 Grod had graciously permitted him to spend so 
 long a period in the ministry of his church. In 
 
 163 
 
Our Heroes, or 
 
 a letter to the writer lie said : "I never resigned 
 a charge in fifty-two years, but one — a district — 
 and that was on account of sickness. But that 
 year I kept on preaching ais strength permitted, 
 and organized three new classes and Sabbath 
 schools. Nor did I ever drop an appointment 
 from any field that was given me." 
 
 His call to the ministry was clear and con- 
 vincing. He preached in obedience to a divine 
 decree. He wrote: "I love the ministry, and it 
 is more to me than anything else. My greatest 
 sorrow is that I must stop under the weight of 
 eighty years and their attending infirmities. My 
 call to the work was so clear and decisive that I 
 never doubted it. It came to me in the death 
 of John Gibbens, a promising young minister of 
 the Virginia Conference, which occurred at the 
 home of Benjamin Stickly of precious memory." 
 Some who shall read these lines will recall 
 his presence at the General Conference of 1897, 
 which met in Toledo, Iowa. One evening he 
 told the great audience of a recent illness he 
 had suffered, and of the joy unspeakable that 
 thrilled his heart as he lay in the borderland. 
 "Though my friends thought I was dying," he 
 said, "I never was so happy in my life. I could 
 hear the bells of heaven ringing. The gates 
 swung open and I was permitted to look in upon 
 the glory world." As he thus talked many hearts 
 were strangely touched, and many eyes were 
 suffused with tears. 
 
 164 
 
United Brethren Home Missionaries 
 
 Upon retiring from the field of active serv- 
 ice, he settled at Monta Vista, Colorado, where 
 he quietly spent his remaining years. How- 
 ever, he was by no means idle. He attended 
 church regularly as long as his strength per- 
 mitted. The churches of the town and sur- 
 rounding communities soon ascertained his 
 superior qualities as a preacher and secured 
 his services on many occasions. 
 
 The year before hivS death he wrote: "I am 
 sorry for the mistakes and failures of my min- 
 istry, and wish I could have another life to 
 spend in the work so I could correct the errors 
 of the past. I believe in the old orthodox 
 Christianity — such a religion as my mother 
 carried with her through life. I expect to die 
 in the faith. Though there is a deep mystery 
 about death and the beyond, I stand on the 
 platform of the Oospel as taught bv Christ and 
 the disciples. When we leave this world we 
 are at sea, without chart or compass, not know- 
 ing whither we are bound, if we let the Grospel 
 go. All sectarianism is out of me long ago. I 
 believe there is some good in all the churches. 
 Finally, brethren, farewell. Be perfect. Be of 
 good comfort. Be of one mind. Live in peace. 
 'And the God of love and peace shall be mth 
 you. Amen." 
 
 David, his only living brother, bears this 
 testimony to his devotion and strength. "My 
 brother George was faithful from the beginning 
 of his ministry in all that pertained to a United 
 
 165 
 
Our Heroes, or 
 
 Brethren preaclier. Well do I remember when 
 a small boy to have seen the whole neighbor- 
 hood assemble to hear him, and they were 
 thrilled from start to finish by his preaching, 
 which they thought could not be equalled by 
 anybody else. I often visited his home, and 
 always found him faithful and devoted." Beau- 
 tiful testimony this from a brother in the flesh, 
 who knew him so well, and watched with so 
 much interest the results of his long ministry. 
 
 On the eighth of August, 1908, after a few 
 months of extreme illness, he heard the last 
 summons and ascended the shining way to live 
 in the white light of the throne forever. 
 
 The funeral, which was held in the Presby- 
 terian church, was largely attended and deeply 
 impressive. Six ministers of other denomina- 
 tions were present to honor his memory, and to 
 speak words of appreciation and comfort. 
 
 "Not for thee shall tears be given, 
 Child of God and heir of heaven; 
 For he gave thee sweet release; 
 Thine the Christian's death of peace." 
 
 166 
 
CHAPTER XI. 
 
 MICHAEL LONG. 
 Pioneer Evangelist of Sandusky Conference. 
 
 The early fathers and promoters of the United 
 Brethren Church regarded the itinerancy as es- 
 sential to the highest success in the extension of 
 the Master's kingdom. The history of the Chris- 
 tian Church would seem to confirm their views. 
 More than once has Christianity been saved to 
 the world by this process of propagating its 
 teachings. They were itinerants who, in the 
 early centuries of the Christian era, made Chris- 
 tianity the dominant religion. Eight hundred 
 years later, when religion had become degraded, 
 and the hierarchical system, like a stranded ship, 
 was breaking in pieces, there appeared one day 
 an itinerant, Saint Francis of Assissi, who so 
 influenced men that in a few years, from the 
 sierras of Spain to the steppes of Russia, from 
 the Tiber to the Trent, the Baltic Sea, and the 
 Thames, the old faith in its fullest vigor was 
 preached in almost every town and hamlet. The 
 great Reformation in the sixteenth century, of 
 which John Wycliffe was the morning star, was 
 heralded by the preaching of his itinerant 
 ministers. 
 
 The Christian faith will always need its apol- 
 ogists, and never, perhaps, have the Christian 
 
 167 
 
Our Heroes, or 
 
 student and thinker had graver responsibilities 
 laid upon them than during these recent times; 
 but the true defenders of the faith are not faith's 
 apologists, but faith's apostles. In the divine 
 order the apologist stands always behind the 
 evangelist or missionary. Faith lives by its 
 evangelists. Its real defense is its diffusion. The 
 itinerant system made possible and propagated 
 the evangelical re^dval of the eighteenth century. 
 Its leaders were a militant force, and, despite all 
 the toils and hardships involved, they gladly as- 
 sumed its requirements, and went forth with a 
 firm step that indicated a strong faith and a lofty 
 objective. It is to such self-denying devotion, to 
 such fixedness of purpose, to such apostolic 
 zeal, and to such glad-hearted willingness 
 to make the gTeatest sacrifices for the gospel's 
 sake that we are Indebted for the establishment 
 of our beloved Zion, its spirit, its development, 
 and its progress. 
 
 Among the earliest and most successful of the 
 pioneer missionaries of northwestern Ohio, was 
 Jacob Baulus, founder of the Sandusky Confer- 
 ence. In 1822 he immigrated with his family 
 from Frederick County, Maryland, and located 
 in the forests of the "Black Swamp," near 
 Lower Sandusky, now Fremont, Ohio. Mission- 
 ary work was projected in this territory by the 
 Muskingum Conference. Though separated from 
 its borders by an untamed wilderness one hun- 
 (Ired miles in length, Mr. Baulus was placed in 
 
 168 
 
United Brethren Home 3Iissionaries 
 
 charge of the new mission district. Everywhere 
 he went he raised np preachers, and everywhere 
 he preached sinners were converted. The confer- 
 ence was organized in 1834. Two years later, 
 and at its third session. Presiding Elder Baulus 
 presented a young man for membership, in whom 
 he recognized the possibilities of an able minister 
 and a valuable accession to the strength and in- 
 fluence of the rising conference. That young 
 man was Michael Long, to whose life and career 
 as missionary, pastor, and religious leader this 
 chapter is devoted. 
 
 Mr. Jacob Burgner, an elderly and honored 
 citizen of Fremont, Ohio, and who was for many 
 years a personal friend of Mr. Long, pays the 
 following splendid tribute to his work and in- 
 fluence as it was related to the moral and relig- 
 ious development of the territory ^vdth which he 
 was identified : "Any pioneer record of the 
 'Black Swamp,' in Northwestern Ohio, which 
 does not give an account of the old-time traveling 
 preachers, or circuit riders, who did so much to 
 cheer the liomes of the early settlers, must be 
 incomplete; and any list of such itinerants which 
 does not include the familiar name of the Rev. 
 Michael Long is untrue to history. For more 
 than fifty years he traversed this region in every 
 direction, and thousands loved to listen to the 
 voice of his unstudied eloquence and soul-stirring 
 revival songs. Entire communities were trans- 
 formed by his noble Christian influence and the 
 marvelous power of his ministry," 
 
 169 
 
Our Heroes, or 
 
 Sandusky Conference has produced great 
 evangelists, like Stephen Lillybridge, of its 
 earlier history, George and Eeuben French, of 
 later years, and J. W. Hicks, of the present time. 
 But Michael Long has the distinction of having 
 received more people into the Church than any 
 other minister ever connected with the Sandusky 
 Conference up until the time of his death. His 
 great meetings, in which hundreds were led to 
 Christ, are yet a subject of many fireside conver- 
 sations among the older people of that section of 
 country. Very much of his time as a missionary 
 was devoted to evangelistic work, to which he 
 was naturally well adapted and in which he was 
 eminently successful. He saw his conference 
 grow from its first little organization to one of 
 the largest numerically of the denomination. 
 
 Mr, Long was born on the third day of May, 
 1814, in Guernsey County, Ohio. His parents, 
 Daniel and Margaret Long, were natives of 
 Pennsylvania. Perhaps about the year 1810 they 
 immigrated to Ohio, where they took possession 
 of a section of land upon which they built a home 
 and dedicated it to God. In this humble wilder- 
 ness home the son acquired habits of industry 
 and economy as well as a vigorous constitution. 
 He had the advantage of a few terms of school, 
 most probably a subscription school of the neigh- 
 borhood. Between these terms and subsequently 
 he worked on the farm until he entered the min- 
 istry. He was endowed with remarkable physical 
 powers, which enabled him to endure the priva- 
 
 170 
 
United Brethrcfi Home Missionaries 
 
 tions incident to his life-work with little appar- 
 ent difficulty. 
 
 At a very early age young Long was converted 
 and joined the United Brethren Church. When 
 about twenty years of age he gave evidence of 
 having received a, call to the ministry, and in 
 1836, a year later, as previously stated, he was 
 given license to preach the gospel, at which time 
 his active itinerant life began. His first circuit 
 included twenty-eight appointments, at each of 
 which he preached regularly once every four 
 weeks, in private homes, barns, school-houses or 
 groves, requiring for each round a travel of about 
 four hundred miles. For his services the first 
 year he received a salary of forty dollars. The 
 circuits he served for a number of subsequent 
 years were as large, and sometimes more exten- 
 sive than the first, when his salary ranged from 
 one hundred to a hundred and seventy-five dol- 
 lars a year. For his unselfish devotion to his 
 work, and his intense perseverance, which feared 
 no sacrifice or hardship, in seeking lost souls, 
 this "cavalry captain" deserves a place in the 
 first rank of the heroes of the cross of the United 
 Brethren Church. 
 
 The active, itinerant life of Michael Long cov- 
 ered an unbroken period of more than a half 
 century. It is claimed that he was directly in- 
 strumental in the conversion of above five thou- 
 sand souls, most of whom were added to the 
 Church. It may fairly be questioned whether 
 any one minister in the history of the deuomina- 
 
 171 
 
Our Heroes, or 
 
 tion, Newcomer excepted, has made a greater 
 record as a soul-wiuner. His loyalty to the 
 Church was very manifest in his work. He em- 
 bodied, as did few men of his times, the elements 
 of evangelist and organizer. The fruits of his 
 great evangelistic campaigns were largely con- 
 served to the denomination. This was the ex- 
 ception in those earlier days, when United 
 Brethren itinerants were so absorbed in the 
 work of evangelism as to leave to other denomin- 
 ations the pleasant, though important work of 
 organizing and training the new converts for 
 Christian service. 
 
 The Eev. William IMathers, conference histor- 
 ian, pays his friend of many years the following 
 tribute: "Michael Long served more time, 
 traveled greater distances, and suffered more 
 privations than any other member of the con- 
 ference, living or dead." It is apparent that the 
 conference has produced no man whose influence 
 for good has been greater, and no man whose his- 
 tory has had in it more features of romantic in- 
 terest. His unwritten stories of daring adven- 
 tures and hair-breadth escapes in those early days 
 would fill a volume. The following items are 
 copied from an address delivered at a ministerial 
 institute at Attica, Seneca County, Ohio, by this 
 veteran servant of God in 1879, twelve years be- 
 fore his death : 
 
 "I well remember when I started on my first 
 circuit, which was four hundred miles around, 
 pumbering twenty-eight appointments, Jt took 
 
 172 
 
United Brethren Home Missionaries 
 
 me four weeks tO' get around the circuit; there 
 was not, to my recollection, one meeting-house 
 in the entire conference. We preached, as a gen- 
 eral thing, in private houses and in the groves. 
 The outline of my work was something after the 
 following: Northeast, three miles below Port 
 Clinton, on the lake; southeast, near Bucyrus; 
 southwest, on the Auglaize, twelve miles below 
 Findlay. The points alluded to were the out- 
 posts of my field of labor. My salary the first 
 year was forty dollars. The second year I was 
 appointed to Findlay Mission, where there were 
 two preaching places to start with; the number 
 was soon increased to twelve. It was a year of 
 great success. One hundred and sixty members 
 were added to the Church, and the revival spirit 
 continued the entire year. 
 
 "I remember of forming what we then called 
 Huron Mission. It was an entirely new field. 
 The conference circulated a subscription for me, 
 which amounted to about thirty dollars. With 
 that encouragement I started, having no assur- 
 ance of any other support, but still I had a good 
 time; the grace of God sustained me, and I had 
 plenty to- eat, such as it was. I remember 
 crossing what was then called the swamp 
 bridge, in Seneca County, not far from where we 
 are now assembled. The people on the west side 
 of the river came over to the services. There 
 were about seventy persons on the bridge at one 
 time. It was built with great logs — they were all 
 floating and would not lie still, and some of the 
 
 173 
 
Our Heroes, or 
 
 people got wet, but on they went. They reached 
 the place of worship and we had a good time, 
 as some of you, no doubt, remember well. I am 
 not a little happy to look on some of those faces 
 in this convention. Little did I think that I 
 would live to see a ministerial association held 
 on my missionary ground. 
 
 "I well remember, when traveling in the 
 Maumee country, of passing trains of Indians 
 nearly one-half mile long. I recollect of preach- 
 ing on the east side of the Maumee River, and 
 then would ford the river and preach on the west 
 side; and when I crossed tlie river, I would take 
 corn in my saddle-bags to feed my horse. The 
 people of the community that year were having 
 a struggle to live. The plain food we had to eat 
 tasted good sO' long as it lasted. We were thank- 
 ful those days if we had a^ little corn bread and 
 a little venison. There was a difference between 
 those days and the present. O Lord ! bring back 
 some of the old kindred feelings that used to 
 characterize the Church. 
 
 "In those days there were but few bridges 
 across the rivers in this country. When on my 
 first mission in Hancock County, I had to cross 
 the Auglaize River some nine times ; my mission 
 was so assigned that I could not do otherwise. 
 I often would swim my horse across the river. I 
 remember one occasion when I attempted to 
 cross on the ice to go to my quarterly meeting. 
 Rev. O. Crom was my presiding elder. It was in 
 the early spring when the ice was very rotten. 
 
 174 
 
United Brethren Home Missionaries 
 
 The elder's horse being the smaller, we agreed 
 that he should cross first. He succeeded in 
 getting across in safety. I then took off my 
 saddle and saddle-bags, took my horse by the 
 bridle and started, and when I got near the 
 middle of the river, the ice broke, and my horse 
 went under, all but his head. I kept in advance 
 of the horse; the bridle pulled off, and when I 
 caught hold of the halter, he made a number of 
 springs, and finally succeeded in getting near the 
 shore, where the ice bore him up. I then led him 
 to the shore, put my saddle on him, and we 
 hastened to the meeting, which was about two 
 miles distant. 
 
 "When traveling a circuit in Wood County at 
 one time, I came to the Portage River, which was 
 overflowing its banks, a distance of about forty 
 rods. Part of the bridge had been swept away. 
 The middle bent and the one that extended to 
 the shore on the east side were all that were left. 
 Heavy timbers laid on the bridge held those two 
 bents and stringers together. I first got on the 
 bridge and tried its strength. I then led my horse 
 on the first part; then he had to jump down 
 about two feet on the middle part of the bridge. 
 I then led him to the end of that section, then 
 made him jump into the water. It was about 
 mid-sides to my horse. Then he was so far from 
 me that I jumped into the water and waded a 
 few rods. I saw a stump extending above the 
 water, from which I mounted my horse, and we 
 
 175 
 
Our Heroes, or 
 
 rode twenty or thirty rods, from whicli point he 
 swam the rest of the way to the shore. 
 
 "I recall vividly another circumstance when 
 going from Elmore to the lake. The first four 
 miles brought me to Touissaint Creek. It being 
 high, I swam my horse across. I then had eight 
 or ten miles, through very dense woods, to the 
 lake. When I came to the prairie I got in a 
 French settlement. It was so fenced up that 
 there was no way of getting through the field or 
 through Turtle Marsh. I called at a house. A 
 French woman came out and muttered her 
 French and motioned across the marsh. I started 
 across, but had not gone more than one rod when 
 my horse fell over some timbers of some kind. I 
 fell off my horse into the marsh, held on to the 
 bridle, and got out on the same side. I think it 
 was little different from the slough of despond 
 that Bunyan speaks of ; I know the Lord did not 
 want me to go through Turtle IMarsh. A boy 
 who seemed to sympathize with me in my distress^ 
 came to my assistance, for which I thanked him, 
 talked to him about his soul's salvation, and 
 offered a prayer for him. I told him I wanted to 
 go through the field. He opened the fence and 
 let me through, giving me proper directions. The 
 Lord had delivered me from Turtle Marsh. 
 
 "Let me state one more recollection. Well do 
 I remember crossing what was then known as 
 the Lance Bridge, a little west of Carey. INIy 
 appointment was at Father Shoup's. The bridge 
 crossing the prairie was one mile long and there 
 
 176 
 
MICHAEL LONG 
 
United Brethren Home Missionaries 
 
 bad been heavy rains, and on the south end a 
 freshet had taken away about two rods of the 
 bridge. The rails had been placed close together 
 on the sod. At this time loose rails had been 
 placed, about fifteen or twenty inches apart, for 
 people to walk over. It looked rather danger- 
 ous; there was no water there, yet I knew not 
 what a dangerous place it was. I took off my 
 saddle and knelt down and implored God to help 
 me, as on other occasions. I took my horse by 
 the bridle, intending to lead him by the side of 
 the loose rails, and, as I started, he at once 
 sprang upon the rails and followed me over. I 
 then fell upon my knees again and returned 
 grateful thanks tO' my Lord for his help. I then 
 walked back and got my saddle, placed it upon 
 my horse, and hurried to my appointment. The 
 people asked me which way I came. I told them. 
 They were alarmed when I told them how I 
 crossed the prairie, knowing that part of the 
 bridge was gone, and that the scattering loose 
 rails were for people to walk over. A pole could 
 be run do^ni twenty feet anywhere near that 
 place, so I was convinced that the Lord had 
 safely led me through. 
 
 "Now, my dear brethren, I have related a few 
 of the experiences of my early itinerant life. 
 Those were days of struggle and hardship, but of 
 great blessing. The^^ were days of love to God 
 and love toward each other; no sparring, no try- 
 ing to excel ; the glory of God and the salvation 
 of souls was the supreme thing." 
 
 177 
 
Oar Heroes, or 
 
 Mr. Long was one of the few itinerants of his 
 day who gave his entire time to the work. He 
 traveled long distances in all kinds of weather, 
 and preached, it is said, three times a day for 
 thirt}^ days in succession, and each time with 
 demonstration of the Spirit. He was possessed 
 with an undeterred and undeterable hunger to 
 preach the Word to sinners. No slippered ease, 
 no hammock sighing for a mission, no resolutions 
 to be carried into effect to-morrow, could have 
 created the type of evangelism he represented 
 and attain such results. What impresses one as 
 he reads his life and of his success as a soul- 
 winner is that he lived for it, prayed for it, and 
 put all else aside for it. He was uniformly 
 prompt and punctual in the performance of all 
 his duties. Few can realize what that meant in 
 the way of privations and hardships in that 
 sparsely-settled country, without bridges and 
 with but few roads. Most of the time he traveled 
 on horseback, but many long journeys through 
 the swamps were of necessity made on foot. He 
 was present at every session of his conference for 
 fifty-six successive years, and it stands to his 
 credit that he never missed the opening prayer of 
 one of its sessions. 
 
 Mr. Long is described as possessing a strong 
 and impressive physique, weighing above two 
 hundred pounds. His manner in the pulpit was 
 free and full of demonstration. He did not 
 hesitate to remove his coat without apology, if 
 it became uncomfortable, and go on with his dis- 
 
 178 
 
United Brethren Home Missionaries 
 
 course as if nothing unusual had occurred. He 
 was a great preacher, if greatness is measured by 
 results, and this must always be the final test of 
 sermons: Do they accomplish their purpose? 
 Some one remarked to Sir William Hamilton 
 that Guthrie's preaching was defective in logical 
 quality, and he answered, "It is the very best 
 sort of logic; there is but a step between the 
 premise and the conclusion." Mr. Long as a 
 preacher was a kind of Nasmyth hammer that, 
 with a few mighty strokes, could weld into shape 
 a ponderous, molten mass. His preaching may 
 have been defective in logical quality, but it had 
 that quality that broke down stubborn wills, 
 melted the hardest hearts, and caused multitudes 
 to repent of their sins and to accept Christ as 
 Lord and Savior. 
 
 Mr. Long was endowed with a powerful voice, 
 which disting-uished him as the "great camp- 
 meeting preacher." The following story is told 
 by a gentleman residing not far from one of the 
 old camp-grounds in Sandusky County: "A 
 stranger called at my home one day about eleven 
 o'clock to inquire the way to the camp-meeting, 
 which was then in progress. I told him to listen, 
 and, on being silent for a moment, the voice of 
 Michael Long, in the full exercise of its powers, 
 came wafted upon the breezes. I told the 
 stranger to follow the sound through the woods, 
 and he would find the camp-meeting about three 
 miles distant in that direction." 
 
 179 
 
Our Heroes, or 
 
 The old-fashioned camp-meetings were occa- 
 sions which throbbed with spiritual power. Here 
 Mr. Long was always at his best. One of these 
 occasions is thus described: "Wonderful dem- 
 onstrations of God's power were manifest under 
 the preaching of Mr. Long. Many fell to the 
 earth and lay for hours as if dead, and when 
 raised from that state, they generally shouted, 
 'Glory !' Surely God was there to kill and make 
 alive." One instance was very similar to the one 
 recorded in the ninth chapter of Mark. Another 
 conversion at this meeting was similar to that 
 of Saul of Tarsus. Through the persuasion of 
 the man's daughter, he went with her to the meet- 
 ing, where he became so powerfully convicted 
 that, on his way home, he fell from his horse to 
 the ground, where he lay for some time. When 
 he rose his daughter was on her knees by his side, 
 praying for him, and holding both their horses. 
 He was converted and became one of the most 
 devout and influential Christian men of that 
 community. 
 
 Mr. Long was also a great singer. While his 
 voice was mighty, it was full of melody. Some 
 one has said that under the blessing of God in 
 the gospel of song, as many people were won to 
 Christ as were won by his sermons. By his songs, 
 as well as by his sermons, he moved, melted, and 
 mastered men. 
 
 In May, 1864, he visited a military post at 
 Fort Ethan Allan, Virginia. He had learned 
 that there was much sickness among the One 
 
 180 
 
United Brethren Home Missionaries 
 
 Hundred and Sixty-Ninth Regiment. O. V. I., 
 at that place, which was composed of men from 
 Sandusky and Wayne counties, Ohio. He took 
 with him, at a considerable expense and risk, a 
 large trunk full of choice eatables, sent by wives, 
 mothers, and sweethearts to the boys. The regi- 
 ment had no official chaplain. The Sandusky 
 County boys had urgently requested Mr. Long as 
 their chaplain, and the Wayne County boys had 
 asked for Rev. B. F. Baltzly, when Col. N. E. 
 Haynes, who had the matter in charge, in order 
 that he might not give offense to either party, 
 decided to dispense with the chaplaincy. Each 
 of the candidates held religious services gratu- 
 itously, as he had opportunity. On Sunday, the 
 nineteenth of June, by special request, Mr. Long 
 conducted services and preached a remarkable 
 sermon. He stood in the shade of a large cherry 
 tree in front of the captain's office. The subject 
 of his discourse was, "The Prayer of Jabez," re- 
 corded in I. Chronicles 4 : 10. The sermon was 
 printed in full. It seems now to have been almost 
 prophetic, and to have been answered in a very 
 remarkable manner in the restoration of the 
 Union, the peace and prosperity of the country, 
 and the enlargement of the territoiy of the 
 United States westward. "While in the midst 
 of his sermon, he was interrupted a few minutes 
 while a funeral procession, with muffled drum, 
 passed by to the burial of a soldier, who had died 
 of homesickness." 
 
 181 
 
Our Heroes J or 
 
 When presiding elder of a district, he gladly 
 went where his preachers had to go ; he met with- 
 out a murmur their hardships, experienced their 
 privations and persecutions, and lived their 
 simple life. This is the kind of leaders the early 
 itinerant needed to nerve him for the warfare. 
 Napoleon, lying down at night, on the hard 
 ground between two common soldiers, sharing 
 with them their crust, and talking to them like a 
 brother about the hardships of the campaign, by 
 that act did the kind of thing which incarnated 
 him as the idol of his army. Mr. Long was a man 
 of vision and kept in line with the progress of his 
 times. While he had not the advantage of the 
 education of the schools, he was a friend and ad- 
 vocate of higher education, and encouraged it not 
 only publicly, but also in his own family. The 
 fruits of this course were manifest later in the 
 literary attainments and honorable standing of 
 his three sons in the active ministry. He was a 
 loyal supporter of every department of the work 
 of his denomination. 
 
 His home life Avas beautiful. The devoted 
 partner in the toils and sacrifices of his long 
 itinerant life w^as formerl^^ Miss Sarah Gear. 
 They were united in marriage April 20, 1837, in 
 Sandusky County. To' them were given five 
 children, all of whom were followers of the 
 Christ whom their honored father preached so 
 faithfully. 
 
 Mr. Long possessed an attractive personality. 
 He was a man of cordial spirit, sunny disposi- 
 
 183 
 
United Brethren Home Missionaries 
 
 tion, and a merry humor, always companionable 
 and cheery in the circle of his friends, and, to an 
 unusual degree, to all with whom he came in 
 contact. It is said that on one occasion he called 
 the attention of a chance traveling companion, a 
 lawyer, to the beautiful country through which 
 they were passing, and remarked, "My Father 
 owns all this entire country." Until the gentle- 
 man caught his meaning from the twinkle in his 
 eye, he was astonished at the immense wealth of 
 the father and the rich heritage of the son. 
 Great churchmen have pronounced the dogma of 
 apostolic succession to be a fact no man can 
 prove. There is, however, such a thing as having 
 the spirit of the apostles, and in that sense being 
 in the line of a spiritual succession, which is the 
 best form of apostolic succession. In that line of 
 succession was the Eev. Michael Long. 
 
 On November 17, 1891, having reached the age 
 of seventy-seven years, this faithful servant of 
 God, who had won his right to a place in the 
 record of the heroes of faith, entered unto his 
 heavenly rest. His body awaits the resurrection 
 of the just, in a beautiful little cemetery near 
 Fremont, Ohio. 
 
 Father Long and Rutherford B. Hayes were 
 not only neighbors and acquaintances, but close 
 personal friends for many years. Tlie ex-presi- 
 dent was in Cleveland, Ohio, when he saw in a 
 daily paper of that city an account of Mr, Long's 
 death. He was noticeably affected, and with a 
 voice expressive of deep feeling, remarked to the 
 
 183 
 
Our Eei'oes, or 
 
 company about him: "Gentlemen, in the his- 
 tory of northwestern Ohio the name of the Rev. 
 Michael Long can never be disassociated from 
 the very highest rank of moral and religious 
 leadership. Nothing my friends might say of me 
 when I am gone will be more truthful and honor- 
 able than what I can say of my friend Long — he 
 was a devoted and successful minister of the 
 gospel." 
 
 184 
 
CHAPTER XII. 
 
 WILLIAM CADMAN. 
 
 Erie Conference" s Pioneer He^'ald. 
 
 When death comes, Avhat nobler epitaph can 
 be placed over any man's tomb than this: 
 "Having served his day and generation by the 
 will of God, he fell asleep." No words that we 
 may utter can help the departed. No voice of 
 praise can delight the ear; nor can the violence 
 of censure vex it. No amount of flowers strewn 
 upon the grave can delight the pulseless heart, 
 nor add to the spirit's joys. But for the sake of 
 others we may, and should, speak well of the 
 faithful dead. The noble lives which once made 
 the world better, will continue to enrich it for- 
 ever, if, through liistory, they are kept before the 
 oncoming generations, and thus made ensamples 
 of piety, courage and devotion. 
 
 William Cadman was born of godly parents 
 at French Creek, Erie County, Pennsylvania, 
 June 5, 1828. His early life was especially in- 
 fluenced by the pious example and instructiou 
 of a devout mother. Though he did not become 
 active in Christian service until he had grown 
 to manhood, yet there was never a day, perhaps, 
 when he did not feel the touch of parental love, 
 and experience a desire to be and do something 
 worthy a true man. 
 
 185 
 
Our Heroes, or 
 
 In 1840 the family, eleven in number, having 
 caught the spirit of emigration, moved to Iowa, 
 which was then considered the far West. Mus- 
 catine County was their destination, the long 
 distance having been made in the ''prairie 
 schooner." Here, for a few years, William as- 
 sisted in making the new home, and thus shared 
 the hardships and privations of a frontier life. 
 
 When the Mexican War broke out, his patriot- 
 ism asserted itself and he joined the army of his 
 country, serving until peace w^as negotiated. Dur- 
 ing this period of absence from home, when he 
 must have felt most keenly the loss of a mother's 
 counsel and tender watch-care, an incident oc- 
 curred which greatly strengthened his faith in 
 his mother's God. Being very ill one day, he 
 crawled under a little tree to die, as he feared, 
 but remembering that upon leaving home his 
 mother had given him a Testament, he took it 
 from his pocket and began to peruse its pages, 
 and to search out its promises. With the reading 
 of the Word, new strength and hope were in- 
 spired, and the battle against the threatening 
 malady Avas renewed and kept up until health 
 was finally regained. This providential occur- 
 rence, as he interpreted it to be, was never for- 
 gotten by him, and its lesson of trust made it one 
 of the brightest spots in all his experience. At 
 the close of his army life he came back home, 
 and shortly afterwards located in Ohio. About 
 this time he renewed his Christian covenant, and 
 soon felt God's call to the ministry. At first, 
 
 186 
 
United Brethren Home Missionaries 
 
 like a multitude of others, he resisted the Spirit, 
 but eventually yielded, and made a surrender 
 which was complete and final. 
 
 In 1850 he was licensed to exhort by Solomon 
 Weaver, then a i3residing elder in Ohio. His 
 annual conference credentials were signed by 
 Bishop David Edwards, bearing date of October 
 17, 1851, while Bishop J. J. Glosbrenner or- 
 dained him at a session of the Muskingum Con- 
 ference, held in October, 1853, the place being 
 Newman's Creek chapel. 
 
 October 7, 1852, he was married to Miss Par- 
 melia A. Houck, of Berlin, Ohio, who proved a 
 heroine in all the qualities which were needful 
 in a minister's wife in those far away days. 
 
 The original Erie Conference Avas organized in 
 May of 1853. The following October, soon after 
 his ordination, Mr. Cadman was sent to New 
 York Mission, which included all the territory 
 now embraced in Bear Lake, Chautauqua, Pine 
 Grove, and Chandler's Valley circuits. In all 
 this vast area there were only a few United 
 Brethren. Ho was not sent out to occupy a par- 
 sonage already built, or to enjoy a nest already 
 feathered by some one else, but rather to hew out 
 a field for the Church, and to lay the foundations 
 of a new district. 
 
 Here, it would seem, he remained three years. 
 And that he did his work nobly may be seen in 
 the fact that he created a nucleus around which 
 Erie Conference has been built. Following this 
 period of successful missionary work, he was as- 
 
 187 
 
Our Heroes J or 
 
 signed to Findlay Lake charge, and then to 
 Pleasantville. It is to be regretted that the 
 minutes which give a consecutive and detailed 
 account of his work from 1853 to 1861 cannot be 
 found. Later we shall see w^hat his co-laborers 
 have to say respecting his standing in the Church, 
 and his achievements as a pioneer. 
 
 Shortly after he was married he bought a little 
 home in what was known as the Stillson neigh- 
 borhood, in Warren County, Pennsylvania, from 
 which he never moved. Here his good wife re- 
 mained through the long years that followed, and 
 here his nine children were born and reared. 
 
 Being permanently located, however, made his 
 work more taxing, as it necessitated longer 
 journeys and more extended periods of absence 
 from home. Those were days which tried the 
 soul. When we recall that the average salary 
 was only |103.78, we get a glimpse of what "cir- 
 cuit riding" meant, and what it cost the pioneers 
 to plant the Church in a country so immature. 
 
 On one occasion when Mr. Cadman returned 
 home after a long absence, he sat down at the 
 table with nothing but "johnny cake" before him. 
 When he saw the scant meal, he remarked that it 
 seemed like a small dinner for a hungry man. 
 Though his words were spoken in rather a jocular 
 way, they deeply pained his wife's heart. Glan- 
 cing at her he saw the tears starting and was 
 told, "It is all we have." The scene so touched 
 him that he could not eat. "It 's all we have,'- 
 kept ringing in his ears. The tears he knew 
 
 188 
 
United Brethren Home Missionaries 
 
 meant much more than had been expressed in 
 her words, and so, without touching the simple 
 cal?;e, he arose, went to the stable, harnessed his 
 horse, drove to a neighbor, borrowed some money, 
 and laid in a supply of groceries. Three times, 
 he tells us, he borrowed this sum before he was 
 able to pay it himself. Still he kept on preach- 
 ing, God had given him a message and he must 
 deliver it. Winning men was of first and 
 supreme importance. To this end he climbed 
 over hills, waded through snowdrifts, and 
 braved the pelting storm. Sometimes his feet, 
 hands, and ears were frosted, but personal com- 
 forts were gladly surrendered for the sake of his 
 conference and his Church. Like Marcus Whit- 
 man he could sing: 
 
 "I must go on, I must go on, 
 Whatever lot may fall to me ; 
 On ! 't is for others' sake I ride, 
 For others I may never see." 
 
 Kev. L. L. Hager, the poet-preacher of the con- 
 ference, now living at Findlay Lake, New York, 
 traveled the New York Mission with him as a 
 junior in 1856-57, and speaks in highest terms 
 of his character, ability and achievements. "In 
 his early days," he says, "he was a very 'son of 
 thunder,' being physically strong and magnetic. 
 He possessed the voice and bearing of one born 
 to command, and the people felt they must obey. 
 At times he was extravagant in his hyperbole, 
 
 189 
 
Our Heroes, or 
 
 but never failed to charm and interest his hear- 
 ers. At the many camp-meetings he attended, 
 he was always the leading spirit, and the at- 
 tendants never wanted to miss the services con- 
 ducted by him. 
 
 His Avas the old-fashioned gospel — a gospel 
 that shakes and wakes — one that has in it 
 thunder and lightning, as well as dew and rain. 
 And with this gospel he attracted the multitudes 
 as certainly and unerringly as the magnet 
 gathers to itself the filings of steel. 
 
 When the conference was divided, he cast his 
 lot with the eastern portion, which retained the 
 original name. Among his early associates were 
 L. L. Hager, W. Rittenhouse, Isaac Bennehoif, 
 J. Hill, and N. Shelmadine. 
 
 From his entrance upon the Avork of the min- 
 istry, he was a leading spirit in the councils 
 and aggressive policies of his conference, 
 and constantly grew in the favor and 
 confidence of his brethren. For ten years he 
 served as presiding elder, and as such won his 
 way to fame. His pulpit strength and marked 
 executive ability gave him first rank in public 
 estimation. He was a delegate to the General 
 conferences held at Western, Iowa, and Leb- 
 anon, Pennsylvania. 
 
 Mr. Cadman's early school advantages were 
 limited, yet he knew the value of study and the 
 importance of preparation. His memory was 
 wonderfully retentive, and his faculty of dis- 
 crimination strong and searching. These ele- 
 
 190 
 
United Brethren Home Missionaries 
 
 ments of strength, togetlier with a victorious 
 faith, and unswerving fidelity to the truth, made 
 him a master in the pulpit. The older members 
 of the conference who' heard him often readily 
 admit that no man among them ever drew the 
 crowds that he did. Rev. I. Bennehoff writes: 
 ''His warm, genial nature made him a gTeat fav- 
 orite Avith the young people, and his knowledge 
 of men enabled him, when presiding elder, to 
 successfully supply his fields with pastors." 
 
 That he was highly regarded by other 
 churches may be inferred from what Bishop 
 Sanford, of the United Evangelical Church, said 
 at the Topeka General Conference, in 1905; 
 "Among your ministry in northern Pennsyl- 
 vania," he remarked, "you used to have a. large, 
 portly, whole-souled, loud-voiced, and out- 
 spoken presiding elder by the name of William 
 Cadman. Is he living? No. In my boyhood 
 days I frequently walked from three to five 
 miles to hear him preach. He made an indel- 
 lible impression on my youthful mind for good. 
 I shall never forget him. He preached as though 
 he actually believed all he said. The warmth 
 and sweetness of his pent-up soul seemed to drip 
 like nectar from his lips. His very earnestness 
 alone seemed like a drawing power that was 
 almost irresistible. One of his choice themes 
 was 'the fatherhood of God,' and the 'universal 
 brotherhood of man.' He really seemed to weave 
 a thread of this sentiment into nearly every 
 
 191 
 
Our Heroes, or 
 
 sermon he preached. This is how he made me 
 believe that I was his brother. I believe it still." 
 
 Kev. R. J. White, D.D., now presiding elder 
 of the conference, knew him Avell and esteemed 
 him highly for his work's sake. He says: "He 
 was a very gifted man. His voice was one of 
 rare power and sweetness. His enthusiasm and 
 courage were contagious, so the people flocked 
 to hear him. There never was a man in Erie 
 Conference who attracted such large audiences. 
 One always wanted to know what he was going 
 to say next. His faith was simple and strong. 
 There was an extravagance about his speech and 
 illustrations that amused and impressed his 
 hearers. Once after he had retired he was heard 
 to complain that his brethren had forgotten him. 
 But, stopping suddenly, he thoughtfully re- 
 marked, 'This is no way for a Christian to talk.' 
 Then his eyes filled with tears as he added, 'I 
 want to be a Christian and get to heaven.' " 
 
 There was no such thing as luck in his great- 
 ness. He was Ood's man, and arose, it may be 
 truthfully said, by the upward gravitation of 
 natural fitness. 
 
 While he was a man of great native intellect, 
 his heart-qualities were strong, and tuned to 
 the highest, noblest aims of a true minister. 
 Bishop Joyce, of the Methodist Episcopal 
 Church, once said, "More preachers fail from 
 lack of heart than from lack of head." His 
 biographer, in commenting on this remark, sug- 
 gests that the Church would do well, in choosing 
 
 192 
 
WILLIAM CADMAN 
 
United Brethren Home Missionaries 
 
 her leaders, to give more attention to that ele- 
 ment of strength which is to be found in the 
 heart. "That intellectual Pharisaism," he de- 
 clares, "which trusts in itself because it is brainy, 
 and despises other qualities, is an offence to both 
 God and man." 
 
 Mr. Cadman's heart was in the right place, 
 and directed and vitalized every thought and 
 effort of his whole life. 
 
 No human hand has ever written, nor will it 
 pen, the full part rendered by this hero in mak- 
 ing Erie Conference the great force for right- 
 eousness it is in the territory it occupies. Others, 
 since his earlier days, have come to the front as 
 leaders, and have Avrought nobly, but the 
 foundation work was and is fundamental be- 
 cause upon it the vv'hole structure must forever 
 rest. 
 
 How we tliank God for the lives and achieve- 
 ments of such men, who, like Moses, "chose 
 rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, 
 than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season." 
 What a wealth of love and devotion and service 
 they bestowed upon the fields they traveled I 
 The very life of Cadman was bound up in his 
 conference, else he would never have suffered 
 and sacrificed as he did to make sure its success. 
 Not many of the present members of the confer- 
 ence ever saw or heard this prophet of the 
 Church. They can only witness the growing of 
 the harvest which has resulted from the seed- 
 sowing of a lialf century ago. What it cost to 
 
 193 
 
Our Heroes, or 
 
 prepare the soil and sow the seed, they can 
 never know in this life. From his own lips they 
 will hear it all by and by. And may we not 
 suggest that with the story will come new rev- 
 elations of divine love and care that shall swell 
 into an anthem of praise and eternal thanks- 
 giving. 
 
 Those who were closely associated with the 
 great leader make special mention of his benev- 
 olence toward worthy enterprises. He was par- 
 ticularly in love with missions, and made all his 
 nine children members of the Home, Frontier, 
 and Foreign Missionary Society. Though four 
 of his children had died, he, nevertheless, se- 
 cured their certificates, and hung them upon the 
 wall with the others. 
 
 His last illness was of long duration and 
 severe, but he was brave and never complained. 
 When told by his physician that he could not 
 recover, he set about, in his methodical way, to 
 adjust his affairs. Being self-possessed, he saw 
 nothing in his approaching dissolution to cause 
 alarm. His departure from earth occurred 
 January 11, 1900, in the little home he had pur- 
 chased nearly a half century before. To his 
 loved ones his testimony was sweet and assuring. 
 His old friend, Mr. Bennehoff, was with him in 
 his last hours, and, according to a promise made 
 years before, conducted his funeral. After the 
 final prayer at his bedside his soul became 
 ecstatic, and looking through the rifted veil, he 
 
 194 
 
United Brethren Home Missionaries 
 
 exclaimed, "Beautiful, beautiful, how beautiful 
 beyond the stream." 
 
 His dust was borne by six of his ministerial 
 brethren to its final restino^ place to await the 
 quickening touch of the final resurrection. 
 
 Just four years after the hero's death, lack- 
 ing five days, the devoted wife, amid the flicker- 
 ing twilight of a closing day, departed, and as 
 she pushed out from this side, she waved lier 
 hand in triumph, saying, "There's a light on the 
 other shore." 
 
 Father Hager, in the following poem, pays a 
 beautiful tribute to the memory of his old com- 
 rade in service: 
 
 " 'Beautiful ! beautiful !' he saw the gleam 
 And said, 'How beautiful beyond the stream !' 
 He stood one foot on life's retiring shore 
 And dipped the other in tlie waves before. 
 
 "A moment halting 'twixt two worlds, lie stood 
 And saw the glory shining o'er the flood. 
 With breath expiring, these glad words come 
 
 back, 
 To cheer his friends upon life's sloping track. 
 
 "Full 'three-score years and ten,' the allotted 
 
 time 
 By God was given in this lower clime; 
 As an ambassador for Christ, he cried, 
 And with his fellow-soldiers, side by side. 
 
 195 
 
Our Heroes^ or 
 
 "The battles fought, which all His servants 
 fight 
 'Gainst sin, trusting in Christ for might. 
 His comrade, pressing him, with snowy hair, 
 Will overtake, and soon be with him there. 
 
 "O God of grace! give them the strength and 
 pow'r 
 Like Him to triumph in the latest hour. 
 And safely reach the glory shining shore, 
 Of all the ransomed who have gone before." 
 
 The foregoing chapter is a record, not of 
 glittering generalities and declamations in 
 speech, but of matchless trust, of heroic deeds, 
 and of great things accomplished for his Church. 
 
 196 
 
CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 JOHN WILLIAMS HOWE. 
 
 A Hero of Virginia Conference. 
 
 The Virginia Conference territory originally 
 constituted a part of the Hagerstown, better 
 known as the "Mother Conference" of the de- 
 nomination. It is therefore sacred to United 
 Brethrenism because its soil was pressed by the 
 feet of saints and heroes like Otterbein, Boehm, 
 Geeting, Newcomer and Kumler. 
 
 An exceptional body of men composed the 
 session which convened at the home of Peter 
 Kemp, near Frederick City, Maryland, a hun- 
 dred and twelve years ago. They were marked 
 by a mighty faith and holy deeds. Each member 
 is worthy of a place in the list of heroes recorded 
 in the eleventh chapter of Hebrews. The evan- 
 gelical revival in which the nineteenth century 
 dawned, they helped to promote. A recent his- 
 torian gives it as his opinion that Christianity 
 was saved to the world in the last half of the 
 eighteenth and the first half of the nineteenth 
 centuries by itinerant ministers, whom he terms 
 the "spiritual cavalry," who sconred the country 
 and were found everywhere. The fourteen men 
 composing the conference of 1800 belonged to 
 that imperial regiment. What heroes they were ! 
 
 197 
 
Our Heroes^ or 
 
 And with what superb abandonment they went 
 to their tasks! Literature does not disclose 
 finer si^ecimens of manhood nor record deeds of 
 more splendid valor. 
 
 By an act of the General Conference in 1829 
 the Hagerstown Conference, including in its 
 area Maryland, Virginia, and Pennsylvania, 
 was divided into two sections, known as the 
 Hagerstown and Harrisburg districts. Within 
 a brief period subsequent to this action, the 
 names were changed to Virginia and Pennsyl- 
 vania Conferences. The Virginia Conference 
 met in its first separate session on April 27, 1831, 
 at Millcreek, Shenandoah County, Virginia. 
 Twenty ministers were present. Bishop Henry 
 Kumler, Sr., presided. During these eighty 
 years since that first session the conference has 
 made for itstelf a noble record in the men it has 
 given to the Church and in the work it has ac- 
 complished. Many have been the brave workers 
 who have toiled in the field until the going down 
 of the sun and have gone to their reward. No 
 greater tribute can be paid a conference than 
 that it produces stalwart men — men who de- 
 serve to be called great because of their services 
 to mankind. 
 
 The borders of the conference territory were 
 extended westward from year to year, including 
 new sections of the great Mountain State, 
 Foundations w^ere being laid for a new confer- 
 ence, which had its rise in 1858, and is now one 
 of the strongest numerically of the Denomina- 
 
 198 
 
United Brethren Home Missionaries 
 
 tion. Within a third of a century United Breth- 
 renism had touched through its itinerant min- 
 isters almost every section of the Mountain 
 State, and had planted its banners on the banks 
 of the Ohio. A gateway was thereby opened, 
 through which many of our heroes have passed 
 to assist in planting the Church in the great 
 empire States and Territories of the West. 
 
 The Rev. John Williams Howe, to whose 
 godly life and heroic services this chapter is de- 
 voted, was the recognized leader and dean of the 
 Virginia Conference for more than a third of a 
 century. He was born in a log cabin near Flint 
 Hill, Rappahannock County, Virginia, Decem- 
 ber 4, 1829, of English parentage. He was the 
 second of a family of nine children. The home 
 was without religious influence or training, 
 and the society in wliich he passed his early 
 years was generally irreligious. But sometimes 
 in the humblest home, amid surroundings where 
 true piety is rarely seen, there is manifest the 
 guiding hand of God, who loves his Church, 
 honors prayer, and recognizes the need of espe- 
 cially chosen leadership in every generation. 
 Mr. Howe was pleased to believe in an overruling 
 providence that shaped his entire life. 
 
 The trying experiences of his early years were 
 steps upward. His humble home life, emploj^- 
 ments, and free access to the outer world con- 
 tributed to the awakening of the sense of free- 
 dom within him, and became tributary to his 
 independence and character. He was left to 
 
 199 
 
Our Heroes, or 
 
 "shift for himself" largel^^, and this gave him 
 early habits of vigor and reliance. He worked 
 on the farm; had but few luxuries, and these 
 occupations and limitations in his case fostered 
 that healthy, manly independence that stood 
 by him through life. It could be said of him, 
 as it could be said of men only of heroic mould, 
 he grew great because of his struggle and in 
 spite of his surroundings. 
 
 At the age of thirteen this boy, who had under 
 his brow and in his heart all the possibilities of 
 a great preacher and spiritual leader, was bound 
 out to a farmer near Strasburg, in Shenandoah 
 County, with whom he remained until he was 
 twenty years of age, and who always afterward 
 was one of his close personal friends. For his 
 services during those seven years he received 
 forty-five dollars and a suit of clothing. "As a 
 young farm-hand he was one of the best — strong, 
 willing and industrious — but wild and reckless." 
 Until this time it would seem that he had no in- 
 clination or ambition to be other than a farm- 
 hand. His leisure hours were devoted to "hav- 
 ing a good time." 
 
 The twenty-second birthday of this young man 
 marked the beginning of a new epoch in his life, 
 when a consciousness of his powers began to 
 dawn upon him. He recalls an incident which 
 gave him a desire for something different than 
 that which he had chosen. A gentleman, in com- 
 pany with another, told of a man in middle life 
 turning his attention to study, and who becam^e 
 
 200 
 
United Brethren Home Missionaries 
 
 a great success in his profession. Then, turning to 
 Mr. Howe, he said, "Now, John, get your books 
 and go to work." That sentence revolutionized 
 his life and placed before him new objectives. 
 Mrs. Browning once said to Charles Kingsley: 
 "What is the secret of your life? Tell me, that 
 I may make mine beautiful, too." In four words 
 Mr. Kingsley gave this significant reply, "I had 
 a friend." A personal friend, who was a devout 
 Christian, and whose name is unknown, is said 
 to have made a deep impression at a critical 
 time on the life of Mv. Howe, and was largely 
 instrumental in winning him to Christ. It is 
 another case where "the man who has never 
 entered history made history." Many a layman, 
 whose name may never be known until the day 
 when deeds are disclosed and heaven's estimate 
 of character revealed, has been a co-worker with 
 God in the making of preachers. 
 
 When in his twenty- third year, Mr. Howe was 
 united in marriage with Miss Julia Stickley, an 
 estimable lady residing near Toms Brook, Vir- 
 ginia. One year later (1855) his conversion oc- 
 curred. It was during a series of meetings at the 
 old Mount Hebron church, in Shenandoah 
 CtJunty, conducted by the Rev.W. R. Coursey. For 
 three years he had been under conviction and had 
 passed through great struggles. Now, under the 
 teaching and preaching of this man of God, he 
 was shown the way to Christ, and came to a 
 conscious knowledge of sins forgiven and peace 
 with God, The circumstances of his conversion 
 
 201 
 
Oar Heroes^ or 
 
 were vivid and memorable. He could and did 
 testify to the hour and place. 
 
 The conviction of a call to the ministry, as in 
 the case of Paul, was almost simultaneous with 
 his conversion. It was probably not an accident 
 that he was brought under the influence of the 
 Rev. John Haney during the year following his 
 conversion, for he was a prophet who knew how 
 to advise a young man upon whom God had 
 placed his hand for the ministry. Mr. Howe 
 always disclosed and frequently asserted 
 his consciousness of a divine call to do the 
 work he was doing. In presenting the claims 
 of the gospel, and in appealing to the men to 
 accept the service of Christ, he insisted that 
 it was of unspeakable value to the preacher 
 to feel that he had been called and sent 
 to do that work, to feel that a message had 
 been committed to him, and that in proclaiming 
 it he is an ambassador of God. It not only mul- 
 tiplies ai minister's power, but makes him a hero. 
 
 Mr. HoAve began preaching in March, 1857, 
 under the direction of Presiding Elder, Eev. 
 Jacob Markwood (afterward Bishop Mark- 
 wood). In 1858 he joined the Virginia Confer- 
 ence and was appointed to his first regular 
 charge. The territory comprised Augusta, 
 Highland, and Pendleton counties, requiring a 
 journey of more than two hundred miles to make 
 one round of the circuit. There being but few 
 church-houses in those days, services were held 
 in private homes, in barns, or in the woods as 
 
 202 
 
United Brethren Home Missionaries 
 
 seemed best. Mr, Howe describes most toiicb- 
 ingly his feelings on leaving his family for his 
 first visit to the circuit; how he "invoked God's 
 blessing upon them and heaven's protection 
 over them during his absence," "As I pressed 
 my way on horseback," said he, "I was often 
 saying to the Lord that if he would help me to 
 win one soul to Christ, I would take it as evi- 
 dence of his acceptance of me as a minister of 
 the gospel," His work was greatly blessed of the 
 Lord. More than a hundred souls were con- 
 verted and added to the Church during the year. 
 For his services he received a salary of sixty 
 dollars. 
 
 From the first, Mr, Howe attracted attention 
 as a preacher, quickly rising to prominence. He 
 remained on the charge three years with increas- 
 ing success. During these years he spent much 
 of his time on horseback, and away from his 
 family. Home, in the true sense of the word, few 
 of the itinerant ministers of those days knew. Not 
 only had they "no cottage in the wilderness," as 
 they w^ere wont to say in song, but no resting 
 place in the cottage of any one else. They trav- 
 eled many hundreds of miles annually, most of 
 the distance on horseback, sometimes on foot, 
 yet found time somewhere for study. This was 
 true of Mr. Howe, whose early educational ad- 
 vantages were most meager; but he applied 
 himself to study, was thoughtfully studious, 
 forming the habit of reading on horseback, in 
 the cabins, and in the groves, and the persistence 
 
 203 
 
Our Heroes, or 
 
 of this habit brought to him in his mature life a 
 richly-stored mind. 
 
 In the evening time of life this veteran servant 
 of God bore testimony that the happiest days of 
 his life were to be found among those which he 
 spent on his large mountain circuits, or during 
 the opening years of his ministry, holding reviv- 
 als, preaching and singing the glorious gospel of 
 the Son of God. Many were the hardships en- 
 dured. He sometimes lost his way in the moun- 
 tains and imperiled his life in crossing the swol- 
 len streams. At times he suffered from hunger 
 and cold. But all these things he bravely faced 
 and endured without a murmur. From the time 
 he joined the conference to the day of his death 
 he was a tireless and triumphant itinerant. His 
 conviction of duty and love for souls kept him 
 from the mere perfunctory discharge of his 
 tasks; he had to be a minister in fact as well as 
 in name. His nature, second birth, and divine 
 call drove him steadily forward. No mountain 
 was high to his feet, no night black to his eye. 
 He saw the need, heeded the call, and was off to 
 the rescue. 
 
 At the opening of the Civil War, Mr. Howe 
 was transferred to the Shenandoah Valley, 
 where he spent the following seven years chiefly 
 in Rockingham and Augusta counties, preaching 
 as opportunities were afforded. In no other 
 conference was the heroism of the ministers and 
 people tried as in this, during those three dread- 
 ful years, when their territory was a great 
 
 204 
 
United Bi'ethrcn Home Missionaries 
 
 battlefield. Mr. Howe like a liero remained with 
 his people. He loved them and would not for- 
 sake them in their struggles and afflictions. 
 Even though his own life was in peril he con- 
 tinued faithfully to bear to them the consolation 
 of the gospel. At one time w^hen conducting a 
 funeral service, a company of Confederate cav- 
 alry surrounded the house with the purpose, it 
 was supposed, to take his life. After listening 
 to the sermon from the open windows and fol- 
 lowing the procession to the grave, they were so 
 completely subdued by the personality of the 
 preacher and the power of his message that, 
 while the closing prayer was being offered, they 
 quietly rode away without doing him injury. 
 
 His labors during those years were very 
 trying and hazardous. His duties called him 
 within the lines of both armies. The anxiety 
 felt for him by his family and friends while on 
 his journeys was very great. These terrible 
 years of suffering so disorganized and disin- 
 tegrated the Church that Bishop Markwood, 
 himself a Virginian, declared at the close of the 
 war, "There is nothing left of the United Breth- 
 ren Church in Virginia." 
 
 The first meeting of the conference after the 
 war was a memorable occasion. Brethren in the 
 ministry, separated for years, met again and re- 
 joiced in tearful gratitude in the good providence 
 that had been over them in the years of their 
 enforced separation. The conference opened 
 with a testimony meeting followed by commun- 
 
 205 
 
Our Heroes, or 
 
 ion. One who was present, says: "I can see 
 Bishop Glossbreuner yet, as he stood leaning on 
 the pulpit, while great tears ran thick and fast 
 down his cheeks, as he saw the brethren of his 
 own afflicted conference once again gathered in 
 love abont the communion board. No one who 
 was present will ever forget the grace and love 
 and salvation which flowed." It was an oc- 
 casion of reconsecration for service. 
 
 From that mount of i3rivilege and blessing 
 this company of God's noblemen went out to 
 begin the work of rebuilding the conference. 
 John Howe was brought to the kingdom for 
 such a time as this. Others had the full measure 
 of his power as a preacher. He was not more 
 cultured than some of his colleagues, nor more 
 zealous than they for the success of the cause 
 in which they were enlisted. But on his brow 
 rested a crown of leadership that was readily 
 recognized. Very speedily he was forced to the 
 front. It is not to his discredit that he 
 was willing to go. He had his ambitions; 
 but they were not unworthy, and they 
 were ever obedient to his sense of duty. 
 For thirty-five years his position of leadership 
 was undisputed, during which time he saw a 
 conference built upon the ruins of the one an- 
 nihilated by the Civil War, thirteen thousand 
 strong. 
 
 Both in temperament and faith he possessed 
 the characteristic optimism of a successful gen- 
 eral. He was a man of commanding presence, 
 
 206 
 
United Brethren Home Missionaries 
 
 about six feet in height, graceful in form, 
 possessing a strong voice well managed and full 
 of feeling and force. His personality was 
 charged like a battery with vitality. He was 
 intense in his enthusiasm, cheerful and kindly 
 in disposition, and his joviality lingered with 
 him through all the storms of life, and alleviated 
 such hardness of lot as he was called to endure. 
 His faith was of the singing kind. He believed 
 in God ; he believed in the x^eople ; he believed in 
 the Church ; he believed in the Bible ; he believed 
 in the gospel ; he believed in the conquering power 
 of Jesus Christ, and the ultimate triumph of his 
 kingdom in the earth, and he pressed to his work 
 with the optimism of a song. 
 
 For about twenty years he occupied the posi- 
 tion of presiding elder. In this relation he not 
 only showed great strength as an evangelist, but 
 also as an organizer and executive. By means of 
 "bush meetings" and "camp-meetings" during 
 the summer season, great revivals were pro- 
 moted, entire communities were saved, and 
 foundations laid for churches. In these meet- 
 ings he was a master in directing the forces. He 
 was honored and loved as a commander because 
 he was uniformly at the forefront in the battle. 
 As the white plume of Henry of Navarre sig- 
 nalized the point where the battle was being 
 most hotly waged, so there was no battle-line of 
 aggressive United Brethrenism in which John 
 Howe was not always to be seen leading the ad- 
 vance. It was an object lesson always inspiring 
 
 207 
 
Owr Heroes, or 
 
 others to heroic service. He had a fine apprecia- 
 tion of music, and was a good singer, not prob- 
 abl}^ according to modern standards, but who 
 thought of standards as his voice was heard 
 rising above the great congregation? Late in the 
 sixties he resided at Singers Glen, where T. 
 Funk & Sons published the old "Harmonia 
 Sacra,'' At that time he collected and edited a 
 songbook, especially for use at the camp-meet- 
 ings. It proved exceedingly popular. The de- 
 mand for another and larger work of the kind 
 explains the origin of Kuebush, Kieffer & Com- 
 pany, the enterprising and prosperous music 
 publishers now of Dayton, Virginia, of which Mr. 
 Howe was the senior partner. 
 
 A just estimate of the life and character of 
 John Howe would not be given if measured by 
 the ordinary standards of measuring men. In 
 him we have the gospel preacher, the inspiring 
 singer, the fervent evangelist, the wise organ- 
 izer, the constructive builder, the successful 
 financier, and the dauntless advocate of the 
 Church with all of its institutions. It is given 
 unto some men to possess most of these talents. 
 but to him was given them all in an unusual de- 
 gree. If his powers had been so directed, he, 
 undoubtedly would have made a notable figure 
 in civic life, and might have become a statesman 
 of wide-reaching and most beneficent influence. 
 But all his patriotism and all his knowledge of 
 public affairs were made subordinate and trib- 
 utary to the work of the ministry. For thirty- 
 
 208 
 
JOHN WILLIAMS HOWE 
 
United Brctlinii Home Missionaries 
 
 five years he was a proiniuent figure in the 
 general councils of the Church. To him was 
 given the exceptional honor to represent his 
 conference in eight successive sessions of the 
 General Conference and to be elected to the 
 ninth. His first election occurred in 1869. 
 
 Mr. Howe was intellectually conservative. He 
 had his opinions, which he fearlessly, and even 
 tenaciously, defended. But he was not an 
 ecclesiastical bigot. In accord with his own 
 convictions and the traditions of the Church, he 
 opposed the adoption of the "Revised Constitu- 
 tion" in 1889. But when a majority pronounced 
 in its favor, as a member of a denomination whose 
 polity is peculiarly American, he gracefully 
 submitted, and subsequently manifested the 
 same unquestioned loyalty as a leader, in which 
 the real greatness of the man appears. 
 
 Probably no man of the Church has succeeded 
 in turning more young men toward the Chris- 
 tian ministry. From the human side many owe 
 to him their opportunity, equipment, and inspir- 
 ation for service. Himself wholly self-educated, 
 he was the staunch friend of education by the 
 Church schools. He saw the need of a higher 
 training for those who were to lead the United 
 Brethren hosts of the future, and, unlike some 
 presiding elders, he sought to turn young men 
 to the schools, and emphasized a high standard 
 of ministerial fitness. He was one of the found- 
 ers and most generous supporters of Shenan- 
 doah Collegiate Institute. The splendid "Howe 
 
 209 
 
Our Heroes , or 
 
 Memorial Building," occupying a site on the 
 institute campus, in front of his late residence, 
 was made possible by his interest and princely 
 beneficence. It was erected as a memorial to 
 his only son, who died in childhood. 
 
 He believed in the itineracy, and by his ex- 
 ample illustrated its effectiveness. Ease and 
 earthly reward he sought not. He endured 
 hardness as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. 
 Three times he returned from his field to find 
 his home in ashes and his family homeless and 
 broken-hearted. At another time the savings of 
 his meager salary were swept away by mis- 
 fortune. The greatest of all trials and losses 
 came, when the mother and faithful companion 
 of twenty-eight years was taken to her reward. 
 It was the morning of the fourteenth of Septem- 
 ber, 1879. But, rising above these losses, this 
 hero of faith pressed on in his mighty purpose 
 to glorify God and save souls. Not long before 
 his translation, while reviewing his past life, he 
 remarked to a friend : ''I have been an itinerant 
 now for forty-five years, and, were I called back 
 that many years, I would cheerfully retrace 
 tliem in so glorious a cause, in preference to 
 sitting on a splendid earthly throne." 
 
 In distinguished and heroic service, this 
 veteran servant of God was not only a worthy 
 peer, but in the priceless example of saintliness 
 he was prominent among his brethren. He was 
 preeminently a man of God. The hardness of 
 his lot had constantly led to a more complete 
 
 210 
 
United Brethren Home Missionaries 
 
 enthronement of the Christ in his life; it being 
 true, as Horace Bushnell said that "Great trials 
 make great saints, and deserts and stone pillows 
 prepare for an open heaven and an angel-crowded 
 ladder." 
 
 The evening of his life was made happier by 
 his marriage in 1890 to Miss Eebecca Hancher, 
 a noble Christian lady of Winchester, Virginia. 
 In beautiful fidelity, and in mutual bestowment 
 of love and happiness, they walked together as 
 the shadows gathered. It was from his home in 
 Dayton, Virginia, that his departure occurred. 
 He had reached the mature age of seventy-eight 
 years, six months, and fifteen days. His loved 
 ones were about him. When the moment 
 arrived, with his eyes seemingly fixed on the 
 great recompense of reward, he said good-bye to 
 earth, and the hero of many a battlefield went 
 forth to be crowned. 
 
 211 
 
CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 EZRA D. PALMER. 
 
 Prominent as Churchman and Leader. 
 
 Deaii Farrar says, "Every true man deriyes his 
 patent of nobility direct from God.'' Even so. 
 The Almighty knows where to bestow his special 
 gifts, and what to require in return. He knows 
 where and how to get his men when fidelity is 
 most needed, and great achievements are to be 
 wrought in his Church. These men, however, 
 are not always found in the so-called higher 
 circles of society, but as often, perhaps more 
 frequently, in the humbler walks of life. When 
 God wanted a great king for Israel, he went to 
 the sheepfold in search of David. Even the 
 "Lord of life, and all the world" was, himself, 
 till thirty years old, a carpenter at Nazareth. 
 
 Ezra D. Palmer, born in Wayne County, 
 jNIichigan, October 15, 1833, so wove his life and 
 labors into the warp and woof of Rock River 
 Conference, at present a part of the larger Cen- 
 tral Illinois Conference, that a just representa- 
 tion of that portion of the Church could not be 
 made if his name were dropped from the roll of 
 its worthy members. 
 
 At the age of sixteen he moved with his 
 parents to Illinois, and located near Rock Island 
 
 212 
 
United Brethren Home Missionaries 
 
 on a farm. The famil}^ Avere devoted United 
 Brethren, which fact, no doubt, intensified the 
 young man's love for the Cliurch, and his will- 
 ingness to give his whole life to its service. The 
 years of poverty and obscurity, of struggle and 
 self-denial, which he spent in his humble country 
 home Avere important after all, for they were 
 years of growth and training. Even when a 
 small boy, long before he openly professed 
 religion, Ezra was impressed that the ministry 
 was to be his work, and was often heard in the 
 field practicing on the cattle or stumps or what- 
 ever he might be able to line up for a congre- 
 gation. 
 
 When nineteen he gave himself in full surren- 
 der to his Lord. Yet to enter the pulpit ^^'as a 
 task more difficult than he had anticipated. The 
 solemn responsibilities connected with the high 
 calling on the one hand, and his sense of unpre- 
 paredness to meet its demands on the other 
 hand, led him to hesitate. Like Moses, he could 
 say, "Who am I that I should go?" But, like 
 the law-giver, he also obeyed and went. In 1859 
 he was granted annual conference license, and 
 later ordained by Bishop Markwood. In 1861 
 he reached a final decision, severed every tie 
 which bound him to a secular life, and entered 
 the work in which he remained until transferred 
 to his heavenly reward. 
 
 His first field was Van Orin Mission. Having 
 no horse of his own, he walked from one appoint- 
 
 213 
 
Our Heroes, or 
 
 ment to another, preaching three times every 
 Sabbath. On one Sunday the distance to be 
 covered between two of his appointments was 
 fifteen miles, but he was never late. Trudging 
 through the mud and snow sometimes so wearied 
 him that when he arose to preach, his garments 
 were wet with sweat, and in other instances 
 soaked with rain. 
 
 But what of it all? What if he did receive 
 only sixty dollars for the year's toil? He had 
 set out to make the ministry his life-AVork, and 
 from this purpose nothing could turn him aside. 
 To what extent he succeeded in arousing his 
 people religiously we do not know, but we are 
 assured that the next year on Yorktown Mission 
 he had great revivals at all five of his appoint- 
 ments. His salary was just flOO.OO — a mere 
 pittance, to be sure ; but it should be remembered 
 that half a century ago the early settlers in 
 Illinois, as well as elsewhere in the West, were 
 for the most part poor, and untrained in the 
 duty of giving. In June of this year Mr. Palmer 
 was married to INIiss Elizabeth Carter, of Wash- 
 ington County, Iowa, who, henceforth, proved a 
 worthy helper both in the home and in religious 
 work. Having no parsonage, they visited among 
 the people till conference convened, when they 
 were assigned to the ISIendota charge. Here they 
 had a parsonage and received |300.00 salary. 
 But out of this sum $175.00 was paid for a horse 
 and buggy, and twenty dollars for an overcoat. 
 
 214 
 
United Brethren Home Missionaries 
 
 The work required three sermons each Sabbath, 
 besides a long drive. Again gracious revivals 
 were promoted, and the whole circuit given 
 the touch of a new spiritual life. Two of 
 his converts afterward became ministers of 
 reconciliation. 
 
 But the year was not without its bitter expe- 
 riences. The "wolf," at times, came near the 
 parsonage door. Once when they found them- 
 selves without bread, the preacher decided to go 
 into the harvest field and earn a few dollars 
 with his hands, but even this plan of providing 
 against want was frustrated by a serious injury 
 which he received in his back. The situation 
 seemed desperate to them both; but, as has 
 always been the case, relief came in God's own 
 good way. We will let Mrs. Palmer, who is yet 
 living, make the explanation. She writes: "I 
 borrowed enough bread of a neighbor to furnish 
 husband with toast, and went Avithout food my- 
 self. After a day's experience like that I went 
 to the secret place and there on my knees, all 
 alone with God, I told him about our wants; 
 and while yet pouring out my heart in petition, 
 the steward came with the needed provisions. 
 But we had no money, and that was a thing we 
 had to have as well as food. So I kept on asking 
 for it. The next day a dear old lady called and 
 told us that she had two dollars and wanted to 
 give us one. So the Lord heard us, and we got 
 both money and bread." After this, Mr. Palmer 
 
 215 
 
Our Heroes, or 
 
 could not ride long in a carriage without a 
 pillow at his back. 
 
 Troy Grove, Orangeville, Polo, Will County, 
 and New Medford circuits were in turn traveled 
 by him. On the last named especially he had 
 glorious revivals, and the ingathering of mem- 
 bers was abundant. Here he built a new church 
 house, the first to be erected on the charge. His 
 pastorate lasted three years, and a large petition 
 for his return Avas sent up to conference. But 
 feeling that some one of his brethren with more 
 bodily strength could better meet the demands 
 of so large a field, he requested a change, and it 
 was granted. 
 
 On some of his charges his entire effort was 
 to reconstruct. Internal strife had created 
 division, and warring factions had paralyzed the 
 Church's energies, hence his peculiar tact and 
 patience were required to harmonize embittered 
 elements, and to restore the Church to public 
 confidence. No man in the conference was better 
 fitted for this kind of service than he, and no 
 one was more successful. He was twice elected 
 presiding elder, but owing to poor health refused 
 to serve after the second year. 
 
 It is not necessary to trace his record year 
 after year through the three decades he spent in 
 pastoral work, interesting as such a history 
 might be; but we Avould direct attention espe- 
 cially to the influence he exerted upon the life 
 and policies of his conference by his upright 
 
 216 
 
EZRA D. PALMER 
 
United Brethren Home Missionaries 
 
 living, evangelical preaching, and well-balanced 
 judgment. In some of these elements of strength 
 he had no peer among his brethren. 
 
 When others faltered he was immovable. He 
 was faithful among the faithless, true among the 
 false, unselfish among the self-centered. When 
 he spoke the people believed him. Unskilled in 
 the arts of diplomacy, unpracticed in the inge- 
 nuities of indirection, deceit, and intrigue, 
 untrained in the formalities of the so-called 
 higher circles, he relied upon the plain, old- 
 fashioned truth of God, and constantly made 
 friends for himself and the cause for which he 
 stood. Never, even to save himself, did he 
 neglect and sacrifice the interests of the Church. 
 He never allowed any criticism of his work to 
 generate in him feelings of revenge, or to stir 
 him to thoughts and deeds of bitterness. He 
 was immeasurably above such a, plane. 
 
 xilways modest and unpretentious, he laid no 
 claim to greatness. "As the jasmine ^withholds 
 its odor in the glare of the mid-day sun, but lets 
 it out to the twilight zephyrs," so this man of 
 simple trust, timid and retiring on brilliant 
 occasions, exerted a most delightful influence in 
 the seeming humble task of ministering to souls. 
 
 Yet it must be said that this self-abandon and 
 surrender to service for others made him great 
 in the truest sense, and won for him the love and 
 admiration of all honest, thoughtful people. 
 Such elements in his character as habitual 
 
 217 
 
Our Heroes, or 
 
 prayerf ulness ; perseverance at any cost in his 
 God-given work ; his daily reading of the Word ; 
 his unyielding faith under circumstances adverse 
 and trying; his renunciation of everything 
 antagonistic to ai holy life, left a trail of light 
 behind him, and lifted his whole career into the 
 realm of the heroic. They were qualities of 
 priceless value, and challenge the imitation of 
 all who follow in his field of toil. 
 
 His wliole life was sacrificial. He gave him- 
 self for others. His real merits cannot be deter- 
 mined SOI much by dashing achievements in the 
 field as by the devoted life he lived, and the 
 Christian influence he almost unconsciously 
 exerted over the people and the churches he 
 served. We cannot speak of all the sacrifices he 
 made. One of his daughters begs us not to do 
 so. But, after all, they are written somewhere 
 in God's biography of heroes. It was this spirit 
 that kept him in constant touch with his Christ, 
 "who, though rich, for our sakes became poor," 
 Only a sacrificing life can build permanently 
 for the kingdom. Everything worth having 
 comes through sacrifice. It is this which makes 
 the mother of such great value to her children. 
 Through the spirit of self-giving the fathers of 
 our country have handed down to us a goodly 
 heritage. The United Brethren Church itself is 
 the gift of sacrifice. The foundations of the 
 superstructure were laid amid the sweat, and 
 tears, and blood, of her noble sires. 
 
 218 
 
United Brethren Home Missionaries 
 
 Mr. Palmer's high conception of duty led to 
 the unconditional surrender of himself and all 
 that self could claim. 
 
 As a student he excelled. His library was 
 richly furnished for his day. Knowing his love 
 for books, and his ever-growing eagerness for 
 knowledge, his family often deprived themselves 
 of many of the little comforts and necessities of 
 life in order that he might supply himself with 
 such reading matter as he deemed helpful in his 
 work. They also knew that he would not go in 
 debt for books, or anything else, hence in stint- 
 ing themselves they encouraged and aided him 
 in carrying out a principle to which he had 
 strictly adhered all through life. He often 
 remarked: "I will not buy what I cannot pay 
 for. It shall not be said when I am dead, that 
 Palmer did not pay his debts." In other words, 
 he could not afford to do anj^thing that would 
 discredit his high and holy calling, and reflect 
 upon the Church he loved. 
 
 Preaching was to him the most blessed of all 
 privileges. And he kept it up until, at times, he 
 was compelled to sit in a chair and deliver his 
 message, Avitli scarcely enough strength to make 
 himself heard by the audience. When brought 
 to realize fully that his work was done, he wept 
 I'egretful tears over the thought that his last 
 sermon had been preached. His books were 
 mainly theological. He believed the Bible with 
 all his heart, and read and studied it with an 
 expanding love. 
 
 219 
 
Our Heroes^ or 
 
 Doctor Alexander, of Princeton, said when on 
 his death-bed, "All m^^ theological knowledge 
 can be summed up in one word — Jesus." So 
 precisely with Ezra D. Palmer. His entire creed 
 was wrapped up in the all-prevailing name. His 
 faith never wavered. With a grip of steel he 
 held to the great verities of religion. In his 
 hours of holy communion he drew from the 
 fountain which had fed and nourished all the 
 noble qualities which characterized his life. If 
 the four walls of his study, where he so loved to 
 dwell, could only speak, what messages they 
 would bring to the Church ! Ah, what tears and 
 prayers, what struggles and inspirations Avould 
 be revealed ! What food the good angels brought 
 him there! 
 
 Would not such a man, we ask, leave an abid- 
 ing impress of character and holy purpose upon 
 the conference in which he had spent the days 
 of his life? His real worth to tlie Church cannot 
 be put in words. For the full value and fruition 
 of such a life we must wait. "For their works 
 do follow them." 
 
 Rev. T. J. Bauder, of Oakland, California, in 
 a recent letter bears this testimony: "Before I 
 became a Christian I was very much opposed to 
 the United Brethren Church. One of the 
 preachers had called on me, but I turned him 
 away. This act, however, brought feelings of 
 regret to my heart, and I said, 'Before God, I 
 will see who these people are.' About this time 
 
 220 
 
United Brethren Home Missionaries 
 
 Rev. E. D. Palmer became pastor of the church 
 nearest me, some five miles distant. One Sunday 
 morning wife and I went to hear him j^reach, 
 and took our seat in the rear of the house. His 
 very appearance impressed me, and the sermon 
 I have never forgotten. It has become a part of 
 my being. I said to wife, 'This is it,' and sent a 
 note to the pulpit asking to be received into the 
 church. We were given a Avarm welcome, and 
 the following day he came to our home. We had 
 a good time. Upon leaving we filled his buggy 
 with oats, ham, eggs, and other good things for 
 the family. From that time on we were knit 
 together. He and his wife were beautiful char- 
 acters. Just how fully my life was possessed 
 and shaped by his, only eternity can tell." 
 
 How did he die? Such a man is always vic- 
 torious on the last battlefield. The presence of 
 death never fails to reveal the inmost soul. The 
 hour of departure from earth brings every man 
 to his individuality. One may live as a hero, or 
 statesman, or conqueror, but he must die as a 
 man. As a man trusting and conquering Mr. 
 Palmer died. In his last moments he said to one 
 of his sons, ''Oh, it pays to be a Christian," and 
 then sang 
 
 "Amen, amen, my soul replies, 
 I am bound to meet jo\i in the skies. 
 And claim my mansion there." 
 
 221 
 
Our Heroes , or 
 
 Then taking hold of his wife's hand, which had 
 stayed and helped him so often, he closed his 
 eyes and fell asleep. 
 
 Glorious beyond! The preacher-pastor with 
 his people now. More are they that are with him 
 above the scenes of toil than served and suffered 
 with him while here below. Not his a host of 
 worn and weary; not his to again feel the pangs 
 of sorrow in the sick-room or death-chamber; 
 upon his ear breaks nevermore the dissonance of 
 conflicting clamor. Never, never. But the 
 spirits of youth immortal, and of a life eternal, 
 troop around him with a love purer than ours, 
 and a joy which only the redeeimed can know. 
 
 Over the grave which hides away his sleeping 
 dust will ever bloom in unfading verdure the 
 laurels of gratitude planted by a devoted confer- 
 ence. 
 
 222 
 
CHAPTER XV. 
 M. L. TIBBETTS. 
 
 One of Minnesota's Early Pioneers. 
 
 In the first volume of "Our Heroes," a chapter 
 is devoted to Eev. J. W. Fulkerson, our first 
 regularly appointed missionary to Minnesota, 
 who reached the new territory in 1856. One of 
 his early coworkers was Rev. M. L. Tibbetts, the 
 subject of this chapter, whose birth occurred in 
 Pleasant View, Marion County, Indiana, May 
 30, 1833. Twelve years later his father, a tanner 
 by trade, moved to Iowa, where for two years 
 they lived sixty miles from the nearest store, 
 post-office, church, or schoolhouse. 
 
 His parents were Christians and threw about 
 the lad the very best and most helpful religious 
 influences. Referring to his early home, Mr. 
 Tibbetts says: "Father's house was subject to 
 rules of piety. Family prayer was seldoln, if 
 ever, neglected. Morning and evening God's 
 Word was read, and the voice of prayer and song 
 could be heard in our home." 
 
 After a residence of seven years in Iowa the 
 family moved to Minnesota, and located on 
 Government land in Winona County, near the 
 Mississippi River. Rev. Edmund Clow, of Rock 
 River Conference, was the first preacher in that 
 
 223 
 
Our Heroes, or 
 
 north country, moving into Pine Creek Valley 
 in 1855. Soon thereafter he organized a United 
 Brethren class of forty members as the result of 
 a great religious awakening. At this meeting 
 young Tibbetts received his first really strong- 
 impulse toward a Christian life, though he did 
 not profess conversion at the time. Shortly 
 afterTN^ards a scourge of smallpox swept over the 
 countr}^, causing havoc among the new settlers. 
 His father was one of the victims, and for many 
 days the son lingered in the balance. After he 
 began to recover the home Avas quarantined for 
 weeks, which gave him a chance to read the 
 Bible and other good books, and to^ meditate 
 upon his great need of salvation. 
 
 The following August he was married to Miss 
 Eliza M. Warren, who for a full half-centur^' 
 proved faithful and devoted in all things that 
 pertain to a Christian home, and to service in 
 the Church. Still Mv. Tibbetts was unsaved. 
 Intense darkness seemed to mock his struggle 
 to obtain light. He was conscious all the while 
 of his need of religion, but loiew not how to lay 
 hold upon the might of his God. But the de- 
 cisive hour finally came. Here is the story in 
 his own words: "The appeals that came to me 
 from one source and another stirred me like a 
 trumpet blast, and I at last decided to give my- 
 self without reserve to God, and so I did. In 
 the evening of the first of January, 1857, wdfe 
 and I erected the family altar, and there in the 
 
 224 
 
M. L. TIBBETTS 
 
United Brethren Home Missionaries 
 
 quiet of our own home we knelt together in 
 earnest, sincere prayer, and while thus before 
 the throne, 
 
 'God came down our souls to greet, 
 And glory crowned the mercy seat.' 
 
 Then came to each of our hearts the sweet 
 assurance that we w^ere accepted in the 'person 
 of the beloved.' Yes, saved ! Glory to His name 
 forever. The experience of that hour, that sacred, 
 hallowed spot, can never be forgotten. It was 
 all too good to keep ; so after an early breakfast 
 the next morning, and a precious season of 
 prayer, I got on my horse and rode from house 
 to house among my neighbors to tell them Svhat 
 a dear Savior I had found,' and to make right 
 any wrong I might have done to any one." 
 
 This was a good start for a new convert, and 
 his witnessing continued until a genuine revival 
 spirit was awakened in the community. 
 
 The Minnesota Conference was organized by 
 Bishop Lewis Davis at Marion, Olmstead 
 County, on the fifth of August, 1857. The body 
 was made up of four preachers — John Haney, 
 Edmund Clow, John Merrill, and J. W. Fulker- 
 son. Young Tibbetts was there as a visitor, and, 
 though not yet a quarterly conference preacher, 
 was assigned to Austin Mission — a charge that 
 could not well be defined except that it embraced 
 large portions of two counties — Mower and 
 Freeborn. He did not have a single organization 
 
 225 
 
Our Heroes^ or 
 
 to start with, and no support guaranteed except 
 an appropriation of one hundred dollars from 
 the missionary board. A few weeks later he re- 
 ceived license from a quarterly conference held 
 by Presiding Elder Fulkerson. It was now time 
 to go to his charge, but he hesitated. His lack of 
 preparation for the high and holy work of the 
 ministry had already given him much concern. 
 Like every other 3^oung man who yearns for 
 success, he had high ideals, and was anxious 
 that those ideals be realized in his own life. So 
 after mature deliberation he resigned his field 
 and started for Western College. His brother 
 in Iowa had promised to see him through school, 
 but the financial stringency of that period was 
 on and the i>romised help could not be given. So 
 there he was. Pie had some land of his own, but 
 nothing could be realized on it. He could neither 
 get back home nor go on to college. 
 
 But he must do something, and soon entered 
 into evangelistic work with one of his brethren. 
 No,r were his labors in vain. One hundred souls 
 were saved that winter in the meetings he held. 
 Speaking of his work and worry he says : "While 
 in the work I felt happy and satisfied, but when 
 the meetings were over, and I found myself 
 without employment, with a precious wife and 
 babe to support, and Satan at my elbow deriding 
 me for making a fool of myself, I became de- 
 spondent. Oh, how dark the way seemed before 
 me! I determined to quit the field, but kept my 
 
 226 
 
United Brethren Home Missionaries 
 
 own counsel. Only my wife knew of my bitter 
 disappointments."- For weeks and weeks the 
 awful conflict continued. The question of his 
 life-work had to be settled. He could not live 
 under such stress, and in the midst of such un- 
 certainty. Finally he cried out, "Oh, my dear 
 Lord and Master, I cannot endure this darkness 
 longer." And there, with his face in the very 
 dust, he heard a voice within wiiich seemed as 
 distinct as if external and audible, w^hich said : 
 "Returni at once to Minnesota, and take up the 
 work that is awaiting you. Apply yourself to 
 your books, and especially to the Bible; make 
 the best of your present opportunities, be faith- 
 ful to duty, and leave the results with God." 
 And out of his deepest heart he replied, "Lord, 
 by thy help I will." This trying, triumphant 
 experience occurred during a quarterly meeting 
 he w^as attending, and with his rise out of dis- 
 couragement and seeming defeat came also a 
 victory for the Church, as quite a number of 
 sinners were saved to God. 
 
 Upon his return to Minnesota he almost imme- 
 diately began a revival at the home of a Mr. 
 Madison Kingsley, which resulted most gra- 
 ciously. A class of twenty-four members was 
 formed, and likewise the nucleus around which 
 to build a circuit. 
 
 The next annual conference was held at Pres- 
 ton, Fillmore County, August 20, 1858. Bishop 
 Davis again presided. Mr. Tibbetts was present 
 
 227 
 
Our Heroes, or 
 
 and joined, and was sent to Pine Creek Mission. 
 The new field was seventy miles long, and 
 embraced quite a number of appointments. 
 Though the field was large, and the work taxing, 
 it was not very productive of ministerial support. 
 Outside of the flOO.OO appropriated by the mis- 
 sion board, the people out of their poverty added 
 sixty-five dollars. He says: "Of course, this 
 was not enough to support us, but we lived near 
 the Whitewater stream where fish were plentiful 
 and easily taken, so our meat was sure. But to 
 obtain other provisions and clothing required 
 money. I got a few weeks' work during harvest 
 time which helped us along. 
 
 When spring came we were almost barefoot, 
 and no money with which to buy the greatly 
 needed foot-wear. I was not a shoemaker, but 
 determined to try my hand at the business. But 
 what about material? Well, I used my old boot 
 tops for vami3S and quarters, and my saddle- 
 skirts for soles. I made my own lasts and 
 pegs, and invested twenty-five cents in a kit of 
 tools. The job was by no means a failure. The 
 shoes looked pretty respectable, after all, con- 
 sidering the country and times in which they 
 were worn." 
 
 He held revivals at five different places lasting 
 three weeks each, and received into the fold 
 sixty new members. 
 
 It was during this year that he undertook to 
 carry a Sabbath-school library of one hundred 
 
 228 
 
United Brethren Home Missionaries 
 
 books, Avliicli a friend had given to a needy 
 school sixty miles distant. They were in a grain 
 bag, fifty in each end, and strapped onto the rear 
 of his saddle. All went well nntil in the after- 
 noon when a dashing rain storm overtook him. 
 As no shelter was in sight, and he had neither 
 nmbrella nor raincoat, he spread his saddle- 
 blanket over a little gopher mound, put the bag 
 of books on the blanket, placed the saddle over 
 the bag, and then sat down on the saddle and let 
 it rain. The precious trust committed to him 
 had to be cared for and protected, no matter 
 what happened to himself or to his belongings. 
 Suffice it to say, he kept the books intact, and 
 delivered them in good condition to the needy 
 school. Quite a load for so long a jaunt, but the 
 painstaking pastor was amply rewarded in the 
 thought that he had carried food to many a 
 craving mind and hungry heart. 
 
 The next year Mr. Tibbetts was transferred 
 to Richland Circuit, where he Avas cordially 
 received, and where he spent two years as pastor. 
 A constant revival prevailed at nearly all his 
 appointments, and over one hundred accessions 
 were reported. 
 
 In 1861 he attended a camp meeting. As was 
 usual in those days a tough set of fellows also 
 appeared upon the scene. "Satan came also." 
 One evening the rascals tried to take possession 
 of the grounds, but several of the campers, 
 headed by the brave Tibbetts, started after them. 
 
 229 
 
Our Heroes, or 
 
 Like the cowards they were, they took to their 
 heels and sought shelter in the woods. But the 
 parson singled out his man and finally captured 
 him. His name was Jack Palmer, and the leader 
 of the outlaws. As he was being \ed back to 
 camp he attacked his captor, but the preacher 
 immediately collared him, and for a time shut 
 off his breathing. After that he became quite 
 tractable, went to the magistrate, begged for 
 mercy, and was allowed, on the promise of good 
 behavior, to go free. He was not seen any more 
 in that section. 
 
 Thirty years later the preacher one day 
 entered a car and took a seat opposite a man and 
 his wife. The gentleman immediately arose, 
 extended his hand, and called him by name. 
 Said Mr. Tibbetts, "You have the advantage of 
 me, though your face looks somewhat familiar." 
 "My name is Palmer," said the man — "Jack 
 Palmer, the fellow you choked at the camp 
 meeting." Then his wife chimed in : "Yes, and 
 it made a man of him, too. We are both Chris- 
 tians now, and have been for many years." 
 
 While the program adopted by the young 
 pioneer itinerant worked well in the particular 
 case of Jack Palmer, it is not a very safe one to 
 follow in an effort to restrain men from vice, 
 except on extraordinary occasions. 
 
 In September of 1863, Mr. Tibbetts was made 
 presiding elder, and continued five years in the 
 office. He had charge of the entire conference 
 
 230 
 
United Brethren Hemic Missioniiries 
 
 district which embraced a territory three hun- 
 dred miles square. These great distances were 
 traveled on horseback, as there were no railroads 
 in the State. At times he was absent from 
 his family eight weeks, hearing but little, 
 if anything, from them. His entire support 
 averaged |400.00 a year. This was by no means 
 sufficient to meet his expenses in a country of 
 long winters and high prices, hence he was com- 
 pelled to borrow money at the close of each year 
 to pay his outstanding obligations. 
 
 In 1868 he took charge of Eyota Circuit and 
 remained its pastor three years. Here his sup- 
 port was better, and by the aid of a little rental 
 money received from a piece of land, he dis- 
 charged all his financial obligations. 
 
 The first year he spent one hundred and nine 
 days, less four, in revivals. About two hundred 
 were converted, and one hundred and sixty 
 united with the church. During his pastorate 
 here he secured to the charge two church-houses 
 and a parsonage. 
 
 As a temperance advocate and reformer Rev. 
 Mr. Tibbetts was strong and courageous, and 
 won the confidence and sympathy of the best 
 people of the country. His courage and ability 
 as a platform speaker led the people to nominate 
 him for the legislature in 1872. He was elected, 
 and consequently, for a time, served in a special 
 way both his country and his Church, 
 
 231 
 
Our Heroes^ or 
 
 Twice while presiding elder he was lost in the 
 storms and had his face and feet frozen. But he 
 kept on in his work. God's man is always 
 invincible. Though he may be hindered for a 
 while, he is never defeated. "This is the victory 
 that overcometh the world, even our faith." 
 
 Mr. Tibbetts relates a peculiar circumstance 
 which occurred at one of his quarterlies in 1877, 
 near Horseshoe Lake. He preached at night in 
 a schoolhouse without any light except a tallow 
 candle. This enabled him to read his text and 
 announce his hymn by holding the candle in his 
 hand ; but, of course, no one else could see, nor 
 could he recognize any one in the audience. 
 During the sermon he heard some one sobbing, 
 but supposed at the time that it was a child. At 
 the close of the sermon, he said : "If there is 
 any one here who desires salvation, I wish you 
 would come forward and give me your hand. It 
 is dark, I know, but maybe we can help you into 
 the light." The call was not fruitless. A young 
 man pushed his way to the front, professed con- 
 version, joined the church, received baptism the 
 next day in Horseshoe Lake, and soon thereafter 
 entered the ministry, and now for a third of a 
 century has been a faithful, earnest, eloquent 
 herald of the Cross, having led, during these 
 years, many scores and hundreds to his Lord. 
 Rev. IT. A. Cook is the brother. 
 
 Mr. Tibbetts remained a member of the Min- 
 nesota Conference thirty-nine years, prominent 
 
 232 
 
United Brethren Home Missionaries 
 
 in all its councils, and excelled by none in the 
 hardships endured and the services rendered. 
 He was honored seven quadrenniums with mem- 
 bership in the General Conference, where he 
 ably and faithfully served his people, and where 
 his deliberation, business acumen, and leadership 
 were recognized by all. 
 
 In 1897 he transferred to Iowa Conference, 
 where he served the Church well and faithfully 
 for a number of 3^ears, His home at this time is 
 at Whittier, California, Avhere he enjoys the 
 fellowship and confidence of all the brethren. 
 He writes: "I am sure that my life has seemed 
 tame and uneventful. I am sorry that I have 
 not been more faithful and efficient; but the 
 record has been made, and the result must be 
 left with Him. I am now seventy-seven years 
 old, and will gladly toil on till my deliverer 
 comes, Amen. Happy in the Lord every day." 
 
 233 
 
CHAPTER XVL 
 JAMES L. HENSLEY. 
 
 An Extended Mountaineer Experience. 
 
 "Honor to whom lionor is due." If tlie facts 
 of history are to be written, then those who 
 were prominent in making that history must 
 sooner or later be given their rightful places in 
 its records. 
 
 It would be difficult to pen the early annals 
 of United Brethrenism in West Virginia without 
 connecting therewith the name of James L. 
 Hensley. The service rendered, the hardships 
 endured, and the sacrifices made by him in the 
 development of our denominational life west of 
 the Alleghenies, are full of interest, and will 
 give many a young preacher a glimpse, such as 
 he had never had before, of what it meant to 
 itinerate in that mountainous region back in the 
 fifties and early sixties of the last century. 
 
 The subject of this chapter was born in Rock- 
 iughaiii County, Virginia, January 24, 1832. 
 Like the vast majority in that early day, the 
 Hensley family was not blessed mth a very 
 great store of worldly goods. The parents, with 
 their eight children, were constant toilers in the 
 endeavor to provide an ho-nest living, and to 
 maintain a place of respectability ^niong t^i^k 
 
 234 
 
United Brethren Home Missionaries 
 
 neighbors and friends. Under such conditions an 
 education was not within the reach of every one, 
 and but few ever attempted anything- beyond 
 tlie ordinary subscription school. James attended 
 school only fifty-six daj^s up to the age of twelve. 
 Thereafter he pursued his studies of evenings 
 by the light of the proverbial "pine knot" burned 
 in an old-fashioned fireplace. 
 
 He was converted at the tender age of eleven 
 in a revival held by Rev. Samuel ]Martin, and 
 thereafter, through all his boyhood years, 
 endeavored to faithfullj^ discharge every Chris- 
 tian obligation which came to him in the line of 
 duty. 
 
 October 18, 1856, at Mount Moriah, Augusta 
 County, he was granted quarterly conference 
 license to preach, by G. W. Station, presiding 
 elder, and Isaiah Baltzell, pastor in charge. 
 Having been married three years before, he at 
 once began to preach, like Paul, "in his own 
 house," which became a regular neighborhood 
 meeting place, and thence he went out to other 
 points destitute of religious services. This 
 lie kept up for the next two and one-half years, 
 preaching on Sunday and working during the 
 week to support his family. Nor were his labors 
 in vain. He organized classes at Mount Joy, 
 Muddy Lane, and on Tye River, and thus laid 
 the foundation of what afterwards became an 
 important circuit. All this indicates that he 
 had started out to win. If God called him to 
 
 235 
 
Our Heroes, or 
 
 tlie ministry he must obey. While he lacked the 
 culture of the college graduate, nevertheless, 
 he had been richly endowed by nature with a 
 vigorous constitution, a boundless ambition, and 
 a will strong enough to drive him through any 
 opposition which might get in the way of success. 
 
 In addition to these natural qualifications, 
 God had imparted to him an all-consuming de- 
 sire to win sinners to the Cross ; and to the ac- 
 complishment of the task set before him he was 
 anxious to give his whole life. 
 
 In 1859 he joined the Virginia Conference 
 which convened at Rohrersville, Maryland. The 
 journey thither on horseback was long and irk- 
 some. The spring thaw, after a severe winter, 
 had made the roads well-nigh impassable. Five 
 days were required to make the distance. Every 
 now and then along the way a preacher would 
 fall in to swell the company until the cavalcade 
 of heralds numbered a score or more. The 
 monotony of the trip was relieved by the singing 
 of hymns and an occasional discussion over 
 some doctrinal question that was anticipated in 
 the examinations at conference. On the fourth 
 day it was suggested that the presiding elder, 
 Jacob Markwood, afterwards Bisliop, select two 
 or three of the younger men to deliver a sermon 
 each to the croAvcl as they plodded along, and 
 accordingly Mr. Hensley was chosen to make 
 the first effort. Obeying orders, he at once pro- 
 ceeded to discourse on the text, "Quench not the 
 
 236 
 
United Brethren Home Missionaries 
 
 Spirit." When in the midst of his sermon they 
 came upon an old slave woman who was chop- 
 ping wood near her master's residence. A 
 brother suggested a pause until they had passed 
 her, but the young orator objected with the 
 remark, "That woman wants to hear preaching, 
 too," whereupon she exclaimed, "Yes, bress de 
 Laud ! I seldom gits to heah preachin'." To see 
 such a compan}' of white ministers, and to hear 
 the gospel from the lips of one of their number, 
 was a privilege she, perhaps, had never enjoyed 
 before. 
 
 At the request of the Bishop, Hensley accepted 
 Lewis Circuit, in the bounds of Parkersburg, 
 now West Virginia, Conference, which had been 
 organized the year before out of the western 
 portion of the old conference. He at once made 
 a public sale, but did not realize very much for 
 the little property he owned. The financial 
 crisis which came to the country in 1857 was 
 still on, hence everything went at panic prices. 
 Six months' credit was given, but to get the cash 
 a discount of ten per cent, was offered. 
 
 When the money was collected, and all debts 
 paid, the preacher had just thirty dollars left, 
 besides a horse and buggy. The trip to his new 
 field was an undertaking that required great 
 faith and courage. With his wife and three 
 children in the vehicle, a journey of one hundred 
 and fifty miles over the hills and mountains had 
 to be made. Having sent his saddle, bridle, and 
 
 237 
 
Our Heroes, or 
 
 books by stage, he was rid of a part of the lug- 
 gage he had to move. An average of twenty-five 
 miles a day was making good time. 
 
 But visions of the new scene of toil which 
 awaited him hurried the itinerant on. Kindred 
 ties had been broken. The associations of years 
 had been severed. Old friends had been given 
 up; new ones had to be made. When the thirty 
 dollars were gone, where would another like 
 sum come from? What did the future have in 
 store for them? What kind of a reception would 
 their new parishioners arrange? No doubt these 
 and many other questions arose and were dis- 
 cussed by the little group; but the solution of 
 such great problems had to be left with God. 
 
 There were no gorgeously finished and fur- 
 nished hotels along the way. If there had been 
 their little treasury would have been empty long 
 before the journey was over. But the open door 
 of every mountain cabin invited the w^eary 
 travelers to a most generous hospitality. 
 
 Finally, the circuit was reached, and on the 
 first Sunday morning the preacher started out 
 througli a blinding snow-storm to fill the three 
 appointments which awaited him. A portion of 
 the way lay through a dense wilderness of red 
 brush laden with snow, but perseverance brought 
 him to each preaching place on time. In view 
 of the great revivals that followed during the 
 year we may suppose that the people were highly 
 pleased with the eloquent young man who had 
 
 238 
 
United Brethren Home Missionaries 
 
 been sent them, and at once pledged him their 
 sympathy and hearty cooperation. 
 
 At first he decided to board with a friend who 
 kindly offered to keep the family for four dollars 
 per week, but their purse was soon exhausted; 
 and as very little was coming in, and debt must 
 be avoided, they decided to rent a house at two 
 dollars per month. This was six miles from 
 town, and in the woods. Of course, but little 
 furniture was needed under the circumstances. 
 Here the faithful wife and mother stayed, alone 
 most of the time, through all the summer and 
 dreary winter days that followed. All told there 
 were seventeen preaching places to be visited 
 every month. One appointment was located 
 twenty-two miles from any other. The place of 
 worship was under a huge projecting rock which 
 afforded shelter for a good-sized congregation in 
 time of storm. Here he preached every four 
 weeks on Monday at eleven o'clock. Years after- 
 ward a small house of worship was erected near 
 the place which has ever since been known as 
 "Indian Camp" Church. During his revival at 
 this point every unconverted person for miles 
 around, who could be gotten to the meeting, was 
 reached and saved. 
 
 The vrork of the year was most gratifying. 
 Over one hundred souls were led up into the new 
 life, and ninety-seven entered tli?e communion of 
 the Church. All over the vast field, from cabin, 
 schoolhouse, and grove, the shout of a conquer- 
 
 239 
 
Our Heroes J or 
 
 ing faith was heard, and news of militant 
 triumphs was carried to the throne. For the 
 services rendered the pastor received $143.47, 
 including a set of chairs with hickory-bark 
 bottoms. 
 
 This old circuit, now divided into a half-dozen 
 or more pastorates, has made rich contributions 
 to the ministry' of the Church. Among its noble 
 sons may be named E. Harper, S. J. Graham, 
 S. T. Westfall, R. Wood, J. T. Foster, and later 
 the Reeses and others. 
 
 Conference was held at Glenville, Gilmer 
 County, and was presided over by Bishop Gloss- 
 brenner. Here Mr. Hensley was ordained, and, 
 to the disappointment of himself and people, was 
 sent to another field — Taylor Circuit — which 
 embraced twenty-seven appointments scattered 
 over portions of Taylor, Barbour, Harrison, 
 Upshur, and Randolph counties. This was a 
 hard year, to be followed by others more trying 
 to the preacher and Church. The great civil 
 strife was on. Lowering war clouds could be 
 seen evoryv>here. Political lines were being 
 sharply drawn, not infrequently separating 
 members of the same family, and arousing the 
 most bitter antagonisms. 
 
 Under such conditions it was very difficult to 
 promote revivals. The most that could be done 
 was to maintain unity among our people, and 
 hold them to the Church. The Religious Tele- 
 scope was under a ban because of its anti-slavery 
 
 240 
 
JAMES L. HENSLEY 
 
United Brethren Home Missionaries 
 
 utterances, and so was ordered burned. How- 
 ever, the postmaster at Peel Tree, Barbour 
 County, near which place the preacher lived, 
 was friendly to him, and permitted him to 
 secretly read it in the office. Then it was turned 
 over to a drunken magistrate and committed to 
 the flames. 
 
 That a man would have varied and dangerous 
 experiences in traveling so large a territory is 
 easily imagined. An all-night journey through 
 the mountains occasionally had to be made, and 
 angry streams frequently had to be forded, or 
 crossed in some wa3^ According to Mr. Hen- 
 sley's plan this year he preached at Grafton in 
 the morning, and at Webster, six miles distant, 
 in the afternoon. The Valley River was the 
 chief obstacle in his way. It was deep and full 
 of treacherous eddies. Sometimes in crossing it 
 he had to get upon his knees in the saddle and 
 carry his saddle-bags on his shoulder to keep 
 them out of the water. If the stream seemed too 
 dangerous to thus ford, he would walk across 
 the railroad bridge and have some one make his 
 horse swim to the opposite shore, where he would 
 be ready to mount him again and pursue his 
 journey. 
 
 It was while crossing one of these mountain 
 streams that an itinerant of the conference in 
 later years was thrown from his horse, and being 
 unable to swim, sank to the bottom, but was 
 plucky enough to crawl to shore. The brother 
 
 241 
 
Our Heroes, or 
 
 is still living, and carries with him an abiding 
 gratitude to God for the special deliverance. 
 
 Away back in pioneer days a little Methodist 
 church, courageous and determined to win, T\Tote 
 the bishop at conference, saying, "Send us a 
 preacher next year who can swim. The one you 
 sent us last year got drowned as he was trying 
 to get over the river to our appointment." Yes, 
 to understand the art of swimming was impor- 
 tant to the missionary, for he was often placed 
 where he was compelled to swim or go down. 
 Persons unused to such long itineraries, under 
 circumstances so testing, can have but little idea 
 as to the dangers encountered and the suffering 
 involved. Well may the Church to-day revere 
 the memory of those who thus dared and sacri- 
 ficed to make possible the heritage which is ours 
 to enjoy. For the year's work the pioneer was 
 paid 1102.00 salary, with a few additional 
 presents. 
 
 The next annual gathering of the ministers 
 was held at Union, in Mason County, and the 
 entire distance — one hundred and fifty miles — 
 was made on horseback. However, as was the 
 custom in those days, preaching services were 
 held here and there along the way, which made 
 the journey less fatiguing to the itinerant, and 
 a season of special interest to the people who 
 chanced to hear them. 
 
 The conference divided the Taylor charge and 
 returned Mr. Hensley to the north end. When 
 
 242 
 
United Brethren Home Missionaries 
 
 he reached the town of Phillippi, the real center 
 of his work, he found two palmetto flags waving 
 over it, one from the court house, and the other 
 from a pole which had floated the stars and 
 stripes a few months before. The country was 
 wild with excitement. Southern troops were 
 stationed at two of the appointments. Scouting 
 bands were in evidence on all sides. To fill his 
 engagements the preacher frequently had to 
 evade the pickets by taking byways unknown to 
 them. 
 
 The first regular battle after the fall of 
 Sumter was fought at Phillippi, June second of 
 this year. When the Confederates were forced 
 back to Laurel Hill, they captured Rev. J. Z. 
 Williams, pastor of Randolph Mission; but 
 through the timely intercession of Lieutenant J. 
 C. Cline, who afterwards became a United 
 Brethren minister, the missionary was released 
 and soon thereafter fled with his family to Ohio. 
 Later Lieutenant Cline was captured by the 
 Union soldiers, but secured his liberty through 
 the efforts of Mr. Hensley and other United 
 Brethren ministers. 
 
 Before the blood had disappeared from the 
 battlefield at Laurel Hill, Mr. Hensley passed 
 over it and took charge of Randolph Mission, 
 which had been previously detached from his 
 circuit. Thus he had for the remainder of the 
 year twenty-seven appointments again. For this 
 extra service he received eighteen dollars from 
 
 243 
 
Our Heroes, or 
 
 the people, and five dollars from the conference. 
 The other end paid him sixty dollars, plus 
 twenty-eight dollars received for preaching for 
 the Second West Virginia Regiment, while in 
 camp. His real service to the soldiers is attested 
 by the fact that a number of them were converted 
 under his ministry. 
 
 It is most difficult, at this distance from such 
 scenes, to appreciate the dangers and hardships 
 to which our faithful men were exposed, and we 
 are liable to attach too little importance to what 
 they did to save the Church from utter ruin. At 
 one time there was not a preacher within the 
 vast field just described, except the intrepid 
 Hensley. He saw none of his brethren from 
 April until the next March, When conference 
 met at Centerville, Tyler County, it seemed that 
 but a handful was left. Just nine answered at 
 roll-call. In the absence of a Bishop they pro- 
 ceeded with the conference business, and planned 
 as best they could for another year. 
 
 Here the iron wheel of the itinerancy turned 
 again, and Hensley was appointed to Middle 
 Island Circuit, in the bounds of which the con- 
 ference had met. Returning home, he loaded up 
 his household effects in a two-horse wagon, 
 hauled them several miles to the railroad, and 
 shipped to West Union. The remainder of the 
 journey, twelve miles, was made in another 
 wagon. When almost in sight of the parsonage, 
 the only one in the conference at that time, a 
 
 244 
 
United Brethren Home Missionaries 
 
 most serious accident occurred. A landslide 
 having made the road impassable, it was decided 
 to ferry the goods over Middle Island Creek on 
 a gunnel — the body of a large poplar tree flat- 
 tened on both sides. But as a friend, who had 
 volunteered his help, was turning the craft, it 
 upset and tumbled the entire household stock — 
 cook stove, utensils, squirrel rifle, furniture, and 
 boxes — into the water, which was very deep at 
 the time. A part of the furniture was at once 
 recovered, but the stove and its belongings were 
 not found until low water came. The bed-clothes 
 were soon dried, a stove temporarily supplied, 
 and in a few days the pastor's family were at 
 home in their new quarters. 
 
 On this circuit there were sixteen preaching 
 places — not as many as he had been used to — but 
 certainly enough to occupy the time and strength 
 of any ordinary mortal. Here he remained three 
 years, making Centerville headquarters. The 
 support for the entire period aggregated |422.85, 
 or a yearly average of |140.95. But, notwith- 
 standing the disturbed state of the country, 
 sweeping revivals were held at various points. 
 Men who had never given religion a serious 
 thought were reached through pastoral visita- 
 tion and won to the Church. His knowledge of 
 human nature, his courageous leadership, his 
 readiness as a platform speaker, and the evan- 
 gelistic note in all his preaching, made him 
 popular and influential, and won encomiums 
 on every hand. 
 
 245 
 
Our Heroes, or 
 
 Middle Island Circuit has been called the 
 "Mother of Preachers." From the territory then 
 embraced came J. C. Jones, A. L. Moore, J. I. L. 
 Ankron, A. Orr, William Weekley, Sr., G. W. 
 Weekley, E. M. Hite, C. AV. Westfall, C. H. Cox, 
 I. M. Underwood, Isaac Davis, W. M. Weekley, 
 G. H. Devol, E. H. Waters, M. L. Weekley, and 
 others, perhaps, whose names are not now re- 
 called. Of this number nine belonged to Fair- 
 view class. 
 
 The conference of 1865 returned Mr. Hensley 
 to Lewis Circuit, where he had spent his first 
 year after transferring from the old conference. 
 In moving to this charge he adopted a new 
 method which made him feel somewhat inde- 
 pendent. He borrowed a wagon, two sets of 
 harness, and a horse to work alongside his own, 
 and thus made the journey of thirty-three miles. 
 All his household effects were moved in the one 
 wagon, and still there was room for his wife and 
 three smaller children. The cow and pet pig 
 were driven by the older boys. When the family 
 had been located in the log cabin, where they 
 were to spend the year, Mr. Hensley drove the 
 wagon back to its owner, and returned home 
 again on his own horse. 
 
 J. C. Morris was his assistant for the year, 
 and the two together received |260.00. They 
 kept up twenty-eight appointments. 
 
 The subjoined list of his preaching places for 
 the year may be of interest to the reader : 
 
 246 
 
United Brethren Home Missionaries 
 
 First Week — Right-hand Fork of Freemans 
 Creek, Saturday, 7 : 00 p.m. ; Freemans Creek 
 Church, Sunday, 10:00 a.m.; Polk Creek, 3:00 
 P.M. ; Weston, 7 : 00 p.m. ; Big Fink, Monday, 
 10 : 00 A.M. ; Walnut Fork, 7 : 00 p.m. ; Upper Big 
 Fink, Tuesday, 7 : 00 p.m. ; Little Fink, Wednes- 
 day, 7 : 00 P.M. 
 
 Second Week— Big Skin Creek, Sunday, 10:00 
 A.M. ; Sand Fork, 3 : 00 p.m. ; Walkersvilie, 7: 00 
 P.M. ; Little Kanawha, Monday, 7 : 00 P.M. ; 
 Union Hill, Tuesday, 3 : 00 p.m. ; Spanish Grove, 
 7:00 p.m. 
 
 Third Week— Stone Coal, Saturday, 7 : 30 
 p.m. ; Maxons, Sunday, 10 : 00 a.m. ; Cozads, 3 : 00 
 P.M.; Buckhannon Mountain, 7: 00 p.m. 
 
 Fourth Week — Buckhannon, Friday, 7 : 00 
 p.m.; Shrieves Church, Saturday, 7:00 p.m.; 
 Mount Washington, Sunday, 10:00 a.m.; Sand 
 Run, 3:00 p.m.; Enoch Cutright's, 7:00 p.m.; 
 Indian Camp, Monday, 10 : 00 a.m. ; Waterloo, 
 3 : 00 P.M. ; French Creek, 7 : 00 p.m. ; Sago, 
 Tuesday, 7 : 00 p.m. 
 
 But the financial strain was too great. It was 
 impossible to support his family on the little 
 received, so he took up the practice of medicine 
 in connection with his ministerial duties, and to 
 some extent supplemented what the circuit paid. 
 At the end of the year the work was divided, and 
 he was given the part called Upshur Circuit ; but 
 in the fall, yielding to the inevitable, he resigned 
 and entered a medical college in Cincinnati, 
 
 247 
 
Our Heroes, or 
 
 Ohio, where he graduated with honors February 
 17, 1867, ranking third in a class of twenty-eight. 
 This step Avas not taken because he wanted to 
 give up the ministry, but rather because he was 
 anxious to stay in it, and thus sought the finan- 
 cial aid that would make such a course possible. 
 
 Returning home he was appointed to West 
 Columbia Circuit the following March. The 
 year was an exceedingly busy one. In addition 
 to his medical practice, he frequently preached 
 four times on Sunday in the little towns along 
 the Ohio River. For the twelve months he 
 received a salary of |285.00, being the largest 
 compensation that had ever come to his ministry 
 in any one year. 
 
 After this he continued for many years in the 
 pastorate doing enough medical work to insure 
 a support for his large family, but he made the 
 ministry first, and allowed no interest committed 
 to him to suffer. lie was devotedly loyal to his 
 Church, a staunch defender of her doctrines, 
 and a leader in all matters of moral reform. 
 
 In 1870, death's dark pall fell upon his home 
 and claimed as its victim the wife and mother 
 who had been so much to the itinerant and his 
 family. Later, however, Mrs. Katherine B. 
 Bumgarner joined him in the responsibility of 
 the home, became a mother to his children, and 
 a very great blessing to the Church to which he 
 was giving his life. 
 
 He was once elected to the legislature in West 
 Virginia, and once represented his county in the 
 
 248 
 
United Brethren Home Missionaries 
 
 Ohio assembly. His home at present is in 
 Marion, Oliio, where he has lived a number of 
 years, and from which point he has served sev- 
 eral pastoral charges in connection with his 
 work as a physician. 
 
 He is now eighty years old, but full of youth- 
 ful animation and hope. Here is his message — 
 his last message — to the Church : "As I stand 
 by my eightieth milestone and look back over 
 life's journey, I can see how little I have done 
 compared with what I might have accomplished. 
 My mistakes have been many. What I have 
 achieved in the Church has been through the 
 help of grace, and to God be all the glory ! The 
 day is almost over, but I am sure of a golden 
 sunset. The way is clear. I believe the Bible 
 with a confidence unshaken. The doctrines of 
 the United Brethren Church, I think, express 
 fully and clearly the great plan of God in saving 
 men. I am anxious that our ministers continue 
 to proclaim the fundamentals as taught by the 
 fathers, and to make soul-winning of first impor- 
 tance. I hope to join all my colaborers in the 
 gospel by and by when the crowning time comes. 
 Amen." 
 
 249 
 
CHAPTER XVII. 
 
 CONSERVATION OP OUR RESOURCES. 
 
 It is said that when a company of pilgrims 
 came in sight of Wittenberg, they uncovered 
 their heads, and thanked God for the power that 
 had gone ont from the old city and kindled the 
 fires of the Reformation. It is only necessary 
 to stand at the birthplace of the United Breth- 
 ren Church, with a. knowledge of its seiwice to 
 humanity, the measure of which can never be 
 adequately estimated "until the books are 
 opened," in order to experience a like thrill of 
 pride and gratitude. The picture is akin to that 
 of Ezekiel's life-giving stream, flowing forth 
 with increasing might and majesty, and trans- 
 forming deserts into gardens. 
 
 All honor to the fathers! The value of the 
 heritage they have left us is beyond human 
 estimate. Earthly rewards they sought not. 
 They asked no marble shaft for their resting 
 place, and, indeed, many of their graves are un- 
 marked. But their work abides, for which they 
 deserve to live in hallowed memory forever. 
 The Church cannot afford to forget her heroic, 
 historic past. Those who accomplish most in 
 the world's to-day, and have largest hopes for to- 
 morrow, are least unmindful of the achieve- 
 ments of yesterday. It is essential to the de- 
 velopment of denominational life and loyalty 
 
 260 
 
United Brethren Home Missionaries 
 
 that the story of the heroism of the fathers 
 occupy a prominent place in the literature of 
 the Church. 
 
 But the supreme tribute that the fathers 
 merit at our hands, is the conservation and 
 proper use of the heritage they left us. The past 
 and the future hold us responsible for building 
 worthily upon the foundations they laid. We 
 cannot measure up to the tremendous responsi- 
 bilities of the present by quoting the successes 
 of the past. If we are to make proper use of the 
 opportunities which face us, we must do vastly 
 better to-day and to-morrow than we did yester- 
 day. We are in a new world. New conditions, 
 new problems, new adjustments, and new diffi- 
 culties su:rround us. The kind of service we 
 gave yesterday will not win to-day. We must 
 aim higher, build larger, run faster, and strike 
 harder than we have done before. The call is 
 not to do precisely what the fathers did, but 
 rather what they would do were they in our 
 places. The man who stands closest the United 
 Brethren fathers is not the man who slavishly 
 imitates their methods, but rather he who catches 
 their spirit — the spirit of spiritual pioneering — 
 and with that spirit interprets the new day, and 
 does his work in the light of the new interpreta- 
 tion of man and God. 
 
 In changing our vision from a splendid past 
 to an urgent future, from history to opportunity, 
 it must be apparent to all who have the inter- 
 ests of the Church at heart, that her immediate 
 
 251 
 
Oitr Heroes, or 
 
 and urgent duty is to provide for a better con- 
 servation of her resources. We are confronted 
 by a condition tliat would seem to be nothing 
 short of a denominational crisis. During the 
 past year our mighty army — three hundred 
 thousand strong, generaled by four bishops, 
 captained by fifty district superintendents, offi- 
 cered by twenty-five hundred preachers, and at 
 an expenditure of two and one-half million 
 dollars, and an untabulated amount of time, 
 energy, and intellect — won more than twenty- 
 five thousand souls to Christ and the Church. 
 A splendid achievement, returns which abund- 
 antly justif}^ the expenditure of outlay. But the 
 measure in which the Church succeeded in con- 
 serving this mighty army of recruits must be 
 altogether unsatisfactory to every lover of our 
 Zion. It is for the Church tO' put her energies 
 into the decree that these conditions shall be 
 changed, that these losses shall be overcome at 
 any cost, that the results of her labors shall be 
 conserved, and press to the task with the optim- 
 ism of a song. 
 
 Why this failure to conserve adequately our 
 gains, and what is necessary by way of read- 
 justment, change of emphasis, methods, or ad- 
 ditional expenditures to overcome our losses. 
 The thought of the church must turn to the task 
 of answering these questions. Every impulse of 
 self-preservation and denominational loyalty 
 demands it. 
 
 252 
 
United Brethren Home Missionaries 
 
 In view of the existing conditions, it must be 
 apparent to all that the Church needs a new 
 stimulus — a need that may be stated in four 
 parts: We, as United Brethren, need a new 
 optimistic vision of ourselves, a renewed con- 
 sciousness of our connectionalism, a. more loyal 
 faith in and fidelity to United Brethren ideals 
 and standards, and an open sympathy with the 
 compassion that goes out to save the lost. In his 
 book entitled, "The Empire of the Christ," 
 Bernard Lucas states that "it is not interest but 
 passion that the Church needs. " We must ex- 
 pect more from the Church than an interest in 
 that w^ork of redemption for which the Christ, 
 whose followers we are, endured the agony of 
 Gethsemane, and the heart-break of Calvarj^" 
 Our resources as a Church were never so rich, 
 our potentialities never so prophetic as now. 
 But it is safe to say that there is nothing that 
 the denomination more needs to transform its 
 present splendid possibilities into millennial 
 fruitage than tlie spirit of Newcomer leadership 
 in all its high places. 
 
 There is cause for gratitude that the material 
 side of our denominational work is in the midst 
 of a period of unparalleled prosperity. Money 
 is absolutely essential to the building of a greater 
 United Brethrenism. But something else is 
 equally essential, and that is the maintenance 
 and development of a vigorous spiritual life. The 
 importance, therefore, of placing corresponding 
 emphasis upon the spiritual side of our work 
 
 253 
 
Our Heroes, or 
 
 must not be forgotten. With the splendid spirit 
 of liberality now manifest, there must be a pro- 
 portionate revival of spiritual life. The Church 
 will grow weary of giving unless the appeal 
 comes to hearts aflame with evangelistic con- 
 viction and evangelistic power. A true spirit- 
 uality and piety will beget in men benevolent 
 tempers; but it does not follow that benevolent 
 tempers will beget in men spirituality and piety. 
 
 The casual observer, judging from present- 
 day emphasis, would most likely conclude that 
 money-raising has become the real standard of 
 ministerial success. There is peril in a change 
 of emphasis here, because it interferes with the 
 arrangement of our Lord's progTam. A victo- 
 rious church will be deeply and acutely sensible 
 to the will of God. In this case it is unmistalv- 
 ably clear that she must put her emphasis first 
 on the redemption of men, on the spiritual life 
 of men, and unless she is victorious here, what 
 to her are the kingdoms of this world and the 
 glory of them. If the United Brethren Churcli 
 is to fulfill her mission in the world, she must 
 remain a spiritual church. She must not de- 
 pend upon her splendid machinery, but on the 
 spirit of God, and count on the Lord of Pente- 
 cost for victory. 
 
 Much will be aecomplished toward the better 
 conservation of our resources, as it relates both 
 to membership and spirituality, when we so 
 correct our methods as to shepherd with more 
 assiduous care the thousands whom God is 
 
 254 
 
United BreAhrcn Home Missionaries 
 
 annually placing in our churches. If the en- 
 thusiasm and organized effort that we put into 
 our evangelistic services were continued in the 
 equally important work of nurturing the new 
 converts and training them for Christian serv- 
 ice, our losses would be greatly reduced. To aid 
 in the work of conserving the fruits of our re- 
 vivals, there is a great field and a growing de- 
 mand for the trained deaconess. 
 
 Moreover, there has been a recklessness on the 
 part of many in the revision of church records. 
 It has become so common that some ministers 
 even delight in the privilege of "putting them 
 out," when such a procedure, if it ever becomes 
 necessary, should be entered upon after much 
 prayer and every possible effort to save them 
 from their faults and to the Church. The pur- 
 pose, in some instances, is to reduce the confer- 
 ence assessments, which is un-Christlike and 
 destructive in its results. The method of some 
 of our general departments in rating a congrega- 
 tion by the amount it pays per capita to that 
 special interest, has also mucli to do with the 
 cutting down of the membership of some 
 churches. Such methods should be discarded. 
 They are unbiblical and hurtful to the life and 
 growth of the denomination. 
 
 There is need for a larger recognition of the 
 relation of the child to the kingdom. The para- 
 graphs in our Discipline defining the status of 
 the child in the kingdom and in the Church, 
 providing methods for the religious care, nurture, 
 
 255 
 
Our Heroes, or 
 
 and training of the child, should be better un- 
 derstood and more carefully' observed. Even as 
 the problem of citizenship is to keep each child 
 true to its own land, rather than to naturalize 
 the native born, so it is the work of the Church 
 to keep the child true to its sweet and fresh 
 allegiance to the kingdom of the Father. When 
 the problem of properly dealing with young life, 
 during its early stages of development, shall 
 have been solved, the Church will enter upon 
 her brightest era since the day of Pentecost. 
 Yes, the position of supreme, strategic impor- 
 tance in our holy war will then be won. 
 
 But the question as to why we are not con- 
 serving our denominational resources is largely 
 answered in the fact that tlie bulk of the mem- 
 bership in the Church is confined to a very small 
 section of our great country. Pennsylvania, 
 Ohio, and Indiana contain about two-thirds of 
 the numerical strength of the entire denomina- 
 tion. Multitudes of our people annually join the 
 mighty procession of home-seekers to the great 
 "West," where frontier settlements are being 
 formed daily, and into the cities where the great 
 majority are lost to the denomination. A 
 conservative estimate would place this number 
 at fifteen thousand annually, half the number 
 of our converts in a year. It is a startling fact 
 that half the annual expenditures of the Church 
 in money and service is lost to the denomination 
 because we are not providing to follow those of 
 our people who move beyond our borders, and 
 
 256 
 
United Brethren Home Missionaries 
 
 save them to our denomination. Ecclesiastical 
 statesmanship has a, problem here which is 
 worthy of the first and highest consideration. 
 Its solution will determine whether or not our 
 future, as a denomination, will be worth while. 
 
 There are three fields in which the forces of 
 conservation should be at work constantly, with 
 a backing of men and means equal to the mag- 
 nitude of the tasks — namelj^, the frontier, the 
 city, and the unworked places in occupied ter- 
 ritory. 
 
 IMen are always pushing to the rim of secular 
 activity. Only so is a nation built. It is charged 
 tliat they are rolling stones, unstable and fickle ; 
 it is sufficient to point to the permanent settle- 
 ments and the high state of civilization they 
 liave established. A certain boldness and dar- 
 ing characterizes this advance guard, Avhich is a 
 valuable asset of any good caiuse, particularly of 
 the church which builds upon such material. 
 
 The claim of the frontier upon the missionary 
 spirit of the Church is imperative from three 
 considerations: First, the denomination must 
 conserve her contributions to the development 
 of the new country. Into these new communi- 
 ties our own children are going. God calls upon 
 us to "care for our own household." Our people 
 must be followed to their new homes, and there 
 shepherded amid the material distractions and 
 social demoralization of their new life. More- 
 over, the Church must seize the present excep- 
 tional opportunities for laying the foundations 
 
 257 
 
Our Heroes, or 
 
 for a greater denomination. These opportun- 
 ities cannot be neglected without great loss to 
 the Church. The country is new. There is now 
 room "on the ground floor." We are making 
 history — it is being written rapidly, to-morrow 
 will be too late. United Brethrenism is now 
 working painfully and at great odds to secure 
 property and influence that could have been had 
 for the asking less than a generation ago. Is it 
 not time that the Church awake to the situation, 
 and rally her forces to provide our home mis- 
 sionary agencies with means not only to avoid 
 such mistakes in the future, but to recapture 
 some of the forces that we have failed to con- 
 serve in the past? 
 
 The claims of the frontier upon the mission- 
 ary spirit of the Church are imperative from a 
 national consideration. As a denomination we 
 must take our part, and bear our responsibility 
 in securing that the new commonwealths of the 
 American Union shall lay their foundations in 
 righteousness and raise their walls in the fear 
 of God. There is a call for a new enlistment 
 and a larger investment upon the part of Amer- 
 ican Protestantism if the work is to be accom- 
 plished. More people pass annually through the 
 tliree great gateways to the West — Kansas City, 
 Omaha, and St. Paul — to make homes in the 
 Dakotas, INIontana,, and the Pacific Northwest, 
 or in that land of miracles, the new Southwest, 
 than come to us through the open ports of New 
 York, Boston, and Philadelphia. In those 
 
 25S 
 
United Brethren Home Missionaries 
 
 mighty empire States and territories, children 
 are growing up to manhood and womanhood 
 without religious instruction. There are coun- 
 ties in California, Oregon, Washington, Colo- 
 rado, Idaho, and Montana with no churches and 
 no missionaries. Ward Piatt, in his great book, 
 "The Frontier," tells us there are not two hun- 
 dred churches in the great State of Montana, but 
 there are more than that number of saloons in 
 a single town. Four-fifths of the people of the 
 State are not reached by any sort of religious 
 influence. 
 
 Moreover, the claim of the frontier is a world 
 claim. In the judgment of present day prophets, 
 the evangelization of the world is contingent 
 upon the Church of America's response to this 
 claim. The late John Henry Barrows, president 
 of the World's Congress of Religions at Chicago, 
 and lecturer of the "Haskel Foundation in 
 India," said, "The battle that will determine the 
 final outcome for Jesus Christ over everj^ oppos- 
 ing enemy in this world, is not being fought in 
 Chinai, India, or Japan, but in the Mississippi 
 Valley." A Christian statesman recently re- 
 marked, "Men search for the north pole, but if 
 you want to find where the center of this world 
 is in possibilities, where swings the axis of the 
 earth around which whirl the destinies of human- 
 ity, you will find it somewhere between the Mis- 
 sissippi River and the Rocky Mountains." 
 
 The city is receiving our people with open 
 arms. Trained in Christian homes, they have 
 
 259 
 
Our Heroes, or 
 
 that integrity of character which any city prizes. 
 It is easy to get lost in a city. Other churches 
 have learned that United Brethren make valu- 
 able members, and are not slow to invite them 
 into their folds. A church extension secretary 
 of another denomination recently remarked that 
 he had been engaged for twenty years in starting 
 churches of his own denomination with United 
 Brethren people in the cities of the northwest. 
 If we would conserve our forces we must press 
 vigorously the work of establishing churches in 
 the cities. 
 
 The great Paul, who was the first and greatest 
 master in ecclesiastical military strategy, was 
 ardent in establishing the church in the chief 
 cities of the empire. The strategic value of such 
 a vantage ground is even more apparent in our 
 day. The progress our denomination has made 
 in city missionary work in recent years is 
 most gratifying ; within six years our Home Mis- 
 sionary Society has assisted in establishing the 
 Church in forty cities, and has made appropria- 
 tions to start work in ten additional centers dur- 
 ing the ensuing year. 
 
 Unless we follow our members into the cities, 
 as well as to the frontier, they are lost to our 
 Church, and many of them to the kingdom of 
 God. The same truth holds with regard to un- 
 occupied towns and villages in the present con- 
 ference territories. 
 
 But why try to keep these people United 
 Brethren? Will not the kingdom of Christ be 
 
 260 
 
United Brethren Home Missionaries 
 
 advanced just the same by their going into other 
 churches? Such argument followed to its legit- 
 imate conclusion will call our Church out of 
 commission altogether. So long as denomina- 
 tionalism has its place in what appears to be a 
 necessary and providential order, there must be 
 wisdom in bringing every particular denomina- 
 tion to the highest degree of efficiency as a de- 
 nomination. The universal Church is an army, 
 and, usually, the more efficient every regiment 
 is, the more efficient the army as a Avhole will be. 
 There is no other way to achieve "a spirit of the 
 corps" worthy the Church's calling, or equal to 
 the exactions of the great campaign. Denom- 
 inational activity and intensity, so far from 
 arguing narrowness, are an assurance of gather- 
 ing power for the help of the kingdom. The 
 reason for our existence is that God w^ants a 
 church which insists upon a vital religious ex- 
 perience, and if ours forsakes that standard, 
 God will raise up another to do the very thing 
 we have an opportunity to do. The church 
 which ceases to expand begins to contract. If 
 we have a right to live, we have a duty to spread 
 to the city and frontier. 
 
 Whence shall come the help to organize these 
 new churches? Some one answers, "Let those 
 who move away establish their own churches 
 and support their preachers." One with any 
 knowledge of the situation must see the impossi- 
 bility of this method in nearly every instance. 
 Tlie members are too few in number and have 
 
 261 
 
Otir Heroes, or 
 
 too little available money to finance an under- 
 taking on a scale to insure success. Outside 
 help is necessary. Another says, "Let their 
 friends at home furnish the means." But the 
 removal of members usually weakens the home 
 society so that those remaining have additional 
 financial obligations, which fact renders ade- 
 quate help out of the question. No matter 
 whether it is the frontier, the city, or the inter- 
 vening towns, assistance from some general 
 source is needed to guarantee satisfactory re- 
 sults. 
 
 The only plan our Church has to support a 
 preacher in a new place, until local strength is 
 sufficient for maintenance, is through the Home 
 Missionary Society, supplemented by similar or- 
 ganizations in annual conferences. Our Church 
 to-day is strong only where the home missionary 
 labored. Present conditions bespeak the same 
 in regard to the future streng-fh of the Church, 
 and in an emphasized way. 
 
 Calls coming from all sections of the rapidly 
 developing West, Northwest, South, and South- 
 west are God's call, as to his people of old : "En- 
 large the place of thy tent, and let them stretch 
 forth the curtains of their habitations; spare 
 not, lengthen thy cords and strengthen thy 
 stakes." If we are to conserve our forces we 
 must press our extension work from places where 
 we are, to places where we are not, and yet where 
 our people are; and we must build substantially 
 as we go. "Expansion" must be our denomina- 
 
 262 
 
United Brethren Home Missionaries 
 
 tional slogan, and we must shout it out and 
 sound it forth until the glad day, when United 
 Brethren fathers and mothers may know that 
 when their sons and daughters go out from the 
 old home to the nearby city, or to the distant 
 frontier, they will still enjoy the shepherding of 
 United Brethren pastors, and thus find spiritual 
 food and social fellowship in the Church of their 
 parents. 
 
 The completion of so great a task means a 
 mighty outlay of men and money. The Home 
 Missionary Society needs at present an annual 
 income of two hundred thousand dollars. Every 
 dollar could be placed to the honor of our Lord. 
 The annual gifts should be supplemented by the 
 income from a great endowment. The society 
 at once should set the endowment goal at a mil- 
 lion dollars, and lay and work plans to secure 
 it. To this provision must be added a cor- 
 responding concern and effort upon the part of 
 the annual conferences to enter each center in 
 their respective territory now occupied by the 
 Church. This is our task if we would provide 
 for the natural growth of the Church and con- 
 serve onr denominational resources. It will, 
 however, require the heroism of the olden time. 
 
 The Home Mission and Church Erection so- 
 cieties must supplement each other in the pros- 
 ecution of the work. They are inseparably 
 connected. The Home Missionary Society sends 
 out the living minister to preach the gospel in 
 neglected fields; but where shall he preach? 
 
 263 
 
Our Heroes^ or 
 
 Where garner the fruits of his preaching? 
 Where organize his church and utilize the power 
 of converted souls for further conquest? These 
 are questions fundamental to any true and per- 
 manent success. Church Erection comes in to 
 answer. It says to the people, "Do all you can 
 and we will help you." With this proffered aid 
 the strength of the community is called out, the 
 house of worship is erected, the gospel is 
 fvreached, souls saved, and tlie rewards of the 
 home missionary's toils conserved. The present 
 demands upon this society make clear the fact 
 that to provide for the natural growth of the 
 Church, it should have a working capital of one 
 million dollars. 
 
 To-day is the testing time for United Breth- 
 renismu We are at the parting of the ways. 
 Present policies and methods are insufficient. 
 Results are altogether unsatisfactory. The 
 fathers met the conditions of their times and 
 served well their day and generation. It is now 
 time for the sons to speak. We are the fathers 
 of to-day. Destiny speaks, and says, "It is thy 
 day; speak thy word, show thy power, reveal thy 
 nullity or capacity." If we fail God will find 
 others to carry forward his work. If we are 
 courageous and stout-hearted and ready to meet 
 the conditions of the new times, with men and 
 methods, God will surely use us in the future as 
 in the past. It is not a question as to whether 
 we have a future as a denomination ; that matter 
 
 264 
 
United Brethren Home Missionaries 
 
 is settled. The real question is, will we rise to 
 our opportunity and be faithful to our mission? 
 
 More ministers, with better equipment, is the 
 call of the hour. The work of discovery must 
 begin in the home. Family altars must be built 
 or rebuilt. There ministers are born. The 
 matter must be emphasized in the Sunday 
 schools, in the Christian Endeavor societies, and 
 the of&ce magnified before the student bodies of 
 our colleges. Scholarships must be provided for 
 students both of the college and the Seminary. 
 These must be supplemented with a theological 
 seminary second to none in the land in its 
 material equipment and character of work. It 
 is then for the Church to provide, to care for, and 
 adequately support her ministry. 
 
 The times call for a new chivalry upon the 
 part of our leaders. Men of the heroic spirit 
 and who possess the passion of achievement. 
 We need Christian workers everywhere, who 
 gather their inspiration at Calvary's cross and 
 tlieir strength direct from the God of our fathers. 
 There is a special call for our denominational 
 colleges to render the highest possible service to 
 the denomination by inculcating loyalty, by dis- 
 covering future leaders, and by assisting in 
 strengthening the Church in every possible way 
 throughout their co-operating territories. The 
 rendering of such a service is the only reason for 
 their existence. 
 
 The task of overcoming our losses calls for a 
 new enlistment of the manhood of the denom- 
 
 265 
 
Our Heroes, or 
 
 ination. The Church is coming to recognize the 
 psychological fact that the adult mind demands 
 a large field for achievement, a large proposition, 
 a ^'big job." Men have always been willing to 
 respond to the call of a great cause. Here is a 
 task suflflciently large, and an objective sufficient- 
 ly worthy to call out and enlist the strongest 
 manhood of the Church, and its accomplishment 
 will require the strength, courage, virility, and 
 heroism that men only can give. The conserva- 
 tion of our denominational resources should be 
 the slogan of the Otterbein Brotherhood, and of 
 our organized Bible classes. 
 
 The task calls for a new enlistment of the 
 womanhood of the Church. The lessons we learn 
 of the agencies that have made possible the suc- 
 cess of the larger denominations in their exten- 
 sion work in the home field, admonish us that 
 we shall never succeed in overcoming our losses, 
 and in developing a denominational loyalty 
 sufficient to conserve our forces without the 
 sympathetic cooperation and the largest or- 
 ganized help of our noble women, in the extension 
 of our work in the home field. God's larger plan 
 for the service of the womanhood of the de- 
 nominaition will never be lived out until the call 
 to this great work is heeded. Nor shall we ever 
 succeed in doing our part in saving America 
 without the help of this mighty agency. In her 
 introduction to "Conserving Our National 
 Ideals," Margaret E. Sangster says, "The women 
 of the Christian Church in America are called 
 
 266 
 
United Brethren Home Missionaries 
 
 upon in this hour for that which concerns far 
 more than any dream, the permanence of the Re- 
 public and the well-being of their children." 
 
 The measure of the response of our combined 
 forces to this urgent call and immediate duty, 
 will measure our denominational future, and 
 thereby our service to the world. Our outlook is 
 expressed in the one word, "Opportunity." It is 
 evident that in these recent years we have been 
 gathering strength for aggressive work. In 
 twenty years the value of our Church property 
 has been multiplied by three. Our institutions 
 are practically out of debt. We have a Sunday 
 school constituency one hundred thousand above 
 the communicant membership of the Church. 
 We must now summon and unite our forces in 
 a denominational push, or we will stand in the 
 way of God's larger purpose for our denom- 
 inational future. 
 
 The divine command comes to us, as to God's 
 Israel of old, "Go forward." 
 
 "Onward are his marching orders, 
 He who leads to victory." 
 
 God of our fathers, help us to answer, "Master, 
 we will foUmo!" 
 
 267 
 
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Kr'ofs^'r^^t'ed Brethren ho.e 
 
 Pnncelon Theolog.cal Semmary-Speer bbrary 
 
 1012 00047 2276